The McGill Tribune Vol. 40 Issue 16

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021 | VOL. #40 | ISSUE #16

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

KNOW YOUR ATHLETE

Residence exclusions highlight McGill’s negligence

The threat from inside

Dylan Havelock

PGs. 8-9

PG. 16

PG. 5

(Aidan Martin / The McGill Tribune)

The small pleasure of the postcard

PG. 13

Students excluded from residences for noncompliance following policy change Many critiqued the policy after peers were left scrambling to find accommodations Pia Mikhael Contributor In response to increasing COVID-19 cases in Montreal, the McGill administration updated the Residence Handbook, eradicating the three-strike policy

for breaking COVID-19 measures. The new policy, implemented on Jan. 13, maintains that a written warning or a disciplinary meeting will follow a first offence, with the possibility of up to a 10 day exclusion from residence, or even a complete lease termination. On Jan. 21, as a

result of noncompliance with COVID-19 restrictions, between 15 and 20 students were notified of their exclusion from residence for seven days, and had their student IDs confiscated, preventing them from using their meal plans and accessing McGill facilities.

PG. 3

Monnet welcomed as McGill’s first SSMU student fee investigation reveals lack of due diligence, Indigenous Artist in Residence financial accountability In her Artist Talk, Monnet discusses her art and inspiration Deana Korsunsky Staff Writer On Jan. 28, artist Caroline Monnet presented a virtual Artist Talk as McGill’s first Artist in Residence. Co-organized by the department of Art History and Communications Studies (AHCS) and the Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiative

(ISCEI), the event marked not only the beginning of Monnet’s residency, but also a momentous step towards including Indigenous voices in the university’s academic context and community.

In conversation, Monnet is friendly and humble.

In the art industry, she is an incredible, almost intimidating force to be reckoned with, boasting numerous

accolades, residencies, and exhibitions—both local and international. Part Algonquin and part French, the visual artist and filmmaker largely focusses on the Indigenous experience in her artwork: Monnet edifies audiences on historical and contemporary Indigenous issues and reflects on her own lived experiences with biculturalism.

PG. 10

Among the recommendations is a call to consolidate many SSMU Fees Juliet Morrison Contributor The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) released a report titled “Investigation into the SSMU’s Student Fee Policies” on Jan. 21, coming after years of student concerns regarding the levying and administration of ancillary fees. The report

revealed a lack of financial due diligence and accountability in current practices and contains recommendations to rectify these issues.

Spearheaded by the SSMU Finance Committee, the report examines the approval process, levying and accountability of student fees directly under SSMU’s control, primarily the Student Society

Fees. Student Society Fees include all fees falling under S.52 of the Act respecting the accreditation and financing of students associations, legislation that governs student societies province-wide and stipulates that new fees, or increasing existing fees, must be approved through a student referendum.

PG. 4

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

NEWS

Students in Mind visionary event re-imagines mental health beyond the pandemic Panellists discussed the setbacks, successes, and innovations in mental health amid the pandemic Signy Harnad Staff Writer The McGill student organization, Students in Mind (SiM) hosted a three-day conference, “Forging a New Normal,” from Jan. 29 to Jan. 31, focussing on the successes and drawbacks that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed on mental health. The eighth annual student-run conference, conducted via Zoom, consisted of several keynote presentations with topics ranging from mental health in school curriculums to the use of artificial intelligence in depression treatments.

The event also featured several interactive workshops, such as “Thriving in the Face of Doom,” in which participants were asked to partner up and reflect on eco-anxiety.

Julia Caddy, U3 Arts and co-president of SiM, explained that a key theme behind this year’s panels was envisioning a path forward in mental health awareness and action beyond the pandemic.

“As a lot of people are saying these days, [...] we can’t go back to the same normal that we had before,” Caddy said. “[...] Forging a new normal really has to do with reflecting on our own experiences over time, but especially in the past year, and looking at what changes [...] we want to embrace to move forward to create a [...] mentally healthier campus.”

During a panel that discussed the intersection of mental health and race, the moderator asked keynote speakers to share their thoughts on the debates surrounding the annual Bell Let’s Talk campaign. Vinciane de Pape, a director of learning and culture at Versett, a Canadian digital consulting firm, acknowledged the initiative’s broad reach while expressing skepticism towards corporate activism and Bell’s exclusive contract with provincial prisons.

“Although I think it’s a great entry point for many to

The event featured a wide range of keynote speakers, from student mental health leaders across Canadian universities to healthcare professionals. (mentimeter.com) start the conversation around mental health, there are a lot of problematic aspects to such a major corporation pushing a PR campaign that has shown to be a lot of talk without a whole lot of action,” de Pape said. “So you can argue that it’s a multi-million tax write-off, with largely white, wealthy representation [....] Bell also has a monopoly over telecommunications in prisons, which ends up harming incarcerated people.”

The panel also discussed the failings of mental health institutions in handling intergenerational trauma. Jaime Morse, an Indigenous educator at the National Gallery of Canada, spoke about the fraught relationship between Indigenous people and Canada’s healthcare system and advocated

for better-educated, trauma-informed counselling practices.

“There’s a mistrust [towards counsellors],” Morse said.

“In my own experience with going to a counsellor, there was an immediate switch to ‘OK this is a white woman [...] she has no idea about the intergenerational effects of residential schools [....] She’s the only one available.’ For two sessions, it was a very expensive way to teach somebody about Indigenous history and culture.”

The second day of the event featured mental health advocates from a number of Canadian universities. Molly Zhang, a third-year neuroscience and mental health student at Carleton University, spoke on the lack of transparency associated with campus resources.

“There’s a lot of resources out there, but a lot of people just don’t know where to find them,” Zhang said. “Some students will never get exposed to our organizations.”

Zhang also called on professors to increase exposure to campus support systems.

“We need to get all profs to care about mental health, and not just those who are prone to be understanding,” Zhang said. “I think one of the easiest ways to make mental health accessible to students is to have professors show that they care as instructors and that the school as an institution cares about their students.”

Jake Frank, a fifth-year biology student at the University of Windsor, expressed optimism that the pandemic might be a watershed moment in mental health awareness, noting that it has helped bring campus mental health support services into more students’ purview.

“There’s definitely more posts, more clubs, more student groups that are focusing on mental health,” Frank said.

“And through that, certain resources that were under-utilized in the past have been actually getting their due.”

EDRSC panel brings attention to misrepresentation of eating disorders in media Speakers call on universities to provide mental health services for students Ella Milloy Staff Writer Content Warning: Eating disorders The Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Eating Disorder Resource and Support Centre (EDRSC) held a panel discussion on eating disorders and their representation in mainstream media as a part of SSMU’s Mental Health Action Week. Held on Jan. 27, the “Misrepresentations of Eating Disorders in the Media” panel examined the intersections between eating disorders, race, gender, and sexuality. Panellists discussed how these topics are portrayed in popular culture, the effect of stereotypes, and obstacles to obtaining treatment.

Drawing upon personal experiences, panellists discussed how mainstream media tends to portray eating disorders as being the same as experiencing a negative body image—specifically as women trying to comply with heteronormative beauty standards.

Roselyne Douge-Charles, an educator and professor at Algonquin College, spoke about the representation of eating disorders within the Black community. DougeCharles highlighted the importance of open discussions—which might validate lived experiences more so than clinical reports— as a tool to bring about change in how we understand and represent eating disorders.

“I don’t know if we need more research,” Douge-Charles said. “Just [...] having people [at this panel] and listening

to people saying that this is real for them should be enough to be a catalyst to see if we can create some changes in the way individuals are supported around eating disorders [....] Sometimes saying that we need more research is a way to deny what we already know. [It’s] like a cop-out. [We] already know what’s going on [and we] need to fix it”.

The panellists delved into misrepresentations of eating disorders and how a lack of representation in treatment spaces can create barriers to accessing support. The panel focussed on how the treatment process needs to be re-examined, especially as we learn more about how eating disor-

ders affect individuals from different backgrounds.

Support volunteer for the EDRSC, Liam Fowler, U1 Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, explained how stereotypes and assumptions can be harmful to individuals living with eating disorders.

“One of the things I’m hearing [in this discussion] is the idea of trying to fit into either a diagnosis or trying to fit a physical or mental narrative,” Fowler said. “The consequence of this is that if you are dealing with some of these feelings, conditions, or habits, you might not be able to identify that yourself because it is not the image that’s being portrayed [to you].”

Feb. 1 to 5 is Eating Disorder Awareness Week. EDRSC will be hosting programming throughout the week to continue the discussion around eating disorders and mental illness. (SSMU EDRSC).

The panellists focussed on how positive forms of treatment, like peer-led discussion groups, can help reduce trauma that can stem from traditional treatment services. Long waitlists, difficulties accessing treatment, and a lack of representation exacerbate a dangerous cycle for those seeking help. Co-founder of the EDRSC, Cody Esterle, BA ‘20, called on universities and other institutions to provide better support for students living with mental illness.

“This is a huge problem in universities that is facing so many students [...] and in order to access [resources] a lot of people need to drop out, [putting] their entire life, education and plans on hold,” Esterle said.

“It is not a system that is set up for people to survive in the long run [....] There are events like #BellLetsTalk that just populate the entire narrative and conversation, and you’re not talking about the deeper issues, support systems, [or] resources that [are needed].”

EDRSC is hosting its third annual Eating Disorder Awareness Week from Feb. 1 to 5, with programming offered daily to help raise awareness about disordered eating, provide resources for those struggling, and explore the impact the pandemic has had on eating habits. The centre also offers weekend support groups for those with loved ones struggling with disordered eating and related issues.

Additional information about resources and group support sessions will be posted on the EDRSC’s Instagram and Facebook accounts throughout the week.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

NEWS

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Students excluded from residences for noncompliance following policy change

Many critiqued the policy after peers were left scrambling to find accommodation Pia Mikhael Contributor Continued from page 1.

For many students, news of temporary evictions came as a surprise. Noa Crébassa, a U2 Arts student in Solin Hall, claims that students in residence were not made fully aware of policy changes.

“I wasn’t [even] aware about the change in policy,” Crébassa said. “I would say the [new] onestrike [policy] makes sense because of all the violations taking place in New [Residence] and Royal Victoria College last semester. There [was] no warning with [the] one-strike policy.”

Tom*, a U0 Arts student living in Campus 1, expressed his frustrations with the lack of communication between the university and its students. “[McGill] is not communicating what the rules are,” Tom* said. “Students received emails saying they had to leave by 10 a.m. the following day, giving

The original three-strike policy was implemented in October 2020.

(Montreal Gazette) them less than 24 hours to find places to stay.”

Some of the students who were excluded from their residences had nowhere to go and said that the university had sent them a list of hotel suggestions, but people under the age of 18 are unable to book rooms themselves.

“Airbnb check-ins are at

around 3 or 4 p.m., so students had nowhere to go [at 10 a.m.],” Tom said. “[Students] weren’t allowed to use their meal plans either. They were pretty much stranded until they could find a hotel or an Airbnb.”

Vikram Nathan, a U0 Science and floor 14 representative of New Residence Hall council, said that the situation sparked

anger among many students.

“In one severe case, a student had to spend the night unhoused,” Nathan said. “She spent it at a subway station. Students have to pay out of pocket for their housing [....] This is all just disastrous from a mental health standpoint.”

Tom described students’ frustration due to the lack of communication from the university.

“I understand that students are breaking COVID guidelines, which I know is not a good thing, but the way that McGill is handling all of this is not right, especially in regards to evicting students with no prior strikes,” Tom said.

Nathan pointed out the lack of support that McGill is providing students in residences.

“This all feels very unsympathetic,” Nathan said. “There’s a massive disconnect between what [McGill] thought they could achieve by putting us all in [residence] and what is actually happening,”

McGill Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle said that the university has always communicated its rules to the students.

“The safety of our students and staff is our foremost guiding principle,” Mazerolle said.

“McGill continues to work hard to create a safe and welcoming experience for all students who have chosen to join us in residence.”

Mazerolle disagreed that students were not adequately informed of the changes in regulations.

