McGill Tribune Vol. 35, Issue 11

The McGill Tribune TUesday, november 17, 2015 curiosity delivers

Volume No. 35 Issue No. 11

feature: food, facts, & fiction: THE MEDIA’S ROLE IN STUDENT DIETS pg. 8 - 9

Editorial: UNMODERATED ONLINE CULTURE HAS BECOME UNSUSTAINABLE IN SSMU ELECTIONS pg. 5

m c gilltribune.com @m c gilltribune

Synchronized, Past vs. Present symmetrical, and sensational Genevieve Citron Contributor

Students active within Demilitarize McGill unravelled a banner on Remembrance Day on top of the McLennan-Redpath Library Complex. (Natalie Vineberg / McGill Tribune)

Remembrance Day Ceremony met with protest

by Demilitarize M c Gill PG. 2

McGill student sued for destruction of masters thesis Spurs discussion concerning lack of protective policies Laura Hanrahan News Editor

O

n Wednesday Nov. 4, McGill alumnus Elias Gedamu M.ENG‘11 was brought to court by NeuroRx Research Inc., a research organization that images the central nervous system, where he com-

pleted research for his Masters of Engineering thesis. McGill Professor Dr. Douglas Arnold, president of NeuroRX, supervised Gedamu’s research and was the representative for NeuroRx present during trial proceedings. In a statement of claim, served on April 9, 2013, NeuroRx called for the destruction of Gedamu’s already published works, includ-

ing his thesis.

“NeuroRx […] asks this Honourable Court to issue a permanent injunction, enjoining [Gedamu] to destroy all papers, writing and publications (past, present, or future) in which he has used, uses, or will be using, directly or indirectly, any confidential data and information obtained during his employment

at NeuroRx Research Inc. and/ or in the context of his work and research as a student at McGill University,” the statement read.

Following a lengthy discussion outside of the courtroom, both parties came to a settlement, the details of which have not been released.

Saturday’s Synchronized Swimming Invitational brought fierce competition and excellent choreography in front of a packed audience at McGill’s Memorial Pool. The overflowing bleachers—full of family, friends, and fans—radiated excitement and anticipation for McGill’s 12-time CUSSL title winning White Team. McGill dominated the invitational, walking away with high scores to accompany their high spirits. Still, the stiff competition demonstrated that the Martlets cannot rest on their laurels looking forward into the season.

The first portion of the meet presented graceful solos, duets and novice routines—each team’s performance offered the crowd a unique display of elegant athleticism. With a competitor in nearly every bracket, the Martlets hardly left the pool, and were able to keep the McGill spirit strong. The team competition in particular brought out the collective character of the sport.

While technically impressive, the performances were also extremely entertaining. The flow of smart and innovative pop culture references added to the energized atmosphere throughout the hall. The Carleton Raven’s Bring it On-themed routine incorporated stunting reminiscent of cheerleading, while John Abbott College’s hip hopinspired routine exuded swagger and creativity.

PG. 6

PG. 16

even expanded his team to include “Vice-President of Quality,” Kapil Sareen-Khanna, a second year student in the Faculty of Medicine.

The group is far from the only one facilitating samosa sales on campus. “Samosa Sales,” another Facebook group, was created before Samosa Search: the two are now considered in competition.

Samosa Sales is a group that serves

a similar purpose, providing a venue for clubs to advertise their samosa fundraisers and for students to post inquiries for nearby sales. However, Safran felt that this group was not nearly as effective at advertising and locating sales, thus motivating the creation of Samosa Search.

Samosa Search shakes up McGill samosa game Student-led online community leads to increase in samosa sales Audrey Carleton Staff Writer A stranger to McGill University would be surprised to witness a disproportionately high number of students walking around with samosas in their hands. Samosas have become a staple fundraiser food for student clubs and a key part of the average McGill

student’s daily diet. Feeling particularly devoted to the samosa but frustrated by not being able to locate them on campus, Tyler Safran, now a second-year student in the Faculty of Medicine, created the Samosa Search Facebook group in January 2015. What started as an inside joke has since accumulated a campus-wide following.

Safran created the Samosa

Search group as a way to track and advertise samosa sales in the McIntyre Medical Building, where, as a medicine student, he took all of his classes. Initially, the group only included the members of Safran’s program, until one day in March of 2015, it began to grow inexplicably. The group currently has 1531 members, with students confirming samosa sales every day. Safran has

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2

NEWS

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Remembrance Day Ceremony met with protest by Demilitarize McGill Group intends to expand portrayal of historical truth James WARD Contributor On Wednesday Nov. 11, students active in the Demilitarize McGill campaign unravelled a banner from the roof of the McLennan-Redpath Library Complex during the Remembrance Day Ceremony held by the Royal Canadian Legion on McGill’s Lower Field.

“Canada kills: Colonialism here, imperialism abroad. End occupation, resist Canada,” read the banner, which failed to completely unfurl, but was widely visible before being removed

by McGill security.

Demilitarize McGill issued an official statement on its website, citing Canadian colonialism and imperialism as the impetus for the banner.

“The ceremony is designed to manufacture sympathy for the Canadian Forces despite their inherently imperialist and colonialist missions and their continued perpetration of atrocities and genocide both here and abroad,” the statement reads.

The ceremony, which was held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., included a military parade and helicopter flyover. Local and national dignitaries laid wreaths at a temporary memorial and the Act of Remembrance, a stanza from the poem “For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon, was read.

A 21-gun salute was fired throughout the proceedings.

Chelsea Cureé, Montreal resi-

dent, attended the event to reflect on what it represented.

“I think it’s important to think about something bigger than ourselves and to think about the sacrifices that were made for our freedom,” said Cureé.

Ken Helfer, a Montreal resident whose son marched in the parade, agreed with Cureé.

“I thought it was a great ceremony,” said Helfer. “It’s fantastic to commemorate both those who are with us and those who are no longer with us, and I think it should be done every year.”

While objecting to the demonstration itself, Helfer additionally defended the activists’ right to protest.

“Everyone is allowed to express their opinion; however, I don’t feel that it’s appropriate at a time when you’re commemorating the people who have given their lives for their right to do that,” Helfer said.

Responding to accusations of disrespect, Isaac Stethem, a student invovled with Demilitarize McGill, said that the limited focus of Remembrance Day ignores those outside of the military who have lost their lives in battle.

“The absence of the victims of Canada’s colonial and imperial violence from Remembrance Day—and official discourse as whole— is not only disrespectful, but a denial of history,” Stetham wrote in a statement to the Tribune. “Our objection is not to

Remembrance Day was met with protest once again. (Natalie Vineberg / McGill Tribune) the mourning of individuals that have [been] lost in wars, but to the selectiveness of whose memory is worthy of official commemoration, and in what context.”

Master Corporal Jack Milly, who was involved in logistics for the ceremony, defended Demilitarize McGill’s right to undertake these actions.

“I believe in freedom of speech, and if people have messages they want to put out [then they should be able to],” said Milly.

In its statement, Demilitarize McGill specified a number of issues that the organization sees as ignored.

“By dropping a banner [the activists] seek to highlight the histories and voices absent and forgotten in nationalist Remembrance Day ceremonies,” the statement reads. “These include the Indigenous women and girls who have been disappeared, murdered, and/or sexually assaulted, the theft from the Kanien’kehá:ka of the lands on which McGill is located, and of the waters into which the City of Montreal, with federal government approval, now wish to dump eight billion litres of raw sewage. These also include those affected by Canadian military involvement in Afghanistan,

Syria, and Libya, by Canada’s […] support of Israel’s apartheid regime, and by […] Canadian mining companies across Latin America.”

Students active within the Demilitarize McGill campaign have undertaken similar actions in the past.

During last year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies, the organization held a rally on the steps of Redpath Museum which provoked controversy in the McGill community, with some arguing that the rally discredited the organization whose primary goal is to oppose and disrupt military research at the university.

and a place for students to volunteer and get involved in the governance of the station, it is disappointing to see that some students disagree about the value that CKUT brings to campus.”

Bialik cited the cost of the new fee as well as a need for CKUT to engage students more as potential reasons as to why the question did not pass.

“The fee increase would have brought the fee to a total of $6.50, which is higher than many other fees for student groups,” she said. “It has also come to my attention that there was some concern about McGill students not being at the core of the operations of CKUT, which indicates that the station may need to find new ways to reach out to students in the future.”

cusing more of its energy on developing projects to increase the financial accessibility of commodities, such as student housing and food cooperatives, for students?” the plebiscite question read.

SSMU President Kareem Ibrahim expressed his excitement about the opportunities that the results of this plebiscite has presented.

“I’m definitely excited to see that students would want to see SSMU having a more active role in not only student-run co-ops but also in just making things more accessible to them financially,” Ibrahim said. “There is this student housing that we’re interested in exploring, also making the Nest and the [Student-Run Café] a bit more studentrun, it’s something I think would be of interest to students, and something we could invest more time in.”

In regards to the second plebiscite question, 56.9 per cent of students voted “Yes” to part one, which proposed the creation of a new yearbook fee to fund Old McGill, McGill’s yearbook. For part two of the plebiscite question, 76.6 per cent of students voted “Yes” for which stated that this fee would be nonopt-outable.

CKUT fee increase fails in SSMU referendum Safety Network fee established, plebiscite questions fail Shrinkhala Dawadi And Laura hanrahan Managing Editor and News Editor The results of the 2015 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) referendum were announced on Nov. 15. All referendum questions passed, with the exception of the CKUT fee increase.

The Safety Network fee The first referendum question, which proposed the creation of a SSMU Safety Network Fee passed by 75.3 per cent. The non-opt-outable fee, which will charge students $3.97 per semester, will be used to collectively fund the services of the SSMU Safety Network: The McGill Students’ Emergency Response Team (M-SERT), DriveSafe, WalkSafe, and the Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS).

The Safety Network fee will replace the old fee structure, in which M-SERT was funded by a non-optoutable student fee of $0.50 per semester, and SACOMSS was funded

by a non-opt-outable student fee of $0.75 per undergraduate per semester.

WalkSafe and DriveSafe were funded by a $0.05 and $0.25 per student per semester fee respectively, allocated to them by SSMU from the SSMU base membership fee. SSMU Vice-President (VP) Finance Zacheriah Houston was pleased with the success of the referendum question.

“We’re thrilled that the safety network fee passed,” Houston said.

“The passing of this fee means that [M-SERT] will have guaranteed funding for the next five years, and is also more transparent to students because they know what they’re paying directly into. SACOMSS getting a fee increase is incredible because they’ll be able to pay their staff, which is something that they need to do.”

The Safety Network fee will be charged to students from Winter 2016 to Winter 2021, inclusively.

CKUT fee In the referendum question regarding the CKUT Radio student fee, 54.7 per cent of students voted “No” to

the referendum question that proposed increasing the CKUT fee for all undergraduate students regardless of faculty by $1.50.

According to the CKUT’s annual budget for 2015-2016, the radio station is currently running a deficit of $40,251. Chair of the CKUT Board of Directors Cecilia MacArthur noted that there were stark ramifications of the results.

“The loss has dire effects on our ability to function as a radio station,” MacArthur said. “Still, we will not be closing. As a station, we will continue discussions about new sources of fundings, including restructuring how we sell ads and fundraising in other ways.”

VP Clubs and Services Kimber Bialik echoed MacArthur’s sentiments.

“I’m definitely disappointed to see that CKUT’s proposed fee increase was not approved during the referendum, particularly because the fee lost by such a slim margin,” Bialik said. “As one of the only venues on campus for students to learn hands on skills in journalism, production, broadcasting, and sound recording, and as both an employer or students

Plebiscite questions The vote on the first plebiscite question, proposing that SSMU increase its focus on developing projects that alleviate the cost of commodities, like housing and food, for students, saw 79.0 per cent of students in support.

“Do you support the SSMU fo-

3

NEWS

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Failed PGSS CKUT referendum passes after excluding Mac campus ballots Fee-levy for graduate students increases by $1.50 Ashley Kong Contributor The CKUT Radio fee increase referendum in the PostGraduate Students’ Society (PGSS) took place on Oct. 21 to 27, 2015. The release of the ballot result, however, was postponed to Nov 12 due to the inclusion of ineligible voters. After a recount of ballots, the referendum was passed with 760 votes for and 738 votes against.

The fee increase initially lost the referendum vote, with 910 votes against and 886 votes for, falling short by 24 votes.

However the preliminary result was deemed invalid as it had mistakenly incorporated votes from PGSS members at the Macdonald campus, who were, in fact, ineligible for CKUT membership. Six-hundred and nineteen of the current total 8710 PGSS members are based in Macdonald campus. “[Macdonald] Campus students don’t pay a fee to CKUT,” explained Diego Sandoval Hernandez, PGSS representative on the CKUT Board of Directors.

