The McGill Tribune Vol. 37 Issue 5

The McGill Tribune WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2017 | VOL. 37 | ISSUE 5

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

EDITORIAL

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

FEATURE

OFF THE BOARD

It’s time to decide on AVEQ affiliation—whatever that means

Who lives, who dies, who tells your story

What I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving

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PGs. 8-9

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(Sophia Kopyna / The McGill Tribune)

Librarie Wescott: A hidden treasure of St -Laurent PG. 7

PGSS Secretary-General resigns following accident Remaining executive members designate tasks, plan new election

Kendall McGowan Contributor On Oct. 2, the Post-graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) announced the resignation of PGSS Secretary-General

Jacob Lavigne by email and Facebook.

According to PGSS Financial Affairs Officer Matthew Satterthwaite, Lavigne was forced to step down due to extenuating consequences of an accident he was in over the summer. The executives regret Lavigne’s departure but there is no ani-

mosity between the parties.

In September, Lavigne took a 30-day leave that is allotted to every PGSS officer with hopes of eventually returning to his position, leaving his duties to be divided among the other five PGSS executives. Now following his official resigna-

tion, the PGSS’ Society Activities Manual mandates that a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) must commence nominations for a new Officer in a by-election within 10 days of the vacancy. The election must also take place within the next five weeks.

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OAPhorum recaps ‘The Happiest Place ‘Persephone Bound’ encourages conversation about on Earth’ and how to make it even better Engineering Undergraduate Society hosts open consent at McGill discussion for student feedback on OAP

Morgan Davis Contributor According to the McGill University Safety Report for 20152016, there were only two cases of sexual assault on both the downtown and MacDonald campuses combined.

This is a mere fraction of the reported safety incidents on campus. However, Sexual Assault Statistics in Canada reported that only six assaults for every 100 are reported. And unfortunately, it’s understandable why these statistics are so disheartening. Looking at recent

events at Canadian universities like Western or Queen’s, sexual violence cases are, as mentioned numerous times by the play’s narrator—too often cases of “her word against his”—creating an atmosphere of distrust surrounding issues of consent.

This statement is repeated throughout Persephone Bound, a play and panel discussion put on by The Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (O-SVRSE) on Oct. 5. The narrative aerial performance serves as an entry point into a sensitive subject.

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Katherine Milazzo Contributor On Oct. 3, the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) held OAPhorum, a reflective discussion open to all McGill students about this semester’s Open Air Pub (OAP). Students discussed possible improvements to the biannual festival of food, beer, and music, which the EUS will consider when planning next year’s pub. Forum attendees suggested enhancing the volunteer experience, improving

the variety and distribution of food and beer, diversifying the genres of musical performances, and enhancing the overall atmosphere of OAP. Efforts to improve the overall atmosphere The most notable change to this year’s OAP was its new location on Lower Field, and students were eager to know whether or not the pub will permanently set up there from now on. There was a general approval among OAPhorum attendees for the

venue to remain the same. While the location for April’s 2018 OAP Lite is still unknown, the EUS will seriously consider permanently holding the event on Lower Field.

OAPhorum attendees also suggested several activities and logistical improvements to upgrade OAP’s general atmosphere. In addition to supplying more furniture, OAP volunteer Emma Zapf-Gilje proposed installing vertical barriers to combat line-cutting, like the mesh material used on construction sites.

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2 NEWS

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Eating Disorder Program cutbacks reveal pre-existing flaws in the system Students demand reforms, share negative experiences in EDP Karim Wadjih & Calvin Trottier-Chi Contributor & News Editor At the beginning of the Fall 2017 semester, McGill University Student Services quietly closed its Eating Disorder Program (EDP). Since 2009, the EDP has provided professional healthcare, support, and group therapy for students grappling with all forms of eating disorders. September’s reforms dispersed these services across existing counselling and psychiatric departments, and have temporarily removed group therapy sessions and relocated the dedicated nutritionist for the EDP. According to Martine Gauthier, executive director of McGill Student Services, several factors were at play in the decision to rearrange the EDP. These included the resignation of the EDP nurse, widescale changes to the structure of counselling and psychiatric services, and the adoption of a flexible, casebased Stepped Care approach to mental health treatment.

Gauthier also pointed out that in 2013, $500,000 of the total Student Services budget of $11 million was going to the EDP, in order to serve 50 to 70 students—which the administration deemed to be financially irresponsible.

Following the announcement of EDP cutbacks, McGill students voiced concerns that Student Services had discreetly cut valuable resources without patient consultations or recourse.

Gauthier emphasized that—other than the resigned nurse—all the components of the EDP were reintegrated into the new mental health system. While the EDP dietitian was given additional responsibilities, such as collaborating with Healthy McGill to provide preventative services, Gauthier reassured students that the dietitian would be given an additional fourth

workday to do so.

“The components of the [EDP] still exist,” Gauthier said.

“For example, our psychiatrists are still doing assessments, we still have a dietitian attached to the psychiatrist unit who has a specialization in eating disorders. We have four psychologists in counselling services who have specialities in eating disorders, and also this winter we’ll be [re]starting […] group sessions.”

In the aftermath of the program changes, several students shared their personal stories with The McGill Tribune about the poor treatment they received under the EDP while it was still running. One student, Alex*, recounted being rejected for admission to the EDP because it was over capacity.

“In my first year at McGill I had debilitating anorexia that really put my health in jeopardy,” Alex wrote in a message to the Tribune. “The [EDP] was full and could not admit me for the next few months [...and] mental health services was so backed up that it couldn’t even get me notes in time, which made me fail my exams and classes.”

However, even when there was room to join the EDP, only students with specific disorders were admitted, according to another student, Casey*. Casey urgently needed the EDP’s support, but was redirected to a different faction of mental health services.

“I was literally so weak I had to crawl to my kitchen [yet, when I tried to join the EDP, they] told me that they wouldn’t be able to see me without a doctor’s note,” Casey wrote in a message to the Tribune. “I spent 13 hours at the hospital waiting for a referral [...but then the EDP] told me that they couldn’t help me because my [eating disorder] seemed more related to anxiety [and] stress.”

According to a student formerly in the EDP, Jamie*, the program had strict policies that, if broken, warranted student

Martine Gauthier responds to criticisms of the Eating Disorder Program and its reforms. (Wendy Chen / The McGill Tribune) expulsion from the program. Jamie objected to the requirement that they inform their parents of their condition, and was consequently removed from the EDP. “For them to kick me out for not letting them contact my parents, which shouldn’t even be a factor in me receiving treatment, I think was extremely unprofessional,” Jamie wrote in a message to the Tribune. “I ended up spending a ton of money on outside treatment in Montreal that wasn’t covered by McGill’s stupid international health insurance.”

While Student Services is still developing a timeline for the rearrangement of the EDP, students can access treatment resources through counselling services or independent resources such as Clinique Baca, the Argyle institute, Anorexie et boulimie Quebec, and many others across Montreal. *Names changed at request of the students.

PGSS Self Defence Course combats violence on and off-campus Martial arts instructor shares the importance of remaining equipped and aware of threats Caitlin Kindig Contributor On Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, McGill students participated in a self-defence course at Gotac, a Montreal-based martial arts company, offered through the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS). The course aimed to teach effective methods to detect and eliminate threats and to identify, assert, and defend one’s space. The class was open to the public, and moved at the pace of each individual student as to accommodate various fitness and comfort levels.

Alexandrina Delage, the course’s instructor, has a brown belt first kyu—the rank just below black belt—in Modern Kempo Jujitsu, and is certified in various defensive maneuvers. Delage connected with McGill and PGSS in 2014, and has helped them organize this course every year since. For Jenny Ann Pura, PGSS Member Services Officer, the annual course plays a vital role in equipping students with the tools to remain safe on and off-campus.

“Like our first aid classes, we hope that [students] never have to deal with those situations, but in any of those worst case scenarios, it’s best to be prepared,” Pura said. “This [course] isn’t solely about defending yourself, but to also understand how to be aware of your surroundings in order to better assess your safety as well as someone else’s anywhere you go.”

The class was split into two parts. The first section of the course, titled ‘Preventive to Combative Measures,’ focused on

using combative tactics to assess risk and ensure preparedness in the event of a threat.

The second section of the course, “Escape from Holds,” involved lessons on escaping both standing and ground grapples, with an aim to prepare students to confidently defend themselves.

Because martial arts training is largely dominated by male students and instruc-

tors, the PGSS course strove to create an environment in which women would feel comfortable training in the field. Delage explained that after her first year of martial arts training, she knew that she wanted to teach women self-defence.

“It became clear to me that having a space where women could train these skills and feel safe in living their fears and emo-

Students trained their physical and mental responses to threats at Gotac. (Arshaaq Jiffy / The McGill Tribune)

tions was imperative,” Delage said.

Delage provides one-on-one coaching to each of her students, with a goal to teach efficiently and make her lessons accessible to all. She believes that being aware of the reality of violence and having the tools to face it is a requisite for physical and mental confidence. With regard to campus violence, Delage feels that rape culture is shockingly prevalent and unpunished. And while she acknowledges that self-defence does not tackle the root cause of this, until it is addressed, equipping students with self-defence skills is extremely important.

“We are dealing with a culture [...] where abusive and violent behaviors go on throughout the years, [and] where survivors are often forced to either see their attacker on campus or leave altogether,” Delage said. “Although mandatory courses on consent have been implemented in some universities, there is a need to create more awareness as to the reality of violence [....]

Violence should never be tolerated, and perpetrators need to be made accountable for their actions.”

Natalia Osorio, one of Delage’s students who was present at the course, started taking classes with her three years ago when she was looking for a women’s martial arts class. Osorio believes that there is a long way to go before Canadian society is not disproportionately violent towards women.

“In the world we live in, basic selfdefence skills are essential, especially for women,” Osorio said. “As [Delage] always says, you can only rely on yourself.”

NEWS 3

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

PGSS Secretary-General resigns following accident Remaining executive members designate tasks, plan new election

The Tribune Explains: The Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec

Everything you need to know about the possible AVEQ referendum

Kendall McGowan Contributor

Madison Palmer Contributor

Continued from page 1.

What is AVEQ? The Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ) unites student unions at fouryear universities around the province. According to its mission statement, AVEQ serves to defend the needs and interests of students in Quebec through research, activism, and representation. The association stands for many of the same values as the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), such as democracy, equity, and solidarity with marginalized groups. AVEQ recognizes students’ political engagement, advocates for causes including the accessibility of education, and organizes campaigns concerning the government’s decisions on economic or socio-cultural matters, such as Quebec’s $23 million investment in a zero-tolerance campus sexual assault prevention strategy.

AVEQ operates under principles of democracy, and attributes one vote to each student association in its membership. Each student association has equal weight, regardless of the size of its student body, thus preserving transparency and political autonomy. The student unions of Concordia University, l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, and l’Université de Sherbrooke are all currently voting members of AVEQ.

Satterthwaite confirmed that the procedure for electing a new Secretary-General will continue along these lines, with an election tentatively scheduled to be completed by early November.

Lavigne’s priorities, as he expressed in his election platform, included advocating for graduate student space on campus, promoting problemsolving and innovation within the student body through events like hackathons, and enforcing adherence to bylaws such as the requirement that PGSS documents be made publicly available. According to Satterthwaite, PGSS executives have already advanced with several of these objectives in Lavigne’s absence.

“We’ve made some good progress in the human resources department,” SatterthJacob Lavigne was forced to resign but other PGSS execs have worked waite said. “We had a number to implement his goals. (Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune) of key positions to fill in the office this summer [....] Another priority that [Lavigne] had identified was reviewing our governing documents, which was something we have not had the chance to do yet just because we’ve had this unfortunate incident but it’s something that we’re going to try to get back to in the near future.”

Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President University Affairs Isabelle Oke often works with PGSS to convey student needs and concerns to the McGill administration. From her external perspective, she reported that the other PGSS executives were handling Lavigne’s absence well.

