EDITORIAL
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Volume No. 34 Issue No. 22
Winter 2015 referendum endorsements pg. 6
@mcgilltribune
www.mcgilltribune.com
See inside for...
Winter GA p. 2
The Tribune’s
SSMU Elections
2015 coverage & endorsements
(Lauren Benson-Armer / McGill Tribune)
Winter 2015 General Assembly sees turnout of around 550 students Students voted against motion regarding divestment from companies profiting from illegal occupation of Palestinian territories
L
SARA CULLEN Contributor
ast Sunday, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held its Winter 2015 General Assembly (GA), drawing approximately 550 students to vote on the proposed motions. In order to increase efficiency, a new check-in procedure was implemented and
the GA venue was changed from the SSMU cafeteria to Leacock 132. Three motions were on the agenda, with no new motions moved from the floor. These motions included a call to divest from companies that profit from the Palestinian occupation, one to stop the promotion of illegal unpaid internships, and another to oppose tuition increases and austerity measures. Approved
motions are required to go through an online ratification, open to all SSMU members, following the GA.
Motion regarding divestment from companies profiting from the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories Students voted against the
motion that called for lobbying McGill to divest from companies profiting from the occupation of Palestinian territories. Daniel Alberta, U2 Management, argued against the motion, saying that the companies targeted by the motion also provide economic opportunities to Palestinians.
Continued on pg. 2
pg. 11 - 13
2
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 News Winter 2015 General Assembly sees turnout of around 550 students Students voted against motion regarding divestment from companies profiting from illegal occupation of Palestinian territories SARA CULLEN Contributor
(Continued from page 1) “There seems to be a dangerous double standard […] here, whereby the moment a company sells goods to Israel, it is guilty of human rights abuses, regardless of the fact that the identical product is sold to Palestinians on the other side of the green line,” said Alberta. “Voting against this motion will not only institutionalize the deep divide that exists on campus, but will squander further advance for dialogue.” A proponent of the motion to divest, Dina El-baradie, U3 Management, discussed the reasoning behind the motion and expressed her support for it. “The list of endorsements that we have on this motion, is […] a list of a number of […] the marginalized groups on campus,” El-baradie said. “We don’t want to be associated with the occupation [of Palestine]; this has nothing to do with Israel’s right to exist [….] We just want to dissociate from the occupation and not be held complicit.” Michael Schwartz, L1 Law, spoke in opposition to the motion. “I question the ability and the wisdom of an organization like SSMU […] dictating foreign policy,” Schwartz said. “This said, I appreciate [that] there are people of good will who believe it should be involved in these matters. That said, this resolution is completely flawed, it should and […] will fail.” Many other students expressed concern for the possible repercussions that the motion would have on the McGill campus. “[Many] of us have showed up here to have a dialogue—hopefully that dialogue will not be shattered by the passing of this motion,” an L1 Law student said. “I find that we should vote against this motion to preserve the values of academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas that we have come to value here at McGill.” A motion to conduct the vote through secret ballot was moved from the floor and approved. The motion to seek divestment ultimately failed with 273 against, 212 for, and nine abstaining, after which the majority of the
audience left the GA. Students expressed their satisfaction with the level of participation in the GA. “I am very happy to see that the [voting] margins are closer
ployment laws. Volunteering to motivate the motion, Law student Jacob Schwayduh outlined the motivations behind the proposed motion pertaining to student em-
[…] towards finding quality paid internships.” Students expressed support for this motion due to the concern that many unpaid internships are in violation of labour
General Assembly Motion Results Motion regarding the nomination of the auditor for the fiscal year of 2015:
259 For
Motion against unpaid internships:
14 Absentations 6 Against Motion regarding policy on accessible education: *Quorum was no longer met
58 24 Against For
Approved
Motion regarding divestment from companies profiting from the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories:
9 Absentations 212 For 273 Against
*Quorum is 100 people. More than half cannot be from one single faculty than [at the last GA],” Sarah Albouz, U2 Engineering, said. “I realize that the motions are unrelated, but it’s nice to see that a lot of people came and that the cause is gaining support.”
Motion regarding unpaid internships
Students voted in favour of the motion moved by the New Democratic Party of McGill University (NDP-McGill) to condemn illegally unpaid internships and actively promote paid internships that adhere to em-
ployment. “The first idea behind [this motion] is that young people are valuable, educated, [and] creative, [and] deserve to be paid a wage,” Schwayduh said. “The second [idea] is that the laws we have on the books related to employment and labour should be respected not only by employers but also by McGill University and by students. The motion therefore asks SSMU, working with McGill University, to respect labour laws [….] It also asks us to focus our resources
(Domitille Biehlmann / McGill Tribune) laws. “Just because something is illegal doesn’t mean that people are actually taking that into account,” Arts & Science student Kiana Saint-Macary said. “ I think it is important for McGill to actually regard the fact that some of these unpaid internships are not working under legal grounds. Further on, I think it’s important that McGill emphasizes paid internships and tries to prioritize those over unpaid internships. [It’s] fine if people want to take unpaid internships,
but […] making paid internships more accessible is really important; this motion does both of those things.” SSMU VP External Amina Moustaqim-Barrette pointed out that regulating all clubs who endorse unpaid internships would be difficult. Moustaqim-Barrette moved to amend the wording of the motion in order to avoid imposing requirements that would prevent clubs from promoting unpaid internships. Amendments made to the motion included the addition of a complaint procedure within SSMU to ensure compliance with applicable laws and the creation of workshops and announcements that allow SSMU to inform clubs of employment laws. Additionally, clauses were edited in order to restrict the proposed internship promotion requirements to new clubs only.
Motion regarding the SSMU’s policy on accessible education
During the voting period for the last motion, the 100-person quorum was not met, resulting in a consultative student vote. Students voted in favour of the motion “specifically oppose any mechanism to raise tuition for any and all [SSMU] members.” Due to the consultative vote, however, this motion will be brought to SSMU Council for approval as per constitutional bylaw requirements. Moustaqim-Barrette introduced the motion and explained its importance. “This is extremely important right now in the context of the austerity measures in Quebec,” Moustaqim-Barrette said. “It is important that SSMU has a policy on [austerity measures] and has this for the next five years [....] This will allow SSMU to continue working to oppose any mechanism to increase tuition in the next five years.” VP University Affairs Claire Stewart-Kanigan also spoke in favour of the motion. “This [motion] is for future matters [and] would allow us to take a stance, in advance, [on] these measures which would do a disservice to the interest of many of our students,” she said. The remaining students voted in favour of the motion 58-24. The voting procedure for this motion was consultative due to the lack of quorum.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
3
News
PGSS General Meeting sees discussion of Society deficit, proposed women’s gym hours CFS membership fees lead to around $300,000 deficit, motion for fee increase not passed
O
HAYLEY LIM Creative Director
n Wednesday, March 11, the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) General Meeting (GM) discussed the payment of incurred membership fees from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), a national union for post-secondary student societies. Additionally, the GM hosted an informal discussion regarding women’sonly hours at the McGill Fitness Centre.
CFS membership fees
PGSS Financial Affairs Officer Nikki Meadows stated that costs of the recently held CFS referendum, in which PGSS voted against continued membership with the CFS, amounted to $558,740.87. Approximately $333, 810 of the total cost was accrued through the retroactive payment of CFS member-
ship fees dated from 2009 to 2015. According to Meadows, the fees were paid under protest to CFS and were a stipulation of running the referendum. The other costs of the referendum that PGSS incurred were legal fees. Meadows explained that the PGSS hopes to be able to reclaim the $333,810 in membership fees in a separate ongoing legal case with CFS, which may end in 2017. She also said that PGSS had been able to absorb about $200,000 out of the total fees accrued in the CFS case because of a surplus in PGSS’s member legal support funds account. She highlighted, however, that PGSS had accrued a deficit of about $300,000 as a result of these payments. To balance this deficit, Meadows stated that $62,000 may be added to the current $78,000 collected through PGSS student fees this semester. “When you’re talking about pay-
ing $330,000 up front and you’re only collecting $78,000 a year [in student fees], that’s a lot of money [deficit] to deal with,” she said. “We’re hoping upon [legal] settlement in 2017, we will get some of these fees back. That’s two years where you have to go on operating and you need money to be able to do the projects and to be able to do the programs that we offer here at PGSS. We can absorb a lot of it, but we can’t absorb everything.” The PGSS Board of Directors (BoD) also gave a presentation at the GM where they stated that they would like to hold a referendum to raise student fees to alleviate PGSS’s current deficit. “Do you agree that, starting in the Autumn of 2015 and continuing until 2020 or such time that another referendum modifies it, PGSS will increase its membership fee [...] from the current rate of 32.11 to a new rate of 35.43?” the
motion read. “These funds will be used, in part, to offset the costs of leaving the Canadian Federation of Students, as well as increased rent and fees charged by McGill on the PGSS.” This motion was read at the PGSS Council session that occurred before the GM, but the motion did not.
Women-only gym hours
The meeting closed with an informal discussion regarding proposed womenonly gym hours at the McGill Fitness Centre. This topic incited controversy on campus three weeks ago when two McGill Law students proposed the initiative. Some speakers voiced concern on the topic not being concrete or accommodating towards other marginalized groups. William Gorges, Engineering student, voiced concerns that more thought should be put into the development of the motion and that it could be implemented towards other groups.
“[The motion should] be extended to LGBTQ hours because of the same stigmatization of working out with these men or anyone in general that they don’t feel comfortable with,” Gorges said. “I think it’s a good idea, but more work has to be done in solidifying how McGill Athletics would implement this.” Other members noted that there are already women-only swim hours at the McGill Memorial Pool. PGSS External Affairs Officer Julien Ouellet explained that the presence of men at the gym can prevent certain people from attending. “[This is] a form of discrimination that is not illegal [...] but put women at a disadvantage and prevents them from using a resource,” Oullet said. “They should not have to buy extra membership when they are already paying membership to the McGill gym.”
Student Services establishes Innovation Fund
Fund seeks to assist student-led projects promoting well-being and student success CATHERINE-LAURE JUSTE Contributor
T
he Student Services Innovation Fund (SSIF)—a new fund that will be used to promote student-led ideas for students’ well-being and health—is currently taking applications for projects. The fund will partially be financed through a reallocation of a surplus that Student Services had accrued. According to Executive Director of Student Services Jana Luker, the Student Services budget, which is formed from student service fees and government transfers, had accumulated a surplus over the last few years. “Over the last couple of years [...the fund] has grown more than what we need,” Luker said. “We like to have $1 million in there just as a cushion [because] things happen. But it was increased to around $6 million at one point, and [it] seemed like we should be doing things.” According to Erin Sobat, U2 Arts and member of the McGill Senate’s Committee on Student Services (CSS), the idea to create the SSIF came from students and Student Services staff. “The idea was originally suggested by [Luker], and I think it was catalyzed by concerns around the Deputy Provost’s proposal in Fall 2013 to reallocate some of the funds elsewhere on campus,” Sobat said. “We and other students wanted to ensure that this student money remained where it was intended to go and not simply used for maintaining status quo service levels.” Sobat explained that the SSIF would help expand student-service related projects. “We are looking to push the
envelope in Student Services in the face of both the current fiscal climate and increasing student needs for resources such as mental health, counselling, and services for students with disabilities,” Sobat said. The members of the committee look forward to support ideas that are geared towards McGill students. According to Luker, students who propose projects will be paired with a member of the Student Services staff. “[That] is in order to ensure that whatever the project is enhances the strategic plan of student services and falls within the parameters of what student services would do,” Luker explained. Luker also stated that both short-term and long-term projects would be accepted for the SSIF. The proposal submission deadline for projects requiring above $5,000 in financing is March 25. Projects under $5,000 will be accepted on a rolling basis. “I am hoping to see projects that do take two or three years to implement fully to have much more longterm vision with the larger amount of money,” she said. “Up to now, [funding] has been under $5,000 for shortterm [projects].” Courtney Ayukawa, who spoke in her capacity as ECOLE co-cordinator for the 2013-2014 school year, explained that she believes that funding for student projects is important. ECOLE is a student-run sustainableliving community on campus. Ayukawa highlighted how another fund, the Sustainable Projects Fund (SPF), helped the ECOLE collective last year. “Funds for student projects are crucial since they facilitate student leadership [and] development,” she
said. “There are so many incredible and passionate students [who] have taken initiative and are working on their own projects outside of school. I think it’s important for the university to support them.” Sobat explained that students would take part in evaluating proposed projects through involvement
in the CSS. “There has been an impressive level of student involvement in the development process up to this point, and we will continue to be an active part of the application review process,” Sobat said. The SSIF will be officially and fully launched in Fall 2015.
“This is the first time [running the fund], in the first round—this is what we are calling the soft launch,’” Luker explained. “We will be able to implement some of these projects that were approved in September [2015] by September [2016]. Then we will be able to do [the] hard launch with publicity and communication.”
4
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 News AUS SNAX sit-in raises awareness about MoA negotiations with McGill
Students cite concerns about accessible food options on campus
L
SHRINKHALA DAWADI News Editor
ast Wednesday, members of the McGill community participated in a sit-in organized by SNAX, a food-retail outlet managed under the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS). The sit-in aimed to raise awareness and support for SNAX in light of McGill’s recent stipulation that SNAX would not be able to sell sandwiches. This stipulation was mandated in AUS’s memorandum of agreement (MoA) with McGill, but has only recently been enforced. Deputy Provost (Student Life and Engagement) Ollivier Dyens previously addressed AUS Council in January, stating that McGill chose to enforce its MoA clause with SNAX due to liability issues. “As you know, we’re very, very conscious about food safety,” Dyens said at the time. “If somebody gets sick while going to SNAX, people aren’t going to go after SNAX or AUS, they’re going to go after McGill […] and it’s going to have ramifications for the university.” SNAX Manager Hasan Nizami explained that SNAX had responded to McGill’s concerns regarding food handling and safety protocols at SNAX. “[McGill] raised a concern about
liability issues [...] and as a response to that, we got all employees certified and trained in food handling and safety by [the Quebec ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation],” he said. “The admin appreciated that stance of ours, but [there was] still nothing from [the administration’s] side.” The current MoA is for 2010 to 2015, and negotiations for a new MoA started in December 2014. Nizami expressed his frustrations with the current state of MoA negotiations, highlighting the current proposed MoA draft sent by McGill to AUS in December 2014. “What I see in that draft is that whatever we proposed for in the negotiations is just not there,” he said. “It seems like we are missing from the picture.” Ali Taghva, U1 Arts, stated that he attended the sit-in so he could express his stance against the administration’s decision. “Right now, we have a situation where students are taking up an initiative to provide an option to the student body,” Taghva said. “Seeing so many people from different sides come in and help is a great thing [....] The best thing it’s doing [...] is connecting people. Even if this doesn’t work today, you have a larger network of people who tomorrow are [going to] sit down, talk, and make
Students in Leacock in support of SNAX sandwich negotiations. (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune) sure it happens.” Taghva also explained that he enjoyed how accessible SNAX is. “Yes, we have a billion businesses on campus providing food, [and] snacks,” he said. “[But] not all of them are affordable, not all of them provide for vegans or vegetarians.” Nizami echoed Taghva’s opinion, stating that he was happy with student
turnout at the sit-in. “Once we made the Facebook event, people just came out themselves. We didn’t really have to approach anyone,” he said. “This shows that people are frustrated.” Nizami also explained that SNAX is not seeking to expand its retail presence on campus and underscored that AUS’ negotiations with McGill served
to represent student issues on campus. “All we want is what we had before [....] Let us try to provide the service we have been providing to students at a cheap rate,” he said. “This sit-in is [...] not to have an aggressive stance against the administration [....] I believe that this issue is not just about sandwiches—it’s about the general representation of students in policy making.”
