The McGill Tribune Vol. 36 Issue 13

boundless the mcgill tribune special issue published by the SPT a student society of mcgill university

News X Science & Technology the rise of artificial intelliGence: google invest in deep learning in montreal P. 3 News McGill University approves Draft Policy against Sexual Violence P. 4 OPINION X Science & Technology No party is the ‘science party:’ The problem with politicizing science P. 8 Opinion Bridging the gap between the downtown and Mac campuses P. 8 Student living Murals of Montreal: Justin botkin’s sidewalk art P. 11 arts & entertainment “The Giveaway Project:” How One Montreal Artist shares Art for Free p. 16 Artist Spotlight: Student Comedian Jeremy Ullman p. 16 Science & Technology Blurring the lines of reality at the montreal international game summit P. 19 Adventures in the life of a storm chaser P. 20 Doctors without Borders P. 21 Bilingual infants take a unique path to speech perception P. 21 Sports X Arts & Entertainment 10 things: fictional athletes P. 22 How hip hop changed the game P. 23 Science & Technology X Sports How McGill researchers are changing hockey P. 23

Editor-in-Chief Julia Dick editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Natalie Vineberg nvineberg@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors April Barrett abarrett@mcgilltribune.com Nicholas Jasinski njasinski@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Jenna Stanwood, Sara Cullen, William Pang news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Emma Avery & David Watson opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Lydia Kaprelian scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Audrey Carleton studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Albert Park features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Selin Altuntur & Evelyn Goessling arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Zikomo Smith & Aaron Rose sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Domitille Biehlmann & Daniel Freed design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor L-A Benoit photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editor Noah Sutton multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Clare Lyle webdev@mcgilltribune.com Daniel Lutes online@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Areni Nicoghosian copy@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Mingye Chen business@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Richard Blaser, Alexander Beaumont, Zain Hussain ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors

Mingye Chen, Julia Dick, Audrey Carleton, Shrinkhala Dawadi, Arman Bery, Clare Fogarty, Arden Li

Staff Writers

Christopher Li, Margaux Delalex, Morgan Davis, Julia Metraux, Arman Bery, Nicole Spadotto, Joe Khammar, Alexandra Harvey, Lauren Benson-Armer, Eric Noble-Marks, Ariella Garmaise, Jackie Houston, Calvin Trottier-Chi, Cherry Ng, Holly Cabrera, Ava Zwolinski, Andy Wang, Izze Siemann, Justine Touchon, Ceci Steyn, Alissa Zilber, Cordelia Cho, Madeline Kinney

Contributors

Astha Agarwal, Clare Fogarty, Daria Kiseleva, Domenic Casciato, Dylan Adamson, Erin Dwyer, Evan Thomas, Hannah Downard, Janine Xu, Jeannie Richardson, Julia Briand, Marie Labrosse, Nathan Drezner, Rebecca Zhuang, Tara Allen-Flanagan, Wasif Husain

Tribune Office

Shatner University Centre Suite 110, 3480 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 0E7 T: 514.398.6789

Cover photograph by L-A Benoit Photo on left by Ava Zwolinski 2

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students, both in America and abroad.

According to Director of Admissions Kim Bartlett, McGill received 400 applications from American high school students in the week following the election. A total of 1,900 U.S. applications have been submitted as of Nov. 18, 600 more than the previous year. This year, there are 2,381 undergraduate American students at McGill, making up 10.31 per cent of the student body. In total, 3,000 overseas applications have been sent in, a slight increase from the 2,600 applications received in the same time last year.

According to Bartlett, the increase (L-A Benoit / The McGill Tribune) in application numbers cannot be directly attributed to the Trump win. There was, however, an unusually high traffic on McGill’s social media websites on election night and in the 48 hours that followed.

“I think people were reaching out for reassurance and to express their point of view more,” Bartlett said.

Natalie Marusiak, a Grade 11 student at Belmont High School in Massachusetts, said that the election result has piqued her interest in applying to McGill and the University of British Columbia.

“The amount of hate that has surfaced Astha Agarwal even in just a few weeks of Trump being Contributor elected is very scary,” Marusiak said. “[As students we are worried about] all onald Trump’s victory in the United States’ the things that have happened and could potentially presidential election on Nov. 8 has triggered happen. Student debt is also a big thing for a lot of increased interest in McGill from international people and it’s a bit scary to think about the implications

Trump victory draws increased international interest in McGill

American students consider staying in Canada post-graduation

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oogle has solidified Montreal’s newly-attained reputation as an international epicentre for Artificial Intelligence (AI) research by investing $4.5 million in the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, a research lab at the University of Montreal (UdeM). Artificial Intelligence refers to computer systems performing tasks by mimicking human cognition, including visual or speech recognition, and advanced forms of decision making. According to AI expert and UdeM Professor Yoshua Bengio, Montreal is home to the world’s largest concentration of AI researchers, making it an attractive city for many investors and entrepreneurs who see immense potential for capitalization of the new field.

Google is also planning to open a deep learning and AI research group in the city. The lab will be owned and led by Google, and will work in conjunction with Google Brain, a machine learning research team. “[The] Google AI lab in Montreal is going to grow gradually, but for now will stay in the Google Montreal offices,” Professor Bengio wrote in an email to The Tribune.

According to Doina Precup, a professor in the McGill Department of Computer Science, the new AI lab’s upcoming research will be most relevant to Google rather than the AI industry as a whole, such as working to develop technology that will improve Google search queries.

“Google has certain products that they would like to improve, so the research is internally used towards these products,” Precup said. “These have to do with search [...] and things that are mainly related to Google’s issues.

The expanding AI industry in Montreal has led to the creation of many startup research factories, such as Element AI. Launched by Bengio in Oct. 2016, Element AI works to develop AI that can be used by many businesses for their services. Element AI Program Director Sébastien Provencher believes that the work that is being done in AI today holds great potential.

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for that with a Trump presidency.”

Since the election results, Rohita Ramayanam, U3 Management and an American student, has been considering seeking employment in Canada after graduation.

“My decision will ultimately depend on where I find employment, but I’m definitely more open to staying in Canada because of the election results,” Ramayanam said. “Now that I’m here, I wouldn’t want to go back to live in an environment where people like myself don’t have the same rights as others. If the U.S. continues down a path that I completely don’t agree with, there’s nothing stopping me from staying here.”

Margot Silberblatt, U3 Arts and an American citizen, said that the election results have decreased her interest in returning to the U.S. after graduation.

“Before the election, I thought I would have preferred going back to the U.S., but after the election, I’ve become 100 per cent more invested in considering my options abroad,” Silberblatt said.

The election has also increased interest in McGill from international applicants outside the U.S. “Whatever happens in the U.S. doesn’t just affect U.S. applicants, but it affects people worldwide,” Bartlett said. “Many international students have in their mind the U.S. as their university destination and so if people are nervous about something happening in the U.S. they might consider Canada where they haven’t in the past.”

Bartlett doesn’t believe that increased American interest in McGill will drastically alter the composition of the student body.

“We don’t look at citizenship when we’re evaluating applications, so I don’t anticipate a major shift,” Bartlett said. “There has always been a substantial representation of U.S. students and probably will continue to be.”

“We’re looking at the new frontier […] AI is where it’s happening today, and that’s why it’s exciting,” said Provencher. “Montreal is becoming the place to be in the world for any type of deep learning, machine learning, or AI projects.”

Provencher believes that Google’s investment could also create incentives for many Canadians working in Silicon Valley to return, (Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune) as running a business in Montreal is much cheaper.

“There’s talent originally in Montreal that might be working in the Valley right now, and we want them to come back,” Provencher said.

While Google’s lab will help in drawing more investors and business to Montreal, Precup is worried that it may complicate things on the academic scene.

“From the point of view of academia, […] the difficulty is […] a lot of people who work in [research] have left for the industry and there’s not that many people left to train students,” Precup said.

Rebecca Zhuang Precup is also hopeful that Contributor Google’s AI lab will allow for them to share resources with academic labs students after graduation. who may not have access to certain equipment.

“Before, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to find a job in McGill PhD candidate in Computer Science Emmanuel Bengio, Professor Yoshua Bengio’s son, is optimistic that AI in Montreal, but I think this just increased the potential of Google’s investment will create more opportunities for that happening,” Bengio said.

The rise of artificial intelligence: Google invests in deep learning in Montreal $4.5 million earmarked for Montreal-based AI research

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especially so. The report urged McGill to develop infrastructure to foster a diverse faculty, specifically by reforming recruitment practices, protecting individuals who report discrimination, creating the position of Senior Officer for Equity and Inclusion, and sponsoring both mentorship and awareness programs.

Associate Provost (L-A Benoit/ The McGill Tribune) (Policies, Procedures, and Equity) Angela Campbell praised the report for drawing useful considerations, including the importance of intersectional approaches.

“The Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Systemic Discrimination provides the McGill community with important insights about the systemic barriers encountered by some faculty members who are constituents of underrepresented social groups,” Campbell said. “McGill is committed to the ongoing project of advancing equity and inclusivity on campus.”

Gender Anthropology sessional lecturer Karen McAllister has faced discrimination at McGill and considers it to be an issue that is a particularly challenging issue. “[Discrimination can be] something that people don’t realize they’re doing and so they don’t think about it,” McAllister said. “This is the dangerous part of it [.…] It’s also really hard to say that it’s because of gender versus something else.”

McGill Senate releases report on systemic discrimination Professors and students speak on issues of gender and ethnicity Calvin Trottier-Chi Staff Writer

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he McGill Senate Ad Hoc Working Group on Systemic Discrimination released a report on Nov. 16 describing discriminatory practices towards female, minority, and indigenous faculty members. After surveying 374 tenure-track and tenured professors, the working group found evidence of systemic discrimination at McGill.

Issues raised include frustration towards the McGill administration, feelings of isolation, and institutional limitations differing by gender and ethnicity. Respondents reported witnessing discrimination on the basis of gender a total of 107 times, ethnicity 38 times, and for ‘other’ reasons 81 times. Respondents of all backgrounds were aware of discriminatory issues, although women and minorities

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or the 12th year in a row McGill is ranked first in Canada by Maclean’s magazine among all research universities. Internationally, McGill is ranked 30th in the 2016 QS World University Rankings, 42nd in 2016-2017 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and 63rd by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Why are the rankings so different and what are they really telling us?

What methodologies are used to rank universities?

Over the years, Maclean’s has evolved a ranking methodology that splits the final score into five variables: Students, 28 per cent; faculty, 24 per cent; Resources, 20 per cent; Student support, 13 per cent; Reputation, 15 per cent.

Other university rankings give different weights to the variables. Unlike Maclean’s, QS World University Rankings weighs academic reputation at 40 per cent and takes into account international faculty and student to faculty ratios.

Times Higher Education World University Rankings splits their reputational survey into teaching and research. When added together, the reputational surveys account for 33 per cent of a university’s total score.

While some variables rely on numerical data from student numbers, university finances, and grants, other variables do not. Maclean’s gathers data for its reputation variable through a survey that gauges the opinions of university faculty, senior administrators, and high school guidance counsellors on how well universities meet the needs of students and how prepared their graduates are. As a result, the data gathered for rankings can be subjective.

According to Erin Sobat, vice-president (VP) University 4

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Tribune Explains: McGill’s rankings McGill tops Maclean’s rankings for 12th year in a row Cherry Ng Staff Writer

Affairs of Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU), rankings do not paint a well-rounded picture of a university.

“The fact that McGill continues to top these lists despite failing infrastructure and insufficient support services is obviously a kind of feedback loop,” Sobat wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

Sobat attributes McGill’s high placement in rankings to its academic excellence.

“Our reputation attracts strong students and professors, [which] in turn contribute to the academic awards, research grants, and citation counts that make up this reputation,” Sobat said.

How do rankings affect McGill?

According to Provost and Vice-Principal (VP Academic) Christopher Manfredi, ranking considerations do not drive

McAllister recounted a student being overtly disrespectful towards her during her first year teaching at McGill. She feels that it is the responsibility of female and minority professors to serve as role models for students.

“I said [to the student], ‘Look, I’ve been told that in this university, young, female professors are given a hard time by the students. This ends here, we’re not going to do this in this class,’” McAllister said. “It’s something that students later on remembered because I’ve had some of those same students in their third or fourth year and they came [to me] and said, ‘That was really memorable, we were so pleased you stood up.’”

Ethnicity Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Erin Sobat said that minorities often face difficulties when trying to organize or speak out. The report echoed this, as out of the 21.9 per cent of respondents who did not declare their ethnicity, several explained that they feared that they could be easily identified if they revealed demographic information, a symptom of the relative dearth of minority students at McGill.

“One of the significant issues with under-representation and discrimination is that there are very few [minority students] to form a community and support one another at McGill,” Sobat said. “As a result, it is the already marginalized members of our academic staff who end up taking on the greatest emotional burden of mentoring and supporting these students.”

Sobat suggests that the university should focus on recruiting underrepresented groups to McGill to alleviate some of these issues. In addition, he has pushed for the McGill Senate to consider diversifying its enrolment plan to acknowledge a wider variety of backgrounds, as it currently divides potential students into the three categories of Quebec, out-of-province, and international students.

“Students should demand that we do more to recruit and retain diverse faculty members as well as students at McGill,” Sobat said. “At SSMU [University Affairs] we have been advocating for a comprehensive student diversity enrolment plan, which would go beyond the current strategic enrolment management approach.”

policy at the administrative level.

“We strive to be excellent in everything we do—teaching, research, student life, service to our communities—and we adopt policies to achieve that goal,” Manfredi wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “We believe that success in achieving that goal will eventually be reflected in rankings.”

Jocelyn Younan, an associate registrar at McGill Enrolment Services, noted that students take rankings into consideration when applying to university.

“Whenever we ask students why they decided to apply to McGill, reputation, rankings, [and] academic programs are answers that come up frequently,” Younan wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Applicants also compare similarly ranked institutions and use that as a starting point to select where to apply.”

When deciding where to spend their education, students consider aspects other than the academic excellence of the institution.

“When it comes to accepting an offer of admission, many other factors influence [students’] decision and these will vary greatly,” Younan wrote. “Cost of education and cost of living, location, safety, internships and exchange opportunities are common factors we hear from students.”

Though methodologies may vary and are not an exact science, rankings can still be an indicator of what to expect at a university.

“Our generally strong performance in a variety of rankings is testament to how hard the entire McGill community works, despite financial challenges, to remain one of the world’s leading universities,” Manfredi wrote. news

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McGill Senate approves Policy against Sexual Violence

Policy passes after two years of consultation Domenic Casciato Contributor Policy against Sexual Violence On Nov. 23, the McGill Senate unanimously approved the Policy against Sexual Violence. With the Senate’s approval, the Policy will now proceed to the Board of Governors for approval on Dec. 1. Student staff and administration representatives will form a committee for the implementation of the Policy. It also calls for the creation of a physical office for students and staff to report incidents of sexual violence to the administration.

The Sexual Assault Policy Proposal group (SAPP), which was formed in 2013 following allegations of sexual assault against numerous McGill Redmen football players, had its own draft of the sexual assault policy rejected in April 2016. On Sept.

