McGill Tribune Vol. 32 Issue 18

THE mcgill

TRIBUNE Published by the Tribune Publication Society

Volume No. 32 Issue No. 21

Behind the scenes Special issue

S NEW SSMU al Inside ditori N e O e I h OPIN structing t G n Deco LIVINcGill T N E STUDllians after M McGi RES ind a story U T LOGY FEA ory beh O N H t TEC The s CE & nt Lab T N MEN e SCIE the De N AI RT atr Inside ENTEstudent the & S h ART e wit tag

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Editor-in-Chief Elisa Muyl editor@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Carolina Millán Ronchetti cmillanronchetti@mcgilltribune.com Adam Sadinsky asadinsky@mcgilltribune.com Production Manager Sam Reynolds sreynolds@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Bea Britneff and Andra Cervnavskis news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editor Ben Whitney-Carter opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Caity Hui scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Jacqui Galbraith studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Sara Espinal Henao feature@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Chris Liu, and Ilia Blinderman arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Steven Lampert and Jeff Downey sports@mcgilltribune.com Volume No. 32 Issue No. 21

THE mcgill

TRIBUNE Published by the Tribune Publication Society

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news 3-10 opinion 12-15 Science & Technology16-21 Student living 22-25 Feature 26-30 Arts & entertainment 31-37 Sports 38-44 photo 45-47

The people behind the portfolios: behind the scenes with SSMU (3-5) Abestos at McGill: one year later (6-8) McGill could face $200.8 million in budget cuts (9) Consulting on the Statement of Values and Operational Procedures (10) Editorial 101: deconstructing an editorial (12-13) A role for chance? A proposal to combat admissions bias (14) Why can’t boys like cartoon ponies? (15) Finding nematodes: a look inside a McGill lab (16) DNA testing offers healthier future (17) Shared reality: virtual classrooms, operahouses, and more (18) Ask SciTech: How does memory work? (19) Mendel meets Darwin (20) Tech reviews: the evolving touchscreen (21) Owen Nelson, student of the week (22) An Iranian student deals with a different kind of tuition hike (23) McGillians after McGill: from upper rez to Hollywood on the Gravy Train (24) International Food Festival keeps it fresh (25) The story behind the story: how the Tribune is made (26-30) Behind the scenes at McGill student theatre (31-32) The Tribune’s guide to Nuit Blanche 2013 (33) Snitch peddles emotion rather than explosion (34) Something wicked this way comes: Players’ Theatre’s Macbeth (35) Jonathan Emile on McGill, cancer and Kendrick Lamar (36) Album reviews: Walk The Moon, Josh Groban, and Bliffy Clyro (37)

Martlets rising: reveal the keys to success (38-39) Exclusive interview with Ken Dryden (40) Redmen clinch RSEQ regular season basketball title (41) Martlet hockey sweeps Ravens in Game 2 to advance to final (42) Track & field and swimming championship recap (43) Third Man In: Why the IOC is wrong to pin wrestling (44) Putting a name to the face: a photo essay

Photo Editors Alexandra Allaire and Simon Poitrimolt photo@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Susanne Wang design@mcgilltribune.com Senior Design Editor Heather H. Lee design@mcgilltribune.com Online Editor Victor Temprano online@mcgilltribune.com Social Media Editor Lisa Yang socialmedia@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Adrien Hu copy@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Manager Myriam Richard cpm@ssmu.mcgill.ca Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors Jacob Hardy (Chair): chair@mcgilltribune.com, Bea Britneff, Elisa Muyl, Jonathan Newburgh, Maria Surilas

Contributors Rafi Azari, Max Berger, Wendy Chen, Jesse Conterato, Laura Douglas, Josh Freedman, Erica Friesen, Elizabeth Flannery, Catherine Gao, Abhishek Gupta, Emiy Jacoby, Remi Lu, Krishanth Manokaran, Lauren Mokry, Alycia Noë, Luke Orlando, Whitney Pang, Sacha Pereira Da Silva, Cassandra Roger, Joanna Schacter, Vincent Simboli, Bharat Srinivasa, David Stein, Jack Tokarz, Diana Wright, Cece Zhang The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University.

Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact information. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its

staff. Please recycle this newspaper.

the people behind the portfolios

by erica friesen

Every year, six McGill students invest vast amounts of time and energy into the events and operations of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). For this special ‘Behind the Scenes’ issue, the Tribune brings you the personalities behind the portfolios.

With elections for the 20132014 SSMU executive team just around the corner, the Tribune set out to learn more about the lives of the current SSMU team.

As a full-time job, an exec position often requires these students to spend upwards of 12 hours in their office everyday, often seven days a week. For SSMU President Josh Redel, who has had a part-time job throughout his undergraduate degree, the almost $30,000 salary that comes with the job is only a small “relief” from the relentless demands of being an exec.

“I can put ... all of my time [into SSMU], [and] the salary goes towards my rent, paying off student debt, [and] tuition,” he said.

“My budget’s pretty tight.”

Although they receive a salary, execs are also students, albeit in a less intensive manner than many others who study at McGill.

Vice-President Internal Michael Szpejda, who hopes to graduate next December, is only enrolled in one full-year, one-credit course.

“Initially in first semester I was in a few more classes, [but] there was no way I could do 400-level neuroscience classes and [SSMU] at the same time,” he said. “People think it’s like any of the faculty [executive positions] where you can totally still do school, but it really is a full-time job.”

Like Szpejda, most execs only take one course per semester. Some, however, have already graduated. Vice-President Clubs and Services Allison Cooper said she followed the course of action taken by many previous execs by choosing to stay on at McGill for another year after graduation as a ‘special student.’

“For example, to graduate from anthropology at McGill, you don’t need to have taken statistics as part of your graduation requirement, but then if you realize you need statistics to go to grad school … you have a year after you graduate that you can still be enrolled as a ‘special student’ and take courses for grad school,” she said. “It’s cool because the classes I’m taking don’t affect my [degree], so I’m not so stressed out in that sense.”

While Cooper is the only exec this year to be enrolled as a ‘special student,’ many execs also said that they feel odd heading to class, and feel disconnected from the world of McGill students.

“Sometimes I worry that I’ve lost sight of what an average student’s perception is of the university,” Redel said. “I have the opportunity to sit [on] the Board of Governors, to sit at Senate, [and] to meet with the Principal … so [I] have the opportunity to have explained, face-to-face, what’s going on, when most people hear

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ssmu executives, at home. it through an email that they probably don’t even read.”

Executives are frequently reminded of students’ apathy or outright disdain towards SSMU. According to Redel, much of the criticism stems from students’ uncertainty of what the role of the organization should be.

“Students get upset when SSMU takes political stances [because they ask] ‘Does SSMU have a mandate to do that project?” he said. “Let’s look at that objectively: What GA motion passed 4Floors being an event every year? None. It’s an initiative we think is good. You’ve elected us as your student representatives, and we think [an event like this] is something that represents

students, or the best interests of students.”

Although they spend far less time in classrooms now, many SSMU execs feel that their experience in the office has affected the way they view themselves as students.

“If I can speak up to somebody in Senate, publically, in front of other students, in front of all the admin, then why can’t I tell my profs how I feel?” Vice-President University Affairs Haley Dinel said. “These kinds of positions empower you to take charge more of your degree [and] of your life.”

Vice-President External Robin Reid-Fraser said her position has also changed the way she thinks about other members of

the McGill community.

“The staff people that we talk to, [I’ve] realized that most of them are very approachable, very committed, and a lot of them really do want to know what students think and really do appreciate the feedback that students have to give them,” she said. “Staff members don’t necessarily get enough credit for the work that they do and how open they are to dealing with students.”

Redel, however, said his advanced knowledge of the way the university works sometimes causes him to “fear” for McGill and the future of higher education.

“It costs $500 to install a plug at McGill, and one of the

things students want more and more [of] are outlets in a classroom; but we don’t have enough money to [buy] even a single $50 chair,” he said. “How are we going to continue to grow and innovate in a time when we face austerity?”

Redel said he also finds members of the Board of Governors—McGill’s highest governing body, where he sits as one of two student representatives—to be “intimidating.”

“They do truly care about McGill, but the way in which they care about it might not align with how we think of a university … investments, portfolio, partnerships, alliances­—when they bring that to the university level, does

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every week is a busy week for ssmu clubs and services that align with academia?” he said. “That’s where we see a lot of disagreements with Board of Governors. They really struggle to understand students sometimes, just because they’re so distant from [them].”

Speaking with members of the senior administration is also a key component of Dinel’s portfolio. She advised candidates for her position to focus on their communication skills and make sure they are knowledgeable about how the university functions.

“You need to make connections with people across the university, [and] you need to really understand the issues right off the

bat,” she said. “The admin know there’s [going to be a] transition, but they’re not going to educate you. They’re not going to presume you know everything, but you have to come as well-versed as the person before you in your first meeting.”

When they’re not in meetings with the administration and other student bodies, the members of the exec team share much of their lives together in the SSMU Building.

“It’s kind of like when you have roommates—we all have to live together, but we’re all friends,” Dinel said. “If you’re not friends, you’re going to have

problems.”

“We don’t want to let each other down,” she continued. “If we’re frustrated, we can at least say it or express it in a friendly way.”

Cooper agreed that the most important part of being on the SSMU exec is working as part of a team.

“You have to make decisions on an absurd diversity of things and learn each other’s portfolios,” she said. “You come into it and [say] you’re going to do clubs all the time, but you’re also a counsellor. No matter what your portfolio is … foremost, you’re on the exec team.”

photos by simon poitrimolt

asbestos

at McGill: one year later

By Andra Cernavskis

As a large research university, McGill is one of the world’s leading institutions when it comes to scientific breakthroughs. With this title, however, comes great responsibility and a stringent public eye.

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n the past few years, McGill has received internal and external criticism on some of the research projects conducted within the Roddick gates, including military and pharmceutical research.

But what happens when research that was conducted 40 years ago comes into question? That is exactly what has happened with John Corbett McDonald— former McGill professor of oncology—and his research on chrysotile asbestos. This month marks one year since the release of CBC reporter Terrence McKenna’s provocative documentary on asbestos research at McGill. The Tribune has set out to recapitulate the controversy surrounding this research over the past year, and to look forward to the year ahead.

