McGill Tribune Vol. 34 Issue 11

EDITORIAL

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

PGSS healthcare fee reduction highlights benefits of effective representation pg. 6

Volume No. 34 Issue No. 11

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PGSS Council p. 3

Campus Conversation: How would you make SSMU a stronger representative body?

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(Jenny Shen / McGill Tribune)

Councillors push for transparency in fee approbation reform process

SSMU Council discusses budget, bylaw reform SHRINKHALA DAWADI & CECE ZHANG News Editors

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he Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Council met on Thursday to discuss the 2014-2015 budget, bylaw amendments, as well as fee consolidation.

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Schrödinger’s Cat key player in cutting-edge technology Babur Ayanlar Contributor

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avid J. Wineland, the 2012 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, presented this year’s Anna McPherson Lectures on Nov. 6 and 7. In the lectures, he explained his research that won the Nobel Prize in Physics: The development of a laser cooling system that traps single ions and reduces their vibrational energy to a minimum.

“David Wineland and his research partner, Serge Haroche, won

the most prestigious award in scientific research […] for inventing and developing methods for measuring and manipulating individual particles, while preserving their quantum-mechanical nature in ways that were previously thought unattainable,” explained Assistant Professor Lily Childress in her introduction for Wineland.

Wineland’s research involves observing specific quantum mechanical effects. To be able to understand his work however, one must first be familiar with quantum superposition

and the Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment.

Quantum superposition is a property of subatomic particles that dictates the condition of the state of existence of these particles. For example, when an atom is not being observed, it is neither in a ground state nor in any of its excited states, but rather it exists simultaneously in all of these states. When the atom is being observed, this simultaneous existence collapses into one state.

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VINCENT-PIERRE FULLERTON Vice-President External, Law Students Association

n evaluating how representative a body is of its constituents, one must start by determining what is, or ought to be, the role of that body.

For instance, a body with a strong activist role will require different representational mechanisms than a body with a purely representational function. It is also important to look further than merely into the formal structure of the body, and into the actual use that is made of its structures.

The whole backlash that ensued after the Fall 2014 General Assembly (GA) is symptomatic of an association whose role is illdefined, or, rather, ill-understood by students. As proof, the question surrounding the situation in IsraelPalestine, which was substantive in nature, resulted in a mainly procedural debate on whether the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) should or even could take a position on such a divisive issue. The indefinite postponing of the motion seems to show that the student body—or at least a few hundred of its members—thought it better that SSMU should refrain from trying to take a position on such questions.

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News Tuesday, November 11, 2014 Budget, bylaw reform, and fee consolidation reviewed at SSMU Council Speakers consider challenges presented by deficit for Student-Run Café, outreach for opt-outable fees SHRINKHALA DAWADI & CECE ZHANG News Editors

(Continued from page 1)

2014-2015 Global budget

Council announced SSMU’s budget for the 2014-2015 school year, which plans to break even in accordance to their mandate.

The report detailed the financial profits and deficits of various SSMU activities and operations. Notable deficits included SSMU’s student-run café, the Nest, which has incurred a deficit of $76,282 since its opening. The 4Floors Halloween event and frosh also saw deficits of $5,281 and $3,600 respectively. Gerts, the student bar, ran a profit of $15,081, and SSMU mini-courses ran a profit of $29,000.

SSMU VP Finance and Operations Kathleen Bradley explained that about $240,000 of the budget for the building’s lease and utilities had been removed from the operating budget following the creation of a restricted fund in October. The fund is comprised of money collected through the SSMU Building Fee that is not used in rent payments due to lower than expected costs of utilities.

“There’s an excess of student fees that I don’t think would be appropriate to put in the operating budget,” Bradley said.

“We created a restricted fund that can now only go towards rent payments [...] either in the form of re-adjusting the fee when the lease is re-negotiated [...] or through ending the fee a year early, and paying the entire last year’s rent with the remaining portion of the fee, depending on how much there is.”

Bradley also spoke to the Nest’s financial operations, explaining that cost of food sales and salaries were major contributors to the deficit. “[The Nest is] meant to be local, sustainable, vegan-friendly, [and] in-house made, but on the other hand, all of the student feedback we get is that ‘We want the cheapest food possible,’” Bradley explained. “It’s hard to make the two things coalesce because local companies are generally more expensive, [and] making food in-house does have additional labour costs to it [....]

I think that’s more of an existential question the Nest needs to answer—what we want to be and how we want to operate— because currently [...] it’s not financially sustainable.”

While Bradley acknowledged the challenges that the Nest’s $76,282 deficit presented, she also explained that the deficit had been accrued through last semester’s start-up costs and that efforts were being made this semester to decrease the deficit.

“I think that some of it will be offset by our daycare catering, which has already started, and decreased waste,” she said. “Additionally, we were closed for September, so we don’t actually have any financial info from this semester as to how sales are doing, how costs are, what labour is.”

The budget report also stated that SSMU will be able to transfer $50,000 towards its capital expenditures reserve fund (CERF), which funds long-term projects such as renovations and student projects. It was passed at Council.

Motion to amend the

Clubs and Services Portfolio bylaw book

A motion was passed regarding the amendment of the Clubs and Services Portfolio Bylaw Book, which concerned Donations and Sponsorship Funding for clubs and services. The purpose of this funding, VP Clubs and Services Stefan Fong explained, was to distribute the fees collected on behalf of services such as TVM, the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS), and Midnight Kitchen. The fees would contribute towards groups, projects, or events that share a similar mandate with the service making the contribution. The bylaws were created to address the previous lack of transparency in the distribution of the funds,and to establish guidelines for how the funding would be distributed.

In response to concerns from some councillors that the bylaws were too restrictive as to what purposes the funding could be put to, Fong explained that they were created in accordance with bylaws governing the funding committee.

“It makes it more clear to services what can and cannot be funded,” Fong said. “As of now, because [there are no guidelines], if I have to deny funds [...] because it’s obviously not in accordance with the mandate of the service, it’s really unclear because we don’t know if it’s what I think the mandate is versus what the student thinks it is. [Hard] definitions in bylaws themselves would make it more clear to students.”

Discussion regarding fee consolidation

Council also discussed the

pros and cons of bundling the smaller fees charged by SSMU to reduce the workload of processing said fees for the McGill administration. The proposal of such a fee consolidation was brought forth by the university administration.

SSMU President Courtney Ayukawa said the administration was eager for the fee consolidation to pass, and asked Council to give feedback she could bring back to discussions with the McGill administration.

“Small fees generate a lot of work to create,” reads a document on the proposed fee bundling. “It requires a great amount of manpower, particularly when there is a different fee for part-time students, and increases dramatically the amount of time to test the accuracy of fee assessment.”

Councillors raised concerns over the impact bundling fees would create towards opt-outable fees, saying that this may prompt students to opt out of more fees when they may only strongly disagree with one, thus taking money away from services.

“While there is information about how fees are divided elsewhere, we absolutely need to provide at every possible place the information and the transparency that students deserve,” Bradley said. “I would echo that this clearly benefits the administration, not the students, and I’m very concerned about the opt-out rates for services that really rely on this money.”

SSMU Building energy report

SSMU Green Building Coordinator Alex Heim reported to Council regarding the building’s energy usage and utility costs.

Heim pointed out that although utility prices have risen in the past few years, SSMU has reduced its consumption of energy so that the total bill is actually lower than in previous years.

She attributed the decrease in usage to the plan SSMU now undertakes which heats and cools the building at appropriate times, instead of constantly throughout the day. “[Previously,] the building would be heated or cooled 24 hours, not considering the duration of when people were here and working or not,” Heim explained. “What they do now is [ask] ‘When are the peak times of energy consumption; when are people in here?’ They then accordingly decide when to heat or cool the building.”

Resignation of SSMU General Manager

Pauline Gervais, General Manager (GM), has resigned from her position following 11 years at SSMU. The SSMU GM is a full-time staff member who oversees building operations, tenants, staff members, and comanages the building with the VP Clubs and Services.

“Pauline has decided to resign to join her partner to run the company they own together,” Ayukawa announced to Council in her executive committee report. “She will be training the new SSMU GM in January.”

Ayukawa thanked Gervais for her work helping SSMU grow and improve over the years. She added that as the announcement was made on Wednesday, she had no further details to add.

University Health and Security Committee to review smoking policy Potential for smoke-free campus, student consultation welcome

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NOAH SUTTON Contributor

cGill University’s smoking policy will be up for review by the University Health and Security Committee (UHSC), which may include discussion of a smokefree campus.

The current policy specifies that all smoking must be at least nine metres from any building entrance in order to comply with Bill 112, which was passed in Quebec in 2006. As of last September, the policy also applies to

e-cigarettes and has established designated smoking areas on a trial-basis.

According to Music Senator Maximillion Scebba, who sits on the UHSC, the current policy does not include information on methods of enforcement. The UHSC seeks to update the policy but specific changes have not been planned.

“What [the current policy] doesn’t do is talk about how it should be enforced, so that’s an issue we will be addressing,”

Scebba said. “There’s no one policy in particular we’re looking at changing. We might be drafting a new policy, or amending the current policy but there’s no particular article on it that we’re looking at specifically.”

The idea of a smoke-free campus will also be discussed, but it is not the focus of the discussion.

“The focus of the discussion is policy update and whether or not [a smoke-free campus] will be implemented is up in the air,”

Scebba said. “It is on the table and catalyzing the discussion but it’s not the ‘big-take’ home. It’s good to get people thinking about it and smoking policy as a whole, [but] if they were to ban smoking on campus I don’t think it would work because I don’t think the university would have the resources to enforce it.”

Some students see the idea of a smoke-free campus as a good one, but questioned McGill’s ability to enforce it.

“I think it’s great that they

have no smoking zones on campus, but I think [a smoke-free campus] would be hard to enforce,” Sarah MacRae-Korobkov, U0 Arts, said.

Others did not carry strong opinions about the need for policy update.

“I don’t really have an issue with the current policy—I don’t really think about it,” Daniel Guagliardo, U1 Arts, said.

The USHC will meet on Nov. 22 and will be discussing further policy updates.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

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News

Culture Shock workshop addresses problems faced by Canada’s temporary foreign workers

Councillors push for transparency in fee approbation reform process

Former migrant workers share experiences with exploitation, unionization bans

FEUQ presents campaign for update of provincial loan and bursaries program

Speakers from migrant worker rights groups explored issues affecting the workers. (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune)

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LAUREN WILDGOOSE Staff Writer

ast Thursday, the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) McGill hosted a workshop on migrant workers in Canada as a part of Culture Shock, an annual event series that explores issues affecting immigrants, indigenous people, refugees, and people of colour. The panel of speakers included Viviana Medina from the Temporary Agency Workers Association (TAWA), Enrique Llanes from the Temporary Foreign Workers Association (TFWA), and Noe Arteaga, a former agricultural worker. The speakers shared their experiences as advocates and ex-temporary workers and explained the injustices currently faced by migrant workers in Canada.

Llanes talked about the history of migrant workers in Canada and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which was founded in 1973 and originally managed by the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Today, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private employers run the program and, according to Llanes, negotiate workers’ salaries with the government without consulting the workers themselves.

“The employer has a myriad of rights over the worker, and the worker becomes a commodity, ” Llanes said.

Llanes also explained the role of the consumer in perpetuating the mistreatment of temporary foreign workers.

“Consumers put pressure on [the workers] as well [...] to have the best fresh produce,” said Llanes. “This is not just in one industry. [The program] brings people from Guatemala to pick your tomatoes. It brings women from the Philippines to take care of your children. It brings people from Mexico to make your McDonald’s coffee [....] So it racializes the workforce and leaves it completely unprotected.”

Llanes also explained how colonialistic ideals still influenced the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. “[The] program is intended to reproduce a worldwide inequality that is paramount to preserve the current economic model,” she said. “[It’s] based on the ideological and physical domination exerted by Western countries over the periphery.”

Noe Arteaga, who came to Canada from

Guatemala through the Agricultural Foreign Worker Program, described his experiences as a temporary foreign worker on a farm in Québec.

According to Arteaga, although the program was a government initiative, it was administered by an NGO that charged workers a $2,000 fee to join and imposed rules on the workers that forbade them to go to church, make Canadian friends, or unionize.

According to Arteaga, Canadian employers also often neglect the responsibility for the health of their temporary foreign workers. Foreign workers were made to work up to twice as many hours as local labourers. Arteaga highlighted an example of a worker who was told to exterminate pests on tomato crops.

“He didn’t have the proper equipment or training,” Arteaga said. “This worker got sick, and the employers didn’t care [....] so the worker kept working, but his health declined. When he started to get more aggressive toward the employers [in asking for medical attention], they locked him in the dining room.”

Medina spoke about worker placement agencies, which allocate 50,000 workers in Quebec each year, but are poorly regulated by the government. According to Medina, over 200 unregulated placement agencies exist in Québec and prey on temporary foreign workers.

“These workers have been here, on average, for four or five years,” Medina said. “They haven’t been able to achieve permanent jobs with [the company] itself. Because they’re working for the placement agency, and not for the actual employer where they work, the employment agency gets a percentage of their salary.”

The federal and provincial governments have recently passed laws that are detrimental for temporary foreign workers, Arteaga explained. The most recent example is Bill 8, passed this October in the National Assembly of Québec, which allows associations of temporary workers but forbids them to unionize.

Attendee Rachel Dénommé, a first-year master’s student in Integrated Studies in Education and Society, said the temporary foreign worker problem should also be examined in a broader context.

“It’s a multi-layered issue, and [...] they’re talking about exploitation and lived realities here; but this is caused by globalization and colonization, and this is part of a much longer history,” she said.

PGSS Council voted to support an anti-austerity demonstration on Nov. 29.

(Jenny Shen / McGill Tribune) PHILIPPE DUMAIS sibility of keeping the Fee Advisory CommitStaff Writer tee (FAC), which is currently the authority that decides which fees will affect PGSS, as well as retaining the PGSS representative to act as a liaiNon-tuition compulsory son between PGSAs and McGill. They will also fee reform Graduate students will be consulted this consider eliminating the position of the PGSS Winter on a reform of the non-tuition compul- representative and granting those responsibilities sory student fees approbation mechanism. Non- to the executive committee as a whole.

The PGSS will hold consultations during tuition compulsory fees, or Frais Institutionnel Obligatoires (FIO), are associated with manda- Winter 2015 to obtain feedback from students in tory university services. They are paid by all order to make the fee reform process transparent. students to apply, enroll in, or attend university.

Currently, they are also collected by student so2014-2015 FEUQ cieties recognized by the administration under a action plan Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).

The President of the Fédération étudiante Under the current system, students are universitaire du Québec (FEUQ), Jonathan consulted upon the introduction of fees cat- Bouchard, presented the organization’s action egorized as faculty, program, and course-related, plan for the coming year at the council meeting, explained PGSS External Affairs Officer Julien expressing that the focal point of the FEUQ’s Ouellet. campaign is to bring the provincial loan and bur“We [currently] have the power to veto saries program up to date. the university when they want to implement “The cost of living has evolved by 44 per such fees,” Ouellet said. “The current decision- cent over the last 20 years,” Bouchard said. making process, however, [is] very quick [and] “Allowable expenses, [however,] have only raises concerns of legitimacy and transparency increased by 23 per cent. There is a huge dis[....] I need more information to make decisions crepancy between the reality and what is actually on your behalf.” covered by the program. Our goal is to update the Currently, all decisions regarding the FIOs need assessment.” are made by the Fee Advisory Committee (FAC).

