The McGill Tribune Vol. 39 Issue 9

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019 | VOL. 39 | ISSUE 9

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

GAME REPORT

The time for Indigenous allyship is now

Climate justice is racial justice

Vert et Or defeat Martlets with strong offence

PG. 5

PGs. 8-9

PG. 15

(Iman Zarrinkoub The McGill Tribune)

McGill Men’s Rugby wins at home to advance to RSEQ final

PG. 16

McGill announces creation of online Bachelor of Nursing degree

The degree is expected to launch in 2021 to CEGEP graduates Tasmin Chu Contributor McGill announced that it will be launching Quebec’s first online Bachelor of Nursing degree in on Oct.

24. The program, which aims to address a lack of baccalaureate-holding nurses in the province, will be offered in both English and French starting in 2021.

Quebec’s nurses are

less educated than their peers across Canada. While 63-73 per cent of nurses hold a bachelor’s degree in other provinces, the number drops to only 46 per cent in Quebec.

PG. 4

Montreal does the Time Warp again North America’s largest Rocky Horror event continues to dazzle audiences Deana Korsunsky Staff Writer One rarely has the opportunity to throw toasted bread or toilet–paper across an elegant theatre venue. Rarely, but not never. From Oct. 31— Nov. 2, Cinéma Impérial hosted

its annual Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball, inviting audiences to partake in said toast and toilet–paper throwing mischief. The decades-old Halloween tradition drew thousands of costume-clad Rocky enthusiasts who waited in a line that stretched around

the block. The 1975 cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show follows engaged couple Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) and Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick), who are forced to seek refuge in a mysterious castle after their car breaks down during a rainstorm.

PG. 7

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NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

Prologue or epilogue: What’s next for the McGill Book Fair The fair returns in 2019 after committing to close last year Jackie Lee Contributor Undeterred by a recent history rife with alternating closures and revivals, the McGill Book Fair opened its doors again for a threeday sale Oct. 29-31. Nearing its 50th anniversary, the fair sells tens of thousands of gently used books—ranging in genre from biographies to romance novels—along with an assortment of CDs, DVDs, vinyls, and sheet music. While book prices remain affordable at an average of $3 per book, the fair has raised a total of nearly $2 million for student scholarships and bursaries since 1975.

Created by the now-disbanded Women’s Associates of McGill in partnership with the McGill Women’s Alumnae Association in 1971, the event is entirely run by volunteers.

Alumni Anne Johnston Williams and Susan Smith Woodruff have been co-coordinators for the past five years. With approximately 50,000 books sold annually, Woodruff estimates that about 65 per cent of all their supplies were sold this year.

“We had 802 boxes [of books], in 36 different genres,” Woodruff said.

The fair has faced issues over the past decade. Operating with few volunteers, problems such as a lack of viable ways to transport books to campus are difficult to overcome.

After expecting to close in 2011 due to the event’s physical toll felt by the few remaining volunteers, the fair was revived by students in 2012. Despite this new leadership, it expe-

rienced a hiatus in 2013 due to the construction on Redpath Terrace. The fair continued in 2014 with Willams and Woodruff taking over, but saw low turn-out due to a lack of advertising. In 2018, construction in Redpath Hall seemed to signal the permanent end of the fair. After marketing last year as the fair’s final run, they received new information from the administration.

“We really shocked people last year when we said we weren’t coming back,” Williams said. “We all said our goodbyes.

[Then, the day after the fair], someone from [McGill] administration called to say there is no reason [that] you can’t have the Book Fair next year.”

This year, organizers continued to experience challenges that hindered efficiency when organizing the fair.

“As frequently happens, there [was] complication, personal changes and miscommunication,” Williams said. “When we came on Friday [to set up] of last week, there was still construction [equipment in the downstairs section].”

A total of 28 volunteers dubbed, ‘Book Fair-ies’, are tasked with administration duties year-round, while 75 others help during the fair itself. Suzie Slavin has been a volunteer for over 12 years since her retirement as a librarian. As an avid book lover, Slavin explained the difficulties involved with running the fair.

“It’s hard to get enough people,” Slavin said. “We work from February or March until [October], collecting books from people [and

The McGill Book Fair has run for over 45 years. (Leanne Young / The McGill Tribune) getting them] downtown. There are a lot of logistical issues. We do pricing and triage, [and other] preparatory work. And we communicate with the coordinators.”

Sustainability has always been a priority for the fair. Unsold books are given to local charity Renaissance, where donated goods are sold at accessible prices, and profits reinvested into the community. Other organizations, like Books 2 Prisoners, purchase leftover materials.

“We recycle and reuse [everything],” Woodruff said. “We’ve always shared as much as we can.”

Woodruff and Williams are grateful for the work volunteers put into the fair, who work for months to collect, organize, price, and move countless boxes of donations.

“We’ve had really great support from

many, many people,” Williams said. “They have been phenomenal to us.”

After assuming the role of co-coordinators for five years, Woodruff and Williams are looking to pass on the torch. Currently, they are in the process of looking for a replacement coordinator, but have so far been unsuccessful.

The revival of McGill’s book fair is part of a global trend: Data suggests that book sales have been on the rise since 2013. The Book Fair plays into this trend by repurposing old books that would have otherwise been forgotten or thrown out and giving them a second home with new readers.

“The value of books waxes and wanes, and I think it’s the wax again, or so I hope,” Slavin said. “It’s important to bring old stuff to the attention of young readers.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer gives lecture on Gorbachev Taubman presented a sympathetic portrait of the controversial Soviet leader Pascal Hogue Contributor Pulitzer Prize-winning author and renowned political science professor at Amherst College Bill Taubman gave a lecture on the life of Soviet Union (USSR) leader Mikhail Gorbachev to a packed audience of McGill students and professors on Nov. 1.

Drawing from his 2017 biography, Taubman presented the head of state as an idealistic, but flawed leader and suggested that his personal character was instrumental in explaining the successes and failures of the Soviet Union in its final years.

Taubman’s lecture, “The Rise and Fall of Mikhail Gorbachev—And Some Lessons for the Putin Era” was organized by the Research Group on Transitions and Global Modernities in collaboration with the Russian Studies Department at McGill.

In his introductory remarks, Taubman acknowledged that Gorbachev has had a contentious legacy, lauded abroad for his instrumental role in ending the Cold War, but fiercely criticized at home for his role in the economic collapse and dissolution of the USSR. For these reasons, Taubman said Gorbachev was a ‘tragic hero.’

“He was a hero because he laid the basis for democracy [in the USSR], conducted the first free […] elections to create the first functioning parliament, [and] ended

in political science, Taubman’s focus on Gorbachev as a person was nuanced and differed from most contemporary approaches to history, which prioritize long-term trends over the actions of important individuals. “[It was] certainly a more sympathetic view of Gorbachev than I’m used to as a political science student,” Atkins said. “[He gave] a very agential view of history, the idea that what the person in charge does matters, [which is] not something I’m used to in [mainstream] political science models.”

However, for Sheena Li, an undergraduate student in pharmacology, the lecturer’s greater focus on character rather than on context made the topic accessible and informative.

“Since [it was] a lot about [Gorbachev’s] Amherst College professor Bill Taubman called Gorbachev a “tragic hero” during his 60-minute lecture personality, [it was] easy for someone who Friday evening. (Pascal Hogue / The McGill Tribune) doesn’t really know about [his] background to understand,” Li said. the Cold War more than anybody else, [re- body, the Politburo, and to a nation wary of In his concluding remarks, Taubman ducing] the threat of a nuclear holocaust,” change. He suggested that the Soviet lead- noted the rise of authoritarianism in Russia Taubman said. “Why tragic? […] He wanted er’s hubris might have been the main cause in recent years and his diminishing hopes for to save the Soviet Union and its new demo- of his undoing. a democratic Russia. Having interviewed cratic form, but it collapsed, and in the pro“How could he have thought that a Gorbachev eight times for his biography, cess the economy crumbled, creating a […] country that had never known democracy Taubman said that the former leader has had disaster for many Soviet people.” for centuries could be democratized in a few moments of optimism for his country, but During his lecture, Taubman tied Gor- short years?” Taubman said. “He was opti- that most of the time, Gorbachev has been bachev’s personal character to the successes mistic, extraordinarily so, probably exces- more realistic. and failures of the Soviet Union. Taubman sively so. He was confident—too much so it “It may take the whole 21st century for contrasted Gorbachev’s idealistic reforms to appears in retrospect.”

Russia to find its way to democracy,” Gorthe USSR’s staunchly inflexible governing For Henry Atkins, a Master’s student bachev once told Taubman.

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

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McGill announces creation of online Bachelor of Nursing degree The degree is expected to launch in 2021 to CEGEP graduates

Tasmin Chu Contributor

Continued from page 1.

The difference can be attributed to Quebec’s unique requirements: Nurses only need to hold a nursing Diplôme d’études collégiales (DEC) from a CEGEP to practice, while in the rest of Canada, a bachelor’s degree in nursing is required.

Annie Chevrier, the Program Director for McGill’s Bachelor of Nursing Integrated and Online Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) Initiatives, explained the serious consequences of this education disparity.

“An increase in bachelor-prepared nurses has positive outcomes on Quebec’s healthcare system, specifically in improved patient outcomes,” Chevrier wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “A 10 [per cent] increase in bachelor-educated nurses has shown to result in a [four to seven per cent] decrease in patient death [....] The Quebec population is aging. Care has been restructured such that patients in hospitals are more acutely ill and are discharged sooner. [So] critical care and community health nursing—competencies gained during a Bachelor of Nursing—are increasingly important.”

A donation from the Doggone Foundation made launching the program possible, explained James Clement, the Communications Manager of the Faculty of Medicine.

“[The Doggone Foundation’s] gift towards the BNI Online Program was for $1 million,” James Clement wrote in an email to the Tribune.

Chevrier explained that an online program will allow nurses to further their education while still continuing to practice.

“Amazingly, there are no online bachelor-level nursing programs for licensed nurses in Quebec,” Chevrier wrote. “A Quebec nurse’s only online options are in other provinces [...] An online program offers increased flexibility for work and family life, while removing geographic barriers to access. Another part of improving accessibility is making the program bilingual [...]

A number of nurses who attend McGill are Francophone and are completing their first English program with us.”

Education professor Caroline Riches emphasized that online courses grant versatility that traditional courses do not offer.

“I think that the main benefits of online courses and programs are access and flexibility,” Riches wrote in an email to the Tribune. “[They offer] access to student[s] who do not live close enough to the university to attend on-campus, face-to-face classes, [and] flexibility for those who may be working full-time or on shifts.”

Riches believes that the online degree is a step in the right direction for McGill’s nursing program.

“The main disadvantages or challenges for any online course or program [are a] lack of student engagement, lack of com-

The Doggone Foundation donated $15 million to fund the program. (Owen Egan / Joni Dufour) munity, and motivation,” Riches wrote.

“Nevertheless, there are ways to address this and increase online presence and build online community—which I am sure nursing is aware of [....] I am a big supporter of online courses and do think [that] McGill should expand its online offerings.”

Chevrier explained that concerns about online courses offering lower quality education were unwarranted, as the Online Design Team from McGill’s Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) would work to create comprehensive online materials.

“There is extensive research to support that online learning is an effective method

of instruction for students in many disciplines, including nursing,” Chevrier wrote.

“We are confident that this program will provide the same high-quality education that students expect from McGill [....] The vision behind the online design is student engagement, interactivity, and the creation of a vibrant community of learners.”

Riches observed that offering the online program was a wise choice in improving Quebec healthcare.

“I think [that] it is important to offer courses and programs that meet the needs of the market – and nursing [h]as done this,” Riches wrote.

44 students attend SSMU General Assembly

SSMU Board of Directors and Auditor were ratified without controversy Kyle Dewsnap News Editor The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held its semesterly General Assembly (GA) on Oct. 28, with only 44 students in attendance. The GA, which failed to meet its 350 member quorum, ratified the Board of Directors and the Auditor. SSMU President Bryan Buraga joked about the pitiful attendance during his presentation.

“As you can see, we were so, so close to hitting [quorum] today,” Buraga said. “In the future, our goal is to definitely engage more students and bring forward resolutions that get many more people to attend. You can see this with the AUS GA with regards to the climate strike motion.”