A story 40 years in the making

Chrysotile asbestos is the most commonly used form of asbestos. It was popularly employed as insulation between the 1950s

and 1970s in countries around the world, including Canada. Historically, Quebec has been one of the major exporters of asbestos, with the largest asbestos mine in the world residing in the namesake town of Asbestos, Quebec.

The mineral is now widely recognized as a cancer causing agent—it is most known to cause mesothelioma, a cancer that commonly develops in the lungs—prompting over 40 countries to ban its use.

The CBC reported that in the late 1960s, the asbestos industry hired McDonald, at the time a professor in the oncology department at McGill, to conduct research into the health effects of asbestos. This is according to David Egilman, a clinical professor in the department of family medicine at Brown University, and a long-time critic of the use of asbestos.

McDonald’s study focused on the health of 11,000 asbestos miners and mill workers in Quebec, and it took place over the course

of approximately 30 years. As late as 1998, McDonald co-wrote a paper with F.D. Liddell—a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics— based on these studies, which concluded that, at face value, the data proved that asbestos had a protective effect on workers’ health at a certain level of exposure.

The Internal Investigation

McDonald’s studies and conclusions on asbestos have raised two important debates within McGill and the wider scientific community in the past year. The first debate began after McKenna released a documentary on the CBC show The National on Feb. 2, 2012. The documentary accused McDonald of tailoring his results to comply with what was in the best interest of the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association (QAMA)—an asbestos company that gave one million dollars to fund McDonald’s research.

Following the release of McKenna’s documentary, McGill authorized an internal investigation to conclude whether or not these allegations of research misconduct were founded.

David Eidelman, vice principal (health affairs) and dean of medicine, initially asked professor and chair of the department of epidemiology, biostatistics, and occupational health Rebecca Fuhrer to do a preliminary review of the research material to determine whether or not an internal investigation needed to be held. According to Eidelman, there was no obvious reason based on the preliminary review on which to conduct an official investigation. He said, though, that there was enough uncertainty that he felt compelled to formally commission McGill’s Research Integrity Officer (RIO) Abraham Fuks to conduct the internal investigation on McDonald’s research in April 2012.

“I think our process is very strong,” Eidelman said. “We have to have an internal process that is reliable and robust because we don’t just react when something is on TV. We hear about things before, and we have to be able to deal with them. The research in this university would be worthless if we couldn’t be sure it was carefully overseen.”

On Oct. 17, 2012, Eidelman announced that McGill had cleared McDonald of all charges, after receiving a 17-page report written by Fuks, which found no evidence of research misconduct.

“After we [announced] this … and shared the report, the people on campus were largely supportive of the way we did things, and I got really positive comments,” Eidelman said.

No external review into McDonald’s research was conducted. Eidelman stated that an external review is not something McGill requires when the university has been accused of re-

search misconduct. He also pointed to the high costs of holding an external review.

The anti-asbestos lobby, however, has criticized McGill’s choice to conduct an internal investigation. Critics maintain that the internal investigation was self-serving on the part of the university, and that McGill continues to cover-up what it sees as research misconduct.

“I think they have done it because [their number one priority is] to protect McGill, to do public relations for McGill, and to cover the whole issue up,” said Kathleen Ruff, a senior advisor to the Rideau Institute—a Canadian nonprofit organization that focuses on research and advocacy. “You can indeed do that when you have power and privilege, but not forever.”

Support from McGill faculty for both McDonald’s research and the internal review became apparent when David Egilman came to speak to the McGill community this January. He continued to argue that McDonald conducted malpractice in his research.

All the McGill professors who attended and participated in Egilman’s discussion defended McDonald’s 1998 paper after Egilman accused McDonald of research misconduct and called for the paper to be retracted. One of these professors was Eduardo Franco, the interim chair of McGill’s department of oncology.

“It seems to me [that there is] a festival of misinterpretation out there by the activists,” Franco told the Tribune. “Nobody is saying, not even the authors of that paper, that chrysotile asbestos is not hazardous.”

Franco said, instead, that McDonald derived his conclusions by comparing people who were heavily exposed and those who were only moderately exposed.

“At the end, they are being accused of having published a paper that indicated a protective effect,” he continued. “It’s not protective.

It’s just in relative terms. If you are extremely exposed to asbestos, you are going to have a higher risk value than someone who is moderately exposed, and that may just be the semantics of the game.”

Both Franco and Eidelman addressed the issue of investigating research that was conducted 30 or 40 years ago.

One of the accusations against McDonald’s papers was that he did not properly disclose the source of his his funding. Franco pointed to the changes that have occurred in policies about disclosing conflicts of interest in published papers. He maintains that this is a recent practice that has only developed in the last three or four years.

“If this paper were published today, it would have of course included a conflict of interest statement,” Franco said. “So what Dr.

Egilman is wrong in doing is trying to use a collective witch hunt to use the objects of today to condemn a study from 1998. This is completely wrong and unfair.”

Eidelman, too, pointed out that the rules of the game have changed in general since McDonald carried out his research.

“One of the issues is, of course, with rules that were in place, let’s say, in 1975, [they] are much less clear than the rules that are in place now,” he said. “That’s one of the things that makes that [internal investigation] different.”

“In the case of Dr. McDonald … as far as we are concerned, we’ve looked into it from a research misconduct point of view, and that issue is closed,” Eidelman continued. “From the point of view of what Dr. McDonald may or may not have said or what things he promoted or didn’t promote … the record is there for people to read for themselves and draw their own conclusion.”

Current implications and the anti-asbestos lobby McDonald’s research provoked a second debate, which is now occurring around what McGill should do with McDonald’s papers—particularly, the one he co-wrote with Liddell in 1998.

Members of the anti-asbestos lobby, including Egilman and Ruff, have called on McGill to retract McDonald and Liddell’s paper.

According to the anti-asbestos lobby, McDonald’s research is still used today by asbestos companies to advocate for the use of asbestos in developing countries like Brazil and India, where asbestos continues to be used in construction. It is the anti-asbestos lobby’s mission to discontinue the use of asbestos around the world.

“McGill’s research done by McDonald still is one of the most important weapons used by the asbestos industry around the

world to defeat efforts by health professionals to ban asbestos,” Ruff said.

According to Egilman and Ruff, in order for this paper to no longer be used in the defense of asbestos, the paper needs to be retracted. Egilman said that when he went to Science—the journal that originally published the paper—to ask for a retraction, the editors directed him to McGill, claiming this was a decision to be made by the university where the research took place.

McGill has not retracted the paper or indicated that retraction has been officially considered at all.

Franco believes there are no grounds for retraction because Fuks’ internal investigation found that there was no research misconduct.

In an interview with the Tribune, Eidelman did not address the issue of retraction directly, saying that he would not comment on what Egilman has said on the topic.

“But I will say this: sometimes people confuse the issue of research misconduct,” Eidelman said. [Research misconduct] is … not presenting data fairly, not admitting … you took money from a company and then pretending you didn’t,” Eidelman said, implying that McDonald hadn’t done this.

“And then [there is] deriving conclusions from data … that maybe aren’t the best conclusions.”

What’s next? The Asbestos Conference Following the presentation of Fuks’ report to Senate last October, McGill announced that it will hold a conference on asbestos research, now slated to happen next September, as a followup on the internal investigations and reports.

The Faculty of Medicine, which is sponsoring the symposium, has tasked Eidelman with

assembling a committee of both faculty and students to plan this conference. This committee first met on Jan. 14.

Eidelman explained that the first meeting was delayed in order to make sure that representatives from four student associations could participate. The student associations represeted are the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS), the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS), and the Medical Students’ Society (MSS). He also noted that having the conference in the fall gives the committee a chance to invite international authorities on the topic of asbestos to attend and that these people need months of notice before traveling to Montreal.

Eidelman said that the conference will take place over the course of a single day.

“All we can really do is a one-day symposium,” he said. “A couple of professors complained that you couldn’t do a proper job unless you had, like, three days.”

Eidelman explained that while the issue of asbestos is complex, the conference will not exclusively focus on the science behind asbestos. Therefore, the topics the committee would like to see discussed only require one day, according to Eidelman.

“We will concentrate on two major issues.,” he said. “The morning will be given over to discussing asbestos, with a focus on the science. We hope to address issues like what exactly is ‘asbestos,’ which turns out to be more complicated than it seems at first.”

He said the afternoon’s discussions will examine the university’s relationship with industry in general.

He also noted that students and professors alike will co-lead the conference. He expressed hope that students will play a

leading role in all sessions that take place that day.

“We are trying to be forward-looking and make things better,” he said.

Eidelman said that the conference will be open to the public, and that the committee would like to bring in people from all sides of the debate to present their views—including those from the anti-asbestos lobby.

“Our goal is not to prove whether or not Dr. Egilman and his friends are right or wrong,” he said. “They cannot only speak for themselves, they speak very well for themselves, and they can defend their point of view. My goal and our goal here is to make sure that at McGill, we are giving a full and open discussion of the material, so people can interpret the information for themselves and come to their own conclusions.”

Ruff expressed skepticism over the idea of an asbestos symposium at McGill.

“I have nothing against conferences, but I think [the conference] really avoids the issue … that McGill has carried out a whitewash, and that the report by the Research Integrity Officer is completely full of incorrect information,” Ruff said. “The whole process has been unethical and biased.”

She pointed to how the internal report notes that McDonald did not attempt to hide his connection to the asbestos industry.

She disputes this. According to Ruff, McDonald did conceal this link. When testifying at hearings in the U.S. over the issue of raising standards to protect workers, McDonald said he had no connection to the industry.

“This is a mark on McGill that will not go away until they address it in a clean, honest way,” Ruff continued.