“It seems like they have a pretty strong team and had coordinated different people taking up [Lavigne’s] responsibilities,” Oke said. “There wasn’t any negative consequence [for PGSS and SSMU’s] relationship. As teams, we’re pretty open with each other, and he obviously had to do what he had to do. I don’t think anyone’s holding that against him.”

Lavigne also played a major role in founding the McGill Additive Manufacturing Students’ Society (MAMSS), a group which consolidated all of the 3D printing resources available at McGill into a centralized, accessible system. According to Thomas FeribaultMénard, who is on the MAMSS Board of Directors, Lavigne’s determination contributed to his success both in MAMSS and PGSS. “In MAMSS he was the president, a great leader,” Feribault-Ménard said. “He would just start to do things nobody thought was possible. You would think ‘oh, that’s such a big mountain to climb,’ but he would do it.”

Satterthwaite also expressed his sorrow about Lavigne’s absence from the PGSS executive team.

“It’s really an unfortunate situation,” Satterthwaite said. “[Lavigne] was a great person to have at the PGSS and we’re definitely going to miss him. It’s really too bad that he was not able to complete his term because I think he would have been able to do some great things at the PGSS and we’re sorry to see him go.”

What does this have to do with McGill?

Currently, McGill students do not have a direct voice in the provincial government, and SSMU is currently unable to meet with provincial officials to voice their concerns and lobby for change.

As such, it is difficult for McGill students to have their say in provincial policies that affect them, such as tuition fees and health insurance coverage for international students. However, the provincial government meets representatives from student federations like AVEQ. By joining AVEQ, SSMU would be given the opportunity to influence how AVEQ represents student interests to the provincial government. “[I do not] currently have the power to make provincial requests on behalf of the student body,” SSMU Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer said. “Education is regulated at the provincial level, so it makes sense to have provincial representation.”

Spencer has been stressing the importance of having McGill students’ voices heard on a provincial level since her opening statement at the SSMU Executive Candidates’ Debate, and she has been an advocate for joining AVEQ since before she took the position. Former VP external Emily Boytinck also strongly supported the idea of SSMU joining AVEQ, and first brought it to referendum in March 2016.

What happened the last time students voted on AVEQ affiliation?

The Winter 2016 Referendum resulted in SSMU members voting against joining AVEQ, though the society has still been able to participate in the association as a non-voting member. Spencer attributes the motion’s failure largely to a lack of understanding of AVEQ within the student body. “[AVEQ] was still a newly-founded organization during the first referendum,” Spencer said.

“There wasn’t much information available, and it was clear that students wanted to make informed decisions.”

The majority of voters in the referendum chose to abstain. Many students were opposed to the non-opt-outable $3.50 charge per student per semester that would have been invoked had the referendum passed.

Why is it being brought back now?

Nearly two years after the failed AVEQ referendum, SSMU Legislative Council plans to bring the question of affiliation to the Fall 2017 Referendum, and will vote on doing so at an upcoming council meeting. Those in favour of affiliating believe that the association will provide a more effective platform for university students to lobby at a provincial level.

In an effort to increase student awareness of AVEQ for this referendum, Spencer has taken an active role in disseminating information about the union by tabling at this year’s activities night and in her email listserv. Further, Kristin Perry, AVEQ Coordinator of Mobilization and Associative Development, attended activities night and the Sept. 28 SSMU Legislative Council Joining AVEQ would give McGill students a voice to the provincial meeting to explain the association. government for a fee of $3.50 per semester. (May Lim / The McGill Tribune)

4 NEWS

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Inter-campus shuttle faces overcapacity and student complaints yet again Students share stories about being stranded, leaving class early to catch bus Helen Wu Contributor At the start of the Fall 2017 term, a number of students claimed to have experienced issues with taking the inter-campus shuttle between McGill’s Downtown and Macdonald campuses due to overcapacity.

According to students’ complaints, buses fill up quickly during several periods, sometimes leaving a number of students unable to board despite arriving to the stops on time, or even five minutes early.

“So many students have such bad stories of not getting into the shuttle bus,” Audrey Constance-Wagner, U3 Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said. “It’s really disgraceful. By not putting more shuttle buses, McGill is forcing students to skip class and in consequence their education suffers [....] I’ve been on it loads of times where a student has begged the bus driver to be let on because they have an exam, and they don’t get let in cause there’s no room.”

Some students resort to leaving class early to ensure a spot on the bus. Those unable to get a seat are often left with no choice but to take the next shuttle, which typically comes over 30 minutes later. In this scenario, students risk being late to their next classes, or missing them entirely.

“We have to be there really early so we can get on one, because if we miss [the bus], the next one is an hour later,” Helene Truong, U1 Agricultural and Environmen-

tal Sciences, said. “A lot of people leave class 10 minutes early [at 5:15 p.m.] to catch the 5:45 [p.m.] bus. This really disturbs the class for those who stay those 10 minutes.”

In an email to The McGill Tribune, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (AgEnvSc) Anja Geitmann confirmed that the administration has taken note of students’ complaints.

She also mentioned a pattern each term, in which student complaints spike during the start of semester and subside after the adddrop period.

the situation will again equilibrate once students have finalized their schedules [....] While we wish to provide satisfactory service to students and staff [...] we also would like to avoid almost empty buses circulating, as this would not be ecologically responsible.”

According to Geitmann, shuttle overcapacity is not a new problem, but rather, something that the faculty and students have been dealing with for years. Prior to spring 2016, there were

Some students sacrifice academics and leave class early to make it on the Downtown/Macdonald campus bus. (Summer Liu / The McGill Tribune) “We are acutely aware of [the bus capacity issue], and are monitoring the situation,” Geitmann wrote. “We anticipate that

only four buses doing rounds between the Downtown and Macdonald campuses despite a continuously increasing number of

students in AgEnvSc over the last 10 years.

This changed when Geitmann requested Provost and Vice-Principal Academic Christopher Manfredi to budget for more buses.

“By Spring 2016, I was able to convince the new Provost [Manfredi] to liberate the budget for a fifth bus, or, in other words, an increase in capacity of 25 per cent,” Geitmann wrote.

Further, during summer 2016, ceiling rails were installed on the five buses, helping passengers stand in the aisles while safely holding on to a railing for support.

This change increased the volume of passengers allowed on each shuttle from 48 to 60. According to Geitmann, this was an adequate solution because the faculty received almost no complaints in the 20162017 academic year.

Some of this semester’s resurfacing student criticisms of the shuttle bus have been raised to the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS). President Jade Corriveau confirmed that this topic is being discussed with the administration, but it is not the only issue on their agenda.

“It is important to keep in mind that the shuttle situation is far from being the only problematic thing that Macdonald students face and that MCSS fights for,” Corriveau said. “There are other important issues that the administration is trying to tackle and they also take time and resources.”

Students’ Society Planning Network restructures to allow general student body members SSMU party planning committee membership changes allow space for partnerships with campus clubs Arvaa Balsara Contributor At its Sept. 14 meeting, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council unanimously passed a motion to restructure the Students’ Society Planning Network (SSPN), the committee responsible for organizing and executing student events hosted by SSMU, including 4Floors, Faculty Olympics, and Grad Frosh. This motion opens 13 of the 15 spots on the committee to members from the student body, reserving one seat for the Internal Logistics Coordinator and one spot for the SSMU Vice-President (VP) Internal.

Prior to the decision to restructure the committee, the Committee Terms of Reference stipulated that SSPN’s membership must be composed of the VP Internal, three legislative councillors, and 10 members-at-large chosen by the VP Internal and the Internal Logistics Coordinator.

Under the new motion, there is no limit to the number of seats on the SSPN that SSMU Legislative Council members can occupy. However, joining the SSPN will no longer fulfill Legislative Councillors’ requirement to serve on one Legislative Council committee as per the Internal Regulations of Governance.

The purpose of these changes was, in part, to encourage more students to participate in the planning process of SSMU events and to promote and broaden the collaboration between SSPN and SSMU clubs, according to Maya Koparkar, SSMU VP Internal. The changes were also motivated by the fact that SSPN seats reserved for

councillors are already occupied by members-at-large. “[This motion] passed unanimously at Legislative Council because the specific terms of reference in question weren’t being followed for the past few years,” Koparkar said.

Members of the student body have been invited to apply to the committee since 2013. Now that the seats on SSPN are open to students who are otherwise uninvolved with SSMU’s operations, Koparkar believes that the committee will be able to plan a greater diversity of events.

“I think that it’s better to open up spots to membersat-large that might have the passion or the ideas for an event planning body rather than the legislative body, because we wouldn’t have access to those ideas otherwise,” Koparkar said.

Currently, the committee is composed of Koparkar, a Logistics Coordinator, and 12 members-at-large.

“There’s a variety of people from different faculties who are involved in different clubs [in the SSPN], and I think, in terms of reaching different crowds, there’s a good potential,” Manon Debuire, U3 Management and current committee member said.

The codification of these changes will likely bring attention to the possibility of a partnership between various clubs and SSPN, resulting in more diverse activities hosted by and for students. Debuire is responsible for contacting clubs to participate in SSPN events and is trying to approach clubs who may be interested in hosting activities at SSPN events.

SSPN is currently planning a joint Halloween event

A Council motion opened 13 seats on the Students’ Society Planning Network committee to members of the student body (Students’ Society Planning Network) with the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS) on Oct. 26 called The Cabin in the Woods: Halloween Party at Macdonald Campus. Various clubs will host activities for the attendees. Kiran Yendamuri, U4 Science student and president of The Film Society believes these changes will provide an opportunity for lesser-known clubs to promote themselves and increase their impact on the student body.

“I think working with SSPN would be something clubs would be interested in, provided all clubs had an equal opportunity to be visible,” Yendamuri said.

The changes to SSPN’s makeup will take effect immediately. The Halloween party on Oct. 26 will be SSPN’s first function this year, and will provide a framework for future events under the new committee structure.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Jasinski editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Noah Sutton nsutton@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Audrey Carleton acarleton@mcgilltribune.com Emma Avery eavery@mcgilltribune.com Selin Altuntur saltuntur@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Holly Cabrera, Domenic Casciato, Calvin Trottier-Chi news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Jackie Houston & Alexandra Harvey opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Izze Siemann scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Grace Bahler studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Marie Labrosse features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Dylan Adamson & Ariella Garmaise arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Stephen Gill & Selwynne Hawkins sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Daniel Freed & Elli Slavitch design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Ava Zwolinski photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editor April Barrett multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Daniel Lutes webdev@mcgilltribune.com Julia Kafato online@mcgilltribune.com

OPINION 5

If you Google the acronym “AVEQ,” the top result is a Quebec electric vehicle association— Association des Véhicules Électriques du Québec. The website probably saw an unexpected spike in traffic during McGill’s 2015 Winter Referendum, when students voted on the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) becoming a member of the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ). The motion to join the provincial student advocacy organization failed to pass—although “fail” may not be the right word, given that most votes were abstentions. At its meeting on Sept. 28, SSMU Council voted to resurrect the question of AVEQ affiliation for the upcoming 2017 Fall Referendum period.

SSMU executives have recently cited a lack of student awareness and understanding of AVEQ as reasons why the motion failed the first time.

That’s likely true, given the number of abstentions. This time around, if SSMU wants to see a vote that is decisive and reflective of student preferences— and by extension, legitimizing of its democratic mandate—it must provide effective, informative programming on AVEQ. Students, in turn, should take steps to educate themselves.