Hundreds gather in Montreal to protest proposed anti-terrorist legislation Bill C-51 Demonstrators joined by NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, denounce powers that Bill would grant government
H
C-51 as well. He joined the Montreal march and gave a speech reiterating his intentions to oppose the bill.
LAURA HANRAHAN Staff Writer
undreds of Canadians came together in Montreal and other Canadian cities last Saturday to take part in the Canada-wide day of action against Bill C-51, a proposed federal antiterrorism bill. Bill C-51 encompasses a wide range of proposed changes to Canadian legislature, in particular to the Criminal Code. It will affect disclosure of crime-related information and evidence within the government and criminalize the expression of terrorist-related ideas. The bill was introduced by the Conservative government in January and is currently being reviewed by the House of Commons. It passed its second reading in the House on Feb. 23 with a vote of 176-87. The bill will still need to undergo four more stages, including a Committee stage and a third reading, before it can be passed. The bill also broadens the scope of police powers as they would be able to arrest a suspect if they believe a terrorist act may be carried out, whereas without the bill, sufficient proof was required. Consequently, many Canadians fear that the bill will violate their
Protesters gather against Bill C-51 amidst privacy concerns. (Noah Sutton / McGill Tribune) civil rights and liberties, namely their right to privacy. Elizabeth Viatkin was one such protester who expressed this view. “I value my privacy, I don’t think that’s necessary information for the government to have,” Viatkin said. “They’re trying to rush [the bill] through [Parliament] right now. I think this is the kind of bill that you should think about a bit more before just trying to rush it and [hope] people won’t have
time to protest.” Protester Mariah Gillis, a Concordia student, expressed concerns about what C-51 defines as a terrorist act. “I really think that C-51 is terrible,” Gillis said. “The part about how if you disrupt natural resource extraction, you could be considered a terrorist—that’s pretty scary. Also, all of the spying and everything—it’s just pretty draconian.” The Montreal march began at
Parc Jarry and ended outside the office of Liberal Party of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau, who has said he supports the bill. Dozens of protesters placed tape over their mouths and held signs bearing messages that read “Stop Harper” and “C-51 is an act of terror” while chanting: “Harper terrorist, Trudeau complicit.” New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) leader Thomas Mulcair, who is also leader of the official opposition, has argued against Bill
“C-51 is a bill that could seriously endanger our right to protest peacefully, to stand up against a government or an infrastructure or an economic policy,” he said. “Mr. Harper has never been able to give a single example of why this bill is necessary.” Viatkin agreed with Mulcair’s statement, suggesting an ulterior motive for the bill’s implementation. “Honestly, I don’t think we have that much of a problem with terrorism here,” she said. “We have maybe more of a problem with xenophobia.” Gillis shared her hopes that the protest would help more Canadians become aware of the issue. “I think it’s important that we voice our opposition and that we make it really clear that a majority of people are really against this,” she said. “If more people see others voicing their opinions about it, they might start to think about it more and might start to get involved. Obviously, this march is not going to change everything, but I think it’s a small step towards something better.”
5
News
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
SSMU Council addresses mental health initiative and women-only gym hours Student-run café budget also discussed Morgan Alexander Arts & Entertainment Editor
T
he Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Council met last Thursday to discuss women-only gym hours, mental health initiatives, and the SSMU budget. Discussion regarding women-only hours at the gym Law Councillor Pierre Fullerton began by attempting to address misinformation about the proposal, citing a conversation he had with Soumia Allalou, the student who raised the proposal. “This whole idea was not about excluding men whatsoever, but about accommodating people who have different preferences,” Fullerton said. Fullerton continued by explaining that Allalou had recently met with the McGill Athletics administration in hopes of finding a solution that would appeal to both men and women, including potentially having a separate room for women to exercise. Vice-President University Affairs Claire Stewart-Kanigan expanded upon Fullerton’s report, explaining that Allalou had initially approached McGill Athletics in January, but that the matter had only recently been addressed by the McGill Athletics administration. “The director of Athletics was not aware that a staff member had spoken with her several months earlier and
asked her to come and speak with him,” Stewart-Kanigan stated. Councillor Rachel Weaver raised the question of how ‘woman’ would be defined. According to Fullerton, Allalou believes the hours should be trans* inclusive, and trans* people should be accommodated if they are also asking for their own hours.
VP Finance budget presentation
VP Finance and Operations Kathleen Bradley presented the February budget, addressing multiple long-term projects that SSMU has been working on. Fullerton raised concerns as to whether the student-run café, the Nest, which is still running a deficit, was a profitable venture. Bradley claimed that she was fairly confident the cafe would break even by next year. She also stated that the Nest’s budget had greatly improved in terms of funding compared to last semester. In addition, Bradley emphasized that Gerts, which previously had the greatest surplus in SSMU, was continuing to face lower sales. Bradley stressed the importance of Gerts in raising money for the SSMU, and encouraged Council members to continue holding events at the student bar. “If you think Ace is the place, it hurts your student union,” Bradley said. “So come to Gerts instead.”
Councillors discuss SSMU budget (Natalie Vine / McGill Tribune)
Notice of motion regarding mental health policy and the five-year plan Stewart-Kanigan explained that current implementation of the SSMU mental health policy did not require additional funds through a fee levy. “The mental health fee levy—we haven’t identified a need for it yet, we haven’t spent all of our budget from SSMU [on it],” Stewart-Kanigan stated. “We’re going to check in with student groups on whether they would need a fee as opposed to mandating it now.”
According to Stewart-Kanigan, changes to the current mental health policy include creating a collaborative website with McGill Mental Health, which would help reduce costs; changing the date of Mental Health Week to coincide with Rez Life as opposed to lining up with the Students in Mind conference; doubling the number of mental health coordinators from one to two; and decreasing the amount of councillors on the committees. When asked by Medicine Councillor Joshua Chin about the purpose
of the committee composition change, Stewart-Kanigan explained that the initial make-up was too large for the task at hand, and the new composition would include members from a more diverse range of groups. “It would be preferable to have one fewer councillor and one more representative from student initiatives,” Stewart-Kanigan said. “We’ve been trying to reach out to groups like the Sexual Assault Center of the McGill Student’s Society (SACOMSS) that deal with mental health in a more indirect way.”
Office of Students with Disabilities projects deficit of 15 per cent Awaits funding for upcoming year in light of provincial funding cuts
T
JESSICA FU Managing Editor
he Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD) is currently awaiting funding for its 2015-2016 academic year operations. This upcoming year will see a grant of over $1 million to McGill University from the province of Quebec, which will be designated through the university’s various channels to support both the OSD and efforts to improve services for students with disabilities outside of the OSD on campus. The OSD previously received direct funding from the provincial government, according to Executive Director of Student Services Jana Luker. “Instead of the [approximately] $100,000 that the OSD was getting, it’s $1.2 million that the university will now receive,” Luker said. “It will be up to the [university] to distribute it. But the government [is] presently setting parameters on how to distribute it—what are the restrictions, who does it go to. Other divisions around the university [...] also support students with disabilities.” An upcoming question posed to Senate by Chloe Rourke, Arts and
Science senator, indicated that due to the new funding structure, the OSD would face a budgetary shortfall. “As a result of this envelope of $7.5 million, the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) will no longer receive [...] funding from the government and has [...] indicated an expected shortfall of approximately 15 per cent of its budget for the next academic year,” the preamble to her question reads. According to Luker, the province does not face a deadline by which they must set these guidelines or submit the funding. “We have submitted a budget that covers last year’s expenses and we know that the invigilation—the students that are hired to supervise the exams of students with disabilities—will probably cost about $40,000, and there’s no money for that,” she said. “We’re short of cash right now, and that’s why it’s important that the government get this money distributed. In the meantime, McGill covers some of it, but they’re also waiting for any information.” In the case that funding is not received by the upcoming school year, Luker emphasized that the OSD would be mandated to continue running, likely with very few additional
services. “It’s the law that we must accommodate all students with disabilities,” Luker said. “What’s happened in the past is we didn’t get a cut to the OSD budget, but we [saw an increase in] the uptake of students [....] We had to [reduce] some of the services that we offered, and just offered the bare minimum around accommodation.” Rourke underscored the challenges the OSD has been facing in recent years due to a surge in registered students. “Even without a decrease in [its] budget, [the] OSD is struggling to provide the basic services to all the students who need it and have had to eliminate many additional learning supports,” she said. “I believe this is the main issue for students: Currently, OSD is extremely constrained
in terms of the services it is able to provide. This has considerable impacts to the 1,600 students registered with the service.” Drew Mulhall, U3 Science, spoke to the merits of OSD services. In Fall 2014, Mulhall broke his hand and took his final exams in the OSD offices. “A lot of students’ academics might take a hit because I think the OSD provides students with a lot of resources with managing stress dur-
ing exam periods, [for those] who require extra time for exams,” Mulhall said. “[That’s] a major concern if [the OSD] doesn’t get the funding that [for those]it needs.” Rourke reiterated the importance of sustainable funding for the OSD. “Ultimately, I believe OSD is critical to supporting an accessible learning environment and the academic success of many students at the university,” she said.
Opinion
6
editorial
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 THE Mcgill
Winter 2015 referendum endorsements
Question regarding the creation of the ECOLE Project Fee
ECOLE is a sustainabilitycentred living, learning, and community space. This upcoming referendum question involves the institution of a $2.00 per semester opt-outable fee that will go towards the Education Community Living Environment (ECOLE) Project. The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote for the proposed fee, which would allow the group to continue to provide student space, alternative education support, sustainability programming, and applied research on sustainability at McGill. ECOLE already provides accessible space booking and valuable research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in sustainability. Material and social sustainability are important initiatives that matter to many McGill students, and the Tribune
supports the implementation of this fee to support ECOLE. As the only student-run space currently on campus dedicated to mobilizing McGill students and residents of Montreal around sustainability issues. Nevertheless, as ECOLE has only been in operation for one year, and remains relatively unknown as an organization, further outreach is necessary in order to engage more of the student body with its mission.
Question regarding the renewal of the SSMU Access Bursary Fund
The promotion of accessible education is always encouraged, especially in light of recent tuition increases that could exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities. The Tribune therefore endorses a “Yes” vote to renew the SSMU Access Bursary Fund. The fee for the SSMU Bursary fund is $8.50 for full-time students, and $4.25 for
part-time students, per semester, a fee that is opt-outable on Minerva. The Tribune supports the spirit of the bursary fund, which promotes a pan-university approach to combatting budgetary constraints. In addition, the university and its alumni, as represented by the McGill Fund Council, have committed themselves to matching the Access Bursary Fund contributions dollarfor-dollar. The funds from students and the university that are made available through the Access Bursary Fund, constitute a substantial contribution towards promoting the affordability and accessibility of McGill moving forward.
Question regarding the addition of an MSE Representative on the SSMU Legislative Council
The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote for the referendum question regarding the addition of a McGill School of Environment (MSE)
Representative on the SSMU Legislative Council. Students of the MSE are currently represented by councillors from the Faculty of Arts & Science, Arts, or Science, but claim that their particular needs and interests are not directly aligned with the individual faculties, and thus require their own seat on Council. The current division of the School of Environment constituency under the representation of various representatives from these three faculties has weakened their voice, according to a statement made by Benjamin Ger, a member of the McGill Environment Student Society (MESS), at a SSMU Council meeting in February. While issues of over-representation and over-crowding in the Legislative Council will need to be addressed, the creation of a new seat is necessary if a large portion of students feel underrepresented. The Tribune recognizes the importance of effective student representation within governing bodies, and stands in support with the addition of a seat for the MSE.
will help you and your family assimilate to what you considered to be American culture. People would frequently ask me what it was like to have grown up surrounded by family and peers who supposedly valued meritocracy above all else: “Do you have a ‘tiger mom’?” or “Are your par-
“
I was being judged on a scale that was based off of a standard that by default excluded Asians from being
“
I used to fill in my name as “Jenny” on my school and job applications, even though that’s not the name written on my birth certificate. Every time the ethnicity question came up, I would often select “Prefer not to say.” My relationship with my own race has been a tenuous one, and I have consistently felt the need to convince people around me that I was American, simply because that’s what it often took to feel accepted. Eventually, I became more and more accustomed to hearing people make offhanded, blasé comments about their preconceptions about Asian Americans. I’ve heard everything from “You’re pretty good at volleyball for an Asian” to “You’re really involved in creative writing for an Asian.” I always felt guilty for feeling discomfort toward these remarks, particularly because it seemed as though I was being complimented. I didn’t realize at first that these comments were not in fact
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
Online Editor Matt Smith online@mcgilltribune.com
“For an Asian” ignores all aspects of individual merit
Jenny shen Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editors Mayaz Alam malam@mcgilltribune.com Jessica Fu jfu@mcgilltribune.com Remi Lu rlu@mcgilltribune.com
Copy Editor Adrien Hu copy@mcgilltribune.com
Off the board compliments; instead, they were a constant reminder that I was being judged on a scale that was based off of a standard that by default excluded Asians from being viable competitors. By using “for an Asian” as a qualifier for these “compliments,” these people were not only demeaningly generalizing an entire ethnic group’s abilities, but also only willing to acknowledge merit based on an isolated scale. The recognition seemed to be contingent on the fact that it was only noteworthy when evaluated in comparison to other Asians. And whenever I myself ever uttered or thought the words “for an Asian,” I was resigning to the way these statements put all Asians under an umbrella—disregarding both the differences between Asian countries and the differences between people within each of those countries—and failed to recognize their achievements as individuals. I was not just accepting the story, but retelling it. Struggling with your own racial identity often means rejecting the parts of you that others will see as a hindrance—resolving not to come across as shy, or avoiding Chinese TV shows because it might show that you’re out of touch with Western culture. It often means watching your own parents trying their hardest to buy or say or do the ‘right’ things that
Editor-in-Chief Jenny Shen editor@mcgilltribune.com
viable competitors.
ents really strict?” Something about the way people would accompany their questions with a look of sympathy—even pity, perhaps—led me to believe that there was something inherently shameful in the way people assumed I had been raised. These experiences, compounded with every encounter
I’ve had with someone who used the provision “for an Asian,” made me feel the need to disengage from my background and everything negative other people associated with it. To me, culture is a gradient. I have tried in many ways to either passionately reject or embrace my Chinese heritage, yet both decisions have been misguided. I cannot claim to be a representative of generations of traditional Chinese culture. But I would be doing a disservice to both my family and myself if I denied my Chinese background, because it is as much a part of me as Western culture is. My relationship with my own race comes from many internal discrepancies, but my experiences with being singled out as a minority have been troubling and have only added to my personal discomfort with being Chinese. It has often felt as though my legitimacy as an individual gets taken away whenever people have made these types of blanket statements that purport an intrinsic connection between race and the ability to succeed. If being a minority invites discounting assumptions and disrespect regarding my identity, then understanding where I am on a multidimensional gradient of culture ultimately depends on how others perceive me, not how I have learned to perceive myself.