Photos by Laurence Butet Roch lbutetroch.blogspot.com

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CAMPUS

McGill forced to cut another $19.1M by April 2014 University could be $200.8M in debt in two years; Macdonald campus considers cutting courses

McGill’s projected deficit

Andra Cernavkis News Editor In an email to the McGill community on Feb. 19, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum announced that on Feb. 8, she received word that the provincial government plans to impose more budgetary cuts on the Quebec university system for the next fiscal year. She stated that the Parti Québécois (PQ) will reduce its funding to McGill by another $19.1 million by April 2014.

According to Munroe-Blum, the government said that a failure by the school to make these cuts by the deadline would result in additional cuts of approximately $32 million.

These two announcements come on the heels of the PQ’s original announcement in December 2012, which already required McGill to cut t its operating budget by $19.1 million by April 2013.

“We are committed to continu[ing] to fight the Government’s decisions, but we are obliged to prepare for the worst,” Munroe-Blum’s email reads. “Our priorities must be to protect our core academic mission, and to ensure, as best we can, the wellbeing of our community, including our staff. We will need, however, to take serious action, including eliminating positions and pulling back on services, supports and programs.”

At four Town Hall meetings hosted on Feb. 11 and 12, Provost Anthony Masi said that McGill’s deficit could reach $38 million by the 2013-2014 fiscal year. However, he announced a much larger figure at Senate last Tuesday. He said that these additional cuts

$825 $800 $775

Expenses & adjustments

$750

Revenue (accounting for cuts)

Expected revenue

Information from mcgill.ca

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2012-13

2013-14

could potentially result in McGill reaching a $200.8 million deficit by 2014-2015.

In a presentation given to Senate, Masi noted a few of the options the university has to make the PQ’s requirements, which include targeted cuts, across-theboard cuts, reduced salary increases and reductions, and increased enrolments above those already planned.

Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Secretary-General Jonathan Mooney compared these recent cuts and the issue of underfunding with what is happening at universities in other provinces.

“The operating funding available to universities in other provinces is greater than in Quebec, and it is operating funding that is used to pay almost all professors’ salaries,” he said. “Thus, Quebec universities are at a disadvantage with regard to the resources at their disposal to attract, retain, and competitively compensate professors.”

At a council meeting on Feb.

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

13, PGSS publicly took the stance that Quebec universities are underfunded. The motion that called for this position passed after intense debate over whether or not universities are underfunded, or if university administrations mismanage the funds they receive.

Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) President Josh Redel told the Tribune that he believes the university “is in a dire situation.” He pointed to the difficulties in responding to the cuts at SSMU, since the undergraduate society has a policy of supporting free education.

Redel also noted that during the Senate discussion, some professors asked that the university not implement across-the-board cuts, and that faculties and departments be exempt from budget reductions. Redel expressed concern over these sentiments, noting that if everyone does not accept a small percentage of the cuts, then some university services, such as libraries, might be forced to take much larger cuts.

Some members of the McGill community have already begun to plan for how they might deal with cuts. On Feb. 19, William Hendershot, associate academic dean for the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, sent a memo to McGill’s program directors and specialization coordinators that stated that the faculty had looked at what courses it can cut.

“I have tabulated all the courses we are teaching on the Macdonald Campus and I have identified groups of courses that seem to be less important to our programs,” the memo reads. “For example, a course that is not a prerequisite for any other course and is not required in any program is probably of relatively minor importance.”

The memo goes on to list 36 courses—most of which are in the interdisciplinary program of bioresource engineering—that do not serve as prerequisites, and that were deemed “courses that could be dropped with relatively minor impact.”

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Students and admin discuss protest documents Administration hosts second Consultation Fair on the Statement of Values and Principles and the Operating Procedures; fair is met with low turnout Cece Zhang Contributor On Feb. 20, the McGill administration hosted a Consultation Fair on the downtown campus concerning the recently released Statement of Values and Principles on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Assembly and Operating Procedures. Participants at the Fair raised concerns with the language of the Statement of Values and the restrictions outlined in the Operating Procedures, as well as the relationship between the two documents.

The Statement of Values and the Operating Procedures will replace the provisional protocol that currently governs the university’s response to demonstrations and protests on campus. The provisional protocol has been in effect since Feb. 12, 2012, after a group of students occupied the sixth floor of the James Administration building for five days.

The Consultation Fair was the second of two fairs hosted to revise of the Statement of Values, before it is taken for approval to the McGill Senate on Mar. 20, and the Board of Governors on Apr. 26. The Operating Procedures, however, will not be ratified by either body. The first Consultation Fair was held at the Macdonald campus on Feb. 13.

Senior administrators engaged in moderated discussion with a small turnout of six students about possible improvements to be made to the content or language of the two documents.

“This protocol, for me, is the administration saying, ‘This

is when we’re going to intervene, under these conditions,’ and [then] trying to describe those conditions,” Andre Costopoulos, dean of students said. “I think what we have to focus on is: are the statements in there clear enough?”

Several students did not appear to think so, and raised the issue of the document’s “ambiguous wording” throughout the discussion. Some pointed out that terms like “intimidation” and “intentionality,” found in the Statement of Values, may have great variance in meaning from person to person, and may affect whether an assembly would be classified as peaceful or not. Students suggested that vague terms such as these should therefore be changed or removed. “[With a demonstration], one can intend to disrupt and not disrupt,” Morton Mendelson, deputy provost (student life and learning), said in response. “The issue of intentionality only comes into play when you intend to disrupt.”

Participants at Wednesday’s fair also discussed how much interference caused by a demonstration or assembly should be permitted before the event is deemed disruptive. Some students argued that the wording in the Statement of Values—specifically, the “right of members of the University community to carry out their normal activities without undue interference”—scarcely allows for the disruptive nature of demonstrations, and suggested substituting “interference” with “obstruction.”

Other students even ques-

Admin consults students at the Faculty Club.

(Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune tioned the need for two documents, and what makes them different.

Joey Shea, U3 arts, said she believes that the Operating Procedures should be more closely tied with the Statement of Values.

“For me, there [is] a lot of ambiguity as to what is the relationship between these two documents,” she said. “I totally agree with the Statement of Values for the most part, but … there’s a huge discrepancy—for me at least—between the values and how they’re going to be implemented [into the Operating Procedures].”

Students also suggested adding a ‘fair warning clause’ to the Operating Procedures in order to counteract the unclear language of the Statement of Values.

McGill Security or the administration would use such a clause to issue clear warnings to protestors when their demonstration has been deemed in need of intervention. Sam Gregory, U1 arts, expressed concern about the lack of such a clause in the Operating Procedures. “[Will] fair warning be given [to students] when protest will

be broken up, or [when] actions [will] be taken?” Gregory asked. “[The Procedures] should also make clear to students what the consequences are for violating the rules.”

Students also expressed confusion over the roles and limits of McGill Security and the administration in maintaining peace on campus.

“Security Services, disciplinary officers ... they all have very different but very defined roles, and they all have very different powers,” Costopoulos said in response to students’ questions.

“We need to better educate, not only students but staff and faculty as well, about who is responsible for what in terms of campus order,” he continued.

“By making clearer the division of powers within university governance, we can create a context that is much clearer for students to express themselves without intimidation.”

The McGill community may continue to submit their feedback on both documents on the Statement of Value’s open website until Mar. 8.

E IC O NS V IT! O TI E A AR U V E OL HA S H S E U U ER YO LET H T

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2 , M I h t E W 7 S 2 S Y R A UA R B FE E T N

3 1 0 o Workshops from 4-5pm: ssmu.ca/ga/workshops

o Bring your McGill ID card!

(You’ll need it to participate and vote)

o Have a laptop, smartphone, or tablet?

Bring it and participate in a whole new way!

ssmu.ca/ga/participate

~ WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED ~

- Space in the Shatner Building - Presentation of the SSMU budget - Motion regarding Conflict Minerals - Motion regarding Support for the Social Equity and Diversity Office & more!

o t J L a r c t i b w

b c i c

g r s e o w T i t

Check our website for exclusive online content - Highlights from SSMU Council - Trudeau visits McGill - What happened last week in Canada? www.mcgilltribune.com

The Tribune is looking for managing editors and a productions manager for 2013-2014. To apply, send a cover letter, CV, and three writing samples to editor@mcgilltribune.com by March 11 at 5PM.

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very Friday, the Tribune’s editorial board meets to plan our editorial for the coming issue. We start with a range of ideas, and ultimately focus on the one that seems to us to be the most relevant, controversial, and interesting. We then discuss, each member bringing forward individual perspectives, but all the same aiming to reach group consensus. For this special issue, we take you behind the scenes of our editorial board discussion with an annotated editorial.

Ben Carter-Whitney

The tone of our editorial’s opening was a point of disagreement. While some editors sought to approach the piece with an agitated tone, we ultimately settled on an introduction expressing our sadness at a wasted opportunity.

After careful consideration, we opted to refrain from making any pasta-related jokes here.

McGill Principa l Heather Munroe-Blum, SSMU VP External Rob in Reid-Fraser, an d others connected to schools and student gr oups have all spoken to th e media about these com plaints.

By the time that this editorial goes to press, the Parti Québécois’ (PQ) long-awaited Summit on Higher Education—being held on Feb. 25 and 26—will have come and gone. The Summit, announced upon the PQ’s electoral victory in September, promised open and sincere discussion on education policy that had the potential to produce immensely constructive results. Unfortunately, much of the optimism that met the initial announcement has died down; the poor communication, planning, and a range of other issues leading up to the event have greatly hampered the likelihood that the Summit will fulfill its full potential.

Although some election promises, such as the PQ’s inflexible approach to issues of language and culture, were immediately at the forefront of its agenda, the summit took much longer to materialize than most expected. Until very recently, it was only referred to by the government in the vaguest of terms: the date and location were not announced for months; parties attending the summit were only told what would be on the agenda immediately before the pre-summit consultations; even now, on the French-only website that has

been put together for the event, information is extremely difficult to find, and does not show the time and location of the Summit on the front page. More than anything, the Summit looks as though it has been thrown together at the last minute, a trait that is seeming increasingly common for the PQ’s style of governance.

