McGill Tribune Vol. 34 Issue 5

EDITORIAL

Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Volume No. 34 Issue No. 5

Latest athletics case draws attention to need for continued reform pg. 6

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Microbeads discovered in St. Lawrence River sediment McGill researchers find microplastics in North American river for first time

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LACROSSE P. 18

CHLOE NEVITT Science & Technology Editor

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rofessor Anthony Ricciardi’s team thought they were going to be studying the Asian Clam—an invasive species—when they dropped their sediment-collecting grabs below the surface of the St. Lawrence River last year. Instead, they found the microbead—a type of microplastic defined as any debris less than five millimetres in size.

Rowshyra Castañeda, the lead researcher and a former master’s student now pursuing a degree at the University of Toronto, kept noticing small, multicoloured beads present in almost all of the sediment. When prodded, the beads, would shatter, indicating their synthetic nature.

Further tests proved the hypothesis correct; the beads were in fact made of polyethylene, the most commonly used plastic.

“These could be particles of synthetic plastics formed by fragmentation of larger plastics,” Ricciardi said. “But most of these are probably manufactured on purpose, as small granules for industrial abrasives.”

Continued on pg. 12

Redmen piled on 18 goals against an over-matched Carleton squad. (Noah Sutton / McGill Tribune)

Redmen remain undefeated on the season McGill football player charged with assault, suspended from team SSMU calls for McGill Athletics to implement proactive consent training SHRINKHALA DAWADI News Editor

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running back for the McGill Redmen football team, identified as LuisAndres Guimont-Mota, was arrested Wednesday on charges of assault and armed robbery. In response to the incident, Ollivier Dyens, deputy provost (Student Life and Learning) issued a statement explaining that Guimont-

Mota had been suspended from the football team. Guimont-Mota was arraigned in court on Thursday and subsequently released on bail.

“The Office of the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) will actively investigate the matter,” Dyens’ statement reads.

“In line with the values and policies of McGill University, we will take any and all measures that are deemed to be appropri-

ate.”

The student-athlete was arrested on Wednesday after the police received a call by Guimont-Mota’s wife claiming he had assaulted her in a case of domestic violence, the Montreal Gazette reported. The details of the hearing this afternoon were not released, though GuimontMota’s lawyer was quoted in the Gazette saying his client was a victim of assault.

Guimont-Mota had also been convicted of assault in Quebec City in 2010, according to The Globe and Mail. In 2013, he was permitted by the judge overseeing his case to serve a 90-day sentence for the charge on an intermittent basis, so that it would not affect his schedule during the football season.

Continued on pg. 2

Reality bites: Spike Lee’s latest finds the writer-director in new territory

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MAX JOSEPH Contributor

pike Lee’s work has always been deeply concerned with issues of race and class. It’s most apparent in the acclaimed director’s iconic films like Do the Right Thing (1989) or Malcolm X (1992), which showcase the topics as their central themes, but he even manages to

sneak them into ostensibly apolitical genre exercises, like the heist film Inside Man (2006). The one unifying factor is that he’s always chosen to explore these issues through the lens of realism—up until now, that is.

While he hasn’t by any means shed his commitment to the discussion of racial politics in the Kickstarter-funded Da Sweet Blood of Jesus—a remake of the

1973 cult blaxploitation horror flick Ganja and Hess, and Lee’s most recent film—he has opted to address them in the realm of the fantastical. Protagonist Dr. Hess Greene (Stephen Tyrone Williams) is a wealthy anthropologist studying the ancient Ashanti Empire. His research leads him to discover a dagger from the civilization, which his research assistant, Dr. Lafayette Hightower

(Elvis Nolasco), plunges into his boss’s chest towards the end of the film’s first act. Greene awakens unscathed—only to discover that his assistant has shot himself.

Greene also develops a ravenous craving for blood, which he satiates by availing himself of the ample resources emanating from his colleague’s dead body.

Greene realizes that he needs blood to survive, and quickly

sets out to find more. He begins by stealing samples from a local hospital, which he later drinks at a cocktail party in his expansive Martha’s Vineyard estate— though he’s unable to consume it after his manservant Seneschal (Rami Malek) spikes it with vodka in one of the film’s funniest scenes.

Continued on pg. 15

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NEWS

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

McGill in early stages of plan to acquire Royal Victoria Hospital Renovated building may help address university’s space deficit AISLINN KALOB Contributor

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cGill has entered the preliminary stages of purchasing the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) on located on University Street and Avenue des Pins, expected to be vacated by 2015. According to McGill Vice-Principal of Administration and Finance Michael Di Grappa, the RVH building would provide the university with much needed additional space, as McGill currently lacks approximately 700,000 gross square feet for academic needs.

“We anticipate using this space for a wide range of academic activities that would include most facets of the university’s operation, including research, teaching, large events, and other aspects of university life,” Di Grappa said.

Di Grappa describes the amount of space necessary to meet the demand of the university as equivalent to four Bronfman buildings or three Burnside Buildings.

The RVH is owned by the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), which is opening a new medical center, the Glen, in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce next year.

“As part of this move, our Board of Directors indicated that these buildings would be surplus property, and that was in 2013,” said Julie Paquet, communications director for the MUHC. “That triggered a process with the government to see what we could do with those buildings.”

If the purchase of the RVH

goes through, the building will undergo extensive renovations before it will be open for use by the McGill community.

“We envisage keeping the buildings that are part of Montreal’s architectural heritage, demolishing the non-heritage buildings in order to replace them [with] buildings that better match our needs for cutting edge teaching and research space,” Di Grappa said. “There would be considerable construction, probably over a period of up to five years.”

Furthermore, the purchase will require approval from the provincial government.

“We are hoping the Quebec government will soon announce that it has selected McGill University to prepare a ‘dossier d’opportunité,’ which includes feasibility and other technical studies,” said Di Grappa. “The results of these studies will help lead us to the next steps, and an eventual decision as to whether we should proceed with the project.”

If purchased, the cost of the RVH space would be met by a one-third contribution each from the federal government, provincial government, and McGill University.

“The university’s contribution could be amassed in a variety of ways, including through a special philanthropic campaign, and the sale of non-strategic buildings on the periphery of the downtown campus,” Di Grappa said.

At the present time, there are no other formal proposals by any other institution to purchase this space.

“Of course, we [at the MUHC] think McGill would serve as a great continuation of this institution,” says Paquet.

“But that’s not really for us to decide. It is in the hands of the

government.”

Julien Ouellet, external affairs officer at McGill’s PostGraduate Students’ Society (PGSS), explained that the lack of space is a concern for McGill’s graduate students, particularly in terms of student office space.

“Graduate students are amongst the most [affected by] McGill’s space deficit,” he said.

“We’ve heard that in many departments, office space is so limited that individuals resort to lotteries to determine who will get an office that year [....] The [space] at the RVH could help alleviate this problem.”

McGill is making plans to acquire the Royal Victoria Hospital. (Jack Neal / McGill Tribune)

McGill football player charged with assault, suspended from team SSMU calls for McGill Athletics to implement proactive consent training for its students SHRINKHALA DAWADI News Editor

(Continued from page 1) The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) published a statement on Thursday that applauded McGill’s prompt suspension of Guimont-Mota. It also called for further action from McGill and McGill Athletics regarding issues of sexual assault and gendered violence, referencing an ongoing case, where three McGill football players were charged with sexual assault on a Concordia University student.

“These incidents of violence together demonstrate the ramifications of the university and

McGill Athletics’ failure to take substantive, proactive measures to engage with athletes on the subject of sexual violence,” the release reads. “The suspension is the first step towards reducing harm in the community, but [...]

SSMU calls for meaningful proactive action now.”

SSMU VP University Affairs Claire Stewart-Kanigan elaborated on the measures she believes McGill Athletics should enact.

“The Athletic Department should take on mandatory training for consent and gender violence for all McGill Athletes,” she said. “This is something that’s done for student leaders across campus [....] Students in residences get training on consent and equity. [This year] all

frosh leaders, frosh coordinators, and orientation staff [...] got consent training and equity training. Why has athletics been excluded?”

At the university Senate’s first meeting of the year, Dyens said that McGill would not specifically target athletes, with regards to consent training, as it would unfairly target a specific subgroup of the university community.

“My position is that we’re not going to target one group of students for these kinds of things,” Dyens said at Senate.

“We want to promote this to all McGill students [….] This being said […] we have asked the varsity council to meet with our harm reduction councillor to develop

policies with [athletes] and develop training with them.”

According to Stewart-Kanigan, however, a more proactive approach is required.

“I’m hoping that this serves as yet another wake up call to the McGill administration, as well as officials running the athletics department, that sexual assault and violence is an ongoing problem on our campus right now,” she said. “It’s the responsibility of [McGill] Athletics to make sure that there are measures being taken to put those guidelines and policies into action. You need to change the way that [McGill Athletics] is making sure that [the values] are upheld.”

Redmen quarterback Dallon Kuprowski explained that McGill

Athletics had discussed the student-athlete code of conduct last spring in a council that consisted of volunteers from McGill’s varsity council. “[The council] reviewed the student athletics code of conduct to make sure that [we understood] everything in there as athletes and what expectations [McGill] has for us,” he said. “I only found out about [the incident] this morning and haven’t even had time to process it. At this point in time […] as far as the football program stands [...] our goals remain the same: To be successful students and successful student athletes.”

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

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News

Fall 2014 SSMU referendum period revisits building fee levy

Question re-run amidst controversy, new information programs NICOLAS MAK-WASEK Contributor

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oting has begun for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Special Fall Referendum. The questions under consideration pertain to the implementation of a University Centre Building Fee. The ballot comes as a move by the SSMU to gather the necessary funds to afford to continue its current level of operations under its new lease agreement with McGill, signed in Winter 2014.

The referendum is divided into two questions. The first asks whether students support the creation of a University Centre Building Fee. According to the SSMU website, the fee is “payable and non-opt-outable on Minerva […] at $5.78 per full-time student per semester and $2.89 per part-time student per semester.” The second referendum question asks if

the fee should be indexed to inflation yearly for the next seven years to cover the rising costs of the SSMU building during the term of the lease.

The question is posed in response to the new lease agreement the SSMU signed with McGill and the $230,000 in back fees owed by SSMU to McGill for upkeep and electricity charges and keeping the building operational while the lease was being negotiated from 2011 to 2014.

This is not the first time SSMU has asked students to vote on the implementation of the University Building fee. In the Winter 2014 referendum period, a set of nearly identical questions were rejected by the student community, with 53.6 per cent of students voting “No” to the first question and 60.8 per cent voting “No” to the second.

According to SSMU President Courtney Ayukawa, although voting “Yes” on the proposed referendum

would ultimately see a rise in fees for every undergraduate student attending McGill at the downtown campus, voting “No” would involve drastic reductions in the services that the building offers.

“A concrete change that will happen [is] starting Sept. 29, the building hours are set to drastically decrease,” Ayukawa said. “The building would close at 1 a.m. on Mondays through Fridays and wouldn’t be open on Saturdays or Sundays.”

According to Ayukawa, the establishments and services located within the premises that are run by SSMU, such as Gerts and Mini Courses, would also see price increases.

She stated that SSMU is re-running the question because she believes that students last year were not able to make an informed decision on the SSMU building fee levy. The lack of the formation of a “Yes” committee was a major criticism of SSMU’s

dissemination of information for the Winter 2014 referendum questions. “[There is] no mention of a moratorium [for referendum questions] in the SSMU constitution or bylaws,” Ayukawa said. “I think it’s important that SSMU re-asks the question. This time around, SSMU gave out a lot of information through its website and Facebook page and formed a ‘Yes’ committee [...] and people have an opportunity to make a more informed decision. If this time around, students make an informed vote and it happens to be a ‘No’, SSMU will move forward and hopefully find another place for that money to come from.”

Students who share Ayukawa’s point of view do not see the harm in a small increase of fees associated with the SSMU building. Isabelle Oke, U1 Arts, believes that since the building has such an important role in the student community and in the individual lives of many students, reducing its

services in any way would be detrimental for students at McGill.

“The SSMU Building gives [students] so many opportunities, and a reduction in those or an increase in their [services’] prices would be much worse than a small fee everyone has to pay,” Oke said.

Not all the students agree with the “Yes” committee, however. Niketan Valapakam, U0 Management, said that as an international student, an additional fee would increase his cost of schooling, something some students already have trouble affording.

He also voiced his concern that if this fee should pass, many more like it will end up on the ballot.

“I think that approving more and more fees could lead us down a dangerous road,” Valapakam said. “It always starts off small—with 5 dollars—but in the long run could end up costing students much more.”

PGSS hosts conference on the future of health research in Canada Event headed by CIHR chair, discusses scientific awareness, industry collaborations

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PHILIPPE DUMAIS Contributor

r. Alain Beaudet, president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), discussed the future of Canadian health research in an event hosted by the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) on Sept. 26. The event was intended for graduate students seeking opportunities in academic and private medical research.

Beaudet began by explaining his thoughts on the current state of scientific research and healthcare in Canada.

“For those of you who wonder how we rank, we rank well,” he said. “[We] want to increase it. The problem is: Where we are absolutely great at science, we are not terribly great when it comes to delivering healthcare [....] You have to understand that our role is to produce the best possible science, but more and more the public is asking for an impact [in the healthcare system].”

The increasing costs of healthcare were also discussed. Beaudet outlined the paradox affecting medical research regarding healthcare costs.

“Right now, healthcare in this country costs over 200 billion dollars per year,” Beaudet said. “It accounts for almost 40 per cent of all provincial budgets, [which] is a huge burden. Yet research is still seen [as] a cost driver, and indeed, in some cases it is. But research is also the only way to be able to curb the costs.”

According to Beaudet, health

research in Canada faces the challenge of accounting for the different realities experienced by Canada’s diverse populations. Beaudet specified that Indigenous peoples’ must be included in research processes.

“This is not acceptable in our country,” he said. “Canadian Inuits have the highest suicide rate in the world in young males. They have unbelievable rates of [type 2] diabetes in the aboriginal populations and in the North, increasing prevalence of tuberculosis.”

The role of the private sector in research was at the core of the presentation. Beaudet warned against financing universities through the private sector, saying that it would not only impact academic freedom but also limit the power of research in creating new industries. He also made suggestions regarding how partnerships could be formed to fund research.

“There is a paradox if the university serves an industry that already exists,” Beaudet said. “How are we going to generate new industries in that context? If the private sector can participate in the founding through partnerships—great [....] What I propose are similar partnerships for specific and narrow developments [applying] to medical research [and] devices: Applied science where the private sector has a genuine interest to invest [in]. It is nonsense that the public sector bears all the risks. That burden must be shared.”