Web Developer William Burgess webdev@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Eliott Demelier, Daniel Kang, and Mingye Chen ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds
TPS Board of Directors
Yael Chapman, Jacqui Galbraith, Adrien Hu, Alycia Noe, Sam Pinto, Jenny Shen, Maryse Thomas, Nicolas Tuech
Staff Writers & Illustrators Cordelia Cho, Philippe Dumais, Keah Hansen, Nick Jasinski, Evelyn Kaczmarek, Aislinn Kalob, Tiffany Le, Chris Lutes, Claire Lyle, Eleanor Milman, Alycia Noë, Laura Plamondon, Aaron Rose, Elli Slavitch, Zikomo Smith, Sussane Wang, Lauren Wildgoose
Contributors
Abdul Aziz Atta, Lauren Benson-Armer, Sarah Cullen, Justin Hatherly, Jacqui Galbraith, Cory Goldstein, Emma Hameau, Sarah Ibrahim, Natalie Jennings, Cecile Richetta, Joshua Shapiro, Noah Sutton, Natalie Vineberg, Susanne Wang
Tribune Office Shatner University Centre Suite 110, 3480 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 0E7 T: 514.398.6789 The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle this newspaper.
7
Opinion
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Letter to the editor
Why there is a place in the feminist movement for Lana Del Rey orization. As the author noted, “women should be free to be
“
I think [the stereotype of a feminist woman] is actually a disadvantaged woman who is em-
powered enough to
{
say something.
“
Let me preface this by saying that I would consider myself a fan of Lana Del Rey, or at least a fan of her music. I think she’s talented, and I would never tell anybody that they weren’t entitled to their own ideas of gender equality and feminism, or that those views were incorrect. But upon reading an Off the Board piece by Jack Neal in the March 10 issue of the McGill Tribune, I took issue with a few of the points made with regard to her status as a role model, feminist or otherwise.
argue that Del Rey is relatable and should therefore be embraced by the feminist movement as someone going through difficulties as we all do, then I completely agree. There are plenty of “soft, broken, and vulnerable feminist[s],” but I take some issue with those three words being placed together. There isn’t anything negative about being soft or vulnerable—in fact both of those traits demand quite a bit of courage—but being broken isn’t something to aim for; it’s something to work through. To say that she should be a role model simply because she’s relatable doesn’t quite add up. To clarify, I believe entirely that we should be telling young girls and women that their challenges do not make them unlovable and are a normal part of life—that’s a huge part of what feminism is about—but there is a big difference between acceptance or support and glam-
disempowered,” but why should we pretend that those traits are things to aspire to? Women like Beyoncé or Lorde may be powerful, but why does that mean we shouldn’t look up to them as role models for empowerment? I don’t think the “stereotype of a feminist woman [is] someone who is conventionally ‘powerful.’” I think it’s actually a disadvantaged woman who is empowered enough to say something. If feminists were all conventionally powerful, we would not have as much to worry about. The reason that the feminist movement even exists is because there are hundreds of millions of women who are terrifyingly disempowered. These women aren’t free to do whatever they want, as Del Rey feels she is. These women don’t have the luxury of not being interested in feminism, and these women need role models who are more than just ‘damsels-in-distress.’
{
Jacqueline galbraith Contributor
I can understand why Del Rey might find feminism to be not “an interesting concept,” in that many successful women are repeatedly asked about their careers and lives as women, while men rarely have their gender brought up so consistently. You can hardly blame her for preferring to speak about her music once in a while. It strikes me then as interesting that the argument put forward was that Del Rey should be embraced as a feminist role model, when by her own admission she has no interest in being one. Del Rey has every right to own her experiences and to create art from the circumstances she’s gone through, but to argue that we should encourage women to aspire to those struggles simply does not make sense. A role model is supposed to be someone you emulate, someone who is doing things you wish you could do. If Neal was attempting to
themselves, even if that self is flawed, and at times weak and
Thin line between vigilance and censorship at Concordia
Concordia University’s administration recently announced that it was going to offer professional support to its Muslims Students’ Association (MSA) to review books in the association’s library after the news network, TVA, made allegations against the student-run library and the inappropriate content in some of its books. After the TVA pointed out the questionable texts in the library’s collection, the MSA sought help from the administration to cull its collection. This incident renewed a recent political debate taking place in Montreal regarding the balance between vigilance and openness in combating extremism, and highlighted a breach of power by the MSA
sues under the spotlight. First of all, Muslims and books written by Muslim authors, specifically, are the ones under scrutiny. The fact that this
“
Concordia’s
discourse strangely
echoes Mayor Denis Coderre’s words about finding a balance between ‘vigilance and openness.’
“
cecile richetta Contributor
and the Concordia administration who are willing to censor the content of the student-run library. According to the MSA’s official statement, the organization came to the university for help, a fact that the administration has not ceased to stress. The targeted texts included some written by authors who have made statements in support of wife beating, female genital mutilation, and the death penalty. According to the administration, the books removed “would be those that are not meeting the users’ need.” Such statements have weakened the administration’s defence that it is only providing an advisory opinion, not imposing censorship. Nevertheless, critics have denounced these measures as censorship, and rightfully so. The administration’s comments strangely echo Mayor Denis Coderre’s words about finding a balance between “vigilance and openness” in the face of religious extremism. Books that “cross the line,” or are “radical and too extreme,” and hence not in line with society’s values, could be permanently removed from the shelves. This review brought many is-
potential censure is targeted at Muslims, a group that has been scapegoated recently by the Quebec government, is especially worrisome. Many have expressed their concerns and questioned why the attention has
been limited to writings from Muslim authors and the MSA, and not other radical books or libraries. Notably, the example of Hitler’s Mein Kampf has been used repeatedly to highlight the fact books promoting radicalism and violence are not uncommon in university libraries. But what is more disturbing than the spotlight on the Muslim community is the fact that Concordia’s review is overstepping the boundary between vigilance and censorship. On one hand, at a time of growing instability and extremism, and with the brutality of radical groups commonplace in the news, there is certainly a need to be careful about the spread of radical discourse. On the other hand, openness implies that society should have sensible discussions about current issues, and a university is the perfect place for both free speech and mutual respect. However, given the co-optation of discussion in favor of vigilance on campus, it is questionable whether the university is the right place to seek to control this discourse. According to Concordia University President Alan Shepard, the
The Tribune is hiring editors! for news, opinion, student living, features, arts & entertainment, scitech, sports, photo, and design.
Send CV, cover letter, and 3 writing samples to editor@mcgilltribune.com
university is built on three essential pillars: Academic freedom, free speech, and mutual respect. But suddenly it seems as though two of these values are not worth defending in the face of growing extremism for the Concordia administration and the MSA. Indeed, a university has to balance between the rights of students to have access to academic books and its obligations promote a healthy and safe environment for debate. But for students at the university level to debate such ideas, they need to have books for both sides of the controversy. Isn’t the university a place where the community can and should have debates about radicalization and extremism? As the source for academic research, the university library needs to have a variety of books that includes both sides of a historical struggle or a contemporary debate. It is then up to the students to think critically about these works, and up to the public to understand that the most controversial books are not necessarily representative of the administration’s beliefs.
8
Student Living
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Famous Montreal bagel locations Indulging in the city’s classic baked goods Meghan Collie Staff Writer It’s no doubt that one of Montreal’s claims to fame is its legacy of consistently fantastic bagels. Notable differences when contrasted with other popular types of bagels— namely the New York bagel—include the smaller size, the sweeter taste, and the denser quality. Montreal bagels are always baked in a wood-fired oven, and they contain malt, egg, and honey-sweetened water. Below is a compiled list of Montreal locations that serve the best bagels. St. Viateur Myer Lewkowicz moved to Canada from Poland in the wake of a post-Holocaust world. Having no previous experience with baking, Lewkowicz’s experience with hunger led him to help individuals find good food, and eventually found the iconic establishment in Montreal in 1957. At present, there are four St. Viateur bakeries, all run by the Morena family, who are continuing the 55-year long reputation of the company as one of the most authentic and welcoming Montreal-made restaurants to see the 21st century. From generations of families that will exclusively buy bagels from St. Viateur, to celebrities stopping in for the world famous taste of Montreal, the shops scattered across the city re-
main one of the pillars of the unique culture. The bagels—which are made with 100 per cent natural ingredients and no preservatives—are always fresh, warm, and doughy. Each bagel is hand-rolled, which becomes evident upon visiting stores. The bagels are then boiled in honey water and cooked in a wood fire oven. The chewy and delicious result is mindblowing—there’s no turning back to store-bought once you’ve tasted them. Fairmount Bagel Isadore Shlafman arrived in Canada and opened up the Montreal Bagel Bakery in 1919—the very first bagel bakery in Montreal, and the city’s very first experience with the unique Montreal recipe. The restaurant originated on Saint-Laurent and later settled down on Fairmount Street. Today, Isadore’s grandchildren continue the Shlafman legacy. All the bagels are rolled by hand and baked to perfection in a woodburning oven. Fairmount Bagel has also solidified its position as a supporter of the community by donating to various organizations, including the Diabetic Children Foundation, Opération Nez Rouge, and Children Now. With a few more flavours than St. Viateur, Fairmount Bagel features various unique styles of bagel, including chocolate chip, cinnamon
The art of making delicious bagels at St. Viateur.. (Jack Neal / McGill Tribune) and raisin, and blueberry. They also sell pretzels, Matzoh bread, and bagel chips, all baked in-store. But it doesn’t stop there; various sandwiches—including smoked meat— top the lengthy menu of the iconic restaurant. Café Elmundo Popular among the McGill community, Elmundo boasts some of the best coffee in the city. However, the well-known café also makes fantastic bagels. They take the bagels and fill them with flavourful and fresh ingredients. Chicken salad, BLT, and smoked salmon are among several of the bagel assortments. Two delicious sides are served with the bagel—either soup or salad— for under $10.00.
With an ideal location situated on the corner of Parc and Milton, you can also pair your bagel with a drink from Elmundo’s fresh juice bar, a steaming hot latte, an espresso shot, or a pastry for dessert. The staff will gladly bring the bagel and other assorted goodies over to your table for you—but be sure to ask for your bagel to be heated, since they are not baked in store. Bagel du monde Bagel du monde is a combination of minimalism and bagels. Without even a website, the restaurant located on Rue Beaubien Est simply describes itself as a landmark bakery producing assorted Montreal-style bagels. If you stop in on any given day, you will find that almost
everyone in the shop has been there before. It’s the type of place where visitors make a point to stop in at each time they visit Montreal. With reviews using words like “terriblement délicieux,” Bagel du monde is short and sweet. Its menu covers all the classics like sesame and poppy seed, but sells few toppings or spreads. Though it does not offer as many unique assortments as other locations listed, it only takes one stop at Bagel du monde to understand that its bagels rank among the most fresh and most tasty in the city. The minimalism and simplicity of the bagels offered is what makes it unique—it almost seems a shame to cover them up with loads of toppings.
Campus Spotlight: NetRoots International Non-profit organization spearheads social media strategies and web development Natalie Wong Student Living Editor NetRoots International is a non-profit organization that was created in 2011 by seven McGill undergraduate students as a Montreal chapter. The club has grown over the past four years to 50 members and expanded internationally. According to Alex Shadeed, NetRoots president and U3 Political Science and International Development student, NetRoots specializes in offering free social media consultation for non-profit organizations. “We do free social media marketing, social media strategy, and web development for charities, NGO’s, non-for-profits, [and] any organization that really needs help with [its] web presence,” he said. “Unfortunately, [social media web design are] tasks that a lot of people that work non-for-profits are not too familiar with. We found that [if students had these skills], we could translate it over to them.”
According to Vanessa Conzon, founder and former president of NetRoots, the venture was created from a desire to use acquired skills from university to give back to the Montreal community. “We were disheartened by the feeling of removal we felt between us and the community due to the constant demands of schoolwork.” Conzon said. “We realized that students are more tech-savvy than the average individual, so we decided to begin a club that would provide free social media consultations to nonprofits.” NetRoots provides the service to create and manage a free website for one year, hosted by Wix, a web design platform. Wix and NetRoots struck a deal to work together to provide affordable websites for non-profit organization. NetRoots McGill also provides a technology and strategy team to initiate effective, up-todate social media mechanisms
that will offer effective consultation. “Whenever there’s a new technology that releases social media that really helps with posting or with strategy, we make sure to [create] a presentation on it,” Shadeed said. “We document it […] to teach our consultants to make sure [that] they’re on top of their strategies and technologies to use.” NetRoots also has a strategy team that strives to be updated on effective social media strategies by exploring effective social media techniques for other nonprofit organizations, as well as for-profit organizations. “We help [organizations] develop a social media strategy […] we help them [through posting plans],” said Shadeed. “We teach them how to post [and] the most effective ways to post, [and] we develop a posting campaign to try to get other initiatives to spiral.” Several not-for-profit organizations NetRoots has helped
are Hand In Hand International, The Yellow Doors, It Is Well, and Borderless World Volunteers. “Many clubs at McGill work to raise money for charities, which is important, but we preferred the idea of interacting directly with non-profits in our community,” Conzon said. With its recent international expansion and growth, Shadeed said that NetRoots plans to create a sustainable organization in order to instigate long-term effects to help non-profit organizations. “Right now, we’re trying to grow efficiently and sustainably,” Shadeed said. “We don’t want to expand ourselves too [quickly]. We do the traditional McGill ways [of raising money] through bake sales and samosa sales. We’ve started a Kickstarter that hopefully people will catch on to.” Nicole Kim, U1 Arts, commented on the feasibility and need for an organization like NetRoots.
“There’s a lot of expertise that NetRoots consultants can provide to help expand your organization that not many people are aware of,” she said. “Social media is something we use so routinely that we underestimate its power and capacity. I think the problem is that not many people know how to harness this technology in a maximizing way, which is why NetRoots is so convenient because they provide that education.” With the growth of social media infiltrating all aspects of society, having knowledge and awareness of the technologies and strategies to build platforms is essential for all businesses, especially for non-profits that do not have the finances to supplement marketing costs. “By teaching non-profits how to maintain their websites and update their social media, we hoped to provide long-lasting help to nonprofits,” Conzon said.