The nature of a minority government is such that its future is always uncertain; there is a constant need to make concessions, and satisfy enough of the opposition to remain in power. This government’s actions since being elected, however, go further than this. It seems to act with no eye to the future, simply reacting to the problem at hand. In December, the PQ announced of $140 million in funding cuts to universities across the province. They were unveiled with no prior warning to stakeholders, and shortly after the announcement of the PQ’s budget. This budget seemed to make a point not to take money from post-secondary education, and continued to herald the PQ’s implementation of a tution freeze.

Once again, a lack of communication made the situation much worse than it might otherwise have been, as stakeholders scram-

There was much debate amongst our board as to what can be expected from a minority government.

While some felt that strategic maneuvers and compromises are essential for the government to stay in power, others maintained that being in power means governing according to your beliefs. This could have been an editorial unto itself, but in the end, we only had room to mention it in passing.

Other cuts incl ud million from ho e $120 us million from na ing; $78 tural resources; $61 m ill employment pr ion from og million from fa rams; $17 m sistance; $4.1 m ily asill environment; $1 ion from .3 million from economic de ment fund; $373 velop, from primary an 000$ d secondary school budg ets.

Editorial

13 This has resulted in prominent student

to be McGill expects

group ASSÉ’s boy-

illion facing a $200 m deficit by 2015.

While financial management within university administrations may be an issue, we do not feel that such severe cuts will improve the situation.

This point was brought up in our editorial board discussion, but was not included in our first draft. After multiple editors requested its inclusion, it was eventually included.

cotting the summit. bled to react.

Although the amount and timing of the cuts are proving catastrophic to schools—especially those like McGill that were already encountering budgetary problems—it is not all that much money for a government in the grand scheme of things. If the government viewed education as a priority, there are other places this money could have come from which would have had a less immediate and crippling impact. One example that springs to mind is the Plan Nord, which has seen none of its $2.1 billion in government funding face cuts.

Ultimately, $140 million is small when dealing with billion-dollar budgets.

The cuts will inevitably shape the discussion at this week’s summit. They essentially conveyed the message, before discussions even began, that extended funding to schools is off the table. The same has been said about the possibility of a discussion on free tuition, with Minister of Higher Education

Pierre Duchesne dismissing the idea only weeks before the Summit. If matters like these are not even part of the discussion, then the discussion is inevitably incomplete. The balance of power was established before the Summit even began, and the government has made it clear that it will only hear ideas to which it is already favourable.

All of this has culminated in a situation where no party approached the Summit with any real optimism as to what can be accomplished here. Whether the PQ truly doesn’t view education as a priority, or is simply finding itself overwhelmed with the realities of running a province, it has essentially doomed this Summit to failure, making little progress on deciding the future of Quebec’s education system. Although the PQ has recently seemed to equate ‘culture’ with ‘language,’ education has long been an integral part of Quebec culture. If this government chooses to neglect it, it will be writing off a large part of this province’s past—and of its future.

One of the greatest challenges we faced during this meeting was keeping the discussion within the scope of the Sum mit. tions to be had about the nature of univers There are larger conversaity funding, and the role that tuition should play in this. These were not discussions for this editorial, but are important to continue to have goin g forward.

Our editorial board was divided with regards to the government’s true intentions and values concerning education. Some feel it used the student movement and have no real regard for student issues; others are more optimistic. We ultimately opted to avoid conjecture, and left this as an open question.

In general, we feel that the attitudes towards education in Quebec, and the values of accessibility that have been upheld for decades should stand as a model for the rest of Canada.

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14 A role for chance?

columnists

Joshua Freedman

Commentary

Everyone who gets into an elite university, including our own, probably feels at one time or another that they were deserving of meriting acceptance into the school, and that the admissions committee did not reach this decision lightly. A highly revealing article published by Ron Unz in The American Conservative entitled “The Myth of American Meritocracy” calls this assumption into question. In this piece, Unz raises uncomfortable questions by parsing vast amounts of data to show that certain racial and ethnic groups are disadvantaged by standard admission practices (at least in Ivy League schools), and generally calls into question the utility of an admissions committee at all.

While focusing on how many ethnic groups are disadvantaged by admission committees, Unz’s clearest example of discriminatory practices are those that relate to Asian-Americans. He points to a troubling fact that since 1993, Ivy League acceptance of AsianAmericans has declined from 20 per cent to 17 per cent, despite a growing population and increases in household income. Though they comprise only four to five per cent

of the U.S. population, Unz notes that Asian-Americans make up about 30 per cent of high school National Merit Scholars, and form the majority of participants in high-level math and physics competitions.

Statistically speaking, AsianAmericans must score 140 points higher on their SATs to be given the same standing as white counterparts. All else equal, it seems that Asian Americans should form a larger proportion of the student population than they currently do.

So what is leading to this impasse?

It is obvious that if some groups are being under-represented, then there are other groups who are the exact opposite.

While not assigning any nefarious motives, Unz points out that the American Jewish population is likely over-populated in the Ivy Leagues. This is the case for a combination of reasons, he concludes, including Jewish academic merit, prior guilt from excluding Jews from Ivy Leagues, and the prevalence of Jews in high administrative positions in elite universities.

Unz speculates that this mix of factors has allowed subtle biases to influence the admissions process, stymieing the chances for other

“By indulging in chance and eliminating bias, universities will see many salutatory benefits.” groups to be admitted into these schools.

Unz’s solution is simple.

Admit certain clearly deserving students to fill a small portion of your class, such as those who have won various academic awards or achieved a perfect SAT score. For the more difficult task of filling in the majority of an incoming class, Unz suggests setting a minimum threshold of acceptability, and then picking students through a lottery system. By indulging in chance and eliminating bias, universities will see many salutatory benefits. While the selection process would not be a perfect meritocracy, it would bring the schools closer to reaching this stated goal.

Secondly, Unz hypothesizes that students would feel more humble about getting into these elite

schools, knowing that their acceptance was predicated on chance, and laying waste to the notion that getting into a top school is completely merit-based.

Luckily, many of these afflictions found in the United States do not plague McGill, at least not to the same extent. In Fall 2009, McGill admitted 48 per cent of students, a rate much higher than the Ivy Leagues, and with less selectivity comes a lesser chance of applying under-the-table admissions practices. However, Unz’s idea to introduce lottery based admissions schemes could have a great benefit. First, this idea could save the university money by eliminating some of its admissions committee.

McGill administration staff, which includes its admissions committee, made approximately $22 million in salary, according to the 2011 McGill budget. A computer is a lot cheaper than a staff of workers, and—if Unz is right—possibly more effective. Second, a lottery would eliminate any chance of overt or hidden biases affecting the chances of a student getting into McGill. In a field where picking students to attend your university is more of an art than a science, maybe it’s time to lay our fates in the hands of chance.

Image from studyinbelarus.ws

columnists Why can’t boys like cartoon ponies?

15

Whitney Pang

Commentary

The season three finale of Hasbro’s animated series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic aired earlier this month. The children’s show has attracted an unexpected adult male fan base called “bronies,” a phenomenon that has garnered attention and sparked much gender-based debate. A long history of genderexclusive children’s programming has formed gender archetypes in viewership. From an early age, we are conditioned to have fixed social expectations of what plot content and character traits boys and girls should or should not like.

I find this problematic. It deters viewers from adopting seemingly benign, yet often very important, traits generically attributed to the opposite sex, and hinders any social progression in redefining gender archetypes.

Gender-exclusive programming as a strategy of market segmentation has long been a dominant pattern in the children’s entertainment industry. Producers identify and isolate a particular gender and age group, and tailor the programming preferences of each market to guarantee viewership. Producers then secure the attention of audiences to create the “audience commodity,” which

“When chidren’s programs aimed at specific genders repeat gender codes, the implicit message is ‘This is what you are supposed to like.’”

is sold to advertisers.

According to the 2001 study “Development of Gender Differences in Children’s responses to Animated Entertainment” from the journal Sex Roles, among children ages three to five, boys showed a much greater preference for violent content, while girls were rather more interested in romantic drama. Consequently, programs marketed specifically at boys, such as Transformers or Ben 10, primarily feature male characters possessing masculine attributes of leadership, bravery, and aggression. Programs for girls contrarily mainly portray female protagonists and their struggles with relationships. Friendship is

Magic, for instance, follows the adventures of six female ponies as they discover the importance of friendship. When chidren’s programs aimed at specific genders repeat gender codes, the implicit message is: “This is what you are supposed to like.” This influences the gendered preferences of young viewers, which in turn determines content of future shows.

There is a vicious cycle of constant reiteration of gender archetypes, one that allows little space for deviation.

So what happens when these gender archetypes are challenged? The emergence of “brony” subculture has demonstrated the rigidity of the public’s expectations of gender performativity. Many commentators have expressed their disbelief that a show for little girls could be so popular among males, seeing this trend as unexpected, or even intolerable. Fox News commentator Andy Levy stated that these men “should feel shame” for their obsession. “Bronies” have radically rewritten expectations of gender behaviour by appreciating a show

that embodies benign—though supposedly feminine—virtues of love and friendship. I would argue that this is a form of social progress, even while expectations of gender behaviour have deemed the “brony” subculture as something highly unnatural.

As ingrained as gender archetypes are, the public should embrace the these roles as social progress. Perhaps to redefine viewer archetypes in a more subtle way (as opposed to the radical nature of “brony” fandom), producers should further explore the possibilities of gender-neutral programming: shows that seek to portray both male and female protagonists possessing atypical gender codes. Non-gender exclusive shows such as Annie Award nominees Avatar: The Legend of Korra and Adventure Time have recently found immense popularity among both boys and girls. A new era of gender-neutral programming may be on the horizon.

Image from fanpop.com

BEHIND THE SCENES

By Caity Hui

T

he Dent Lab in the Stewart Biology building is humming with activity. Run by Dr. Joseph Dent, an associate professor and researcher at McGill University, the lab focuses on the molecular genetics of the behaviour in C. elegans, a nematode roundworm.

Specifically, the lab’s research focuses on understanding the structure and function of neurotransmitter receptors, the role they play in behaviour, and how we can manipulate them to treat diseases, or better understand how nervous systems work. Essentially, neurotransmitter receptors are membrane receptors that receive electrical signals, facilitating the transmission of information from the brain to the body, and vice versa.