12, the university released its Draft Policy against Sexual Violence.

The Policy defines sexual violence as a sexual act or acts targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression without the person’s consent. It is survivor-focused and will tackle sexual violence on campus through education, survivor support, and effectively responding to sexual violence disclosure and reports through the creation of the Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education. Olliver Dyens, deputy News

provost (Student Life and Learning), spoke strongly in favour of the Policy to the Senate.

“This Policy does everything that needs to be done,” Dyens said. “The next step is [committing] to addressing this issue. [....] The Policy provides everything we need to [move] forward.”

Victor Frankel, secretary-general of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS), highlighted the time and effort involved in the creation of this Policy.

“Having this [Policy] be the product of significant consultation is something that we can all be proud of, and use this as a model for other ways in which we can integrate campus input,” Frankel said.

The administration met with over 30 interest groups, collected online feedback from the McGill community, and worked with a consulting firm, Parker P Consulting, while developing the Policy. Its approval adds a number of items to the Senate’s agenda. An ad hoc panel will form within four months to study sexual violence at McGill and determine the university’s jurisdiction in responding to reports of incidents.

In the coming months, appointments to the Office for Sexual Violence will be made and consultations will be held with campus groups, including the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS). The procedure for responding to reports of sexual violence

will be revised as the implementation plan is further developed.

Christopher Manfredi, provost and

“Having this [policy] be the product of significant consultation is something that we can all be proud of, and use this as a model for other ways in which we can integrate campus input.”

vice-principal (Academic), emphasized that addressing sexual violence on campus will be an ongoing process.

“The Policy has built into it a very robust review process,” Manfredi said.

“It will allow this to be an iterative process, a continuous improvement of

the Policy as we go forward and see how it works on the ground.”

According to the final draft presented to Senate, the Office for Sexual Violence will bring together qualified staff to effectively respond to all reports of sexual violence. It will also create a confidential monitoring framework in order to develop a statistical analysis of incidences of assault at the university.

Report on sustainability Senate also discussed a report on Nov. 10’s Joint Board-Senate meeting, which focused primarily on sustainability initiatives. Principal Suzanne Fortier spoke about McGill’s sustainability rating by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

“Where we get our lowest and a terrible, terrible mark, is on water [intake],” Fortier said. “[We’re] taking it for granted that we have good water readily accessible to us and we’re wasting it.”

The report collected senators’ ideas for immediate, medium, and long-term actions to make McGill a more sustainable campus, including conducting energy usage audits, making McGill’s campus disposable water-bottle free, and creating a Sustainability Task Force.

“We’ve put aside $10 million for the next five years for our initiatives in sustainability sciences,” Manfredi said.

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Illustrations by Alejandra Morales

FALL 2016 SSMU EXECUTIVE MID-TERM REVIEWS Elaine Patterson

The restructuring of executive portfolios in the 2015-2016 year brought Mental Health under the Student Life portfolio, a change that is still being smoothed out practically. Mental Health Awareness Week has been moved from the Fall semester to Winter 2017 in order to ensure that adequate resources are devoted to its preparation.

Increasing Activities Night’s duration from two days to three while reducing its hours from four to three enabled more participation and reduced the burden on clubs participating. While there were challenges in building access owing to the McTavish

Lawrie’s led SSMU’s shift to playing a more administrative rather than programming role in Froshes. Events were successfully coordinated and executed with various vice-presidents of each faculty’s undergraduate society. A new initiative at Frosh this year was the consent video, which aimed to educate students and make Frosh experiences safer. Lawrie also launched B-Week in coordination with VP Finance Niall Carolan, which aimed to increase customers at Gerts through cheap drink deals. This succeeded in quadrupling Gerts’ sales during the week and attracting students back to the bar, which is an important source of revenue for SSMU. This year 4Floors produced a slight profit despite having a higher budget than last year. This is a commendable improvement over 4Floors’ low sales and

VP STUDENT LIFE

construction, Patterson addressed these issues in a timely fashion in order to ensure that students were able to participate in the event.

Patterson worked to develop the free Menstrual Hygiene Products Policy, which passed in the Fall 2016 Referendum. This policy will have a substantial long-term impact, which means that the coming months are essential in laying the groundwork and setting precedent for its execution.

Patterson is constrained by the ongoing Club

DANIEL LAWRIE

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VP INTERNAL

deficit in the 2015-2016 school year. Lawrie has since formed multiple sub-committees of the Students’ Society Programming Network (SSPN) in order to maximize the effectiveness of the team by delegating responsibility for planning upcoming events that don’t require participation from the whole network. Next semester, the SSPN will plan events such as Faculty Olympics and Week 101 welcome-back gathering, and aims to further improve Gerts’ turnout.

As part of rebranding Red and White Week, Life After Your Degree (LifeAYD) has been expanded and aims to help students prepare for careers and learn

Moratorium, which prevents new clubs from forming. The Moratorium came into effect at the end of last year as a result of SSMU’s budget issues. In the 2015-2016 year, clubs were moved out of their offices, which became bookable rooms. Despite this, there are still issues of clubs being able to find space in the building, even if they are a SSMU Club. However, some services, such as the Peer Support Centre, have now been given permanent spaces. Patterson is also behind on progress of the Services Review Committee.

professional skills. The programming has been scheduled over the entire school year rather than being confined to a month of November.

LifeAYD will take full effect next semester. The success of this change and SSMU’s ability to further collaborate with related groups and organizations in order to improve student preparation for life after McGill remains to be seen.

Although Discover McGill and Frosh made use of the McGill app, Lawrie has not yet integrated his listserv information in it. However, he plans on addressing this next semester. The SSMU website redesign has also been put on hold due to budgetary constraints.

Finally, Lawrie has reorganized the First Year Council to be more efficient in its budget, but the council only met twice during Fall 2016.

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With SSMU being short on both staff and resources, Ger was able to work effectively with the other executives to keep costs under control across all portfolios.Despite following a deficit year, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) reported a surplus this semester for the first time in many years. Ger’s successful initiatives so far include the online ratification of the Free Menstrual Hygiene Products Fee after the Fall 2016 General Assembly (GA). The $0.90 fee will start in Winter 2017 and will go to the creation of the Health & Hygiene Products Fund to provide free menstrual hygiene products to students in restrooms

BEN GER President

across campus.

Ger has pursued research and discussion on reforming various governing bodies at McGill, from the SSMU Legislative Council to the McGill University Board of Governors (BoG). His goals include increasing diversity and equity internally at SSMU Council by including seats for indigenous and other minority student populations, and increasing transparency and student consultation by the BoG.

SACHA MAGDER

Sacha Madger has overseen a muchneeded increase in revenue from Gerts and the Student-Run Cafe (SRC). Revenue from the entire SSMU building is up 40 per cent compared to last year, helping to cope with the current budget deficit. Considering that the SRC is limited to advertising within the SSMU building by contract with McGill, the SRC’s doubled revenue is an accomplishment. However, given that construction on campus has rerouted many pedestrians through the SSMU building, it is unclear how much of this increase can be credited solely to Madger’s management, and not just to the increase in foot traffic through the building. Additionally, a large portion of Madger’s campaign platform pertained to reIn his role as VP University Affairs (UA), Erin Sobat has made an effort to improve SSMU’s relationship with the McGill administration and student groups on campus. By holding an equity roundtable with student organizations, Sobat hopes to hear student concerns and represent their interests more fully at the university level. In an additional effort to improve communication, Sobat has focused on using the UA website and Facebook page to share information with students. Although events at the beginning of the semester, such as the Academic Summit, allowed Sobat to interact with SSMU members faceto-face, this direct contact has dwindled throughout

VP OPERATIONS

branding the SRC, which was presented as a project intended for completion in the Fall. Still, the new name has yet to be revealed and is now scheduled for launch in January.

Madger has worked closely with the administration on adapting the SSMU building to the ongoing construction, most notably by working with security and the staff of the Brown Student Services Building to keep the connecting doors between SSMU and Brown open until 10:30 p.m. This provides an entry to an accessible route up McTavish throughout the

ERIN SOBAT VP UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS

the semester. Sobat hopes to improve this again at the beginning of the winter semester through more events, such as the January Know Your Rights Campaign.

Sobat also had a hand in the development of the Policy against Sexual Violence that was approved at the Nov. 23 Senate meeting. SSMU organized consultation focus groups in order to ensure that the final policy accurately represents survivors. A working group has been created in order to develop plans for

NIALL CAROLAN

Under Carolan’s portfolio, the SSMU operating budget has reached a surplus. According to his report to Council on Nov. 3, Carolan is optimistic that the SRC will break even and possibly become modestly profitable. Through activities that drive foot traffic into the SSMU building, such as B-Week— as well as the indirect consequences of construction—Carolan is seeking to ensure a balanced budget despite the constraints of significant budget cuts.

In a period of budgetary restraint, Carolan has met with various clubs and services, including the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) and the Savoy Society, to ensure their financial relation-

Aird has been leading discussions with the Milton-Parc Community with the aim of improving relations. He has also campaigned to raise awareness among McGill students, who have an impact on residents who have been living in the neighbourhood for decades.

Aird has been vocal on issues regarding austerity and asked to be present at various faculty councils to have faculty members sign in support of anti-austerity measures. Preparation for an Anti-

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ship with the society. Carolan has also worked to streamline the application for student group funding through the SSMU Funding Committee. The new online platform will launch at the beginning of Winter 2017.

Following structural changes in the 2015-2016 year, human resources was moved into the VP Finance portfolio. However, it currently seems that a large portion of these responsibilities are still being handled by the President.

Communication with the study body has been nota-

DAVID AIRD VP EXTERNAL

Austerity Week next semester is ongoing.

Aird has also worked with the Indigenous Affairs Committee in order to revisit the Indigenous Solidarity Policy. Aird wants to improve consultation with indigenous communities on issues such as the relocation of the Hochelaga rock, which was done hastily and lacked a wide-ranging discussion

For Ger, this includes updating the SSMU Equitable Hiring Policy, creating an Ethical Expenditures Policy with Vice-President (VP) Finance Niall Carolan, and some political literacy-related initiatives.

Looking forward to the Winter semester, Ger hopes to improve on the low turnout at the Fall 2016 GA, which failed to meet quorum with fewer than 40 students in attendance. Having campaigned on increased student engagement with SSMU, Ger will continue to lobby the administration to provide academic accommodations during the assemblies to make it more accessible to students. hours of operation of the SSMU building.

One of the main points in Madger’s campaign was establishing a Crash Pad for commuter students to stay overnight on campus.

Madger was successful in coordinating the Crash Pad during Frosh, a project that was intended to be a trial run before setting up a more permanent program However, the Crash Pad has since taken a backseat to other projects under his portfolio and received little attention. Additionally, enrolment in SSMU Minicourses has been very low this semester. Madger has plans to remedy this situation in Winter 2017, but the program has been largely neglected to date.

a Fall break, but it only met once.

Sobat also sought to create a SSMU policy on unpaid internships. Due to the resignation of the policy’s researcher, however, the policy has not been completed and will not be brought to SSMU Council for approval until Winter 2017. Sobat has also made efforts to review other important policies that affect students, such as the Code of Student Conduct and current procedures surrounding academic accommodation.

bly absent thus far in Carolan’s tenure. While he promised to provide frequent updates on the budget, fees, and funding through the SSMU website and Facebook page, this has so far not come to fruition. Moreover, consultation with students on budget issues has been seemingly limited, as has communication with the media, particularly in regards to SSMU’s investment portfolio. It is currently unclear what progress has been made on the Socially Responsible Investment Fund, which he had aimed to create in Fall 2016.

with different indigenous groups. He wants to rethink the way that the few indigenous students on campus are consulted in order to avoid overwhelming them with all of their communities’ issues .

Although students rejected a referendum question for SSMU to join AVEQ in WInter 2016, SSMU still participates in the federation’s meetings as an observer. However, it is unclear whether Aird has a specific plan to pitch AVEQ to students again.

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Bridging the gap between the downtown and Mac campuses Tara Allen-Flanagan Contributor

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lthough they are two halves of a single university, for downtown students, it may seem that the main things that the Macdonald and main campus share are the McGill name and a shuttle bus. The two campuses have separate student unions; therefore, students from one campus do not often engage with the services or clubs of the other. McGill is slowly beginning to advertise the benefits of Mac campus to downtown students—for example, by offering Science Literacy Week events at both campuses—but many students don’t bother to find out more about them.

The result of this divide is two groups of students who know nothing about each other and are not interested in visiting their non-native campus.

As a member of the McGill Agricultural Association, a club located at Mac campus, I was dismayed when local students told me that I was one of the few downtown students they knew personally who makes a habit of visiting Mac for non-academic reasons. Students who never make the trek out to the West Island are missing out on the chance to explore a rural and bountiful campus that offers much more than just classes.

For downtown students, it is easy to never leave the city core and venture out to Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue. The only obvious markers of Mac campus’ existence downtown are the shuttle bus stops—currently situated in front of the Strathcona Music Building due to construction on Sherbrooke—and the McGill Farmers’ market at the Y-intersection on Thursdays in the fall.

Located across the street from the St. Lawrence river, Mac campus houses the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Beyond the main buildings of campus are acres of experimental farm land; across the bridge is the massive Morgan Arboretum and nature reserve. Students have access to a forest less than an hour away from downtown, yet many of them are unaware of its existence. Instead of going to the crowded libraries of Redpath during finals, downtown McGillians can find a change of scenery in the Macdonald Campus Library and take study breaks by the canal.

The distance between the two campuses may seem daunting, but prospective commuters should take advantage of the shuttle bus that leaves from McGill’s downtown campus. Although it is primarily intended to transport students and staff who have courses at Mac campus, the bus is quite empty at non-peak hours. All that students need to do is get a sticker on their McGill ID card from Service Point, and they can take advantage of the shuttle bus, which, by the way, has Wi-Fi. Groups from both locations are attempting to dissolve the boundaries between the two campuses. The McGill Farmers’ Market brings produce from Mac campus downtown in the summer and fall to sell to students at a low price; the geography and environment student associations organized an apple picking trip at the arboretum this fall. Initiatives such as these are important because they provide occasions for downtown natives to interact with Mac campus and participate in activities that are not possible to hold downtown. Students may feel hesitant about visiting Mac campus alone; however, when McGill hosts events that highlight the unique attractions of Mac, newcomers may like what they see and visit more often.

Downtown students should reap the benefits of both campuses and visit Mac at least once in their university careers. The services and scenery offered by Mac campus can broaden a downtown student’s university experience and provide a natural retreat from the hectic downtown core. Student societies could allow students of the other campus to pay membership fees to Macdonald campus, or create more initiatives to bring students together. Mac and downtown campuses should not feel like mutually exclusive worlds; this idea prevents students from exploring all that McGill has to offer.

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No party is the ‘science party:’ The problem with politicizing science Clare Fogarty Contributor

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he concept of the “anti-science” right isn’t new to political discussion; conservatives are consistently seen as the major perpetrators of anti-science rhetoric. A 2009 Pew Research poll described a mere six per cent of scientists in the U.S. as identifying with Republican views. According to the two-party political system, this leaves the majority of the scientific population within the liberal spectrum and leads one to conclude that Democrats are pro-science and Republicans are anti-science.