“The university has been very clear that students living in residences are expected to abide by these new rules and regulations,” Mazerolle said. “A number of students have faced shortterm measures for non-compliance to public health authorities and McGill’s COVID-19 regulations in residences.” *Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Advocates argue for more resources after Quebec Superior Court rules to exempt the unhoused from curfew COVID-19 policies continue to disproportionately affect the unhoused in Quebec

Respina Rostamifar Staff Writer Following the death of “Napa” Raphael André, an unhoused individual who froze to death on Jan. 16, Quebec Superior Court Justice Chantal Masse ordered on Jan. 26. that unhoused populations be exempt from the province-wide curfew. In Justice Masse’s decision, which came after much public outcry, she stated that the provincewide curfew is discriminatory towards the unhoused.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault introduced the curfew, which is currently in effect between the hours 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., as a measure to control a record number of COVID-19 cases in the province. After he ordered the curfew, many individuals online were quick to raise their concerns about how this policy would affect the unhoused.

Sophie Hart, U3 Arts, is the director of Meals for Milton-Parc, a community-based group that supports the unhoused population in the MiltonParc neighbourhood. In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Hart expressed her disappointment in the inaction and delay from government officials.

“The ways in which we had to fight long and hard for the unhoused [...] shows how there is no level of care for people who are unhoused or are vulnerable,” Hart said. “People say that there is no simple solution, and I do believe that this issue has many layers, but to some extent, there are ways [...] to minimize damages.”

Quebec shelters call for additional volunteers and donations as winter conditions intensify.

(Dave Sidaway / The Montreal Gazette) Hart pointed out the disparity between those items considered essential and non-essential by housed and unhoused individuals. Hart explained that some items deemed non essential may be required by unhoused citizens to survive Montreal’s harsh winter conditions.

“The regulation of essential and non-essential items are created by people who are housed and do not need to think about specific survival aspects that many unhoused people face,” Hart said.

“Items such as socks and hand warmers are deemed unessential at stores like

Dollarama. In winter, [these items] get wet and ruined very quickly and having access to these items is crucial.”

The Clinique Juridique Itinérante (CJI), through the pro bono work of the law firm Trudel Johnston & Lespérance, represented the unhoused in the court challenge. The CJI is a social justice advocacy group that serves disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

Jeremy Wiener and Anna GignacEddy, 2L Law students, are both volunteers at the CJI. Wiener and GignacEddy reflected on the recent Superior

Court decision and explained the curfew’s systemic implications on poverty in an email to the Tribune.

“The curfew contributed to the systemic and long-standing criminalization of poverty and homelessness in Quebec and Canadian society,” Wiener and GignacEddy wrote. “The recent decision brings a wave of relief to the homeless community.

[The decision] alone is insufficient. We must do more to protect society’s most vulnerable.”

Contrary to Premier Legault’s claims that “there is enough room available” for the unhoused in Quebec’s shelter infrastructure, shelters throughout the province have experienced notable resource, staff, and room shortages.

Béatrice Genest is a volunteer at Resilience Montreal, a non-profit day shelter that offers food, clean clothes, community support, and temporary housing to those in need. Genest claims that there is a gradual decrease in space available for the unhoused population.

“As it got closer to winter and COVID-19 cases began to rise, the shelter received fewer donations, and less volunteers,” Genest said. “The shelter was also designed to have a natural area where people could stay, but the pandemic changed the dynamic of the shelter and the way everything was organized [....] We had to give food and clothes away at Cabot Square next to the shelter. The square was a popular spot of refuge for the unhoused, but a part of it now is blocked off because the city has installed an ice rink.”

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NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

SSMU student fees investigation reveals lack of due diligence, financial accountability Among the recommendations is a call to consolidate many SSMU Fees Juliet Morrison Contributor Continued from page 1.

Any student group wishing to start collecting fees must first gain the Legislative Council’s approval by way of submitting an official motion. Aside from including the amount per person that the group wants to levy, whether the fee can be opted out, and the duration of the fee, groups seeking approval are not required to provide any budgetary information to the council. If endorsed by the council, the fees must then be approved by a student referendum before they are automatically applied to students’ bills. SSMU Finance Commissioner Sebastien Duckett explained that the current requirements for submitting a financial motion to the Legislative Council lack due diligence.

“Traditionally, they haven’t done it as the industry standard,” Duckett said. “[What is] problematic is that a lot of groups will make up a number and then spend that money later.”

The report found that between 2015 and 2020, the Legislative Council approved 95 per cent of fee applications—a

Both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Quebec Civil Code protect individuals’ rights to privacy. (ssmu.ca) number, the report suggests, that demonstrates that the current policies in place hinder the council’s ability to make informed judgements when voting on whether or not to approve fees. The report also found that fee proposals gained “overwhelming support” at referendum, but voter turnout is often below 20 per cent.

One recommendation contained in the report suggests consolidating SSMU Services Fees, SSMU Funding Committee Fees, and other SSMU Fees into the SSMU Membership Fee, as the SSMU Membership Fee is subject to a rigorous external audit every year, whereas the other fees are not. Consolidating the

fees would give the Legislative Council power to freeze, reduce, or transfer surplus funds to different services—subject to council approval. Implementing this recommendation would involve cancelling all of these fees and proportionally increasing the SSMU Membership Fee, and would have to be approved through a referendum.

“It’s easier said than done,” SSMU Vice-President of Finance Gifford Marpole said. “Obviously, the ultimate goal is to consolidate all the fees into the base membership fee [....] It might take a few steps, but it will likely be rolled out throughout this year and next year.”

The report also recommends adjust-

ing Legislative Council powers to enable action against any student groups underusing fees, and in some cases, improperly using fees and running large surpluses.

According to Marpole, several of these recommendations could be implemented during this year starting in June 2021 when the new SSMU fiscal year starts.

Through a survey on the student body’s opinions about the levying, administration, and value of ancillary fees, one question showed that 35.2 per cent of respondents felt the transparency, accountability and fairness for fees paid was not adequate. “[The confusion around finances] has existed for decades,” SSMU President Jemark Earle said. “We have the ‘where’s my money going’ document which we published [...], but I think there can be a lot more [...] town halls [and] presentations to the student body that make this language more accessible [....]

In the long term planning, SSMU can do more [...] than just post a document online that outlines where the money is going, but actually take the time to walk through the document with the student body.”

SSMU Legislative Council approves motion to support Dollarama workers Council discussed an investigation into SSMU’s student fee policies Marie Saadeh Social Media Editor The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council assembled on Jan. 28, where they passed several motions and reviewed the Financial Committee’s Investigation into SSMU’s Student Fee Policies (I.S.S.Fee.P).

The meeting hosted an organizer from the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC) who presented on the labor conditions in Dollarama warehouses and attempted to gain the Councils support given McGill’s investments in Dollarama. The Council also passed a motion to approve the Academic Wellness Proposal.

Finance Commissioner Sebastien Duckett presented the results of SSMU’s investigation into its existing student fee policies. The report outlined five main issues with how SSMU’s fees are levied and administered, including a lack of due diligence and transparency on the underusage of ancillary fees, the process for fee approval, and information surrounding how fees are spent. Duckett detailed the report’s five recommendations for addressing these issues, which includes consolidating all SSMU fees into the SSMU Membership Fee. “Just looking at the bill and seeing all the lines of fees, irregardless of how much money it adds up to, that in and of itself seems to be something that has a negative perception among the community [...],” Duckett said. “It makes sense to show students how much it actually costs to run our organization and provide the services we do by reflecting that in one simple number.”

Next, Mostafa Henaway of the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC) presented on the working conditions of some Dollarama employees to gain SSMU’s support for Dollarama warehouse workers, given that McGill has investments in the chain. Henaway highlighted the importance of spreading awareness of the company’s treatment of its workers among McGill students.

“We’re trying to put pressure on people who have [invested], because if Dollarama is not going to listen to workers or us, maybe they’ll be afraid of other investors,” Henaway said.

He detailed the IWC’s campaign to help workers, many

MOMENT OF THE MEETING

The SSMU Legislative council will meet again on Feb. 11.

(Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune) of whom are racialized immigrants, gain better labour conditions. Currently, workers are not hired by Dollarama directly but by an outsourced temporary placement agency where they do not have union protections.

Following the presentation, the council voted unanimously to approve the motion, mandating the Office of External Affairs to support student solidarity with Dollarama warehouse workers organizing to demand better working conditions.

Councillors also passed a motion to condemn the effect of Quebec government’s pandemic response on marginalized communities, with 26 votes in favour and two abstaining.

The last motion to pass regarded the adoption of an Academic Wellness Proposal. Mental Health Commissioner Julia Caddy spoke on the need for increased support for students’ mental health. The proposed solutions include expanding mental health resources that are paid for by McGill, such as embedding WellnessWorld, a digital wellness platform, into MyCourses.

“The general idea and focus here is to take the upstream approach to the state of mental health [of] our students,” Caddy said. “[This reflects] studies that continue to show that academic pressures and expectations are the number one cause for distress, and that [this is] being exacerbated amongst the McGill population.”

During the presentation on Dollarama workers, Gaurav Sharma, an IWC organizer and former Dollarama warehouse worker, shared his experience with the council. He detailed the challenges he faced at Dollarama, including getting injured while the warehouse lacked medical aid for the workers, and how the fifteen minute breaks were not long enough.

SOUNDBITE “We have encountered a lot of students who, especially for marginalized groups, don’t see their needs met at the Wellness Hub [....] Our hope is by having WellnessWorld embedded within McGill, and if [it is linked] directly on MyCourses so that it is on the forefront of student’s academic life, that they can more easily access the resources that will cater to their specific needs.”

—SSMU VP Student Life Maheen Akter on the need for expanded mental health suppor t regarding the motion to adopt the Academic Wellness Proposal.

OPINION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Helen Wu editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Aidan Martin amartin@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Katia Lo Innes kinnes@mcgilltribune.com Nina Russell nrussell@mcgilltribune.com Sophia Gorbounov sgorbounov@mcgilltribune.com

News Editors Maya Abuali, Kate Addison & Sequoia Kim news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Jonah Fried & Kennedy McKee-Braide opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editors Madison Mclauchlan & Shafaq Nami scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Life Editors Alaana Kumar & Leyla Moy studentlife@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Kevin Vogel features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Vanessa Barron & Jonathan Giammaria arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Adam Burton & Sarah Farnand sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Ruobing Chen & Chloe Rodriguez design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Jasmine Acharya photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editors Sarah Ford & Alexandre Hinton multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developer Benjamin Alexandor & Marwan Khan webdev@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Jackie Lee copy@mcgilltribune.com Social Media Editor Marie Saadeh socialmedia@mcgilltribune.com

Residence exclusions highlight McGill’s negligence On Jan. 25, between 15 and 20 students were temporarily evicted from McGill residences due to alleged violations of COVID-19 residence safety protocols. They were given less than 24 hours notice and were stripped of their meal plans and student IDs, leaving them without access to McGill buildings, including cafeterias.

The administration justified its actions by referencing a change in the residence handbook which eliminated the three-strike policy that had previously been in effect until Jan. 13. In evicting its student tenants, the university sent a message to the McGill community: First-year students are nothing more than a source of income to be managed as efficiently as possible.

The past several months have seen the worst of the pandemic thus far in Quebec.

Although red zone restrictions have been in place since Sept.

28, several new measures were implemented in December and January, including the closure of non-essential businesses and, most notably, a curfew between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.

OFF THE BOARD Leyla Moy Student Life Editor

Business Manager Marilie Pilon business@mcgilltribune.com

TPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Helen Wu, Caitlin Kindig, Ezra-Jean Taylor, Tara Alami, Yara Shaheen-Abuelreish, Deana Korsunsky, Sequoia Kim, Kennedy McKee-Braide, Shreya Rastogi, Marilie Pilon, Heela Achakzai

STAFF Sepideh Afshar, Reza Ali, Margaret Askey, Zoe Babad-Palmer, Eve Cable, Rory Daly, Ella Fitzhugh, Defne Gurcay, Signy Harnad, Lucy Keller, Deana Korsunsky, Erika MacKenzie, Maya Mau, Adam Menikefs, Ella Milloy, Naomi Mirny, Matthew Molinaro, Respina Rostamifar, Brian Schatteman, Noah Vaton, Josephine Wang, Xiaotian Wang, Margaret Wdowiak, Lowell Wolfe, Wendy Zhao

CONTRIBUTORS Laurie Chan, Emilia Chavanne, Sabri Conde-Yassin, Elissa Dresdner, Sabrina Girard-Lamas,Zoe Karkossa, Cyril Kazan, Athena Ko, Karan Kumar, Michelle Marcus, Pia Mikhael, Jinny Moon, Juliet Morrison,Taja de Silva, Jennifer Shi, Holly Wethey, Angelica Voutsinas

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If you have been online in January, you have probably seen a Spotify Wrapped against your will. Candy-coloured and set to a nondescript background beat, the Wrapped roundup satisfies our collective desire for life stats while spawning countless imitations. One of these, as I discovered recently while kneedeep in my inbox, is from the unsettling Google Maps Timeline, which has been faithfully tracing my every move since 2015. As the daughter of an internet security devotee, I was initially horrified

To evict students now, without allowing them time to find alternative living arrangements, is morally reprehensible. Merely being outside in the evening can lead to police intervention and severe fines—not to mention that January is one of the coldest months of the year in Montreal.

