McGill Tribune Vol. 38 Issue 12

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | VOL. 38 | ISSUE 12

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

GAME REPORT

The current S/U option is unsatisfactory

We’ll sleep when we’re dead

Pots and pans basketball

PG. 5

PGs. 8-9

PG. 15

(Liam KirOpatrick / The McGill Tribune)

McGill library misplaces PGSS contract

PG.

Student of the Week: Hannah Miller Nicholas Raffoul Staff Writer Between Nov. 19 and 23, the McGill Social Work Students’ Association (SWSA) went on strike to protest the faculty’s compulsory internship requirement which students do not receive compensation for. Among the protesters

was Hannah Miller, U2 Social Work and the equity coordinator for the SWSA. Though they played a crucial role in the past week on campus, Miller’s activism in the faculty began long before the recent organized protest.

For the last week, Miller has been partaking in teach-outs, blocking access to classes as part of the picket line, and engaging in conversations with faculty administrators. These efforts are

‘Island of the Hungry Ghosts’ exposes the inhumanity of immigration detention centres

When filmmaker Gabrielle Brady went to Christmas Island, a tiny speck of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean, she was expecting to just relax by the beach. Beyond observing the mass migration of forty

million red crabs which scuttle from the depths of the jungle toward the coastline every year to spawn, Brady was not anticipating an eventful trip. Amidst the otherworldly beauty of the island, however, she encountered a dark secret in the middle of its dense, luxuriant jungle: A highsecurity detention centre

at Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transsexuel(le) s du Québec (ASTT(e)Q), which supports trans people around the city through peer support, education, harm reduction, and community empowerment initiatives. Despite the vital work that Miller and their fellow McGill students are providing to the Montreal community, they are often not compensated by their employers.

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Electrical impulses help paraplegic patients walk again Interval stimulation promises success

Documentary shatters myths surrounding immigration

Natasha Beaudin Pearson Contributor

meant to encourage the administration to reform the faculty’s curriculum and ensure that student demands are heard.

“Our intention is not to block people from learning or to create a hostile learning environment,” Miller said. “We don’t want to not go to class. We don’t have the option.

Certain people can’t afford not getting paid.”

For their internship this year, Miller has worked

Emma Gillies

for hundreds of migrants seeking asylum in Australia.

In Island of the Hungry Ghosts, which won Best Documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Brady weaves together multiple narratives of migration into a single hypnotic portrait of ethical and spiritual conflict.

PG. 7

Staff Writer

Three paraplegic patients with chronic spinal cord injuries are now able to walk again thanks to new Swiss neurotechnology and a multidisciplinary team that includes two McGill graduates.

The STIMO (STImulation Movement Overground) study published

in Nature this month, proposed a new technology to accelerate recovery from spinal cord injuries. This new ‘spatiotemporal’ method is a form of electrical epidural stimulation (EES) which stimulates the area of the spinal cord that transmits sensory information. What makes it unique is that, unlike the continuous EES methods used in previous studies, its electrical impulses

are separated by intervals.

“The novelty about this [study] is that we use an individual, electrical system to stimulate the dorsal root ganglion [which is located at the spinal cord] to stimulate a group of muscles in the leg,” Molywan Vat, coauthor of the study and McGill MSN ‘13, said.

PG. 14

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news

TUESDAY, november 27, 2018

Social work students protest against unpaid internships 54,000 students rally to demand compensation unpaid. Although unpaid internships are illegal in Quebec, the law makes an exception if they are part of a program approved by a university, college, or secondary school board. At McGill, Nursing and Education students are also required to complete unpaid field placements as a part of their degree.

Matthew Savage, U3 Arts in the School of Social Work and the strike coordinator for SWSA, sees unpaid internships as a problem that all students can unite against.

“I like to know that this isn’t just a Social

Abeer Almahdi Opinion Editor From Nov. 19 to 23, students in McGill’s School of Social Work went on strike against unpaid internships. The strike was organized by the Social Work Students’ Association (SWSA), with participants standing in solidarity with similar efforts by Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Université de Montréal, and 54,000 other social work students, rallying under a larger provincial-level protest led by the Comités unitaires sur le travail étudiant (CUTE).

The School of Social Work faculty voted unanimously on Nov. 14 to support the strike by cancelling classes for the duration of the week.

However, an email sent by the School of Social Work Director Nico Trocmé and Dean of Arts Christopher Manfredi reminded faculty of their legal obligation to continue instruction as usual.

“Teaching faculty support the concerns of the students, but we do have a requirement to teach classes, both as part of our legal requirements and with respect to requirement [to provide instruction],” Trocmé said to The McGill Tribune. “Any student who requests class is entitled to have class.”

SWSA strikers joined CUTE strike participants at a demonstration on Nov. 21 on UQAM’s downtown campus, where students from across Montreal gathered to demand compensation for

their field placements.

In an interview with the Tribune at the demonstration, Vincent Mousseau, U2 Arts in the School of Social Work and SWSA Internal Affairs coordinator, attested to a right for compensation for mandatory labour.

“We’re here protesting unpaid internships,” Mousseau said. “More specifically, the School of Social Work at McGill does 800 hours of unpaid internships without any remuneration. We think this is unfair.”

At McGill, the Bachelor of Social Work requires that students take, and, thus, pay for, 800 hours of field placement courses that are usually

Work fight,” Savage said. “This is a fight for Nursing and Education, and its about time that they get involved.”

Sandy Esvina, U1 Arts in the School of Social Work, believes that unpaid field placements are more common in female-dominated professions.

She argues that students studying in male-dominated fields, such as engineering, are more likely to receive compensation for program-related work.

“Your grade depends on [unpaid internships], and people take advantage of that,” Esvina said.

“Why are [social work students] not paid? This is really a feminist issue [....] We’re in 2018, women should be paid equally to men, and our work is just as valuable.”

Esvina believes that the labour of social workers as a whole, like many care-centred fields, is undervalued in popular opinion.

“I work in youth protection,” Esvina said.

“So, when I’m going to go do my [internships], I’m going to be doing very vulnerable work because I’m teaching these kids to [reintegrate into] society [and] how to learn to trust again. I’m going to be helping [those people] and I think my work is valuable enough to be paid for it.”

Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge called the social work protest ‘premature.’

In an interview with the CBC on Nov. 19, Roberge stated that he is in the process of studying and evaluating solutions for the issue of unpaid internships.

Social work students across Montreal gathered together to demand remuneration for their labour. (Abeer Almahdi / The McGill Tribune)

SSMU’s great bank switch

Executives tackle financial system upgrade McEan Taylor Contributor As part of a massive financial overhaul, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) is currently switching from ScotiaBank to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). SSMU was one of ScotiaBank’s biggest customers with over 230 accounts.

“We’re one of the only student unions that gives this many clubs this many bank accounts,” SSMU Vice-President (VP) Finance Jun Wang said. “[ScotiaBank and RBC] have never encountered a client with this many sub-accounts.”

The original ScotiaBank contract was drawn up in 1992 and has not been updated since. Wang blames it for creating communication issues, confusion, and red tape for SSMU clubs, which motivated the switch. According to him, a particular difficulty was that clubs had to communicate with both SSMU and ScotiaBank to receive funding.

This made tracking requests for funding and club purchases unnecessarily convoluted.

Preparations for the switch have been ongoing for some time. Last year, former VP Finance Arisha Khan and her substitute, former VP Finance Esteban Herpin, proposed to transition SSMU accounts from ScotiaBank to RBC. Over the summer,

Jun Wang, along with ScotiaBank staff, RBC bankers, and a handful of SSMU staff, began cataloguing SSMU club accounts, some of which existed only on paper. In the process they temporarily shut down inactive accounts for the summer and moved each account to RBC. The team also created customized software for SSMU, eliminating any need for mediators and making online banking for clubs simple and more accessible.

Wang trained club executives in the new system through eight workshops at the start of the school year. Communication issues between clubs and himself, lack of space, and limited personnel means that some clubs are still straggling behind, but the switch is still on track to be completed by next semester.

Wang is confident that the financial overhaul will simplify and strengthen the funding process.

Clubs will be able to receive money from SSMU through direct deposits without needing to contact RBC, creating a trackable funding system.

This process requires clubs to assume complete financial responsibility. With the ScotiaBank system, confusion and clutter meant clubs were not made fully aware of guidelines, creating further problems for SSMU. Wang hopes that transforming the way in which clubs receive funds will make the banking system more approachable.

“This bank transfer legitimizes the [funding] process and makes sure clubs take banking more seriously,” Wang said. “[Access to bank accounts is] a big privilege that we are extending.”

Over the past few weeks, all SSMU funding underwent a ‘blackout’ period while accounts switched from ScotiaBank to RBC. Eva Ren, a SSMU funding commissioner, works directly with clubs to approve funds.

“All student groups that have been approved for funding cannot receive their funds until after the freeze,” Ren said.

F WORD, a McGill feminist multimedia magazine, needed funds for its launch party on Nov. 15. According to Judy Huang, an F WORD coordinator, the launch coincided with the blackout period.

“F WORD was able to work with both SSMU, and our printer to pay the printing cost through SSMU, which was great as it is the largest expense of the semester.” Huang said. “The SSMU executives were helpful and definitely solved the printing issue. But, otherwise, all costs were paid out of our own pockets [as] we wait for

With over 230 sub-accounts, SSMU was one of ScotiaBank’s largest customers.

(Amanda Fiore / The McGill Tribune) our funds to be accessible again.”

According to Wang, when funds become available again next semester, clubs that were affected by the blackout will be refunded.

Wang plans to see the bank transfer through, even with the unforeseen complications that cropped up during the process. To help future VP Finance executives continue the transfer smoothly, he plans to refine and document each step during his term.

“Hopefully, out of this will come something a lot better,” Wang said. “Moving forward, we’ll have institutional memory so that the next VP Finance knows exactly what to do instead of creating a process from scratch.”

news

TUESDAY, noverber 27, 2018

Constitutional challenge contested in judicial hearing

McGill library misplaces PGSS contract

VP Finance Jun Wang refuses to participate in petition filed against him

PGSS Councillors support the Change the Name campaign at meeting Helen Wu Staff Writer At the Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University (PGSS) meeting on Nov. 21, councillors discussed the McGill-PGSS Library Improvement Fund (LIF) contract and voted to endorse changing the Redmen name. Despite the setback of missing documentation, Sara Allan, PGSS Library Improvement Fund coordinator, presented on the LIF and the Council voted to support it.

Buraga claims that the anti-violence fee levy is unconstitutional and challenged SSMU President and VP Finance in front of the Judicial Board. (Kyle Dewsnap / The McGill Tribune) Kyle Dewsnap Staff Writer The Student Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Judicial Board (J-Board) held a hearing on Nov. 20 to determine if the AntiViolence Fee Levy (AVFL) motion was constitutional. The AVFL passed referendum on Nov. 12 with 79.5 per cent of students in favour of the creation of the new fee, which would fund the implementation of the Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy (GSVP). Arts and Science Senator Bryan Buraga, the SSMU representative who referred the matter to the J-Board’s authority, firmly set the stakes for the hearing in his opening statement. “[This petition] is a case of sexual violence,” Buraga said. “This will set a [precedent] for survivors.”

Buraga argued that the AVFL passed with an insufficient number of movers, or individuals supporting the motion. The Internal Regulations of Elections and Referenda (IR-ER) requires referendum questions to have at least four movers before being approved by the SSMU Legislative Council; the AVFL only had three when it passed. Buraga also claimed that the SSMU executives showed poor judgement when they did not immediately allocate funding for the GSVP. He asserted that SSMU has the capital to pay for it given that, following last month’s Children of the Corn Halloween event, SSMU expects to reimburse students $10,000 in Uber fares after they were unable to provide transportation back from Macdonald Campus.

“SSMU has found funding for other adhoc expenses,” Buraga said “The VP Internal said that SSMU priotisizes safety over cost, but the executive has demonstrated the opposite.”

Although he was listed as a respondent on Buraga’s petition, SSMU Vice-President (VP) Finance Jun Wang was absent from the hearing. Wang, who is responsible for financing the GSVP, stated that he didn’t believe that his presence at the hearing was warranted. “[My absence] is a statement to be made to the filer of the petition to say how much I don’t believe that this is a matter of constitutionality,

but rather [Buraga] is just trying to strike down this fee,” Wang said. “I believe that most people will understand that, with the building closure, the budget is not there and that we’re running at a deficit. If I were to attend the hearing, I would just be repeating that.”