Last week’s meeting marks the fourth consecutive GA that failed to meet quorum since Fall 2017. In a controversial move, the 2017/18 Board of Directors raised quorum from 100 to 350 members, which some SSMU members saw as an attempt to limit the power of GAs. Last year, Former SSMU President Tre Mansdoefer tried to lower the quorum to 150, however his motion ultimately failed at a Legislative Council meeting.

In addition to raising two motions, SSMU Executives also took questions from the attendees. Medicine Senator Andre Lammetti raised a question about the governance files available on SSMU’s website.

“For several years, documents of the society have been titled ‘Jim Jones,’” Lammetti said. “I’m not aware of who Jim Jones is, except for the notorious preacher involved involved in the massacre in South America. I was wondering when the SSMU executive is going to fix this issue.”

SSMU Vice-President (VP) Finance Sam Haward

SOUND BITE

SSMU Executives hope to learn from the recent successful AUS GA to improve future turnout. (ssmu.ca) replied to the senator, saying that the title of the documents was not in reference to the leader of the infamous Peoples Temple cult, but instead is the name of a former SSMU employee.

“Many of the [governing] documents were created when Jim Jones was the General Manager [of SSMU], so all of the PDFs have the title ‘Jim Jones,’” Haward said.

“I suppose it’ll be on the Executive to work with the President and the Governance Manager to [...] remove the Jim Jones metadata.”

SSMU VP External Adam Gwiazda-Amsel asked a follow-up question to Lametti about what he thought the new name should be.

“I wonder if Andre Lammetti would want to form an ad-hoc committee [...] because this might be an interesting opportunity to have a commemorative name in the metadata,” Gwiazda-Amsel said.

After laughter from the crowd, Lammetti refused the offer, saying it would be a bad use of SSMU resources.

The next GA will be on Feb. 20, 2020.

“Initially, I found out [about the letter] because Br yan posted on one of our groups [on Slack] asking “Hey, can we talk about the letter we received.” I [said] “What letter?” and then I checked my email [....] I had to leave the training [then] because I wasn’t in the state to handle it,” VP Bhalla said, on her reaction to receiving the letter asking for her resignation.

FLASHBACK The open letter sent to SSMU’s Executive

by Indigenous student leaders last week was not mentioned during the Fall GA. However, VP Internal Sanchi Bhalla delivered an official statement at Legislative Council last week. According to Bhalla, the 12-hour delay in sending out a press release mandated by Indigenous student leaders happened because she did not have access to the SSMU MailChimp account, which contains the mailing list needed to send out mass emails.

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NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

Experts discuss threats to the international nuclear order

One panellist fears US–Russia relationship is greatest threat to the global stability Nina Russell News Editor Experts convened to discuss threats to the global nuclear order on Nov. 1 at Thomson House. Hosted by McGill’s Centre for Peace and International Security Studies and moderated by Jennifer Welsh, Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security at McGill, panellists discussed the shift in global power after the end of the Cold War. T.V. Paul, James McGill professor of political science, emphasized the connection between global rising populism and the increasing acceptance of nuclear weapon use.

“Tradition has to be learned and socialized, and the new generation has to appreciate that this exists,” Paul said. “Unfortunately, our political leaders, including Mr. Trump, don’t give the impression that we’ve learned much from the past 70 years. The people who faced Hiroshima and Nagasaki [...] are vanishing. And how can we teach our younger generation, especially when our leaders engage in cheap talk, and [use] this instrument for electoral purposes?”

The risk of populist leaders using nuclear weapons is present both in regional conflicts, such as rising hostility between India and Pakistan, as well as in global conflicts, like between the United States and Russia. Thomas Countryman, former United States Assistant Secretary of State

India revoked Kashmir’s special status in Aug. 2019, exacerbating tensions with Pakistan.

(Leanne Young / McGill Tribune) for International Security and Nonproliferation, believes that the greatest risk to the latter relationship is miscommunication.

“Communications are so bad [between Russia and the US] that we could inadvertently get into an incident, which becomes a conflict, which becomes a conventional war, which becomes a nuclear war,” Countryman said. “[But], I think that a war between the US and Russia is less likely than a war between India and Pakistan. But a nuclear war between India and Pakistan can only destroy that part of the world. A [nuclear] war between the United States and Russia can literally destroy human civilization.”

Speakers also addressed rising Indian nationalism and its contribution to the current crisis in Kashmir. Vipin Narang, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that escalating tensions between the two states can potentially destabilize the region. “[There] is a flavour of nationalism and a nationalist government [in India] that we have not seen before,” Narang said. “[The Modi government] did say it was going to revoke article 370 in its constitution, [which grants Kashmir special status], but [this] managed to do what Pakistan not could not do for seven years, which is [to]

internationalize the issue of Kashmir. You [now] have human rights subcommittees in [the American] Congress blasting the Government of India.”

Countryman believed that treaties preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons were effective. He drew a distinction between how arms control is perceived versus its strong benefits.

“Arms control should not be seen as a sign of weakness, but as a sign of smart cooperation,” Countryman said. “But, [...] with growing mindless nationalism, the far right has demonized arms control. They have made [arms control] efforts [...] seem inappropriate for a strong leader. And it’s very hard because it plays well for certain audiences.”

Cindy Temorshuizen, director general of international security policy for Global Affairs Canada, briefly discussed China’s role as a rising nuclear power.

“The Chinese mood is not one of arms control,” Temorschuizen said. “It’s a mood of very significant military modernization. However, there is a real interest on China’s side in at least being perceived as a serious multilateral player [...] China just announced in September that it will be acceding to the arms trade treaty that the US withdrew from. And they are quite frank to say that their rationale is that ‘it will make us look good compared to the US.’ So there are some very complicated dynamics around China [right now].”

AUS Legislative Council ratifies Interfaculty Involvement Restriction Policy The council discussed a SSMU motion proposing removing seats on Legislative Council Deisha Paliwal

[meeting] that [there was some] fear that taking away a seat because of overrepresentation may result in no representation at all,” Daryanani said.

Jamal Tarrabain, AUS President, echoed the need to consider the diverse views of Arts & Science constituents.

“BASiC students do have unique voices that are separate from Arts [students] and Science [students],” Tarrabain said. “I want to implore everyone at AUS Legislative Council to take those factors into consideration when we are looking at removing some of these positions.”

Contributor The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Legislative Council reconvened on Oct. 30 to discuss the Motion to Ratify the Interfaculty Involvement Restriction Policy (IRP). The policy aims to foster a safe environment by restricting individuals’ access to events if they have threatened the physical, mental, or emotional state of other individuals or groups involved.

While each faculty has their own version of the IRP, the interfaculty policy extends the policies to cover individuals accused of harmful actions from different faculties’ events.

Vice-President (VP) Social Kimberly Yang, who drafted the policy, spoke to the importance of its interfaculty component.

“Often times, a lot of the survivors I work with want the ban extended further than just their faculty,” Yang said. “With this new IRP, survivors won’t have to go through the investigative process four times to get interfaculty results, which is extremely taxing for a [sexual violence] survivor.”

Brent Jamsa, VP External of the Canadian Studies Association of Undergraduate Students (CSAUS), expressed concern over the lack of due process for appeals in the Interfaculty IRP. In response, Yang affirmed the need to pass the motion to begin investigative processes, and committed to adding an appeal process within the coming weeks.

While an amendment to include a sunset clause was proposed, which would specify a time period for the policy’s repeal, the council later gave unanimous consent for its withdrawal at the request of Jamsa. The motion then passed.

Council debated campus safety and accurate representation in governance. (Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune) Afterwards, VP External Darshan Daryanani reported that the Motion Regarding Support of University Governance Reform was discussed at the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council meeting on Oct. 24, which proposes the removal and addition of seats on council.

Alexandra Millar, VP External of the Bachelor of Arts and Science Integrative Council (BASiC), relayed BASiC’s unanimous dissatisfaction with the motion’s removal of an Arts and Science SSMU representative.

“Although we get a say in AUS and SUS, it is important that someone advocates for students who are doing both,” Millar said. “If [the motion] does go through, and there is a referendum, we will be campaigning [for a] no.”

Daryanani assured council that these concerns are being considered.

“It was mentioned in the [SSMU Legislative] council

SOUND BITE “Looking at the numbers of faculties is impor tant, and ensuring that there is accurate representation is impor tant; however, you also don’t want to enter the classification of tyranny of the majority,” Tarrabain said, in response to the proposed removal of the Ar ts and Science SSMU representative.

FLASHBACK After receiving live updates from the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) throughout the meeting, Yang announced to the council that EUS passed the Interfaculty IRP during their meeting, marking the motion successful in two out of four of the undergraduate societies so far.

OPINION

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Caitlin Kindig editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Nicholas Raffoul nraffoul@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Abeer Almahdi aalmahdi@mcgilltribune.com Miya Keilin mkeilin@mcgilltribune.com Sophie Brzozowski sbrzozowski@mcgilltribune.com

News Editors Kyle Dewsnap, Helen Wu & Nina Russell news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Lucas Bird & Johanna Cline opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Emma Gillies scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Life Editor Leyla Moy studentlife@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Gabe Nisker features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editor Kevin Vogel & Katia Innes arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Ender McDuff & Kaja Surbourg sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Erin Sass & Erica Stefano design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Leanne Young photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editors Sarah Ford & Aidan Martin multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Jad Hamdan & Jonathan Colaco Carr webdev@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Keating Reid copy@mcgilltribune.com

The time for Indigenous allyship is now Last week, in our Oct. 29 issue, The McGill Tribune published an open letter written by Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Indigenous Affairs Commissioner Tomas Jirousek. In the letter, Jirousek explains the events that led him and other Indigenous student leaders to ask for the resignation of SSMU Vice-President (VP) Internal, Sanchi Bhalla. In addition, Jirousek’s letter describes the institutional failures of SSMU to provide adequate allyship to Indigenous students. The letter closes by outlining a three-step plan for increasing the autonomy, support, and mobility Indigenous students have when advocating for themselves on campus. The steps include increased fiscal autonomy, giving the Indigenous Affairs Commissioner role independence from the SSMU executive, and greater resources to facilitate rapid mobilization.

Following the letter’s release, Jirousek posted screenshots of hateful comments he had received in response to his activism in a Facebook post on Oct. 31. Some of the comments were from a recent r/mcgill Reddit post made in reference to Jirousek’s most recent open letter. Without exception, the comments present in Jirousek’s post are staunch examples of targeted racism and invalidate the work he has done as an Indigenous activist. In light of such comments, both SSMU and the McGill student body are falling short of their professional and moral obligations to support and provide

OFF THE BOARD

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TPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Heela Achakzai, Isabelle Côté, Solomon Friedman, Katia Innes, Caitlin Kindig, Marie Labrosse, Katerine Milazzo, Falah Rajput, Keating Reid, McEan Taylor, Ahmad El-Zammar

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ublication is the sole responsibility ofThe McGilTri Kate Addison, Makena Anderson, Zoe BabadPalmer, Adam Burton, Jonathan Giammaria, Sabrina Girard-Lamas, Alexander Hinton, Benjmain Joppke, Deana Korsunsky, Alaana Kumar, Ronny Litvack-Katzman, Kennedy McKee-Braide, Taja De Silva, McEan Taylor, Sophia White, Amir Hotter Yishay, Iman Zarrinkoub

CONTRIBUTORS Alex Ar kilanian, Vanessa Baron, Adam Bell, Ruobing Chen, Tasmin Chu, Favour Daka, Leina Gabra, Patrick Gilroy, Sophia Gorbounov, Matthew Hawkins, Pascal Hogue, Shaun Lalani, Jackie Lee, Adam Menikefs, Noah Simon, Margaret Wdowiak, Gwenyth Wren

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Please recycle this newspaper.

Keating Reid Copy Editor Job interviews for entrylevel positions in the technology sector are notorious for the use of whiteboard tests: Interviewers ask applicants to solve programming problems on a whiteboard, without access to reference materials or coded-checking tools that programmers would usually have access to when doing real work.

