McGill Tribune Vol. 34 Issue 20

EDITORIAL

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 Volume No. 34 Issue No. 20

Past missteps, fee levies highlight demand for faculty executive accountability pg. 7

@mcgilltribune

www.mcgilltribune.com

Round Dance: The circle of sex Players’ production takes you for a marvellous spin with stories of human intimacy

I

CHRIS LUTES Staff Writer

f there’s a single universal truth to social interaction, it’s that people will say anything if they think it will convince the person they like to sleep with them. It was true in 1920 when Arthur Schnitzler’s play La Ronde debuted in Berlin to a shocked and offended crowd, and it’s true now in Players’ Theatre’s production of the same play—now redubbed Round Dance to avoid confusion with the amusement park. This production will also likely astonish crowds like it did in the ’20s, but for a different reason: It’s fantastic.

Round Dance follows five actors playing ten roles across ten interconnected vignettes. It begins with a chance encounter between a prostitute and a soldier, as she offers him her services and he eventually relents. Each subsequent scene contains a character from the previous one, engaging in the same pattern of pre and post-coital pushand-pull that the first scene established.

The circle is closed when the prostitute from the first scene reappears in the final scene. What’s interesting about the play is the radically different reactions the same characters have in what’s more or less the same scenario— characters may be subservient in one scene and domineering in the next; tender or excited; coercing or coerced.

The difference is how they decide to act based on who they’re with at that moment.

Continued on pg. 15

(L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune)

Redmen cling to top seed, split weekend series MUS referendum passes new student space fee Continued on pg. 21

(Emma Hameau / McGill Tribune)

S

ARDEN LI Staff Writer

tudents of the Desautels Faculty of Management’s Undergraduate Society (MUS) voted on Feb. 5 to implement a $40 per semester non-opt-outable student fee for the next three years in a faculty-wide student referendum. The fee will go towards a new Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) Student Space Improvement fund. The fund is expected to accrue $500,000 by 2018 as a result of students’ contributions.

The referendum passed with 50.2 per cent voting “yes”, 49.8 per cent voting “no”. The voter turnout to the referendum was 629, representing 30.1 per cent of the total number of electors, surpassing its quorum of 20 per cent.

According to MUS President Sean Finnell, the motion was proposed by the MUS after a semesterlong discussion and student survey on how Desautels could improve the spaces in which students work.

“After presenting a report to Desautels administration on poten-

tial improvements, the MUS realized how quickly and effectively they could be put in place if a vehicle was created where students were able to fund some improvements directly,” Finnell explained.

The new fund will be jointly managed by MUS and the Desautels Faculty of Management, and will not be related to the renovation of the bookstore space, where the faculty’s MBA program will be relocating in 2017.

Interim Dean Morty Yalovsky expressed that the establishment of

the student fund would set a strong example for alumni to follow regarding raising funds for the renovation of the bookstore in the near future.

“This most recent student-led initiative will serve as a major catalyst for a new multi-million dollar alumni fundraising campaign, which will support BCom students’ infrastructure needs in Bronfman as well as planned renovations to the new building,” Yalovsky said.

Continued on pg. 3

2

News

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Senate discusses implementing recommendations of Mental Health Working Group

Examines McGill’s mission statement, financial situation JULIE VANDERPERRE Opinion Editor McGill’s mission statement and principles Senators raised concerns about the wording of McGill’s mission statement—specifically the linkage between academic freedom and responsibility.

“In fulfilling its mission, McGill University embraces the principles of academic freedom and responsibility, integrity, accountability, equity, inclusiveness, and respect for cultural and individual diversity,” the proposed statement of principles that has been under work currently reads.

Several Senators claimed that this phrasing could put forward the idea that McGill scholars are being directed and restricted by the administration.

University Libraries Senator Marc Richard stated that he was concerned with the use of the term “responsibility” in the mission statement because of its negative connotations.

“Linking [academic freedom with responsibility] actually constrains what we mean by responsibility,” McGill University Principal Suzanne Fortier responded.

Fortier concluded the discussion of the mission statement by saying that the concerns would be forwarded to the Academic Planning Committee (APC), who will then submit motions to the Senate.

Fortier emphasized her hopes that the APC would bring back a strong mission statement that the Senate would later vote on, and which all Senators would feel is an accurate portrayal of the university’s values.

Budget Planning Provost Anthony Masi discussed the Budget Planning 20152016 Report at the meeting, emphasizing that McGill has taken measures in 2014 that are allowing the university to mitigate current budget cuts.

According to Masi, McGill went into the fiscal year projecting a $7 million deficit, which was then re-calculated after the Quebec gov-

ernment announced a $20 million budget cut. According to Masi, McGill was prepared for the additional reductions, and will still finish the year with a deficit of $7 million.

Masi further emphasized that the budget cuts that McGill is facing should not affect any of the university’s actions central to its values.

“We can’t keep doing everything we’re doing,” Masi said.

“Something has to give, [but] we just don’t want that ‘give’ to be core to our academic mission.”

Mental Health Working Group recommendations Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President University Affairs Claire StewartKanigan posed a question to Senate regarding the implementation of recommendations published by the Mental Health Working Group (MHWG) on May 2014.

The MHWG is a committee with a mandate to review the current state of mental health, counselling, and student services at McGill, and to make recommendations regarding

improvement to Executive Director of services for students Jana Luker and Deputy Provost, (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens..

One recommendation was for McGill to create a position dedicated towards implementing the recommendations of the working group. “[Will] the person who has been hired to implement this plan be empowered to task the university committees [...] to look into specific university policies with a mandate of implementing the findings of the working group?” Stewart-Kanigan asked.

Dyens responded by stating that the revision of university policies is the responsibility of the university’s mutual governance structure, which includes the Enrolment and Student Affairs Advisory Committee (ESAC), the Academic Policy Committee (APC), the Committee on Enrolment and Student affairs (CESA), Senate, the Office of the Dean of Students, and several other governance bodies.

“The actual revising of the

policy is our responsibility, members of [the Senate], and others that are responsive to Senate,” Dyens explained.

Stewart-Kanigan posed a supplemental question, asking if the individual tasked with implementing these policies would be affiliated with academic staff, given that mental health issues at universities can be tied to academic practices.

In response, Dyens stated that the person hired for the position would work with academic staff although it remained unclear whether McGill would be hiring specifically for that position.

“There would be a lot of horizontal discussion, and, if hired, the individual tasked with implementing the policies would work collaboratively and try to implement the most positive changes to regulations to impact students,” Dyens said.

“There is a balance that we must keep in mind between helping students and the demanding nature of McGill [....] But there is transparency, there is collaboration; there’s no point in keeping these thing siloed.”

Policy proposes further integration of research methods into undergraduate coursework Calls on professors to emphasize analytical methods of study LAUREN WILDGOOSE Staff Writer Terry Hébert, professor of Pharmacology at McGill raised a question to the McGill Senate last Wednesday regarding the incorporation of research into undergraduate teaching. The question was posed to follow up on a discussion at the November 2014 Senate meeting about the logistical challenges of providing every undergraduate student with a research opportunity. Hébert spoke as a member of the Inquiry Network, a cross-disciplinary group under McGill Teaching and Learning Services dedicated to engaging undergraduate students with the processes of research in coursework.

Since its inception in 2009, the Inquiry Network has been meeting monthly to achieve this goal. It has implemented measures including a faculty workshop on research pedagogy and making recommendations to the 2011 Joint Board-Senate Meeting on how to enhance undergraduate research.

In response to Hébert’s question at Senate, Provost Anthony Masi and Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens said the university has proposed a four-fold approach to helping students think like researchers as part of their coursework. This included the clarification of university policies and guidelines to emphasize the teaching-research nexus as an integral part of a professor’s academic duties, rather than an additional

(Hayley Lim / McGill Tribune) task, as well as the implementation of a five-year plan for Teaching and Learning Services, McGill’s office dedicated to improving teaching.

McGill currently offers research opportunities through the Office for Undergraduate Research in Science (OURS), Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE), and the Undergraduate Arts Research Internships Awards (ARIA).

ARIA recipient Caroline Boreham, U3 Arts, worked with Profes-

sor Tabitha Sparks on a proposal for a scholarly edition of a late 19th century novel.

“I loved the experience of working in a library day in and day out—I especially appreciated having the time to explore all of our resources at McGill,” said Boreham.

While these projects are a valuable opportunity for enrichment, they are usually limited to a select few students and last only a few months, according to Marcy Slapcoff, educational developer at

Teaching and Learning Services.

Boreham also cited difficulty in acquiring funding from a professor the first year she applied for the program, saying that one obstacle to conducting research is finding professors who can guarantee funding for a student project before their own grants are confirmed.

Slapcoff also explained why the integration of research into curricula is an important complementary measure to projects like ARIA and SURE.

“The reason we [...] have focused our efforts on coursework is that it is the only mechanism for [offering research opportunities to] all students throughout their degrees,” she said. “Undergraduates may not all be able to do original research, but they can all learn to think and act like researchers—to ask questions, to make decisions based on critically examined evidence, to share results, and to take action as engaged citizens.”

Dean of Students André Costopoulos also emphasized the importance of undergraduate research at McGill.

“It’s part of our teaching mission,” Costopoulos said. “Undergraduates can not only benefit from research, but also contribute to it.

We all bring a different perspective to a research problem, whether we’re looking at it for the first time as an undergraduate in a lab, or with a professor in the library, or whether we’ve been thinking about it for 20 years.”

Hébert said that research can inspire genuine excitement and has benefits beyond those offered by traditional teaching methods.

“Facts are generally provisional, and they change,” Hébert said. “[It’s] better to learn to evaluate facts critically and to learn to think independently. Our obsession with memorizing facts that are easily forgotten does a disservice to students, even if they don’t see that right away.”

3

News

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

MUS referendum passes new student space fee

B. Comm students to contribute half a million dollars to facilities by 2018 ARDEN LI Staff Writer

(Continued from page 1) Although no plans have been decided regarding the use of the fund, Finnell cited possible areas of improvement that would be made possible by the fund.

“An example would be completely overhauling our current fourth floor student space to increase the number of quiet individual study carrels in the building and substantially upgrading the group study area furniture—both are improvements widely demanded in our recent Student Space survey,” Finnell said.

The fee levy was met with mixed reactions. Some students felt that the fee was unnecessary and overly expensive.

“It’s good that they want to improve our life in Bronfman, but $80 per year is a

lot,” said Marie-Valentine Pinton, U1 Management. “We may not even get to see the results of this fund, especially for those of us who only have two years left and will go on exchange. I just don’t think there’s a need for it.”

Others welcomed the fee, viewing it as an investment in their undergraduate education.

“The fund certainly presents a significant cost to individuals, but the success of the faculty ultimately reflects on us,” said Rosy Teed, U1 Management. “If this money is put towards improving our and future Desautels students’ learning, I think it’s worth it.”

According to Finnell, MUS launched a “Yes MUS!” campaign in support of the referendum question, which sought to inform students about the motion through social media in the Bronfman Building.

Some Management students felt, however,

that there was inadequate advertising for the new fee.

“I didn’t see the referendum question until I logged in to vote. I never saw any promotion about it,” Pinton said.

Although Teed supported the fee, she offered the same criticism.

“I had no idea about it until after the fact,” Teed said. “I feel like MUS could have been a bit more proactive in advertising as this is not the regular $2.50 fee increase.”

While Finnell acknowledged the points of contention regarding the fee, he maintained that the benefits outweigh the costs.

“Any new fee will meet resistance from certain individuals,” he said. “But I don’t think anyone can ignore the immense value Management students receive through current student-levied fees that help support our Career Centre and some of the specialized business technology and software exclusively available to B.Comms.”

McGill experts discuss Supreme Court decision on physician-assisted death

Political prospects of federal legislation in question, suggestions towards provincial implementation ASHLEY KONG Contributor The Supreme Court’s ruling on Feb. 6 against the criminal ban of physician-assisted death has sparked questions amongst McGill experts regarding Canada’s future legislation on the issue.

According to the Supreme Court judgment, the Criminal Code that currently bans individuals from assisting others in suicide is in contradiction with the Constitution. The Court ruled that access to physician-assisted death should be granted to clearly consenting, competent adults who wish to remove intolerable suffering under terminal illness, disease, or disability by undergoing physician-assisted death.

Quebec had previously passed Bill 52 in June 2014, which ensured Quebecers access to medical aid in dying as well as palliative care­—healthcare for terminally-ill patients.

According to Pierre Deschamps, barrister and member of McGill Research Group of Health and Law, the Supreme Court’s framing of persons eligible for physician-assisted death is broader than Quebec’s Bill 52.

“The Supreme Court did not say that this would occur at the end of one’s life,” Deschamps said. “The Quebec legislation says that in order for one to [avail] himself of the medical aid to die, [the person] must be at the end of his life—kind of a terminal position.”

The ruling of the Supreme Court would also allow for physician-assisted suicide, in addition to the physician-assisted death that Bill 52 addresses.

“Physician-assisted death [is] where the physician will administer [the patient’s] dose of medication [inducing death],” Deschamps said. “Physicianassisted suicide [is] where the physician will provide the patient […] with the medication, and it’s going to be up to the patient to use or not use [it].”

Deschamps suggested that the Su-

preme Court’s judgement may result in changes to Bill 52.

“The Quebec legislation will need to adapt itself or [a] change of rule in order to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision based on the charter,” he said.

The Supreme Court refused to issue a constitutional exemption which would be special constitutional permission to the appellant to commit an act which is against a certain law. Instead, the court issued a declaration that the Criminal Code’s current invalidation of physician-assisted death is deferred for 12 months, leaving it to the federal gov-

(Stephanie Ngo / McGill Tribune) ernment to make a legislative response. “[Issuing] such an exemption would create uncertainty, undermine the rule of law, and usurp Parliament’s role,” the court report reads. “Complex regulatory regimes are better created by Parliament than by the courts [....] We would suspend the declaration of invalidity for 12 months.”

Federal government and provinces will need to address the ruling through legislation within the 12-month period to replace the criminal ban invalidated by the court. In light of Quebec’s experience with Bill 52, however, Deschamps

said that he believes 12 months might not be enough for thorough consultation and discourse.

“Before the Quebec legislation was adopted, there were five years where there were consultations with [Quebecers], with the College of Physicians, with numerous groups,” Deschamps said. “The Quebec government [then said] they would allow 18 months in order to prepare for the implementation of what is in the law. The Supreme Court gave the provinces and federal government a year to cover both aspects of physician-assisted suicide and physician-assisted death, and we all know that takes more than one year.”

According to Robert Leckey, associate professor at McGill’s Faculty of Law, if the federal government will not draft a new law on physician-assisted death, provincial legislation would be even more necessary.

“It’s just possible the federal government would say, ‘We’re not able to deal with this, we don’t want to deal with this, our voters don’t want us to deal with this.’” Leckey said. “If they do nothing [...] it becomes even more important for provinces to [draft legislation].”

Margaret Somerville, professor at McGill’s Faculty of Law and founding director of McGill Centre of Ethics, Medicine and Law, raised concerns that the qualification for physician-assisted death in Canada, including Quebec, is set too low.

“The Supreme Court didn’t even mention that you have to be terminally ill,” she said. “The Supreme Court talked about [when] you have an incurable disease and you have suffering­ —and the suffering is to be judged by you. If you said your suffering was unbearable, that’s what had to be accepted.”

Carolyn Ells, associate professor at McGill’s Faculty of Medicine, is based in the Biomedical Ethics Unit and sug-

gested that such a choice to remove suffering by withdrawing from life should be available. “[For some health professionals,] they see there are the rare cases where the end of life is truly unbearable,” she said. “They try and try to make it as best as they can, but it’s awful for some patients [.…] Even if you may not want to go [for physician-assisted death], maybe it is the right thing to do sometimes.”

According to Ells, physician-assisted death should not be a replacement to palliative care. She suggests that legalizing physician-assisted death should come with improving palliative care.

“For [physician-assisted death] in Quebec […] we’re not forcing that it is part of palliative care intervention itself, but it’s among many options people might choose [from],” Ells said.

“People would still want palliative care [....] That is a very good motivation to improve the options.”