Recent post-election discourse in the U.S. seems to support this, where President-elect Donald Trump has been described as the first “anti-science” president in the country’s history. Fears of funding cuts to scientific research are emerging, prompting some researchers to consider leaving the U.S. in search of an environment more supportive of research and respectful of science. These fears are warranted; Trump’s anti-climate change, anti-vaccination, and anti-stem cell research stances are anything but scientific.

However, Republicans aren’t the only reservoir for anti-scientific views.

Not all ‘left-wing science’ is necessarily true science, as is indicated by evidence concerning genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the organic food industry, and vaccination.

According to an ABCNEWS.com survey conducted in June 2016, Republicans are divided evenly on whether GMOs are safe. Democrats rate them unsafe by a 26-point margin, despite a 2013 literature review of the past 10 years of GMO safety research finding no evidence that GMOs pose any hazards to human health. Surveys estimate that labelling GMO foods would cause roughly 57 per cent of Americans to avoid buying these products due to unwarranted safety concerns. Similarly, a Gallup poll concluded that more organic food shoppers identify as Democrats, even though a 2012 systematic review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found no evidence that organic food is safer to consume than non-organic food.

On some scientific research, such as vaccination, Democrats are reported to be equally as skeptical as Republicans. Largely propagated by the fraudulent science of the infamous Andrew Wakefield, the misguided belief that vaccines are unsafe continues to be spread by anti-vaccine celebrities such as self-identified Democrat Jenny McCarthy. The results of such anti-scientific principles can reach heartbreaking levels, as hundreds of cases of deadly, vaccine-preventable measles infections occur in the U.S. each year.

There is no doubt that Republicans generally represent a larger proportion of the evolution skeptics and climate change deniers, and that the results of such beliefs may be catastrophic to attempts to ameliorate the current climate crisis. Trump’s complete disregard for science is shocking, frightening, and incredibly disheartening to researchers worldwide. Trump himself has declared climate change “politicized science,” claiming that research supporting evidence of the human influence on the climate is skewed to suit the political agenda of the opposition. His election threatens the effectiveness of global climate change cooperation, which Canada is a part of.

This notion of politicization inaccurately portrays debates in science as adhering inherently to a certain political paradigm. Science has no understanding of left-wing and right-wing politics; the laws of nature and the universe are not compartmentalized to fit the views of either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

Science is a philosophy—a systematic enterprise of empirical knowledge whereby consensus is the closest form of ‘truth’ that can be reached.

The problem with politicized science isn’t necessarily that fewer right-wing policy makers are needed in order to better support science, but that science doesn’t correspond definitively with one set of political views. More scientists are needed in policy-making, and politicians without scientific background should admit their lack of knowledge rather than disseminate false information that suits their agenda.

In order for scientific truth to reach the public, conversations on issues such as climate change and GMOs must stay out of political discussion and within the sphere of science. opinion

When words lie: Leitch’s anti-Canadian values exclude on the basis of inclusion Emma Avery Opinion Editor

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Violence and misogyny are not Canadian values,” Kellie Leitch, former minister of labour and minister of the status of women, tells Maclean’s.

The above is an innocuous statement regarding Leitch’s vague and seemingly benign proposal to screen immigrants for “anti-Canadian values.” Obviously, most people don’t condone violence or misogyny.

But, as Anne Kingston points out in the Maclean’s piece, it’s implied that certain ethnicities and religious groups—particularly, Muslims—are disproportionately seen as holding inappropriate values.

Leitch is currently campaigning for the leadership of Canada’s Conservative Party, which will be decided in May 2017. The contest has provoked a debate around what has been termed “the Conservatives’ identity crisis about identity.”

Leitch’s condemnation of anti-Canadian values implies that there is an opposing set of distinctly Canadian ones. However, the fact that she cannot define what Canadian identity consists of illustrates the flaw in her logic. As Kingston puts it, “Leitch has defined Canadian values in terms of what they’re not.” By using fear tactics to target public perceptions of the threat that ‘others’ pose to Canada, Leitch invokes a different kind of violence—the violence of words and nationalist rhetoric—that threatens our ability to accept and embrace difference.

There are consequences to attempting to treat a nation as a whole. As Benedict Anderson argues in his book, Imagined Communities, the nation is an “imagined political community—imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.” Although no one has ever met every member of their nation, citizens construct an image of what their nation looks like and of what it contains.

This functions as a coping mechanism: The idea of a nation is so vast, immense, unknowable, and powerful. At the same time, nations are supposed to be sources of comfort, familiarity, and identity. They constitute an essential part of what we think of when we think of home. In order to understand and conceive of a country, citizens have to imagine parts of it. But, in these constructions, certain people are left out. Leitch’s playing to the sentiment of Canadian values is paradoxical: It caters to notions of tolerance, equality, and inclusivity, but excludes precisely on the basis of this supposed inclusivity. It excludes ‘others’ who are not seen as compatible with being a tolerant Canadian.

It’s near impossible to define a unifying value in a multicultural, colonial nation of 35 million people. Canada prides itself on its tolerant nature, but tolerance, for all of its extolled virtues, is not enough. It conceals a power dynamic, much like the rhetoric Leitch is perpetuating: Who has the power to tolerate whom is crucial in understanding our approaches to ‘others.’ In screening for anti-Canadian values, the government would be exercising this power of tolerance over who is compatible its society and who is not.

Even Canada—recently portrayed by global media as the alternative to the rise of isolationist, xenophobic politics in the U.S. and Western Europe—struggles to be tolerant: We attempt to celebrate the history of our indigenous and minority communities, but equal treatment is still not a reality. Chinese residents in cities such as Vancouver face significant racism in the housing market. We are not immune to hatred directed towards Muslims, as has occurred recently on two Alberta university campuses. It’s convenient to ignore the fact that Justin Trudeau’s government has been invoking Bill C-24—which repeals citizenship from immigrants—at an alarmingly high rate.

Tellingly, a recent CBC poll shows that 68 per cent of Canadians think minorities should do more to fit in with mainstream Canadian society. Most Canadians are tolerant, so long as those of other cultures fit the mould. Leitch’s nationalism threatens to hide this reality. Bounding the concept of national identity is counterproductive, and only places limits on difference. opinion

EDITORIAL Discussing racism beyond Queen’s Last week, photos surfaced online of a costume party at Queen’s University in which students dressed as various stereotypes of other nationalities and cultures. White students were photographed dressed as incarcerated Mexicans, Buddhist monks, Viet Cong guerillas, and other stereotypical outfits at the event. Queen’s Principal Daniel Woolf and other members of the university administration condemned the event—which did not occur on campus—as “completely unacceptable.” While the event was not sanctioned by Queen’s administration, Woolf stated that “appropriate action” would be taken if any links to the university were discovered.

Instead of dismissing the Queen’s case as an isolated incident, we must remember that without ongoing efforts to discuss and educate students on issues of racism, a similar episode could happen at McGill or, indeed, anywhere. The costume party comes at a time when incidences of racial harassment and hate crimes are increasing both in the U.S. and Canada, further reinforcing the need to confront and denounce instances of racism in any form. For McGill students, the Queen’s party should serve as a sobering reminder of the continued ignorance of racial issues on Canadian campuses as well as the importance of proactive action by students and staff. While it may be tempting to simply label and chastise the students involved, a more productive response must attempt to address potential causes of such behaviour, and ask what can be done to prevent such an incident from happening again.

When addressing racism in the student body, student initiatives are an effective first step.

At McGill, initiatives like Rez Project and AntiOppression Programming help first-year students in residence develop an awareness of issues such as racism and the vocabulary to discuss them. A variety of student and faculty organizations, such as the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG), the Black Students’ Network (BSN), and the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS), host workshops around Halloween to educate students on cultural appropriation. However, initiatives like

Rez Project are limited to students in residence, and even when paired with faculty efforts, may not reach the entirety of the student body. It is imperative to keep developing means to make as many students as possible aware of the potential harm they may cause by mocking the cultures of their peers.

Students that are more aware of these issues will be more sympathetic to the victims of racism, and will abstain from engaging in racist behaviour.

University administrators also have the potential to confront racism on their campuses. By strongly condemning these types of incidents, as Queen’s University has, administrators reinforce the message that racist or discriminatory behaviour is inappropriate, and that it is not representative of their school. But universities don’t need to wait for an incident before voicing their disapproval; a statement condemning racism and other forms of discrimination in McGill’s Student Code of Conduct would help create an environment where this behaviour is explicitly denounced. In an email to members of the McGill community on Nov. 16, the administration released the Report of the McGill Ad Hoc Working Group on Systemic Discrimination, which compiled the experiences of racialized minority tenure-track faculty and made suggestions regarding equity in hiring practices. A more diverse faculty would help expose students to a wider variety of perspectives on racial issues.

Issues of race persist on campus because they are issues that affect our society as a whole. As such, fighting racism on campus can only help in the fight against racism in broader society. Larger scale social solutions, like creating an educational system that teaches kids the history of marginalized peoples before they reach the university level, would alleviate some of this ignorance at all levels of society. Not only students, but all members of society should strive for a better understanding of the history of racial inequity and discrimination in Canada, and must make renewed efforts to listen to and sympathize with its victims. This latest incident at Queen’s should remind students that the fight against racism in Canada is ongoing and requires their engagement.

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Partisan boundaries stifle discourse on Facebook Evan Thomas Contributor

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n theory, social media platforms should be a boundless, intellectual, free market for sharing ideas. It’s a platform for individuals to effortlessly and instantly share their views. In turn, all users would be subjected to a wide range of views from all sides of the ideological spectrum.

This, however, has not proved to be the case. Facebook feeds have become echo chambers of ideas, where we are exposed primarily to content that reinforces our own biases and viewpoints. This polarization is largely due to the nature of Facebook and Google’s personalization algorithms. The more that users click, like, and share content that resonates with their beliefs, the more they are exposed to similar stories. This results in the so-called ‘blue feed, red feed’ phenomenon, in which users are sheltered from ideologies other than their own. Exposure to such groupthink is a slippery slope towards social divisions that cause polarization between left and right.

We must be critical and conscious of the media that is fed to us through our electronic screens. We must make an effort to engage with opinions that we disagree with.

In its 12 years of existence, Facebook has transformed into arguably the most influential media company in human history. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that 44 per cent of Americans access their news primarily via Facebook. With nearly 1.8 billion users worldwide, Facebook wields unfathomable power to influence the news that the world consumes, and so must recognize the journalistic responsibilities that come with it.

This is especially pertinent after a former Facebook employee revealed that the company suppressed right-wing news stories on their platform.

At the end of the day, Facebook is a for-profit corporation that understands that challenging and upsetting its users through exposure to dissenting views will drive them away. However, the online echo chamber that results from Facebook’s business practices have an adverse effect on our ideological development.

If we are not exposed to differing opinions, it will become impossible for us to critically assess our own. We cannot develop intellectually without confrontations to our understanding, as they will either challenge our views or strengthen our conviction. Critical reflection is essential to intellectual growth: It was Socrates who told us that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

All of this is to say that the polarization of social media might lead one to believe that they are bound to choose between either far left or right camp, with no options in between. Both liberals and conservatives stand to benefit by exposing themselves to the arguments of the other side, outside of the confines of their respective blue and red feeds. This can lead them to reconsider the foundations of their ideas, achieve common ground, and avoid the radicalizing effects of the group mentality.

We must be conscious of the remarkable ability of our social media feeds to inform us, to rile us up, and to tell us who and what we should be mad at. We live in a world in which computer algorithms divide us, and where online platforms that should promote a healthy discourse are extremely polarized.

In light of this, us users need to be active in fighting back against political polarization. Be critical of the news you consume. Burst the intellectual bubbles that surround you. Welcome the voices of those you disagree with, regardless of how offensive or disruptive you may find them.

Only by doing this can we break the bounds of ideological divides.

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‘Uncle’ Joe Biden meme tickles America’s funny bone Alexandra Harvey Columnist

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s Democrats mourn their candidate’s surprising loss in the recent presidential election, meme-viewers turn to one Ray-Ban sporting, ice cream loving, deified figure for reassurance and solace in this hard time: Vice-President Joe Biden’s meme alter-ego, ‘Uncle’ Joe. As Uncle Joe wistfully looks out onto the South Lawn, wondering if Santa Claus will know where to deliver his presents next Christmas, Democrats see a friend who understands the fear of an uncertain Trumpfilled future. Uncle Joe has made the best of this trying time by concocting a series of ridiculous—yet extremely effective— pranks to play on President-elect Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton supporters can trust good old Joe to address their frustrations head-on by unnerving the incoming government with his playful antics.

Following a presidential campaign characterized by scandal, Uncle Joe has become tired of watching controversy from the sidelines. After eight years of service with the Obama administration spent creating tangible change, boosting equality, and making America more inclusive for all Americans, it’s no wonder Joe’s feeling a little bored. Donald Trump’s contentious campaign—and the outrage caused by his victory—has created the perfect opportunity for Joe to stir things up himself. Democrats find comfort knowing that one of their own also has the capacity to enact ridiculous and juvenile legislation.

For Americans who feel disgusted by Trump’s threats to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Uncle Joe proves that Democrats can rebel by developing their own tactics to repel unwanted Republican outsiders. What better way to discourage the new administration from moving in than by withholding the White House Wi-Fi password. In light of Trump’s preposterous accusations about Barack, or “Barry” Obama’s citizenship, Biden has resorted to tricking the president-elect into discovering that the allegations he made up just to cause uproar may actually be true. When asked the motivation behind why he planted a mysterious Kenyan passport in the Oval Office, Vice President-Biden peaked his eyes out from beneath his reflective aviators, and powerfully announced to the media, “just to mess with him.” Everyone watching the press conference from their couches in Blue states reported feeling goosebumps.

Despite his high approval ratings from registered Democrats, Joe’s mischievousness has been met with disapproval from his close pal Barry, embodied perfectly in one iconic photo of Obama, head in hands, who has responded to many of these shenanigans with a simple, yet entirely telling comeback: “Joe.” Though Obama is obliged to appear presidential, it’s clear that he, too, wishes he could support Joe in his ingenious plans. It’s with great reluctance that Obama called Pizza Hut to say, “I know Joe called and ordered 500 pizzas to be delivered on January 21, but I need you to cancel that order.”

Joe has further remedied the plight of Democrats everywhere by planting Home Alone-like booby traps to be set off by an unsuspecting Trump come January.

He provides dissatisfied voters with comfort by ensuring that in spite of everything that’s happened, when Trump first sits down on his presidential throne, he will set off a whoopee cushion. For Clinton voters, imagining the embarrassment Trump will feel almost makes up for the unfavourable outcome of this past election.

