McGill Tribune Vol. 38 Issue 20

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 | VOL. 38 | ISSUE 20

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

ALBUM REVIEW

McGill’s revised Sexual Violence Policy needs more revision

“There’s a level of trust that isn’t here”

Vampire Weekend’s misplaced nostalgia trip

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PGs. 8-9

PG. 12 (Dan Aponte / The McGill Tribune)

McGill finishes third at RSEQ track and field championship

PG. 15

Arts Representative Andrew Figueiredo steps down Ariella Garmaise Managing Editor

Arts Representative to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Andrew Figueiredo announced his resignation on Feb. 20 for personal reasons, following backlash over the Arts Undergraduate Society’s (AUS) Executive

Council’s handling of the vote on POLI 339 ancillary fees. After the AUS Legislative Council voted not to endorse the $1,000 course fee, the Executive Council overturned this vote, claiming that new information about the course had become available. Figueiredo’s resignation comes after his admission during the Feb. 14 Legislative Council meeting that he had

pressured executives to vote in favour of the fee.

The AUS apologized for their revote in an email to the McGill community on Feb. 20 and publicly released the Executive Council’s voting process, which was conducted via Slack and Facebook Messenger. In the messages, although Figueiredo said that he would be in favour

Knocking on the Yellow Door The history of Milton-Parc’s oldest community space Janine Xu

Contributor Tucked away on the corner of Aylmer and des Pins lies a townhouse with a bright, eyecatching yellow door. Behind that door is an organization that has served McGill students and the Milton-Parc community for nearly a century, aptly named The Yellow Door. Through programs aimed at combating social isolation, The Yellow

Door has been a neighbourhood staple, providing a collective space to meet the community’s needs.

The Yellow Door’s long history began in 1887, when the Young Christian Men’s Association (YMCA) of McGill was originally founded to promote Christian values in the McGill community. During the Quiet Revolution, however, the space became secularized and its mandate focused on offering

a inclusive space for members of the neighbourhood to gather.

Since then, The Yellow Door has been constantly adapted programing to accommodate community’s changing demographic. “[The Yellow Door is] an interesting place because it has changed many times over the years, and always in response to what the community needs,” Kaitlin Fahey, the current executive director at The Yellow Door, said.

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of an emergency Council session on Feb. 14, he also pointed out that the professors teaching the course demanded a decision by the next day. He expressed skepticism that they would be able to convene an emergency session on such short notice and argued that an emergency vote should be conducted online solely among the executives.

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Measles resurgence spells trouble for Canadians Waning immunization among possible causes behind outbreak Ronny LitvackKatzman Staff Writer In the first two months of 2019, Canada has seen an increase in the number of active measles cases compared to the same period last year.

There are currently ten confirmed cases in Brit-

ish Columbia, enough for the Provincial Health Services Authority to declare an outbreak, and one in Quebec and Ontario, each.

For a country like Canada, which declared itself free of measles in 1998, the slow, but steady increase in the number of measles cases per year is a disturbing trend.

The highly infectious and contagious illness is contracted when a person makes contact with the measles virus. Spread via the respiratory tract, the measles virus can remain infectious in the air for up to two hours, making the possibility of contraction very high in denselypopulated regions.

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news

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Arts Representative Andrew Figueiredo steps down

Resignation comes after Figueiredo admitted to pressuring other executives Ariella Garmaise Managing Editor Continued from page 1.

“I, at times, commented in a manner that could come off as snarky or defensive, in Council and in the chat,” Figueiredo wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “I wish I [had] been more thoughtful at certain moments. Additionally, I wish that we had been able to bring the motion back to Council with the additional information we received as an Executive.”

Secretary-General Sophie Zhao and Deputy Secretary-General Nathan Mendel are currently investigating the entire Executive Council and their voting process. They will present their findings at the Feb. 27 Council meeting.

According to AUS Vice-President Communications Jamal Tarrabain, Figueiredo’s admission to pressuring executives sparked discussion of his resignation. Figueiredo himself raised the possibility of resigning at the Feb. 20 Executive Council meeting, asking fellow executives for guidance. While the executives’ responses were varied, gallery members and councillors had previously encouraged Figueiredo to resign, citing a

pattern of misbehaviour.

“Figueiredo’s resignation was first suggested by a member of the gallery and was echoed by some councillors at the Feb. 14 Council [meeting],” Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) Vice-President External Jennifer Chan wrote in a message to the Tribune.

In his statement of resignation, Figueiredo expressed an interest in continuing to work with the AUS to improve transparency, a sentiment he echoed to the Tribune.

“I would like to leave behind a legacy of pushing for governance and bylaw improvements and working hard for my values and my constituents day in and day out,” Figueiredo wrote in an email to the Tribune. “I’m proud of the hard work I put into SSMU and AUS all year long. We’re currently working on making the FIO bylaws clearer and more transparent, among other improvements.”

Despite the AUS’ apology email and Figueiredo’s resignation, concerns of transparency within the AUS persist. Chan finds fault in all three arts representatives casting the same vote, although arts representatives are only constitutionally obligated to represent the prevailing views of the Council during SSMU Council

Figueiredo resigned on Feb. 20 from his position as Arts Representative to SSMU (IRSAM) meetings.

“Looking at the newly-released screenshots, I think seeing that all three of the arts representatives voting in the same way is concerning,” Chan said. “As someone who held the position last year, arts representatives often split the vote among the three of us so the votes are proportional [to] our constituents’ interests. The fact that […] all three of them vote[d] the same way, knowing full well the divide that was reflected in the Feb. 14 Council vote suggests a conflict of interest in at least one of their votes.”

Moving forward, the AUS intends to im-

prove its existing processes, specifically, planning to overturn the FIO bylaw 2.3, which allowed executives to conduct an emergency vote.

“The whole AUS is going to be motioning to strike [FIO bylaw 2.3] going forward so that it’s no longer an option,” Tarrabain wrote.

“The whole AUS Executive is [also] planning on bringing forward a motion that prohibits any voting on AUS matters via any [online messaging platforms]. Also, the AUS is bringing forward a motion that the Executive cannot, in the future, vote on any decision that was already decided by the AUS Legislative Council.”

news

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Senate discusses revisions to Sexual Violence Policy Senators debate a blanket ban on staffstudent relationships

Divest McGill hosts weekly protests in solidarity with global divestment movement Students call for a fossil fuel-free future Kate Addison Contributor

The new policy guarantees that no disciplinary actions will result from disclosures of alcohol or marijuana use in a complaint, but is ambiguous will regard to illegal substances. (mcgill.ca)

Kate Lord Science & Technology Editor Senators discussed the proposed revisions to the McGill Sexual Violence Policy (SVP) at the latest McGill Senate meeting on Feb. 20. The University first adopted a sexual violence policy in 2016, but new provincial legislation, specifically Bill 151, mandates that all Quebec universities implement sexual violence policies in accordance with its specifications. Recent allegations of inappropriate student-professor relationships on campus also motivated the revisions. In addressing these concerns, the new policy implements education on sexual violence for all members of McGill’s community, outlines a centralized reporting procedure for all allegations of sexual violence, and specifies time constraints for procedures initiated by disclosures.

In Oct. 2018, McGill has hired an independent, specialized investigator to respond to reports of sexual violence.

Despite student protests at the Senate meeting in December, the new policy does not implement a blanket ban on intimate student-staff relationships, instead restricting romantic or sexual relationships between teaching staff and students under their direct authority or supervision. Additionally, any relationship between a professor and a student in the same faculty must be disclosed to an administrative officer.

“The revised policy […] is informed by a review of applicable law in Quebec, by the views expressed by diverse campus stakeholders on this topic, and by an examination of how other institutions […] have grappled with this complex issue,” Angela Campbell, associate provost (Equity and Academic Policies) said. “Ultimately, we must strike a balance between preventing and addressing […abuses] of power on the one hand, and, on the other, recognizing the rights of our community members to make private and intimate decisions without unjustified intrusions by the University.”

Other members of the Senate added that a ban on all teaching staff-student relationships might not be the most effective policy against sexual violence. “[Members of the McGill Association for University Teachers] questioned whether such a ban would be manageable and expressed concern that such a ban would push unacceptable behaviour underground,” Department of Educational and

Counselling Psychology Professor Alenoush Saroyan said. “A blanket ban of all intimate relations between any student and any faculty [member] is not a guarantee to [quash] behaviour that has no place in our academic community.”

Notably, the new policy does not distinguish between teaching staff relationships with undergraduate students and those with graduate students, which, according to Campbell, was done in recognition of the unique vulnerabilities that graduate students can face.

“An undergraduate student ban […] would be neglecting the graduate students, who are often more likely to be international, not have strong support networks, [and are] very dependent for things like funding, lab space, equipment et cetera,” Campbell said. “We decided to ensure that students were treated the same way to avoid the [implication] that, just because someone is three years ahead in their academic trajectory, does not suddenly empower them in some phenomenal way.”

Some senators raised concerns over the policy’s stance on disclosing substance use during an instance of sexual violence. While the revisions specify that no disciplinary action will be taken if alcohol or cannabis use is revealed in a complaint, no such specifications exist with regard to illegal substances.

“I can think of a situation [when someone] may possess an illegal substance and, in the course of an incident of sexual violence happening, that they would feel a barrier to [disclosing],” Bryan Buraga, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Arts and Science Senator, said.

Campbell was cautious about the SVP elaborating on illegal substance use within the context of sexual violence, as guaranteeing that no disciplinary action will be taken in the event of illegal substance disclosure could be interpreted as condoning their use.

“It’s actually a legal question [as to] whether or not a policy can signal condonation for an illegal activity,” Campbell said. “The university doesn’t have any interest in putting inauthentic obstacles in the way of disclosure […], but, at the same time, we’re not clear [on…] whether or not a policy at the university can take a preemptive stance against illegal […] conduct.”

The Senate will vote on the revised SVP at its next meeting on March 27.

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This past month, Divest McGill has protested outside of the Arts Building every Friday as part of its new ‘Fossil-free Friday’ initiative.

The target of their demonstrations is McGill’s ongoing investments in fossil fuel companies.

“Bringing [Fossil-Free Fridays] back up again is a strategy [that will] engage the community and have a lot of visibility, especially with what is happening worldwide right now,” Divest McGill member Morgen Bertheussen said.

The weekly protests are inspired

by Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg’s strikes for climate action. Thunberg skips school every Friday to perform sit-ins at the Swedish parliament, a demonstration which has garnered significant international attention. Divest McGill has previously participated in FossilFree Fridays through social media campaigns, although they eventually abandoned this strategy and turned their attention was turned toward addressing McGill’s administration more directly.

According to Bertheussen, the club’s latest protests are an act of solidarity with a global movement of university students protesting their school and nation’s climate change policies. 35,000 students from Belgium held walk-outs and rallies over the past month, and Vermont’s Middlebury College has recently joined the schools divesting from fossil fuels.

Divest McGill hopes to influence the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR), which is responsible for advising McGill on its investments. “[We want] to put pressure on the university so that they divest their endowment fund from the fossil fuel industry,” Divest McGill member Marie-Claude Carignan said.

“We’ve been working on that for six years now by putting pressure on the CAMSR committee of the Board of Governors.”

CAMSR, which reports to the McGill Board of Governors (BoG), is currently considering a proposal for divestment for the third time in six years. According to Bertheussen, two previous requests were rejected for non-scientific reasons. “[CAMSR] stated that fossil fuel companies do not create grave social injury,” Bertheussen said. “CAMSR has until the end of 2019 before they [need to] publish their report in re-

sponse to the calls for divestment.

Until then, it is the aim of Fossil-free Fridays to keep the topic fresh in the minds of the student body.”