Rather than taking concrete actions to curb the spread of COVID-19, this approach only allows McGill to disregard the systemic problems within their residences and leave students to fend for themselves.

Students have been criticizing the Residence Life guidelines since the beginning of the 20202021 academic year. McGill Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) initially instituted a three-strike system to limit unsafe social gatherings to curb the spread of COVID-19 in residences. However, many floor fellows have alleged that beyond mask mandates in common areas, rules were few and far between and, above all, poorly enforced.

Gatherings and small parties in residences continued with minimal consequences and have now resulted in over 40 cases

of COVID-19 in Royal Victoria College residence alone.

To an extent, these violations are to be expected. Students often elect to live in residence in their first year to make friends and experience the social aspects of university. Once there, immediately surrounded by other people and subject to peer pressure, it was inevitable that some would ignore guidelines.

Thus, in opening residences—a move almost surely driven by financial incentives—McGill chose to enable risky behaviour.

This decision should have only been made with sufficient planning and resources. For example, McGill could improve its system to allow students to isolate should they have symptoms and more clearly define the consequences for violating public health measures.

The university’s negligence has also put floor fellows at risk. Some have reported a lack of proper training, personal protective equipment, and adequate support from their employers. Because their jobs require them to interact with students face-to-face, it is crucial

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EDITORIAL that SHHS properly equip them to simultaneously enforce safety measures and protect themselves.

Students must support the work of the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE), which has been working to defend the labour rights of its floor fellows.

All of this said, McGill’s poor decisions do not justify or excuse some students’ unsafe behaviour.

Ignoring COVID-19 safety protocols exemplifies a clear lack of respect for one’s peers and the broader Montreal community.

There should undoubtedly be punishments for those who place their own enjoyment over others’ safety, which may include fines issued by law enforcement. But evictions on short notice during a pandemic does nothing to remedy the situation and ultimately puts students at even greater risk.

The pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges that even large institutions such as McGill were unprepared to overcome. But 10 months since the onset of the pandemic, there is no longer any excuse for such irresponsible management of the situation.

Retracing my steps to realize that I had failed to safeguard my location data for the better part of a decade. Then, I was fascinated.

Holed up in my apartment over a grim, drizzly winter, I ached for escapism and found it in hour-by-hour logs of my own pre-pandemic life. Through birdseye maps of my daily travels, I watched high school me move in a circuit between home, school, and the public library—still my sixth most visited place, the timeline tells me. After moving to Montreal for university, I watched myself explore the city before falling into a rhythm.

Every mishap is chronicled, from mediocre dates to only lasting an hour into what was meant to be a marathon library session. As my past converged on my present, my map stretched across the ocean as I settled myself in a new city for exchange, and then within months I found myself back in my hometown, motionless.

Reliving the past, whether by watching yourself grow up via Google Maps surveillance, paging through old diaries, or revisiting text threads, invites both regret and nostalgia. Amid a stagnant year, I yearned for the freedom found in my old maps.

Every night spent in a dimly lit crowd and afternoon in a busy

coffee shop took on an outsized emotional weight. The places you go, as Google Maps shows in its slick commercials, are of profound importance.

Despite the lessons within, seeing my everyday movements broken down by hours felt like an encroachment by the digital lurker in my pocket. The timeline falls somewhere between the gamified personal data favoured by fans of the quantified self and a startlingly transparent view of what information we as internet citizens willingly exchange for convenient, personalized services.

Gen-Z is notoriously lax about online privacy: Among digital natives, it’s taken almost for granted that personal data is being used to inform the algorithms that deliver our content. Tacit acceptance of compromised privacy is often considered necessary to benefit from new technology.

On the data-driven web, presentations of user data like the timeline obscure the very real security concessions that users make as they traverse the internet. In 2019, I went to a talk by theorist Neema Githere on data healing as a response to data trauma, the compounded weight of being counted and sorted by impersonal yet prying

technologies. This concept raises a difficult question: As digital natives who recognize the flaws in our internet immersion, from algorithmic racism to political data mining, how might we break free—especially when there’s a sleekly designed reason to stay?

New counter-mapping projects like Montreal’s own Queering the Map both disrupt the mapping status quo and satisfy my fascination with narrative location data. The community-generated map invites users to drop pins on their own experiences, capturing the spatiality of 2SLGBTQIA+ life. Inherent in counter-mapping projects is an optimistic view of data as powerfully personal and integral to the stories of our lives, reinforced by the invitation for users to contribute to a collective geography.

Obeying the luddite voice of reason my mother embedded in my brain, I finally switched off location tracking and put an end to the everchanging map that was six years in the making. My old map remains, though—partially because I cannot figure out how to scrub it from the web and partially because I like to return to it. Perhaps the Google powers that be have me figured out, but the chance to retrace my steps is difficult to pass up.

6

OPINION

COMMENTARY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

Don’t worry about your weight during a pandemic

Rory Daly Staff Writer At the start of last year, I decided to better myself. I resolved to study more, interact more with student organizations, and most importantly, lose weight. After all, during the first year of university, I had gained a significant amount of weight, as many students do. But while I have succeeded in my first two goals, weight loss has admittedly been a failure. Between the social isolation caused by COVID-19 and my bad habit of stress-eating, I think I have come to understand how Sisyphus felt, struggling to push the boulder up the mountain. In retrospect, the task I gave myself looks somewhat absurd now, as COVID-19 is simultaneously a stressor and a cap on outdoor exercise. Still, from WebMD to The New York Times, multiple sites are strangely focussed on tackling weight loss during this pandemic. This emphasis on weight during an unprecedented point in global history is fundamentally misguided and shows how much society overemphasizes weight as an aspect of health.

Society has not always prioritized weight as a determination of health. The body mass index (BMI), a common measurement that determines obesity using a table of height and weight, is a relatively modern concept. The creator of said index, Belgian mathematician and statistician Adolphe Quetelet, developed it in the mid-1800s simply as a formula to link weight and height. Moreover, it was not popularized until the early 1970s, when it was proposed as the best formula relating those two values.

There are a plethora of issues associated with BMI. Because BMI as a model came from data taken from Belgians, it does not apply to all people equally and is Eurocentric in nature.

COMMENTARY

The original index misrepresents most ethnicities. Furthermore, it is most useful when studying populations as opposed to individuals, as it does not distinguish between fat and muscle. Despite this, many doctors still use BMI as a measure of individual obesity. More disturbingly, the vast majority of funding for obesity research goes towards genetic studies, which echo eugenics instead of focussing efforts on human behaviour.

Society overemphasizes weight’s role in health culturally as well. The fat acceptance and body positivity movement has some reasonable arguments regarding how weight is viewed in the West. Advocates believe that the perception that overweight people are laughingstocks or even pitiable has led to a social stigma against them, one that can lead to psychological problems such as eating disorders (EDs) as a result of self-loathing.

A markedly feminist critique also calls out diet culture’s role on Western women, which idealizes a Eurocentric, perfect body that is not attainable for most. Though not without its critics, who view it as promoting a dangerous lifestyle choice, the movement brings to light several problems with how Western society regards weight and weight loss.

For example, while ED rates have increased in non-Western, developed countries in recent years, Western countries still have higher rates overall. Likewise, a comparison of EDs along gendered lines shows that EDs are far more prevalent in women, indicating that the cultural link is quite possibly present. Thus, while it is fair to criticize a small niche of the body positivity movement if they seek to normalize obesity due to the health problems that can accompany it, it is unfair to dismiss all of the points they wish to make.

While focussing on weight loss, as in my case, is nothing to be ashamed of, there is also nothing wrong or shameful about

your body changing during what is sure to be an extremely trying period in the lives of many. In a time of great stress, there is something to be said for taking a step back and being more lenient on oneself. I, for one, am happy to stop rolling the boulder for now in order to wait for the burden to shrink to a more manageable size.

Finding fulfillment beyond the podium skaters alone.

Focussing on recreation and enjoyment does not mean throwing away the dedication that characterizes both figure skaters and McGill students alike. Similar to landing a new jump, the process of earning a degree from a prestigious university demands grit and determination. Yet, too often, students think they must push the courses and extracurricular activities that actually spark their interests to the academic backburner for the sake of getting As on their transcripts. Students should realize that not everything worthwhile and fulfilling needs to be accompanied

Michelle Marcus Contributor The show makeup plastered on the faces of figure skaters often hides more than just cosmetic imperfections.

While figure skating is frequently associated with elegance and agility, the world of competitive skating can be just as harmful as movies like //I, Tonya// make it out to be. Over the course of my nine years as a skater, the ongoing pressure to work harder, look better, and finish stronger turned my love for the sport into a complicated “love-hate” relationship. It was not until this past week, however, when I laced up my skates for the first time in over a year in Montreal’s iconic Parc La Fontaine, that I realized just how many of these negative feelings were towards the environment in which I skated rather than the sport itself. Although the world of competitive figure skating must reduce the pressure it places on its athletes, prioritizing recreation and enjoyment requires a greater cultural shift beyond the realm of sports, and starts at an individual level.

Despite my love for skating, the constant pressure and intense commitment pushed me to retire from the sport fairly early. I had hoped that hanging up my skates would also eliminate my propensity for pushing aside other interests to match my achievements and physique to those of the athletes around me, but this was not the case. My final curtsy on the ice did not signal a farewell to the “no pain,

Periods of high stress can lead to disordered eating, which can negatively impact one’s body image and mental health.

(Athena Ko / The McGill Tribune)

Many competitive athletes are forced to abandon their sports as they get older due to the pressure they can come with. (wikimedia.org)

no gain” mindset. After coming to McGill, I quickly realized that the selfinduced pressure was not a product of the figure skating environment alone: The figure skating culture, which led me to believe that pressure and intensity were necessary to achieve success and fulfillment, dominates academia as well.

It would be wrong to say that figure skating is a toxic sport in its entirety. The hours I spent training both on and off the ice taught me valuable time management and social skills while fostering my ongoing love for fitness and sports. Nevertheless, the constant pressure to maintain a specific weight and skill level, which intensified with each medal I earned, is a product of the sport’s tendency to prioritize skill

and athletic ability over mental health.

By conditioning skaters to believe that success in the sport can only be achieved at the expense of their other hobbies and overall well-being, figure skating contributes to the notion that pursuing something for the sake of sheer enjoyment is pointless and a hindrance to personal achievement.

More professional skaters are shedding light on the harmful dynamics of the sport, which have been glossed over by the idea that specific body standards and rigorous training schedules are necessary for maximizing performance. However, prioritizing unattainable standards over personal contentment goes beyond the walls of the rink, and it cannot be combated by the testimonies of celebrity

CARTOON

by stress, pressure, and unwavering focus. Sometimes, pursuing something for the sake of pleasure is just as crucial to personal success as coming out on top.

Instigating a widespread cultural shift, both within and beyond the skating community, is unlikely to happen overnight. In the meantime, athletes and students should work to protect their love for various interests and hobbies from environments prone to fostering intense competition. For me, this meant dusting off my skates and stepping onto a frozen pond to rediscover my love for the ice.

The Ultimate Incognito Sabrina Girard-Lamas / Contributor

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

7

‘Forbidden’ fights for intersectional justice Moises Serrano’s story is a message for change Matthew Molinaro Staff Writer On Jan. 27, the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE) at McGill hosted a virtual screening of the documentary Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America, which follows Moises Serrano, a young, undocumented, gay man. Directed by Tiffany Rhynard, Forbidden’s 88 minutes immerse viewers in Serrano’s life and his grapple with the various socio-political tensions underlying his identity. Released on July 12, 2016 and screened one week after President Joe Biden’s inauguration, the film is a historical marker of the impact of recent discriminatory legislation in the United States.