Somerville also advocated for more safeguards on the implementation of physician-assisted death if it is passed, such as requiring the authorization of a judge to proceed, similar to current procedures in detaining mentally ill patients. “[It needs be ensured] that it is only used in rare cases,” she said. “Surely killing somebody is more serious than keeping a person in the [Allen Memorial Institute] for an extra day [...] so it’s not an unusual thing to require.”

Ells also stressed the importance of respecting democracy in the legislation process, and that death should not be a taboo in public discussion.

“I’m in the waiting game too ,” Ells said. “Situations have changed because of the Supreme Court of Canada.

In a democratic country where we value each individual person’s view, [...] it’s important for people to talk about value and death [....] It can’t be avoided.”

4

News

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Cities We Need conference highlights importance of municipal autonomy Mayors suggest new fiscal and political policies for Canadian cities PHILIPPE DUMAIS Staff Writer The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) opened its 20th annual two-day conference on Feb. 19, focusing on the challenges cities across Canada face. Elected officials from cities across the country, scholars, and representatives of non-governmental organizations gathered to discuss topics including governance, culture, infrastructure, citizenship, and social justice.

The conference opened with a panel of mayors who discussed governance. Mayors from Mississauga, Yellowknife, Stratford, Halifax, and Châteauguay unanimously pointed to the lack of consistency across municipalities in the political powers they have over their jurisdiction. The mayors agreed that consistency and predictability should be the norm in intergovernmental relationships. Attendees also dis-

cussed the municipal ability to perceive its own taxes to secure sources of revenue that are independent from provincial or federal subsidies.

Mark Heyck, mayor of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, highlighted this issue echoed by many of his colleagues.

“We have a completely different situation from province to province and from territory to territory, there is no uniformity in what [is] abided by each of us,” Heyck said. “It is time to have a national conversation about municipalities.”

Dan Mathieson, mayor of Stratford, Ontario, also argued that the infrastructures under the responsibility of municipal governments were unstable, given municipal budgets and their capacity to secure independent and predictable sources of revenue are currently insufficient.

Mathieson cited the case of the University of Waterloo, Strat-

ford Campus, which needed $10 million for its operations. The federal government refused to fund it, but gave $20 million to the University of Alberta through the Western Diversification Fund. According to Mathieson, this is a reflection of the lack of consistency municipalities across Canada are dealing with.

“The system is broke [sic],” Mathieson added. “There [are] over 2,000 communities in this country and you shouldn’t expect the communities to adapt to new ways of doing things each and every day.”

Mayor of Châteauguay Nathalie Simon explained that the current fiscal and political arrangements between levels of governments are impediments to municipal development.

“The most difficult obstacle is certainly the absence of cohesion among the provincial government and the relevant federal agencies,” Simon said.

She explained that asking for budgets and permissions from both levels of government represents a drag of resources that could be invested in services to the community.

“If we want to keep up with the current challenges in a dynamic, prosperous, and attractive community, things must change, cities must be recognized as government of proximity,” she said.

Simon also cited the example of Rogers Telecommunications Corporation, which decided to build a new antenna despite municipal regulations.

In doing so, Rogers acted upon the approbation of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, as well as other relevant agencies, but ignored prior urban planning established by the municipality.

Director of the MISC and McGill communications professor William Straw explained that the conference was prompted by

the sense that interesting policy initiatives addressing challenges in Canadian life are currently being developed in cities.

“McGill is an urban university and, more and more, scholarship at McGill reflects on what it means to be a university in a big city,” Straw said on McGill’s role in the city discourse.

“McGill is also an university in which people think about cities across all disciplines, from medicine to agriculture to arts. I think it’s important that McGill highlight this aspect of its identity.”

Straw explained that McGill’s location in downtown Montreal and its increasing institutions on urban life and research should be a larger part of its identity.

“I think McGill [...] has to think more and more of itself as an urban institution,” he said. “I hope this conference will help that.”

Scholars examine racial discourse and practices in Canada, United States Panel discussion explores experiences of black slaves in Quebec MONICA ALLABY Contributor A panel discussion on the history and development of anti-black racial practices in Canada and the United States was held on Feb. 16 as part of the David A. Freedman Speaker Series. Titled “Discourses of Race: The United States, Canada, and Transnational Anti-Blackness,” the event was organized by the McGill Black Students’ Network, the McGill Debating Union, the Women of Colour Collective at McGill Law School, Media @ McGill, and the McGill Department of History.

Panellists included Dr. Darryl Leroux, sociology professor at St. Mary’s University; Frank Mackey, an author on black history in Canada and Quebec; and Dr. Charmaine Nelson, art history professor at McGill University.

Rachel Zellers, a PhD candidate at McGill who on critical race theory, moderated the discussion.

She opened the conversation by reflecting on the interchanges of racial segregation practices between the U.S. and Canada.

Zellers remarked that although Jim Crow practices are typically understood as uniquely American, they were also present in Canada.

“Jim Crow did not respect nation-state boundaries,” Zellers said.

“Canadians turned to American Southerners for clear clues on how to handle blacks migrating into Canada, adapting Jim Crow to fit into Canada’s political archetype.”

She argued that the transna-

tionalism of Jim Crow laws can be understood through historic moments in the U.S. and their influence in Canada. She highlighted the Fugitive Slave Acts, which were a pair of federal laws that allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves.

“In 1850, for example, the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Acts in the U.S. took place,” she said. “At the same time in Canada, 1850 saw the enactments of legalized racial segregation in Upper Canada’s schooling system.”

Zellers explained that between 1896 and 1911, the Canadian Department of Immigration created its own Jim Crow policies to deter black migration to the West. By 1911, the Laurier government instituted the first federal law in Canada based on racial exclusion that banned black immigration into Canada.

“The Canadian Department of Immigration halted the migration of black farming families from the U.S. by sending its agents into Oklahoma and Kansas to pay bribes directly to prominent black American community leaders,” she said.

“Black physicians were paid to tour and testify that a biological lack of fitness prevented black bodies to survive the frigid conditions in [the] Canadian West.”

Nelson, who explores race through art history in her teaching, then reflected on her own experiences at McGill, stating that students are often surprised by her desire to talk about race in a Canadian context.

“I have yet to encounter the Canadian student who enters knowing that slavery happened in Canada,” she said. “This is not a conversation that should be happening for the first time in a university setting.”

In the latter part of the panel discussion, Zellers focused the discussion on slavery in Quebec. The panellists agreed that Quebec’s relationship to racism and slavery was and remains particularly unique.

“In Quebec, French people emphasize their marginalization rather than their privilege,” Nelson said.

“They only ever speak of themselves as victims within the context of Canadian society, rather than oppressors [....] However, we need to

Panellists discuss race in a Canadian context. (Jack Neal / McGill Tribune) talk about the need to maintain anti- quickly refuted Mackey’s claim.

“The only reason plantations ethnic practices.”

Zellers said that Quebec’s his- were not present in Quebec is betory has long been misrepresented, cause it was unprofitable due to the explaining that slave practices in Canadian climate,” Leroux said.

Zellers wrapped up the discusQuebec were influenced by the U.S. sion by responding to Mackey’s reand England.

“In New France, 17th century marks.

“Those discrepancies or differ[French] colonists justified their indigenous slavery by closely observ- ences between how brutal or how ing French Atlantic slave practices less brutal slavery was in the context [of black slaves],” she said. “They of Canada are not important to me at aimed to make their indigenous the end of the day,” Zellers said. “At the end of the day, when the talking slaves ‘like negroes.’”

Near the end of the conference, point is really about one humanity, the conversation became heated that’s all that matters. The differencwhen Mackey suggested that slav- es in brutality serve a purpose in my ery in Quebec took on a different mind that serves white people much form than it had in the U.S. Leroux more than black people.”

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

5

News

J-Board publishes recommendations in GA speaker case Stresses SSMU’s obligation to promate accessibility of Roberts’ Rules SHRINKHALA DAWADI AND CECE ZHANG News Editors The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Judicial Board (JBoard) published a recommendation on the Nadir Khan and Zain Ali Zyed vs. the SSMU Council and Speaker case this Friday.

The recommendation is a result of the mediation session that resolved the case, which Khan and Zyed filed in October 2014 following the Fall General Assembly (GA). The complainants had stated that the Speaker’s practices at the Fall 2014 GA suppressed discussion on a controversial motion that called for

SSMU to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

The mediation stipulated that the JBoard was mandated to investigate the meaning of Article 5.2 of Bylaw Book I-5 of the SSMU bylaws.

“Standing rules for the General Assembly which make Roberts’ Rules easier for students to understand procedure must be adopted by Council at least one week in advance of the General Assembly,” Article 5.2 reads.

The J-Board explained in its recommendation that this bylaw should be interpreted as imposing a positive obligation on Council to adopt standing rules for the GA in order to promote accessibility to the average SSMU member.

“Council must, under Article 5.2 and following, adopt standing rules which seek to make a General Assembly’s rules of order understandable for the average member at least one week in advance of a General Assembly,” the recommendation reads. “These rules must be published at least five calendar days before the General Assembly.”

SSMU President Courtney Ayukawa previously responded to the original J-Board petition, saying that SSMU convention treated Article 5.2 as a recommendation rather than an obligation.

The J-Board addressed convention but found it insufficient to defend such an interpretation.

“While convention can be helpful in interpreting bylaws it cannot be

used to trump clear, express, and nonambiguous wording,” the recommendation read.

The J-Board was also mandated to investigate if a special two-thirds majority rule for a motion to postpone indefinitely constituted a valid standing rule that could be adopted in lieu of the simple majority rule in Robert’s Rules.

In its recommendation, the J-Board distinguished between standing rules and special rules of order.

“Standing rules are not rules of procedure, but a means of regulating the details of the administration of a society,” the explanation reads.

The J-Board explained that changing the rule for a motion to postpone indefinitely would constitute a special rule

of procedure, which SSMU Council does not have the jurisdiction to amend.

The J-Board explained that this amendment could be applied to GAs if the SSMU Board of Directors adopted it. The General Assembly as a body would also have the power to amend and suspend rules of order.

“The J-Board finds a positive obligation on the part of SSMU Legislative Council to create, publicize, and bring to all General Assemblies a set of standing rules that promote an effective and accessible process for students as stated in article 5.2 of SSMU By-Law I-5,” the explanation read.

In response, Ayukawa said that SSMU would strive to adopt standing rules at future GAs.

McGill Spaces Project holds second workshop on Brown Building redesign Students asked to give opinions on potential changes LAURA HANARAHAN Staff Writer Participants discussed the planned transformation of the Brown Student Services Building in a workshop on Feb. 18.

The workshop was hosted by the McGill Spaces Project (MSP), a student-led initiative seeking to reimagine spaces across McGill’s campus, the Brown Building Redesign Advisory Group (BRAG), a McGill Student Services committee, and the McGill Architecture Community Design Workshop class (ARCH 514), led by Professor Nik Luca. The groups presented the history of the Brown Building and outlined the ongoing plans to change it, which they dubbed “Operation Brown Building”.

According to BRAG Chair Mitchell Miller, the initiative began through a request from McGill Student Services.

“Student Services started to have conversations about the reception areas, the posters and the signage,” Miller said. “We realized it was way out of the area of what we were able to do and that we need some support.”

The initiative hopes to change the dynamics of the building by making it a more welcoming, usable, and advantageous for students.

“The main goal stemmed from seeing some underused or misused spaces and wanting to have this building [be] more of a space the students could take advantage of and use,” Miller said.

According to Alan Chen, director of the McGill Spaces Project, one of the biggest issues the building faces is poor allocation of its free areas.

“There are large nooks and crannies and transit spaces that are intended to have a variety of uses

Students gave feedback on plans for redesign of Brown Building. (Jack Neal / McGill Tribune) but have just become these trash spots for unwanted furniture and random tables,” Chen said. “We want to keep it as a transitory building, but at the same time find uses for these nooks and crannies that are awkward and feel out of place.”

Miller explained that the redesign would prioritize revitalizing the clinic space for health services and mental health services.

“The directors of those two units are very keen for [the spaces] to change,” Mitchell said. “It would be more of a redistribution—if there’s two waiting rooms, maybe combine them into one—and taking advantage of spaces and making them more purposeful.”

The coursework for ARCH 514 is entirely based on Operation Brown Building, according to

Luca, who explained that the class was acting as consultants for the operation.

“We’ve been hired and been asked to explore some questions, draw conclusions, and make some recommendations, and then BRAG can accept those recommendations and decide whether or not to pursue them, on what time scale, and to what extent,” he said.

Lindsay Vanstone, a master’s student of Urban Planning and member of ARCH 514, highlighted that the class hoped to reinvent the overall branding of the building.

“It needs to feel welcoming and so that it’s a student friendly building,” she said. “Somewhere you can informally sit down with somebody, do some work, just sit and read, or think.”

U3 Science student Anina Ratjen, who participated in the workshop, said that she believed that students do not typically use the building in this fashion.

“The Brown Building is mostly a building I go through to take a little break from the cold when walking to class,” she said. “[I] would never think to come here to sit and do work [....] I think that if they can put these suggestions into action, it will be really beneficial for the students. Personally, I’d like to have more study space—large tables with chairs—because no one really uses the stand-alone armchairs that are here currently.”

There has been no date set yet for the redesign as the plans are still tentative, although some preliminary work is scheduled to

be completed before the Fall 2015 semester.

“If we come up with things that are easier to do in the short term, [like adding and updating signage], hopefully they’ll be done before school starts in the Fall,” Vanstone said. “Things that will take longer and require more investment, a different time will have to be sorted.”

Right now, MSP, BRAG, and ARCH 514 are in the process of holding information workshops on the project, the next of which will be held on March 16 and 18.

“It’s very much a ball to be tossed back and forth between the students, the community, and the stakeholders in the building,” Chen said. “It’s definitely a split—hopefully not a compromise, but more of synergy.”

6

News

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Meet your interim PGSS Secretary-General candidates Voting period extends from February 18 to 24

CECE ZHANG News Editor

Endorsement

Both candidates have identified organizational transparency, communication, as well as McGill’s budget cuts as primary issues to address. Ndandala brings a diverse array of experiences in previous non-McGill leadership capacities and has the potential to bring a renewed perspective to the position.

However, in a three-month mandate, it is essential that the secretary-general comes into the role with an intimate understanding of what is required at Council in order to succeed this year. Bresler’s previous experience as a councillor will aid him in this role. Furthermore, Bresler is more realistic in what he will be able to accomplish and is the Tribune’s endorsement for the PGSS interim secretary-general position.

SATURNIN NDANDALA

Saturnin Ndandala, PhD student in Management and Higher Education, currently serves on the PGSS Policy and Structural Advisory Committee. According to Ndandala, his primary goal if elected would be to improve transparency within the PGSS. Other goals Ndandala lists include establishing minimum funding for all post-graduate students, and organizing a pairing program between Canadian and international students.

“Some post-graduate students are struggling, and some departments [...receive] more funding [than] other departments,” he said. “I have no funding, for example [....] So I want to make it so post-graduate students have a much more equitable experience.”

While McGill is currently facing budget cuts from the provincial and federal governments, Ndandala stated that he felt the university could cut administrative costs to improve its financial situation.

“McGill can balance the budget if they can cut the administrator teams and use that money to increment the funding of post-graduate students,” Ndandala said. “We can also [group with] other universities’ post-graduate societies here in Quebec to lobby with the federal government and to the provincial government in terms of incrementing the funding of McGill.”

“Intrinsically, McGill can cut the budget of the administrative costs,” he elaborated. “Extrinsically, we can lobby with the federal and provincial government in terms of boosting the funding of provincial universities and especially McGill.”

Ndandala proposed to increase PGSS’s budget by establishing a funding program with private sectors.

“We are quite restricted by our budget,” he said. “We are limited in terms of being proactive in [...] issues concerning students because our funding is not quite enough.”

Saturnin Ndandala (Photos courtesy of Saturnin Ndandala) Ndandala pointed to issues within PGSS, including communication and the lack of participation from members.

“As a [committee] member, I never received any emails about any meetings, so there is a communications problem I’m thinking to resolve,” he said. “[Another problem is] hindering most PGSS students from being interested in [...] governing [events….] If I’m elected, I’m going to reconnect with the grassroots of the society, [hold] meetings with postgraduate associations with each faculty [...] trying to be closer and implementing a more participatory approach, trying also to collect their concerns and structure new programs based on that.”