Bertheussen argues that funds should instead be redirected toward more sustainable investments.

“The main goal of the organization is to put pressure on CAMSR to redirect their investments into companies that are known to be socially and environmentally responsible,” Bertheussen said.

Fossil-Free Friday protests have drawn small groups of protesters with handmade signs, eager to speak to anyone who passes by. The protesters believe strongly in the seriousness of their cause. “[Climate change] is the moral crisis of our time,” Divest McGill member James Flanagan said. “It’s kind of hard to comprehend the scale. I think that’s why society has been so slow [to understand] how gravely wrong our society has been in destroying life on Earth.”

Divest McGill’s weekly protests are a prelude to a worldwide walkout for climate change taking place on Mar. 15. Students at McGill University are planning a contingent to join the wider Montreal protest, alongside other universities including Concor-

CAMSR is currently considering a proposal for divestment for the third time. (Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune) dia and Université de Montréal.

“McGill divesting as an institution is not an end-all solution to the whole climate crisis,” Bertheussen said. “However, this action of divesting is a moral stance that has political implications. If large institutions […] start taking a stance on divestment, [it] will send a message to the governments.”

Divest McGill’s Fossil-Free Fridays will take place every Friday this semester from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. outside of the Arts Building.

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news

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

EUS executive candidates debate departmental issues Discussions focused on Blues Pub, the PPO, and bridging the gap with SSMU Helen Wu Staff Writer The Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) Elections hosted a debate for their upcoming election on Feb. 19 at which candidates running for positions for the 2019-20 academic year shared their platforms and answered questions. Two candidates are running for the position of president while the rest are uncontested.

Both Jeremy Garneau, candidate for EUS Senator, and Mustafa Fakih, candidate for EUS representative to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between the EUS and SSMU. Garneau described plans to rekindle the institutions’ relationship by facilitating communication between the two student societies. Fakih explained that a better relationship with SSMU could benefit the EUS. “You have to keep in mind [that] SSMU isn’t the society for another department,” Fakih said. “It’s the society for all of students at McGill. SSMU has a lot of power and a lot of money. If we just keep staying in the back seat and not wanting to do anything with [SSMU, then] we are not really going to benefit from them at all.

So, I do feel if we keep good relations and [engage with] them, we will benefit from them.”

Attendees asked Vice-President Internal candidate Spencer Handfield about allegations that the volunteering positions at Blues Pub, a student-run bar under the EUS, are too stressful for students. Handfield responded that the severity of this issue still needs to be assessed

based on the feedback of individual volunteers. He assured that he has plans to work with the Blues Pub managers to address the volunteers’ grievances.

“There is a certain kind of adjustment we should make so Blues Pub is something viewed not as something for a profit, but something we do as a passion and [...] care about,” Handfield said. “That is also a solution I cannot do alone. That comes from working strongly with the Blues Pub managers who know the logistics of how it works and how best to implement the solutions the [questioner] brings up in terms of volunteering not being fun.”

Presidential candidates Marion Olivier and Nilou Seraj were asked to address the exclusivity of the Plumbers’ Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), a group of McGill engineering students who raise money for charity organizations. Both candidates were asked to address the PPO’s place in the EUS. “I think, as a spirit and charity group, the PPO does have its place in the EUS, and they contribute a lot to the engineering culture, so long as it is inclusive,” Olivier said. “I think, moving forward, a partly application-based model is the only way the PPO can exist in a healthy way in the engineering community.”

Seraj echoed Olivier’s desire to implement an application system, but further emphasized the importance of the PPO’s role in creating a sense of community for engineering students.

“Instead of heaving this image of an exclusive group that you cannot be a part of and is secretive, [the PPO should] focus more on the charity part and more on

Presidential candidates plan to restructure the Plumbers’ Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) to be more inclusive. (mcgilleus.ca) [being] a group of people who are working on increasing the sense of being part of a community,” Seraj said.

“This is one of the reasons [that] the engineering faculty students are very close to each other, because we have a sense of community.”

Members of the EUS will be able to cast their votes online Feb. 24–Mar. 1.

McGill African Students’ Society hosts ‘Africa Speaks’ conference

‘The African Development Convention’ was revamped to better reflect new mandates

Neoliberalism, an economic ideology from the 1980s, still has lasting effects on African society today. (Abeer Almahdi / The McGill Tribune) U4 Arts and president of MASS, said. “We changed the name to ‘Africa Speaks’ to Abeer Almahdi move away from development [discourse, Opinion Editor which] is a bit archaic at this point.”

Past MASS conference themes inDeputy High Commissioner of the Kenya Mission in Ottawa Jane Kerubo, clude “Prisms: Africa in the 21st Century entrepreneur Idil Essa, and McGill pro- - Reclaiming Reality in all its Forms” in fessor Khaled Medani spoke at the McGill 2015 and “‘Africa’ Interrupted Switching African Students Society’s (MASS) first the Channels of Development Discourse” “Africa Speaks” conference, held from in 2016. Morenike Fashola, U4 Arts and Feb. 8 to Feb. 9. Previously known as vice-president of MASS, explained how, “The African Development Convention,” in contrast to previous themes, this year’s MASS decided to rename their conference conference looks to the future.

“This year, we wanted to move away this year to better reflect their goals and to challenge mainstream conceptions of from that development idea of always looking to the past, not really focusing on development.

“This conference was started in 2013 the [present], and what we can bring to the [...] to create a space for African-centred future,” Fashola said.

The two-day conference consisted of discourse [where] Africans are controlling their own narrative,” Andreann Asibey, three panels, each focusing on a different

aspect of modern African society: Living as an African woman, the importance and influence of diaspora, and the effects of neoliberalism.

The first panel was titled “Living as an African Woman in the 21st-century.”

For Asibey, it is valuable to highlight the role that African women play in society as well as shed light on the changes within African society that challenge pre-existing stereotypes.

“We wanted to show that [...] women are standing strong in their own truths,” Asibey said. “They are doing what they want to do and disregarding [...] how society has pressured them [into] fitting a mold of [the] perfect African woman.”

The second panel, “The Afropolitan: Coming Full Circle,” showcased African identity as the lived experiences of Africans in and outside of the continent. This panel focused on the increasingly-important role of the diaspora to enact positive change on the continent and to discover and engage with African roots. Speakers also discussed the problematic and elitist implications of the term ‘Afropolitan,’ as it only implies the seemingly ‘rich’ diasporic communities.

“Afropolitan means different things to different people, but, to me, [... it means] a citizen of Africa,” Asibey said.

“We talked about diaspora and what that means for Africans and Afro-descendants living here [....] I thought it was important to discover how [...] identity plays out and how we’re viewed by others and ourselves depending on status [...as well as] how people’s ties back to their continent impact themselves, and how [their

ties] impact the continent.”

The third and final panel, “After development: Africa in the Neoliberal Age,” centred around neoliberalism and its effects on African society. The panellists defined neoliberalism as an economic ideology based on unregulated capitalism and boundless economic growth, which gained prominence during the late 1980s and still has lasting effects including environmental degradation, insufficient labour laws, and exploitation of resources.

For Asibey, the purpose of this panel was to be an informative and historical discussion of the ways that neoliberalism has hurt Africa.

“Africa has been [tricked] into subscribing to an order that is meant to benefit and help them, but [...] it’s actually, in my opinion, caused more problems than it’s solved,” Asibey said. “It’s brought about [environmental degradation], and it’s brought a new line of poverty [....]

We just wanted to talk about that and see what the solution is in terms of moving forward [....] We are the solution, we need to look inwards rather than seeking [outside help].”

Favour Daka, U1 Arts and first-year representative for MASS, explained that the panels provided holistic and varied discussions on African scholarship, making dense, informative panels accessible for him and many others.

“They were really diverse,” Daka said. “The first [discussion] was very personal, the second was more [diasporacentric], and [the last] one was the future.

I think there are layers to [the panels] that [helped me] relate to most of them.”

TUESDAY, FEBRuARY 26, 2019

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

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

opinion

McGill’s revised Sexual Violence Policy needs more revision After missing the Quebec government’s Jan. 1 deadline to update their existing sexual violence policy, McGill’s Senate has entered the final stages of approving its newly-revised sexual violence policy (SVP), presenting the document at their Feb. 20 meeting. Last amended in 2016, Senate is updating the policy so that it complies with Quebec’s Bill 151, a 2017 law that established legal criteria for post-secondary institutions’ sexual violence policies. While McGill has made some positive improvements to the policy, including the addition of an external Special Investigator, it does not properly address student concerns as raised in the walkout last April. Moreover, the policy is confusing and lacks comprehensive clarification. In order to take a pro-survivor stance, the policy must clearly outline disclosure and disciplinary procedures.

The policy is still lacking in many regards. For example, while it protects complainants from university disciplinary proceedings should they admit to using alcohol or cannabis, it does not promise that same protection for other drug use. According to Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) Angela Campbell, doing so might condone an illegal activity. However, other

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

Contributors Makena Anderson, Yasmine Azzi ,Zoe BabadPalmer, Mitch Bannon, Vanessa Barron, Lucas Bird, Sam Dagres, Hannah Downard, Katherine Dulong, Mary Johnson, Alaana Kumar, Paul McCann, Kennedy McKee-Braide, Leyla Moy, Keira Seidenberg, Elizabeth Strong, Alden Tabac, Diana Viola

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Please recycle this newspaper.

Luya Ding Web Editor When I first arrived at McGill, I was eager to make friends and answer all perfunctory introductory questions—what I study, where I come from, and what residence I live in. However, there was one fact I was always afraid to confess: I was a huge fan of TFBoys, the most popular idol group in China, for two years.

In Asian culture, the term ‘idol’ has evolved beyond the Western understanding of the word. Trained by talent agencies, idols are young celebrities who sing, dance, or act but don’t necessarily have any natural talent in any of these areas.

universities have instituted similar policies without issue: York University does not isolate alcohol or cannabis as the only drugs that are exempt from disciplinary action in the case of disclosure. A narrowly-defined exception clause risks discouraging survivors from disclosing out of fear of retribution for drug use. Moreover, the rationale behind McGill’s more specific clause requires a better explanation.

Besides the unclear clause regarding drug use, other aspects of the policy also cause reasonable confusion.

The question of a total ban on teacher-student relationships has caused considerable controversy: The first draft of the new SVP, released on Dec. 5, did not include a ban on teacher-student relationships. While the Ad Hoc Senate Committee concluded that an outright band is unnecessary, the committee’s three student representatives content that Ad Hoc Senate Committee for Teaching Staff-Student Intimate Relationships; the committee’s three student representatives contend that it is. In response, Campbell has said that a ban would violate Quebec law, citing the findings of Concordia’s Sexual Assault Policy Review Working Group.

However, shortly before Bill 151 passed, Quebec’s thenminister responsible for higher education Hélène David stated that, while the government could not ban student-teacher relationships, universities and CEGEPs had authority to do so. For students and the administration to engage in healthy dialogue, the ambiguity around a ban’s legality must be resolved. In the interim, McGill’s complex and lengthy intimate relationship-disclosure process will only discourage students and staff from coming forward with their disclosures.

McGill’s revised policy does not adequately protect people in predatory relationships. Simplistic definitions of ‘conflict of interest’ leave out complex examples: For instance, undergraduate teaching assistants, non-tenured academic staff, and other atypical examples are not adequately protected under this policy. Graduate students add many layers to this already complicated issue because they are simultaneously in a position of power, and extremely vulnerable due to spending extended periods of time with staff supervisors.

Predatory relationships and power imbalances in academia go beyond the large undergraduate student cohort.