AVEQ is an organization of Quebec university student unions that

OFF THE BOARD

Copy Editor Ayanna De Graff copy@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Daniel Minuk business@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Grayson Castell, Noah Cohen, Vincent Li ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors

Nicholas Jasinski, Daniel Minuk, Katherine Hutter, Julia Métraux, Anthony Kuan, Elli Slavitch, Holly Cabrera, Jeeventh Kaur, Katherine Milazzo, Becca Hoff

Contributors

Amanda Fiore, Amrit Grewal, Arvaa Balsara, Avleen Mokha, Caitlin Kindig, Danica Jekic, Daria Kiseleva, Emma Hameau, Gal Sandaev, Helen Wu, James Collier, James Zhu, Janson Kappen, Jordan Foy, Jovi Sidhu, Julia Briand, Karim Wadjih, Katherine Milazzo, Kelly Panichnantakul, Kendall McGowan, Kimberly Johnston, Lauren Jelinek, Leo Stillinger, Linqiao Zhou, Lisa Perrett, Luke Sarabia, Madison Palmer, Mary Keith, Morgan Davis, Patrick Beacham, Phoebe Balshin, River Ludwick, Selen Ercan, Sophia Kopyna, Summer Liu

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EDITORIAL

It’s time to decide on AVEQ affiliation— whatever that means

Nicholas Jasinski Editor-in-Chief This past weekend, as I sunk into a puffy chair to nurse my protruding belly much too full of turkey, mashed potatoes, and other Thanksgiving delicacies, I closed my eyes and took a moment to fulfill the holiday’s second mandate—being thankful for what I have. My four years at McGill seem to have passed with reckless abandon, in a blur of Bronfman days and Gerts nights. As an international student, I’ve been lucky to live, study, and work abroad in Canada and Europe, specialize in what I’m most interested in as my major, and satisfy my random curiosities with electives. I’ve met more fascinating and inspiring people than I can count, both in and out of class, and gained more from my

lobbies student interests at a provincial level. SSMU currently holds nonaffiliated member status, meaning it is represented in the organization’s deliberation processes, but doesn’t have a vote on final assembly decisions. Affiliated membership would grant SSMU that vote, as well as more significant resources for campus campaigns, but would also require an annual fee. It stands to affect student life in concrete ways—whatever the outcome, students should understand what they’re voting on.

AVEQ advocates on behalf of students on provincial issues such as tuition deregulation and sexual assault.

That’s no small task: Universities operate within the confines of Quebec legislation, so substantial reform on campus often requires lobbying the provincial government.

Instead of individual student unions pressuring their respective university administrations to push student interests with mixed success, AVEQ assumes the middleman role vis-à-vis the Quebec government. While that is always a fraught process, the results can be worthwhile: AVEQ was a key advocate for the Quebec government’s recent allocation of funds to developing campus sexual assault policies.

However, SSMU’s membership would mean a mandatory student

fee of $3.50. For students who see AVEQ as an umbrella organization with only distant, trickle-down effects on McGill student life, that may be a tough pill to swallow. The organization also campaigns on political issues less clearly tied to student interests, such as pipelines and divestment, that some students may not want to pay to support. While the Fédération Étudiante Universitaire du Quebec (FÉUQ) recently disintegrated, another student federation, the Union Étudiante du Quebec (UEQ) remains active, meaning AVEQ is not the only organization that McGill may consider.

It makes sense to put AVEQ affiliation to referendum again—there are arguments for both sides, and either outcome carries consequences for McGill students. Further, as a nonvoting observer, SSMU currently has de facto ties to an organization that McGill students haven’t explicitly signed off on. SSMU needs to move out of that limbo state one way or another—based on a decisive vote from its constituents.

However, as was the case in 2015, many students are still confused about what AVEQ even is, never mind what full membership would mean for them.

That throws a wrench in the democratic process: SSMU can’t be representative of student interests if students aren’t

informed enough to voice those interests. When a proposal has direct impact on student life—whether at the level of provincial advocacy or of individual student fees—it is students’ responsibility to educate themselves enough to vote decisively.

But, SSMU has a responsibility to provide students with the resources necessary to inform themselves about AVEQ. Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer has made strides on that front, via in-person tabling and online outreach. With the referendum campaign period coming up, more must be done to keep AVEQ membership on the campus radar—particularly, when it comes to presenting facts and arguments from both the “yes” and “no” sides. SSMU may see affiliation as the best path forward, but that cannot colour how students make their own decisions about it.

When it comes time to vote, students will be presented with a brief blurb on AVEQ, on the one hand, and the words, “mandatory student fee,” on the other. A cursory Google search will tell them, first and foremost, about electric cars in Quebec. If this referendum is to produce a definitive answer on AVEQ affiliation, SSMU and students need to lay the necessary groundwork to learn and understand its implications before the vote.

What I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving peers than in any of my top courses. I have even managed to rationalize the many gripe-inducing aspects of the McGill experience that every student faces as something to be grateful for: If nothing else, they bring us all together and build character.

But, as I lay there with a stitch, breathing deeply and trying to keep down that extra helping of apple pie, what I kept coming back to was how thankful I am for the friends I’ve made at McGill—and how little would be the same without them. Nothing has been more responsible for keeping me happy and motivated and for helping me grow than my closest friends. University is a unique place: From first encounters during Frosh and in Rez, to the new colleagues and classmates you meet in your last year, it almost seems designed to put each student in front of as many potential friends as possible. Besides the daily geographic proximity with a relatively small group of peers, there’s much to be said for facing the same experiences—good and bad—at an impressionable time of our lives.

After graduating from high school and coming out from under my parents’ wing, I got a rush of what felt like real independence for the first time. But, it didn’t take long to recognize that that autonomy came with its fair share of challenges as well. Figuring out how to stay on top

of schoolwork and other pursuits, feed and clothe myself, and discover who I was as an independent person were scary. I soon realized, however, that everyone around me was going through the same process. That shared experience brought me closer with my newly-encountered McGill friends.

“

Like trees planted very close and forming around each other as they grow, I can reflect and appreciate how my friends and I have influenced eachother.

”

Looking back, I now see that we grew together and supported each other simply by being equally confused by the same Minerva menus or simple cooking instructions. With each new chapter of my McGill career, those and other friends have been along for the journey.

University is a formative time.

Like trees planted very close and forming around each other as they grow, I can reflect and appreciate how my friends and I have influenced each other. Over the last nearly four years, we’ve grown together to fill the empty airspace of becoming our own confident individuals that some might call “adults.” Like someone who moves to a different region and involuntarily picks up the local accent, the hours of hanging out, studying and working together, and talking about our issues—big and small—have subconsciously given me a part of them to always carry in who I am, and vice versa. My views have formed and evolved, I’ve learned what’s important to me and what isn’t, and I’ve grown into someone ready to face the world—all thanks to my friends.

Reclining further in my postThanksgiving-meal recovery chair, I couldn’t help thinking that I’ll never make friends like these again. Once we’re scattered off into the workforce or further studies, we’ll be surrounded by others who have just left their own groups of close formative friends. No other time will we be in an environment where we’re a blank slate among other blank slates, just waiting to rub off on each other. But, I’ll always have my people, living close by, or keeping in touch from afar. That’s what I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving, and all the Thanksgivings to come.

6 OPINION

COMMENTARY

Janson Kappen Contributor The New Democratic Party (NDP) has been in hibernation since the last federal election. It shed several pounds in Parliament— from 103 to 44 seats after the 2015 election—and ran its it’s base’s enthusiasm enthusiasm dry, leaving a skeleton of good policy remaining but little charisma.

In this weak position, the NDP took its biggest gamble yet. Its members elected Jagmeet Singh—a charismatic, fashionable knight in a three-piece suit of armour— as their federal leader. This was a momentous occasion in Canadian history, as Singh became the first

COMMENTARY

Phoebe Balshin Contributor

Content warning: This article discusses rape and sexual assault.

How much did you drink?

Did you realize you were drunk?

Did you take drinks from a stranger at the bar? What were you wearing? Why would you walk home alone? Did you try telling him to stop? These were some of the questions people asked me after I had been raped— including my roommates, the nurse who explained to me what had happened when I woke up, McGill counsellors, and even my mom at one point.

Dear Quebec, give Jagmeet Singh a fair shot non-white leader of a major political party. And Singh didn’t win by a small margin: He received 53.8 per cent of the vote, winning on the first ballot—a feat matched only by Jack Layton and Tommy Douglas.

In addition to being a young upand-comer from Ontario, Singh is also a practicing Sikh, who proudly wears a brightly-coloured turban and carries a kirpan by his side.

Many Quebecois—on both sides of the political spectrum—seem to take issue with that. For example, Longueuil-Saint-Hubert NDP member of parliament (MP) Pierre Nantel recently expressed his belief that Singh’s turban and kirpan were incompatible with what Quebecers expect of their public leaders. Of course, government institutions cannot discriminate against citizens or confer certain advantages based on religious belief. This doesn’t mean, however, that government officials cannot hold religious beliefs themselves—just that those beliefs cannot influence their public policy.

Nantel’s comments come from a widely held—and indeed legislated—Quebecois belief that church and state should be separate.

But, in questioning the ability of privately religious individuals to hold public positions of power,

Nantel and a growing minority of Quebecois terribly misinterpret the meaning of these laws, which originate from Quebec’s strong secularist values. This rhetoric is dangerous, as it only inflames existing racial and ethnic tensions in this province.

Singh is entitled to practice his religion while in public office. The only requirement is that government institutions under his oversight cannot discriminate against people who have different religious beliefs than he has. Singh is not looking to marginalize anyone: His viral slogan is #LoveAndCourage.

Quebecers have a right to choose the candidate they deem the most fit to be party leader. If Singh’s turban gets in the way of his policies, then voters have the right to disregard his candidacy.

But, Singh’s policies have nothing to do with religion; as a candidate, he ran on universal pharmacare and anti-climate change commitments.

If the Quebecois reject Singh only because of his religion, it sends a message to all religious minorities in Quebec that they don’t fully belong to the larger community or aren’t accepted in positions of power. In an age when identity politics seems to be the norm, this will have terrible ramifications for

everyone.

Race relations have steadily worsened in Quebec over the past several years. In Quebec City, for instance, there were 113 hate crimes or suspected hate crimes reported for

“

Singh’s nomination presents a real test for Quebec to stand by the diversity and inclusivity its citizens theoretically voted for with Justin Trudeau.

”

the first half of 2017, compared to the 137 hate crimes reported for all of 2016, according to The Montreal Gazette. The vast majority of hate crimes are directed at a religion, with race and ethnicity being the second greatest target. Even once-inclusive local politicians have become less

Wednesday, October 11, 2017 tolerant, partly contributing to heightened racial tensions in the province. Following the stabbing of a Michigan police officer by a Montrealer allegedly shouting an Islamic phrase, Premier Philippe Couillard changed his supportive tone for Muslims. A CBC article quotes him saying, “Unfortunately, you cannot disconnect this type of event, terrorism, from Islam in general.”

If Singh’s candidacy stirs more controversy and hateful discussion in Quebec, then it will only contribute to existing feelings of marginalization held by visible minorities. Instead, Singh’s openness about his religion must promote a frank and positive discussion about race. Quebec has an opportunity to restore relations with marginalized communities throughout the province. But, this productive discussion only starts when Quebec acknowledges its problem with discrimination, rather than merely masking the issue under the guise of state secularism.

Singh’s nomination presents a real test for Quebec to stand by the diversity and inclusivity its citizens voted for theoretically with Justin Trudeau.

Jagmeet Singh deserves a fair shot. Let’s give him one.

“What were you wearing?” and other questions to stop asking rape victims I had woken up in a hospital bed, stripped of my clothes and covered in bruises, but all people could ask were questions that sought to determine my responsibility.

People were searching for ways to assure themselves that this would never happen to them, because they would never be naïve enough to put themselves in the situation that I supposedly had put myself in. Each day, a new person added their own opinion on why my rape happened and what I could have done to prevent it. Some days, I didn’t have the energy to talk myself into thinking otherwise, and would succumb to others, truly believing that I was at fault. This is how I came to discover victim blaming.