“Our lab has basically two components,” explains Dent. “One is a relatively applied component, and the other a more basic research component.”

The applied component of the lab concerns the relationship between neurotransmitter receptors—important targets for antiparasitic drugs—and pesticides.

Dent and his team are currently looking into how existing drugs kill parasites, specifically nematode roundworm parasites, and how nematode parasites develop mutations that allow them to become resistant to these drugs. They hope, through this research, to learn how we can use antiparasitic drugs to better prevent the disease from reoccurring, as well as to make the drugs more effective against resistance developed by parasites.

Nematode roundworm parasites are of significant importance due to the disease caused by the nematode Onchocerca volvulus.

AT THE River blindness, caused by O. volvulus, is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa, where 18 million people are at risk of losing their sight. The disease is currently being treated with the drug Ivermectin, which is given in yearly doses by the World Health Organization (WHO) to help people who are already affected and reduce the rate of transmission.

This second area of research comprises the lab’s more basic research aspect. The team has investigated the role neurotransmitters play in behaviour, how the nervous system uses them to modulate behaviour in interesting ways, and the fundamental features of the neurotransmitters themselves.

Through this work, they are able to look at the mechanisms behind Ivermectin resistance and how nematodes develop resistance to the drug.

The team works with t h e

roundworm C. elegans in its experiments. While not parasitic, this organism is a much more efficient model to use during experimentation. Since C. elegans is highly similar to other organisms, the team can translate what they learn to various other systems.

“It turns out nematodes have a lot of receptors that humans do

DENT LAB

not have. These are a good target for anti-parasitic drugs. You want a drug that targets the parasite and not humans,” says Dent.

The Dent Lab works with C. elegans first, and then collaborates with the Institute of Parasitology in order to transfer the work performed on C. elegans to see if it has a similar effect on the parasite.

Looking to the future, Dent says, “We’d love to come up with a new, effective, safe drug that would allow us to have an impact on these diseases.”

“We would also like to better understand the design of the neurotransmitters in all organisms, [in order to] use the information to better focus or target our search for drugs to specific subsets of channels,” explains Dent. “If we understand it, can we design better drugs and better drug targets that are less likely to develop resistance? If we understand how resistance occurs before it occurs, can we use the drugs in better ways?”

Behind the scenes of the lab’s operations,

funding plays an important role. According to Dent, the Lab does not get as much support as he would like, since the Canadian health agencies are focused on research concerned more directly with Canadian health.

However, the lab receives more support from the agricultural and

pharmaceutical industry, which is interested in these drugs because they can also be used to treat livestock. Ivermectin, for instance, is an active ingredient in drugs used by farmers to treat livestock with deworming agents.

“The economics are such that the companies make their money selling these drugs to farmers to treat livestock, so that they can produce cheap meat. We benefit from that, in the sense that we receive industry money to support this research.”

Most important, however, is the idea that spurred this research.

When asked, Dent explains it was “just lucky.” While studying the eating behaviour of C. elegans as a post doctoral fellow, Dent discovered a mutant gene that affected their behaviour, and made it less efficient. He located and cloned the gene, only to discover it was a neurotransmitter receptor and the target of the drug Ivermectin— from there, his research took off.

“It often happens that you study one thing and make a completely unexpected observation.

What is exciting about research is that, you never know where it will go next—the most exciting research is the research you didn’t anticipate on doing.”

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Curiosity delivers. |

Science & Technology

| Wednesday, February 27, 2013

17

SCIENCE

DNA testing offers healthier future With DNA sequencing technology, parents can predict their children’s physical and mental development Bharat Srinivasa Contributor

Just before I was born, my parents consulted an astrologist to find out if I would be born healthy. Using the stars, the astrologist made predictions about my mental and physical development.

Before my kids are born, I might go to a company such as 23andMe. 23andMe uses DNA sequencing to recognize if babies will be genetically susceptible to certain diseases as they grow older.

The technology used by 23andMe was made possible due to the Human Genome Project, which successfully sequenced the complete human genome.

Published in 2003, the human genome was to be the harbinger of the age of personalized medicine. However, the costs of whole genome sequencing were prohibitively expensive, and time consuming.

Costs have dropped dramatically in the past few years, increasing accessibility of sequencing the genome to a large number of people. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), which tracks the costs of sequencing a genome, estimates current prices to be around $7000, down from

around $50,000 when the human genome was published, due to improvements in technology.

The time to sequence these genomes has been reduced as well. In October 2012, a research group from Children’s Mercy Hospital, in Kansas City, Missouri, managed to sequence the whole genome of a baby in 50 hours.

Currently, there are a number of companies that offer to test single genes or a panel of genes related to a certain disease. While useful, these tests, which range between $500-1,000, might only be prescribed in case the family has a history of that disease.

Whole genome sequencing offers the ability to analyze the entire genome, thereby providing clues to what diseases may arise, irrespective of heredity. Additionally, genome sequences can help provide evidence of extremely rare hereditary diseases, which the targeted genetic testing provided by companies may not reveal.

Finally, knowing the genome of the newborn child or fetus could help provide appropriate genetic counselling to parents early on, and help physicians design targeted therapies. The decrease in costs, as well as the benefits whole genome sequencing provide, has dramatically increased demand for this procedure from

Genome sequencing helps predict the inheritance of diseases (lejeuneusa.org) the public. Soon, it may be the norm to obtain a whole genome sequence of a baby as soon as it is born, and use this data to determine future medical intervention.

Whole genome sequencing, however, is not without its drawbacks. The New York Times, in a piece on the procedure, states that out of 100 patients with any genetic disorder that was sequenced, only 30 patients had a misprinted gene detected by whole genome sequencing. Of these, only three per cent of the patients receive better management, and only one per cent gets treatment.

As of now, whole genome sequencing to identify diseases is still like looking for a needle in a haystack. We do not know all the mutations in a gene that could

give rise to a disease. Most diseases arise from defects in multiple genes, further complicating diagnosis. Even if genes suggesting increased risk of disease were to be identified, we lack the ability to treat many of these diseases with current medication.

Improvements in genome sequencing and reduction in costs will someday help doctors better tailor medicine towards the individual patient. With developments in DNA testing, parents will no longer have to consult an astrologist to predict their kids’ physical and mental development. Instead, a DNA sequence will provide insight into their susceptibility to disease. Scientifically, this is the way forward.

Image from broadinstitute.org

C

Shared Reality Krishanth Manokaran Contributor Imagine arriving late to class, ears burning from the cold, and stepping over puddles and bags until you finally find a seat.

As the professor lectures away, a student several rows down raises his hand. The professor, unaware, continues the lecture. After some time, the student eventually puts it down.

For most McGill students, this scenario isn’t hard to imagine. Professors might not always be fully aware of the hands that go up at the top or the far sides of a lecture hall, and it’s not their fault. They’re only human after all.

What if there was a way to detect if a student raised their hand in a large crowd, or to recognize if students were confused during a lecture? These possibilities are being explored at the McGill Shared Reality lab.

“A prototype system that we developed years back was used to automatically detect if a

enriches human-computer interaction

student raised his or her hand up for a question,” Dr. Jeremy Cooperstock, Director of the Shared Reality Lab, said. “Since it was in a large class setting, the system would then inform the instructor by raising a flag on the screen about who has their hand up, and what part of the room they’re in.”

Experiments at the Shared Reality Lab involve the use of virtualized reality techniques and advanced networking protocols to give users a strong sense of co-presence—the feeling of being together in a shared physical environment. This is accomplished using a number of screens, cameras, projectors, and microphones, along with a high-fidelity vibrosensory system.

“This high fidelity and low latency type of communication gives people the ability to feel like they are engaged in coordinated synchronous activity with those far away, while in the comfort of McGill,” Cooperstock explained.

The lab was one of the first research groups in the world to support a distributed music per-

Using this technology, students from different locations can play music together as if they were in the same room. (cim.mcgill.ca)

McGill’s Shared Reality Lab creates new virtualized experiences based on innovative technology formance. Jazz students from Montreal and Stanford performed together at the same time using the technology developed by the Shared Reality Lab. They were able to see and hear each other in the same capacity as if they were physically in the same space.

The lab also looks at how to adapt users to a different kind of environment by rendering physical scenarios, such as the sensation of walking on different ground surfaces, such as snow, gravel, or sand.

“And they can experience that even though they are physically in a laboratory environment, walking on floor tiles,” Cooperstock explained.

The third dimension of the lab involves looking at sensory substitutions for those unable to experience a certain aspect of the everyday world around them. By working with the blind community, the Shared Reality Lab looks for ways to give these people the visual experience of the world around them. This is accomplished by providing the information usually available to vision through audio, explains Cooperstock. The lab has also given demonstrations on new technologies for the Android and iPhone, which give users a constant display, through audio, of what points of interest are around them while walking outside.

Along with developing sensory substitutions, the lab has created different applications to help Music and Medical students at McGill. For musical training, the lab developed a simulator known

as “Open Orchestra” which has received significant recognition.

“The simulator was [developed] to give classical and jazz musicians the experience of rehearsing with the rest of their band or the orchestra around them,” Cooperstock explained.

“It wasn’t a live performance scenario. Rather, it was a rich multimodal experience of what it feels like, looks like, and sounds like to be sitting in, for example, the second violinist seat in a 30 seat orchestra and playing along with the different musicians, while seeing and hearing the conductor at the same time.”

Similarly, a training system was used to train McGill medical students in response scenarios.

This project was funded by the Canarie’s Network Enabled Platforms (NEP) program, and was completed in 2010. It involved using medical mannequins to mimic different physiological functions, such as blood flow to the heart, and teaching students through scenarios where they had to experience and address real situations, such as a patient in a car accident.

Through this new approach to human-computer interactions, the Shared Reality Lab offers a glimpse into the future of virtualized reality, which could change the way we interact with people around the world. One day, attending the opera could involve listening to different opera singers in different time zones, standing on different stages in a worldwide opera house located in cyberspace.

ab eve gy

How does our memory work?

