The McGill Tribune Vol. 40 Issue 4

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020 | VOL. #40 | ISSUE #4

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

KNOW YOUR ATHLETE

The Royal Victoria Hospital must remain in public hands

Commemorating the past through the present

Dimitrios Sinodinos

PGs. 8-9

PG. 15

PG. 5

(Sequoia Kim / The McGill Tribune)

Academic panel presents perspectives on environmental racism in Canada

PG. 3

McGill’s Indigenous Awareness Weeks return virtually Virtual events highlight Indigenous cultures and healing practices Wendy Zhao Contributor Song and dance filled McGill’s Lower Field again on Sept. 18, as the First Peoples’ House’s

(FPH) Virtual Pow Wow launched the university’s 10th Annual Indigenous Awareness Weeks (IAW), focussed on showcasing Indigenous cultures and traditional perspectives on wellness. Every September since 2001, Indigenous community members across

Canada have united at McGill to contribute to the Pow Wow ritual. Previously two weeks long, the events of IAW 2020 were shortened to take place over the span of under a week to adapt to the virtual limitations.

PG. 7

‘The World Is Bound By Secret Knots’ warns against over consumption

How the brain and body synchronize to keep a beat

New study links musicians’ ability to Emily Jan showcases Peruvian wildlifesynchronize with complex rhythms to neural inspired exhibit at Art Mûr connections in the brain Shafaq Nami Contributor People often say that practice makes perfect, and music is no exception. From virtuosos to amateurs, rehearsal is a key part of mastering the craft.

A recent study led

by Caroline Palmer, a professor in McGill’s Department of Psychology, questioned if practice truly does make perfect, or if underlying genetic mechanisms contribute to an artist’s musical ability. The McGill-led

research team identified neural markers that correspond to a musician’s ability to synchronize with beats.

PG. 13

Noami Mirny Contributor

At once familiar and shocking, tame and wild, gluttonous and skeletal, moving and lifeless, The World Is Bound By Secret Knots is a rainforest of mesmerising, ersatz creatures. From Sept. 5 to Oct. 24, the Art Mûr gallery in La Petite-Patrie is showcasing Montreal-based artist and writer Emily Jan’s

animalistic sculpture installations, inspired by Jan’s time spent in the Amazonian Rainforest. Jan’s vision for the exhibition focusses on ideas of temporality, death, and how we as human beings interact with—and harm—the flora and fauna around us.

PG. 11

2

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

NEWS

SSMU’s legislative council passes motion on communication practices Representatives vote and debate SSMU Equity Policy amendments Ella Milloy Contributor The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held their second legislative council meeting of the Fall 2020 semester on Sept. 24. With the online semester in full swing and COVID-19 safety measures continuing to affect in-person meetings, SSMU met via Zoom to debate and vote on the approval of five new motions. Despite a few technical difficulties at the start of the session, the council was able to proceed with the evening’s agenda smoothly.

The Motion Regarding Equitable Communication Practices was

the only motion debated at length during the meeting. Brought forward by Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Brooklyn Frizzle, this amendment seeks to revise SSMU’s Equity Policy to ensure accessibility in SSMU’s communication practices.

“This motion is arising from some concerns that were raised over the past few years regarding the reoccurrence of tone policing and general inaccessibility in SSMU politics,” Frizzle said. “Since 2016, there have been repeated articles in the Tribune and the Daily citing concerns [in] emails from female SSMU representatives concerning the pattern of tone policing.”

(Erin Sass / The McGill Tribune)

The amendment to the Equity Policy would add a clause to protect individuals’ ability to express themselves using their preferred word choice and tone, so long as it does not violate SSMU’s Equity Policy, which prohibits hate speech, harassment, discrimination, and abusive language. The motion was approved, with 15 SSMU representatives voting in favor of the amendment.

“I think it’s a great initiative put forward by the VP University Affairs,” Arts Senator Darshan Daryanani said. “[Student politics] has in the past been very inaccessible for BIPOC and other marginalized communities. I think it is the council’s responsibility to ensure that we are able to provide a safe space in the right manner, while still upholding SSMU’s values and ensuring freedom of expression.”

The meeting came to a close with councillors from five faculties summarizing the work of their respective representative bodies. SSMU President Jemark Earle, along with other SSMU executive team members, presented their reports to the council to highlight their achievements from this year so far.

SOUND BITE “I appreciate the background of [the Motion Regarding Equitable Communication Practice], particularly when it comes to contextualizing the public side of SSMU [....] I am concerned [...] about the context in which profanity is used and perhaps a greater need for precision in delineating where profanity is actually appropriate, [...] where it can actually be used to further silence other members. I myself have been in many workspaces where I have seen male co-workers target profanity in rather disturbing ways at femme-presenting co-workers of mine, and it’s important to me that we bear in mind the contexts in which we approve of or disapprove of the use of profanity.” – Jake Reed, Engineering Representative to SSMU

MOMENT OF THE MEETING As SSMU continues to adapt to the virtual meeting format, Speaker of the Council Lauren Hill reminded councillors to refrain from using the chat as a means of communication during the meeting due to its informal nature. Councillor Daryanani engaged in “virtual cross-talk” during the council’s Approval of Minutes, leading to the subsequent disabling of the chat by Speaker Hill to avoid future disruptions.

PGSS panel argues for a fossil-free future for McGill

The discussion featured former McGill professor Greg Mikkelson who resigned in January 2020

Margaret Askey Contributor On Sept. 23, the Post Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) and their Environment Committee hosted an online discussion and panel titled “Divestment from Fossil Fuels at McGill.” The panel presented arguments in favour of McGill divesting from fossil fuels, examined what divestment might look like, and delved into the broader implications of divestment.

The three panelists at the event were Dr. Greg Mikkelson, a former professor at McGill who resigned in January 2020 in response to the administration’s refusal to divest from fossil fuels, as well as Dr. Jen Gobby from Climate Justice Montreal, and Talia Martz-Oberlander of Divest McGill.

Martz-Oberlander, a graduate student in experimental physics, presented on behalf of Divest McGill. The organization was founded in 2012 and is composed of students, faculty, and staff at McGill who are calling for the university to withdraw their financial investments in fossil fuel corporations. Martz-Oberlander described Divest McGill’s goals and demands to the audience of 25 individuals.

“Divest McGill is solidarity-minded, aiming to support Indigenous land defenders,” Martz-Oberlander said. “[We want McGill to] withdraw direct holdings from the top 200 fossil fuel companies, as ranked by reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas. [We call for] immediate divestment from direct holdings in TC Energy, in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en peoples.”

Martz-Oberlander continued to highlight the impacts of McGill’s financial investments in the fossil fuel industry on its community.

“It’s not just that we have money invested,” Martz-Oberlander said. “This is someone’s home, this is someone’s access to their culture and their people, [threatened by companies] that we’re directly investing in.”

The panellists also criticized McGill’s decision to pursue “de-

carbonization” rather than divest from fossil fuels completely.

“The problem with decarbonization is that it directly supports the fossil fuel industry in shirking its responsibilities for climate change and the damage that they’re wreaking with the harms of its products and operations,” Martz-Oberlander said. “Suncor [...] is invested at the most primary level in having fossil fuels be burnt, but under ‘decarbonization,’ McGill is still allowed to invest in them.”

Gobby spoke on behalf of Climate Justice Montreal (CJM), a grass-roots organization founded in 2009. CJM pursues climate justice and stands in solidarity with Indigenous communities through direct action and education. Gobby reiterated the importance of committing to taking meaningful action against climate change.

“Divestment is absolutely necessary at this scale and in these institutions if we are going to address climate change in any meaningful way,” Gobby said. “The kind of change necessary is unprecedented.”

The fossil fuel industry remains the largest contributor to climate Gobby also challenged the notion that investment is a pas- change. (Jane Canuel / The McGill Tribune) sive enterprise, arguing that through decarbonization, McGill fails to adequately address the environmental impacts of the fossil fuel Speaking to the importance of immediate action, Mikkelson industry. drew attention to the fact that climate change is already well under “What [the administration is] doing is making this statement way. that being invested in an industry that is killing people and putting “It’s happening, we’re in the thick of it,” Mikkelson said. “It’s the future of their students at risk [is] natural and inevitable, instead only going to get worse unless we deeply transform what we’re of seeing it as a social construct meant to benefit the ruling class,” doing, and deeply transform our society.”

Gobby said.

Addressing the concept of decarbonization that MartzAlong with Martz-Oberlander and Gobby, Mikkelson con- Oberlander brought up earlier in the event, Mikkelson shared his demned McGill’s inaction, emphasizing that the administration has thoughts on McGill’s decarbonization efforts. failed to fulfill their moral obligations.

“I think there’s nothing wrong with decarbonization, I just “What should make all universities divest are [...] moral, politi- don’t think that what McGill is doing [is enough],” Mikkelson said. cal, and financial arguments,” Mikkelson said. “It’s just deeply mor- “Because, as [Martz-Oberlander] pointed out, according to the defially repugnant, morally outrageous, and morally unacceptable to nition [of decarbonization] that McGill is using, they are only countclaim credit for trying to reduce your own fossil fuel consumption, ing the greenhouse gas emissions created by a company in producbut at the same time bank on or otherwise promote the expansion of ing their product. But they are completely letting companies off the fossil fuel production.” hook for what happens to their product afterwards.”

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

NEWS

3

Academic panel presents perspectives on environmental racism in Canada

Canadian scholars discussed the impacts of climate change on Indigneous communities Respina Rostamifar Contributor While recent demonstrations such as BLM marches, the Scholar Strike, and environmental protection protests call for a racial reckoning, many scholars have been prompted to explore the link between environmental degradation and racial injustice. On Sept.

24, McGill’s Research and Sustainability Network (RSN) hosted a panel of academics to discuss environmental racism in Canada.

The panel, titled, “An Academic Perspective on Environmental Racism in Canada” featured Dr. Ingrid Waldon, an associate professor at Dalhousie University; Dr. Dayna Scott, an associate professor at York University; Dr. Deborah McGregor, also an associate professor at York University; and Larissa Parker, L3 Law. The panel opened with the speakers outlining various research strategies that are currently used to examine instances of environmental racism in Canada. Deborah McGregor, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice, explained the importance of using multidisciplinary research approaches.

“We need interdisciplinarity,” McGregor said. “When [we]’re trying to respond to the real world and the real things that are happening, they are not nicely disciplined in the way that academia is set up. We have to respond in these different ways, at different scales, to different people.”

Waldon, who researches the ongoing environmental racism patterns affecting the Mi’kmaq and Black communities in Nova Scotia, pointed out the importance of distinguishing between environmental justice and environmental racism.

“While [conducting] my research, I

noticed that there was a preference [for] the words environmental justice and a hesitance to name race,” Waldon said. “It made people uncomfortable. Justice is what we need to get to [...], but we also have to look at the illness. To me, environmental justice is the medication. If Indigenous communities across Canada and Black communities are disproportionately impacted, then race must have something to do with it. You’ve got to centre the idea of race because then it makes people more aware of the problem.”

The panellists also highlighted the current systemic structures that perpetuate environmental racism.

Parker drew upon her experience as a law student and environmental activist to describe her experience with racism embedded in the Canadian legal system.

“It’s a mix of power and privilege,” Parker said. “The legal system is built on who holds privilege. These things dictate where polluting activities will be placed. You see these privileges, not only in our legal system but in all of our institutions.”

Scott, Canada Research Chair in environmental law and justice in the green economy, emphasized the importance of recognizing the current policies that uphold racist outcomes.

“When I think about the air pollution regime, it’s not like you could read Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act and racist doctrine is going to spring off the page,” Scott said. “You have to understand how that regime works in practice and see where environmental disparities are falling in practice.

Understanding structural racism is recognizing that the current structure produces racist outcomes.”

Waldon stressed both the crucial role of polices, and the current institutions that fail

Environmental racism has been affecting minority groups in Canada since colonial settlements.

(Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune) to acknowledge environmental racism.

“How can the environment be racist? It’s policy that can be racist,” Waldon said. “It’s an environmental assessment that doesn’t take into account issues impacting these communities that can be racist. Policy comes out of ideology, and there [is] a lack of understanding of how racism was embedded [by racist ideologies].”

At the end of the discussion, the panellists made a statement regarding trans-

formative change and the role of community groups and grassroots movements in demanding environmental justice.

“Relying on the government to address environmental racism is problematic because it is not truly transformative,” Waldon said. “[Structural inequality] is about profit, and you can’t fully rely on those who are benefiting off the current system to make transformative change. You need both legislative action and demand from the streets.”

McGill professor Dr. Debra Thompson leads ‘Blackness and Belonging’ seminar

Thompson linked historical and institutional racism with her own experience as a Black woman Ashna Naidoo Contributor On Sept.15, the University of California-Berkeley held an online seminar titled “Blackness and Belonging in North America” to explore the complex experiences of Black people living in North America. McGill political science professor, Dr. Debra Thompson, an expert on race and ethnic politics led the event. As a Black woman with ancestors who were enslaved,

Environmental racism has been affecting minority groups in Canada since colonial settlements. (Romi Levine / University of Toronto)

Thompson explained that she felt labeled as a societal anomaly in an indifferent world. Thompson noted the violence and microaggressions that actively marginalize Black people in society.

“Black experience in any town or city in the Americas is a haunting experience,” Thompson said. “History is seated at the empty chair in a room when one arrives. African descendants in the Americas are affected by the horrors of the TransAtlantic slave trade, [being] commodified as objects, forcibly transported to the ‘New World’ and [being] traded as property.

In recognizing this, I’ve realized that I am my ancestor’s wildest dream.”

Thompson stated that many Black people living in Canada and the United States are coping with the emotional, mental, and physical impacts of institutionalized racism. Thompson emphasized that while there is a sense of identity within Black communities, finding acceptance is challenging when Black people are often politicized, segregated, and categorized by systems of governance, courts of law, and socioeconomic status.

“We shouldn’t tell our children to idolize Mr. Martin Luther King’s speech without telling them that he was brutally murdered by white supremacists, just as many other [modernday] martyrs,” Thompson said. “[We should tell them that] exhausting, disproportionate, and arbitrary encounters are demonstrative of the fact that weaponized privilege can so quickly lead to the loss of a life.”

Thompson noted the importance of recognizing that rac-

ism is not confined within the United States’ borders. Racism in Canada is fervent, pervasive, and indicative of institutions that fail to recognize the humanity of Black Canadians.

“The inauguration of Barack Obama was a symbol of progress, [and] perhaps we could even have a Black Prime Minister of Canada one day,” Thompson said. “Years later, Canadians are confronted with a Prime Minister who half-heartedly apologized for wearing blackface. Canadian racism is insidious, hard to identify, and unambiguous under the cloud of inexistence it inhabits within.”

Noah Tonnesen, U1 Science at an American university, believes that Thompson’s talk provided an opportunity to openly discuss the importance of recognizing privilege, systemic inequality, and advantage in an academic setting.

“In order to fulfill the promises of our constitution and truly bring racial justice, it is important that people in privileged positions are able to recognize their advantage over others,” Tonnesen said. “[To help us] work towards providing equal opportunities and outcomes for all.”

Delice Thomas, an alumnus of McGill who is now completing her graduate studies at the University of Toronto, explained how she was unconsciously excluded from many opportunities during her time at both institutions.

“Segregation isn’t buried. It is found in modern-day academia and strengthened through privilege,” Thomas said. “Social recognition and awareness is only the beginning [...] there is much more work to be done.”

4

NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

McGill Alumnus Steven Pinker presents McGill’s 2020 Beatty Lecture online The Harvard professor and cognitive scientist argued that society as a whole is improving Tasmin Chu Contributor Cognitive scientist and linguist Steven Pinker presented this year’s Beatty Lecture to the McGill community and the general public on Sept. 25. Every year, the Beatty Lecture brings leading thinkers to McGill to present a public talk on a topic of their choice.

During the online lecture, which drew in nearly 500 live viewers on Youtube, Pinker discussed the concept of human progress and argued that the human condition has been improving overall. Pinker attributed this phenomenon to values from the Age of Enlightenment such as reason, science, and humanism.

Pinker is the 90th presenter to give a Beatty Lecture at McGill. The lectureship was established in 1952 following a $100,000 donation to McGill University by Dr. Henry A. Beatty.

The annual lecture honours Beatty’s late brother Sir Edward Beatty, who was a president of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Pinker attained the status of a public intellectual after writing multiple critically acclaimed books on science, psychology, and history. In his Beatty Lecture, he expanded upon ideas published in his 2018 book, Enlightenment Now. Citing statistics that show increasing life expectancies, the fall of extreme poverty, and the decline of slavery, Pinker argued that the human condition has markedly improved over the last 300 years.

“Slavery used to be practiced in every civilization,” Pinker said. “We are living in an unprecedented 40-year period in world history, where slavery is not legal anywhere on Earth.”

Pinker claimed that despite the economic and social devastation caused by COVID-19, it remains essential to appreciate the worldwide response to contain and study the virus

in the 21st century. Comparing COVID-19 to previous pandemics, Pinker pointed out it took 15 years to find an effective treatment for HIV and 350 years to find a vaccine for rubella.

“We identified the pathogen within days of discovery of the epidemic,” Pinker said. “Currently, about 100 vaccines are in development [....] It’s important to realize what an advance this is in a historical context.”

Clara Saliba,U3 Arts, attended the lecture but was disappointed that Pinker’s talk did not focus on his research in linguistics. She also found aspects of the talk oversimplified.

“I do agree that the world has progressed, [in the sense] that it’s less violent, safer, a better place to live in than it was a few years ago,” Saliba said. “[But] I found the focus on Enlightenment values and humanism very Eurocentric.”

Despite Pinker’s popularity, his theory of human progress remains controversial. Following the publication of Enlightenment Now, some critics found fault with the quality of

Pinker has evoked both praise and controversy for his book ‘Enlightenment Now’. (Opendemocracy.net)

Pinker’s scholarship, citing his historical understanding of the Enlightenment and his claim that countries reduce pollution as they grow more prosperous.

Pinker has also faced criticism for his cultural views. In July of 2020, hundreds of scholars signed a letter calling for the removal of Pinker as a distinguished academic fellow of the Linguistic Society of America, citing some of his previous statements on racial justice. Among them was one tweet from 2015 in which Pinker wrote, “Police don’t kill blacks disproportionately.”

During the Q&A session of the talk, an anonymous audience member asked Pinker to weigh in on the “Take James McGill Down” campaign—a student-led initiative demanding the removal of the statue of James McGill from campus, the founder of McGill who also enslaved people.

“In terms of pulling down statues, I think that’s a product of miseducation,” Pinker said. “We tend to underestimate the situation, the context, the historical period, so we tend to think that bad things are done by bad people. That is bad psychology.”

Daniel Horen Greenford, a Ph.D. candidate in Geography, Planning, and Environment at Concordia University and student of McGill’s Economics for the Anthropocene program, felt that Pinker’s optimistic beliefs are incompatible with the growing climate crisis.

Greenford, who previously criticized Pinker’s scholarly assessment of climate change in the Montreal Gazette, doubted Pinker’s beliefs that technological leaps will halt climate change.

Greenford argued that Pinker’s scholarship defended the status quo.

“His main thing is cherry-picking things that help push for the narrative that we should stay the course,” Greenford said.

“You can’t solve the climate problem without having a more serious restructuring of the economic system.”

McGill students commemorate human rights defenders in the Philippines Activists deliver speeches to express disapproval for human rights violations Alec Regino Contributor On Sept. 20, human rights activists and McGill students gathered at Parc MackenzieKing to honour the victims and heroes who lived through military rule under late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Organized by PINAY Quebec, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, the Center for Philippine Concerns, Malaya Canada, and Anakbayan Montreal, the event was a part of a broader global movement to remember and respond to human rights abuses in the Philippines over the past half-century. While practicing social distancing, the commemoration featured speakers, a visual art exhibit, and cultural performances.

Veronica Bertiz, education officer for Anakbayan Montreal, explained the significance of the gathering to The McGill Tribune.

“Our goal was to remember the lives that perished during the Marcos era,” Bertiz said.

“We owe it to them to understand the brutality of Martial Law and to try our best to prevent another one from happening.”

Members of the Filipino-Canadian community delivered rousing speeches in solidarity with survivors and called for international support. Many speakers noted that human rights abuses experienced under Marcos are not just a relic of the past but persist in the present, citing parallels between Marcos and current President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The current political climate in the Philippines resembles the 21-years rule of Marcos,” Bertiz said. “Every day, we hear awful news about the Philippines. Every day, some-

Anakbayan Education Officer Veronica Bertiz delivers a speech about Martial Law, comparing the struggle against former President Marcos to the Philippines under the Duterte administration.

(Diona Macalinga / The McGill Tribune) one is killed.”

For Thelma Aliado, a Malaya Canada organizer, the resistance against the oppressive regimes of Marcos and Duterte requires both grassroots efforts and mobilization from Filipinos on a large scale.

“The struggle is worse than before,” Aliado said. “Nothing has changed from that time to now. The forms of oppression and exploitation of people continue. But I’d like to remind you that despite everything, there was People Power.”

People Power was a nonviolent revolution in the Philippines that led to the ousting of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. Aliado

explained how this movement ultimately restored democracy and served as an important symbol of self-determination within the country.

“It appears that almost every week and every day you see that people are [...] struggling, and fighting, from farmers to workers, [...] trying to say ‘stop the terror law!’” Aliado said. “I am hopeful that People Power will happen again.”

Father Artemio Calaycay, a priest at Iglesia Filipina Independiente now living in Montreal, shared his personal account of living under Marcos’s rule.

“I personally experienced the dark side of

the Marcos regime when we were arrested and put in jail in Iloilo City because of our critical stance against Marcos,” Calaycay said. “Our seminary was put under surveillance [and] they curtailed our freedom and movement even [after I] was ordained [.…] I thought that the Philippines had changed when the Martial Law regime of Marcos was over. Ironically, our condition has gotten worse.”

Martial Law—Marcos’s infamous 1972 proclamation that initiated a 14-year period of one-man military rule in the Philippines—is a polarizing topic amongst Filipinos, including for those who live overseas. In recent years, President Duterte has used the threat of Martial Law to threaten and intimidate political opponents.

“We have a government that has a propensity for political oppression, violates human rights, and suppresses peoples’ dissent with impunity to keep the regime in power,” Calaycay said. “We live under a dangerous regime.”

Jackie Colting-Stol, a Ph.D student at the McGill School of Social Work and Secretary General of Anakbayan Montreal, encouraged students to take part in raising awareness on human rights issues.

“Students have a critical role in understanding and contributing to the concrete conditions of people who face oppression, the ways to understand and highlight these conditions, and then how to mobilize with each other on- and off-campus to have an impact.”

Colting-Stol wrote in an email to the Tribune. “[Students] can take internships with community groups and organizations, use research in collaboration with them, and bring these issues to light in academic settings.”

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

T

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 Kaja Surborg ksurborg@mcgilltribune.com

News Editors Kate Addison, Pascal Hogue & Sequoia Kim news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Jonah Fried & Kennedy McKee-Braide opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editors Sophia Gorbounov & Ronny Litvack-Katzman 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 Editor Adam Burton sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Ruobing Chen & Chloe Rodriguez design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Caroline Shelton photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editors Sarah Ford & Alexandre Hinton multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developer Benjamin Alexandor webdev@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Jackie Lee copy@mcgilltribune.com

OPINION

The Royal Victoria Hospital must remain in public hands

On Sept. 4, students joined forces with Milton-Parc residents to protest the privatization of the old Royal Victoria Hospital. The building’s fate has remained unclear since it was decommissioned in 2015. In July, it was converted into a shelter for the unhoused during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the City of Montreal has announced that it will remain as a shelter until at least 2021, the Société Québécoise des Infrastructures (SQI) is currently developing plans to repurpose the site, and McGill has already appropriated several of its buildings for teaching and research.