Victim blaming is when individuals try to justify sexual violence by focusing on the actions of the victim rather than the offender. Victim blaming is a large component of the “rape culture” that pervades university campuses and broader society: Women are predisposed to think they are to blame for their rape even before another person brings it up. From a young age, girls are told over and over again: “Don’t dress provocatively!,” “Don’t walk alone at night,” and “Always keep an eye on your drink.” They are constantly

bombarded with techniques to prevent a potential assault.

Going to university? Take a selfdefence class first. Have class

“

Words cannot describe the regret, loneliness, fear, and sadness a person who was raped feels.

”

at night? Carry around pepper spray. Taking a cab alone? Stay on the phone with someone. This warped way that society views sexual assault needs to change, as it continuously discourages victims from coming forward and further shames them once they do.

Too often, the media focuses on the culture of binge drinking that correlates with reported assaults, failing to acknowledge the culture of rape that exists on

campus. Rape culture describes an environment where rape is not only prevalent—and somewhat ignored—but sexual assault is normalized through the objectification of women’s bodies and misogynistic language. The tendency to focus on the risks of excessive drinking, instead of the root causes of sexual assault on campus, serves as a competing message in the university community.

It gives administrators, peers, professors, and parents an immediate factor to blame when someone is sexually assaulted.

University students are allowed to drink, and alcohol intake should in no way invalidate the stories of sexual assault survivors. It is crucial that society abandons this behaviour, and shifts its focus to survivor stories and campus reports that reveal the unfortunate existence and prevalence of rape culture.

The tendency to teach women to “be safe” and “smart” perpetuates the false belief that they can prevent rape, and are therefore responsible if it happens to them. Parents in particular can be more mindful, teaching their daughters that it is not their fault, and being cautious in their choice of words when giving women of all ages advice.

Words cannot describe the shame, regret, loneliness, fear, and sadness a person who was raped feels. It is of utmost importance that university communities and society at large do not further contribute to the problem by engaging in questions that offer perpetrators an excuse.

Upstream administrators, as well as friends and peers, need to realize how their questions affect victims, and (prepare to) be there for support, rather than interrogation.

Instead, ask a victim what you can do to help them. It is difficult to know how to support someone during a traumatic event, but it is essential to think before you ask questions, and realize that certain questions may haunt a victim for years to come.

So, how much did I drink?

Four shots and a beer. Did I realize I was drunk? Yes. Did I take drinks from strangers at the bar? No. What was I wearing? A black skirt and a beige tank top.

Why did I walk home alone?

Because I lived a block away and was tired. Did I tell him to stop? Yes. Regardless of how much someone has to drink or what they are wearing, a victim of sexual assault is never the one to blame.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

7 STUDENT LIVING

OAPhorum recaps ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ and how to make it even better

Engineering Undergraduate Society hosts open discussion for student feedback on OAP Katherine Milazzo Contributor Continued from page 1.

Attendees recommended additional sources of entertainment, such as daily themes, eating and drinking competitions, and hourly boat races which teams of friends can enter.

Volunteer recognition and workload Past volunteers who attended the forum voiced their opinions about volunteer recognition, workflow in the food tent, and the instruction and distribution of tasks.

Several forum attendees noted that working in the food tent is not immediately straightforward for new volunteers, and highlighted a need for increased direction.

Zapf-Gilie also noted that volunteers work hard at food preparation, which can be draining. Though they currently celebrate their efforts through a ‘volunteer of the day’ award, Zapf-Gilie suggested having more prizes to recognize the team of individuals working to make OAP a success.

“Perhaps [we could give out] earnable badges like ‘first double-pour’ or some other system of recognizing all of the hard work volunteers do all day,” Zapf-Gilie said.

Another potential area of improvement highlighted is efficiency. Zapf-Gilie suggested delegating tasks more evenly between volunteers in the food and beverage tents.

“Grilling has more appeal than serving, so a rotation of tasks would ensure [that] more enjoyable jobs get to be experienced by everyone,” Zapf-Gilie said.

Increased variety of musical genres and a festival atmosphere Head OAP Manager Malcolm McClintock introduced the idea of going the ‘Osheaga Lite’ route, which would involve increasing emphasis on OAP as a music festival rather than an outdoor pub. Making this transition would also require adding another stage.

Not all OAPhorum attendees agreed with this idea however, and several cited the issue of high associated costs, the value of showcasing McGill-only bands, and the fact that students generally go to OAP to socialize, with the music functioning as background noise alone.

Additionally, forum attendees exchanged opinions on increasing the variety and number of musical genres played at the pub.

Ultimately, some of this year’s performers and pub-goers present at the forum disagreed about the value of music at OAP. OAP Manager Morgan Grobin suggested diversifying musical genres to reflect students’ varying tastes.

“I would like to see more [genres of music] than indie and rock-n-roll, and maybe even some jazz to appeal to a wider audience,” Grobin said.

Forum attendees reached a consensus

‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ will return for OAP Lite in April 2018.

(Linqiao Zhou / The McGill Tribune) concerning the volume of music—most, if not all attendees agreed the music was often too loud for OAP attendees to comfortably converse. Grobin, however, provided an alternative point of view—that of the musicians. According to Grobin, many musicians thought the sound quality was not adequate.

More food, more fun, and a wider variety of options Perhaps the greatest attraction at OAP is the food and beer. OAPhorum participants proposed additions to the food menu, such as corn-on-the-cob, french fries, vegetarian hot dogs, and dessert items, such as ice cream sandwiches or scoops of Ben & Jerry’s.

Although OAP has tried to make an effort to accommodate various diets in the past, Zapf-Gilje suggested a larger selection of alcoholic beverages other than beer to meet the needs of students’ dietary restrictions.

“The Somersby, sangria, and cider currently offered do not cater to gluten allergies,” Zapf-Gilje noted.

OAP is limited in the types of drinks they can serve, especially those with higher alcohol content. Due to liability, they have self-imposed restrictions to limit the sale and consumption of beers with a higher percentage—most drinks were around seven per cent—which Grobin explained as a way to prevent the pub’s party scene becoming too chaotic.

Librarie Wescott: A hidden treasure of St-Laurent Used book store offers far more than just discounted reads

Lauren Jelinek Contributor On the corner of Duluth Avenue and St-Laurent Boulevard, a hidden treasure of Montreal has been lying low for over 25 years: Librarie Wescott. The small, independently-owned used bookstore has an unbelievable collection of works on topics ranging from Buddhism to Italian geography—a disarray of texts that is almost unbelievable at first sight. Piles of publications top every possible surface, creating a maze of literature to investigate.

Decorated with an array of knick-knacks like plants, stuffed toys, and airplanes, the bookstore has more character than most others in Montreal.

For Alex Yiannoutsos, U3 Arts and a regular customer at Wescott, the bookstore is more than just charming—it’s a gateway to another world. “[Librarie] Wescott is a disorganized mess of just books,” Yiannoutsos said.

“From the floor to the ceiling, every inch is covered [….] You don’t know what you’ll pick up or where it will transport you, so the store is just a mode of transportation to this other world.”

As a used bookstore, Librarie Wescott is able to offer low prices that appeal to the Plateau’s student population. While the store offers a limited selection of textbooks

The popularity of e-books and online shopping also endangers small bookstores like Librarie Wescott. Wescott used to sell books online, but after the 2008 economic crash, sales dropped, and their online store shut down. Wescott hasn’t attempted to reopen it since.

Despite the convenience of online bookstores, it is hard to replace the feeling of flipping through the pages of a physical book. And though Amazon and Indigo may offer publications delivered right to your door, the uniformity of chain retailers lacks the charm of an independent bookstore and misses out on the character and history of used books, something Librarie Wescott embraces.

Among the store’s vast collection of novels to atlases to cookbooks, history and classic literature are the most popular choices. Since they are close to the owner’s heart, those two genres tend to take up the most shelf space. And while not everything sells, there is something for everyone at Westcott.

“I love books,” Wescott said.

“Everyday I’m getting in new books [....] I always keep books until they get sold [....]

Maybe the right person [for the book] will come along [....] Sometimes I keep a book for 10 years and then someone comes along There’s something for everyone at Librarie Wescott. (Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune) and says, ‘Hey, this is just the book I was looking for.’”

and specialized books, most students come in to find something to read for pleasure— and the students who shop at the library play a crucial economic role, according to Terry Wescott, owner of the bookstore.

“Without students, I don’t think the bookstore would survive,” Wescott said. “[The bookstore scene in Montreal is] shrinking because rents are going up [and paying] employees [is] expensive.”

In recent years, Librarie Wescott has faced challenges remaining open. After incurring rent hikes in 2011, Wescott revealed that he is still looking for somewhere to eventually move the store. “[The] landlord wants to raise the rent, so I may be closing, [but] I’m looking for another location in the area,” Wescott said.

“I don’t know what the fate of the bookstore is.”

ng

The iconic song that concludes Hamilton, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,” elicits a fundamental inspiration for creativity—the idea of sonder, that each individual is living a life as complex and intricate as our own. I myself wonder whether or not my stories will matter, and marvel at the vast number of narratives to which I will never have access. I fantasize about capturing an emotion that others have experienced but could not decipher. I imagine my words, tugging the soft skin of a cheek into a smile. The first time I saw Hamilton, the play moved me to tears; hearing the amalgamation of powerful instruments and voices, in the name of storytelling, reconnected me with the power of the written word.

This anecdote represents a common sentiment among aspiring 21st-century writers. While the dream of one day publishing—or even creating a finished work at all—floats at the forefront of writers’ thoughts, the reality is far from encouraging. In 2012, bibliographic information provider R. R. Bowker calculated the publication of 2,352,797 books in the United States alone, with 49,553 of them being fiction. This value does not include books published online, nor written song lyrics, nor blog posts.

With so many writers constantly at work, distinguishing between their works and styles might seem challenging. However, each author comes from a different background and approaches the same task from a different angle. Ultimately, each writer has a different story to tell, and a unique way of telling it.

“The connected impulses to understand my own thoughts by entering into a strange sort of conversation with the page, and the desire to tell stories to an audience [initially made me write],” Naben Ruthnum, who received his Masters degree in English Literature at McGill in 2011, wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

Ruthnum’s novella, Cinema Rex, won both The Malahat Review’s 2012 Novella Contest, as well as the 2013 Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. Now, the author writes fiction professionally.

Ariela Freedman, associate professor of Literature at Concordia University’s Liberal Arts College, connects her love of creative writing with her love of reading.

“I've always loved reading, and a desire to write is an extension of my love of books,” Freedman wrote in an email to the Tribune. “[Even] after I established myself as a writer of literary criticism, I wanted the freedom and breadth of fiction.

Ultimately, I think my writing is an expression of my desire to make sense of the world through the page... Imperfectly!”

Imperfection and a love of books are common threads that these authors weave into their writing journeys, over the course of years of work.

Keith Maillard, professor of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, has written 13 novels and one book of poetry. He vividly remembers the instant he decided to pursue writing.

“I [was] reading a book called Axel’s Castle by Edmund Wilson,” Maillard explained. “[...At] some point I put the book down and looked up at my friend. I said to my friend, who was playing [hymns on] the piano, [...] ‘I’m going to be a writer.’ [...] What drew me to creative writing was the notion that it was bigger, wider, more interesting, more cosmopolitan, more tuned into the universe, than this little dump town where I lived.”

Connectivity, whether to the mind, the community, the emotion, or the unwritten, brings writers together. The journey on which the author travels in order to identify these networks are often synonymous with the journeys they travel in reality.

Benjamin Hertwig, who also earned his Masters degree in English Literature at McGill, weaves the threads of loss and healing together to depict his experience as a soldier in his debut book of poetry, Slow War, which is now a finalist in the Governor General’s Literary Awards.

“The book is my experiences as a young soldier [in] Afghanistan and the aftermath,” Hertwig said. “[It’s about] what coming home was like, [and] what trying to reintegrate into school and various communities [was like....] The entire decade of my 20s was transformed into something different, and was impacted by [my time at war].”