“They are not considered members of the CKUT.” Early last week, concerns arose as to whether a re-vote should be held. According to Colby Briggs, chief returning officer of PGSS, the miscount was merely a technical problem and

could be fixed without organizing another round of ballots.

“The way I track it [is to] designate students with certain statuses,” he explains. “Then we go through [the online system] and negate any vote that should not have been cast—without anybody knowing how they voted.”

He continued to explain that the mistake was partly due to the confusion caused by the lists of students enrolled in various graduare progrannes provided by McGill.

“There [are] mistakes in them and there’s lack of clarity,” Briggs said. “According to one of the lists, there’re only two people in the Faculty of Law [....] But then there are another 200 [whom] are not listed as faculties, [but] graduate studies. I [have contacted] the representative at Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning [office] to determine who belongs where.”

Since the referendum has passed, there will be an increase from $3.75 to $5.25 in CKUT fee-levy collected from full-time graduate students per semester, and an increase from $1.88 to $3.38 for part-time graduate students. The increased fee-levy would be applicable only to the Downtown Campus and is optoutable.

According to Cecilia MacArthur, chair of CKUT Board of Directors, the fee increase is

expected to bring extra revenue to CKUT, which is running a deficit. The increased fee-levy collected from graduate students is estimated to be $10,000.

“We’re in a situation where our budget is quite tight,” said MacArthur.

“We’re already running a $40,251 deficit this coming year. Would [the referendums] pass, the fee increase [collected from both PGSS and Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)] will bring us down to a $4,251 deficit.”

Similar voting issues did no affect the SSMU referendum for the same CKUT fee increase.

According to Mathieur Rouleau, president of Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS), undergraduate students at the Macdonald campus do not participate in SSMU ballots and are not members of CKUT. “We [MCSS] are equivalent to SSMU,” he said. “We do our own elections and referendums.

The MCSS has not been asked by anybody to be part of the [CKUT] radio and we have not been historically part of the radio fund.”

The SSMU referendum on the same $1.50 increase in CKUT fee was held Nov. 11 to 15. According to the results released on Nov. 15 night, the referendum failed with 54.7% voting ‘No’.

CKUT radio fee Recount:

Original vote:

910

738

No

760

886 Yes Increase from

$3.75

No

Yes

$ 5.25

to

in CKUT fee-levy collected from fulltime graduate students per semester; and from

$1.88

to

$ 3.38

for part-time graduate students.

Increased fee-levy collected from graduate students is estimated to be

$10,000

(Infographic by Cassie Lee / McGill Tribune)

SSMU VP Internal by-election results in “No” vote for Alexei Simakov Postion remains vacant pending second election Aislinn Kalob News Editor Alexei Simakov will not be the next vice-president (VP) Internal of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). The by-election that was held to fill the position vacated by Lola Baraldi in October resulted in 51.7 per cent of students voting “No.” Voter turnout was 16.7 per cent. As a result, SSMU will enter into another by-election immediately.

According to Article 21 of Elections SSMU bylaws, the next election for the VP Internal will include a nomination period of four business days, an election campaign period of five days, and a polling period of two business days.

If no candidates run during this nomination period, the decision on whether or not to hold the by-election, or to leave the position vacant, will be left to SSMU Legislative Council.

Simakov stated that he will be petitioning the SSMU Judicial Board (JBoard) over alleged by-law violations

throughout the election.

“The J-Boards are not with the purpose of overturning the election,” Simakov wrote in an email to the Tribune. “They are because of numerous infractions of the by-laws to my detriment. Our campaign team is currently in discussion with both [Elections SSMU] and the SSMU VP University Affairs and hope to be able to resolve these concerns in mediation without the need for a lengthy trial process.”

Simakov explained his concerns over the contentious climate of this election.

“I am further concerned about the extremist language, including absolutely unacceptable accusations of Nazism and homophobia against myself and my supporters, that was hosted on the [Unofficial “No” Vote Facebook page],” Simakov wrote. “This wasn’t just unpleasant for me, it was hurtful to my campaign team and supporters who felt uncomfortable participating in the public debate. It is exceptionally hypocritical to argue that you are opposed to the election culture of per-

sonal attacks only to create a forum for that exact purpose.”

Following Céleste Pagniello’s withdrawal from the VP Internal race on Nov. 12, Simakov ran uncontested.

Pagniello cited threats to herself and her family as the reason why she withdrew.

SSMU VP Clubs and Services Kimber Bialik noted that the process of running for student government can be strenuous, especially in light of recent elections.

“Campaigns have gotten uncontrollably aggressive and personal and […] at this point, it’s pretty detrimental to a person’s mental health to be put through that rigorous scrutiny,” Bialik said. “At this point, it’s not at all sustainable to have people running for these roles.

People are not going to run for these roles if they know that’s what they have to put themselves through, that’s not how you sustain an organization.”

Additional reporting by Morgan Alexander.

51.7% of students voted

“NO” and voter turnout was

16.7% Alexei Simakov (L-A Benoit/ McGill Tribune) Infographic by Cassie Lee.

4

NEWS

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

McGill student sued for destruction of masters thesis Spurs discussion concerning lack of protective policies Laura Hanrahan News Editor Continued from page one.

Lack of protective policies Currently, McGill has no clear policies in place to address a student whose thesis is called upon for destruction, even though the univeristy customarily retains ownership and copyrights of theses published by its students. According to Gedamu’s lawyer, Julius Grey, this is an area that needs to be addressed at the university level.

“It is clear that some new policy must be adopted by Canadian universities to regulate in the interest of both teachers and the use of material that student uses for his or her Masters,” Grey said.

Masters of Physiology student, Ali Gariépy expressed concerns over the ability of students to legally defend themselves against professors or large companies if they were to find themselves in a similar situation.

“Masters students don’t really have the means [to defend themselves], whereas a professor has the university behind them I guess, which would make it a little difficult,” she said.

Data confidentiality NeuroRx describes the use of confidential information and data in Gedamu’s thesis as a driving force behind their motivation for its destruction.

“That data and information are strictly confidential and belong to NeuroRx’s clients, partners, and sponsors,” the statement reads. “[It is] not meant to be revealed, published, distributed, disclosed or used without prior approval from NeuroRx and its clients, partners and sponsors.”

According to Arnold, while client consent may have been given for information to be used for clinical research purposes, no consent was given for its publication.

“The use of confidential data in research is a very sensitive topic, but an extremely important one,” Arnold said.

“There are several reasons why the use and publication of confidential data require approval.

One example is that the informed consent provided by patients may not have included the use of their protected personal health information for anything

Courtroom proceedings took place at Montreal Palais de Justice (Lauren Benson-Armer / McGill Tribune)

It is clear that some new policy must be adopted by Canadian universities to regulate the interests of both teachers and the use of the material that students use.

other than the original purpose that they consented to. Another is that that the owners of confidential data have a legitimate interest in what is done with their data, and may place contractual restrictions on redistribution of their data to third parties.”

While conducting research with NeuroRX, Gedamu received a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) scholarship. An agreement signed between Gedamu and NSERC stipulates the use of research results for publication as a requirement of the scholarship.

“It is the intention of the parties that the students [or] post-docs publish the results of the research activities for the purpose of the students’ [or] post-docs’ thesis, research paper, patents or, more generally, scientific literature,” the agreement reads.

Additionally, Gedamu’s statement of defence claims that

NeuroRx was made aware of his intention to publish his findings prior to their publication. “[NeuroRx]’s representative (Dr. Douglas Arnold) and [Gedamu’s] supervisors (Dr. Douglas Arnold himself and Dr. Louis Collins) were clearly aware of [Gedamu]’s intent to publish his findings and agreed with the idea, the whole appears from e-mail exchanges,” the statement read.

Gedamu has previously published three research papers from 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively, all of which list Arnold and Collins as authors.

Employee status A secondary area of contention in the lawsuit is the status of students as employees of the companies where their thesis research is completed. NeuroRx claims Gedamu as a former employee; Gedamu’s defence, however, states this was not the case.

“He was not an employee of [the] Plaintiff, but a graduate student sponsored by [NeuroRx] to pursue research activities pursuant to two successive NSERC Agreements between [Gedamu], [NeuroRx] and McGill,” the defence reads.

The defence additionally claimed that any contracts entered into between Gedamu and NeuroRx after the NSERC agreements had been signed, including agreements concerning confidentiality and disclosure of client information, were void as they went against the NSERC agreement.

“The non-university partner will not ask the student [or] post-doc to sign any agreement or contract without obtaining the university’s consent to such agreement,” the NSERC agreement reads. “Failing this, any other consent will be void, irrespective of the date of signature.”

5

OPINION

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

editorial E d ito r - in - C h i e f

Mayaz Alam editor@mcgilltribune.com

B u s in e s s M a n a g e r

Sam Pinto spinto@mcgilltribune.com

C r e a ti v e Di r e cto r Hayley Lim hlim@mcgilltribune.com

M a n a g in g E d ito r s

Shrinkhala Dawadi sdawadi@mcgilltribune.com Morgan Alexander malexander@mcgilltribune.com Julie Vanderperre jvanderperre@mcgilltribune.com

N e w s E d ito r s

Jenna Stanwood, Laura Hanrahan, Aislinn Kalob news@mcgilltribune.com

O pinion E d ito r

Julia Dick opinion@mcgilltribune.com

Sci e nc e & T e c h no l o g y E d ito r Chloe Nevitt scitech@mcgilltribune.com

St u d e nt Li v in g E d ito r

Hailey MacKinnon studentliving@mcgilltribune.com

F e a t u r e s E d ito r

Natalie Wong features@mcgilltribune.com

A r t s & Ent e r t a inm e nt E d ito r s Jack Neal and Christopher Lutes arts@mcgilltribune.com

Spo r t s E d ito r s

Elie Waitzer and Zikomo Smith sports@mcgilltribune.com

D e s i g n E d ito r

Cassie Lee design@mcgilltribune.com

P h oto E d ito r

Natalie Vineberg photo@mcgilltribune.com

Unmoderated online culture has become unsustainable in SSMU elections andidates for any elected position may anticipate mudslinging, as it is part and parcel of any campaigning process; however, harassment to the point of dropping out is unacceptable, especially at the student level. This harassment does not necessarily take place between campaign teams—it plays out in online forums where anyone, regardless of whether they are members of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) or not, may engage in criticism and personal attacks.

SSMU elections have reached a breaking point. It is no longer sustainable for candidates to take part in or be subject to such an intensely negative online culture. While increasing student interest in the short term, online turmoil only serves to further alienate the student body in the long run. Currently, Elections SSMU, which has some control over the candidates insofar as the bylaws mandate, is not equipped to handle the challenges of such a culture; thus, the incentives for both candidates and the electorate who participates in these tactics must be adjusted in order to discourage a negative electoral culture.

The judicial board and Elec-

C

tions SSMU are institutions that ought to protect or sanction candidates when necessary. But the proliferation of a negative online community full of false accounts, personal attacks, and baseless accusations exposes the weaknesses of these channels. Anyone, whether or not they are members of SSMU, may post allegations, complaints, and criticisms related to the candidates. This takes the decision to punish a candidate beyond official channels—when the vote can be influenced by untrue claims, the fairness of an election is reduced.

To ensure that accusations are formally investigated, candidates must direct any allegation to Elections SSMU. Anonymity protects those who incite negative commentary from repercussions; candidates become open targets for online harassment. SSMU may not feel the immediate consequences of online polemics, but the impact will quickly manifest itself. The pool of candidates has already been small in recent elections—three out of six executive positions were uncontested in the Winter 2015 election, and there were initially no candidates at all for the VP External position.

For an electorate that vocally la-

ments the lack of representation in SSMU, the engagement in negative commentary perpetuates that cycle itself.

Part of the issue is the platform on which campaigns take place. Although Facebook is an inherently personal platform, the shift cannot be blamed on the internet by itself—personal attacks can occur through any medium. Criticism is necessary to encourage a healthy debate and analysis of the viability of candidates, but the balance between reasonable and unreasonable scrutiny has tipped towards the latter. Regardless of whether an allegation is true or not, or what Elections SSMU or the judicial board decides, it is allowed to fester online to limited consequence­—only candidates themselves can be held accountable to byalws. Freedom of expression thus comes into conflict with the fairness of an election.

Although the problem resides in the attitudes of a select few who perpetuate online negativity, Elections SSMU may provide the impetus for change. Currently, it acts when issues are brought forward, and even then its enforcement of these guidelines is inconsistent. Instead, it should set strict, unambigu-

ous rules to which all candidates must adhere during any campaign.