Bouchard continued to explain that This committee is composed of members of the FEUQ’s actions for the coming year will revolve academic staff, SSMU, PGSS, McGill Associa- around two axes. tion of Continuing Education Students (MAC“We need to participate in the different ES) and the Macdonald Campus Student Society commissions, meet the different members of the (MCSS). Each member holds veto power over National Assembly and form a broader coalition FIOs that concern its members. The proposed around this action plan,” he said. “The newly reform would allow the PGSS External Affairs elected government has a very strict economic Officer to consult with students rather than make action plan to eliminate deficit—that involves decisions on his own. mobilization on campus and participation of stuThe reform proposes to have all compul- dents in different local and national forums.” sory course-related fees approved through a vote The presentation was followed by a quesby the executive team of the affected Post-Grad- tion period. In response to student questions uate Student Association (PGSA). All faculty- regarding the current anti-austerity demonstrawide fees would then be approved by a PGSA tions, Bouchard explained that the FEUQ would referendum. be protesting austerity measures.

“We would submit a ready-made motion to “[The] FEUQ is a part of the organization the PGSA president and financial affairs officer that has launched the campaign for the demonthat would contain the FIO’s amount, the course stration on the 29th of November,” Bouchard to which it would be applied, and the name of said. “The organization involves many groups the affected PGSA,” Ouellet explained. “The from civil society and unions [.... It’s] an informal [PGSA] president would then be required to hold collective organizing a demonstration.” a vote at their next PGSA committee meeting. A PGSS Council passed a motion supportsimple majority of all committee members in at- ing the Nov. 29 demonstration and encouragtendance would be required to pass the motion.” ing its members to participate.

The consultations will examine the pos-

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News

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Speakers from Montreal community projects engage students as part of Innovation Week Collaboration for innovation in public health topic of discussion

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NATALIE WONG Student Living Editor

n open class lecture discussing collaboration for convergent innovation in public health was held in management course MGCR 360, Social Context of Business, last Friday as part of McGill’s Innovation Week. Professor Nii Addy, who teaches the course, invited speakers Claude Lavoie, projects manager from Jeunes en Santé Notre Dame du Grace; Raphaëlle Rinfret-Pilon, manager of consultation and development for Corporation de développement of communautaire (CDC) Centre-Sud, and Alexis Giguere-Groul, coordinator for community mobilization and engagement for Carrefour Alimentaire Centre-Sud. The event was intended to present and facilitate discussion on projects in Montreal, with the goal of encouraging student participation through creating innovative solutions for public health issues throughout the community.

This event was one amongst many in the McGill Innovation Week, an initiative launched by Quartier de l’innovation (QI) last year in collaboration with

the leadership of the McGill QI Team, as well as VP Communications and External Relations Olivier Marcil, t McGill University.

Addy said that a collaboration between MGCR 360 and the the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE) has the potential to increase research between faculty members from various disciplines, as well as increase involvement of students from diverse disciplines working on such projects, which will enhance learning overall.

“For example, the research work that was highlighted in the class on Friday involves developing an information system to support community leaders from diverse sectors as they make decisions to promote healthy living among youth,” Addy said. “One can imagine the amount of learning that would occur in teams that have greater involvement of students from multiple disciplines, working on issues that face communities in Montreal.”

Giguere-Groul described the aim of Carrefour Alimentaire Centre-Sud, which is to use innovative techniques to create ac-

cess to healthy food and create a support system for the development of various local and ecological food system.

“Our mission would be to encourage access to developing communities […] especially to those socially and economically impoverished,” Giguere-Groul said. “We’re developing a network that will […] offer access to healthy food, because in Centre-Sud it is a basic problem […]

We are also working on […] a program that [aims] to improve skills, and we’re also supporting the development of the individual and intellectual empowerment.”

Giguere-Groul described the importance of educating students on the accessibility of potential projects in the community.

“I think there’s a big gap between theory and reality […] engaging specific projects [and making it] a reality is interesting for students,” Giguere-Groul said. “I believe that it is [about understanding] the basic concept [of potential solutions to tackle local problems], and [how] we can put them in action.”

Rinfret-Pilon commented on the need for students to search

for community projects that they can contribute to in order to create collaborations that would improve the quality of life within the Montreal community.

“As students, what you can do is [find out] what is happening in your neighbourhoods,” she said. “It’s getting involved, getting interested in what’s happening, and how you as a simple citizen can go and give some time or understand the problems [...] and bring new ideas.”

“Innovation Week facilitates networking between students from multiple faculties, researchers and practitioners, and is especially useful to students, as such networking allows them to discover innovation efforts in the Montreal community and beyond,” Addy said. “Innovation Week also provides opportunities for students to build on their leadership skills, as they facilitate discussions.”

Students present at the event commented on the potential that Innovation Week brings to inspire creativity of students, as well as the benefits of bringing speakers from local projects to the McGill community.

“I think Innovation Week is really helpful for students in the context [of this class] because we had a topic on innovation and creativity [as well as] a topic […] on how education kills creativity and innovation,” said Antoine Simon, U3 Management. “It’s true that the education system shapes us to think in one specific way [….] Innovation Week gives us the opportunity to think outside the scope of education in terms of innovation and creativity.”

Larissa Nseyep, U4 Management, expressed a similar sentiment.

“We’re so inside the McGill bubble that we don’t know what’s going on in Montreal,” Nseyep said. “We are an international [community] so […] it’s nice to come and see what’s out there [in local Montreal] and how we can help. [This event] is a good way for [students] to express themselves and share their ideas […] as well as ask questions [regarding how to get involved].”

Annual joint Board-Senate meeting discusses community engagement

Dialogues on meaning of innovation, challenges for communication CHLOE NEVITT Science & Technology Editor

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ast Tuesday, the Board of Governors (BoG) and the Senate held a joint meeting discussing McGill University’s community involvement.

Panellists from a variety of research backgrounds addressed the ways through which McGill could strengthen its relationship with the community.

During her opening remarks, Principal Suzanne Fortier explained that the meeting’s topic was chosen to address McGill’s depiction by the community as being a difficult partner to work with in industry and research. “[Universities] are good at thinking deeply and rigorously about various issues [and] topics, [and] pushing to see beyond the obvious,” Fortier said. “I think it’s extremely important that we engage other partners in these endeavours.”

Also on the panel was Mark Andrews, associate professor from the Department of Chemistry; Cécile Branco-Côté, U3 Arts

student; Dr. Gaétan Lantagne, senior director of the HydroQuébec institute (IREQ); and Steve Maguire, professor and the Desautels Chair in Integrated Management. McGill Associate Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) Sarah Stroud moderated the event.

Stroud commented on the nature of engagement and innovation within a McGill context.

“I think innovation in its broadest meaning is taking ideas, discoveries, and knowledge that originate at McGill and putting them to work outside the bounds of our two campuses,” Stroud said.

She then asked the panellists to elaborate on their own interpretations of innovation. In response, Andrews explained the relationship between academic learning and the community. “[As scientists,] we have a moral commitment to bringing to the public [what] we’re doing,” he said. “[But] I don’t think we [at McGill] do a good job of declaring to the external community how we’re [doing that.]”

The idea that McGill nurtures entrepreneurship but falls short on communication was echoed by the other panellists, and notably by Branco-Côté, the only student present on the panel.

Branco-Côté praised the university for its support to creative projects.

“I think McGill does a great job at supporting creative initiatives,” Branco-Côté stated. “It’s […] easy to get resources and generate initiatives to get involved in projects.”

However, Maguire said he felt McGill could improve in relaying its action to the community.

“There’s patchwork in the university’s activities,” explained Maguire. “I don’t think we’re doing a good job of declaring to the external community about what we’re doing, [and] I think that needs to be first of all clarified, and then communicated.”

Lantagne agreed with the sentiment, and spoke to the importance of evolving with community changes, rather than try-

ing to stop them.

“Breaking down […] boundaries to other universities and society facilitates solving some of our internal problems,” Lantagne said. “No one faculty or department in university brings the knowledge to solve that problem.”

After 30 minutes of roundtable discussions, student representatives were asked to present the conclusions drawn from the individuals at their tables about what needs to be addressed to improve community engagement.

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) President Courtney Ayukawa discussed the importance of avoiding a narrow definition of innovation.

“Service to the community is in the McGill mission statement,” she said. “We need to be investigating, evaluating, and answering community needs, questions, and demands.”

Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Academic Affairs Officer Jennifer Murray provided a clear three-step action plan that could be used to connect the

theoretical to the practical: First, avoid bureaucratization; next, promote the break-down of barriers; and finally, create key performance indicators. “[We need to] just make it easier for people to work across departments, across disciplines, to come up with good ideas,” Murray said.

Most of the discussion centred on capitalizing interdisciplinary relations and encouraging communication. Despite this, the meeting was apprehensive when discussing experimental learning techniques that could question the validity of quantifiable traditional education.

“We should encourage divergent thinking, we should encourage experimental learning, and we should encourage risk-taking as part of innovation,” Arts and Science Senator Chloe Rourke said. “A lot of the times, the way which students are judged can be very conventional way of thinking [...] which can limit the way students can challenge themselves.”

News Dentistry continues raising funds to pay off new facility loan

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Faculty works on informing students, seeking out donations

Conference discusses historical, cultural impact of French Quebec bilateral agreement Professor warns against provincial tuition increases for French citizens

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Incoming Dentistry students from this semester onwards pay $2,500 per semester towards funding the new facilities. (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune)

cGill University’s Faculty of Dentistry is currently reviewing how to better inform incoming and future students of a $2,500 fee, which will go towards paying off the $18.3 million loan for the new facilities. $7 million has been raised towards this deficit so far. This fee was voted upon by students in a referendum passed by McGill’s Dentistry Students’ Society (DSS) in October 2013, but was stipulated to only affect incoming students from the Fall 2014 semester onwards.

Dean of Dentistry Paul Allison and the DSS have met with students multiple times over the past year to address student awareness of the fee.

“We realized that maybe not all incoming students were aware of this [fee],” Ioana Dumitru, Development associate for University Advancement of the Faculty of Dentistry, said.

“So we’re trying to make this information more accessible. We’re putting this up on our website and making sure it’s well communicated to everyone so that they know [....] We are trying to keep the communication lines open, and we’ll continue to have those conversations.”

Undergraduate Dental Program (DMD) president Ryan Siciliano expressed that the administration has been transparent while working with students.

“The DSS and faculty have been working together and exploring options for the first-year and future students,” he said. “This includes making the website more clear in regards to the fee, bursaries becoming more visible, and exploring future options regarding this fee.”

The continuation of the fee is contingent upon results of any future referenda by the DSS, which would allow students to decide on the question of any future fees, although a concrete date for a referendum has not been set.

“This [fee] is on top of trying to get do-

nations from alumni, and getting a government contribution, so we’re trying to dig into every pocket, have everybody contribute,” Dumitru said. “It has been agreed that we will look into possibly doing another referendum. We don’t know yet, but basically, the students will always be asked whether they are willing to contribute.”

This is not the only source of funding the faculty is seeking to pay off its new facility.

Outside sources have already contributed millions of dollars to fund the project, and could determine how the fee is calculated down the road.

“We still have $11 million dollars to go to pay all of this off,” Dumitru said. “If, and only if, in the meantime we get a big donor who wants to donate all of this money, then that will change, what we ask the students to pay back.

It’s very possible that the target will change.”

McGill’s Faculty of Dentistry officially relocated all of its activities from the Montreal General Hospital to 2001 McGill College Avenue on Sept. 3. The space houses dental and graduate students, clinical and preclinical teaching, clinical and community research, and the faculty’s community outreach activities.

“Even though we’ve only been in our new home for a few months, we are already experiencing the many benefits of this cutting-edge teaching and learning facility, which is not only more accessible to our patients, but is also designed to optimize interactions among our community of clinicians, students, and faculty members,” Allison said in a statement issued this past October.

The new facilities have been well received by faculty and students.

“We have always had outstanding students, professors and staff members in Dentistry—now we have facilities worthy of their talents,” Allison said.

Samy Mesli spoke on the history of France-Quebec relationships. (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune)

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SHRINKHALA DAWADI News Editor

ast Monday, the McGill Commission on Francophone Affairs hosted a conference discussing the effects of the bilateral agreement between France and Quebec on education. The event was also co-hosted by the Department of French Language and Literatures, Le Délit, the Department of Political Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), and Standpoints, a Montreal-based student-run think tank. Samy Mesli, a professor at the Department of Political Science at UQÀM, spoke to the history of the bilateral agreement, which was signed in 1965 and allowed for cooperation between Quebec and France for issues, such as education, under provincial jurisdiction.

“It was a founding act [...] in the domain of international law,” Mesli said. “This agreement of Feb. 27, 1965 also marked the beginning of Quebec’s foreign policy [....] The 1965 agreement opened the door to bilateral cooperation, first in education and then in culture. Now, it touches almost every aspect of economics sectors—health, social, economics, and more.”

Melsi also highlighted the opportunities that the agreement pro-

vided for Quebecois students going to France. “[There are] 5,000 Quebec [students] in France at the moment,” Mesli said. “[The] majority of Quebec students will return back to Quebec and maintain an intellectual lifestyle [....] Conserve these intellectual lives.”

The Quebec government is planning to change the tuition rates for French citizens who currently pay the same rates as Quebec residents. In response to the Quebec government’s recent announcement that the stipulations of the bilateral agreement are under review, Mesli stressed the importance of approaching the issue with a historical and cultural context in mind.

“In these troubled or uncertain times, the decision made by the Quebec government of increasing the tuition imposed to French students the is a mistake,” he said.

“It [considers] a short-term view instead of taking [into] account the entirety of the [...] positive impacts for the Quebec universities [with] the French students’ presence.”

With additional reporting by Domitille Biehlmann, Laurie-Anne Benoit

Opinion

6 editorial

Tuesday, November 11, 2014 THE Mcgill

PGSS healthcare fee reduction highlights benefits of effective representation facts that sticks out about this agreement is the amount of time it took to complete. To engage in this kind of project over three years requires a substantial longterm vision, and one that makes it hard for any one set of student

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tives, Institutional memory is an issue inherent to student organizations on McGill campus, and ensuring that longer-term initiatives are carried over successfully would open up the possibility for pursuing more of these

Institutional memory is an issue inherent to student organizations on McGill campus, and ensuring that longer-term initiatives are carried over successfully would open up the possibility for pursuing more of these worthwhile but slower to execute projects.

politicians to take on a project they won’t be there to manage or even see come to fruition. Other efforts that have been managed over multiple exec terms, such as the Student-Run Café and the negotiation of the much-maligined University Centre lease, have faced similar issues of ensuring continuity between execu-

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In recent negotiations with health care provider Blue Cross, the Post Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) was able to secure a significant reduction in health insurance premiums for all international students, including undergraduates. This agreement was the product of three years of work from PGSS executives, as well as cooperation from McGill in setting up a competitive bidding process for health-care plans.