The policy cannot be enforced

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EDITORIAL if it is not understood. While university policies are inherently complex and fraught with legal jargon, the challenge they pose is surmountable. In the case of sexual violence, accessibility is essential to encourage ease in disclosing.

When the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) passed its Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy in 2018, it released a streamlined implementation guide to educate its members. Similarly, SSMU has a Know Your Rights campaign for students to make McGill policies more accessible, and they should extend this guide for the new policy. Creating similarly-accessible documents for the SVP is a necessary part of creating a more transparent disclosure process.

In compliance with Bill 151, the new policy also introduces mandatory, online training modules for all students and staff, effective Fall 2019. However, survivors cannot access these resources unless they know about them.

Raising awareness about sexual violence on campus, including prevention and resources is an essential goal to protect survivors.

University campuses are no exception to rape culture—and it’s time McGill adequately addresses this fact by drafting a policy that is actually pro-survivor.

Confessions of a fangirl Rather, they are commonly reduced to ‘fresh meat’ with pretty faces.

I became a fan of TFBoys during my final year of high school.

With my university entrance exams approaching, I was stressed out and spending countless hours studying.

One day, I decided to relax and logged onto Weibo, the largest Chinese social media platform, where I often wasted my time. I noticed a video with thousands of comments: It was a self-produced web series starring Karry Wang and Roy Wang from TFBoys, and I was intrigued.

I didn’t fall for TFBoys immediately. At first, I saw no difference between them and the other idols, who I considered shallow and talentless. That was until I found ‘Karroy,’ a portmanteau created by fans that ship the duo, in the top trending list. Driven by curiosity, I clicked on the link, and a whole new world opened up to me. I started to follow everything about the idol group, who had just made their debut. I was captivated by the songs they covered even though their music wasn’t even that good.

Their interactions in blooper reels made my heart flutter and believe that their ‘bromance’ was real.

Their unvarnished performances and everyday clothes gave me the false impression that they were not distant stars but my close friends. They were ‘fostered idols,’ meaning that their fans witnessed and engaged heavily in their growth and success. Obsessed with the sense of achievement that fans often feel in helping their idols ascend to fame, I felt increasingly dissatisfied with the limited content on their official accounts and joined the fandom.

Fandoms on Weibo are the most developed, sophisticated, and, yet, eccentric online communities that I have ever encountered. The TFBoys’s fandom was similar to a disciplined army—hierarchical, with proper divisions of labour. The Weibo fandom comprised an entire marketing and production team; some voted for them in various choice awards, others compulsively replayed the group’s songs in hopes of increasing their rankings on major record charts, and many produced fan art. Some of them went as far as creating alternate accounts to up-vote positive comments on TFBoys’s videos, while others kept retweeting their posts to boost their popularity. Fans devoted themselves to supporting

their idols like it was their fulltime job—without pay. Although I enjoyed the sense of belonging, I did not devote myself to any of these activities, as I was afraid that they would quickly wear down my passion. Still, I read fanfiction, watched fan-made video clips, and ‘wasted’ my time on my seemingly-useless affection instead of studying.

After my exams were finally over, I got a chance to meet TFBoys before leaving for my undergraduate studies in Canada.

I was seated in the front row of a variety show, certainly the climax of my fangirl career. Surprisingly, over the course of my time at university, I found that the magic surrounding them faded away.

Perhaps, it was because the idols had offered an escape from reality, whereas my daily life in university was fulfilling. But, their numerous followers on social media are clear evidence that they remain mesmerizing for many. Thanks to TFBoys, I learned videoediting skills and formed lifelong friendships that continue even now that our admiration worn away.

And I’m not ashamed to admit my past identity as their fangirl anymore.

6

opinion

commentary

Meyra Çoban Contributor Popular depictions of abortion, as featured in the likes of Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, and Netflix’s Sex Education, depict them as invasive surgical procedures taking place in sterile doctors’ offices. While it’s a sign of progress that the topic of abortion is entering the mainstream, pop culture often neglects that abortions can be self-managed. Although medical self-managed abortion is safe and effective, it remains inaccessible to many seeking to terminate a pregnancy because it challenges misogynistic norms of bodily autonomy that society has yet to relinquish.

Self-managed medical abortion requires taking a Mifepristone tablet followed

commentary

Johanna Cline Columnist Canadian medical law recognizes an individual’s right to bodily autonomy: They can choose their own birth control options, select treatment options based on personal views, and even refuse treatment entirely.

Given this principle of bodily autonomy, it seems reasonable that patients should also have the right to access drugs of their choice—whether their doctor recommends their use or not. This is the argument that University

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

People should be able to self-manage their abortions by four Misoprostol tablets.

Together, they are known as the ‘abortion pill’ and have been available for purchase in Canada under the name Mifegymiso since 2017. This abortion pill has been in use for 30 years in countries like China and France, and it is the World Health Organisation’s recommended method of earlyterm medical abortion: It is a safe and effective means of ending a pregnancy within the first nine weeks.

Despite being safe, effective, and legal, access to Mifegymiso in Canada remains inadequate.

While less expensive than surgical abortion, the cost of Mifegymiso still ranges between $300 and $450, and insurance coverage varies among provinces. In Oct. 2018, the Yukon government announced that they would begin covering Mifegymiso. In Quebec, health professionals have to undergo special training before they can prescribe it, limiting patients’ access to the drug.

If it were not subject to these restrictions, Mifegymiso could transform abortion access in Canada. It does not require the medical training or equipment necessary for surgical abortions, meaning that it can be administered by prescribing health professionals like pharmacists and nurse-practitioners. Greater access to Mifegymiso could

benefit pregnant people in rural or remote areas who would have to travel hundreds of kilometres to the closest abortion clinic.

Mifegymiso can be taken at home or in another environment where the patient feels most comfortable. This benefits those who commonly experience discrimination and prejudice in medical settings, including indigenous, racialized, fat, neurodivergent, and young patients.

Even though the Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized abortion more than 30 years ago, pregnant people still lack bodily autonomy with regard to their healthcare. Limited access to abortions is only one product of outdated sexual mores. For example, in Ontario, young people are denied comprehensive sex education; and, in other provinces, insurance coverage of contraceptives is limited. As with abortion, these regulations restrict the rights of women, trans, and non-binary people and expose ugly misogynistic structures in a society that likes to think of itself as championing gender equality.

Mifegymiso’s launch in Canada is not only a medical milestone, but a social one as well, challenging the unnecessary regulation of women and trans people’s bodies. But this social development is not optional—

medical realities depend on it. The uneven roll-out of Mifegymiso has demonstrated how closely linked medical access can be to social norms. Medical

advancements have outpaced social progress. Pregnant people could already be self-managing their abortions—we just need to let them.

cartoon

Reaching the summit of Stewart Bio Taja de Silva

Staff Illustrator

heck

The case for legalizing all drugs of Richmond associate professor Jessica Flanigan presented to an audience of McGill students on Feb. 18 at her talk, “The Moral Case for Legalizing all Drugs.”

While liberal university students may be particularly interested in the boundary-pushing topic, the argument in favour of legalization surpasses the appeal of raves and festivals; ultimately, the debate rests on a moral right to bodily autonomy.

Doctors are the gatekeepers of medicine, and they prescribe drugs based on their presumptions about the course of treatment that best promotes the patient’s overall wellbeing.

Under this system, a student looking to access Adderall to help them study, for example, may be denied the drug if the doctor deems its use suboptimal for the student’s health. The issue with this assessment is that wellbeing comprises more than just physical health—it also encompasses a person’s mental state, which can be impacted by a variety of lifestyle factors such as a stressful schedule. In her

talk, Flanigan emphasized that, in most cases, the person most qualified to judge a patient’s well-being needs is the patient themself.

Mentally-sound persons have the insight to best evaluate how they are feeling and what they need, and allowing people to choose which drugs they use honours this fact.

While the government and medical institutions currently have authority over the substances people put into their bodies, Flanigan considers this approach paternalistic. She contends that, in a case where someone became extremely frustrated with their laptop, or any of their belongings, they would have the right to smash or otherwise wreck it. If people are allowed to ruin their property, there is no reason why they have any less right to harm themselves, as bodies are more fundamentally personal than property.

While bodily autonomy alone gives the argument drug legalization legitimacy, legalization gains even more

moral merit because of the advantageous impact it would have for racialized and marginalized communities.

Currently, the War on Drugs targets racialized groups.

Incarceration rates for possession and distribution reveal that a black person is twice as likely as a white person to face minimum sentencing for the same crime.

Legalizing drugs would prevent racial discrimination from furthering and prevent the incarcerations of millions of people of colour.

Skeptics of legalization may raise the concern that addicts would not be able to make a legitimately-autonomous decision when choosing to access drugs. But, Flanigan argues that addicts are more selfgoverning than many assume.

Studies reveal that addicts undergoing withdrawal would forgo a fix given an incentive such as money. However, Flanigan’s argument seems to undermine the reality of mental and physical constraints addicts have on their self-control. One

possible solution to this concern is implementing better systems of support for addicts, including a ‘blacklist’ that would allow them to consensually forego their right to access certain drugs.

The debate surrounding drug legalization has a specific pertinence for university students who find themselves experiencing the freedoms of adulthood for the first time and wanting to experiment. Drug use usually begins in a person’s late teenage years and early 20s. If drug use was legalized, university students may be among the demographic of highest use.

Therefore, the legalization may seem especially appealing to students looking to experiment with substances. With that said, the debate over drug legalization has more important implications than just satiating youthful curiosity. Prohibiting access to drugs denies people their right to bodily autonomy, and legalization is necessary to honour humans’ right to choose what they do with their bodies.

student living

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

7

McGill alumni’s reMIXed hits the market Emerging local business appears on Dragons’ Den

Gabriela McGuinty Staff Writer Although still an up-and-coming brand, reMIXed is attempting to change the healthy snack market. After setting out to enter the food industry, recent alumni Jamie Lee (BSc‘18) and Isabelle Lam (BSc‘18) ultimately founded ReMIXed and concocted their first product BEANBARK, a dark chocolate bark comprised of dehydrated beans and apples.

Lee and Lam began developing their product in response to the demand that they observed around them. They began developing BEANBARK in a campus kitchen and first sold the product at the annual MacDonald Campus Christmas market.

“We had a Christmas market at the MacDonald campus, and we [made] a cookie jar mix,” Lee said. “[We] thought it was pretty cool [...], so, when the Dobson Cup rolled around, we thought this was something we would be interested in. We had a dehydrator at home, so our

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first idea was to dehydrate fruits and veggies [like] beets, pears, [and] plums and sell it like that.”

However, the final product took time to refine. The pair participated in the 2018 Dobson Cup, a competition in which McGill entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and solicit funding from the National Bank. Leading up to the event, Lee and Lam struggled to present their product as unique .

“People said that there was nothing special about [our product and that] you see pear and apple chips at the supermarket all the time,” Lee said. “We needed to think of something to [upstage] the market. In our dietetics degree, we learn a lot about how important a plant-based diet is, so we thought of dehydrating beans, [which led to] dehydrated beans and apples in a sort of trail mix clump [as] our first snack product.”

With a more concrete idea in mind, Lee and Lam moved past conceptual stage and proceeded to perfect BEANBARK’s taste.

“Originally, we started giving them out to friends to get a feel for what people thought,” Lam said. “[We got] feedback like, ‘the texture was kind of bland and really hard,’ so we did a lot more [research and development], and that’s where the chocolate came in.”

In 2018, Lee and Lam won both the Food and Agribusiness Convergent Innovation Prize and the Macdonald Innovation & Entrepreneurship Prize, which financed ReMIXed’s growth— specifically the company’s move to a communal kitchen. The founders believe that the combination of healthy benefits, natural ingredients, and satisfying, chocolatey sweetness make the product unique and led to their success.