Ndandala cited his extensive previous political experience as qualifications for the position.

“I have been the chairman of the [...] National Congress party in South Africa at the University of Cape Town,” he said. “I was also president of the student society of the University of Cape Town. In France [...] I was part of the campaign team of François Hollande [....] In Canada, I was the chairman of the NDP party in University of Toronto.”

Ndandala also explained why he believed that his experience with political parties would not bias his participation in a non-partisan organization like the PGSS. “I’m a very international person, based on my travelling around,” he said. “I have skills in diplomacy and [...] I’m very impartial and objective in my leadership and judgement [....I have learned] regardless of our background, ethnicity, social status, we all want fairness and transparency. It’s a kind of universal human value.”

YONY BRESLER

Yony Bresler, a PhD student in Physics, currently serves on McGill’s Appeal Committee for Student Discipline and Grievances. He explained that his main aim, if elected, would be to aid the rest of the executives in

accomplishing their portfolios in the remainder of the academic year.

“I really think there’s an opportunity to help this current [PGSS executive], I think many aren’t staying next year; there are many things they want to get done, but between this turmoil and the CFS stuff, it took a lot of their time,” he said. “Even though it’s short-term, I think, having talked to lots of [the PGSS executive] about it, there are lots of things they want to push forward. My vision for what I want to do—the number one is just to help them do that, which is effectively the job of the secretary-general—to help coordinate things, and to try to help them accomplish their goals and

Yony Bresler (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune) fulfill their portfolios.”

Bresler identified increasing transparency in PGSS as a goal he wanted to work towards.

“There’s stuff that’s already in place, for example, releasing minutes,” he said. “Technically, it’s in our bylaws, but there’s no strict timeline on it. So specifically and broadly, we can look at that topic [and] what we can improve: Strict deadlines for minutes so they can actually be released. Also more broadly, looking at transparency, looking at places we can improve.”

In light of McGill’s financial situation, Bresler also anticipates working toward reducing the impact that budget cuts will have on students.

“In the climate of [austerity], you have to try to preserve, to the best of your ability, student services [...] especially mental health services, which is a big issue for post-graduate students,” he said.

Bresler explained that his two and a half years of experience in PGSS provided him with the experience necessary to take on the position.

“Starting out, I had to learn my way through Council, but over time, I became an active member,” Bresler said. “Through [that], I’ve learned about PGSS, governing bodies, and such. Outside of PGSS [...] I was in the Physics PGSA. I was the VP Social for two years, planned a lot of different events, and this year I was the chief returning officer of the PGSA.” He emphasized that his prior experience with the PGSS would help him minimize the transition period and integrate into the executive team quickly.

“I definitely see the value of new ideas, but I think in this situation, you don’t have the month to get your bearings straight,” Bresler said. “They’re already going full speed and you’re jumping in there. So I think in this situation [...] the value of me having the experience and knowledge of how all these different parts work is going to outweigh the [benefits] of a new perspective. Also, given the time, I’m not sure with the new perspective, how much time you might have to actually do any of the things by the time you figure out how things work.”

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 Julie Vanderperre 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 Online Editor Matt Smith online@mcgilltribune.com Web Developer William Burgess webdev@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Eliott Demelier, Daniel Kang, and Mingye Chen ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

editorial

Past missteps, fee levies highlight demand for faculty executive accountability

The Management Undergraduate Society (MUS) and the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) both recently passed motions to institute new student fees aimed at improving the resources and spaces available to students. Due to McGill’s budgetary constraints that prevent the university from allocating money to building renovation and other student services not deemed essential, faculty executives have assumed the responsibility of putting forth referendum questions to increase existing student fees and institute new ones in order to pay for these initiatives. In light of previous mistakes and failures to meet many basic requirements of their positions, faculty executives need to make changes to increase their degree of accountability if they are to successfully manage these additional responsibilities.

Faculty executives have generally failed to fulfill their basic duties, including communicating openly with students, making information readily accessible, and abiding by university regulations. Several incidents to highlight include MUS financial documents and meeting minutes that have not been updated since November, the Arts Undergraduate Society’s (AUS) failure to secure alcohol permits for its Bar des Arts events, and a general lack of transparency and neglect of responsibilities among many faculty executives who fail to attend their office hours

TPS Board of Directors

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

Christine Chang, Cordelia Cho, Luka Ciklovan, Meghan Collie, Philippe Dumais, Laura Hanrahan, Keah Hansen, Nick Jasinski, Evelyn Kaczmarek, Aislinn Kalob, Lydia Kaprelian, Arden Li, Tiffany Le, Chris Lutes, Claire Lyle, Eleanor Milman, Eric Noble-Marks, Alycia Noë, Albert Park, Laura Plamondon, Aaron Rose, Elli Slavitch, Zikomo Smith, Noah Sutton, Yufei Wang, Lauren Wildgoose

Contributors

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.

ects being undertaken are ambitious and—if executed well—beneficial for students, they are also long-term

“

Faculty

executives need to make changes to increase their degree of accountability if they are to succesfully manage additional responsibilities.

endeavours. This means that the projects will pass through the hands of several executives before they are finished. The high turnover rate of faculty executives increases the chances for poor coordination and distortion of the long-term vision.

These additional obstacles are not encouraging, especially in light of

Off the board

previous failures dealing with the referenda that preceded these fees.

These past errors necessitate a change in how faculty executives are held accountable going forward. Referenda should be highly publicized in order to maximize student engagement with the questions at hand.

This requires faculty executives to advertise important referenda more actively so that all students are made aware of potential fee increases, and to make themselves available to fellow students who may have questions or concerns.

In addition to fulfilling these basic responsibilities, all faculty executives should review their bylaws and constitutions, or create a committee to do so, as the SUS has recently done. Many of these documents are egregiously outdated, resulting in confusion and difficulty allocating responsibility among the different executives. Updating their constitutions should help to reacquaint executives with what their individual responsibilities are and can help to improve overall performance.

Furthermore, students themselves must also seek to hold their faculty executives to higher expectations in order for any changes to occur. The recent fee increases that directly impact students’ wallets may hopefully provide the impetus for students to pay closer attention to their faculty executives and hold them to higher standards.

A Wednesday night affair

Staff Writers & Illustrators

Monica Allaby, Alexander Bullis, Audrey Carleton, Emma Hameau, Justin Hatherly, Jonathan Herlin, Sarah Ibrahim, Natalie Jennings, Sophie Jewett, Ashley Kong, Stephanie Ngo, Miina Sasaki, Alex Sirois, Joshua Shapiro, Anna St. Clair, Raphael Uribe Arango, Andy Wang, Susanne Wang

or reach out to their constituents.

These incidents highlight the lack of coordination and responsibility on the part of many faculty executives, and leave us with low expectations for how they will manage growing financial responsibilities.

Both the SUS and MUS referendum processes—which further increased the amount of responsibility held by faculty executives by implementing new fees—were plagued by procedural errors and problems with engaging students. The SUS held a ‘redo’ referendum regarding the two student fees after a blunder that occurred during the Fall referendum, in which the fee questions were mistakenly run under online ratification guidelines instead of the proper procedures for a referendum. SUS was forced to rerun the questions in the Winter referendum despite having already implemented the fees with the Deputy Provost’s office. Moreover, the SUS faculty executives did not effectively inform students of the mistake, demonstrating a serious lack of accountability and transparency. The MUS fee, while passed according to the proper procedures, was inadequately advertised, with many management students interviewed by this newspaper stating that they were unaware of the referendum and the new fee.

The fees levied by the MUS and SUS constitute significant sums of money, and while the building proj-

“

THE Mcgill

7

Opinion

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

caSSiE Lee Design Editor McGill students have recently found themselves a steamy new Wednesday night mistress. It would appear that weeknight beerdrinking types have left Gerts, a McGill institution, in favour of a newer, larger establishment—Ace Bar and Grill. This Winter, Gerts has felt the painful backlash of its once loyal customers leaving its bar in favor of a new spot.

Just two months ago, a Wednesday evening at Gerts could see wait times of up to an hour for the popular establishment; now the ’90s throwbacks echo coldly across the vacant tables and empty pitchers. Gerts has always been a shoul-

der to cry on after particularly difficult midterms—a safehouse from the turbulent student world—yet now it’s just some bar we used to know.

Enter Ace. Once a hotel bistro, it is now a shiny new venue draped in mystique and nuance.

It has adopted and improved on the specials that students loved at Gerts. Ace claims to have more alcoholic drinks than Gerts, more seating than Gerts, a daring serveyourself coat check, and mysteriously relaxed bouncers.

So began our epic love affair. The sangria is closer to jungle juice and no bouncers attempt to convince you that they’re already at capacity when you know four people totally just left.

But aren’t students afraid of getting hurt again? Gerts’ fatal flaw was in taking advantage of our loyalty and friendship. It believed that it was the only bar that students would keep coming back to. Gerts served drinks obviously low in alcohol content, banned our favourite songs, and ruthlessly pushed stu-

dents away with its cold, endless lineups. It was probably always about the money. Gerts has hurt us, and not in the usual ‘morning after’ kind of way—but with the kind of hurt that drove us into the arms of another bar.

Is Ace prepared to take on the baggage that Gerts left behind? We must confess to our own flaws: Our obsessive playing of Bruno Mars songs, and our notorious undertipping. And when Ace is bent over cleaning vomit off the washroom tiles week in and week out, will it question its commitment to this relationship?

In all this confusion, while walking down McTavish Street, I can’t help but to let my eyes linger on that one window Gerts has in the corner. I know it misses us. Gerts’ increased social media presence, for example, and events like this Wednesday’s “Ninegria,” which boasts sangria for only nine dollars during the day with the hashtag #therealsangriawednesday #bringinitback are clear signs that Gerts can’t live without us. More subtly,

Gerts hosted a “Friends” marathon last week, trying to come off as casual, but the message still comes across loud and clear—Gerts wants us back.

Like every utopia laden with ample seating and satisfying beverages, the magic can’t possibly last. Soon, weaker cocktails and increased prices will be introduced at Ace along with bouncers who act like airport security.

While Ace may be intriguing and mysterious, Gerts is comfortable and safe, and there’s something about your student bar stays with you. Ace is a great place, but it’s not the place. It was a fun affair, but its popularity is short-lived.

Maybe this was the space that we both needed—a chance for us to show Gerts that we are more than just some sloppy Wednesday night.

But with all forgiveness comes compromise; stronger drinks, smaller lines, and friendlier bouncers. I’ll admit, the last month at Ace has been fun, but I’m ready to settle down with the bar next door to Leacock.

Opinion

8

COMMENTARY

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Employment insurance an ineffective system in Canada

“

[Employment insur-

ance] is an incredibly ineffective and poorly designed program, rewarding a token bout of seasonal work with months of

“

tax-financed idleness.

{

Over the past few decades, Canadians have taken steps—from the Canada Pension Plan to universal health care—to make Canada a more caring and equitable society.

However, despite politicians’ best intentions, these societal efforts can sometimes produce unintended negative consequences. Nowhere is this more evident than with the current design of the employment insurance (EI) system.

In 1971, the Liberal government dramatically expanded and increased the generosity of the EI program. Under the new system, seasonal workers were insured, benefits were enhanced, and for the first time, the qualifying period for EI was determined on a regional basis.

Though seemingly compassionate

inefficient and poorly designed program, rewarding a token bout of

also impede the functioning of a fluid national labor market. These requirements mean that in regions with unemployment rates above the national average, workers only have to pay into the EI fund for six weeks as opposed to 16. In many parts of Western Canada, robust economic growth has contributed to labor shortages. In Atlantic Canada, there is close to a double-digit percentage of unemployment. One would think that the simultaneous existence of these two situations would be complementary: Canadians in regions of high unemployment could take jobs in areas of the country with demand for workers.

However, some entry requirements in parts of the nation are an active deterrent to unemployed workers in those regions from taking jobs in other regions. For example, if unemployed seasonal workers were to move to Alberta in search of work, and were unable to find it, their sparing work history would mean their contributions to the EI fund would be insufficient to qualify for benefits under these tougher rules. Thus, regionally enhanced EI can deter Canadians from migrating to other parts of the nation to meet

{

Justin hatherly Contributor

on the surface, these reforms had a negative impact on large parts of the country.

In order to understand why insuring seasonal workers is a problem, one should start off by examining how insurance operates. People insure themselves against unpredictable events, such as fires or floods.

The same principles can be applied to unemployment. Given the risk of unexpected layoffs, it makes sense for workers to band together to insure each other and provide temporary income support. By having all workers in a government-run insurance program, costs can be kept low and coverage broad.

However, seasonal work does not operate in the same way due to its predictable nature. For example, it is a certainty that a ski instructor will be out of work in the off-season.

In the absence of an employment insurance program, seasonal employers would have to pay their workers enough to make them stick around from one season to the next.

Moreover, as the government subsidizes seasonal work and unemployment, both of these phenomenon become more prevalent.

In short, EI is an incredibly

seasonal work with months of taxfinanced idleness.

Regional EI entry requirements

labour market needs. This has a detrimental effect on the labour market, and worsens the performance of the economy as a whole.

Easy access to EI for seasonal workers has contributed to a persistent unemployment problem in many areas of the country like Nova Scotia, and a consensus forecast among economists estimates that the system has led to a permanent two per cent structural unemployment gap compared to that in the U.S. To rectify the situation, EI should return to its original purpose as a government-administered insurance program for workers with one national set of eligibility requirements and benefit levels. To protect themselves, seasonal workers should be forced to save a certain proportion of their income in a specific account to provide a degree of income security when unemployed.

Most people want a fair society, but sometimes, policy making doesn’t work as planned. It is time to reform EI and do away with the unintended negative consequences that result from Canada’s flawed EI system.

Exercising justice at the McGill Fitness Centre

Controversy stirred on campus last week as Soumia Allalou and Raymond Grafton, two McGill Law students, reached out to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) asking for endorsement for the implementation of women-only hours at the McGill Fitness Centre. Despite the fact that this is a common feature in many athletic facilities, including the fitness centres at York University, University of Toronto, and Ryerson University, the proposal itself has been met with negative responses. However, a critical look at the matter reveals that McGill Athletics has a responsibility to institute this change in order to

would not only benefit those with religious restrictions. In fact, many women without religious restrictions may prefer to work out in a female-only setting because they may feel intimidated or uncomfortable using the gym in the presence of men out of fear of judgment or attracting unwanted attention.

The intimidation factor applies especially to the weight section, which is dominated by males.

Some females may rarely ever enter the weight training area because of this. Therefore, womenonly hours would even benefit the women who already go to the fitness centre by allowing them to experiment with new sections that they may typically not approach.

In fact, women-only hours would help divide up the machine usage in general. Anyone who has gone to the Fitness Centre knows that there is a different distribution of men and women in the various areas of the gym. The cardio section is used frequently by females, and is usually the most crowded area of the gym. Women-only hours would help reduce this clog

during the high traffic hours. Overall, this would allow for a more equal balance of the different ma-

“

The argument that

women-only hours are unfair to men fails to realize that some women are completely missing out on a right that all should have as paying students.

“

Albert Park Columnist

remain consistent with the university’s goal of creating a safe and inclusive environment.

At the heart of the issue is the topic of religious and cultural tolerance. The primary reason female-only hours are being asked for is because some women are unable to exercise around men due to religious reasons. From hosting dry frosh activities to educating students about the importance of respecting other’s sexual decisions during Consent Week, the McGill administration and student body work hard to ensure that no student’s experiences on campus are hindered or devalued by his or her personal or religious decisions.

The same approach applies to academics; McGill aims to ensure fairness with its policy that students are not to be penalized if they cannot be attend an exam on their religious holidays. Considering all of these policies that McGill has in place, it is odd that the same level of religious respect and promise of equal opportunity is not in effect with McGill Athletics.

Furthermore, the change

chines between men and women, and would encourage, or at least

ERRATUM: -A story in the Feb. 17 issue (Fears of extremism limiting freedoms in Canada) incorrectly stated that Harper’s proposed bill was C-15. In fact, it was C-51.

The Tribune regrets this error.

make it possible, for everyone to try new activities.