This case shows the upside of student associations pursuing targeted, clear changes and goals in areas that are directly linked to their primary role as representatives of students vis-à-vis the university. The PGSS representatives were able to convince McGill to set up the competitive bidding process that led to the reduction. Much as the SSMU saw success with its advocacy on the sexual assault policy, part of the success of the PGSS healthcare initiative was that there was a clear focus to an issue affecting students directly. One of the

worthwhile but slower to execute projects. Questions of representativeness are also at issue. Although SSMU is substantially larger than PGSS, much of the complaint at the SSMU level is that student representatives don’t reflect the beliefs of their constituents. Changing this requires councillors to pay greater atten-

tion to the views of their constituents, perhaps through periodic polling of students or other consultations. Former Medicine representative and current Medicine senator David Benrimoh was often known for taking surveys to ensure that he was representing his constituents at Council, a practice that other councillors should increasingly take part in.

The PGSS’ agreement with Blue Cross is one that will yield substantial savings for international students, and also one that makes clear the benefits of when a student association extracts concessions in the provision of vital services. What we can take from this agreement is the importance of student unions having clear, focused aims in advocacy projects, and ultimately willing to face the challenge of passing on projects to future representatives.

In this week’s Campus Conversation, we asked various students to address how they believed SSMU could better represent its constituents.

Campus COnversation

In light of recent controversies over the degree to which the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) represents the student body, we asked several students for their opinions: “How would you make SSMU a stronger representative body?”

Editor-in-Chief Jenny Shen editor@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Mayaz Alam malam@mcgilltribune.com Jessica Fu jfu@mcgilltribune.com Remi Lu rlu@mcgilltribune.com Production Manager Sam Pinto spinto@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Hayley Lim hlim@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Shrinkhala Dawadi and Cece Zhang news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editor Abraham Moussako opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Chloe Nevitt scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Natalie Wong studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Caity Hui features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Max Berger and Morgan Alexander arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Elie Waitzer and Wyatt Fine-Gagné sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Domitille Biehlmann and Cassie Lee design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editors Jack Neal and L-A Benoit photo@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Adrien Hu copy@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Eliott Demelier, Daniel Kang, and Mingye Chen ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors

Representation, the first pillar

Kareem Ibrahim Arts Senator Representation is one of the three pillars of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). Along with service and leadership, accounting for the thoughts and concerns of all undergraduate students is no simple task. That being said, there are some fundamental principles that make this process fairly straightforward, and its implementation is where things get tricky.

There’s a reason why there is a proportionate number of representatives from each faculty, and it’s our hope as student representatives that the mechanisms in place can help facilitate two-way communication for a variety of purposes. It’s important we re-

member the two-way nature of this relationship—being a strong representative body means not only reaching out for input on issues when the student opinion needs to be gathered, but also facilitating open and free channels of communication for students to voice their concerns to us, especially on issues we may not be aware of.

When it comes to smaller faculties, there is generally higher success rates in terms of response rates to consultative efforts such as using surveys and forums because it is easier to access large fractions of the population. How to go about this when it comes to larger faculties, like Arts, is an ongoing discussion. With all the recent conversations surrounding SSMU’s leadership, I, along with other representatives, have been thinking more about how to connect with students. Whether that means navigating less conventional platforms like Facebook or holding more open forums on issues, we know that every

voice is equally valuable. Despite often feeling overwhelmed with the apathy students show towards SSMU, it’s important to remember that the opinions of those who disagree with some of our values and structural intricacies hold just as much weight as those engaged more closely with SSMU. As a representative, it can seem despairing sometimes, especially when notions like that of SSMU promotions being an eyesore are expressed in tandem with complaints about how the society does not accurately serve its constituents. It is tempting to dismiss such ideas, given that they allow for little else to be done, but nonetheless, this opinion is as valid as any, so it’s important we listen to these comments as well.

The disconnect between much of the student population and SSMU is sometimes palpable, and it means that representatives have a lot of work to do in terms of better informing constituents of our activities, the structure of our work, and how their voices are our top priority.

Students and student representatives alike need to work together to create positive change for the student body. That being said, this is a democracy, and we must represent the largest number of students in the decisions we make. The most important thing we need to work on right now—in terms of improving our representation and bridging the gap between dissatisfied students and SSMU—is to reach out to the students that don’t know what SSMU is and also to those who are disenchanted with the importance of SSMU as a whole. These are the opinions we are the least connected with, and once we have a more complete vision of what these students want, we can go from there. The possibilities for change are limitless, as long as those impacting it are our constituents. Letting our own personal views affect our decisions is unacceptable; instead, we need to improve communication before we can be fully satisfied with our capacity to accurately represent students.

Yael Chapman, Jacqui Galbraith, Adrien Hu, Alycia Noe, Sam Pinto, Jenny Shen, Maryse Thomas, Nicolas Tuech

Staff Writers & Illustrators Cordelia Cho, Philippe Dumais, Keah Hansen, Max Joseph, Evelyn Kaczmarek, Aislinn Kalob, Tiffany Le, Chris Lutes, Claire Lyle, Hailey MacKinnon, Eleanor Milman, Alycia Noë, Laura Plamondon, Aaron Rose, Elli Slavitch, Zikomo Smith, Julie Vanderperre, Wilder Walker-Stewart, Lauren Wildgoose

Contributors Babur Ayanlar, Clark Bray, Vincent-Pierre Fullerton, Jacob Greenspon, Kareem Ibrahim, Sarah Ibrahim, Natalie Jennings, Deboleena Mazumbar, Martin Molpeceres, Eric Noble-Marks, Burgess Powell, Daan Rozenbroek, Joshua Shapiro, Noah Sutton, Sharon Xie

Tribune Office Shatner University Centre Suite 110, 3480 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 0E7 T: 514.398.6789

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

7

Opinion

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Clarity needed with SSMU’s role on external issues

Vincent-Pierre Fullerton Vice-President External, Law Students Association

(Continued from page 1) This result sparked anger throughout campus for many different and sometimes contradictory reasons. Some criticized the organization of the GA itself, denouncing the fact that many students were unable to attend or to vote. Others thought it outrageous that a small number of the students present at the assembly could silence a substantive debate about an issue that many hold close at heart. In most cases, anger seemed to stem from a lack of clarity as to SSMU’s role in these issues.

Had it been clear that the SSMU shouldn’t take stances on external questions, this controversy would not have happened.

Had it been clear that SSMU should take external stances, some mechanisms ought to have been put in place to allow proper discussions to happen. The current ambiguity makes it harder

for SSMU to create specific measures for such questions, forcing the body to resort to its usual governance mechanisms to discuss questions and issues which would warrant a different treatment, in that they are necessarily external to campus. In fact, such political questions should require extensive discussion and debating opportunities for all of the student body. Even so, it is a reality that many students won’t want to engage in these discussions. It goes also without saying that all students ought to have the possibility to formally vote on such questions, rather than merely ratifying GA decisions, as is presently the case.

On another note, it is important to acknowledge that S S M U ’s govern a n c e is actually quite suited to represent students on issues that are not extremely contentious and

external. There are several tiers of decision-making which allow elected and non-elected students from all faculties and schools to voice their opinion on almost any subject matter.

While SSMU is a

strong representative body in many matters, it could undoubtedly devise new mechanisms and procedures to allow better debate and more adequate representation of its constituents when

taking positions on contentious political issues. That being said, another discussion might even be held on whether we believe that SSMU, as an association with the primary goal of representing all students’ interests, be vested with the power to take stances on external issues which might inflame issues already divisive among its constituents. This question would, hopefully, make place for a constructive debate.

(Cordelia Cho / McGill Tribune)

Microphones, not megaphones

The Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) representativeness is important because the association plays an important role for students by standing for their interests to McGill. The path to a more responsive SSMU lies in improving three ways in which SSMU interacts with the wider McGill student body First, SSMU should aim to have as much participation in its decisions and operations from as diverse a portion of the student body as possible —the more minds working on a problem, the better the solution will be. For example, in my current role as an Arts Senator, I work with McGill on revising the Student Assessment Policy to ensure that such

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Jacob Greenspon Arts Senator

policies are fair. Changes to this and that the most divisive issues ing with students about a foodpolicy could affect groups of stu- are left to direct democracy. Ad- and-noise policy the library was dents differently, so it’s important ditionally, SSMU must always developing—a post on Spotted for me as an Arts student to hear leave the door open to student McGill received many comments what students from other facul- participation so students can take from students on what they would ties think about these potential part in whatever decisions they and wouldn’t like to see in the policy. By using a variety of forevisions. Better decisions are want.

Second, SSMU must diversi- rums, SSMU will be able to reach made when more students are involved in making them. However, fy its methods of communication. a wider audience, achieve greater student politicians have to be re- Listservs alone just don’t cut student participation in decisionmaking, alistic and recand lead ognize that bemore stutween lectures, dents to use homework, SSMU must act as not just a its services. part-time jobs, megaphone—broadcasting the Third, and ‘relaxing’ decisions it is making and the issues it S S M U on weekends is looking at—but a microphone for s h o u l d many students students, which proactively looks into adopt an issimply don’t the student body. sues-based have time to be approach to involved in all communidecisions made

by SSMU. Consequently, SSMU it: SSMU needs to go to where cation. This would mean appealis a representative democracy, students already are in order to ing to students’ opinions on speallowing elected representatives reach them. This means using cific issues, in addition to asking to make decisions on behalf of social media, tabling on campus, them to tell representatives what their constituents. However, the making class announcements, they think in general. Further, onus is on elected representa- and more. Communicating this SSMU should give greater weight tives to effectively communicate way will reach more students and to student input so that students’ with students, both to ensure give student representatives more opinions lead to more tangible rethat representatives vote in tune complete information to work off sults. For example, under the Arts with their constituents’ opinions of. This was useful when consult- Undergraduate Society’s (AUS)

participatory budgeting initiative, students can vote directly on what AUS funds should be used on. If a student’s vote has a tangible, meaningful impact, students will more likely be willing to voice their views.

Improving these three areas will lead to a student society that better represents McGill students. SSMU must have as much participation as possible in its decisions, and where extensive participation isn’t possible, representatives must consult with students. Further, the consultative communication must be widespread, specific, and succinct in order to be truly effective. To draw an imperfect metaphor, SSMU must act as not just a megaphone—broadcasting the decisions it is making and the issues it is looking at—but a microphone for students, which proactively looks into the student body to collect opinions and amplify all students’ voices. This would then enable students to be better represented by their student society, with better outcomes for all.

Opinion

8

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

COMMENTARY

The portrait of a terrorist

The portrait of a terrorist is often painted by the media as such: A radical jihadist with a calculating and deliberate plan to bring down the West. This is the narrative both American and Canadian media and governments try to sell to the masses. Indeed, this ‘terrorist’ in media narratives is never racially ‘white.’

After ‘western’ people commit a tragic and senseless act of violence, the public immediately examines their past: Were they bullied at school? Marginalized by their peers? Did they have a history of mental illness? Should we have seen the signs and given them help?

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Sharon Xie Contributor

used as a justification for acts of But the idea of ‘terrorism’ is investigated by the RCMP. American news outlets have terror. However, it is unusual that never addressed. Minorities are not given the same benefit of the been quick to praise the dignified people do not categorize other and calm Canadian news cover- mass murderers as terrorists doubt.

In particular, when a person age of the attack. While Cana- when they use another ideologiof Middle Eastern descent com- dian news sources have been less cal framework to justify their acmits a devastating crime, he or sensationalist than their Ameri- tions. After all, the definition of she is often defaulted as a ‘ter- can counterparts, they were still terrorist activity in the Criminal not immune to hastily describ- Code is simply an act undertaken rorist.’

In the aftermath of the recent ing Zehaf-Bibeau as a convert to for a political, religious, or ideological tragic Ottawa shootpurpose ing, Prime Minister that is Stephen Harper dei n t e n d e d clared that a terrorIt is unusual that people do not to intimiist, Michael Zehafcategorize other mass murderers date.

Bibeau, killed Coras terrorists when they use Earporal Nathan Cirilanother ideological framework to lier this lo, the soldier who justify their actions. year, Elwas standing guard liot Rodat the National War ger killed Memorial. Harper also linked Zehaf-Bibeau’s acts Islam. In the coverage, his reli- seven people, including himself, to Martin Couture-Rouleau’s gion quickly became his defining on a shooting spree near the campus of University of California, “ISIL-inspired” attack, which oc- characteristic.

His mental illness, alien- Santa Barbara. Soon after, the pocurred only two days earlier.

This was before any con- ation, and other psychologi- lice discovered a YouTube video crete evidence of Zehaf-Bibeau’s cal disturbances soon came into that served as his manifesto in connection to ISIL was raised, light, other possible causes of his which he declared he would “destroy” all the females who were despite him not being one of the actions.

Some say that Islam can be “incapable of seeing the value in 90 ‘high-risk’ individuals being

[him].” Rodger’s sense of sexual entitlement faced with the rejections he experienced created an ideology that he could use to justify killing so many people.

Why was Rodger not considered a terrorist? Do we slot Zehaf-Bibeau into the role of the terrorist simply because of his conversion to Islam? And as a so-called terrorist, do we discredit mental illness as a factor, just like we have done to other Islamists who were not given the same benefit of the doubt as their white non-Islamic counterparts?

There seems to be a double standard here: If you are Muslim, you are a terrorist; if you are a white non-Muslim, you are mentally ill. This binary is assumptive, judgemental, and ultimately harmful.

If we want to have a better conversation on mass shootings, we first need to move away from this narrative.

To be heard, or not to be heard

“The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.”

—Noam Chomsky Universities have long been instrumental in promoting the potential of humans by being sanctuaries of free thought, free expression, and constant questioning of the world around us. It is unfortunate that, in this day and age, that institutions of higher education have largely lost this sense of importance in promoting freedom of expression and the importance of the individual. This phenomenon

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Daan Rozenbroek Contributor

has largely been the doing of radical of instituting apartheid. The Uni- dent unions are shooting not only student unions and professors who versity of Toronto and Ryerson Uni- themselves and the students they seem to prefer silencing viewpoints versity’s respective student unions are meant to represent in the foot, that oppose their own. In Canada have banned the existence of men’s but higher education itself as well. for instance, the Justice Centre for issues awareness clubs on their re- When free and intelligent debate Constitutional Freedoms published spective campuses, claiming the is censored on campus by a small its 2014 Campus Freedom Index, organizations were affiliated with but loud minority that want to limit in which 33 of the 52 Canadian A Voice for Men and the Canadian discourse to their views, we are efuniversities featured in the index Association for Equality, which the fectively limiting our own scope were given a failing grade for their student unions deemed to be “hate of perspectives. Student unions, as organiefforts to preserve zations freedom of exprescommitsion on campus. ted to Not only have When free and intelligent debate is representmore than half of Cacensored on campus by a small but loud ing all nadian universities minority that want to limit discourse to members failed to protect the their views, we are effectively limiting of their freedom that is most our own scope of perspectives. respecimportant to higher tive stueducation, they have also applied their censorship and groups.” However, neither organi- dent bodies, have no right to impose rejection of free speech in the most zation has been labelled as such by biased or narrowed perspectives on biased way possible. In 2012, the any other entities that are generally any or all students.