Joe, it seems, is just the man to console the Americans who’ve lost faith in the political system. Understandably, some voters prefer to see images of JoBama ‘bro-ing’ around in the White House and sporting their friendship bracelets than read any in-depth information on government policy. Given the controversy surrounding the electoral college system, Biden has encouraged voters to petition for a Presidential Prank-Off instead of a traditional election to determine who will win the presidency in 2020. In this time of hardship and doubt, Democrats can be thankful to have whimsical Uncle Joe leading the way—whoopee cushion in hand. opinion

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wearenipscapes is an Instagram account dedicated to challenging the sexualization and censorship of female nipples. The page consists of pictures of beautiful landscapes with subtle nipple additions, usually hidden somewhere in the corner. The McGill Tribune recently spoke with Sally Maxwell, U3 Science and founder of @ wearenipscapes, about her inspiration behind starting the account and why she thinks it’s so meaningful.

The McGill Tribune (MT): Can you tell us a little bit about @wearenipscapes and why you started it?

Sally Maxwell (SM): @wearenipscapes is an Instagram account that I started in April (Noah Sutton / The McGill Tribune) [2016] when I was travelling with some friends in South America. Essentially, it is photos of beautiful landscapes with nipples poking out of the side of the image. The purpose of the page is to try and remove the stigma of the female nipple on social media, while exploring the beautiful planet we live in and expressing that through these nipscapes.

MT: Do you think social media plays a role in worsening the stigma of the female nipple?

SM: Definitely. I started it because I was frustrated by the fact that the female nipple was so stigmatized on social media—Facebook and Instagram both have clauses in their community guidelines where female nipples aren’t allowed to appear in photos unless they are images of a woman breastfeeding or post-mastectomy scarring images. I follow and support the Free Jeannie Richardson the Nipple movement, and so I guess this was Contributor my way of expressing that.

MT: “Free the Nipple” is a really important movement right now. Why do you personally the female nipple has been sexualized in a way that the think nipple equality is so important?

SM: Primarily, I think that nipple equality is a male nipple never was, when the only true difference symbol for gender equality as a whole. For starters, between the two is the milk producing capability and

Secretly freeing the nipple: @wearenipscapes challenges Instagram censorship regulations

In conversation with founder Sally Maxwell

For many first-years, their first foray into McGill life starts in residence. Fresh, bright-faced students come into university expecting to find that perfect group of friends— like something out of Friends or Saved by the Bell—and yet, residence life can be incredibly intimidating to navigate. In many ways, it can even seem like a throwback to the divides of the high school cafeteria.

This occurs because for many students, it is easier to stay within the one network of friends they may make when choosing where to sit in the caf. Over the course of the school year, this ends up creating a cycle in which students only eat with the people they know, making residence cafeterias feel more like a breeding ground for typical high school cliques than a welcoming environment in which to share meals with their friends.

“I think we all know the standard trend [where everyone’s] being open and hyper-friendly at the beginning of the first semester,” said Mana Moshkforoush, U0 Science and president of the Inter-Residence Council (IRC). “And although that’s definitely the case with some people, I find that university is very different from high school in that because there are so many students, you can’t really restrict yourself to a single group.”

Though Moshkforoush doesn’t seem to view residence life as particularly exclusive, the same cannot be said of many other students. When observing certain residence cafeterias, New Rez in particular, the disproportionate number of people sitting alone to people eating in groups is clear. For a residence of 700 Student living

Exploring social boundaries in residence The peculiar case of Rez caf social life Janine Xu Contributor

students, the New Rez cafeteria seems almost ridiculously small.

Out of all the residences, RVC’s cafeteria is most frequented by students from all areas. This may be due in part to the cafeteria’s large selection of food, but according to Nadia Bichri, a U1 Science student living in RVC, much of the cafeteria’s charm lies in its openness.

“Because of the way our tables are set up, like four friends will get together, and then [gradually] more people join in, even if they don’t really know anyone,” Bichri explained. “You have this friendliness all the way down the table.”

This attitude adds to the numerous qualities—including its location and food selection— attracts so many other first years to the RVC cafeteria. With a large space and bright lights, RVC’s

the lump of fat that may or may not exist behind the nipple.

MT: Do you think the fact that the nipple is so stigmatized makes girls more insecure about their bodies?

SM: Yes, undeniably. I think that girls, from a young age, are taught to hide their body—not only their nipples, but all parts of their body.

Slut-shaming is prevalent in our society, and this not only creates a body-negative—versus body-positive—atmosphere, but also increases body-shaming, and ultimately eating disorders, depression, and anxiety. By teaching girls to hide parts of their body, we are dampening that empowerment and freedom, that form of expression, feeling good in our bodies, being proud of who we are, loving ourselves.

MT: I’ve noticed that a lot of accounts that show female nipples, like yours, get reported frequently. Have you received any backlash from Instagram?

SM: Instagram has taken down several of my posts, which makes me very sad, but I haven’t received any direct messages from the public or from Instagram employees—I tend to just repost whatever they take down as a sort of “fuck you” to Instagram because the community guidelines are so ridiculous—like, only can nipples be present if they represent something that is entirely non-sexualized, such as a child sucking milk out of it. I think it is just an algorithm that can tell what looks like a female nipple/breast so they know which photos to take down. For nipscapes, we’re typically able to avoid this filtering method because the nipples come from the side of the photo, so it’s only if there is a lot of breast that they are taken down.

MT: What do you see for the future of nipscapes?

SM: I definitely hope to continue having fun with it, but also to grow the nipscape community and have more folks taking their own nipscapes and freeing their nipples!

cafeteria is fairly friendly and inviting. Moshkforoush, who is from Douglas, also prefers RVC, since it’s so conveniently located directly across the street from campus.

While other cafeterias such as Douglas and Bishop Mountain Hall (BMH) have similar setups, their location on top of the hill make it hard for students of different residences to gather there. However, BMH still serves to unite the three upper residences: Molson, McConnell, and Gardner.

“BMH easily has the best caf layout to meet new people, because all of the tables are structured to fit 12 or more students,” Rebecca Spiteri, U0 Arts and [Molson] resident, said.

“With BMH being up the hill though, it difficult for students in other residences to visit, but rather than isolating the upper rez students, it creates a strong sense community within the 3 residences.”

With any residence, however, students face the challenge of eating alone at any point in the year. Moshkforoush stressed the importance of taking initiative to be social.

“I’m not going to lie,” Moshkforoush said. “People are usually surprised that I approach them and ask to sit with them [in the cafeteria], but the conversation picks up really quickly and [...] I’m happy [to meet] someone new! We’re all in the same boat.”

Staying within the confines of social boundaries in rez is comfortable, but sometimes going out of one’s comfort zone to add to a welcoming rez culture--within the confines of the caf--is worth the plunge.

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Sexual Violence Policy at McGill Zikomo Smith, Sports Editor

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For many of us, we just felt relieved that the policy had passed,” Postgraduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Equity Commissioner Angela Yu said.

On Nov. 22, McGill Senate unanimously passed the Policy against Sexual Violence. Erin Sobat, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) vice-president (VP) University Affairs, felt cognitive dissonance amid the applause.

“There were a lot of congratulations and applause,” Sobat said. “I personally felt a bit of mixed feelings [...] because here are people who rejected a student draft that in some ways had a lot of similar elements just over half a year ago and are now here voting unanimously and espousing the importance of this [….] It is ironic to say the least.”

Sexual violence is undoubtedly one of the most pressing issues on university campuses. A 2015 CBC report found that “more than 700 sexual assaults were reported to Canadian Universities and Colleges” in the five years prior. However, these numbers only reflect officially reported cases; the statistics revealed by university student surveys demonstrate a reality that is much worse. McGill University’s Sexual Assault Climate Survey 2015 reported that 30 per cent of students “have been touched sexually without consent,” 50 per cent have reported “witnessing inappropriate or crude sexist or gender based remarks, unwelcome sexual attention, advances, and request for favours,” and 10 per cent have “experienced violence of a sexual nature.” Furthermore, 31 per cent reported “that sexual violence is a problem on campus.”

For years leading up to the creation of the Policy, McGill students have fought tooth and nail for the university administration to address sexual violence.

Survivors have re-lived their trauma by writing articles about their experiences of sexual assault at McGill in order to spur the university towards action. Student advocacy led to the creation of the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMMS) in the 1990s. Furthermore, the work of the student-led Sexual Assault Policy Working Group (SAPWG)—formed in the wake of

sexual assault charges against three Redmen Football players in 2013 who were still allowed to play on the football team while under investigation—was crucial in the development of the Policy. The group did advocacy work, activism, and helped to develop the policy in collaboration with various student groups and the McGill administration.

It is understandable that students felt frustrated when the former dean of students André Costopoulos and Associate Provost (Policies, Procedures and Equity) Angela Campbell refused to take SAPWG’s proposed Sexual Assault Policy to Senate in March 2016. In an interview with the McGill Daily in April, Campbell said that incorporating the concept of ‘intersectionality’ was a sticking point between McGill and the SAPWG. Intersectionality posits that one must consider how a variety of social factors—for example, gender, class, race, and disability—interrelate to differentiate the way each individual experiences oppression, including sexual violence. It is just one of many aspects of the Policy; however, the tension over the term is one distinct example of the tug-of-war between the student groups and the administration in producing the policy.

In response to the rejection of their proposal, SAPWG sent an open letter with 1,300 signatures criticizing the McGill administration for not “[prioritizing] supporting survivors of sexual assault […and not recognizing] the ways that institutional sexism, heterosexism, racism, colonialism, classism, and ableism affect individuals’ experiences of sexual violence.”

The initial McGill Draft Policy against Sexual Violence which followed did not explicitly use the term ‘intersectionality’. Campbell originally believed that the word would alienate some members of the McGill community.

“I think at the outset […] my main concern was making sure everybody understood that term,” Campbell said. “It felt elusive to someone who doesn’t have the humanities-based education [....] The initial draft was trying to explain intersectionality without using that word.”

In the months between the draft and the final policy, SAPWG and its I have heard is some community-based accountability model that would have supporters such as PGSS and SSMU had to advocate strongly for the inclusion of oversight in the university.” the concept of intersectionality.

Universities should be accountable to the voices and needs of their students. To “We had to have some concerted conversations about why [intersectionality] this end, it is essential that survivors’ experiences are also taken into account when was important if we wanted to be accountable to marginalized groups on campus,” building effective policies. Yu and Sobat both facilitated focus groups with sexual Yu said. assault survivors to receive input from survivors during the McGill Draft Policy The advocacy was effective. Campbell claims that there has been a change in review period from Sept. 22 to Nov. 22. the way the administration has viewed this issue. “[The] focus groups [were] a response to that need to centre the responses “The discourse has really changed,” Campbell said. “Things are coming up [of survivors],” Yu said. “If we do want to centre survivor voices, it is important on campus where the term is being used. For example, there is the equity report on to recognize that different people have different communication styles. Part of systemic discrimination, and there the term is used and explained [....] I think it is centring survivors is recognizing that plurality.” becoming more mainstream.”

Heeding student voices will become more important as the study of Sexual Sobat concedes that the administration’s attitude towards the issue has changed.

Violence at McGill, under the policy as a part of the review process, investigates But, he believes that this process could have been expedited had administrators how the policy harmonizes with McGill’s Student Code of Conduct and disciplinary incorporated the concept when SAPWG first included it in their proposal. procedure. In particular, the controversial concept of the ‘McGill Context,’ which “I feel the past six months of the policy development has been getting [the governs McGill’s jurisdiction in disciplining students, will need to be clearly McGill administration] to a place of understanding where they recognize that defined. what students are saying is important, not “It has become really clear that nobody just based on their own feelings, but also on who has been working on the policy has a years of [student-led] research, work, and really clear idea of what the McGill context consultation,” Sobat said. “And that is still is, and where the expectations of the frustrating for me, that the process went that university apply,” Yu said. way.”

“Students will be consulted,” Dyens In four months time, the policy will said. “The McGill Context is a complicated come under review with student consultation. issue that we need, as a community, to find a Although the exact format is yet to be decided, solution together.” the policy development Sobat hopes that a committee comprised In order for effective consultation to of students, faculty members with research occur, it is important that students are able has been getting to a experience regarding sexual violence, and to connect in an empathetic dialogue with external experts can review the policy at arm’s members of the administration. Yu believes place of understanding length from the administration. that some progress has been made in this “I think the administration, to their credit, area. has recognized that a policy is not the final “What is difficult is when people come where they recognize point,” Sobat said. “They have committed to into the conversation without [wanting] this iterative process where there are various their minds [changed],” she said. “It is that what students are review processes built into the policy.” important to find those key administrators Likewise, Deputy Provost (Student Life who are willing to stretch and have those and Learning) Dr. Ollivier Dyens claims that uncomfortable conversations. Working this saying is important, not McGill will continue to revise the policy. year with [Campbell] and [Dean of Students “Every policy is a living document,” he Dr. Christopher Buddle] was a breath of fresh just based on their own said. “So a policy is a first step in moving the air. While we do not agree on everything, it document, so it is not set in stone forever. This feels like there is more of a collaborative is the first step. We will keep revising it.” relationship there.” feelings, but also on Both students and administrators have Nevertheless, there is still work to be acknowledged the need to consult students in done: Some students have raised concerns years of research, work the Policy review. It is necessary to prioritize about the policy’s ability to effectively student safety and to address their concerns: punish perpetrators. This will be a difficult and consultation.

In the U.S., a number of universities have area to review, considering that discipline sought to protect their reputation at the through the Code of Student Conduct is done expense of the survivors to damaging effect. on a case-by-case basis, that privileges the Baylor University went so far as to discourage privacy of the people involved. This sets up a student from reporting her case of sexual a sensitive situation, as there is a necessity assault. to balance confidentiality with the need to Deadspin reporter Diana Moskovitz, who produce data on how potential perpetrators has covered the Baylor sexual assault case, has are disciplined. seen first-hand the effects of administrations that put their own interests over their “The new Office of Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education will students. be gathering data on items such as the number of disclosures, number of formal “There has to be some way of having some level of accountability built in reports made, and data about frequency of incidents by different members of because the powerful people left unchecked in [the U.S.] have a pretty strong history the community,” Buddle wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Specific data about of making really bad, selfish, ill-informed decisions to protect the institutions,” dispositions are not always possible given confidentiality, although the major Moskovitz said. “Baylor [is] just [...] the most recent example, but not the first, policies that handle Disciplinary Process do report their statistics, publicly.” where left to [their] own devices with no public oversight and no ability to check The road to developing a working Policy against Sexual Violence has been in, [acted in a way that], when the details come to light, they make you think ‘how beset with frustrations and setbacks. Yet, survivors of sexual assault, their supporters could a sane person do that,’ but they did.” and groups like SAPWG and SACCOMS persisted in their efforts; their respective One way to introduce accountability in Canada is through provincial laws. roles must always be remembered. As the policy is implemented, there will be Some provinces—such as Ontario, Alberta, and Nova Scotia—require universities difficulties and uncertainties, and students will continue to advocate and engage the to develop a sexual assault policy. According to Campbell, Quebec will soon have administration to address the issue of sexual violence on campus. similar requirements. Sobat is skeptical that provincial oversight alone is the best “There has been a shift where the administration has come to recognise the way to keep universities accountable to their students. importance of this policy and mobilizing this issue on campus when rape culture “I think the issue that we run into, and hopefully, we learn from the States, is is explicitly and insidiously perpetrated,” Yu said. “There has been stretching that the people making decisions in government are not all that different to those and shifting, but that by and large came out of very strong student demands and making decisions in university administrations in terms of their expertise and community demands that required hard work from many people [....] A lot happens understanding of these issues,” Sobat said. “You risk reproducing those structures behind the scenes. The process has demonstrated [that] it is okay to be ambitious, [when relying on government for accountability….] The most interesting idea because that dialogue does make a difference.”