Erin Strumpf, McGill professor of health economics, echoed Beaudet’s point of view.

Alain Beaudet spoke on the future of Canadian health research at McGill. (Lauren Benson-Armer / McGill Tribune) “The distinction is essentially that the results from commercial research can be ‘commercialized,’ that is, sold in the hopes of making a profit,” Strumpf said. “That can happen with academic research, but usually the goal here is to increase knowledge, not to discover or develop something profitable.”

Strumpf continued to explain how the private and public sectors did not necessarily have the same incentives for conducting research, as some diseases only affect a small percentage of the population so that no one has the economic incentives to foster research.

“There is certainly the possibility for profit-earning health interventions, [such as] stents, CVD drugs, etc, but also areas that are unlikely to attract private-sector in-

vestment, [such as] orphan diseases, treatments and immunizations for diseases prevalent in poorer countries, etc,” Strumpf said. “Government funding can help support these areas where the private market fails, because research that might increase social welfare would not benefit private investors.”

Beaudet also encouraged the audience to promote scientific awareness.

“We need more people who understand science,” he said. “It is a little disappointing to see how few scientists there are in the House of Commons, for instance [....] You can have an appointment with your MP easily and just talk about science.

Tell them what you are doing.”

According to PGSS VP External Affairs Julien Ouellet, McGill is

likely to play a role in generating a conversation among the different actors of the medical research field.

“Virtually all graduate students know that the world of research is changing, for better or for worse,” he said. “Considering the success of this event, our executive hopes to attract the presidents of the other two granting agencies: The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) [....] We hope that by pooling our resources with the other Montreal based universities, we might create winning conditions to convince them to address our members.”

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News

New Engineering Café to open in October

Renovations, new coffee stand aims to reduce crowds

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

SSMU Council calls for university divestment

Eastern Energy Pipeline to be discussed at October GA

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The E-Café in McConnell Engineering Building has undergone a revamp. (Lauren Benson-Armer / McGill Tribune)

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LINDSEY HAGEMAN Contributor

he dining area of the McConnell Engineering building will reopen as a newly renovated food retail location on campus on Oct. 14. A new coffee location, Dispatch, has already been unveiled right outside the cafeteria.

Oliver de Volpi, executive chef of McGill Food and Dining Services (MFDS), said that the renovations were necessary due to the cafeteria’s poor condition and impractical layout.

“A lot of things were getting quite used and beaten down,” de Volpi said. “The flow was absolutely terrible.

Everyone would walk in the same door or the same path as they would walk out all the way next to the cashier [....] We didn’t feel we were able to serve the food that we wanted to serve with the equipment in there and the layout.”

According to de Volpi, Dispatch, the coffee stand right outside of the cafeteria, aims to help lessen the crowds in the café by providing an extra location at which students can buy coffee and quick snacks.

“It’s going to take a little bit away [from] the crowds that used to be in there that were just coming for a coffee and a muffin,” he said.

Mariam Khan, U3 Engineering student, acknowledged the positive design changes but expressed concerns about the new prices.

“I feel the prices will go up more,” Khan said. “I noticed that even in the outside coffee place the prices have gone up.”

De Volpi noted however that there will be a lower -priced option for coffee inside the cafeteria once the new food location opens.

“You’ll see fair trade coffee in both locations, both at Dispatch and inside the [cafeteria], because there’ll be a small, just brewed coffee [place] at a lesser price than Dispatch,” de Volpi said. “Overall, the prices will remain the same as they were last year.”

Carl Fournier, U3 Engineering, agreed that Dispatch should help ease the crowds, but questioned the necessity of the entire major renovation.

“It’s really nice, but the thing is, it wasn’t really bad

before,” Fournier said. “We didn’t actually need to renovate it. A good point though is that the Dispatch place, even though they only serve a few things, it takes a big load off the cafeteria because many people were just coming in to get coffee.”

According to de Volpi, the renovation project was done after consulting students and gathering their inputs.

“Many, many discussions happened, not only with the Faculty of Engineering but with the students there,” de Volpi said.

Mathieu Laperle, senior director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) said he had met with the Chairs and Directors of the Faculty of Engineering as well as the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS), earlier in January to present the plans for the revamp of the cafeteria.

“Many liked the fact that the lobby and corridor would be vastly improved as a social space and that this would bring some life to the buildings­­—something that disappeared with the very sterile renovations in this lobby,” Laperle said.

Funding for the project came mostly from Compass, a food provider, with whom SHHS signed a contract in May, according to de Volpi. A smaller part of the funds came from SHHS itself. In addition to the expenses for the actual cafeteria, these funds covered Dispatch and renovations on the surrounding hallway.

Students will be able to purchase more locally sourced food at the new café, according to de Volpi. Compost bins will also be available at the food court a few weeks after its opening. “[We will open] a full service food location that will have everything from homemade soups to homemade pizza,” de Volpi said. “They’re going to be using much of our [Macdonald campus] farm produce. All the graband-go and all the desserts that will be there will be made in-house.”

A week prior to the opening, there will be a “soft opening” of the new food court, during which some of the new food options will be available to be sampled by a test group from within the Faculty of Engineering.

CECE ZHANG News Editor

ouncillors at the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council passed a motion calling for McGill to take action in divesting from fossil fuel industries and mobilizing the McGill population—including students, faculty and staff in doing the same.

“The Society reaffirms, in accordance with the strong principles of justice and equity laid out in [...] the Society’s Constitution, the commitment of [SSMU] to the implementation of socially responsible investment strategies by the SSMU and by McGill University, in particular its belief that both bodies should divest their holdings in companies involved in the Canadian Tar Sands, in fossil fuel extraction, production, or distribution,” the motion reads.

SSMU VP External Amina Moustaqim-Barrette, one of the sponsors of the motion, explained the importance for SSMU to increase pressure on McGill in affirming climate justice on campus.

“Just last week, we saw over 400,000 people in New York City and thousands of others across the world gather for the largest climate march in history,” Moustaqim-Barrette said. “The next day, the Rockefellers announced that they would be divesting from the fossil fuel industry. The momentum for this campaign is building all over the world, and it is important for SSMU to take an active role in pressuring McGill to uphold its commitments to sustainability and ethical practices and divest from the fossil fuel industry.”

Article 1 of the motion mandated that Moustaqim-Barrette work with other student unions across Quebec to create a coalition against pipeline projects in the province such as the Eastern Energy Pipeline, which is set to transport crude oil across Canada.

However, it was met with concern from councillors regarding the external reach of the project.

Faculty of Law representative, Vincent-Pierre Fullerton, voiced his concerns that councillors would be exceeding their mandate in specifically condemning the construction of pipelines in Quebec, as it was an issue that was “specific, divisive, and external.”

“The Law Students’ Association (LSA) thought it best that the specific issue relating to the condemnation of pipeline projects in the province of Quebec be brought to the General Assembly, where each student will have the possibility to express their individual opinion,” Fullerton said. “Should such a motion then pass, it would be regarded as having much more legitimacy, coming directly from the student body and representing the majority’s opinion, as emanating from the wide diversity of opinions present in the McGill student body.”

Councillors ultimately voted to remove Article 1 from the motion and move it to the General Assembly on Oct. 22 for discussion. The rest of the motion was passed.

“The decision to separate Article 1 from the rest of the climate justice motion was extremely disappointing to me,” Moustaqim-Barrette said. “I would argue that approval of these pipelines will absolutely have a direct impact on our students, our community, and our collective future. Given the inextricable link between pipeline projects and the advancement of climate change, it is difficult for me to consolidate the fact that Council was willing to take a stance against the fossil fuel industry, but not against specific pipeline projects.”

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

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News

New Dentistry building provides improved facilities for students

Incoming students from Fall 2014 make up first cohort to pay increased contribution towards move

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JONATHAN HOU Contributor

he Faculty of Dentistry completed its relocation to 2001 McGill College Avenue, from its previous location in the Montreal General Hospital on Sept.

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The costs for relocation amounted to an estimated $16.5 million, though only approximately $6.5 million have been raised to date, according to the Faculty of Dentistry’s website. The Dentistry Students’ Society (DSS) passed a referendum last October creating a mandatory $2,500 per semester fee for new students from Fall 2014 and onwards to help the faculty repay the loan needed for the relocation.

The fee would not affect students in the program before this semester and was scheduled to last five years before being put up for renewal. Paul Allison, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, said that students were excited about the new facility and teaching equipment.

“In the faculty, we’ve been talking about this for many years.

Everyone’s been looking forward to it,” Allison said. “There’s also some learning possibilities that students now have that they didn’t have before. There are more meeting rooms,

there’s more versatility in the space, we’re closer together, so there [are] many, many advantages in the space we’ve moved into.”

The fee was met with controversy last year, with some students questioning the fairness of only charging new dentistry students.

“We had a debate within the faculty and with the students themselves,” Allison said. “The main argument of not charging [the fee] to students who were already in the program was that they did not know about this up front, that this was a new thing.”

According to Allison, McGill’s dentistry program tuition is still competitive across North America, even with the increased fee levy.

“I haven’t heard anything at all from the students, and I think the students are very aware that despite the fact that the dentistry society has voted for this contribution, they are still paying much less for their education in a dental program here compared [to] anywhere else in North America,” Allison said. “I think they can see that they are still getting an extremely good deal—very new equipment, fantastic facility, and much cheaper than any other dental school outside Quebec.”

Nazanin Hojjati, president of the DSS, also said first year students

had not voiced any dissent to her so far.

“To be honest, I haven’t heard any complaints yet,” she said. “I’ve spoken to first years, I’ve met them, but no one has mentioned it to me.”

Hojjati went on to praise the new facility’s location and the improved equipment.

“We didn’t feel like we were part of the McGill community before, as we were so far away from the main campus, but now we feel that kind of unity with the university, which is great,” she said.

Yuxin Mei, fourth year Dentistry also spoke in favor of the move. “[Is] it fair for existing students to decide what incoming students will be paying? Honestly, I don’t see how else they would’ve done it,” Mei said. “In my opinion, incoming students were told what they would be paying, they can make the decision themselves [....] I think it is one of the best facilities in Canada right now.”

Two other dentistry students declined to comment on the new facility or the DSS fee.

Additional reporting by Cece Zhang.

Modern equipment installed in new facility. (Photo courtesy of McGill Faculty of Dentistry)

Montreal to become a Future Earth hub

UN program targets sustainable environmental policy reform

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CORRINA VALI Contributor

s announced on Jul. 8, Montreal is set to be one of five hubs for Future Earth, a United Nations (UN)based program that aims to fuel research and public policy reform in the field of environmental sustainability through international collaboration.

Stressing the importance of global partnerships in resolving key environmental issues, Future Earth will have other hubs in Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm, and Boulder.

Bidding for the ambitious initiative was competitive, according to Coryell Boffy, a project director for International Organizations at Montreal International, the consortium that played an instrumental role in bringing Future Earth to Montreal.

Instead of bidding for hub status separately, the representatives from the five cities decided to collaborate and present a proposal to design a global secretariat, which will work on mobilizing thousands of scientists while establishing strong public policy

partnerships in the environmental sustainability field. “[The] reason our bid was chosen was because it was a multi-country initiative, so it was a good base in terms of international reach,” Boffy explained.

The project aims to expand its secretariat to regional hubs in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America in the future to incorporate the environmental needs of the developing world into the initiative.

“This program is unique because it attempts to integrate the natural sciences, the social sciences, and businesses to really boost environmental sustainability efforts,” Boffy said. “The creation of this international network will also create opportunities for local researchers to access a global network, and the best international ideas to integrate in their research.”

Montreal’s extensive academic base, research facilities, and multicultural values will be crucial for the 10-year project that is expected to be set up by early next year, according to Dr. Andrew Gonzalez, a biology professor at McGill. Gonzalez was

part of the Montreal team that attended a meeting of potential candidates for the secretariat held in Paris last year. Since then, he has contributed to designing the distributed structure for the global secretariat.

“The Montreal hub [...] has several jobs to do, [including] communications and outreach, research enabling, synthesis, and capacity building,” Gonzalez said. “At some point, it will specialize on a small set of those, but it is too early to say how the process is exactly going to work.”

Although the hub will be based in Concordia University, McGill will be directly involved in the initiative, acting as a sponsor for the hub along with seven other academic institutions like the Université de Montréal, Concordia University, Université du Québec à Montréal, L’École de technologie supérieure de Montréal, Montreal International, as well as the Quebec government.

According to Gonzalez, McGill’s strong research community and multi-disciplinary approach toward environmental sustainability will widen the scope of

the program.

“There are several McGill researchers who are already committed to sustainability research and our research community is particularly strong in this area,” he said. “We have numerous departments working on environmental sustainability—the McGill School for Environment, the Departments of Geography and Biology, and Natural Resource Sciences out at the [Macdonald] campus. So, we have a very healthy community with world class research.”

At the moment, McGill is leading two promising biodiversity projects—namely “EcoServices” which focuses on the services that humans obtain from ecosystems and “Bio-Genesis,” which deals with biodiversity change—in the field.

“However, we have many other research strengths like green chemistry, biofuels, and engineering solutions that I hope will become an important part of the Montreal hub’s emphasis,” Gonzalez said.

One of the major goals of the initiative is to also engage stakeholders such as urban dwellers

and farmers in the research process in order to form a collaborative and multilateral network that encourages their contribution in tackling issues that affect them most.

The Future Earth initiative, with an annual budget of between $5 million and $10 million, is sponsored by the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability, comprised of notfor-profit organizations such as the International Council for Science (ICSU), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as well as the World Meteorological Organization as an observer.

Marius Karolinski, U2 Science, commended the concept of the program.

“Any platforms and any ways of organizing like-minded people to discuss issues is very important, because some of the best ideas I have are the ones that have been derived through stimulating conversation,” Karolinski said.

6

Opinion

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

THE Mcgill

editorial

Latest athletics case draws attention to need for continued reform cording to a report by the Globe and Mail, this sentence was served on weekends to allow him to play for the team. While there is a valid question to be raised here, for the university to rush in citing this incident where there is no provision in place for background checks of athletes is dubious and selfserving at best. Furthermore, the mention of the previous charge as the leading point in the univer-

it is in others. However, the first steps to implementing new policies in the wake of last year’s incident have shown the messy questions that come along with that standard; any member of a student organization or club at McGill— including this newspaper—is a ‘representative’ of the university when competing externally, or attending a conference on behalf of the organization. The only differ-

“

If the university is going to set the standard of unblemished external records for athletic participation, there needs to be a clear policy as to who can join a team and who can’t.

sity’s official response to the incident implies a degree of guilt that isn’t necessary to demonstrate to the broader student body the seriousness with which the university treats a criminal matter.