No plans have been finalized yet, but activists are concerned that the property could end up in the hands of private developers, who may try to build expensive condo units on the property. Aside from an information session in 2017, local residents have not been consulted, and the project has proceeded without debate at Quebec’s National Assembly.

As the hospital is built on public land, excluding the public from the decision-making process is tantamount to disenfranchisement.

It is incumbent upon public officials to prioritize their

OFF THE BOARD

Social Media Editor Marie Saadeh socialmedia@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Marilie Pilon business@mcgilltribune.com

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

CONTRIBUTORS Margaret Askey,Yiwei Bian,Tasmin Chu, Rory Daly, Zoe Karkossa, Deana Korsunsky, Diona Macalinga, Erika MacKenzie, Maya Mau, Madison Mclauchlan, Ella Milloy, Naomi Mirny, Ashna Naidoo, Shafaq Nami, Logan Pecht, Alec Regino, Respina Rostamifar, Monica Taing, , ET Wu,Wendy Zhao

TRIBUNE OFFICE 680 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, suite 723 Montreal, QC H3A 0B8 - T: 773.680.8919

The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published.The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff.

Sequoia Kim News Editor Capitalism has sunk its teeth deep into the ambiguous concept of ‘self-care.’

Many students have become accustomed to citing self-care to justify money wasted on frivolous purchases. What’s more, the western world’s ethos of perpetual, hyper-speed productivity has led to the ballooning of self-importance at the expense of others’ wellbeing. It’s time to reimagine self-care as a concept distanced from the ultimately unachievable consumerist distortion of the perfect fitter-happier-more-productive lifestyle.

It wasn’t always this way, though.

Kindled by Audre Lorde’s writings and essays, Black feminist circles in the 1980s began to conceptualize selfcare not as self-indulgence, but as an

constituents over private interests by organizing consultations with community members to determine the property’s future. It is equally imperative that the McGill community, from administrators to students across Montreal, collaborate with Milton-Parc residents to pressure authorities to respect public interests.

The idea that the hospital should be privatized is incredibly insensitive to the unhoused population.

Gentrification is already contributing to a housing crisis in Montreal. In recent years, rising eviction rates have led to a precipitous surge in homelessness, as the housing crisis, together with related economic problems, have pushed financially struggling citizens into poverty. Establishing new condo units would add to this by raising the cost of living in the Milton-Parc neighbourhood, thus pushing lower-income residents out. For Montreal to allow a developer to privatize the hospital, which currently serves the unhoused community, would be unconscionably callous and unwise because it would deepen the crisis.

Montreal has historically disdained its homeless as a publicity problem. Even worse, in many cases, homeless people cannot be

tested for COVID-19 because many testing facilities require people to present a permanent address. This is particularly striking considering that Montreal’s unhoused population is disproportionately composed of Indigenous people and other minorities, whose present economic tribulations ultimately stem from centuries of systemic racism and colonial oppression.

By antagonizing these unhoused people rather than implementing appropriate solutions to underlying economic factors, the city not only fails to address its housing crisis, it also invokes the memory of colonial tyranny by perpetuating racial injustice.

Montreal must avoid any measures that could exacerbate the situation, including privatizing the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Instead, officials should address the problem by converting the space into long-term affordable or social housing units. Psychological research indicates that when unhoused people are provided housing first, before other services such as career training, their conditions are significantly improved.

At the very least, such solutions would serve public interests rather than private

5

EDITORIAL developers’ financial interests.

Whatever the solution, it must have the consent of community members. By failing to listen to their concerns, public officials fail in their basic duty to serve their constituents. As co-habitants of the Milton-Parc area, McGill students must recognize this injustice and stand with residents in demanding consultations. Likewise, because we contribute to gentrification, students must take an active role in supporting Montreal’s unhoused, by taking part in protests against privatizing the Royal Victoria Hospital, volunteering at homeless shelters such as The Open Door and Dans La Rue, and making donations to support them if financially capable of doing so.

Still, as stakeholders in the project, McGill administrators are better positioned to make a difference. Even if it is absolutely necessary to utilize some of the space for educational or research functions, McGill cannot tolerate the privatization of any part of the property. The hospital is a public resource, and McGill has already taken a share of it. At a bare minimum, McGill owes Milton-Parc residents the dignity of supporting their call for a voice in their neighbourhood’s future.

Re-imagining self-care act of survival and “political warfare.”

To Lorde, self-care was a necessary survival mechanism for Black women and other actively marginalized people to navigate a racist, sexist, hostile world.

The concept of self-care that mainstream culture knows today is the result of white, corporate feminism jamming the term through the wellness-industrial complex grinder. Appropriated, commodified, and diluted, improving physical appearances has become a basic tenet of self-care.

Dangling low-hanging fruit like aloe facemasks, powder-dusted pastries, and overpriced jade rollers, the commercial self-care market tempts vulnerable, stressed people with quickrelief band aid solutions. It doesn’t help that social media giants climb into bed with capitalism at night either; I don’t go anywhere without being bombarded by hundreds of products that promise to satisfy everything that my fragile ego so badly craves. My attempts to buy myself out of the cesspool of my imaginary needs are in vain.

Audre Lorde’s essay, “Master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house,” serves as an important reminder. The self-care industry is twofaced: At one moment, companies injure and bruise insecurities, and a second later, turn around and offer a remedy. Of course, treating oneself in moderation is a healthy practice. But the true practice of self-care involves so much

more than the single-use, impulsive reflex of self-indulgence it has become.

The self-care dilemma, however, goes beyond its rampant commercialization and borderline unethical self-doubt profiteering. The neoliberal emphasis on self-preservation and self-optimization has ingrained itself into the fabric of society and dug its heels into students’ collective consciousness, too. The constantly stressed yet overly competitive student archetype is a paradigm of this mindset.

The cultural rewiring required of us will be difficult, and likely guiltinducing. It’s no easy task to unlearn such a deep-seated mindset, especially as a student immersed in a competitive bureaucratic institution like McGill.

The pandemic moment calls for a reimagined practice of selfcare—one that is more distanced from manufactured consumer holidays and machine-like efficiency, and instead focuses on communal care and comprehensive well-being.

I’m still working to untangle the

capitalist, ultra-efficient attitude that is ingrained in me. Speeding in as a keen U0 student last year, my utmost concern was acing all my classes, marking up every single reading, policing every minute of my time, and constantly striving to be productive. I would turn down social events in favour of toiling away under McLennan’s awful fluorescent lights. I took arty, semi-pretentious pride in being sleep deprived many nights of the week.

Thankfully, a lot has changed since then.

Last week, coming in and out of focus from a dense reading, I closed my laptop, reclined on a grassy hill, and napped in Jeanne-Mance. The sun rays pooled on my skin, and I shuffled my latest playlist. All the while, I fought with my internalized instinct to keep working, or at least finish the reading before I gave in. Working through thoughts ricocheting around my brain, I began the arduous process of decoupling shame and guilt from break and leisure time. Lying in the sun for a brief moment on a lonely Tuesday was the most valuable thing I did all week.

ERRATUM An article published in the September 22nd issue titled “Canadian Biotech start-up to begin Phase 3 COVID-19 oral treatment trials” incorrectly stated that the treatment was called Pulmonem, after the start-up. In fact, the treatment is a repurposed version of Dapsone.

The Tribune regrets this error.

6

OPINION

COMMENTARY Logan Pecht Contributor For McGill’s first-year students, Frosh week marks the beginning of a vibrant social life on campus. In the face of a global pandemic, Frosh leaders and coordinators attempted to give new students a taste of the Frosh experience from the confines of the same bedroom in which their classes began merely a week afterwards.

Despite the absence of drinking events, which many students place at the center of their Frosh experience, many positives emerged from these rather unimagined circumstances. Because Frosh was online, hoards of intoxicated students that defined prior orientations no longer disrupted the residents of the Milton Parc neighbourhood. Virtual Frosh 2020 received a mixed reception from students but it hinted at a future where fun activities can take place without the numerous issues plaguing Froshes of years past. Due to the pandemic, the underlying theme this year inadvertently shifted from unhinged partying in past Faculty Froshes to emulating the McGill and Montreal community for every student no matter their location.

COMMENTARY

Rory Daly Contributor If one was to pay attention to recent events, it would appear that QAnon zealots, anti-WHO “activists,” and alien truthers have a lot in common. Two weeks ago, all three groups were active participants in anti-mask protests that occurred in Montreal, where Q-related shirts and anti-mask signs seemed to take up equal space. This was not the first protest of its kind within the city, with a similar event taking place in August. The absurdity of protesting against important health measures because of a belief in aliens, pedophile cults, and a New World Order may seem mildly amusing to students.

But there is a danger to detached mirth. When conspiracies oppose science and put others’ health at risk, McGill students have a responsibility to debunk and reject these ideas where they can and diligently adhere to public health guidelines.

To be clear, not all conspiracies are harmful, and enjoying

TUEDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

Frosh 2020 should serve as an inspiration While the virtual components of Frosh 2020 lacked excitement, future orientations should draw inspiration from these unintended consequences and model themselves on a greater emphasis on showcasing Montreal and avoiding contributing to McGill’s disruptive drinking culture.

Unsurprisingly, the vision orientation leaders held for Frosh 2020 did not come to fruition. Satirically mocked for its attempt to be anywhere as enticing as a normal Frosh, the main “attractions” consisted of scavenger hunts, escape rooms, and a virtual dance party. Granted, many students acknowledged that, with the limited resources available to the leaders, many of the activities proved to be more enjoyable than expected. However, low participation and attendance at the events frequently nullified that. The blame should not fall on the leaders, as they were faced with froshies whose low expectations of the virtual events caused them to give up from the beginning. Still, the various attempts to showcase Montreal felt artificial to students unable to travel to campus this fall.

Frosh is notorious for being a huge disturbance to members of the Milton-Parc community.

Before the pandemic, under the pressure from Milton-Parc community members, Frosh coordinators started to take steps to better respect the community surrounding McGill. Nonetheless, disturbances persisted, and it was only a pandemic that brought an unusual quietness to the surrounding area. Continuing to implement community awareness programs whenever it is safe for the in-person events to return must be a priority. Considering that thousands of students attend the event each year, future Frosh organizers should continue to address ramifications on the surrounding community.

Perhaps future coordinators should incorporate the unique ways in which Frosh 2020 showcased the neighbourhood. This could be achieved through familiarizing students with the neighborhood beforehand and working with local community members to inform students on how to better respect their surrounding area.

One major obstacle to these initiatives, however, remains the competitive nature of McGill’s drinking culture, which induces disruptive behavior.

While Frosh does not have to be completely dry, an effort needs to be made to curb the excess

This year’s virtual Frosh required leaders to brainstorm new activities that may be useful for future Froshes. (Eve Cable / The McGill Tribune) alcohol consumption. Not only is it damaging to the surrounding community, but it also feeds into a toxic social environment on campus. In essence, Frosh sets the tone for a social scene dominated by over-consumption.

Many still argue, however, that drinking can be conducted in a responsible manner, especially under the supervision of leaders and coordinators. By continuing to expand upon the training protocols for both students and leaders, the negative impacts of Frosh may be in part alleviated. This

approach is not without precedent and has been successful at ensuring a safe and fun environment for everyone involved.

It would be foolish to assert that the virtual Frosh came close to replicating the same experience as in-person Frosh. But the unintended consequences of COVID-19 has spared much of the McGill and Montreal community from damage that occurs in a typical year, which should serve as a reflection on how to create events that better serve both students and residents alike.