His collection offers no easy answers about the complexity of war and the aftermath thereof, but Hertwig draws from his emotion to tell his compelling story.

Freedman, who spent a year in Israel, also draws on her experience in a different country. In her recently published novel Arabic for Beginners (2017), Freedman explores themes such as motherhood, marriage, and the idea of home. “[Israel] has been, you could say, one of the ruling fictions of my life,” Freedman wrote.

In all three of these cases, authors use writing to push past their observations, and transform those observations into words, sentences, and stories. Maillard faced small-town isolation, Hertwig survived war and trauma, and Freedman ties universal topics into a cultural perspective. They transform the power of a place and personal emotion into melodic art.

A writer’s job requires meticulous attention, grueling hours, and patience. Developing a process for creative writing is complex, complicated, and often confusing. Maillard gave up writing—as he could not even afford to go to the dentist—the same day his career was resurrected by the news of his first publishing deal. Freedman called her process messy. Ruthnum described his career as a “ series of accidents and bursts of hard work here and there.” In light of his book tour, Hertwig labelled his week crazy.

The freneticism of a writer’s lifestyle often feeds into their creative process. Freedman equates writing a novel with solving a puzzle.

“There is a long period of free writing, when I'm not sure what I have or where I'm heading,” Freedman wrote.

“Then I discard a lot of material, and move around the rest. It's like doing a giant puzzle when you don't have an image of the final product on the cover of the box. Eventually, I can start to determine a shape and then I write into the gaps. After that, I discard more material—often reluctantly—and I polish what remains.”

Ruthnum follows a similar tactic for shorter pieces, attempting to push a draft forward quickly, taking the time to edit later. For longer pieces, he writes in longhand and on the computer until he has around 100 pages; from here, he sometimes outlines and creates timelines.

Maillard takes a very different approach to crafting his tales: He begins with characters. Only once he begins to think of his character as a real person does the story come to life—beginning with other characters who develop alongside the first. They start having conversations within the author’s head, at which point, a story begins to form around them.

The job of creating a new literary work can be exhausting, but the outcome has the potential to impact and bring meaning to lives in unimaginable ways.

After dedicating his whole life to writing, Maillard has gained perspective on his first attempt at producing something, and the eventual outcome of the novel.

“I tried [...] writing a novel [in university], and all I did was write the opening of it over and over again,” Maillard said. “So I had 26 basic versions of the same opening! They always started in the same place: It started

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with a university student who looks suspiciously like me, and he’s exhausted because he’s been going to class and [...] he has a nap in the afternoon. He’s been asleep for a couple hours, and he gets up, out of his little ratty apartment, and walks outside, just at twilight, in the rain. So I had 26 openings of him standing there, at twilight, in the rain, just woken up, and I never could get it.”

After creating an image of an ethereal sky and the scent of the sidewalk after rainfall, Maillard eventually did write that novel. Morgantown, about university students, remains one of his favourite novels—even after writing 12 others. He finds the fluctuating nature of young adults’ mindsets, either exuberant or depressed at any given time, a topic worthy of exploration. Although this novel did arise from 26 failed introductions, the characters and their stories prevailed in the end.

The preliminary journal entries, stories, poems, screenplays, songs, and creative articles that authors produce early on hold value, as they can eventually lead to improvements in writing techniques and evolved drafts. Ruthnum put emphasis on this early stage in his overall story as an author. “[The] work leading up to [the Journey Prize]—writing bad stories that gradually got better, making attempts at screenplays when I was a teenager—that was the stuff that mattered more,” Ruthnum wrote.

Studying the motifs and tropes of other writers can help budding authors develop a style and rhythm. Each piece must resonate in some way, and encourage readers to feel—although each individual will feel something different.

“There are certain writers that you will like, and you should read all their stuff, and figure out why you like them and what it is they’re doing that you want to do too,” Maillard said. “You should always carry a little notebook with you wherever you go, because [when a] thought passes through your mind, you can jot it down. Otherwise it might get lost.”

He even keeps paper by his bed, in case he has an idea while he is drifting off to sleep.

Freedman recommends sharing work with friends—without whom she may not have published her novel. Ruthnum encourages regular work habits and ravenous reading.

“Find supportive communities of writers that allow you to advance in your craft, and in your compassion for one another,” Hertwig added to the ‘how-tos’ of writing.

He recommends going into a local bookstore, to the magazine section, and to find magazines that writers personally enjoy and find inspiring. It is important to read about and learn from those magazines, and then submit work to them.

Above all, authors need writing to be happy and fulfilled, and must be prepared to go through hell to make their work known to the world. In short, don’t write if you want an easy life. “[Young writers] receive a lot of rejections. I can recall at one point receiving 19 rejections in a row from literary magazines,” Hertwig said. “Even writers who publish in New York, or who are doing all of these amazing projects, are still receiving rejections.”

All challenges aside, creative writing is important: Words have the power to change lives, and bring to light stories that may never have been told otherwise. The art has the power to invent new worlds and new lives, and to create emotions that bring human existence into question.

“Writing allows you to be interested in anything,” Maillard said. “You can get interested in some weird topic, and [maybe] it’s a story, and maybe it’s a novel, and that gives you the excuse to go and research all this strange stuff.”

As a writer torn between the many possible avenues science reporting and novel writing can offer, I completely agree with Maillard: Writing is freedom.

Knowing that your art, your words, and your creativity have changed lives is wholly satisfying—especially when blood, sweat, and tears contribute so abundantly to the finished product.

These are four authors among the world’s profusion, and they each bring entirely divergent methods, styles, and histories into the creative writing context. They represent a modest proportion of the world’s works, but a peek into their rationales might just change someone’s life.

Although I have yet to develop my own methods and advice as a creative writer, I do know one thing: Those who live and die to tell their stories learn unexpected things about themselves, others, and the power of art.

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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

STUDENT LIVING 10

Engineering Fair Trade Corner empowers global communities How a small spot on campus hopes to spark global change Kelly Panichnantakul Contributor Located in a cozy nook between the Frank Dawson Adams Building and the McConnell Engineering Building near the University entrance, the Fair Trade Corner (FTC) is a hidden gem that offers organic and fair-trade beverages and pastries at an affordable cost.

The FTC operates Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., selling sweet snacks, hot coffee, and tea—all sourced from fair-trade dealers around the world. Started by the McGill chapter of Engineers Without Borders (MEWB), the entirely volunteer-run shop has helped increase the accessibility of fair-trade products on campus.

MEWB’s ultimate goal is to contribute to sustainable international development, and selling food produced in developing countries in an equitable manner is a key step in realizing this.

On the global market, obtaining fair-trade certification from nongovernmental organizations, like Fairtrade International, involves a process that ensures the farmers and workers who create the products have decent working conditions and receive fair wages. Each time a product is sold, a percentage of the profit—known as the Fairtrade Premium—goes directly toward farmers’ communities. This concept is widely deployed among the global fair-trade community; the premium is often used to develop a community’s infrastructure or

provide them with necessities they need.

Among MEWB’s other events and initiatives—like the World’s Largest Fair Trade Bake Sale—shopping at the FTC is a way of challenging the status quo in global consumption, which often overlooks workers’ exploitation in the global market. “[FTC’s attraction] really comes down to the fact that [we serve] sustainable, organic coffee,” Thomas Bahen, U2 Engineering student and FTC vice president, said. “So you know it is creating a positive impact in the community that grows it. It’s just really accessible, and it’s delicious coffee.”

Additionally, the FTC is completely donation-based. Rather than paying fixed prices for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, customers contribute what they can. Fair-trade products are often expensive, but the FTC makes a consistent effort to keep the goods accessible and affordable for students. Moreover, the FTC uses a punch card system in which students receive a free cup of coffee for every five cups previously purchased. To incentivize eco-friendliness, customers who bring their own reusable mug receive two stamps each time they stop for coffee. Even so, the FTC remains a well-kept secret; many students simply don’t realize how available and open it is. “[The café] is affordable,” Bahen said. “I see a long line at Dispatch every day and I don’t think people know they can get coffee for much cheaper just down the hall.”

WORD ON THE Y WHAT DOES BALANCE MEAN TO YOU? As midterms approach, the concept of ‘balance’ may begin to seem increasingly elusive. Navigating university life is no easy task, but remembering to keep the big picture in mind is one of the biggest lessons students learn during their time at McGill. The McGill Tribune asked passers-by at the Y-intersection about how they define a balanced life.

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Mihir Kumar, UO Engineering “Balance is [...] quite important, especially when you’re coming to a really good university like McGill.

[Balance is juggling] studies and social work, and it’s quite important.”

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Benjamin Joannette-Pilon UO Science “I’d say balance is just [practicing] stuff in different spheres, [...] to practice a sport, or to play an instrument, or [to] have a social life, and go to school as well.”

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Kaila Folinsbee Staff Office of Sponsored Research “There’s physical balance, where you have your equilibrium, or there’s work-life balance [....] I guess it means that you have a couple of things in equal proportion.”

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Hubert Corriveau U3 Science “[Balance] means [keeping] a good level of stressful things and fun things, and trying to find the good equilibrium point.”

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Mary Lynn U1 Arts “When I think of [balance], I mostly think of school [and] having balance between my work life and my social life [....] Just being able to have a hold on different aspects of my life. Taking time for myself, taking time for people that matter to me, my friends and my family, going to yoga class.”

Jacques Campeau MA French Literature ‘73 “[Balance means] a few things.

It can be a sign of astrology [....] For me, balance means [...] psychological, [physical,] and emotive stability.”

by Amrit Kaur Grewal & Avleen Mokha

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Jérémie Alcindor UO SCIENCE “Balance means staying healthy in what you do and trying to do as much as you can that’s healthy for your body, so exercising, getting a lot of sleep and staying focused in your studies.”

Xu Tian UO, Science “[Balance means] I can control all the things in my life, [that] I know what will happen and I [don’t] feel nervous.”

Part of the secrecy of the FTC is in its corner space, which can be easy for the eyes to miss if rushing swiftly through the hallways of McConnell Engineering. According to Luna Taguchi, U2 Science student and venture lead of MEWB’s Fair Trade team, the origins of how FTC obtained this particular space are a mystery to even the team itself. “[Our space] is one of the biggest [MEWB] mysteries ever because it used to be a porter’s office,” Taguchi said. “That’s why it has kind of a cozy atmosphere, but nobody in our chapter or team knows how we got the space in the first place. So, it’ll remain a mystery forever.”

For Taguchi, fair-trade is important because it ultimately leads to economic empowerment for the communities that produce and sell their commodities. The FTC prides itself in being a part of this development.

“Often small-scale farmers in the developing world are taken advantage of by private sectors,” Taguchi said. “I define fair-trade as a trading system that tries to address that issue [….] The [fair-trade] system creates a sense of autonomy amongst the farmers and works to empower them.” a trading system that tries to address that issue [….] The [fair trade] system creates a sense of autonomy amongst the farmers and works to empower them.”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 11

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

‘Persephone Bound’ encouraged conversation about consent at McGill Update to a classical myth tackles our problematic approach to dealing with sexual assault Morgan Davis Contributor

Continued from page 1.

Telling the story of a young college freshman, the performer and playwright Léda Davies used ropes to display her interpretation of a modern Persephone.

Davies took inspiration from the Greek myth of Persephone, in which Persephone’s abduction is witnessed by many people— including her father Zeus—but they all choose to remain silent so as to not cause tension or conflict.

This reasoning is frighteningly similar to how many people continue to turn a blind eye to sexual assaults. It reminds us that despite the myth being written in approximately the seventh century BC, the issue of consent is even more relevant today.

Persephone Bound explores the myriad of emotions, questions, and trauma that survivors of sexual assault experience.