9
Student Living Spring fashion features refreshing outfits
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Warm weather and bright colours to transition from the winter cold Tiffany Le Staff Writer With the rise in temperature over the past week, it is evident that spring weather is just around the corner. After experiencing the long winter and cycling through the same combinations of outfits warm enough for the Montreal winter, it’s time to let loose and experiment. Put away the common McGill winter apparel of puffy parkas, Canada goose jackets, and chunky boots. Artsy minis Montreal springs are not quite warm enough to forgo a coat, which is an advantage. Break out your houndstooth trenches, waterproof windbreakers, and cool jean jackets. Complement them with a loud, eye-catching miniskirt. Any bright pattern, colour, or textured material would be flattering in an A-line shape and would look vivid peeping out under a jacket. After a long season of drab neutral tones, a pop of colour could be refreshing. On top of that, the tennis-skirt fit is fun but not too provocative and is comfortable enough for lecture hall seats. To \create a classic look, add a turtleneck shirt on top. Finally, you have the option to finish the outfit with tights. These rain boots are made for walkin’
Flair for flare It’s always exciting when classics re-emerge under a new shape and form. Flared pants used to be the emblem of the hippie movement during the ’80s, but today, they’ve also taken on a modern twist. Wideleg flared jeans that skim the floor give a Large patterened coat complementing a simple skirt Flared pants enhanced by s black boots. (style.com) structured and and patterned dark top. (style.com) powerful look. Although rain boots may seem discomfort of wet socks. They also They can be easily matched with a to be more of a utility than a fash- offer a new way to play with tex- light sweater, white dress shirt, or ion statement, there have been a ture and shape. Mixing knits with boxy jacket, and topped off with much wider variety of trendy rain the shiny rubber will instantly add a wide-brim hat and dark sunboots available to choose from interest to your outfit. Wearing glasses. An alternative would be lately. Whether it’s a sturdy-look- a longer skirt and tall rain boots comfortable satin pants that flares ing zip-up boot with a slight heel, to expose only the knees offers a just above the ankles. With just a a rubber Chelsea boot, some clear unique shape. It’s also easy to go in sliver of skin showing above some lace-ups, or the classic tall black the opposite direction and commit chunky platform boots, this look is rain boots, rain boots are a handy wholeheartedly to the plastic—this edgy with minimal effort. Skinnies fashion statement. With the melting means glossy raincoat, clear bag, are easy to wear and super flattering, but once in a while, it’ll be nice snow and probable precipitation, and maybe some reflexive shades. to work with something new. rain boots will shield you from the
Come to the Tribune Publication Society’s Annual General Meeting
Wednesday, April 8 at 5:30 in SSMU #110
Trilogie serves decadent dumplings New Chinese cuisine added to Montreal’s decorated restaurant industry
Alycia Noë Staff Writer While Montreal is known for its plentiful and high-quality European cuisines, there are few Asian cuisines that stand out in the city’s restaurant industry. Recently opened in December 2014, Trilogie serves up traditional dumplings and accompaniments, such as fresh salads. Located in the Parc-Extension area, owner Anita Feng and her family have been delighting customers with simple and decadent Chinese cuisine. Feng, a 25-year old full-time design student at UQAM, was inspired by the process of cooking in creating Trilogie. “[For me], Trilogie is for sharing, [enjoying the art of cooking], and [having] everyone [...] involved [in the experience],” she said. The restaurant is beautifully decorated—which is no surprise since Feng has a background in design. The décor consists of wooden tables with clean lines and many decorations that seem typical of a home, such as a vintage Thermos or enamel bowl. The restaurant’s lighting provides an industrial feeling, while the front windows let in
pleasant amounts of sunlight. The dining room of the restaurant is minimalist, yet charming. Trilogie’s menu is sparse, but allows the all-women kitchen to shine and show the art of creating food in the best light. In addition to Feng, her sister, mother, and aunt help with the business. The family has roots in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Beijing. The menu has just a few dishes, but all are spectacular. It is important to also be aware that the restaurant has rather unusual hours. As Feng is a student, Trilogie is open only on weekdays for lunch and has limited seating. Nonetheless, it is well worth the visit. Chinese comfort food flows out of the kitchen in abundance. The menu changes regularly, but there are usually nice refreshing vegetable-based salads, dumplings with various fillings, either steamed or fried; and dessert options. The Chinese mushroom salad is a perfect starter. Since Feng’s father owns a grocery store in Chinatown, Trilogie has some of the freshest and most authentic ingredients available. The Chinese mushrooms, black in colour, have a gelatinous quality to them while simultaneously being crunchy. They are
dressed with sesame seeds, hot chiles, and cilantro. This dish is simple and represents a play on textures. The cucumber salad is a unanimous crowd-pleaser. Lebanese cucumbers are dressed in a black vinegar and sesame oil vinaigrette and adorned with dried Szechuan chilies, Szechuan peppercorns, and oven-roasted peanuts tossed in five-spice. This salad is a perfect accompaniment to Trilogie’s dumplings. The artful style of the dumplings are an important highlight of the restaurant. The dumplings are slightly doughy, made in a way that contrasts perfectly with the various fillings available. The dough forms a loose pocket for the filling and is not over-worked. Daily specials for fillings include pork and corn, tilapia and cucumber, and a vegetarian option of shiitake mushrooms mixed with vermicelli noodles and tofu. The best dumplings in the restaurant are called Umami dumplings, packed with pork, cabbage, and shrimp. They are pan-fried to give a wonderful textural contrast between the soft filling and the crisp dumpling dough. They are also topped with sesame seeds and cilantro for a further crunch. The aspects that re-
An artful assorment of dumplings and side dishes served at Trilogie. (Photo courtesy of Trilogie) ally take the Umami dumplings over the top are the dipping sauces. Options for sauces include a smooth peanut sauce with a little kick of heat, homemade sriracha, black vinegar mixed with chilies, black vinegar and hoisin sauce, and tamari with sesame seeds. All sauces—especially the black vinegar with chilies— brilliantly complement the filling of the
UmamiPdumplings. Desserts include fried dumplings filled with a slightly sweet purée of sweet potato. Trilogie makes some of the best dumplings in Montreal. Although located a little far from McGill, it is easy to get there using the metro and is definitely well worth the trip.
10
Student Living
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Student of the Week
By: Laura Plamondon
Andrea Boza, a U2 double Economics and Psychology major, is interested in international development. Boza elaborated on her desire to study human economics and its influence on society. “This type of research in human economics is something I [want] to further study,” Boza said. “I would love to help people by producing environments that lead to motivation, more engagement, and the belief that you can change [...] For example, I was quite intrigued by a recent study [that showed that by] placing the fruits in a cafeteria a tiny bit higher, the consumption of the apple is improved by 30 per cent.” Boza was recently enlightened by R.H. Thaler and C. R. Sustein’s book Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness, which focuses upon psychology and behavioural economics, two fields that Boza is highly interested in and would like to pursue in her future career. “There are so many things in our daily life that we go about doing but don’t stop to think about,” she said. “This book really sheds light on how we are influenced by libertarian paternalism and choice architects without our awareness.” Boza’s desire to improve the living conditions of communities in Latin America has inspired her to start a case competition and conference, the SLASummit. “I’m one of the co-chair and co-founder of the SLASummit, a social entrepreneurship conference and case competition,” Boza said. “We want to give students the opportunity to implement sustainable, development projects in Latin America communities while raising awareness.” The SLASummit is unique amongst other case competitions since it results in the real implementation of a project. “We wanted to bring about a different model of case competition that was much more tangible,” Boza said. “Thus, we are bringing hundreds of students
Andrea boza U2 Arts (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune)
from Harvard, MIT, UPenn, McGill, and others, and will give them three very specific studies on communities in Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. They will then have to come up with a project, compete in a case competition, and the winner is allocated $5,000 to make the project happen.” Boza is an open-minded individual who is not afraid to stand up for her own opinions. Whereas most of her friends and family back home in Barcelona want bCatalonia’s independence from Spain, Boza deviates in her position. “It’s tough because everyone back home is constantly trying to make me change my views and join the separatist movement, and I understand where they are coming from,” Boza said. “I think the problem is that the issue is very much tied to the whole idea of language. Culture’s impact on identity [is] making people take the issue very personally. Furthermore, in the past, the government has been very obstinate and hasn’t listened to these voices, which has simply fuelled the movement along.” Boza explained how her living in Quebec has influenced her opinions. “Coming to Quebec and seeing how the issue is being dealt with here has led me to take a different perspective, and I believe that Spain and Catalonia can still benefit from their union,” she said. Boza wants to use her knowledge in human economics and interest in international development to look for sustainable ways for individuals to pursue engagement and innovation within communities. “I would like to find effective ways to help people by producing environments that lead to motivation and more engagement,” she said. “I find the beauty of the summit and case competition lies in the little restriction the participants have, since I believe fewer limits promotes creativity.”
Making the Simple
Exquisite How to make tomato sauce By Alycia Noë
Ingredients: 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
MT: Do you have any hidden talents? AB: I’m a really good multi-tasker.
nominate a
student of the week! Email us at studentliving@ mcgilltribune.com
Step 1
Place a large pot over medium heat.
Step 2
1 onion (diced) ½ head of garlic (minced) 1 tube tomato paste
Heat olive oil and add onions, garlic, and seasonings.
Step 3
Cook until onions are translucent.
Step 4
Add tomato paste to onions and cook for approximately 5 min.
toes that are in season instead of canned. You will need to buy a large amount of tomatoes (15-20).
Recipe makes around 8 cups of sauce.
MT: Which TV series would you like to star in? AB: Friends
Steps:
2 cans diced tomatoes 2 cans San Marzano tomatoes (substitution – 2 cans of whole plum tomatoes)
A key accessory to making many great meals is a simple and easy tomato sauce. While many resort to buying canned sauce, a homemade tomato sauce is not only cheaper, but can also be adapted to specific tastes and built upon to make classic dishes.In the summer, try using fresh toma-
McGill Tribune: What is the best Place on earth? Andrea Boza: La Costa Brava, a rocky coast. MT: What is your favourite food? AB: Chocolate
Step 5
Seasoning to taste: Salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, red pepper flakes, 1 bay leaf
In the summer, try using fresh tomatoes that are in season instead of canned. You will need to buy a large amount of tomatoes (15-20).
Add cans of tomatoes or fresh tomatoes (chopped and cored).
Step 6
Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to low.
Step 7
Allow sauce to simmer for at least half an hour, making sure to stir every 15 minutes.
About our endorsement process In order to present the most informed endorsements as possible, we attended the debates and conducted individual interviews in person with each of the candidates. The Tribune Editorial Board debated and discussed every candidate in depth and voted on our endorsement for each position. Each endorsement required a two-thirds majority vote. Should you have questions about our endorsement process, please email us at editor@mcgilltribune.com.
SSMU Elections president
Kareem Ibrahim Kareem Ibrahim holds two years of Legislative Council experience, as well as a year of being an Arts Senator. He centres his platform around improving communication between SSMU and students, improving how inclusive and accessible SSMU is, and advocating strongly for students on issues like McGill’s budgetary cuts. Ibrahim says he plans to reach out to students through various accessible social media platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram. He also lists biweekly video updates and mandating councillors to write midterm and end-ofsemester reports as ways to inform students of SSMU’s operations. Ibrahim’s platform on inclusion and accessibility includes making online spaces updated and accessible to everyone. According to Ibrahim, building conversations around concrete items with students from a diversity of back-
grounds will help bridge the gap between groups that have different opinions on campus. “It’s important students have a space for conversation,” Ibrahim said. “I want to give the microphone to students and want to hear what students want [....] Creating these channels [to do so] will be the largest part of my work as president.” In terms of increasing accessibility to SSMU, Ibrahim gave the example of adopting simplified standing rules for General Assemblies, as well as inviting more faculty associations to Council. Ibrahim also emphasized that he would advocate for student interests towards the McGill Senate and Board of Governors in issues such as the indigenous territory acknowledgment, the sexual assault policy, and the preservation of student services in response to McGill’s financial issues. Ibrahim cited the extended library hours funded by SSMU as an example of how SSMU could act as a buffer against McGill’s potential cuts to services.
Alexei Simakov Alexei Simakov is a U3 Arts student and a newcomer to the world of student politics who is running for president for the 2015-2016 school year. Simakov, who has been involved with Conservative McGill and worked with the Moderate Political Action Committee (ModPAC) to break up the student strikes in 2012, is basing his campaign on political neutrality as a means of ensuring campus unity. According to Simakov, SSMU should concentrate on general aspects of student life that affect all students, not specific things that individual groups can handle. For him, this means having SSMU take a step away from what he describes as the specific interests of “niche groups” on campus, and focusing on goals that the majority of students are concerned about: Opening the Redpath Library
doors, resolving the issues behind AUS SNAX’s Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the university, and supporting the drafting of a sexual assault policy. Simakov has no prior experience with student governance, something he openly acknowledges. “I’m not someone who’s been engaged with student government at any point, I’ve always been the opposition,” Simakov said. “I’m not someone who understands perfectly the functioning of student life [….] That’s something I will learn along the way.” To supplement his lack of experience, Simakov has stressed that he will learn during summer training and spend his time in office focusing on what he believes are the concerns of the majority of students, with the ultimate goal of having a student body that is both heavily engaged with and allied to their student government.
Our endorsement: Kareem Ibrahim The two candidates for this position come from nearly opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of experiences and approaches to this position. The SSMU president is expected to be a leader both within the executive and within Council at large, and Ibrahim is the candidate who inspires the most confidence in his ability to be a successful president. Ibrahim will bring to this position an intimate knowledge of what is required to be an engaged member of SSMU’s governing institutions based on his work with Council, Senate, and various committees and working groups. He has served as an active member of SSMU Council, has consistently shown an interest in the betterment of student life, and has suggested more feasible plans to implement, such as mandating councillors to publish frequent reports on
their progress. However, Simakov has highlighted concerns that many students have about their representatives and the way in which SSMU functions as a governing body during this campaign. In effect, his candidacy has forced current representatives and the other candidates to look inwards in an attempt to understand where the growing disconnect between students and SSMU exists and how to address these key issues. For Ibrahim to succeed in his mandate, he must ensure that SSMU representatives do a better job of communicating to, connecting with, and being receptive to their constituents. Representation and consultation have been primary themes during this campaigning period; it is imperative that Ibrahim
VP Internal
Lola Baraldi
Johanna Nikoletos
After having been involved in student governance for three years, Lola Baraldi is running for VP Internal with the goal of reorienting the portfolio to prioritize new events. In order to do so, Baraldi believes that it is important for the VP Internal to bring more clubs and groups to the table to collaborate with SSMU and the faculties, as well as work with the faculties to see what they want from SSMU. Baraldi’s platform consists of three main pillars: Community building, communication, and innovation. One of the key aspects of Baraldi’s community-building plan is to further integrate the French community into student life, particularly by working with the Francophone Affairs Commission to create spaces where the francophone community can engage in events and discussions on campus. Baraldi has also said that she intends to reach out to the Milton-Parc community and other associated groups when organizing frosh to make sure that the event runs smoothly. Baraldi has several ideas for the communication part of her platform, including monthly summaries of the activities of SSMU executives, SSMU awareness campaigns, and introducing an online calendar of events. Baraldi stated that she plans to speak with the Concordia student society to see how it implemented its calendar. Finally, Baraldi also focuses on creating a larger variety of events that cater to more students. This would include expanding beyond the Students’ Society Network Program (SSPN) to create a new committee that would reach out to clubs for event planning and see which ones are interested in collaborating. “There’s a bit of history of the status quo in the portfolio, so my goal is to kind of reorient the portfolio and maximize its potential in a lot of ways,” Baraldi said. “The student engagement committee […] was brought to council this year, but it’s been inactive, so that’s something to enforce [….] With the second event planning committee that I’d like to put in place on top of SSPN, I see that as the committee that would have that role, to reach to groups on campus in terms of how relevant they are to events we want to plan and to share resources.”