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(Marie Labrosse / The McGill Tribune)

Murals of Montreal: Jason Botkin’s sidewalk art Playing with the boundaries of street art Marie Labrosse Contributor

The dépanneur, or “dép,” is traditionally dimly lit, and its shelves are lined with frayed cardboard boxes of Kraft Dinner, ramen, and exquisitely cheap wine. It is home to racks of gum, chocolate bars, and the occasional school supply. Montrealers rely upon déps for their quick convenience and their unique ability to effortlessly satisfy a moment’s need.

Dépanneurs across Montreal are known for their practicality and Four Loko; however, François SteMarie, owner of Dépanneur Fancé, aims not only to change this connotation, but to redefine the dépanneur experience.

Nestled in the plateau, along Rue Saint-Dominique just off Avenue des Pins, this dual purpose dépanneur and café embodies a rare industrial warmth, that goes far beyond one’s expectations of their local dép. The space has towering floor-to-ceiling windows filling the room with light, crisp bright walls, complete with lush hanging terrariums, and a soft touch of wood panelling.

Dépanneur Fancé builds on the everyday convenience store, reimagining it as a stylish café hybrid.

Ste-Marie explained his motivation behind his unique business approach. His efforts are part of his greater desire to draw upon the classic dép experience while moving away from overused staples by offering alternative culinary essentials and a tranquil café experience.

“I wanted to reappropriate the word ‘dépanneur,’” Ste-Marie said. “[A dépanneur is] like a convenience store: It’s there for you when you need a little something and you don’t want to have to go to a grocery store, or you don’t want to go out far. You want to be able to get your bread or your coffee, and you basically go 14

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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

“Look up!” is an oft repeated phrase in today’s society. Whether it’s as an incentive to look up from mobile phones or simply to pay more attention to one’s surroundings, the phrase is echoed countless times in day-to-day life. But in order to enjoy Jason Botkin’s sidewalk art, it’s not up that one must look, but down.

Painted directly onto the ground using paint for house-exteriors, Montreal-based artist Jason Botkin’s 10 pavement pieces are peppered along Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Each one of the pieces is unique, spanning from a psychedelic-looking clown to a giant squid. Botkin was approached by the Business Association of Saint-Laurent in 2016 to create a series of sidewalk art as a part of the Montreal Mural Festival. The works are part of the Business Association’s efforts to revitalise the street and its community.

Initially, Botkin’s vision for his pavement art did not conform to his patron’s requests. Instead of colourful, natural figures, the street artist planned to create a set of works based around issues of homelessness on Saint-Laurent and in Montreal at large. The Business Association refused to back such a project and, eventually, Botkin decided to comply with its requests. He does not, however, view the alteration of his artistic project as a total defeat in expressing his opinions.

“I always use [the pieces] as a backdoor to discuss what I really wanted to talk about,” Botkin said. “I ended up talking a whole lot about the homeless issue without having actually painted it.”

Botkin views his art as a platform through which he can explore issues that he holds close to his heart. One of these matters is environmental degradation, especially issues concerning fresh water.

Both Botkin’s giant fish and squid sidewalk pieces illustrate his passion for environmentalism and

to a dépanneur and they don’t have food, they basically only have beer and cigarettes.”

Dépanneur Fancé speaks to the growing trend throughout Montreal of dual purpose cafés.

In these settings, owners find more opportunity and profit through unique additions to the classic café experience.

Dépanneur Fancé’s café side has a local emphasis, evident in its ever-changing seasonal menu. The Montreal-sourced wooden shelves are lined with local gourmet goodies ranging from classic beer to Kombucha Litchi, from organic cereal to gourmet chilli pepper chocolate bars. Ste-Marie tries to avoid the stereotypical dépanneur essentials, such as Cup Noodles, Pop Tarts, and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

“I’m always looking for stuff that you’re not going to find everywhere,” Ste-Marie said. “Stuff you’re not going to find at a grocery store, specific products.

Like small batches [of homemade goods], and that kind of stuff, and mostly local.”

Offering delicacies like open-faced shrimp sandwiches, yellow tomato salad, and the ‘Iranian breakfast’—consisting of barbari toast with creamy feta and walnuts—the café within the store provides a delicate ambiance to the dép experience while offering the ultimate convenience of a latté hub.

Dépanneur Fancé is ideal in its duality, pushing the boundaries of a typical business’ single purpose. It offers the quiet ambiance of a café for studying, serves as a unique brunch spot for friends, and is the ultimate place to pick up last-minute gourmet needs. Dépanneur Fancé has redefined the home of the Four Loko.

water conservation.

“I’m really very political in my thinking, in what I do,” Botkin said. “Right now is really a time to be active and vocal about issues. And street art is a beautiful place to have that conversation [....] Street art confronts people where they live, everyday.”

The political nature of Botkin’s street art breaks boundaries, not just in the people it brings together, but also in the questions that it raises.

“I think that anytime that you have a sense of anarchism operating within your field of intention— and street art specifically in its being unsanctioned, is an anarchist activity—you’re going to break boundaries,” Botkin said. “You’re going to offend someone who says that’s not ok. That opens up an awesome conversation like, ‘Who told you it’s not ok? Why are things ok?’ [….] We desperately have to ask those questions and constantly test the fabric of social connection and construction.”

The material space in which Botkin creates his works also questions the spatial barriers of street art, which is traditionally seen on building walls rather than underfoot. This allows Botkin to expand the reach and political impact of his work further.

“Usually when you’re painting on a wall, people won’t come and try to talk to you,” he explained. “When you’re on the street they just walk right up to you [....] I was having really amazing conversations in a way that you can’t do when you’re coming up to someone’s back.”

Through his work, Botkin challenges censorship, social barriers that hinder public dialogue, and even audience expectations of where art should be seen. Botkin draws the viewer’s eye downward to regard the powerful messages expressed by his sidewalk art.

(Margaux Delalex / The McGill Tribune)

Brunch at the Dép: Dépanneur Fancé blurs the line between dép and café François Ste-Marie questions business’ boundaries Hannah Downard Contributor

Student living

BEAT CONNECTION How Montreal’s next generation of music producers is breaking the mould

Eric Noble-Marks Staff Writer In bedroom laboratories, on social networks, and at apartment raves, the next generation of artists and collectives are working to take the next step forward in Montreal beatmaking. One producer, Kaytranada, has become something of a standard bearer for Montreal’s cosmopolitan beat scene.

Where other producers aim for stylistic consistency and mass appeal, Kaytranada’s music erodes typical boundaries of genre. His debut LP 99.9% is a thrilling, kitchen-sink mix of house, R&B and hip hop with a long list of collaborators, including jazz drummer Kareem Riggins, electropop act Little Dragon, and breakout rapper and vocalist Anderson .Paak. In many ways, the Haitian-born 24-year-old’s music is emblematic of the artist’s multicultural past in Montreal, drawing from Haitian and Brazilian rhythms to embody a vision of music that’s multinational as well as sonically diverse. It’s this daring approach that led Kaytra from his St. Hubert bedroom to becoming an important member of the “Piu Piu” beat scene—an experimental and multilingual group of Montreal producers that Kaytra shaped and eventually transcended.

Five months after dropping his game-changing album, Kaytra sits clad in a grey hoodie and toque at Centre Phi in his hometown of Montreal, dispensing wisdom to a crowd of eager musicians at a Red Bull Music Academy talk last month. Some audience members take notes, others whisper to each other, and all bob their heads hypnotically whenever Kaytra’s stuff comes booming over the sound system. At one point, interviewer Anupa Mistry bumps 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop,” and Kaytra flashes a playful glance over at his younger brother, rapper Lou Phelps. The two take turns spitting 50’s bars, laughing and wildly gesticulating at each other. For an artist being interviewed in a room full of strangers, the moment is oddly personal—two brothers brought closer by the euphoric and revolutionary power of music.

Like Kaytranada and other Piu Piu forefathers, Montreal’s newest generation of beatmakers relish in the opportunity to explore, experiment, and have fun with their music.

“Once I have a solid foundation I just take random sounds and see if they sound good,” said Aaron Dyks, who produces under the name DOJO! “I’m always looking for new sounds.”

Dyks is a key member of Evenire, a Montreal-via-Paris beat collective that focuses on crafting a holistic approach to music and art.

“If you come to one of our shows there’ll be a DJ playing, but there’s also going to be some sort of visual art going on,” Dyks said. “The sound we’re playing is a combination of genres and sounds, and the complete event is a combination of arts, so [the event] really mirrors our sound.”

Dyks is the model of the modern, eclectic, and obsessively curious up-andcoming producer. He has a hefty background in music theory, having played and studied trombone, saxophone, and guitar before turning to electronic music.

He is influenced by electronic artists like Cashmere Cat and Lido, but has lately been obsessed with jazz legends Bill Evans and Chet Baker.

“Bill Evans was creating on a piano his whole life and I have this huge library with gigabytes of sounds to choose from,” Dyks said. “It’s freeing, but you can be just as creative with just a piano.”

By subverting traditional genre constructs, these producers are shaping what it means to make electronic music in 2016. This includes finding inspiration in some pretty unlikely places.

“I like to keep it interesting by using sounds and samples that wouldn’t

typically be used,” said Ryan Shelby, a producer otherwise known as the Half Blunt Prince. He describes the process as something like using Rihanna’s ‘Work’ instead of sampling a 1960s Turkish song found in a thrift store.

In this scene, deviation from the norm is not just accepted, but actively encouraged.

“There’s this whole idea that ‘House is house’ and ‘We want the pure house,’” said Abdoulaye Mouflet, former Evenire artist and founder of Kaj Collective, a newly formed music and lifestyle syndicate at the vanguard of the new scene.

“If I hear something I like, I’m gonna use it,” Mouflet said. “Whether it’s an old song, soul, or funk, I just like music that makes people dance.”

Low recording costs and services like Beatport and SoundCloud have made it easier than ever for producers to share music and ideas with other artists.

Shelby is a member of multiple beat collectives that include members from all across Canada and the U.S.; however, all artists agree that there is something about the developing scene that makes it distinctly Montreal. Mouflet, who moved to Montreal from New York City to attend McGill, says there’s no comparison between the two cities.

“Being in Montreal is much better as a musician than being in New York, which is supposed to be the city of music,” Mouflet said. “The people who are working with you are very open-minded and Montreal has that vibe where all artists are helping each other.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by many young artists in the scene. Dyks, who is originally from Ottawa, has seen his star rise in a major way since coming to Montreal.

“It’s a great place to talk to other artists and collaborate,” Dyks said. “Here all the openers [for big producers] are local so you get the chance to talk with people on tour. We’re all on the same level and influencing each other.”

That’s not to say that there isn’t a healthy rivalry between producers.

“My friend makes 10 beats a day,” added Dyks. “I see him putting in all this work and it makes me want to step up my game.”

Competition may be steep, but each rival can also be a teacher for these young beatmakers.

“Producers will come to you and go ‘Oh that’s kind of off, maybe try this next time,’” Mouflet said. “Playing with people pushes your boundaries. I always love doing B2B [back-to-back] sets with other artists because you get the chance to see how they do their thing and learn from it.”

It’s easy to imagine big electronic artists as gifted loners, holed up behind a wall of impenetrable gear at three in the morning looking for that perfect snare sound. In the new Montreal scene, the music comes as much from friendly collaboration and support as isolated genius. Even though Kaj split off from Evenire last May, the two collectives continue to frequently work together and promote each other’s events, and artists from both collectives share the same bill from time to time.

No matter where you come from or how much experience you have, if you’re willing to put the time in there’s room for you in the Montreal scene.

“If you go to Berlin and say ‘I wanna be a techno DJ’ you gotta get in line,’” Shelby said, who got his start making beats in his McGill dorm room.

“Everyone [from Montreal] that I message on SoundCloud is just like, ‘Dude let’s hang out and make music.’”

Whether you’re an up-and-comer or the reigning Polaris champ, as is Kaytranada, true inspiration comes from sharing the joy of beats. Beat collectives frequently change in structure and membership, but the music endures.

(Background from ricardocavolo.com)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WEdnesday, november 30, 2016

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2. All Vines

BEST FILMS

The video hosting platform Vine has tragically been shut down this year. The incredible diversity of 6-second Vines showcase hilarious and accessible filmmaking from a generation of smartphone wielders.

3. American Honey

Andrea Arnold’s film is an intimate look into the life of a vagrant teenager traveling through the American South.

Barry Jenkins pieces together a deeply Its modern soundtrack and themes of moving investigation of masculinity, poverty and drug use make this film a class, and race in this fictional biopic. unique tour of love, desperation, and Compelling visuals, and tense dialogue reconciliation. come together in heartbreaking performances to give this film our #1 spot.

1. Moonlight

2016 YEAR END tOP TENS Selin Altuntur, Evelyn Goessling, April Barrett, Eric Noble-Marks, Ariella Garmaise, Morgan Davis, and Dylan Adamson

2. Atlanta

BEST TV SHOWS

Donald Glover effortlessly glides into the role of show creator in this absurdly endearing dramedy. Each episode of Atlanta is an intelligently-crafted think piece on timely issues of class and race.

1. Stranger Things

Stranger Things delivers a satisfyingly nostalgic story—a small-town, 80s mystery— with sci-fi twists and excellent performances to keep audiences interested.

3. Last Week Tonight

John Oliver has created a new brand of political humour on HBO, often choosing to focus his commentary on little known, but impactful, stories.

2. Lemonade

BEST ALBUMS

Beyoncé’s visual album is a daring collection of genres and her boldest work to date. The album addresses the pride and pain of black lives in America, as well as the struggles of matrimony, through haunting lyrics and exceptional film footage.

1. Blonde

Throughout Blonde, Frank Ocean expresses the small victories and big heartbreaks of everyday life. The album is a mosaic of pop and R&B songs that each tell a captivating story.

3. We Got it From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service

The final release from the inimitable rap group A Tribe Called Quest­— with politically-charged songs and a repertoire of sampling and instrumentation—is an apt tribute to the late, great Phife Dawg.

2. “Redbone”

BEST SONGS

“Redbone” is an innovative departure from Child Gambino’s previous work. The slow funk bass line is accompanied by compelling vocals passionately recounting a love gone wrong.

3. “Ultralight Beam” 1. “Cranes in the Sky”

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Wednesday, nOvember 30, 2016

“Cranes in the Sky” floats a foot above the ground. Solange showcases ethereal vocals and becomes a voice for the disenchanted minds and hearts of Americans.