Universally reviled by applicants, the process is slowly falling out of favour with employers as well, largely because whiteboard tests are so unlike ‘real life’ that they reveal nothing useful about a candidate. This may seem familiar to students who have

allyship to Indigenous students on campus, especially Jirousek.

The Tribune condemns the comments and responses shown in Jirousek’s Facebook post, as well as the hateful sentiments that they stem from. Further, the Tribune fully endorses the points and messages communicated by Jirousek in his most recent open letter. It is disappointing that following both the publication of Jirousek’s open letter and his Facebook post showing the racist rhetoric he continues to endure—including comments calling him aggressive and accusing him of having a ‘victimhood mentality’— SSMU has refrained from making any kind of official statement in response. While VP University Affairs Madeline Wilson has made a Facebook post on the SSMU University Affairs page supporting Jirousek, this is far from constituting an official response made by the entirety of SSMU. The initial call by Indigenous student leaders for Bhalla’s resignation is a complex situation, and the SSMU executive should take their time in deciding how to proceed further. However, a statement of support and solidarity for Jirousek and Indigenous students as a whole does not require that SSMU resolve the bureaucratic tangle involving VP Bhalla. A statement saying that SSMU have read, recognized, and are considering the propositions that Jirousek made in his open letter

would also be beneficial. SSMU’s institutional silence on this issue is deafening and the message it sends about the priorities of the current executive body is disheartening.

McGill’s student body also has responsibilities when it comes to providing allyship to Indigenous students. Allyship incorporates many different behaviors and practices, but its purpose as a whole must be focused on more than mere marginal changes for Indigenous students.

One of Jirousek’s calls-to-action in his open letter was to provide full financial autonomy for Indigenous students advocating for themselves, instead of a fee through SSMU. The Motion Regarding Creation of Indigenous Equity Fund and Fee was submitted on Sept. 26, and will be put to a student vote from Nov. 1215. The Tribune strongly encourages students to vote ‘yes’ to the fee.

It is also incumbent upon everyone in the McGill community to call out the type of language directed at Jirousek for what it is: Racist and unacceptable. If students feel uncomfortable engaging with toxic individuals online, there are less direct methods of countering hate speech such as deplatforming users, reporting them, and flagging hateful comments. While online vigilance is necessary, Indigenous-focused allyship includes much more than an intolerance to internet hate speech.

McGill University is built upon land that was stolen from the

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EDITORIAL Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations by European colonizers.

Allyship with Indigenous students is crucial; this involves educating oneself about the history of land which we currently inhabit, recognizing the genocidal practices and human rights violations that built up areas like Montreal, and understanding the ways in which this history systematically manifests itself in the present day. However, the responsibility to educate does not lay with Indigenous student leaders or activists. Rather, it is the responsibility of those in positions of privilege to educate themselves.

If McGill students are able to help amplify the voices of marginalized groups and recognize the ways in which their own privilege functions on an everyday basis, this will foster better allyship for Indigenous students. This means participating in Indigenous-led protests, calling out your peers if they say something insensitive, and likely, recognizing aspects of one’s own lived experience including privilege and benefits one receives as a result of Indigenous oppression, which may be uncomfortable. Being a good ally is not necessarily easy, but it is absolutely vital. The Tribune also urges the SSMU executive to use this experience as an opportunity for learning and growth, and to use their position of power to help create meaningful change for Indigenous students.

Universities must move away from exams just experienced the midterm exam crunch. Like whiteboard tests, most university exams don’t measure the most important skills for students’ long-term success, and their place in education needs reevaluating.

Typical exams rely heavily on a few cognitive skills: Memorization, long-term focus, and the ability to quickly process and categorize information.

Exams often put less emphasis on skills like problem solving, though this is partially due to the nature of the humanities and social sciences, which do not feature problems with mostly objective solutions like many scientific subjects. Nevertheless, exams fail to measure the skill of finding and evaluating information that is becoming increasingly valued in many workforces. Memorization is of limited use in the information age; with modern technology, one is far more likely to find too much information about a subject than not enough. The ability to sort through and critically evaluate information is one of the most important skills that students learn during their time at university, making its absence from most exams all the more conspicuous.

For their ubiquity, whether exams actually measure what they intend to has been subject to almost no scientific scrutiny. A 2000 review inThe BMJ in 2000 found that final exams in British undergraduate medical programs, though an important step toward achieving a medical licence, had only been subject to scientific review once, receiving a lukewarm assessment for reliability. The reason that testing ‘has always been this way’ is not reason enough to keep exams. Students spend significant amounts of time and money on their degrees—they deserve an education based on evidence, not tradition.

Traditional testing is not the only feasible way to evaluate students. Dan Laitsch, an associate professor of education at Simon Fraser University, interviews each of his 35 students per class to agree upon an appropriate final mark, based off of the students’ coursework. While his particular approach may not scale well to classes of 300 or more students, other major research universities have managed to move away from the final exam: At Harvard, in the 2010 academic year, only 23 per cent of undergraduate

courses incorporated them, with many courses that did not use them opting for more projects and take-home assignments instead.

Even at McGill, PHIL 474 Phenomenology, incorporates an oral exam in lieu of a written final.

Universities’ roles as educational institutions are changing, whether they are prepared for it or not. For many students, they are not places to gather knowledge for knowledge’s sake, nor the gateway to upper academia: A university degree is preparation—and a prerequisite— for employment. McGill has made encouraging steps toward providing a more practical, experiential learning experience by offering academic credit for internships and offering courses abroad, but institutions change slowly. At McGill and elsewhere, final exams are a relic from a past when undergraduate programs trained future academics, rather than employees. As enrolment rates steadily rise, universities at the leading edge of modern education will reap the benefits.

McGill professors must update their course syllabi to meet the changing needs of the modern workforce.

6

OPINION

COMMENTARY

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

Gerts, it hurts: I want you back

Leina Gabra Contributor With vain hope in their hearts, students received an email from the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) on Oct. 28, hoping to read a promising update on the University Centre’s closure.

However, students were disappointed by yet another delay: Gert’s, club spaces, and community spaces are still inaccessible.

Initially, the McGill administration’s renovations to solve the University Centre’s HVAC, electrical, and asbestos issues were scheduled to be finished by winter 2019, with Gerts reopening by the end of fall 2018; obviously, this was delayed. In June 2019, the Deputy Provost announced that the new reopening date of reopening was slated for December 2019. McGill students are used to construction-related promises being broken, however, the continued closure of the University Centre until April 2020 will have a lasting impact on McGill students.

An entire graduating class of McGill students has never set foot in the University Centre since the university closed the building down for renovations in March 2018. Before its closure, the University Centre housed meeting places for a multitude of clubs, associations, and services. It also provided several large event spaces and housed SSMU’s offices.

COMMENTARY

during my first year feels like a distant memory, but it was definitely a useful resource while it was still around. From grabbing a coffee at La Prep to lounging on the beanbags in the napzone, the University Centre was a one-stop shop that I appreciated as a first-year student who was still trying to find my place in the McGill community.

Being able to access club meetings, legal help as an international student, and a beloved student bar all in one building were assets that I took for granted. I believe that my first-year university experience would have been more difficult without the existence of the University Centre, simply due to its convenience. There is a distinct possibility that current first-year students are experiencing such difficulty, plagued by the lack of a student center which they’ve never even known.

The University Centre has been closed since Winter 2018 (mcgill.ca) Although it is difficult to assign blame to any one party for the continued delays on Now, student-led clubs have been relocated Centre erodes the already weak sense of the University Centre reopening, the McGill to buildings on and off-campus and have community at McGill. As a university with administration must be more transparent had more trouble than ever finding spaces an undergraduate population of over 24,000, and realistic about construction on campus. while planning events. Separating the it can be easy for students to feel like an It must also be more mindful of students’ offices of services such as the McGill anonymous face in a sea of thousands. For continued frustration and the difficulties Student Emergency Response Team first-year students, many of whom are living that it causes for student-led clubs and (MSERT), the Sexual Assault Center of away from their families for the first time, new students as event spaces, services, the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS), having a centralized location for clubs and and important resources are expelled to and the Legal Information Clinic at McGill services is a valuable and often overlooked temporary spaces. The re-opening of the (LIM) makes it more difficult for students way of reducing the anxiety that comes with University Centre may not be able to singleto access these crucial resources. being newly independent. handedly restore McGill school spirit, but The closure of the University For me, going to the University Centre having Gerts back would definitely help.

A samosa ban could have been prevented

Favour Daka Contributor Samosas sales, not midterms, seem to be what is now giving many McGill students a hard time. On Oct. 22, Montreal Inspection des Aliments issued a warning to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) due to sanitation concerns over a samosa sale in the basement of Burnside Hall. If health codes are violated again, a future fine could be anywhere in the range of $2,250 to $54,000. While seeing the indefinite suspension of the much beloved samosa sale is sad, SSMU’s failure to ensure that clubs met health standards is one that could prove costly. That being said, the general norms of food sales at McGill make SSMU’s negligence understandable, though not excusable.

In order for a student group to gain ‘club status’ and thus receive funding and approval for its various events, it needs direct confirmation from SSMU. Accordingly, SSMU oversees most student groups as it is the conduit for room-booking, ensuring student events can serve alcohol, and promote themselves at the annual Activities Night. Due to its heightened role in student group activities, SSMU’s negligence in educating groups about mandatory health and safety requirements for clubs to follow during food sales is irresponsible. Further, possible financial repercussions as well as the inability to fundraise properly could have extensive repercussions on student well-being.

It is possible that the samosa sale might have been organized without formal consultation with SSMU. Many student groups commonly hold sales to get a little extra revenue outside SSMU’s funding which they can use

for upcoming events. As this is an intra-group activity that isn’t too elaborate, SSMU may well have been completely unaware that the sale was happening. However, the problem here is not that the sale occurred, or did so in the periphery of SSMU, but rather that SSMU has not adequately ensured that the student groups are aware of a health and safety procedure.

As one of the McGill Students for China Care executive members put it, “if we had known [about the rules], we would have followed them.”

In the aftermath of the autumnal samosa scandal, it is important to consider the shortterm effect this sanction would have on SSMU, and by association, all the student groups that it oversees. Last academic year, SSMU adopted a more iron-fisted approach in maintaining rules and regulations for its member clubs. This resulted in the sanctioning of over 100 clubs, some of which expressed frustration in how suddenly the constraints were applied, which gave them little time to make necessary adjustments before being penalized. With this rather abrupt tightening of regulations, the failure to ensure that its clubs were aware of health and safety guidelines, especially having the bulk of the summer to consider and disseminate such information, makes SSMU’s oversight that much worse.

While it is encouraging that SSMU was prepared to cover a potential fine, that does not soften the reality that SSMU’s failure to inform student groups in this instance has caused a lot of apprehension within clubs over what other guidelines they may be actively breaching. It is also important that a deeper investigation goes into how day-to-day practices that are

often glossed over can better fall in line with legal requirements. Student groups are given considerable autonomy to pursue various activities, and this ultimately serves to enrich the student experience here at McGill. The sa-

CARTOON

mosa ban may certainly increase cautiousness in how student groups operate from now on, but more importantly, it casts a spotlight on SSMU to ensure that it prevents similar lapses in the future.

The Great Samosa Crash of 2019 Sabrina Girard-Lamas / Staff Illustrator

Meanwhile at The McGill Tribune office: “With no more samosa sales, what will students do with our print newspapers?”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

7

Montreal does the Time Warp again

North America’s largest Rocky Horror event continues to dazzle audiences Deana Korsunsky Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

They meet Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry), along with his entourage of eccentric guests and servants, who invite them to the unveiling of his creation, a muscular and supposedly flawless blond man named Rocky.

Every Halloween since the release of the film, cities across the world have joined in the tradition of celebrating the campy classic by screening the film while a cast reenacts it out on stage. The show is always an interactive experience, with the audience participating in call-backs, throwing props in the air, and cheering on the performers’ provocative antics.

The show was hosted by Tranna Wintour, local comedian, singer, and entertainer who has brought charm and wit to the Rocky stage for three years. Before the performance, Wintour hosted a traditional costume contest, calling preselected showgoers up on stage to be judged according to audience applause.