The human brain, composed of over 100 billion cells, is a natural work of art. Groups of brain cells, called neurons, and their synapses—the gaps in between them—are the functional units of the brain that allow us to store memories. While these cells are responsible for what we remember, what enables us to recall our sixth birthday party, but forget what the professor talked about 15 minutes ago in class? Welcome to the mysterious world of the human memory.

The difference between remembering that birthday party over the lecture material revolves around the differences in how we organize and process short and long-term memories. Psychologists view the memory system as analogous to a computer in terms of consisting of three phases: encoding, the process of transforming information into a neural code that the brain can understand; storage, the retention of that code; and retrieval, the act of recalling that information.

The modal memory model proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shriffin in 1968 gives a deeper understanding of how memory works, by breaking it down into three types of memory. Sensory memories are the most brief form of memory, lasting for a fraction of a second. An example of sensory memory is when you look at something and quickly glance away.

Due to your sensory memories, you can recall only some of the object’s details. It allows us to take in the world as a continuous stream, rather than discrete chunks of information.

By contrast, short-term memory, also known as working memory, holds data in awareness for a brief period of time, during which our brain can use it to carry out several necessary processes. The retention period for short-term memory is around 20 to 30 seconds.

For instance, when looking up a telephone number and walking across the room to dial it, your working memory is at work. Unless you repeat this task over and over again, some digits begin to fade by the time the actual number is dialed.

Another aspect of short-term memory is memory span, which refers to the number of distinct items that can be stored in the working memory at a time. Initially, this number was

ASK

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suggested to be seven (plus or minus

By Abhishek Gupta two) by George Miller. However, a more recent study conducted in 2005 claims that the span may be as little as four items. Next time you try to remember a phone number for a friend, don’t feel bad when you forget a digit—your short-term memory really only retains four at a time.

On the other hand, long-term memory, the more permanent component of the memory system, is a much less transitory system. Essentially, long-term memory logs new information by associating it with other related topics already stored in your memory.

This is why it is harder to learn something completely new, as opposed to learning about something you’re already familiar with. It’s also why you shouldn’t wait to take Calculus 3 long after you have completed Calculus 2.

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But not all content of the long-term memory is reliable.

McGill professor Karim Nader proposed the process of reconsolidation, which explains why some of our long-term memories are distorted. According to Nader, once memories are activated or retrieved, they must be consolidated to be stored in the brain as memwe make taxes painle$$ ory. An improper restoration could ultimately lead to distortions in your memory. This concept could be used to treat hrblock.ca | 800-HRBLOCK (472-5625) trauma patients by helping them retrieve painful memories, and then disrupting the © 2013 H&R Block Canada, Inc. *$29.95 valid for student tax preparation only. To qualify, student must present reconsolidation process to either (i) a T2202a documenting 4 or more months of full-time attendance at a college or university during the applicable tax year or (ii) a valid high school ID card. Instant Cash Back is included in the price. Students pay $79.99 alleviate the pain associated for Complex/Premier return. Expires 12/31/2013. Valid only at participating locations. Additional fees apply. Instant Cash Back valid only on the federal portion of tax returns filed in Quebec. Some restrictions apply. SPC cards available with those recollections. at participating locations in Canada only. Offers may vary, restrictions may apply. For full terms see www.spccard.ca.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013 |

Science & Technology

| Curiosity delivers.

SCIENCE

When Mendel meets Darwin The future of genetics Lauren Mokry Contributor First there was Darwin, who published the revolutionary On the Origin of Species in 1859, introducing the world to the theory of natural selection. According to this theory, genetic variations arise as adaptions to differential environments, where any profitable traits that incur a survival advantage are selected for and preserved through inheritance. In other words, if a long nose gave you the upper hand over other members of your species, the population would evolve to favour large snouts.

Enter Gregor Mendel and the re-discovery of his pea experiment. Mendel cross-bred different combinations of peas in order to illustrate patterned inheritance of genes from one generation to the next. A contemporary of Darwin, the scientific community did not accept the significance of Mendel’s work until the 20th century, when DNA was identified as the molecule that was passed down from parents to their offspring.

After this recognition, Mendelian genetics could be combined with natural selection, placing a new emphasis on reproductive success. In the modern evolution-

ary view of natural selection, it is imperative that an organism survives until the age of sexual maturity in order to pass on their genes. ‘Mutation proposes and nature disposes,’ with regards to new genetic traits.

Interestingly, throughout this evolutionary discourse, it was assumed that natural selection exerts its pressures only on the organism. But what about our cells? Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells—would they not be exposed to the same selective pressures?

Scientists asked these questions too, adopting an accepted model of cellular and genetic integrity. According to this model, while there are different types of cells with different functions, each cell contains the same genetic profile. Whether DNA is extracted from our blood or our hair, the sequence should theoretically be the same—the only notable exception is the distinctive mutations observed in cancer cells.

Recently, with the advancements made in biotechnology, this model came into question. For the first time in history, we have the tools to readily sequence different tissues at will. As a result, some evidence shows that we are not composed of a single genetic

sequence, but rather, a mosaic of many genetic sequences specific to different tissues.

How does this genetic diversity arise? McGill professor of the Department of Human Genetics Dr. Bruce Gottlieb explains: “Studies have shown that early on in fetal development, you can get the DNA repair mechanism turned off in certain tissue, and you acquire variant [gene sequences].”

This variation leads to a kind of cellular ‘survival of the fittest,’ where the cells with the evolutionary upper hand prosper, compared to others who fail.

“Selection then takes place, and you only select the wild type (the trait that prevails in normal conditions) [of the gene]; however, the others are still there,” says Gottlieb. “The idea is that, you are getting a panoply of variants, and they are there to protect the tissue. If you get a change in environment, they can respond to it.”

Based on this new theory, our bodies should be thought of as a composite of microenvironments to which our cells must adapt. Therefore, genetic diversity would be advantageous to an organism. Having the ability to adapt would provide cells with a better chance at survival in many

different situations, such as if a virus killed off a certain cell lineage, but left another one unaffected.

In order to survive, this remaining cell lineage would require genetic variation, in order to make up for the other lineage being killed off.

This theory is gaining momentum among cancer researchers, as it helps to explain our failure to identify carcinogens.

For instance, cigarette smoke is believed to be a cause of lung cancer. However, when you expose cells to smoke, they are not mutagenized, compared to what occurs when you are, for example, exposed to UV rays. An alternative explanation may be that it is this smoke that is selecting for a lung cancer causing mutation, since those cancer cells thrive in the conditions. Based on this new theory, cigarette smoke does not cause a mutation; rather, the mutation was always there. The smoke selects the mutant out of our diverse gene bank.

While it is necessary that more research be conducted before drawing conclusions, it appears that the theory of natural selection should be applied to our cells. At the end of the day, why should they be treated any differently?

The new theory applies the discoveries of Mendel and Darwin not just to organisms, but also to cells.

(Images from www.biography.com)

Curiosity delivers. |

Science & Technology

| Wednesday, February 27, 2013

TECH REVIEWS TOUCHSCREENS

BY ABHISHEK GUPTA

Touchscreens have revolutionized the way we interact with digital devices. The most important attribute they have brought to the user experience is the reduction in the learning curve of operating a device. A simple tap on the screen can trigger commands that would have otherwise been complicated with a mouse and keyboard.

Keyboards posed a problem for some computer users, due to the fact that most populations are not 100 per cent literate. With the advent of the touchscreen, people need only touch an icon on a screen to perform the desired task, rather than type in a command.

The increasing ease in operation has immense implications for increasing the universal use of technology around the world.

The idea of the touchscreen has been around for decades. The first working prototype, a resistive touchscreen, was developed

by American inventor Sam Hurst in 1982.

What we see in smartphones, tablets, and other devices today, however, are capacitive touchscreens. There is a marked difference in the fluidity of the touch experience between the two formats.

The resistive touchscreen is composed of transparent, electrically resistive layers, which have a thin gap between them. When the screen is pressed at a particular point, the layers come in contact, and they behave as voltage dividers.

Using this mechanism, the position of the touch on the screen can be tracked and fed into the control unit.

The problems with this type of display are

that it requires a harder touch to register a signal, and the mechanism wears out over time—both of which reduce the functionality of the touchscreen.

In contrast, the capacitive touchscreen works on the principle that the human body is a great conductor; the screen has a glass panel coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide.

When the screen is touched with the finger, the electrostatic field (a field of charged particles) of the screen is disrupted, which enables the desired function.

This process results in a highly effective phone, as the screen can be activated with merely a gentle touch. The only flaw associated with this format, is that it cannot be operated using gloves or any another material that cannot conduct (which becomes a problem during Montreal’s cold winters).

The potential applications of touchscreens are impressive. At the keynote of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) under the theme “Mobilizing Possibilities,” Samsung introduced an innovative range of flexible displays called “Youm.” Using Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) on a plastic sheet, they created high-resolution displays that bend.

This technology allows many novel phone features, such as the expansion of the smartphone’s screen, enabling it to curve around the edges of the phone. This curved area could be used for looking at notifications, such as text messages, while the device is lying flat on a table. The Youm platform is one of many innovations that will define the next generation of touch-based devices.

21

studentof the week Q: So, you’re in the Faculty of Music?

A: I’m doing a major in Jazz performance, and a minor in business. I find that it’s very important to be able to sell yourself in anything you do, and I’ve found at the music school that people don’t have business skills, and it’s difficult to get gigs. I picked business so that I would be able to use business skillls [to help my career as] a musician.

Q: How are your music classes different from those in an arts or science degree?

A: They’re completely different. First of all, classes are generally 10 to 20 people. The teachers [are] all musicians; they’re a lot more laid back. There’s more of a personal relationship with the instructors.

Q: Do music students do collaborative work, or is it mostly individual?

A: Yeah, if we’re in a big band, or a jazz combo. One requirement is that students have to form small jazz ensembles, and they have to play once or twice at a jazz club called “Upstairs.” A teacher will come and watch the show, and have a beer. Afterwards, the professor will give us [some] ideas [of] how we could be better.

Q: How long have you been playing the saxophone?

A: I’ve been playing since I was 12 years old.