The question of where athletes stand in relation to the university is important and still unresolved. In our editorial responding to last year’s case, we argued that athletes, as representatives of the university, should be held to higher standards of conduct than the average student. In principle, that is as true looking at this case as

“

Last Wednesday, Luis Guimont-Mota, a player for the Redmen football team, was arrested on charges stemming from an alleged domestic abuse incident involving his wife. Much of the discussion of the case since had revolved around the player, with only the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) statement mentioning the victim.

After a terse response following the actual arrest, McGill released a longer statement to students after the wave of media coverage Thursday. In this statement, McGill reiterated the seriousness with which the university takes the charges. This all comes in the wake of last year’s controversy over McGill’s response to the arrest of three of its football players for sexual assault—a trial that is still ongoing. In many ways, McGill’s response to this present case represents a recognition of and improvement upon the way the McGill administration acted last year.

The second McGill statement on the player’s arrest led with the note that he had pleaded guilty in connection to an assault outside a Quebec City bar in 2010. The statement used this to indicate that McGill shouldn’t have allowed him on the team as a result. Ac-

ence between a member of a McGill club that engages in external competitions and a member of a varsity team is that the management of the latter traces back more directly to the university administration. At other universities, primarily those in the United States, there would also be a major difference in the campus profile and media attention between athletes and other students—but that, for better or worse, is not an issue at McGill.

This question of standards is not an academic one. Student poli-

ticians have been pushing for McGill to adopt consent training for athletes, while the university has countered that this would unfairly single out a group of students.

While the issue of athlete-involved violence—sexual or otherwise—is real, the external imposition of a policy that explicitly associates athletes as substantially more likely to commit sexual assault would stereotype athletes and be counterproductive. Instead, a better—and undoubtedly more difficult approach would be to improve education on consent issues for all students, with initiatives to enlist coaches and team veterans as peer mentors within sports teams.

The institutional questions opened last year are still open. If the university is going to set the standard of unblemished external records for athletic participation, there needs to be a clear policy as to who can join a team and who can’t—and why. Citations of consistency with “values,” as made in the MRO, are nebulous and could lead to major problems in situations less clear-cut than this one.

It remains to be seen how this case turns out, but it is clear that while there has been improvement in the past year, we have a long way to go in creating the framework to address these issues.

Commentary

ERIC HENDRY Contributor There is a popular narrative among certain students—often conservatives— that universities are no longer the bastions of free speech they once were.

According to these narratives, liberal students used to have to fight for free speech, yet now are the only voices to be heard, and suppress the voices of those who disagree. Universities like McGill, the story goes, have taken political correctness too far, becoming ‘too liberal.”

A similar argument was made by Sharon Xie in a recent Tribune article entitled “McGill’s pitchfork brigade.” In it, she claims that “from campus media to professors, it seems that a certain assumption is made. The Liberal (as in the Liberal Party of Canada) viewpoint is

the McGill Quebec Sovereigntist Committee are vibrant and successful. Four executive members of NDP McGill were elected to the House of Commons in the last federal election.

The claim that McGill’s political environment is “unsafe” for non-Liberals is even more dubious. It is argued for example that at McGill, “any claim of being anything other than a Liberal will warrant a demand for an explanation and justification of your political association.” While having one’s political opinion challenged on a regular basis can be tiresome, simply having one’s opinions criticized doesn’t make it unsafe to hold that opinion. Indeed, we should be proud that voices which are more prevalent in the rest of society aren’t as dominant at McGill and are challenged more often.

This holds true for liberals and conservatives alike. Universities should be where conversations that challenge established norms are not only allowed, but encouraged. If that means we get called out on political opinions more often, so be it.

So what explains the narrative that places like McGill are ‘too Liberal?’ One possible explanation is that conservative

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

TPS Board of Directors

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

Is McGill really too Liberal? the right viewpoint.” Even more alarmingly, Xie claims that this Liberal dominance has created an environment in which it is “unsafe” to express dissenting opinions.

“Our community,” writes Xie, “is only tolerant when the masses agree with you” and is one in which “students are only given one option.” This picture of McGill’s intolerant and monolithically Liberal ‘masses’ actively suppressing dissenting viewpoints is, thankfully, a fiction.

First off, Liberals—if we are going by the party—don’t hold a monopoly on legitimate political speech at McGill.

Far from it. McGill is simply too large and too diverse of a community to be dominated by one political group, let alone one with 37 out of 308 seats in the House of Commons. From campus media to student life, our community’s institutions promote a vast array of political views and encourage healthy debate in a safe and respectful environment— publications such as the left-leaning McGill Daily to the more conservative Prince Arthur Herald are widely read.

Clubs such as Conservative McGill and

Editor-in-Chief Jenny Shen editor@mcgilltribune.com

students feel their opinions aren’t as valued at universities as they are in other social spaces. They conclude that this is due to active suppression of their voices on campus. This is not the case. We need to stop pretending that conservative voices aren’t heard at McGill. What they are is deeply unpopular. Those are two very different things. Conservatives should ask themselves why their opinions are so unpopular on campus.

When we have a Prime Minister who mocks evidenced-based policy by calling it “committing sociology,” muzzles government scientists, and proposes cutting the long-form census, it’s understandable that many people at universities like McGill would find their ideology unappealing—many of the policies and rhetoric of the current Conservative government don’t reflect the values of many university students. Rather than paint false pictures of campus political dialogue as unsafe, conservatives should look within their own movement to explain its unpopularity at McGill.

Contributors Clark Bray, Yahong Chi, Philippe Dumais, Daniel Fishbayn, Lindsey Hagmen, Keah Hansen, Ecic Hendry, Jonathan Hou, Nick Jasinski, Max Joseph, Aislinn Kalob, Jane Livshin, Tiffany Le, Arden Li, Jane Livshin, ´Elie Lubendo, Chris Lutes, Clare Lyle, Nicholas Makwasek, Martin Molpeceres, Eric Noble-Marks, Kia Pouliot, Aaron Rose, Samantha Schmidt, Alex Sirois, Zikomo Smith, Nicole Spadotto, Elli Slavitch, Wilder Walker-Stewart

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, September 30, 2014

Looking ahead to a more affordable university centre

With the first Fall referendum period on its way, students once again have to face the University Centre Building Fee. After last year’s controversy regarding the referendum question, the “Yes” committee’s “Save Our SSMU” campaign argues that students weren’t given enough information to make an “informed decision” during the last referendum, and that the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) was bound to paying the negotiated lease. However, students have yet to hear of any plans, short-term or long-term, about renegotiating the lease and working towards a future where we can one day potentially operate in the building free of charge.

In fact, the discussion regarding the University Centre Building Fee has been mostly

SSMU’s operations and services than it is about the ability to have a student space to share interests, goals, and experiences. The value of events like Activities Night is seeing the variety of student interests and how passionate students are about their involvement through SSMU. Beyond academics, university is about growth and discovery, and critical to that

“

versity as a part of our enrolment here. Additionally, with recent cuts to the off-campus program and the closing of the sole Tim Horton’s on campus, the university is starting to cut costs left and right while actively looking for ways to gain revenues. Sadly, to no one’s surprise, students are getting the short end of these changes.

The building fee represents yet another shift in costs to students—one that would set a dangerous precedent.

is a space for student clubs and services.

Furthermore, the University Centre Building Fee is just another example of a recent trend in shifts of costs to students.

SSMU currently charges students $8.50 for the Library Improvement Fund and another $8.50 to the Bursary Fund per term (totalling to approximately $350,000 annually for both funds). Financial aid and library space are not costs that should be charged to students. Those are services that should be provided by the uni-

“

ÉLIE LUBENDO Contributor

one-sided. Students have been given facts here and there—some more clear than others—about the danger of a failed building fee, and have been expected to respond obediently. The students have been listening to the demands of the student union, rather than vice versa. The building fee represents yet another shift in costs to students—one that would set a dangerous precedent.

Given the scope of the discussion and how central it is to student life at McGill, the appropriate avenue for reintroducing the discussion of whether or not to run the referendum question would have been through a General Assembly (GA). The bylaws do not dictate a specific period during which the GA must be held. The audits were completed in August, and students would have had the ability to directly discuss the topic of student space and ask about the validity of reintroducing a failed referendum question. Although a GA was not called—partially due to urgency—communication with the student body has to be prioritized, especially with a topic like this.

That said, the University Centre Building Fee is less about

While it is true that our university is financially strained and that students should be understanding of these circumstances, we should be wary of new fees levies. The university will always be able to refer back to the fee as justification for us paying for it. No matter what the financial situation of McGill University is going to be in seven years’ time, we are likely to continue to pay for the University Centre.

This is why we must be proactive. If we do believe that the University Centre should be a

communal space for students and that we should have access to it for free, regardless of the outcome of this referendum, the next discussions we should be having regarding the Shatner Building is what value it holds to students, what foundations we will build to maintain its accessibility to our undergraduate community, and the methods we are going to take to be able to sign a cheaper lease.

The administration is financially weak and students temporarily have leverage. Renovating the building and evicting SSMU would be extremely costly, and would bring a lot of negative attention to the university. The past SSMU executives have built a strong base by significantly reducing the renting costs of the lease and we can continue to build off of that. Sooner or later we will have to make a decision about securing the future of our building; and perhaps then we will be able to call the Shatner Building not just the University Centre, but the Student Centre.

OFF THE BOARD Changing the conversation on athletic hazing

Recent events surrounding the McGill Redmen football team have prompted a renewed conversation about the values, rules, and processes that govern athletics at this school. Much of the focus has been on athletes’ interactions with those outside of the locker room—rightly so, considering the nature of the two cases currently being investigated—but what has been ignored is what occurs within the team.

It was nine years ago that McGill cancelled the football team’s season due to a rookie-hazing incident involving the sexual assault of an 18-year-old rookie player.

“It has no place at McGill.

It will not be tolerated in any

many schools is something akin to a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy; rookie hazing is not an issue until it is. That is to say, some schools will punish teams that

“

or punishments handed out. It is a part of athletic culture, not university culture—one that can often be harmful—and attempting to eliminate it completely

Rather than punish and hope there are no further incidents, universities need to understand that “rookie nights” do take place.

have problems related to hazing that surface, but turn a blind eye to those teams that manage to keep a lid on their practices.

The trouble here is not that administrative policy is inappropriate—McGill’s football team deserved the punishment it received in 2005—it is that it is ineffective. Rookie hazing still exists, with teams at schools all over Canada and the US taking part each year, and it will continue to exist moving forward regardless of any suspensions

“

WYATT FINE-GAGNÉ Sports Editor

form,” then Interim Provost Dr. Anthony Masi told the CBC at the time.

Player initiation is common among teams at all levels, including in professional sports teams.

Many athletes see it—for better or worse—as a rite of passage.

While it can take many forms, some positive and useful for teammates trying to build relationships, it can also slip into questionable territory quite easily, involving homophobic, sexist, or racist elements. At the collegiate and university level, alcohol is often a factor, and participation extends beyond the team, affecting other individuals in public.

There is no administration in this country that condones hazing. At McGill, teams are told specifically that there is zero tolerance when it comes to this issue. This principle makes sense because if a school condoned hazing it would result in a public relations, and legal nightmare.

So what happens in practice at

will almost certainly be a fruitless endeavour.

What needs to take place is a shift in attitude from administrators. Rather than punish and hope there are no further incidents, universities need to understand that “rookie nights” do take place. Instead, schools should craft policies to ensure that it is done in a safe and appropriate manner. Punishment may send a message, but it does not resolve the issue at hand. Rookie initiation ceremonies are not inher-

ently harmful—when done right it is a constructive night where rookies are welcomed into a new ‘family’—but it certainly can be when rookies are being hurt or humiliated.

With the forthcoming review of the rules and regulations surrounding varsity sports, McGill has an opportunity to change the conversation surrounding the treatment of rookies. It can ensure that rookie nights become a celebration of the new players, rather than a cruel coming of age. Refusing to acknowledge this problem does not make it go away. Discussing it openly, however, will make McGill a safer place, not just for athletes, but for all students.

8

Student Living Campus Spotlight: Astronomy Club Tuesday, September 30, 2014

McGill Students’ Astronomy Club calls all stargazers

an outlet to delve deeper into astrophysics or an Arts student with an appreciation for stargazing. For the more science-oriented individuals, there are “astrotalks,” which are presentations delivered by both students and professors that feature a range of astronomy related topics.

The Astronomy Club also hosts observation nights on the McGill campus. With the aid of an advanced telescope, members are able to examine stars and constellations on a clear, dark night.

(astronoteen.org)

There’s something very relaxing about shopping for records—strolling through aisles of milk crates, occasionally flipping through stacks that look promising, and breathing in the slightly musty smell of 30-year-old cardboard.

Similar to high-waisted jeans and Converse

Turntable for what Five stores to purchase records from in Montreal

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CENT ND

This store is just over 30 minutes away on foot. More than just a record store, Soundcentral also carries cassettes, vintage gaming consoles, t-shirts, posters, and used books. It also has a small café that serves coffee and occasionally hosts live music performances and screenings of independent films at night. It sometimes sells used turntables, but it’s recommended to call ahead to see what’s available before making the trip. Their records are priced anywhere between 25 cents and $300, but the average price is around $10 to $20. As a bonus, the availability of records can be checked for online on the store’s website.

H OF V T

YL IN

This store carries an interesting assortment of records, mostly pop and alternative music from the 1960s to 1980s; however, there’s a large collection of classical music near the front as well.

The store is a 20-minute walk from campus and well worth the trip. The owner is friendly, helpful, and plays great music, which provides a perfect ambiance for the store. The store also sells used books and cassettes. The records are mostly used and go for $5 to $20. The owner also stocks mostly original records rather than reissues.

can always look forward to coming and doing something new every week.

We’re not going to have the same presentation, the same talk, or even the same trip frequently. It’s always going to be something different.”

In addition to these events, the Astronomy Club also plans social gatherings such as bowling trips, trivia, and game nights. The members’ common interest of astronomy is only a starting point from which many bonds form.

“I feel like it’s important to keep that aspect of a community going,” Bisaria said. “I think we engender that type of community where everyone’s nice [....] We’re an amicable bunch.”