Far-right COVID-19 conspiracies must not be taken lightly some of them is not wrong. A great example is the glitter conspiracy of 2018. The New York Times published an article about the industry, reporting that one of the most prominent producers of glitter, Glitterex, was secretive about where the vast majority of its glitter was going. Some investigated this strange industry secret and eventually discovered the truth: The glitter was being used for car and boat paint. While glitter purchases are not exactly the most esoteric topic to theorize on, no one is going to become a glitter truther, or put anyone at harm over it. The same cannot be said for QAnon.

Starting as a series of cryptic and bizarre posts on 4chan’s /pol/, the platform’s political discussion board, the QAnon conspiracy has since garnered many followers and widespread press coverage.

It puts forth that U.S. President Donald Trump is battling a circle of sinister, pedophilic elites, including top Democrats who he will purge in an event known as “the Storm.” All of this is being communicated to the loyal public by the supposed means of a high-

up figure, the supposed poster, “Q”. As some have noted, the

find it hard to breathe in masks which has led to theories stating

Propelled by specious conspiracy theories, strident anti-mask protests are stifling the pandemic response effort. (Sequoia Kim / The McGill Tribune) conspiracy has drawn in many adjacent theories, creating a bigtent scenario where different beliefs blend and morph, often into more dangerous variants. Most related to COVID-19, of course, are the mask-related theories.

Some of the more insidious theories take elements of the everyday and peddle them as truth. For example, some people

that masks lead to brain damage by lowering one’s oxygen levels.

This is false, but the spread of this claim has not stopped. Another popular theory states that COVID-19 is an exaggerated threat, and that masks and current safety guidelines are meant to control the public, rather than the spread of the virus. This is also incorrect.

COVID-19 is not an exaggerated threat: Of an estimated 32.3 million cases worldwide, there is roughly a three per cent death rate. In Canada, those numbers at press time are 149,094 cases and 9,249 deaths. That is closer to six per cent. And in Quebec, that number is closer to 8 per cent, with 5,814 deaths from 70,307 cases. Even beyond death, COVID-19 can lead to long term and severe complications.

While silly theories about glitter, aliens, and the Kennedys allow for a disengaged amusement, one cannot allow the necessary isolation of COVID-19 to dim their empathy as well. People are dying and misinformation is spreading. As residents of Montreal, as well as people who care about the wellbeing of fellow community members, the student body has to be active in its rebuttals of misinformation, as educated on the recent statistics as they can, and be dedicated to discussing these issues online. If such a rebuttal reaches just one person who is prone to these beliefs, or even is a full believer, that is one less person at risk.

STUDENT LIFE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

7

McGill’s Indigenous Awareness Weeks return virtually Virtual events highlight Indigenous cultures and healing practices Wendy Zhao Contributor Continued from page 1.

Most people watched the Pow Wow live from FPH’s social media accounts, while others gathered at a safe distance from one another around the performance on Lower Field and donned masks.The Red Tail Spirit Singers drum group accompanied dancers of all generations, including Don Barnaby, Marian Snow, and Ray Deer and his family.

McGill’s tenth annual Indigenous Awareness Weeks honoured Indigenous traditions of dance and healing in connection to both physical and communal wellness.. (reporter.mcgill.ca)

Basked in sunlight, Barnaby addressed the audience.

“It was supposed to rain, but the Creators said, ‘You know what, they need to go out and put some medicine out there, so I’m not going to literally rain on their parade,’” Barnaby said.

Behind the dancers, the Hiawatha Wampum Belt flag was raised on the McCall-MacBain Arts Building to recognize the land that McGill occupies as the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations.

The flag emphasized the university’s growing, but still limited, space for Indigenous expressions.

In his virtual welcome to the Pow Wow, Christopher Manfredi, McGill’s Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), spoke on the importance of celebrating Indigenous cultures.

“While [this] cluster of events each September is an important opportunity to welcome Indigenous community members to our university to share in celebration and to raise awareness of Indigenous teachings, cultures, and customs, we are also working hard at ensuring that Indigenous experiences, forms of knowledge, and ways of teaching are integral to the academic fabric of the university,” Manfredi said.

The final event of this year’s IAW was a virtual discussion on Sept. 24 featuring Healers Geraldine and Mike Standup. The presenters shared their traditional knowledge on the connection between mind and body, highlighting how this bond can improve overall well-being. With the year’s many uncertainties, this wisdom comes at a time when achieving inner reflection and peace is crucial but difficult.

The team at the FPH have worked to facilitate the expression of distinctly interactive Indigenous cultures through the limitations of a screen. Terry David Young, McGill’s Indigenous Student Advisor, recognizes both the constraints and opportunities created by this new online

reality and describes the connection created by face-to-face and hand-to-hand exchanges that is integral to Indigenous culture.

“For Indigenous peoples, there’s always a component of social interaction that’s a part of our cultures,” Young said. “[It’s] a very interactive, hands-on experience [of] dancing, singing, and creating.”

The loss of these tangible, mutual forms of connection is especially difficult for new Indigenous students at McGill.

In previous years, the Pow Wow provided a celebratory space for Indigenous students to feel recognized and welcomed.

With this event shifted to an impersonal cyberspace, Young mourns the inability to meet new and returning students face-to-face.

Despite their constraints, however, virtual platforms have allowed the FPH to engage with and learn from people they would not have been able to before.

“We’ve accessed Elders from across the country,” Young said. “Adapting online has both widened and limited our reach.”

The image of community may look different for the FPH this year—a grid of faces on Zoom, a sparse Lower Field once crowded with students now dispersed across the country—but moving forward, their team plans to continue expanding the potential of virtual methods to express Indigeneity and nurture friendships among community members.

“I look forward to next year,” Brady said in his welcome to the live Pow Wow. “Hopefully things will be better, things will be changed, and there’ll be more people because we dance with the people.”

Students can keep updated on FPH’s events and programs through their social media or website.

Creating the baby zoomer generation

How a scrappy startup became a multi-billion dollar conglomerate

Margaret Wdowiak Contributor Zoom, a company that would have been unknown to many this time last year, has become a mainstay in our everyday lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed this little-known video conferencing application into a multi-billion dollar company, and for good reason: It offered an effective and simple video-call platform for workplaces and schools in desperate need of remote communication tools. To better understand Zoom’s phenomenal rise to the top, it is worth examining its beginnings.

In 2012, long before mandatory online classes and virtual parties, a former Cisco employee named Eric Yuan created Zoom.

Yuan left Cisco to begin the project that would become Zoom after Cisco failed to improve their web-based video conferencing platform, WebEx. The first version of Zoom was released in 2012, and by 2013 the application was hosting 5,550 calls per day. Set apart by its user-friendly interface and capacity to host 40 people in one call, Zoom’s innovative features distinguished it in a crowded market with little room for newcomers.

“Zoom worked on some issues of other video conference tools and offered a solution with high video and audio quality,” Anton Stiglic, seasonal lecturer at McGill’s School of Information Studies, wrote in an email to The

McGill Tribune. “Zoom also offered certain features that made it particularly attractive, such as being able to set a background, commanding a meeting by being able to mute certain participants, a raise-the-hand feature, and many more.”

With these novel features, Zoom was initially able to upstage several of its strongest competitors, including Skype. However, Zoom’s true moment to shine would not come for another seven years.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom use has grown exponentially.

Stuck in quarantine, many began using this software to stay virtually connected. Zoom’s biggest success, however, was its universal acceptance in schools and workplaces.

Zoom has several features that support team collaboration, such as the Zoom Chat and easy integration with other leading workplace tools like Salesforce. In education, Zoom’s ability to facilitate live, online teaching while encouraging student engagement has been met with praise. Unlike the former poster child of video conferencing technologies Skype–– which was hard to install, buggy, and prone to spam calls––Zoom is much more userfriendly.

Unsurprisingly, Zoom’s meteoric rise came with serious downsides. The application faced privacy concerns and online harassment issues.

“Firstly, there were a couple of

After TikTok, Zoom has become the second most downloaded app in the world. (Kena Betancur / Getty Images) vulnerabilities found in various Zoom software clients exposing peoples computers and devices,” Stiglic wrote. “There were issues with Zoom’s privacy policy, and misinformation [spread] about what Zoom can do with your information, messages, and audio. There were also problems with the encryption they implemented, which was not as secure as they claimed it was.”

One phenomenon emerged, known as

“Zoombombing.” Individuals with malicious intent began overtaking public video chats and displaying graphic content or racist comments, leading some institutional clients to switch to other conferencing softwares.

Zoom eventually took measures to rectify these issues.

“Zoom did take all of these issues in hand and they have put serious effort into solving them,” Stiglic wrote. “They have tightened and clarified their security policy [and] rearchitected their solution to offer real end-toend encryption, including for the free version.

Zoom also created a ‘waiting room’ feature for additional participants and requires a password to enter a meeting.”

Some security issues unfortunately remain, including susceptibility to certain malware programs. Zoom’s ease of use continues to make it a prime target for internet trolls and hackers.

In light of these security concerns, Stiglic believes that in order for Zoom to retain its momentum, the company must continue to patch bugs in its software and offer new, innovative features to aid university lectures and business meetings.

“There is a lot of competition in the field of videoconferencing solutions,” Stiglic said.

“Only time will tell which ones will [survive].

But one thing is certain: The survivors will need to take security and privacy seriously in order to offer a quality solution.”

Commemorating the past through the present: Montreal’s ever changing architectural landscape Caroline Shelton Photo Editor

Photography has always been an interest of mine, especially the old, black-and-white photos that bring the past to life. While historical sources are often charged with biases, photography can depict the past through a clearer picture. There is no better example than the evolving city of Montreal. The endless summertime construction prompts us to believe that the city must be completely different from its foundation. But the beauty of the past is still present, and it can be commemorated through today’s photography. By comparing old and new images of Montreal, one can see the preservation as well as the evolution of the city over the years.

Surprisingly, these two pictures have fewer differences than first meets the eye. The corner of Avenue des Pins and Saint Laurent Boulevard is relatively unchanged in terms of construction, with the unique architectural design on the top of the third story remaining intact today. Newer stores have replaced the old, local shops; however, the outside design remains untouched, preserving the corner’s sense of character despite modern-day drugstore chains and hair salons.

Today’s downtown Hudson’s Bay department store, located on the corner of Union Avenue and St. Catherine Street was originally another store, Henry Morgan & Co. Construction for the building started in 1891 under the supervision of John Pierce Hill, who also designed the Wells Richardson Building on de la Montagne Street. Development of the “Richardson Romanesque” style building cost $400,000— the equivalent of over $10 million in today’s currency. In 1921, an eight-story addition was added to Morgan’s on the northern corner of St. Catherine. Three decades later in 1952, the store overtook Steinberg’s grocery store for a side entrance on Union Avenue. A third and final extension of the building took place in the 1960s on the stretch of land up to Rue de Maisonneuve.

Today, the building colloquially known as “The Bay” is an iconic representation of Montreal’s commercial history.

However, construction has yet again altered its appearance, and The Bay is downsizing to only three levels to make room for lofts and tech office spaces. Though the inside will be renovated, the outside and original façade will remain an iconic piece of history and architecture.

The McTavish Reservoir, as it was originally named, was the city of Montreal’s main water supply for over a century.

Initially built as an uncovered reservoir in 1852, the McTavish Reservoir was then covered in 1952 after several incidents of citizens threatening the safety of the drinking water. One incident that gained particular notoriety occured when a man attempted to wash his dog in the reservoir in 1907. The reservoir has since functioned as a recreational space and has been occupied almost exclusively by McGill University since the mid-2000s. The purchase of the reservoir by McGill from the city transformed the reservoir through the instalment of soccer pitches with artificial-turf fields. While McGill owns the field, it is accessible to the public. Today, the space is known as Rutherford Field or Rutherford Park, named after Ernest Rutherford, a Nobel Prizewinning physicist and former McGill University professor.