Q: Do you play any other instruments?

A: I play a little piano, and I can sing.

Q: Have you played any shows around Montreal or in high school?

A: Oh yeah. I’ve played all over—tons of clubs like Club Soda, Café Campus, Club Lambi, Sala Rossa, and Metropolis.

Q: So you play with a band?

A: Yeah, I have several music projects.

Right now, I’m playing with a band called “Static Gold,” [in addition to another, “Cloak and Swagger”]. We just played at Bar Absinthe on Valentine’s Day, and it was packed. I’m also

there for free.

Q: If you couldn’t be a musician, what other career would you pick?

A: I like having control over my life,

Owen Nelson

Jazz Performance, U4 (SACHA PEREIRA DA SILVA / MCGILL TRIBUNE)

going to Atlanta, Georgia to [record] with Pastor Troy, hopefully for his next album, called “Thou Shalt not Kill.”

I’m really excited about it. I’m [also] working with a DJ; and this summer I’m going to be playing at clubs on the island of Ibiza, off the coast of Spain.

I’ve just been doing a lot of recording, and taking advantage of the recording studio at McGill. That’s another thing; McGill has a world renowned recording studio, and we can record

and I love business; I love talking to people, communicating with people.

So I’d probably own some sort of business. I had a dream once where I was an old man, and I was on the coast in New Orleans. There was this smell of BBQ, and fantastic music, and I had created this BBQ shack that would bring the best musicians from all over the world, and it was just fantastic. I consider myself the grill master now, so imagine when I’m 70 and I’ve per-

22 fected my art.

Q: If you were an instrument, which instrument would you be?

A: It would just suck to be an instrument. You can’t do anything. I guess I’d be a grand piano because a lot of the time, people make love on grand pianos. Guitars get smashed all the time. A lot of instruments are in cases, so they’re confined. Grand pianos can be in the open, and rock stars do drugs off them.

Q: If you could play with any musician, dead or alive, who would it be?

A: I always dreamed of being on Jay Leno’s [tonight show] band. Or play with Bruce Springsteen or the Dave Matthews band; just a band that plays in front of thousands of people because I love performing. I just love the energy I get from the audience; it’s such an electrifying feeling.

Q: What are your dream reading week plans?

A: I would like to go to Tanzania, climb Mount Kilimanjaro, go on a motorcycle road trip to Zanzibar, and go hunting for lions. Then [I’d] go up to Uganda and go sailing on Lake Victoria.

Q: What are your actual reading week plans?

A: I’m practicing for my playing exam and doing some recording.

Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve?

A: Vegans, scarves, and skinny jeans.

Q: Your apartment’s on fire and you only have time to save three things; what are they?

A: My cat, my Blendtec blender, and my saxophone.

Q: What’s your guilty pleasure?

A: I like drinking milk.

Q: Why do you feel guilty about that?

A: Because a lot of people are starving in Africa and I drink a gallon of milk a day.

Photo credit: asteriosm.deviantart.com

Th w h an

23

Behind the

scenes:

An Iranian student deals with a different kind of tuition hike Rafi Azari Contributor I’ve been studying as an undergraduate international student at McGill for the past three years.

Born and raised in Iran’s second largest city, Esfahan, I moved to Canada to acquire the best possible education I could afford. The trend among Iranian families is to send children abroad only for post-graduate studies. More importantly, it has become extremely difficult for Iranians to gain travel visas since the Revolution of 1979.

Simply put, the past three years for me have been nothing short of a miracle.

McGill was an ideal choice for me because of its sterling reputation on the East Coast, and its relatively reasonable tuition rate. That is not to say that $25,000 a year is cheap; however, McGill is ranked among some of the best American schools which charge almost twice as much. So in the hopes that a McGill degree would increase my chances of getting into a top law school, I packed my bags and hugged my parents tightly.

I took the campus tour on a sunny day in late June, and I was awestruck by McGill’s beauty and rich heritage. To say that for me, it was a dream come true would be an understatement. A few weeks after that sunny day, I joined thousands of other first-year students in an event I had read much about on Wikipedia: Frosh!

My college life had officially

begun. In just a few weeks I made friends with people from all over the world, and to my parents‘ relief, I wasn’t feeling lonely or homesick at all. Thanks to years of watching Hollywood movies as a teenager in the solitude of my bedroom, I speak fluent English,

diplomatic relations with much of the rest of the world, but things have escalated dramatically since I arrived at McGill three years ago.

The Canadian consulate general in Tehran closed its doors last year, along with the Iranian consulate in Ottawa, marking the start of a

The beautiful McGill campus. (Wendy Chen / McGill Tribune) so the language barrier was not an issue for me.

Cooking was another story.

Three destroyed pots and a couple of epic failures later, I decided that Persian dishes were too complex and time-consuming for a busy college student. With the help of a few friends, I revamped my nutrition and lifestyle altogether by starting a fitness routine, and learning simple, healthy recipes.

And that’s how I overcame cooking: the greatest fear I had when I left home.

Iran has historically strained

wide-reaching diplomatic blackout that could potentially last for years. Yet the actual shockwaves have been hitting me hard over the past year as the sanctions against the Iranian government have deteriorated its currency’s purchasing power by a shocking factor of four.

In other words, three years ago my parents had to pay one Iranian rial for every Canadian dollar they intended to send me. Now, they have to pay four times more for every Canadian dollar. Everything I pay for here—from my international tuition fee to a cup of coffee at

Redpath Café—has become four times more expensive!

The McGill Administration has not offered any assistance.

They sent out an email upon the Iranian consulate’s closure, informing those students who needed to renew their passports that McGill was willing to give more time for students to update their immigration documents, given the predicament. I’m not expecting an email from them asking about how I’m doing with the quadrupled costs of living, or if I need help financing my tuition. With the multi-million dollar cuts looming on the horizon, I just hope they manage to save the university from the questionable actions of the new government of Quebec, which to me, has become oddly reminiscent of a myopic and pro-isolation system I fled from three years ago.

As for me, I have enjoyed every second of my time here at this inspiring institution, meeting amazing people, pulling allnighters at Redpath, joining clubs, and having fun with friends I love dearly. Frankly, I do not know whether I will be able to afford my tuition next year with the Iranian economy in turmoil; but a long time ago, I made a decision not to live my life as a victim of my time nor nationality. So I laugh with my friends, and study hard, knowing very well that this could be my last semester at McGill.

24 McGillionaires after mcgill

Hollywood hops aboard the Gravy Train McGill Alumni Evan Goldberg and Tum Cohl talk poutine, upper rez, and living in L.A. Jacqui Galbraith Student Living Editor Whether we’re half a semester away from graduation, or just starting to look for our first real apartments, most undergraduates at McGill would rather think about anything other than the scary world beyond university.

Never fear, McGillians! The Tribune spoke with some stellar alumni to show that not only does life go on after graduation, but it can actually get kind of cool.

Evan Goldberg (BA ’05) and Tum Cohl (BA ’04), among other projects— like screenwriting for movies like Superbad and Knocked up (Goldberg), or chairing Hilarity for Charity, an event that benefits the Alzheimer’s Association (Cohl)— have brought the northern national treasure of poutine to the mean, sun soaked streets of Los Angeles, exposing our southern neighbours to our unique and tasty way of warming up during the winter. Together they created Gravy Train, a popular food truck that roams the city, serving first-timers and foodies alike.

McGill Tribune: Where are you from originally? Why did each of you decide to go to McGill?

Tum Cohl: I am originally from Toronto, and I chose to go to McGill because, first and foremost, my sister went there, so I was inspired by her. I liked the fact that the university was located in a city, and it didn’t feel like a college town. And on top of getting a good education at the school, I felt that there was a lot to learn just from living on my own in a city.

Evan Goldberg: I went to McGill pretty much because I thought it

would be the most fun, balanced out with a good education. Because I didn’t want to waste my time in university, and I didn’t want to be stuck in a small, crappy town. My brother went to Langara Vancouver [where I’m from] for two years, and then he was going to Concordia that year. So my brother was coming to the same place, and [so were] a bunch of my friends; and it just seemed like a lot of fun, and you got the good education out of it.

MT: How did you get from Montreal to L.A.? Was that the plan right from graduation?

EG: Since I was 13, I’ve been writing movies with my writing partner, Seth Rogen. We’ve been doing that forever, and he went down there and started acting. So then I left McGill for a year to go to write on the Ali G show, and then that job ended, the show ended, and I came back and got my degree. So my plan was kind of always to go back down and pursue the writing, which is why I took American History in the first place, because I knew I’d probably be writing eventually for an American audience; so that directed me [right out of] McGill.

TC: I wanted to go to L.A.; I had visited Evan and a couple of other friends of ours who were out in L.A. working. I was working in public relations, and I thought there were more opportunities out in Los Angeles than there were in Toronto, and in Canada. I got a job working at Live Nation, and moved out there initially to do that.

MT: How did the idea of starting a poutine business come about?

EG: There were two paths to that.

One was, starting on the set of Superbad, I asked the craft services guy, Chance Tassone, if he’d ever heard of Poutine, and he said no,

and no one had, and I started to realize it didn’t exist in America. I challenged him to make it for the people on set; he tried, it did not go so well, and he became very frustrated by this. [He] became determined to pull it off, so on all the movies we made after that [when] we worked with him—[we actually] started on Knocked Up, and we tried again on Superbad, and then Pineapple Express, and then again on the Green Hornet.

By the time we got to the Green Hornet, he kind of perfected it.

And then on another path, Tum and I had been talking about… [there being] so many Canadians in Los Angeles.

TC: I think it kind of started jokingly. We said “Wouldn’t it be great if we just brought Poutine here to all of our Canadian friends?” and then we said “Yes, it would, why don’t we just do it?” and we decided to just go for it. Initially we started out as kind of like a small kiosk-type stand on movie sets.

Then we realized in order to generate more publicity, and to get more attention, and to properly introduce the product to our American counterparts, we needed to bring the product to them; and that’s when we decided to get an actual truck.

MT: How have people in L.A. responded to poutine? Are they excited to try a Canadian delicacy, or are they sort of apprehensive?