Anyone can join the Astronomy Club at any time. The beauty of astrology is that it’s accessible to everyone, no matter their background.“Where I grew up, when you look into the sky, there are so many city lights that you can’t actually see the stars,” said Lilly Gates, U0 Arts & Science. “But occasionally, when [we] would go to the suburbs, my dad would always point out the constellations and it would almost feel magical being able to see them. Now that I’ve heard about this club, I think it would be fun to experience that magic as a part of a group in the wonderful city of Montreal.”

sneakers, vinyls are making a huge comeback.

You can find turntables and vinyls in many locations, from Urban Outfitters to garage sales, so jump on the bandwagon if you haven’t already, and start experiencing music through records available at these locations.

L RA

After climbing a lilting set of stairs, you’ll find yourself in a musty little nook of a store filled with records, CDs, and used books. It is recommended to head directly to the used section to find the best deals. The store is fairly well organized, which makes it easy to find the records of your liking. The new records tend to be between $20 and $30, while used records are priced anywhere between $5 and $20. The store also carries all genres, from ’40s jazz to current pop. A great bonus to this store is that it’s only a fiveminute walk from campus.

PICK

UP

Although it’s a half-hour walk from campus, shopping at Beatnick is an experience you can’t miss. The store is large and carries just about every genre of music you can think of—thankfully, it’s very well organized. The shelves also display CDs and some cool memorabilia, such as figurines and model cars. The staff is accommodating and friendly, providing ample knowledge of cool music trivia, which is not surprising considering the store has been around for over 20 years. The records are mostly used records, and the best deals are in the three for $1 bins; however, the records are all very reasonably priced ($5 to $10 on average).

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SAMANTHA SCHMIDT Contributor

TNIC EA

The third category of events allows students to observe the sky in a more secluded environment by going on stargazing trips that take place outside of the city.

“We go out to Saint Bernard de Lacolle or Mont Mégantic,” explained Astronomy Club President and U3 physics student, Dhruv Bisaria. “Those are dark sky reserves where you get even better observation quality, so you can get a much better picture of the stars and bring more students there.”

The stargazing trips allow students to witness the night skies firsthand.

“I would tell students that if [they] have any interests in astronomy at all, they should definitely come out to the star gazing event,” Kurian said. “It’s one thing to read about the different galaxies, planets, and stars nearby and be amazed at their different properties, but it’s a completely different experience to actually be there and witness these objects with your own eyes.”

Other events are grouped into a fourth miscellaneous category, which include trips to the planetarium. Bailey Sadowsky, a U2 civil engineering student and the club’s VP Events, is proud of the reputation the Astronomy Club has established.

“I just feel like we’re a club that you can rely on,” Sadowsky said. “You

DEA

Whether you come from a small mountain town in southern France or the concrete jungle of New York City, there’s something to be said about the enchantment of the open sky. The McGill Students’ Astronomy Club, which was started in August 2012 by a few graduate students in the physics department, offers a welcoming environment for members to explore areas of amateur astronomy.

“I joined the club out of pure interest really,” said Jerry Kurian, a master’s student in chemistry. “The universe [...] is one of the most interesting things to learn about. There is an insane amount we do not know, and the scale, objects, and materials of the universe blow me away. Thinking about how minuscule we really are is quite a humbling experience.”

Hosting four main types of events throughout the year, the club offers something for everyone—whether you are a physics major who wants

SOU

ARDEN LI Contributor

This store feels like an empty bar full of records. Death of Vinyl is organized in a seemingly random fashion, so don’t hesitate to ask for help from the friendly staff. The records are priced around $10 to $30 and are mostly used. Although it’s quite a hike (an hour from campus), it’s one of the best places to buy a used turntable. New turntables can be priced anywhere from $150 to $150,000; however, Death of Vinyl understands the struggle of students on a budget, offering good-quality used turntables for between $50 and $100, with a three-month warranty.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Wilkey Rong U2 Arts

(L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune)

9

Student Living

Student of the Week Wilkey Rong, a U2 Arts student double majoring in economics and German, has actively begun to realize his goals and ideas in promoting a better future. He considers education reform and economic development to be the best foundations to build a more sustainable and prosperous future, and works enthusiastically to promote those changes.

Growing up in the metropolitan city of Shanghai, China, Rong was exposed first-hand to the consequences of the vast disparity between the rich and the poor. The systematic oppression of certain groups like migrant workers affected him deeply.

Rong is also invested in the problems concerning education in China. According to Rong, the schooling system often aims for students to complete degrees to earn high-paying jobs, instead of encouraging critical thinking and reflections on world issues.

“Schools should not dictate what is right or wrong, but should teach how to think about cause and effect,” Rong said.

Rong believes that education should act as a guide to explore topics and incite discussion, while cultivating rational and comparative thinking.

“Education is about encouraging people and teaching them to think,” Rong said.

Rong sees the connection between human rights and education, and is studying to find ways to connect the two.

Over the summer, Rong was a chief student leader for the International Baccalaureate World Student Conference (IBWSC), a conference created to bridge the conversation between high school students and teachers about involvement in human rights activism. Different perspectives were offered by guest speakers to generate interest and appeal to teenagers from a multitude of backgrounds. Rong worked with Service Point Enrolment to campaign

for the event and recruit participants. He is also a leading member of the IB Alumni Advisory Council (IBAAC), a chapter that brings together former students in volunteer programs and other meetand-greet events. His involvement with IB extends to his active participation in advancing the program by holding monthly advice meetings with IB coordinators throughout the year.

Rong has been involved with the Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) chapter at McGill since the beginning of this semester. As VP Internal Affairs, he is tasked with running financials for the club, while advocating its core beliefs and values.

The organization seeks to create awareness about issues of fundamental rights in order to incite long-term and non-dependent change. According to Rong, JHR encourages the open discussion on controversial topics in support of the inherent equality of all human beings.

“JHR is really a platform to voice opinions,” Rong said.

After surviving his transitional year as an international student, Rong became an active member of the International Students Leadership Program (ISLP), which is a division of International Student Services (ISS). He organizes launch events with networking opportunities for both international and exchange students, acting as an advisor for them.

Rong’s biggest wish is for positive globalization. Increasing communication, circulation of ideas, and acceptance of different perspectives in multiple disciples are movements Rong thinks would benefit our world on a large scale. He maintains that world citizenship is critical, and that we must take further steps to turn this theory into reality.

“As long as communication is established, we can start to solve the problems,” he said.

By: Tiffany Le McGill Tribune: Who is your favourite TV show character?

Wilkey Rong: Monica from Friends—she’s hilarious.

MT: What’s in your fridge?

WR: Alles in Ordnung, (German for “I’m very organized”), so it is stocked with a little bit of everything.

MT: Current jams?

WR: Latch by Disclosure.

MT: How do you make your sandwiches?

WR: My homemade sandwiches have eggs, [...] tomatoes, and cabbage. For sauces, I use both teriyaki and soy sauce.

MT: If you could trade places with anyone in the world who would it be?

WR: I wouldn’t want to change.

nominate a

student of the week!

Email us at studentliving@ mcgilltribune.com

Five study spots on campus Promising places for midterm preparations KEAH HANSEN Contributor

home with a caramel candy from the jar near the services desk.

Midterm season is just around the corner, meaning that the hour is drawing near to ditch tanning on lower field and hit the books. Luckily, McGill has a plethora of study spots, from its 13 library branches to student lounges and cafes.

Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:0013:00, 14:00-17:00, Saturday to Sunday: Closed Address: Birks Building, 3520 University Street Noise level: Quiet

Birks Reading Room

Tucked away on the second floor of the Birks Building, this silent haven is a great location to hibernate and ponder away the afternoon. Its architecture gives it a distinctively severe academic ambiance, yet the size makes it feel personal and comfortable.

The hall features solid wood tables, beautiful mouldings, and large windows that let in dappled sunlight. Shoes are not permitted, so bring comfy socks or take advantage of the slippers provided.

Reward yourself on your walk

Islamic Studies Library

This library may secretly be magic. Although it is one of the most central buildings on campus, entering through its huge wooden doors seems to transport students into another world.

Study spots are plentiful in this gothic-style treasure, with widely available seating. Both the main and second floors feature study booths and tables, and are great for quiet essay writing. Those fortunate enough to stumble into the Octagon Room, near the back right of the main floor, will be greeted by a beautiful space with

antique wooden display cabinets and delightfully scholarly study booths. During the winter months, this library is especially cozy and warm, providing the perfect refuge for in-betweenclass study sessions.

Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:0017:00, Saturday to Sunday: Closed Address: 3485 McTavish Street Noise level: Quiet to moderate

Nahum Gelber Law Library

Located in the upper part of campus on Peel Street, this library has modern architecture, yet complements it with designs that give a nod to more classic bookish styles. Canadian artwork adorns the walls, tasteful lighting highlights textbooks, and plush red chairs provide comfortable seating. Don’t be afraid to branch out beyond the first two floors, and explore the entire range of

study spots that grace the five floors of this library. The table by the enormous triangular window on the third floor is a favourite— a study spot with a view.

Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:0023:00, Saturday to Sunday: 10:00-22:00 Address: 3660 Peel Street Noise level: Quiet

Education Curriculum Resources Centre

The Education Curriculum Resources Centre has a serene and pleasant study atmosphere that boasts multiple areas for quiet or group study. It also contains numerous computers, which are helpful for those who don’t feel like lugging their laptops up the hill. There is also a cafe on the ground level, which offers a variety of snacks, as well as booths where students can chat and decompress on a study break.

Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:0017:00, Saturday to Sunday: Closed Address: 3700 McTavish Street Noise level: Moderate

SSMU Cafeteria

Meander here after the lunch-hour rush for an unconventional but surprisingly effective study zone. Large windows provide excellent natural light, and the steady hum of conversations lends itself to the perfect amount of white noise for concentration.

A great perk is that the multiple food options and microwaves available make studying much more enjoyable. This is great for both group and solo study sessions.

Hours: Monday to Friday: 7:0013:00, Saturday to Sunday: Closed Address: 3600 McTavish Street Noise level: Moderate

Investigating Journalism A diversity of publications fills the void on campus

By Mayaz Alam

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“Outside of the faculty [...] it’s a relatively unknown publication, t’s no secret that the landscape of the journalism industry is profoundly different than it was at the start of the 21st century. The but we are looking to change that,” Pombo said. “Within, I think the prevalence of the internet has fundamentally altered the way in majority of the people see us as the engineering voice on campus and see which people consume print journalism; consequently, it has eroded it as a publication that reflects their views.”

The Bull and Bear, which is funded and published by the Manboth circulation and advertising, the primary revenue streams for pubagement Undergraduate Society (MUS), can also trace its roots back lications.

These changes have been felt in a different way on university cam- to a faculty-specific newsletter. Since 2003, when it became an official puses. For example, the University of Ottawa has suspended its journal- publication, it has served to provide writing training, greater coverage of ism program for another year, while Emory University in Atlanta, Geor- management-related issues, and a different perspective on campus isgia closed its journalism school in 2012. Elsewhere, many schools are sues for management students.

“There’s been a huge discussion within the faculty that manageeschewing the term ‘journalism’ in favour of ‘media’ or ‘communication’ as part of a rebranding effort. Many student publications have also ment students don’t get enough writing training, and [The Bull and Bear] struggled to keep up-to-date with digital industry trends, even though the became an outlet for students,” said Max Feinsot, executive editor of The majority of students consume the news in an interactive, online manner. Bull and Bear.

As magazines that publish once a month, both The Bull and Bear According to a 2012 survey, 37 per cent of college newspapers within and The Plumber’s Ledger produce a different type of content compared the United States did not have a website in 2012.

The ‘McGill School of Journalism’ is not undergoing a drastic to a weekly newspaper. For Pombo, this means that there is more room overhaul because no such school exists, nor has it ever. In Montreal, to experiment with different types of articles.

“The fact that we have such diverse content every month really McGill stands as the exception: UQÀM, Concordia, and Université de Montréal—the other three universities in the city—all have undergradu- works well,” Pombo said. “We do a lot of features and that definitely ate journalism programs. However, the aforementioned programs are helps in setting us apart. We also have short stories every month, which part of a grand total of only 11 programs Canada-wide—in a nation of I don’t think any other major publication does.”

With five major news publications on campus and a myriad of other 98 degree-granting universities.

Although McGill does not currently have a journalism program, journals and newsletters, McGill’s print media might seem fragmented it has had a rich history of undergraduate student publications that have to the average student. Wray acknowledges that this situation may pose stepped in to fill the void. The resulting mosaic has created an extremely an interesting quandary for a first-year student who is surrounded by five different campus news sources, but notes diverse group of news publications that that the landscape of media at McGill has have evolved over time. become one of the university’s strengths.

The McGill Daily, the oldest of the “The diversity of journalism on camcurrent on-campus publications, was “The diversity of pus is one of the strongest things about created in 1911 as a daily sports paper. journalism on campus McGill,” Wray said. “You really don’t see As The Daily’s relationship with the is one of the that [on] other university campuses. I think Students’ Society of McGill University strongest things that it’s excellent that there are these very (SSMU) became increasingly contenabout McGill” different newspapers where students can tious, The Daily sought independence really find their place to shine.” from SSMU. Boju notes that the presence of five “Over the years [...] the shape of the paper has changed quite a bit,” said Dana Wray, coordinating editor of different publications could possibly cause competition; even though all The Daily. “But even [in] the ’60s and ’70s, The Daily was covering is- have their respective niche, each is attempting to convince students and sues that were considered to be controversial and not mainstream. In the advertisers that their publication is the one to read.

“We are more than happy that there are several newspapers at ’70s, we covered International Women’s Day. In the ’80s, we created the gay-lesbian supplement [...] so it’s been in its current form for decades McGill,” Boju said. “It’s a ‘healthy competition,’ as people say, though we don’t see it as a competition because we differ in coverage. There is now.”

Le Délit, The Daily’s sister publication, shares an office and man- something quite extraordinary on this campus: It doesn’t have a journalagement with the Daily Publications Society. The French-language ism program and [yet] it produces more newspapers than any campus newspaper was founded in 1977 by The Daily’s bilingual editorial in [Montreal].”

Journalism is a changing industry, and on-campus publications are board. Le Délit faced scrutiny from within the larger McGill community facing many of the struggles that their real world counterparts face. The in its initial stages.

“We take it for granted now, but the idea of having an all-franco- future of journalism will undoubtedly look and feel very different from phone newspaper on campus was something quite big back then,” ex- the past. Pombo sees the media at our fingertips with the proliferation of plained Joseph Boju, rédacteur en chef of Le Délit. “The Daily received mobile apps and Jenny Shen, the editor-in-chief of the McGill Tribune, letters of support, but also aggressive statements, such as [a] letter signed understands that digital media will become more and more prominent, by an irate mother predicting the destruction of ‘the best university of prompting publications to look inwards.