SSMU President Tre Mansdoerfer argued that Buraga has overlooked a contradiction in SSMU policy. The Internal Regulations of Governance (IR-G) state that the Standing Rules determine the number of movers a motion needs to pass: Currently, at least three movers are required. In cases where internal regulations contradict each other, the rules within the IR-G take precedence over the IR-ER. “Main motions require a minimum of three (3) movers to be presented before Council,” the Standing Rules read.

Buraga replied that there is no contradiction between the IR-ER requiring four movers and the IR-G requiring three. He reasoned that the IR-G only claims that it is necessary to have at least three movers, not that having at least three movers is sufficient, leaving room for additional requirements.

In response to Buraga’s accusation of poor judgement, Loïc Welsh, a law student at McGill who represented Mansdoerfer at the hearing, argued that the executive has acted in a manner that assures SSMU student security.

“The President and the executive clearly acted within their standards of care,” Welsh said. “They quickly moved the AVFL through SSMU in order to fund the GSVP.” Buraga, who detailed his own experience with sexual violence in a Letter to the Editor in The McGill Tribune closed his statement with an impassioned plea to the justices.

“There is an immediate crisis of funding […] and, as a result, I have not been able to get the protection I need,” Buraga said. “No student should have to stand here and go through this.”

Chief Justice Georgina Hartono announced that the J-Board will have two weeks to deliberate. A written judgement will be submitted to the Board of Directors on Dec. 4, and the Board will either affirm, issue an order for amendment, or deny the judgement.

Motion for McGill-PGSS Library Improvement Fund Contract The PGSS Library Improvement Fund (LIF) of $3.00 per student has existed since 2009 to fund projects and proposals that improve the McGill library environment for graduate students.

Although the LIF expired last semester, PGSS currently has a total of $400,000 in funds generated by the fee, held in a bank account managed by the McGill Library services. Allan believes that the LIF should be continued, referencing the results from the recent PGSS graduate library-use survey.

“Over 100 students were surveyed and over half of them use the library weekly or daily,” Allan said. “There are [also] a substantial [number of graduate students who] use the library electronically. That was more than I expected, so that is a really good argument to continue this fund.”

Allan disclosed to the Council that the contract governing the management of the LIF and documentation of past projects, which were entrusted to the McGill Library for safekeeping, are missing.

“The major issue is that we are facing at the moment is [that] our memorandum of agreement is missing,” Allan said. “As of now, we are in the position of wondering what to do. We need to find the memorandum agreement [...or], if we cannot find the document, we will write a new contract.”

Allan explained that a referendum to renew the LIF cannot take place until the contract is either found or replaced. She presented some ideas of future projects that the LIF can fund once a new contract is drawn up to prepare for a referendum. “[Graduates have requested] lockers at individual desks so people can lock their laptops up and go to the bathroom, and a tech lending [system] of chargers, laptops, and other tech devices,” Allan said. “Library planning as of last week said that they were actually willing to

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support this and do the cataloging and care of these items if we do our half of the work.”

PGSS Secretary-General Helena Zakrzewski urged the adoption of the motion and claimed that a legally binding contract will avert future problems by establishing expectations for both McGill Libraries and PGSS. “This is, for lack of a better word, a McGill screw-up,” Zakrzewski said. “With the creation of a contract, we are able to hold both parties, ourselves included, [accountable].”

The motion, which called for the development of a new contract before a referendum to renew the fee in the future, passed with a majority voting in favour.

Motion for endorsing ‘Change the Redmen Name’ The name ‘Redmen’, used by men’s varsity teams, has recently drawn attention for its use as a racial slur against indigenous peoples. PGSS Member Services Officer Jeremy Goh and PGSS Equity Commissioner Harmehr Sekhon motioned to sign both an open letter and a petition spearheaded by varsity athlete Tomas Jirousek, calling for the immediate renaming of the men’s varsity teams. During the question period, Patricia GoernerPotvin, Vice President communication of the Human Genetics Student Society and former athlete on the varsity rowing team, explained the origins of the Redmen name. “‘Redmen’ originally [started] from the Redcoats and the [Scottish] history of McGill, so that was the main argument for why it was not racist,” Goerner-Potvin said. “In the ‘80s and other times, [however], various different sports teams have turned it into a racial slur by associating [the term] ‘Squaw’ with some of the women’s teams and ‘Mohawk’ to some of the men’s [teams] to reference it as being Redmen from native people.”

The motion passed by an overwhelming majority.

The $400,000 collected for the Library Improvement Fund will be allocated to new projects.

(Wendy Chen / The McGill Tribune)

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news

TUESDAY, november 27, 2018

CAMSR reconsidering divestment

Committee’s second report on fossil fuel divestment anticipated within the academic year

Laura Oprescu News Editor The Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR), a governance body mandated to make recommendations to the McGill Board of Governors (BoG) on socially-responsible investing, announced on Nov. 1 that it would be compiling a second investigation into divestment from fossil fuels. CAMSR decided to reconsider their stance in light of the current context and recent developments regarding climate change. The decision follows the McGill Senate endorsing divestment at their Sept. 12 meeting.

Divestment would entail retracting investments from any company that profits from fossil fuels. The act of divestment has been successful against other social ills in the past, notably against companies profiting from cigarette sales and the South African apartheid.

Although the BoG has repeatedly expressed opposition to divestment, some members have spoken

out in favour of it. At the Board’s Oct. 4 meeting, Ehab Lotayef, an administrative and support staff representative to the BoG, suggested that a motion for divestment should be put directly to the Board instead of waiting for CAMSR to further investigate.

“I did not see a reason for sending [this] question to CAMSR,” Lotayef wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “The Senate motion is clear, and [divestment] enjoys wide support within the McGill community. I had hoped [...] that the Board would vote in support of divestment [....] It is not a question of bypassing CAMSR, but a question of urgency. Time is not [on] humanity’s side, and I feel a personal and collective responsibility toward future generations.”

Annabelle Couture-Guillet, U3 Arts and Science and member of Divest McGill, believes that students have the power to pressure their universities to change.

“We have the IPCC report that was released a month ago [...and] it’s so clear that we need changes,” Couture-Guillet said. “As students,

we have individual capacities for change, but, as students at McGill, we have this potential to use institutional power, to have our big, well-reputed university take a stand and send a strong political message.”

Couture-Guillet points out that CAMSR’s last report took testimonials from six individuals with expertise primarily in green chemistry and sustainability but not in ethical investing. The names of the individuals were kept private, so the BoG did not know whose testimonials CAMSR’s report was based on when voting on divestment.

“This time, the testimonials should be transparent,” CoutureGuillet said. “This time, the testimonials should be backed up by basic academic rigour. [The last report contained only] opinion claims [....] It was quite embarrassing.”

Lotayef believes that McGill should make the decision quickly to set an example for other institutions.

“I would like to see a [...] fast and transparent process as CAMSR and the Board deal with this question,”

CAMSR’s last report was criticized for quoting only anonymous sources. (Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune) Lotayef said. “I have high hopes that both the Board and CAMSR understand the importance of the issue and the advantage of McGill being at the forefront of the environmental movement [and that the university will set] an example for others.”

Couture-Guillet expressed concerns over potential conflicts of interest within CAMSR, stating that the

Committee needs to rebuild trust with the McGill community. “[CAMSR’s] new chair, Cynthia Price Verreault, has worked for Petro-Canada for 18 years,” CoutureGuillet said. “We hope [...] that they will disclose any conflicts of interest and that they will come up with the best decision [...] for McGill.

Associate Director of the Secretariat Kevin Dobie, speaking on behalf of the BoG’s Secretary General, asserted that CAMSR has provisions in place to ensure transparency and community input.

“The Board has developed [...] practices that aim to promote transparency and accountability when it comes to Board [...] business,” Dobie wrote in an email to the Tribune. “For several years, the Board has been holding annual forums with student associations.”

Students can submit their questions to the BoG at their next community consultation, which is scheduled for Feb. 14, 2019. CAMSR members expect to submit their report before the end of the academic year.

TEDx McGill brings in experts to talk development Social and scientific progress rest on cooperation

On Nov. 24, TEDx McGill hosted a conference entitled Climbing Ladders, which featured 10 presentations and performances by scholars, journalists, and students.

Emilie Nicolas Jacqueline Yao, Staff Writer Emilie Nicolas, a board member of the socially progressive Broadbent Institute think tank and co-founder of Quebéc inclusif, a non-profit organization that advocates for inclusivity for minorities in Quebec, disputed the myth that racism rarely occurs in Canada. Nicolas recalled how members of her predominantly-white neighbourhood showed prejudice against her and discussed how black women are misrepresented in media.

“The moment I started school, I started hearing the n-word on the schoolyard,” Nicolas said. “By the time I was a teenager, I straightened my hair. I thought that, perhaps, if my hair was natural, it would make people laugh and stare.”

Nicolas argued that Canada’s history of discriminatory policies is not sufficiently represented in school curricula. According to her, the false belief that everyone has equal opportunities hurts marginalized children by making them feel inadequate.

Charles Mann Nina Russell, Staff Writer Science journalist Charles C. Mann explained how the global population reaching 10 billion people might influence humanity’s survival. He separated the common concerns over the future of our species into two categories: ‘Wizards’ and ‘prophets.’

While wizards emphasize the promise of technology in ensuring access to necessary resources, prophets regard changing global habits as the best solution to climate change.

“Wizards and prophets have been butting their heads together for decades, but they believe that technology is key to a successful future,” Mann said. “The trouble is [that] they envision different types of technology and different types of futures.”

Though he admits that this is a simplification of a complex debate, Mann described cooperation between both camps as fundamental.

“One [solution] might be [that] each side agrees to accept the fundamental premises of the other,” Mann said. “Wizards and prophets working together have many paths to success. And success would mean much more than mere survival, important though that is.”

Oren Hodes Kyle Dewsnap, Staff Writer McGill student Oren Hodes delivered his talk on the importance of mental resilience—the ability to bounce back from difficult experiences. After returning from his semester abroad in Barcelona, Hodes was faced with a series of demanding circumstances that took a toll on his mental wellbeing.

“I was riding a high, [...] but the second I stepped back in Montreal, everything started to crash down on me,” Hodes said.

“My father was diagnosed with cancer; his father—my grandfather—found a tumour in his body; and, I was asked to step in to my parents’ divorce as power of attorney.”

Hodes gave the audience advice that

The TEDx McGill conference is an annual independently-organized event.

(Helen Wu / The McGill Tribune) helped him through his difficulties: Finding a creative outlet, maintaining one’s mental health, and working toward personal goals.

“These three things are something that can be done everyday,” Hodes said. “And I genuinely believe that every person in this room can achieve their wildest dreams.”

Susanna Zaraysky Helen Wu, Staff Writer Susanna Zaraysky, author of Language is Music and One-eyed Princess, spoke to her audience about being born with strabismus, a disorder causing misalignment of the eyes. At the age of 29, she read an article

by British neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks ex-

plaining that those with her visual disability are ‘stereo-blind’; unable to see with both eyes at the same time and, thus, have no depth perception.

“There’s this phrase [that] ignorance is bliss” Zaraysky said. “When it comes to your health, medial ignorance is not bliss.

I was absolutely devastated. How could I have lived this long without knowing I was partially blind?”

With corrective lenses and vision therapy, Zaraysky was able to train her eyes to work together and her brain to process vision from both eyes. In her presentation, she urged medical schools to further educate physicians about visual disabilities to avoid misdiagnosis in children.

opinion

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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editorial board Editor-in-Chief Marie Labrosse editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Elli Slavitch eslavitch@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Ariella Garmaise agarmaise@mcgilltribune.com Stephen Gill sgill@mcgilltribune.com Calvin Trottier-Chi ctrottier-chi@mcgilltribune.com

News Editors Andras Nemeth, Caitlin Kindig & Laura Oprescu news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Keating K. Reid & Abeer Almahdi opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Katherine Lord scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Emma Carr studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Dylan Adamson features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Katia Innes & Sophie Brzozowski arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Gabe Nisker & Miya Keilin sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Arshaaq Jiffry & Erica Stefano design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Gabriel Helfant photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editor Tristan Surman multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Luya Ding webdev@mcgilltribune.com Tristan Sparks online@mcgilltribune.com

The current S/U option is unsatisfactory As the end of term nears, students start scrambling to calculate the minimum grades they need to achieve on their final exams to pass their courses.