Nikoletos’ platform is focused on SSMU’s relationships with its students and expanding orientation week. Nikoletos explained that she would introduce new lines of communications based on existing student groups if elected. “I really think that SSMU needs to start fostering a strong connection with its students, reaching out to all students in different student groups and faculties,” she said. “I want to streamline the flow of information so that students are getting information that’s relevant to them [....] For example, the First Year Council would be a really useful resource to be able to target first-year students.” Nikoletos also highlighted street marketing teams as another communications initiative. “Groups of students join street teams, standing on campus and personally reaching out to people,” she said. “I think listservs and social media definitely have their place, but they’re really overused [....] Having people in person [...] whether it’s to promote events, raise awareness about issues, [or] collect feedback from students, is going to be one of my projects next year.” Nikoletos also stated that her previous experience working as an Arts frosh coordinator would help her implement more inclusive events at frosh. “There are [still] a lot of drinking-based events, so I think [we can] follow the same model that we followed for frosh this year by including more programming for events,” she said. “When I was working on Arts frosh this summer, one of the new events we implemented was having a movie screening on lower field [....] It’s a really attractive event because it’s open to everyone and all people can participate, even if they’re not a part of frosh. ”
Our endorsement: Lola Baraldi Both candidates have similar platforms in their calls for increasing communication with students and the variety of events offered by SSMU. Although Nikoletos has identified some of the key issues that have faced the Internal position in the past, her platform lacks the depth and concrete plans that would lend themselves best to the position. However, there seems to be certain elements of overlap in Baraldi’s platform with the External portfolio, such as the proposed coordination with the Francophone Affairs Commission and the Milton-Parc community, and we would like to see how exactly the two positions would work together under Baraldi’s
proposal. Her platform also seems to lack specific details on how to better foster relationships between SSMU and faculties, particularly those that have voiced concerns in the past about a lack of connection with SSMU. Ultimately, Baraldi’s more extensive experience on Council and with student governance in general will be valuable in the Internal position, particularly with regards to expanding the reach of the portfolio. She also has more specific plans for developing working relationships, such as working with Athletics, Bianca Tétrault—the Liaison Office (Harm Reduction) for frosh—and the administration.
VP finan
Zacheriah Hou
Zacheriah Houston is the sole candidat Operations position for the 2015-2016 schoo sists of addressing various aspects of the ing, club audits, services, and general finan on these, mainly by providing more transpa information. “People shouldn’t have to dig through C information about our budget,” explained Ho ston, his main aim is to present the documen make students more aware of this informatio Increased transparency is the foundatio ston’s platform is based, emphasizing the ne and divestments, funding processes, and lon heavily-analyzed and available to students. Houston also plans on collaborating he club audits as his biggest plan of action. He a auditing process into one that is easier to en new clubs and those unsure of the steps in o ing. He hopes to do this by streamlining the clubs with respect to funding. “I want to increase the information but a formation [... by] really consolidating it to on with an application,” said Houston. “I’d to li cess in terms of letting groups know wheth [for funding] and [clarify] expectations and d
Our endorseme
The Tribune endorses Zacheriah Houston for th Operations. Houston has demonstrated a strong unders committees, as well as its relevant bylaws. His stated for club funding and review the funding application p ity to and improve on the current instalment-based f Houston’s aim to create a Club Audit Committee w behind club audits. Houston has committed to improving upon The with more revenue from increased catering services, an ning meetings with the VP Internal. Furthermore, he communicating budgets and fees to students, and aims finances. However, it is important for Houston to elabora the budgets for The Nest and club audits as he move must ensure that he communicates budgets clearly t there have been concerns raised from the student bod past year. Although Houston’s ideas for frequent audits infeasible to run them routinely considering the amou require.
nce
uston
te for the VP Finance and ol year. His platform conposition, primarily fundnces. He plans to expand arent financial and budget
Council documents to find ouston. According to Hounts in a clearer fashion and on. on on which most of Houeed for making investment ng-term budget goals more
eavily with clubs, naming aims to change the budgetngage with, especially for rder to receive their funde information available for
also remove redundant inne set of instructions along ike to standardize the proher they’ve been accepted deadlines for them.”
ent: Yes
he position of VP Finance & standing of the position and its desire to improve the bylaws process will help bring stabilfunding system. Furthermore, will help improve the logistics
Nest so that it breaks even by nd plans to sit in on frosh planrecognizes the importance of s to increase interest in SSMU
ate and flesh out his plans for ves into the position. Houston to students, particularly since dy regarding the budget in the s are good in theory, it may be unt of time and energy audits
VP clubs & services
VP university affairs
Kimber Bialik
Chloe Rourke
Kimber Bialik’s portfolio revolves around the improvement of communication and visibility of clubs. She also aims to reinforce the importance of clubs and services amongst Council and improve the ease of access to resources for clubs. Bialik’s main focus concerns the improvement of the feedback system used by clubs and the consultation processes with clubs and services. “The biggest issue is the lack of consultation for clubs on policies,” Bialik said. Another important issue for Bialik is the need for SSMU to provide more resources to clubs when it comes to implementing policies. “[We] need to give clubs the opportunity to self-administer,” Bialik said. “[This can be done by] providing more resources rather than more oversight.” Bialik stated that SSMU’s ClubHub—an initiative currently being tackled by current VP Clubs and Services Stefan Fong that aims to regroup all the information for clubs in one place—should be continued in the following years as it is may be able to provide clubs with important resources in a streamlined manner. She also stated her plans to continue pushing the university to allow clubs to use “McGill” in their names. With regards to the negotiations for co-curricular transcripts, Bialik expressed a strong interest in addressing some of the challenges posed by the project so that it may go through in the long-term. “I think it’s a really interesting initiative, and students deserve to be recognized for the hard work they’ve been putting in,” she said. “We [just] need to find a [better] way to [administer] the process.”
Chloe Rourke hopes to boost the credibility of SSMU, improve sexual assault support systems on campus, focus on mental health initiatives, and prioritize study spaces for students. Using her experience as a facilitator of the Active Bystander Workshop series, she intends to focus on passing McGill’s new sexual assault policy in order to address areas of sexual assault not currently covered by McGill’s sexual harassment policy. Additionally, she intends to push strongly for more mental health initiatives. She hopes to get support for these initiatives by improving the unity between SSMU mental health initiatives and other mental health clubs on campus, pushing for a mental health committee, and encouraging professor training. Many of Rourke’s priorities are student oriented. She recognizes current problems with student participation in Senate and intends to improve communication to the general public. She also plans to lobby McGill to continue its commitment to accessible funding for students needing assistance, especially with the bursary program. She sees problems with raising student tuition and hopes that the bursary program can compensate for it. She also hopes to work with coordinators to push McGill to pay for improvement fees, rather than having students pay. “I’ve been to meetings with the library improvement fund coordinator,” Rourke said. “[It’s expensive] to just house a book on a shelf for a year, and that’s because the space at McGill is at such a premium and it costs money to keep those books there, whereas it could be a quarter or less of that price to host those books off-site [.... I’d like to see] the Library Improvement Fund to fund projects that are going to make our libraries more accessible and comfortable study spaces.”
Our endorsement: Yes The Tribune endorses Kimber Bialik for the position of VP Clubs and Services (CS). She is engaged with clubs and services currently as Interest Group Coordinator (IGC) and has concrete ideas for change, including plans to advocate for usage of the McGill name by clubs and services. Bialik’s grasp on the administration’s hypocrisy— using SSMU clubs and services as advertising while denying student usage of “McGill” in group names—is just one example of her nuanced knowledge of issues facing clubs and services. Bialik has additionally demonstrated this intricate understanding through her IGC position and as the current president of three SSMU clubs. For example, Bialik cites bureaucracy of SSMU as a hindrance to clubs’ abilities to align with SSMU policies, and she advocates for providing resources as opposed to oversight to address these roadblocks. Representatives of many SSMU clubs have credited Bialik for her help in supporting and streamlining their efforts to conduct audits and update constitutions. Bialik’s understanding of the shortcomings and potential of both ClubHub and myInvolvement further demonstrate her grasp of the CS portfolio. We look forward to the implementation of various efforts that will allow usage of both to become common and streamlined. Bialik also recognizes some of the failures of the CS portfolio—particularly club outreach by SSMU clubs representatives, and failures to take clubs’ interests into careful consideration in SSMU’s decision-making. Through her past years of working with SSMU and SSMU clubs, Bialik has clearly demonstrated the competency and background needed to perform well as next year’s SSMU VP CS.
Our endorsement: Yes The Tribune endorses Rourke for the position of VP University Affairs (UA). Chloe’s commitment to addressing mental health issues on campus is commendable, and she has substantial experience in this field—Rourke volunteers with the Peer Support Network (PSN), and sits on the Mental Health Service Advisory Board (MHSAB) and the SSMU Mental Health Committee. Rourke further emphasized the need for communication between students and professors with regards to the withdrawal policy that was passed at Senate, which would aid in mental health-related needs in academics at McGill. Rourke also hopes to lobby the university to adopt a student-driven policy institutionalizing support for survivors, but acknowledges the need for tenacity and strong teamwork to effectively lobby the administration. Rourke’s past experience as an Arts and Science senator will also help her advocate for student interests. Rourke also hopes to hold the university accountable, with special regards to the Memorandum of Agreement negotiations taking place next year, which is essential to ensuring that negotiations are undertaken in an efficient and transparent manner. Rourke displays an intimate understanding of the disconnect between students, SSMU, and the administration. Her previous experience and her commitments to bridging this gap certify Rourke’s ability to succeed as SSMU’s VP UA.
14
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Classical struggle Investigating McGill’s lack of accommodation for formally trained non-music majors Evie Kaczmarek Staff Writer It’s old news that playing an instrument is associated with heightened intelligence—countless studies have been done to show that musical education has a beneficial effect on cognitive functioning among children and adolescents. For example, kids who take music lessons have increased mathematical and spatial abilities. Even more interesting is that these effects carry on throughout life: Increased IQ and academic performance are observable in undergraduates that have been trained to play an instrument in childhood. As such, it is only reasonable to assume that a school as prestigious as McGill University must be full of former music students. After a little investigation, I found that hiding under many freshly pressed lab coats are former cellists, using their nimble fingers to carry test tubes across the lab. Throughout the floors of McLennan are Econ students pining for their high school jazz bands. Pianists eat at the Engineering Café
J
ordana Saks, a U2 Cognitive Science student, attended her first piano class at age four and by age nine was placed private lessons for classical training. By the end of high school, she was training for the Associates of Conservatory Canada of Music exam and practicing five hours a day for six to seven days a week. When I asked her why she chose to take an academic route rather than a musical one, she laughed and smiled wistfully, exclaiming, “Oh, that is the question!” After much back and forth, she had chosen to study cognitive science and minor in music, hoping to potentially pursue a career in music therapy. “I didn’t want to do a full music program,” Saks explained. “I wanted to learn about other things in the world but also have the skill to play whenever I wanted [....] Along the road, I hoped it would lead me to something with music and brain research. But when I got to McGill, they told me I couldn’t minor in music and that was really upsetting.” Unfortunately for Saks, the assumption was just a miscommunicated technicality. While Saks is too far into her time at McGill to fit in any music electives, she did find a music community in Montreal during her second year that she was able to thrive in. The Montreal Heart of the City Program is an outreach program that provides free piano lessons to children living in underprivileged areas. As a committee member, Saks believes that this club allows pianists like her to give back to what they love.
and oboists pore over pages of political philosophy. There are even Management students with Beethoven running through their heads during marketing meetings. During my own childhood and high school years, I studied violin privately, played with various orchestras and ensembles, and even performed at Carnegie Hall with my youth symphony during my senior year of high school. Although I didn’t see myself pursuing music as a professional career, I was certain that it would always be an integral aspect of my life and my identity. Coming to McGill as a non-music major, however, did not make this easy. I struggled to find any kind of classical music community that was not exclusive to the music conservatory, and I was disappointed that the school did not provide private lessons or formal ensembles for non-music majors—things that schools I had applied to in the States did offer. This lack of opportunity and McGill’s rigorous academic environment forced me to push music aside. Yet I still long for the opportunity to play, and countless McGill students feel the same way.
Sandhya Sabapathy, a U3 Anatomy and Cell Biology student, spent her formative years training within the genre of vocal Indian classical music. Growing up, she moved to various places around the world, but one of her constants was being able to spend her summers visiting India and studying music and yoga. “I enjoyed it, I loved going to India and learning,” she said as she walked me through her complex musical journey. The nature of this music is spiritual and it fed her soul and sense of self in a way that she described to be integral to her upbringing. During Sabapathy’s first year at McGill, she started her own SSMU-affiliated music club, Ettuchantes, a collective of singers and instrumentalists. The purpose of the club was to help herself and others stay in touch with their music and culture. “With Ettuchantes, I wanted to recognize that there were so many different cultures here and so many different types of music,” Sanbapathy said. “And there were people who were really good at these different types of music.” Sabapathy faced multiple challenges in running the club. For one, fusing different styles and backgrounds wasn’t always easy. Furthermore, the egalitarian nature of a student-run music club was sometimes an issue. Learning from peers rather than formal instructors can lack structure and therefore, quality. Sandhya emphasized that, ideally, non-music majors could
learn by working and creating with music majors, but that kind of community just doesn’t exist at McGill. “There is a huge disconnect between music and non-music students, which should not be the case,” she argued. “What I don’t entirely understand about McGill is that we have an amazing music faculty—we have the best musicians in the world performing here. So why is music such a confused thing when it comes to student community?” Another issue that Sabapathy ran into was the music minor available to non-music students. She had looked for a minor concentrating on music performance. Instead, she found that the music minors available are only theory or tech-based, which to her was less appealing. “I genuinely think that McGill has so much talent, even non-music majors,” Sabapathy reflected. “Music is like math in a way, you kind of always have to be in touch, and you have to practice. You have to be surrounded by musicians to be in that kind of a mindset.”
I also spoke with Ross Cohen, a freshman at Northwestern University just outside of Chicago. He studies theatre but also has an extensive music background playing classical and jazz trumpet throughout high school. He described Northwestern’s musical environment, which seemed to depart from McGill’s. “The [fine] arts have a really solid place at Northwestern,”
Cohen explained. “There are a lot of people like me who played an instrument all throughout high school, and decided not to pursue it, but who still want to be playing [....] Our school takes a lot of collective pride in the arts.” The difference seems to be that the students at Northwestern have a much easier time participating in music, with varying levels of formal structure and time commitment. “There’s an orchestra, a wind
ensemble, and if you’re really good you can get into a jazz group,” Cohen said. He also explained how there are various a cappella groups, pit orchestras, an improv group with a live band, and a marching band. Although McGill isn’t lacking in all of these categories, there certainly seems to be little knowledge of them among the general population, and there is no central cohesion or community linking them together.