“We’ll all have to re-evaluate what our intents are in terms of what the province’ because of the francophone minority. Since then, Le Délit hasn’t stopped publishing its issue once a week, advocating for franco- our purpose on campus is so that even as we move online, we don’t forget our campus readership,” Shen said. phone students on campus.”

Feinsot, along with the others interviewed, hopes that print publicaFollowing The Daily’s independence referendum in 1981, SSMU created the McGill Tribune, which was founded in 1981 to serve as tions will still play a role on campus 10 years from now, but acknowlSSMU Council’s student newspaper. In 2010, the Tribune became com- edges that the ability to attract readers will have to change.

“There will be more digital offerings [...] and more electronic inpletely independent as it sought greater editorial freedom.

More recently, the Faculties of Engineering and Management have teractivity,” Feinsot explained. “I hope that they all don’t go down the established faculty-specific publications in an attempt to cater to students [...] route of becoming promotional pieces. There’s money in it—but it’s within those fields. The Plumber’s Ledger, which evolved from an En- dirty money.”

McGill doesn’t have an undergraduate journalism program. Ingineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) newsletter, reached its current magazine form in Fall 2012. Although The Ledger is still young, a long stead, students have worked to develop a fabric of campus journalism history of publications—comedic and otherwise—exists within the Fac- that stands as an exception both within Quebec and Canada at large. Students have been thrust into leadership positions and tasked with managulty of Engineering.

“The history of The Plumber’s Ledger begins with the history of ing large publications.

At times they have caused controversy, but as a whole, McGill’s The Plumber’s Pot, a publication that was there for 30 years or so,” explained Luis Pombo, editor-in-chief of The Plumber’s Ledger. “They student journalists’ independence from the administration has emboldcrossed the line [...] back in the day and The Plumber’s Faucet, which ened the nature and quality of campus media. The lack of a journalism program should be viewed as a positive; it has resulted in a diverse and was a serious publication back then, moved to a more satirical stance.”

The Ledger is still struggling to make a large dent outside of its robust campus journalism landscape that enables students to consume faculty, but steps are being taken by expanding distribution to more on- and participate with the news from diverse viewpoints. In many ways, campus locations. Within the Faculty of Engineering, however, The Led- the ‘McGill School of Journalism’ has had classes for more than a century now—and class is undoubtedly still in session. ger represents the interests and needs of members of the EUS.

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Science & Technology 12 Microbeads discovered in St. Lawrence River sediment McGill researchers find microplastics in North American river for first time Chloe Nevitt Science & Technology Editor

(Continued from page 1) Industrial abrasives are used in cosmetics and household products to slough off dirt and skin.

Unfortunately, the granules used in the products are non-biodegradable. They have started to accumulate in aquatic systems because wastewater treatment plants can not filter them. This is a result of not only their size, but also their buoyancy. It is also the reason scientists didn’t think to look for microplastics in lakes or rivers; researchers assumed they would float out into the oceans.

Scientists believed freshwater systems would wash the beads out into the ocean, and therefore focused their attention there. Unfortunately, Ricciardi and his team are discovering otherwise.

After the team’s initial observations, Ricciardi sent his students out to collect more samples—this time focusing on the microbeads.

What they found was startling.

Samples taken from a total of 10 sites along a 320-kilometre freshwater section of the river showed microbeads present at

eight of the sites. According to Ricciardi, some sites had as many as 1,000 beads per litre of sediment.

“This rivals that of what has been found in oceans,” he said.

“We believe we underestimated the concentrations [of these microbeads.] We show that they’re accumulating and that they’re ubiquitous [in water sources.]”

The microbeads develop a film when introduced to nature.

This allows them to settle and accumulate at the bottoms of lakes and rivers.

The long-term effects this might have on the food system are still unknown.

However, a study done at the University of California showed the immediate dangers of microbead consumption for aquatic animals.

Consumption of unaltered, lab-made microbeads induced slight stress on the livers of tested fish, yet the fish exhibited severe liver failure when fed microbeads collected from nature. The polyethylene in the microbeads had absorbed pollutants from the water; consequently, the toxicity of the beads had risen to a million times more than that of the surrounding

Sample of plastic microbeads from the St. Lawrence River. (L-A Benoit / McGill Tribune) water.

Ricciardi believes that the microplastics have a negative impact on aquatic environments.

“We have reason to believe there will be a cost [on the environment,]” Ricciardi said. “We have reports that the plastic has been found in fish—hundreds of them.”

Previous reports have speculated about the presence of microbeads in fish, but the team plans to take the next real step in finding

out. With funding from the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science (QCBS), Ricciardi and his team have started collecting round gobbies, a species of bottom-dwelling fish. Their goal is to examine the stomachs of these fish to see how prevalent these pollutants are in the food web, and how many of the microbeads are being consumed.

Other species will have to be tested and the ecotoxicity measured to determine the severity of the costs that microplastics will

have on any environment.

Several states in the U.S. have already passed legislation banning microbeads from products.

Canada has yet to propose such regulations. Ricciardi believes that microplastics should be regulated everywhere.

“I think they can be phased out,” he said. “This is an emerging issue in marine ecology, but companies can definitely use natural products as abrasives—[…] something that will break down.”

Quebec attempts to forge carbon market Couillard speaks at NYC Climate Summit Wilder Walker-Stewart Contributor “Climate change is not fiction.”

So began Premier Philippe Couillard at the NYC Climate Summit on Sept. 22, the largest effort yet at galvanizing action for climate change. The event featured the likes of Ban Ki-moon and President Obama.

Couillard’s speech echoed those of the others present at the summit by stressing the need for action, notably touting Quebec’s efforts at creating a carbon market newly unified with California. According to the premier, establishing this system sends a strong signal to businesses and consumers alike about the importance of phasing out carbon use.

The Environmental Defense Fund, an NGO dedicated to the carbon reduction system, describes the carbon market as an “economic incentive to pollute less.” The government auctions off a fixed, or capped, limit of credits—each represents a set amount of carbon—to firms. If the firms exceed the carbon limits of the credits they buy, they are forced to buy more of these credits from other firms who have used less than them. Firms are thus punished for excessive carbon pollution, while those

that pollute less are rewarded.

Though complex in its execution, the goal of the system is simple: To reduce emissions by targeting major emitters.

According to the premier, more than 98 per cent of Quebec’s energy is produced through renewable sources. As such, Quebec can afford to use a cap-and-trade system.

However, Couillard himself admits that the current structure is not economically feasible and needs new members. He is convinced that other

states will join, especially those from New England who are already part of a group called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Kelly Speakes-Beckman, chair of the RGGI, dismissed the notion as unrealistic.

“We’ve had no discussion of any states leaving RGGI, either to go to California or elsewhere,” SpeakesBeckman said in an interview with Bloomberg. Only Vermont has demonstrated interest, leaving the newly formed market dangerously isolated.

But Quebec is not alone in its struggle. The European Union’s Emission Trading System (ETS) is the biggest of cap-and-trade systems.

Considered by many to be the proof of a way to regulate carbon emissions using a free market, the ETS is now burdened with a surplus of about two billion emission allowances, equivalent to a year’s supply, according to UK’s Secretary of Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey. Companies therefore have little incentive to scale back their carbon emissions. Davey

“According to the premier, more than 98 per cent of Quebec’s energy is produced through renewable sources.”

(Cordelia Cho / McGill Tribune)

proposes to cut the surplus of credits and decrease the amount of credits auctioned, as well as strive to strike a better balance between fairness, costeffectiveness, and simplicity.

These proposals, seemingly nobrainers, have yet to be implemented, and those submitted by the ETS are far too mild in comparison.

There are other issues at play, especially in including the aviation industry in carbon markets. As an international industry, the ETS’s inclusion of foreign aircraft into consideration on its carbon markets sparked outrage.

According to a report by the International Emissions Trading Association, “Various U.S. airlines […] arguing that the application of the ETS to foreign-based operators breached customary international law.” Although the ETS’s decision was upheld, there is still considerable controversy over the matter.

Whether or not Quebec will follow the European Union in forming a widespread trading system still remains to be seen. Quebec and California may be leading the way for a North American carbon market, but there are still significant challenges to overcome in order to achieve a low-carbon economy.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

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Science & Technology

TISED talks address renewable electricity in Canada and the U.S.

Experts from varying fields discuss the economics of decarbonization Clare Lyle Contributor Last Wednesday, Moyse Hall attendees watched society and technology collide. As part of a lecture series hosted by the Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design (TISED), McGill presented two views—one from an economist and one from an engineer—on the future of renewable power in North America.

The first speaker, economist John Reilly of MIT, discussed the ramifications of the U.S. power supply evolving to rely on 80 per cent renewable sources. Jim Burpee, president and CEO of the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA), followed up by bringing the subject matter closer to home and looking at the future of electricity in Canada.

Reilly’s study examined a few scenarios on what the makeup of energy sources in the U.S. could look like in a few decades. He emphasized the difficulty of using unpredictable renewable sources like wind and solar energy.

As an economist, Reilly then compared the costs of these energy sources to coal. He found that renewables like wind power are more expensive, not because of the cost of technology, but

because of the unreliability of these sources.

In spite of these challenges, Reilly’s study found that with a flexible grid system and strategic placement of generators, 80 per cent renewable energy production in the U.S. is feasible using only today’s commercially available technologies. Furthermore, electricity prices in the model only went up as much as would be expected in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

However, Burpee showed that Canada’s energy sources were a different situation. He started his presentation with a breakdown of Canadian energy sources, of which 80 per cent were already non-GHG emitting.

Despite this impressive number, the CEA is continuing to improve sustainability.

In essence, decarbonization is the act of declining the average carbon intensity of primary energy over time.

While global progress is slow—a 0.3 per cent decline per year, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—the trend is showing declining carbon use.

According to Burpee, “The ques-

tion isn’t whether to decarbonize—it’s, ‘At what rate [should we decarbonize?]’”

To find an answer, Burpee explored the costs associated with decarbonization, the role of government regulation, and the viability of nuclear power to replace carbon. He discussed the three pillars of energy supply: Sustainability, affordability, and reliability.

In order to improve sustainability without affecting reliability, the price of electricity has to go up.

Burpee also noted the potential for technological advancements to improve sustainability. Solar panel efficiency, for example, is 17 per cent. Even the internal combustion engine appears embarrassingly inefficient at 30 per cent, leaving room for improvement.

The evening ended with a Q&A period, where one of the final questions resonated with McGill students in particular: What role can young people play in the move towards sustainable sources?

Both presenters agreed that technological developments are integral to society’s ability to switch to renewable energy sources. Beyond engineers, computer scientists will also become

MIT economist John Reilley. (Photo courtesy of MIT Global Change) However, these developments increasingly important as the grid bedon’t happen in a vacuum. Investment comes smarter.

The second day’s lecturer, Jessica in technology is essential to continue Trancik, also hailed from MIT. With a improving at this rate. Trancik’s work background in materials science, her lab has shown the link between public fundanalyzes the costs and environmental ing and the rate of patent filing in both impacts of energy technologies. Her the U.S. and Japan. These links show work aims to improve the efficiency of growth in certain markets, particularly those focused on sustainability. energy production and storage.

The talks highlighted the fact that Trancik’s talk highlighted the immense improvements that have been the shift to renewable energy is not an made in renewable energy production. isolated problem. It is important for peoFor example, photovoltaics—solar pan- ple from all fields to take a stance to help els—are about 100 times cheaper today solve the issues facing the implementation of renewable energy. than they were in 1974.

CHLOE NEVITT Science & Technology Editor

Face the truth: Mites found on human skin Microscopic eight-legged creatures make their homes in the faces of all people, a study recently published in PLOS ONE has shown. The Demodex mites are a group of hair follicle and sweat gland-dwelling species.

Two different species of these mites reside on the face. The first, Demodex brevis , burrows into the sweat gland. The second, Demodex folliculorum , resides on the follicle above the gland.

Thought to have been present in only a small portion of the population, the mites have now been shown to be almost completely ubiquitous. Researcher Megan Thoemmes, from North Carolina State University, found that 100 per cent of 253 people over the age of 18 had Demodex DNA on their faces. By using DNA collected from the sweat of facial samples, the team was able to get a more accurate reading of mite presence, as opposed to that of classical mite-counting techniques.

These mites can be used as a way to trace the migration of humans. The team used the 18

rRNA gene as a marker for differing gene structure, to trace the evolution of the mite. Using its phylogeny to find common ancestors, the researchers can see when the mites were transmitted to humans, and when certain species where introduced to differing demographics.

Study on over 100 billion animals show GMOS are safe Heard over the noise of alarming headlines from antiGMO crusaders was a study conducted by geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam and her assistant Amy E. Young from the University of California-Davis Department of Animal Science. The two reviewed 29 years of livestock productivity and health data to show that overall, there is no difference in genetically-modified feed versus regular.

Globally, food-producing animals consume 70 to 90 per cent of genetically engineered (GE) crop. Starting from 1983— before the introduction of GE crops in 1996—through 2011, the data shows that trends in livestock health never fluctuated.

While no previous studies have

shown any real correlation between GE food consumption and overall well-being, it is the sheer magnitude of the study that is so impressive.

Because the body digests DNA and protein, which are the components that are usually modified in GE foods, there are never any detectable traces of GE components in milk, meat, and eggs after the consumption of the GE food. The same concept applies to humans—there are no risks involved in the consumption of GM food.

Chinese scientists are designing a collider so massive it could encircle Manhattan When thinking of atoms, particles, and physics, most people think of the LHC-CERN— the Large Hadron Collider located outside Geneva. However, Chinese scientists based out of Beijing are planning on changing that. The new laboratory, which will focus on cutting-edge particle physics, will be so large that it could encircle the island of Manhattan.

The project, called the Circular Electron Positron Collider

(CEPC), is the shining symbol of China’s growth as a scientific hub. The collider’s purpose is easily discernible from the name.

Electrons are collided with their anti-matter counterparts at higher and higher speeds. The experiment hopes to recreate the Big Bang—the start of the universe.

The group will be addressing questions regarding matter, energy, the Higgs Boson, and the space-time continuum. The

larger size of this new collider allows for higher energy levels to be attained.

This centre will also act as a campus, attracting scientists to China from various specializations abroad. This will increase competition with the U.S., which has so far released very few plans for furthering research in fundamental physics.