Kanye West’s track is an anthem; with a diverse use of instruments such as horn, rap, gospel, gospel choir, and the famous opening sample of an enraptured child, “Ultralight Beam” is as catchy as it is provocative.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

8. Green Room

5. Don’t Think Twice

Jeremy Saulnier’s ultraviolent thrill ride takes a believable indie music drama and promptly turns it on its head. The film’s punk rockers versus neo-Nazis (led by a stoic Patrick Stewart) premise delivers uncommonly heady and emotional genre thrills.

Don’t Think Twice follows a New York improv group whose members include Gillian Jacobs and KeeganMichael Key. Some of the group members begin to succeed, and others must confront the fact that they might never “make it big.”

4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens*

Delving further into a familiar story, the Star Wars mythology is reimagined for the current age, with a cast of fresh faces and enduring themes of heroism, compassion, and revolution.

6. The Witch

Robert Eggers’ latest horror film, set in the 17th century New England countryside, is eerie and dark. The film explores the psychological dimensions of witchcraft panic, as it observes one family destroy itself from the inside out.

9. Embrace of the 7. Edge of Seventeen Serpent Hailee Steinfeld delivers a hilarious, brutally honest portrait of a confused, lonely teenager. This insightful coming-of-age tale neither condescends nor tries too hard to be relatable.

A mixture of historical accuracy and dramatic reenactment, Narcos returned as considerably darker and fast-paced than its first season.

Television’s most expensive fantasy soap opera shook audiences this year with its gripping narrative and surprise deaths. Game of Thrones’ (surviving) characters are achieving cult status as television icons.

Part western, part dystopian science fiction, Westworld is a relentlessly captivating and deeply unsettling exploration of the potentially terrifying impact of artificial intelligence.

6. Black Mirror

Charlie Brooker’s excellent series returned for a new season, featuring forays into horror and crime genres, and a spectacular love story that transcends space and time.

9. The Get Down 7. The Crown

The Crown’s historical intrigue is totally riveting. Lavish design, along with excellent performances from Claire Foy and Matt Smith, bring the nuanced Royal story to life.

6. 22, A Million

9. ANTI

Anderson .Paak’s second album offers new R&B sounds with a delicious twist of pop. .Paak’s uniqe voice and instrumentation combine funk with electronic in a few standout hits while maintaining a smooth and sexy tone throughout.

Rihanna’s eighth studio album is confident and mature. Jumping Montreal-based producer Kaytranada through classic soul, glittery pop, and delivers an album packed with aggressive trap-inspired tracks, her expertly mixed beats that walk voice remains the connecting factor: a brilliant line between ambient raw, raspy, and incredibly honest. electronic and engaging pop.

7.99.9%

With its shrill strings and piercing lyrics, Radiohead’s chillingly encapsulates modern fears of demagoguery and ignorance. In other words, it captured 2016 better than anything else.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mitski experiences a second coming-of-age in Puberty 2. On top of heavy rock guitar, Mitski’s operatic voice is melodic, clear, and angry. This album cuts deeper than most of her indie contemporaries.

Backed up by a twerking Serena Williams, Beyoncé unapologetically claps back at cheating partners everywhere in Lemonade’s feistiest track. “Sorry” is infectious and electrifying, demanding respect in every verse.

“Too Good” is a celebratory, Caribbean-inspired pop song in which Drake’s love life dissatisfaction is echoed by his female counterpart, Rihanna.

Sampling Popcaan, dancehall beats create an urge to dance that matches the emotional epiphany of the lyrics.

6. “Really Doe”

10. Puberty 2

8. “Sorry”

5. “Too Good”

4. “Burn the Witch”

10. Transparent

8. Malibu

Excellent collaborators and deeply personal themes make this album an unforgettable oeuvre. The Life of Pablo pushes musical limits and launched an era of Kanye that today includes endeavours in art, fashion, and celebrity.

4. A Seat at the Table

Baz Luhrmann’s television debut offers a charming cast of characters and a colourful vision of 1970s New York. The score Jill Soloway’s critically shines through, allowing the viewer revel in the funk, jazz, and acclaimed series continues pushing boundaries into its disco of the period. third season as it explores the intersections between wealth, whiteness, and gender.

5. The Life of Pablo

Bon Iver’s latest delivers low-fi, experimental beats while retaining Solange’s recent release is rich with the haunting vocals listeners have soulful harmonies and her signature come to love. Sometimes angry and contemplative lyrics. Solange gives often auto-tuned, this album is only a poetic voice to her personal and strengthened by its refusal to adhere political experience. to the indie folk mould.

Guaranteed to rouse early-2000s nostalgia, this highly-anticipated sequel doesn’t disappoint. Watching Finding Dory is like returning home – it is emotionally exhausting in an extremely comforting way.

8. Narcos

5.Game of Thrones

4. Westworld

Ciro Guerra’s film places the viewer in the centre of a jungle where everything is alive and deadly. The black and white cinematography lends an unmatched visual texture and depth.

10. Finding Dory

7. “Your Best American Girl”

“Really Doe,” the most accessible track from Danny Brown’s Japanese-American musician Atrocity Exhibition, hits hard Mitski’s plainspoken lyrics, crisp with staccato chimes, aggressive melody and heavily distorted guitar verses, and excellent features from Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, and Earl boldly articulates the insecurity of interracial love, and how it is slowly Sweatshirt. overcome. * Star Wars: the Force Awakens was released in Dec. 2015

9. “Self-Control”

Frank Ocean masterfully plays with melody over a sparse guitar riff. The lyrics are a late summer reflection on growing up and falling in and out of love. The chorus has Yung Lean pleading with an ex lover: “Keep a place for me.”

10. “WiFi”

Backed by Erykah Badu, D.R.A.M. lets his gospel background shine in this sensual and humourous track.

Reminiscent of mid-90s R&B, “Wifi” is an ode to technology’s knack for bringing lovers together.

WEdnesday, november 30, 2016

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night. It is an odd time and place for a comedy show—it is Wednesday night, Nov. 23, the bar is bizarrely located on the third floor of the Montreal Forum, and there are no more than twenty people in the audience. Nonetheless, Ullman is overjoyed. The evening’s theme was “Little Known Emotions,” and Ullman’s quip, “I was eating cauliflower and melon last night, it gave me a strange feeling I can only identify as melon-cauliflower,” won him $20, and validation for his years of practice.

With two years of stand-up experience, U3 Cognitive Science major Jeremy Ullman is a long-time comedy fan and self-identified class clown.

“It’s an amalgamation of five beautifully connected fields, philosophy, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, and psychology,” explained Ullman.

Amalgamation is a fitting word to describe Ullman himself. He is a practicing comedian, with a passion for guitar and (Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune) “Instrumental Progressive Metal” music. He also coaches rowing at Dawson College and tutors CEGEP students in calculus.

“I also rap as a joke, because privileged white Jewish boys should not be doing that,” he joked.

Ariella Garmaise Even in his hobbies, he has a sense of Staff Writer humour. A comedian, musician, athlete, and academic, Ullman’s interests span from the creative to the intellectual.

The crowd has decided, and your winner is…Jeremy “That’s my biggest issue,” Ullman explained. “I’m good Ullman!” Fresh-faced 21-year-old McGill student Jeremy Ullman is the victor of the Comedy Nest’s open mic at a bunch of things, but I’d like to be an expert in one.”

Artist Spotlight: Student comedian Jeremy Ullman

“

Ullman incorporates physicality and academia into his act. Ullman is very aware of his stage presence and—inspired by his idol, comedian Brian Regan—makes use of pantomimic facial expressions and hand gestures. Introduced at the Comedy Nest as “one of the long-lost Romney sons,” Ullman moves like Mitt in a way that is jovial yet somewhat contrived.

His comedy is also very cerebral; Ullman has a penchant for clever wordplay. His first ever stand-up joke was a fake set-up about working two jobs: “The first job, I had I was working at a colonoscopy clinic. The second job I had, I was working at the Brick. And I realized, that in both jobs I was arranging stool samples.”

Still a young comic, Ullman is working to evolve his routine; a process he compares to excavation.

“The deeper you dig, the denser your material becomes,” he explained. Growing up, Ullman’s siblings called him “Ailment Boy”—he was plagued with illnesses ranging from migraines and allergies to lactose intolerance—and laughter proved to be a useful coping mechanism. He aims to find humour in daily observation.

“I need to be in the world because sitting in your bedroom isn’t funny, but the world is hilarious,” he said. “So, just traversing through [the world], that’s when you pick up things like a magnet. I find it fun to look outwards.”

While comedians often portray themselves as notoriously lazy, Ullman is a very disciplined stand-up. Comedy is a surprising lesson in time management, as it entails balancing a part-time job, musical hobbies, a rigorous academic workload, and stand-up shows.

Regardless of whether he decides to pursue comedy professionally, it is a passion that has taught him a lot.

“You learn a lot about yourself from standing on stage.

You say a joke, and then nobody laughs, and you’re like, ‘Ha, I’m alive still.’”

A

bus stop is a place of transition in the eyes of Montreal artist and McGill alumus Aquil Virani. It’s an in-between where one finds a few moments away from the busyness of daily life. Out of the belief in the accessibility of art, Virani has transformed various bus stops around Montreal into temporary galleries.

Virani explained that his work, The Giveaway Project, is largely an effort to make someone’s day, make someone included, and generally bring happiness to the public. The project’s purpose also relates to what Virani calls “place-making.”

“So, having people come to a bus shelter that’s been sort of decorated, there’s some person that spent time on this and put it out here, and now the bus shelter feels a bit more human,” he said.

Virani doesn’t view himself as special for appreciating or creating art. He believes that every kid starts out with artistic inclinations.

“It’s only by getting a bit older and dealing with the pressures of not wanting to mess up that you start saying that you don’t like art, or ‘I’m not into art,’” he said.

In addition to striving for more accessible art, Virani questions the competition afflicting the art community. Before the rise of free websites and social media, competition was based on getting gallery exposure. Today, however, the true competition is in earning the viewer’s attention. People are exposed to a huge number of visuals each day and so the challenge for artists now is to impress the public 18

(Courtesy of Aquil Virani)

“The Giveaway Project:” How one Montreal artist shares art for free Morgan Davis Staff Writer

rather than gallery institutions. This naturally leads to competition between artists. Virani envisions a world where artists collaborate rather than compete with one another.

“Although space is limited, what’s stopping me from having a joint show or promoting other artist’s work in addition to my own?” he said. “I do think there is a synergy, the simple idea that if you work together you’ll

Wednesday, nOvember 30, 2016

actually achieve both. You’ll both achieve more. Symbiosis. I think that exists in the art world.”

Virani chooses to focus on social issues rather than on what will sell. Focusing on pertinent topics gives immediate meaning to the artist’s work. He explains that even if the piece is not widely popular, it will still have value if it speaks to an audience’s social and

political sensibilities. He wants to continuously push boundaries and, through his pieces, raise public awareness on topics such as identity, human rights, and originality.

“I believe that artists have not only a moral obligation to make art that is socially relevant, but they have a moral obligation to ensure that the message gets across,” he explained.

Virani is acutely aware of how his privileged past as someone who was able to go to university affects his work.

“If you’ve gone to university, you’re a part of that group–period,” Virani said. “So I’m always asking the question to myself, ‘How can I push a piece along the scale to get more towards an art that serves people, and empowers people, and educates people, and gets at issues?’”

When taking Montreal’s transit system, commuters should keep an eye out for the colourful and fun pieces by Aquil Virani. Virani’s efforts can feel positive and inspirational if one can take a moment to stop, enjoy, and appreciate it and its openness. Every one of Virani’s pieces is imbued with a strong sense of global awareness.

For this artist, the purpose of art is to create positive interactions with people, and leaving his art in bus stops is the best way to enable these interactions.

“The easiest way to circumvent that [question of] ‘What if no one buys my art?’ and ‘How do I get people to come to my gallery?’ is to bring the gallery to viewers.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

E

very year, thousands of gaming conventions are held around the world to discuss what the future holds.

Demonstrators, presenters, and indie developers show up to sell their wares and talk about the “next big thing.” At this year’s Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS), held Nov. 13 to 15 at the Palais des Congrès, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) dominated the scene.

The summit featured both indie game developers and major production companies— including Ubisoft, EA, PlayStation, and Microsoft— who demonstrated new games and technologies. MIGS also hosted lectures on all things videogames and featured a job fair for networking and interviewing with recruiters.

“It’s always important for us to be [at MIGS] because we want to meet the community,” Fabrice Giguère, public relations manager at Ubisoft Montreal, said. “We want to meet the people, but we also want to represent the industry [of video games] that saw its growth over the past 20 years. We have our recruiters, students can come and give us their resumes, we can talk about job openings, and so forth.”

Providing a platform to connect industry professionals is a key component of MIGS’ success.

“We’ve had really good conversations,” Katie Jo-Turk, a hardware expert and performance capture supervisor at Faceware Technologies—a motion capture studio—said. “We’ve had great

(Nathan Drezner / The McGill Tribune)

Blurring the lines of reality at the Montreal International Game Summit

Conference on the future of video games features big name players and indie developers Nathan Drezner Contributor

talks. There are multiple booths that have VR setups.”

Doyle, who has attended six MIGS conferences, noted that this summit was different from years past.

“Last year, VR was barely a twinkle in anybody’s eye,” Doyle said. “It was being talked about, but you didn’t see a lot of it here at MIGS.” This contrast is due in large part to advancements in the technology over the last year. Major studios– or “the big guys,” as Doyle called them–are starting to invest more money into VR to form a viable industry. Simultaneously, more VR devices are finding their way into the hands of consumers and developers as the technology is further researched, but there is still a long road ahead.

“Everyone is waiting for the studios to follow [by making games for VR devices], because obviously if you have the hardware without the content, it’s only a piece of plastic,” Giguère said.

Because VR is almost an entirely new Centre ADULT EDUCATION medium, developers are SAINT-LOUIS 4285, Drolet, 3 floor only just exploring new Mont-Royal ways to use virtual reality French as a second language 514 596-5800, in their games. Despite Classes start January 10, 2017 and March 7, 2017 ext.: 8533 headsets becoming more Schedules: technologically advanced, • Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:55 p.m. the software that can be • Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Monday to Thursday from 5:45 p.m. to 10:10 p.m. used on them is relatively limited compared to the Registration by appointment sheer number of games available on traditional platforms, such as consoles and personal computers. centre-st-louis.csdm.ca The unfamiliar nature rd

TRIBUNE Sci tech

29 nov. 2016 Format: 1/4 CARRÉ

potential leads come to our booth, [...] people who are making games, [and] indie developers who are just starting out.”

VR has recently captured the imaginations of many in the gaming industry. Nearly all of the largest stations on the conference floor had a VR setup. Convention-goers had a chance to put on a VR or AR headset—including the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Playstation VR headset, or Microsoft Hololens—to explore what many believe to be the future of video games.

“It definitely seems like VR is a focus.” Technical Marketing Manager and tech evangelist at Autodesk, Matthew Doyle, said.

“There have been several VR related

of VR and AR is also off-putting to many consumers.

“Some people, after 20 minutes, they say they are tired of it,” Turbulent CEO Marc Beaudet said. ”Sometimes in gaming, you’re going to sit for four, five hours, so how can you adapt a game in which you play hours and hours for a technology which, right now, is a bit uncomfortable after [20] minutes?”