Unfortunately, despite the maStudents’ Society of McGill Uni- trusted make such a designation, versity (SSMU) forced the club such as the police or courts. The list jority of students holding neutral called the McGill Friends of Israel of instances of student associations or moderate political views, camto change an event named “Israel- playing judge, jury, and executioner pus discourse within many Canadian universities still suffers from A-party,” while not censoring other in cases like these goes on.

Radicalized students and stu- a radical leftist atmosphere. What clubs which accuse the Jewish state

is wrong with expressing solidarity with Israel as so many student groups do with Palestine? Why can men not organize a group to discuss issues that predominantly affect their gender? These expressions and others like them have been relentlessly suppressed by numerous student unions. It is well past due time to end this Orwellian culture on campus.

It is fair to claim in response that free speech should be restricted by the rights and freedoms of others.

However, the only such instances in which free speech should ever be limited is in the case of hate speech.

Designating a statement or group as a “hate group” or “hate speech” should not be a power belonging to any arbitrary student or student organization. Student associations are not legally accredited to determine what does or does not construe hate speech, and their laws do not, or at least should not , overrule the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that all Canadians benefit from .

Have your say. Write for opinion.

Email opinion@mcgilltribune.com or come to meetings at 6:00PM on Mondays in SSMU 110

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

9

Student Living

Indulging in Montreal’s diverse culinary scene MTL à TABLE: Affordable tastings of gourmet restaurants With many award-winning restaurants, it is not a surprise that MTL à TABLE is an annual success in Montreal.

Montreal’s Restaurant Week, which took place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 9, featured various tastes from some of the best restaurants in the city. Hosted by Tourism Montréal, MTL à TABLE invited both locals and tourists to discover new cuisines with affordable fixed-price menus ($19, $29, and $39) for a full three-course meal.

Osteria Venti located at Rue Saint Paul Ouest. (Hayley Mortin / The McGill Tribune)

Le Bourlingueur A French-Alsatian restaurant tucked within the cultural, meandering, and cobblestoned roads of Old Montreal, Le Bourlingueur is a delightful experience that offers a cozy, home-like experience with affordable, gourmet dishes with a home-cooked quality.

For MTL à TABLE, Le Bourlingueur’s chef Nicolas created a tempting three-course meal for the fixed price of $19. The appetizer included a soup of the day and rabbit terrine with prunes.

The main course offered a bison stew with caramel sauce, poached salmon with cream sauce, and cumin lentils and quinoa. Finally, desserts included a maple and apple crumble, chocolate and caramel fondant, and a dessert of the day. Accompanying each dish was a recommendation for the wine choice to best accompany the meal.

While the soup of the day (carrot soup) was not exactly gourmet and was served in a small portion, it tasted homemade, which added to the ambiance of the restaurant. The bison stew was a wonderful surprise, with the tender Bison strewn upon a bed of tendered, caramelized cabbage and shallots and a strong hint of red wine infused among the delicious mixture of flavours. The popular dessert options—such as the apple crumble—were sold out by the end of the night, and the carrot cake was disappointing with its lack of flavour and cream cheese frosting. However, the meal was pleasant overall, with filling portions and strong flavours.

The MTL à TABLE menu for Le Bourlingueur also offered other options at additional costs, such as a French onion soup for the appetizer, a cheese manicotti for the main course, or an orange crème brulee for dessert.

Le Bourlinguer offers quality service, with friendly waiters and waitresses. For students especially, this is the perfect place to go for a break away from work to get quality food and ambiance with reasonable pricing. The setting of the restaurant is warm and charming. Le Bourlinguer has large windows looking out to the scenic view of Old Montreal, as well as beautiful stone-walls and a lightly dimmed atmosphere to provide a cozy evening experience.

—Natalie Wong

Flyjin Restaurant

Flyjin Café located in Old Montreal. (Hayley Mortin / The McGill Tribune)

Flyjin Restaurant is an Izakaya style Japanese restaurant located in Old Montreal.

The atmosphere is reminiscent of an underground exclusive bar, as the entrance to the restaurant requires walking down eerie stairs into a modern space decorated by local artists. Not only is the contemporary space impressive, but co-chefs James Yoon and Narith Plong also cook up mouth-watering Japanese cuisine. MTL à TABLE allowed patrons to sample a variety of Japanese dishes accompanied by Asian-inspired cocktails for only $39.

The first course offered a choice between chicken or pork dumplings and Flyjin tropical salad. The tropical salad was a refreshing way to begin a meal, with a mixture of julienned green payaya, cabbages, carrots, red onions, and mango topped with tapioca and an acidic vinaigrette. On the other hand, the fried dumplings offered a nice textural contrast between the crisp shell and moist filling. Next, the main course featured options for a miso black cod or Korean-style braised short ribs. The fish and beef were perfectly cooked, as they flaked apart with the lightest touch of a fork. The cod was served with beet purée and taro chips to provide texture.

The restaurant featured Asian takes on traditional Canadian desserts, as evidenced by a Nanaimo bar with litchi sorbet, or maple cake with oba mango sauce. Stick around until 11 p.m. and a satisfying dinner can become an entertaining night, as the restaurant eventually transforms into a nightclub.

Osteria Venti

Chez Victoire

Osteria Venti is located in a historical building on Rue Saint-Paul Ouest. Chef Guiseppe Sacchetti serves up Italian cuisine with his own flair. The $39 MTL à TABLE menu was the equivalent to the price of some of the main courses on its regular menu. The restaurant did not disappoint, as the portions were generous for the high-quality dishes.

Options for the first course included braised veal, tuna, and a salad. The veal is a dish for the more adventurous eater, as it is veal tail served with polenta. The tuna offered a lighter option, poached in olive oil and accompanied by olives, celery, and onions, with parsley for garnish. The simple fennel and orange salad is a good choice for those who are not in the mood for a heavy protein.

The second course offered fettucine with mushroom and roasted duck ragu, poached trout and shrimp served in a fish broth and garnished with garlic roasted tomatoes, or osso bucco à la Milanese—veal shank braised in meat broth until tender. For dessert, the menu featured two appetizing choices—tiramisu, or semolina pudding flavoured with oranges.

‘New cuisine’ is a food movement characterized by lighter dishes with an emphasis on presentation. Rooted in French cuisine—dating back to 1700s France—new cuisine has found a home in Quebec, with a number of restaurants boasting the label alongside high prices.

For restaurant week, Chez Victoire—located in the Plateau-Mile End neighbourhood—provided an affordable $29 three-course meal for those who might normally balk at the $14,000 wine menu. The meal led with two contrasting appetizers: A heartier beef tartar cut with a tart roquette cheese, and a lighter scallop dish featuring an airy broth, offset by crunchy cubes of root vegetables.

The entrees were a lesson in tenderness, with options for a braised pork dish or a fillet of trout. The braised pork was a dream of textures, the soft meat blending perfectly with a bed of mashed potatoes, and contrasted by the crunch of snap peas. The trout featured a dish of complementing flavours, with the milder fish combining with a creamy risotto and tart cherries to offer a stunningly complex dish.

The meal ended with choices for a tart panna cotta—offered in a signature Montreal Mason jar—or a fruitier rice pudding dessert.

If the menu offered for MTL à TABLE is any indication of the overall quality of Chez Victoire, the high prices at the restaurant may well be justified.

A city as diverse as Montreal plays host to a platter of ethnic foods. Included amongst these is Japanese cuisine—which exists in colourful and flavourful profiles outside of the smattering of bland all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants dotting the city. Alongside its sister venues—Kyozon, Imadake, and Kazu among them—Kyo Bar Japonais is one of Montreal’s preeminent Japanese restaurants.

Kyo Bar’s restaurant week menu boasted a number of options that featured the versatility of Japanese cuisine. As an appetizer, the Nagoya-style chicken wings featured a mild yet distinctly Asian taste, while the steamed beef salad offered a safe—but disappointingly chewy—option. Kyo Bar’s real shining moment, however, came in the form of its entrees, with its panko-fried pork cooked perfectly over a bed of coleslaw and an Asian cucumber. The tender mirin-marinated chicken thigh included a smoky and grilled flavour profile to complement a dish of otherwise gentle flavours. Perfectly capping off the meal were the desserts: Yuzu donuts for a slightly sweet and tangy taste, contrasted with the black rice pudding—seasoned with roasted coconut and lemongrass—for those preferring a more light and airy finish.

Visit Kyo Bar for a satisfying lesson in authentic Japanese cuisine, with notes of Western-inspired flavours.

—Alycia Noë

—Remi Lu

—Remi Lu

—Alycia Noë

Kyo Bar Japonais

From blast-off to spin-off Space sciences revolutionize clinical practices and techniques Chloe Nevitt

D

uring the development of the Apollo program in the 1960s, space enthusiast Lorne Trottier was getting his B.Sc. at McGill University. Every week, he would go to Schulich Library to check out the magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology to get updates regarding the moon landing.

Finally, NASA did it—they had successfully sent a man to the moon. Ever since this landing, space science has dramatically evolved, and the technologies themselves increasingly serve a dual purpose. Not only is space science making leaps within the realms of zero gravity, it is also improving the lives of humankind back on earth.

In his novel An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield describes that thinking like an astronaut is a matter of changing your perspective. Just as astronauts’ perspectives on the boundaries of space science are changing, today’s inventors are also broadening their views to apply space science in developing everyday technology.

In the 1960s, Eugene Lally, an engineer from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), investigated techniques to develop small, lightweight image sensors to take photos of space. Thirty years later, another team from JPL, led by Eric Fossum, looked to improve these image sensors, creating a device known as a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensor (CMOS).

This technology was cost-effective, maintained image quality, and was easy to build. Recognizing the capacity for these sensors to be employed within an everyday framework, the company Photobit made minor modifications to the sensors, which are now used in one in three cellphone cameras worldwide.

“You can’t predict what the payoff will be,” stated Elizabeth Howell, senior writer at Universe Today . “When they first invented laser [sensors,] they didn’t expect CDs or faster computers.”

But the implications of such technologies are far beyond the entertainment industry. Some technologies originally developed for space have made substantial contributions to the medical field.

In 1969, Canada was invited by NASA to participate in the space shuttle program. Their duty was to develop a Shuttle Re-

mote Manipulator System (SRMS), which was used to deploy, maneuver, and capture the part of the rocket known as the payload.

A partner of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) known as SPAR Aeronautics, developed a SRMS called the Canadarm which was used for 40 years. When the Canadarm retired, its legacy lived on.

“These SPAR arms [have since been developed] to become medical arms,” Howell explained. “In five years, things like image-guided autonomous robots (IGARs) [will be] searching for breast cancers [within the body].”

The Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation in Hamilton, Ontario is designing these mechanical IGAR arms to detect and treat early stages of breast cancer. Dr. Nathalie Duchesne, a breast radiologist from Quebec City, is currently helping perform the first clinical trials for IGAR, which is projected to be released in the next four years.

The realization that technology could be applied across fields spurred the development of NASA’s Technology Transfer program, which focuses on commercializing NASA technologies.

The end-of-year reports for these products, published yearly by NASA since 1976, provide a quantifiable way to show the general public the impact of space technology on earth.

“The early 1960s was when the tech transfer program was created,” said Daniel Lockney, NASA Technology Transfer program executive. “We would report back to the government […] and everyone thought, ‘This is such cool stuff, keep it coming.’”

In addition to its functions in space, the NASA Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity (ADUM) can provide medical care for people living in remote communities. This tool avoids the need for expensive machinery, and can be brought to places where cumbersome equipment poses challenges, due to costs and transportation limitations. The ADUM can see whether or not a lung has been punctured or a bone has been broken. Being able to make both an early and accurate diagnosis significantly improves the outcome for a patient.

“You can’t take an x-ray machine into space because they’re heavy and [require] a lot of power,” Lockney said. “So we de-

veloped a light-weight, low-power, rugged ultra-sound machine […] that can be used [as a] diagnostic [tool].”

This ability to detect a sprained or broken wrist has been increasingly used by athletic trainers. The ADUM allows coaches and trainers to accurately determine the severity of an injury and better assess the situation to make smarter and safer decisions for their players. “[The ADUM] can be used in sports games, where trainers can [decide] to [let] a player back in,” Lockney said. “It was used for the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Lions. It proved successful and now these are being used all over the country.”

Space research has also benefited the scope of medical knowledge. By examining astronauts, scientists and doctors are able to analyze the medical anomalies caused by living in space and connecting them to problems people have on earth.

Richard Hughson from the University of Waterloo has been studying the effects of aging by comparing seniors to astronauts.

“Astronauts come back weaker, [they have] blood pressure problems, [and their] balance is off,” Howell said. “[Hughson] has access to astronauts from the International Space Station, and he’s looking at seniors that just got out of bed in the morning and comparing them to astronauts like Chris Hadfield.”

By comparing these two demographics, Hughson has been able to provide insight on mechanisms in the elderly that are affecting their blood flow, which cause them to faint and fall. For the astronauts, it’s the effects of microgravity in space—a condition where all people and objects appear to be weightless—that have a number of detrimental affects on the body.

“There’s bone decalcification [and] atrophy in the bone structure,” said Jack James, the Technology Transfer Office chief from NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “Our Human Health and Performance Group […] looks at the risks, identifies which are real and what’s [their] magnitude, and [then] how to [create] countermeasures to address [them].”

A lot of these technological advances have occurred due to the work of pioneers in developing surgical techniques from NASA technologies such as Michael Debakey.

Debakey was a world-renowned heart surgeon who invented heart and lung bypass machines developed from the same efficient pump design used by NASA rockets. While rocket pumps transfer tons of fuel and a heart pump transfers only litres, they have a similar application. More researchers that think like Debakey are necessary to evolve these inventions for other purposes, explained James.

“We developed an implantable heart device based on microfluid [rocket fuel] flow,” Lockney said. “We took that knowledge and worked with Michael Debakey to develop a ‘heartplant,’ which is a bridge between [an implant and] a heart transplant.’”

However, the scope of NASA’s work isn’t limited to physical health; space research also contributes to mental health studies that are used to evaluate the effects of isolation on the mind.

“Some of the people who helped the miners who were trapped down in Chile [in 2010] were people from our lab,” James said. “[Based on their experiences in space,] they can tell you what to worry about for people who are confined and isolated for a long time.”

The effects of isolation are important to consider for longer space expeditions, such as a trip to Mars, which James says could take three to five years. It’s essential for both mental health and further space studies to understand how people will react to solitude.

Beyond contributing to the medical field, the space program provides insight to the development of life on earth.