(Design: Chloe Rodriguez / The McGill Tribune)

977 St. Catherine Street West used to be the home of the famous Simpson’s department store, a chain of retail giants founded by Robert Simpson in 1858. The site on St. Catherine Street was built between 1928 and 1930 and later expanded in 1954. The former Simpson’s had seven floors and was known for its detailed façade, ornamented with limestone and bronze embellishment on the windows and arched entrance. Today, this building is the site of a Simon’s store, hinting back to its previous years’ decadence.

As part of a series of public work projects under the direction of Mayor Camilien Houde, the City of Montreal built Atwater Market in 1933 to stimulate the economy during the Great Depression. The site has functioned as both a public market and a place for political, military, social, and sporting events. In 1968, the city closed Atwater Market to convert it into a public recreation area; however, the plan for conversion was met with overwhelming public disapproval. Thus, the market reopened in 1982 after extensive renovations, including the addition of a gym and administrative offices. The area surrounding the clock tower of Atwater Market has become a local landmark, attracting both Montreal residents as well as tourists, as the market remains a popular place to buy fresh produce and local goods.

The old Palais de justice, constructed between 1851 and 1857 under the direction of architect John Ostell, was built in the neoclassical style, bringing to mind to the ideals of democracy, power, and justice of Ancient Greek and Roman architecture.

Situated at 155 Notre-Dame Street East, the building is Montreal’s oldest courthouse. Two smaller wings flank the rectangular, columned entrance on either side, an extension that was added to the building in 1890. A dome sits on top of the original building.

As of May 2019, the old Palais de justice has been the site of public and civil services that are usually reserved for city hall operations due to the ongoing construction of that building. Nevertheless, the old Palais de justice remains an enduring representation of both democratic processes and architectural history.

(Caroline Shelton / The McGill Tribune)

(City of Montreal Archives)

10 STUDENT LIFE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

Spotlight on Campus: #TakeJamesDown

Student activism takes center stage in decades-long effort ET Wu Contributor Anti-Black racism at McGill is institutionalized, and the work of Black student activists is vital in demanding systemic changes on campus. A summer of Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the continued police brutality and murders of Black people have brought increased visibility to Black activism around the globe, including at McGill. The Take James Down movement, along with the continued efforts of McGill’s Black Students’ Network (BSN), is pressuring the university’s administration to reconsider their flimsy commitment to racial justice, specifically in addressing anti-Black racism.

The Take James McGill Down movement was co-organized by Mohammed Odusanya, Sarah Ragab, and Ayo Ogunremi, alongside other volunteers. The movement’s letter to McGill’s Board of Governors, entitled “Enough is Enough,” outlines McGill’s failures to adequately serve its Black community, highlights the university’s negligence towards funding a proper Black or Africana Studies program and condemns the administration’s continued refusal to critically examine James McGill’s history of enslaving Black and Indigenous peoples. Further, McGill has continued to celebrate James McGill’s legacy without acknowledging the

enslaved and oppressed people whose land and labour were essential to the founding of the university.

Among the movement’s demands is the removal of the statue of James McGill near the Roddick gates, and that the administration properly address its namesakes’ history.

McGill enslaved at least five people and voted against the abolition of slavery.

Odusanya called on the McGill administration to increase representation of Black people in McGill’s faculties, and make meaningful amends for its role in upholding racist practices. “#TakeJamesDown [is] calling for McGill University to meaningfully respond and recognize its role in perpetuating antiBlackness and excluding Black students, staff and faculty from leadership roles in this university,” Odusanya wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “The statue is a symbol of the university’s valorization of certain people and histories at the expense [of] Black people.”

Despite the movements’ efforts and public support, Odusanya believes that the administration has been passive.

“In response to a CBC Montreal interview we did in August, McGill said they would not be removing the statue, amongst other things,” Odysanya wrote.

The administration’s refusal to remove the statue sends a conflicting message: Despite

championing a commitment to equity, they have ignored clear statements from their Black student population on how to be more equitable.

McGill’s Black Students’ Network, who have advocated for Black students since the 1970’s, hopes that the demands outlined in the #TakeJamesDown will make equity a priority of the McGill administration. (Caroline Shelton / The McGill Tribune) BSN has been involved in the oversight of the Take James Down movement and organized the Aug. 1 protest for the removal of the statue. Currently, they are focussed on

reiterating the demands expressed in the Take James Down open letter to the administration.

Iyanu Soyege, BSN Vice-President Political, emphasized the importance of recognizing the university’s colonial past.

“We have come to a moment in time where it is imperative to question the symbols that are upheld and what they mean to marginalized ethnic and racial groups at McGill and in the larger Canadian society,” Soyege wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

Founded in 1970, the BSN provides valuable resources and platforms for McGill’s Black communities. For decades, their advocacy work has gone largely unaddressed by the administration. This failure to respond to its Black students’ needs has highlighted the McGill administration’s disinterest in dismantling institutional racism within the university.

“The BSN has been advocating for different things such as the increased recruitment of Black students from Montreal, the creation of a Black Studies [or] Africana Studies department and increased Black faculty [members] at McGill,” Soyege wrote. “Most of these demands are not new.

Considering that most of these demands have not been fulfilled, it is reasonable to surmise that the administration has historically failed to take the BSN’s requests seriously.”

Business meets style at Fashion Spectrum Competition

Third iteration of the competition adapts to the changing COVID-19 context Maya Mau Contributor Fashion Spectrum, Canada’s only inter-university academic competition that focusses on fashion, is underway. Fashion Spectrum welcomes students from four Montreal university management schools—McGill, Concordia, ESG UQÀM, and HEC Montréal—to work with local fashion companies.

In creating these partnerships between business students and established industry professionals, Fashion Spectrum aims to provide crucial solutions to modern fashion industry problems with the help of young minds. Past editions have tackled human resource reforms and explored traditional modes of entrepreneurship; this year’s edition focusses on adapting to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Comprised entirely by students, the 2020-2021 executive team brought together students from the four core universities.

Among them is Clarisse Dugelay, U3 Management, who is studying strategic management with a concentration in finance. This is Dugelay’s second year in the competition, and she is the only McGill student on the committee.

She is currently serving as the

For the third year, Fashion Spectrum will bring together students from four Montreal university management schools to solve fashion industry problems. (freepik.com) Fashion Spectrum Vice-President of Communications. Dugelay jumped at the chance to be involved with Fashion Spectrum.

“This position in communications represented a unique opportunity for me to grow both personally, by working on a subject that interests me deeply in a unique case competition, and professionally,” Dugelay said.

One benefit of participating in Fashion Spectrum for business students such as Dugelay is the opportunity to synthesize vastly different interests while taking on a leadership position within the program. For Dugelay, this allowed her to hone her competitive side

while engaging in the creative aspects of fashion merchandising.

Over the course of the past two years, Fashion Spectrum has been an incredible experience for Dugelay, and the benefits have extended far beyond the competition.

“My favorite [part of] the event was the opportunity to meet students and established professionals that come from different backgrounds, yet share the same motivation, passion, and drive,” Dugelay said.

“Today, thanks to my experience during [Fashion Spectrum], I am more confident during presentations [in class]. Being a native French speaker [at an English university] and having a lot of presentations to

conduct in my business classes, this was really an important [experience] for me.”

Indeed, networking is a highlight for the 80 students selected to participate. For three months, they will collaborate with each other and will be supported by a mentor who is usually a professional, teacher, or consultant. In addition, they will work closely with some of the 20 local companies who are part of the program, which include La Vie en Rose, Mackage, Lolë, Birks, and Gorski. The wide variety of products that these companies develop and market give participants a breadth of creative freedoms, along with a large array of resources.

In January 2021, the participating students’ journeys will culminate by presenting their cases studies to a jury of panelists.

Though the competition is friendly and everyone involved ultimately gains invaluable experiences, there still are winners. Prizes go to the individuals who were the most involved and showed growth over the course of the competition and the teams that worked well together to come up with the most innovative, ethical, and sustainable ideas.

The upcoming edition marks the third annual Fashion Spectrum competition, but its organizational structure has been revamped from its two preceding iterations. Rather than seeing the current COVID-19 pandemic as an obstacle, Fashion Spectrum has embraced it. In addition to ensuring that all social distancing measures are properly maintained, the competition developed the Fashion Forward online crisis program, which encourages participants to imagine possibilities for the fashion industry in a postCOVID-19 world. This adjustment demonstrates solidarity both among students, and between the university and fashion communities in difficult times. In essence, this collaboration is ultimately the core of the competition.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 11

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

‘The World Is Bound By Secret Knots’ warns against over consumption Emily Jan showcases Peruvian wildlife-inspired exhibit at Art Mûr Noami Mirny Contributor Continued from page 1.

Combining materials such as resin, silk, faux flowers, and common objects, Jan creates sculptural installations that display mystical combinations of animal bodies, human artifacts, and false greenery.

Apologue IX: Honey Creeper, 2018 is a splendid example of this hybrid multimedia work.

Featuring a Honeycreeper bird with a glaring, red, bulbous plastic eye, Apologue IX: Honey Creeper, 2018 hangs from the exhibit’s ceiling on a craggly plastic branch, its scaly claw grasping around the edges. The bird’s beak and body are built of a treebark material, and as the bird curls and becomes one with the tree: Its tail sprouts leaves, first green, progressively yellowing, and finally shooting up with a burst of pink flower blossoms.

The bird is visibly and garishly synthetic, and yet, the attention paid to the form and fold of its body makes it feel as if viewers are actually staring at the taxidermied figure of a Honeycreeper. Jan’s work thrives in this space of phoney kitsch and underlying macabre

realism.

As the exhibition progresses, Jan’s work becomes darker, as the animals are no longer just made up of consumer goods, but are engulfed by them. Particularly striking, Apologue VI: Octopus, 2018 features a pink octopus made

By juxtaposing real animals with everyday objects or plastic decorations, Jan shows how inhospitable of an environment humans create for animals when we pollute, cautioning us against partaking in mindless consumerism.

(Noami Mirny / The McGill Tribune)

of wool and resin drowning in human waste, suffocated in shattered tea cups, ribbons, vases with prickly flowers, and a gurgling yellow liquid, all served on fine china plates. With a glossy life-like eye, it is impossible to look away from the struggling animal as the gluttonous artifacts swallow it whole. The piece is strongly reminiscent of photos of octopi making homes in human waste and of other sea creatures trapped in beer cans and plastic bags.

Jan pushes this idea even further as objects begin to consume the animals, causing them to lose their limbs and even their faces. In Apologue IV: Slow Loris, 2017, a monkey and a bird communicate through a telephone wire.

Rather than seeing the animals wholly, we see only the ominous tail feathers of a poultry bird sticking out as her body dips into a rose-rimmed china tray, while the monkey’s face is replaced with a stream of plastic white flower necklac-

es. The stylized bizarreness of the work is highlighted by the plastic pears strewn around the table, placed in a purposefully asymmetrical and eerie manner, reminding viewers that human hands have irreversibly altered what they have touched.

By the end of the exhibit, the message becomes clear.

The shells filled with pinkbead bracelets instead of tentacles, the slugs slinking upon Christmas ornaments tangled in dead white coral, the birds with nests made of shredded money perched upon dehydrated cacti, are all begging the viewer: Remember us.

Through the juxtaposition of wildlife with everyday objects and plastic decorations, Jan shows how inhospitable of an environment humans have created for animals, and warns us of the effects that our careless consumerist culture has had on the natural world. We have a responsibility to nature, Jan reminds us, and we must do better.

‘Sisters: Dreams and Variations’ brings a gust of Icelandic artistry

The documentary follows two Montreal artists looking for a spring of inspiration among geysers

Pascal Hogue News Editor There’s a reason why Neil Armstrong decided to spend part of his summer in 1967 salmonfishing in Iceland—the place doesn’t feel like it belongs on Earth. Iceland is a territory of pure grit, where volcanoes constantly spew white smoke and purple hues of Alaska lupine pepper the landscape. When I visited the country in 2018, it felt alien, like standing on a giant meteor that had crash-landed smack in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

In more than one way, Sisters: Dreams and Variations brings this Icelandic extraterrestrial aura to the big screen. The documentary follows multidisciplinary artists and sisters Tyr Jami and Jasa Baka, a pair of budding artists in Montreal. Beginning in 2014, the film tracks their move to Iceland, their great-grandmother’s home, in 2018. Their journey is depicted as a pastiche of vintage family photographs, childish drawings, and extravagant real-life scenes that fully embrace their artistic whims.