Some may argue that women-only hours are unfair to men who would have to pay the same amount of money for fewer hours of service, and that those desiring However, there is a large discrepancy between the student price offered by the McGill Fitness Centre and gyms outside campus. For example, a nearby female-only facility, Energie Cardio Pour Elle, charges $43 a month for students, compared to $25 per semester for the McGill Fitness Centre. Therefore, the argument that women-only hours are unfair to men fails to realize that some women are completely missing out altogether on the right to access fitness facilities that all should have as paying students, while the ones making the argument would only have shortened hours. Therefore, in order to remain faithful to McGill’s goal of creating a safe, tolerant, and community-oriented environment, the McGill Fitness Centre should introduce women-only hours as soon as possible.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Know your rights

9

Student Living

An overview of tenant rights and landlord obligations

A

Meghan Collie Staff Writer

common lack of knowledge for students regarding real estate processes can leave them vulnerable. Applications, contracts, leases, joint tenancy, and subletting, all make up the whirlwind of real estate jargon that can leave anyone mystified. House hunting for the first time can be overwhelming, stressful, and confusing. While it is true that most housing situations will come to fruition in a safe, legal, and generally decent manner, there are still several things to be aware of before pursuing your first real ‘home.’

There are a few possible routes students can take when starting the hunt for a new house:

Look for leasing opportunities

This is the most popular option for students, because a lease is temporary and much less expensive than purchasing a house, apartment, or condominium.

Generally speaking, a leased apartment has usually been previously occupied by several other tenants, so the structure of the unit has the chance to deteriorate. For this reason, one should be inspecting the quality of the appliances, the heating and cooling systems, the alarm or safety systems, and the general state of the house. If something appears to be worn down or broken, it should be addressed before any rental agreement is signed so that the tenant can ensure it will be fixed at some point during the lease.

It is also important to distinguish between Joint Tenancy and Occupancy. Signing a Joint Tenancy lease means that all those who sign are responsible for the terms of the lease. It includes entering into a legal relationship with the landlord as well as with the roommates. If any member of the lease does not fulfill the obligations on the lease, all members will be held partly responsible. For example, if one roommate pays their portion rent in full but another does not for several consecutive weeks, the landlord could cancel the lease and evict all the tenants.

Purchasing a house

Although this is a much more expensive and permanent option, it can be attractive for students hoping to live in Montreal for an extended period of time. Even if staying Montreal may not be permanent plan, purchasing real estate can be a worthwhile investment—buyers can use it to

rent out to students in the future.

However, there are still some notable differences that anyone interested in this route should be aware of.

Before putting down an offer on the house, students should be cautious in looking over every aspect of the house. It is important to inquire with the previous owners and the real estate agent about information regarding appliances— their model and make—and when they were purchased.

Moreover, there are a few Quebec-specific considerations to be made when purchasing a house. For example, home buyers are required to pay a “Quebec Welcome Tax” — ­ a fee to the provincial government.

Become the nominal owner of a house owned by parents

If a student’s has parents decided to purchase a house in Quebec, there is the supplementary option for the student actually living there to become a nominal owner of the house. By becoming the nominal owner, the house, apartment, or condo that has been purchased will be legally under the student’s name, even if he or she does not handle the finances.

Below are interviews with students in this situation to provide further insight regarding what being a nominal owner entails.

Kira S. is a U1 Arts student, and has been living in a Quebec apartment for one year.

McGill Tribune: Has your landlod upheld all of his obligations?

KS: He has not upheld all of these [obligations of a landlord].

He neglected to fix our front porch, [which was included in the lease]. He neglected to give us 24 hours notice for mainte-

Infographic by Hayley Lim nance people entering the apartment [as per Quebec law]. These two factors contributed to our apartment being robbed once, and having intruders twice.

MT: Have you ever felt unsafe in your apartment because of the lack of action by your landlord?

KS: Yes, we’ve felt unsafe.

For approximately six weeks, I slept [roughly] four hours during the night […] because I was afraid of intruders. We then had a security system installed and more locks put on the doors, so after about seven weeks of living in the apartment, I finally felt safe. We have also had mice and broken appliances, which the landlord has not dealt with in a timely manner.

MT: Where did you turn to for help?

KS: We weren’t initially aware, but once we began to have issues, I started doing some research online, and I called the Régie du logement. [Quebec’s website on residential leasing laws.]

MT: What will you do differently before you sign a lease for your next apartment?

KS: We’ll ask specific questions pertaining to rodents [and] infestation. Asking, “Have there been mice, rats, [or] pests?” directly leaves no room for evasion. We will look to live in an apartment in a building [instead of] in a walk-up; this will hopefully reduce heating costs and

reduce the possibility of rodents/ pests. Also, the enhanced security of an apartment in a building is attractive. Tip for anyone moving into a new place: Skim all of the available information provided online through the Régie du logement, specifically the tenant-landlord relationship [....] Don’t hesitate to call the Régie du logement or see McGill Student Housing if you are unsure of something.

Freddy L. is the nominal owner of his condominium—financially purchased by his parents—and he is a member of the Management Board of the building he lives in. He is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and has been living in his condo for approximately two years.

MT: Can you give a brief explanation of the way the Management Board works?

Freddy L.: The [Management] Board manages many aspects of the building, including general maintenance and upkeep of the condo as well as minor and major works to the interior and exterior, security, and all related finances. Within the residents, we work to improve communication, transparency, and importantly, a sense of community. Currently, I hold the secretarial position on the Board.

This role entails overseeing all works pertaining to maintaining the building, organizing general documents, keeping minutes,

acting as [a] signing officer, as well as everyday inspection of the building. I was elected to this position by the members of the condo, which include owners and/or their proxies, along with four other dedicated individuals who work to uphold the integrity of the building.

MT: Are there any rules you agree or disagree with? Why? FL: The Board is entitled to receive compensation for its members’ work even without the approval of all condo members.

In other words, the Board may ask for a fee for its work—with the amount up to the Board’s discretion—without an overall agreement. I disagree with giving such a responsibility solely to the Board as it may easily lead to irresponsible demands. From my experience, the Board is usually comprised of voluntary members who want to work to make the building a better place for its residents, but a monetary incentive may influence the type of people attracted to such positions.

Although this information will give students a foundation for expectations and self-protection, there is still much more to be aware of. To discover more about residential leasing, read the Law of the Régie du Logement (http://www.rdl.gouv.qc.ca/ fr/accueil/accueil.asp) and the articles of the civil code (Code du civil du Quebec).

10

Student Living

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

How to hunt for housing options Five ways to ease the process of house-hunting Audrey Carleton Contributor With half a semester left to go, most students have to face the exciting yet daunting task of searching for off-campus housing options. While the process of apartment hunting is stressful for a person of any age, it can be even more daunting for those with no experience. Here are some common challenges first-years face when searching for their first apartment, along with some solutions to provide guidance.

What should I look for in an apartment?

Things to look out for online: Before exploring apartment hunting websites, it is a good idea to know what you want in an apartment. Students who plan to host a lot of parties or events, for example, may value hav-

angle to make a room seem larger. It is highly recommended to see an apartment in person before signing the lease for this reason. Additionally, there could be minor issues with rooms that are only visible in person, including structural problems like holes and other damages to walls, dirty carpets, or chipped paint. These may not be deal breakers to all groups, but if significant, should be discussed with the landlord to potentially be fixed.

ing a large common space like a living room or a kitchen. Students who dread the idea of moving truckloads of furniture into their apartment should search for fully furnished apartments, but these may generally cost more. These types of details are often listed online. Other key details to look out for in online apartment advertisements include price, square footage, number of bathrooms, location of nearest laundry utilities, nearby amenities such as grocery stores and transit stations—and whether or not utilities such as heating, hot water, or wifi—are included.

Where to find apartment/house listings

Things to look out for in person: An apartment can look great online but fall short in person. Some landlords hire professional photographers to take pictures for advertisements whom can easily take photos from a flattering

Many landlords will also post signs that say “A Louer” outside of an available apartment. Keep an eye out for signs like these when walking through neighbourhoods; they will often have the apartment size and the landlord’s phone number posted on them as well.

However, some landlords do not post advertisements for every single space they manage. Upon seeing an apartment with a landlord, it is recommended to consult them about any other spaces they have of comparable size.

This could potentially open the door to several more spaces that a group otherwise would not have encountered if limiting their search to the internet.

Rent Rent will depend mainly on the size of the space and number of tenants it can accommodate. The McGill OffCampus Housing Survival Guide has a chart with average price depending on size. Prices can also vary according to location and amenities. The standard guideline with location is that the closer an apartment is to campus, the more

expensive it will be. Additionally, the nicer the amenities a space has—such as balconies, washer/dryer or nice moulding—the more it will cost.

Parental Involvement It is a good idea to discuss logistics of renting an apartment with parents before starting to look, especially if they are the ones paying for rent. Remember to discuss rent budget with parents and get an idea of monetary limits before looking for a space. Many parents have renting experience under their belts, and may have some knowledge to provide with regards to finding a good deal. It is not a bad idea to seek advice from parents and to keep them in the loop throughout the apartment-hunting process.

: Learning not to settle

A first-year’s experience in the search for her first apartment Tiffany Le Staff Writer Although “Rez life” had its perks, I longed for a completely separate, individual space for most of first semester. The outrageous cost of living in Carrefour Sherbrooke was a frustrating experience; paying a ridiculous amount every month made me feel entitled to be treated like an honoured guest. I felt cheated and annoyed at the restrictions imposed on me, such as not being able to have more than two guests over and needing to sign them in. I needed the buffer experience of being quasi-independent for a year, but I was itching to fully take control of my life.

My roommates and I wanted to dabble in apartment hunting as early as possible and started looking online during the winter break.

It was pointless. There were no ads for leases that started in September 2015, and therefore no prospect of even considering any of the options.

However, it offered us the opportunity to discuss our tastes and agree on the general aesthetics and location of the home we wanted.

When January rolled around, new ads for housing options appeared. We discovered a small company called Werkliv, where we found the listings of a McGill graduate who renovated duplexes, marketing them towards students. We set a date and visited several of their units all at once. While we were not too keen on the first apartment we visited, the second apartment we

visited was an eclectic and modern space that included a vintage lamp and a cozy kitchen with the pots and pans all hung up on the wall. It was perfect. We even chose our rooms; I wanted the one with the fire escape because I watched too many films growing up where fascinating conversations were carried out in that setting—I completely romanticized the idea. The landlord was surprisingly easy-going and helpful—all the pieces looked like they were falling into place. That night I called my parents and told them we found the one. I thought it was a done deal.

But it turned out that one of our roommates did not want the apartment after further consideration.

Her parents were not comfortable with the unit being on the ground floor for security reasons, and she realized she could not compromise with her windowless room. I was devastated. I was so stuck on the idea of finally having a home that it felt like an incomprehensibly huge loss.

In retrospect, that duplex was not really the idealistic space I had initially perceived it to be. I did not have much to compare it to, having only visited one other rental prior.

The apartment was tiny and barely had any common space. Although it was beautifully decorated, this only served to mask how narrow the floor plan was. It was not cheap, did not include any amenities, and did not even fall within our ideal location.

So many aspects of the place did not comply with my expectations, but the thrill and excitement of the ex-

perience made me blind to the imperfections.

A couple weeks later, one of my roommates and I were talking late at night and decided to peruse Craigslist, where we stumbled across another student start-up that manages different apartment units and leases apartments.

The company, Flatbook, was unique in that during the summer, it takes care of subletting the apartment. It also included heat, electricity, and wifi in the rent, and furnished all of the apartments.

We found two apartments that appeared to suit us.

Stylistically, the photographs online did not reveal much, but we could tell that this was a good deal.

When we got around to visiting, the location really caught us off guard. The second duplex was situated in a beautiful old neighbourhood on the edge of the Plateau, complete with wild spindly trees.

The interior of the home had a mix-

A first-year student exasperated with house-hunting season in Montreal.

(Elli Slavitch / The McGill Tribune) ture of wood floors, high ceilings, ment hunting experience, I realized and intricate walls. We had two bal- that it really is rare to hit the jackpot conies, lots of room for storage, and on the first try, but it is worth it not an impressive collection of wine to settle. Montreal is a huge city; in bottles. We signed the lease shortly the end, taking the effort to spend more time seeking out what’s availafter.

Throughout the entire apart- able will lead to a huge payoff.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Student Living

Off-campus student housing

11

Apartment-hunting season for many students is reaching its peak at this time of the year. Choosing the perfect place to live can be tough, whether one is switching from the convenience of a McGill residence or is simply choosing an al-

ternate location to live for the upcoming school year. To ease the process for students and create comfortable, convenient living scenarios, various housing companies have set up private student residences around Montreal.

room. Each apartment includes a spacious living room with a couch, a TV, a dining table, one or two bathrooms, and a large closet for storage space. The kitchen is equipped with a dishwasher, kitchenware, and a coffeemaker. Residents can either move in with friends or have Varcity515 match them up with suitable suitemates through a compatibility questionnaire.

Varcity515 has many facilities that are included in the rent. Shared facilities include a fitness centre, a game room, and a movie screening room adjacent to a cozy lounge area. In addition, Varcity515 has a study area that’s been divided into different sections to accom-

modate various student needs. These include quiet rooms, conference rooms, and an open reading space.

community engagement and interactive learning.

The residence frequently holds academic conferences as well as cultural and spiritual activities to help residents broaden their scope of studies.

Such activities include guest speaker evenings, concerts, spiritual workshops, and volunteer events. The building is located next to a Catholic chapel, where residents are welcome to attend weekly worship services, but Fonteneige is open to students of all religions.

At Fonteneige, all housekeeping duties are taken care of by staff, so that students can fully focus on their studies and social activities. Homemade meals are prepared by the residence’s chefs three times a day, seven days a week.

Cleaning services are offered three times a week, and laundry and ironing services once a

week. Each resident gets her own fully furnished bedroom, as well as access to high-speed internet.

All of these services are included in the rent.

or a double suite. To accommodate individuals seeking a roommate, evo offers a compatibility questionnaire to provide the best possible match. Evo also provides the option of renting two neighbouring rooms with a connecting door in between for students who want to live with more than one individual.

Sizes and structures of rooms also vary; while some double rooms have two double beds placed across the room from each other with a large open space in between, others have the two beds pushed together with a large board in the center, creating a cubicletype sleeping area for those who would like to share a room, but still need their privacy at night.

Evo offers many amenities such as onsite restaurant Ace Grill & Bar, a coffee bar in the lobby, weekly yoga and kickboxing classes, flat screen TVs in the lounges, a fitness centre, and a laundry room.

a Tim Horton’s downstairs that delivers straight to residents’ doors.

Parc Cité stands out with its unique design. The entire interior of the building has been decorated by EN MASSE, a collaborative street art project based in Montreal. Talented local artists have adorned almost every wall with swirly black-and-white murals. The concept is consistent throughout the entire building: Most of the communal areas are shiny and white, with monochromatic murals along the walls, and a few bold wall designs of vibrant colour. The residence also plans many events to engage the community, such as weekly wine and cheese gatherings and lounge parties

with guest DJs. Parc Cité is a modern and trendy residence with a friendly and unique atmosphere.

By Miina Sasaki Varcity 515

1430 Rue City Councillors Situated in the heart of downtown Montreal, Varcity515 is a student apartment complex that is within a five minute walk to Eaton Shopping Centre, and a 15 minute walk to McGill. Occupied primarily by CÉGEP and university students from McGill and Concordia, it includes 100 fully furnished apartments that accommodate three to five residents, each of whom are given a bedroom.

Some bedrooms have blinds instead of traditional walls, creating a stylish winVarcity 515. (Catherine Cho Chang / The McGill Tribune) dow between the bedroom and the living

Fonteneige

5615 Woodbury Avenue

Fonteneige house. (Courtesy of fonteneige.ca)

Located about 30 minutes away from McGill by public transit is the quiet and peaceful neighbourhood of Woodbury Avenue, featuring Fonteneige, a residence exclusively for female students. The residence is within a five minute walk from Station Université de Montréal, and includes three living rooms, a dining room, a conference room, and several study rooms. With 15 women living in one large house, Fonteneige is a tight-knit, diverse community that is a great space for women to build supportive and long-lasting friendships.