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

CONTACT

derek.ganes@ganespharma.com

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Owen Pallett reveals expertise in vocals, violin

Pallett digs deep into discography to deliver dazzling performance SHRINKHALA DAWADI News Editor As far as entrances go, Owen Pallett’s first appearance on stage during his concert at the Corona Theatre last week was a humble one. The bearded singer-violinist walked on set before his show had even started and prepared his equipment—a violin, plugged into a loop pedal—with minimal fanfare.

In fact, the entire show was characterized by how down-to-earth Pallett was—even in the most energetic moments of the concert. His unassuming character was matched by his incredible stage presence and vitality, a surprising marriage of traits that don’t typically go together.

Also pleasantly surprising was Pallett’s diverse choice of songs from his entire solo discography, which included some from his seminal first album Has a Good Home (2005). Pallet brought a highly appreciated energy into songs such as “That’s When the Audience Died” and “Song for Five & Six” from his latest album, In Conflict (2014). Listened to through a pair of headphones, the songs are upbeat but serene, Pallet’s voice crooning through the pizzicato of his violin. On stage, the artist coaxes crescendos and guttural cries from his own singing and from his instruments. The addition of a drummer and guitarist to the set also lent the show a very danceable rock ‘n’ roll atmosphere.

Pallett’s unconventional performance also added to the theatricality of the concert. He built up his songs layer by layer, recording sounds live through a loop pedal that he would manipulate throughout the set. Listening to the live construction of songs that I’d first heard years ago was eye-opening to say the least, as was hearing the many ways through which Pallett manipulated the violin—tapping on the wooden body of the instrument to create drum loops, or scraping on the strings of the violin to create an eerie, reverberant backdrop to his songs.

Pallett’s masterful control over the many ing attitude and professionalism combined with complicated aspects of his set was well-appreci- his passion for the music kept the atmosphere ated. Pallett has done extensive work with bands enjoyable, and it was simply fascinating to see the such as Arcade Fire, and his very genre of music— song construction in real time. The concert was, if indie pop/rock centred around a solo-violinist—is anything, more of an artistic performance than a a breeding ground for moody artists, but Pallett’s musical set strung together from a list of songs— professionalism throughout the complex set dis- effectively exposing Owen Pallett’s proficiency as a performer. pelled any thought of a downbeat atmosphere.

To cap off the polished performance, the lighting and props for the show were fantastic: The lasers, strobes, and flood lights framed the performers in sharp angles, with the lights’ geometric complexity paralleling the show’s musical precision. The sole prop was an enigmatic sculpture shaped like an angular quartz crystal that was larger than Pallett himself.

Depending on the lighting, the sculpture reflected the stage in a haze of smoke or shone ominously in black.

The venue itself was cozy and curtained in red velvet, but not too small—even if the imposing frescoed cherubs on the theatre’s ceiling were slightly off-putting.

All in all, the concert was fantastic. The sound was a surprising but effective departure from the tone of the albums, and very apt for the four hour show, which needed a little upbeat rock ‘n’ roll to keep the audience engaged. Pallet’s unassum- Owen Pallett jams out on the Corona stage. (Bridget Walsh / McGill Tribune)

20,000 Days on Earth: An artist finds fulfillment by losing himself DANIEL FISHBAYN Contributor Like most projects Nick Cave pours his soul into, 20,000 Days On Earth is a gripping experience. In the first scene of the film, the Australian post-punk legend awakes in bed with his wife on what he claims to be his “20,000th day on earth.”

Following that revelation, Cave reflects on the chaotic 19,999 days that preceded it. He claims that he eventually “ceased to be a human being,” presumably becoming instead a creature with a superhuman affinity for gold rings—which we frequently see him wearing during the film.

The directors of 20,000 Days, acclaimed British video artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, are already famed across the Atlantic for their reenactments of seminal moments in the history of rock—including David Bowie’s 1973 farewell performance as Ziggy Stardust, among many others. Yet instead of settling for something similar with Cave, Forsyth and Pollard have co-conspired with him to make something perhaps more interesting: A genre-bending quasi-documentary with fresh insights about what it means to be an artist.

Forsyth’s and Pollard’s collaboration with Cave was initially supposed to consist of promo videos for Push The Sky Away (2013), Cave’s fifteenth and most recent album with longtime backing band the Bad Seeds, but the project slowly grew into a feature film. Considering the array of

locations Cave visits, shooting the entire movie within a 24-hour period would not have been possible. Instead, the filmmakers use lighting over the course of the movie to signify the progression from morning to night—a symbolic “day” in Cave’s frenetic life. We watch the bright, warm tones of the recording studios Cave inhabits early on in the film meld into the shadowy, bluish glow of the Nick Cave Archives, a storehouse of Cave’s personal miscellany where he makes an extended stop toward the end of the film.

Part of the story is about showing how Cave juggles fatherhood and married life with being a world-famous musician. The filmmakers’ clever idea of inserting Cave’s friends into the backseat of his car as he drives to his next destination is a neat visual reminder of his jam-packed lifestyle.

Between recording sessions, psychotherapy, and movie night with his twin boys, Cave reconnects with old friends. He shares his performance secrets with Australian pop-star-turned-actress Kylie Minogue, with whom Cave recorded hit single “Where the Wild Roses Grow” for the Bad Seeds’ 1996 album Murder Ballads.

“For me, there’s a kind of psychodrama going on with people in the front row,” he explains to her.

“I get a huge amount of energy from that.”

In these scenes and throughout the film, the filmmakers, editor Jonathan Amos, Forsyth, Pollard, and Amos all picked up awards at Sundance for their efforts to make magic happen on-screen.

They edit scenes of Cave at work and in conversation with a conciseness that keeps the action flowing and puts the drama of each interaction at centre stage.

Likewise, at a couple of points, Cave cuts in to offer us a soliloquy on a topic of his choice. Cave relates how the view of the ocean in his adopted hometown of Brighton inspires him with its alternation between a “sky so blue you can’t even look at it,” and a storm full of “great black thunderheads that make you feel like you’re inside [of it].” Forsyth and Pollard drive home Cave’s scintillating words by syncing them up with striking images of angry oceanic skies, the whole thing wrapped up in the haunting crescendos of Australian composer/ musician Warren Ellis’s ambient score.

Not everyone has the ability to grip an audience with personal nostalgia and meteorological musings for an hour-and-a-half. Thankfully, Nick Cave is not just anyone. He may swagger through life, making lofty claims about the nature of art and memory, but he has earned the right to do so.

As this film attests, he is a captivating figure both on-stage and off, and a capable wordsmith to boot.

Forsyth and Pollard have good reason to devote a feature film to mining Cave’s mind for gold, even if he does wear plenty on his fingers.

20,000 Days on Earth is currently playing at various times until at least Oct. 9 at Cinema du Parc (3575 Parc). Student tickets are $10.

Forgotten gems from one-hit wonders WYATT FINE-GAGNÉ Sports Editor

Lawyers, Guns, and Money

Artist: Warren Zevon Album: Excitable Boy Released: January 18, 1978 Though you probably don’t know who Warren Zevon was, you’ve probably heard “Werewolves of London” before—though it’s likely more often associated with Halloween or being one of the samples on Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” than it is with Zevon. “Lawyers, Guns, and Money” is off Excitable Boy, which ended up being Zevon’s most successful album. Zevon was known for his dark, humorous and occasionally ridiculous lyricism, and that’s certainly at play in this song. The instrumentation isn’t particularly unique— a couple guitars, drums, and bass—but Zevon’s words make him special. As a musician he may not be unique, but as a songwriter there’s no one else like him.

Mexican Wine

Artist: Fountains of Wayne Album: Welcome Interstate Managers Released: June 10, 2003 It took me a long time to accept that Fountains of Wayne was going to end up being a one-hit wonder.

Its catalogue is filled with great songs, but “Stacy’s Mom” is the only one by the four-piece power-pop group to ever get mainstream recognition. Welcome Interstate Managers is jam-packed with catchy riffs and quirky imagined characters in its songs. I still go back to listen to it now and then, and when I do, it’s “Mexican Wine” that stands out for me. It’s fun, slightly bittersweet, and, perhaps most importantly, very satisfying pop music.

Tiny Little Bows

Artist: Carly Rae Jepsen Album: Kiss Released: September 14, 2012 The sheer magnitude of “Call Me Maybe” meant that any other Jepsen track would likely be a disappointment—and this ended up being the case.

Her album Kiss did sell fairly well, but it was largely on the back of that one megahit. “Tiny Little Bows,” the album’s opening track, is solid candy pop built on layered synths and a funky, slapped bass part. The sample of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” also adds a nice touch. Though the lyricism is not all that strong— rarely deviating from the structure used in the first verse and chorus—it’s hard to get the words out of your head once they’re caught there.

White Houses

Artist: Vanessa Carlton Album: Harmonium Released: October 21, 2004 Like Jepsen, Vanessa Carlton’s rise was due largely to a single massively popular song that ultimately overshadowed any of her later releases. “White Houses” was the only single off of her second album, Harmonium, that was considered a commercial failure. Musically, “White Houses” follows a similar formula to her hit “A Thousand Miles”—piano laying the foundation with strings swelling and drums pushing things along. But in “White Houses,” Carlton is reflecting on mistakes, not yearning for love. While her sophomore album may have been a disappointment, this song remains a bright spot.

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Mysterious craze: Why the U2 hate has gone too far ERIC NOBLE-MARKS Contributor Is there a more hated band in the world right now than U2? Despite releasing albums that have sold millions of copies since the 1980s, U2 has recently been belittled by fans and critics alike as the standard for everything overproduced, commercial, and self-serving about modern rock music. Critics have called Bono “pretentious” and The Edge “overrated.” Making matters worse, the release of their new album / Apple promotional gimmick Songs of Innocence has angered legions of iTunes users. This is largely due to the album’s inexplicable intrusion into the media player’s libraries everywhere without user consent. As a result, U2 is currently held responsible for what the Washington Post calls “Rock ‘n’ Roll as junk mail.”All of this has placed U2 somewhere between Nickelback and root canals on the disdain scale: But is it really all warranted? U2 has been unfairly treated as the whipping boy and deserves much more credit that they usually receive from the music-listening public.

For starters, what’s lost in the recent controversy is that U2 released its album for free. In a landscape where mainstream music is increasingly monetized, this decision is

deserving of at least some credit. After all, when Radiohead released an album with a “pay what you want” payment scheme, they were hailed as the saviours of modern music by critics. When U2 did Radiohead one better, it received widespread scorn.

Others have criticized Bono’s personality. The man certainly has an ego, but he has also committed his time and money to making the world a better place through his charity work. At the end of the day, it’s hard to say he deserves such a negative reputation.

However, these qualms have nothing to do with U2’s actual music. What is commonly overlooked these days is U2’s unique sound, longevity, and influence. This is primarily reflected in their ’80s and early ’90s work, when albums like War (1983), The Unforgettable Fire (1984), The Joshua Tree (1987), and Achtung Baby (1991) changed the landscape of what would become modern rock. Neither a punk band nor a standard “arena rock” band, U2 brought a distinct and dynamic sound that was as appropriate in bedrooms as in stadiums. The Edge redefined the way the electric guitar was used in mainstream music, adding texture and ambience rather than blistering leads. In these albums, Bono’s lyrics are poignant and pressing as he touches on a wide variety of subjects from pacifism to drug addiction. This was not only U2’s creative peak,

but in comparison to any artist, an all-around impressive musical stretch.

This isn’t to say that U2 does not have missteps, bad songs, or even bad albums. Admittedly, the band’s recent work certainly doesn’t live up to their older music and, to an extent, does sound derivative and overproduced. However, U2’s been around for almost 40 years. Is it not somewhat understandable that the band’s going through a slump or have even exhausted its creative potential after such a long and prolific career? One can count on one hand the bands who are as old as U2 who are still releasing commercially and critically relevant music. Every band with a long history has a best-before date, yet U2 gets more hate than anyone else.

This has much more to do with Bono’s exuberant persona than U2’s past—or even current—musical qualities.

Though U2’s musical output has maybe slipped in recent years, is there really so much wrong with a band continuing to work after its best days are behind it? Surely music fans

(Ellie Savitch / McGill Tribune) shouldn’t expect the band to break up if its members still feel like they have more to say.

For all their shortcomings, U2 still has not found what it’s looking for, and that’s something to admire, not belittle.

Edge of Eternity provides engrossing Reality bites: Spike Lee’s latest finds ending to historical trilogy Character-driven arcs propel Ken Follett’s Cold War-themed novel

MAX JOSEPH Contributor

MARTIN MOLPECERES Contributor History has a bad rap for being a seemingly perfunctory field of study. As a history major, I certainly have gotten my fair share of skepticism when I profess my interest in our past. But history, more than almost any other subject, carries a certain humanity with it.

It is the story of us, of how we got to where we are, with all the emotions, tragedies, and strange foibles that only real people can afford.

Few books tap into this feeling better than Ken Follett’s Edge of Eternity.

The third and final instalment of the renowned novelist’s Century Trilogy, Edge of Eternity follows four families from Russia, Germany, Britain, and the United States. It captures the early days of the Civil Rights movement, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and everything in between.

The plot offers little in the way of added complexities or depth because it is essentially the Cold War retold. Rather, it is the characters and the different lenses through which they view the events that offer the crux of the drama. While the interwoven

family trees are cumbersome at first, Follett does a good job reintroducing the characters and keeping them isolated enough that their arcs unfold at separate, brisk paces.

Readers familiar with the series will enjoy some satisfying moments of closure from the first generation of characters, long forgotten and living out the last days of their lives. That is not to say new readers will not enjoy Edge of Eternity without having read the previous instalments; but there is simply a level of familiarity that goes with following these five families for three generations.

The book’s predecessor, Winter of the World, focused less on the history than on the love lives of the characters. While this worked well in the first instalment, Fall of Giants, for the second book ,it occasionally descended the piece into the trappings of a cheap soap opera. Fortunately, it is a trapping that Edge of Eternity deftly avoids. While melodrama is still present—and those infuriated by love triangles in fiction may find themselves gnawing their teeth at times—Edge of Eternity chooses to focus on the politics of the

the writer-director in new territory

era and the men and women that shaped it. Historical figures such as Robert Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev are deeply explored, and Follett’s painstaking attention to detail gives the read an air of engrossing realism even in its more outlandish moments.

This is not to say that the book is perfect—while it isn’t as overbearing as its predecessor, what little romantic plot points do remain are grating at times, with seemingly every main character getting a clear soulmate to play “will they, won’t they” with. Additionally, while most characters are interestingly fleshed out, antagonists appear somewhat more one-dimensional by the standards of the rest of the narrative, particularly a German Nazi officer whose main characterizing feature is ‘petty jerk.’