The film opens with the provoking cries from a familiar face. He rallies the crowd, persuades them, and calls for a solution to a shared “issue.” His audience cheers, enthralled with the seemingly new possibilities. The familiar face was then-candidate and now-former President Donald Trump, uniting his supporters around building a wall at the MexicoU.S. border. The frame then shifts to a large group of undocumented immigrants, Serrano among them, at a pro-immigration demonstration in Greensboro, North Carolina, where a pastor recalls a main tenet in the Bible: Treat others right. One minute into the movie, the audience witnesses the uneven war where one side wants “their” country “back” while the other side wants freedom and humanity.

The film acts as a historical marker of the impact of government on the realities for its people. (forbiddendoc.com) Rhynard’s opening draws battle lines between politics and reality, and in continuing to mix major political decisions with Serrano’s impassioned speeches and snippets from his life, she situates Serrano and others’ stories into a broader context.

The son of Mexican, undocumented immigrants, Serrano grew up in Yadkinville, North Carolina, a rural farming town an hour outside of Charlotte. Despite its diversification as part of the “New South,” North Carolina has been a bastion of cultural conservatism, recently under scrutiny for the now semi-repealed 2016 Bathroom Bill. At the height of the conservative mid-2000s, Serrano was in high school, hiding the fact that he was gay and undocumented. Yadkinville was especially hos-

tile, with some townspeople connected to the Klu Klux Klan, often staking out white crosses on porches. The camera rolls over the open lands, sprawling and without trees, prompting the question—where can minorities hide?

But, as immigration attorneys relay details about legislation, the second question is—why should they have to hide in the first place?

The film follows Serrano’s life up until the 2016 election. He starts a relationship with Brandon, a kind-hearted guy from town. Serrano’s activism extends to sit-ins, speeches at council meetings, and openly embracing his identity. After graduating from high school, he works to apply to university.

The audience grows up with Serrano as he hardens in the face of political injustices

and its discontents. In recalling a meeting with Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, Serrano informs the audience of her repeated use of the slur “illegals.”

“She said, ‘I don’t support immigration reform, but I do support you personally,’” Serrano said, questioning whether that would make any difference.

The most gripping moments of the documentary occur when Serrano takes the camera into his own hands: In one powerful scene, he videotapes his reaction upon learning of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S. On the way, Serrano and other undocumented immigrants face the 2007 Real ID Act, the threat of mass deportations by the Bush and Obama administrations, and the introduction of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants was—and still is— bleak and lengthy.

As the documentary ends, viewers are left empathizing with Serrano’s and others’ stories while watching the overarching reach of government first-hand. Four years of increased alienation due to Trump’s enabling of xenophobia and bigotry shows how much more progress needs to be made for queer and undocumented immigrants. With a new administration that promised to restore the country’s soul, the film asks its audience to hold its governments accountable, to push for humanity alongside concrete changes, and for inclusivity in the American dream.

‘Euphoria’ bridge episodes give special insight into the show’s leads Pandemic filming restrictions results in a laid-back visual style Angelica Voutsinas Contributor Fans of HBO’s Euphoria were given two bridge episodes to stave off their hunger for a second season of the acclaimed show. Released on Dec. 6 and Jan. 24, respectively, the bridge episodes provided stripped-down character studies for the show’s protagonists and main

couple: Rue Bennett (Zendaya) in “Trouble Don’t Always Last,” and Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer) in “Fuck Anyone Who’s Not A Sea Blob.”

After its initial release in 2019, Euphoria was lauded for its distinct visual style. Through innovative camera movements, eye-catching uses of colour, trendsetting makeup, and tons of glitter, Euphoria capti-

‘Euphoria’ showrunner Sam Levinson gave fans two special bridge episodes to tide them over until Season 2 could be filmed in all of its hyper-stylized glory.

(Jinny Moon / The McGill Tribune)

vated audiences from its first episode. Global lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in early March postponed production of the highly anticipated second season, but showrunner Sam Levinson gave fans two special bridge episodes to tide them over until season two could be filmed in all of its hyperstylized glory. Levinson, who also wrote and produced Malcolm & Marie, the first feature movie filmed in quarantine, found a way to film safely in accordance with L.A. public health directives, which subsequently meant restricting the show’s eccentric visual style.

“Trouble Don’t Always Last” begins with the show’s star-crossed lovers in a scene that seems too good to be true—because it is. Jules is nowhere to be found, while Rue, relapsing on Christmas Eve, sits in a diner with her Narcotics Anonymous sponsor Ali (Coleman Domingo), eating pancakes and talking about life. The episode, which almost entirely takes place in a single diner booth, gives us an emotional look into Rue’s thoughts in a detailed account that departs from a typical fast-paced Euphoria episode.

Levinson gives brilliant monologues to both Rue and Ali, touching on everything from spirituality,

Jules, and revolutions, though ultimately returning to Rue’s sobriety.

Levinson’s stinging account of addiction comes from personal experience, with Rue’s narrative being semi-autobiographical to his own life. The episode features more dialogue-heavy scenes that would otherwise be absent in normal production—but Levinson used COVID19 restrictions to his advantage to shape the narrative in a different but engaging manner.

Zendaya gives a stellar performance in this episode, portraying a vulnerability in Rue that viewers have never seen before as she decides whether her life is worth saving by sobering up. Domingo delivers a similarly remarkable performance, giving an emotional account of someone who tries to keep a positive outlook on life, despite losing his family to his addiction.

The second bridge episode, titled “Fuck Anyone Who’s Not A Sea Blob,” was released less than two months later. It functions as Jules’ redemption arc after some fans of the show labeled her as the series’ villain for her so-called toxic behaviour in her relationship with Rue. In this episode, Levinson allows the audience to see the world through Jules’ eyes and better understand the reality of what it’s like

to love someone with an addiction.

“Fuck Anyone Who’s Not A Sea Blob” partially mirrors its previous episode in its one-onone conversational structure, with Jules facing an identity crisis and speaking with a therapist. One of the episode’s compelling conversations stems from Jules’ thoughts on detransitioning, not because she no longer desires to be a woman, but because she fears she has crafted her femininity based on what men want. While the first episode practically features 50 straight minutes of conversation, “Sea Blob” uses flashbacks and dream sequences throughout the therapy session to give insight into Jules’ thoughts.

While this formal choice provides some relief from exposition-heavy dialogue, the interspersed use of both flashbacks and dream sequences sometimes proves to be confusing—though this effect may be intentional, as viewers experience the same sense of disorientation that Jules feels.

While the pandemic is to blame for the scaled-down production of these episodes, audiences also have it to thank for them existing in the first place. Without the bridge episodes, we would have never had the opportunity to so thoroughly understand these complex characters.

The threat from inside Mapping the rise of far-right extremism in Quebec Kennedy McKee-Braide, Opinion Editor On Jan. 6, far-right supporters of former United States President Donald Trump stormed the American Capitol Building in an attempted insurrection that killed five.

Throughout Trump’s presidency, far-right extremist hate groups proliferated on social media and in public spaces. Political figures, including the president himself, have also depreciated the gravity of their own actions, which has in turn brought far-right radicalization into the mainstream.

Far-right extremism, also referred to as the extreme right, is defined as a branch of right-wing political ideology and action that is more radical than the mainstream realm of conservative politics.

Some Canadians may see far-right politics as a distinctly American phenomenon, but far-right hate groups have long been lurking across the country, including in Quebec. Four years ago on Jan. 29, a far-right extremist killed six and injured 19 at a Quebec City mosque, inspiring similar attacks around the world in years to come. Much like in the U.S., Canadian extremist networks have only grown stronger through social media, and even more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Quebec, the far-right has existed for decades. Frédérick Nadeau is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council postdoctoral fellow at the Centre of Expertise and Training on Religious Fundamentalism, Political Ideologies and Radicalization (CEFIR), a research centre focussing on political radicalization based in Cégep Édouard-Montpetit. According to Nadeau, the existence of far-right movements in Quebec dates back to at least to the Quiet Revolution. Up until around the 2010s, however, such groups generally flew under the radar. For the first half of the decade, these groups were mostly made up of young skinhead neo-Nazis.

“Starting in 2015-2016, with La Meute, the Soldiers of Odin, and Storm Alliance, we see that the extreme right becomes less ‘clandestine,’” Nadeau wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.* “It abandoned the [neo-Nazi] approach characteristic of the skinhead groups prior to 2015, and adopted a more (ultra)nationalist and identitybased ideology.”

In essence, far-right extremist groups became more palpable, making the average person more likely to get involved, thus rendering them more accessible to new demographics. Nadeau explained that the makeup of these groups has shifted from primarily young, violent skinhead types to middle-aged workers and otherwise ‘ordinary’ people. As these shifts in formal or informal group membership occured, public debates sprang up over several controversial pieces of legislation.

“This trend can be linked to the opening of the floodgates we see in the wake of debates surrounding reasonable accommodations (2006-2008), and the Charter of Values (2013), which permitted a normalization of hostile discourse towards immigration and Islam,” Nadeau wrote. “We therefore encounter a plethora of xenophobic and islamophobic groups on social media, and we see groups looking to exit the virtual space to materialize in the ‘real world.’”

Although the Charter of Values, Bill 60, never came into law and was abandoned after the Liberal Party of Quebec took power in 2014, the Coalition Avenir Quebec government has since implemented elements of the secularism bill. Most notably, Bill 21, An Act Respecting the Laicity of the State, came into law in 2019. The law prevents public workers from wearing religious symbols at work, including hijabs, kippahs, and turbans. It has attracted high levels of both public scrutiny and support, signalling that the motivating factors that draw individuals towards far-right ideologies remain relevant. The prevalence of these sentiments in the mainstream serve both to promote radicalization and to advance this kind of legislation.

Design: Chloe Rodriguez / The McGill Tribune

One of the most notable homegrown far-right groups, which itself followed the trajectory Nadeau described, is La Meute, or the Wolf Pack. The group was founded by two men from Beauce, Quebec, who wanted to form a hierarchical, paramilitary group founded on concerns over increasing diversity in the province, with particular hostility towards Muslims. As of 2016, around their peak, the group had about 43,000 members in its Facebook group.

La Meute is just one example—different groups hold different core missions and values. However, there are several different key ideological factors most of them have in common.

“In short, the fundamental essence that links all the currents of the extreme right is the rejection of liberal democracy and ideals of modernity, which they believe threaten the natural order of things,” Nadeau wrote. “Other recurring ideological characteristics of the far-right—which are not compulsory—often [include] nationalism or a certain ‘identity fetishism,’ racism, xenophobia and a tendency towards authoritarianism (‘law and order’ thinking) and, to a certain degree, populism.”

Perhaps due in part to the efforts of members of antifascist networks in Quebec, La Meute is less active today. Only about 16,000 members remain in their public Facebook group. However, other groups and prominent media figures have sprung up in its place. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has fanned the flame for alt-right groups. Public health measures are seen as overly restrictive, prompting concerns about government overreach that have led to antimask rallies across the province.

Nadeau feels that the circumstances of the pandemic fit into the ideological agenda of these groups and allow them to further propagate their beliefs.

“Extreme right movements, which existed before the pandemic, have used it to advance their populist agenda and undermine public trust in institutions of liberal democracy,” Nadeau wrote. “They have used ‘restrictive’ sanitary measures to put forward and popularize the narrative that the far right always has, that the world elites work in the shadows to destroy peoples and nations.”

One public figure of the far-right who has capitalized on concerns related to COVID-19 is Alexis Cossette-Trudel.

Cossette-Trudel creates conspiracy theory content in French, mostly promoting the notorious QAnon theory, which has ravaged online far-right spaces in the U.S. But on top of QAnon content, he has also attended several anti-mask demonstrations and has become one of the most prominent COVID-19 ‘skeptics’ in the province.

Social media undoubtedly plays an extremely significant role in contemporary political radicalism. Taylor Owen, associate professor at the Max Bell School of Public Policy, and director of The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, believes that several factors make this the case.

“Before the internet, you had to know [people with similar views], and maybe subscribe to a newsletter that they physically sent around, or join a chapter of a radical group, whatever it might be,” Owen said.“The main thing the internet first did was connect anyone with that sort of budding radicalism to other people who had similar feelings anywhere in the world.”

The other major factor is the use of algorithms, which

have become a key point of debate and discussion in terms of far-right and otherwise extremist radicalization. In recent years, discourse has developed surrounding the “alt-right rabbit hole,” whereby users are directed towards extremist, white supremacist content via recommendations, particularly on YouTube. This is due to the implementation of algorithms which directly prompt users to engage with extremist groups rather than leaving this content obscure. “[The algorithm] has figured out that a lot of people are interested in ideas that are a bit outside of their comfort zone and slightly radicalize them,” Owen said. “You watch one YouTube video that is totally innocuous, and it recommends a series of videos in a progression that get more and more extreme.”