Coming forward with disclosures of assault is a monumental obstacle in itself. Yet—as

Persephone Bound updates its classical source material to ask tough questions. (shmoop.com) explained in the discussion panel post-performance—legal and social systems consistently fail in supporting survivors. The process of having a sexual assault case pass through the court system takes approximately three years from initiation to completion, with the survivor constantly having to relive their trauma.

Davies has performed in

theatre, dance, and circus for over 10 years, and has lived in Montreal since 2013. Co-writing Persephone Bound, Jed Tomlinson works as a freelance actor, clown, drummer, and theatre artist. By introducing various perspectives around sexual consent, both playwrights hope to cultivate a dialogue surrounding sexual violence, reporting the assaults,

and providing resources. The narrative performance jumped from the past to present, reenacting the sexual assault itself, then following Persephone as she is interrogated. Intrusive questions such as how many times Persephone peed that evening, or what she was wearing at the party, allowed the audience to see the doubt survivors face as they

are forced to relive their trauma through rape kits and interviews.

The panel discussion shed light on the realities experienced by survivors of sexual violence.

The panel of four experts— including performer Léda Davies—explored many aspects surrounding consent, including the specific science behind how trauma affects the brain.

The panelists examined how identity, social status, and sexual orientation can cause differences between the stories of survivors.

They acknowledged that the play’s character Persephone, a white middle-class heterosexual who attends a college party, is a narrow glimpse into the multifaceted ways in which sexual violence affects survivors’ lived experiences.

As a concluding event for this year’s fourth annual #ConsentMcGill Campaign, Persephone Bound allowed for an inclusive and open discussion surrounding sexual consent.

The O-SVRSE has been serving the McGill community since November 2016, and aims to provide students, faculty, and staff impacted by sexual violence with crisis and reporting support.

‘Professor Marston and the Wonder Women’ empowers its leads A poignant, sexy biopic that shines light on the hearts behind the heroine Danica Jekic Contributor

Wonder Woman, one of the most prolific female superheros, only recently entered the Hollywood spotlight, from the smash hit Wonder Woman (2017), to her allegedly expanded role in the upcoming film Justice League (2017). Created in 1941, the character’s incredible origins, however, remained largely unknown.

Written and directed by Angela Robinson (The L Word, D.E.B.S.) Professor Marston and the Wonder Women centres on William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), a psychology professor at Radcliffe College, and his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall), an underappreciated psychologist who is bitter that Harvard denied her a PhD for her work. When the pair take on a new research assistant—a young psychology student named Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote), the initial sexual tension and jealousy between them blossoms into romance, and the three characters begin a bisexual polyamorous relationship that changes their lives. Marston, inspired by his brilliant feminist partners and seeking to teach the world about his psychological theories, creates Wonder Woman—an allegory for the modern empowered woman, and a revolutionary superhero.

Robinson’s impressive writing and

Angela Robinson’s new biopic thrives on equitable, empathetic representation. (digitalspy.com) directorial talents are evident throughout the film, from clever humour and intriguing character dynamics, to the stunning cinematography and evocative lighting. When combined with the subtle soundtrack that carries the film like a fluttering heartbeat, the visual aspects of the film are subtle and grounded, yet they masterfully convey the characters’ emotions. While the Easter eggs will be more obvious to comic book readers or fans of the Lynda Carter TV show,

Wonder Woman (1975-1979) fans will find a trove of references to the costume and origins of Diana Prince and Steve Trevor—whether it be Olive Byrne’s hairstyle and silver bracelets, or William Marston’s past as a spy in World War I. At its core, the film is a biographical love story.

Hollywood oftentimes presents unconventional relationships as fetishizing and degrading. In the hands of another director, Marston could have easily been presented as a manipulative,

Hugh Hefner-like creep. However, the balance between Marston’s story and that of the two women ensures that the three characters are emotionally developed, and the relationship feels real.

Evans, Hall, and Heathcote portray their characters with passion and sincerity; their chemistry is intoxicating as their relationship develops. However, the standout performance of the film is easily Hall (The Prestige, Iron Man 3, Christine), who brings an incredible love, bitterness, and dry wit to Elizabeth Marston’s character. She carries the bulk of the film’s humour and emotional stakes, as she struggles with the legitimacy of their relationship and seeks to be accepted and respected by the world around her as a woman and intellectual.

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is a subtly brilliant film that maintains its focus on the love between its three main characters, keeping the audience invested through the actors’ passionate performances and its meticulous writing and direction. With the recent release of Wonder Woman’s first blockbuster film, and the revelation of her bisexuality by Wonder Woman comic writer Greg Rucka, this is an important film for fans to see, as it shines a positive light on the unconventional lives of the professor who created her and the wonderful women who embodied her.

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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

‘Neo Yokio’s’ deadpan elegance may prove inaccessible to Netflix viewers Ezra Koenig/Jaden Smith collaboration juggles anime, excorcism, Gossip Girl influences Luke Sarabia Contributor We’ve been living in the supposed “Golden Age of TV” for the better part of two decades. In a time where blockbuster series are generated from obscure Netflix viewer preference data and showrunners regularly do away with the limitations of genre conventions, perhaps the emergence of a show like Neo Yokio isn’t as bizarre as it might seem. Netflix’s new anime-inspired comedy series, released late September, was created and co-written by Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig and stars the voice of Jaden Smith alongside Jude Law, Susan Sarandon, and Jason Schwartzman. If you find the terms “Ezra Koenig,” “Jaden Smith”, and “anime” exciting together, it’s unlikely that the show will disappoint. Beyond that, I can give no guarantee.

Neo Yokio follows the life of Kaz Kaan (Smith), a wealthy teenage socialite living in Neo Yokio, an imagined futuristic version of New York City. The anime-inspired twist to this otherwise Gossip Girl-esque setup is that Kaz’s elite social status results from his family lineage of demon-hunting magicians—a day job which he begrudgingly maintains in order to preserve his family’s wealth.

The show’s narrative centers on the tension between Kaz’s luxurious lifestyle and the complications of being a reluctant teenage demon hunter. Kaz spends almost the entire show moping for one reason

Kaz Kaan (Jaden Smith) attempts to fill his internal void with a giant Toblerone. (polygon.com) or another: Whether it is his dropping ranking on Neo Yokio’s list of most eligible bachelors, or the disinterest of one of his would-be girlfriends. He takes refuge in buying designer suits, listening to Vivaldi, and eating squid ink linguine—a dish he praises as “the most melancholy of all pasta.”

Plot, however, is far from Neo Yokio’s primary concern. It works mostly as a freeform satire of the ridiculous decadence of its snobbish protagonist. The show is deeply aware of Kaz’s vapidity, as well as the absurdity of its premise. Its funniest moments are those in which Kaz is least likeable, or in which an obviously trivial event is given great narrative importance. In one episode, Kaz guards

the Metropolitan Museum of Art from a demon during a ball, but his biggest fear is if his midnight blue tuxedo is appropriate for the event’s black-and-white dress code. Neo Yokio’s keen sense for pop culture shines throughout: The demon that haunts the Met possesses Damien Hirst’s sculpture For the Love of God. For those without a taste for deeply rooted self-awareness and satire, the show is much more difficult to enjoy. Smith’s deadpan delivery of lines like “Demon, be gone from this Chanel suit!” is almost too ridiculous to accept as comedy, and many won’t. This isn’t the show’s only weakness; the sparse, basic animation style leaves a good amount to be desired, and some of the minor voice acting parts are genuinely hard to sit through. Granted, these are exceptions to the mostly well-selected cast. Jason Schwartzman as Arcangelo, Kaz’s hilariously snide rival socialite, is the show’s greatest comedic asset.

Unfortunately, by the end of its remarkably brief season, it becomes apparent that Neo Yokio doesn’t have a great amount to offer besides comedy. Running character gags become tiresome, and the season’s final episodes take a turn for the dramatic that is hardly interesting enough to merit the change in tone. Barely surpassing two hours of total runtime, the show hardly demands a steep commitment.

Ultimately, Ezra Koenig and his cast succeed in creating a unique and highly stylized comedy, albeit one that could benefit from better direction and plot points that stretch beyond social satire. Perhaps a lengthened second season will do just that.

Dual documentary screening looks back on Standing Rock protests

Sacred Water and Red Power track the development of the protests from a local to an international phenomenon Leo Stillinger Contributor

Latimer returned to her alma mater for the screening, and in a Q&A afterwards, she reflected on her own personal journey as an indigenous person at Standing Rock.

The most memorable moment, though, came when the audience’s enthusiastic response moved her to tears. As applause echoed through the auditorium, she lifted one fist

in the air, and many in the audience responded in kind. It was a vivid, living moment of solidarity with a director whose films themselves are acts of solidarity.

Photo: Casey Kelbaugh

Cinema Politica is a series of politically-conscious documentary screenings, taking place in movie theaters across Canada and the world. The latest edition took place at Concordia on Oct. 2, showing a documentary about the 2016 protests at Standing Rock directed by Michelle Latimer, herself a Concordia graduate.

The two-part documentary, featuring Sacred Water and Red Power, is part of the VICE series Rise: Telling indigenous stories from across North America.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe made international headlines in 2016 when protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), an oil pipeline whose planned construction passed through ancient tribal lands and burial grounds, evolved into the biggest gathering of Native Americans in living memory. A flashpoint for environmentalists and indigenous activists alike, the protests at Standing Rock grew from 20 people to hundreds in the span of nine months.

They brought together activists from around the country and the world, united in their struggle against the “black snake” of oil. Publicity grew following visits by celebrities, such as Shailene Woodley, to the camp, and reached a fever pitch when police turned rubber bullets and water cannons on protesters in freezing-cold North Dakota temperatures.

Latimer was there from the beginning. Initially filmed as just one of many indigenous-centered films in the Rise series, Sacred Water documents the imminent destruction of a handful of residents’ ancestors’ burial grounds. Slowly, their efforts at resistance grow larger than ever

anticipated. It is genuinely inspiring to see these same residents—such as Bobbi Jean Three Legs, a young mother whose reflections cast light on the greater problems of alcoholism and sexual assault within indigenous society—transformed into the leaders of a national movement, their voices broadcast to thousands over Facebook Live.

As Standing Rock continued to grow in size, Latimer received VICE’s permission to remain with the camp and make a second film, turning a room at a local casino into an interview booth. In this second film, Red Power, she mixes interviews and protest footage with historical context.

The story of indigenous people in the United States is one of broken treaties and colonial oppression. The American school system omits much of this shameful history; in school, I never learned that in the 1870s indigenous children were forced into white religious boarding schools, where it was illegal to speak their own language. Nor did I ever learn about the history of the American Indian Movement, whose controversial acts of resistance, such as the occupation of San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island in the 1970s, are the precursors to Standing Rock. This history places the 2016 protest in a wider context.

What makes these documentaries powerful is the way in which they unapologetically leave the convention of “objectivity” behind. Latimer is herself an Algonquin, and in working with an indigenous film crew, she has created a proudly indigenous perspective of resistance. For a group of people that has for centuries gone voiceless in the North American mainstream, much to their historic detriment, it is a positive thing to have a strong native voice telling this story.

MA and PhD in Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture Students at Bard Graduate Center in New York City study the cultural history of the material world from the arts of antiquity to the twenty-first century. Learn more at one of our fall open houses.

Address 38 West 86th Street, NYC

Open Houses October 15, 11 am October 29, 11 am November 6, 6 pm

For more information admissions@bgc.bard.edu bgc.bard.edu/admissions

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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

The Montreal Space Symposium explores the future of aerospace research in Canada From Oct. 5-6, the Montreal Space Symposium welcomed a variety of speakers to showcase recent advancements in Canadian Space research.