Such rules may entail a strict penalty to those who engage negative commentators, making the de-escalation of conflict a priority. It may also establish a positive incentive system whereby campaigns that have a positive online setting—defined by active discussion and criticism without crossing the line to harassment—are rewarded. This will not eliminate the problem, but it may help to mitigate the consequences.

Personality is inevitably a factor at play in SSMU elections, as candidates are individuals rather than partisan. But some members of the McGill community have lost a sense for what is legitimate criticism and inquiry and inexcusable personal attacks—the latter can cause lasting negative impacts on the individuals targeted. While the stakes of student government are certainly high—given that the position is paid and entails extensive responsibilities—a line must be entrenched to protect future candidates and the sustainability of student elections themselves.

Candidates must be able to present themselves as peers; they cannot be dehumanized.

W e b D e v e l op e r s

William Burgess webdev@mcgilltribune.com Matt Smith online@mcgilltribune.com

off the board

C op y E d ito r

Coming out and sensationalism in media

Adrien Hu copy@mcgilltribune.com

A d v e r ti s in g E x e c u ti v e s Mingye Chen and L-A Benoit ads@mcgilltribune.com

Publisher

Chad Ronalds

T P S Bo a r d o f Di r e cto r s Sam Pinto, Mayaz Alam, Maryse Thomas, Nicolas Tuech, Luka Ciklovan, Adrien Hu, Chloe Nevitt, Mingye Chen

St a f f W r it e r s , S T AFF P h oto g r a p h e r s , & S T AFF I l l u s t r a to r s Lauren Benson-Armer, Audrey Carleton, Cordelia Cho Margaux Delalex, Zachary Carson, Luka Ciklovan, Sara Cullen, Evelyn Goessling, Emma Hameau, Nick Jasinski, Clare Lyle, Eric-Noble Marks, Albert Park, Aaron Rose, Ellie Slavitch, Elizabeth Willcock, Alissa Zilberchteine

Contributors Alex Bankier, Arman Bery, Keara Campos, Genevieve Citron, Alfie Crooks, Luke Devine, Daniel Galef, Ashley Kong, Uzair Khan, Daria Kiseleva, Stephanie Ngo, Rebecca Potters, Cassandra Rogers, David Stein, Rachel Summers, Marina Sulmona, James Ward, Sihara Wickermasinghe

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JACK NEAL Arts & Entertainment Editor During a recent podcast interview, Michael Angelakos—lead singer of Passion Pit—discussed his sexuality, stating that “I like girls, I like boys, everyone’s fantastic; but you know what? I’m gay. Finally.” The interview revolved around a number of other highly personal topics: His anxiety, bipolar disorder, history of suicide attempts, and his emotional breakdowns—all of which he has been very upfront about over the course of his career. Given his transparency with his mental health issues, Angelakos’ decision to finally and officially ‘come out’ speaks to something larger and more overarching: The sensationalized and socially constructed practice of ‘coming out’ itself.

After the interview was published, publications such as Complex, CBS, and Entertainment Weekly were

quick to jump on this one particular snippet of the conversation, glorifying his sexuality as the sole topic that was discussed. Despite developments in social consciousness of identity issues, such as, but not limited to, sexuality, ‘being gay’ is still a headlinemaker. Thus, both ‘coming out’ and one’s sexuality—if it’s not straight— is based on divergence from a socially determined norm. Put simply, he did not have to come out as straight; where heterosexuality is assumed, homosexuality is announced. Nevertheless, the ‘less-is-more’ approach he took with discussing his sexuality is a hopeful indication of future progress. “Being as honest and transparent as you can be is actually really really empowering. Because finally you are, you know, it shows that you have guts,” he said in his contribution to the Bring Change 2 Mind campaign.

The concept of ‘coming out’ is rooted in categories, labels, and division. In contrast, heterosexuality is linked to the social status quo: It’s easy and ordinary. Moreover, it is also often unintentionally perpetuated and presumed through heteronormative assumption. His sexual confusion was easier to ignore than face: “When you are teetering on the edge of heterosexuality and homosexuality or whatever,

and you don’t know what’s going on, it’s so much more comfortable to just keep going back to what you know,” he said in the interview.

There have recently been many methods of coming out; for instance, actress Ellen Page made a public announcement on stage to a large audience, and Olympic diver Tom Daley published a YouTube video to announce that his partner is the same sex—both of which are important in their own way in making a statement.

By casually bringing up his sexual desire for men as part of the larger conversation about his relationship with his ex-wife, the media, and his bipolar disorder, it is much more aligned with the more modern notion that sexuality doesn’t define, and thus shouldn’t be defining.

The media’s reaction to his disorder was also sensationalized: Pitchfork wrote an extended article entitled “Inside the Brilliant and Troubled Mind of Passion Pit”—which, whilst shedding light on his struggles, also inherently enforced and sensationalised his fight with his bipolar disorder. In his experience, recovery was contingent on a diagnosis. Despite improvements in destigmatizing previously taboo topics, such as mental health, acceptance of the implica-

tions of these topics on the individual remains in short supply. When the band cancelled its shows in 2012 in order for Angelakos to receive treatment, they received huge backlash from fans and critics. The negative response from his fans when he went ‘public’ about his bipolar disorder was a factor in why he remained silent about his sexuality for longer.

While the understanding of sexuality has transformed over time from stigma to the intersection of sexuality with other aspects of identity, such as race, gender, and class issues, this transformation remains incomplete. There is an inherent irony to the process of coming out: even though the topic was broached subtly in this case, it was quickly sensationalized by the media.

There is the argument that coming out is necessary to raise awareness and shed light on the normality of ‘being gay.’ But there is also the flipside: That coming out is an inherently socially-constructed convention.

Angelakos’ experience, while not representative, is a reminder of the media’s participation in the perpetuation of heteronormative social constructs.

6

Opinion C omm e nt a r y

zachary carson Columnist To the majority of the public’s approval and a minority’s chagrin, the Liberal government has pledged to take in 25,000 refugees before Christmas. Whether dealing with climate change initiatives or Syrian refugees, the Canadian government will set specific policy targets. While setting lofty goals is admirable, it is not always the best

C O M M E N T ARY

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Questioning the value of political promises solution to a problem; rather it is a political success in and of itself.

When a prime minister announces to the country that the government will strive to achieve a particular goal—say, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent in the next 12 years—it is usually seen by the public as laudable. Simply setting these targets becomes an accomplishment unto itself. As with the Canadian government’s Kyoto commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent by 2012, setting the targets allowed the government to claim they were addressing climate change—regardless of whether or not the goals were achieved. In the end, even though the six per cent reduction was not achievable, the government benefitted. If, instead, the government were to have not set concrete (and unreasonable) targets, much more might have been achieved in the

cutting emissions.

Specific pledges are not always unreasonable, however, and are often actually achieved. But when goals are met, this can create the problem of seeing ongoing issues as ‘solved.’ When the target is attained, focus is often shifted away to a different issue, even though the initial problem is ongoing and more can be done. Had the Kyoto commitments actually been achieved, it is not hard to see the government claiming to have done their part to address climate change, and seeking to move on to other politically salient issues.

If the Liberal government’s pledge to take in 25,000 refugees before Christmas is successful, then it could have the dangerous effect of satisfying the Canadian government’s political requirement to assist in the refugee crisis. Were the government committed to the issue long term, many

more refugees might make it to Canada, as there would be no specific amount that Canada would be striving to take in. Twenty-five thousand refugees is a high bar, and could pressure the government to do more than it otherwise would in addressing the current crisis.

The problem is not the first— and certainly not the last of its ilk.

It could be more beneficial to restructure Canada’s immigration system to be able to accept a higher number of refugees continually than to spend political capital on a one-time influx of 25,000. The only costs of shifting policy from a temporary target to creating a better immigration system are political. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not be able to announce— presumably in front of a large crowd (possibly with some grateful newly immigrated Syrians behind him)—that Canada has done a great thing. Instead, a govern-

SSMU GA a scapegoat for misplaced priorities

Luke devine Contributor The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s General Assembly (GA) is defunct. The main forum actively connecting McGill’s student body to its representative council has apparently run its course. The failure of the Fall 2015 GA to reach quorum, and the whopping zero motions submitted, confirms the collapse; however, proposals to address this issue so far lack adequate thought.

Past executive reports have considered either curbing the GA’s frequency to once a year or, more drastically, abolishing it entirely. The latter is particularly troubling as it would drive the wedge between the SSMU and the student body even deeper; rather than blaming student apathy, responsibility lies with SSMU’s neglect of its promotion.

The goals of the GA—namely, to increase transparency and facilitate direct democratic involvement—are laudable. In the past, the GA was the site of heated debate; last year, the Fall and Winter Assemblies attracted lively crowds of 700 and 550 students respectively. Clearly, students are not apathetic. Regardless of what drew the crowd—arguably, such high turnouts were largely a consequence of hotbutton issues—the student body was

ment institution would fulfill its mandate efficiently and quietly in the background. Effective government bureaucracies are invisible when they are working, and invisibility doesn’t score many political points.

Hearing the prime minister announce a new goal that the government has set stirs feelings of pride—a sensation that is magnified when it is actually reached.

Setting a high bar on any relevant issue, whether climate change or the refugee crisis, captures the public’s eye and tends to garner high approval; however, lofty targets often do little to solve continuing problems and fail to address underlying structural issues.

Instead, it is sometimes beneficial to take the modest path, working on long term solutions that, while not as noble-looking to the public, ultimately do more.

Students did not flock to the Fall 2015 GA. (Elli Slavitch / McGill Tribune) engaged, and the internal operations of SSMU were transparent.

SSMU’s executives, it seems, have come to view the tumbling attendance rates as part of a larger, uncontrollable process: The widespread abandonment of an inherently unproductive forum.

This symptom, however, points to a greater issue, which has wrongly been interpreted as an intrinsic, irredeemable flaw in the GA process itself—a fumbling of advertising on the part of

SSMU’s executives.

As SSMU President Kareem Ibrahim conceded, the SSMU executive team abandoned promotional efforts for this semester’s GA. Bogged down with a host of pressing internal issues, the executives were unable to provide the GA with the attention it required. The picture painted by this excuse isn’t pretty: So caught up in internal issues, SSMU executives simply had no time to ensure that students would show up to engage

in a dialogue. While this could be argued as indicative of a rift between SSMU and the student body, it is precisely the GA—with its implicit demand for student engagement—which possesses the power to bridge such a gap. Rather than reducing its frequency, an emphasis on the GA must be renewed, otherwise SSMU risks further diminishing their legitimacy. While it may be tedious to sit through hours of discourse, students must at least know that they have the op-

tion of doing so.

A growing number of McGill students are beginning to view SSMU with ambivalence, to put it mildly. The zeitgeist, it seems, has become increasingly hostile towards what is viewed as an insular, esoteric council of ‘SSMUtocrats’: An ideologically narrow, selfpreserving governing body that emphasizes equity, equity, equity. Such a negative trope impresses upon the student consciousness, which leads to disillusionment with the institution as a whole.

While this may partially explain the limited participation at the most recent GA, it neglects the role of the assembly as a forum for checks and balances.

For all the time students spend lamenting the lack of representativeness of SSMU, controversial issues draw the crowds. The absence of motions from the most recent GA is indicative of underlying perceptions of SSMU. While a direct line of causality is difficult to draw, the two are certainly connected. Maybe the GA is defunct, or perhaps no motions were submitted because no issues currently burden the student body’s mind. More likely, however, undergraduates no longer view SSMU as an adequate channel to pursue meaningful reform. It is a classic chicken-and-egg problem. While executives must reprioritize a frequent, well-publicized GA, students can try to meet executives halfway. The student body should oppose a reform that threatens to both curb their clout and reduce the availability of mechanisms for communication.

At a GA, students see their representatives in action: Carrying out their regular procedures and addressing proposed motions with direct student involvement. This interaction, while basic, fosters a tie between the student body and SSMU—thus, the GA must be reinvigorated rather than reduced.

7

Student Living

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Scrivener Creative Review reclaims place in McGill’s literary heritage Journal undergoes digitization of its literary history keara campos Contributor The Scrivener Creative Review is no stranger to the literary giants of this generation. Established in 1980, the journal has published the works of writers such as Leonard Cohen, Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood, Louis Dudek, and Seamus Heaney, as well as recent writers like Sheila Heti, Sean Michaels. As one of McGill’s oldest literary reviews, it has incorporated fiction, poetry, art, black and white photography, interviews, and book reviews into its publications. Yet despite its legacy of famous contributors, Scrivener has found itself somewhat forgotten within McGill’s literary community.