Increasingly, different social media platforms serve different purposes, providing a myriad of ways to foster fringe movements. While YouTube introduces some users to more radical content, Facebook helps share it and provides people with semi-private groups to build networks amongst themselves. Other applications like Telegram and Signal allow for encrypted communication, which far-right movements can use to mobilize directly. Prior to its removal from app stores and servers, Parler, an emerging platform that claimed to address concerns about free speech on social media, added to the rally power of these groups.

One of the key issues with social media sites facilitating the growth of far-right communities is that they are operated by private companies. Elected governments typically do not act fast enough on legislation, do not care enough, or have too many vested financial and political interests in the platforms to impose regulations on what content they allow or promote.

This is not to say that social media giants have not cracked down on the far-right. In mid-January, almost every major social media platform, including Twitter and Facebook, banned former President Trump and far-right extremist content after the events of Jan. 6. Even more recently, Facebook promised it would reduce recommendations of political content on its site, proving the platforms do have the agency to restrict extremist content by changing its algorithms. Twitter banned Cossette-Trudel that same week.

Above all, these companies are businesses that operate to serve their best interests without always following a strict moral code. Until the general public pushes back against platforms enabling this kind of radicalization enough to threaten their profitability or unless governments decide to take a stronger stance on them, they will inevitably continue to be used as tools for radicalization.

While social media plays a significant role in the radicalization process, Roxane Martel-Perron, researcher and director of education and skills development at the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence, argues that it occurs in a perfect storm. In most cases, multiple aggravating factors come together to radicalize someone.

“Every process of radicalization is really singular to every individual, so there’s no predetermined path,” MartelPerron said. “Media is one thing, but it’s not the only thing that’s going to have an influence.”

Oftentimes, those who feel isolated or disenfranchised in their personal lives may be more likely to seek out coping mechanisms, which can make them more likely to turn

to radical ideas and be more vulnerable to recruitment by extremist groups. Martel-Perron describes this process as a push and pull.

“You have factors that are going to attract people towards looking for answers and [thinking] ‘I’m feeling this and that way, I’m feeling victimized, I’m feeling that I have no place in society, and I’m losing my privileges,’” MartelPerron said. “[T]hen you also have some pull factors where these groups are going to be able to attract these [individuals].”

Beyond ideological factors, these groups can also provide a genuine sense of community that someone in a negative social or familial position may latch on to. “[Far-right groups] answer to various needs that the person may have,” Martel-Perron said. “It’s going to answer a need for belonging, for being part of something bigger than you, for having a family, for finding a purpose to your life. You find friends, you have people who care for you.”

While these kinds of personal factors are not excuses for one’s racism, xenophobia, or otherwise discriminatory sentiments or behaviours, understanding and identifying the root factors behind one’s radicalization is an effective way to fight extremism and reduce harm.

At the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence, Martel-Perron and her colleagues recognize that some may not want to seek formal channels of help. The Centre strives to offer a holistic approach to deradicalization, which centres around community engagement, education, as well as collaboration. The Centre’s work is based on empirical research examining the processes of all forms of radicalization.

“We offer individual but also collective support services with partners involved around a person,” Martel-Perron said.

“So their school, their family. It can be a football coach, whoever is around.”

Martel-Perron believes that preventing violent extremism is a collective effort and that everybody has a role to play. Being aware and mindful of the signs is important to connecting with a person before the situation becomes dire. For this reason, the Centre has developed a behaviour barometer, a tool that can be used by family, friends, colleagues, and anyone else to help recognize worrisome behaviours.

“The good news is that radicalization leading to violence is a behavioural and cognitive process where the person changes, and these behaviours can be and are witnessed by the [loved ones] of a person,” Martel-Perron said. “[The barometer] is not a clinical assessment tool. It’s not going to help you know for sure, but it’s going to help you gain a kind of understanding.”

While it may seem that far-right extremism is only becoming more prominent in Quebec society, this cycle does not have to continue. Stopping it will take time, research, and collective effort. *Interview conducted in French and translated by the author.

10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

Monnet welcomed as McGill’s first Indigenous Artist in Residence

In her Artist Talk, Monnet discusses her art and inspiration Deana Korsunsky Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

One of her goals as an artist, Monnet suggests, is to examine society, and highlight what she sees.

“I see artists a little bit like sociologists, because our role is to respond to the world around us,” Monnet said.

With nearly 100 people in attendance, Monnet discussed her inspiration and motivation for her work, and walked the Zoom attendees through some of her films and visual artwork. She began with a viewing of Ikwé (2009), her first officially released film.

Translating to “woman” in Cree, Ikwé is a personal reflection on the importance of connection to one’s past, showing interspersed images of Monnet and of a moon, representative of Monnet’s eldest grandmother. Monnet explained her interest in the moon’s control over the tides of bodies of water, and how it affects environments and migration patterns.

Identifying as both Algonquin and French, Monnet aims to bridge cultures together in her artwork. (mcgill.ca)

“I was interested in how we physically shape and impact our environment and how [it] influences the people that we are,” Monnet said, referencing the motif of both physicality and metaphor that is so often present in her work.

A skilled multidisciplinary artist, Monnet’s work extends beyond film. “Like ships in the night”—her art installation that features video, concrete, copper, and a triptych of photographs— details a 22-day journey across the Atlantic that Monnet took in 2012, in which she left a Dutch port on a steel-carrying cargo ship and traveled to Montreal. Monnet documented her journey with a video camera, examining the emotions of fear and serenity as she traveled, while also noting the Atlantic Ocean as a medium for colonial trade.

“I wanted to challenge colonial organization of land, body, and time by exploring how communication and the cycle of the moon and tide can actually bridge physical and psychological divides,” Monnet said.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Monnet spoke on her new position as Indigenous Artist in Residence, noting the importance of artists and Indigenous voices in academia.

“I think institutions like McGill are starting to see the role they can play in giving more space to Indigenous students and Indigenous representation within their institution,” Monnet said. “ I believe this type of initiative can be a transformative experience, expanding knowledge, nurturing critical thinking and inspiring new ideas, creativity and innovation. It is surprising that it took this long, until 2021, to have such initiatives, but it’s better late than never.”

Despite the virtual nature of her position at the moment, Monnet hopes to actively engage with the McGill community.

“I’m hoping to exchange as much as possible with faculty and students [and] to be able to share as much as possible, to be available for students or anyone that wants to talk to me or learn more about my practice,” Monnet said. “I’m starting to see a few people reaching out and wanting to chat about art or Indigenous issues and I just think that’s what’s important right now, [to] have conversations.”

While also working on her first feature film, Monnet has an upcoming exhibition that will be presented at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in April 2021.

Librairie Drawn & Quarterly - Launch of Tawhida Tanya Evanson’s debut novel “Book of Wings” Join avid readers to celebrate the release of the Antiguan-Québecoise poet’s debut novel “BOOK OF WINGS.” Feb. 18, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.

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Festival Art Souterrain 2021 : Chronométrie

36 artists and performers present Chronometry themed contemporary pieces.

Feb. 20 – Apr. 30 Ville Souterraine de Montréal, 747 Rue du Square-Victoria #247, Montréal, QC H2Y 3Y9 Free

An Orchestral Rendition of Daft Punk: Greatest Hits: Montreal Jam out to Orchestral renditions of Daft Punk’s greatest hits.

Feb. 20, 9:30pm Online Free

Black Theatre Workshop and Segal Centre present light installation “Liberation’s Radiance” Beautiful light installation by the BTW’s Artist in Residence, Tim Rodrigues, to commemorate Black History Month.

Feb.1 - Feb. 28, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Segal Centre, 5170 chemin de la CôteSainte-Catherine Free

Winnie Ho and Charo Foo Tai Wei push the boundaries of dance The dancers’ virtual performances captures the essence of their craft Emilia Chavanne Contributor When we think of dance, we often think of grace, rhythm, and elegance. In its most traditional sense, dance is a beautiful artistic expression of the body. However, dance has been challenged to push its boundaries and reach new limits.

Indeed, that is the objective of contemporary dance, as realized through Winnie Ho and Charo Foo Tai Wei’s performances.

The virtual event, CanAsian Dance, was presented by Tangente, a Montreal-based contemporary dance company that encourages dance to be innovative and imaginative. The goal of CanAsian Dance, created by Festival Acces Asie, was to encourage each choreographer to create a piece that challenged them to take a new direction with their work.

Through contemporary dance, the dancers experiment onstage, performing without rhythmic melodies, using a mixture of everyday sounds

like raindrops for music, or even dancing in complete silence. This experimental genre seems like the most apt to adapt to this virtual context, allowing for dancers to find new ways to perform. Ho and Charo Foo successfully took on the challenge of dancing despite the absence of an inperson audience.

The first performance was Winnie Ho’s aWokening, in which she attempted to reconnect with her roots from Hong Kong. Ho’s choreography revolved around a wok, a traditional Chinese cooking instrument. The wok is special to Ho as she clutches it close to herself, and it remains attached to her while she performs. Ho’s choreography seems surprising at first, as she dances naked with a wok and with no music.

However, as we learn about Ho’s approach and her connection to the Chinese diaspora, her performance becomes a deeply personal, authentic and unmediated expression of her cultural roots. During the intermission, Ho told the audience that

Ho and Charo Foo’s performances were part of ‘Festival Acces Asie.’ (tangentedanse.ca) her main challenge was to perform inside a theatre, as she has a strong spatial sensitivity and usually dances in open spaces. Ho attempted to create her own environment in the enclosed setting, considering it a new open canvas—effectively using the indoor space to convey her interior world to the viewers.

The second performance was Charo Foo’s The Golden Stick Ritual. The piece was inspired by her

aunt, who practiced healing rituals throughout her childhood. Charo Foo seeks to recreate the intensity and energy her aunt possessed in her rituals, combining the technical precision of classical training with the complete fluidity of contemporary dance. In linking her background in classical Chinese dance to this new style, she defies traditional form and moves in entirely new directions. Charo Foo’s choreography imitates the healing

ritual’s force through the strength of her gestures and articulate facial expressions. Her performance is a voyage through herself, a transcendent experience where Charo Foo’s different emotions—resistance, pain— are embodied in her movement. She is able to synthesize these sensations into something beautiful and to share these feelings with the public.

Through their innovative performances, Ho and Charo Foo examine their pasts and interior selves, merging these concepts of identity to form a new, innovative style. Contemporary dance does not commit to the elegance and structure that this art may provide in its conventional sense, but rather searches for a new path. Eschewing the prescriptions of grace and conventional rhythm, both dancers instead sought out inner experience for all its raw intensity, rendering emotion completely physical.

Ho and Charo Foo’s performances pushed dance to transcend across cultures, across genres, and across screens.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

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Disappearing giants: How warming oceans are suffocating large fish Large fish have reduced oxygen consumption in warmer waters

Margaret Wdowiak Staff Writer Since 1981, the mean global ocean temperature has risen at an average rate of 0.18 degrees Celsius per decade. This has had serious impacts on the health of marine species; as oceans warm across the world, fish that are unable to cope with climatic changes, such as cardinalfish, are disappearing at a staggering rate.

A new study conducted by an international team of researchers from McGill, the University of Montana, and Radboud University examines this alarming trend.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), the study explores how water temperature and oxygen availability affect the metabolism as well as survival fitness of fish.

The research team was particularly interested in how rising ocean temperatures impact oxygen consumption.

“We investigate how water temperature and oxygen availability together affect aerobic metabolism (i.e., the rate of oxygen consumption) of fish,” Juan Vicente Gallego Rubalcaba, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biology

Oceans absorb most of the excess heat from greenhouse gases.

(Taja de Silva / The McGill Tribune) and author of the study, wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

In order to achieve their goals, the researchers developed a model based on the metabolic theory of ecology.

“We build on the equations of [the] metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) to include physical mechanisms of oxygen transfer,” Rubalcaba wrote. “This theory explains how metabolic rate increases with temperature and body mass, but does not account for oxygen uptake or availability.”

Metabolic rate refers to the rate

at which an animal burns calories to produce energy. This updated metabolic-based model evaluates how water temperature and body size affect oxygen consumption and diffusion. The model assesses how oxygen is extracted from water and distributed by a fish’s gills throughout its body.