Amidst the stress, the Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading option offers some respite. Vice President (VP) University Affairs (UA) Jacob Shapiro wants to incentivize students to continue studying for their S/U classes, even when they’re guaranteed to pass.

Shapiro is advocating for a change to the S/U system that would allow students to convert their ‘S’ grades back to regular letter grades.

While Shapiro’s proposal sounds promising, an updated S/U policy alone cannot encourage students to take a variety of courses, and McGill must continue encouraging students to take classes that fall outside of their comfort zones.

Currently, during the adddrop period, students can opt to take elective courses through a model under which final grades are represented by either an ‘S’ if the student passed with a 55 per cent or above or a ‘U’ if the student failed. Neither option is reflected in a student’s GPA. Shapiro’s proposal would allow students to switch their ‘S’ grade to whatever letter grade

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TPS Board of Directors Abeer Almahdi, Becca Hoff, Jeeventh Kaur, Marie Labrosse, Katherine Milazzo, Daniel Minuk, Falah Rajput.

Nina Russel, Kevin Vogel

staff Hannibal de Pencier, Taja De Silva, Kyle Dewsnap, Owen Gibbs, Emma Gillies, Sabrina Girard-Lamas, Mary Keith, Sunny Kim, Sydney King, Winne Lin, Ronny, LitvackKatzman, Ender McDuff, Gabriela McGuinty, Sofia Mikton, Nicholas Raffoul,, Nina Russell, Julia Spicer, Leo Stillinger, Bilal Virji, Kevin Vogel, Tony Wang, Helen Wu, Jacqueline Yao, Leanne Young

Contributors Mitch Bannon, Adam Burton, Cordelia Cho, Taja de Silva, Amanda Fiore, Jonathan Giammaria, Sophia Gorbounov, Daria Kiseleva, Karan Kumar, Isabella Lyons, Sebastian Pazdan, Natasha Beaudin Pearson, Krithika Ragupathi, Kaja Surborg, McEan Taylor, Madeline Wilson, Gwenyth Wren, Jessie Ye

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Tristan Surman Multimedia Editor It was a peculiar sequence of events: I remember walking downstairs and seeing my mother lying down with someone else in our living room. I remember my dad coming home from yet another business trip. It had been about two weeks since I’d last seen him.

I remember sitting in the kitchen with the first glass of whiskey my father had ever poured me. His suitcase stood by the counter, and the single light above the stove cast harsh shadows across his face. He told me that he and my mom had chosen to be in an open relationship for the last couple of months. I remember deciding not to tell my little brother. It was scary at the time, but, since then, polyamory has taught me about how to love with empathy.

As far as I can tell, every child goes through a frustratingly drawn-out period in which they have developed

they would have received in the course under the normal grading scheme for up to two weeks after the release of their final mark. By suggesting this change, Shapiro hopes to incentivize students to fully engage with their elective courses. Similar options exist at other universities: Both Columbia and Yale have alternative S/U programs that allow students to ‘uncover’ their grade after they’ve received it.

On Nov. 1, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council voted to formally recognize Shapiro’s mandate to advocate for the proposal. However, Shapiro’s plan has some critics.

The president of the Computer Science Undergraduate Society (CSUS) Kyle Rubenok believes it would privilege those who have the money to retake courses until they receive a higher grade.

Dubious as this claim is, Shapiro still needs to refine his proposed changes to address other concerns, like devaluation of the ‘S’ mark and grade inflation. Shapiro’s plan risks undermining the purpose of the ‘S’ grade, as students who received high numerical grades will most likely uncover their grade to boost their GPA. This

then suggests that students who choose to keep their ‘S’ did not receive a good grade in the first place. Additionally, Shapiro needs to clarify whether uncovering S/U grades would allow students to apply those courses to their major or minor if they decided they liked the course and want to pursue further study in the field.

Moreover, the S/U policy alone is not enough to encourage students to take courses beyond their major and minor areas of study. McGill’s academic culture is highly competitive, incentivizing students to take easy courses that will boost their GPAs to supplement their resumes for future job searches and graduate school applications. Encouraging students to take electives outside of their programs will make their education more holistic, provide them with interdisciplinary skills, and even introduce students to subjects they didn’t expect to enjoy.

Shapiro’s proposed changes still have a long way to go before implementation. However, this does not mean that McGill cannot continue to prioritize interdisciplinary learning in the meantime. One standout example is the Bachelor of Arts

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EDITORIAL & Science (BA & Sc.), a degree that is offered jointly by the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science. McGill’s BA & Sc. program is relatively new, and it can look to McMaster’s BA & Sc., which offers courses unique to the program. McGill can also follow the lead of universities like Brown, New York University, and Northeastern, where students can design their own major program.

However, interdisciplinary programs at McGill, such as Liberal Arts, have limited enrollment; the North American studies program, which combined history, political science, and economics courses, was recently cut. McGill can continue to promote and refine interdisciplinary programs like Liberal Arts to increase student enrollment.

These examples demonstrate only a few of the ways in which McGill could continue to promote interdisciplinary learning. Its graduates will be better equipped for future employment or graduate studies if they are provided with a diverse array of skills. But students won’t branch out unless the accompanying incentives are realigned—and a new S/U option is an adjustment worth considering.

What my parents’ polyamory taught me an understanding of other people’s emotions but aren’t quite empathetic enough to understand how to navigate them. I found out about my parents’ polyamory precisely during that period.

I knew that I could hurt my mother by fighting her, by withholding my love, and by making her feel as if she didn’t matter to me. On the other hand, my father’s openness meant that I saw him as a human being for the first time. We had many more stove-lit conversations over glasses of whiskey throughout my teenage years. In that time, he became a person in my eyes, navigating love and life, while my mother became the spectre of instability that I would unfairly reject for years.

As I moved through a typicallytumultuous adolescence, I began to learn more about the people who my parents were romantically engaged with. I met them, spoke with them, and learned from them. I saw how in love my parents were with them, and I began to love them, too. I saw how hard they were fighting, in every way imaginable, to stay together. I slowly began to understand that polyamory was not a betrayal of our family, but a measured response to natural detachment.

My parents’ room was piled high with books outlining the philosophy and strategy of polyamory. They were seeing a therapist who helped them navigate the emotional complexities of their undertaking. They spent hours negotiating the boundaries of their

Polyamory can be a lesson in loving with empathy. (Tristan Surman / The McGill Tribune)

other relationships and trying to balance commitments with compassion. I started to empathize with both of them and respect their efforts. I saw polyamory as their attempt at maintaining both emotion and rationality in relationships.

To succeed as a polyamorist, you have to bring love to every relationship you have, actively fight against tendencies toward competition and jealousy, and acknowledge the complexity inherent in loving someone. Polyamory has taught me lessons about empathetic love that I carry into every relationship I have.

The summer before Grade 12, my parents told me and my brother that they were splitting up. I wasn’t surprised: I could tell the fabric of their relationship was disintegrating. Their divorce was easier because of polyamory; they were better equipped for the transition, and I was better equipped to cope with it.

I knew that it was my responsibility to bring love to my relationship with both

of them and to acknowledge that their relationship was a complex thing with many facets.

Polyamory may not have saved my parents’ marriage—I’m not even sure it was supposed to—but it didn’t fail us, either. Polyamory isn’t just about romantic relationships, it’s a framework for prioritizing communication and empathy. It introduced me to my parents as human beings. I remember when I realized how much polyamory had truly taught me about empathetic love. My mother had just come home from a trip, and it had been about two weeks since I’d last seen her. I was sitting in the kitchen as it dawned on her that my father had moved out, and that half of what had filled her house for 20 years was gone. I remember seeing her cry, not knowing what to do, and wanting to hug her. She was just a human, navigating love and life.human, navigating love and life.

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opinion

commentary

Jessie Ye Contributor On Nov. 19, Montreal mayor Valérie Plante announced, to the outrage of downtown business owners, that the city council has decided to pursue her plan to redesign St. Catherine Street by widening sidewalks to 6.5 metres and reducing traffic to a single lane. This transportation proposal accompanied a host of other initiatives proposed by Plante, such as building a new metro line and banning car traffic on Mount Royal. For Montrealers, especially students, these proposed changes will promote increased accessibility, affordability, and safety in the city.

Designing a city that suits the needs of students and youth is designing a

commentary

Madeline Wilson Undergraduate Arts Senator On Nov. 14, McGill University held its annual Senate and Board of Governors joint meeting, bringing together the university’s highest academic and financial administrative bodies, respectively. Each year, the two bodies convene to discuss a topic that relates to the university’s mission;

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

New urbanist schemes for transit-oriented teens city fit for the future.

Despite their clear advantages, Plante’s actions have been met with intense pushback. Opponents of the metro and St. Catherine renovations, including Ensemble Montréal, a municipal political party, and Destination centre-ville, an association representing 8,000 downtown businesses, warn of high costs and reductions in economic activity. However, their fears are unfounded. Numerous cities such as New York, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong have already proven the vast environmental and health benefits of building public infrastructure that favours pedestrians and reduces the need for personal automobiles. What these cities share, and what Montreal is reluctantly moving toward, is a willingness to put people first by focusing on public transit systems and alternative commuting methods.

Contrary to what Ensemble Montréal and other opposition groups may claim about the economic dangers of removing parking, research has proven that cities that encourage foot traffic actually see an increase in consumer activity as well as more community interaction.

Designing walkways and bike lanes increases pedestrian and cyclist traffic, lowers obesity rates, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

Cities like Barcelona, which turned 40-acre grid sections into pedestrianfirst neighbourhoods by limiting truck

Premier François Legault’s government has prioritized rail lines to Montreal’s suburbs over the proposed Pink Line.

(Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune)

access and speed limits, saw reduced environmental impacts as well as increased economic activity in each section. Looking at cities around the world proves that Montreal still has a long way to go before it can become a leader in innovative city design.

University students are reliant on public transport: 90 per cent of McGill students cite using public transit instead of cars, and many choose to walk or bike to school. For most students, owning a car is infeasible in both cost and convenience. Without reliable transit infrastructure, it becomes impossible for students to get around efficiently

and safely. Even after graduating, many students continue to work in major cities and therefore continue to rely on public transit. Millennials’ affinity for public transit has even entered the sphere of popular culture and memes. The Facebook meme group ‘New Urbanist Memes for Transit-Oriented Teens’ boasts over 127,000 current members.

NUMTOTs, the nickname for its members, gather on the Facebook group to share memes and to fantasize about new transportation developments and cities with efficient transit systems. Students, millennials, and even NUMTOTs are

examples of youth m oving toward an efficient future, and city planners should follow suit.

As cities like Montreal continue to grow and cater to a more sociallyaware population, it becomes clear that cities will need to adapt to their younger inhabitants. A shift toward communal forms of transportation, rather than individual vehicles, will be necessary to accommodate a growing urban population. The needs of today’s students directly reflect those of tomorrow’s workforce.

Only by creating infrastructure with youth in mind can cities continue to thrive in the future.

Consultation in name only at the joint Board-Senate meeting

I attended as an undergraduate senator from the Faculty of Arts. This year’s topic: How McGill could transform itself for a world of lifelong learning.

If these sound like buzzwords, that’s because they are. As a concept, lifelong learning is broad, however, during the Joint Board-Senate meeting, it was often interpreted as the development of critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence that students carry with them for the rest of their lives. As noted by the many attendees, the world is changing rapidly, and its future depends on individuals’ ability to challenge norms and predict innovative solutions to unpredictable problems.

The consensus of the meeting was that McGill needs to work harder to help students develop these lifelong skills.

As a student and member of the McGill Senate, I find it hypocritical that the university is apparently so eager to help students challenge societal norms through innovative ideas, yet the

ERRATUM An article published in the Nov. 20 issue titled “McGill artistic swimming laps the competition” incorrectly stated that the Eastern Canadian Championships were taking place at Laurentian University. In fact, they are taking place at Université de Sherbrooke on Jan. 26. The article also stated that Leah Birch took part in novice duet and novice solo competitions. In fact she took part in novice team and novice solo competitions. The Tribune regrets these errors.

minute these students’ ideas challenge the university’s norms, they are met with skepticism or aggressively avoided. Student-led movements like #ChangeTheName and divestment are progressive ideas that question McGill’s current mode of operation and its governing procedures, but the administration’s responses to both have been lacking.