“I don’t know how we got lost,” Natalie Coffen, U1 Arts and managing co-editor of Scrivener, said.

“We’ve published interviews with or the works of authors who have won the Giller Prize and the Booker Prize [….While] we have published important Canadian literary figures, we also publish emerging young writers.”

Scrivener is currently undergoing a revamp in order to reclaim its relevancy both inside and outside of the McGill community. This year,

they have forgone their online issue in order to focus on a bigger and better issue in print that will be published in colour—a first for Scrivener.

“We’re really trying to rebrand […] Scrivener, since a lot of people don’t know about it,” Coffen said. “[We want] to get the word out. Especially, because [there] is really good quality [content] in the journal, it’d be nice if more people read it.”

In addition to its print issue, Scrivener has created a new logo and has redesigned its website.

This website will also soon feature scans of the review’s old issues.

“Part of the reason why we’re putting up all of these older journals is also just so they are well preserved,” Zain Rashid Mian, the other managing co-editor, said. “Even in our office, we have one or two copies of each journal, but some of them get sold each year [....] We have all of this history preserved so we’re going to be scanning all of them and putting them online.”

Scrivener is also undergoing this digitzation in order to remain relevant among the bustle of McGill’s literary scene. “[The revamp] is coming at a time when online platforms are tak-

ing precedence over print publications,” Coffen said. “We think Scrivener’s history gives us an edge that should be accessible to everyone.”

Although the review undeniably still embraces its McGill roots, the group is working this year to create something that will engage more than just the McGill and Montreal community in their literary production and history. In fact, Mian, U2 Arts, stressed that what makes Scrivener different from other journals on campus is its submission process, which draws from more than just the McGill and Montreal community.

“We don’t just publish McGill stuff—we publish internationally as well, so anyone can submit to Scrivener,” Mian said. “We do try and make it include as many people from McGill and Montreal as possible […]

The Scrivener’s collection of literary works. (Photo courtesy of the Scrivener Creative Review) but it is nonetheless open to pretty much anybody from anywhere in the world.”

The team has also been coming up with new types of ideas to engage students who would otherwise not be interested in coming to literary events. On Nov. 11, Scrivener combined forces with McGill Improv for an event that incorporated improvisation and poetry in the same performance. Poets had the titles of their poems, which were then used as a prompt for performers.

“Poetry readings aren’t for everyone,” Coffen explained. “Some-

times you’re just sitting there and you can get a little bored hearing people read for 10 minutes—it can get a little dry. That’s why we tried to think of something that would make it more accessible to all McGill students.”

As the Scrivener Creative Review opens up its submission procedures, enhances the print publication, and widens its online presence to reach to as many readers as possible, it is hoping to find its footing again and uphold its legacy within the McGill literary community.

Noble Café: Embracing the cold in comfort Owner opens café modeled after European coffee shops after quitting job rachel summers Contributor Noble Café brings a new experience to the typical Montreal coffee scene. This quaint hot spot, nestled in Plateau-Mont Royal, attracts residents young and old with its community feel, heated terrace, and friendly staff. Situated right across from Laurier metro station, the café opened in mid-August, but its official launch party was held last month to coincide with the re-opening of the Laurier Avenue subway entrance.

The interior of Noble Café is bright and fresh. It strikes the perfect balance between modernism—with immaculate white walls and exposed brick—and a homey feel, with colourful flowers and pumpkins on the windowsill. Noble provides a unique and charming experience, as there is no indoor seating, but rather a heated exterior terrace. Co-owners MarcAntoine Paquin and his wife MarieHélène Choquette were inspired by cafés in Europe who keep outdoor patio spaces open all year and embrace the colder weather.

“They do this in Oslo and Helsinki,” Paquin said. “[They have] heaters in the winter and give people blankets to drink their coffee.”

Paquin plans to keep the heaters on throughout the winter during

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons for a couple of hours while the weather is sunny enough—the perfect activity for a lazy afternoon. This experience can only be elevated by the absolute perfection that is Noble Café’s raspberry Danish pastry.

All the pastries at the café— raspberry Danish, croissant, and chocolatine—are delicious and affordable.

There is a great selection of beverages for those who want a dose of caffeine, and for those who prefer an alternative. Coffee lovers can choose from all the standard espresso options as well as filter coffee. Other options include hot chocolate, chai lattes, teas, kombucha, mochas, and dirty chais.

The quality of the coffee is excellent, which is no surprise given the hard work and enthusiasm that the owners put into the cafe. Paquin wanted to ensure a fun outdoor experience, while maintaining the utmost quality of service for customers. He felt it was important to buy from Canadian roasters, as well as roasters that provided single-origin coffees.

“We have so many good roasters in Canada,” Paquin explained. “This is important to us—coffee in Canada and Montreal is growing really fast.”

Deciding which coffee to use at the cafe was a long process. Paquin and Choquette talked with 10 different roasters across Canada and the

United States before making their decision. After a long deliberation, they decided to source their coffee from Kittel, a local Montreal roaster, and Phil & Sebastian, a roaster in Calgary.

[Kittel] only uses single-origin coffee [and] not a mix of coffee from Brazil or Colombia,” Paquin explained. “Single-origin coffee gives a specific flavour to each cup.”

Paquin has not only done an excellent job with the café, but provides a refreshing perspective to those who may be contemplating a change in their career. He is an engineer and worked in sustainable energy for eight years, but his passion for coffee and desire to work in closer contact with people pushed him to take the leap of faith. He ultimately left his job and opened Noble Café.

“The hardest part is making the commitment of doing it,” Paquin said.

“It does come with stress and fear, but at the end, it certainly helps you figure out what you need to do and where you need to put your priorities. I’m tired, but I’m happy.’’

The hard work that went into the café appears to be well worth it.

Noble café is busy with patrons grabbing a beverage and treat before hopping on the metro, or those sitting outside and enjoying the neighbourhood.

When summer rolls around and the heat lamps are retired for the season,

A latté and a rasperry Danish from Noble Café. (Rachel Summers / McGill Tribune) ice cream will be on the menu, and the plan is to introduce nitro-brew coffee as well.

Until then, winter is coming and Noble Café is ready to embrace it.

Café Noble is located at 430 Avenue Laurier Est. You can also find them online at facebook. com/noblecafemtl.

Ill u s t r a t i o n s b y S t e p h a n i e N g o

food, facts, & Fiction The media’s role in student diets

by Cassandra Lee

W

aiting patiently on the centre of a table sits a large bowl of homemade gravy, the warm smell of turkeystuffing wafts through the room, and hot steam rises from the garlic mashed potatoes; it’s Thanksgiving. It is a perfect time to give thanks for what everyone truly loves— food. Dinner is not for one but for four: A vegetarian, a self-prescribed gluten-free, a paleo diet follower, and a vegan. Looks like turkey stuffing is off the menu; the only thing that can be eaten by all are the Brussels sprouts—no salt, no butter, baked not fried.

This phenomenon is quite common, especially in university settings like McGill.

Food is an obsession, infecting all forms of media: Popular fitness magazines, diet blogs, and food Instagrams inform people of all things related to diet and nutrition. No longer are parents the only ones shoving nutritional guidelines down their children’s throats— university students are more concerned with what they consume than any generation before. Who can blame them? They grew up in a world where over 60 per cent of adults are classified as overweight or obese. From juice to chocolate cleanses, it seems every type of food can make or break a diet.

Everyone seems to have varying answers what diet to adopt. For example, Dr. Loren Cordain, a global leading expert on paleolithic diets and founder of the paleolithic movement, believes that the culprits of our obesity epidemics and health problems are whole grains, dairy, and processed foods.

Over the past two years, the ‘paleo diet’ has become part of the most Googled nutritional regime, with celebrities everywhere endorsing it. From Matthew McConaughey to Miley Cyrus, superstars and students alike have all got a taste of this new diet fad. The paleo diet makes claims of significantly decreasing cardiovascular risk factors, aiding weightloss, and promoting a whole host of other health benefits by advocating for the eating habits of early hunter-gatherers. Food processes developed later in evolutionary history such as grain and dairy products, salts, sugars, and processed foods. Concurrently, Cordain promotes foods such as grass-fed meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. Under such restrictive regimes, it’s hard to believe this caveman craze could be the answer to society’s nutritional woes.

The co-founder of the McGill chapter of Spoon University—a digital food publication for university students—Liza Levitis, U2 Cognitive Science student, decided to try out the paleo diet after reading about it online prior to entering university, by following recipes and advice from various internet sources.

“Though I adhered to a pretty strict paleo diet for the entirety of a summer, I found that it was more difficult to maintain in university,” Levitis said. “Everyone reacts to the [diet] differently, and I decided to reintroduce grains little by little to see how I’d react.”

As a science student, Levitis is critical

of online information and urges students to be cautious when conducting personal research in the cyber world.

“With the plethora of diet fads out there, ordinary people often jump on the bandwagon of starting recipe blogs,” she said. “[They] simultaneously weave in their stances on ‘superfoods,’ what to and not to eat, [and more].

Most of these bloggers don’t have a degree in nutritional science or even a basic university-level science background.”

For many McGill students, university is the first opportunity to have complete control over their diet. Searching for answers on what to eat, many students turn to the internet and friends for advice. Students live in a hub of internet resources from BuzzFeed to fitness bloggers. Media biases coupled with internet accessibility result in the portrayal of nutrition as a mix of fact and fiction; the difficult part is determining what is accurate. Scientific data is also often misconstrued in the media— depending on the student’s scientific background and knowledge about nutrition, such resources can negatively influence ideas of healthy diets and food.

Whether it is for weight loss or future health resolutions, many discredit the Paleo diet style, critiquing the rationality of using human ancestors’ diets as a basis for reasoning. Evolutionary biologist Marlene Zuk writes in her book Paleofantasy that restricting particular foods on the basis that human bodies have seen little biological change over the last thousand years is just objectively incorrect. Rapid evolution within the human genome has occurred following the paleolithic era, debunking the Paleo diet’s main arguments. For example, a single base change in human DNA occurred thousands of years ago that allowed for the complete digestion of milk, contrary to the arguments laid out by the diet’s followers.

Another example of a fad diet that isn’t fully based on scientific evidence is the gluten-free craze that has been mesmerizing health fanatics for several years. In 2011, Dr.William Davis, a cardiologist, published Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, a book outlining a diet based on the principles of eliminating products such as breads and cereals, and managing carbohydrates to promote steady weight loss and an overall healthier lifestyle.

In an airing of Jimmy Kimmel Live, various people on a glutenfree diet were asked what gluten was—not one could answer correctly, but they were all pretty confident about why they chose to eliminate it. As it turns out, gluten, the two-part protein found in wheat, rye, and barley actually has inconclusive effects on weight loss. According to Dr. Daniel

A. Leffler, director of clinical research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, gluten-free diets are not necessarily healthier, and removing gluten from your diet will not necessarily yield any health benefit. Gluten can have negative effects on different individuals with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance; however, while only approximately one per cent of Canadians have celiac diseases, the number of individuals on diets that restrict gluten is relatively higher.

At the end of the day, many individuals want to find a magic food that will relieve chronic illness risks such as cancer or heart disease, and also give them a lean, healthy body; however, a quick food fix is never going to be the solution. Moreover, it is dangerous to advertise such silver bullets.

The average young person with no background in nutritional science is easily misinformed because of such trends publicized in the media. Nutrition gurus guide the public through the trends, but they only propagate best guesses or information that large food or diet industries are feeding them. It only takes one Google search to find an array of conflicting collections of dietary opinions written by scientists and nutritionists, or false information espoused by politicians, bloggers, models, and food industries.

In nutritional epidemiology, the study of the impact of diet on humans’ health, researchers have reached a relatively similar consensus on the long-term effects of many foods on health.

The majority agree that eating a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is advantageous, and eating too much red meat is not. However, many researchers critique nutrition as a pseudoscience, because studies are constantly overturned and conclusions are frequently changing. Yet, in no scientific field are hypotheses consistently proven the first time around—information is cycled and reformed because of new developments in technology or methods.

Research published in the International Journal of Epidemiology has used observational case studies to conclude that, for example, increasing fish, fibre, and polyunsaturated fat consumption, while decreasing foods high in trans and saturated fat, can dramatically reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Naturally, these conclusions have limitations, mainly due to the complexity and sheer volume of food intake over time. While these findings do not always translate well into reliable research papers, the restrictions of such studies do not discredit the soundness of the science.