“We developed a model based on physicochemical mechanisms of gas diffusion to calculate oxygen consumption rates as a function of water temperature, oxygen concentration, gill morphology and fish body size,” Rubalcaba wrote.

The model predicted that oxygen limitation would impose more constraints on the metabolism of larger and more active fish.

To support their hypothesis, the scientists compared their predictions against actual measurements of metabolic rates in 286 fish species.

The oxygen consumption rates of fish of different body sizes were studied at different water temperatures.

The results of this comparison were consistent with their predictions. Indeed, the researchers found that increased oxygen limitation, tied to the temperature increase caused by climate change, had a greater impact on larger fish.

“Metabolic rate (especially active metabolic rate) increases with temperature to a greater extent in small [fish] than in large fish,” Rubalcaba wrote. “This means that smaller species are able to increase their metabolic demand for oxygen in warmer waters, while larger species may not be able to do so.”

Since larger fish have more difficulty adapting to temperature increases, species already in decline are at greater risk. The Manaaki tuna of New Zealand, for example, experience low oxygen availability due to polluted waters that could be

exacerbated by rising temperatures.

“Constraints may be especially important in large fish, because they have small gills relative to their body size (although this is a muchdebated hypothesis),” Rubalcaba wrote.

The decrease in oxygen levels caused by increased ocean temperature has massive impacts on the physiology and behavioural patterns of large fish. Fishes’ inability to extract enough oxygen from warmer water through their gills leads to shifts in body size and changes in reproductive behaviour.

“Water temperature is already rising worldwide as a consequence of climate change and many fish species need to cope with this rapid temperature change, either migrating toward colder regions or adopting different life strategies such as growing smaller to avoid respiratory constraints,” Rubalcaba wrote.

Fortunately, actions such as limiting greenhouse gas emissions and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems can be taken to mitigate oceanic warming. Given that approximately three billion people depend on fish as a primary source of nutrition, protecting fish from warming oceans must be a priority.

How precision medicine and artificial intelligence can reshape cancer care Personalized treatments can change cancer therapy Cyril Kazan Contributor Cancer treatment is one of the most intricate challenges of contemporary medicine. One complication that often arises is the trial and error prescription of drugs that are often ineffective against a given type of tumour or for a particular patient. Moreover, these treatments often produce exhausting side effects.

The ability to identify the type of tumour and develop targeted treatment unique to each patient can dramatically increase both their survival rate and quality of life. This approach to treating patients based on individual characteristics is called precision medicine.

A recent initiative by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and MEDTEQ, a major Canadian medical technology organization, aims to integrate current treatment methods like immunotherapy and chemotherapy, precision medicine principles, and artificial intelligence to achieve a personalized approach to cancer treatment.

“Cancers of all types are heterogeneous,” Dr. Peter Metrakos, head of the Cancer Research Program at the RI-MUHC, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “Every tumour [has] a unique set of mutations and a unique set of drivers. If we want to be successful, we are going to have to be able to stratify them and uniquely target them.”

To achieve this, researchers are looking for biomarkers in patients’ blood that are linked to

Through new AI-based methods, doctors will be able to identify the type of tumour from a blood sample. (dailysabah.com) specific types of tumours. Cancer cells release extracellular vesicles into the bloodstream that contain proteins and genetic material such as DNA and RNA. Examining the content of these vesicles can indicate tumour identity and help doctors develop targeted treatment plans.

However, once the components of these vesicles are extracted from the blood sample and their protein and genetic content is sequenced, a significant challenge arises. Protein, DNA, and RNA sequences, in addition to a patient’s medical history, constitute a tremendous amount of data to be analyzed. No scientist presented with

this amount of information could detect patterns, but a computer can. This is where developments in artificial intelligence come into play.

“The algorithm sees trends and is able to call them out,” Dr. Anthoula Lazaris, a scientist at the RI-MUHC who co-leads the project, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

My Intelligent Machines (MIMs), a Montreal-based leader in artificial intelligence, plans to use machine learning algorithms to perform a high-level analysis of protein and genetic sequences combined with clinical information.

This method may uncover links between specif-

ic tumour types and biochemical signatures in the blood. Then, CellCarta, a company specializing in biomarker development, will develop tools to identify the presence of these signatures from a simple liquid biopsy taken from the patient.

This collaborative research initiative could transform cancer care by reducing precious diagnostic time and ensuring more targeted treatment.

“The patient walks into the clinic [where] we take a blood sample, run an assay, find a signature and identify the unique features of the tumour,” said Lazaris. “Combined with the patient’s clinical profile, [we use this information to] tailor the treatment accordingly,” Lazaris said.

It would seem the current process of trying different drugs and readjusting prescriptions based on the outcomes will soon become obsolete. Doctors will be able to better identify the most effective treatments based on signatures identified in the patient’s blood, increasing the chance of successful treatment and making cancer care less debilitating for the patient.

Metrakos explained that the findings of their study represent an important milestone towards a major shift in cancer treatment strategy.

“What we should go towards is a tumouragnostic approach, which means that you don’t care where the tumour comes from,” Metrakos said. “You look at its mutations, you look at its drivers, you look at its protein makeup, and you target that, rather than where it comes from.”

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

When feelings don’t care about the facts

Dr. Christiane Northrup spreads dangerous health misinformation on Instagram

Zoe Karkossa Contributor The rise of the Information Age has enabled widespread public access to scientific research, but it has also disseminated a dazzling array of misinformation. Distinguishing fact from fiction during a pandemic can be difficult, particularly for the significant number of Canadians that struggle with literacy.

Dr. Christiane Northrup is one of many health-oriented online presences that has capitalized on social media’s wide reach.

Despite a steadfast commitment to astrology and vaccine denialism, she has successfully leveraged her training as an obstetriciangynecologist into a career focussed on women’s health spanning multiple decades. Her Instagram posts alternate between advertisements for her ebooks and short videos, during which she casually chats about her cats, fan mail, and harmful pandemic misinformation.

In a recent article for McGill’s Office for Science and Society, science communicator and molecular biology master’s student Jonathan Jarry described how people tune out scientific experts in favour of influencers like Northrup.

“As science and technology become more and more complex, when we lose touch with it, it’s very easy for us to fall back to our intuitions, to believing things because they make us feel good, not because they are true,” Jarry said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

When scientific information is poorly communicated, people tend to fall back on the assumptions they already hold, often confusing personal experiences and compelling falsehoods with proven facts. The human tendency towards irrationality is only furthered by modern media distrust and times of crises that decrease trust in public authority.

Northrup’s platform was initially built on her bestseller Women’s Health, Women’s Bodies, which combines relatively accurate health information with more dubious mysticism. Her straightforward advice about dealing with hot flashes and the proven issues with mammograms is easily accessible to women with doubts about the medical system.

People with poorer health are more likely to distrust the medical system, leaving them particularly vulnerable to false health information online. (oprah.com)

However, Northrup is no stranger to dangerously inaccurate health information. Her recent content resolutely ignores reality, actively discouraging people from getting vaccinated, spreading unfounded claims about the danger of the COVID-19 vaccine, and going so far as to brazenly deny the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Northrup has carefully crafted her persona to target female audiences, focussing on keeping her audience engaged rather than providing factual insight or analysis. The impressive social media following that she has garnered shows that health beliefs are often grounded in emotion rather than reason.

“Feelings don’t care about facts,” Jarry said. “If somebody’s irrational beliefs are based in emotions, in values, no amount of saying [that] the science is true whether you believe in it or not […] will really make a difference if you’re trying to […] change their mind about something.”

Although Northrup’s talk of intuition and vitamin supplements may seem relatively inconsequential, other messages she spreads have the potential to cause significant harm. Efficient and widespread vaccination against COVID-19 is essential to halting the spread of the disease. Misinformation on social media can have

damaging effects on trust in health institutions and can affect people’s likelihood of getting the vaccine.

Scientists and policymakers have a duty towards society to disseminate science in an accurate and accessible way. Developing a vaccine is important, but educating people, reducing transmission, and preparing our society for future risks are also crucial to maintaining public health. Accomplishing these goals cannot happen without establishing reliable communication and public trust.

“The first thing that I think we should do is to listen to these concerns, because by listening to them, we can better understand where this person is coming from,” Jarry said. “It also shows that we care about their anxieties and their fears, and this is how you build a relationship of trust.”

Among the proliferation of untrustworthy sources, there is a growing movement of science communicators striving to deliver accessible and accurate health information. Through online initiatives such as ScienceUpFirst, they aim to reclaim the social media narrative surrounding COVID-19 and to help people understand scientific information. Effective science education is fundamental to public health, and it can only be achieved through the dedication and compassion of scientists and educators.

McGill research study finds fisheries may save humans after nuclear war How well-managed fisheries may be a key food source after a catastrophic event Laurie Chan Contributor When thinking about the aftermath of a nuclear war, fisheries are not the first things that come to mind.

However, in a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), a team of McGill researchers revealed that marine fishery supplies could be vital to sustaining human life by providing food security after a nuclear war or other abrupt climatic shocks.

Among other catastrophic effects, such as immediate destruction of cities and firestorms, nuclear war would result in the release of soot into the atmosphere, blocking out sunlight and leading to a plunge in atmospheric temperature. Consequently, there would be an unprecedented reduction in agricultural production, posing a risk to worldwide food security.

“I think it’s very important to study what the potential effects of a nuclear war could be so that we are well informed when we, or our decision-makers, decide rules for whether or not we should have these weapons,” Kim Scherrer, a PhD student in McGill’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

Alongside Scherrer, a team of researchers evaluated the effects of nuclear war on the worldwide food system through six “war scenarios,” modelling how fishing worldwide would change depending on rapidly increased fish demand or decreased ability to fish. These were done through the state-of-the-art Community Earth System Model. Each scenario simulated a war-like event, followed by the socioeconomic response of the fishing industry, pertaining to the simultaneous fishing demands.

Based on existing global tensions, the study

10 per cent of people worldwide depend primarily on fisheries as a food source. (The Future Economy) simulated five conflicts between India and Pakistan with increasing quantities of soot release, and one substantially larger U.S.-Russia war injecting 150 teragrams of soot into the atmosphere. The industry responses included a range of fishing demands, from business-as-usual, or no change, as a control scenario to very large increases or complete collapse.

The main findings from these climate models showed that well-managed fisheries are key to maintaining fish and seafood as stable food sources. In practice, this means implementing strict quotas on fish catches. While fisheries may appear as a short-term solution, they can be instrumental to global nutrition in the immediate years following a nuclear war, especially as the climate restabilizes itself in the following five to 15 years.

“It’s a good idea to monitor gear types and details of the fishing to prevent destructive practices, but the most important thing is simply to fish less,” Eric Galbraith, a professor at McGill’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, wrote in an email to the Tribune. “This ends up giving us more fish to eat, [being] more profitable, and producing [fewer] emissions.”

According to Scherrer, while the research revolved around the potential outbreak of a nuclear war, the findings are equally applicable to other possible climatic shocks, such as volcanic eruptions.

The results are also relevant to more subtle changes, such as unmitigated climate change, which has already started to put pressure on the fishing industry.

“I think that’s a really important finding, that being prepared for the worst should be the same as just avoiding overfishing and maintaining abundant fish stocks, so it’s not like [we] have to do something completely different,” Scherrer said.

The study found that the U.S.-Russia war scenario and business-as-usual fishing would be closest in predicted magnitude to the end-of-century fishing declines under unmitigated climate change.

In the future, Scherrer hopes to uncover the links between other food sources that might be important in a climate disaster resulting in a food emergency. In particular, she hopes to gain a better understanding of the relationships between the farmed crops and the animals that we eat.

“We can’t run our lives or societies thinking that nuclear war would happen tomorrow,” Scherrer said. “The urgent thing that we find in the study is that when it comes to fisheries, you don’t have to be doing something very different to be prepared.”

STUDENT LIFE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

13

The small pleasure of the postcard

Exchanging handwritten letters bring faraway people and places home Holly Wethey Contributor Every morning, when I wake up, Leonard Cohen stares back at me. So does the Queen of England, a neon pink cat, and a small Tuscan countryside. They are the faces of the many special edition stamps on my postcard wall, a section of my room dedicated entirely to the letters I have received from friends over the years.

A variety of postcards grace the wall, from a photo of the waterfront at TroisRivières, to a watercolour painting of various root vegetables with the words “I’m rooting

for you” scrawled underneath.