Just before announcing the start of the show, Wintour spoke on a more serious note. She acknowledged the cultural significance and importance of a film like Rocky Horror to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, but pointed out a caveat to celebrating the show: While the community praises the show for its representation, language has evolved, and it is “no longer acceptable to use words like transvestite or transexual to describe transgendered people,” she explained.

The show itself was well executed on all fronts. Every performer, whether a main character or a groupie, exuded

incredible amounts of energy, feeding the audience’s enthusiasm. There was never a scene during which the audience did not cheer for the comically hypersexual antics of the supporting cast members. At the start of the show, for example, Brad and Janet are driving through the rain. The car’s windshield wipers, however, were coyly portrayed by the suggestively opening and closing legs of a cast member lying on their back.

Heidi Rubin’s performance of Dr. Frank N. Furter was engaging and theatrical. Rubin was consistently synchronized with her character’s actions onscreen, nailing every strut, spin, and facial expression. The Voice, voiced by the show’s director Erin Fagen, drew many of the laughs from the audience. While Fagen paid homage to traditional callbacks, she also included contemporary jokes. “Uh oh, it’s Donald Trump,” Fagen quipped at the moment when Janet began to have sex with Frank N. Furter (believing that it is Brad), and accidentally took off his wig.

True to Rocky Horror tradition, the audience also joined the actors in performing: During one of the show’s big musical numbers, “Time Warp,” everyone rose from their seats to dance and bellow the lyrics along with the members on stage, creating a deafening atmosphere of excitement.

Rocky Horror is not just about the jokes or musical numbers; it is about the shared experience between audience and performers, and its playfully poignant theme of togetherness and acceptance.

While the Rocky Horror Picture Show tradition is celebrated across the world, only Cinéma Impérial’s production can boast the title of largest Rocky Horror Picture Show event in North America. Montreal’s

44 years after the film premiere, the Rocky Horror subculture is alive and thriving. ( Ruobing Chen / The McGill Tribune) production has traditionally drawn a large crowd of voguish and welcoming fans. It was this crowd that made this year’s performances so memorable.

‘Parasite’ is a brilliant class conscious thriller

Bong Joon-ho’s latest is a meta-commentary on social reality—and one of the best movies of the year

Noah Simon Contributor Parasite, the new film from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, examines human performances of gender, class, and identity. The film seeks to explore the illusion of a fixed social reality and, with the deft touch of one of the premiere filmmakers of the century, creates a meta-commentary on the illusion of narrative film itself.

As a result, the film’s central questions—what happens when things don’t go according to plan and when the script takes a turn out of your control—provide the framework for one of the most compelling and unpredictable films of the year.

Parasite follows the Kims, a struggling, working-class family of four living in a Seoul basement apartment. The son, Kim Ki-woo (Woo Sik-Choi), finds a job as an English teacher for the daughter of an extremely wealthy family, the Parks. Soon enough, Ki-woo begins the process of replacing all the domestic employees of the Park family with his own relatives. Tensions

‘Parasite’ is the first South Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes. (theweek.com) then flare through countless twists and turns.

Parasite clearly has something to say about economic disparity in South Korea and the way powerful elites perceive the working class. It may even have something to say about the potential dissipation of cultural identity in the face of an increasingly globalized world. But the film is not that blunt; its final messages go beyond simple “rich people are bad” narratives. Bong and fellow screenwriter Han Jin-

won, with the help of all around excellent performances—particularly from Song Kang-ho as the Kim patriarch and Jo Yeo-jeon as the mother of the Park family— have crafted complex characters and situations that defy easy categorization. Good and bad often blur together within expertly constructed scenes of suspense.

When the narrative turns in an unexpected direction, it asks the audience to challenge the initial deception while rooting for it at the same time.

Bong seamlessly mixes genres: Parasite is essentially a home invasion thriller and political satire within the context of class warfare. Throughout his filmography, Bong has effortlessly blended political commentary with tragedy and comedy while still managing to tell original, captivating stories of family drama. He tends to intertwine undertones of comedy with very dark subject matter, and Parasite might be his funniest film to date. Everything runs smoothly

in this film, not just the mixture of genres: The performers’ movements and cadences glide, and the camera drifts and cuts with such crispness that the film flows with incredible smoothness. There are entire scenes whose tension unfolds just through body gestures and camera tilts. Bong is trying to draw your attention to these formal elements—each stylistic choice in Parasite is very deliberate.

The performances are meant to be interpreted literally—as heightened and theatrical—to emphasize the performative facade of social distinctions. As a result, the film’s self-reflexivity acts as a mechanism to gesture towards real cultural problems.

When a film has such a confident grasp on contemporary social issues and articulates them with grace, precision, and aesthetic and narrative singularity, it is not surprising to see it receive so many accolades.

Parasite was the first Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It is a pleasurable watch and can be enjoyed by casual viewers and film buffs alike.

Climate justice is racial justice Inclusivity is necessary for climate activism to move forward Abeer Almahdi, Managing Editor

“The future is hotter than my imaginary boyfriend.”

“Clean up: It’s our future, not uranus.”

“Why go to school if we don’t have a future?”

The clever and creative signs featured at the Montreal Climate Strike focussed on protecting ‘our future.’ Even the #FridaysForFuture movement, started by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, is about striking now to survive later. This rhetoric, however, can be alienating, especially for Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour (BIPOC). For many individuals, the present day is hotter than any ‘imaginary boyfriend.’ For example: My family lives in Kuwait where it has already

(Erica Stefano / The McGill Tribune)

reached dangerous temperatures. This summer, the country reached 52.2 degrees Celsius, and 63 degrees Celsius under direct sunlight. Kuwait is one of the hottest places on Earth, and temperatures are only continuing to rise. In this way, many BIPOC are striking for today, not tomorrow.

Indigenous communities in Canada are the most affected by climate change. However, their voices are often left out of the conversation surrounding climate change activism. Although Thunberg’s work is tremendously valuable, she is not the first young activist to demand more of governments. Indigenous youth have been fighting for decades. Autumn Peltier from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory has been advocating for

clean water rights since she was eight-years-old.

Helena Gualinga, from Sarayuku in the Amazon, Quannah Chasinghorse from the Han Gwich’in and Lakota Sioux Nations, and Ta’Kaiya Blaney, actor, musician, and activist from the Tla’amin Nation, are all youth activists who have not received the same accolades as Thunberg.

Since the age of 10, Blaney has been involved with land defence, front-line activism for climate justice, and land sovereignty. She grew up in the mid-2000s during the opposition movement to the Northern Gateway Pipeline, and decided that the survival of sacred areas required Indigenous activism.

Blaney was invited to the Montreal Climate Strike

by Indigenous Climate Action as part of an Indigenous youth delegation, which had a section at the front of the march reserved for them.

Following the march, Blaney used her Twitter account to call out the c l i m a t e march for being

“one of the most racist protest spaces [she’s] ever been in."

“There were a lot of white folks from various different climate activist groups like Extinction Rebellion, [...who] would very violently try to push past us like [the march] was a concert,” Blaney said. “I assumed [that] they were trying to get photos with Greta.”

Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a climate justice advocacy group that has been criticized for ignoring the class-related, social, and racial aspects of climate change.

BIPOC activists have called out the group for focussing on receiving police attention that may endanger BIPOC, disregarding the concerns of working-class citizens, and making racist statements in protest guides; XR released an online prison guide, advising protestors who get arrested to “do yoga,” and stating that "most prison officers are black and do not wish to give you a hard time.”

Despite the Indigenous youth contingent’s reserved place at the front of the march, Blaney felt that many other protestors disrespected her and her team's space.

“There was just very clear disregard for Indigenous bodies and respect to [our] space that we occupy, and also [our regalia],” Blaney said. “I looked behind me multiple times and people had my regalia in their hands [...] It was an interesting experience having to fight for space the entire time. Also, there were quite a few very violent racial remarks that were made, not just [to me] but [also to] other youth.”

Blaney reported feeling as though she had to protect the youth behind her from the numerous racist sentiments that she heard throughout the day.

“We heard people say, ‘It’s not just your land,’” Blaney said. “I had a bunch of Indigenous youth behind me, and we were all holding hands so I could get them to the front of the march, [but] so many folks would very violently push past us [....]

One woman came, [and we told her] that this [space] was for Indigenous youth at the front, but she [said] ‘It’s the people’s space, it’s the people’s march, it’s not the Indigenous march.’”

When Blaney and fellow Indigenous activists decided to take the stage to speak, they had planned to sing the ‘Women’s Warrior,’ a prayer for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2). However, march security and organizers initially barred them access to the stage.

“I grew up at protests and at rallies in the front lines,” Blaney said. “I’ve never been somewhere where a request to share a prayer for MMIWG2 [was denied], and we were told that [our prayer] would break apart the organizing coalition, that it would somehow jeopardize or diminish the work that [organizers] did, [and that] a three-minute prayer would break apart the event somehow.”

Eventually, when an allied youth organizer confronted security, the group took the stage. In addition to the Women’s Warrior, they also shed light on the importance of Indigenous sovereignty by engaging the entire group in a “Land Back” chant. Blaney emphasized the importance of placing BIPOC issues at the forefront of climate activism.

“When you mobilize people around climate, [without acknowledging] intersections of racial justice, Indigenous sovereignty, and how climate change disproportionately and most profoundly impacts BIPOC communities [...] then [what organizers] have done is mobilize white supremacists,” Blaney said. “You mobilize people who aren’t willing to question colonialism or any of those structures that are actually responsible for climate change. It’s greenwashing of white supremacy.”

Greenwashing is a commonly used term in climate change rhetoric which refers to the act of parading small individual environmentalist activities to distract from larger, systemic human rights issues. Haneen Eldiri, U4 Arts, is involved with Students in Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR). Eldiri attended the climate march to hand out flyers for SPHR, which addressed reported greenwashing in Israel.

“I think the organizers did a spectacular job of making sure it was a respectful environment to the extent that they could,” Eldiri said. “[....] But, I was giving out flyers for SPHR, and people were really rude. One person crumbled it and threw it on the floor [....] like, can I have that back? It’s a waste of paper, it’s a climate march.”

Israel has one of the largest per-capita ecological footprints, ranking in the top 20 per cent worldwide in 2016, and its policies have led to environmental degradation, such as the destruction of olive trees by settlers, industries creating air pollution, and massive weapons exporting.

Maia Salameh, U3 Arts, is also a member of SPHR, and was handing out the same flyers.

“Most of us walked out after a couple of hours,” Salameh said. “[The march] wasn’t the type of climate that we necessarily felt we were welcome in."

Eldiri worried that protestors would leave with a false sense of accomplishment. She pointed out that, for many privileged people, it is easy to support a climate strike with over 500,000 in attendance. For smaller, grassroots causes where more work has to be done, such as anti-pipeline protests or police brutality, allies are less likely to turn out.

“I walked away with the ugly feeling that many people who went will [pride themselves] for having engaged in climate justice,” Eldiri said. “Climate change is part of a much bigger system and

until there’s [the same turnout] to protests for the rights of marginalized peoples, including Palestinian rights and Indigenous rights, climate justice isn’t going to happen.”

Dona* is a spoken-word artist, facilitator, and National Program Coordinator for a youth organization that builds people's capacity to work across difference.

She has been community organizing for years, specifically for BIPOC women and/ or femmes. Dona also attended the climate march. While she appreciated the turnout, creativity, and energy of the protestors, she felt that the march still had a long way to go before being intersectional.

“Black, Indigenous, and racialized youth have been standing at the front lines and speaking out about [climate change] for a really long time, and have not received similar accolades [as Thunberg],” Dona said. “Whether they’re youth or not, the activists, land and water protectors, that stand up for the land often are BIPOC at the front lines [...and] often [silenced, ignored] killed, or murdered for [speaking up.]”

Canadian activists cannot separate climate issues from each other, choosing the ones that fit their own personal interests and ignoring others. For instance, activists often focus on consumerism-related topics. Instead, activists should educate themselves on the international realities of climate change.

“The United States military is [one of] the biggest polluters in the world right now,” Salameh said. “Military occupation of places like Kashmir and Palestine, where countries literally dump their waste in the West Bank and Gaza [....] Our societies, especially the United States where the military spends [over 600 billion] dollars every year, this exacerbates already existing climate [issues] when they bomb areas like Yemen, Somalia, East Africa, and the Middle East.”