Entrepreneurs Jamie Lee and Isabelle Lam recently pitched their product on Dragon’s Den.(Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune) “[We want to make] nutrition simple, so we don’t want to [include] any preservatives,” Lee said. “It’s literally just three ingredients. People want to [...] indulge in chocolate, and with something like this, you’re getting the added nutrients and the savoury taste” Though there is a strong demand for healthy snack alternatives, Lee and Lam have faced challenges in marketing their product. They feel that their lack of business experience made the research and development process harder, as they had to start from scratch and learn along the way. In time, however, they have grown and learned how to create business plans, pitch their ideas effectively, and network with financers. They even presented their product on a recent episode of Dragons’ Den. “At the end, what you saw on TV was very simple and clean, and it was [the result of] a lot of practicing,” Lam said. “Prior to that experience we had never really watched Dragons’ Den, so we took notes of all the questions that

Making the most out of reading week Tips for a restful and productive break

Sophia White Contributor

Reading week comes as a much-needed break for students in the midst of a whirlwind of midterms and deadlines.

Many students use the break as an opportunity to catch up on readings and assignments, while others strive to use the brief respite from classes to unwind. The McGill Tribune has compiled a list of suggestions for balancing productivity with relaxation and fun during the highly-anticipated week off.

Work on job applications

For the typical procrastinator, applications for summer jobs or internships tend to get pushed to the backburner during midterm season. Throughout the week, students can work on polishing resumes, researching potential job opportunities, or scheduling interviews. For those seeking personalized career advice, McGill Career Planning Service (CaPS) offers advice online to help students find jobs, get headshots, and build their portfolios. Additionally, for those interested in speaking to an advisor, CaPS will remain open during the break.

Get organized

Tidying up might feel like an annoying chore to complete during regular school hours, but reading week is a good opportunity to organize and clean up stress-free. Sorting through junk lying around the house, reorganizing the kitchen, and sorting through old papers are all proactive steps students can take to stay on top of their personal lives when classes resume. Starting the week after the break with a clean living space will set a good precedent and mindset for the rest of the semester and help to reduce added stress.

could possibly be asked and practiced in front of our friends and families and got their feedback.”

Lee and Lam are optimistic about the future of their fledgling company.

ReMIXed has enjoyed some major successes already, both within the McGill community and in Montreal. Those interested in tasting ReMIXed’s acclaimed product can find BEANBARK at 12 locations in Quebec and Ontario and are sold on-campus at SNAX and some McGill dining halls.

Now that their products have hit the shelves in two provinces, the founders have turned their attention to new aspirations: Expanding their snack menu to satisfy different tastes and extending their reach across the country.

“We’re thinking of developing new flavours later in the fall when other fruits come in,” Lee said. “Once this is established, we’ll move onto making a savoury line [....] We’re trying to get the Canadian market first before seeking anywhere else.”

schedule or camp out at the library. Research shows that taking time off ultimately leads to higher levels of productivity, boosted creativity, and improved mental health. Get plenty of sleep, read for pleasure, or catch up on a few of the 2019 Oscar winners. Alternatively, unplugging for a day and leaving electronic devices behind can help to clear the mind. Research has shown that disconnecting from technology can help to improve sleep cycles, enhance personal relationships, and promote overall mental wellbeing.

Stay in town and explore the city

Reading week is the ideal time to get outdoors and explore a new part of Montreal, and, luckily, there is never a shortage of fun activities around the city. Make the most of the remaining winter weather by going skiing, sledding, or ice skating on Mont Royal.

Montréal en Lumière is also hosting its 20th lights festival until March 3 in the Quartier des spectacles. Festival-goers can visit various shows, gourmet food stands, illuminated outdoor art exhibits, a ferris wheel, a slide, and a zipline. With a variety of exciting activities to offer, Montreal is the ultimate location for taking a staycation.

Take a break

Students deserve some downtime in between busy working weeks, so they shouldn’t feel like they need to maintain a hectic

Reading break can be the ideal time to catch up on chores and schoolwork. (Kellyane Levac / The McGill Tribune)

“There’s a level of trust that isn’t there”

The McGill student’s search for affordable mental health support When I walked out of a meeting with a professor to hyperventilate in the privacy of an empty Arts building bathroom, I knew my situation had become precarious.

But it was late March of my third year, the busiest time of my busiest semester, and I had to return to his office.

I walked back in and sat down. My professor discretely pushed a box of Kleenex across the desk. I hadn’t realized that I was still crying. We agreed that I would get the first 25 pages of my honours thesis to him by Friday.

Mental health discourse occupies an odd and discomforting position on university campuses today.

Endless initiatives pushing for increased ‘awareness’— some genuine, some less so—have made the topic hypervisible, obscuring the problem itself: University students face an unprecedented mental health crisis, which seems only to be snowballing. The gap between rhetoric and practice widens.

On Jan. 28, 2019, McGill’s Media Relations Office issued a press release announcing a “new model of care” for student mental health, embodied in the forthcoming Rossy Student Wellness Hub. Though the initiative’s emphasis on “awareness, prevention and earlier intervention” reads as a noble goal, campus voices have repeatedly questioned the university’s handling of their Counselling and Mental Health Services

CLAIRE Hurley

Contributor

(CMHS) in recent years. A trend in administrative reform seems to have prioritised cosmetic changes and the merging of distinct branches of student mental health services, resulting in a shortage of specialised care. The $14-million project is described as a “one-stop shop,” combining the Health Clinic and Counselling and Psychiatric Services, with two new additions: the “Healthy Living Annex” devoted to outreach, and “The Hub Commons,” essentially a lounge space for students to “relax before appointments.”

In an email correspondence with The McGill Tribune, Vera Romano, director of McGill Counselling Services and the Student Wellness Hub, spoke about the growing demand for mental health services at the university.

“Demand has been increasing,” Romano wrote. “It is hard to measure demand, as there is no way to include students who choose off-campus resources. However, we know that demand in general, across Canada, has increased by 57% over the past few years.”

Despite this clear trend, the lack of on-campus resources for mental health care is common knowledge: Wait-times to see counsellors extend for weeks, psychiatric services are strained, and follow-up is infrequent. The 2017 dissolution of an integral service, the Eating Disorder Program (EDP), sparked particular outrage in this regard.

The growing unrest on campus might push students to consider what alternative routes are available to them if they are not getting adequate and timely mental health care through their university. Looking into these routes, however, reveals a host of structural barriers that highlight the difficulty of navigating the system as a student.

When asked what resources are available to students, particularly out-of-province students seeking affordable mental health care in Montreal, Romano confirmed that everyone has access to public-sector services.

“Many mental health care concerns are in fact treated by general practitioners, which are generally covered by private and provincial insurance plans,” Romano wrote.

Finding and securing a general practitioner in Quebec, however, is a drawn-out process that involves registering on a regionwide waiting list for an indeterminate amount of time. Another option is to independently reach out to family doctors and ask if they are taking on new clients. In any case, the

processes function on a long-term timeline, a luxury many students don’t have.

Romano also mentioned that students could turn to devoted therapy centres.

“The availability and affordability of mental health care services vary greatly depending on the type of service and the number of visits required,” Romano wrote. “All student insurance plans cover psychotherapy, although the amount covered by each plan differs. Some establishments offer a sliding scale based on income.”

The Argyle Institute is one such establishment.

Patricia Hook Painter, a psychotherapist who has long worked at the Institute, described the Argyle’s mission statement and its sliding-scale fee model.

“The Argyle's mission is [...] to provide affordable therapy, which means at a fee of $40-110 per session depending on income,” Hook Painter wrote. “That means that most students on low income (less than $22,000 per year) pay $40 per session. In addition, the waiting time for service is generally only a week or two.”

Given its accessible mandate, and the fact that services are mostly provided in English, a significant portion of the Argyle’s clientele is made up of university students.

In turn, the Argyle has have established and maintained a referral partnership with Concordia; their partnership with McGill, however, has ceased to exist in recent years.

“In the past, we have taken overflow McGill students, and McGill has paid our minimum fee for them to be seen at the Argyle for a limited number of sessions, but that has not happened for several years now,” Hook Painter wrote.

When asked whether McGill has systems in place to refer students to external services in the city, Romano did not comment on the university’s previous partnership with the Argyle or why it ended.

Institutions that offer therapy and psychiatric services at a reduced rate, like the Argyle in Westmount and the Queen Elizabeth Health Complex (QEHC) in NotreDame-de-Grâce, are valuable recourses for students seeking care outside the university system. Crisis centres such as Tracom and AMI-Québec also offer treatment to anyone in need, though they focus on emergency situations. Still, all of these institutions are reeling from the province-wide surge in demand following the Quebec government's decision to merge hospitals and clinics in 2014. The centralized model cut thousands of serviceproviding positions to the detriment of holistic mental health care in the province.

In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Christine Grou, president of the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec,

commented on the increasing difficulty of accessing talktherapy in the province following the health care reform.

“In Quebec, it’s unfortunate that it is easier to benefit from medications for mental health illnesses than to receive psychotherapy,” Grou said.

Similarly, part of the current strain on mental health resources at McGill comes out of a history of funding reallocation and budget cuts to Student Services. Romano affirmed that the new Wellness Hub initiative aims to address this issue by bringing in more staff.

“Since 2014, we [at Counselling Services] have increased the number of counsellors by 43 [per cent],” Romano wrote. “Twelve Local Wellness Advisors, two Access Clinicians, and a trauma therapist will join our team of mental health professionals by this Fall [2019].”

These new positions are sure to be much appreciated by students without long-term needs; however, the Hub’s addition of twelve advisors and only one therapist seems to suggest a continuation of McGill’s emphasis on lowresource care as opposed to specialised treatment.

I spoke to Lily* (U3 Arts), who is in her final semester, about the impact that trying to access mental health care following an experience of trauma has had on her studies. As an international student, Lily saw CMHS as her best option, but the time it took for her to be seen defeated the purpose of seeking help in the first place.

“The wait time was about three weeks to get an initial consultation appointment,” Lily said. “Then, there was a two-month wait [for psychiatric services], and I was already in this crisis, so I was just dealing with it, and then it went away [….] By the time I went back, I was frustrated because I was like, ‘I needed you two months ago.’”

Being one student out of 40,000 can be an alienating experience, and “just dealing with it” is the natural response when channels of support are few and far between in the large bureaucratic apparatus that is McGill.

Lily emphasized the disconnect she felt between herself and the university throughout her undergraduate studies.

“An underlying issue of all of this is that, because I don’t have relationships with any of my advisors or professors, there’s no one I’ve seen multiple times,” Lily said. “If I’d had a relationship with an advisor who knew […] the ways that mental health had affected my studies before, that might have been a resource that I could’ve gone to if I was in some sort of a crisis.”

The university’s stepped care model, in operation as of 2016, uses a triage system to assess the urgency of students’ needs, as in a walk-in clinic, before determining an appropriate treatment plan. The stepped care model prioritizes treatment options considered less resourceintensive, such as group or online counselling. The system echoes an overarching pattern in Quebec of narrowing the channel of patients who are actually eligible to receive one-on-one therapy. McGill counselling services staff have expressed concern over this model, and data from other universities shows that, when rapid-access services like triage become a school’s primary focus, longterm services that foster trusting relationships—such as recurring psychotherapy appointments and specialised treatment programs—are neglected.

Attending university is often seen as a rite of passage en route to adulthood; it is the time when students acquire a meaningful sense of autonomy. McGill’s hands-off culture endorses and extends this view. If the school’s aloofness is meant to teach independence, it also points to a serious lack of mediation between the institution and the student.