Normally, my postcard wall is a small pleasure, but these days, it has become an especially large one. It seems to quietly insist that there is a wide, expansive world beyond the walls of my Plateau apartment. As it turns out, I’m not alone in my growing appreciation for postcards and letter writing.

Alana Dunlop, U3 Arts and Science, also started writing letters to her friend last April, when she moved back to her small hometown in Ontario. For Dunlop, her letter-writing was born entirely from the pandemic.

“It made being stuck at home more bearable,” Dunlop said. “I would check the

The holiday season saw record high numbers of stamp sales, in part because of the resurgence of analog mail. (Justyna Stasik / paperole.com)

mail every week to see if there was a letter.”

Dunlop and her pen-pal also included trinkets in their letters.

“I would put SpongeBob stickers over the envelope and we would include stuff we found in them,” Dunlop said. “She sent me laptop stickers and this little pamphlet with the Mont Royal cross on it.”

With nearly all of our social interactions taking place online now, it is refreshing to communicate through pen and paper.

“It’s a lot more exciting to physically open something than to get a text,” Dunlop said. “It’s a great way to practice writing. In letters, there’s a lot more emphasis on writing well.”

Shelly Bahng, U2 Arts, shares a similar experience, having also taken up letterwriting during the pandemic. “[Before the pandemic], I would only write letters on special occasions,” Bahng said. “When the pandemic started, I made the decision to start writing more.”

Bahng explained how she agreed with friends to write letters to one another instead of text. The proposition was born from a desire to eliminate the stress of having to text someone back immediately. Indeed, exchanges through letters can take us away from our screens, where we tend to spend a great deal of time these days.

“There’s so much pressure [with texting],” Bahng said. “I suggested letter writing because there’s a smaller expectation of any reply because we wouldn’t know when

we sent it or if the post office was busy.”

Bahng wrote letters to her friend who had moved back to Toronto, sending stickers and any flat object that would fit in an envelope, including a key chain from Korea. For her, letters are valuable because they serve as a record of messages that might otherwise be lost.

“I have often thought about how these days, because everything is online, we don’t really send letters to each other so all of our conversations aren’t being archived [on paper],” Bahng said. “I was reading a lot of authors who had letter correspondences with each other. I wondered [if there] would there be any physical proof of the exchanges between my friends and I.” As our time in isolation stretches on, people are sending more and more letters.

A headline from CTV News Montreal announced an unprecedented increase in stamp sales over the holidays. It turns out that the 14 Christmas cards I mailed to friends and family this previous holiday season were only a few of the thousands of cards Montrealers were sending. The letter in the mail—no longer a relic of the past—is making its great comeback.

As I drop my Mexico City-bound postcard into the mailbox, I join my fellow Montrealers in our excessive consumption of postage stamps. I gained a final glimpse of that small stamp that appears to have a certain kind of power we do not: Unlike us, it can go anywhere it wants.

French at Work seminar series expands students’ linguistic horizons

FLC’s seminars are intended to help students navigate the French-speaking job market Maya Mau Staff Writer For students with French as a second, third, or fourth language, navigating Montreal can be challenging. Although McGill is an anglophone university, the ability to speak some French is useful when exploring other parts of the city, since it has been the official language of Quebec since 1969.

Gaining sufficient conversational French skills to make the most of living in the city can be difficult, but navigating the Quebec job market is another challenge entirely.

Luckily, the French Language Center (FLC) seeks to help students develop their French language skills so they can navigate Quebec’s job market with ease. The FLC’s “Series French at Work - Français au travail” seminar series helps students with intermediate to advanced French backgrounds develop their verbal and written French while also connecting them with employers throughout the province.

The series is organized in collaboration with McGill’s Careers Planning Service (CaPS) and participation in the series appears on students’ official McGill co-curricular records (CCR).

Recognition on this document

provides both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for students to attend the seminars.

French Studies lecturer Joannie Proulx is confident that the FLC’s services are meeting a student demand.

“The French professional communication workshops were strongly motivated by concrete needs expressed by our students,” Proulx wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Many of our students want to remain and work in Quebec after their studies, but have expressed not feeling prepared enough to transition into the French workplace.”

Marion Vergues, Faculty of Arts lecturer and the director and academic coordinator of the series, believes that the ability to speak French is invaluable to students seeking a job in Quebec after graduation.

“Being able to work efficiently in a multilingual environment [provides] more confidence in one’s ability to adapt to an ever-changing job market, as well as more opportunities [for] growth,” Vergues wrote. “French plays a major role in this part, of course in Quebec and in all Canadian provinces because of bilingualism requirements, but also in our globalized world.”

The series provides students with the tools necessary to develop a profile, write a CV, and participate in interviews in French. Vergues has enjoyed leading several of the seminars.

“I find them nurturing,” Vergues wrote. “I have been teaching French for Professional Communication for a while. It allows me to interact with students by teaching French for specific objectives, which is still underrated in language curricula at university level [compared] to literature for example.”

Like most events, the seminars have had to take a different form since COVID-19 hit in March 2020.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the French Language Centre has had to adapt to remote teaching and learning to ensure access to high-quality courses and activities,” Vergues wrote. “It has been both a challenging and rewarding process due to a unique pairing of self-driven and skilled instructors and engaged students.”

Although the “Series French at Work - Français au travail” seminars are geared towards students who already have an intermediate or advanced background in French, the FLC’s offerings are diverse.

Proulx helps ensure that there are

The seminar series will be held from late January to late February.

(Arindam Das / The McGill Tribune) opportunities for beginners to enjoy being in a bilingual city and become familiar with the French language.

“I coordinate a team of amazing French language assistants (monitrices de langues), who create and facilitate fun pedagogical activities for students learning French, such as field trips in Montreal or Quebec [City] (before Covid), French meetups, a language partnering program, game nights, and a tutoring service,” Proulx wrote.

Both Vergues and Proulx emphasized the importance of engaging in the FLC’s events.

“I would encourage students

to try and participate in a French activity, whether it is a game night or the language partnering program,” Proulx wrote. “Since we all shifted to remote [...] interactions, I think it’s now more important than ever to connect with people. Why not pick up some French in the process?”

Vergues described the benefits of student engagement with the FLC. “Take advantage of all opportunities to engage in activities offered in French on the campus,” Vergues wrote. “Get to know [the] Francophones of McGill. They are proud ambassadors of the French [language], and passionate about it!”

14 STUDENT LIFE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

Reconnecting with myself through recovery

My journey to weight restoration and body acceptance Erika MacKenzie Staff Writer Content warning: The following deals with topics centred around disordered eating.

Between the ages of 16 and 20, I was missing a vital aspect of my health: My menstrual cycle.

If this predicament ever came up in conversation, people expressed concern for my well-being, but I was quick to brush it off.

I used every excuse in the book to explain my strange situation: “I’m an athlete. Many female athletes lose their period,” or “my mother lost her period in university, it’s probably just genetics,” and, worst of all, “I feel great and I’m not planning on having children soon, so what’s the big deal?”

Little did I know, it was a big deal. Missing a menstrual cycle has profound negative impacts on bone density, cardiovascular health, and can increase psychological stress. The medical term for missing a period due to disordered eating, psychological stress, and/or excessive exercise is hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA), and I was its poster child.

When I lost my period, I was deeply entrenched in diet culture.

What started in the tenth grade as a bid to lose weight for a vacation turned into a four-year battle with orthorexia.

Annyck Besso, a registered dietician at Sooma Nutrition Counselling and Therapy Montreal spoke with the Tribune about orthorexia. “[Orthorexia] is an obsession with eating healthy, [like] eating natural foods, natural ingredients,” Besso said. “It can present itself [as] a compulsiveness to be healthy and seek health in your eating habits and exercise habits. [Orthorexia] is not officially recognized in the DSM5 [...] but I would say orthorexia is a lot more prevalent [as of the last five years, and we have learned more about it.]’’

The pervasiveness of diet culture in the media contributed to my disordered behaviour by pushing the narrative that thinner was always better, regardless of the costs.

Julia Caddy, the Students’ Society of McGill (SSMU) Mental Health Commissioner, U3 Arts, expressed that media messaging can play a large role in the development of disordered eating habits.

“Eating disorders are so closely tied with perfectionism and […] when you have a society and media that posits losing weight and looking a certain way and eating a certain way as good, and the opposite as bad, and you combine that with perfectionism, it makes sense that people develop eating disorders,” Caddy said.

For me, losing weight through over-exercising and food restriction

became addictive. Each time I stepped on the scale and the number dropped, I breathed a sigh of relief. People in my life began to notice that my desire for control was becoming out of hand.

According to Besso, this obsession with control is prevalent among people suffering from eating disorders.

“I would say that eating disorders are typically misunderstood to be superficial disorders, but they really are disorders of control,” Besso said.

a therapist and slowly started to break the food and exercise rules I clung to so religiously. I was fortunate that, by the time I arrived at McGill, my relationship with food and my body had improved.

Cody Esterle, general coordinator at the SSMU Eating Disorder Resource and Support Centre (EDRSC), explained that the university context can be extremely triggering for many suffering with disordered eating.

come back. I remained in a state of quasi-recovery for over a year.

Besso described quasi-recovery as the point when someone starts refeeding and breaking some of their disordered rules, but does not fully commit to recovery.

“The quasi-recovery is in committing to changing some of your habits, but very much staying grounded in some form of control and eating disorder rules,” Besso said.

“You’re still restricting and your body

Orthorexia, an eating disorder that stems from an obsession with eating healthy, shares much in common with the tenets of diet culture. (Ruobing Chen / The McGill Tribune) “Emotions and circumstances are sometimes out of our control […] so if it’s difficult to sit in that discomfort […] focussing on controlling your body does feel really productive.”

In the eleventh grade, I had a harsh encounter with reality when I visited the doctor for a routine checkup. After running some tests, the doctor informed me that my blood pressure and hormone levels were shockingly low. She warned me that if I continued down this road, the consequences would be ugly.

That year, I started working with

“Part of it is [...] having no parental supervision over food […] and the whole concept of the freshman 15, and these pretty toxic ideas about the way your body should look,” Esterle said. “Life is very overwhelming and managing food is an additional thing [….] Students are pretty tight on money [and] the stress and amount of work that McGill puts on us makes it harder to put yourself first and your needs first.”

Despite the progress I had made in university, I was still overexercising and my period had not

is still malnourished, though it feels like you’re eating a lot more than you were before.”

One of the biggest detriments to my recovery was the external validation I received for my thin appearance. Esterle described how the glorification of thin bodies in the media makes it much harder for certain people to recover.

“It’s seen as an accomplishment [to lose weight, so] the type of eating disorder voice that’s developed in one’s head is harder to fight back against,” Esterle said. “Diet culture

makes it a lot easier to get an eating disorder […] fatphobia is a part of diet culture and plays a huge part in eating disorders.”

It was not until I discovered the book No Period, Now What? by Dr. Nicola J. Rinaldi that things started to shift for me. The book offers a science-based, comprehensive guide for how to recover from HA and anecdotes of other women’s recovery journeys. Reading other women’s success stories inspired me to take action.

In March 2020, I went “All In” to recover from HA. As described in the book, the All In approach involves eating to complete satiety every day and reducing exercise until one has three consecutive menstrual cycles.

No foods were off limits, and there was no maximum number of calories you could eat per day.

The experience was extremely challenging, but also liberating. I had the freedom to eat every food I had previously demonized without guilt or shame.

Letting go of the size I had idealized in my head was difficult, but moving beyond my physical appearance gave me an opportunity to express gratitude for all the things my body did for me. Whether it was keeping my heart beating, helping me hug my family, or allowing me to dance, my body was working for me everyday.

For Caddy, recovery meant reconnecting with the things she loved again.

“The true ingredient in recovery was finding my identity again and filling in that gap that used to be filled with the eating disorder,” Caddy said. “For me, the defining feature of recovery is, when I face any opportunity to engage in a behaviour or obsess over certain things, it’s making a decision [….] Am I deciding between being sick again or being myself and living my life with all of these things that I love?”

My work eventually paid off: I regained my period right before my twentieth birthday and it has been regular ever since.

While I still struggle with my body image from time to time, I have cultivated a relationship of respect and appreciation with my body that has helped me overcome the tough times.

What I did not expect when I gained weight was that I would also gain confidence, vitality, and happiness. Recovering was the best decision I have ever made because my life is so much richer than when I was confined to such a small box.