The United States military are one of the largest polluters in history. Military plane exhaust, fuel costs, waste from bombs, the weapons-manufacturing industry’s pollution, and the rapid exhaustion of natural resources each factor into the climate crisis and humanitarian crises all around the world.

Growing up in Kuwait, much of the pollution I witnessed was a result of war.

Visiting my family in Syria, Egypt, or Lebanon, I witnessed the environmental consequences of drone strikes, foreign intervention, and warfare. I remember growing up going to parks in Damascus that have been completely wiped out; I witnessed the Kuwaiti government issuing a camping warning, since much of the desert has not been cleared of mines yet; I would go swimming at Messilah beach, and step out of the water covered in oil residue from a spill.

If climate march protesters move to better understand and include BIPOC voices and activists, climate activism will take a necessary step forward. Although groups like XR have been criticized in the past, other organizations, such as on-campus groups like Climate Justice Action McGill (C-JAM), have been trying to collaborate with human rights groups like SPHR in order to adopt a more intersectional and multi-faceted approach to climate justice. Salameh feels as though CJAM and SPHR’s collaboration is a good example of inclusive climate activism.

“Historically at McGill, climate groups have been rather [exclusive] and focused very specifically on climate issues, and SPHR is trying to be more active in forming alliances with CJAM, especially this year,” Salameh said. “CJAM has done a good job of reaching out to other groups for [involvement and participation].”

Salameh believes that mainstream climate activism should abandon futurefocused rhetoric and instead address current climate change issues facing BIPOC. “Mainstream climate activism tends to focus on the future in a lot of ways,” Salameh said. “But, I don’t believe that, for [BIPOC] and the ‘third world’ climate disasters are already [apparent….For example], in Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of people have already been displaced due to floods that happened in July [...] in Iran, there’s been climate refugees coming into Tehran due to [high heat] and unlivable situations [...] in the West, it’s been all about this movement towards our future threat. But, the present threat isn’t [addressed].”

In order for climate justice activists to take a more inclusive approach, activists must educate themselves on international Indigenous issues and continue to prioritize Indigenous voices. “[It starts by] educating oneself on the climate issues around the world, not just here in Canada,” Salameh said. “A lot of the leaders we see during the climate march were non-Indigenous, and that’s a mistake, and that’s a violent [disregard] for all the work that’s been done by Indigenous people.”

For Eldiri, it is important that climate justice activists address systemic issues.

“The environmental crisis is a symptom of so much more,” Eldiri said. “If you’re only trying to solve the symptom without getting to the root causes, what are you really accomplishing?”

Indigenous activists have been putting in the work for generations and therefore should be at the core of the movement.

“As someone who has grown up around grassroots Indigenous organizing, the rallies I grew up around had my aunties there, [and] it would be Indigenousled,” Blaney said. “Because when you talk about the future of lands, you have to talk about Indigenous peoples, because these are Indigenous lands [....] Climate change is a colonialism problem.” *Surname has been omitted to protect the privacy of the source and her organization.

10

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

‘Mythic’ will leave audiences enchanted Segal Theatre breathes new life into an ancient tale Japanese Cinema and Climate Justice: Screening

Matthew Hawkins Contributor Broadway has no shortage of Classics-inspired musicals this season.

Hadestown, an adaptation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice won two Tonys, including best musical. For fans of Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief opened on Broadway in October. The creators of Mythic, now playing at the Segal Centre, hope for the same kind of success. The show is a fresh take on the well-known and oft-adapted story of Persephone (Julia McLellan), whose title character disappears into the underworld and is subsequently reunited with her mother, Demeter (Heather McGuigan).

Breathing fresh life into a story that is thousands of years old requires substantial effort and imagination. Mythic appeals to modern viewers by linking the ancient Greek deities to a modern cultural equivalent: Pop music gods. Zeus (Aadin Church), wearing at least three different sparkly jackets and oversized shades while wailing on an equally bedazzled piano evokes Elton John; Aphrodite (Jessica Gallant) brings a Beyoncé-inspired flair with a Greek chorus of backup dancers, and Hades (James Daly) has an edgy-yetapproachable Brendan Urie look.

Persephone, on the other hand, is a down-to-earth teenage girl struggling to define herself in the shadow of her mother. Demeter is a Donna Sheridan–esque bohemian mother who, after becoming disenchanted with life as a god, left Olympus to raise Persephone on earth. After sneaking into a party at the Acropolis, Persephone meets Aphrodite and becomes entangled with bad boy Hades. The encounter leads to an unfortunate hookup that results in her becoming stranded in the underworld.

The play is full of tropes, as one might expect from an archetypal story used to explain the origin of seasons, but what makes Mythic lovable is that it recognizes and leans into them. Hades’s long coat skinny jeans, and combat boots—all black—might seem like a costume version of the brooding and often sinister Montreal softboy. It is this self-awareness that makes Mythic fun. What better way to make a clichéd story relevant than by including our very own modern clichés. Zeus himself proclaims his arrival as a “deus ex machina” (a Latin phrase used to describe the unlikely and very convenient appearance of a god to solve problems in Greek theatre). The set and lighting reflect the pop-rock spirit of the show as well—flashing lights and scaffold-

A screening of the Studio Ghibli film “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” followed by a discussion about decolonial environmental narratives.

Friday Nov. 8 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Building 21, Free

Panel: “Can I get a press pass?”

Arts and culture journalists Stacy Lee, Malaika Astorga, and Laura MacNeil chat about representation, reporting, and aesthetics.

Nov. 7, 6-7:00 p.m., Thompson House, Free ‘Mythic’ makes an aeons old myth fresh again.

(Leslie Schachter / The Segal Center) ing set pieces make each song feel as much like seeing a concert as seeing a musical.

Mythic is as much a story about parenthood as it is about romance or the origin of winter. All the main characters have strained relationships with their parents or children: Persephone struggles in Demeter’s shadow, and Aphrodite yearns for Zeus’s approval before realizing that she has greater worth as her own person. Not to mention that Zeus and his siblings murdered their own parents, the Titans. The Gods, though immortal, find themselves growing up and swearing that they will be better than their parents, only to slowly realize that they are no better. However, each one of them remembers that their parents were doing their best, a theme that weaves its way through the dialogue and songs, so that no one character comes out as the villain.

Mythic takes an aeons old story and continues the tradition of remix and adaptation of Greek mythology so that it continues to be a living story that is interesting and relevant. With fun characters, music that is both catchy and emotionally charged, and a talented cast, Mythic will please romance, theatre, and Classics aficionados alike.

Persephone Bound

A retelling of the classic Greek myth through poetry, percussion, and aerial dance Nov. 15-24 Mainstage Theatre, $18

Chromatones A Capella Presents: Flora

Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Meg Mac, and more! Join the Chromatones for an evening of whimsical tunes.

Nov. 16 8:00-10:30 p.m.

La Vitrola, Price TBA

First Impressions: Is ‘The Lighthouse’ worth the hype?

The A&E team shares their thoughts on the spooky arthouse thriller Patrick Gilroy, Vanessa Baron, Katia Innes, and Jonathan Giammaria

were clear mythological metaphors and phallic imagery at every corner, but even with that knowledge, I couldn’t tell you what kind of message Eggers was constructing. Perhaps this thematic ambiguity was intentional, and perhaps The Lighthouse deserves a rewatch on my part. Regardless, this film is hypnotically atmospheric, and downright disgusting at times, yet in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible.

Contributors, Staff Writer, and A&E Editor On a rainy Sunday evening, The McGill Tribune Arts & Entertainment team convened for one purpose and one purpose only: To watch the much-hyped Robert Eggers film The Lighthouse. Starring ex–Twilight cast member Robert Pattison and ex– Mr Bean’s Holiday villain Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse has captivated audiences since its release. Whether or not the film lives up to the hype, however, is up to the Arts and Entertainment team to decide.

Patrick Gilroy: Unconventional and bold When it comes to movies, I find that the crazier they are, the better. In this regard, The Lighthouse did not disappoint.

Eggers does a good job of setting up a somber character study through the first third of the film. But, it isn’t long before he pulls the rug out from under the audience, dialing up the surrealist imagery and forcing the

Katia Innes: Convoluted hogwash Directed by Robert Egger, ‘The Lighthouse’ is ultimately a deeply troubling tale. (thestar.com) audience to question everything they thought to be true about the characters.

The result is a beautiful film that toys with conventional narrative structure and deftly wields its symbolism. It remains a character study through and through, and Pattinson and Defoe nail their roles as the hysterical lighthouse keepers. By the end of the film, I could not tell if the characters were crazy, or if I was—it might have been a bit of both.

Vanessa Barron: Baffling but beautiful

I went into The Lighthouse with high expectations, and it certainly lived up in terms of filmmaking quality, particularly in its surreal sound design.

A blaring foghorn becomes a ticking doomsday clock, screams distort into grating static, and a silly line like, ‘Why’d ye spill yer beans?’ echoes throughout the space of the theatre, becoming a memorable, haunting omen of insanity and death. While the film was strikingly and grotesquely beautiful, I couldn’t tell you what this movie is about to be honest. There

The Lighthouse is undoubtedly a very scary movie. However, much of the imagery that makes the movie so terrifying—hysterical mermaids, rotting flesh, and seagulls—ultimately add little to the film. Some symbols, such as the murdered seabird, carry profound meaning until the climax of the film. Others remain entirely unexplained. Perhaps these images were meant to deliberately disorient and confuse; perhaps reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians simply did not prepare me with an adequate knowledge of Greek mythology to understand the film’s frequent allusions to the Promethean fire story. Regardless, Eggers has spun a mythology that The

Lighthouse cannot support, and the plot buckles under this weight.

Jonathan Giammaria: A work of cinematographic genius One could argue that The Lighthouse is nothing but the newest arthouse film of the month. It follows the recent trend of experimental horror in creating a slow-burn plot that withholds much of the gore and jump scares that characterize more mainstream fanfare. What distinguishes Eggers’s newest film, however, are his stylistic choices. Eggers harkens back to the cinematic language of yesteryear—monochrome film cinematography presented in a square aspect ratio—which entices audiences by mirroring the claustrophobia and volatility that increase over the course of the film’s narrative. Many scenes take place over dimly lit dinners, where the two leads sit in an isolating darkness encroaching on them from the film’s edges. Likewise, some scenes use dark space so heavily that the image only allows for tiny slits of light, just to quickly cut to a scene in broad, stark daylight. In a film whose leads become fixated on light, it’s fitting that Eggers disorients his audience with it.

STUDENT LIFE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

11

‘A Space for Time’ is an opportunity to de-stress

ECOLE hosts weekly discussions on life balance and time management

Sophia White Staff Writer One of the biggest day-to-day challenges that students face is time management. Between looming assignment deadlines, extracurriculars, and social events, it is easy to become overwhelmed. To help students make sense of their busy lives, collective sustainable living space ECOLE is hosting a recurring series of talks called ‘A Space for Time.’ The workshops are designed to give students an opportunity to talk to each other and brainstorm strategies for de-stressing and time management. They are set to take place every Saturday from 3:30–5 p.m. until April.

Easton Houle, a facilitator and event coordinator at ECOLE, explains that he started ‘A Space for Time’ to respond to a need he perceived for a forum where people could come together and sort through their responsibilities.

“I was constantly hearing from people that they were so busy [that] they couldn’t do the things [...] that were important to them, which is almost paradoxical,” Houle said. “If we’re always running away from the feelings that are overwhelming us, such as the fear of deadlines or of [receiving] a bad grade, then that is probably not the direction of our goals and aspirations.”

‘A Space for Time’ begins with a short reading from CrazyBusy: Strategies for Handling Your Fast-Paced Life by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD research. Hallowell found that many of the issues he dedicated his career to were also concerns for the general public, especially with the proliferation of technology that distracts us. Houle’s vision was to address some of these issues of stress and time man-

agement difficulties through discussion between students. So far, he has found these conversations to be successful.

“Each time, I’ve had lightbulb moments,” Houle said. “People share strategies and feelings about the pressure of things that they have to do, and we help each other in terms of telling one of our own stories about how we’re ordering our lives. Simply telling a story and talking about it makes us more self-aware.”