“We’re getting a deeper understanding of ourselves and how we got here,” Trottier said. “I’m very excited by it.”

The technology developed to find life—and answer our own questions about life—forms a critical tool to better understand the origins of the universe.

“[Telescopes] are being built—next generation space technology—and there’s a good chance they can find another Earth and evidence for something with life on it,” Trottier said.

Professor René Doyon from Université de Montréal is developing one of the four main instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope: The Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec).

“Using IR technology [the telescope] will be capable of detecting the atmospheres of planets.” explained Doyon. “The telescope will be launched in 2018, so hopefully [by then] we’ll be capable of detecting the [solar] systems [we want to study].”

The telescope measures atmospheres of exoplanets—planets outside our solar system—to determine whether planets exist with water or oxygen in their atmospheres.

By examining the origins and presence of life on other planets, astronauts will be able to get a deeper and better understanding of our own.

“Astronomy is the ultimate way of doing exploration [...] finding life outside the solar system and finding the nature of the universe will put us in a much broader perspective,” Doyon said.

The depth of NASA’s contributions to space and modern technology are extensive. And, while NASA has sometimes been incorrectly credited with bringing inventions like MRIs to the public, perhaps the biggest contribution from space technologies has been the breaking down of barriers.

Over the last thirteen years, Doyon’s fondest memories working on the telescope are from working with other people. Translational research, he explains, is essential in tackling large projects.

“You [...] bring together the best talents in many fields,” Doyon said. “You need engineering, you need experts in management, you need scientists to analyze, [but] more than anything else, we need lots of students.”

12

Student Living

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Campus Spotlight: Movember McGill ‘Tis the season for mo’ moustaches Laura Plamondon Staff Writer For some, November represents the impending cold of the long Montreal winter and the struggle to prepare for finals and assignments. For others, it also brings a whole different meaning. November marks the month of “Movember,” a movement started in Australia eight years ago by Adam Garone and a group of his friends. This movement has made its way to campus in the form of Movember McGill, a club that aims to increase awareness about prostate cancer and raise money to fund prostate cancer research.

Movember McGill hosts a variety of events on campus, the most common one in the month of November where participants grow moustaches or support individuals who are growing moustaches for the cause. The club, which began six years ago, has been successful in its campaigns so far, with positive feedback from students around campus.

“I think guys love Movember because growing a beard or a moustache makes them feel manly,’ said Siena Aberdeen, U1 Management student.

“If this leads to spreading awareness for prostate cancer, it’s all the better.”

While the Movember movement originally started as a cause to raise

awareness for men’s prostate cancer, there are also many women who participate in Movember and aim to raise money for the cause.

“We all know that moustaches are not always seen as something attractive, so we need ‘Mo Sistas,’ [female Movember participants] to reach out to the men in their lives to tell them they look good with their moustaches, as well as start conversations with them on the reality of prostate and testicular cancer,” said Margaret Markin, cochair of Movember McGill.

The original Movember movement grew out of Garone’s recognition that growing moustaches would provide visibility to combat prostate cancer’s invisible nature. Garone realized that creating this movement to grow moustaches for a month would be an interesting and innovative way to start conversations about prostate and testicular cancer. Movember has increased in momentum and has expanded to North America, Europe, and Asia.

“Garone realized that cancer is something quite invisible, whereas moustaches are very much visible,” said Sahil Kumar, co-chair of Movember McGill.

Canada started embracing the organization eight years ago, and is now the country that raises the second most

donations globally after the United States, with $5 million funds generated this year.

This season, Movember McGill is collaborating with McGill Athletics to create “Move,” a fundraiser series of sport-related events such as hockey and basketball games on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22. The organization is also hosting a speaker series on Nov. 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Otto Maass Chemistry Building with professors who have Movember grants that fund multidisciMovember McGill dresses as Despicable Mo’s. (Photo courtesy of Movember McGill) plinary approaches to an“Everyone does their own thing, swer questions with regards to prostate a costume event, where teams create cancer to inform donors on where their themes around the moustaches they and we want to become the liaison between the different organization’s that money is being spent. Movember Mc- have grown.

Other groups that are not directly promote Movember events around Gill also travels around campus bars, such as Blues Pub, to fundraise and linked to Movember McGill also orga- McGill,” Kumar said.

Movember McGill aims to create nize Movember events. For example, organize head-shaving sessions.

“We’ll be at Blues Pub raising EUS is organizing an apartment crawl, a fun and inclusive environment where money, and people are going to shave Desautels will host a Movember- students, professors, staff, and security their head once we have reached cer- themed ‘4-à-7,’and the Post-Graduate participate. “You feel a sense of pride tain goals of money,” said Jessica Fer- Students’ Society (PGSS) hosts a spe- and community when you bump into a kul, U4 Engineering and Movember cial Movember poker tournament on a fellow ‘Mo bro’ […] who is also trying to grow a moustache, even if he is a date that has yet to be decided co-chair.

However, these societies tend to total stranger,” Ferkul said.

Movember celebrates the end of the month with a Gala party on act independently, and Movember McNov. 28 at the Rialto Theatre. This is Gill’s role is to bring them together.

Essential spices to enhance meals Easy ways to spruce up dishes with seasonings Keah Hansen Staff Writer

Cooking with spices is an exciting, economical, and healthy way to spruce up basic student dishes.

However, meandering down the spice isle can be daunting for even

the most advanced cook. Here are some common spices from a variety of global cuisines to help bring flavourful boosts of nutrition to even the simplest meals.

Chili peppers

Cinnamon

Basil

Curry powder

Chili peppers originate from Central and South America. They were introduced to the rest of the world in the 15th and 16th centuries, quickly becoming staples in many styles of cuisine. There are as many varieties of chili peppers as there are recipes to incorporate them in, making them versatile in savoury cooking. The spice is made by grinding dried peppers; some common types of dried pepper include habaneros, chipotle, and cayenne. Chili peppers are renowned for their health benefits in many cultures, helping fight inflammation and aiding weight loss. They also boost immunity and clear congestion, making them ideal for flu season.

Cinnamon is cultivated from the brown bark of the cinnamon tree and comes in two varieties, Chinese and Ceylon. When the bark is harvested, it rolls into the tubular form known as cinnamon sticks, found in most grocery stores.

Cinnamon has a long history, and was even used in ancient Egypt as an embalming agent. Later, it became one of the main commodities of trade between Europe and Asia, and grew in popularity in European cuisine during the Early Middle Ages. Cinnamon has many health benefits, including its antifungal and antibacterial properties, its ability to stabilize blood sugar, and its potential to boost cognitive function and memory.

Basil is harvested from the leaves of the basil plant, and is a highly fragrant and versatile plant. There are 60 varieties, the most common being sweet basil, which is found in Italian cuisine, and Thai and lemon basil, which are found in Southeast Asian cuisines. Basil is revered in many different cultures around the world; in India, it is a symbol of hospitality, while in Italy, it symbolizes love. Basil is high in Vitamin K, has antiinflammatory effects, and contains flavonoids, which serve as protection from radiation.

Curry powder is a fragrant spice mix, which varies in composition—reflecting South Asian cuisine. Most curry powder recipes include coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and chilli peppers in their blends.

Additional ingredients like garlic, ginger, and fennel seed may be included. Curry powder is well established in the dishes of the Indian peninsula. The spices in curry powder have a range of amazing health benefits. Turmeric, for example, has potent anti-inflammatory benefits and lowers cholesterol, while coriander lowers blood sugar and controls free radicals.

Try this: - Sauté leafy greens like kale with cayenne and garlic.

-Make a warming chili with diced tomatoes, black beans, chickpeas, corn, rice, and cayenne.

-Squeeze some lemon juice and cayenne pepper into a glass of water in the morning for a detoxifying kick.

(Source: www.whfoods.com)

Try this: -A rice pilaf with roasted veggies, raisins, and chicken for a Middle Easterninspired dinner.

-Add a few dashes on whole grain toast with honey and butter.

-Sprinkle it in your morning coffee or tea for added flavour.

Try this: -Make an easy pasta dish by topping cooked pasta with fresh chopped sweet basil, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.-Simmer diced tomatoes with dried basil, mushrooms, and zucchini for an easy tomato sauce.

-Try a salad with diced fresh basil leaves, spinach, purple onion, and mozzarella.

Try this: -Create a curry by simmering rice, coconut milk, chopped vegetables, and chickpeas.

-Make a homemade salad dressing with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, diced garlic, and curry power.

-Add it in a stew with lentils, potatoes, sautéed onion, and garlic.

(Photos courtesy of indianspices.com, groceriessweets.com, provencecatering.com, drjanephilpott.files.wordpress.com)

13

Science & Technology Schrödinger’s Cat as a key player in cutting-edge technology Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Nobel prize winner David Wineland’s research explained Babur Ayanlar Contributor

(Continued from page 1)

the most precise atomic clock in the world. Atomic clocks keep time by Superposition is difficult to under- measuring the transitional frequency stand for people who almost exclusive- of an atom, which is the frequency of ly observe macroscopic events in their the radiation given off by the atom as daily lives. In order to demonstrate how it is excited or grounded. By isolating a odd the principles of quantum mechan- caesium-133 atom in ground state, and ics would be, Erwin Schrödinger pre- measuring how many cycles a transisented his famous thought experiment. tional vibration makes within a second, Say there’s a cat in a closed box with researchers have come up with a new some poison. If we apply the concept definition for a second.

“These clocks are used extensiveof superposition, there’s a 50 per cent chance that the poison has killed the ly—ranging from GPS to synchronizcat, but there’s no way of knowing this ing time globally—because they are definitely until the lid is opened. In this the most precise and accurate clocks situation, using quantum mechanical ever made, with a loss of [one] second terms, the cat is said to exist in a su- [every] 20 million years,” Wineland experposition state of being both dead and plained.

Quantum computing currently alive, until we choose to open the lid and observe what has happened. As we does not actually involve any compuobserve the inside of the box, the super- tation, but rather the analysis of single position state collapses into one of the or multiple quantum systems. Atoms or ions trapped using the aforementioned two possible observable outcomes. techniques Wineare used land’s reas points— search founits of incuses on isoAtoms or ions trapped using the aforeformation lating single mentioned techniques are used as points— called quions known units of information called qubits (quantum bits (quanas individubits)... a 300 qubits quantum computer will tum bits). al quantum have the ability to process 2300 bits—an Instead systems. amount equal to the total amount of of being Wineland information in the universe. limited to and his coljust ones leagues disand zecussed the idea of capturing a single particle in roes—like bits in classical computing 1973, and since 1975 have been work- are—qubits have the ability to be both ing on isolating a single ion—methods of these values or any value in benow termed ‘trapping techniques.’ Ion tween due to the quantum superposition traps are created in an ultra-high vac- property of particles. Thus, a quantum uum using a combination of static and computer has the ability to process 2 n oscillating electric fields. The ions, amount of bits compared to a classical using advanced lasers, are cooled down computer. For example, a 300 qubits to close to absolute zero, where the ions quantum computer will have the ability exhibit a narrower range of quantum to process 2 300 bits—an amount equal to mechanical reactions to any change in the total amount of information in the the system, which makes analysis much universe. easier. To do this, the lasers hit the ion In its infancy, quantum computand cause it to emit photons—packets ing still has a long way to go. Despite of energy—of a higher average energy their unparalleled computing power, than the one it absorbed from the laser. quantum computers will never replace Over time, the ions lose a significant classical computers. Classical computamount of energy, bringing them closer ers are much more capable of doing and closer to absolute zero. classical computations due to the nature Wineland and Haroche’s team of bits, and quantum computers have successfully developed a system that a narrower range of operations called trapped single ions, cooled them to quantum operations or quantum changround state, and observed the quantum neling. However, the nature of qubits mechanical effects of exciting the ion. have allowed scientists to achieve incredible tasks already, such as teleportQuantum computers and ing particles over 25 kilometres of optical fiber. atomic clocks “At this point, nobody knows what The use of singular atoms and ions is starting to be applied to quantum quantum computing may evolve into in computing and atomic clocks—two of the far or near future,” Wineland said. the most cutting-edge quantum technologies available today. Consequently, Wineland has successfully developed

“

Clare lyle Staff Writer

Neuroscience of choking under pressure The experience of choking under pressure— in an exam, at the free-throw line, or in a presentation—is a familiar one. This week a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience attempted to explain what goes on in the brain when the stakes are raised.

While monitoring their brains with an MRI scanner, researchers had participants play a video game. They were then told that they could win or lose varying amounts of money depending on how they played.

The results were somewhat counterintuitive.

Individuals with high loss aversion performed best when they risked losing money. In other words, people who were most scared of losing money performed best when they had a lot to lose. When offered a large sum for winning, though, these lossaverse gamers choked.

The opposite was true for less loss-averse individuals. High rewards elicited better performance, and potential losses caused them to choke.

The researchers found that the part of the brain related to this phenomenon was a region called the ventral striatum. Increased activity of the ventral striatum was linked to improved performance. Those who were highly loss-averse experienced the most activity when they risked losing money, while the less loss-averse experienced decreased activity in the ventral striatum.

These results may have wide-reaching implications, especially for individuals in high-stress jobs like surgeons and pilots.

Bats create sounds to ‘jam’ sonars Life is tough for the Mexican free-tailed bat.

Not only does it have to contend with parasites and predators, but new research shows that it also experiences sonar jamming from other bats.

This species lives in some of the largest colonies in the animal kingdom, with some caves housing up to a million bats. These massive groups necessitate intricate social systems, involving over a dozen different vocalizations used in communication. One of these signals, it turns out, does a lot more than say hello.

Bats hunt via echolocation, which involves using sound waves to determine the location of their prey. Right as they swoop in on their dinner, they emit a series of highpitched vocalizations called a feeding buzz. Sometimes the sound waves produced by two bats can jam CONTACT each other, but usually when this happens, one or both of the bats will switch to a different frequency.

A biologist from Johns Hop-

kins University has found that these bats can deliberately jam each other by producing a sound that interferes with a feeding buzz. When a recording of this particular sound was played right as bats honed in on the moths they were hunting, it caused them to miss their targets.

So far the Mexican free-tailed bat is the only bat species to exhibit this behaviour, although one species of moth has also been found to jam its predators’ sonar.

Direct brain-to-brain interface in humans Telepathy may sound like something out of a fantasy novel, but a recent paper published in PLOS ONE indicates that it may not be as far off as we once thought.

A team of scientists from the University of Washington have succeeded in creating a non-invasive interface through which humans can communicate brain-to-brain. The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain activity from one subject, then transmitted that information over the internet to a device that used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to activate different parts of a second subject’s brain.

The experiment involved six subjects (grouped into three pairs) who had to play a game involving shooting down rockets that were trying to invade a city. The catch was that only one member of the pair (called the sender) could see the screen, and the receiver, located in a different building, had access to the controller.

To shoot down a rocket, the sender imagined moving his or her right hand. This brain activity was picked up by the EEG and sent to the part of the receiver’s brain that controlled motion via TMS, causing the receiver’s hand to jerk up.