Sooma is a team of registered dieticians and psychologists that specialize in eating disorder treatment and sports nutrition. They can be found on Instagram at https://www. instagram.com/s.0.0.m.a/.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

The Premier League title is up for the taking

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Manchester City are title favourites, but their grasp is tenuous Karan Kumar, Reza Ali Contributor, Staff Writer The 2021 Premier League season is halfway finished and has been rather unpredictable. Liverpool, last season’s champions, are currently four points behind current league leaders Manchester City, who have 44 points and an extra game to play compared to the rest of the top four teams. Right behind Manchester City and ahead of Liverpool is Manchester United, who are three points back from first. Rounding out the top four is Leicester City, who lag five points behind the leader.

Currently in the middle of the standings are traditional powerhouses as well as some unforeseen dark horses. Powerhouses Chelsea and Arsenal both have 30 points after 20 games. Chelsea seems to be trending downwards, while Arsenal is trending up after the loan signing of creative midfielder Martin Odegaard, eliminating 16 points from their last available 18. Joining

Third: Manchester United United had the chance to move up to the top of the ranks on Jan. 27, when they played the worst team in the league, Sheffield United. However, they lost 2-1, a result that sums up their campaign: Inconsistency mars this Manchester team. While heroics from the likes of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernades could win them unexpected points, it is far from sustainable for a title charge. Third would not be a bad finish at all, considering Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s relationship with the hot seat as manager.

Second: Liverpool Liverpool were dominant in their last campaign. The reigning champions won their first Premier League title in style, finishing with 99 points, 18 points clear of the next closest side. This year however, long term injuries to center backs Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez

(Outlook India) looked revitalized this season, with six goals in his last seven Premier League games. Wide players such as Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, and Bernardo Silva give Guardiola immense amounts of creativity at his disposal. At the back, Ruben

Trending up: Arsenal Mikel Arteta was given an almost impossible job last season: He was tasked to take over midseason, in his first head manager role, and bring a “Big 6” club back to its former greatness. While Arsenal finished eighth in the league, they went on to win the FA Cup, securing a trophy and a European qualification.

All signs were pointing to a good campaign this season from the Gunners. However, before Boxing Day, Arsenal was sitting in 14th place and had relegation on their mind. A Boxing Day win against Chelsea turned into a fine run of form, bringing the Gunners up to the top half of the table.

Trending down: Chelsea

(worldfootball.net) Arsenal and Chelsea are Aston Villa, Southampton, and Leeds United, who all have a game in hand on the London sides. The McGill Tribune shares its predictions for the rest of the season.

Top Four Predictions Fourth: Leicester City It will be no surprise if Leicester City replicate their 2015-2016 Cinderella story title run, as the Foxes sit a mere two points behind Manchester City. Leicester may temporarily lead the league with a decent run of fixtures coming up, including Fulham, Wolves, and Leeds. However, the Europa League campaign will pick in February, meaning Leicester will have to travel across Europe midweek. Ending the season with United, Chelsea, and Tottenham means capitulation may be in the cards for the Foxes, leading to a fourth place finish this campaign.

have hindered the side, in addition to their attacking woes. Until their 3-1 win against Tottenham on Jan. 28, Liverpool had gone 486 minutes without a Premier League goal and 40 days without a Premier League win. There’s no doubt Klopp’s side is still one of the best, but they need to be perfect to make up for their injury losses—so far, this season has been far from that.

Dias looks to be the signing of the summer and forms a formidable partnership with John Stones. This City side has all the makings for a title run, so only one thing can stop them: Themselves. We have seen Guardiola overcomplicate his tactics before. Regardless, if City keep playing like they have been, this title is theirs.

The Blues started well with promising performances in the beginning months of the season, even though their new signing, Kai Havertz, did not replicate his form from the Bundesliga. However, the nightmare started in the DecemberJanuary period, when Chelsea struggled to win. Frank Lampard, club manager until Jan. 25, was let go due to his inability at making a consistent plan to win games.

Thomas Tuchel, now in charge, will have a tough task ahead to keep Chelsea in the top four with the upcoming Champions League and

First: Manchester City Pep Guardiola is a tactical genius. No one can deny that.

However, his recruitment and management prowess tends to fly under the radar. Manchester City boast incredible depth—an integral aspect to a title-winning team normally, but even more so during a pandemic. Although star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is out injured, that did not stop City from a 5-0 victory against West Brom on Jan. 26. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has

After a tough start to the season, Mikel Arteta has led Arsenal out of the relegation zone and is now poised to defend the FA Cup. (Sports Illustrated)

FA Cup.

Relegation Prediction 20th: Sheffield United Sheffield have the worst start to a top flight season in English Football history. The Blades have scored just 12 goals in 21 games so far and are 10 points behind a non-relegation zone team, Brighton, who still have a game in hand. The club has lost 17 games and won only two so far. With this record, they are bound to finish 20th and become relegated from the Premier League.

19th: West Brom The first half of the season has not been successful for West Brom, who have won only one of their past five games. They have the worst goal differential in the Premier League of -33. Slaven Bilic, West Brom’s previous manager, was let go in December last year, and was succeeded by Sam Allardyce. Allardyce, who has managed successful escapes from the relegation zone in the past with teams like Bolton and Sunderland, will require more than a miracle to get West Brom out of relegation this year.

18th: Fulham Fulham have won only two out of 20 games so far and have been in the bottom three every season.

They have not won a game since November and have 10 draws. It would require many unlikely wins for the team to escape the relegation zone.

Overall, this season is wide open, with about 20 games left for each team to play. With the Champions League round of 16 matches approaching in February, Liverpool and Manchester City face a challenging game schedule ahead, which could eventually narrow the race for the title.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2021

SPORTS

McGill men’s hockey team celebrates 144th anniversary

Montreal and McGill both instrumental in the development of modern hockey Zoe Babad-Palmer Staff Writer Jan. 31 marked the 144th anniversary of the first McGill men’s hockey game. Not only was this the beginning of McGill’s men’s hockey program, which now boasts 22 championships, it was also a crucial development in hockey itself: McGill men’s hockey is believed to be the first-ever organized hockey team.

In 1877, two years after the first organized indoor game of ice hockey was played at the Victoria Rink in Montreal, McGill students returned to face off against the Victorias, winning 2-1. The seven rules of this game, believed to be the first published ice hockey rules, appeared in the Montreal Gazette a month later.

While Montreal remains fiercely proud of its hockey history, hockey’s birthplace is still widely debated. Simple stick and ball games were played in ancient Greece, China, and Egypt, as well as by Indigenous peoples in North America, most notably the Mi’kmaq. Non-standardized hockey-like games like shinny, shinty, and hurly were played in

Scotland and Ireland and brought to the Maritimes in the early 1800s, leading some to believe that Halifax is the birthplace of modern hockey, as these games evolved into the hockey we know today.

Others believe that these games were too far removed from modern hockey, and the “true origins” of hockey lie in those first games played in Montreal.

James Creighton, the McGill student who organized the 1875 game, was originally from Halifax, which suggests a mix of the two stories: Creighton may have brought his familiar form of hockey to McGill and refined it with the help of Montrealers.

The 1875 game was the first game in which a wooden puck was used instead of a ball. However, it was still very different from modern hockey games, namely that there were nine players per side instead of six. At the historic 1877 game, the rubber puck was introduced, as well as several other aspects of hockey that are still in place today, such as the offsides, penalties, and the faceoff, then known as the “Bully”.

Elements like numbered jerseys, assists, and artificial rinks would not be used until the founding of

the Pacific Coast Hockey League in 1911 by brothers and McGill alumni Frank and Lester Patrick.

Other aspects of the modern NHL game were developed gradually: In 1911, teams shrank to six players. Minor, major, and match penalties were established in 1918―although fighting was not made a major penalty until 1976―and the expansion of the forward pass between 1927 and 1929 boosted offence. In addition to various evolving regulations about the colour of uniforms and length and curvature of sticks, helmets were made mandatory for players in 1979. Sudden-death overtime was re-established in 1983 after being discontinued in 1942 due to the restrictions on train scheduling during World War II. Finally, ties were eliminated with the introduction of the shootout in 2005.

Years after the first game, Montreal’s Winter Carnival hosted the first hockey tournament in 1883. McGill was victorious, beating the Victorias and tying the Quebec team. The next year, five teams entered the tournament while local and intercollegiate tournaments continued to grow

144 years ago, McGill men’s hockey played, and won, their first ever game.

(Library and Archives Canada) until the first league, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, was founded in 1886. The first women’s hockey team at McGill played in 1896, although the existence of intercollegiate women’s hockey leagues and teams such as the Martlets were sparse until 1963.

Today, there are dozens of

professional hockey leagues around the world. Thirty-seven men’s teams and 14 women’s teams have participated in Olympic hockey.

While it is difficult to pinpoint precisely where and when it all started, there is no denying that McGill hockey kickstarted the sport 144 years ago.

Know your athlete: Dylan Havelock

Havelock has found success both on the rugby pitch and in the classroom Jennifer Shi Contributor As co-president of the McGill Men’s Rugby Team and a Dean’s Honour List scholar, Dylan Havelock, U4 Engineering, is the true embodiment of a student athlete. The fifth-year winger, who is passionate about both rugby and engineering, has strived for excellence both on the pitch and in the classroom.

“I think when you genuinely enjoy what you’re learning or doing, it’s easy to throw yourself in that and get invested in it,” Havelock said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

Havelock first played rugby in his freshman year of high school in Ottawa, Ontario. Since then, he has succeeded in the sport in more ways than one.

He received a $2,000 academic excellence award at the annual Quebec Foundation for Athletics Excellence gala in December 2020.

Havelock was also a recipient of the 2019 Jean Béliveau Athletic Award, which recognized his academic achievements and leadership in his community. As a former hockey player, winning this award was particularly special for him.

“I’m a huge NHL fan, so to win the Jean Béliveau Award, which is in the name of a legendary Montreal Canadiens player, was a really big honour,” Havelock said.

As he looks back on his university rugby career, Havelock reminisces on the good times he has had with his team. His favourite memory was when his McGill team beat Harvard in the

2019 Covo Cup. “We really went all out for it in 2019.

We played at Molson Stadium and there were nearly 1,600 people out for the game,” Havelock said. “It was a really special moment to have such a great win against a school like Harvard, and in front of a huge crowd too.”

Havelock attributes his accomplishments to hard work, discipline, and the supportive environment of the rugby team.

“Our coaches are so supportive of us,” Havelock said. “We really try to focus on having a well-rounded player, not just someone who can perform on the field [....] Our players are still focussed on school and can keep up with that while still being able to make time for rugby.”

Although he is invested in his studies

and has achieved exceptional grades, Havelock emphasizes the importance of taking advantage of the full university experience. He believes that university is not just about being a successful student, but also finding interests outside of the classroom, being involved, and forming meaningful relationships.

“The friends and the connections I’ve made from fellow players, with my coaches, with rugby alumni, that’s what’s going to last me long after university is done,” Havelock said.

Although Havelock fostered strong friendships and experienced many victories as a part of McGill Rugby, there were also disappointments. The team suffered a tough loss in the 2019-20 RSEQ league finals, and was determined to have their chance at

Outside of rugby in his spare time, Havelock has spent the last few years working as a math tutor.

(Dylan Havelock)

redemption in the 2020-21 season. With the cancellation of the season due to COVID-19, however, their plans changed.

Instead, the team doubled down on community involvement, channeling their energy into fundraising for important causes.

Havelock, who plays a big role in community work as the team co-president, proudly reported that they raised over $5,000 for the CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital and $7,150 for Movember in two back-to-back virtual fundraisers.

“Doing some of these charity events and trying to be active in the community still allows us to feel connected, even though we don’t get to necessarily see each other in person,” Havelock said.

Graduating during a pandemic is definitely not what Havelock hoped for, but he looks forward to starting his new career as a software engineer at RBC and plans to stay involved with rugby in the future.

“It’s definitely bittersweet, especially on these terms since it’s not a regular graduation,” Havelock said. “There will be good things ahead too, but I’ll definitely always look back fondly at my time at McGill.”

Havelock, who has certainly made the best of his time at McGill, expresses his encouragement to younger athletes.

“To any first-year player, it may feel tough trying to balance everything, but it’s honestly all worth it in the end,” Havelock said. “There’s definitely going to be tough times at university [and] it’s definitely very demanding, but hang in there.”