One of the dangers of taking on many responsibilities is becoming cognitively overstimulated to the point of perpetual distraction. When faced with too many things to do, we have a tendency to switch between tasks in an attempt to cover all of the bases. For example, a student who is trying to work on an essay might easily get distracted by an upcoming exam they have and switch to looking at the exam material as a result. Psychologists have found that the cost of task switching is huge because the brain has to slow down and speed back up again every time it focuses and refocuses. To solve this problem, Houle suggests working on just one assignment at a time rather than perpetually moving back and forth.

“Once you hone in on one thing, you have the focus, motivation, and momentum to do a lot with the time you have,” Houle said.

By making these empowered decisions, productivity can go a long way. Houle suggests that students look at the time in front of them as a blank canvas, rather than stressing and trying to cram in as many different things as possible. It can be helpful to sit back, take a look at a calendar or schedule, and try to prioritize responsibilities based on what is most important and the time available. Houle also suggests trying to limit the number of

Students can easily become overwhelmed between looming assignment deadlines and nonacademic obligations. (pixabay.com) responsibilities we take on.

“You should never, in good conscience, take on things past the capacity of what you think you’re able to handle, because that completely ignores the unexpected,” Houle said.

This balance is never easy but taking strides toward making more efficient use of our time can give us more time to do the things we love.

Alternative snacks near campus Spots to grab a quick handheld bite Alaana Kumar Staff Writer Over the past two weeks, McGill students have been mourning the loss of their dear samosa sales with a candlelight vigil, social media conversations, and even a planned campus protest. With the apparent end of this campus food staple, students are forced to either break their budgets or power through the hunger. The McGill Tribune knows that we cannot fix the samosa-shaped hole in your heart, but here are some alternative snack options to help ease the pain.

For finger food on campus: Vinh’s Café Vinh’s Café offers a perfect solution to students seeking handheld food to grab between classes. The campus staple offers an assortment of Vietnamese sandwiches, desserts, pork and vegetable bao, and an affordable variety of spring rolls, all of which make for a perfect on-the-go bite. They also serve a popular phở for those seeking for a warm, sit-down meal. With two locations right on campus, one on Dr. Penfield Avenue and another in Royal Victoria College residence, Vinh’s is a great spot to spend your Flex dollars when you are in need of a quick snack in between classes.

To refuel near campus: Pikolo Espresso Bar Along with their delicious rotating filter coffee and espresso options, Pikolo Espresso Bar has an assortment of pastries that provide a great on-the-go snack. The café offers a variety of scones with a unique savoury selection that rotates daily, including parmesan and pepper; curry, swiss, and chive; and roasted vegetable. They also carry more traditional sweet options like blueberry, apple, and peach. Triangular like a samosa, these flaky pastries can help students forget about the samosa crisis while getting their daily coffee fix.

For when you’re grabbing groceries: Marché Eden A trip to this grocery store can curb hunger while knocking out that long-overdue grocery run. Located just a fiveminute walk from Milton Gates, Marché Eden has a variety

Pikolo serves up a unique selection of sweet and savoury scones. (flickr.com) of organic foods and produce, both raw and cooked; the ready-made food aisle includes an assortment of great vegetarian and non-vegetarian snacks. Additionally, the market provides samosa-like finger foods, with items such as the spicy chicken arancini, Spanakopita-esque spinach rolls, and Jamaican patties with chicken, veggie, or beef filling. Marché Eden also has an abundance of empanadas in several flavours as well as their triangular kimbap. Kimbap, like samosas, are an easy-to-carry and filling snack made of rice wrapped in seaweed with savoury fillings like tuna and spicy tuna. If these options still don’t curb your sadness, Marché Eden is also one of the few downtown spots that stocks samosas.

For snacking while you shop: Eva B Last but not least, the funky famous downtown thrift shop offers more than just affordable vintage clothing. In addition to providing shoppers with free apple cider and popcorn at the door, Eva B has its own mini café with indoor and outdoor seating. The café has affordable coffee options and does not charge for milk substitutes. Eva B also serves a variety of foods including several vegan snack options, sandwiches, burritos, and grain salads. Their classic chocolate chip and vegan chocolate cookies make for a great on-the-go sugar fix and are adored by customers. Thankfully, Eva B also serves $1 samosas which can help students fulfill their muchneeded samosa fix.

12 STUDENT LIFE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

Down the Rabbit Hole Café

Cozy student lunch spot serves up vegan cake and compassion Leyla Moy Student Life Editor Every Friday at the Rabbit Hole Café, McGill students can be found huddled over Tupperware in the eclectic basement of the Yellow Door, seated at packed tables under a sprinkling of fairy lights. Serving up vegan lunches out of 3625 rue Aylmer for a suggested donation of around $3, the Rabbit Hole Café has enjoyed a long history while staying true to its original mandate to foster community through food.

The café first began as part of the Food for Thought program funded by the McGill Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (MORSL). Within this program, the Rabbit Hole served food to accompany a Friday food bank that provided students with a free bi-weekly bag of groceries. The food bank, which has since ended, aimed to alleviate food insecurity and support students through financial difficulty. This compassionate approach toward community food provision has stayed within the café’s lifeblood in the years since, as the Rabbit Hole grew into a neighbourhood lunch staple that now draws consistent crowds. Despite recently losing funding, the café remains buoyed by a dedicated team of volunteers that continue the mission of offering students and Milton-Parc residents nutritious and affordable food. Menus are always vegan, often gluten-free, and stray away from common allergens in order to be accessible to a broad range of people.

Rabbit Hole co-coordinator Kathryn Slomski, U3 Arts, believes that the weekly lunch fosters a unique sense of community between students

The basement that houses the café is also home to the oldest operational folk music coffeehouse in Canada. (Kathryn Slomski / The Yellow Door) and Yellow Door members.

“A lot of people that come every week have been coming for a couple semesters or even a couple years, [so] you see familiar faces,” Slomski said. “It’s a good way to connect students and student volunteers with people outside the McGill community.”

Slomski, who is now entering her second year as a coordinator, started volunteering at the café as a way to bridge her interest in cooking and a desire to get involved with the community outside of McGill.

Co-coordinator and dietician Nadia Alayoubi joined Rabbit Hole after running Community Hours, a series of interactive presentations and discussions about nutrition for seniors at the Yellow Door. Following a stage, a mandatory internship for dieticians, at the McGill Health Centre, Alayoubi was inspired to combine her work with students and seniors to offer Rabbit Hole patrons holistic health support through dietetic consultations that translate nutrition science into practical advice.

“I’ve always kind of worked with this

population,” Alayoubi said. “Since I live in the neighbourhood, [the Yellow Door and I] created a partnership, [so] I can provide some consultations here and do it at a reduced price to students [and community members].”

The Rabbit Hole Café is now one of the Yellow Door’s main programs and draws many students to the space for the first time. Kaitlin Fahey, the executive director of the Yellow Door, explained that the Rabbit Hole’s popularity with students has created a link between the café and other programming run by the community hub, including the Art Hive, the intergenerational reading group, and recurring yoga, woodcarving, and meditation events. “[Many of the Yellow Door’s] volunteers are students, and it’s not usually the same students who come to the Rabbit Hole,” Fahey said.

“It appeals to a different group, and we like that because it allows people who usually wouldn’t come through our doors to come for lunch, [where] they learn about our other programs and services.”

In the future, Fahey hopes to incorporate the centre’s backyard garden into the lunch service, to support a more sustainable food system and work in tandem with the café and dietetic consultations.

The Rabbit Hole Café serves vegan lunches every Friday during the school year from 12:30-2 p.m. on the first floor of the Yellow Door, at 3625 rue Aylmer. Students and community members interested in volunteering or seeking an inexpensive meal can keep updated on the Rabbit Hole’s Facebook page.

The samosa-shaped hole in my heart In memory of a beloved campus tradition

Kevin Vogel Arts & Entertainment Editor On Wednesdays last semester, I often found myself frantically rushing to get through the day. I didn’t have a lunch break in my class schedule and, admittedly partially because of my own laziness, I frequently forgot to pack a lunch. It was precisely in this situation that campus samosa sales came in the nick of time.

With only 10 minutes to make it to my next class and Peel Street construction making Super Sandwich a far-away dreamland, the crunch of the chutney-filled potato and vegetable pastries gave me just the boost that I needed.

Unfortunately, the fate of this campus staple is now unclear. After Montreal Inspections des aliments inspectors shut down a samosa sale in the basement of Burnside Hall on Oct. 22, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) decided to suspend these fundraisers until an appropriate policy can be worked out to meet city health and food safety standards.

Don’t get me wrong, three lukewarm samosas by no means ever constituted a healthy meal on their own, let alone gave me something to look forward to on cold winter school days. Each time I had to eat a samosa lunch, I had some level of regret and would tell myself that I should just plan better and make time to cook a proper meal to bring for lunch. But the beauty of McGill’s samosa sales came from their simplicity—they might be mediocre, but they were cheap and always somewhere

on campus. Even if I could definitely pack a tastier and healthier meal, samosas got the job done.

Beyond just satisfying my own hunger, samosa sales provided a platform for student groups to fund their own initiatives. Without steady funding from other sources, having an easy-to-run and well-loved fundraising opportunity provided student groups an accessible way to both raise money and get their name out to the campus community at large. Thus, the unclear fate of samosa fundraisers can be particularly worrying for more cash-strapped organizations.

The significant presence that the fried delicacy had on campus for so long will surely be missed. For the past two weeks, the tables throughout university buildings which once proudly held up greasy cardboard boxes from Pushap now remain empty. Campus newspaper stands are unsurprisingly even more full, and students’ empty stomachs grumble. Even if nobody ever genuinely thought a newspaperful of samosas was a phenomenal lunch option, they held a special place in all of our hearts.

While we wait for SSMU and faculty associations to solidify the details of their new food sale policies, we can now only look back fondly on the past. From learning the secret of pouring chutney through an oily straw in first year to scrolling through the Samosa Search Facebook page to find where my go-to lunch would be, I will remember samosas with a nostalgic affection. Going into the future, campus life might never be the same.

The samosa sale passed away on Oct. 22. (commons.wikimedia.org)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

13

Energies of the future

Understanding feasible renewable energy sources

Sophia Gorbounov Contributor With the current climate and energy crisis, many renewable forms of energy have been proposed and implemented, but they have yet to be realized on a scale that challenges the fossil fuel industry. While each source of renewable energy has its respective drawbacks, it remains the future for energy production.

Renewable energy, such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass energy production, is energy that can be regenerated at a faster rate than it is consumed. In contrast, non-renewable energy cannot be reused and will not regenerate for a very long time. This includes fossil fuel energy production, which also accounts for heavy greenhouse gas emissions.

In Canada, 17.3 per cent of energy comes from renewable sources, compared to the world average of 13.4 per cent. 67.1 per cent of Canada’s renewable energy comes from hydro, making the country the second-largest producer of hydroelectric energy in the world. In Quebec, 97 per cent of energy is hydroelectric. Still, hydroelectric dams and

their construction can have negative effects on both people and the environment. The Three Gorges Dam, for example, displaced an estimated 1.2 million people and flooded hundreds of villages, and hydroelectric plants in general disrupt plant life and restrict fish migration.

Wind energy accounts for around two to five per cent of Canada’s renewable energy production.

Key concerns associated with wind energy include sound pollution, aesthetic issues, wildlife disruption, and the inconsistency of strong winds in many places. However, there have been no conclusive studies that suggest that the low-frequency sounds produced by wind turbines actually correlate to hearing impairment, as some claim. Furthermore, wildlife disruption is minimal compared to hydroelectric dams or the long-term effects of fossil fuel emissions.

In Canada, wind turbines could be the future of energy and electricity production. They are cheap to produce and maintain and are a perfect match for Canada’s cold winters, which bring strong winds.

The only real drawback is the inconsistency of wind, which limits the ability of wind turbines to become

In Canada, 17.3 per cent of energy is renewable compared to a world average of 13.4 per cent. (flickr.com) 24/7 energy producers.