Tyr Jami is a painter, sculptor, and fashion designer with a boundless and prolific creative

Director Catherine Legault filmed sisters Tyr Jami and Jasa Baka for nearly five years to make her documentary. (cinemamoderne.com.jpg) output. Swaggering around the Plateau with cat-eye glasses and purple lipstick, Jami struts from one art gallery to the next, painstakingly trying to make a name for herself in the Montreal art scene. Her life and work teem with vibrant outfits, cutesy dollhouses, and random colourful knick-knacks. Baka, a visual artist and musician, splits her time between giving violin lessons and playing every available gig with her folk band Singya, whether on a weeknight at Casa del Popolo,

for a local summer festival, or on a Montreal morning show. The cinematography beautifully captures the sisters’ brimming imagination: Scenes of mundane, daily life are sprinkled with Jami’s playful doodles and refreshed by Baka’s whimsical violin melodies and crystal clear, early-90s Björk vocals. Their creative visions radiate in Montreal’s early-spring doldrums.

But, there is a sense that the sisters lack something in Montreal—not solely because their

great-grandmother, Ingibjörg, whose Icelandic lullabies are immortalized on cassette tapes, lulls her great-granddaughters back to their ancestral land. When Jami and Baka finally do visit Iceland, their artistic idiosyncrasies find their echo amid the craggy hills and lonely pastures. The result is an enchanting marriage of nature and craft, myth and rubble, and flurries of phantasmagorical illusions.

After a Friday night screening at the Cinéma du Musée, di-

rector Catherine Legault commented on her film’s intentions.

“I wanted to show [the sisters] through many different perspectives and also show them as artists, what is the life of artists, which is not always easy in Montreal, despite their talent,” Legault explained. “But for them, it is an integral part of their life.

It is in all these small aspects of their lives that their art unveils itself. Iceland is an inspiration, but it is not what defines them.

And when we got to Iceland, after having planted all the seeds, the idea was to make [their artistry] blossom […] now that we had the keys to understand where they came from and how their style came about.”

Legault couldn’t have spoken more truthfully. If Jami and Baka struggle to find a source of fulfillment in their adopted city of Montreal, they discover it among the geysers of their ancestral home. Sisters: Dreams and Variations is a beautiful depiction of their journey, fusing family and art, while paying homage to a small island that leaves grand impressions.

Legault’s quote was translated from French by the author.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

In conversation: Cosmos Island

Psychedelic EP ‘Someplace’ offers dreamy escapism amidst isolation Erika MacKenzie Contributor Amidst the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cosmos Island’s new EP Someplace offers its listeners an escape to a psychedelic dreamland. Someplace is an eclectic mix of ‘60s psychedelic rock and ‘80s synth pop with a modern indie rock flair with songs centered around finding a personal escape during difficult times. The first track, “Winston Meet Julia,” explicitly outlines this desire for freedom with the lyrics “Some people may dislike our conversation / But this is how we can escape.” Someplace is sonically complex, featuring disjunctive song structure with unexpected key changes and percussive variations.

For example, the verses in “Bring Me Up” use acoustic instruments and a straight rhythm, while the pre-chorus features a synthesizer playing jazz chords in a swing rhythm.

The unpredictability of the melodic changes gives the song an uncanny feeling—as soon as the listener becomes comfortable with the melody, it takes a 180-degree turn. Someplace is an exciting listen, crossing a multitude of genres and musical eras without getting too comfortable with one specific style.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Cosmos Island’s Dan Desjardins spoke about his inspirations for his record.

“I listen to a lot of sixties music […] and I wanted to mix that with [...] a phosphoric new wave style, so I kind of work it out like this, but everytime I try to make something [specific] it always [becomes] something else,” Desjardins said. “The sound that came out of this was like some kind of experiment.”

Desjardins explained that he does not

identify his artistry with one specific genre of music. Many songs on the album offer a sense of sentimentality for the surf-rock style that artists like the Beach Boys are known for.

“Winston Meet Julia” starts with a bright riff on a synthesizer that gives the song a dreamy feel, which softly melds into a blend of electric guitar and muted drums. The first track lays out the sonic themes of the EP, incorporating psychedelic elements that give the listeners a feeling of being transported back to a 1960s hallucinogenic dreamland.

Cosmos Island also uses sound production to imitate non-musical sounds in a descriptive way. “Sure Thing” starts off sounding as though a helicopter is landing, further cementing the illusion of being transported someplace.

Someplace features an impressive variety of instruments, allowing Cosmos Island to achieve a unique sound that pulls from a variety of genres. The percussion instruments provide a steady base, while the synthesizers add colourful ornamentation throughout the songs. As Someplace is Desjardins’ first solo project, he explained that he had to play each instrument himself and recorded the entire EP in his basement. Desjardins elaborated on his solitary recording process.

“I go instrument by instrument, song by song,” Desjardins said. “I never record two songs at the same time, which I was doing in the past and it never came out correctly. If it sounds good in my head, I keep it.”

While the pandemic derailed some of Desjardins’ plans to promote the album, such as performing physical shows, it has given him more time to make new music. Desjardins’ production process was not heavily affected by working in isolation, but his feelings

Photographie et société: L’autre Amérique

Exhibit depicting the lived experiences of the disenfranchised and underrepresented across North America.

Sep. 29-Oct. 4 911 rue Jean-Talon Est Free

NFB presents: ‘Far From Bashar’

Documentary by Pascal Sanchez about a Syrian family trying to find a new life in Canada.

Montreal artist Cosmos Island recently released their debut EP, ‘Someplace,’ a mix of dreamy 60’s pop and catchy modern rock.(cosmosisland.bandcamp.com.jpg)

Sep. 30, 5 p.m.

Cinémathèque Québécoise Free

of melancholy became more pronounced in his lyrics. “Bring Me Up” conveys a relatable feeling of loneliness and confusion: “Double feature on the screen / I want to see and I want to leave / But I don’t have nowhere else to go / So I just stay here, waiting for the show / And it’s really getting weird today / And it’s hard to breath, it’s hard to say.”

“The idea was to make the album and then find other people to make some shows with it,” Desjardins said. “Right now it’s going to be difficult, so I’m working on a second EP which will probably come out next summer.”

Someplace successfully combines a variety of musical genres and eras to create a unique sound. Through Desjardin’s deft lyricism and psychedelic sound production, Someplace provides a sonic escape, making this a wonderful record to enjoy from the confines of a bedroom.

D+Q presents Jason Lutes and Sophia Lanow in conversation

Jason Lutes, acclaimed writer and artist behind Berlin, joins Sophia Lanow for the virtual launch of her new graphic novel, The Contradictions.

Oct. 1, 7-9 p.m.

Online Free

Exhibition: Christian Dior McCord Museum displays the legendary designer’s high-fashion garments and concepts.

Sep. 25-Jan. 3, 2021 McCord Museum 14$

Mark your calendars, Tanner Armstrong’s ‘Gay Agenda’ is taking over How one TikToker’s Google Calendar evolved into a 2SLGBTQIA+ space

Deana Korsunsky Contributor

What started as one TikTok turned into a Google Drive with more than 19,000 participants. (TikTok) When Tanner Armstrong, U3 Arts, joined TikTok, he did not expect to build a following of over 54,000, let alone an online 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Yet, when a comedic video he posted this past August went viral, the idea of a “Gay Agenda,” initially just a shared Google Calendar of comedic fake events, swiftly evolved into a collaborative Google Drive. Now, the Gay Agenda, as it is known, provides a digital safe space for people of any sexual orientation and gender.

What would become Armstrong’s first of

many in his Gay Agenda videos series was initially intended to satirize a term that right-wing conservatives often use in their attempts to denigrate queer activism. After posting the video and login information to a Google calendar, Armstrong received comments from enthusiastic viewers, saying that they had contributed to it. To his surprise, Armstrong later found it laden with hundreds of events, from Sunday’s “Go to the gay coffee shop to drink ur gay iced coffee and meet other gays,” to Wednesday’s “Simp for equal rights.”

Nonetheless, the Gay Agenda was not enough for TikTok’s zealous, queer creatives. Unbeknownst to Armstrong, his viewers began creating documents in the Gmail’s corresponding Google Drive.

Beyond the initial collaborative calendar, the Google Drive contains a bevy of comical content, as well as helpful resources. The Drive is organized by folders including “Memes,” “Specific Sexualities,” and many more; the folders contain specific documents that range from book recommendations, to pen pal signups, to resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ members of different religions.

“It’s a community,” Armstrong explained in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “It’s an avenue for people to express themselves, an opportunity to laugh and relate from queer humor and [the]

different nuances there.”

Although the Gay Agenda began as a source of comedy, it has grown to be a safe haven for 2SLGBTQIA+ Tik Tok users around the world, offering educational resources, social connection with other members, links to members’ small businesses, and an overall atmosphere of self-acceptance.

“I think that [the Gay Agenda] is such a tremendous opportunity to help so many people,” Armstrong said. “It’s reflected in the countless comments and DMs that I’ve gotten from people that are closeted, and are younger, and also from people that are in their 30s that have messaged me saying ‘Dang, I really wish I had this when I was a teenager.’”

The resource also offers an “Advice” folder to guide individuals who are just beginning to explore their queer identity.

“I think that [part of the popularity] goes back to [...] sorting through [one’s] identity and trying to figure that out,” Armstrong said. “It’s such a daunting task on its own without the pressures from a conservative family, or other people’s opinions of you.”

Despite the fact that any one of the 19,000 participants can edit or delete anothers’ Drive content, there have been no such instances, demonstrating a shared sense of trust amongst Gay Agenda mem-

bers.

Armstrong—while incredibly thankful for the community he created—is careful to point out that his target audience still includes heterosexual and cisgender people.

“I want to be cognizant of being able to reach [out to] other people and try to incorporate different aspects into my [TikTok] content that aren’t exclusively for the [2SLGBTQIA+] community, but also [for] allies,” Armstrong said. “I think we have to have everybody at the table to have these conversations.”

While heteronormativity and homophobia persists, Armstrong’s Gay Agenda provides a much-needed a space for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to repose, create, and connect. The community reclaims and redefines the homophobic term “gay agenda,” transforming it into a welcoming space for empowerment and camaraderie. As Armstrong maintains the Drive and keeps his TikTok followers updated on its content, he exemplifies the power that social media has to connect and uplift passionate creatives. Today, Armstrong continues to grow the Gay Agenda— and with it, the confidence and verve of TikTok’s 2SLGBTQIA+ members.

All Gay Agenda info, including the Drive form, can be found on linktr.ee/__tannerjames

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

13

Living on the edge: Protecting endangered plants in the Canadian North At-risk plant species at range edge not supported by conservation research efforts

Madison Mclauchlan Contributor

From the boreal forests of Newfoundland to the majestic Douglas firs of British Columbia, Canada boasts some of the most astounding plant life the world has to offer. Yet, Canada’s flora are becoming increasingly threatened by climate and landuse change. Conservation biology is an important area of scientific research that recommends strategies to conserve and protect wildlife in the face of these challenges. However, problems arise when scientists lack the data necessary to determine which conservation efforts to pursue.

A recent comprehensive study released by McGill’s Hargreaves Lab explores the extent to which at-risk plant species are under-represented in conservation research. A critical factor in this study is the location of species within their native ranges, the geographic region where a particular plant type can be found during its lifetime. Since Canada stretches so far north, many species are found in the most extreme conditions that they can withstand. This peripherality is defined as the occupation of 20

In Canada, the threat status of range-edge plants is influenced by their proximity to areas of high human density. (Tab Tannery / Flickr) percent or less of a plant’s total range and has become a point of contention in conservation policy.