Sylvan Laporte discusses why space engineering matters

Daryl Haggard on the truth about black holes

Billion dollar industry thriving for the first time in decades

Haggard debunks popular myths about the mysterious phenomenon

Jovi Sidhu Contributor

Julia Briand Contributor

In an exciting talk at the Montreal Space Symposium, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Sylvan Laporte discussed current and past achievements of Canadian aerospace engineering and explained how students can be a part of its future. He addressed the importance of not only pursuing involvement with the CSA, but with all space engineering fields; the multibillion dollar-industry is thriving again for the first time in decades due to immense investment from the private sector. Rising leaders in commercial aerospace such as SpaceX and Blue Origin continue to innovate beyond the limitations of the CSA with technologies such as refuelable, self-landing rockets.

Laporte also mentioned two new Canadian astronauts, Joshua Kutryk and Jenni Sidey, and the process they had to undergo to qualify and train for their brief mission to the International Space Station (ISS) next fall. Their training took place over two years at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and involved special survival, psychological, mechanical, and life science study. Kuryk is a test and fighter pilot from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Sidey is a McGill Engineering graduate and lecturer in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge—where she received her PhD in engineering.

Laporte reviewed the training and testing necessary to prepare the astronauts for the unpredictable and dangerous technical difficulties that can occur on the ISS. They had to undergo creative thinking tests after being exposed to situations of intense physical and mental strain. This experience, he said, proves vital: Especially during tasks such as those performed recently on a space walk by two American astronauts who replaced the Latching End Effector of the Canadarm2, which is the part at the end of the arm which serves as its “hand.” Their training included submerged space walks and a helicopter crash simulation at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, as well as several days of Land Survival Training at the Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine.

Daryl Haggard, assistant professor of Physics at the McGill Space Institute studies the gradual growth of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. She is a newly appointed member of Joint Committee on Space Astronomy (JCSA), the Canadian space astronomy community’s representation in liaison with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

“A black hole is simply an object for which the escape velocity exceeds the speed of light,” Haggard said. “The black hole is not sucking material in, it’s just not letting anything back out.”

Haggard emphasized that, contrary to popular belief, black holes are not vacuums in space, but rather entities that trap photons. Since black holes do not emit light, they are essentially invisible.

“They are a mathematical infinity […] or a perturbation in the fabric of space-time,” Haggard explained.

She illustrated this phenomenon using an enlightening analogy: If we took the Earth’s mass and compressed it into something the size of a sugar cube, our planet would become a black hole.

Black holes do grow—despite not “sucking” anything in—by merging with other black holes. “[When merging] some of their mass gets converted to energy, sending out ripples through space-time called gravitation waves,” Haggard said.

Einstein predicted this phenomenon over 100 years ago, but modern scientists detected it only two years ago. Haggard hopes to study the same phenomenon, but with supermassive black holes.

Black holes remain one of the most mysterious and intriguing features of our universe.

Haggard’s concluding message, however, was quite clear.

“Black holes are awesome and they really don’t suck!” she said.

Rocket science comes down to Earth’s cars

Bayar Goswami on conscientious space development

Michael Khor and Michael Lortie bring software from rovers to cars

Humanity must take history into account when exploring the skies

River Ludwick Contributor

Kimberly Johnston Contributor

Despite their everyday applications, Insulin pumps, GPS, and UV-light-blocking sunglasses, are all products of space science; each tool was designed for use in space before being used on Earth. Both presenters, Michael Khor and Michel Lortie, work for Neptec.

According to their website, Neptec “produces electro-optical and electro mechanical systems for mission critical space applications.”

Among other things, the company makes Light, Imaging, Detection, and Ranging (LiDAR) systems. LiDAR is a laser-based optical system that allows for the detection of an object’s proximity and shape. While scientists initially designed LiDAR for use

by NASA to accurately pilot vehicles like rovers and shuttles, the software has landed on Earth. Currently, the Mars rover and Tesla’s self-driving cars use a combination of optical cameras and radar to process the 3-D world. According to Khor, however, these systems present problems.

“The issue with cameras is that they are affected by lighting,” Khor said. “[They’re] not good for night-time, and can be affected by oncoming headlights.

[Radar], on the other hand, is really good at detecting objects and their [relative] distances, but does not offer any information about their shapes and size.”

While these traditional optical-radar systems work fine during the day, they falter in dark or foggy conditions—motivating Neptec to replace these limited systems with LiDAR. Unfortunately, LiDAR systems are still far too expensive to be applied widely to commercial vehicles. Khor and his team hope to bring these costs down, and employ the technology in our everyday lives.

Science fiction creates an avenue through which everything from human space travel to extraterrestrial mining can exist.

Bayar Goswami, Masters of Law graduate at the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill, raised these crucial considerations during his talk at the Montreal Space Symposium.

According to Goswami, the constant race for development on Earth will now begin to move into outer space.

“The blind chase for resources has led us from colonization to industrial revolution, to globalization, and now to the epoch of the Anthropocene,” Goswami explained. “[We] are extending this race for resources to outer space now.”

Only a loose set of ‘soft’ laws—or non-legally binding principles—regulates the development of outer space, such as the Outer Space Treaty.

Goswami illustrated a science fiction-based future scenario for the human race.

“Imagine a doomsday with habitation in space as the safest [...] bet against extinction.”

Goswami said. “Only the richest of human beings, from the most developed countries, and privileged with friends in high positions will survive.”

Answering questions about which demographics would benefit from development in space and what such a development would look like won’t be easy.

“I’m confident we need to completely reimagine the whole development and value system for human global society where we actually learn from the mistakes,” Goswami said.

If current society must eventually be replicated in outer space, Goswami believes the human race is designed for doom. However, he hopes to combine natural and social experts into the conversation about cosmic development.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

science & technology 14

Decoding social media and mental health with artificial intelligence

Researchers use artificial intelligence to detect signs of mental illness on social media Kelly Panichnantakul Contributor Recent developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing mental health care. A team of researchers from the University of Ottawa, the University of Alberta, and the University of Montpellier in France are developing an AI software that scans social media platforms and flags posts that can suggest mental illness.

Diana Inkpen, professor at the University of Ottawa School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, is spearheading the project.

Inkpen explained that as the software receives new data, it becomes more adept at gathering information and making predictions.

“Artificial intelligence systems can learn from data,” Inkpen wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “For example, if the AI system is provided with many examples of texts posted on social media that reflect signs of mental illness, the system can learn a predictive model.

Detecting strong and persistent

systems to monitor their patients’ social media accounts, with their consent. In this way, doctors would base their diagnostics on the findings of the AI systems and on their own knowledge and intuition in the same time.”

Despite the available resources, the stigma surrounding mental health keeps many of those affected from seeking professional help.

Robert Whitley, principal investigator of the Social Psychiatry Research and Interest Group (SPRING) and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill, researches that stigma.

Most notably, his work deals with barriers to facilitators of healthcare. According to Whitley, the fear of judgement and ridicule prevents people with mental illnesses from seeing a clinician.

The onset of these mental illnesses may be due to the influence of social media.

Numerous studies over the years have shown that social media use may be associated with mental health issues. In accordance with New AI systems can learn to predict patterns of text that may be indicative of mental illness. a 2015 study, Whitley states that (Summer Liu / The McGill Tribune) there is a correlation between

negative emotions can be a sign of mental illness or other behavioral problems. We are looking for the best methods to develop predictive models for different kinds of issues— depression, [suicidal] intentions, self-harm, [and] cyberbullying.”

With Facebook’s recent creation of its first Canadian AI research laboratory in

Montreal, the importance of AI technologies is unquestionable.

Inkpen remains optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence and its role in mental health care.

She believes the software she and her team developed can provide a beneficial diagnostic tool for healthcare professionals.

“AI [systems] are and can be used even more to help people,” Inkpen wrote. “Signs of mental illness can be detected early and help can be offered in order to prevent these problems before they become serious. Another scenario is for doctors to use AI

depression and social media use: Those who spent more time online had a higher risk of depression.

“Sadly, a lot of social media provokes feelings of envy and the famous phrase the [young] generation coined the ‘fear of missing out.’” Whitley said.

“People on social media are not a true representation of reality.

It’s a refracted representation whereby people present the highlights of their lives. My hope is that people like me will put this information out there and then people, young people especially, will learn about it and minimize their time on social media and maximize things that are much [healthier] such as playing sports, socializing, [or] reading.”

As the influence of social media continues to increase, it is imperative that signs of mental illness be detected before they become serious. Although advances in AI systems cannot replace an actual clinician, software such as the one designed by Inkpen and her team demonstrate great diagnostic potential.

The ups and downs of child-parent relationships Parenting style has a profound effect on adolescent aggression Selen Ercan Contributor The first bond a baby forms in life is with its parents. For that reason, the impacts of parenting on childhood development— both positive and negative—come as no surprise.

Findings from one of the largest and most recent studies on childhood maltreatment in Canada indicate that 13 per cent of children and youth served by the Ontario child welfare system exhibited aggression—a figure which remains significantly higher than the estimated population values of one to four per cent.

In addition, six per cent of maltreated adolescents were involved in the youth justice system. Neglect by parents, the study shows, may factor into youth aggression and criminal behaviour.

Five forms of abuse were investigated in children for whom child protection agencies had been called: Physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional maltreatment, and intimate partner violence.

“The children who are showing aggressive behaviour are struggling in a lot of domains,” Melissa Van Wert, a post doctoral fellow from McGill University and manager of the Ontario branch of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, said.

Looking below the surface level, symptoms of abuse are quite multifaceted.

“While aggressive behaviour is the most overt result of abuse, internalizing behaviours and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are also frequent occurrences,” Van Wert said. “They might even look different than normal children due to the maltreatment they have faced.”

Abuse can have varying effects, depending on its duration and the developmental stage of the child.

Many of the teenagers in this position had previously been investigated for maltreatment, specifically noting violence in early childhood and neglect in their teenage years. They lacked community, extended family support, and likely lived in poverty.

Vilifying abusive parents is nonetheless an easy and common act, despite the complex layers that may exist behind that parental behavior.

“It is hard to take care of a [...] child, especially in cases of extreme poverty and chaotic, high-stress environments,” Van Wert said.

Neglect, in the context of this study, means that parents could not take care of their children, especially without community support—not that they were bad parents. Essential services that affect development, such as child care and health care, can be inaccessible to families in need, despite social welfare systems in Canada.

Van Wert also pointed out the need for increased accessibility and quality in

preventative mental health services, family support services, and community access points for future families.

Family environments affect the development of a child positively as well; a loving, nurturing environment is highly beneficial to child development.

“There is certainly a spectrum of parenting behaviours and quality,” Van Wert said.

During adolescent development, many positive parenting strategies exist, including a positive attachment relationship with an infant, and exposing kids to early childhood learning opportunities.

In teenage years, monitoring behaviour is important—as pointed out by the effects

of neglect shown in the study—but it should be done without extreme harshness, according to Van Wert. Considering parenting in its context is critical, as it does not happen in a vacuum. Healthy child development requires both community and parental support.

Developing comprehensive support for families is the next step in this area of research. Often, children at risk are already involved in child protection and their situation has to be addressed from a different angle.

“My research now is from the education perspective,” Van Wert said.

“Primary health care is another important aspect of early preventative systems.”

Children exhibiting aggressive behaviour experience difficulties in many domains. (Gal Sandaev / The McGill Tribune)

SPORTS 15

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

IN CONVERSATION

with Canadian capoeira master Colette Desilets

F

Gender and history in the practice of capoeira, a Brazilian martial art

BY EMMA AVERY, MANAGING EDITOR

or 61-year-old Colette Desilets, becoming a capoeira mestre, meaning master, was never the plan. Yet today, she finds herself at the forefront of the Montreal scene.

Capoeira is a type of martial art that originated in Brazil under Portuguese colonization. Originally developed by African slaves as a form of resistance, it combines martial arts techniques with music and dance. When the slave owners saw that their slaves were training to fight, the practice was prohibited, alongside a general attempt to ban cultural practices with African roots, such as the samba.