In addition, nutritionists’ research capabilities are often limited. Randomized controlled

allocated diets—wherein a researcher will assign a diet type to a subject and observe effects on weight loss or another interesting variable—are usually the best way for an investigator to test a hypothesis. However, different variables such as exercise and environmental factors are impediments to collecting completely accurate data.

Since studies often rely heavily on the individuals’ ability to report what they ate, it is

“

Media biases coupled with internet accessibility portrays nutrition as a mix of fact and fiction; the difficult part is determining what is accurate.

difficult to get unbiased and reliable data. Credible studies are extremely expensive as subjects tend to become uninterested and want to drop out. Governments also do not allocate enough funding to support longer trials.

The American National Institutes of Health reports that $2.2 billion was spent on nutrition and obesity research in 2012, relative to medical research which comprises $30.1 billion annually.

When it comes to the media and consumer population, nutritional research is forced into applications to create diet schedules, weight loss regimes, and medical disease treatments.

Companies and diet industries screen available research and select studies that influence people to believe that there are new and better ways to consume food, using magazines, tabloids, and the media at large. By embellishing findings or not basing claims in any scientific evidence at all, the media allows the public to

extrapolate information from inconclusive or irrelevant research, creating their own misguided food movements.

Dr. Joe Schwarcz, chemistry professor and director of the Office of Science and Society at McGill University, is a well-known speaker on many misunderstood scientific topics, from cosmetics to baked goods. His most recent book, Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules, critically examines how the media influences scientific facts and demystifies common reasoning errors in everyday life. Something he stresses is the importance of critical reasoning when students are sifting through information online.

“The basic message in nutrition is to eat mostly plant products and to not eat too much,” he said. “Be suspicious of any diet that strays from this basic notion.”

During their university careers, many students will experiment with different types of diets from stripping meals of meat, dairy, and gluten, to various combinations of raw foods, or even restricting salts and sugars completely. Though a huge variety of different types of diets exist, Schwarcz notes that experimenting with different nutritional schemes is not necessarily a negative thing.

“There is little danger in trying any of the gimmicky diets because the evidence is that people don’t try them for very long,” he said.

In addition to restrictions for health and fitness goals, it is quite common for students to have various levels of intolerances and allergies towards many popular food items such as gluten and dairy.

Hannah King, U2

Pharmacology, is allergic to wheat and lactose and has adapted to the changes in her diet. Last year, after several attempts at treating her irritable bowel syndrome on her own, she consulted a holistic specialist who conducted an allergy test and confirmed an intolerance to wheat and dairy products. The increase in glutenfree products is something she has noticed quite in popular student grocery stores such as Metro or Eden.

“It’s quite easy to find various products that adhere to my dietary restrictions,” she said.

Gluten intolerance, also called non-celiac gluten sensitivity is neither a wheat allergy or celiac disease. Instead, it is characterized by intestinal symptoms related to the digestion of products containing the gluten protein.

Several studies suggest a relationship between gluten intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome.

Though the study of such intolerances is still growing, epidemiological data cannot draw strong conclusions as of yet. While many people self-diagnose their own sensitivity, clinical evidence in support of these links have yet to emerge; simply put, it’s still too early to draw firm conclusions on these claims.

Using a good diet to improve well-being is a fantastic goal for the public—the food that humans eat undoubtedly has profound effects on our bodies. But it is important to remember that proactive eating is worthless without proper research and critical thinking. One must crucially examine diets by researching in-depth studies, and nutrition is a dynamic science— generalized diets are therefore not designed for quick fixes.

In a landscape with many contradictory theories and suggestions, it’s easy for students to get lost. Schwarcz recommends the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) as a reliable source. CSPI produces a monthly magazine that separates the sense from nonsense through articles and studies published in the field of science. Since the early 1970s, the group prides itself on educating the public on science-based research and advocates for science-based policies in government and public health affairs.

All that remains clear is how delicious a diverse thanksgiving table looks, turkey stuffing and all. As to whether it’s the vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or paleo dieter who is the healthiest, there is no clear answer. Whether that’s taking a little stuffing and a lot of Brussels sprouts, or eating salmon and kale, the only rule to follow is to take everything in moderation and think critically about what you read.

10

Student Living Local boutique ibiki brings tranquility and style

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Owner Jonah Leslie incorporates international influence in sleek Plateau store marina sulmona Contributor Located on Boulevard SaintLaurent at the intersection of Rue Marie-Anne Ouest, ibiki houses a carefully curated mix of clothing, accessories, and art magazines. The boutique embraces an array of international influences, and brings a penchant for minimalist style to the heart of the Plateau.

The wide, immaculately clear glass windows enclosing ibiki are adorned with black framing, giving the exterior a polished appearance.

Upon stepping into the boutique, shoppers are greeted by staff members who are warm, knowledgeable, and above all, effortlessly cool. It becomes evident that the space is not solely a place for purchasing the latest designer garments—though an ideal location for clothes shopping, the store boasts a more extensive collection of goods.

Designs by Commes des Garcons, Helmut Lang, and Cheap Monday all occupy their own corners of the store. A display of the latest Nikes graces the back wall. The affordability of the clothing and the locations where designs are sourced from vary; but products high quality and mesh with

Iibiiki’s curated display of shoes and backpacks. (ibiki.co) the store’s aesthetic.

It is clear upon first glance that the store embraces a clean and simplistic aesthetic. Modular white shelves carefully showcase design, fashion, and architecture magazines from varying corners of the globe. The walls of the store are all a pristine white. Sculptural

installations comprised of hangers meticulously pinned against one another decorate blank spaces in the store.

They are arranged by the owner, Jonah Leslie, giving a glimpse of the handson attitude he has towards his work.

Leslie set up shop in 2011, after outgrowing his first shop of similar

concept, Oldgold. A veteran of the fashion and design world, Leslie approached the inception of ibiki with a similar attitude to his previous endeavours. “[I want to put] creativity at the forefront, while connecting Montreal to independent designers from around the world,” Leslie wrote in an email to the Tribune.

With this aim in mind, the project is right on target.

According to Leslie, the literal meaning of ibiki is ‘snoring’ in Japanese; however, the word takes on another level of complexity as it has meaning in many languages, designating different things in each. It thus can be interpreted in a myriad of ways by its audience.

“Functionality, wearability, comfort and accessibility are the main criterias in my buys [...] amassing a worldly collection of east meets west destined for people here,” Leslie explained.

This worldly influence evident within the store is rooted in Leslie’s affinity for travel and exploration.

“Since I live here and come from here, it’s certain Montreal influences my subconscious,” Leslie said. “But I tend to take references from elsewhere,

and expose myself probably more to culture when I travel. It’s not that I don’t [immerse myself in culture] here, I do. But I ingest more elsewhere, and [distribute] locally.” Although not limited geographically, much of this inspiration comes from Scandinavia, Korea, and Japan.

The boutique’s forays into differing aspects of design and fashion are ever-expanding. With the addition of stationary and perfume last year, and the print section the year before, it is exciting to consider what will come next.

“The development of the shop is ever-present because it’s a grassroots project started with nothing really, so room for expansion is limitless,” Leslie said. “At least that’s how I look at it.”

For what comes next, customers can look forward to a print section that brings together works from artists, both international and local, launching this season, and an in-house line the next. Constantly innovating and expanding its collection, ibiki proves to be anything but tired.

Ibiki is located at 4357 Boulevard Saint-Laurent. You can also find them online at http://ibiki.co.

Samosa Search shakes up McGill samosa game Student-led online community leads to increase in samosa sales Audrey carleton STAFF WRITER Continued from page one.

“Samosa Sales was a dead group,” Safran said. “Once in a while someone would post when they were desperate [....] It was kind of ridiculous, because no one ever knew where the samosas were.”

Other loyal members of Samosa Search echoed Safran’s sentiments of distaste toward the Samosa Sales page.

“My initial thoughts were that it was rather unnecessary to have two groups, but that has definitely changed,” Sierra Skoropada, U4 Psychology student, said. “You don’t have to scroll down looking for people who posted about sales in different locations. On Samosa Search, the ‘confirmations’ of the day are all laid out in a single post to make filling your belly quick and easy.”

The loyalty and passion that all Samosa Search members have for samosas also helps garner more attention for clubs aiming to promote their sales. “[Safran’s] group has a lot of hype, so it’s really easy to ride the popularity wave with it,” Frank Battaglia, U2 Physiology student

and charity director of the Physiology Undergraduate League of Students (PULS), said. “The other group just lacks the flair that [Safran] brings.”

Safran has also hypothesized that the popularity of the Facebook group, and the excitement it has built around samosa sales has increased their quantity and frequency of occurrence around campus.

“I actually think there are more samosa sales on campus now,” Safran said. “I think that once we started a group where we see samosa sales all the time, there are days where [there are] five or six sales, and that was never the case [prior to Samosa Search].”

In addition to increasing the prevalence of samosa sales on campus, there is also evidence toward the ability of Samosa Search to increasing the speed with which clubs sell out. Most student club executives interviewed agreed that their sellout times were increased after posting in the Samosa Search page.

“I’ve seen first-hand that [Safran’s] group is actually making a difference in sales,” Battaglia said.

“I remember we were just finishing our sale, [and had] maybe 30 samosas left, and I posted in that group that we were almost out, and people came running out of McIntyre 522 to buy samosas from us.

It was crazy—[there was an] instant

response.”

In addition to the user-friendly layout of Samosa Search, with Safran’s daily listings of locations of samosa sales across campus, the group has become a community for everyone in it. Though it is a closed group, Safran believes this actually makes it more inclusive, and builds a community of students who are dedicated to their mutual love of samosas.

“You just really immerse yourself in something,” Safran said. “It’s the fact that we’re so active in our posting and the fact that we’ve put [...] a community together [that makes Samosa Search unique].

The love that McGill students share for Samosas is undeniably unconventional; their formidable presence on campus can be difficult to understand for non-McGill students. But to Samosa Search leaders, the reasoning behind McGill’s obsession for samosas is simple.

“It’s a filling food, it’s very cheap, and it’s delicious,” SareenKhanna said. “[You can] buy a meal for six, seven dollars plus tax at the caf [...] or you can get, for two dollars, three samosas. I just think people will pick that over [other food options].”

While making this food more accessible to its members, another key element of the Samosa Search group is the humour that Safran and

Safan and Sareen-Khanna pose with their ‘mose. (Natalie Vineberg / McGill Tribune) Sareen-Kharrana bring to it. With each of Safran’s daily confirmations comes new phrases, such as “mose”—a nickname for Samosa coined by Safran, as well as puns and longer jokes and stories.

“I just follow to laugh at [Safran’s] nonsense and to watch the masses at McGill slowly join the bandwagon,” said Matthew Dankner, first-year student in the Faculty of Medicine and a member of the Facebook group.

Other members of the group expressed similar feelings, putting higher value on the comedic value of the group than on the convenience of Samosa postings.

“Sometimes I go on it just because it’s funny,” Jeannie Richardson, U2 Psychology and Latin American Studies, said. “[My fa-

vourite part of the page is] definitely the humour. I love how there’s lingo, like [the word] “mose,” and how seriously people take it.”

The speed with which Safran posts his daily confirmations makes it a sustainable responsibility that he cannot see himself parting with any time in the near future, even with the changing schedule and intensities of the medical program.

“Starting in January, we’re probably never going to be back on campus, so I’ll be confirming samosas from the hospital,” Saffran said. “A year from now, we might not be on campus every day, but [nothing would make me happier than] after a long day at the hospital, [looking] at my phone, and [seeing] people [...] still writing, ‘Man, great samosa.’”

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Making it through final exams ‘Stressing-out’ can make or break you Uzair Khan Contributor A sense of urgency begins to loom on campus as finals approach.

Libraries get more crowded, lines at Tim Hortons get longer, and allnighters become more frequent.

With all the pressure to do well, finals tends to generate a great deal of stress among students. But what exactly is stress?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the mere mention of the word stress can cause stress. The Mayo Clinic defines it as “a psychological and physical reaction to the everincreasing demands of life.” These demands could be small, like finding a new route to class, or drastic, like moving to a new city, getting a new job, or attending a new school.

As a general principle, the human body likes to maintain a relatively stable internal environment, known as homeostasis. External changes can lead to a physiological response that disturb the body’s homeostasis.

This is felt as stress.

In the past, stress caused by external stimuli served to protect humans from potential threats like predators. Nowadays, despite the

emergence of different stimuli and demands from life, the body’s physiological response, or stress mechanism, has remained the same.

Also known as the “flight or fight response,” this stress mechanism is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system.