Despite these shortcomings, Edge of Eternity is an engrossing read. Follet’s manages to switch seamlessly from character to character, making this decades spanning story feel absolutely epic.

Edge of Eternity was released in Canada by Penguin Books on September 16, 2014.

(Continued from page 1) Despite the satisfaction he gets from blood, the vampire life is a lonely one for Greene until he finds companionship in Hightower’s widow, an upper-class British woman named Ganja (Zaraah Abrahams). Despite her curiosity about her husband’s fate, she is entranced by Greene, and she’s happy to spend countless hours getting high and having sex with him. While it seems at first that he is content to spare her from having to share his fate, the temptation eventually grows too strong, and he seals her fate as his vampire bride with a bite into her neck.

This might all seem to happen merely for shock value—and much of what occurs on-screen certainly is shocking. The film contains both some of the most sexually explicit and graphically violent scenes of Lee’s career, and they’re tempting to dismiss as a way to draw attention to a film otherwise likely to be largely ignored by moviegoers. But Lee uses them as a device to milk the satire that could otherwise risk lying dormant in his narrative. Unlike the exploitative sequences frequently found in Game of Thrones and countless other films and shows, Lee uses nudity as a way to showcase the raw physicality and power of the human body. He overwhelms us with long, languishing shots of the bodies,

and dares us to suggest that black can’t be beautiful.

Likewise, the violence—though often grotesque—reveals the extent of the vampires’ addiction to blood. Like many addicts, Ganja and Greene have to commit horrifying acts to get their fix, and the graphic nature of Lee’s depiction of them spotlights the grim nature of their predicament. Though the characters derive satisfaction from the blood, their pleasure comes at a great price.

Lee shows a similar lack of subtlety when it comes to the socioeconomic class of his characters—though, like the sex and violence, it never feels unnecessary. While Greene is happy to chow down on his poorer victims, he needs someone of a social status comparable to his to call his partner-in-blood. Ganja’s ability to fulfill this need is exaggerated to comic effect—particularly through her behaviour towards Seneschal, but the emphasis helps us to see the focal points of Lee’s satire.

Some of these points do get obscured over the course of the film’s two-hour plus running time, but Da Sweet Blood of Jesus mostly succeeds as a potent satire of addiction, race, and class. Horror has a grand tradition as a vehicle for social commentary, and it’s refreshing to see a director steer the genre away from being a springboard for young-adult blockbusters and towards a higher cause.

16

ALBUM REVIEWS ODESZA

In Return Columbia Having made names for themselves in their local electronic music scene, Seattlebased Catacombkid (aka Harrison Mills) and BeachesBeaches (aka Clayton Knight) brought their individual talents together to create ODESZA in 2012. Since then, the partnership has flourished, as demonstrated by the duo’s dynamic sophomore album, In Return.

The record is a consistent stream of pop-infused electronic bliss. The characteristic glitched-out vocals and atmospheric soundscapes have carried over from the duo’s earlier sound, but In Return also showcases the sonic development ODESZA has undergone. Their songs are never overwhelmingly complex; instead, each track has a subtlety that allows you to discover different nuances with each listen.

Influences from all over the musical spectrum can be found throughout the record. Particularly notable is the clear worldmusic tinge, including recurring African percussion beats and Asian-inspired woodwind and string sounds.

Unlike its first album, ODESZA’s second album features collaborations a number of vocalists for In Return to develop fuller, more user-friendly songs. The vocal focus means that the tracks have become less beatoriented. With performances from Zyra, Py, Shy Girls, and Madelyn Grant, to name a few, this album is successfully attempting to cross over the mainstream bridge.

Cinematic and dark, yet still somehow uplifting, “It’s Only,” featuring Zyra, is one of the standout tracks. The dreamy vocals somehow lend themselves perfectly to the jungle-vibes of the song’s percussion. “Say My Name,” another Zyra collaboration, is a second highlight. More upbeat, this tune is driven by the drums and bass line. It’s hard to listen to without dancing along at least a little bit.

Electronic music looms large in today’s cultural scene, but despite this influx, In Return still manages to present a refreshing listening experience. —

—_-Kia Pouliot

Perfume genius

Aphex twin

too bright matador

Conveying emotion is difficult. Conveying emotion well—and allowing people to connect to it—is even harder. However, for American songwriter Mike Hadreas, otherwise known as Perfume Genius, emotional darkness and confessions are where he thrives. His first two albums tackle incredibly personal struggles: Sexuality, molestation, and relationships, which results in some of the most raw and intelligent songs the music industry has to offer. His third studio album, Too Bright, continues where Hadreas left off: In a whirlwind of confusion and observations about himself.

It’s a complicated album full of vocal distortion, piercing instrumentation, and incredibly vivid lyrics. Unlike its predecessors, the album marks a huge step for Hadreas: His lyrics are more poignant and the production more explorative, forcing his vocals to the spotlight—a place that he’s previously shied away from. It’s a clever move; whereas the sadness and depression was allowed to fade into the background in his past work—crushed and swallowed by a lonely piano—here the emotion cannot be ignored. It’s raw, it’s epic, and it’s uncomfortable. As opposed to the introverted sexuality and self-discovery lyricism of Put Your Back N 2 It, Too Bright sees Hadras turn outwards, and, like a child, discovers the world around him for the first time. Second track “Queen” boasts quality production with gritty guitar underneath a layer of sunny-sounding synthesizers; “Fool” consists of a ’70s-esque snapping beat overlayed by an epic middle chorus in which it’s impossible to determine whether we’re hearing Hadras’ incredibly confident, almost piercing vocals, or an intense, heavy-reverb screaming guitar. But isn’t that the point? Does it matter what it is if it conveys emotion? The erratic and mesh of instruments reflect the chaos of the lyricism. It’s tough, but it’s brilliant.

Perfume Genius is a rare type of artist; his music is simple but his lyrics contain an unlimited depth, documenting his life experiences and thoughts meticulously. It allows us as listeners to see him evolve not only as an artist, but as a person.

Too Bright reminds us that if we take a moment to look up from our own lives, we realize there is a whole separate experience altogether. It’s one that we might love, we might hate, or we might just not know what to make of it.

-Jack Neal

—

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Alt-j

SYRO

this is all yours

warp

I N F E C TIOU S

In early September, Richard James, aka Aphex Twin, teased his eager fan base with the release of his new album’s first track, “minipops 67 [120.2].” The song’s resonant kick-drum harmony reminded me of Moderat’s crowd-pleasing 2009 single, “Rusty Nails,” which lead me to believe that Syro was going to be James’ attempt to cater his distinctive sound towards the clubbing demographic. While the album does have its dance oriented moments, my original prediction proved to be shortsighted—as the album’s melodies become progressively stranger and often creepier as it unfolds.

The album is by no means alienating, as James maintains an energy throughout it—which, albeit eclectic, is honest and visceral. Moments of certain songs are evocative of other artists and even classifiable, such as the Daft Punk-esque robotic funk groove in “XMAS_EVET10.”

Viewed as composite structures, the tracks cannot be justifiably classified. It is almost as if James employed an orchestra of laptops to create the album, each programmed with its own unique and foreign sound, and each directed by his figurative baton to enter the music at unpredictable, whimsical moments. If music exists on another planet or dimension, I believe that Syro is a near perfect representation of how that music might sound.

Nevertheless, as left field as Aphex Twin takes the listener on Syro, intrinsically, the album is a convincing, original expression of James’ peerless musical genius. With James’ previous release of Druqks in 2001, the 13-year wait for Syro was well worth it.

— -Clark Bray

Following the commercial success and melodic genius of Alt-J’s first album, An Awesome Wave, the anticipation for follow-up This is All Yours was high. It’s always easy to nitpick the latest work from a band that has unexpectedly risen to the top of the popular music scene, but when it comes down to it, Alt-J’s sophomore effort is another success for the experimental indie rock quartet.

Leadoff track “Intro” is a perfect opening for the 13 songs that follow, showcasing an eclectic range of musicality coupled with incoherent words building up for several minutes until we hear actual language being spoken. During this prelude, Alt-J sets a strong tone for the album through its ability to compile layers of varied beats, nonsensical lyrics, lingering falsettos, harmonies, acoustics, and whistling solos into a single audibly pleasing mosaic.

Alt-J’s success at molding together such a wide variety of sounds is displayed again on the track “Hunger of the Pine,” which samples and repeats the line “I’m a female rebel” from Miley Cyrus’ “4x4.” That one lyric beautifully complements the intensity that builds throughout the song. Another track to look out for is “Bloodflood II,” which, like “Hunger of the Pine,” uses a buildup technique that leads the song into a final flourish of percussion, synthesizers, and steady vocals before bowing out with a calming piano passage.

This is All Yours is an album of dazzling, seductive mysteries that fall right in line with the dense layers of musical enigmas that Alt-J has concocted. You will encounter combinations and lyrics that you won’t understand; yet somehow, the deliberate matching of varied sonic elements will hook you in, tingle your musical veins and—although you can’t always quite pinpoint how—leave you strangely satisfied.

—- Natalie Wong

sports

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

17

NFL Overtime Rules

(Photo courtesy of Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi)

Two minutes to save the world One of the most exciting sequences in any football game is the fabled “twominute drill.” Offences open up when they are up against the clock; more risks are taken, the pace is faster, and the crowd is on its feet. Whichever team starts on offence will receive the ball on the 20 yard line and will have, you guessed it, two minutes to score. After the initial team scores, squanders possession, or exhausts their alloted time, the opposing team gets a chance at redemption. This would then continue for two minutes at a time until one team emerges victorious.

Additionally, each team will be required to attempt a two-point

conversion after each touchdown scored. This is because the rate at which placekickers convert the standard onepoint conversion is preposterously high and adds little surprise to the game.

This proposed solution has the potential to add a new dimension to professional football that would be different than the college game. Rather than borrowing completely from the NCAA, this finds a somewhat happy—or entirely absurd—medium that promises to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

– Mayaz Alam

I see no reason to change the current overtime rules in the regular season. They allow for the game to end quickly, which reduces the chance for a game to drag on and lose some of its excitement. It also adds an element of pressure and luck that can spice up even the most boring regular season games. Also, with the principle of regression towards the mean at work over the course of a sixteen-game regular season, the current rules aren’t going to have significant playoff implications for any team involved in an overtime

match.

In the playoffs, the teams should have extra time, as they do in soccer, and play until one team comes out with more points at the end of the game. The post-season is a knockout tournament, and the fans want to see the best team of the day win–not the team that wins the coin toss. The importance of minimizing the effect of luck is magnified in the playoff setting, as there are no second chances.

– Zikomo Smith

I love college

Play on The current NFL overtime rules are worse than those in any other professional sport. Before the 2010 rule change, the sudden death format put an inordinate amount of importance on the coin toss. It kept superstar players like Peyton Manning on the sidelines, with as much ability to affect a game’s outcome as someone sitting at home yelling at the television would have.

Unfortunately, the current format isn’t much better. Requiring both teams to possess the ball is a great change, but the touchdown exception makes the rule little more than a half-measure, and thus practically ineffective. The current system can be compared to playing extra

Luck schmuck

innings in baseball, but not allowing the home team to bat if the visitors hit a grand slam in the top of the 10th inning.

The most entertaining alternative for fans would be to play a full fifth quarter and accept a tie in the regular season if the score is still level at the end, as is done in soccer. Sudden death can work in a sport like hockey, where the possession is free-flowing and both teams have the opportunity to make plays, but the format of football is fundamentally different and the overtime rules should reflect that.

– Nick Jasinski

When the NFL switched its overtime rules, its aim was to eliminate the issue of coin tosses determining winners. This clearly has not been the case, and it is because of the provision that a touchdown can win a game on the first possession, leaving one team’s offence on the sidelines. To remove the importance of the coin toss entirely, the NFL needs to adopt a similar system to that of college football. In this version of overtime, each team gets one possession and the game plays out like a shootout of sorts. The first team on offence starts with the ball on the 25-yard line, and their possession ends when they score, turn the ball over, or miss a field goal.

The second team then has to match or do better. If they score the same number of points, a second round of possessions ensues–and so on and so forth–and if one team has scored more, that team is crowned the winner.

This removes the importance of the coin toss, as it is now only used to determine who gets to go on offence first.

Another improvement would be to have possessions begin on the 40-yard line rather than on the 25. This would make scoring easier, and hopefully add a little bit of extra excitement to overtime.

– Wyatt Fine-Gagné

18

Sports

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

LACROSSE — REDMEN 18, ravenS 3

Redmen remain undefeated on season Goodwin leads the way as McGill steamrolls Ravens alex sirois Contributor On perhaps the last warm and sunny Saturday of the year, the McGill Redmen (8-0) continued their seasonlong win streak with an 18-3 drubbing of the second-seeded Carleton Ravens (5-1) at Molson Stadium. Undefeated in conference play dating back to the beginning of the 2013 season, the Redmen have turned excellence into a routine. That’s not to say there haven’t been hiccups along the way–the team’s three previous games were either decided by one goal or sent into overtime.

“Going into the three close games, we hadn’t really been tested yet, with our smallest margin of victory being six goals, and I think we started to get a bit complacent,” co-captain Jack Stewart said. “We came out flat against Queen’s and Trent and nearly lost both of those games. It was a wakeup call for us, and we wanted to make a statement that proved those games were a fluke.”

The Redmen had clearly made a statement after just 20 minutes, when McGill was already up by five goals thanks to a stellar three-goal period from senior Connor Goodwin.

Prior to Saturday, Goodwin had posted unbelievable numbers in every game, sitting at 16 points in five games.

With his show-stealing performance against the Ravens, Goodwin vaulted ahead in the conference leaderboard.

McGill now has three players among the top-ten point scorers in the conference, with sophomore attackman Spencer Bromley leading the Redmen with 27 points this season.

McGill’s unchallenged dominance took most of the drama out of the contest early on for the spectators. But for the second and third-string players who came off the bench in the second half, the game was a chance to showcase their skills. Among them was Montreal native Louis-Charles Génereux. The first-year midfielder provided some excitement for the crowd by scoring his first goal as a Redmen.

Up big at the beginning of the second half, the Redmen didn’t lift their foot off the gas. The visiting Ravens were frustrated as the game transitioned from friendly competition into a bitter physical battle between the two teams.

Brutal hits from behind and excessive slashes were doled out all over the field by the Ravens’ defence, yet very few penalties were called. Nonetheless, it’s hard to fault the referee’s judgment in such a lopsided game.