Beaudet, whose company works in the video game, education, and entertainment industries, also noted the monetary difficulties of building a business based on VR. Currently, he explained, VR is difficult to make into a workable business model as it often results in a loss.

Microsoft has also stepped into with ring of augmented reality with the Hololens, a different type of headset.

Instead of replacing the real world with a simulated reality like in a video game, the Hololens lets the user interact with the real world in a way much like Tony Stark in the Iron Man movies: By tapping and moving holograms projected over reality by the headset—referred to

by Microsoft as mixed reality.

“It’s a fully untethered mixed reality device that projects holograms into the world around you,” Sage Franch, a tech evangelist at Microsoft, said. “These holograms can interact with the space around you, and it’s constantly mapping your room and your environment so that it provides the best experience possible.”

It might seem like science fiction, but it really works.

Holograms and animations interact almost flawlessly with the real

world; with endless implications for designers, engineers, doctors, and the average consumer—once the product is mass released, that is. For now, a developer version of the headset is available for $3,000 from Microsoft.

Other industry players that have been steadily growing also showed off their latest and greatest at MIGS. Gameloft, a mobile games studio, presented several games, including Dungeon Hunter 5 and the upcoming game Modern Combat Versus. Thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones, mobile games are more and more accessible to people around the world.

“A lot of people used to think that video games were only for men or teenagers,” Loïc Ramboanasolo, a producer of Modern Combat Versus, said. “And now on mobile, it’s actually women that are more predominant [gamers] than men.”

This expanding landscape makes it easier to reach new audiences around the world, allowing for a more universal gaming experience.

Though the gaming industry is drastically changing due to its expansion to new mediums, traditional video games remained a staple of the convention. An array of indie developers occupied a good part of the convention floor.

Each developer had a small cubicle, called an “Indie Pod,” where they set up their own demonstrations of traditionally-styled games.

Ubisoft, in addition to demonstrating a new VR game called EagleFlight, promoted the release of Watch Dogs 2, an open-world game released publicly on the third day of the conference. Meanwhile, Warner Brothers Games showcased Batman: Arkham Knight.

At its heart, the convention remained focused on a group of people with a shared interest in video games. “[It’s] kind of a geeky thing,” said Doyle. “There’s just something magical about creating some art from start to finish, seeing it come to life. And as for VR, well, I never get tired of seeing someone who’s never tried it before put it on [….] They’re like, ‘Whoa, that’s amazing!’”

And it is. A tangible feeling of awe was in the air at MIGS. A line wrapped around the Microsoft booth to try on the Hololens and rarely was a headset sitting on a chair unused. Whether VR will becomes massively popular remains to be seen, but for now, simply testing out a new way to experience reality is nothing short of incredible.

WEDNESDAY, november 30, 2016

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(stormchaser.ca)

he found himself receiving calls from big news stations, such as CNN and National Geographic, to cover extreme weather events across the globe.

Although he never imagined he’d become a professional adventurer and storm chaser, George Kourounis is currently living his dream.

As the cocreator and host of the award-winning television series Angry Planet, Kourounis has documented his explorations across all seven continents.

Kourounis takes on many different roles as a storm chaser. For tornados, his task is usually to document the storm; however, in a hurricane, he often works with the Cyclone Research Group to measure the strongest winds and other weather-related statistics. Kourounis has worked with scientists in numerous different fields, including inside volcanoes for geologists.

“Scientists [and weather reporters] like working with me sometimes because I can get to some of the places where they can’t, or perhaps choose not to [go],” Kourounis said.

Through a science grant from National Geographic, in

Adventures in the life of a storm chaser In conversation with George Kourounis Julia Briand & Izze Siemann Contributor & Staff Writer

“

There have been times when I’ve had lightning strikes so close I can feel the heat on my face, [times] I’ve been hit by massive hail, [times] I’ve been caught inside a tornado […],” professional storm chaser George Kourounis said.

While Kourounis was studying to become a sound engineer, he worked in music, film, and television studios where he developed a passion for television and outdoor exploration.

Eventually, Kourounis began spending increasing amounts of time shadowing experts and chasing storms. Before long,

“

Prevention against morbidity and mortality by vaccination is one of the biggest medical successes in humanity. Never forget that fact. Get vaccinated,” Dr. Jörg Fritz, assistant professor in McGill’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, told the audience at the first night of the three-part seminar series entitled “Let’s Talk About Vaccines.”

From Nov. 22 to 24, various McGill professors spoke about the importance of vaccine knowledge at the first ever McGill Students for Vaccination and Awareness Week.

Dr. Irah King, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, kicked off the first talk of the seminar with his speech, “Why Should We Vaccinate?”

King spoke about how even without 100 per cent vaccination, vaccines are extremely effective and important in offering not just individual protection, but also herd immunity.

Herd immunity is when an outbreak is much more likely to occur in a crowd of unvaccinated individuals than it is to occur in a group in which the majority are vaccinated.

“There is a very limited risk of spreading this infection because all the other [unvaccinated] people surrounding are protected, just based on the fact that everybody else is vaccinated and cannot spread the infection,” King said.

“You’re protecting the entire community through vaccination, […] it’s not just protecting yourself.”

King admits that many vaccines are not completely protective and that virtually none are perfect.

“Most vaccines don’t provide lifelong protection, so we need to build better vaccines so one shot is enough to protect you from a pathogen for the rest of your life,” he said. “[Without vaccination], you’re not just putting yourself at risk, you’re putting others at risk.”

On the third night, Dr. Brian J. Ward, associate professor in McGill’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology,

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presented on the topic of the anti-vaccination movement.

The anti-vaccine argument is hardly a new idea, but in the last few years campaigns have grown due to their propagation on social media—despite simultaneous advances in immunology and vaccination.

Dr. Ward believes that the arguments that prove vaccines are essential are often used to disprove their necessity.

“Vaccines are victims of their own success,” Dr. Ward said. “If you define ‘safe’ as harmless, then no vaccine is safe.

If you define them as ‘prevention from another danger,’ then vaccines are among the safest medical interventions.”

The anti-vaccine campaign has been recently gaining ground and is attracting increased worldwide attention. Liam Whalen-Browne, U3 Microbiology and co-organizer of the event, wishes vaccine education were given as much attention as the anti-vaccine movement.

“There’s this persisting anti-vaccine movement […] for the past decade or so that has been creating a lack of education,” he said. “The number of people hasn’t necessarily been growing, but the vocality has.”

Olivia Ganescu, U3 Microbiology and co-organizer of the event, talked about how anti-vaccine ideas could have originated as a result of misinformation.

“People don’t have all the answers, and they see what’s in front of them [...],” Ganescu said. “They just don’t understand what’s going on, and they might be really quick to assume causation based on nothing.”

Much of the anti-vaccine argument is supported by the notion that no vaccine is completely safe.

However, by focusing on safety, Dr. Ward believes people are missing the point.

“We could make safe vaccines, but the bottom line is […] you really should be comparing the effects of the disease versus the effects of the vaccine,” Dr. Ward said.

2014, Kourounis led an expedition to Turkmenistan to collect soil samples from the bottom of a sunken natural gas pit. This crater, known as the “Doorway to Hell,” is no ordinary crater.

At 30 metres deep and 80 metres wide, the collapsed oil mine has been burning on naturally-released methane gas ever since it was lit on fire. The soil samples he collected underwent DNA analysis, proving, in a noteworthy scientific discovery, that extremophile bacteria were living at the bottom of this burning pit.

“Plus, I’m the only person who has ever set foot in this flaming-gas crater,” Kourounis joked. “Twelve people have been on the moon, but only one person has been to the bottom of this crater.”

In 2005, Kourounis and his team took on the biggest storm of their careers: Hurricane Katrina. They set up camp in Gulfport, Mississippi in a steel-reinforced concrete parking garage.

“Katrina was so strong that the National Weather Service was sending out apocalyptic warnings about how appliances like refrigerators and small cars were going to become deadly airborne missiles,” Kourounis said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen over the next 24 hours.”

As the storm approached, it grew in strength, shaking their bunker “like a blender” and raising the sea level by 10 metres.

“In a tornado, you’re on the outside looking in, but, in a hurricane, you’re in the middle,” Kourounis explained. “It’s just a cacophony of breaking glass, howling wind, and flying debris, every raindrop feels like a needle hitting you.”

In addition to chasing storms, Kourounis spent 2015 travelling the world and documenting the effects of climate change. Throughout his years as a storm chaser, he has witnessed an increase in frequency and severity of the extreme events he covers.

For Kourounis, curiosity drives his work. “[That] moment in time when a tornado is touching down, a volcano is erupting or when a hurricane is making landfall,” described Kourounis. “For me, that’s what exploration is.”

(Madeline Kinney / The McGill Tribune)

The fight against the anti-vaccine movement “Let’s Talk About Vaccines” pushes for vaccine education Rebecca Zhuang Contributor

Sci tech

N

ewborn babies have many monumental tasks before them, a key one being the acquisition of language. In our first few years, we must learn to recognize characteristic sounds, distinguish separate words, interpret more complex word combinations, and eventually assign meaning to what we hear. For infants raised in bilingual environments, speech perception develops in a slightly different manner than for their monolingual peers.

Professor Dr. Linda Polka of McGill’s School of Communication Sciences and Disorders researches “crib bilinguals”— individuals who were taught two languages since infancy. According to Polka, crib bilinguals develop a “hybrid” perceptual system with unique capabilities as opposed to independent systems for each language.

A study co-authored by Polka tested the ability of infants to discern the subtle difference between the French “d” and English “d” sounds. Surprisingly, bilingual infants were able to perceive the nuance, while by a certain age monolingual francophone infants could no longer recognize the distinction.

“There’s an extra thing that comes out of combining the languages together, a difference they can access that monolinguals can’t access,” Polka said.

Although bilingual language acquisition comes with an increased cognitive demand, bilingual individuals benefit from many cognitive advantages, including better focus, multitasking, and problem solving skills.

However, simultaneously learning two languages in infancy may also present unique challenges. For example, word segmentation is a key skill in language acquisition. Word segmentation refers to breaking down continuous sounds into words.

“

(Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune)

Bilingual infants take a unique path to speech perception “Crib bilinguals” perceive speech differently than their monolingual peers Daria Kiseleva Contributor

Acquiring a sense for a natural rhythm of the language facilitates word segmentation, but the task becomes more complex when the two languages have different rhythms.

English is considered a “stress-timed” language as it is characterized by a fairly constant time interval between stressed syllables. Specifically, most English nouns have a stress on the first syllable.

French, on the other hand, is a “syllable-

It is important that at one point you draw a line,” Dr. Joanne Liu, McGill alumna and international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said at McGill’s Global Health Night on Nov. 1. “You will have to draw your own line as you go around this kind of world and [...] see things that don’t make sense.”

Indeed, this is the mandate that MSF–Doctors Without Borders in English–operates on. MSF has been on the frontlines of every major health crisis since 1971, providing emergency medical care in areas affected by natural disasters or heavy conflict. They’re also known nowadays for their presence in areas of extreme poverty, where access to basic health care can be a challenge.

Over 90 per cent of MSF funding comes from private donors, allowing the organization some autonomy when it comes to setting up and choosing projects. This money goes toward running hospitals and clinics, performing surgeries, battling epidemics, carrying out vaccination campaigns, and operating feeding centres.

Many university students, including Markus Tralla, U2 International Development Studies and History, are attracted to the organization’s commitment to international medical relief.

Tralla serves as the Vice-President Campus Operations for McGill’s Friends of MSF, a chapter of a MSF support organization. Many in the group, including Tralla, hope to join an MSF mission in the future.

Sci tech

timed” language where every syllable has an approximately constant duration.

Consequently, the strategy used to segment multisyllabic words in one of those languages will not work in the other.

“Typically, babies learning both of those languages seem to be easily confused by [their different rhythms],” Polka said.

Polka’s more recent research looked at how French-English bilingual babies

Transcending the bounds of international medical care: Médecins Sans Frontières Principled health care drives MSF’s work Janine Xu Contributor “MSF [is] so associated with going on missions [.…It’s] such an integral part of their mandate [...] it motivates people who are interested on that front,” he explained. “[The other members and I] are very invested in the work.”

Drawn to principled health care, Kyong Ran van der Wal, a McGill PhD candidate in Family Medicine, began work for MSF as a young lawyer in 2000.

“It was a sense of adventure, as well,” van der Wal joked.

perform at word segmentation compared to their monolingual peers. In the experiment, infants listened to a story which featured a word multiple times and then heard that word in isolation. If a baby recognized the word, it meant that they could successfully segment it from the continuous stream of speech. The procedure was performed once in French and once in English.

At the age of eight months, monolingual francophone and anglophone infants could segment two syllable words exclusively in their native language. However, bilingual infants were only able to segment in French, and only if French was tested first.

“Something is making [word segmentation] harder for the bilingual babies,” Polka said. “Part of what they have to do is figure out which [of the two languages] they are hearing.”

Consequently, the experiment was adjusted to give the bilingual infants more time to listen to the story. With this additional help, the babies were able to segment both English and French speech in any order.

Polka hypothesizes that tracking syllables might be the go-to strategy when infants don’t know which language they are hearing, since syllable patterns are more universal across languages than stress patterns. As a result, syllable-timed French speech could be segmented when it was heard first, but listening to English first for an insufficient period of time simply caused confusion.

According to the Dana Foundation, more than half of the world’s population today is bilingual or multilingual. While the vast majority of research on language acquisition has traditionally focused exclusively on monolingual learners, future studies into its bilingual mechanisms promise to provide more insight into the experience of many.

For seven years, van der Wal worked on various projects as a coordinator for MSF in Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Sudan where she negotiated with warring factions in order to secure a place for MSF to stay and treat victims.

Van der Wal recalled the tiring six to twelve months she’d spend on a mission, working around the clock to make sure everything ran smoothly. MSF workers in politically unstable regions face the real dangers of conflict zones—sometimes risking their own lives in order to conduct their work.

One of MSF’s main goals is to remain politically neutral while treating patients, especially in areas of high conflict. Van der Wal admitted that staying completely impartial can be difficult in a highly politicized situation, especially in the case of the Darfur crisis, where she worked from 2004 to 2005. But, because MSF works on a need-based objective, van der Wal said it’s easier to judge who gets treated first.

Témoignage, French for witness, serves as a guiding principle of MSF’s work. MSF makes it a policy to speak out on the behalf of the people they assist in a neutral, nonpolitical way. Van der Wal compared MSF’s vocalization of global issues with the strict confidentiality policies of Red Cross, noting that by speaking out, MSF can help Canadians understand foreign issues by bringing abusive and intolerable situations to light.