Whenever the brain senses a threat (stressor) the sympathetic nervous system is activated. A few complex reactions later, the hormone epinephrine is released by the adrenal glands. Epinephrine results in higher pulse rate, increased blood pressure, and rapid breathing. The person experiencing these becomes more alert and all the senses become sharp. As epinephrine’s effects begin to subside, the secondary component of the stress response is activated.

Known as the HPA axis, it uses a series of hormonal signals to keep the sympathetic nervous system repressed.

Normally, this benefits the individual by mounting an appropriate response to the stressor.

Once the threat is terminated, the body returns to normal through the workings of the parasympathetic nervous system. Problems begin to emerge, however, when a person is constantly bombarded by stressors for a long period of time resulting

in chronic stress.

“Persistent epinephrine surges can damage blood vessels and arteries, increasing blood pressure and raising risk of heart attacks and strokes,” a report

by Harvard Health Publications reads.

S t u d e n t s during finals are very susceptible to periods of chronic stress. They often put in huge amounts of work and time into their studies. Small doses of stress can be beneficial because increased alertness and sharper senses can make students work at higher levels. Constant stress, however, can be quite harmful.

The Mayo Clinic reports on its website that overactivation of the stress pathway leads to headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, sleep problems, anxiety, lack of motivation, and depression reports.

These symptoms, if experienced during finals, or any other time of the year, are detrimental to the student.

Students are prone to chronic stress. (Daria Kiseleva / McGill Tribune) Unfortunately, stress is an integral part of a college student’s life. But it is the way a student responds to the stress that is important.

A 2008 Associated Press and mtvU survey of college students found that 80 per cent of college students say they frequently or sometimes experience stress. To cope with this stress, a student can rely on family, friends, and the

services provided by their respective university. McGill, for example, provides special therapy sessions with kittens and dogs to relieve some stress. Qualified counsellors are also available to provide support.

The world is filled with constant stressors.

Stress-management, therefore, is a serious subject that individuals should work on to ensure a healthy future.

McGill researchers identify racial preterm birth disparity Black women are more likely to have premature babies than white women Sihara Wickremasinghe Contributor Today, the inequalities faced by different racial groups are farreaching. So much so, researchers have found, that individuals can be affected before they’re even born. In the U.S., data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics from 2004 to 2006 has shown that black women experience preterm births 4.7 per cent more frequently than white women. Whether or not this was happening in Canada remained unclear, however, until this past week. McGill researchers have found that in Canada, black women are also more likely to have preterm births than white women.

“We’ve never really had [this type of] data at a national level in Canada so it [had not] been known whether the same pattern [...] might also be relevant,” Britt McKinnon, a post-doctoral fellow at McGill University’s Institute for Health and Social Policy, and a co-author on the

paper, said.

McKinnon, along with the other researchers, wanted to shed light on the success of Canada’s universal health care system by examining the incidences of preterm births.

“The different historical experiences of black populations in the two countries, as well as Canada’s commitment to universal health care and perception as a more egalitarian society [might] diminish racial discrepancies,” said McKinnon.

Though the study revealed that the absolute rates of preterm births were lower for both black and white women in Canada, like the U.S., there exists a difference between preterms of black and white women. In fact, 8.9 per cent of infants born to black mothers were preterm, whereas for white mothers, it was only 5.9 per cent.

The researchers are now trying to understand why this difference exists, however, the reason has proved to be elusive. “[We] examined a limited set of socio-demographic

factors [education, maternal age, nativity, etc.],” McKinnon stated. “[But we] did not find that these factors explained any substantial proportion of the observed article disparity in preterm birth in Canada.”

Studies using U.S. datasets, such as Racial Disparities in Preterm Birth published in 2011 by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, suggest that elements like socioeconomic disadvantage and stress induced through life experiences—such as racial discrimination—may play a role. Not enough analysis has been done, however, to confirm if the same factors apply to Canada.

The national context of both countries is too different to be able to procure a definitive conclusion as of yet. “[There is a] legacy of slavery [and discrimination and segregation] in the U.S.,” McKinnon said. “We didn’t have [those things] to the same extent in Canada, and the black population [here] is [more so] newer immigrants from Africa and from the Caribbean.”

This kind of information is

Infographic by Hayley Lim relevant for both public health and clinical interest and also acts as a guide for future research.

Understanding the basics of this disparity could help find a resolution to serve the future generations of the black population in Canada. Until then, a number of factors still need

to be inspected, such as health behaviours—smoking, obesity— and neighborhood conditions.

“At this point, this has been a descriptive study,” McKinnon said. “We’ve found something that we can look more into, so we’re going to be continuing to see if we can narrow it down.”

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Give the flu shot a shot Apathy infects those who miss their flu shot Daniel Galef Contributor Vaccines are very much in the public consciousness right now.

Thanks to a small, but vocal section of society, this medical issue has become a political one. Opponents of vaccination claim regular vaccinations lead to adverse health effects such as autism and rare muscular disorders.

These ‘anti-vaxxers’ have historically focused on the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, as well as other early childhood vaccinations.

The anti-vaxxers base their claims on a paper that has been conclusively been proven incorrect. To this day, however, the fear of vaccines has remained, explained Medical Director of the MUHC Vaccine Study Centre and Associate Professor in the McGill Faculty of Medicine Caroline Quach.

“It was fraudulent research that led to wrong conclusions,” said Quach.

“The problem is that some people kept on saying ‘yes, my children had the vaccine and then developed symptoms of autism.’ And because these people werre mainly [celebrities], they had a lot of media attention.”

Every year, scientists at the World Health Organization (WHO)

race against the clock to predict the strains will likely be circulating in time to prepare that season’s vaccine.

It is an inexact method mostly based on observing the strains in circulation in the southern hemisphere—where winter is offset by six months—about how long each batch of vaccine takes to prepare, cultivating the virus in an egg-based cell layer. Even still, the predictions are often wrong, as the epidemiology is chaotic, and mutations rapid and unpredictable.

“I think the main problem with the flu vaccine is that it doesn’t work that well,” Quach stated. “Some years the vaccine effectiveness is going to be zero, and other years it’s going to be 50 per cent. Like last year, it did not work. There’s no doubt about it.

The efficacy—the effectiveness—was zero.”

Today, people continue to miss their yearly flu shots. But the biggest issues making people forgo the vaccine aren’t ignorance or fear. The vast majority of those who should get the shot, but don’t, do so for reasons of accessibility or apathy.

“Twenty per cent of parents of previous years have said that if [the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)’s vaccination program] hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have

Flu shots are vital to prevent the spread of disease. (health.syr.edu) gotten the flu shot for their kid,” Quach explained. “Accessibility is really playing a huge role [....] If it’s an extra hassle, they’re not going to do it.”

Most surprisingly though, is the rampant apathy among those with the most access of anyone—healthcare workers. And when first-line workers don’t get vaccinated, they’re not only endangering themselves, they are endangering their patients.

As healthcare professionals, it is our responsibility to get vaccinated,

explained Quach.

“We know that people come into work anyway even when they’re sick, not because they want to contaminate their patients but because they feel the pressure that they would put on their colleagues if they would not come in,” Quach said. “We’re already so stretched, if I have to stay home every time I have a sniffle [...] this hospital would not work.”

This mentality can be dangerous for patients with weaker immune

systems, such as children and the elderly, who, if infected, are likelier to develop more severe symptoms like pneumonia.

Healthcare workers at the MUHC and elsewhere can get the flu shot at work, and others in Montreal who want the shot but can’t spare the time should look into Occupational Health & Safety mobile clinics. McGill Students are eligible for the vaccination through the Student Health Service at the Brown Building on Rue McTavish.

How does Google work?

Powerful algorithms drive the world’s biggest search engine MAyaz alam Editor in Chief Since its launch in 1998, Google has become known for its glasses, mail server, and cars. At its core, however, the multibillion-dollar company is still defined by its original purpose: Acting as a search engine. In one single day, more than three billion searches are made through Google, and it boasts more than one billion regular monthly users. Despite this ubiquitousness, many still don’t understand how it works.

In short, a search engine provides answers for users’ queries.

When someone types in a query into Google’s search bar, Google’s automated robots ‘crawl’ the vast expanse of webpages, images, PDFs, and other files on the internet in search for an answer to that query. Google’s crawlers—the ‘Googlebot’—travel the internet through hyperlinks that direct it from one page to another. Basically, millions of little robot crawlers travel from webpage to webpage in search of the correct match, using hyperlinks as bridges between pages.

As the crawlers search, they create a massive index of files that can be recalled faster for future searches.

Stored in data centres across the world, this index is roughly 95 petabytes (95

million megabytes) in size. Despite this size, not all links or webpages are included. Certain pages can be deemed ‘nofollow’ or ‘noindex’ by a site’s webmaster. The latter tells a crawler to prevent the page from appearing on search engine result pages (SERPs) while the former tells search engines to ignore any links that take users from that page.

A variety of factors are known to affect where a webpage appears on a SERP. For example, if a user is searching “McGill University” the webpages that will appear high on the SERP will need to have the words “McGill” and “University” appear together, multiple times on the page. Webpages will get also get a boost if “McGill University” is in the heading, title, or URL of the page. The most important factors, however, are whether other pages link to the webpage and the website that the webpage belongs to. For example, if a webpage received many hyperlinks to it from a reputable and frequently visited website such as the New York Times it will appear higher in SERPs. In its early days, SERPs could easily be manipulated by webmasters to direct more traffic to their sites.

Common tactics included adding hidden text or links to webpages or stuffing a webpage with an unnatural amount of keywords. These features

trick the search engine into delivering pages that do not actually meet the query, causing it to underperform and provide useless information to the user.

Google uses over 200 different factors to provide search results, including things like site speed, and whether or not a website has a secure domain. Although the intention of having this many ranking factors is to show the most accurate results, in some cases, this can mean that Google will show two different users who type the same query different results. This is because Google is able to create a personalized searching experience, based on a variety of factors such as the user’s physical location, browser language, and previous browsing history. For example, when users search “cellphone,” they are served localized results for cellphone dealers based on where the search originated from.

The result is an extremely powerful and accurate machine to answer the world’s questions.

Although a more personalized browsing experience can be useful, it comes with a cost: A loss of privacy.

The only way that Google is able to provide such hyper-targeted search results is by collecting and analyzing a massive amount of personal data from its users. As users use Google to acquire information, they also

Google’s crawlers travel the web looking to answer users’ queries. (Young Jin Cho / McGill Tribune) surrender their own, often without realizing. Sex, age, location—and even interests—can be ascertained from browsing history, Despite the ever-growing issues of online privacy, there is no denying that the electronic exchange of data is a powerful tool that has shaped modern society. Today, a person can

acquire a degree online, read a book off of a webpage, and send important documents to their loved ones with ease.

This electronic revolution has streamlined society, and facilitated the lives of millions.

And there’s no denying that throughout this process, the major player has been Google.

F rom T h e V iew p oint

TIBETAN CULTURAL FAIR

A Tibetan performer takes to the stage. (Emma Hameau / McGill Tribune)

ALEX BANKIER Contributor My friend and I were in a pretty good mood when we got to the church basement. The Tibetan bazaar in its entirety boasted an elevated circular stage in its centre, surrounded by vendors hawking their wares from tables to passersby. There was Tibetan calligraphy being taught in the corner nearest the entrance, and next to that sat two women behind a table draped with the Amnesty International logo.

It was then that we got our first and only reminder that every piece of

Flashback

EVELYN GOESSLING Staff Writer The Vietnam War and the correlated counterculture movement disenchanted many young people with the way society functioned, and for some, the outlet to this frustration was murder. The ‘60s saw a rise in serial killers, including Charles Schmid—also known as the Pied Piper of Tucson—who murdered three young women between 1964 and 1965. During that same year—1965—Bob Dylan wrote the song “Its All Over Now, Baby Blue,” supposedly about the end

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culture we were about to see was, in essence, under siege from a world power. Almost immediately, I zeroed in on my most treasured destination: The homemade momo station, behind which one could see the dumplings being handrolled and steamed to perfection. The menu also featured samosas, which my friend noted were probably not native to Tibet. The attendant smiled and informed us that the intersection of Indian, Tibetan, Nepalese, Chinese, and Bhutanese cuisine was quite common considering the diaspora of many Tibetan exiles to these countries. My friend and I noted

our own ignorance, then promptly bobbed our heads in unison.

Halfway through our visit, a troupe of female dancers took the stage clad in brightly coloured wrap dresses. Whilst striking handheld drums and twirling around each other, the performers sang a pleasantly lilting tune with accompaniment from a musician sporting a Tibetan lute or dramyin. It flowed well and looked polished, and I let myself believe that the performance was a traditional, possibly ancient ritual. Afterward, one of the dancers nonchalantly informed us that the song and dance routine had

been conceived and practiced within a three day span. Cue Tony Randall’s shouting in the Odd Couple: When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME! Walking amongst all the textiles and jewelry with a constant drum beat in the air, I was struck by how my lack of experience with Tibetan culture left me no index for confirming the veracity of anything I was witnessing.