Despite the Senate’s Sept. 12 endorsement of divestment, the Board of Governors declined to call a conference committee with the Senate as required by the University Statutes.

Instead, they chose not to vote on the matter of divestment, pointing to a semantic distinction in the motion that passed at Senate to indicate that there was no technical ‘disagreement.’ Climate change will not wait for the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR) to finish deliberating.

Similarly, when the Call to Action 21 of the 2017 Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education advised McGill to begin the process of changing their men’s varsity team name, the university postponed a decision until the report of the Working Group on the Principles of Commemoration and Renaming comes out at the end of 2018. A true

McGill’s Senate and Board of Governors hold an annual joint meeting to discuss a topic of importance to the university. (Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune)

commitment to lifelong learning should involve recognizing the innovation behind these movements and effective engagement with student activism and concerns.

As I was walking out of the meeting, I overheard an attendee say that they were disappointed with the roundtable groups’ lack of suggestions for immediate action to transform McGill for a world of lifelong learning. Admittedly, I found this amusing.Attendees suggested plenty of immediate actions, but they never made it past the brainstorming phase.

I even articulated to my discussion table that there is no a lack of student innovation, but a lack of administrative action. However, I was dismissed.

If McGill continues to consistently

ignore students’ efforts to engage in critical thinking and innovation, students will be discouraged from using these skills to affect change outside the university. Adapting to a world of lifelong learning does not just mean increasing external partnerships, such as exchange programs and job training, as suggested by attendees of the Joint Board-Senate meeting. To prove their commitment to lifelong learning, McGill must listen to its community. True progress doesn’t happen in roundtable meetings at the Faculty Club. It happens through sit-ins, open letters, and student consultations. So far, the university administation has shown that it is ready to change others, but it is evident that they are not yet prepared to change themselves.

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Tuesday, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Island of the Hungry Ghosts’ exposes the inhumanity of immigration detention centres

Documentary shatters myths surrounding immigration

ARTRUISM II by PhotoFund

Natasha Beaudin Pearson Contributor

Celebrate local art and community engagement with a night of live music and photography. All proceeds are donated to local Montreal charities.

Nov. 30, 8-11:30 p.m., Like A Hotel

Continued from page 1.

The film follows Poh Lin Lee, a trauma therapist whose job is to support migrants held at the detention centre as they navigate the immigration process. As they recount why they were forced to flee their homeland, detainees disclose how little their lives have improved since reaching Christmas Island. Relating brutal, zoo-like conditions and forced separations from their families, the migrants must wait indefinitely as their fates lie in the hands of bureaucratic immigration officials indifferent to their cries and concerns. The migrants must cope with both the devastation of leaving their old lives behind and the uncertainty of finding a new one in Australia.

For many detainees, the struggle proves unbearable. In one particularly distressing scene, the camera zooms in on Lee’s tearsoaked face as she learns that some of her patients have harmed themselves, including one man who stitched his lips shut to protest his mistreatment in the detention centre. This incident reportedly inspired 20 other inmates to do the same.

Lee offers suggestions to the authorities on how to better accommodate the refugees, but her advice goes unheeded. When her patients fail to show up to appointments, she inquires about the status of their immigration; however, because of confidentiality laws, she does not receive any tangible answers from authorities.

Lee’s sense of despair mounts as she tries to help people who are powerless themselves, their spirit breaking down as months turn into years.

According to local legend, the souls of certain people who perished on Christmas Island are caught in limbo. The miners who once worked in the island’s phosphate mines and died without receiving proper burials are among the spirits doomed to wander the jungle for eternity. The island’s inmates, most of whom are of

CMC Recital

Set against the backdrop of a lush island, Brady exposes a haunting truth. (tribecafilm.com) Chinese, Australian, Malay, English and Indian descent, carry out “hungry ghost” rituals to appease the wandering spirits and help them enter the next realm.

By juxtaposing these narratives with the yearly exodus of the red crabs inching their way across the jungle, Island of the Hungry Ghosts poetically exposes the irony and absurdity of current xenophobic attitudes toward migration and refugees. Park rangers and residents go to great lengths to help crustaceans safely make their way to the ocean and carefully assist ‘hungry ghosts’ in their voyages to the beyond, but fail to provide care to the flesh-andblood human beings in need.

Complemented by an eerie score and a lush, languid cinematography that captures Christmas Island’s beauty, Brady’s film successfully connects viewers with individuals whose humanity has been violated. Prompting timely discussions about immigration and human rights abuses, Island of the Hungry Ghosts’ haunting beauty and troubling relevance linger.

Come see the McGill Students’ Classical Music Club perform their chamber choir’s semesterly repertoire.

Dec. 2, 11-1:30 p.m., Douglas Hall

Tonal Ecstasy Presents: Moonlight

McGill student a capella group Tonal Ecstasy will perform arrangements of songs by artists ranging from Stevie Wonder to Post Malone, as well as original pieces. Nov. 29, 7-9:30 p.m., Théâtre Rialto $10-12

Russian Evening The McGill Undergraduate Students’ Society hosts a night of Russian food, music, and student performances.

Nov. 28, 6-9 p.m.

Thomson House

‘Arcadia’ delves into discussions of science, sexuality, and existentialism

Classic and modern meet in Tom Stoppard’s story for a pursuit of knowledge Nicholas Raffoul Staff Writer Past and present overlap in playwright Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, a curious exploration of sex and love, mathematics and nature, and the pursuit of knowledge. Presented by Player’s Theatre and directed by Steven Greenwood (PhD candidate in English), Arcadia portrays the curiosity and determination of young scholars in this brilliant rendition of Stoppard’s 1993 tragicomedy.

Arcadia is set in two distinct time periods: The early 19th century and the present day.

However, both eras share the same setting, a long table, the enduring presence of which represents the abstract and intangible nature of time. The table stays immobile throughout the play, and the only clear indication of a change in time period are the characters and the impeccable juxtaposition of their costumes and voices.

Set in Sidley Park, an English country home, Arcadia’s first timeline revolves around the young and inquisitive spirit of Thomasina Coverly (Liana Brooks, U3 Science), who studies the intersection of physics and sexuality in the early 1800s with her nihilistic tutor Septimus Hodge (Thomas Fix, BA ‘18).

Arcadia then flashes forward to the present day, in which academics convene in the same country house to research the home and its garden. The academics include Hannah Jarvis (Tess McNeil, U3 Arts and Science), a practical scholar frustrated by the sexism inherent to academia,

and Bernard Nightingale (Huxley Anjilvel, U2 Arts), a charismatic yet stubborn young man who represents the institutional barriers that Jarvis resents.

Greenwood creates smooth and coherent transitions between the past and the present, and although the set remains static, the space is transformed by what transpires within it.

The characters from the 19th century exude nobility, their aristocracy depicted by their intricate costumes and verbose dialogue. Lady Croom (Hazel Neil, U1 Arts) and Ezra Chater’s (Lucas Amato, BS ‘18) blustery personalities, both of which comedically captured the sophistication of the represented period, also underscore the signifiers of the time period.

The overt gender dynamics also symbolize the past in Arcadia, as exemplified by Septimus Hodge’s condescending tone and authority over Thomasina.

Young Thomasina and Septimus Hodge partake in hilarious conversations revolving around larger discussions of sex and math that far exceed the maturity levels of the young scholar. Their tutoring sessions quickly devolve into discussions of grandiose themes and questions, and the actors’ chemistry makes for realistic, reflective, and memorable interactions.

The present day trades the luxury of the 19th century costuming by dressing stuffy academics in drab suits and stiff attire. Bernard captures the trope of the tenured professor and the profession’s associated vanity. He personifies institutional misogyny, constantly dismissing Hannah’s research and unfairly giving her book a

Stoppard tackles sex, math, and misogyny in Arcadia. (playerstheatre.ca) poor review. Though he is more concerned with undermining his subordinates than with his own research, he continues to receive public praise.

McNeil successfully captures her character’s frustrations with Bernard through a fiery determination to uncover the histories of Sidley Park and prove him wrong. In its depictions of both past and present, Arcadia critiques academia’s patriarchal structure.

“I am always drawn to projects that restore lost histories, particularly stories that have been lost due to oppression and marginalization,” Greenwood said.

Stoppard displays a passion for knowledge across multiple disciplines, including poetry, science, math, philosophy, and history. Arcadia embodies the intersection of these disciplines

across two different time periods, reflecting the parallels between characters and their intentions in the contrasting temporalities.

Arguably, the irreversibility of time is Arcadia’s most dominant theme. Thomasina’s tutoring sessions on thermodynamics and heat reveal the bitter truth that time only moves forward and that heat can only travel in one direction.

“Newton’s equations go forward and backward,’ Thomasina said. “They do not care which way. But, the heat equation cares very much. It only goes one way.”

Thomasina’s insightful ideas and heartwarming personality, beautifully portrayed

by Brooks, leave the audience questioning time and nature long after the end of the play.

We’ll sleep when we’re dead Sleep deprivation doesn't deserve glorification Kate Lord Science & Technology Editor

P

uffy-eyed and greasy-haired, a McGill student emerges into the crisp morning air after a night spent holed up in the library. The half-semester’s worth of lectures they just watched were tedious, but, with the help of 1.5X accelerated audio-visual speed, they were preferable to a biweekly trek to Leacock 132. The caffeine pills are beginning to wear off, so they start to head home for a pre-quiz nap. Almost reaching the Milton gates, the student remembers their term paper due next week. Perhaps, they realize, it might be a good idea to plan on another all-nighter tonight.

A full-time undergraduate degree demands a delicate, and perhaps impossible, three or fouryear balancing act. For many students, this might include extracurricular activities, a part-time job, and maintaining a social life all on top of coursework.

Too often, regular sleep becomes a luxury reserved for summer and winter vacation. The variability of day-to-day schedules makes it all too easy to ignore common-sense suggestions from parents and the medical community to maintain regular wake-up and bedtime hours.

“The student lifestyle itself is so sporadic that I don’t think it’s conducive to a regular schedule,” Stephanie Fernandes, U3 Arts, said. “[We] don’t have the same nine-to-five lifestyle [as many adults].”

In some ways, the irregularity of sleep-wake activity patterns can be an exciting part of the student experience. A sunrise Mount Royal hike, a 2 p.m. nap, and a 2 a.m. Chef-on-Call feast with classes scattered in between, could be a student’s average Wednesday.

Further, while 8:35 a.m. start times are inevitable for many in prerequisite-heavy programs, those with more flexible course options are generally free to mould their schedules to their individual preferences.

“Unless you have a reason to get up at 8 a.m. for a

class or a meeting, why would you do it?” Fernandes asked.

Although it’s easy to revere classmates with perfect attendance to 8:35 a.m. lectures, these behaviours may be more predetermined than one might think.

Every individual has a genetically-encoded chronotype—the behavioural manifestation of their circadian, or 24-hour, rhythms. An individual’s chronotype dictates their natural preference for sleep, and thus their tendency to identify more as an early bird or a night owl. Students may also experience a pattern of erratic energy levels throughout their days—falling asleep in class at 3 p.m. or feeling excessively animated in Milton B at 4 a.m. In an ideal world, a student would organize their schedule based solely on their internal alertness and productivity rhythms.

“If we have to live within socially-set schedules, for some, it will be easier to get up very early for a class, and […] difficult to be alert in the evening,” Nicolas Cermakian, associate in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry, and director of the Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology at the Douglas Institute, said. “We have a rhythm of alertness and of cognitive capacity [which determines our] way of taking in information and making sense out of it, memorizing it, and so on.”

Despite their genetic makeups urging them to sleep, inflexible program schedules often force students to campus for classes at less-than-ideal times.

“If you are a [night owl] who would rather get up at 11 or noon but has to get up for your first [early morning] class, you’ll lose sleep,” Cermakian said.

“Even if you need to get up at 6 a.m., you won’t be able to go to sleep before the early morning hours.”

The desynchronization of chronotypes and course loads likely contributes to university students’ notorious sleep deprivation. In a recent survey of McGill students conducted by The McGill Tribune*, 91 per cent of respondents reported sleeping less than the recommended eight hours on an average weeknight. Furthermore, 22 per cent of students said they regularly sleep less than six hours. In a culture that promotes academic excellence and extracurricular involvement as prerequisites for graduate school admission and job market success, as well as the necessity of social engagement for personal fulfillment, it is unsurprising that sleeping is low on the list of many students’ priorities.