WEDNESday, november 30, 2016

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By Joe Khammar Staff Writer

things:

FICTIONAL ATHLETES

(tvguide.com) (gettyimages.com)

Gilmore, 1996 y p ap H e or ilm G y p or ap aj H M nRicky “Wild Thing” Vaugh This hockey-enforcer-turned-golfer captivated 1League, 1989 audiences with his ability to launch golf balls over 400 yards with ease. Like all of us, Gilmore cared Wild Thing captured the hearts of Cleveland with his bad boy attitude and erratic pitching arm. Had Vaughn entered this year’s World Series in the 10th inning, Cleveland would be celebrating their first title since 1948.

nothing for putting and just wanted to drive the ball as far as possible. Most importantly, he fought game show host Bob Barker. (thequidditchwiki.com)

(streakersports.com) (philly.com) (bbc.co.uk)

d it en B ra am h B s” es “J er d Jesmin Like Beckham, 2002 Sports is everything; weddings, family, and love are all ancillary parts of life. Jess captured the hearts of audiences around the world by putting her soccer dreams above all else. She mastered the David “Beckham bend,” perfectly curving free kicks around defenders and into the net, leading her team to the league championship.

ights, Ricky Bobby - Talladega N 2006 Bobby is the personification of NASCAR. The lovable redneck gave us sayings like “Shake and bake” and the legendary, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

He also reasserted America’s superiority over France, beating the evil Jean Girard at the Talladega 500.

, 1977 Reggie Dunlop - Slap Shot The aging player-coach of the Charlestown Chiefs leads the most enthralling goon squad in movie history. In order to save the franchise, Dunlop resorts to blackmail, violence, and falsified news about the team. His dishonesty didn’t prevent the team from folding, but did lead them to victory in the Federal League Championship.

Viktor Krum Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2005

As the seeker for the Bulgarian Team, Quidditch National Krum successfully balances evil wizarding school and sports. His tough demeanour and constant dour expressions only endear the audience to one of the world’s brightest young stars.

(twitter.com) (inverse.com)

(hollywood.com)

Any Given y va La k” ar h “S er th Lu Sunday, 1999 (twitter.com)

NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was the perfect athlete to play starting linebacker for the Miami Sharks. Taylor’s real-life drug abuse and antics are on full display in the film as Lavay begs for more painkillers and saws a teammate’s car in half.

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Jackie Moon - SemiPro, 2008

Franchise, ky oc R oa b al B ky Ducks Roc Greg Goldberg - The 9M2ig-9hty6 The lyrical genius behind the hit 1976-present Franchise, 19 song “Love Me Sexy,” the owner/

The Ducks’ goalie may not be the best member of the team, but he is the most eccentric. His overweight frame and sassy remarks are the only reason to slog through the cheesy sequels.

If Disney ever decides to revisit the franchise, they should cut out every scene that doesn’t include the husky goaltender.

The only fictional athlete with an actual statue, the “Italian Stallion” managed to transcend film and become a hero to the City of Philadelphia. As an American, Rocky ended the Cold War in the fourth film. With a nasty left-hook, he knocked out Communism and nearly killed Ivan Drago.

coach/power forward of the Flint Tropics basketball team does everything he can to ensure the future of his team in the NBA. Stopping at nothing, he trades a washing machine for star Ed Monix and invents the “Alley Oop.” Sports

IHRG Director and Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Physical Education David Pearsall explained.

“What tasks [...] the athlete does and how does the equipment help them or not help them.”

The IHRG aims to innovate hockey equipment to prevent injuries and maximize the efficiency of hockey players’ movements. The IHRG uses 18 3D motion capture cameras to collect information on hockey stick gripping, the accuracy of wrist shots, and more. This process will result in the collection of invaluable and actionable data.

“We want to improve the way [hockey] helmets are made,” IHRG member and PhD candidate Daniel Aponte said. “The [current standardized head-model] was designed in the late 80s and is what’s currently used to make the mold for helmets.”

Studies indicate that many helmet models do little to prevent injury: A recent Virginia Tech team concluded that nine out of thirty-two helmets tested were ‘not recommended’ for reducing the risk of concussion.

“Nobody had really quantified how [the helmets] physically fit yet,” IHRG Master’s student David Greencorn said.

The IHRG’s Helmet Ergonomics and Anthropometry Database (HEAD) study hopes to address this issue. The team aims to design helmets compatible with a variety of head shapes.

(Photo courtesy of Daniel Aponte)

How McGill researchers are changing hockey IHRG is using technology to prevent injuries and imporve the sport Erin Dwyer Contributor

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oney talks. And for the $11 billion Canadian hockey industry, the message is clear: Hockey is more than just a pastime for Canadians. It’s an

identity.

The Canadian obsession with hockey, combined with the rise of analytics and sports science, has set the stage for hockey’s own version of the space race. While everyone is looking to discover the next competitive edge, the McGill Ice Hockey Research Group (IHRG) is setting the pace.

“I take an ergonomic analysis approach to the sport,”

“We take a series of pictures of not only people’s head, but also the helmets,” Aponte said. “Then with custom software [we] stitch them together to create a 3D model”.

The IHRG also investigates the biomechanics of player movement and how slight variations in equipment affect performance.

“We have done biomechanics studies that demonstrate how people adapt to different hockey stick stiffness as they shoot,” Pearsall said. “We then use 3D motion and grip force sensor measures to see how people modify their hand grip.”

The IHRG recognizes that many of the findings do not translate smoothly across the sexes and wants to open up the study to include more female athletes.

“Female [players] tend to be more prone to knee injuries, twice the rate they see in males,” Pearsall said. “This suggests different training interventions may be in order.”

Aponte has similar concerns about the potential differences between the sexes found in the HEAD study.

“Female hockey players get the small version of the male stuff, but as head dimensions start to change, it’s not a linear change,” Aponte said. “Just because something is 20 per cent shorter, doesn’t also mean it’s 20 per cent narrower or 20 per cent smaller as a whole.”

As the IHRG continues to strive for the next gamechanging competitive edge, the group is also working to translate their findings into usable data for coaches and players.

For hockey research, findings are applicable much faster than in most other areas of research. Concussions are common among NHL players and teams must manage injuries in real time.

“We [want to] make what we do more practical, so when [coaches] have those teaching moments [they] can say, ‘Here’s the data’ [...],” Pearsall said. “The immediate feedback is what we need to have to help the coaches [....] In hockey, they need the answers now.”

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ip hop and basketball have always had a unique relationship—both rose dramatically in popularity over the past three decades. But whether they like to admit it or not, NBA executives have never really been comfortable with the relationship. In 2005, the NBA implemented a strict player dress code prohibiting any chains, baggy clothing, Timberland boots, or other attire associated with hip hop culture. (performgroup.com) Nevertheless, the game’s biggest stars have always been trendsetters both on and off the court—Michael Jordan (MJ) wore baggy shorts, Shaquille O’Neal recorded rap albums, and Allen Iverson (AI) rocked tattoos and cornrows. They all influenced popular culture, just as rap culture influenced these iconic players. In more recent years, as rap became Waif Husain more mainstream and synonymous with pop Contributor music, the NBA has warmed to hip hop’s influence–Drake was recently named a “global ambassador” of Although rappers can’t directly influence what happens on the court–even though the 6ix God thinks he can with his incessant the Toronto Raptors.

The tension between the NBA and hip hop of the 1990s trash talk from the bleachers–they definitely shape the perception was a misrepresentation of the relationship on American streets. of the league. LeBron James dances to Future and legitimizes Hip hop and basketball have long been emblematic of black his music to a huge swathe of NBA fans. Kevin Durant and youth culture. The genre formed its roots before basketball was Draymond Green party with Travis Scott. Pop, rap, hip hop and formally integrated in 1950, and its popularity soared before basketball are intertwined and are elevating each other to new the music got any airplay. Both were, and continue to be, heights of popularity. independent outlets for creativity and physical activity where We sat down with Redmen Basketball’s Michael Peterkin institutional channels are unavailable. The controversy over AI’s style, which was broadcast to millions of people on ESPN, to talk about what hip hop means to him and the game of reflects the same outrage that NWA faced in 1988 over a public basketball. reclamation of black culture.

Ultimately, despite the league’s dress code, Iverson and hip What does hip hop mean to basketball? hop won, although in a more palatable form to the NBA. Today, Hip hop has become a significant cultural force for our Jay Z is a sports agent for Roc Nation, and Drake often patrols generation. It’s seemingly become a lifestyle as opposed to just a musical genre. The hip hop culture has integrated itself into the Raptors’ sideline.

Love him or hate him, Drake has changed the game. basketball and with both being interconnected.

Why have hip hop and basketball culture meshed together so well?

Basketball is popular among the urban youth, and these urbanized areas are seemingly the centres of hip hop culture.

The relationship between the two has progressed in the sense that the two go hand-in-hand in this day and age.

How hip hop changed the game

Hip hop influences Redmen basketball as much as any NBA team

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How has Drake’s role as an Ambassador for the Raptors gone so far?

Drake has done a great job putting the City of Toronto and the Toronto Raptors respectively in the spotlight and helped make being from the city and supporting the franchise seem ‘cool.’ Besides some fines the Raptors have incurred because of him, he has done a solid job in marketing the team.

Best rapper in the NBA? I would say [Damian] Lillard What is Redmen basketball’s go-to song before a big games?

It varies in terms of what’s popular at the time. Right now, probably Black Beatles by Rae Sremmurd [....] We’ve been bumping songs from Travis Scott’s album consistently in the locker room.

Best dancer on the Redmen?

Dele [Ogundokun], Isaiah [Cummins], and Regis [Ivaniukas] are up there for sure.

Who has the best freestyle on the team?

I’ve heard Avery [Cadogan] freestyle and it was good, so we’ll go with Cadogan WEDNESDAY, november 30, 2016

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late-comer to the world of long-distance running, McGill Redmen cross-country star François Jarry fell in love with the thrill of racing in grade 11.

“My high school teacher made us run around the school, and very few people took it seriously, but I always enjoyed it,” Jarry said. “At the end of the year, I won a school race that made me passionate about it.”

A Physical Education and Health Education student, Jarry was named a conference all-star and has placed in the top 10 in seven out of his eight races in 2016. He has performed well in Montreal this season, winning the 2016 McGill Open and placing third in both the RSEQ cross-country championship and 3,000-metre race. While most athletes struggle to find success in sports they start at such a late age, running has been always been a part of Jarry’s life, even if he didn’t start training until he was older.

“My father ran marathons,” Jarry said. “He did not [run] competitively, but did about nine of them for his own experience. So the idea of running was always there.”

Jarry competes in both track and cross-country for McGill, but prefers the more comfortable environment of a track compared to the unpredictable terrain of a cross-country race.

“I definitely have a preference for track,” Jarry said. “I think I’ve just been mentally weaker when [cross-country] racing, I find that races get less exciting the more you run.”

Jarry’s preference for an even surface to run on matches his general desire for structure and predictability. He believes in a running style that is both technically efficient and well-planned: Before the race even begins, Jarry aims to outsmart and out-plan his opponents. He has modeled his patient running style after

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cGill Intramurals are highly competitive and lowlevel matches that border somewhere between animalistic and majestic. These clearly untrained and mediocre athletes pay tens of dollars to compete against the worst of McGill Athletics. Some people wrongly believe these casual leagues are there for “fun,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Winning is everything for a well-oiled intramural squad.

“On my dodgeball team, we had someone who took it way too seriously,” B-League dodgeballer Max Newcamp said. “He would yell at every girl on the team if they even tried to throw [the ball].”

In intramural dodgeball, the will to win supersedes even basic human courtesies. Teammates lose all sense of empathy and revert to barbaric creatures. But dodgeball isn’t the only über competitive intramural sport.

“I once saw a friend lay out a kid for being in his zone during football,” Intermediate flag football linebacker Sami Meffre said. “He was coming across the middle, caught the ball, and took a huge shot. This is flag football, too. It was crazy.”

That’s what happens to players who don’t protect themselves when they go over the middle in intramural flag football. The intensity of the game means players sometimes lose sight of the flag aspect of the contest, turning a recreational sport into a high-stakes competition.

Intramural basketball matches are equally intense. Friendly back and forth can soon get out of hand and become violent.

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Wednesday, nOvember 30, 2016

(L-A Benoit / McGill Athletics)

Know Your Athlete: François Jarry How McGill researchers are changing hockey Arman Bery Staff Writer famed British-Somali distance runner Mo Farah.

“I think [Farah] getting criticized for sitting back in races is really unfair,” Jarry said. “I have a very similar mentality, [...]

I just love to just get the best approach I can. I start at the speed I can and build from there [....] People always think making the best time is the only thing that matters, but being able to be tactically efficient is very impressive.”

McGill intramurals ensure only the average survive Intense matches often lead to severe injuries and broken friendships

Joe Khammar Staff Writer “This one game I was reffing, these two guys [...] got too tangled up, but one of them shoved the other guy and then they were face-to-face pushing each other,” B-league basketball referee Itai Nitsan said. “Of course, every player on the court runs into the middle of a scrum trying to calm it down, but in reality they just make the scrum bigger.”

Overreactions and aggresion come easily in the heat of the moment. With high tempers and little training in restraint, inexperienced athletes become shaken with hardly any provocation.

Sometimes more seasoned players will take charge and try to coach their teams to victory.

“We would go against teams that would actually call their own plays with names and everything,” Newcamp said. “One

Jarry is also a star off the track. David Johnston, the governor general of Canada, honoured him this year as one of the top eight Academic All-Canadians. For Jarry, striking a balance between academics and athletics has always come naturally.

“Getting good grades, I find, a big part of it is having nice teachers who grade fairly,” Jarry said. “It’s also about relaxing, listening in class, not taking notes frantically, not signing up for too much other stuff.”

Jarry is a laid-back, cerebral person who believes that actions speak louder than words. He is considering doing a master’s and is currently completing a practicum with a professor at McGill. It is a possibility that the Quebec-native still has a few more years on McGill campus.

In the spirit of Mo Farah’s mantra—“Don’t dream of winning. Train for it”—Jarry is well on his way to future success.

Favourite song/artist to listen to before a race: Often in the bus we listen to songs we would listen to during like elementary school prom, like “Stronger” by Kanye, or “Run Caleb Ndiku,” a song by a [Machakos Kyalo].

Favourite pre-race meal: The night before: Often pasta and a bit of beans and veggies.

Days off: Just cereal and soy milk.

Favourite place to study at McGill: The computer lab [at] the stadium. team even called audibles, but they were so unathletic it really didn’t even matter.”

As it turns out, some players are unteachable in low-level athletic contests. The best strategy is usually just letting the physically-average specimen try to dominate matchups game after game.

In intramural basketball, unskilled ballers put everything they have on the line. Their bodies are simply tools used to win a much revered intramural championship.

“I once reffed a game where a guy fully dislocated his finger,” Second-year intramural basketball referee Arman Bery said. “A med student on the other team popped it back in, and then the guy tried to argue with me and my co-ref to let him keep playing.”

Apparently nine fingers are more than enough to perform on the court or the field. San Francisco 49ers legend Ronnie Lott once had his finger amputated to prevent missing game time. Want to be a true intramural baller? You have to follow Lott’s lead.

In all seriousness, intramural sports are actually meant to be about fun. The games are supposed to be friendly, particularly in lower divisions. There’s no reason for students to risk their well-being and friendships over an intramural match of basketball, dodgeball, flag football. To rephrase the great Allen Iverson: “I mean, listen, we’re talking about intramurals.

Not a varsity game! We’re talking about intramurals. I mean, how silly is that?”

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