While capoeira was not recognized as an official sport by the Brazilian government until 1972, its long history under colonialism was central to the forms it eventually grew into. Desilets explains that in order to keep practicing capoeira, African slaves incorporated songs and instruments into the practice to disguise it as a dance. These traditions remain today and are part of what makes it such a fascinating sport.

“When [capoeira] was no [longer] prohibited to practice, those things, the dance and the singing, [remained], because [there is] a lot of ritual in capoeira too,” Desilets said. “So all that stayed, and it just makes the game more beautiful I think.”

Two aspects that make Desilets unique as a mestre are that she is not from Brazil, and that she is a woman. In fact, to her knowledge, she is the only female master practicing in Canada, and the only Canadian master who is not of Brazilian origin. Although growing communities exist in cities such as Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, capoeira is still not a well-known sport in Canada. Desilets is one woman spearheading the charge to increase its presence here.

“Many times, when I talk about what I’m doing to people who are not in my surroundings, they don’t know what capoeira is,” Desilets said. “[There’s] a place for improvement to make capoeira known all over Quebec and Canada.”

Desilets discovered capoeira by chance in 1990, after years of toiling away in ballet and jazz and feeling frustrated by her inability to master the moves. She quickly committed herself to capoeira, and has now been to Brazil 20 times.

During her second trip, while visiting a master who she had met once before in Boston, she discovered “capoeira Angola.” It is one of two broad umbrella styles, along with “capoeira regional,” that encompass many lesser-known regional variations. Capoeira Angola is the style she has practiced for 23 years now under the guidance of the same master. In capoeira, it is essential to have a continuous master whose philosophy you respect and admire. They must be knowledgeable, but also understanding and approachable. Given the sport’s origins, it is extremely important to incorporate its history—as well as the song, dance, and ritual—into teaching and participation in the roda, the performance of capoeira in a circle with others.

“You know it’s a serious school if they try to tell you all about [the history] and if you practice not just the movement, [but] you also practice the singing, and the instrument playing, and things like that,” Desilets said. “It’s very important, especially if you want to teach. If you want to talk about capoeira you have to know about capoeira, you have to study capoeira [....] It’s not just the practice.”

Desilets hopes that as capoeira continues to grow in Canada, female participation will increase. Among her students, she finds that many women stop training after having kids, whereas for men the same trend doesn’t exist. In her age group, she sees many male capoeiristas but few women. Although change is occurring in other areas, the sport is still a male-dominated one. For example, she describes a Quebec television program targeted towards a female audience that produced a segment on capoeira once. Although Desilets spoke with producers of the show, instead of inviting her in to teach it, they had a male master lead the class full of women, because it looked better to have a young guy without a shirt on than an older woman.

“In Canada, I can say [participation is] fairly even [between genders], even in Brazil now [too],” Desilets said. “But I cannot say that capoeira is not a macho world, you know? The old world is a macho world [and] capoeira [...] is too [....] But it’s changing. It’s more and more women [and] that’s very nice to see. But I really think it’s harder for a woman. My master doesn’t like when I speak like that, but I really think it’s harder for women.”

However, Desilets still spoke very highly of her master and her respect for him, highlighting the fact that his giving her the title of mestre is in itself extremely progressive and open-minded.

“I’m sure he has been criticized a lot in Brazil about that, giving a master to me and everything, you know, because I’m not young no more and I’m white,” Desilets said. “But he did it, so I have to [accept] it.”

Ultimately, however, one’s gender or race matters much less to Desilets than the community that capoeira provides. It has the power to bring people together and help them maintain good mental and physical health.

“It’s really really good for your body and your mind also,” Desilets said. “It’s active because when you practice, you have to forget about everything if you want to improve yourself, or to do a good game [....] You just give yourself to capoeira for the time you train.”

It’s also both a local and global community. While her school is located in Montreal, she explains that it is a great way to meet people while travelling, as she finds capoeira communities in places she visits around the world. Capoeira is more than simply a sport—it’s a way of life.

“Capoeira is my life,” Desilets said. “If I stop doing capoeira I don’t want to be on that world no more. [Capoeira is] my family and my friends. It’s too much probably. I’m a bit crazy about it. I’ve given everything for capoeira. I did and I’m continuing doing it too. I love it. I love my students [....] I don’t do capoeira for money, but when I see my students doing a nice game and learning, it’s the best salary for me. It’s so nice to see people playing capoeira. It’s beautiful.”

Mestre Desilets is teaching a capoeira class during the Fall and Winter semesters at the McGill Sports Complex on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Students can visit the McGill Athletics and Recreation website for more information.

She also runs her own school in Montreal, Grupo de Capoeira Semente do Jogo de Angola Montreal, which organizes a roda every Saturday at 4 p.m.

(Ava Zwolinski / The McGill Tribune)

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

16 SPORTS

Martlet hockey faces off against Les Canadiennes de Montréal GAME REPORT Preseason tilt gives both squads an opportunity to hone their skills before season openers

McGill Martlets faced a tough opponent in Les Canadiennes de Montréal of the CWHL. (Ava Zwolinski / The McGill Tribune) with some dangerous offensive opportunities.

However, Les Canadiennes capitalized on Martlet mistakes and scored three more goals in the On Oct. 6 at McConnell Arena, McGill first period.

The first intermission gave the Martlets a Martlet hockey (3-4) played their seventh preseason game against a special opponent: Les Ca- chance to regroup and come out strong in the nadiennes de Montréal of the Canadian Wom- second. Six minutes of power play allowed Mcen’s Hockey League (CWHL). The event was Gill to control the game and turn up the prespart of the World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend, sure. Les Canadiennes managed a fifth goal an annual venture co-hosted by the International when Kim Deschenes broke through the wall of Ice Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada to Martlets defending to score in the 10th minute. celebrate women in hockey and provide girls of Though unable to find the back of the net during their power plays, McGill outshot their opall ages a chance to try the sport.

Puck drop was followed by a tough start for ponents with 10 chances on frame in the second McGill, who conceded a penalty in the first 12 period.

Despite an onslaught, Martlets sophomore seconds and a goal 30 seconds later. Under pressure in their own zone, the Martlets defended goalie Tricia Deguire stayed strong in net, fruswith grit and challenged the Canadiennes’ goalie trating Les Canadiennes in the final segment

Lisa Perrett Contributor

with 11 saves. Only one shot found the netting, as the final result came to 6-0 in favour of the Canadiennes. Despite the score, spirits were high after the buzzer. A friendly shootout followed the game and the goalies of both teams shone.

Only ex-McGill-captain and current Canadienne Katia Clement-Heydra found the net during the shootout, narrowly slipping it past Deguire.

Playing against a high calibre team like Les Canadiennes was a challenge for the Martlets, but that was the purpose of the game, according to Head Coach Peter Smith.

“Our theme was to not really worry about the scoreboard,” Smith said. “We want to win our games, but in order to do that, we have to focus on the process we have.”

Smith attributed the strong second and third periods to the Martlets sticking to the game plan.

However, there was a deeper importance to this game beyond the opportunity for the Martlets to face off against a professional team.

Five Canadiennes players who hit the ice on Friday are McGill alumnae—a testament to the quality of the Martlets program. For Clement-Heydra, McGill alumna and current Martlets skills coach, the game provided an opportunity to return to her roots.

“I’ve always loved playing here,” ClementHeydra said. “To be here and to see the players and play against them, it’s fun.”

Jade Downie-Landry, a sophomore psychology student and Martlet forward, also recognized the importance of this game for elite women’s hockey.

“It’s just encouraging to know that there’s something after McGill, and that it’s that highcalibre,” Downie-Landry said. “Just the fact that

there are McGill athletes playing [in a women’s professional league], it encourages us to push harder and work harder.”

CWHL players recently started getting paid, and the newly professional league is starting to attract more attention. Women’s hockey in Canada certainly seems to be on an upward trajectory: Its promising future was symbolized most prominently by the dozens of young girls who enthusiastically supported both teams at McConnell Arena and were treated to an exciting show of where the sport could take them one day.

The Martlets play their first regular season game at the Concordia Stingers on Oct. 14, the same night that Les Canadiennes take on the Boston Blades on home ice at the Complexe Sportif Bell.

Moment of the game

McGill’s goalie Tricia Deguire’s huge save in the second period shut down a two-on-one created by Les Canadiennes after they broke out of a McGill powerplay.

Quotable

“I think we’re feeling pretty confident. We’re a young team, but so far we’ve been doing well.

I think it’s going to be good. We’re young, a lot of energy, hard working.”

-Martlets forward Jade Downie-Landry on the team vibe, preseason training, and the start of the season ahead.

Stat corner

Counting the tough two-on-one stop, Deguire managed to save 33 of Les Canadiennes’ 39 shots on the night.

McGill Redmen hockey wins home opener against UQTR

Goaltender Louis-Philip Guindon impeccable in a dominant performance Jordan Foy Contributor On Oct. 7, the McGill Redmen hockey team (2-0) beat the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes (0-1) with a final score of 3-0. The first two periods were a close affair, with chances at both ends. The Redmen maintained a high tempo— employing an effective forecheck that clogged the neutral zone and caused many Patriotes turnovers—but were unable to find the back of the net until the third.

After being outshot 15-7 in the first period, Trois-Rivières managed to show more life in the second. The game remained scoreless heading into the third, with the shot count narrowed to 25-21 for the Redmen.

During the third period, the Redmen finally managed to capitalize on offence, despite encountering some penalty troubles and a shot deficit.

Early in the third, junior forward Samuel Hodhod forced a Trois-Rivières turnover in the offensive zone. The puck found its way right to the stick of sophomore forward Samuel Tremblay who scored on the unsuspecting UQTR goaltender. Later in the frame, junior forward Frederic Gamelin managed to jam the puck in to take a 2-0 lead, assisted by Hodhod and ju-

GAME REPORT win against Royal Military College (RMC) on Oct. 5, Saturday night’s game proved that the Redmen have the discipline to manage tougher opponents as well. The Redmen play their next home game at 7 p.m. on Oct. 13 against the Concordia Stihngers, as part of McGill’s Homecoming weekend.

Following the first week of the regular season, Nobes expressed his satisfaction with his team’s status.

“We’re a work in progress. We got a young team still, and we [have] a lot of growing to do,” Nobes said. “[…] but that’s a good start for us, [in] the first week of the season to win both games.”

Moment of the game Freshman centre Jasmin Boutet takes a shot against UQTR. (Noah Sutton / The McGill Tribune) nior forward Jerome Verrier. Gamelin also managed a second tally to seal the deal for the Redmen.

Despite the contest’s close nature, McGill remained focused on its play and maintained its level of energy throughout the game.

“It [was] obviously a close game all the way until the end,” freshman forward Keanu Yamamoto said. “[But] we just stuck with our game plan until the end.”

The Redmen were buoyed by

the play of sophomore goalie LouisPhilip (LP) Guindon, who made some spectacular saves to keep the Patriotes off the board, especially on the penalty kill.

“Obviously, you’ve got to tip your hat to LP tonight,” Head Coach Kelly Nobes said. “He was very good, very solid, [and had] good rebound control.”

Guindon was awarded the first star of the game, while Gamelin and Tremblay received the second and

third stars respectively.

Despite it being early in the season, there is a sense of optimism looking forward. Nathan Chiarlitti, Redmen defender and team captain, shared that sentiment.

“I think the young guys we brought in are really energetic,” Chiarlitti said. “It’s always kind of cool to get young blood on the team. I know it’s early, but it feels like there’s something special here.”

After putting up a 7-0 road

On a late penalty kill in the third period, goalie Louis-Philip Guindon made an exceptional blocker save to keep the Patriotes off the board.

Quotable

“I think you can always improve on everything, right? Just getting better every day, that’s what the goal is.”

-McGill forward Keanu Yamamoto.

Stat corner

Goalie Louis-Philip Guindon made 35 saves for the shutout.