“McGill [students] and students in general think that sleep is that very last thing that you should take into account,” Angel Yu, U3 Physiology and Computer Science, said. “You [would] sacrifice sleep [before] anything else.”

McGill doesn’t have a Fall reading week, rendering the idea of a fall ‘midterm season’ that begins and ends during a set interval of dates somewhat of a fallacy. After add-drop finishes, the tide of assignments, midterms, projects, and presentations rarely ceases until the semester ends.

With an overload of schoolwork, sometimes an allnighter is a student’s only option. Come the end of classes, McLennan Library extends its 24-hour opening hours to cover the weekend, ominously indicating the arrival of finals season and the

departure of anything resembling a regular sleeping schedule.

As campus libraries begin to fill beyond capacity at all hours of the day and night, under-eye bags become badges of dogged motivation, and allnighters become work ethic bragging points among stressed-out students. Attitudes on campus, consciously or not, romanticize sleep deprivation.

“100 per cent, I would say that people glorify sleeplessness [at McGill],” Yu said. “I don’t know if it’s intentional, [...] but it’s definitely a conversation piece.”

On McGill’s campus, obligatory interactions with acquaintances from classes, clubs, or first-year residence are unavoidable. Complaints of minimal sleep and tiredness present themselves as easy options for disconcertingly-relatable small talk. Frequently, however, a casual conversation about needing more sleep can indirectly exalt unhealthy work ethics. “[When talking about sleep deprivation], there are two sides to the coin,” Fernandes said. “There’s the self-deprecating humor that’s seen in memes and internet culture, but there’s also […] the people who praise [sleeplessness] in terms of their work ethic [.…]

Putting in people’s faces [the idea that] they work so much harder because they’re up later, when really it’s just more unhealthy.”

In the Tribune’s survey, 76 per cent of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “McGill has a healthy sleep culture.” Indeed, many a Première Moisson lunchtime conversation equates sleeping less with trying harder.

“Sleep deprivation can definitely [be] a humble brag,” Hannah Bursey, U2 Arts, said.

“The idea that you have control over your bodily needs [or] that you can overcome sleep deprivation because you are just that in control of your life [.…] The idea that ‘I don’t need sleep, sleep is for the weak.’”

The prevalent ‘work-hard, play-hard’ mentality on campus hardly encourages healthy sleep habits. Characterized by multi-day competitive drinking events like Science Games and Carnival, McGill’s intense party culture complements its academic intensity to the detriment of a healthy student sleep schedule.

While a night out might result in some missed or irregular sleep, regularly staying out late, and, specifically, engaging in recurrent binge drinking, could result in sleep disorders.

Even when planning on staying home on a Friday night, the ‘fear of missing out,’ or FOMO, perpetuated by the constant bombardment of Instagram stories, can influence a student to choose partying over sleeping. A recent study from McGill’s Department of Psychology, found frequent experiences of FOMO to be associated with increased fatigue and stress as well as decreased sleep on both a daily basis and throughout the course of the semester.

Keeping up with the demanding academic and social obligations of university life while battling chronic exhaustion can take a serious toll on mental health.

“The link, for me, between my sleeping habits and my mental health has been incredibly strong,” Clare Wright, U3 Science, said. “It’s a cycle of sleeping [badly] then feeling [badly] so that I start sleeping even worse, and, then, I feel even worse.”

The relationship between sleep and mental health is complex: While sleeping poorly can lead to feelings of anxiety and discontent, unnecessary sleep can also have consequences.

“Too much sleep [can] induce depressive symptoms,” Henry Olders, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, said. “That’s a problem as […] depressed people then just want to stay in bed, so it’s a vicious circle.”

Yu reported similar findings regarding her own mental health.

“When [your] mental health is awful, you don’t want to get up and you don’t want to face the world,” Yu said. “That leads to more sleeping. I think that’s the cycle that you need to break in order to help uplift your mental health.”

The surprising, but prevalent, use of sleep deprivation as an effective antidepressant further complicates the relationship between sleep and mental health.

“If you keep [a depressed patient] awake, then they will, clearly, not get much sleep […] or much REM [stage] sleep particularly,” Olders said. “The next day, their depression will be considerably improved in about 60-70 per cent [of cases]. They’ll feel much better, […and] it often happens on the very same day. There’s no waiting weeks or months for the antidepressant to kick in."

Depression and mania, marked by excessive euphoria, arousal, and energy levels, lie on opposing ends of the bipolar mood scale. Since sleep deprivation is a common trigger of manic episodes, Olders described how, by depriving a patient with depressive symptoms of sleep, their mood will be moved across the depression-mania continuum, hopefully, toward greater balance.

“The side effect [to this treatment], of course, is that you can actually […] switch [the patient] rapidly from being depressed to being fully manic, which is a problem,” Olders said.

The mental effects of persistent fatigue might vary greatly, but the physical consequences of an irregular sleep schedule are consistent.

“If you’re working during the night and exposed to [artificial] light, then you’re not secreting [the hormone] melatonin,” Olders said. “Melatonin suppresses insulin secretion, and too much insulin is very likely responsible for obesity, type two diabetes, and probably dementia and cancer [.…] These are really diseases of aging, but we now see kids with type two diabetes.”

The long-term consequences of poor sleep habits might seem of little concern to the caffeine-plied student cramming half a semester’s worth of lecture recordings for their final next week. However, even amidst the stress and excitement of a culminating semester, small tweaks to a schedule can significantly improve concentration, alertness, and general well-being.

“Even if you go to bed late, even if you pull an all-nighter, do not sleep in the morning, because that’s when you’ll get the most REM [deep] sleep,” Olders said. “You don’t want too much REM sleep because that causes depressive symptoms.”

When it comes to mid-day tiredness, short naps may be a strategic solution to maintain productivity.

“If you can’t stay awake, nap for about 10 or 15 minutes,” Olders said. “If you nap for longer, you induce sleep inertia, […] which means that your brain doesn’t work. It takes 45 minutes to an hour for that fog to lift. So, you really are quite dysfunctional if you have a long nap.”

According to Cermakian, beyond strategic napping, a regular eating schedule—even in the absence of a stable sleeping schedule—can help to limit the harmful metabolic effects that tend to come with an inconsistent bedtime. “[If] you snack during the night, this can have an impact on many of the [circadian] clocks [which] regulate your digestion and […] metabolism,” Cermakian said. “Your body is more prepared to process food during the day than during the night [….] If you eat the wrong things at the wrong time, then your body will not know what to do with the food. Either it will not metabolize it well and not be efficient, or it could lead to metabolic problems [such as] storage of fat and so on.”

Although ‘self-care’ is often taken to mean hour-long baths, Netflix Original binges, and cuddling with puppies, reframing sleep as a primary tenet of self-care could push it higher up a student’s list of priorities. “[Sleep] is definitely self-care,” Wright said. “It ties into being aware of yourself and your limits [.…] Self-care is not just caring for your mind, it’s also caring for your physical body […] which, in turn, helps your mind feel better.”

As students battling fatigue search for the best way to fit their 28-hour to-do lists into a 24-hour day, broader culture continues to romanticize the university experience as the most enlightening, exciting, and best years of a person’s life. While succeeding at McGill should not necessitate chronic sleep deprivation and exhaustion, as the lived experiences of McGill students can attest, these are the norms. *The author of this article distributed the survey to the McGill student body using an anonymous Google form. The survey used a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions about students' experiences with sleep schedules and sleep culture at McGill. During the data-collection period, the author posted the survey link to various McGill community groups on Facebook and Reddit over the course of nine days from Nov. 13 to Nov. 22. In total, 63 students responded to the survey.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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Tuesday, november 27, 2018

‘The Tashme Project’ combines personal discovery and public A theatrical exploration of Japanese Canadian internment Jonathan Giammaria Contributor The internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War was a shameful moment in history and one high school curricula often sideline.

The Tashme Project: The Living Archives, which showed at the Centaur Nov. 15-24, brought the history of internment to the forefront. Created and performed by Julie Tamiko Manning and Matt Miwa, the production is both a reconciliatory effort of two individuals trying to reconnect with their family’s past, as well as a project meant to educate Canadians about the attempted expulsion of the Japanese community.

The Tashme Project is a verbatim theatre piece consisting of episodic scenes based on historical anecdotes. The play explores the lives of the generation of Japanese immigrants who lived in Tashme, the largest internment camp in Canada. Inspired by the disconnection that both Miwa and Manning felt from their respective family histories, the two uncover their stories as the play progresses. The anecdotes come from the leads’ relatives and acquaintances, and Miwa and Manning take on the voice and mannerisms of the individual whose stories they share. As the narrative advances, the actors immerse the audience

in the experiences of families wrongfully displaced, isolated, and forced into various internment camps.

The play’s believability rests on the performers’ abilities to authentically embody the voices of a generation several times separated. Manning particularly excels in bringing a multitude of distinct ancestries to life. Through changes to her inflection and gait, she individualizes the plight of a group wrongfully judged as a homogenous whole. Meanwhile, Miwa, who doesn’t quite reach the chameleonic realism of his co-star, excels in his displays of emotional intensity.

He conveys a complete affective spectrum. In one instance, he expresses the chaotic combination of an elder’s anger and sadness that emerges out of the violence of segregation. In another scene, he portrays a child’s innocent optimism amidst an increasingly hopeless environment. The actors never veer into territory of appropriation; their combined efforts instead give the effect of a live audiovisual transcription. They breathe life into the voices of a generation previously shrouded in silence.

The set design acts as a third voice in the portrayal of the trials of the Tashme prisoners. Two boxes containing mementos and heirlooms of the forgotten generation serve as narrative vessels.

Every origami crane and handwritten

History came to life at the Centaur Theatre. Nov. 15-24. (June Park) letter is a commitment to reconnection, and each serves as a metaphor for the creators’ mission to resurrect the past.

For every anecdote that the cast shares, indices of their relatives and the conditions through which they suffered are projected as photos and video recordings onto the background of the stage. The juxtaposition of re-enactment and historical artifacts allows for the production to spotlight dramatic performance while honouring

‘Music Inspired by Illumination and Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch EP’ by Tyler, the Creator

those from whom it borrows.

As the show came to a close, Manning and Miwa contemplate packing up the family crates, ultimately deciding to leave them open and on display. Careful not to shy away from their educational intention, the post-show featured a discussion period encouraging questions and participation.

In the face of a curious and thankful audience, the interactive period is a realization of Miwa and Manning’s goals.

Album review

How Tyler, the Creator stole Christmas Katia Innes Arts & Entertainment Editor Following the critical and commercial acclaim of 2017’s Flower Boy, Tyler, the Creator—the now reformed enfant-terrible of the softboy hip-hop world—opened up a world of artistic possibilities for himself. Given his disregard for public opinion, it isn’t entirely surprising that his next artistic endeavour would be a new rendition of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” for the recent remake of the children’s classic How the

Tyler, the Creator channels his inner Grinch. (Arshsaaq Jiffry / The McGill Tribune)

Grinch Stole Christmas, and an accompanying EP inspired by the green man himself.

Vaguely amusing at best, The Grinch EP teeters between irony and sincerity; its inability to commit to either camp is ultimately its greatest shortcoming. As a pseudo-children’s album, its complete lack of lewd language is its most striking feature for frequent listeners of Tyler. In comparison to the vulgarity of past releases, Tyler’s newfound commitment to censorship is a strange move. If the EP had a target audience, it would be twentysomething ex-Odd Future fans who are also new parents.

Considering that Tyler once rapped “chilling with the Polar Bear / That used to work for coke, Santa’s sniffin’ coke” on a track aptly titled “Fuck Santa,” hearing the self-proclaimed “Satan’s Son” mumble rap about what type of milk he likes in his hot chocolate is certainly a change of pace. It’s two percent milk for those who are curious.

None of the tracks exceed two and a half minutes, which is ultimately for the best. It’s obvious that Tyler had fun with the EP, even managing to get Santigold and Brockhampton-attaché Ryan Beatty to feature on the festive track “Lights On.” Sonically, The Grinch EP is the younger sibling to Flower Boy, both incorporating similar elements of neosoul, while also favouring a smoother sound over punchier, jarring rap rants.

Still, Tyler maintains the same bravado while rapping about stealing presents from all the Whos down in Whoville on the track “Big Bag” that he displayed

when talking about crashing private jets and killing B.o.B. Sadly, The Grinch EP never reaches the level of pure fun and catharsis that it could, and instead will have to spend this holiday dinner relegated to the kids’ table.