“Being a student at McGill specifically, […] I’ve learned how to deal with institutions and bureaucracy where the individuals aren’t necessarily out to get anyone […] but the system is such that you need to advocate for yourself,” Lily said.

In retrospect, she considers her recurring struggles with mental health during her undergraduate studies—and the ways these struggles impacted her ability to perform academically—to be partly caused by the fragmented or even absent lines of communication between students and the administration.

“I had panic attacks during two of my final exams,” Lily said, “and because I go to McGill, where they were

both worth 70 per cent and 80 per cent, I nearly failed the classes. Whereas, if I went to another school where [the finals] were worth 40 per cent, where I had better relationships with the professors, where I had a clearer conversation with the OSD [Office for Students with Disabilities], maybe that would’ve been different.”

For many McGill students, university will prove to be the most psychologically and emotionally-taxing time in their life thus far. In emails, Hook Painter commented on the particularity of students’ lived realities.

“Students face an inordinate amount of stress and uncertainty; pressure to perform, anxiety about jobs, loan repayments, [et cetera],” Hook Painter wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “The world is a very different place from when their parents were at university, so their parents may not be able to understand their experiences and feelings.”

Though McGill has adopted a rhetoric of ‘awareness’ as its main concern with students’ mental well-being, the structural hardships facing university students today extend far deeper than simple accessibility to mental health resources on campus. Unprecedented levels of academic stress, allegations of sexual violence against professors, and antagonism between the student body and administration on matters of social and climate justice are all interconnected issues that can render students mentally unwell or exacerbate pre-existing conditions. When their voices go unheard

by McGill, students are less inclined to trust the administration with their mental health.

Lily commented on how she perceives students’ relationship with McGill as a source of care.

“It [is] a tremendous amount of work, always, to disclose and introduce yourself to someone new and […] defend

w h y y o u ’ r e there,” Lily said.

“There’s a level of trust that isn’t there.”

A true overhaul of the student wellness model requires thoughtful revision of the institution-student dynamic at all levels of its operation. McGill has a $1.65 billion endowment and a devoted $14 million Rossy Wellness Hub budget to enact its earlier

intervention model. Students’ discontent on campus extends beyond the efficiency of a triage system and calls for more than a perfunctory visit with a wellness advisor. To remedy current infrastructural weakness, a holistic approach to this model requires communicating seriously with students. It requires taking a comprehensive look at the systemic issues that have made McGill a fractured and isolating space for many.

Last winter, when crisis situations in my private life coincided with the most demanding portion of my studies, I ultimately ended up benefitting from the relationships that I had built with faculty members whom I trusted. After disclosing the broad strokes of my situation, I was offered the accommodations I needed to complete the semester without permanently damaging my academic record. Until then, I didn’t even know such accommodations existed.

I got treatment outside the university, extended my degree by a year, and returned as a part-time student this Fall, having regained the clarity I lost when I first arrived at McGill in 2015. When I graduate in the Spring, I’ll be leaving with the lingering feeling that a legitimate early intervention model could have prevented the collateral damage that recurring major depressive episodes caused to myself and to people close to me during my studies.

There are many legitimate reasons why a student might not feel able to disclose a mental illness to their professors. The point is that students should not have to bypass the system—the system should work. *The source’s name has been changed to protect their anonymity.

10 student living

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

The history of Milton-Parc’s oldest community space

The Yellow Door has brought students into the Milton-Parc community since 1887. (Sabrina Girard-Lamas/The McGill Tribune)

Janine Xu Contributor Continued from page 1. “[In the ‘60s], the community did not need a place for young Christian men, it needed a place for draft dodgers, and for music and spoken word, so it became a folk scene. So we [became] a coffeehouse, and that’s been going on for 52 years.”

Today, The Yellow Door’s main purpose is to function as a site of social discourse and combat urban isolation by bringing students and seniors together. A unique mandate—to serve the community by constantly evolving its programming—allows The Yellow Door to have such a wide range of activities. For example, in the 1970s, volunteers noticed how drug use across the city was affecting the community and founded a drop-in psychiatric clinic where Douglas Hospital doctors counselled young addicts. Similarly, The Yellow Door Elderly Project, now called the Generations project, was implemented to integrate MiltonParc’s seniors with its Younger Generations.

“In the ‘70s, [our purpose] changed again in response to the community’s needs,” Fahey said. “Students [did] a survey of the seniors to see what they needed. The Yellow Door responded and developed the Generations program. It’s still going on today, and it tries to help the seniors in the community.”

Today, The Yellow Door runs four main programs: the Coffeehouse, the Generations project, the Intergenerational Wellness activities, and the Rabbit Hole Café. The Coffeehouse, the oldest folk music coffeehouse still operational in Canada, provides a space for music and spoken word performances every Friday. According to Fahey, the coffeehouse is an alternative venue that where any performer

to take the stage.

“The coffeehouse is our open stage, [which we use] to serve the community,” Fahey said. “It’s nonalcoholic, all ages, and any performer can put their name in the hat and perform [anything from spoken word to acoustic music]. So it really opens up a space for artists and musicians who may not be able to perform anywhere else.”

Similarly, the Generations program connects disparate members of the Milton-Parc community by pairing younger volunteers, mainly McGill students, with seniors living in the area. Currently, there are roughly 250 volunteers, working with 300 seniors. Originally, the program aimed to prevent seniors from feeling isolated by dispatching volunteers to help with various day-to-day tasks, including providing technological assistance and accompanying them to medical appointments.

“Seniors may not necessarily interact with students on a regular basis [and vice versa], so the program is very interesting [in that] when we partner them up, [they] get a different perspective on things,” Fahey said. “I remember being in university and everything feels so intense and dramatic. When you meet someone who’s 80 years old, you realize [that] there’s more to life beyond this year, that there’s other things you will experience in life.”

Intergenerational Wellness groups, which also bring seniors and students together, are held weekly at The Yellow Door. Offering activities that range from knitting and reading to meditation and woodcarving, these programs are free to all ages and aim to encourage neighbours to socialize with one another.

“The activities started organically,” Fahey said. “ Someone [would say], ‘I’d like to [share my skills with the community], and we would share our space with them, which is how [the wood-carving class] got started.

This is what evolved into our current activities

schedule.”

Many campus groups have developed programs at The Yellow Door in collaboration with members of the Intergenerational Wellness team. Sophia Seward, U3 Arts, is an executive director at the Fridge Door Gallery, a student-run art gallery with close ties to the Art Hive program at The Yellow Door. The Art Hive, part of the Intergenerational Wellness group, is a community art studio that provides free art materials, such as paints, pastels, and fabric, to interested members of the community. Seward emphasizes that The Yellow Door’s welcoming setting creates an inclusive space for a diverse group of people to come together and learn a craft. “[Before joining the Art Hive], I’ve never painted anything in my life, but I find that the environment at The Yellow Door really makes you feel safe,” Seward said. “And it’s free, so you can really take a chance on something new [without worrying about financial constraints].”

Additional McGill groups, such as the McGill Coffee Co-op, have set up shop at The Yellow Door and added to the organization’s legacy of service and community building. Working in tandem with the Rabbit Hole Cafe, a semi-weekly vegan lunch service hosted by The Yellow Door, the Coffee Co-op provides low-cost beverage options for students. Owen Dunkley, U3 Science and an executive at the Coffee Co-op, explained that the co-op was borne out of a demand for sustainable, affordable options for Milton-Parc residents.

“Our coffee [and tea] are all free trade,” Dunkley said. “We share a space with the Rabbit Hole Cafe, and it’s a relaxing environment [....] If you look at the mandates for the Coffee Co-op, and the Rabbit Hole Cafe, and The Yellow Door, they really do line up.”

With Première Moisson’s lease up for renewal in Redpath, Dunkley stresses the importance of providing the student population with affordable and sustainable options.

“So many people complain about how expensive Premiere Moisson is,” Dunkley said. “McGill can do better [to provide affordable coffee and food to students], and I think [that just] means opening up more spaces [like the Coffee Co-op and the Rabbit Hole Café].”

Accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity are all standards that The Yellow Door strives to accomplish, as well as giving back to the neighbourhood. The Yellow Door finds its mission even more important given its placement in Milton-Parc, where McGill students and older residents often form separate communities. “[We live] in a funny neighbourhood, right?” Fahey said. “It’s mixed. You have a lot of senior residents [who’ve lived here for a long time] and a lot of students who come and go. I think it’s important to recognize that even if you’re here for a short amount of time, this is your community, and if you’re interested it, you can become a part of it either through joining activities [...] or volunteering your time.”

fill a gap in your program

Athabasca University has over 850 courses to choose from to meet your needs and courses start every month. AU has over 6,600 transfer agreements around the world (including with this institution).

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, february 26, 2019

11

Anti-reading week reading list Suggested readings you might actually consider

Tess Buckley, Jonathan Giammaria, Sophie Brzozowski, Katia Innes Contributors, Editors Two months into the semester, reading for pleasure seems like a long-forgotten pastime. To some, the thought of willingly digesting more information feels like a cruel joke, but we here in the Art & Entertainment section are firm believers in intellectual procrastination. Here are some books you can read to avoid reading.

Milkman by Anna Burns

Sophie Brzozowski, Arts & Entertainment Editor Set in 1970s Belfast, where rumours spread as easily as mould on a piece of soda bread, Burns’ protagonist, known to readers only as ‘middle sister,’ is the victim of a stalking by a dangerous paramilitary with an insidious agenda. As gossip circulates, middle sister quickly becomes the subject of public scrutiny and intimidation. In a time when flying the wrong flag or reading the wrong book is enough to betray your loyalties, middle sister finds herself the unwitting ally to a dangerous man from the wrong side of the tracks.

Written in cryptic, circular, first-person prose, Milkman is a chilling portrait of the political paranoia that accompanied the Troubles as seen through the eyes of a teenage girl.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

even the AIDS crisis are all united by their ties to the L.A. Central Library. At times, Orlean’s multiple narratives come across as filler needed to distract readers from the fact that the reason behind the fire remains unknown. Ultimately, however, what begins with the library’s greatest catastrophe becomes emblematic of its enduring status as one of L.A.’s most valuable resources.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera Tess Buckley, Contributor

Those looking for a challenging and canonical read should consider The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Milan Kundera’s 1984 novel tells the story of four people whose lives are intertwined during the 1968 Soviet invasion of Prague. Set against a backdrop of never-ending political upheaval, the characters struggle to navigate the chaos of their lives and maintain a shared lack of control. Although violence shapes and threatens each of the characters’ lives, The Unbearable Lightness of Being is ultimately about love. It is love that distracts and entertains the characters, allowing them to stay sane as violence pervades all aspects of their lives. In the wake of political turbulence, the characters grapple with the frustrating reality that there is no dress rehearsal for life. In just 393 pages, The Unbearable Lightness of Being delves into the philosophy of love, art and politics.

Jonathan Giammaria, Contributor

Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee

Susan Orlean’s The Library Book hooks its readers with an investigation of the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire, prompting her comprehensive examination of the often overlooked institution. Orlean has a knack for weaving multiple narratives together. Throughout the book, the author explores a slew of disparate topics: The settlement of the Wild West, women’s rights modern America, and

Equal parts domestic thriller and family drama, Native Speaker follows Henry Park, the first-generation son of Korean immigrants, who happens to be a spy. Working for an unnamed independent contracting firm, Henry must tail John Kwang, Queens councilman and fellow KoreanAmerican. Meanwhile, Henry grapples with an earth-

Katia Innes, Arts & Entertainment Editor

A welcome distraction from what you’re supposed to be reading.