Fonteneige provides many opportunities for

evo Centre-ville 420 Sherbrooke Ouest

Evo Centre-Ville. (Catherine Cho Chang / The McGill Tribune)

Only a five minute walk from McGill’s Roddick Gates, evo Centre-ville is a former Holiday Inn that was converted into a luxurious student residence last spring. It includes 480 fully furnished rooms, spread out over 19 floors. Residents are granted access to amenities, including a 24-hour fitness center, a large communal kitchen, high-speed internet connection, multiple lounge areas, a study room, and an indoor heated pool, saunas, and tanning beds. Unlimited use of these facilities is included in the rent.

Residents may choose between a single

Parc Cité

3440 Avenue du Parc

Parc Cité. (Catherine Cho Chang / The McGill Tribune)

Stationed just five minutes away from Roddick Gates, Parc Cité is a former Quality Hotel that has been renovated into a student residence, Parc Cité is one of the closest living options to McGill’s campus. The building has 140 fully furnished rooms with a great view of downtown Montreal. There is a study room and a small kitchen on each of the seven floors. Other amenities include a game room, a laundry room, a computer room, multiple lounge areas, and a 24-hour fitness facility. There is even

General information: Lease: 12 months; leases from one month available during summer only (March-August) Monthly rent per person: Starting from $699 per month for 12-month leases Well-suited for: Students who would like to live in a regular apartment, but still want the security and utilities of a dormitory-style residence

General Information: Lease: Starting from one semester and can be extended Monthly rent per person: Starting from $905 per month Well-suited for: Busy female students who want to focus on their learning and live in a socially and academically engaging, family-like environment without having to worry about housekeeping.

General information: Lease: Generally four, nine, or 12 months, but open to negotiation Monthly rent per person: Starting from $1650 per month (singles) and $850 per month (doubles) for 12-month leases Well-suited for: Students who want to live a life of comfort and luxury while staying close to campus

General information: Lease: Two-12 months Monthly rent per person: Starting from $999 per month (singles) and $599 per month (doubles) for 12-month leases Well-suited for: Students who want to stay close to campus, and are drawn to experiencing another dimension of urban living

Cracks in the

In the

suRface

By Caity Hui

The challenges behind aesthetic sports

I

remember looking out over the horizon. The sun was just rising and rays of pink were kissing the calm blue of the Alboran Sea. My body ached as we ran down the beach towards our coaches standing at the edge of the lookout—heart pounding, feet digging into the sand with every step. It was day three of training camp.

I began my career in rhythmic gymnastics when I was five years old. During a recreational class at my local church, the head coaches of my former gymnastics

club scouted me and brought me to join its provincial team. The training was tough, but nothing unexpected for an athlete. We practiced nine to 12 hours a week, travelled to competitions across Ontario, and, if we competed well, our team returned with medals.

However, the definition of ‘well’ seemed to change over the years. While rhythmic gymnastics is judged based on three categories—difficulty of elements, artistic value, and execution of the performance—the interpretation of these

categories is often subjective, leading to judging politics and what seemed like alliances formed by clubs.

This aspect of interpretation made competition difficult. While the sport primarily rewarded athleticism—the girls who had more difficult tricks and executed more challenging elements did tend to receive higher scores—its aestheticism left room for judgment beyond who could run the fastest, or who could jump the highest. Factors such as who captivated the audience, who smiled more, or whose

costume was shinier, suddenly had an impact. When judging became arbitrary, looking good on the carpet became important.

It was hot, and we were sitting in a circle on the soft carpets of the gymnasium. The ceilings of our high performance training facility stretched for yards, the air holding its breath in anticipation of the whiz of ribbons piercing the open space and the loud clack of clubs. It was unlike any other facility I had ever seen in Canada.

The older girls sat behind the younger ones, pinning their hair up in buns. By now, we were used to the sharp jabs of the bobby pins and mentally preparing for the morning warm up. One of our coaches approached us and took an older girl aside.

I couldn’t tell what they were talking about—more than half the team also spoke Russian—but Jessica* returned with red eyes and silently started our stretches. It was only several hours later that I found out Jessica had been deemed too large for the group she was competing with; it was her responsibility to shed weight over the next few weeks of camp. What didn’t make sense to me was that Jessica and I were practically the same size.

Stemming from these situations is an ugly side of rhythmic gymnastics. In stark contrast to the elegance of bodies moving in tandem, or the breathless arch of a ribbon tossed into the air, lurks a dangerous

While the literature lacks the extensive research to support such findings, a paper published in the Journal Biology of Exercise in 2012 investigated the experiences of five former competitive rhythmic gymnasts. Using semi-structured interviews, the researchers concluded that the sportswomen taking part in the survey were more at risk for suffering from eating disorders due to two primary reasons: First, the girls exhibited many of the behaviours and personality traits common to people struggling with disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia—such as perfectionism—and second, the girls submitted to the food intake restrictions that were forced upon them by their surroundings, including both coaches and parents.

Crowded around the restaurant table, we eagerly awaited our meal. After a gruelling five hours of jumps, stretches, elements, and running in the heart of Marbella, Spain, lunch was a welcome break, and the restaurant sponsoring our training cooked traditional Mediterranean dishes. To our surprise, however, the owners came out and announced

and offhand comments, may also indirectly influence athletes’ perceptions of body image. With such a significant number of coaches in the study responsible for pressuring their gymnasts to lose weight, it’s alarming that approximately one third of the coaches had no formal training in either nutrition or dietetics.

Gymnastics has been notoriously criticized for its high prevalence of eating disorders among women, and rhythmic gymnastics is no exception. The 2006 study concluded that certain coaching actions inadvertently posed the risk of encouraging gymnasts to engage in unhealthy weight-control behaviours, whether or not this was the coach’s original intention. Furthermore, rhythmic gymnastics puts a particular pressure on girls to develop long, lean forms—forms that are natural for some athletes, but challenging to maintain for others.

The situation, however, is still unclear. In 2007, a study was published in Psychopathology that sampled 50 elite rhythmic gymnasts, anorexia nervosa patients, and high school girls. The researchers concluded that while some physical similarities were found between the elite rhythmic gymnasts and the anorexia nervosa patients, no noticeable problems in the gymnasts were observed regarding the behavioural aspects of eating disorders.

These contrasting studies shed light on the complexity of this area of research, while highlighting that, regardless of the statistics, mental health is a significant concern within the realm of gymnastics.

Some girls rebelled against the strict conditions, sneaking out of the hotel we lived in for those few weeks to run to the grocery store for sustenance to support their training, or even taking a trip to other restaurants in the area. Others, however, felt uncomfortable about these decisions. The actions, the words, the phrases in a language I didn’t understand—all of these factors brought up the potential for us to question whether we needed to look better for the carpet.

The last week of training camp passed by slowly. Due to the changes that had been made to our meals, my energy levels slowly waned during practice. Not only did I feel pressured to worry about looking better for the carpet, but I also was concerned about my performance.

I didn’t know how to balance the mes-

% of the 51 particpating gymnasts

identified mental health challenges pressure to maintain a slim physique and exude a perfect performance. Within my own team, I watched several girls struggle with mental health issues intertwined with the messages we were sent during training camps. Listening to a coach tell another gymnast to slim down can only make you wonder whether you should be doing it, too.

Yet the numbers also suggest something is at play. In 1992, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) survey reported that 51 per cent of the participating gymnasts identified mental health challenges in their peers—a percentage, according to the study, that is far greater than in any other sport.

to us that our coaches had requested that we were no longer to be served bread during the meal. They wanted us to limit our carbohydrate intake. Unfortunately, the rest of the meal was a seafood soup. My options for lunch quickly deteriorated.

With no carbohydrates and a shellfish allergy, I headed back to the afternoon fivehour session with little to fuel my practices.

Over the next two weeks, the pressures intensified. Carbohydrates restricted during lunch translated to carbohydrates restricted during dinner, later resulting in public weigh-ins during training sessions.

With our coaches as our role models and our parents overseas, it was challenging to critically assess the situation.

The media, teammates, gender roles, and coaches have all been suggested to play a role in athletes’ likelihood for developing an eating disorder or struggling with other mental health challenges. Considering the close relationship between coach and gymnast—a coach can often act as a teacher, role model, or even “substitute parent”—studies are investigating the effects of coaching methods on gymnasts’ self-image and behaviour.

According to a paper published in 2006 by Ohio University, 44 per cent of coaches reported weighing athletes and about 30 per cent indicated they had suggested their athletes attempt to lose weight either through food-restricted intake or extra practices. Additional expectations, including attitudes about weight

sages my coaches were sending with my knowledge about proper athletic nutrition. Seven pounds lighter, I returned to Canada unsure of my body, my nutrition, and most importantly, myself.

Six years later, the memories of training camp still remain with me. While the sport’s powerful beauty and joy left a lasting impression, it’s also hard to forget the underlying negativity I observed. Regardless of sport, nurturing one’s mental health is important, and this includes creating supportive environments. When a sport combines high athletic expectations with interpretations associated with a judged, aesthetic medium, it is critical to direct extra effort to incorporating trained dieticians and physicians in order to avoid the potentially devastating consequences of this environment.

While I do not speak for all gymnasts, my observations do not stand alone.

Whether it is watching and experiencing the responses of a team to challenging expectations, or the tragic deaths of gymnasts gripped by eating disorders—such as American artistic gymnast Christy Henrich—this issue remains a problem within the realm of gymnastics. I love gymnastics and always will, but the beautiful artistry my teammates and I engaged in should never come at such a cost as Henrich’s. I hope that with more training and support from experts within the fields of nutrition and mental health, there will be an effort to ensure that girls away at training camp engage in proper athletic nutrition without any feeling guilt about the meals in front of them.

write for scitech email scitech@mcgilltribune.com

Interested in news?

Come to meetings on Mondays at 5:30PM in the Tribune office (SSMU 110) or email news@ mcgilltribune. com

15

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 PLAY REVIEW Chris lutes Staff Writer

(Continued from page 1) It’s also interesting to note the ways that things don’t change.

The play seems most interested in the power dynamics that are the common denominator to most sexual encounters, and how sex can be used to cement people’s sexual roles along the lines of power, class, and gender. This commonality is underlined by Hannah Kirby’s assured direction, making the inspired choice to have each actor play two of the different roles. It allows the shadows of past lovers to flit about on the fringes of a scene as waiters or passersby, implicitly reminding the characters that they’ve been in this situation before and they’ll likely be there again. This idea is also bolstered by a sense of symmetry that pervades every inch of the production, going beyond the circular conceit of the script. The beginning and ending of each scene tend to mirror each other, drawing parallels between the desire and satisfaction—or lack thereof— that bookends sex.

The doubling of roles also allows each actor to showcase a

Round Dance: The circle of sex

Players’ production takes you for a marvellous spin with stories of human intimacy whole range of emotions that would have been limited by having only one part to play. They are all able to grasp the inherent absurdity and hypocrisy of their characters and still mine humor and pathos from them with a professional level of subtlety—all actors are able to sink their teeth into their part without swallowing it whole. Praise also goes to Kirby for getting such real and naturalistic performances out of the actors, who nail the pauses and tics of intimate conversation, making the audience feel all of the joy and discomfort that comes with private dialogue.

The set is sparse yet highly versatile, made almost entirely of reconstituted shipping pallets that are reconfigured in a number of ingenious ways to suit the background of each particular scene. Lighting and staging are also finetuned to fit the context of scenes, with the lighting in particular doing a lot of the heavy lifting. It’s able to realistically transport the audience from the highlight of an outdoor afternoon to the simulated dimness that comes standard with late-night pillow talk.

It’s important to consider how

Actors double up in this sexually-fuelled comedy. (Katy Wittam / Players Theatre) ideas of sex have changed since the play was written in 1897, because that evolution is clearly on the minds of those involved in the production.

As a society, we like to think we’re more ‘sex positive’ than the people of the late 19th century, but this play smartly doesn’t let the audience off of the hook so easily. Discourse has

changed, and things have gotten much better since then, of course, but this production argues that we’re still the same as our predecessors in a lot of ways—desperately grasping at intimacy and human connection, debasing each other with our desires, and fumbling around in the dark—alone together.

Round Dance runs at the McGill Player’s Theatre on the third floor of the SSMU building from Wednesday, Feb. 18 to Saturday, Feb. 21 and Wednesday, Feb. 25 to Friday, Feb. 27 at 8:00 pm.

Tickets are $6 for students and senior citizens, and $10 for nonstudents.

I’ve got a blanket space, baby

Grab a teddy, a onesie, and some smooth beats for DF’s blanket fort concert Luka Ciklovan Staff Writer It is four moves of the little hand until bedtime. You sit within your blanket fort and glance over your United Plushdom consisting of strategically fortified pillows, stuffed animals, and bed sheets. Your squire, Tedsworth Bear, informs you that the castle provisions of cookies, milk, and video games are healthy, and that no dragons have been sighted. All is well.

The childhood joy enveloped in a blanket fort is a special feeling that almost every child has aspired to attain. DF, a musical duo comprised of saxophonist Dustin Finer and light designer Daniel Freder, set out to recreate this ultimate childhood memory by staging a whole concert within the halls of an enormous blanket fort. The result was a unique experience that recalled cherished memories—all while donating dozens of blankets to charity.

Within the confines of the partlibrary, part-bookstore La Passe (1214 rue de la Montagne), DF—along with acoustic opener Brigitte Naggar— performed last Friday in what was easily a child’s dream come true. An epic mountain of Beanie-Babies guarded the entrance to the fort, immediately triggering a wave of nostalgia upon entering the venue. Past the parted

entry curtains to the blanket fort was a massive, wooden room where the floor, ceiling, and walls were entirely covered in plush objects. From the nostalgic Disney, Garfield, and ABC-themed blankets to the warm, upright piano in the corner, the fort oozed of kid-power.

Complementing the venue’s good vibes, the event staff handed out free popcorn for sharing among the mostly pajama-sporting concertgoers.

The atmosphere was perfectly set for Naggar’s acoustic set. Performing soft indie tunes alongside comical renditions of modern R&B and hip-hop songs, Naggar put on an intimate set that constantly engaged with the audience.

Upon request, the crowd accompanied numerous tunes—ranging from Bill Withers’ somber “Ain’t No Sunshine”

to a hilarious acoustic cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”—with singing, snaps, and claps. While participation from the audience is standard concert procedure, the confines of the blanket fort allowed for a more intimate feel to the show as the faces and voices of both crowd and artist were easily discernable. The intimacy of the venue, however, let musical mess-ups easily seep through.

Though Naggar frequently forgot lyrics, cut songs halfway, and cracked her voice, these mistakes only furthered the feeling of intimacy that permeated the blanket fort, as the crowd laughed and cheered them away in solidarity.

After the simple and sparse acoustic set by Naggar, DF’s set—with its numerous sound interfaces, light

An intimate night in a dimly-lit blanket fort. (Luka Ciklovan / McGill Tribune) boxes, and projections—established packed the punch of a sax quartet with a tone of a ‘grown-up’ childhood that a quarter of the people by using his lingered as they began to play pieces that looper. It was amazing to see so many drew from classical, jazz, and minimal layers of harmonies, rhythms, and music. Delivering an “interactive space effects come from one source. At times, where sound and light influence one DF would abandon the sax to focus on another,” DF carefully matched the more effects-driven pieces, but these swaying moods of each piece with an proved to be slightly monotonous and often droned the same two chords for accompanying light show.

Their illumination, however, was far too long. However, beautiful gems far from ordinary: Orange lights inside such as “Telesim” more than made up cardboard boxes carved with intricate for this and cemented DF as a solid patterns showered the blanket fort in experiment into the modern realm of incandescent waves. Since most of visual jazz.

DF and Brigitte were able to push DF’s songs follow a general pattern of ascension—starting very slow and the bounds of what a traditional concert building up to an epic climax—the can be, all while helping the community varying intensities of light nicely by donating the blankets from the fort to the charity Renaissance Quebec. complemented the music.

Lone saxophonist Dustin Finer

16

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Timbuktu : The jarring reality of a not-so distant land Oscar-nominated foreign film captures life in an occupied Western African region

triumph for the locals in the face of overwhelming tragedy.