TYLER THE CREATOR

the grinch ep

student living

TUESDAY. november 27, 2018

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Student of the Week: Hannah Miller

Social work student fights for compensation and accessibility in the faculty Nicholas Raffoul Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

While many internships in fields such as computer science are paid, internships in the development and care industries, such as education and social work, frequently lack remuneration.

Additionally, the labour inequality that McGill’s social work students are aiming to dismantle reflects gendered bias. Female-identifying students who carry out internships are only paid 17 per cent of the time while 45 per cent of their male-identifying counterparts are paid for equal labour.

Additionally, as interns, many of McGill’s social work students take on work positions without access to the insurance or social benefits offered to long-term employees. Miller explained that, in addition to protesting unequal compensation, social work interns are also protesting this discrepancy in provincial labour laws.

“We don’t have any protections,” Miller said. “If you’re facing sexual harassment, if you get pregnant, if you get injured, you have no protection because your labour is not recognized.”

In many ways, Miller prefers working at their internship over attending lectures. At work, Miller is immersed in an inclusive and accepting space—a culture that they do not get to enjoy as often on campus.

Miller explained that they feel the faculty’s curriculum is outdated and can make them feel unwelcome. “[The social work curriculum] lacks intersectionality in all its forms,” Miller said. “[Through] most of the materials and our professors, we learn a very straight, cis-male perspective without recognizing the harm of that [….] There are gender development theorists that say that if you don’t know if you’re male or female at a certain age, there is something developmentally wrong with you.

When this is being taught in class, and I’m sitting there, it’s basically telling me there’s something wrong with me.”

After advocating for a more inclusive curriculum, Miller faced resistance from a number of faculty members. Despite this hesitance, Miller feels like it’s the faculty’s responsibility to correct the curriculum’s flaws and to make it more inclusive of current and in upcoming students.

“I feel like if I don’t say something, then nothing will be said, and we don’t

Through their activism, Miller hopes to make the Faculty of Social Work more inclusive. (Nicholas Raffoul / The McGill Tribune)

have these conversations,” Miller said. “If we want to be effective social workers, we need to be able to have a well-rounded and open understanding of different lived experiences.”

Along with Miller’s full course load, unpaid internship, and many other commitments throughout the

school year, they are also a single parent. Hannah prioritizes their child over their grades and other coursework, leaving them with little free time to seek out an alternative source of income. Ultimately, in exchange for the time they have sacrificed for their degree, Miller believes they deserve

fair treatment from the university.

“I came into this program, and I knew there was going to be unpaid labour,” Miller said. “I didn’t know how heavy that was going to be on me, both physically and emotionally. My goal for the strike is to have my labour recognized as labour.”

“Looking back, I should not have spent so much. The company was dishonest [and] they made a pitch as if it was very easy publishing.

However, at every step, the cost increased.”

Kelly’s early publications were dark tragedies that explored themes of death and despair. But, after receiving feedback, he added more optimism to his work. In his poem collection, “Waters of Silver Springs,” Kelly explores more lighthearted themes such as love, family, and nature. This balance between dark and light subject matter has allowed him to connect to a wider audience.

Although his day-job can be taxing, Kelly manages to set aside time for writing. He does not consider driving to be an obstacle, but, instead, views it as something which complements his writing.

“Every writer needs a muse,” Kelly said. “I think my muse is driving. I always have my notebook and keep it next to me.

Sometimes, when I am going down the highway and something comes to my mind, as soon as I get a break or slowing traffic, I jot down those thoughts. This way, that little spark becomes a flame. [The notes don’t] necessarily take any particular form. I just write. When I sit down

later, I start editing. It is then [that the notes start] mushrooming into something.”

Though he divides his time on-the-job between the bustling downtown area and the more peaceful Sainte-Anne-deBellevue, Kelly prefers Macdonald campus’ bucolic environment, which he finds more conducive to writing.

“I usually get a 30-minute break between each ride. I use the break at Macdonald campus to work on my writing,” Kelly said. “Macdonald is a lot quieter.

I have a place where I park the bus, and no one bothers me. It is where I do most of the writing. I get inspiration on the streets and in the city, but I do the writing at Macdonald.”

One piece of advice Kelly gave to aspiring writers in the McGill community is to start writing without thinking too far ahead.

“Just write,” Kelly said. “[You don’t] have to see the end result from the beginning. Sometimes, you have an inspiration, sometimes, you will have to inspire yourself [....] What I do to reignite the muse is to go back to what I already have there and start reading what I have already written.”

A bus ride worth a thousand words

McGill shuttle bus driver moonlights as author and poet Karan Kumar Contributor For local poet E. Lloyd Kelly, the writing process takes place whenever inspiration strikes. Kelly, who operates the inter-campus shuttle between the downtown and Macdonald campuses, is also an author and poet who has published five works of literature under his name.

Kelly’s works, four books and a poetry anthology, are uniquely connected to Montreal. Lloyd was first inspired to write poetry during a hectic drive down Sherbrooke Street, which inspired, “Welcome to Montreal,” a poem that describes the chaos and confusion that can arise on streets and highways throughout the city.

“I was coming down [Sherbrooke], just about to cross over the light, but then a group of protesters suddenly blocked the street and sent us back [to take another route],” Kelly said.

“Instead of getting mad at this moment, I used this to inspire me to write a poem.”

Kelly’s journey as a writer has been unconventional. He initially aspired to be a singer and wrote several original songs; however, he noticed that many of his lyrics

The shuttle driver writes poetry when he is off the job. (Karan Kumar / The McGill Tribune)

could be published as poems, which motivated him to write for an audience. In 2016, Kelly self-published his first book. The publication of this work allowed

him to jumpstart his writing career, but the financial cost of publishing proved a significant setback.

“I ended up spending quite a pretty penny,” Kelly said.

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student living

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

The Battle of Waterloo, but with, like, snow

Students held a snowball fight based loosely on the battle Isabella Lyons Contributor As the clock struck 2 p.m. on Nov. 23, two teams—one representing Great Britain and the other France—battled in a historically-inspired snowball fight on McGill’s Lower Field to commemorate the 203.5-year anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. The event recreated the classic story of English heroism and French defeat, reenacted with students’ preferred weaponry: Snow. At a university with significant anglophone and francophone populations, the historical battle seemed all too appropriate.

Colin Jacobs, U2 Arts, started organizing the event a week prior to the showdown, advertising the snowball fight on Facebook as “The Battle of Waterloo but with, like, snow.” Jacobs explained that he wanted to stage a snowball fight and give it an amusing title to attract people to the seemingly-absurd event.

“I wanted to throw a snowball fight,” Jacobs said. “I figured that the Battle of Waterloo was easy enough to divide up by sides, so it would be fun.”

Jacobs denies a direct connection to the historical event, but stated rather that it was chosen as a guiding theme for the afternoon.

His purpose for organizing the event was to provide a ridiculous premise to get people together and have fun.

Participants from Great Britain and

France were given the first choice to fight for their countries of origin. In keeping with the event’s farcical tone, those remaining were allocated to teams based on their star signs.

Initially, Jacobs did not know if anyone would turn up to the event. Although over 400 people expressed interest on the event’s Facebook page, he doubted there would be a significant showing. Despite these fears, 20 supporters showed up to the snowball battle.

For a while, the teams were locked in a stalemate, but after 20 minutes of on-andoff fighting, the British team overwhelmed the French. Perhaps, the historical Battle of Waterloo presaged this victory in which the British vanquished Napoleon’s army.

“It was all because of my brilliant strategizing, or so I’d like to think,” Larissa Godin, U1 Science and British soldier, said.

In the final moments of the snowball fight, the British side overran the French and defeated their leader, Jacobs, by dividing and conquering. When surrounded by the British side, Jacobs retaliated by tackling the French team. Jacobs, who the British team cast as the de-facto Napoleon-figure during the confrontation, argued that it was the cold that brought the battle to an end.

“I figure everyone stopped when it got too cold to continue fighting,” Jacobs said.

Finn McCleary, U1 Arts, also on the British side, recounted the combat.

“It was quite the battle,” McCleary said. “At first we outnumbered the French

Students battled it out on a snow-covered Lower Field. (Isabella Lyons / The McGill Tribune)

twofold. But, their reinforcements came.

However, we were strategic and knew if we took down Napoleon [Jacobs], the French would fall. So, we took down Napoleon, literally.”

It was a bleak grey day with a chill in the air. The terrain was treacherous with the snow on the ground, making it difficult

for the teams to advance. On the French side was Christiane-Marie Cantwell, U1 Arts, who felt that the weather was not optimal. By the conclusion of the event, participants were tired and weary.

“The snow was not ideal, but we made do,” Cantwell said. “We fought long and hard until the [...] end.”

Hot Cities of the World Tour takes students to far-off desinations A hidden McGill adventure at students’ fingertips

Gabriela McGuinty Staff Writer

During the Hot Cities of the World Tour, students witness economies in action. (Cordelia Cho / The McGill Trbune)

Every year, McGill undergraduate students apply for the “Hot Cities of the World Tour,” a 12-day trip to cities around the world spearheaded by Associate Professor in the Faculty of Management Karl Moore. Following the trip’s slogan, “taking the future to the future,” this initiative is an unparalleled opportunity for 30 undergraduates to travel to some of the world’s leading economic hubs alongside one of McGill’s distinguished professors and a dozen McGill alumni. “[The idea for the trip] started in 2006,” Moore said. “I took 20 McGill students to spend the day with Warren Buffett

in Omaha. On the way back from [a visit with] the second richest person in the world, I thought to myself, ‘how do you follow up?’”

To name a few destinations on past trips, Moore has taken students to India, South Africa, Russia, Mongolia, Doha, and Jakarta. Applications are due in October, and Moore selects 30 McGill students to go on the excursion soon thereafter. This year, the selected undergraduates will visit Tokyo, Bangkok, and Phuket.

Suneil Kheterpal (BCom’17) participated in the 2016 tour and views the experience as instrumental to his understanding of South America. Kheterpal travelled to the region and had the chance not only to observe practical applications of economic theory, but also discover a new culture along the way.

“There’s a series of memorable moments,” Kheterpal said. “We travelled to a vineyard to see the different wines of Chile, [visited] a coffee plantation site in Colombia, met the mayor of Bogotá, [and went] salsa dancing outside the old city of Cartagena”.

In an effort to make travel accessible to students from various socioeconomic backgrounds, Moore tries to select a varied range of students. This year, for the first time in the program’s history, the trip is taking two law students and three indigenous students on scholarships. Two-thirds of the accepted students have received financial aid. According to Moore, this attention to diversity provokes new and necessary conversations throughout the trip.

“We do reflections on the trip where, fairly regularly, we split into groups of four and we discuss what we [got] out of what we just heard,” Moore said. “Everyone adds their own view. Students from other disciplines get all sorts of lessons from it because you’re hearing from different people.”

Each year, Moore selects different destinations based on

current events and recent economic developments. For this reason, the recent stops on the trips have primarily been to cities across Asia, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Seoul, and Hong Kong, where regional economies are rapidly growing and becoming hubs for financial and business ventures.

“We’re looking at some of the leading companies in the world, both global[ly] as well as locally, to get a sense of how they do business but also how they lead, how they advertise, and how they do business outside of America,” Moore said.

“But, [the trip] is not there as a holiday. We meet with CEOs, politicians, journalists, [and others].”

The McGill alumni who accompany Moore and his students serve as mentors and points of contact for students.

The alumni simultaneously support Moore throughout the trip and facilitate discussions between students and themselves after the interviews they hold with industry experts.

“The alumni bring maturity, and the students love to talk to [them],” Moore said. “They talk about their careers, where they live, families [....] It’s you in 10 or 15 years, so, it’s thinking about what your life may be like in the next coming years. It’s your chance to explore the life of someone actually doing those thing you’re thinking about.”

The Hot Cities of the World experience offers students a unique alternative to reading week and the opportunity to make connections and learn directly from successful people in the fields that they aspire to work in.

“The one thing you take away is a lifetime of friendships and relationships that you can build off of,” Kheterpal said.