“A species at its range edge has two options,” Pascale Caissy, a Hargreaves Lab alumna and one of the lead authors of the paper, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “It is either really well-adapted to harsher conditions, or it’s doomed and cannot cope. That’s why there is so much controversy around protecting [range-edge species].”

Using spatial analysis while reviewing the literature, the

study found that over 75 per cent of threatened plant species in Canada are considered peripheral.

Notably, the plants in most dire need of habitat protection are found within the smallest portion of their range. Researchers suggest that the prevalence of at-risk species living near or within the edges of their range is especially troubling, and requires increased attention from conservation groups.

For years, plant biologists have posited that range-edge populations are important

guardians of biodiversity, as they may acquire special traits that other members of the same species do not possess. As the climate crisis intensifies and Canada’s southern regions continue to warm, these plant taxa are left in a precarious position as they begin to shift northward in an attempt to remain within their preferred temperature conditions.

“We don’t know how often range-edge populations are critical in climate-driven range shifts globally, or in Canada,” Dr. Anna Hargreaves, co-author of the study, wrote in an email to the Tribune. “We don’t have the data, and that is one of the most important points the paper makes.”

The lack of data on endangered plant species makes it more difficult for organizations such as the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) to determine the threat status of many native plants. According to the study, only 3.7 per cent of at-risk plant species in Canada have their habitat area protected.

The limited research into endangered plant species is surprising, given the praise that Canada receives for its animal

conservation efforts. Taxonomic bias, the tendency of research to be focused on well-known, congenial organisms, puts plants at a disadvantage—especially if they are at their range edge.

For example, the at-risk marbled murrelet is featured in more than 50 scientific studies, while many peripheral plants receive little attention in scientific publications.

“I think people easily relate to animals and their stories, whereas plants live out their life on a different timescale than people, so we don’t always relate to them,” Hargreaves wrote.

Neglecting smaller, peripheral plants because they are not as beloved as polar bears or whales leaves scientists with an incomplete picture of our ecosystems. Yet, nature does not exist in a vacuum; if the plant life essential to ecosystem function is not protected, then the entire community is put at risk.

“Conservation is a social, value-based decision, not a scientific one,” Hargreaves wrote. “Scientists can estimate how species are doing and what would happen if we lost them, but we as Canadians have to decide what we value.”

How the brain and body synchronize to keep a beat

New study links musicians’ ability to synchronize with complex rhythms to neural connections

Shafaq Nami Contributor Continued from page 1.

The researchers found a connection between one’s quality of synchronization and these neural markers, with some experienced musicians struggling to synchronize with complex beats.

Neural markers can be either proteins or nucleic acids, such as DNA or RNA, that are expressed in undifferentiated cells during neurogenesis––the process in which neurons are formed. These markers allow researchers to attribute different perceptive functions to specific parts of the brain and are valuable to the study of how neural networks develop.

“My collaborators Brian Mathias and Anna Zamm, [both] accomplished musicians, and I were inspired by the fact that musicians are very skilled at synchronizing their movements with a wide range of musical rhythms,” Palmer wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

Musicians must coordinate their sounds and movements on the scale of milliseconds. The inspiration for this study stemmed from a lack of research into how neural networks support auditory perception and movement control,

Research on the link between neural markers and beat synchronization could have implications for other fields, including medicine and speech therapy. (iStock) and how musicians can precisely synchronize their movements to create and match beats.

“Our ultimate goal, and my contribution to the research, is to better understand the mapping between brain states and behavioural states as musicians synchronize with musical rhythms,” Palmer wrote.

Using electroencephalography (EEG), which measures neural activity and the types of brain waves it produces, researchers tested the ability of the brain to synchronize with beats. They also measured synchronization behaviour—the

brain’s ability to dictate motor-control— using a metric known as temporal accuracy. Temporal accuracy is the ability of a musician to resist deviating from timed judgements that allow them to synchronize their beat with a musical rhythm.

Musical rhythms arise from the relationship between time, also known as tempo or the frequency of a beat, and sound (i.e. notes). Rhythms can be either simple or complex, depending on how long notes are played for and the emphasis given to each note. The study involved gathering data from performing musicians with at least six years of formal instruction.

“We wanted to examine changes in [the] neural networks [of] people who could synchronize with both ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ rhythms,” Palmer wrote.

Musicians were asked to synchronize with beats by tapping their hands to a given rhythm. At the same time, electrodes attached to their scalps measured their brains’ EEG signals. The researchers hypothesized that musicians synchronize better when their neural rhythms align with the rhythm of the music they are playing.

The results of the study showed that even experienced musicians had difficulty synchronizing with complex rhythms.

Researchers identified a correlation between the quality of synchronization and the strength of “EEG power” in neural markers; musicians who synchronized better showed greater EEG power, which suggests that the frequency of their brain waves better matched the frequency of the beat. Those who did not synchronize as well showed weaker power. Researchers still do not know if these results can be generalized to individuals without professional musical training.

In the future, performers may be able to use EEG measures to become better synchronizers through the use of neurofeedback methods. While practice improves the alignment of brain rhythms with musical rhythms, it is unclear whether anyone could become what Palmer calls a “super-synchronizer”: Someone with the ability to synchronize with very complex beats.

The study can also have implications in a variety of fields such as medicine and physical and speech therapies.

“Musical rhythms are also used to aid recovery of speech functions following a stroke, and to aid individuals with gait disorders to walk,” Palmer wrote. “It would be exciting to examine the neural markers for synchrony [...] in health applications such as these.”

14

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

The hazards of ill-designed science in the age of COVID-19

McGill professor co-authors commentary on contentious link between COVID-19 and air pollution Yiwei Bian Contributor In recent months, several unpublished papers exploring the link between air pollution and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been swept into the media frenzy surrounding the pandemic. In April, the New York Times reported on an unpublished paper from researchers at Harvard University, which concluded that there exists a positive correlation between long-term exposure to air pollution and the mortality rate of COVID-19.

In a recent commentary, Mark Goldberg, professor in the McGill Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, questioned the validity of such research studies. He cited inadequate sampling and biased spatial resolution, amongst other methodological shortcomings. The commentary, co-authored

by Paul Villeneuve, professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at Carleton University, examined nine different epidemiological studies on the link between air pollution and coronavirus outbreaks, including the Harvard paper.

Underlying each study is the hypothesis that living in areas with higher levels of air pollution

increases the mortality rate of individuals who have contracted severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or COVID-19. Of the nine studies, only one rejected this hypothesis.

Goldberg first points out that incomplete data on COVID-19 cases renders the sampling methods used in these studies inadequate. Due to insufficient testing capacity in the early stages of the pandemic and the large number of asymptomatic carriers, these studies exclude a sizable proportion of COVID-19 patients.

The contagious nature of COVID-19 leads to outbreaks in clusters, which skewed the results of the nine studies. Such a pattern has been exhibited in outbreaks in a South Korean church, the Smithfield meat packing facility in South Dakota, and over 800 reported clusters in France.

“There are more important factors than air pollution [that affect COVID-19 mortality],” Villeneuve said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “You can’t control for [the modes of transmission] in studies that use a county-level measure of air pollution and a countylevel count of death.”

The commentary also criticizes the ecological design adopted by

Six COVID-19 studies and two out of three SARS studies reported positive associations between air pollution and incidence/mortality rates of coronavirus infections.

(Biplov Bhuyan/Hindustan Times) seven out of the nine selected papers. In epidemiology, ecological studies come with what is termed the “ecological fallacy,” usually resulting from inferences drawn about individuals from aggregate data. The fallacy is evident in the Harvard paper, for example. There, researchers assigned a single value to the average concentration of air pollution in 3,080 U.S. counties over a 17-year period and compared it against mortality rates. Although these counties vary drastically in area and population, the data does not reflect their heterogeneity.

“[It’s like] comparing apples with oranges,” Goldberg said in an interview with the Tribune, noting that, for this reason, ecological studies are generally frowned upon within the field of epidemiology.

Epidemiologists are still grappling with the high degree of uncertainty associated with an ongoing pandemic. Goldberg used the example of Montreal, where a Hasidic community was one of the first heavily impacted by a surge in COVID-19 cases following travelrelated community transmission.

The outbreak then shifted to senior

homes and other disadvantaged communities.

Recently, younger populations who are generally less vulnerable to the more severe effects of COVID19 have become substantial vectors for the virus as school and incautious social gatherings resume. Although new data has proved this to be true, Goldberg cautioned against conducting observational research in the midst of a pandemic.

“Who gets affected changes through time [.…] If you can’t take that into account, you can’t do a study,” Goldberg said.

Although Goldberg and Villeneuve’s commentary suggests adopting a longitudinal study design as a possible alternative for researching the effects of pollution on COVID-19 outbreaks, both authors remain pessimistic about publishing this research in real time.

Instead, focussing on vaccine and therapeutic trials might be more helpful not only in the present, but for future prevention as well.

“We already know that we need to reduce and regulate [pollution] levels,” Villeneuve said.

“What doing a study on pollution and COVID-19 does is it raises issues about air pollution research, and detracts from decades’ worth of research in the area.”

From the BrainSTEM: A COVID-19 vaccine is only as good as it is safe A vaccine isn’t a miracle cure, and it won’t prevent the next pandemic Zoe Karkossa Contributor As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into its eighth month, developments in the search for a potential vaccine have fueled hopes of a return to relative normalcy. Over 100 potential vaccine candidates are currently in various stages of human clinical or animal preclinical trials, as private companies and university researchers compete for billions of dollars of government funding. However, widespread focus on the search for a single solution is unrealistic and deeply harmful to the perennial struggle against infectious diseases.

Protecting people from a virus on a large scale depends on a concept known as herd immunity, in which a large enough portion of the population develops resistance to a disease to stop it from spreading. Herd immunity typically requires 70 to 90 per cent of the population to become immune, either through infection or vaccination. In the case of COVID-19, however, the exact threshold is still unknown.

This is complicated by the fact that immunity to coronaviruses such as the one that causes COVID-19 does not typically last very long.

Immunity to the coronaviruses that cause the common cold usually lasts a year or two at most.

In addition to vaccine efficacy, reaching herd immunity will require public trust.

Recent polling suggests that only three out

of four Canadians are willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Additionally, a growing anti-vaccination movement has questioned the government’s ability to widely distribute a vaccine. As recent anti-mask protests in Montreal and across Canada have shown, a small portion of the population is not only losing trust in its government, but is proud to display their beliefs. How the government handles current public concerns is essential to the process of building trust in the vaccine it will eventually endorse.

Distrust of foreign governments and private companies is another common barrier to

vaccine development. Russia’s vaccine claims have been met with controversy, with many scientists voicing significant safety concerns.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has recently resumed testing its vaccine candidate following one participant’s unexplained illness that forced the trial to abruptly pause in early September. However, AstraZeneca has not always been transparent with their research practices.

The company spent multiple years concealing significant risks concerning an antipsychotic drug it produced prior to its approval for use in the United States. Governmental failure in ensuring the safety of medical treatments is

Primates, bats and pangolins are some of the animals mostly likely to transmit diseases to humans.

(Adobe Stock)

harmful to public trust in their ability and dedication to protect their citizens’ health.

Once a vaccine for COVID-19 is successfully approved and distributed, the risk of the next major disease outbreak remains. The current pandemic is not a random occurrence, but rather part of a recurring pattern threatening humanity’s safety and well-being.

Multiple epidemics have occurred over the past decade, including the 2013-2016 outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa and the 2013-2019 outbreak of avian flu that affected parts of Eastern China. These threats come mainly from an increase in human contact with wild animal populations. Mining and logging camps, the wild bushmeat trade, and deforestation all put workers in close proximity to wild animal populations, increasing their risk of contracting new diseases.