Though itself renewable, the materials used in nuclear energy power plants are not renewable, thus making it a controversial form of energy production. Still, nuclear energy is proving to be a very strong contender in the search for renewable energy. It produces zero carbon emissions, and, since it does not rely on fluctuating winds or precipitation as with turbines and dams, it provides energy around-the-clock.

Among other benefits, nuclear is

also generating jobs, boosting international development by helping countries meet sustainability goals, and powering the next generation of electric vehicles. The major issue with nuclear energy is the risk associated with storing radioactive elements. Nuclear accidents like the Chernobyl Disaster or Fukushima Daiichi Disaster illustrate the need for precautionary measures and good management.

There are, however, safe ways to store nuclear waste. Scientists be-

lieve that the safest way is storing it deep underground in geological repositories, rock formations hundreds of metres below the surface of the earth. Yucca Mountain in California is a proposed site for storing nuclear waste, as very few people live near it. In addition, it is located in a dry climate, so water will not percolate through the repository and further contaminate the waste. New methods of storage must come fast, however, as current storage in large pools of water at nuclear power plants carries huge risks since neutron-absorbing materials in these pools degrade over time, reducing their ability to control radioactivity.

There is no perfect source of energy. However, in terms of cost efficiency, long-term environmental benefit, and reliability, some methods are definitely better than others.

If maintained properly, and with advances in nuclear disposal and storage, nuclear energy is a good option. All renewable energy forms, however, offer benefits that can be optimized in certain locations. With a wide range of renewable energy forms in place, the transition to clean energy can be achieved globally as we adapt to climate change.

From the Brainstem: When healthy eating becomes unhealthy Restricting certain foods could hurt physical and mental health Gwenyth Wren Contributor As people strive to achieve the ideal body type, improve cognitive function, or enhance athletic performance, they often turn to food choice as their mechanism for change. People put into their bodies what they can expect to get out of it; therefore, it makes sense to eat ‘healthy,’ nutrient-dense foods when trying to stick to a healthier lifestyle. But at a certain point, this desire to only give the body whole foods and restrict things devoid of nutritional value because they are not ‘clean’ can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Despite the fact that clean eating is centred around ingesting ‘whole’ and ‘unprocessed’ foods and is marketed as the hallmark of a healthy lifestyle, in practice, it ascribes a moral value to food.

On social media, food bloggers, celebrities, and lifestyle gurus share that drinking celery juice every morning changed their life, or that cutting out gluten and dairy gave them their perfect body and mental clarity. To achieve such results, influencers suggest that their followers adopt the same rituals; however, many influencers are simply not qualified to make these suggestions. Moreover, the sample size to support their claims is often one person.

While gluten and dairy-free diets are extremely important to people who cannot physically process these foods, applying such limitations broadly to ev-

eryone’s diet might lead to detrimental physical and mental health effects. In reality, cutting out food groups deemed ‘bad and unhealthy’ can mean missing out on macro and micronutrients, impairing good physical health. What starts out as a simple choice to restrict certain types of food can lead to anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders with a host of negative physical implications such as fatigue, dizziness, low energy, missed periods, and anemia.

In addition to physical effects, restricting the foods that one eats can influence mental health. Having an unhealthy relationship with food can become allconsuming and crippling. Following a certain diet because it makes one happy and is in line with the way they want to live their lives is a healthy mentality, but problems arise if this diet causes stress.

In severe cases, orthorexia, the obsessive behaviour to eat healthily, can develop.

Orthorexia is different from other eating disorders in that people meet their caloric needs but limit the exact foods that they eat.

Beyond providing energy for people to maintain active lives, food is important both culturally and socially. Cutting out processed foods and treats might mean saying no to dinners with friends and feeling anxious about events that involve ‘bad foods.’ Labelling foods such as quinoa, kale, and chia seeds as ‘good’ implies that other foods are bad or impure.

This gives way to an all-or-nothing men-

Cutting out food groups that are ‘unhealthy’ limits essential nutrients. (pixabay.com)

tality in maintaining a healthy diet and to a feeling of failure when this rigid and restrictive diet regime is not fully achieved.

Many clean-eating proponents do not include any added sugar in their diets and demonize white sugar. Yet, their recipes are full of honey and maple syrup, which are forms of sugar and are used by the body in exactly the same way. The body cannot differentiate between coconut sugar that is 10 times the cost of white sugar. Supporters of clean-eating also promote fads such as being gluten-free or dairy-free, which have no credible backing in scientific literature.

Of course, people should aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet, but moderation is key. In practicing true healthy eating, everything has its place: Kale and cookies can exist in harmony, although less of the latter than the former. Food should be enjoyable and nourishing, not a cause of stress and anxiety.

You are not a failure for indulging now and again. Focusing on adhering to a perfect diet takes time and energy away from doing things that make us happy. At the end of the day, we should eat in a way that nourishes our bodies and fuels our lifestyles.

14

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

Racialized people receive lower quality mental health services McGill student researches how involuntary admissions affect minorities Margaret Wdowiak Contributor Over the last few years, campaigns such as Bell Let’s Talk and a greater representation of mental health have increased awareness of and reduced stigma associated with accessing mental health services. Despite these steps forward, many people of colour still have trouble accessing quality services. Sommer Knight, a graduate student in the Department of Psychiatry, attempts to answer this issue in her research. Knight examines pathways to mental health service among minorities and the clinical challenges of involuntary admission for first episode psychosis (FEP) patients.

To observe how differences in involuntary admissions influence help-seeking behaviours, which consist of actively seeking help from health care services, Knight asked FEP patients about their experiences to see how their background affected their attitude toward health care. She also reviewed patient charts to identify which risk factors place people at a greater risk for coercive treatment. These treatments include a wide range of procedures such as forced medication, seclusion, and involuntary admissions.

Involuntary hospitalization is a legal procedure that forces an individual to receive inpatient treatment, where the patient resides in a 24-hour live-in care facility such as a psychiatric hospital, involuntarily. Involuntary admission can produce certain short-term benefits, such as greater treatment adherence, fewer days in the hospital, and fewer violent incidents. However, coercive treatment can also have many negative effects on patients and can create important clinical challenges.

“[Patients] felt that they lost their sense of value,” Knight said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “[Involuntary admission] also affected whether they felt cared for by their team.”

The long-term detrimental effects of coercive treatments may eclipse their short-term benefits. The method can be traumatic for patients, who lose their agency and control. In the last 10 years, research has shown that individuals who received coercive treatment have a poorer quality of life and lower selfesteem in the long run.

In Canada, minorities seem to be disproportionately targeted by this policy.

“Minorities, specifically those of African and Caribbean backgrounds, are more likely to receive police referrals or maintenance referrals instead of going voluntarily,” Knight said.

High rates of involuntary commitment mean that racialized people often underutilize services.

People of colour also face hurdles that disincentivize the use of mental health services. Language barriers, as well as imbalances of power and authority, impact the care that patients receive. In addition, Knight found that minorities experience abnormally long wait times for initial assessments, and mental health providers often fail to properly recognize and respond to these patients’ needs. As a result, mental health stigma and the belief that mental health treatment is ineffective are widespread within these communities.

Coercive treatment’s negative effects largely stem from the fact that the method is based on the assumption that mentally ill patients are usually dangerous, which is a common misconception. Psychiatrists, however, understand most mental

High rates of involuntary commitment mean that minorities often underutilize services. (pixabay.com) disorders better than ever before and have thousands of available treatments that have much fewer negative effects than coercive treatment. Given that coercive treatment also disproportionately affects minorities, it is more important than ever for Canadians to deal with the problems of involuntary admission and discrimination in the provision of mental health services.

As Knight points out, confronting the issue of discrimination in areas such as health care access is often overlooked, but as Canada becomes increasingly diverse, the issue can no longer be ignored.

“If the goal of medicine is to promote patient welfare, then [...] it’s important that we [...] ensure that everyone gets the care that they need,” Knight said.

Mapping nature’s contributions to people A global analysis of where nature cannot meet people’s demands Alex Arkilanian Contributor Currently, the United Nations (UN) estimates that there are approximately 7.7 billion people in the world, a number that is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050.

Moreover, human populations are becoming more dense: 68 per cent of people are expected to live in urban centres by 2050.

As these cities become more populated, their reliance on the local environment is expected to increase as well. In addition, climate change is projected to further reduce ecosystems’ ability to meet humanity’s growing demands.

This was the motivation behind a study published in Science this past October that examined the global mismatches between what nature can provide—termed nature’s contributions to people—today and in 2050.

Elena Bennett, a professor in the Department of Natural Resources at McGill and a co-author on the article, further explained the motivation for the study and the way that researchers modelled nature’s contributions to people across the world.

“In this paper, what we really wanted to highlight was when you get a service, [...] what slice of that is nature providing, and how important is that?” Bennett said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

“The way the model is built has two components. [First], where is nature that can provide a service? For example, for pollination, where are there pollinators [and habitats] that can support pollinators?

[The second part] looks at where that is

Climate change is expected to reduce ecosystems’ ability to meet humanity’s demands.

(Anne McGrath / The McGill Tribune) needed.”

Using three different projections, the two-part modelling approach revealed areas where nature is not meeting the needs of people and is unlikely to meet them in the future. This is especially true in regions in Africa and South Asia.

The different projections did lead to some unexpected results. A projection labelled ‘fossil-fueled,’ a situation in which human use of fossil fuels has greatly expanded, leads to better overall outcomes for the global human population.

In contrast, the ‘regional rivalry’ projec-

tion, detailing a world where resources are very scarce, would lead to an overall worse global outcome. Although surprising given the notoriety of the fossil fuel industry, Bennett explained that the outcome would arise due to a closing-off of borders and a reduction in global cooperation in the regional rivalry projection.

“Where Africa and South Asia have issues, it gets worse [under the regional rivalry projection] because there is no ability to use trade to mitigate or ameliorate the situation,” Bennett said. “In the fossilfueled development, it’s [...] development

[...] with the intention of preserving green space. It’s business-as-usual but with a little intensification.”

This points to the importance of global trade networks in facing environmental change: For example, global food trade is already identified as an important contribution to food security facing a changing climate. Still, trade does not work equally well for all of nature’s contributions to people.

“With other things like flood control, it doesn’t work unless you can move all the people from Bangladesh, [for example],” Bennett said. “But you can’t put more mangroves in Malaysia and hope that it’s going to help.”

Bennett mentioned that technology can be an important proxy for nature where trade is not able to keep up with human populations.

“In [North America], we don’t rely on wetlands to provide water quality,” Bennett said. “We build water treatment plants. That’s a technological solution to something that, in the right place with a less dense population, nature would have done for us.”

In the study, the best-performing future scenario was labelled ‘sustainability.’

Bennet further elucidated what sustainability might need to look like to improve our global forecast.

“That’s the million dollar question: We don’t know,” Bennett said. “What this paper shows is [that] some combination of [conservation, technology, and trade] is what we really need, but we also really don’t know the implications of these.”

SPORTS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

15

Vert et Or defeat Martlets with strong offence Martlet volleyball fought hard in five sets, ultimately fell to visiting Sherbrooke Zoe Babad-Palmer Staff Writer The McGill Martlets’ (2–4) volleyball game against the Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or (2–3) on Nov. 1 did not go as planned. The Martlets, ranked eighth in U SPORTS’s national ranking for the week of Oct. 22, fell in five sets, 2–3.

The beginning of the first set was not as clean as McGill would have liked. Sherbrooke scored the first five points of the set, and McGill’s repeated miscommunication made it difficult to close the early deficit, resulting in a score of 13–25 for the visitors. Before the second set, the team regrouped to discuss how to avoid further struggles.

“The only thing [Head Coach Rachèle Béliveau] said was ‘Game plan,’ because we weren’t playing [our] game plan,” second-year libero Catherine Vercheval said. “We were just doing whatever.”

The Martlets took their coach’s words to heart for the second set, using strong blocking to force Sherbrooke to commit attack errors while showcasing their own powerful kills. They began to build momentum, winning the set 25–15.

Cohesion and teamwork pushed McGill past Sherbrooke in the third set as well, building their lead. The Martlets played a physical game, diving for digs, and refusing to back down on blocks. The set ended 25–18, putting McGill up 2–1.