(Kaylina Kodlick / The McGill Tribune) shattering tragedy, and tries to reconcile with his wife Leila in the wake. Spanning entire lifetimes, Lee’s narrative seamlessly traverses the rain-soaked streets of Flushing, and the sterile, suburban hell of upstate New York. Though it was released over two decades ago, Native Speaker is increasingly relevant in an era of identity politics and virtue signalling. The novel questions the assumptions upon which relationships are built, and the paradoxical importance and un-importance of race.

Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’ demonstrates surprising wisdom New Netflix original show is a distinctive high school dramedy

Tess Buckley Contributor Following in the footsteps of shows like Big Mouth and Chewing Gum, Sex Education explores sex and the lack of knowledge that so many young people have on the subject. The series’ protagonist, Otis (Asa Butterfield), is a sexually-repressed teenager whose sex therapist single mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) doesn’t shy away from embarrassing conversations. Otis grew up surrounded by manuals, videos, and inappropriately-open conversations about sex, creating a home environment that no doubt contributed to his fear of intimacy. Now a reluctant expert on the subject—despite being a virgin—Otis teams up with the school’s resident bad girl, Maeve (Emma Mackey), and the two go into business together, setting up an underground sex therapy clinic to help their equally-inexperienced classmates.

Unlike Otis, Maeve lacks parental guidance, and her complicated home life means that

she is constantly working to keep her world from falling apart. As Maeve, Mackey is a pink-haired, leather jacket-wearing young woman who does as she pleases.

Unlike so many of her peers, Maeve isn’t preoccupied with social pressure or academic expectations.

Instead, she struggles to make rent and takes the fall for her brother’s drug deals gone awry— secrets she keeps to herself for most of the season. Otis’ sheltered life breeds an entirely different set of hardships, and his complicated relationship with his overbearing mother inflicts sexual neuroses and an insatiable desire for perfection.

Despite their respective imperfections, when the two join forces, their combined strengths lead to successful business endeavours. What begins as a professional relationship quickly blossoms into an unlikely friendship. Maeve and Otis challenge one another and encourage growth, and the result is a heartwarming friendship and a charming storyline.

While the show is powerful in its honest portrayal of sexual

‘Sex Education’ is a familiar delight. (Zoe Countess / The McGill Tribune) confusion, it lacks authenticity in other regards. Like most shows set in high school, adult actors play Sex Education’s teens.

Butterfeld and Mackey, in addition to many of their cast-mates, are all in their 20s, but were cast to play 16-18 year olds. The show contributes to the long-standing tradition of using adult actors to portray teenagers. In addition to visually misrepresenting young people, Sex Education ascribes age-inappropriate behaviour to

young teens more likely to be seen in a college environment, such as casual sex and drug use. The result is a dramatized depiction of high school that misconstrues the lived experiences of actual high schoolers.

Despite its faults, the show navigates its complicated subject matter with humour and sensitivity.

The characters are flawed but sympathetic, the storylines familiar but clever, both elements working together to depict the trials and

tribulations of growing up in an age of hyper-sexualization.

Sex Education is an easilydigestible yet worthwhile dramedy, and the show is surprisingly substantial for a Netflix original comedy. The series explores themes of self-confidence and empathy all crammed into an eight-episode lark. While the storyline has the potential to fall victim to cliché high school show plots, Sex Education surprises with refreshing twists.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, february 26, 2019

Vampire Weekend’s misplaced nostalgia trip

Ezra Koenig eats a big pancake with Jonah Hill and Blood Orange How Black Mothers Say I Love You

Katia Innes A&E Editor Though latte art has long been a staple for the caffeine-addicted and financially-irresponsible youth, it’s becoming a little passé—perhaps pancake art will be the next trend in breakfast-themed artistry. Or at least that’s what Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig thinks. In the music video for “Harmony Hall,” the band’s latest track, Koenig spends a jaunty five-minutes making pancake art with a spirograph, doling out flapjacks for bandmates and celebrity pals including Jonah Hill, Dev Hynes, Danielle Haim and a snake. The video was supposed to build anticipation for Vampire Weekend’s long awaited fourth album Father of the Bride, but its reliance on metatextual references through recycled lyrics and vapid celebrity cameos makes for a hollow and disappointing return.

It’s been a long time since anyone has heard anything from Vampire Weekend. The band’s last album, 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City, was met with widespread praise from finicky music journalists and precocious teens alike. The album was a clean, deliberate evolution from their previous Ralph Lauren tennis-chic indie pop works. Then, as mysteriously as they had appeared, Vampire Weekend retreated from the pinnacle of alternative, Urban Outfitters-friendly pop that they had created.

Nearly six years after Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend has returned a little older and, questionably, wiser. They are no longer the adorably smug recent Ivy-League graduates who played tennis with Jake Gyllenhaal and sang about New England girls who wear Louis Vuitton.

Koenig, joined by bassist Chris Baio and drummer Chris Tomson, have swapped their boat shoes and polos for Chakos and fleece quarter-zips.

“Harmony Hall,” the teaser track for Father of the Bride, attempts to establish a new folk-groove. The song feels hesitant, uncertain whether or not to reuse old tricks to please fans. Furthermore, the departure of instrumentalist and songwriter Rostam Batmanglij has left an obvious gap in the lineup: “Harmony Hall” attempts to mimic his signature baroque pop instrumentation but never fully succeeds. The inability to invest in either tradition or progress makes the reliance on self-reference all the more obvious. Koenig has inserted the line “I don’t wanna live like this, but I don’t want to die” from “Finger Back,” a track from Modern Vampires of the City, directly into “Harmony Hall.” It’s almost as if Koenig lazily copied and

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Same old band, same old schtick. (avclud.com) pasted a throwaway, Instagram-popular line into this track simply to please fans.

The choice to open the album with “Harmony Hall” feels cloying— Koenig seems to be begging fans to make the connection with “Finger Back.” The line is little more than a fun Easter Egg for longtime fans, and doesn’t adds anything to their canon. The reliance on using past works to make the current tracks more relevant is rooted in contrived nostalgia.

The video also alludes heavily to past work. The recurring shot of Koenig flipping pancakes as his bandmates, and his famous friends chow down is reminiscent of the video for 2013’s “Diane Young,” which itself parodied The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. This image of the band flexing with other celebrities may have worked alongside the lyrics of “Diane Young” about nihilism and bourgeois culture, but it is disconnected from the new single’s focus on 21st century political uncertainty.

There’s a certain pressure for Father of the Bride to live up to fan’s expectations, the majority of whom were in their teens during Vampire Weekend’s heyday. For many, Vampire Weekend’s past albums conjure up a certain wistfulness for anxious adolescence. It’s not surprising, then, that Koenig and crew chose to tread the well-worn and easy path of appealing to fans through forced nostalgia. However, what once made their music special for fans—lyrics that managed to capture universalities through their obscurity and a worldbeat melding of genres—are simply regurgitated, losing their sheen with each reiteration.

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Concordia hosts conference on art in a mobile age

Guest speakers discussed art and location and the future of the discipline Nicholas Raffoul Staff Writer On Feb. 16 and 17, Concordia’s Art History Undergraduate Journal (CUJAH) hosted their eighth annual conference, Dislocation: Art in a Mobile Age. The discussions focused on locality in art, drawing on issues of representation and mobility.

The conference explored how artists claim spaces for production and exhibition. Guest speakers included Concordia students, artists, academics, workshop facilitators, and McGill Professor Charmaine A. Nelson, whose research focuses on black Canadian Studies in the Department of Art History.

In collaboration with CUJAH, The Fine Arts Students Alliance at Concordia (FASA) hosted a panel about redefining and creating spaces for artistic expression in the digital age. Guests discussed pushing the boundaries of a physical gallery space, and how they plan to move toward virtual mediums to present art.

The panel included speakers whose expertise extends beyond the confines of traditional institutions, including digital content creators and dance workshop facilitators. The FASA talk epitomized a new age in art and technology, bringing in creators who use a range of forms, including Google Maps, wearable computing, tech education, and sound and space research.

CUJAH’s conference proved that art isn’t just something static in a museum. (Eleni Speal / CUNews) Lucas LaRochelle, founder of Queering the Map, discussed their storytelling platform and how it acts as a living archive of queer experience and collective memory. Queering the Map is a communitygenerated mapping project that geolocates queer moments and memories in physical, public spaces, offering queer people the opportunity to document their own experiences. LaRochelle’s mapping project, which started in early 2017, has over 15,000 documented moments in Canada, the U.S., and Australia, and is expanding globally.

LaRochelle started the project to examine the relationship between space and memory.

“I was thinking about the multiplicity of feeling that is held in particular locations and what it means for me in relation to that place and what it would feel like to move in a world that was animated by the multiplicity of how people experience space,” LaRochelle said.

Florence Yee, a queer Toronto and Montreal-based artist, also spoke on the panel. Yee’s textile projects use text to reflect their experiences as a diasporic Cantonese person living in Montreal and the tensions that come with trying to express their culture and sexuality within the confines of white institutions. Drawing inspiration

from their Cantonese-Canadian history, Yee examines the daily life of individuals in the diaspora through the lens of gender, race, and language. Yee noted the inclusion of their art in galleries as a reclamation of traditionally white, male-dominated spaces.

Nelson was the keynote speaker for CUJAH’s conference, where she presented her research on fugitive slave advertisements in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Her talk focused on newspaper advertisements for slaves mainly in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Jamaica and aimed to shed light on slavery in Canada.

“Found throughout the transatlantic world, fugitive slave advertisements demonstrate the ubiquity of African resistance to slavery,” Nelson writes.

“Recalling fugitive slave advertisements as a form of visual culture, this presentation positions them as one part of the colonial infrastructure and network, including slave owners, printers, and jailers, that sustained the racialized distinction between free and unfree populations.”

CUJAH’s weekend-long conference reaffirmed why space matters when discussing the production and display of art.

Although the artists, creators, and academics who attended came from diverse professional backgrounds, all of the speakers were keen to pave the way for the future of art.

science & technology

tuesday, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

13

Measles resurgence spells trouble for Canadians Waning immunization among possible causes of outbreak Ronny Litvack-Katzman Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

Measles, like other respiratory viruses, presents a standard set of symptoms including a high fever in excess of 40 degrees celsius and a dry cough, but is punctuated by a characteristic skin rash covering a large area of the body.

“It is probably one of, if not the, most infectious virus[es] known,” Brian Ward, an associate professor at the Centre for the Study of Host Resistance, said.

“Before HIV, [measles] was considered to be the most immunocompromising virus around.”

Virologists quantify the infectiousness of a disease based on its reproduction number (R number), which is the average number of people that every person who carries the disease will secondarily infect. The reproduction number for seasonal influenza, the common flu, is two. By contrast, the reproduction number for measles is 18.

Measles replicates in host cells via a single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) pathway, a method of replication in which the virus harnesses multiple sets of proteins to survive. According to

the modern classification system of viruses, this places measles in the same viral replication category as rubella and the mumps viruses, all of which spread quickly from host to host.

Since the disease has scarcely appeared in Canada over the last two decades, public health workers have scrambled to identify and isolate cases of measles over the last week. Most recently, Vancouver reported ten related cases of measles thought to have been transferred through the public school system.

According to the federal government, the best defence against measles is vaccination, which is covered free-of-charge by provincial health care. For a disease with such a high R number, greater immunization coverage is required to achieve herd immunity.

“A highly-vaccinated population, where over 85 per cent, and, ideally, greater than 95 per cent of the population is vaccinated, can truncate [the] spread [of measles] dramatically,” Ward said. “Any imported case will only spread to a small number of secondary cases.

As vaccine coverage drops, the outbreaks caused by each imported case become larger.”

A 2018 study in the PLOS Medicine journal confirmed previ-

Measles, like the mumps and rubella viruses, replicate via negative-sense RNA (montreal.citynews.ca) ous reports of dropping vaccination rates across the United States.