Preventing the next pandemic is possible, but it will require significant changes to how companies exploit natural resources, the tightening of regulations on the global wildlife trade, and continued support for communities that rely on wildlife as an essential food source.

Governments are responsible for gaining the trust of their citizens and cooperating on an international scale to regulate the corporate exploitation of the planet. Protecting humanity from this pandemic and future ones is crucial, and it will require leaders in healthcare and governance to prioritize human life over private profit.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

15

Hockey away from home

A semester abroad cheering for Norway’s GET-ligaen Zoe Babad-Palmer Contributor From Hall-of-Famers like Teemu Selanne and Peter Forsberg to young stars like Patrik Laine and Andre Burakovsky, Finland and Sweden have produced their fair share of successful NHL players. The frozen lakes that cover the two countries probably play some role in this success.

Their Nordic neighbor Norway, however, has always been less enthusiastic about hockey.

Although outdoor rinks are common enough throughout its cities, Norway’s mountains lend themselves better to skiing. While only 21 Norwegian players have ever been selected in the NHL draft and only one Norwegian, the Minnesota Wild’s Mats Zuccarello, is currently active in the league, hockey in Norway is far from dead.

At the beginning of this year, I left for a semester abroad in Oslo. As an avid hockey fan, I was eager to check out the local scene. I figured that the games would be nothing like the North American games I’ve been to at

the professional and university levels.

Norway’s top-tier hockey league is GET-ligaen (the GETleague in English), with the 1. divisjon (First Division) ranked just below. Of the 10 teams in the league, three—Grüner, Manglerud Star, and Vålerenga—play in Oslo. Tickets were affordable, and my rinkside seat cost only a fifth of the price of a ticket to a Habs game in the nosebleeds. However, information about the league itself was harder to find, probably due to a combination of my thoroughly mediocre Norwegian and the league’s lack of social media presence.

When it came time to pick a team to cheer on, I went with Vålerenga: The most storied franchise in GET-ligaen. The club’s 2,050-seat Furuset Forum was a 45-minute ride away on the tram and subway—hardly the downtown locale of the Bell Centre or Madison Square Garden.

Vålerenga won both games that I went to, trouncing Grüner 5–1 and beating Storhamar 3–2 in overtime.

The differences from the

Candian hockey that I was accustomed to were apparent as soon as I entered the small arena.

The stands were nowhere near full, typical of Vålerenga home games, with an average attendance of 968 people that season. There was none of the spectacle that I was used to from an NHL game, but the second the puck dropped, I was right at home. The pace was quick, the players were determined, and the fans were excited. Chants rang through the rink, and while I could not decipher a word, I found myself just as eager to join in as I would have been for a “go Habs go!” or a “let’s go Canadiennes!”

I felt transported back to those Montréal Canadiennes games— like GET-ligaen, women’s hockey games are characterized by smaller arenas and fewer dramatic ceremonies, but fans can look past that to appreciate the spectacular quality of the hockey itself and love their teams even more for it.

The hockey games that I attended were some of my favorite memories from my time in Oslo.

They were a reminder that even if the goals are being announced in a different language, and even if

Norway’s GET-ligaen, while less popular than NHL hockey, is just as spirited and entertaining. (Zoe Babad-Palmer / The McGill Tribune) you don’t know a single member of the team that you are cheering for, a breakaway can still bring you to the edge of your seat. A missed penalty call can always make you share an exasperated look with your neighbour. Hockey is still hockey.

Don’t count a league out just because it’s not the NHL. If you find yourself far away from the colossal arena of your favorite team, remember that you can have just as much fun going to a less commercial game, and you don’t have to break the bank to do it.

Know Your Athlete: Dimitrios Sinodinos

McGill’s quarterback discusses post-grad plans and training during a pandemic Adam Menikefs Contributor Often regarded as one of the most important positions in sports, the quarterback of a football team must command a roster full of players eager to display their athleticism on the gridiron. McGill’s fourth-year starting quarterback Dimitrios Sinodinos strives to use his leadership role to build a better team.

“In the context of football, leadership is incredibly important,” Sinodos said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

“Leadership is all about making everyone around you better, not just improving yourself. It’s easy to just focus on improving yourself, but the real challenge is making your teammates commit to the same standards.”

Sinodinos took on the starting position during his second year at McGill, and having gained that valuable experience early in his career has helped him and his team perform better. Despite this, he knows that his improvement going forward will be instrumental to the team’s success. A key part of constant improvement is modeling both his on-field play and his off-the-field behaviour after successful NFL signal callers.

“Without a doubt, a quarterback whose leadership I try to model [my own] after is Tom Brady,” Sinodinos said. “He is the definition of making everyone around him better. He inspires everyone with his work ethic and confidence. A quarterback that I look up to for his on-field play is Russell

McGill Quarterback Dmitri Sinodos hopes to attend the CFL Combine after graduation. (McGill Athletics) Wilson. He has the tools to extend plays and make any throw from inside and outside the pocket” Listed as 5-11, Sinodinos is shorter than the average quarterback, but he does not let his height impact his confidence and future aspirations. Sinodos hopes to participate in the CFL combine following his time at McGill. Sinodos looks to Russell Wilson as inspiration for someone similar in stature.

“I look up to him because he exhibits sustained greatness while being largely underrated his entire career and overcoming the stigma against Quarterbacks that are not above 6-2,” Sinodinos said.

The off-season is a critical time for

players to improve their skills, strength, and intelligence by weight lifting, studying film, and practicing with teammates. Unfortunately, for Sinodinos and his teammates, the 2020 off-season was full of challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Sinodinos adapted well to the obstacles.

“Personally, the pandemic has not hindered my development at all,” Sinodinos said. “My father and I decided to invest in a home gym that I regularly used to perform team workouts.”

Social distancing guidelines even proved advantageous for Sinodinos and his teammates.

“Football fields were empty, making it

easy to run and throw with either teammates or a quarterback coach three to four times a week,” Sinodinos said. “Additionally, I, as well as my teammates, have taken the opportunity to have more football meetings with our coaches via Zoom to ensure our football IQ stays sharp.”

Despite the time apart from each other and the cancellation of the 2020 RSEQ season, Sinodinos is confident that the team will remain tight-knit.

“The word family is indicative of the relationship of our team,” Sinodinos said.

“We are a veteran team where most of us have been together for more than three years.

We also try to make the rookies feel welcome every season by inviting them to extra workouts and events.”

With the extra time to pursue other interests over the summer, Sinodinos enjoyed taking free online courses, learning about new programming languages, and learning about android phone application development.

These courses have increased both his interest and understanding in his electrical and computer engineering major at McGill.

As Sinodinos enters his final undergraduate year working towards an electrical and computer engineering degree, he plans to apply to McGill’s graduate school for a master’s in electrical and computer engineering after he graduates in Winter 2021. He believes this will help with his future employment opportunities, while allowing him to continue playing for McGill’s football team.

16

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2020

SPORTS

Greater physical demands are reinventing football in Europe Adjusting to busier game schedules requires a new approach to football Karan Kumar Contributor The past decade has seen a dramatic transition in the English Premier League and European Football in general. The worldwide popularity of the game has made football clubs, especially those at the top, wealthier. For example, the operating revenue for Manchester United FC has increased from 518 million euros in the 2014-2015 season to 711 million euros in the 2018-2019 season. The desire to win prestigious titles like the Premier League and Champions League has led clubs and leagues to make significant investments and changes in selecting players and hiring managers.

The plethora of cup and league titles to compete for has prompted clubs to expand their rosters. Chelsea FC, one of the most prominent English clubs, currently has 29 players on their squad for the 20202021 season. In a recent interview with Chelsea TV, club manager Frank Lampard highlighted the importance of a larger squad.

“It’s always a tough element of the job at this moment at this level, because we need a big squad because we are going to be competing on so many levels, and players want to play week in, week out,” Lampard said. “I need those options. It’s a

European football has seen a shift towards larger rosters, and more athletic players. (NDTV Sports) long season and we need different ways of breaking down teams.”

While more competitions present more opportunities to play, they also come with more opportunities for injury.

Larger squads are necessary to allow for more options while competing and to give players the chance to recover. Current Premier League champions Liverpool FC has a squad of 35 players for the 2020-

2021 season.

Another recent trend, hiring young explayers to fill management positions, is also popular with several top clubs in European leagues. Examples include Zinedine Zidane for Real Madrid, Frank Lampard for Chelsea, Ole Gunnar Solskjær for Manchester United, and Mikel Arteta for Arsenal. Owners of top clubs are putting more faith in players-turned-managers

than the conventional choices available to them. Recent ex-players are more in tune with the demands of the contemporary game and can understand players better, allowing them to lead their teams to perform at the highest level possible.

European football has also become more physical over time, as managers expect higher levels of fitness from players.

Cesc Fabregas, an extremely technically gifted player, reflected on the preference given by managers to physically strong and agile players over technically gifted ones in an interview with BBC Sounds.

“When Antonio Conte [manager] first came to Chelsea, I didn’t really play the first three months,” Fabregas said.

“He made it clear that he wanted another type of midfielder, [someone] strong and physical. They signed another player [and] I didn’t play the whole season. I had an injury as well and didn’t really feature at all. ” A large squad for teams can lead to more interesting formations in different competitions. Managers who were once players can be more empathetic towards current players about the challenges of the modern game. A more physical game can make the already existing rivalries between clubs more riveting. This transition in European football will hopefully lead to a more exciting future for the world’s most popular game.

Highlights from the NHL Bubble The NHL pulled off a COVID-19–free playoffs like no other Sarah Farnand Contributor As the 2019-2020 NHL season comes to a close, it is worth reflecting on lessons from a playoff season that will surely be remembered for years to come.

Other professional sports leagues, such as the MLB, demonstrated that without a “bubble” to compete in, professional sports seasons would never last in the COVID-19 era. However, the process of creating a bubble is much more difficult than it may seem on the surface. Organizing 12 teams to play on one rink without coming into contact with each other off the ice takes rigorous planning and adaptability. To minimize travel and the risk of contracting COVID-19, the NHL playoffs were constrained to two hub cities: Edmonton and Toronto. Locker rooms and team benches were thoroughly sanitized between games to prevent transmission from team to team. Extraordinary circumstances require out-of-thebox thinking.

The NHL implemented extensive sanitary measures to ensure the safety of their players. (Yahoo! Sports) While the situation may not have been ideal, with many players away from their

families and no in-person game attendance, players were excited for the opportunity to play

again—and the fans were even more excited to watch. In an attempt to energize the silent, empty arenas, broadcast teams used fake noises to simulate the presence of fans. To keep the mood upbeat, the NHL also put electric fans in some of the seats as a joke. When Connor McDavid scored a hat-trick in Game 2 of qualifiers against the Chicago Blackhawks, the league had staff threw hats on the ice to compensate for the missing fans. Despite this, some critics were concerned about the effect that the absence of fans would have on the energy in the arena and the players’ performances.

While there was a noticeable lack of fans and crowd energy, it only minimally affected players’ intensity and focus. With the help of some upbeat music, encouragement from teammates on the bench, and the allure of the Stanley Cup, players brought high caliber competitive play every night. Each game, whether it was a blowout or a five-overtime thriller, was exciting to watch.

The lack of a crowd did not stop each player and team from

playing the kind of hockey that kept fans on the edge of their couches. Facing elimination, the Toronto Maple Leafs were down 3-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in game four of the series. With just 23 seconds left, they tied the game, forcing an overtime that kept them in the playoffs.

In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Dallas Stars, also facing elimination, came into game five determined not to go home that night. After a gruelling game and two overtime periods, the Stars won the game, avoiding elimination and keeping their Stanley Cup dreams alive.

As for how the next season will proceed, there are still many unknowns. The bubble playoffs were successful because travel was unnecessary and teams were isolated from the public. Having teams go back to their home cities and forcing travel across the continent for games could lead to major issues regarding player and staff health. The NHL pulled off the 2020 playoffs; now, the challenge will be safely bringing the sport back outside of bubble cities.