The pairs’ success in the game varied wildly, from one pair that shot down 83 per cent of rockets to another whose hit rate was only 25 per cent. Upon analysis, poor performance was linked not to the brain-to-brain interface being unreliable, but rather to the sender not playing the game very well.

The researchers point out the potential to extend these results to sending information from one person’s brain to multiple people, although they emphasize that current technology is still a long ways away from the mind-control rays of science fiction.

Individuals with ICHTHYOSIS are needed for a research study in Montreal involving an approved topical treatment. Reimbursement will be $300 for four visits.

derek.ganes@ganespharma.com

“

14

Science & Technology Uber simple, Uber convenient, Uber ruthless

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Examining Uber’s business model Wilder Walker-Stewart Staff Writer Uber taxi service has recently blown away its previous valuation in a $1.2 billion financing round—making the taxi company worth a staggering $18.2 billion. According to Business Insider, the company is rumored to have made $2 billion of total profit, and Travis Kalanick, the CEO of Uber, claims that profits are doubling at least every six months. However, profits being realized in only five out of the 130 cities in which the company operates, according to Insider.

“Uber is revolutionizing the way taxis work,” stated William Nairi, an Uber spokesperson.

Uber is a transportation service that, according to its website, offers a “one-tap” alternative to a taxi. The entire process, including paying for the ride, happens within the app, much of it automatically through algorithms. The sleek user interface is easy to use, making getting a taxi

simple and accessible. The company promises a ride within minutes, with five levels of service, including everything from fast and cheap transportation—UberX—to limousine-style travelling—UberLux. With 4.4 stars on the iTunes App Store and four out of five stars on Google Play, the app is gaining considerable traction even here at McGill, Uber has many fans.

“Uber has completely replaced taxis in my life,” says Maddie Dean, U3 Arts.

“It is way faster than a normal taxicab,” added Evan Thomas, U0 Arts.

And that’s the appeal. The company provides cheap, convenient, and fast transportation for the masses. It goes further than that, explained Nairi.

“Uber has a dual purpose: Providing a new way for consumers to travel, and providing the app economy’s first job market,” Nairi said.

If Kalanick’s claims that Uber hires 50,000 new drivers every month are true, it will be one of the first examples of an app mass-producing jobs.

Despite all of this success, however, Uber has many detractors. Many accuse Uber of undermining taxi company livelihoods. In Europe, particularly in France and Germany, taxi unions have staged multiple protests against the company, some of which have even turned violent.

Allegations about the company’s questionable practices are also increasing. The company has been accused of decreasing drivers’ fare revenues at will—in one case lowering fares from $2.10 to $1.10 per mile over a year—causing protests in several cities.

Furthermore, according to The Verge, there are allegations of Ubers anti-competitive behavior against rivals, such as Hailo—which uses established taxi companies in offering Uber-like services, and Lyft—a ridesharing service similar to Uber, whose drivers sport pink polyester mustaches on their cars. This summer, as Lyft was launching in New York City, Uber launched an office known as SLOG (Supplying Long-term Operations Growth), where employees ordered Lyft rides and tried to convince drivers to join

Uber, in a story broken by The Verge, or if not, cancel rides—causing slower times for Lyft customers.

Uber is spearheading a revolution by replacing a service consumers use daily with an app. But whether or not one should use Uber over other competing solutions is another matter. Lyft and Hailo are companies who claim to provide the same convenience, offer compelling alternatives, and are not surrounded in a cloud of scandal.

However, the company still remains one of the most reliable ways to get cheap and fast transportation in Montreal. It has the best location-tracking algorithms, the most drivers, and the shortest waiting times. Despite the allegations and the ruthlessly competitive nature of the market, Uber may still be the wisest choice. Only when more ethical counterparts catch up to Uber in accessibility and ease should users consider switching to a different service. For now, at least, Uber remains king.

Art in the digital world

Standpoints panel discusses the role of technology in contemporary art Deboleena Mazumdar Contributor On Nov. 5, as part of McGill Innovation Week 2014, art and technology enthusiasts alike gathered in Tanna Schulich Hall for a panel discussion on art and innovation. The event was organized by Standpoints, a student-run cultural think-tank.

The night’s speakers included Stéphane Aquin, curator of contemporary art at the Fine Arts Museum of Montreal; Philippe Demers, co-founder and managing director at MASSIVArt; Fabrice Marandola, associate director of artistic research at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT); and Frédérique Marseille, co-founder of Art Bang Bang.

The evening’s discussion began with a question from the emcee: “What are the latest and most striking innovations in art according to you?”

Speaking from their experiences, the experts brought unique and often opposing perspectives to the discussion about the role of technology in contemporary art and its effects on the artistic experience for both artists and viewers.

“It gives a new medium—[before] you could paint, you could make sculptures, you could use wood,” explained Marseille. “Now, with technology, you can use tools like computers and photoshop [to make] gifs, memes, and videos.”

A recurring theme throughout the talk was how technology has revolutionized the art industry.

“The use of sensors in music [by which] sound can be produced without physical impact has created a disconnect between the musician and his instrument,” Marandola said.

A portion of the discussion focused on how the internet and social media has

created opportunities for artists to expand their mode of expression.

Demers specifically discussed how the Google Cultural Institute’s Art Project has made high-resolution images of art from the world’s most prestigious museums accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

“You can get your curiosity piqued, and then go to Google or Wikipedia to learn more about it,” explained Marseille.

After the discussion, the panel members engaged in a question and answer session with the audience and were asked to express their views on the ‘museum selfie’ phenomenon—the act of taking a selfie in front of an art piece.

Each of the panel members admitted to taking selfies at one point or another.

“The internet allows people from all over the world to appreciate the same image and relate to common experiences,” Demers explained.

According to Marseille, the internet is the greatest tool artists currently have to make their art accessible.

“It’s an accessible way for people to get in tocuh with art,” Marseille said.

“It’s an open door for people who want to learn more about it but don’t know where to start.”

The larger the audience, the more chance an artist has to develop fans.

While the discussion was dominated by the opportunities technology has provided to appreciate and disseminate art, Aquin nonetheless concluded on a more old-fashioned note.

“Robotic art has not replaced the validity and relevance of traditional [art] forms,” Aquin said.

Instead, things like Instagram and Facebook have provided a unique and new expression medium. These tools also allow anyone and everyone to get involved in art.

“There are lot of apps now that give people the opportunity to make new images,” explained Marseille. “You can match pictures on your phone with

other pictures and create new perspectives.”

All the panellists spoke on the merit of technology to express art. How-

ever, certain aspects of art—in the physical form—cannot be forgotten.

“You can’t hang a computer on your wall,” said Marseille.

15

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Sloan turns it up to album 11 Guitarist Jay Ferguson discusses the band’s evolution and collective songwriting Eric Noble-Marks Contributor There are few bands that posses both the longevity and commitment to collective songwriting that Sloan does.

Each member of the Halifax four-piece—consisting of rhythm guitarist/vocalist Jay Ferguson, bassist/vocalist Chris Murphy, lead guitarist/vocalist Patrick Pentland, and drummer Andrew Scott—has contributed significant material since the band’s debut in 1992. However, according to Ferguson, this process hasn’t always sat well with everyone.

“Maybe in the early days it was a bit of a detriment to us,” he said. “When we were signed to Geffen [Records], I think they were maybe pushing more for Chris to sing all the songs just so

there was a frontman and it was easier to market, even though some of the the biggest bands in the world had multiple singers and songwriters.”

After 22 years and 11 albums, the formula has proven to be a winning one. Sloan has garnered both critical and commercial acclaim for its quintessential brand of power pop.

“Even before Sloan started we were all in bands where we were songwriters,” Ferguson explained. “So it kind of made sense for us, and especially for Andrew who’s a great drummer but also a great guitar player and a great singer. After a few albums […] it sort of became our identity. Everybody has an outlet, no one’s frustrated.”

Despite its experience, Sloan is intent on continuing to find new ways to provide this outlet.

Ferguson suggests that this is the key to keeping the band honest and fun after so long.

“Challenging yourself always sounds so cheesy,” he said. “What could we do with our eleventh album? I mean, we could have just made a record where everyone sings and writes three or four songs and it’s sort of staggered. We decided on this record to just sort of carve it up and make it a real double record.

Everybody kind of gets their own side to do what they want. I think that’s a new template for a new band like us. It’s a way to keep things fun and engaging.”

That 11th album, Commonwealth, marks yet another chapter in Sloan’s extensive history.

Divided into four sides—Ferguson’s “Diamond”, Murphy’s “Heart”, Pentland’s “Shamrock,” and Scott’s “Spade”—the album

gives each member a chance to express his individual ideas for a longer amount of time than the two to four minutes of a typical Sloan song. The band took different approaches to this challenge.

“Not all of us rose to the challenge of necessarily having to stream all our songs together on our particular side,” Ferguson explained. “Andrew took it to the extreme and made one giant song that is essentially six to seven mini-songs strung together.

Patrick didn’t really stream his songs together at all—which isn’t a bad thing, it’s just what he chose to do. It’s about having your own side to do what you want. The actual recording of the songs wasn’t that different from a typical Sloan record. It was up to us to make our sides as interesting as we wanted.”

With Commonwealth, Sloan

is a band looking to the future, but the group has also been looking to the past. Following this past year’s reissue and tour celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its 1994 classic Twice Removed, Ferguson hinted that Twice Removed won’t be the last Sloan album to be revisited.

“I think the next big thing we would do is plan another reissue box-set,” he said. “We might do it for our third album, One Chord to Another (1996).

That will probably come out early 2016, ballpark anyhow.”

Between new albums, reissues, and constant touring, it’s a wonder how the band ever catches its breath. Maybe after 22 years, they don’t need to.

Sloan performs at La Sala Rosa (4848 Saint-Laurent) on Thursday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $22.50.

Warhol takes the MMFA’s walls Exhibit captures the history of Andy Warhol’s iconic artistic style Burgess Powell Contributor With Warhol Mania, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) presents an eclectic collection of Andy Warhol’s illustrations, posters, and record art—but leaves the viewer to reconcile Warhol the artist with Warhol the advertiser. Through image repetition and his typical three-colour style, Warhol’s work remains dynamic and innovative in the eyes of the modern viewer. Yet the impact of Warhol’s work relies as much on his skill as on our understanding of its cultural significance. Walking through exhibitions of Warhol’s renowned celebrity portraits along with innovative yet comparatively tentative earlier illustrations, the viewers have the sense that they are witnessing the creation of an aesthetic that still permeates today’s culture.

While Warhol’s famous images—Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Campbell’s soup—are sometimes dismissed as merely popular posters, they also represent Warhol’s contribution to the growth of celebrity culture and advertising. Indeed, much of Warhol’s work was produced with a purpose beyond the creation of art. His images were mass-produced to sell products, be it records, alcohol, beauty products, or people. In Warhol Mania, a description accompanies a striking poster of an

Absolut Vodka bottle, explaining that Warhol met with the CEO of Carillon Importers—the European spirits company that produces Absolut Vodka—to create what the exhibit describes as “a ‘portrait’ of the Absolut bottle.”

Warhol’s Absolut poster is not only a striking piece of artwork, but a clever marketing strategy that extends beyond Absolut.

By creating a beautiful piece originally commissioned to encourage product sales, Warhol blurs the line between advertising and art.

Though Warhol created many “portraits” of objects, he is best known for his celebrity portraits and consequent contribution to our cultural fascination with celebrities. Through Warhol’s LIFE and TIME magazine covers, record art, and portraits, his visuals of celebrities permeated our culture, and have remained relevant ever since.

A poster of Diana Ross for her album Silk Electric (1982) hangs in the Warhol Mania exhibit with a description that quotes Warhol.

He asks, “I wonder if she wants to be black or white.” Looking at the poster, the viewer observes four captivating repetitions of Diana Ross’s noticeably pale face. As an artist, Warhol made deliberate choices concerning his work, but the wide circula-

tion of his art as a form of advertising ensures the prevalence of his perspective, no matter what his motivations.

The extent of Andy Warhol’s influence can be traced back to the start of his career. In an issue of LIFE dating back to January 21, 1957, Warhol is described as a “commercial artist.” Though his celebrity status has increased significantly since his creation of the illustrations that accompanied that comment, this characterization remains accurate.

Warhol’s artwork has universal appeal and is enduring because it symbolizes modernity and in-

Patrons observe walls of Warhol’s work. (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune) fluences the present. His vivid know precisely what Warhol inimages are amplified by the tended to express through his viewer’s knowledge that they work. Perhaps he understood that are important, that they embody in order to bring art to a large ausomething greater than an adver- dience, one had to reconcile art tisement, a celebrity portrait, or with advertising. With this pora beautiful illustration. Through trait, Warhol does for himself his innovative depiction and per- what he has done throughout his petuation of American consumer career for others—portraying products, he informs our modern himself as an artist while engaging in advertising. understanding of art.

Warhol Mania runs until In his self-portrait, Andy Warhol’s yellow face stares at March 15, 2015 at the Montreal the viewer with penetrating eyes, Museum of Fine Arts (1380 Sherwhich the museum description brooke Ouest). Student admischaracterizes as, “infused [...] sion is $12, and $10 on Wedneswith a terrifying realism.” As day evenings. with any artist, we will never

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

A missed opportunity for The Newsroom Abraham Moussako Opinion Editor For those convinced of the self-absorption of the American “media elite,” the hoopla that surrounded the debut of Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom in 2012 was an excellent case-in-point.

News that the showrunner of the venerated West Wing— coming off of a successful turn as the scriptwriter of The Social Network (2010)—was to turn his dialogue-laden vision to the cable news industry, was greeted with fevered anticipation.

For many, however, the excitement quickly turned to disappointment.

While there were some prominent exceptions—like from exCBS newsman and reviewer on Gawker Dan Rather—the reaction to The Newsroom was, at best, lukewarm. Critics tore into the show for its perceived self-importance and sanctimony.

That perception was reinforced by the original intro to the show, which made no attempt to hide the direct line drawn between mid-century heroes of TV news and the crusading producers of The Newsroom’s show-withina-show, News Night with Will McAvoy.

The fundamental problem with The Newsroom, which just began its final season on HBO this week, is that the

somewhat in the writers finally gave the team a show was flawed as a form of second season fictional story to pursue inside media criticism. The format when the the show’s universe—loosely of the program—which based off of a botched 1998 CNN was set approximately investigation into alleged war a year and a half in crimes. Still, to make a show the past—was about creating a “better” designed to newscast—that largely present a consists of rewriting the fictional real-life mistakes of the cable show real-media with the benefit at a fictional of a year’s hindsight—makes c a b l e a mockery of the audience’s network, intelligence. In this way, the covering the show undermines examining the stories of very real problems with the way the real world media—cable news especially— and competing treats breaking news events. against the This tendency to simply real cable news serve as an instant replay of networks. The first the news cycle would not be so episode features bad were it not also augmented the crew of the show by the suffocatingly narrow finding the right angle ideological vision of the on the BP Horizon rig scriptwriters—Sorkin’s in explosion, thanks to particular. Always looking to one of the producers’ cover up his own problems, roommates in college McAvoy is noted as a sort of (at BP) and his sister ‘old school’ Republican who has (at Halliburton). become disillusioned with his While that was an party. This framing spins this egregious example, disillusionment to explain the this tendency of disdain he displays on air for too-perfectlythe Tea Party and other figures placed sources on the right. However, despite and impossibly knowing some older Republican r e s p o n s i b l e operatives, McAvoy is stated treatments of to be a Republican, but never traumatic events was demonstrated or convincingly replicated throughout implied. the series.