The emotional power of the film comes less from what it shows than from what it leaves off camera. In very few cases is violence directly shown onscreen, but when it is, it is sharp and without significant warning.

This caustic and shocking approach to the depiction of violence in the town effectively mirrors the unpredictability within such communities. It also allows Timbuktu to avoid the common trope of modern sociopolitical dramas using

graphic depictions of violence alone to create emotional tension, relying instead upon plot and setting to do this work.

Repeated shots of masked soldiers proclaiming oppressive regulations through megaphones in the streets, in conjunction with the unease caused by the cinematography, created a powerful sense of dread and fear that violent scenes could not.

This omnipresent sense of dread is consistently reflected in the actors’ faces as well. Facial expressions and body language are used far more commonly than verbal communication throughout the film to illustrate the emotional gravity of situations, and are executed with great precision by all members of the cast. Extended scenes with little to no conversation consistently advance the plot in directions that even the most masterfully conceived dialogue would struggle to achieve.

By clearly and tastefully showing the truth of the human experience of life in cities occupied by extremist radicals, Timbuktu provides a new and conscious perspective on an issue of undeniable relevance to the 21st century. It is a raw and emotionally gripping film that avoids clichés and oversimplifications of issues, consistently encouraging viewers to explore and question their understanding of the implications of violent religious fundamentalism as a whole.

encourage both critics and the general public to engage in questions about quality movies, filmmaking, and acting. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the choice of nominees and winners, people often feel inclined to take a stand and defend their opinion, consequently leading to greater critical expectations of films and the film industry beyond the bestdressed lists.

If anything, the Oscars should be criticized more for its lack of transparency about its selection process. An explanation for why the winners are chosen would enhance the public’s understanding of the criteria considered. With each winner announced at the ceremony, it would be helpful if there followed a short explanation about why the winner excelled in the category. This might further deepen the public’s knowledge of the process that decides the winners and make the Oscars debates more constructive.

In spite of its pompous pageantry, the Oscars have come to play an important role in our cinematic culture. The awards process has the instrumental value of initiating debates on the social issues in Hollywood and the very essence of quality filmmaking.

In a time when many independent and documentary filmmakers are unable to hold their own against increasingly bigbudget blockbusters, the Oscars provide a powerful platform for the debate on quality films and their socio-political backdrop.

In many cases it is the actors themselves that spark these debates, as Patricia Arquette did when she used her acceptance speech to address gender-based income equality. The criticism and debate surrounding the Academy Awards creates incentives for filmmakers to make bolder pieces targeted towards larger audiences in hope of creating next year’s best picture.

Alex bullis Contributor In a world where the social fallout from militant and extremist religious groups is often reduced to sound bites and headlines from overseas, it is all too easy for the West to overlook the daily lives of residents in wartorn regions in favour of more glamourized news. In Timbuktu, director Abderrahmane Sissako vividly and harshly illuminates the realities of everyday survival in lands caught in the crossfire of violent Islamist extremism.

Loosely tied together by the story of a local cow herder unsuccessfully trying to avoid conflict, the film cuts sharply and abrasively between the lives of various locals and their experiences under the occupation of militant group Ansar Dine in Western Africa.

Each character has a distinctive and tragic personal angle on the crisis—from an unmarried couple caught and executed for fornication to a young woman arrested and violently lashed for nothing more than singing in her own home.

Timbuktu often focuses on the absurdity and contradiction present throughout the radicals’ occupation of the city. Soldiers proclaim through bullhorns that soccer is illegal before arguing about their favourite Champions League teams in an alleyway.

Police quietly debate between

A glimpse of the lives of those affected in the war-torn Timbuktu (hollywoodreporter.com) themselves whether it is right to arrest a group for playing music if they are doing so to praise Allah.

A local worshipper chastises a band of foot soldiers for entering a mosque with shoes and guns.

These are the small yet revealing dialogues that allow Sissako to, in a small way, humanize the militants, managing to illustrate their naiveté, confusion, and unrelenting barbarism.

The film shows a world where it often appears that not even the oppressive forces themselves fully understand their horrific actions, or the rationale for their

behaviour.

The lives and determination of the occupied is portrayed more clearly than the villainy and heinousness of the occupying forces. As more and more restrictive laws are put in place, the citizens of Timbuktu react with subtle and careful acts of defiance. This is showcased in what is likely the most visually striking scene in the film: After a man is lashed for playing soccer, he and his teammates continue to play, but with an imaginary ball so that they cannot be punished. It is a bittersweet

In defence of the Oscars Sophie Jewett Contributor The Academy Awards took place this Sunday, which means critics have begun complaining about who did and did not go home with the statue of a naked gold man. This criticism will likely build upon the backlash that occurred after the nominations were announced, with the argument being that The Academy’s problem is its lack of diversity.

In some ways, this is warranted: The voting committee is made up of 77 per cent male and 94 per cent white members, resulting in a set of nominations that makes it glaringly obvious that there is an underrepresentation of non-white and female artists in Hollywood.

The extensive criticism of the Academy has raised the question:

Why are the Oscars still a popular thing? Art is subjective and it seems bizarre that the judgement about the year’s best films is dictated by a group of old white men.

However, the Academy Awards have been a vital part of the entertainment industry for the past 87 years—not simply because it awards the alleged best films of the year, but because the award process itself generates intense and widespread debate about the film industry as a whole.

One of the most common debates is the seemingly inherent favouritism towards content produced for and by white men in Hollywood—and the subsequent criticism and outrage of this realization—is an instrumental push for change in the industry that would be less prevalent without the Oscars. A notable example of this is the attention given to the representation of Native Americans in the entertainment

industry after Marlon Brando declined his 1973 Best Actor Award for The Godfather in a speech read by Sacheen Littlefeather. The Academy and those in attendance responded harshly to this unplanned interruption, but that speech succeeded in bringing heightened attention to the American Indian Movement.

The criticism and the praise that is dispensed in connection with the Oscars is a reflection of the issues that are discussed in society. It is in this constructive atmosphere of open discussion that the Oscars indirectly (and maybe unintentionally) create space for the discussion of social issues and their place in the world of entertainment.

The hashtags #AskHerMore and #OscarsSoWhite are just two representations of the many debates the Oscars fuelled on Twitter.

In addition, the Oscars

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Mellow and meditative

ALBUM REVIEWS Imagine Dragons - Smoke and Mirrors Interscope

Evelyn Kaczmarek Staff Writer

Weightless

Artist: Marconi Union Album: Single Released: October 16, 2011 In 2011, with the help of professional sound therapists, the British artist Marconi Union purposely crafted the most relaxing song of all time.

The eight-minute ambient track is a conglomerate of perfectly calculated harmonic intervals, designed to induce a calming euphoria. The continuous pulsing rhythm of 60 BPM can miraculously cause listeners’ brainwaves and heart rate to synchronize with the song in a process called “entrainment.” In a scientific study, it proved to reduce stress by 65 per cent in listeners, so plug in right before your next midterm.

Watermark

Artist: Enya Album: Watermark Released: September 19, 1988

“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done,” confesses Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds on the opening song of the band’s second album, Smoke and Mirrors—something he should absolutely feel the need to apologize for. Whilst their debut, Night Visions (2012) was, albeit a bit of a mess, it was an exciting

Artist: Sufjan Stevens Album: Illinois Released: July 4, 2005

Listening to this piece from Sufjan Stevens’ fifth studio album, Illinois , feels likes exhaling a deep breath. The song varies a lot in tempo and style, but there is a consistent baseline of tranquility throughout. The three-four beat and nostalgic lyrics joined with Stevens’ hauntingly soothing voice provides a positively soothing masterpiece.

San Francisco indie band, The Dodos leaves behind its acoustic-folk sounds of 2008’s The Visitor and 2013’s Carrier for the neurotic industrial rock of its sixth release, Individ. The band’s

- Jack Neal

usual intricate drum patterns and haunting lyrics make the album worth a listen, but the musical creativity of past works is lacking.

The album has a promising opening, with the ominous guitar feedback and frantic strumming of “Precipitation.”

Once the vocals pick up, there is a shift into heavy guitar chords but mundane melodies. Much of the guitar on the rest of the album falls into a pattern of sharp, repetitive strumming, which makes for a rudimentary sound. One track that manages to stand out musically is “Goodbye’s and Endings,” in which both the percussion and guitar are more detailed and the electronic bridges add some variety.

While the guitar riffs are at times mind-numbingly drab, the haunting

lyrics on tracks like “The Tide” show The Dodos’ strength as lyricists. Lines like “We’ll keep playing/ Until there is nothing/ There’ll be no room at the bottom” seem to mesh well with the anxious music. But the vocals of frontman Meric Long have never been The Dodos’ strength, and the indistinguishable groans on Individ are again flat and mediocre.

It’s clear that The Dodos were trying to take its sound in a new direction, and while the fast and pointed guitar and percussion, feedback noise, and gothic lyrics prevent the album from being a total snooze fest, overall the album is forgettable.

- Anna St. Clair

Bent By Elephants - The Shore sunset Hill

Avril 14th

Artist: Aphex Twin Album: drukQs Released: October 22, 2001 This gorgeous acoustic piano piece presents a departure from Aphex Twin’s better-known work, which is more exclusively electronic. You might recognize it as the sampled track on Kanye West’s 2010 single “Blame Game” featuring John Legend. However, on its own; the piece tells an intimate melodic story—one that is infinitely melancholic but simultaneously quite hopeful. It makes for a reflective and lifeaffirming listening experience.

back’ with more surface-level rubbish in the next song, “Smoke & Mirrors.”

Yet it doesn’t get any better; “I’m So Sorry” is a blatant rip-off of The Black Keys; “I Bet My Life” is a generic, overarching, swooping indie-anthem—a well-trodden path. “Gold,” despite its ‘Black Skinhead’-esque intro, is one of the most annoying and disjointed songs you’ll ever hear.

Reynolds’ vocals are pretty good, and songs such as “Polaroid” excel with its stripped-back production and nursery-rhyme style. But even this fails to properly convey any sort of sincerity, and when coupled with lackluster production, Smoke and Mirrors/ is a lot of smoke without any fire.

The Dodos - individ dine alone

If you think Enya is just for crying middle-aged women, you’re wrong. Enya is most definitely for crying women at any age. Crying men too.

And crying children and crying babies. She is for anyone at anytime, tears or no tears. The Celtic goddess’ ethereal melodies provide the perfect dosage of Zen heaven and ’90s nostalgia. Any of her songs have the power to relax and uplift, but “Watermark” is especially pensive—even without any of her soothing vocals to complement, this Enya composition delivers.

The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is out to get us!

mess with huge, soaring choruses and energy to match during live performances.

Smoke & Mirrors isn’t necessarily a step forward; it’s more of the same, but less.

With “Shots,” the album begins with an upbeat, galloping drumbeat supported sound and showcases Reynolds’ surprisingly strong vocals. It’s an airy, falsetto-abound sound; however, that same airiness lacks a proper grounding and sincerity in the lyricism to support the emotional statements.

This plagues the entire album.

On “It Comes Back To Me,” Reynolds claims that it’s “all the things that worry are all the things you don’t believe,” without actually digging any deeper than proclaiming this. He then repeats “It comes back to you” numerous times as if to reiterate the point. It ends up being monotonous, uninspiring, and it would be nice if in fact the band didn’t ‘come

17

More often than not in The Shore, the lyrics are indeterminable—which is a shame because I’m sure that they would allow for a better understanding of this album. However, this is more than atoned for by Chelsey Walsh’s pleasant,

wide-ranging, melancholic vocals.

The sophomore release from this Montreal band is a musical elegy for companionship, romantic or otherwise.

The titular first track, “The Shore,” evokes a profound feeling of advancing, yet incomplete isolation. The listener easily imagines the situation depicted by the album cover: Standing on a beach with only reflections for company, as if clinging to the ethereal memory of significant others while realizing the inherent futility of doing so.

In terms of instrumentation, Eric Dew’s drumming is particularly praiseworthy. Dew incorporates unorthodox rhythms and time signatures, and often initiates unexpected tempo changes, such as on the song “Sideways.” The guitar, reverb heavy and distant, often relies on arpeggios, which are always agreeable

but sometimes repetitive—both in style and in placing within the song. For instance, this technique often serves as a bridge around two or three minutes in.

Because of its gain-heavy solo towards the track’s end, the guitar is at its most distinct and best on “The Hills.”

The album’s greatest failure is that its central theme is not approached from enough angles, and consequently, isn’t challenging enough. There’s more to being in love—one hopes—than melancholy, or even than anger. Where is the redemption? As demonstrated on “The Lonely Mile,” the hollow loneliness is too comfortable: “We loved each other but resented it/ We hated love but we expected it.”

- Jonathan Herlin

18

Science & Technology Programming until sunrise McHacks hosts 24 hour hackathon Chloe Nevitt Science & Technology Editor

In a test of will power, determination, and innovation, McHacks presented an incredible challenge to its participants—twenty-four hours’ worth of non-stop creative coding fueled by energy-drinks. Traditionally, ‘hackathons’ are 24 to 36 hours long and invite coders to develop an application, website, or program. Those with the best, most creative, and useful program are judged by a panel and the top 10 teams are awarded prizes. However, the success of hackathons largely relies on sponsorship provided by industrial companies.

“Hackathons are only made possible by industry sponsors,” explained Deepanjan Roy, a U3 computer science and math major, and one of the 18 co-organizers for McHacks this year. “These sponsors come into the hackathon and stay up for the whole event and interact with the hackers, and there’s a lot of opportunity to talk to people in industry.”

These interactions help students better understand the technology they’re using and to better understand how the industries are operating. The representatives who come to the hackathons from these companies are generally engineers and possess a strong understanding of what the students are trying to accomplish. This year, some of McHacks’ major sponsors are Nuance, Vungle, Namecheap and Shopify.

Hack McGill, which is responsible for organizing McHacks each year, was created by computer science students at the beginning of last year.

“There wasn’t really anything encouraging people to explore their own ideas, work on their own projects, meet people who wanted to do the same thing, and share common goals,” explained Xavier Denis, a U3 computer science student and one of the original founders of

Hack McGill. “[After creating Hack McGill], we had over a hundred people, and since then, we’ve been trending upwards. We have around 1,000 members [today.]”

McHacks is not a McGill exclusive event, and welcomes students from other universities as well.

“McHacks currently has 622 people attending this weekend,” Denis explained. “We have between 100 to 200 McGill students [as well as] people from Waterloo, from Philadelphia, from Maryland.”

Part of the appeal of attending McHacks is that students often emerge after a grueling night of programming with job offers from the industry. According to Denis, around 10 per cent of the participants find jobs.

Furthermore, there is a wide range of projects that participants approach. Teams build f u n n y,

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

useful, and technical applications.

This year’s winners—hailing from Ontario—were Adrian Pawliszko, Karan Thukral, Julian Nadeau, and Vinny Crupi. The team developed an app called ‘Tendr’—a play on the word ‘Tinder’—that matches the user with restaurants in the area. The software is a native iOS app developed in Objective-C, a programming language. Other notable creations included ‘Banana for Scale,’ which converts any unit to ‘banana-size,’ a speed-reading app called ‘Parrot,’ and ‘Shades of Grey,’ an app that lets you know how many shades of grey are in a photo. ‘Mad Curves’ was given the HackBoard’s Choice award, designated for the organizers’ choice of best app. It was developed by

Miles Cranmer, U0 Science, that uses Oculus Rift DK2—a virtual reality headset—to navigate a 3D graph of any equation.

While McHacks may have ended, these students will continue to code and program for years to come. And the experiences they gain from events like these are invaluable. “[In computer science], the stuff you learn in school is not often very practical and applicable, so we have hackathons that teach you to build something instead of just learning the theory behind it,” Roy said.

McHacks’ participants recover after a long night of coding. (Yufei Wang / McGill Tribune)

Chloe Nevitt Science & Technology Editor

Giving the finger

The notion that there exists a correlation between the length of a person’s finger and their amicability may seem strange. However, researchers from McGill University are showing exactly that—but only in men. Scientists, by comparing the length of the index second finger (2D) to the fourth finger (4D), have created a reproducible standard for predicting behaviours in people known as the 2D:4D ratio.