“Today, I am in contact with several of the participants that live around the world, [such as] New York, London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, [and] Toronto. These are close friends of mine that I can rely on for both advice and employment opportunities.”

science & technology

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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Seemingly-redundant organ influences development New findings pose questions about the possible function of the appendix Krithika Ragupathi Contributor Scientists have long wondered about the function of rudimentary structures which have no apparent use, such as organs like the appendix and tonsils. In On The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin hypothesized that these vestigial structures are remnants of our evolutionary past and explained their presence using his widelyaccepted theory of natural selection.

A team of McGill biologists recently published a paper in Nature suggesting a need to re-examine this idea. Their lab discovered that a seemingly-useless structure in ants—specifically, the rudimentary wing discs—determines the social caste that an ant develops into, such as a soldier or worker ant. Hence, the wing discs determine body size, lifespan, and other characteristics that correspond to the ant’s role.

They also found that the discs can regulate the balance of social groups based on an environment’s demands. In response to environmental stressors, ants release pheromones that influence the signals produced by rudimentary wing discs of ants in the colony. Consequently, the colony can increase its worker-to-soldier ratio on demand.

Ehab Abouheif, professor in the Department of Biology and co-author of the paper, explained that the scientific community has left this area of evolutionary biology largely untouched.

“We have to cast a different eye on this whole class of biology that has been sitting dormant for 100 years,” Abouheif said.

Scientists have yet to find similar unassuming organs influencing growth and development in the human species.

Abouheif believes that observing such a phenomenon would be particularly difficult, crediting the examinability of ants for his sizeable discovery.

“Different organisms make different biological phenomena obvious,” Abouheif said.

In the Pheidole genus of ants, minor workers and soldiers have two distinct morphologies, which prompted Abouheif’s investigation into the developmental switchpoint that leads to their differentiation.

Barbara McClintock, an American scientist and geneticist, was, similarly, able to discover transposable elements in DNA sequences thanks to traits within the species of corn she was studying, making the phenomenon salient to observe.

Although most research on human vestiges has been inconclusive, there have been reports of the human appendix sending out signals during development. The function of these signals is still unknown.

If the seemingly-redundant organs in humans work like an ant’s wing discs, Abouheif believes it would have huge implications for medicine. He postulates that, by understanding the signalling function of rudimentary structures, scientists could develop interventions for

McGill evolutionary biologists discover a seemingly-useless structure in ants with important signalling functions. (sciencenordic,com) developmental processes that have gone awry, such as in the case of premature births.

While potential implications of their findings are vast, Abouheif expects that garnering medical interest and investigation in this area will be gradual.

“Medical research is extremely conservative,” Abouheif said. “It’s not like tomorrow doctors [will say] ‘[We’ve] got to look [at rudiments].’”

On Oct. 9, Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan announced a $558 million investment from the federal government in discovery science. This investment supports the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of

Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grants program, which provides funding to researchers, like Abouheif, who work on projects with long-term goals.

Abouheif, however, believes this investment is insufficient and strongly advocates for the importance of discoverybased research in producing medical developments. He points out that, like his discovery in Pheidole ants, many pivotal findings in science are often stumbled upon in unexpected territories of research.

“Sometimes, when we’re looking for something, we’re looking under the light,” Abouheif said. “We’re looking in obvious places, but that’s not always where the answer will be.”

The tuberculosis inequities of the Inuit peoples

The See Change Initiative hosts a panel on the health crises in Nunavut territory Sophia Gorbounov Contributor The See Change Initiative collaborated with the Ilisaqsivik Society to host ‘Tackling TB in Nunavut: A Night of Photos and Stories’, a panel and silent auction on Nov. 8. The event aimed to raise money and awareness for the ongoing problem of tuberculosis (TB) among the Inuit people in northern Canada. The initiative, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to eradicating the health disparities that exist between Inuit and nonindigenous people: In addition to other health concerns, TB rates among Inuit are 300 times higher than those of non-indigenous Canadians.

Rachel Kiddell-Monroe, professor of practice at McGill and executive director of the See Change Initiative, described how the organization began.

“As Canadians, we could not simply sit at home and do nothing while a crisis of this magnitude was happening,” Monroe said.

With the help of Stephen Lewis, a Canadian politician, diplomat, and

advocate for those affected by the TB crisis in Nunavut, the project began.

The initiative uses the funds it raises to support training and workshops for groups up north, ensuring an Inuitspecific team and community-based model for health care delivery.

As an Inuit, Tina Pisuktie, corporate secretary for the Southern Quebec Inuit Association, expressed enthusiasm at finally having the opportunity to make decisions for themselves.

“It’s empowering to have the freedom and the ability to take on our own approaches,” Pisuktie said.

“We’re so used to people coming in and telling us ‘do this, do that.’”

The panel incorporated a series of video interviews from members of the Ilisaqsivik Society detailing how the See Change Initiative operates.

Additionally, the discussion featured heartbreaking testimonies from Inuit people affected by TB as well as the greater health problems up north.

Seeing a mother talk about her son’s unending battle with the treatable disease brings to light the realities Inuit people have been facing since the TB epidemic began over 150 years ago.

Speakers from both See Change and the Ilisaqsivik Society share experiences, worries, and hopes for the future. (seechangeinitiative.org) The TB epidemic is just the tip of the historical iceberg influencing the current inequities faced by Inuit people in Canada. According to Pisuktie, the Inuit were still a nomadic people as recently as two generations ago when the Canadian government mass-slaughtered their sled dogs, thereby eliminating a primary form of transport and forcing them into a sedentary lifestyle. Mobility restriction was a common tactic. In Aug. 1983, 87 Inuit were forcibly

relocated to the High Arctic. Families were taken to barren conditions and separated from each other into three locations.

Though they were told that they would be allowed to return home after two years, the promise was not honoured. While the Canadian federal government claims that this was done in good faith, many saw the displacement as evidence of the families being used as human flagpoles to assert Canada’s

dominance of the Far North during the height of the Cold War. Colonialism left a deep cut in the history of the Inuit, and it is crucial to acknowledge both the historical context and current situations they face in the northern parts of Canada.

Through projects like the See Change Initiative, Canadians can begin work on undoing wrongs and move toward a future not only of recognition but of equitable treatment of Inuit throughout the nation.

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science & technology

tuesday, november 27, 2018

Electrical impulses help paraplegic patients walk again Interval stimulation promises success

Emma Gillies Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

“The novelty about this [study] is that we use an individual, electrical system to stimulate the dorsal root ganglion [which is located at the spinal cord] to stimulate a group of muscles in the leg,” Molywan Vat, co-author of the study and McGill MSN ‘13, said.

The STIMO study was conducted at Lausanne University Hospital. As a clinical trial coordinator, Vat has been responsible for organizing and screening patients for the past two years. So far, he has selected three male patients to participate in the study, ranging in age from 28 to 48 years old. All were chronically paraplegic, meaning their legs and lower body were partially or completely paralyzed and had been so for over four years.

The procedure involves implanting an electrode chip into the spinal cord. The chip’s electrical impulses, which can be voicecontrolled during rehabilitation, can then target motor neurons that pass information from the spinal cord to muscles associated with walking activity. Patients used the chip in physiotherapy which resulted in immediate voluntary control of walking. Over the course of a few months, all three patients were able to walk or cycle outside with the help of a

body weight system or walker.

Before EES, activity-based physiotherapy was used to rehabilitate paraplegic patients, through reorganizing neuronal pathways and speeding up recovery.

Activity-based programs rely on assisted exercises that, when repeated, activate muscles and re-establish nerve patterns. But, these methods alone are often unsuccessful for patients who are unable to move voluntarily.

Valentin Radevich, McGill MSc ‘17, joined the STIMO project two months ago and worked as one of the four physiotherapists actively rehabilitating the patients.

“You want to push the patient to be as good as they can be, but there are always limits,” Radevich said. “With the STIMO project, you’re stimulating the spinal cord, so you have a little bit more sensation, a little bit more strength. In simple words, you’re reconnecting a few fibres that were broken.”

Engineers, neuroscientists, radiologists, nurses, and physiotherapists were all on the team, fostering a diversity of ideas and opportunities for collaboration. For Vat, the size of the project presented a challenge in the form of coordinating many different schedules and filling out large amounts of paperwork, all while ensuring patient safety throughout the clinical trial. He found his experience working on the project to be very rewarding.

The STIMO project targeted patients

Two McGill graduates were involved in the process of rehabilitating patients with chronic spinal cord injuries . (Taja de Silva / The McGill Tribune) who have been affected by paraplegia for a long time, but the next step is to develop a device for patients who have recently experienced spinal cord injuries. The researchers also hope to apply this study to the wider population of paraplegics, which would involve developing a more adaptable

device.

With the possibility of extending the project to more patients, the future of spinal cord injury rehabilitation seems bright. But, for now, Vat and Radevich are focused on the present and on the recovery of each individual patient in the program.

The delicate link between political and environmental climates The implications of Brazil’s deforestation Gwenyth Wren Contributor On Oct. 28, Jair Bolsonaro won the presidential election with 55 per cent of the popular vote. This result has global implications as the Brazilian political climate has the potential to sway the course of the battle against climate change.

Bolsonaro has pledged to support the country’s agricultural sector, putting business ahead of the Amazon rainforest’s biodiversity and forest conservation. His promise threatens Brazil’s ability to meet its greenhouse gas commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Brazil is a crucial player in combatting climate change.

Stretching across 2.7 million square miles, the Amazon acts as a giant sink for carbon dioxide emissions produced worldwide.

Bolsonaro has dismissed the idea of setting forest land aside for indigenous groups in Brazil and has promised to repeal laws protecting parts of the Amazon.

Deforestation and forest degradation in tropical countries account for approximately 10 per cent of annual pollution leading to global warming. Global Forest

Watch, a research and advocacy group, found that cutting down trees in tropical nations resulted in a gross average of 4.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide every year from 2015 to 2017. This is equivalent to the emissions that come out of the tailpipes of 85 million cars before they breakdown.

“The three main sources of greenhouse gas emissions are use of fossil fuel, production of cement, and deforestation,” Catherine Potvin, professor in McGill’s Department of Biology and Canada Research Chair in Climate Change Mitigation and Tropical Forest, said. “This is because the trunk of a tree is made up of 50 per cent carbon.

In much of the tropics, when they deforest, they don’t deforest to produce timber, but to clear land for agriculture. Thus, they cut and burn the trees. Burning forest that is cut immediately releases CO2 which is stored in the trunks of those trees.”

In 2005, deforestation accounted for 20 per cent of global emissions in the Amazon.

While this figure has decreased to 10 per cent, it is still significant on a global scale.

“All issues of climate change and global warming are

With the election of Jair Bolsonaro as the Brazilian president, the Amazon rainforest’s deforestation rate is expected to rise. (huffpostbrazil,com) However, Brazil is far from if we could do that with the oil felt everywhere on the planet,” Potvin said. “It doesn’t matter being the only culprit. Potvin sands.”

Under Bolsonaro, the where emissions occur, CO2 is reminded Western countries to very mobile [and] a release in look to their own sustainability deforestation rate is expected to rise, affecting the whole planet.

CO2 where it occurs it ends up efforts before shaming Brazil.

“Brazil has been one of the However, the US and China’s all over the atmosphere.”

Biodiversity is at risk, too. lead[ing] countries in the world contributions to global CO2 The Amazon is both the largest against climate change in the last emissions, 26.8 per cent and 14.4 and most diverse rainforest in the 15 years, far better than the US per cent, respectively, are also world. If deforestation increases, and Canada,” Potvin said. “The notable.

“We must not distort the it will continue to fracture the country has been able to reduce Amazon’s fragile ecosystem that emissions from deforestation 70 truth to make [ourselves] feel is home to many endangered per cent over the last decade. better and ignore [the reality],” The world would be grateful Potvin said. species.

sports

TUESDAY, November 27, 2018

15

McGill men’s basketball rattled by Stingers

Boisterous crowd goes home empty-handed on Pots and Pans Night

again. And, with 15 seconds to play, the home team forced a turnover to get one last chance to tie the game. However, Paquin missed his three-point shot, and three Concordia free throws ultimately sealed the Stingers win.

McGill has 10 days off to recuperate after the tough loss. They play next on Dec. 1 against the Bishop’s Gaiters (3-1) in Lennoxville, Quebec.

Gabe Nisker Sports Editor On Nov. 22, the McGill basketball teams hosted their annual Pots and Pans Night.