My own preconceived notions concerning Tibetan culture, I reflected, were mostly baseless. Of Tibetan culture I knew only that the yak played some role in Tibetan livelihood, and that China had been violating human rights here for decades—though exactly how, I had no idea. I had not even searched “Tibet” on Wikipedia until a day after the fair. Was this me being a bit paranoid and a little stupid?

Perhaps. The food was good, the music nice, and the people even nicer.

It was clear that everybody knew everybody; the vendors and fair staff all chatted amiably between sales, while their children ran around with soccer balls and toy swords. Speaking with one of the vendors, I learned that the Tibetan communities in both Montreal and Toronto—the vendor himself visiting from Toronto—were tightly knit. He then proceeded to

regale me with the tale of last night’s booze-soaked merrymaking while I picked out a yak-wool shawl for my mother. I caught a glimpse of a child menacingly waving a plastic cutlass, and felt myself craving yet more momos. It being my third visit, the affable server joked that at the rate I was eating the dumplings, they might run out. I fervently hope the man never finds out the altitude at which his joke had soared over my head.

On the whole, the fair was fun and enlightening, and yet I cannot escape the feeling that my being there was less active engagement with Tibetan culture and more aloof tourism. It’s certainly not every day that one’s own ignorance is made so painfully obvious—as was mine—and, in the end, uncomfortable revelations such as these can be useful stepping stones for curing cultural myopia. It should be common knowledge by now that keeping an open mind is a kickass doctrine for life. Granted, hallmarks of true open-mindedness may include feelings of uncertainty and discomfort; but then again personal growth is almost never a comfortable experience.

If breaking through one’s comfort zone were easy, life would not be nearly as rewarding, and momos would not be nearly as delicious.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN (1974)

Arnold Friend in Smooth Talk (1985), a film based on Oate’s short story. (curbsidefashion.blogspot.com) of his relationship with singer Joan Baez. In 1966, Joyce Carol Oates combined Dylan’s song and the story of the Schmid murders and wrote the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” in which she brings one victim’s experience to life. There is no explicit connection between Dylan’s song and the Schmid murders, but the farewell ballad has strong connections to the murders and to Oates’ story. The story, especially with its connections to the murder and Dylan’s song, is emblematic of the influence of music changing societal norms that led

some young men to take drastic and tragic action at the cost of innocent lives.

In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Connie, the protagonist, is presented as a typical young teen: Vain, jealous, frustrated with her overbearing mother, and obsessed with the boys she meets at a drive-in restaurant near the highway.

In “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” Dylan cautions, “The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense,” in a foreboding nod to the incident that, for Connie, starts at the restaurant by the side of the road. Just a few

months before these words were written, Schmid drove at length into the Arizona desert and murdered his first victim, Alleen Rowe.

Connie’s idyllic world is constantly infused with the soundtrack of new rock-and-roll tracks that were hitting the radio stations in the ‘60s. Beside the highway, late at night, it’s the music and comfort of the restaurant that draw together the victim, Connie, and her eventual murderer. There on one Saturday night, Connie catches the eye of a strange-looking man, with “shaggy black hair” that looks off, almost like a wig. He “wagged a finger and laughed and said, ‘Gonna get you, baby.’”

The next day, Connie lounges around the house, parents gone, listening to the radio, her long blonde hair drying in the sun. A car pulls up on the gravel drive and the same man from the previous night emerges.

Connie approaches the screen door with caution, allured by the flattery of this man remembering her from the previous night. The man introduces himself as Arnold Friend, and invites her for a drive. In 1966 Dylan wrote, “Strike another match, go start anew / And it’s all over now, Baby Blue.”

Dylan’s song reiterates that it’s all over, and there’s nothing more to be done. Arnold speaks to Connie in a similar way, manipulating her into believing that she has no choice but to go with him—both the song and fiction are alike in their genre of

defeatism.

Arnold Friend reminds Connie that she has no home anymore; “The place where you came from ain’t there any more, and where you had in mind to go is cancelled out.” This assertion mirrors both the Dylan line “Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you,” and the terrible image of Rowe leaving her home for the last time.

Arnold’s companion, Ellie, sits in the car playing the radio on the same station that Connie had in the home. Although Connie doesn’t let her in, Arnold creates a line of connection between them through the music, which plays simultaneously inside and outside the house. Arnold blurs the line between inside and outside, between safety and danger.

The spell of music is also present in the story of the Schmid murders. As he murdered his first victim, Shmid’s girlfriend at the time sat idly in the car, listening to the radio.

The fact that music is so present in Oates’ story, and also is a small detail in the Schmid murder, is reflective of the fact that music was beginning its transition to the forefront of popular culture; becoming the powerful force that it did during the ‘60s. At that time the music industry was changing rapidly, and some older generations claimed that the new rock ‘n’ roll style was depraved and frivolous.

A murder, a song, and a story came to fruition during this time—a love triangle of tragic inspiration.

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Laughs in the loft

Amateur and professional comedians test out their chops for the Biftek crowd ALFIE CROOKS Contributor The Danger Dulgar Comedy Show gathers a wide variety of Montreal comics together for one Sunday every month to showcase their material to whoever will listen, and throw a few dollars into an empty pitcher. It offers comedy at its rawest, with no lights nor even a stage—just a comedian, a mic, and a small collection of bar stools, glamorously tucked away in the corner of Bar Bifteck.

The vibe at the bar wasn’t exactly abuzz—Bifteck hummed along with the same enthusiastic urgency of my grandma’s living room—but upstairs, a creative process was whirring.

The comedians on Nov. 8 ranged widely from former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Canadian Comedy Awards winner Heidi Foss, to McGill undergraduate student Emma Wen. The diversity of performers—in their ethnicity, comedic experience, and age—made for a show that was well-rounded and representative of the different voices that exist within the Montreal stand-up scene.

An eclectic group of comedians was accompanied by an interesting variety of subject matter. Wen

Comedians take turns in presenting their sketches to a crowded Bifteck. (montrealrampage.com) rattled off jokes about the relation between cell biology and modern economic principles before dryly commenting, “OK, nobody got that one.” One noticeable commonality between the comics was that a large portion of their jokes focused on personal vulnerabilities. Habib Saim and Tatianna Lah both delivered jokes about dealing with breakups and becoming newly single—usually ending in the remedy of frequent masturbation— while comedian Kieran Waters started his act by commenting on

the shockingly few number of true friends he has on social media.

Brutal, self deprecating humour is not uncommon in stand-up comedy, but it worked particularly well when coming from relatable amateur comedians. Similar to selfdeprecating comedy, awkwardness became a common thread throughout the show. Whether it was a forgotten punchline, a cringeworthy step into tastelessness, or simply a joke falling flat, the show was far from a smooth operation.

You could see each performer trying

out something new and then making a subtle, or not so subtle, mental note of the audience’s reaction. At the end of Saim’s final joke about asking to have a threesome with his neighbours, for instance, he exclaimed, “Fuck! I need a better walk off joke!” Even Foss, the award -winning veteran, pulled out some memorable one-liners that simply didn’t go down well.

In these awkward moments and mishaps you can see the creative process of these performers. Finding what’s actually funny about a joke is

a challenging task. Comedy is a very intangible form of performance, and it’s almost impossible to explain specifically why one joke is funny and another isn’t. The Danger Dulgar Comedy Show becomes the perfect venue for comedians to play to an actual audience while still working at their craft. They can go through the tedious creative process of finding the elusive golden formula for what makes people laugh through trial and error.

If you’re looking for an eye-watering, a laugh-a-minute, professionally executed show, The Danger Dulgar Comedy Show might not be the place to go. The show doesn’t cater to the typical audience’s desires for cheap laughs, but it isn’t supposed to.

This show seems to be primarily for the creative process of the artist, not the hedonistic desires of the audience. While the comic is trying to get the audience’s approval, they end up feeling like a means to the end of an artistic process. For the casual fan of standup, this isn’t the most enjoyable experience, which explains the lack of attention given to the show.

However, it accomplishes more than amateur comedy. It shows where the proverbial comedic sausage is made, in a strangely intimate and captivating creative workshop.

Seduced & reduced A look into the thinly-veiled sexism of the James Bond franchise REBECCA POTTERS Contributor It is no mystery that James Bond has a superseding alpha-male ego, backed by his presumptuous sexual advances and licence to kill. However, the largest amount of sexualization and marginalization of female characters does not come from Bond himself, but from the writers, directors, and costume designers of the James Bond franchise.

The opening credit of every Bond film features a dramatic and beautiful song, Mr. Bond shooting a gun, and stunning women—all of whom are scantily clad, nude, or nothing more than a silhouette. This is the timeless preface to every film: James Bond is going kick some ass and get laid or to bring down the bad guy and get the girl.

In each film, the scarcity of women is all too obvious. The franchise’s most recent instalment, Spectre, features a mere five women: two nameless young women in Mexico City and another at a board meeting in Rome—who is allowed a few lines to her name—as well as Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris); Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci); and

Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux). The fleeting two-minute interaction with the nameless woman at the beginning is a perfect example of Bond’s reputation as a womanizer and the faceless roles that women play in the franchise. She has no further purpose in the film and is immediately written out. Later on, Moneypenny has already rebuffed Bond’s inevitable advances in previous films and he now treats her as a respected coworker; however, that did not stop the writers from placing a man in her bed and having Bond chastise her for it when calling her in the middle of the night— nor did it stop the costume designers from dressing her in lingerie when answering said call.

Lucia Sciarra—although refreshingly mature compared to the typical ‘Bond Girl’—was painted as weak and vulnerable, and made no more appearances in the film after being seduced and reduced by Bond. In regards to costume design, the viewers’ final impression of Lucia is that of her lounging on her bed in a corset and thighhigh stockings, which is unrealistic for two reasons. The first being that— before becoming intimate with Bond— she was coming from her husband’s’ funeral. It is highly unlikely that a woman in mourning would be wearing a full corset and garter set beneath her

clothes. The second unrealistic detail lies with this question: Why would she re-dress herself in the intricate lingerie set after her encounter with Bond just to lounge around her home? She serves no purpose other than as an informant and a sexual object for both Bond and the audience.

A l t h o u g h Madeleine Swann is portrayed as tough, terse, and powerful at times, all is lost when she is captured and tied up for Bond’s rescuing.

There is no context to her capture, and she just assumes the ‘damsel in distress’ role to stick with the theme of Bond coming to the rescue and saving a woman in need. What took the sexualization of Madeleine even further was her outfit upon meeting the villain, Ernst Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). She’s given a pair of stilettos and a bodyhugging dress with an intricate pattern of swirls and curves bringing attention to her bosom and genitals. This was a not so subtle move by the costume department to once again remind the

Good looks don’t make up for James Bond’s womanizing ways. (Justine Touchon / McGill Tribune) audience that Madeleine is a woman.

The sexualization and marginalization of women throughout the franchise is ever present in Goldfinger (1964) and Quantum of Solace (2008), where the deaths of two Bond girls were accomplished by covering their naked bodies entirely in gold paint (Goldfinger) or in oil (Quantum of Solace). The stripping down of these women—literally and figuratively—do nothing more than rob the naked dead girls of their identity and dignity.

It is not a secret that the 53-yearold franchise has exploited women for their bodies and marginalized them for their gender ever since the release of Dr. No in 1962, but as time goes on and audiences become more socially conscious, perhaps the viewers will see a greater change in the portrayal of women. Even Daniel Craig himself says that the Bond films have “nothing” to teach us. So buckle up everyone, it’s time for the damsel-indistress roles to be cut, and for Jane Bond to make her screen debut.

redmen rugby

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Boyer’s late try lifts Redmen over Carabins in RSEQ Final McGill captures ninth RSEQ title in last 10 years out of position,” Boyer said. “I just thought, ‘This is it’ [….] It felt unreal—on my birthday, in front of all my friends, my family, and a huge McGill crowd, you just couldn’t have scripted it betThe Redmen shut down the Carabins attack. (Lauren Benson-Armer / McGill Tribune) ter.”

Fifth-year centre Thomas Stokes “I was just thinking about all the hard Aaron rose stepped up to kick the title-clinching work we’ve put in […] since day one,” Staff Writer RSEQ Rookie-of-the-Year Sebastian conversion. As the ball sailed through “I could tell everyone was exhaust- Boyer said. “Especially for all our grad- the uprights, the McGill faithful exed,” captain Mitchell Cuillerier said. uating players, I just couldn’t fathom ploded into mayhem.