“Men with smaller 2D:4D ratios were more likely to engage in behaviours such as listening attentively, smiling, compromising, expressing reassurance and complimenting the other person,” explained Professor Debbie Moskowitz, lead author of the study.

A person’s level of amiability can be made into a single mean by evaluating their reactions throughout the day, explained professor emeritus, Dr. Simon Young, a co-author on the study. “[Moskowitz] had developed a pretty nice method for looking at human social behaviour in everyday life,” Simon said. “People would check off various interactions that they had engaged in throughout the day.”

For this study, Moskowitz and her colleagues studied 155 men and women over the course of 20 days and had them

complete evaluation forms. From this data, Moskowitz was able to compile two major axes: Dominant or submissive, and agreeable or quarrelsome. The participant’s overall behaviour could then be averaged into one category. The team found that these character traits were directly correlated to the 2D:4D ratio.

“The ratio of index finger to your ring finger for the 2D:4D ratio is related to testosterone exposure in utero,” explained Simon.

Digit ratio has been shown to be determined by the amount of testosterone that the fetus was exposed to during development. According to past studies, it is highly likely that these same hormones affect development of the brain, which could account for the differences in behavior. Men with smaller 2D:4D ratios have had higher levels of hormone exposure, and were more likely to act agreeably with women, while the men with larger 2D:4D ratios had lower hormone exposure in utero, and were also more quarrelsome.

“It gives this neat marker of what happened when an adult’s brain was developing,” Simon said.

Other studies have shown that correlations exist between the 2D:4D ratio and the number of children a person will have, whether a person would be monogamous or not, and a person’s risk of developing cancer. Interestingly, these

effects are absent in women.

These results come as no surprise to the researchers and add to the ever-growing list of literature that relates digit ratio with behavioural and physical traits.

“It’s interesting from two points of view,” Young said. “First of all, what is happening in the fetal brain can program the adult in this extremely specific way. And the second thing is human social interaction. This is just one more little piece in the puzzle of the factors influencing it, which we really need to know more about.”

New HPV vaccine effective against nine viral strains

Two vaccines currently exist to protect against HPV. Cervarix is a “bivalent” vaccine, meaning that it contains viral antigens against two strains of HPV. It protects against the two most common cancer-causing strains, HPV-16, and 18, whereas “quadrivalent” Gardasil protects against four strains, HPV-6, 11, 16

Mr. Spock shows his 2D:4D ratio. (Photo courtesy of Wikia) and 18. Unfortunately, these aren’t the only strains that can cause cancer, and optimizing viral protection is key.

In a recent paper in the New England Journal of Medicine a new vaccine—Gardasil 9—offers protection against the original four strains, as well as HPV-31, 33, 45, 52, and 58—making it nine-valent. When conducting clinical trials, this new vaccine showed a 20 per cent increase in protection against genital cancers in women between the ages of 16 and 26.

While Gardasil 9 is associated with an increase in side effects from using the vaccine compared to its counterparts, the cancers that the vaccine protect

against are not comparably dangerous.

These side effects are expected due to the fact that the new vaccine has more viral antigens. The side effects include headaches, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue.

Despite the assumption that only women should be vaccinated for HPV, in reality, it is highly recommended that HPV vaccines be administered to men and women. Men who have sex with other men and have not been vaccinated are also at risk from HPV-related diseases. Vaccinations contribute to protecting everyone, explained Dan Apter, lead author on the study.

19

Science & Technology The brightest and boldest futures

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

2015 BUGS Alumni Career Symposium chloe nevitt Science & Technology Editor

Students from the Faculty of Science often find themselves struggling to pick a path after graduation.

Sometimes, when it feels like an M.D. or Ph.D. is the only option, a science major can feel trapped. In a series of presentations, McGill’s Biochemistry Undergraduate Society (BUGS) showcased the possibilities and the flexibility that a biochemistry degree can provide at its 2015 Alumni Career Symposium on Saturday, Feb. 21. Speakers included high school teachers, industry representatives, MD-PhD students, and urban gardeners.

“We want to show students that there are many other opportunities out there,” explained Alexandr Magder, U2 Science and representative from BUGS. While the paths taken by these individuals were all unique, they all had one thing in common—they chose their path because they were interested in it.

“People are like ‘be a doctor or be a scientist,’ and I [said] no, I wanted to do both,” explained Adam Fontebasso, a graduate of the Honours Biochemistry program, who is in the clinical

phase of medical school within McGill’s MD-PhD program.

An MD-PhD program gave Fontebasso an opportunity to fulfill his desire to work both in the lab and with patients.

However, not everyone’s a ‘lab rat,’ explained Dr. Donna Rindress, who co-founded BioMedCom Consultants—where healthcare technology is adopted using evidence and rationale.

Rindress, after completing a Ph.D. in biochemistry from McGill, delved into the industry world.

“To work with industry, the most important thing to realize is that it’s not academic research, it’s pragmatic research—[you] have to give someone something that is useful,” she explained.

Paul Farkas, now a Human Resources (HR) representative for industrial engineering giants in Calgary, echoed this need for pragmatism.

“Virtually every organization in the world will say, ‘In this company, we pay for performance,’” Farkas said. “I was interviewing for an [HR position in a] large nuclear energy company, and I asked the president, ‘How do you determine your compensation?’ He said it’s easy, ‘I pay for performance.’”

To prove this, Farkas, on his

first day on the job, then using a series of performance analysis programs, found zero correlation between pay increase and performance— the company’s president wasn’t paying his employees for the quality of their work.

Their salaraies, Dr. Donna Rindress talks about her experiences working in industry. (Jack Neal / McGill Tribune) Farkas found, were solely correlated to their starting coming up with our own methods to do Francisco, and walk into Google with some good ideas,” Hallet said. salary. According to Farkas, his ability things,” Rathmell explained.

While that path may not be the While creating one’s own start-up to approach a problem like a scientist and to look at a problem empirically is is not necessarily the easiest task in the one for everyone, the message remains world, it is extremely rewarding, ex- the same. due in part to his training at McGill.

“There are opportunities to work Powerful problem-solving skills plained Rathmell—with this company, in other areas such as management are what helped Lauren Rathmell bring she is living and breathing her work.

While the idea of following a so- consulting, teaching, or [even] becomfresh fruits and vegetables to urban areas. Rathmell is the Greenhouse Di- called ‘unconventional path’ can seem ing a patent agent,” explained event rector and a founding member of Lufa overwhelming, breaking the standard organizer Larischa DeWet, VP Internal Farms, a for-profit urban farm located is something McGill bioinformatics for BUGS. For a person who is bored by the professor Michael Hallet encourages in Montreal. idea of research or medical work, many “There’s a huge greenhouse in- everyone to do.

“Learn how to program, take options remain open—it’s just a matter dustry in Canada, but we’re doing things differently—strategizing and some Bioinformatics, move to San of looking for them.

Fighting Ebola: Prevention, progress, perspectives

McGill Students Fight Ebola hosts conference to address growing Ebola crisis Andy Wang Contributor In an effort to raise awareness about the impact Ebolavirus disease (EVD) has had on thousands, McGill Students Fight Ebola hosted a conference last Wednesday, Feb. 18, featuring a panel of Ebola experts. The aim was to inform those interested in the problems and perspectives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during the latest EVD epidemic, and fundraise for the fight against Ebola.

Dr. Gary Gottlieb, President and CEO of Partners in Health—a healthcare organization combatting Ebola—operates on the belief that health care is a human right.

“The function of Partners In Health is one that has evolved to be focused on health systems strengthening in developing countries,” Gottlieb explained.

Partners in Health focuses on forming strong connections with the local community by preserving a local healthcare system. Some of its services include care for HIV, drug-resistant tuberculosis, and EVD. However, Partners in Health does not have much in the way of disaster response.

“Ebola was seen as an opportunity to accompany governments and to assist them by establishing ourselves in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and providing ongoing, sustainable health care,” Gottlieb said.

He also explained that Partners in Health can only operate in countries when invited by the local government, making operations in countries with absent or unstable leadership incredibly difficult.

Providing a global perspective on the

impact of this epidemic was Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada President, Dr. Heather Culbert.

Throughout the 20th century, because MSF has responded to numerous EVD outbreaks, it has been able to optimize its services to patients. “[MSF] is one of the few agencies that has a treatment protocol for Ebola,” Culbert said. “This includes contact tracing, containment, and education in the community.”

A combination of factors has served to worsen the outcome of the epidemic, a situation that Culbert described as the ‘perfect storm.’

“There was never Ebola in West Africa before,” Culbert said. “People in West Africa didn’t know to look for it. There were no diagnostic facilities. People had never seen it.”

In these areas, burial customs involve bathing, handling, and moving patients’bodies to their cities of birth. These practices provide an easy route for viral transmission, something that has resulted in the doubling of cases every month. “[It’s like] fighting a forest fire with a water pistol,” Culbert said. “MSF [has been] forced into a position where we no longer refer to our healthcare facilities as treatment centres, but case management centres.”

This frustration was compounded by the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) did not declare Ebola an international emergency until August 2014. At the same time, MSF was treating two-thirds of all Ebola cases in WestAfrica. However, MSF was met with increasing challenges when this late declaration from the WHO was met by fear from

Dr. Srinivas Murthy discusses the challenges West Africa faces in light of the EVD epidemic. (Emma Hameau / McGill Tribune) the international community.

“Governments closed their borders and we had a hard time getting our staff and supplies in and out,” Culbert explained. “Some of our expatriates—when they returned to their home countries—were quarantined and stigmatized.”

According to Culbert, reactions like this make it harder to find those willing to work and unite in the face of a threat like EVD. Recently returned from Liberia, where he acted as the head for the Ebola epidemic for the WHO, was Dr. Srinivas Murthy, the night’s final speaker.

Murthy emphasized the importance of completely eradicating EDV, right down to

the last patient.

“It’s the getting to zero challenge that is going to be the most difficult and will take a concerted effort from all levels of the healthcare system,” Murthy explained. “But [it] is ultimately the final goal in terms of the Ebola epidemic.”

The damage caused by EVD is multifaceted. EVD has had huge socioeconomic effects on WestAfrica.

“One could argue that Ebola has set West Africa back an entire generation,” Srinivas said.

Employment has gone down by 60 per cent and schools have even been forced to shut down. EVD pushed what was already a

fragile healthcare system into something that barely exists. Vaccinations have decreased while the mortality rates of other diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis have increased.

Furthermore, maintaining a viable healthcare workforce becomes more and more challenging because those who contact and then contract the disease are usually healthcare workers, creating a hole in the healthcare system that desperately needs to be filled.

Despite tireless efforts by NGOs, progress still needs to be made.

“The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is not over yet,” Culbert said.

20

Sports

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Swimming — Martlets 9th, Redmen 12th

McGill earns one medal at CIS Championships Katie Caldwell captures bronze in individual 400m medley Nick Jasinski Staff Writer Eighteen McGill swimmers competed at the three-day 2015 CIS Swimming National Championship at the University of Victoria this past weekend. UBC won both the men and women’s titles, hauling in an incredible 34 individual medals in the process and extending the Thunderbirds’ winning streak at Nationals to four in a row on the women’s side.

McGill’s lone podium finish came on day one as a bronze in the women’s 400m individual medley, in which Martlet team captain Katie Caldwell of White Rock, BC came in third with a time of 4:51.53.

The 2013 CIS Rookie-of-the-Year, Caldwell’s performance is made all the more impressive given that she has been battling back, knee, and shoulder injuries since late in the 2013 swim season.

“She’s been dealing with injuries for two years now,” McGill Head Coach Peter Carpenter said.

“For her to battle through [...] and prepare herself physically and mentally to the point where she was able to swim the 400m [individual medley], which is a very difficult event, and win a medal is remarkable.”

The 14 Martlet qualifiers combined for 136 points, finishing ninth

McGill’s Simone Cseplo dives into the pool. (APshutter.com) overall out of 23 teams competing—falling just short of last year’s performance, where the Martlets finished seventh. The four Redmen at the meet totalled 84 points and matched last year’s performance with a 12th place finish.

Redmen captain Marc-Andre Benoit, a native of St. Hyacinthe, Québec, just missed the podium in three events, coming in fourth in the 50m butterfly (0:25.03), the 100m freestyle (0:51.21), and as a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay (3:30.57). Second year psychology student and Toronto native Simone Cseplo came in fifth in the 50m backstroke, finishing in 30.19

seconds, beating her personal best by 0.41 seconds. This came after last year’s CIS National Championships, after which she went home with a silver medal in the same event.

The meet featured a number of standout performers, including UBC senior Coleman Allen. Allen, the reigning CIS Swimmer-of-theYear, set three CIS National records in the 50m, 100m, and 200m butterfly, winning gold in all three events to go along with another gold in the 4x200m freestyle and a silver in the 4x100m medley.

On the women’s side, rookie Katerine Savard of the Montréal

Caranoms earned Rookie-of-theYear after claiming a whopping seven total gold medals in the 50m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 4x100m medley, 4x100m freestyle, and 4x200m freestyle.

UBC Thunderbirds Head Coach Steve Price was awarded men’s Coach-of-the-Year, with Université de Montréal’s Pierre Lamy winning the honour for women’s coaching. The Carabins came in second among women’s teams with University of Toronto rounding out the podium in third. On the men’s side, Toronto and the University of Calgary came in second and third

place, respectively.

Moving forward, Carpenter is excited about the talent and energy that next year’s class of rookies will bring to his squad.

“There are a number of good recruits who have shown interest, and if we get a good number of them then things are going to look up, both on the guys and the girls side,” Carpenter said.

Both the Redmen and Martlets are expected to lose just three seniors each to graduation, setting the stage for an even stronger showing at next year’s Nationals with a more experienced, but still youthful team.

Behind The Bench: Nothing but Nets Mayaz Alam Managng Editor As long as I have been watching the NBA, I have been a New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets fan. Yes, those Nets. The team that has had a cumulative .447 winning percentage since the 2003-2004 season, the year I started following them.

However, this is also the franchise that was purchased by a charismatic Russian oligarch in 2010, plays in a state-of-the-art arena in one of the most exciting cities in North America, and has been to the playoffs in six of the last 12 seasons Supporting the Nets is very much a roller coaster of an experience.

Fandom is a complicated concept. At its core, it involves people spending incredible amounts of time and money supporting another group of people who play games in a particular uniform. A fan’s highs and lows can be reflected in how their team is faring, a phenomenon psychologists call ‘basking in reflective glory.’ Ever I became a Nets fan, there hasn’t been much glory to bask in. The Nets—both their New Jersey and Brooklyn iterations—should be a lesson in mismanagement for other franchises. Consider the facts: The

Nets have cycled through eight coaches in the past 12 seasons, only two of their first round draft picks in the same time period still play with the team, and their basketball operations are running a $144 million dollar deficit—$131 million more than any other team in the league last season.

The franchise hasn’t been a perennial cellar dweller by any means; rather, the Nets have been oscillating between functional and dysfunctional for more than a decade, and most often end up being mediocre. The Nets aren’t just mediocre though, they’re the worst kind of mediocre.They reel you in under the false promise of future success before collapsing under a heap of overvalued assets and perplexing losses—Toronto Maple Leafs fans should know this feeling very well.

This year’s wild trade deadline—nine per cent of the league’s players were moved—was more of the same. Early reports suggested that Brooklyn was a frontrunner to land Oklahoma City guard Reggie Jackson, a dynamic yet disgruntled player who had the potential to be a future cornerstone. In typical Nets fashion, they lost out on Jackson to the Detroit Pistons. They did, how-

The aging Nets core watches hopelessly from the bench. (Photo couresy of USA Today Sports) ever, pick up Thaddeus Young, an above-average, albeit undersized power forward while only giving up a limited and aged Kevin Garnett. Two steps backwards, oneand-a-half steps forward.

The thing that bothers me most about the Nets is that they have no on-court identity, they are undeniably boring to watch, and they have no identifiable long-term

plan. At least with the Philadelphia 76ers, who started off this season with 17 straight losses, fans know that there is a ‘process’ that the organization is trying to follow.