Unfortunately, the raucous crowd went home disappointed, as the McGill men’s basketball team (2-2) could not complete its comeback against the crosstown-rival Concordia Stingers (2-1) and fell by a score of 87-81.

McGill started the first quarter powerfully, and fifth-year point-guard Alex Paquin helped set the tone. He scored McGill’s first seven points and had nine total in the frame. Fifth-year forward Noah Daoust did an excellent job keeping Concordia away from the offensive glass early. On the offensive end, McGill moved the ball efficiently, and threes from third-year forward Edgar Brown and first-year guard Anthony Fisiru helped build a 19-12 lead at the end of the first.

In the second period, both teams’ offences found their grooves. After McGill second-year guard Sam Jenkins converted on a three-point play to stretch the lead to 28-21, Concordia went on a 14-3 run over the next two minutes to take a 3531 lead. The McGill side, however, battled back to take the halftime lead, 41-40.

Coming out of the gate after halftime, neither team could do anything to stop the other from scoring. It became clear that the first team to find their defence would gain an edge.

“We came out in the second half very slowly,” first-year forward Brennan Laidman said.

“We basically just traded baskets the entire time [....] We ended up falling behind and we couldn’t make it all the way back after that.”

At one point, Paquin and Concordia guard

MOMENT OF THE Game Fifth-year guard Avery Cadogan knocked down a three-point shot to cut the Concordia lead to 72-70, bringing the 546 fans packed into Love Competition Hall to their feet.

QUOTABLE Fifth-year guard Alex Paquin drives to the basket. (Keli Geers / The McGill Tribune) Ricardo Monge showed what it meant to trade baskets. First, Paquin converted a rare four-pointplay. Then, Monge made a layup through contact and the ensuing free throw. Then, it was Paquin’s turn again: He hit his free throw after being fouled while making a layup to give McGill a 51-48 lead.

The Stingers then started connecting from long-distance more consistently: They went 4-8 from three-point range in the frame and shot 42.3 per cent for the night. As a result, Concordia’s three-point deficit became a 12-point lead by the end of the quarter. The Stingers slowed McGill down and finished the third ahead 70-58.

A quick 6-0 run for McGill to start the fourth quarter cut the Concordia lead in half, but,

ultimately, McGill’s lack of execution on the defensive end stopped them from taking home the victory.

“We responded pretty well [at the start of the fourth quarter],” Jenkins said. “Again, we couldn’t get stops. We couldn’t stop the drives, and they were kicking out for easy shots, wide-open.”

With the Concordia lead down to six points and 3:26 remaining in the game, Daoust fouled out. That loss made it more difficult to stop the Concordia offence without a key presence in the post to match up against Stingers centre Olivier Simon, who finished with a game-high 32 points.

The game was not over yet, though: A quick McGill run cut the Stingers lead to three once

“Both coaches went really small.

Avery [Cadogan], who’s normally a three [a small forward], was playing centre for us [....] It’s less opportunity for mismatches, it’s harder to get open shots. But on defence, it’s easier for us because we can switch everything, and we can block out.” - McGill guard Sam Jenkins on the last three minutes of the game.

STAT CORNER McGill’s second and third quarters were poor defensive efforts, as they allowed Concordia to score 58 points combined.

Women’s soccer grows in Latin America despite lack of investment Argentine women back in World Cup competition after 12 long years

Kaja Surborg Contributor Twelve years after they last appeared at the Women’s World Cup, the Argentine national women’s soccer team is back in the competition. It may seem obvious that they are going to the World Cup; after all, this is the same country that produced Messi and Maradona. The women in Argentina, however, do not benefit from an equal playing field, making this comeback an important one.

Before this year, the women’s national team was not allowed to train at the same facilities as the men’s team. Reversing this policy is a step in the right direction, but the conditions are still far from equal. Women on the national team still only earn the equivalent of USD$8 per day, and, in Sept. 2017, the players went on strike because even that small stipend went unpaid. This is far from a livable wage, especially when the players are expected to eat, sleep, and have the equipment needed to perform at a professional level.

For comparison, Messi earns $667, 000 per week after signing his latest contract with FC Barcelona in 2017. Because Argentine women do not make a living wage from soccer in their home country, players are forced to either seek professional club opportunities internationally or work other jobs and only train part-time.

Argentina’s qualification for the 2019 World Cup is made even more impressive by the fact that, in 2017, they, along with several other South American women’s national teams, were dropped from the FIFA world rankings and declared ‘inactive’ because they had not played a match, trained together, or hired staff in over 18 months.

Soccer federations around the world are quick to claim that they cannot pay female players as much as their male counterparts because they do not bring in the same revenue. However, this argument does not hold meaningful ground: In the United States, women’s soccer, even with fewer resources invested in teams and development programs, still brings in higher viewer figures than men’s games. The United States may be the exception and not the rule, but it shows that people care about women’s soccer when it begins to receive proper support.

Furthermore, the women’s game is unlikely to earn profits for their national federations if there is no investment in players and development, as well as promotion and advertisement of matches and merchandise. Fans and sponsors are the main sources of revenue for federations, and no sponsor wants to invest in an event that nobody will watch. Additionally, audiences will avoid games that they deem to be of lesser quality, but players can’t improve if they can’t commit to their training and they have insufficient resources. And, so, the cycle continues. Federations that use this economic argument simply perpetuate a self-fulfilling prophecy. A women’s side that can only afford to train together three times a week on low-

This is the first World Cup since 2007 for which the Argentina women’s national team has qualified.

(Natacha Pisarenko / AP) quality fields cannot be expected to perform at the same level and attract the same crowds as a professional men’s side that enjoys full-time professional coaching, medical staff, and superior facilities.

Furthermore, soccer federations are meant to be not-for-profit. While they do need money to reinvest and continue to develop the game in their countries, the board members of many federations earn huge, unnecessary salaries. In 2016, FIFA President Gianni Infantino agreed to a salary of $1.53 million—less than half of what former president Sepp Blatter was paid, excluding the $10 million bonuses Blatter received for every World Cup. Soccer federations around the world have the funds to support women’s teams but appear unwilling to spend it on the female players who work for it. With tickets for Argentina’s World Cup qualification playoff match against Panama selling out in less than 12 hours, hopefully the tides are finally changing for fútbol femenino in Argentina, the rest of Latin America, and the world.

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sports

TUESDAY, november 27, 2018

Quarter-season NHL awards A much-too-early look at the NHL award races

Giordano’s elite playmaking ability has him on pace for 75 points, and the Flames give up half as many passes to high-scoring areas when he is on the ice. Giordano is also on the ice for 6.5 per cent more shots for than shots against, a higher percentage than all other candidates, including Morgan Reilly and Thomas Chabot.

Vezina Award: Pekka Rinne; Mitch Bannon

At 36 years old, Pekka Rinne is still one of the most dominant goaltenders in the NHL. (John Russel / Getty Images)

Mitch Bannon, Sebastian Pazdan, & Owen Gibbs Contributors and Staff Writer

Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid Sebastian Pazdan

In 2013, Habs forward Lars Eller raised some eyebrows when he compared the Edmonton Oilers to a junior team. The only reason that his comment doesn’t still ring true, five seasons later, is the play from the man they call ‘McJesus’: Connor McDavid. McDavid, on pace for 118 points, has single-handedly willed a terrible Oilers team within

four points of the last wildcard spot as of Nov. 26.

McDavid deserves the de-facto most valuable player award for his ability to grant his AHLcalibre teammates with cushy NHL contracts and because he has hoodwinked the NHL into thinking that the Oilers are not that bad.

Norris Trophy: Mark Giordano Sebastian Pazdan

With the Pacific Division up for grabs, Flames captain Mark Giordano is in line to win his first Norris, awarded to the best all-round defenceman. Playing nearly 24.5 minutes a night,

At 36 years old, Pekka Rinne is proving doubters and aging curves wrong. Rinne has put together another elite campaign in net for the Nashville Predators, and the statistics show it: He has a 10-2-1 record, .942 save percentage, and 1.68 goals against average. With the league’s best defence in front of him, Rinne is in an optimal position to be named the league’s best netminder again. Other Vezina contenders include the Maple Leafs’ Frederik Andersen and the Ducks’ John Gibson, who could continue to put forward compelling cases by season’s end.

Calder Trophy: Elias Pettersson Owen Gibbs

Despite missing six games after suffering a concussion in October, Elias Pettersson is off to a quick start. With 13 goals and 21 points in his first 20 NHL games for the lowly Vancouver Canucks, the opening to his rookie campaign has been on par with those of Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. His speed, scoring, and playmaking abilities have compelled Wayne Gretzky to compare Pettersson to, well, himself.

The sky appears to be the limit for the 20-year-old,

and he should coast to the Calder—provided that he remains healthy throughout the season.

Jack Adams Award: Phil Housley Mitch Bannon

Shocking many in the hockey world, Phil Housley’s Buffalo Sabres have jumped into playoff contention just a season removed from being the NHL’s worst team. Housley has coached the Sabres to the league’s third-best record as of Nov. 26. He has managed his top line of Jeff Skinner, Jack Eichel, and Jason Pominville as it has developed into one of the most dominant offensive lines in hockey, and the team is well on its way to their first playoff appearance since 2011.

Stanley Cup Champion: Nashville Predators Owen Gibbs

As of Nov. 25, the Predators lead the league in points, on pace for a remarkable 120. The Predators are a team without weakness: They have a solid forward core, an exceptional goalie tandem of Rinne and Juuse Saros, and one of the best defences in the NHL. Their tremendous depth provides an advantage over other contenders: For instance, after Tampa Bay Lightning starting goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was injured, the Bolts, otherwise a tough team, saw their record suffer due to weak back-up netminding. Elsewhere, the Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks could be contenders, but both teams have had slow starts relative to preseason expectations. At this rate, the Predators have emerged as the clear-cut favourite to win it all.

Carmelo Anthony: From star to slouch Charting the former Knicks star’s fall from glory

Adam Burton Contributor The 2018-19 NBA season’s opening weeks have been exhilarating after blockbuster offseason moves and progress from the league’s youngest stars have brought in a wave of new title contenders like the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks.

But, with the rise of the new guard comes the fall of Carmelo Anthony.

After just 10 games with the Houston Rockets, Carmelo Anthony was benched for illness, and, on Nov. 15, General Manager Daryl Morey revealed that Anthony’s time with Houston was over. Of these 10 games, Anthony started in two, and the Rockets, a hopeful title contender, managed to win just four. His time with Houston was the worst in his career: Averaging a shade under 30 minutes per game, Anthony saw his field goal percentage drop to an alltime-low at 40 per cent. His Player Efficiency Rating dropped to 11.55, making him the 226th most efficient player in the NBA. These statistics are a sharp departure from Anthony’s previous all-star status.

The future is uncertain for Carmelo Anthony. (Chris Szagola / AP) His recent failures in Houston are reflective of a theme that has plagued his career: Selfishness.

Most recently, in his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Anthony refused to accept a bench role on a winning team. As a result, the Thunder let him go in the offseason, which led to his signing with the Rockets.

Anthony has displayed this attitude even earlier in his career,

pushing a trade from Denver to New York that has kept him from making it to the second round of the playoffs ever since. That 2011 trade was a major turning point in Anthony’s career; by forcing this deal instead of signing with the Knicks as a free agent, he ruined his chances of playoff success.

The trade lost the Knicks four promising young starters to clear cap space for his three-year, $65M

contract extension, dooming them to just three playoff appearances in Anthony’s seven years.

However, there is a larger trend that explains why Anthony is faltering: The NBA is shifting away from the ‘franchise player’ mentality. Over the last decade, superteams, like the 2014 San Antonio Spurs or the current Golden State Warriors, have risen to the top of the standings by

placing emphasis on collective teamwork. In the 90s and early 2000s, the NBA saw prominent use of offensive systems, such as the triangle offense, that depended on superstars like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant. More recently, however, the league has entered a new age.

This era has no room for balldominant players like Carmelo Anthony—he has become a relic of times past.

With Anthony’s departure from the Rockets comes speculation about the future.

Anthony can retire, or he can learn to take a smaller role on a winning team. The first option isn’t unprecedented—NBA Hall Of Famer Tracy McGrady retired at age 34, and he has advocated for Anthony to do the same. However, since Anthony won’t be in favour of letting his career end on such a sour note, the second option is more likely. In that case, teams like the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers will clamour for his services because, despite all of Anthony’s flaws, the NBA still won’t give up on one of its fading superstars.