For Head Coach Tim Murdoch, the blowout was more about the process

The Redmen attack leads the CUFLA with 101 goals. (Noah Sutton / McGill Tribune) rather than the final score.

“We saw a lot of guys [come off the bench] and give us a lot of quality play [...] and that’s something we all need to be happy about,” Murdoch said.

“At the same time, it’s crucial we don’t stay complacent and don’t slow down when the game’s going our way. Today the boys played all four quarters, and we need to make sure we keep doing that.”

Murdoch is aware of the long road ahead to the playoffs, and emphasized

the team’s need to prepare for stouter competition once the regular season ends. In the Western Conference of the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA), Brock University has now won five straight games, and with several other teams headed into the post-season with heads full of steam, the Redmen are aware of the challenges they will face. Regardless of how McGill fares in the playoffs, fans should be excited for some gripping action be-

YAHONG CHI Contributor I’m a die-hard Ottawa Senators supporter, but any hockey fan would jump at the opportunity to watch a game at the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens. It’s known as one of the loudest, most exciting arenas around the league. General admission to see this intra-squad pre-season game was free, but I was able to secure premium 100-level seats by donating a pair of used skates to a local community charity through a new promotion.

When I walked into the packed Bell Centre Monday evening, the lengths I went to in convincing my mom to drive from Ottawa with an old pair of skates were instantly justified. My seat was one of the best in the house, and would have cost a pretty penny in a regular-season game. Right behind the glass, on the corner facing the team benches, I could see the grooves and scratches on the surface of the ice. Due to the exorbitant cost of attending NHL games, this was probably going to be the first and last time I would ever sit in a seat this close to the action.

On my right was a woman who was practically shaking with exhilaration as she spoke in enthusiastic French

The Canadiens faithful were out in droves to support their team. (habseyesontheprize.com) to the man beside her. On my other side, a young boy pressed his hands and nose against the glass hard enough to leave prints. Above me sat thousands of fervent fans in the Canadiens’ iconic blue, white, and red.

Finally, the pre-game countdown wound down to a stop. I cheered along with everyone else as the Montreal Canadiens spilled onto the rink in red and white uniforms. With pucks littering the ice, the Red team skated down to our end of the rink and began to warm up.

The woman beside me showed herself to be a fan of goaltender Carey Price as she hopped up and down in her seat, alternating between taking photos of Price and simply marvelling at his proximity to us.

As warm-ups finished up, the scrimmage rules were explained: Two 25 minute periods would be played, and all penalties called would result in a penalty shot. This last rule was obviously in place for the fans, and it paid off in a big way. After a slow and scoreless first

period, defenceman P.K. Subban drew a penalty call for Team White, and the noise level rocketed through the roof as Subban stared down Price. With a perfect view of his advance, we watched Subban skate in, deke right-to-left and then flick a backhand just wide of Price.

The arena exploded in cheers for both Subban and Price, and I strained to pick out the suspiciously absent boos. Turns out when the whole crowd loves both teams, everyone’s happy regardless of who scores or wins.

tween high-caliber teams.

After the impressive showing on Saturday, it appears that McGill’s formula is a winning one. With eight games already in the bag and the playoffs rapidly approaching, the Redmen look poised to mount another post-season challenge.

Their quest to make a third straight Baggataway Cup Final continues against the Concordia Stingers (0-5) on Saturday, Oct. 4 in a 7:30 p.m. game under the lights at Molson Stadium.

Scoring began in earnest in the second period as rookie goalies took over between the pipes. Winger Max Pacioretty, sporting his brand new “A” as an alternate captain, sniped a topcorner goal on Michael Condon to put Team Red on the board. A little while later, forward Alex Galchenyuk received a perfect pass from right winger Nikita Scherbak, split Team Red’s defence with an impressive move, and went top shelf on goalie Zach Fucale.

With time winding down, winger Christian Thomas scored the winning goal for Team Red off a messy rebound to round out the night.

After the game, the voice coming through the loudspeakers told us to vote for the game MVP on our smartphones.

I expected one of the veterans or hometown heroes to be selected, and waited to hear a familiar name. Instead, the loudspeakers called out Nikita Sherbak, the rookie whose outstanding play had captivated me all game long.

It was uplifting to see such a young player skate onto the ice by himself, lifting his stick in acknowledgement of the boisterous cheers raining down on him. It was a perfect end to a game meant to celebrate the bond that ties a hockey club and its fans, making the beautiful sport of hockey so meaningful.

19 THIRD MAN IN: DUSK OF THE PINSTRIPES Sports

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

An ode to ‘The Captain’ Aaron Rose Contributor

Six years ago, I made a pilgrimage to the old home of the New York Yankees, the socalled “House That Ruth Built.”

It wasn’t a special game per say, just a late May tilt between the Yankees and the Seattle Mariners. To me though, this game meant something. I was witnessing history. After 85 years, the Yankees were moving across the street to a new and improved stadium. The old building’s concrete was covered with layers of grime and its blue seats were decrepit and old. But this stadium had a mystique about it, something that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

After a Johnny Damon groundout, the late Bob Sheppard’s voice rang out: “Now batting for the Yankees, the shortstop, number two, Derek Jeter, number two.”

For 56 years, Bob Sheppard was the voice of Yankees baseball. He saw 13 World Series Champions and narrated the careers of 16 Yankee Hall-of-Famers. He called Mickey Mantle’s Triple Crown season and he was there for Reggie Jackson’s three

Jeter is the last of the legendary “Core Four” to retire (lasportsanostra.com) home run game.

I don’t want you to think I’m some sort deranged Blue Jays fan, but I absolutely loathe the Yankees. I hate their arrogant New York attitude, their seemingly endless payroll, and the fact that they just never seem to lose.

Begrudgingly, I do respect them.

The Yankees just seem to have a special way of doing things.

I never got to see Mr. Oc-

tober or the Great Bambino, but one day when my children ask me if I ever got to see Mr. November step into the box, I’ll tell them about that night. In an era where fans are hesitant to form attachments to players, guarding their hearts against the frantic pace of free agency, Jeter has been a constant. He was the Yankees’ shortstop the first time I saw them play, and he’s been the only

REDMEN FOOTBALL –The Redmen (0-4) fell to the Laval Rouge et Or (4-0) 70-3 at Stade TELUS

shortstop I’ve ever known to don the pinstripes. If his 14 All-Star appearances, five golden gloves, and .309 career batting average don’t impress you enough, maybe his flair for the dramatics will. He helped seal the 2001 American League Division Series for the Yankees when he scooped up an errant throw from outfielder Shane Spencer and, with his momentum carrying him off

the field, flipped the ball home to throw out a sprinting Jeremy Giambi.

His 3,000th career hit was crushed over the left-field fence in Yankee Stadium for a home run. Last Thursday night, Jeter hit a walk off single in his final at-bat at home in front of the 48,000 crazed New Yorkers. The hit, a slapped grounder to right field, was vintage Jeter. On Sunday at Fenway Park, he earned a hit in the final at-bat of his long career, beating out a high chopper to the Boston third baseman.

His legend is one of storybook proportions.

In 1995, catcher Jorge Posada, starting pitcher Andy Pettitte, closer Mariano Rivera, and Jeter put on the pinstripes for the first time, forming what would come to be known as the “Core Four.”

After five championships and a combined 5,996 games, baseball fans everywhere waved goodbye on Sunday not just to Derek Jeter, but also to the end of a special era. With Major League Baseball becoming more and more commercial, it may be a while before we see another player transcend his stats and transform into an icon.

as it sets its sights on a playoff spot.

on Saturday night. The win marked Laval’s 67th consecutive victory at home as they continue to build a comfortable lead in the CIS standings. On a night where the McGill defence gave up a jaw-dropping 765 yards of total offence, rookie Karl Forgues, a linebacker from Repentigny, QC, was a bright spot on line of scrimmage all night. Forgues finished with a game-high 12 tackles.

Offensively, senior receiver Yannick Langelier-Vanasse had a solid game, tallying over 100 allpurpose yards. The Redmen will get a much needed bye week to rest and recover before facing the winless Bishop’s on Thursday, Oct. 9 at Molson Stadium.

MARTLET RUGBY –The Martlets (2-3-0) cruised to a 69-12 victory over the last place Bishop’s Gaiters (0-5-0) on Friday. Leading the way for the Martlets was senior Caroline Suchorski, a centre from Kirkland, QC, who scored 19 points on the night. The win snapped a three-game slump for the Martlets, who desperately needed the win to stay in contention for the fourth and final playoff spot. With two games left in the regular season, next week’s matchup against the fifth-place Montreal Carabins (2-2-0) is a must win for the Martlets.

REDMEN SOCCER –McGill (4-3-0) squandered a golden opportunity to take the lead in the

(2-1-0), who defeated the Sherbrooke Vert et Or (1-3-0) 41-20 over the weekend. The Redmen were led by senior fullback Thomas Stokes, whose golden boot tallied 16 points from five conversions and two drop goals. The game MVP, however, was sophomore forward Kaleb Nimat. With the victory, the Redmen move into a three-way tie for first place with five regular season games remaining. Their next matchup is a crucial home game against the Bishop’s Gaiters (2-1-0), who currently sport the highest point differential in the RSEQ. McGill continues its quest for a championship on Saturday, Oct. 4 in an afternoon match at Molson Stadium.

tightly contested RSEQ this weekend following a 2-1 defeat to the then last place UQTR Patriotes. Despite goalkeeper Max Leblond’s best efforts to keep his squad in the game, the Redmen fell prey to injuries and bad luck. In Sunday’s contest against the Concordia Stingers (0-34), the Redmen turned the tables in a 2-1 victory. Sophomore striker Massimo Di Ioia was the catalyst in the victory, notching a goal and an assist. The Redmen now draw even with the Montreal Carabins (3-1-3) at 12 points, but the Carabins hold a five-goal edge in goal difference.

With five games still left in the season, there is ample time for the squad to continue improving

REDMEN RUGBY –The long march to nine straight RSEQ titles continues for the McGill Redmen

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20

Sports

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Soccer —MArtlets 2, UQTR 1

Martlets gear up for playoff race Coughlan crafty in clutch win over UQTR Nicole spadotto Contributor The McGill Martlets (4-3-2) soccer team converted on a myriad of offensive opportunities in the second half to best the UQTR Patriotes (1-4-2) 2-0 at Molson Stadium Thursday evening.

The first half of the game was dominated by the Martlets as they continuously out-ran the UQTR defence to create scoring chances. Senior forward Rebecca Green led the offence in the first half, keeping constant pressure on the opposing team. She narrowly missed several chances created by fellow striker Meghan Bourque.

“We knew this was a game for us to win and we were all pleased with how we took control early on in the game,” Head Coach Jose-Luis Valdes said. “We created very good chances, but their keeper made the saves somehow to keep them in the game at the half.”

The Martlets came out even more determined in the second half, with Bourque, Green, and rookie forward Audrey-Ann Coughlan creating legitimate scoring chances. Bourque dominated the game offensively, creating multiple chances for both herself and her teammates.

“Meghan was determined and had an extra gear over everyone today,” Valdes said. “You could see she wanted

to make a difference and players just feed off that attitude.”

UQTR cobbled together a rare offensive chance in the middle of the second half, but were turned away in front of the net by a tight Martlets defence led by junior Zoe Fasoulakis.

The Martlets quickly recovered, taking control of the game again soon after. Turning on her burners, Bourque sprinted down the left side of the field, blowing by several defenders and beating the UQTR goalkeeper before leaving the ball on a tee for Coughlan, who made no mistake finding the back of the net to put McGill ahead for good.

The goal came with 15 minutes to spare and, despite their excellent play from the outset, the Martlets let out a collective sigh of relief.

“From that point on, you saw the weight come off our players’ shoulders and […] we did not force the play anymore,” Valdes explained.

Indeed, the Martlets appeared visibly looser, and were able to take advantage on their next scoring opportunity, with Hannah Kirby kicking home the insurance marker a few minutes after Coughlan’s go-ahead score.

A goal by sophomore forward Taylor Anderson was disallowed due to an offsides call. Despite seeing limited action, sophomore goalkeeper Cassandra Fafalios stood tall in the Martlet net, making one save on the night. She was credited with her third shutout of the

Sarah Bourque looks to propel the Martlets forward (Noah Sutton / McGill Tribune) season, and continues to shine for McGill with consistently sharp play. The Martlets dominated the game in terms of possession, but as Valdes notes, possession is only consequential if scoring chances are created. “[The team] still needs to work on pulling the trigger, as we sometimes just try to do things a little too pretty or

tend to watch others and see what they will do,” Valdes explained following the Martlets’ Thursday night victory.

“We saw this in the first half and corrected it in the second. Hopefully versus Concordia we will play ninety minutes with the intention of making the difference in front of their goal.”

The Martlets were partially able

Athletes of the Week Number of Redmen lacrosse players who registered at least one point in Saturday’s 18-3 romp over the Carleton Ravens.

Average pass string length for the Marlet soccer team in their 2-2 draw against Concordia on Sunday.

Connor Goodwin

Caroline Suchorski

Goodwin led the way in the 18-3 Redmen victory over the visiting Carleton Ravens Saturday with a hat trick in the opening frame to go along with four assists. It marked the second highest single-game total of his career, with his highest being nine in a win over Trent in 2013. Goodwin also added a goal in the win over Bishop’s Thursday night. He has been instrumental in helping the Redmen go undefeated so far this season and if he keeps up this pace, he could end up with his third straight CUFLA All-Canada East selection.

Coming off of a 10-5 loss to Ottawa, the Martlets ran roughshod over Bishop’s 69-12, thanks in large part due to Suchorski’s impressive effort. She converted on seven of her 11 chances—adding a try for good measure—on her way to a 19-point game. Through the Martlets’ three game losing streak, Suchorski had been a constant bright spot during a rebuilding year for the program.

Redmen lacrosse—Attackman Senior, Management

Martlet rugby—Centre Senior, Science

Photos courtesy of McGill Athletics

Number of quarterback sacks tallied by rookie linebacker Karl Forgues against Laval on Saturday.

Saves made by Redmen soccer goalkeeper Max Leblond in a crushing 2-1 loss to then last place UQTR on Friday night.

to do live up to Valdes’ expectations as they drew 2-2 against the Concordia Stingers (2-3-3) on Sunday. Next weekend McGill hosts the RSEQ leading Laval Rouge et Or (7-1-0) on Friday night before travelling to Sherbrooke (5-2-0) on Sunday in hopes of gathering steam ahead of a post-season run.