“In the last games, we’ve been playing individually,” Vercheval said. “We just wanted to stay together, fight, and I think we did that.”

Unfortunately, despite their solid play in the previous two sets, McGill began to deflate in the fourth set, committing five attack errors and two bad sets. Sherbrooke also momentarily appeared to be losing momentum though, allowing clearlyaimed kills and putting up weak blocks. The play was close,

determined and precise for most of the game. However, errors and miscommunication cost them crucial points. Béliveau hopes that as the season goes on, they will be able to work together better. “[We need to] decrease the number of mistakes we’re [making], unforced mistakes, mistakes between two players,” Béliveau said. “Once this is more stable and everybody knows their role, I think we’ll be coming up better.”

The Martlets proved that they are still Top 10 form on Nov. 3 when they beat the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

They will face Ottawa again on Nov. 8.

MOMENT OF THE GAME Despite holding a 2–1 set lead, the Martlets made costly errors down the stretch. (Can Unal / McGill Athletics)

but ultimately the Vert et Or took the set 21–25.

Fourth-year power hitter Claire Vercheval felt that after the Martlets lost the fourth set, their energy began to wane.

“When we lose, it’s hard to keep the energy up,” Claire Vercheval said. “We try to look at each other’s eyes and stay focused.”

The last set was hard-fought on both sides. The teams dove to every corner of the court, executing desperate moves to keep the ball in play. Finally, amid chants of “Let’s go Martlets!” Sherbrooke scored four points to take the set 15–10 and end the game 3–2 in their favour.

McGill’s technical skill was evident: The players were

Fourth-year right-side hitter Rowan Fletcher’s kill to win the second set was made possible by a full team effort: Fourth-year libero Léa-Marie Duguay threw herself on the ground to keep the play alive and, after some back-andforth with Sherbrooke, several players executed perfect passes to set up the winning play.

QUOTABLE “I feel like if we’re all on the same page, that’s when everything works together, so everybody needs to have the same fire, the same energy, the same competitiveness.”

– Fourth-year power hitter Claire Vercheval on how the team plans to improve for the next game.

STAT CORNER Even in the loss, McGill’s defence managed to outshine their opponents’: 12 blocks to Sherbrooke’s four and 56 digs to Sherbrooke’s 44.

NCAA puts right foot forward

New rules will allow collegiate athletes to profit, but complications must first be addressed

Adam Menikefs Contributor The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Board of Governors voted unanimously on Oct. 29 to soon allow student-athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness. The vote was in light of a bill recently passed in California that also allows NCAA athletes in the state to be similarly compensated. NCAA President Mark Emmert stated that California’s legislation, as well as calls for change from athletes such as LeBron James, were influential in the NCAA’s decision, as the organization has recently faced fierce criticism for not paying its athletes.

The NCAA needs to work through many issues before athletes can receive any form of monetary compensation. Setting rules and regulations for how compensation is distributed is key to laying the groundwork for the payment of collegiate athletes.

First off, there is a large gap between the monetary value of collegiate athletes across conferences, sports, and genders. Division I football games regularly bring in millions of viewers. A star quarterback in a well-known Division I program, such as the University of Alabama, could receive much more profitable sponsorship deals because the wider reach of his sport allows for higher potential profits from advertising. In contrast, an Olympic-level female fencer may only be able to receive pay from an advertisement for a local business. This is because not all NCAA sports are televised live and some require a subscription to ESPN+ to watch in the United States, limiting the

The NCAA announced on Oct. 29 that student-athletes would soon be able to monetize their name, image, and likeness. (CBS Sports) advertisements’ reach and the potential profits for sponsors. Thus, the NCAA must regulate these sponsorships from companies to keep financial balance among student-athletes who all fall under the same governing body.

Opening sponsorship opportunities for athletes also creates an entirely new problem within recruiting. The alumni and boosters who make large donations to university athletic programs could significantly affect the decisions of high school athletes, potentially creating an imbalance within collegiate sports.

This is especially relevant in sports with high viewership and high monetary value for the

NCAA, such as Division I men’s basketball.

In 2018, Zion Williamson decided to attend Duke University to help him reach his ultimate goal of playing in the NBA. However, with monetary incentives open to recruits, that decision could have been altered. For example, Michael Jordan could have offered Williamson a Jordan brand sponsorship worth millions of dollars, were he to attend Duke’s chief rival and Jordan’s alma mater, the University of North Carolina. This would have likely factored heavily into Williamson’s decision. With this type of hypothetical becoming a possible reality in the future, the legislation outlining the

monetization of athletes’ images and likeness must address this possible issue and ensure that recruitment stays fair across all sports and colleges.

Although similar scenarios have arisen in collegiate athletics before, they will likely increase as the new regulations are instituted and punishments must be steep in order to deter programs from cheating the system. In 2010, the NCAA investigated University of Southern California (USC) football star and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and found that his family was given luxury gifts and hundreds of thousands of dollars from aspiring sports marketer Lloyd Lake. As a result, the USC football program and Bush were both given heavy sanctions including postseason bans, removal of thirty scholarships, and the forfeiture of both the 2004 National Championship and the 2005 Heisman trophy.

Although many regarded the sanctions as harsh, similar consequences must be the norm if programs and players begin to abuse the new rules regarding monetization.

The NCAA is heading in the right direction toward fairly compensating their athletes, but the plan remains in its early stages with many potential problems to address to ensure the success of this new proposal. The NCAA’s committee is set to issue a report in January 2020 at their annual meeting, and they have stated that a plan will be in place by January 2021. In doing so, athletes and fans alike may hope that the NCAA will appropriately consider these concerns to ensure that only the benefits of monetization are realized once the new policy is enacted.

16

SPORTS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 2019

In Conversation with Tedy Markova Bulgarian international figure-skater discusses her journey on ice Shaun Lalani Contributor Tedy Markova, U3 Psychology, is not one to back away from fear. As the 21-year-old Bulgarian figure-skater hangs up her skates on a successful international career, she recalls her journey and the lessons she has learned along the way.

“When you have to go out on the ice, all by yourself, especially at the big competitions where there are a lot of people, that’s scary,” Markova said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “It’s just me on the ice, and they’re all judging me. It’s frightening, yes, but it also gives you this weird thrill, this rush.”

That rush, an endless tango of fear and courage, became a theme throughout her life, from the time she first stepped on to the ice to her final competitive appearance at the 2019 European Figure Skating Championship in Minsk, Belarus. The 14-year-long journey earned her the nickname “The Bulgarian Swan”; however, like most great sports stories, this one’s beginnings were humble.

Markova’s love of the ice started when she was just five-years-old, during a visit to the skating rink in her hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria.

“I remember when I started, I would spend most of my time on my butt, just rolling around on the ice [with] people yelling at me to get out of the way,” Markova said. “But, when I started to finally stand upright, it was just so

21-year-old Bulgarian figure-skater Tedy Markova looks back on her successful international career. (ice-dance.com) satisfying.”

While Markova experienced falls and tumbles in those early days, she was quick to appreciate the people who were around her to pick her up. Her mother, in particular, played a key role in the beginning of her skating career.

“Whenever I got off the ice and went, ‘I’m never coming back!’ [my mother] was the one telling me, ‘Tedy, pull yourself together, this is important to you, you got this,’” Markova said.

“She taught me to go after my ambitions.”

Relocating to Montreal in 2017 was a

big step for Markova. In addition to adapting to a new country and culture, she also had to balance the workload of being a university student and a professional athlete. But, with the added burden came new opportunities: A chance to learn and train with the very best in the sport.

“You have [in] Saint-Henri, one of the best ice dance schools in the world,” Markova said “It’s crazy, the Olympic champions, the World champions, they trained here. I loved Tessa [Virtue] and Scott [Moir] growing up. And

sometimes [Moir] would come give us lessons.

It was cool because these professionals were all so dedicated, and it was inspiring [because...] they were also humans like us.”

The training would pay off as Markova went on to compete in competitions across the globe. But, it was at the 2019 European Championships where, unbeknownst to her team, Markova would be skating competitively for the last time.

“I had been thinking about stopping for a while, so [...] I knew this would probably be my last competition,” Markova said. “I didn’t want to tell anybody because it would discourage them, but I think [they] knew. It was really emotional, but honestly, I think it was for the [best]. It’s a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of effort I could put somewhere else. Of course, I’d been doing this for many years, but I had already come to terms with my decision.”

Life after skating has been just as hectic, but Markova remains a model student. In addition to having executive roles in clubs like the McGill Students’ SocieTea, she’s maintained a keen interest in research and works in a lab studying the physiological mechanisms of pain.

Yet, her relationship with figure-skating is by no means over.

“I [want] to pursue a career in neuroscience, [...] but someday [...], I would like to coach and work with young children,” Markova said.

“Maybe I can inspire them to like the sport as much as I [do].”

McGill Men’s Rugby wins at home to advance to RSEQ final McGill defeats Ottawa 37-22

Adam Bell Contributor The McGill Men’s rugby team (5–1) dismantled the Ottawa Gee-Gees (3–3) in a 37–22 victory on Nov. 2. This victory sends them to the RSEQ championship match against Concordia on Nov. 10.

The home team was quick off the blocks when first-year fly half and RSEQ rookie of the year Monty Weatherall converted a penalty kick in the first minute, giving McGill a 3–0 lead. A few moments later, third-year inside centre Elliot Esposito went on a blistering run, which set up another penalty conversion from Weatherall, doubling McGill’s lead to 6–0. From there, it was fourth-year Michael Nwabufo’s Show.

The 6’4” second row hammered players left and right and seemed to be on every tackle.

The RSEQ All-Star was adamant about the win being a team effort.

“Our coach set it up very well,” Nwabufo said. “We weren’t contesting the ruck, so there were a lot more people involved. We just had to understand where the ball was going to go. It was easy because every time someone gets hit, you can go in and assist. It’s [about] being there for each other.”

The Gee-Gees came back strong, however, applying pressure on the home team’s defence after the 20-minute mark.

This led to a penalty conversion that halved the lead, and a yellow card against third-year tight head prop Jeremy OckoMichalak, who would be sidelined for the next 10 minutes.

With only 14 players on the pitch, it looked like McGill would be on their back foot. However, this turned out not to be the case, as they launched multiple attacks until fourth-year flanker Ryan Robb finally scored the first try of the game. Just before the break, third-year outside centre Maxime Rieuf capped off a dominant first half when he received a handoff that built McGill’s lead to 17 points.

“In the first-half we really wanted it more than them,” Weatherall said. “We beat them earlier this season, so we knew coming out of the changing rooms we needed to [knock] them off balance.”

Coming back from the break, McGill’s dismantling of Ottawa continued when second-year lock Karl Hunger punched in McGill’s third try of the game. Several big runs followed, most notably a mesmerizing scamper through the opposition’s defence

by Weatherall that led to another try, this time by second-year 8-man Andreas Dionisopoulos. Weatherall completed his Jonny Wilkinson-esque performance by converting his fifth kick of the match.

The rest of the match was a mere formality: McGill slacked off and became complacent, enabling Ottawa to muster a slight comeback, but it was too little too late.

McGill will head to the provincial finals on Nov. 10 where they will face off against their cross-town rival Concordia (6–0). The McGill men’s rugby team has lost all five of their past matchups against the Stingers, who have not lost an RSEQ game in three years.

McGill Men’s Rugby is heading to the RSEQ final after defeating the Ottawa Gee-Gees 37–22.

(Iman Zarrinkoub / The McGill Tribune)

MOMENT OF THE GAME The crowd erupted at the 12-minute mark, when third-year inside centre Elliot Esposito left multiple rivals in the dust on a physical 40 metre run. This would ultimately set up firstyear fly half Monty Weatherall for a field goal conversion to put McGill up 6–0 early in the game.

QUOTABLE “Today we wanted to play at the best of our abilities and send a message to Concordia for the final. Let them know that their three-year unbeaten streak is under threat. We definitely believe we have the capacity to beat them next week.” – First-year fly half Monty Weatherall on next week’s RSEQ final against the Stingers.

STAT CORNER This season, McGill has outscored opponents 170–64 in five home games at Percival Molson Stadium. Prior to the playoffs, they have allowed an average of only 10.5 points against per game.