For years, there has been discussion of whether it is problematic that McGill lacks an emphasis on fine arts for non-music students. Many feel that a strictly academic environment creates students who are too single-minded. Classes like “The Art of Listening” and “Introduction to Jazz” are wonderful electives for non-music students, but are often seen as basic for anyone with an extensive music background. Like Sabapathy emphasized, “music is such a wonderful release and a major source of outlet for stress.” It is important that even for the most ‘academic’ of students, music and art does not become completely blotted out. Otherwise, how does McGill expect to produce well-rounded, dynamic individuals?
15
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Iran gets spaghetti westernized in latest film
S M L FI VIEW RE Anna St. Clair Contributor
Director Ana Lily Amirpour is billing A Girl Walks Home at Night Alone as Iran’s first vampire spaghetti western, as though vampire spaghetti western is a popular genre in Hollywood. While entirely in Farsi and featuring an Iranian cast, the film was shot in southern California, which barely passes for Iran. The film is more than just a blend of western and horror though; it has all the superhero vigilantism of The Dark Knight (2008)—without all the explosions. Whenever a film looks at the awkwardness of human-vampire romance, it’s impossible not to think of Twilight (2008), but it is the hauntingly beautiful images and intricate sensory details that make this film a truly unique viewing experience. The film opens on Arash (Arash Marandi) looking like James Dean in dark sunglassess and a tight white t-shirt as he smokes a cigarette and leans
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night bends genres for unique experience
against a dilapidated wall. He then hops around the wall and produces a fluffy cat, which he cuddles as he walks away. Any sense that we’re dealing with a hard-boiled tough guy has evaporated, and for much of the film, his too-cool look is an ironic contrast to his innocent and timid disposition. He is a boy just trying to get by. He struggles to take care of his heroin addicted father and pay his father’s debts to the drug dealer. Yet despite his lonely, hopeless existence, he works hard to afford himself a sole luxury: His pristine 1950s automobile. Then enters the stranger to the ghost town. Instead of riding in on a horse, the anonymous Girl (Sheila Vand) patrols the nighttime streets of Bad City on a skateboard, her chador flying behind her like a superhero cape. To select her prey, she shadows and sometimes interrogates those who wander alone at night—and then she becomes a ‘moral authority.’ Those who are criminals get eaten, yet she is not entirely just in her killings. At one point, she snaps the neck of a homeless man, who appears innocent. Despite the barren mood and sense of hopelessness that permeates the film, Amirpour also brings a subtle, ironic sense of humour. When Arash meets
the Girl on his way back from a costume party, he is dressed as Dracula and struggling to speak through his phony plastic fangs. In the intimate scene that follows, they embrace, and Arash’s costume no longer seems to be a disguise, but rather a point of similarity for himself and the Girl. The true Sheila Vand stars as the unnamed beauty in this Iranian vampire film. (iranianfilmdaily.com) power of the film There is not a whole lot of on me”—another humorous nod to the comes from the focus on the auditory and visual details that make the realistic dialogue in the film, so Amirpour Girl’s vampire existence. Here are two equally as disturbing as the horrific.The relies on images to tell the story, and people alone and unloved with no one hiss of heroin boiling in a bent spoon she does so exquisitely. In the long watching out for them. They have made manages to be just as chilling as the the take of Arash and the Girl moving in mistakes yet they struggle for justice. crunch of a finger between the girl’s slow motion through her apartment, And despite the incompatibility of an fangs. The camera indulges and lingers not much happens physically; he gets anonymous vampire and a naive youth, on the tragic, beautiful images of Bad up from the bed and rests his head on they find a connection. A Girl Walks Home Alone at City. The shots of oil drills moving in hers. This simple movement is laced a robotic back and forth rhythm and a with suspense and meaning. Each of Night will be shown at Cinema du Parc mangy dog limping through the desert Arash and the Girl’s tiny movements (3575 Parc) until Thursday, March 19 show the truth of Bad City—it is enthralls us, as the soundtrack repeats at 9:15 p.m. Student admission is $10. over and over, “This fear’s got a hold isolated and hostile to love and hope.
It feels good to let go
Argentinian film balances introspection with raw humour Elie Waitzer Sports Editor
Co-produced by legendary Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (of Volver (2006) fame), Wild Tales will make you laugh, shake your head, and turn to the stranger next to you to make eye contact. In his first feature-length film, Argentinian director Damián Szifron threads the common theme of revenge through six disconnected vignettes, each lasting around 15 minutes. Revenge might not actually be the right term in this case—it’s more about the pleasure of losing control, giving into the animal urges held in check by human propriety. Each story line thrusts characters into stressful or otherwise extreme situations, and lets the viewer watch as they crumple up the script dictated by society and release their inhibitions. Perhaps most impressive is Szifron’s ability to pack so much into so little time. Constructed with the economy of a good short story, the viewer is given all the information needed within the first few minutes of each vignette. The first one begins with a woman asking a flight attendant if she can still get air miles on a companypurchased ticket. On the plane, the woman strikes up a conversation about her lousy ex-boyfriend, Pasternak, with the passenger beside her, who
Say hello to director Damián Szifron, who impresses with his first feature-length film. (sightonearth.com) happened to ruin Pasternak’s budding career. Several other passengers overhear, stepping forward as Pasternak’s grade-school teachers, therapists, and classmates, and they gradually come to the sickening realization that everyone on the plane had their tickets bought by the same company. Pasternak, of course, is in the cockpit, at the controls of the fate of his tormentors. Throughout the movie, Szifron uses images of wild animals to establish the duality of freedom versus society. In the title sequence, each name is set
against a still of a safari animal, and in the plane feature, the woman flips through a National Geographic feature of a lion chasing a gazelle. While the transformation from human to animal often results in gruesome violence, the strength of this film is the degree to which Szifron manages to infuse the violence with whimsy, hilarity, and pleasure. In each vignette, there is a specific turning point when something snaps and you can see the last strand mooring the character to the dock come undone. And once the characters let go and float away, there’s no going back.
The clarity and force of these moments is in part due to superb acting by several unknown faces such as Ricardo Darín, Leonardo Sbaraglia, and Erica Rivas, but the bulk of the praise is owed to some genius directorial choices. After a futile battle against the wrongful towing of his car leads to the destruction of his marriage, job and reputation, a demolition engineer proceeds to exact revenge by loading his trunk with explosives and having it towed on purpose. Set to dreamy pop music, the decisive scene shows the man thoroughly enjoying a
French breakfast at the window seat of a luxurious restaurant. The camera pans across a buttery croissant before following the man’s line of sight out the window and onto the street, where his car is being towed. Szifron uses music to the same effect in other vignettes, providing a joyful soundtrack to these turning points as his bloodied characters gorge themselves on wedding cake and consummate the marriage on top of the crumbs. While the movie is undeniably a comedy first, the intense situations often yield genuine insights into the power that society holds over our actions. Throughout the movie, the most savage violence occurs when no one is watching. In the third vignette, an encounter between an urban yuppie and a redneck on the open road results in both parties ending up as blackened skeletons. Furthermore—with a few exceptions—male characters carry out most of the revenge, which may or may not have been an intentional gender commentary on Szifron’s part. The exploration of the spectrum between restraint and abandon is fascinating, but don’t go see this movie for the deeper meaning—go for the pleasure. Wild Tales is playing at Cinema du Parc (3575 Parc) and Cineplex Odeon Forum Cinemas (2313 SteCatherine W) at various times this week.
16
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
#sixseasonsandamovie: Community’s self-fulfilling prophecy Max Berger Arts & Entertainment Editor Depending on how you look at it, the fact that Community will premiere its sixth season on Yahoo! Screen today is either an astonishing achievement or a preordained inevitability. On one hand, the unconventional sitcom has been fighting off (and eventually succumbed to) cancellation since 2011. Yet, while Community may not have developed the type of fan base that could prolong its run as a primetime comedy on a major network, it’s thriving in the most appropriate way possible—and on the verge of fulfilling an unlikely milestone that it unintentionally created. The origins of this go back to Season Two’s “Paradigms of Human Memory.” During the episode, the community college study group that the show is centred on—known as the ‘Greendale Seven’—is reflecting on the more tumultuous moments from their second year together. There’s a flashback where Abed (Danny Pudi), the poster boy for the show’s frequent popculture commentary and metahumour, is dressed up as the main character from NBC’s short-lived
superhero drama, The Cape. After Abed sneaks up on Jeff (Joel McHale) in the school’s cafeteria and sweeps away his lunch tray with a black cape, Jeff angrily yells, “That show’s gonna last three weeks!”—to which Abed responds, “Six seasons and a movie!” It was a typical Abed joke that didn’t have much significance at the time—other than Community taking a shot at a show from its own network or that it tried to hint at there being some kind of important benchmark for TV longevity. But over the following months, it came to completely define Community’s outspoken, cult-like fan base. In the fall of 2011 when season 3 was airing to unsatisfactory ratings, NBC indefinitely suspended the show’s run to make room for 30 Rock. With Community’s fate suddenly up in the air after a successful first two seasons, fans gave Abed’s joke a social media spin and thus, #sixseasonsandamovie was born. The hashtag took off, and by embodying the show’s playful self-awareness, provided the perfect rallying cry for the Community faithful—even the actors got on board, using it on their personal Twitter accounts. All seemed to be well after
the show returned in 2012 and finished off the third season strongly, but in an even more startling move that summer, it fired creator Dan Harmon and #sixseasonsandamovie returned. NBC did decide to go ahead with season 4, but once again delayed it until the next winter after promising an October 19 premiere—which brought back the familiar hashtag and prompted fans to ironically Tweet things like “Community’s almost back! #October19” in the buildup to its actual February 7 premiere. Without Harmon, the heart and soul of Community’s humour, season 4 was largely a disappointment—and has since been dubbed the ‘gas leak’ year both in and outside the show—but the dream of #sixseasonsandamovie never wavered. NBC wisely brought Harmon back for a fifth season, which was well-received despite losing prominent cast members Chevy Chase and Donald Glover. Again, all seemed to be well, until of course NBC finally pulled the plug it had been fiddling with for three years and cancelled Community for good. After all that Community had been through with NBC, it
are far more likely to download new episodes than watch them the traditional way. While some could argue this to be a weakness, it’s a greater indication of Community’s rare strengths. The reality is that most TV shows fizzle out after a few seasons, and when they do, their fans have usually already moved on to the next big thing. Community fans might not go out of their way to spike NBC’s ratings, but they will embody the show’s quirky aesthetic on social media and back it aggressively until they die. By creating a universe that functions as a zany critique of reality, that zaniness rubbed off on its fans enough to allow something like #sixseasonsandamovie to inspire real hope. We’ll have to wait and see if a Community movie materializes, but given the way things have played out so far, it’s hard to bet against it happening. If it does though, it’ll be the show’s best piece of meta-commentary yet.
only seems fitting that it reaches the promised land of a sixth season with Yahoo! Screen; it should be a perfect marriage between a
streaming service that has never had such a high-profile show before and a series whose niche was always with the type of viewers who
Community has fared far better than The Cape. (Suzanne Wang/ McGill Tribune)
What’s happening in Montréal alexander bullis Contributor
THEATRE — Hosanna Talented and controversial Montreal writer Michael Tremblay’s famous story of gender identity, sexuality, and struggle comes back to the stage in Montreal.
Tuesday, March 17 to Sunday, March 29 at 8 p.m. at Mainline Theatre (3997 Blvd Saint-Laurent). Student tickets are $15.
CINEMA — International Festival of Films on Art
For art lovers or cinema enthusiasts, this unique and citywide celebration of films based on art is not to be missed.
Thursday, March 19 to Sunday, March 29 at various locations. Prices vary by event; some are free.
MUSIC — Montreal Soul/ Funk Festival Volume #1 There will be soul abound at the first installment of this celebration of all things funky. Feel the funk and boogie with Static Gold, The Liquor Store, and Clay & Friends.
Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. at Casa del Popolo (4871 Blvd Saint-Laurent). Tickets are $20.
VISUAL ART — Digital Spring
Dance and shout to the internationally renowned folk-punk jams of Andrew Jackson Jihad and associated acts Jeff Rosenstock and the Smith Street Band. If you like upright bass, folksy guitar, and high-energy acts, this is the show for you.
Explore the second annual celebration of digital and graphic art in the forms of architecture, visual works, and interactive displays.
Sunday, March 22 at 7:30 at Petit Campus (57 Prince-Arthur Est). Tickets are $20.
Saturday, March 21 to Thursday, June 21, Quartier des Spectacles. Prices vary by event, some are free.
PARADE — 192nd Montreal St. Patrick’s Day Parade
MUSIC — Andrew Jackson Jihad
Get out to St. Catherine for one of the biggest parades in Montreal. It’s a central part of any St. Paddy’s ex-
perience.
Tuesday, March 22 at 12 p.m. at Rue Sainte-Catherine. Free.
MUSIC — Rep Your Flag An EDM event designed with global students in mind; a late night of international flags, face paint, and performances from artists such as DubVision and Domeno—what’s not to love?
Saturday, March 22 at 10 p.m. at Palais de Congres (1001 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Metro Placed’Armes). Tickets start at $25.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Creepy Love Songs Eric Noble-marks Staff Writer
ALBUM REVIEWS WILL BUTLER - POLICY MERGE
Run For Your Life Artist: The Beatles Album: Rubber Soul Year: December 3, 1965
When a song begins with “I’d rather see you dead little girl/ Than to see you with another man,” it’s off to a rocky start. Backed by surprisingly upbeat accompaniment, John Lennon spouts harrowing paranoia in the most polite way possible. The last track on the classic Rubber Soul track fits into the rest of the album like a bull in a china shop. So much for peace and love.
Intruder
Artist: Peter Gabriel Album: Peter Gabriel Year: May 23, 1980 While perhaps not a straightforward love song, “Intruder” is included for just being really, really unsettling. Droning through a funeral dirge, Gabriel makes no attempt to hide how creepy his protagonist’s psychotic fantasies are. Choice lyrics include “I know something about opening windows and doors” and “I like the touch and the smell of all the pretty dresses you wear” (shudder). Really makes you examine the jukebox scene from Say Anything (1989) in a different light.
Many people will recognize the name Will Butler from the popular and successful Canadian rock outfit, Arcade Fire. Policy is Butler’s first departure from his role as a multi-instrumentalist
This infamous ballad is told through the eyes of an obsessive stalker. Despite this hiccup, it remains popular as a first dance for newlyweds who maybe should have taken the lyric “You belong to me” as a bad sign. The song remains just as unsettling three decades later, although this might be more due to grotesque overplay than subject matter.
In “Lightning Bolt,” the opening track from his previous album, Scrappy Happiness (2012), Joel Plaskett sings, “This is our only chance/ For some hap-
ed” and “Sing to Me” are slow and simple piano ballads sandwiched between runaway tracks that give this album a disjointed feel, much like Foxygen’s Take the Kids Off Broadway (2012), not that it’s necessarily a bad thing. The most refreshing part of this album is Butler’s lyricism, which he uses to satirically cover topics ranging from God, to love, to cooking “pony macaroni” in “What I Want.” Even though the songs are all over the place and not particularly innovative or groundbreaking, Policy is a solid debut album and I’m interested in hearing Butler discover his own sound down the road.