Tied in with that is the This tendency was improved Aaron Sorkin’s inflates his ego. (Elli Slavitch / McGill Tribune) tension we see between

what the show-within-a-show says it is aiming for in cable news, and what it is actually doing. The aim of the show was to create something that would reject the (very real) problems of false balance, useless talking heads, and sensationalism, and approach stories in search of the truth, not talking points. Perhaps in a case of taking Colbert’s musings about reality and “liberal bias” too literally, the efforts of the News Night team came to resemble less an improved CNN, and more an enhanced MSNBC. In a part of the first season finale, McAvoy refers to the Tea Party as the “American Taliban,” a line we are supposed to cheer for as the audience. In reality, it was simply tiresome.

The failure of The Newsroom, in short—not even bringing to the table the way the show’s female characters were written, or the constant, almost distracting love triangles—was that it aimed to be a re-imagining of the American cable newscast, and instead concerned itself with scribbling frenzied rebuttals into the margins of recent history.

If we see another in-depth portrayal of the media on TV soon—and as someone who cares about journalism, I hope we do— hopefully they’ll be taking notes on what sank this show. Less sanctimony and hindsight, and more imagination, please.

The man who knew too much Director Laura Poitras provokes and educates in her powerful documentary Max Joseph Staff Writer If it’s the story at the heart of Citizenfour that gives the documentary its breathtaking urgency, it’s the film’s multilayered nature that makes a powerful statement on the modern relationship between a government and its citizens. Both a stunningly intimate character study and a larger, more global overview of governmental surveillance, Citizenfour reconciles the contrasting approaches to present an enlightening and emotionally-wrenching view of post-9/11 life.

The character at the heart of her study is former NSA employee Edward J. Snowden, who leaked classified information about the agency’s nasty habit of spying on civilians

without warrants. Using the name that gives the film its title, he got in touch with Poitras in January 2013. That May, he flew to Hong Kong with the intention of disclosing what he knew, and Citizenfour director Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald met him there in June in order to receive the information and present it to the world.

Much of the film concerns Poitras’ and Greenwald’s interactions with Snowden in the hotel room as they prepare to share the knowledge of the NSA’s iniquities. Along the way, we see the impending external pressure from media and government alike, as well as Snowden’s surprisingly stoic reactions to the threats. Even when he hears news of his partner being questioned as government officials search their home, he remains remarkably unfazed.

He’s obviously concerned, but he appears to have been prepared for what was coming—he simply cares too much about sharing what he knows to let it stop him.

Citizenfour is a gripping, John Le Carré-like thriller in disguise as a documentary, and the film makes for compelling viewing, even if stripped of its larger political context. Even though we know the ending going into the film, Poitras’s intimate use of close-ups and a handheld camera makes it captivating in a way that’s well-suited to her story’s gravitas. Though Snowden doesn’t get much in the way of character exposition— Poitras focuses heavily on his actions themselves—the few details we do see are more than enough to depict him as a strong-willed dissident. Poitras effectively conveys Snowden’s intense belief in his duty as a citizen and his desire to make

the world a better place through his actions.

But she’s also not content to have her film be merely a hagiographical portrait. She frames the Snowden segments with footage of the former NSA intelligence official William Binney, who became a whistleblower shortly after 9/11 due to his disgust with the agency’s data collection policies.

He shares scathing details about his former employer, as well as his frustration with the organization.

Likewise, the prominent hacker Jacob Applebaum is also introduced, lecturing to potential NSA targets about the dangers they face. These segments simultaneously serve to confirm Snowden’s information and paint a more detailed picture of the shadowy, intricate web of governmental spying.

As Citizenfour emphasizes, all North American citizens and

many foreigners are at high risk for being targeted by that web, which is only part of why the film makes for such essential viewing. Despite the importance of its message, it hardly feels like homework—the tale at its core is as gripping as any Hollywood thriller in recent memory. The horrifying information revealed on-screen makes you want to avert your eyes in disgust, but the power of Poitras’s filmmaking keeps you hooked. Citizenfour is a deeply political and angry film, but also one that doesn’t let its opinions detract from the strength of its art.

Citizenfour will be shown in Montreal starting Friday, Nov. 14 at Montreal Forum (2313 Saint-Catherine) and Montreal ExCentris (3536 Saint-Laurent).

General admission is $12.99.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Classical pieces that everyone should know

ALBUM REVIEWS Ryan Hemsworth - Alone For the First Time

Evelyn Kaczmarek Staff Writer

Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K525 Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composed: 1787

You’ve heard the famous first movement maybe a million times: In movies, TV shows, commercials, and on stages time and time again—maybe you even played it with your middle school orchestra. Translated quite literally to “A Little Night Music,” this serenade has been noted by critics as the most enduringly popular of all of Mozart’s works. Interestingly enough, unlike the majority of his work, there is no record of it being commissioned by any one person or institution. Albert Einstein hypothesized that Mozart wrote the piece to fulfill a personal need— something otherwise unheard of for the prodigious professional.

Symphony No. 9 in D minor Op. 125

Ryan Hemsworth’s Alone For the First Time follows his well-received Guilt Trips (2013) to constitute the Ca-

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Composed: 1824

A list of popular classical music wouldn’t be complete without Beethoven. Symphony No. 9, which Beethoven wrote while completely deaf, is not only considered the composer’s greatest work, but is arguably the best piece of music ever written. The hour-long symphony features “Ode to Joy” in its fourth movement—the most famous musical manifestation of human happiness that exists in the Western world.

Orpheus in the Underworld: Infernal Gallop Composer: Jacques Offenbach Composed: 1858

Practically anyone can whistle the “can-can” on command. But how many people can tell you where it comes from or how they even know it? Embodying pure joy, this small—but erroneously dubbed—melody is part of a much greater story. In fact, it is only a tiny segment of the first-ever full-length classical operetta. Written by the great romantic-era composer, Jacques Offenbach, the music serves as an accompaniment to Offenbach’s scathing satirical plot, which was not originally well-received thanks to its vulgar scenes and rather ruthless parodying of well-respected composers.

A five-person band releasing its fifth album merits some level of expectation—if only for desperate critics scrambling for a storyline about a small Canadian band. Unfortunately, Mother Mother, an indie rock band out of British Columbia, falls short of any artistic cohesion with its ambitious but disjointed fifth studio album, Very Good Bad Thing.

Arca - Xen

which would have worked well had its sparse composition climaxed into something greater, but in reality, it leaves the listener wanting more. The whole affair breeds musical style not unlike The Weeknd’s House of Balloons (2011), but whereas that gelled into a complete experience, Alone For the First Time fails to emerge as a satisfying whole, even though tracks like “Snow in Newark” bring it close. Hemsworth’s latest may offer a rich atmosphere and a well executed bare-bones style, but for some, that may not be enough.

- Martin Molpeceres

Last Gang

The ongoing conversation surrounding the ‘indie rock’ genre has led to blurred boundaries regardings its definition. Mother Mother tries to buck this trend with its latest album by tackling multiple styles of indie rock, to the detriment of any possible flow to the record.

The opening track, “Get Out the Way,” tempers any expectation for a modern indie sound by kicking the listener in the ear with rough and grating guitar riffs that are more punk than pop rock. Played alongside the electric guitar are haunting keyboard chords that set the table for a grunge/punkstyle album.

However, any expected continuity is shattered by the next song, “Monkey Tree (UK Mix),” in which a pop/synth sound dominates to produce a shimmering, upbeat track. Freedom is the message here, as aired through the chorus: “You wanna be a free bird/ You wanna be a free lover, see/ You gotta run from the shepherd/ Run, run away with me.”

Yet the listener is immediately grounded by the following two tracks, “Modern Love” and “Reaper Man,” which sport the lyrics “Yeah it’s true I fell for you,” and “Oh yeah I’m a reaper man/ Every good thing, I kill it good,” respectively. The lyrical contrasts are compounded by the different musical styles used—grunge, and then synth, followed by electronic, which is tailed by plodding punk. This creates a disorienting and frustrating feel to Very Good Bad Thing.

Individually, the tracks shine as examples of modern indie rock’s versatility; together they are a haphazard blizzard of indie rock ambition. In an iTunes era of easily consumed singles, an album’s greatest selling-point is its cohesion and continuity. Very Good Bad Thing is exactly as it purports to be—very good tracks tossed together to produce a bad album.

Since 2012, Ghersi has put out three EPs and one mixtape, all of which exhibit his peerless ability to synthesize obscure, unconventionally structured beats into a digestible musical narrative. Consequently, I expected Xen to be a noticeably more mature rendition of the narrative I have come to associate with him—especially considering that West likely showed him a trick or two when the pair worked in the studio together. The album is certainly well-developed and still exhibits his knack for meshing idiosyncratic hip hop samples with unpredictable downbeats; however, each track on the album sounds more like an isolated sound collage than a piece of a larger whole.

This year, Arca has been working with a London-based visual artist named Jesse Kanda, who has produced visu-

als to accompany many of the songs on the album. I believe their collaboration explains the tracks’ shortcomings: They excessively rely on visuals to complete them. Arca’s new artistic vision is fascinating and worth checking out, yet it is unfortunate that the beats on the album rely so heavily on Kanda’s visuals for integration when his former productions are so complete unaccompanied. Nevertheless, for a taste of 2014-style electronic music, the album is a solid place to start, but it’s certainly worth comparing to his older output in order to get a true sense of the album’s flawed audial/visual dichotomy.

- Remi Lu

MUTE

Rhapsody in Blue Composer: George Gershwin Composed: 1924

Commissioned by Paul Whiteman to create a “jazz concerto,” American pianist George Gershwin composed the exuberant masterpiece known as “Rhapsody in Blue” while on a single train ride to Boston. An intricate fusion of classical and jazz styles, this seminal piece was originally created for solo piano and jazz band, but in 1942, its scores were also published for symphony orchestra.

Gershwin has referred to the piece as the “musical kaleidoscope of America” and it seems to capture the essence of America’s conceptual ‘melting pot’ and characteristic national pep with its perpetual movement, innovative harmonic structures, and heightened contrasts. In popular culture, this piece is notoriously associated with New York City (Fantasia 2000, anyone?), which is certainly an appropriate coupling due to the piece’s bouncing, metropolitan feel.

Last Gang / Secret Songs

nadian producer’s third studio album.

The record immediately offers a unique, somewhat melancholic tone with the opening track “Hurt Me”—something that remains present throughout. The minimalist electronic beats, coupled with a grounding percussion, mix well with the tracks’ slow-paced vocals, all of which are distorted wonderfully to give the album a mellow rhythm that serves it well.

Unfortunately, the album does not build upon this foundation and instead chooses to maintain its slow tempo—a decision that wouldn’t be as maddening if not for the feeling of wasted potential that lingers throughout the album. More baffling still is the short track listing,

Mother mother - very bad good thing

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Alejandro Ghersi, or Arca, is an upand-coming Venezualan electronic producer, who, after collaborating with Kanye West on last year’s Yeezus and accordingly entering mainstream musical territory, has now released his debut album, Xen.

- Clark Bray

Sports

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

10 THINGS:

unbreakable sports records

By Aaron Rose (fivemagazine.es) In the 1961-1962 season, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 48.52 minutes per game. Not only did the ‘Big Dipper’ never sit out because of injury, but he never tired, playing every minute of every game, including all 50 overtime minutes his team played that season.

In the modern era, only Allen Iverson has come close to breaking the record, averaging 43.70 minutes per game in the 2001-2002 season.

From May 30, 1982 to September 19, 1998, Cal Ripken Jr. did not miss a game, starting in 2,632 consecutive games and breaking the record of 2,130 previously held by Lou Gehrig. Hunter Pence has the longest active streak at 382 starts, but starting every game over a 162-game season is a tall order. Doing so for 16 seasons is even more daunting.

From 1956-1960, the Montreal Canadiens won five consecutive Stanley Cups. Since the addition of the salary cap in 2004, no team has even repeated as champions.

Great teams are often dismantled in free agency, and since the NHL expanded from six teams to 12 in 1967, only the New York Islanders have come close to breaking the Habs record, winning four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-1983.

Over his 19-year career, John Stockton registered 15,806 assists. While the Stockton-Malone combo never won a championship for Utah, the dynamic duo ruled the Western Conference in the late ‘90s. Jason Kidd’s 12,091 career assists have him second on the all-time list, but nobody in the foreseeable future will come remotely close to breaking Stockton’s record.

The Buffalo Bills own easily one of the most devastating records of all time. From 19901993, the Bills went to four consecutive Super Bowls. While this feat in itself is a record that may never be broken, the fact that the Bills lost all four trips earned Buffalo a spot on this list. While no team has ever three-peated as champions, only the Bills can say they have four-peated as losers.

From 1979-2003, Rickey Henderson was an unstoppable thief on the basepaths, leading the American League in stolen bases 12 times. His 1,406 stolen bases are by far the most of all time–468 more than the Lou Brock, the next name on the list. For the most part, stealing has become a lost art in the league, as teams are becoming more reluctant to risk running into an out, making this an improbable record to break.

In 1985-1986, Wayne Gretzky had his greatest season, posting 215 points.

With goalies playing better than ever and the game becoming more physical, nobody will ever come close to breaking Gretzky’s record. Jaromir Jagr scored 149 points in the 1995-1996 season, but even the likes of Sidney Crosby won’t even approach the greatness of Gretzky’s 1985 season.

While Brett Favre’s touchdown record only stood for four years, his career interception record of 336 won’t be toppled. It takes a special kind of quarterback to throw 300 interceptions. Favre was a gunslinger who was good enough to hold onto his job for 18 seasons, and had the confidence to keep heaving the ball deep into double or triple-coverage throughout his career.

From 1959-1966, Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to eight consecutive NBA Championships. While it’s not unheard of for teams to repeat or three-peat in today’s NBA, only the Chicago Bulls teams of the ‘90s have ever come close to winning eight consecutive championships. Michael Jordan’s two-season stint in baseball, however, took the wind out of the Bulls’ sails.

On February 7, 1976, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Darryl Sittler registered six goals and four assists, in an 11-4 beat down of the Boston Bruins. Teams don’t score 11 goals in the modern era, and even on an easy difficulty, it’s a struggle to tally 10 points in hockey video games.

Only 15 players have ever registered eight points in a game and nobody, other than Sittler, has registered nine let alone 10.

BASKETBALL — GAITERS 60, REDMEN 59

Young Redmen squad falters in crunch time Late three-pointer spells doom for McGill in home opener AARON ROSE Staff Writer “We don’t know how to play when we’re winning a game,” Redmen Head Coach David DeAverio said after a devastating 60-59 loss to the Bishop’s Gaiters Saturday night.