It’s time to start over in Brooklyn. The endless .500 seasons need to end if the Nets ever want to achieve success with the way that the NBA is currently configured. The treadmill of mediocri-

ty is the NBA’s wasteland, and the Nets have been residents for 12 tumultuous years now, pretty much the entirety of the time I have been an avid fan. What will make me happy as a fan now is not another playoff appearance and early exit, but rather a fresh start and a complete overhaul. Maybe then, the Nets will be more than nothing.

Sports

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

21

10 THINGS: Handball

By Alex Sirois

(croatiansports.com)

Handball is played on a cozy 40x20m court. Goals are scored by throwing the ball into the net or by ‘jumping’ in from outside the goalie’s six-foot crease. It is a fast-paced, full-contact sport that typically involves 20-35 goals per team each game.

The 24th IHF (International Handball Federation) World Championships were held in Qatar. The host nation went on a historic run to the final before losing to the French. The French men’s national team also won an Olympic gold medal in London in 2012. Despite recent French dominance, Sweden holds the most IHF World Championship medals, with a total of 11.

‘Expulsim ludere’—expelled play—was a women’s sport in ancient Rome that is thought to be the precursor to modern handball. Handball was codified at the end of the 19th century in Denmark, and gained international recognition after it was played at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

Canada has made only three appearances at the IHF World Championships, the most recent of which came in 2005. The sport remains unpopular among Canadians and the national team has struggled to improve over the years. Team Canada’s best result came in the 1978 World Championship, when it placed 15th out of the 16 teams that qualified.

If a tournament game is not decided in regulation, there are a maximum of two overtime periods, clocking in at five minutes each. Should the game still be tied after overtime, the winning team is determined in a penalty shootout, with opposing teams shooting at each others’ nets from the seven-metre mark.

Salaries in handball have risen significantly in the past few years, with the top five earners making 11 million euros per year. Hans Lindberg makes the most at 11.1 million playing for HSV Hamburg, while Domagoj Duvnjak holds the record for the most expensive transfer fee when, at the age of 21, he was sent to HSV Hamburg for 2.25 million euros.

Each team consists of seven players on the court and seven substitute players on the bench. Similar to those in hockey, substitutions can involve any number of players and can come at any time during game play.

According to IHF rules, to gain eligibility for a new national team a player cannot have played for another nation for three years in an official match. A large number of European stars had been naturalized just before the last World Champions, and only four of the 17 players on the squad were Qatari natives.

Resin is used to provide the players with a better grip on the ball. Though this is not officially allowed in the rules and regulations, players often apply resin to the outsides of their shoes in order to readily access it during game time to put a little extra spin on their trick shots.

Slovenian Dragan Gajic holds the IHF World Record for most goals scored in a single tournament with 71 in the 2015 World Championship. The record for the most fouls belongs to Croatia’s Igor Vori, who managed to rack up over 25 penalty minutes in just eight games.

Basketball — REdmen 60, Citadins 59

Redmen cling to top seed, split weekend series Bourque drills clutch three in win over UQÀM Aaron rose Staff Writer It certainly wasn’t a pretty weekend for the McGill Redmen (10-5), but it looks like the squad will head into the RSEQ tournament as the top seed regardless. On Thursday night, the Redmen faced off against a desperate UQÀM (4-10) squad, who needed a victory to stay alive in the playoff hunt. The Citadins gave McGill all they could handle, but the Redmen squeaked out a one-point 60-59 victory to avoid the upset.

Two days later, the Redmen traveled over to Concordia where the Stingers managed to defeat a hobbled McGill squad 69-61.

With sophomore guard Dele Ogundokun out of the lineup due to an ankle injury, Head Coach David DeAveiro turned to freshman guard Jawara Pedican to start against the Citadins. Pedican struggled early, scoring just three points before being relegated to the bench for the entire second half. UQÀM certainly wasn’t spectacular, but with Ogundokun and senior forward Rodrigo Imperador out of the lineup, the Redmen struggled to score.

“Defensively, they caused us a lot of troubles with their switching,” DeAveiro said.

Fifth year wing Alexandre Bernard couldn’t go wrong for the

Citadins in the first half, scoring 15 of his 25 points in the first two quarters.

“Bernard was outstanding tonight,” DeAveiro said. “We had no answer for him.”

It was only in the second half that the Redmen were finally able to contain the 24-year old star, holding him to 10 points on 37.5 per cent shooting.

After a miserable six-point second quarter, McGill found itself trailing by eight heading into the break. DeAveiro decided to shorten the bench in the second half, a decision that paid off, as sophomore guards Jenning Leung and Regis Ivaniukas combined for 21 second half points.

“My teammates were making good decisions and I was open in the corners,” Ivaniukas said.

Down by two with just under three minutes remaining, second year big man François Bourque found himself open at the top of the arc for a three. Converting at a 23 per cent rate from long range this season, he’s not normally who the Redmen trust to hit threes, but when his team needed him most, Bourque stepped up and nailed it.

UQÀM pulled ahead by one with a minute remaining before Redmen captain Vincent Dufort got to the line and hit both of his free throws to give the Redmen a two-point lead.

Jenning Leung pushes the pace on a Redmen fast break. (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune) With 12 seconds remaining, UQÀM had the ball and was down by one, but McGill smothered the Citadins and forced a contested jump shot that was off the mark.

“We just kind of find ways to win games down the stretch,” DeAveiro said. “We dig down deep and just find a way.”

Unfortunately, the Redmen couldn’t close out the Stingers on Saturday. Again, McGill started

out slow with Ogundokun out of the lineup, scoring just seven points in the first quarter. Concordia pulled ahead by 10 in the third, before the Redmen stormed back to take a five-point lead early in the fourth. The Stingers responded with a 10-2 run and never relinquished the lead, beating McGill by eight.

The goal for the squad is to hoist a third straight RSEQ Cham-

pionship, but for that to happen, they need to get healthy and regain their edge.

“We have to put a full 40 [minutes] together against Laval [next Friday night],” sophomore guard Michael Peterkin said. “Games are only going to get tougher from here on out. We’re a better team than we’re showing right now.”

Sports

22

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Taking stock of the barclays Premier League Favourites

Raphael uribe arango

Chelsea: It’s not at all surprising that Chelsea is leading the Premier League this season.

Mourinho’s coaching has brought consistency on defence and made Stamford Bridge a near impenetrable fortress for opposing teams. On offence, Chelsea has a myriad of scoring options.

The team can rely on the League’s top scorer Diego Costa, who is having an outstanding debut season with 17 goals so far. Over Chelsea’s last 20 games, they have conceded goals in only four. That statistic is practically unbelievable—especially in the Premier League— and explains why they are favourites to win the League this season.

Contributor

With 12 games left in the Barclays Premier League, Chelsea is five points clear at the top, putting the Blues in prime position to win. This Premier League season has marked the resurgence of Manager Jose Mourinho, the selfproclaimed ‘Special One,’ and his Chelsea squad. But no one— including Mourinho—is foolish enough to think that Chelsea is going to coast to victory. The Premier League is notorious for wild finishes, and even this late in the season, there are six other teams still very much in the running.

Still in the race

Southampton: Southampton is having a phenomenal season. With the departure of key players such as Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, and Rickie Lambert to Liverpool, the team’s prospects looked grim. However, with the arrival of new Manager Ronald Koeman, the team has defied all expectations on its climb to the top of the standings. Fourth place and a coveted place in the Champions League would be a massive achievement for a team that only returned to the Premier League in 2012-2013 after being relegated seven years prior.

Arsenal: Since the departure of Thierry Henry in 2007, Arsenal has put together a string of roller coaster seasons. Inconsistency has always plagued Arsenal and if the team does not close strongly, a spot in the Champions League next season is out of the picture. The addition of Alexis Sanchez has been one bright spot for the team this year.

5

The number of goals the McGill Redmen scored in their OUA East semifinal sweep of Queen’s, and the number of goals that defenceman Samuel Labreque has scored in the playoffs so far.

Manchester City: This is a very talented team, filled with perennial stars such as Sergio Agüero, David Silva, and Yaya Touré, but is one that has performed slightly below expectations this season. Manager Manuel Pellegrini has orchestrated a hyper-offensive style of play, which has pumped up the team’s scoring this season.

Unfortunately for City, the team has tied far too many games and that has cost crucial points in the race to keep up with Chelsea. Second place for Manchester City would be a step back for the defending champions, but is the most likely outcome at the moment.

Long Shots

Tottenham: The emergence of Harry Kane has been a blessing for the Spurs this season. A stunning victory against Chelsea at White Hart Lane has definitely given the team the confidence it needs to make the leap from good to great. If it can keep its momentum going until it faces Manchester City and Manchester United in the final games of the season, a Champions League berth is within reach.

Liverpool: A terrible first half of the season has cost Liverpool dearly. The second half of the season has seen a revival from Mario Balotelli and the Reds, but its path back to the top is steep. If Liverpool can keep this run going, they may be able to jump up from sixth. Digging yourself out of a first half hole is hard in any league, but with one of the toughest end-of-season schedules, getting to fourth place will be a true test of this team’s character.

9

The number of personal bests recorded by the McGill University swim team at the CIS Championships at the University of Victoria this weekend.

Manchester United: United has bounced back tremendously from last season’s disastrous performance. New Manager Louis van Gaal has rejuvenated the team and has helped his players perform significantly better on both sides of the ball. The addition of Ángel Di Maria from Real Madrid has had a positive impact on the team and has helped United’s attacking options, but fellow newcomer Radamel Falcao is performing well below his usual form, and is unlikely to be staying with Manchester United much longer. If United were to finish third, it would not be a surprise to anyone, but a few slip-ups down the stretch could mean that the Champions League might not be in the cards next season.

At the moment, Chelsea looks unstoppable and is the clear favourite to win the title this year. Mourinho is taking Chelsea back to the top of the League. His team will continue to accumulate wins and widen the lead at the top.

Photos courtesy of: Nick Potts / PA thisisanfield.com, wallabet.fr (clockwise from top)

71

The number of rebounds the Martlet basketball squad pulled down against the UQÀM Citadins. They added 42 more against Concordia on Saturay.

23

Sports

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 Hockey — Best-of-Three series: Redmen 2, Golden Gaels 0

Labrecque, Redmen cruise into OUA East Finals

Rookie defenceman scores two, including the go-ahead, in series-clinching win Elie Waitzer Sports Editor The McGill Redmen (21-5-0) showed why they came into the OUA East semifinals as clear favourites on Friday night, sweeping the best-of-three series against the Queen’s Golden Gaels (13-121) with ease. Following a comefrom-behind 3-1 win in game two in Kingston, the Redmen will get a few days to rest before taking on UQTR in the OUA East Finals.

McGill went into game one of the series riding the momentum of back-to-back wins against Concordia and got on the scoreboard first with a redirected goal off the stick of star centre Cedric McNicoll midway through the second period.

Momentum in the game quickly shifted, however, as McGill began to get into serious penalty trouble. Queen’s tied it up on a power play goal just seven minutes after McNicoll’s goal, and succeeded in getting under the Redmen players’ skin over the last two periods. The Gaels, however, greatly underestimated the task of scoring shorthanded goals against McGill this season.

The Redmen, who had one of the top penalty-killing units in the CIS this year, managed to fend off five straight power play opportunities before striking back with a power play goal of their own with just minutes left in the third period.

After getting the puck from star defenceman Samuel Labrecque, junior winger Jonathan Brunelle fired a shot at Queen’s goalie Kevin Bailie. The puck was tipped into the net by junior winger Patrick Delisle-Houde for the go-ahead goal.

The Redmen have now allowed just two goals over 20 power play opportunities in the playoffs thus far, but as any Redmen player will tell you, much of the credit goes to the man in net, sophomore Jacob Gervais-Chouinard. Head Coach Kelly Nobes has tapped Gervais-Chouinard as the team’s starting goalie in the playoffs, and he has not disappointed, posting a 4-1 record to go along with a .932 save percentage through five games.

Though Queen’s scored first in game two, the Gaels looked desperate in the face of elimination and the Redmen dispatched their opponents with a strong third pe-

David Rose fights for the puck in front of the opposing net. (Jack Neal / McGill Tribune) riod. Following what may go down as one of the greatest offensive regular seasons by a defenseman in OUA history, Samuel Labrecque began adding to his post-season legend, scoring twice in a 17-second span to put McGill up for good.

It also happened to be his birthday.

After Labrecque’s one-timer off a pass from Brunelle knotted

Tribune Athletes of the Week

the score at 1-1, the referees called a penalty on a Queen’s assistant coach following a comment directed at the officiating team. Back on the power play, McNicoll wasted no time getting the puck back into the Gaels’ zone, quickly feeding Labrecque for another one-timer that caught Bailie off-guard. Junior winger Max Le Sieur added

an empty netter with 50 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Redmen.

Moving forward, the Redmen will need to continue to be lock down their end of the ice and make the most of their opportunities on offence—the deeper it gets into the post-season, the more consistency will matter.

MARTLET BASKETBALL

Samuel Labrecque Hockey, Defenceman Freshman - Arts

Birthday boy Labrecque scored two goals in 17 seconds to propel McGill to the OUA East finals on Friday. Labrecque was the key figure in McGill’s 2-0 sweep of Queens; in the series opener, he assisted both of McGill’s goals in their 2-1 victory. Labrecque doesn’t only show up on his birthday—he has been an offensive force this entire season. He leads all OUA players in playoff goals with five in as many matchups. He also scored 13 goals in the regular season, the most of any defenceman in the CIS. He is also only five goals away from the record for most goals in a season by a McGill defenceman and three away from holding the record for the most game winners in a season by a defenceman, all as a freshman.

Alex Kiss - Rusk Basketball, Centre Junior - Arts Centre Alex Kiss-Rusk continued her front court dominance this week with strong performances against the Concordia Stingers and the UQÀM Citadins. She recorded 11 boards and 13 points against the Stingers on Saturday, two days after going 100 per cent from the free throw line on her way to a team-high 15 points, six boards, and three blocks against UQÀM. Her play was a big part of the Martlets out-rebounding their opponents by a lopsided 113 to 64. With the 6’4” Psychology major in the low post, McGill should feel confident matching up against any team in the playoffs.

By defeating Concordia (6-9) 65-53 on Saturday, the Martlets extended their conference record to 14-1 just two days after clinching the RSEQ regular season title for the fifth year in a row. Fourteen regular season games is the most a Martlet squad has won during Coach Thorne’s tenure.

Forwards Mariam Sylla and Alex Kiss-Rusk continued their dominant play with routine double doubles. Both pulled down 11 rebounds apiece, while Sylla dropped 20 points and Kiss-Rusk tallied 13 points. The team out-rebounded the Stingers 39-21 on the back of these performances. Starting point guard Dianna Ros moved the ball effectively with six assists. McGill also improved its shooting performance from Thursday shooting 44.3 per cent from the field while holding the Stingers to 32.2 per cent. McGill will finish the season against Laval on Thursday, Feb. 27. The team will face either Concordia or Laval in the RSEQ semifinals based on the outcome of the final week of the regular season.

MARTLET HOCKEY

McGill (16-4) came back swinging in the third period against the Ottawa Gee Gees on Friday to win 3-1 and crush the Gee Gees’ dream of ending their 43game losing streak to the Martlets. With the win and a Carabins loss in overtime against Concordia, McGill also secured the RSEQ division title. As a result, McGill will face Ottawa for the second straight year in the best-of-three RSEQ semifinals. Alexandria Serpico scored the game-winning goal three minutes into the third period, and Melodie Daoust continued her fine form as she slotted McGill’s 7th shorthanded goal this season to put the game out of reach with 29 seconds left to play. Brittney Fouracres also contributed a goal to the winning effort. McGill demonstrated its offensive dominance in outshooting the Gee Gees 46-9. The Martlets will undoubtedly be confident going into their matchup against Ottawa. They finished the season on a five-game winning streak, in which they avenged their ignominious 0-5 loss to the Montreal Carabins by defeating them 6-3.

24

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

CAN’T BEAT US? JOIN US

Write for sports. Email sports@mcgilltribune.com

896 Sherbrooke Ouest Montreal, QC, H3A 1G3

McGill food court Present this coupon to receive free fries (or side of your choice) with purchase of any burger & drink on the menu (poutine extra).

Simple

Brie

Midterm Promo

Blue Cheese

Classic

Expires: Feb. 28, 2015. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Only redeemable at Smartburger [McGill].