-— Michael Kalman
penstance.” Now, on the verge of turning 40, the Nova Scotian rock veteran has decided to keep the temporal meditations coming on his latest album, Joel Plaskett & The Park Avenue Sobriety Test . With the lyrics “Pressure’s on/ Pressure’s on” in the first soft-toned track “Illegitimate Blues,” Plaskett introduces and contextualizes this major album theme. The following track “On a Dime” abruptly breaks the sombre mood created by the opener with the nostalgia-evoking lyrics and the inclusion of a fiddle, and the upbeat rock tone continues with “Alright/OK.” Halfway through the album, the listeners get to
dive into softer acoustics with tracks like “When I Close My Eyes” and the wonderful “Captains of Industry.” However, the inconsistent shifting between genres can be confusing for first-time listeners, as it is difficult to comprehend Plaskett’s style. The album’s strength lies in its lyrics. By paying close attention to them, the album begins to take shape and Plaskett’s overarching themes give it some unity. Overall though, it makes for fairly easy listening and would be a good accompaniment for a relaxed drive along the highway on a beautiful, sunny day. -
Karuna Warrier
MODEST MOUSE - STRANGERS TO OURSELVES GLACIAL PACE
All I Need
Artist: Radiohead Album: In Rainbows Year: October 10, 2007 The creepy loner in Radiohead’s “All I Need” is almost pitiful. Describing his protagonist as “an animal trapped in your hot car,” “a moth who wants to share your light,” and “an insect trying to get out of the night,” Thom Yorke conveys the underrated pathos that echoes through Radiohead’s best work. Nevertheless, the protagonist is still “lying in the reeds,” encouraging you to never take anything Yorke says at face value.
in the indie rock group. The first track on the album, “Take My Side,” leads the album off with a burst of energy with traditional rock instrumentation that sounds like something that could have appeared on The Fratellis’ Costello Music (2006). However, Policy is constantly at odds with catchy high-energy pop songs and slower ballads, which matches his volatile personality in Arcade Fire. The tracks “Son of God” and “Witness” are doo-wop worship pop songs with catchy hooks that are reminiscent of a song you swear you’ve heard before. “Anna” and “Something’s Coming” explore more modern and experimental sounds, with the latter reminiscent of an avant-garde interpretation of a Stevie Wonder classic. “Finished What I Start-
JOEL PLASKETT - JOEL PLASKETT & THE PARK AVENUE SOBRIETY TEST PHEROMONE
Every Breath You Take Artist: The Police Album: Synchronicity Released: May 20, 1983
17
A long time ago, we lost sight of something fundamental: The connection we had to the natural world has been severed—maybe permanently—and humanity has been left to suffer as pris-
oners to the cerebral and abstract. This is what Modest Mouse’s first album in eight years, Strangers to Ourselves , argues. You can see it in the album cover, depicting a sprawling trailer park built around a few square metres of greenery, and lyrics like “Well, we’re the human race/ We’re goin’ to party out of this place/ And then move on” require no further explanation. Modest Mouse fans will recognize this bleakness from earlier albums, but singer Isaac Brock has clearly spent the past near-decade choosing his words very carefully. Every line is delivered with maximum force, and there’s a sense of urgency and timeliness that was missing from previous albums. This is also Modest Mouse’s most
technically proficient album since The Moon and Antarctica (2000). Blaring guitars over the rambling patter of Brock’s lyrics grab you by the shoulders early in the album and don’t let go until it’s over. Songs like “Sugar Boats” dredge up memories of Modest Mouse’s avant-garde influences as accordions and strings build into a crescendo of exuberance. “Lampshade on Fire” makes a solid case for bass being the most important instrument in a band. Brock’s lyrics serve as a counterbalance to the upbeat music, reminding us that part of our humanity is missing—or maybe it was never there to begin with.
— - Chris Lutes
18
Science & Technology
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
T EVER E I L ND L I ? W
d
g
e
r
an
pa
st
tt
ern
s
Under
in
Mo
ntr
eal’s cold
we
h at
Infographic by Hayley Lim
N
lydia kaprelian Staff Writer
othing about this winter has seemed particularly remarkable. There were no freak snowstorms, no -30 degrees Celsius days—yet, dejection towards the weather remains pervasive throughout campus. By February, checking the weather forecast simply becomes a measure of insanity: Why check when you know that it will produce a nearly identical forecast as the day before? “I think the primary contributor to the misery this year is persistence,” explained Chair of McGill’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, professor John Gyakum. Instead of the news-catching days of extreme temperatures, streaks of cold patterns have made this winter one for the books. “During the months of January and February, we had a sum total of [only] three days in which the temperatures got as high as zero degrees Celsius or above,” Gyakum said. “Three days, out of 59 days. That has not happened since records were beginning to be taken.” The overwhelming pattern of cold days spurred an investigation of the winter’s temperature variations. Standard deviation—a measure used to quantify the distribution of data points—can be applied to understand the temperature variability of this past season. For January and February, the standard deviation of temperature values was only 4.1 degrees Celsius, compared to previous wintertime standard deviations averag-
ing in the double digits—indicating past years have had more variation in temperature. “We have times where we’re stuck in a warm pattern and we have a ton of warm days, and then the next winter, we have a cold pattern where we’re stuck with a lot of cold days,” explained McGill Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences associate professor Eyad Atallah. “Previously, we would expect that pattern to oscillate. But the last few winters […] have generally been exhibiting this characteristic where we have more persistent weather regimes.” Despite Montreal horror stories—including ones of temperatures reaching -30 degrees Celsius—record-breaking low temperatures have not been recorded since 1994. Historically, Montreal’s winter climate has been characterized by variability and sunshine. But lately, the weather, or flow, patterns have been noticeably stagnant. “Overall, the flow pattern is slowing down,” Atallah said. “The speed of the pattern is essentially driven by the difference in temperature difference between the equator and the poles. Now, since the polar regions are warming more quickly than the tropical regions, the difference is actually decreasing over time.” With anthropocentric climate change, many weather processes are being altered due to increased global temperatures. Though it might be hard to believe in the midst of winter, global temperatures are causing a rapid breakup of Arctic sea ice. “The quality of [Arctic] ice is
substantially diminished since it’s less thick, [leading to] openings in the ice to allow heat to be transported from the ocean into the atmosphere,” explained Gyakum. The melting sea ice sets up a positive feedback loop mechanism: More sea ice lost means more heat transported into the atmosphere, which means more sea ice lost—a dangerous cycle. In other words, the Arctic basin is warming much more quickly than other areas of the world, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. Because we’re observing increased temperatures at the poles, the temperature difference between the Arctic and tropical waters is decreasing. The decrease in extreme global temperature variation is having a dramatic effect on previously well-established weather patterns. With the Arctic warmer than it has ever been, it is no longer always the coldest region in the winter, shifting global wind patterns. “Three or four decades ago, much of the source region for our bitterly cold air masses that were responsible for getting us well below [-30 degrees Celsius] were initiated in Siberia,” explained Gyakum. So then why are we not experiencing a warmer winter if we’re receiving warmer Siberian winds? This is doe to a ridge of high pressure that is redirecting winds north over Alaska. “Our winds are persistently directed at us [this winter] from the northwest instead of from the west, and it’s colder because it’s coming from a region of the globe that is ice-
locked and has had very little solar radiation this winter,” explained Atallah. The ridge of high pressure developing over the West Coast of North America began as a consequence of unusual ocean temperatures. “The pattern we have in the Pacific right now is very reminiscent of something that’s called a Pacific decadal oscillation,” Atallah said. The Pacific decadal oscillation is a natural phenomenon that has occurred in the past causing the water to be warmer than normal from Mexico to Alaska, and colder than normal in the centre of the Pacific through to Japan. With the oscillation swinging toward its positive side, there has been an increased frequency of warm and dry weather along the West Coast of North America. “The Pacific decadal oscillation is something we have observed in the past and has a natural oscillation,” Atallah said. “Now you combine that with an increased frequency for the patterns to slow down and for things to be more persistent, and then you have this sort of synergistic feedback between anthropocentric global warming and these natural patterns.” It’s impossible to derive a single origin or reason for particular weather events. It will always be a complicated marriage of natural phenomena, but with the introduction of the human element in atmospheric manipulation, predictions become even more complicated. Atmospheric scientists use ensemble climate models to make predictions on cold weather patterns.
“The pattern that we’re in right now looks like it will be more common in the next 50 to 100 years,” Atallah said. Predicting the same high and low temperatures during a specific weather pattern is easy—it’s predicting the beginning and end that is difficult. What will this new pattern of persistent temperature regimes mean for our day-to-day lives? “The problem with having persistent patterns [is] if you’re in persistent wet patterns, you’re dealing with floods; if you’re in a persistent dry pattern, you’re dealing with droughts; so the variation [not offered in persistent weather regimes] is key,” Atallah said. Extreme weather events are more likely when variation is not in the forecast. Without changes in the weather, ecosystems are quickly thrown out of balance as dry spells become longer, and wet seasons turn into floods. “What [this] means is that the chance of being in a flood or a drought is going to increase, and neither of those things are good,” explained Atallah. At this point, we have very little control over the short-term weather, but it looks like we should expect more boring persistent winters to come. Consider us lucky, suggests Atallah and Gyakum: The damage of this winter was mostly on our psyche; but for other parts of the world, economically damaging weather patterns are likely in their future.
19
Science & Technology
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Hi, Robot: How smart are our gadgets? clare lyle Staff Writer
O
ver the last 50 years, gadgets have evolved into faster, smaller, cheaper, and more accessible tools, becoming indispensable in our day-to-day lives. As technology’s role in our lives grows, so does the demand for more intelligent design. Shopping sites now predict customers’ preferences; cell phones can pay for coffee automatically; even thermostats can learn to predict when their owners will want the house a few degrees cooler. But how does technology ‘learn’? And how intelligent are the technologies we have? While intelligence is already difficult to define in humans—let alone machines—mathematician Alan Turing proposed a definition to measure the artificial intelligence (AI) of a machine that still holds true today. AI, he said, is the ability of a computer to trick a human into thinking that it is another human. “[Turing was] trying to avoid all of these philosophical questions about ‘What does it mean to be self-aware,’ ‘What does it mean to be creative,’ said Jonathan Tremblay, a PhD candidate at McGill whose research explores AI in computer games. “Instead, AI is about building something that makes you believe it’s intelligent,” When asked to define AI, professor Gregory Dudek, director of the McGill School of Computer Science, gave a similar answer. “What is AI? It’s hard to say, but I think of it as the replication of skills that humans have […] in machines,” Dudek said. “[AI research is] trying to replicate our ability to be creative, to solve problems, to think about things,
to innovate; and so to fully define AI, we have to define intelligence. These are really slippery concepts, but they’re related to problem solving, adaptation, novelty, and creativity.” A field of computer science called machine learning focuses on the adaptation aspect of artificial intelligence. “You want to figure out how an artificial agent can learn from interacting with its environment, a little bit like how animals learn by interacting with their environment,” described professor Doina Precup, a computer scientist at McGill’s Reasoning and Learning Lab. “The idea is that if you want an animal to do a certain thing, you give it positive rewards if it does it correctly and negative rewards if it doesn’t. We do very similar things with computer programs.” It’s easy to start sliding down the slippery semantic slope of anthropomorphizing when talking about machine learning, but AI research is far from building sentient robots. While great strides have been made in machine learning, most machine learning algorithms are limited to specific tasks. A program that learns to play chess, for example, won’t be able to transfer that knowledge to checkers. DeepMind, a project now owned by Google, was able to master a number of old video games but couldn’t apply what it learned from one game to another. Recognizing abstract concepts comes naturally to humans, but computers have a much harder time with it, which makes designing programs that can apply what they know from one problem to another a difficult task. This gap in reasoning has major implications for the roles that machines can fill. The real world, after all, is full of abstract concepts and general problems. A device’s ability to operate in the real world is also dependent on its abil-
ity to interpret instructions from people, which influences how well it can be integrated into everyday life. The difficulty in producing a machine that can perform a broad range of tasks means that the world is populated by many different devices, each performing one task and using AI principles to “learn” how to interact with people in that specific way. These applications have immense potential to improve the quality of people’s lives and have been made evident in the field of medical diagnostics. Computers have the ability to analyze huge amounts of data that enable them to examine the results of diagnostic tests such as MRIs or CAT scans to search for signs of disease. Precup’s research explores methods of incorporating AI into medical sensors and imaging systems. “A lot of the stuff I work on is at the interface with recording devices,” Precup explained. “So for example, you have a patient that’s hooked up to measurements of respiratory frequency and cardiac signals. Then you may want to look at that data and have a learning algorithm that predicts whether the patient will get in trouble or not so that an alert can be put out to the doctor. I’m also interested in medical imaging, so looking at images of brain volumes in patients who have multiple sclerosis. They use artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to pinpoint the areas of the brain where the problems are to measure how bad the problem is.” Despite this progress, the application of AI to health care is by no means intended to replace doctors any time soon. “[These] programs complement the work that doctors are doing,” Precup said. A more visible—and for many
(Elli Slavitch / McGill Tribune) students, more familiar—domain where AI has been applied is in the world of video games. Although people usually think of computers as taking on an adversarial role in games, Tremblay’s research looks into seeing how AI can enrich players’ experiences within a game. Essentially, he is trying to design companion characters in video games that act as if real people were controlling them. “What you’re trying to achieve is this autonomous AI that is playing with the player, and [the player] believes that they’re interacting with another human,” Tremblay said. “So this becomes a harder domain of trying to
The
OLD DUBLIN PUB & RESTURANT LIVE MUSIC
FREE ADMISSION
ST. PATRICK’S DAY Imported and Domestic draught beer on tap
MARCH 17 and Parade day MARCH 22
636 CATHCART
We have 24 beers to choose from!
861 - 4448 CORNER UNIVERSITY
understand where things are, and what [the character] should be doing, and what the player wants to do.” Even devices not traditionally considered to be smart are being affected by developments in machine learning. Google’s self-driving cars would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. Thermostats, watches, and smoke detectors can now connect to the internet, creating an “internet of things” that enables communication between devices—just like the web enables communication between people. “The internet of things is all about having things that adapt,” Dudek said. “Having a thermostat that is on the internet, but doesn’t learn, doesn’t adapt, is kind of pointless.” “Full artificial intelligence” is still a long ways off, but such concerns affect how we incorporate AI into our lives in the short term. “Humans’ willingness to trust automated systems and to use them and act with them is perhaps the lynch pin that is the most important determinant in the next 10 years of how much robotics we see in the world,” Dudek said. Even with technical and publicity challenges, the trend of increasingly connected and adaptable technology doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. “Predicting the future is canonically hard, but I think it’s fair to say that I can imagine a world where most of the things are smart to some extent,” Dudek said. “And so all of a sudden the whole world will become responsive to what we want and how we want to act. Now, how does that play out as a society? That I can’t say, but I think it will be a very excit-
20
Sports Sweet 16
elite eight
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
final four
MARCH M PREV
Kentucky (1) Kentucky West virginia (5)
Notre dame (3)
midwest
Kentucky
Abdulaziz att elie waitzer, wyatt fin
wichita wichita (7) Kentucky
Kentu
wisconsin (1) Wisconsin North Carolina (4)
xavier (6)
west
Wisconsin
Cham
Arizona arizona (2)
Top Fives Players to watch
Legendary NCAA COACHES
1. Jahlil Okafor (C) – The next Tim Duncan? That might be high praise, but the Duke star is a double-double machine with lethal post moves.