The Redmen (0-1) couldn’t find the net in the final 30 seconds, squandering a seven-point lead over the final minutes of the fourth to the Gaiters (1-0), who clawed back to take a onepoint lead with 12 seconds remaining on a three-pointer from senior Majid Naji.

The game snapped the Redmen’s 13-game regular season home winning streak, which dated back to January 10, 2013 and marked their first loss to Bishop’s in over a year.

While the Redmen led the game throughout, they couldn’t find their killer instinct to put away the feisty Gaiters. Turnovers and missed opportunities down the stretch spelled trouble for the Redmen, who shot two of six from the charity stripe in the final minute.

“Our issue is the lack of con-

centration when we go to the line,” DeAverio explained.

Freshman forward Noah Daoust was effective off the bench for the Redmen, with 11 points and six rebounds, but a pair of missed free throws at the end will no doubt haunt him.

“It was very disappointing for me,” Daoust said. “I felt like I let everyone down, but I talked to coach this morning and he told me to keep my head up and just focus on the next game. It sucks to lose like that, but we have 15 more games to play and I’d rather win in March than in November.”

Second year point guard Jenning Leung logged significant minutes off the bench, particularly in the second half. He certainly made the most of them.

“I thought Jenning deserved the minutes,” DeAverio said. “He played well [and] I thought Ave [Bross] was struggling [...] so we stuck with Jenning [....] I’m hoping one of these guys steps up and takes that role, but for now we’ll just play the situation.”

Without former co-captain Simon Bibeau, who graduated this past year, senior shooting guard Vincent Dufort

has been called upon to be a leader both on and off the court for the young Redmen. Dufort scored a team-high 13 points, but a turnover and a missed jumper in the final seconds proved costly for McGill. The game will have to be a learning experience for Dufort and this young team, who will have to grow from the tough loss.

“We don’t have the fourth year Simon Bibeau on the floor at the end of the game to take everyone in and take control,” DeAverio said. “We’re playing young guys in those situations and we’re going to make mistakes.

Hopefully we make more now than we do in February.”

While DeAverio doesn’t see the team’s first loss affecting the standings in February, the Redmen will certainly be looking forward to Jan. 10, when they head out to Bishop’s for a game that will almost certainly have postseason implications. If McGill can bounce back and win three straight games before heading into the winter break, this loss will be nothing more than an afterthought, but the Redmen certainly have their work cut out for them as they head to UQÀM (0-1) on Nov. 13.

Redmen point guard Ave Bross surveys the floor (Remi Lu / McGill Tribune)

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Sports

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Concussions in football

Since the issue of concussions in football began to capture headlines in the late ’90s, the NFL has implemented several measures to reduce head injuries in the sport. After moving kickoffs up five yards in 2010, the league reported a 43 per cent reduction in concussions

on kickoffs. Still, the risk of sustained head injuries remains high across all levels of the sport today, and explayers are bringing more concussion-related lawsuits than ever against the league. Here are four ways we would change the game..

Lead with the Shoulder Injuries in sports are inevitable. In sports like football, in which two teams try to violently stop each other from moving, injuries are not just commonplace, but sometimes life-threatening. One way to reduce the amount of headrelated injuries in football would be to alter the manner in which defensive players play.

Rugby, a similar sport with a violent nature but without the protection of helmets or shoulder pads, places a large emphasis on shoulder tackling. Pete Carroll, head coach of the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks, recently introduced an instructional video that advocated for shoulder tackling in place of tackling while leading with the helmet. The results can’t be denied–the Seahawks defence

was one of the most dominant in league history last year.

The key, however, will be to introduce these tackling methods to children when they start learning the game. By emphasizing safer ways to wrap up ballcarriers earlier on, athletes can learn better habits at a young age and develop muscle memory that will dissuade them from endangering themselves. Additionally, any time that a player–offensive or defensive– leads with their head, they should receive an automatic penalty from the pee-wee level up to the NCAA and the NFL. Doing so will make sure that players can keep their heads in the game, and out of the hospital.

—Mayaz Alam

Don't Deny the science A number of solutions to football’s concussion problem have been bandied around—mostly from baby boomers and their children, who refuse to let go of nostalgic and idyllic Sunday afternoons of beer and tailgates. Yet the issue with these desperate solutions is that they fail to recognize one key fact: The NFL is fundamentally incorrigible when it comes to concussions.

At such high speeds, waged by powerful and heavy athletes, the contact-driven game of football becomes a whirlwind of pending concussions and other injuries. It no longer becomes a matter of if an athlete is injured, but when. With increasing amounts of research being released about the deadly effects of concussions—spotlighted by the numerous concussed athletes that have committed suicide—football’s days are finite.

Professional leagues can only offer band-aid solutions to a deeper problem, be they empty boasts about more protective equipment or stricter sideline and return-to-play protocols. Any true solution lies outside of the hands of the professional leagues—as hard as that may be to swallow for those who ascribe to of the handle-it-yourself, ‘macho’ American football culture.

Despite the light shone on the true depths of the

effects of concussions, concussion research is still an extremely young and relatively unexplored field of study. As such, the ‘concussion-limit’ is still an exercise in subjective judgments made by the doctor, therapist, and athlete. If scientists are able to map out a greater understanding of the brain’s relationship to concussions, real adjustments may be made to the game, based on the knowledge that emerges from this research.

Furthermore, the “man up, suck it-up, and stand up” culture in football locker rooms needs to undergo a root-level change. Concussed athletes are rushed back to the game due to pressure from coaches, fans, or themselves, exacerbating any issues and preventing recovery. This dismissive attitude toward concussions can only be changed on a superficial level in today’s professional leagues. The power to truly change this mindset lies in the huddles of youth football games and the coaches that teach young athletes the tenets of the game.

The flagging days of professional football are inevitable, and will arrive in the next few years. It’s time for athletes and businesspeople to sit down; if they truly want their game to be saved, they’ll have to let scientists and youth coaches into the locker room.

—Remi Lu

(Kevin Terrell / Associated Press)

NFL Overtime Rules

Invest in Technology

Concussions cannot be completely prevented in any full-contact sport, and are tricky to treat in the sense that they inflict most of their damage long after the hit or collision has occurred. The earlier a concussion can be diagnosed, the less damage a player stands to take in both the short and long term. Accepting that 100 per cent prevention is impossible without drastic rule changes to the game, the best possible scenario for harm reduction would be a wearable piece of technology that instantly alerts the player when he’s been hit with a force that surpasses the known thresholds common to traumatic head injuries.

A company called Battle Sports Science has developed a device they call the Impact Indicator 2.0, a micro-sensor that fits inside the chinstrap. After a hit, the device will light up green if the player is healthy, or red if the player may have sustained a concussion. While it’s a

step in the right direction, there are several issues with this model. The Impact Indicator 2.0 is extremely accurate at measuring the G-force and duration of an impact, but is not able to account for rotational events—such as whiplash— that may lead to concussions but leave the light glowing green. Furthermore, according to Dave Halstead, technical adviser to the NFL Players’ Association, it is dangerous to advertise such devices to athletes as preventive rather than diagnostic, as they may feel empowered to play with less caution on the field.

As of now, only two active NFL players (Pierre Thomas and BenJarvus Green-Ellis) use the Impact Indicator 2.0 in real games. For this technology to make a significant impact, the NFL—not a private company—needs to invest heavily in perfecting a device of this type and making it mandatory for all of its players.

—Elie Waitzer

No helmets no problems As a guest on the Dan Patrick Show in 2012, former Steelers’ wide receiver Hines Ward declared that removing players’ helmets would prevent concussions. Ward was one of the most physical receivers to ever play the game, delivering big blocks on a regular basis, but without a helmet he would likely be a markedly different player.

Modern football helmets are designed to protect players’ faces and skulls rather than their brains. They allow players to lead with their heads when delivering punishing hits, and ultimately may contribute to more reckless play. Instead, players should wear some form of padding on their heads that provides protection without allowing for heads to be used as a weapon on the field.

This change would have to be coupled with adjustments to both the rules

of the game and other equipment worn by players. Shoulder pads would need to be shrunk and softened significantly, and certain types of hits would need to be deemed illegal. With these alterations, it seems likely that the nature of football as a sport would change as well. Games would no doubt feature more offence, but this shift may be one that many fans would welcome.

Changing the helmets in football, however, is not a solution to the concussion issue by itself. In rugby–a similar sport in which players do not wear helmets–concussions are currently a hot topic as well, but far less so than in football. Monitoring symptoms will still be crucial to players’ health, but with a change to the helmets, football would be made safer and perhaps–if it were a boon to offences–even more entertaining.

—Wyatt Fine-Gagne

20

Sports

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

basketball — redmen 67, gaiters 39

Martlets show Championship pedigree in win over Gaiters Forward Silver stuffs the stat sheet ZIkomo Smith Staff Writer You would think three consecutive RSEQ Championships would be pretty satisfying, but 12th year Head Coach Ryan Thorne— whose conference record is now 51-14—and the McGill Martlets (1-0) have bigger ambitions.

“We’re trying to win [the CIS Championship],” Thorne said. “We have been conference champions for the last three years and I think it is time for us to take that next step.

That is our goal.”

McGill’s impressive 67-39 win over the Bishop’s Gaiters (0-1) clearly expressed this drive. Apart from a patchy first quarter, which the Gaiters led 13-7, the Martlets dominated all aspects of the season opener.

“I am happy with the end result,” Thorne said. “I was happy with the way we played the second half [but…] I was not happy with how we played [in the beginning.]”

The subpar performance in the first half could be chalked up to nerves and the eagerness to start the season on a strong footing. For-

ward Jennifer Silver, who had 14 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals, clearly relished the emotional atmosphere of the home opener.

“It was great,” Silver said. “It was our first game so there was a lot of pressure, but I think we did really well as a team [….] We started off shaky […] but we came together. It was really fun by the end.”

McGill adjusted in the second quarter. The Martlets took advantage of their height and energy to orchestrate a 17-2 run. The team moved the ball excellently to create unique angles of attack. McGill was 5-15 from the three-point line on the night, and also fed their post players. Forward Mariam Sylla, who had 11 points, and centre Alex Kiss-Rusk, who contributed nine points, saw plenty of touches.

This represents a change in strategy from last season, as McGill now boasts one of the tallest teams in the CIS. While the Martlets may have seven veterans returning form last year, this is an exciting new look for the team.

“We have a […] different

makeup [compared to last year,]” Thorne said. “We are bigger than we have ever been. We are trying to focus and […] play inside-out a lot more, as opposed to being guardoriented.”

Silver is clearly satisfied with the balance between the perimeter players and the dominance in the paint.

“We have good guards and good bigs,” Silver said. “We have solid advantages everywhere.”

In the second half, McGill demonstrated why they are the no. 4 team in the nation, using a full court press to force turnovers, and moving the ball intelligently to draw fouls in the paint. McGill was 14-24 from the free throw line in comparison to Bishop’s 7-9.

McGill’s defensive dominance was one of the strongest aspects of the team’s performance.

The Martlets out-rebounded the Gaiters 40-29, held a 14-12 advantage in steals, and won the turnover battle 38-24. Coach Thorne was clear in expressing his hope for the Martlet squad to have a strong defensive identity.

“We want to be that team that

Athletes of the Week

others recognize [as being] tough to play against […] because when we defend, we work [relentlessly,]” Thorne said. “We […] try to prevent the penetration and then work together to make sure [there] is not an easy shot.”

McGill has all the pieces to dominate this year. The Martlets have the ability to play balanced basketball, and a winning formula that may ultimately help them fulfill their championship ambitions. They’ll continue their long journey to the CIS Championships next Thursday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. at UQÀM (0-0).

Diana Ros and the Martlets look to take the CIS by storm. (Wendy Chen / McGill Tribune)

Redmen Lacrosse

The Redmen’s dream season was interrupted Sunday afternoon as the squad fell to the Guelph Gryphons in the Baggataway Cup Final 15-12–their only loss of the year. This is the second straight year that McGill has gone undefeated only to be toppled by Guelph in the final. A weak first half performance ultimately spelled doom for the Redmen, as Guelph jumped out to a 10-2 lead at the half. McGill’s dismal effort early in the game will overshadow a truly incredible offensive display in the final moments of the game. The Redmen tallied seven unanswered goals in just under nine minutes to close things out, but this impressive showing was not enough to pull the team out of the deficit it dug itself into.

Martlet Volleyball

McGill defeated Sherbrooke 3-1 for their sixth win of the season in order to stay in the mix atop the competitive RSEQ. Senior middle-blocker MariePier Durivage led the way for the Martlets with 16 kills to go along with four blocks, and veteran setter Yasmeen Dawoodjee chipped in a gamehigh 42 assists. After winning a tight first set, the Martlets settled in, dropping only one set en route to a decisive victory. McGill will face stouter competition in Laval next Friday, as they will look to avenge a humiliating shut-out loss at the hands of the Rouge et Or last Friday.

Redmen Hockey

Marc-Andre Benoit Swimming Senior, Management

In the third leg of the University Cup, Benoit continued a stellar season by notching three medals–one gold and two silvers–and leading the McGill Redmen swimmers to a second place finish. The St. Hyacinthe native, who specializes in freestyle, medaled in the 4 x 50m relay, 4 x 2 200m relay, and the 100m individual event.

Marie-Pier Durivage Volleyball, Middle Sophomore, Science

Durivage, a junior middle hitter from St. NIcholas, QC, led the Martlet volleyball squad with 27 points over two games this past weekend. In the first game against her previous team, the Laval Rouge et Or, Durivage tallied six kills and three blocks in a loss. Against Sherbrooke she was phenomenal, tallying 16 kills and four blocks.

(Photos courtesy of McGill Athletics)

Time recorded by the Redmen swimming team’s 4 x 50m freestyle group at the University Cup on Saturday. The foursome–which included Marc-Andre Benoit, Luke Robert, Joseph Blackwood, and Michael Luck–won gold in the event.

The Western Mustangs managed to halt a McGill team fresh off a commanding 5-2 win over the Guelph Gryphons, blanking the Redmen over three periods for the 3-0 win on Saturday. The loss snapped a five game winning streak for the Redmen, who will certainly regroup and learn from the loss before facing off against Windsor next Friday. Despite the score, the Redmen brought their competitive brand of hockey to the ice, outshooting the Mustangs 38-37, and suffocating the Western power play on four chances. Sophomore netminder Jacob Gervais-Chouinard took the loss despite making an impressive 34 saves on the game. Sitting comfortably in third place in the OUA East division, the Redmen will look to gain ground on division-leading Carleton before facing off against the Ravens on Nov. 29.

Number of games in which Redmen hockey’s Cedric McNicoll has been held pointless this season. Prior to McGill’s 3-0 loss to Western over the weekend, McNicoll had recorded at least one point in each game this season.

The Martlet hockey team’s record when Brittany Smrke is between the pipes. The goaltender earned her second shutout of the season this weekend as McGill bounced back from a loss against Concordia to beat the Carleton Ravens 7-0.