“Since 2009, the number of philosophical-belief vaccine nonmedical exemptions (NMEs) has risen in 12 of the 18 states that currently allow this policy,” the study reads.

Commonly referred to as the ‘anti-vaxxer’ movement, many American cities are currently witnessing the repercussions of parents exempting their children from medically-advised vaccinations.

Even though medical science has conclusively proven that vaccina-

tions are overwhelmingly safe, the rate of children who are receiving optional vaccinations continues to decrease.

The Seattle, Washington region, one of the many ‘metropolitan hotspots’ for unvaccinated populations as outlined by the 2018 study, has become the epicentre of the current measles outbreak in the United States. In Washington, the majority of measles cases identified have occurred in individuals under the age of ten who had never received the vaccine.

In order for Canada to avoid

falling victim to large gaps in the immunization record and to protect at-risk populations such as the immunocompromised and elderly, children need to remain up to date with all types of vaccinations.

“The worst outcome of measles in Canada would be [the] hospitalization of patients with pneumonia or [another] secondary bacterial infection,” Ward said.

The fateful consequences of having an unvaccinated population would have the greatest negative effects on those Canadians most vulnerable in the first place.

The brain in higher resolution The MNI invests $10M in better quality brain imaging Farida Rahman Contributor McGill’s new 7T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine, located at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) or ‘the Neuro,’ is the first of its kind in Canada. The T refers to ‘Tesla’, the unit of measurement for the magnetic strength of the machine. At 7T, it outperforms the 3T MRI machine that is the current standard in neuroimaging technology.

“This [7T] scanner has a higher magnetic field than conventional scanners,” Amir Shmuel, an assistant professor in McGill’s Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery and researcher at the MNI, said. “What this allows [is] better resolution [...] and improved contrast [….] We cannot see brain columns and layers at 3 Tesla, [which] are small structural and functional units [of the brain]. They are in the range of 0.4 to one mm. In order to be able to observe them and also detect functional signals, we need 7 Tesla.”

Shmuel and his team obtained $18.8M in funding to cover the new machine and various other projects at the Neuro. The 7T MRI project alone reportedly cost approximately $10M in construction and equipment, although it was covered under a research grant from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

“At the Neuro, we’ve got a long history of doing what’s called ‘functional MRI’,” Richard Hoge, associate professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery and the director

of the MRI program at the MNI, said. “In functional MRI, psychology and basic neuroscience researchers will have subjects inside the scanner while they are doing different tasks [....] Specific types of imaging techniques can help to localize the brain areas that are involved in performing those tasks. So, the motivation for getting the higher yield, the 7T MRI, as opposed to the 3T MRI that we currently have, is that the system [can detect] much smaller functional changes, and it can also localize brain responses much more precisely.”

Researchers at the MNI are interested in using this new technology for uncovering previously-elusive structures involved in daily functions, such as those associated with vision, as well as for studying neurological diseases with greater clarity. While a 7T MRI was installed in the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario in 2009, McGill’s new machine is capable of scanning the full body instead of just the head. This opens the door to studying the role of the spine as part of the central nervous system and its implications in neurological diseases. “[With this research], we very much hope to significantly improve our capacity to detect and to observe early changes in the brain that are associated with multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and dementia,” Shmuel said. “The scanner will allow us to detect subtle changes in the structure and function in the brain, [which is] part of what we expect with neurological disease.”

McGill’s new machine is capable of scanning the full body instead of just the head. (mcgill.ca) The MNI is developing its backend computational capabilities to store and analyze the large sets of data from the 7T MRI in addition to pushing to better define the ethical standards around how data is collected. In terms of accessibility, the MNI intends to make the data collected from the machine available to the public as part of its commitment to open science.

“The Neuro has been a pioneer in institutionalizing the notion that data collected should be shared on open databases that are accessible to other researchers,’ Hoge said. “[This is] to

avoid duplication of human experiments and also allow more researchers access to the data, and, hopefully, have a bigger impact on public health and on basic research.”

Equipped with this brand-new technology, the MNI will be focusing on training researchers in how to best use the machinery and interpret the results, as it can be technically difficult to operate. In the future, researchers hope to train students and continue to purchase the latest imaging technology so as to be on the leading edge of neuroscience research.

14

science & technology

tuesday, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Survival of the mutated New study identifies a mutation that drives natural selection

A new study models natural selection by observing wild mice for 14 months in the Nebraskan desert. (Kaylina Kodlick / The McGill Tribune) ers. Usually, these changes take place over thousands, if not millions, of years.

Stephanie Deng Given the right conditions, evolutionContributor ary change can be approximated on much In his theory of evolution, which dates shorter timescales. In a recent study, an back to the 1800s, Darwin argues that liv- international team of researchers, including organisms evolve over time to promote ing some from McGill, modelled natural survival and to produce the fittest off- selection by observing wild mice for 14 spring. This evolutionary model is based months in the Nebraskan desert. At the beon two concepts: That all life on Earth is ginning of the experiment, mice with light interconnected and that its diversity is the and dark coloured fur were captured and result of changes in living organisms due placed in enclosures with light and darkto the selection of some traits over oth- coloured soil to investigate their evolution

over time.

“My objective was to provide a complete story of adaptation, from mutation to phenotype to fitness, in a single study,” Rowan Barrett, an associate member of McGill’s Department of Biology and lead author on the study, said.

The goal of the study was to succinctly illustrate the process of adaptation, or changes at the genetic level that lead to better survival rates. Adaptations can manifest themselves as behaviours, which may allow for better evasion from predators, or physically through anatomical changes. Such adaptations are the outcome of mutations, or changes in DNA, which are demonstrated by environmentally-sensitive characteristics observable with the naked eye.

While there is a growing number of gene-focused studies that identify the role of DNA in changing characteristics, Barrett explained that the scientific community knows little about t the ecological or genetic factors that cause the evolutionary changes to begin with. In contrast, his study combined a large-scale field study with laboratory-based tests in order to examine both the ecological and genetic factors that drive adaptation in wild mice.

Throughout the study, both light and dark mice were found to adapt to their new enclosure regardless of whether or not they were originally captured from light or dark

regions. Mice placed in darker enclosures overall had a greater survival rate, as did mice placed in enclosures matching their original habitat. Mice placed in light enclosures evolved to have lighter-coloured fur than their ancestors while mice placed in dark enclosures evolved to have fur almost twice as dark.

Researchers found that a mutation that deletes part of the Agouti gene change fur colour, resulting in decreased pigment molecules. While the frequency of the deletion seemed to be the same between light and dark mice at the beginning of the experiment, the rate increased for mice in light enclosures and decreased for those in dark enclosures by the end of the study.

These findings demonstrate a strong propensity for genetic selection.

Ultimately, the study is an example of evolution in an accelerated time frame.

Although the mice are similar, there are variations among them that ensure longevity in a world dictated by the rule that the fittest survive.

The study implemented an experimental setup that effectively imitated the complexities of the evolutionary environment.

“Working outside the lab is difficult because you lose control of a lot of factors,” Barrett said. “You have to adapt to changing circumstances and unexpected problems.”

Innovating the way we meditate

McGill students design new meditation app

Rebecca Wu Contributor Stress is a bitter antagonist that affects every student at some point in their studies, some more frequently than others.

While a certain degree of stress is normal, over time, chronic stress can impede the immune system, which may contribute to a sleuth of other serious health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses including mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Even when it is not impairing immune systems, stress can still affect relationships with loved ones, work, and school.

A group of McGill Students, who dub themselves the Make Energy Your Awareness (MEYA) team, recently decided to take on the job of reducing stress by changing the way students meditate. The idea came about during a class with Mark Berlin, ISID professor of practice. Studies have found that regular aerobic exercise as well as mind-body practices of breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga, can help reduce stress. For students in particular, some benefits include improved academic achievement, better focus, and reduction in maladaptive addictions.

“MEYA is an innovative mobile app that goes beyond meditation,” wrote the MEYA student team members Sebastian Mattey, Antoine Nigond, and Christopher Samen, in an email to The McGill

Tribune. “[Our approach] comes down to the combined power of [the] teachings of modern transformational alchemy and life-coaching techniques including hypnosis and NLP [neuro-linguistic programming] [as well as] the power of music technology.”

The MEYA team noticed the positive influence of music on mental wellbeing and incorporated it into the meditation app to make it fun and easy to integrate into everyday routines “MEYA Music Mind Journeys cover a range of music genres, from techno to deep to shamanic,” the MEYA student team wrote. “MEYA has been developed with the idea that meditation can be practiced much more easily in combination with the power of music. MEYA Music Mind Journeys are meditation [sessions] created with the goal of helping users to control their minds and unleash their full potential.”

The app was designed to work in sync with music: MEYA designed the recordings’ frequencies to help bring the user into a meditative and relaxing state.

“Music is recorded in the harmonic frequency of 432hz, including bi-neural beats to facilitate meditative states both static and dynamic,” the MEYA student team wrote. “The MEYA Music Mind Journeys are pre-recorded, guided sessions covering [...] meditations, affirmations, [and] visualization combined with

A group of McGill Students recently decided to change the way students meditate. with music. (play.google.com) cutting edge music.”

These journeys are aimed at facilitating relaxation and uplifting students’ moods.

“MEYA’s student team has been driving the product development for Music Mind Journeys tailored to students’ needs,” the MEYA student team wrote. “[Its aim is] to increase concentration and ability to focus the mind, manage stress and anxiety, increase motivation, and balance emotional life. MEYA will provide a set of bespoke meditation for relaxation, concentration during exam preparation, and exam taking.”

The MEYA group held an app sampling during Wellness Week at McGill and obtained feedback from 14 attendees.

“Feedback so far suggests users are extremely happy with its effectiveness, [and] also with how easy it has been to integrate into their everyday routines,” the MEYA student team wrote. “MEYA is looking to work with McGill to evaluate the impact of MEYA [...] on student performance from both the perspective of exam achievement and their personal mental health. The MEYA app and website is set to launch in March, 2019 [on the Play Store].”

sports

TUESDAY, february 26, 2019

15

McGill finishes third at RSEQ track and field championship Crosby, Savoury, and Stathis lead big weekend for McGill

Adam Burton Contributor On Feb. 22 and 23, McGill Athletics hosted the RSEQ track and field championships in the Tomlinson Fieldhouse. The meet crowned provincial champions and determined which athletes will advance to Nationals in Winnipeg in March. With over 50 events, the two-day competition provided plenty of thrilling moments.

Out of the eight schools in competition, McGill came in third place behind Laval and Sherbrooke.

The men won three gold, four silver, and one bronze medal, and the Martlets earned one gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

First-year thrower Jorden Savoury won the first McGill medal of the competition with a silver in the 60m dash.

At the tail end of three years of accumulated injuries, Savoury came into the meet with modest expectations. She attributed her turnaround victory to her loose and relaxed attitude heading into the race and cited her role model Allyson Felix, an American track star, as a source of inspiration.

“I didn’t think I would be able to get back to my old speed, but, honestly, it just goes to show [that], through determination and persistence, you can get back to what you want to do, and that’s why I’m super, super happy,” Savoury said.

On the men’s side, first-year Jack Crosby, who broke a McGill record in the 600m last week, did not disappoint in his follow-up race. He won two medals this weekend: A gold in the 600m and silver in the 1000m. After coming into the final 600m lap in third place, Crosby ultimately

First year Jack Crosby won gold in the 600m and silver in the 1000m this weekend. (Dan Aponte / The McGill Tribune) overtook a Sherbrooke University runner in the final five metres to clock in at 1:19:93, good for the gold and recognition as rookie of the year.