“When I struck the ball and saw it “But when I looked in their eyes, I losing out like that.”

An offside late in extra time gave go through the uprights I felt relief could see nobody was going to quit.”

With the RSEQ Championship on the Redmen the ball at the Carabins’ first, then immense elation,” Stokes the line, the Montréal Carabins (5-2- five-yard line. Seconds later, scrum half said. “My immediate reaction was to 0) held the McGill Redmen (6-0-1) in Quentin Dubois passed it from the back run over to my teammates and celcheck for 80 minutes. But as the clock of the ruck to Boyer who burst through ebrate the moment with them.”

McGill jumped out to an early ticked down in extra time, McGill, trail- the Carabins line for a try.

“One of the [Montréal] players was 3-0 lead after second-year fly half ing 9-3, mustered up one final attack.

Kyle Makischuk connected on a 33-yard penalty kick; however, the Redmen struggled offensively with the absence of All-Star centre Augustus Hill. With the ball inside the five-yard line late in the first half, McGill squandered a great scoring opportunity when a costly knock-on turned the ball over. The Redmen held a tight line, but the Carabins’ captain Pierre Constantin converted two kicks to put Montreal up just before the halftime break. Constantin connected again on a 53rd minute penalty kick, but missed kicks in the second half left the window open for McGill’s late-game heroics.

“Credit to them, they put a lot of pressure on us,” Head Coach Ian Baillie said. “They played a very good tactical game.”

After a heartbreaking loss in the RSEQ Finals last season, the victory marked McGill’s ninth conference title in the last 10 years. With nine seniors expecting to depart, the Redmen will have some holes to fill next season, but with the RSEQ Coach-

of-the-Year Baillie, and talented underclassmen such as Boyer returning, the future’s bright for Redmen Rugby.

Quotable “The greatest part about playing Redmen Rugby is the connection and bond you make with your teammates.” –Captain and hooker Mitchell Cuillerier on the Redmen’s team culture.

Stat corner McGill has been to 15 consecutive RSEQ Finals since 2000.

Moment of the game After his game-winning try, Boyer was mobbed by his teammates, who lifted him onto their shoulders and carried him off the field.

Go to mcgilltribune.com/sports to read about Redmen hockey’s whirlwind of a weekend.

The cream of the NBA draft crop

The 2015 NBA draft class wasn’t quite as deep as 2014, but the level of talent crammed into the top four was mind boggling. Fans from Philadelphia to Los Angeles were given new hope as their struggling franchises each got a player who could be the key to the future. It’s too early to tell how their careers will pan out, but each of these studs have the potential to turn into something special.

Photos courtesy of YouTube and Sporting News

Jahlil Okafor

Karl-Anthony Towns

D’Angelo Russell

Kristaps Porzingis

“I’ve seen the future, and it works,” Lincoln Steffens said about the USSR, but he might as well have been talking about the Philadelphia 76ers No.3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is only 19 years old and has one of the most developed post games in the NBA. His array of spins, footwork, and soft touch make his back-to-the-basket game nearly unstoppable. When opponents throw a double-team at him, Okafor is tactically aware enough to pass the ball out and create space for his shooters. The league is going small, and Okafor’s 6’11” frame will continue to tower over and dominate the undersized power forwards and centres who cannot handle his moves. There are questions about his defence, and he does play for the hopeless 76ers. Okafor’s strength, however, is his adaptability and growth potential—he was a 51 per cent free-throw shooter in college, but has worked hard to improve to a mid-’70s shooter in the NBA. That work ethic will push forward other areas of his game, such as his dribble-drive, and rebounding. Okafor is merely 19 but has the attitude of a veteran. He plays hard every night, has unprecedented skills coming out of college, and boasts a high ceiling. Okafor is the future.

And he works.

—Zikomo Smith

Karl Anthony-Towns is built for the modern NBA—a game that requires franchise players to possess versatility and fluidity of positions and skillsets. The 6’11” No. 1 overall pick can seamlessly shift from power forward to centre, shoot well from mid-range, and has shown flashes of being able to defend at a very high level. He is a cerebral player and passer, and has the strength and leadership needed to excel at the NBA level.

Playing with and learning from Kevin Garnett this year will accelerate his development, even though Towns’ approach and demeanour is already that of a veteran. His intimidating presence inside should also unlock plenty of scoring lanes for teammate Andrew Wiggins. As the two phenoms develop together, their pick-and-roll game will become a scary offensive weapon for Minnesota. One can reasonably see him maturing into an Anthony Davis-type player—a versatile big man who can play on the perimeter on offence and defence, and is still able to assert his will in the post. Players like this don’t come along very often—the rarities include Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Davis. Towns has the physical abilities, the quiet confidence, and the mental and emotional drive to become one of the great players in the NBA for years to come.

—Arman Bery

If you watch the highlights from Ohio State’s 75-72 OT win over VCU in last year’s NCAA tournament you can understand why the Los Angeles Lakers made 19-year-old D’Angelo Russell the No.2 overall pick in the draft. While he has looked relatively unpolished in his first crack at the big leagues, his court vision and handle are both ridiculous for his age. His scoring touch will improve with time, but with Kobe Bryant likely gone after this season, the Lakers will need him to be a facilitator on offence first and foremost.

While Russell can slot in at both point guard and shooting guard due to his size, his greatest asset is his unparalleled passing ability—think of him becoming an Utah Jazz-era Deron Williams type leader on the Lakers. Russell has a supernatural sense of where the open guys are on the court, and that will give him more space to work with close to the basket as defenders are forced to play slightly off him. His shot and perimeter defence will develop over the next few years (or sooner if Byron Scott is canned). Russell’s basketball IQ and passing are not qualities you can easily teach, and with the Kobe era ending, Lakers fans should be looking forward to Russell bringing respectability back to the Staples Center.

—Elie Waitzer

“He’s fucking tall as shit and he’s aggressive,” New York Knicks forward Lou Amundson told reporters in his assessment of rookie teammate, 7’3” Kristaps Porzingis, last week. The 240 pound, fourth-overall pick has already begun to make his presence felt around the NBA in his first 10 games, averaging 11.5 points and leading the Knicks with nine rebounds per game despite playing an average of only 25 minutes per contest. The 20-year-old leads the league in highlight-reel putback dunks, and has posterized the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, and Greg Monroe. The Latvian big man even dunked over three Toronto Raptors all at once. Past and present greats have praised Porzingis, with Patrick Ewing and LeBron James both gushing over his skill level, aggressiveness, and massive upside. Aside from his outrageous height and presence around the rim, Porzingis boasts an ability to shoot from behind the arc—making him as dangerous and versatile as any perimeter big in the league. For all the concerns over the summer about the centre’s ability to be aggressive and play a physical game every night, the first three weeks of his career have already shown that—while still definitely a raw talent—the ’Zing will be a force to contend with for years to come.

—Nick Jasinski

Shooting the Breeze

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kn o w y o u r at h l e t e

N i c o l as k h an d a r redmen football

By Zikomo Smith (Natalie Vineberg / McGill Tribune)

Nicolas Khandar, an explosive sophomore running back for the Redmen football team, is a surprising and adaptable man. A Frenchman born and raised, Khandar embraced football after moving away from the Parisian suburbs of his childhood to study in Canada. He later represented the French National Football Team in the IFAF World Championships.

Khandar’s passion for football is at the heart of his journey.

“In France, American football is not a big [thing],” Khandar explained. “But [at 13,] my best friend told me—‘Oh you know American football, maybe we have to try it.’

And one day we went to the team near to our houses. It was good.”

Khandar is part of the sport’s growing popularity in France—the Federation Francaise de Football Americain boasts 208 teams and 21,085 players today in comparison with only nine teams back in 1983.

“I like a lot of aspects [of] the sport,” Khandar said. “I like the contact; I like the speed, the American culture.”

Khandar took to football quickly and joined the age group ranks of the French National Team in 2010. He was part of the fourth-place French National Team in last summer’s World Championships in Madrid.

The squad blew away the competition— Khandar had two touchdowns in a 53-3 quarterfinal drubbing of Australia—before running into the powerhouse U.S.A. team. in the semifinals. Khandar had the opportunity to play under Head Coach Patrick Esume,

who had previous experience as a coaching consultant with various NFL teams, including the Oakland Raiders.

“I have played with the French National Team for, maybe five years,” Khandar said, “I am a little bit nationalistic. [This summer] was a very good experience because I know a lot of the guys in the team. It was a new coaching staff, but it was a good experience.”

Khandar’s French connection got him recruited to the Cégep de Thetford, where he excelled on the football field. He recorded 1,374 yards on 9.5 yards per carry, and scored 12 touchdowns in his sole year at Thetford.

“The [coach] in Thetford, he is a French guy,” Khandar explained. “So he always watches French players, and one day he contacted me and asked me if I wanted to try in Canada, and I went.”

And, even though powerhouse programs like Laval recruited Khandar, his best friend encouraged him to come to McGill—just as he swayed his decision to play football in the first place. “[I came] because my best friend came to McGill too, and during my visit to McGill, I really appreciated the coach, he was so cool,” Khandar said. “I [also] really liked the academic aspect.”

Khandar had a promising, but injuryriddled, sophomore campaign for McGill.

He had a mid-season concussion and was on crutches after McGill’s homecoming matchup with Concordia. Khandar’s game, however, is studded with an array of jukes

and excellent acceleration. His best game of the season came against Acadia where he went off for 155 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.

For now, Khandar will continue studying for his Certificate of English Proficiency, though he hopes to transfer into the school of Dietetics and Human Nutrition. The question remains if he will he stay in Montreal after graduating. For someone used to being flexible and moving across cities, he is unsurprisingly ambivalent.

“If I find work in Montreal after school, maybe I will stay,” he said.

McGill Tribune (MT): Who is your favourite superhero?

Nicolas Khandar (NK): Batman.

He doesn’t have a superpower, but I think he can beat every villain because he is so smart and has all the gadgets.

Do you American rap?

(NK): French.

(MT):

prefer

French

or

(MT): Which street do you prefer,

Saint-Catherine or Saint-Laurent?

(NK): Saint-Catherine. I like the shops, I often go shopping.

(MT): What’s your favourite NFL team?

(NK): Pittsburgh Steelers.

(MT): Who will win the Super Bowl?

(NK): Denver Broncos or Pittsburgh Steelers.

Synchronized, symmetrical, and sensational Martlets impress judges at McGill’s Synchronized Swimming Invitational

The Martlets looked to make a splash. (Emma Hameau / McGill Tribune)

genevieve citron Contributor Continued from page one.

When the Martlets finally took the deck, the stands went wild.

McGill began their routine with intricate deck-work to the Lion King ’s “Circle of Life” before diving two-by-two into the deep.

The team, swimming into their first lap, performed smooth and energetic choreography. Their graceful routine saw McGill first

form a symmetrical base for their gravity-defying highlight—it set the stage for their intricate canons of pointed toes in suspended leg extensions. Their near-perfect piece earned the team an impressive score of 65.6, with 32.5 points for technique and 33.1 points for style and artistry.

While the Invitational was a fantastic showing of hard work and talent, it does not contribute points towards the national rankings. Nevertheless, the com-

petition was a great way for the swimmers to celebrate the sport and perfect their technique before the real deal in the winter semester. McGill’s Assistant Coach Hannah Ungar noted that there is more analytical fine-tuning that the team must do before upcoming competitions.

“What you’ve seen today is the beginning stages of the routine,” Ungar explained. “We [later] go through every piece of the routine and do a lot of work with

the mirror so the girls can see [if they are uniformed].”

The team will also go through rigorous pool, dry land, and cross training that the team goes through in order to develop their skills to their full potential.

Martlet Head Coach Lindsay Duncan expressed tremendous pride in the team’s development and direction.

“They started out the season as individual swimmers with their own individual strengths, and more than any team that I’ve seen since I came to McGill […] they’ve really come together,” Duncan said. “So now it’s not stand-out individuals here and there—they pull together and swim well as a unit, and that’s really what it’s all about.”

The Martlet synchronized swimming team will continue to prepare for their competition in February at the Eastern Canadian Championships in Guelph, Ontario. While Duncan expects a tough test, she is confident that her team will walk away victorious.

“The calibre of the competition across different schools is getting better every single year, and so we have to step up our game,” Duncan said. “There are more and more teams that are in

the running for medal positions at Nationals. So it’s the usual type of preparation, to be ready to have their absolute best swim.

I think they can do it [and] have their best performance in the end.”

Go to mcgilltribune.com/sports to read 10 cool facts about synchronized swimming.