1. John Wooden – Won a record 10 national championships at UCLA, including seven consecutive ones from 1967 to 1973. Arguably the greatest legend in college hoops history, and one of the greatest coaches in sports history.
2. D’Angelo Russell (PG) – The stars seem to always shine brightest in March. The Ohio State guard has a deadly shot and great ball handling skills. 3. Frank Kaminsky (PF) – After a Final Four appearance last season, the senior big man is back and looking for a championship. He’s already won Big Ten Player-of-theYear honours, and he’s the favourite for the Naismith College Player-of-the-Year award. 4. Karl-Anthony Towns (C) – The entire Kentucky roster is essentially made up of ‘must-watch players,’ but Towns is a defensive stud. If you’re into shutdown defence, Towns is your guy. 5. Kyle Wiltjer (SF) – Gonzaga is an offensive powerhouse and Wiltjer is the centrepiece as a versatile scorer with a deadly stroke from deep .
2. Bobby Knight – Knight won 902 Division I games over a 42-year career, but his success was trumped by his temper. Sportswriter Bob Ryan said he never met anybody who cared less about what other people thought than Bob Knight. 3. Mike Krzyzewski – ‘Coach K’ played for Knight at Army, and has since led Duke to four national championships, won several Olympic gold medals as Head Coach of Team USA, and been inducted twice into the Hall of Fame. 4. Dean Smith – The legendary Tar Heel made North Carolina a household name in his time, guiding the team to 11 Final Fours and two national titles over his 36-year coaching career. 5. Adolph Rupp – Kentucky has won more college basketball games than any other school in NCAA history and Rupp is largely to thank for that. He led the Wildcats to four titles over his 41-year career.
Best names in the NCAA in 2015 1. Four McGlynn (Towson Tigers) 2. Staats Battle (NC State Wolfpack) 3. Ya Ya Anderson (Radford Highlanders) 4. Pookie Powell (Memphis Tigers) 5. Scoochie Smith (Dayton Flyers)
Best names in NCAA history 1. Scientific Mapp (Florida A&M) 2. Chris Porn (Elon Phoenix) 3. Daddy Ugbede (Drake Bulldogs) 4. Cookie Belcher (Nebraska Cornhuskers) 5. God Shammgod (Providence Friars)
Sports
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
final four
elite eight
MADNESS VIEW
Sweet 16 Duke (1)
duke utah (5) Gonzaga
ta, aaron rose, zikomo smith, ne-gagné
21
south
SMU (6) VCU
Gonzaga gonzaga (2) Gonzaga villanova (1)
ucky
Villanova louisville (4) Virginia
east Providence (6)
mpion
Virginia Virginia (2)
CINDERELLA PICKS
Wofford
Although they’ve appeared in the tournament three times in team history, the Wofford Terriers have never escaped the first round. This is a tough, physical team that is a perfect candidate for catching a high seed off guard. During its last tournament appearance in 2010, Wofford gave the heavyweight Wisconsin a scare, losing by just four points. It doesn’t hurt that the Terriers are a 12-seed—since 1985, 12-seeds have held the best record out of any seed lower than 10, winning 37.6 per cent of first-round match ups. If Wofford is going to succeed, it will rely heavily on senior guard Karl Cochran, who led the team in scoring while jacking up 256 three-pointers this season. — Wyatt Fine-Gagné
Valparaiso
Boasting a 28-5 record and top spot in the Horizon League, Valparaiso has the tools to upset traditional NCAA powerhouses. It ranked 47th in the nation in defensive efficiency and shot an excellent 38 per cent from the three-point line this season. It has excellent rebounding in Alec Peters and Darien Walker, and can move the ball around well on offence. They have the profile of every sound Cinderella pick: Good discipline, high basketball IQ, and a high pressure, persistent defence. Watch out for Peters, who is averaging 16.7 points per game this season on 49 per cent shooting and 46 per cent from distance. On defence, expect some huge plays from centre Vashil Fernandez, who controls the paint with three blocks per game. — Zikomo Smith
SF Austin
The Lumberjacks pulled off the unthinkable last season, nailing a fourpoint play to upset VCU in the first round. This year, three of SF Austin’s five starters are returning players and the team looks poised to improve after a second-round exit to UCLA last year. They face off against the Utah Utes in the first round, a team that hasn’t been in the tournament since 2009, and has won just three of their last seven games. If the Lumberjacks can upset the Utes, they’ll likely match up against the Georgetown Hoyas and Duke Blue Devils, two perennial chokers. The Lumberjacks have a potent offence loaded with veterans, and could quickly become this year’s Cinderella story. — Aaron Rose
Belmont
Sneaking into the tournament as the 15-seed after clinching the Ohio Valley Conference with an upset win over Murray State in the conference tournament, Belmont has the potential to go far if it can get past its first match up against Virginia. This team’s defence doesn’t stack up well against Virginia or any elite team in the tournament, but it does have a roster of deadly shooters and an offence heavily dependent on the three ball. This is an offence that can go red-hot or ice-cold at any time. If the defence can be at least average, Belmont has a shot at the Elite Eight. — Elie Waitzer
Sports
22
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
hockey – Mustangs 5, martlets 0
Martlets fall 5-0 to Mustangs in CIS Finals Silver medal puts a cap on another sparkling season for McGill Nick Jasinski Staff Writer Despite being the No. 1 seed in the National Championships and the defending champions, McGill was unable to successfully repeat, falling flat in a 5-0 blowout to the Western Mustangs and settling for silver. It marked the Martlets’ eighth trip to the gold medal match. The squad defeated the St. Francis Xavier University X-Women 1-0 on Saturday night to advance to the final behind a lone goal from junior forward Gabrielle Davidson with less than a minute remaining in the contest. Against Western, McGill could not maintain the momentum from its semifinal victory despite outshooting their opponents 38-15. The Martlets had outshot the X-Women 51-12 but couldn’t find the breakthrough goal until a power play with only 49 seconds left in the final period. Centre Melodie Daoust gained possession of the puck along the right side of the boards, firing a pass into the middle of the rink and towards the net. After some bouncing around and a rebounded shot, Pointe Claire, Quebec native Davidson slammed in the winning goal. “To get that goal with seconds to go was obviously huge,”
said McGill Head Coach Peter Smith. “We [believed] in ourselves, just kept going and we knew that it was going to come eventually, that we were going to get a goal, one way or the other,” Davidson said. This marked Davidson’s 31st goal in 38 games this season, tying her for the team lead along with her linemate, forward Leslie Oles. The strongest performance from the St. Francis Xavier squad came from goaltender Sojung Shin, who recorded 36 saves and kept the X-Women in the game until the very end. On the McGill side, Martlet goaltender Taylor Hough of Toronto earned her first career shutout in 52 games played at McGill. In Sunday’s final, the Martlets continued their blistering pressure on offence but once again failed to
The agony of deafeat on the Martlets’ faces at the CIS Final. (Photo courtesy of McGill Athletics) convert chances into goals. Things quickly fell apart at the other end of the rink. The Mustangs frustrated the Martlets’ offence and answered hard on the counterattack, finishing the game 5-0. McGill allowed the five goals on just 15 shots, including two power play goals. Hough’s performance was far from that of her semifinal shutout and was pulled five minutes
into the second period after allowing three goals on just seven shots. Hough’s counterpart, Western goaltender and tournament MVP Kelly Campbell, had the tournament of her life, allowing only one goal on the 94 total shots she faced in the tournament, including games against the two best offences from McGill and the Montréal Carabins. Despite the obvious disap-
pointment that comes with a silver medal, the Martlets still had a successful season—they won the RSEQ Championship and had multiple players placed on All-RSEQ and All-Canadian squads. However, given the level that Smith holds his program to, expect the Martlets to be in the title chase once again next year as this is a program that doesn’t rebuild–it reloads.
Basketball – Lancers 60, Martlets 47
Silver medal finish for Martlets in best season ever Late rally not enough to overcome Lancer attack zikomo smith Staff Writer Although it was a historic season for the McGill Martlets, it was ultimately not a perfect one. This past Sunday, the top-ranked Windsor Lancers defeated McGill 60-47 for their fifth straight CIS Championship under McGill alumnus Chantal Valée. The Martlets recorded their best finish at the CIS Championships since they won bronze back in 1996. They were also the first RSEQ team since 2002 to play for the Bronze Baby Trophy. McGill displayed the same tenacity in the final that characterized its play throughout the playoffs. The Martlets’ frontcourt effectively matched Windsor’s all game, outrebounding the Lancers 37-34 and forcing 16 turnovers. Junior forward Mariam Sylla led the way for the Martlets with a double-double, and senior forward Gabriela Hebert pulled down 10 boards. They fell behind 21-10 by the end of the first quarter, but reduced the deficit to eight points at the half, and closed to within two points in the third. In the end, however, Wind-
sor was able to weather the Martlet surge over the final quarter to take the game and the title. The Lancers were led by CIS Defensive Playerof-the-Year Korissa Williams, who posted a stunning stat line with 21 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and six steals. “We knew it was going to be a grind,” Martlets Head Coach Ryan Thorne said. “Their experience and their discipline came through and I think that was the difference in the game.” The Martlets came out cold, and ultimately, it was a poor team shooting performance that hamstrung McGill. While Windsor shot a below-average 37 per cent from the field, it was more than enough to edge the Martlets, who made just 26.4 per cent of their 72 shots. “We shot well all season, [but] one bounce can decide a game and it wasn’t our game,” Thorne said. McGill had a wild ride to get to their first gold-medal game ever. On Thursday, they defeated the Saint Mary’s Huskies 67-59 on the back of a strong defensive effort. Hebert recorded 19 points and 12 rebounds and the team shot 91 per cent from the free throw line to advance to the
Sylla puts in work under the rim. (Photo courtesy of McGill Athletics) semifinal game against perennial powerhouse UBC. Against UBC, the Martlets needed an overtime period, but came away with a thrilling 59-57 victory to clinch a spot in the finals. Senior point guard Dianna Ros sunk the game winning free throws, and
McGill kept the Huskies from scoring to seal the win. In his 12 seasons coaching the Martlet basketball squad, Thorne has overseen a transformation marked by consistent, yearly improvement of the program. His high standards helped the Martlets devel-
op into a tough team with the tools to compete with anyone. Thorne also endured seven losing seasons before winning five consecutive RSEQ Championships. This year, he was excited to make it to the title game. Next year, he expects that his team will win it all.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
23
Sports
Sitting down with McGill Athletics and Recreation’s Director Drew Love Mayaz Alam Managing Editor With nearly 20 years of experience as an athletics director, Drew Love, McGill Athletics and Recreation’s current executive director, is the epitome of a CIS lifer. Love will be stepping down from his position at the end of this year, closing an immensely successful and impactful chapter of his life in order to focus on family and move towards retirement. “I knew I’d be going back to Ottawa at some point, it just seemed like this was the opportunity to do it now,” Love explained. “After 19 years, as well, I recognized maybe that it was time for me to move on and let other people lead the ship, and I’ll look back with fond memories.” Love, an Ottawa native, spent 26 years at Carleton as a studentathlete, master’s student, and director of recreation and athletics. When he did make the move to McGill, Love realized that it was important for him to step outside of his comfort zone in order to grow professionally and personally. “I looked at my career and real-
ly decided that I loved the job of being an athletics director, but I really wanted the opportunity to broaden it out,” Love said. “I didn’t want to retire and have my last job be at Carleton. That’s advice I would give to anyone: To not start and end their career in the same place [....] I really felt like when I had left Carleton I had done everything I could do at Carleton at the time, and I was looking for anLove walks away from university athletics. (Photo courtesy of Drew Love) other challenge competitiveness and quality in the and another opportunity.” When Love came to McGill, varsity programs. “I saw a solid foundation here, he inherited an athletics program that had strong alumni support, but one of the things that I [tried] great facilities, and positive brand to do when I came to McGill was to recognition, but lacked a degree of put the varsity programs back in the
2
The number of silver medals that the McGill Martlet basketball and hockey teams won at the CIS National Championships this past Sunday.
9.1
McGill point guard Dianna Ros’ dismal shooting percentage in the CIS National Women’s Basketball Championship game. The Martlets came up short against the Windsor Lancers, due in part to their shooting woes.
12
Shots turned away by Martlets goaltender Taylor Hough on her way to her first career shutout in McGill’s 1-0 semifinal win over St. Francis Xavier at CIS Nationals.
24
Tribune
Athlete of the Week Gabrielle Davidson Hockey – Forward Junior – Mangement The 2013 RSEQ Rookie-of-the-Year has come a long way in two years. After leading the Quebec league in scoring, Davidson added another dimension to her already impressive game this season, tallying 34 assists to go along with 31 goals. She took it to another level in the playoffs, recording 14 points over nine games—none more important than her clutch game-winning goal against St Francis Xavier to propel McGill into the CIS gold medal game. While the Martlets couldn’t overcome a strong Western squad, Davidson’s accomplishments this season are nonetheless impressive. She was named a second team All-Canadian, and first team All-RSEQ on the strength of a dazzling 65point campaign. Entering her fourth year, Davidson will bring a veteran presence to next season’s Martlet squad, and will look to lead the team back to the CIS finals for another shot at the title.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 ( Continued from page 23) forefront of peoples’ minds,” Love said. During his tenure, McGill’s varsity programs have taken enormous strides—McGill teams have hoisted a bevy of league titles and multiple national championships, and nearly all CIS teams have qualified for CIS National Championships. Love highlighted the importance of the coaches and student-athletes in these successes. “I believe very strongly that to be successful, it starts with great coaching, good recruiting, and great student-athletes,” Love said. “[By] giving the coaches that we had both administrative support and financial support, [we gave] them the opportunity to be successful. They didn’t in any way let us down.” Over the course of his long career, Love has seen the landscape of university sports shift drastically. Within the past decade, the role of the student-athlete within the sporting world has changed thanks to the increasing corporatization of university athletics. It has undoubtedly impacted universities and increased their emphasis on athletics as a barometer of success. McGill Athletics has been forced to adapt
to these broad trends. “There is the incredibly challenging situation we have in some of our higher profile sports to be competitive [...] and how we can hold that in perspective with the student athlete,” Love explained. “We have to maintain the student and student-athlete, and that’s going to be a challenge with some of the schools that are investing heavily in sports and therefore are measuring success by wins and losses, and not necessarily by the number of students that graduate.” Looking back on his career, Love acknowledged that there have been a multitude of difficult decisions to make that have had immense impacts on varsity programs, coaching personnel, and student-athletes’ lives. Despite the difficulty at the time and the benefit of hindsight, he said that he wouldn’t have done things differently. “I’ve been okay with those decisions and I recognize that I made what I felt to be the right decision at the time,” Love explained. “What I’m very thankful for is that I’m leaving and I really had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people, and am looking forward to moving on and letting someone take up the torch.”