After his victory, the crowd and his team erupted into cheers, running in from all directions to congratulate him.

“That was the first time that something like that’s happened,” Crosby said. “I felt euphoric, that’s how I would say it. It was incredible.”

Crosby credited the coaching staff with unlocking his high-level performance.

“Some people think they can half-ass workouts and can get away with it, but the only way to achieve your goals it to go as hard as possible whenever you can,” Crosby said. “I’ve just started to tap into my potential [.…] I used to be undertrained, but the coaching staff here has really helped me.”

McGill’s coaching staff is led by Head Coach Dennis Barrett, who has been with the program for

35 years. In that time, he has always focused on putting together a team of hard-working athletes.

“We want people that are going to come in and work hard day-in and day-out and stay consistent,” Barrett said.

His team’s performance exemplified their work ethic: Aside from Crosby and Savoury’s finishes, the team earned medals in men’s and women’s triple jump, men’s shot put, men’s 60m hurdles, women’s 4x800m, and women’s 3000m.

Half of McGill’s medal winners were first or second years and put forward strong efforts this weekend in their last chance to qualify for the national championships.

“Heading into Nationals, I’m hoping we can have some solid performances, and if we can’t medal, at least get some points on the board for McGill,” Barrett said. “If we can build on this young talent next year, I’m optimistic.”

MOMENT OF THE MEET

McGill led the way in the men’s 60m hurdles event. Second-year Matthew Daly topped the podium with a gold-medal time of 8.35 seconds, and first-year Ismail Francillon earned the silver medal with a time of 8.82.

QUOTABLE

“Winning is something that’s always been ingrained in me. Even as a toddler, I’ve always liked to win. I don’t like settling, I just want to beat people. ” - Jack Crosby on his race mentality.

STAT CORNER

First-year heptathlete Alexander Stathis set a new school record in the event, earning 4,555 points to top the previous record of 4,379.

Comeback win sends Martlet hockey to RSEQ championship McGill defeats Stingers 5-3 in semifinals

Owen Gibbs Staff Writer On Feb. 23, the McGill Martlets (14-6) qualified for the RSEQ finals after completing their two-game sweep over the Concordia Stingers (13-4-3).

The Martlets scored five unanswered goals, two of which were potted by second-year forward Kellyane Lecours, en route to a 5-3 win over Concordia. This victory sends them to the championship round following their prior 6-2 win over the Stingers in the first game of the series on Feb. 21.

“We’ve been playing some really good hockey,” Head Coach Peter Smith said. “We had some periods tonight where we weren’t quite the same we have been, but, overall, we’ve been playing very well in the last half dozen games. We’re looking forward to [the finals].”

The match got off to a rocky start for the Martlets. Concordia controlled the play for most of the first period, outshooting McGill and hemming them into their own zone. The Stingers opened the scoring approximately 10 minutes into the period and carried a 1-0 lead into the intermission.

The Martlets were no more successful in the beginning of the second period. Early in the period, Concordia received a pair of lucky

Fourth-year defenceman Emilia Cotter scored the fifth and final Martlet goal of the game. (Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune) bounces to set up two goals and a lead of 3-0. Smith then pulled starting goaltender Tricia Deguire from the action, replacing her with backup Amanda Hadwen, and the Martlets started to turn the game around. With five minutes remaining in the second period, second-year forward Stephanie Desjardins put the Martlets on the scoreboard, setting the stage for a masterful comeback.

In the third period, Hadwen accumulated a series of stellar saves to keep the Martlets in the game.

Lecours scored her first goal just under five minutes into the final period,

bringing the score to 3-2 Concordia, and followed it up 10 minutes later to tie the game at three. Third-year centre Jade Downie-Landry assisted on both goals.

With three minutes remaining, third-year forward Lea Dumais scored the winning goal. An emptynetter from fourth-year defence Emilia Cotter clinched the win for the Martlets, securing their spot in the RSEQ championship.

“We showed a lot of character coming back and scoring five unanswered goals after being down 3-0,” Smith said. “We didn’t need to score three goals at once. We needed

to score one at a time and beat them on every shift, and I thought we showed a tremendous amount of character in that third period.”

Fourth-year centre Shana Walker was proud of the fight her team put up to earn the win.

“I feel like, in the third period, we really came together as a team, and the energy on the bench was really what pushed us through,” Walker said. “I have been on this team for four years now, and that was one of the best comebacks that I have ever been a part of, so I’m really proud of us.”

This series held special meaning

for the Martlets, who were eliminated in the semi-finals last season in a threegame series against the Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins. No Martlet wanted a repeat, especially after a strong season in which McGill finished third in the RSEQ standings.

The Martlets will get a chance at redemption in the championship round when they face UdeM in a rematch of last year’s semi-finals.

“We’re excited,” fourth-year centre Nicole Howlett said. “We know we have to play together and go shift by shift. We [will] do whatever it takes.”

MOMENT OF THE Game

The crowd and McGill bench went wild after Lea Dumais shot the puck into the top shelf for the winning goal.

QUOTABLE

“This was so much fun. The energy we had and the fire within the team [was great]. We just stuck together until the end. [This was] one hundred percent the best game of the season.” - Nicole Howlett on the Martlets’ spirit in the comeback.

STAT CORNER

McGill has only two wins this season in games in which they trailed heading into the third period.

16

sports

TUESDAY, february 26, 2019

McGill men’s basketball rough up Laval Daoust scores 23 to lead McGill in final regular-season tilt

à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins.

“We’re playing a whole different team against UQAM on Wednesday, and they’re a tough team [...] because they’re very aggressive,” McGill Head Coach David DeAveiro said. “Sometimes, we struggle with those kinds of teams, but we’ll get two days of preparation, and we’ll be ready to play.”

Hussain Awan Contributor On Feb. 23, the McGill men’s basketball team (9-7) defeated the visiting Laval Rouge et Or (5-11) by a comfortable margin of 91-73. The game marked the end of the regular season, as well as a celebration of Black History Month and Senior Night. The evening began with a pre-game ceremony for its four graduating players: Fifth-year transfer point guard Alex Paquin, fourth-year point guard Isaiah Cummins, fifth-year forward Noah Daoust, and fifth-year guard Avery Cadogan.

While Daoust and Cadogan suited up, Paquin and Cummins were sidelined by injuries.

McGill drew first blood with a quick three from first-year guard Quarry Whyne. However, the momentum quickly shifted, and Laval jumped ahead with an early 18-11 lead with some strong three-point shooting of their own.

McGill came out strong in the second quarter, but again, Laval was quick to respond as the teams traded runs throughout the frame. The Rouge et Or, who shot a remarkable 61.1 percent from three, then went on a 9-2 run, scoring three times from three-point range in quick succession. Still, McGill managed to counter Laval’s hot shooting and ended the second quarter ahead by a score of 43-41.

The second half started just as the first had, with Whyne sinking a three to get McGill’s wheels rolling. The freshman shot 3-6 from three on the night, putting up a 17-point performance.

MOMENT OF THE Game

Early in the second quarter, secondyear point guard JJ Hamel-Carey made a well-executed no-look pass to set up a Daoust layup, bringing the fans to their feet.

Fifth-year forward Noah Daoust scored 23 points in his final regular-season game for McGill. (Can Unal / McGill Athletics) “I’m a good shooter, you know, so I like to shoot threes,” Whyne said. “First semester, I had a bad start, [but] now I’m getting adjusted, [and] I’m getting in the groove.”

While the rookie’s successful shooting gave McGill fans a hint of the team’s future, the two active seniors showed what talent the team will miss next season. In the third quarter, Daoust, who finished with a game-high 23 points, added a deep three, before Cadogan garnered cheers from the crowd in the packed Love Competition Hall with

an emphatic block at the other end of the court. A steal by Whyne and a subsequent layup capped off the third quarter with McGill up by seven.

The fourth quarter played out much like the third with a dominant 17-4 stretch that gave McGill a comfortable lead. Daoust hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds of his final regular-season game, quickly extinguishing Laval’s comeback attempt to give McGill its ninth win of the season.

McGill must now prepare for its first game of the RSEQ playoffs: A Feb. 27 semi-final against the crosstown rival Université du Québec

QUOTABLE

“My body’s sore, and I’m feeling old.

Basketball’s been great to me […], and it’s been an incredible five years, but I think everything eventually runs its course, and I’m happy with the way things have gone.” Noah Daoust, post-game, on his five years playing McGill basketball.

STAT CORNER

First-year guard Anthony Fisiru had a quietly-productive night, recording a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Martlets upset Rouge et Or 53-52 in regular-season finale Hakizimana helps McGill end Laval’s hopes of an undefeated season Kaja Surborg Staff Writer McGill Martlet basketball (10-6) ended regular season play on a high note, defeating the RSEQ no. 1 seed Laval Rouge et Or (15-1) 53-52 on Feb. 23. Despite a strong defensive effort from Laval, McGill took the win in front of the 212-member crowd. The Martlets had already secured their spot in the RSEQ championship semi-finals, but the victory kept them even in the standings with the Concordia Stingers.

McGill led 18-17 at the end of the first quarter, and the score remained close throughout the game with the Rouge et Or never holding more than a two-point lead. Both teams were strong defensively throughout the game, repeatedly forcing the offence to run down the shot clock.

“We played good defence,” first-year guard Trishia Villedrouin said. “We were helping each other out. That’s what we’ve got to do. We’re playing Concordia next week which will be a tough game, too. We’ll have to stick together again.”

A combination of strong teamwork and individual performances made the win possible for the Martlets. Fourth-year guard Gladys Hakizimana led McGill in scoring, going 4-6 from three with 24 of the Martlets’ 53 total points for the game. Meanwhile, Laval capitalized on free throws and turnovers: They did not miss a single free throw and added 23 points from turnovers. Despite Laval’s success on fast breaks and from the free-throw line, McGill still emerged victorious with a score

of 53-52. Laval currently sits at the top of the U Sports national rankings and had not lost a game all season, making this win especially significant for the Martlets.

“I’m so proud of my team,” Villedrouin said. “We’ve never stuck together like this. We beat the number one team in Canada. That says a lot about our team.”

Building team chemistry and improving communication have been important factors in the Martlets’ recent success.

“We’ve had a tough season so far but, through team activities [...], we’ve built a chemistry, and we’ve been having lots of discussions as a team which I think has helped a lot,” Villedrouin said. “Now, we’re starting to trust each other. It’s important from quarter one to the last quarter.”

This game also celebrated Black History Month. In a post-game speech, Head Coach Ryan Thorne praised the role of basketball in allowing him to continue his own education.

He also used the moment to make a donation for a scholarship to the local organization Montreal United, which provides mentoring through sports.

“We are making new black history because of new opportunities,” Thorne said. “This is my chance to give back to the community and create more opportunities.”

McGill has won six of its last 10 matches.

To earn their spot in the U Sports national championships, the Martlets must win the RSEQ championship tournament. They will face the Concordia Stingers (10-6) on Feb. 27 at John Dore Court in the semi-final round of the RSEQ playoffs.

First-year guard Trishia Villedrouin dribbles past a Laval defender.

(Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune)

MOMENT OF THE Game

At the end of the third quarter, second-year transfer guard Delphine Robitaille sunk a buzzer-beating three-point shot, giving the Martlets the lead heading into the final quarter.

QUOTABLE

“We’ve got to stick together again and play hard. We gave it our all today, and we’ve got to do the same thing next week.” - First-year guard Trishia Villedrouin on the upcoming RSEQ championship semi-finals against Concordia.

STAT CORNER

McGill made a total of seven three-point shots throughout the game.

Three-pointers accounted for 40 per cent of McGill’s total points scored.