TC: Some people don’t even realize it’s a Canadian delicacy, and they just like it because it’s fries, cheese, and gravy. I would say that more people are enticed [by that], and less about the fact that it’s a Canadian product; but every single person [who] does try it has loved it. And also, simultaneously to us launching, there are several higher end restaurants around Los Angeles that are adding poutine [to] their menus. It’s kind of like a comfort food, but they’re fancying

it up.

MT: Can you see Gravy Train expanding to a permanent establishment somewhere?

EG: We like the idea of expanding.

We think that putting it in sports arenas and having permanent locations could be cool, you know?

Anything’s possible; maybe [we’ll] just keep making more trucks, but we think the idea of a fixed location is pretty inevitable.

MT: Going back to your time at McGill—did you both live in residence?

TC: I was in Molson.

EG: I was in McConnell. [It] was the best our year, and you damn well know it Tum. TC: Lies. Molson by far beat out McConnell.

MT: How was your experience settling into McGill?

TC: I think that part of it was overwhelming, because there were so many new people, and it was really our first time living on our own, but it was incredibly exciting. Both Evan and I had gone to camp with a lot of people who were going to McGill, so it was exciting to see our friends again, going to university, living on our own without our parents there. I don’t know if I ever really, fully settled in; I think it was kind of an adventure the whole time I was there.

EG: Yeah, for me, I was just so ready to get out of my house, and get out of my town, and go somewhere else. It’s boring, but it’s the same answer. I was just so excited that the whole thing was an adventure that I didn’t need to settle in, I just clicked right into it.

25 MT: What did each of you major in?

TC: Humanistic studies. [It was] the first year that they brought that on; I don’t know if you guys still have that or not.

EG: I double majored in humanistic studies and history. Because I tried to do a minor in philosophy, and I realized I couldn’t do it. [As in], I just wasn’t smart enough. I wished I was; I so badly wanted to be able to do it, but I just am not that smart. So I figured I could turn it into a humanistics [major] with three strategic courses taken in my final year, and it worked.

MT: Can you explain humanistic studies a little bit to me?

TC: The more general way of explaining it is that it was a major developed for students who couldn’t decide on a total focus.

So it allowed us to kind of combine our different interests by taking classes in different areas.

EG: Yeah, it allowed for the most disciplines to be combined.

TC: It was basically a general major.

MT: Any classes you found particularly memorable?

EG: Arts computing. That was the course that I remember no one ever went to, but everyone got an A in. If that still exists, you should take it; it’s ridiculously easy. I took Greek Mythology once [too], that was incredible.

TC: I loved World of Chem, do you guys still have World of Chem? I did World of Chem: Technology and World of Chem: Food and I thought they were both phenomenal. I came away feeling like I had learned so much from [those courses].

MT: What’s your favourite memory of your time at McGill?

EG: I think my first day, to be honest. The last day I was spending with my parents at McGill [after moving into residence] was actu-

ally the best day I ever had there.

Just because I was having a great day with my parents, who were treating me like more of an adult than they ever had. And then they just [expletive] left. It blew my mind; it was like the greatest moment I’ve ever had. For the first time ever, I was like “There’s no rules.”

TC: I would say also first year; probably Frosh week. First of all, meeting tons of people, and being a part of something when you’re 17 or 18 years old that you usually don’t get to experience until you’re a little bit older [is] amazing. But also the fact that you only get such a short period of time where it’s warm in Montreal, so getting to walk through campus in the warm weather and in between classes going to Open Air Pub. I just loved to get to really explore the campus in nice weather.

EG: I spent one summer [in Montreal] actually, that was pretty awesome.

TC: Oh, I did too! I loved that. I did two courses during the summer.

EG: It was a slutty time in my life, but a good time.

TC: Mine, not as slutty.

MT: What can you do here during the summer that you can’t during the school year?

EG: Terraces. Infinite terraces everywhere.

TC: Jeanne-Mance Park probably.

EG: Yeah. You get a little bit of that during the school year, but you just get in non-stop all summer long.

TC: And also, you do different things, because there’s not the regular people there. Some of your friends stay, but [not all of them].

EG: You form like a bizarro posse.

MT: Any advice for the McGill class of 2013?

EG: Leave with a plan. It doesn’t have to be a good plan, just have a plan.

TC: Try to get in some travelling before you hunker down to a job.

EG: And win the lottery, if you can.

Gravy Train Poutinerie. (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)

Bofinger Pub & BBQ

Authentic Smokehouse BBQ 1250 , University (downtown only)

Étudiants Students

15

%

OFF

Sur tous les aliments et les boissons…sauf les promos On all food & drink……..except specials

( juste montrer une carte d'étudiant valide ) ( just show a valid student id )

F

26

on campus

International Food Festival offers a taste of diversity Borderless World Volunteers hosts festival for second year running; keeps its menu fresh Alycia Noë Contributor Last Friday, the Borderless World Volunteers’ International Food Festival was held in the SSMU ballroom. The Festival, which aimed at sharing global culinary delights and cultural experiences, was another reminder of McGill’s exciting diversity. All proceeds from the event went towards student-planned international development projects, such as the construction of schools and raising AIDS/HIV awareness in the developing world.

Now in its second year, the 300 person event sold out on Friday, with eager students being turned away due to capacity restrictions. The ballroom was vibrantly decorated and electrifying, as numerous local restaurants served up traditional cuisine and participating student groups, like the African Student’s Society, performed at the event throughout the night.

The International Food Festival did not go off without a few hitches however. Doors opened 45 minutes late, and the food did not arrive until after guests were being let into the ballroom. My advice to McGill foodies for next year’s festival would be not to worry about arriving late if you’ve purchased your ticket beforehand.

Borderless World Volunteers did, however, ensure that warm food, cold refreshments, and welcoming ambience were not in short supply.

I was pleased with local restaurants’ irresistible offerings. There were tons of options to satisfy both the adventurous and more cautious eaters in attendence. Simplement D Liche and Scrumptious Delights both

served up the classic cupcakes, ous night slaving in the kitchen while other enticing selections in- to prepare hundreds of pieces of cluded sushi, Italian pasta, Middle this traditional Ukrainian comfort Eastern couscous served with veg- food.

The food was obviously the etables, and Indian butter chicken highlight of the Festival, but there with naan.

I was drawn towards the un- were also assorted performances familiar, and tried as many new demonstrating traditional endishes as possible. Thanjai Res- tertainment of African countries taurant distributed a traditional [represented by the African StuSouth Indian breakfast known as dents’ Society], India, Ukraine, Idli. This savory pancake-like treat Lebanon, and China which also consisting of black lentils and rice enhanced the lively atmosphere was served with chutney. The fla- of the night. One of the most vour of the cake itself was plain, enchanting performances introbut the chutney gave it the kick it duced me to a Chinese instrument needed to make the dish delight- called the Guzheng—a plucked ful. This restaurant definitely pro- string instrument that offers a vided the most enticing aromas of soothing sound. The African Stuthe night, and served impeccably dent Society’s dance performance A vegetarian option.

(Elizabeth Flannery / McGill Tribune) was also quite impressive. The spiced vegetable rolls.

Cuisine de Manille, a Fili- dancers were talented, well-chopino restaurant, was aIso in at- reographed, and enthralling to ing way to spend a Friday night, allowing affordable new culinary tendance. I was truly excited to watch.

Overall, the McGill Interna- experiences to truly expand my see this, because Filipino cooking is often difficult to find, and tional Food Festival was an excit- global knowledge. unfamiliar to many. The restaurant served PanCANADA’S LARGEST INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY AND STUDENT TRAVEL EXPO cit—an old-fashioned Asian noodle dish that has evolved to become Saturday uniquely Filipino. This fried entrée is composed 1 pm - 5 pm Montreal Convention Centre of rice noodles coated in a shrimp sauce, and topped with eggs, seaweed, and sautéed vegetables.

I appreciated the information on the different cultures and their dishes, made available by the student societies at to here non-food-serving tables Scan nline o r e egist around the ballroom. pre-r nter our s and e Draw My favourite dish of the Prize d n a r G night—a plate of fresh perogies—was made by the Ukrainian Student Society. The meal was homemade, and students spent over six hours the previ-

MARCH 2

n ing o rt no sta 12 at

www.studyandgoabroad.com

The

of a

story behind the story

From the mind to the page

By Elisa Muyl Photos

by Simon Poitrimolt

monday: The pitch & the list

Start

ys, or it in da allo d u o 27 ber of ybe y ar? Ma l, in the num gins. The e y a e il r e G u b c s tion mea at M o you udent er vaca How d very other st day of summ gethlike e em. e first ome to maybe, left before th 832,000 of th Gill Tribune c tarted off c s; s ts nighter oes it in word ditors of the M e paper tha t over 20 m d e a ta Tribune week, the 20 er. The very s w rounds ou rate intero p h c n a a p is e E e d pa ews t lif out a n de to studen that reflect th t u p o a er t ge o ions to tell ht sect ight-pa gether al, and o t as an e eek, with eig ent body. e m w d rts co ue go pages a is school’s stu different pa n idea, a vag at reflect a h e h s t h e f s it h ft sw orie t ch ests o o all o e begin mosaic of st to paper, ea c ie p How d h c e t a sh p E e t e u ? f c T y nt stor comes part o ity. From con em up every cohere e h n t b u k r m late com u pic a week f the McGill nds before yo o a h e f y the li h man throug passes ing. rn day mo

Monday: the pitch The pitch is the most important part of the publishing process.

How a story is planned dictates the article’s tone and direction. If it’s well-conceptualized, the logistics of writing, interviewing, and editing all fall into place. If the story’s intended contribution is unclear, the end result will sometimes be unpublishable. My first piece for the Tribune, a reflection on a speech by Angela Davis given in September 2009, suffered from this affliction.

Unsure of what to emphasize, I provided a play-by-play of the night’s logistics, coloured by my own conceptual musings on the event.

Oddly enough, this was not deemed worthy of publication.

It can be hard to come up with (roughly) 36 stories every week.

Sometimes, they’re determined by routine—for example, every second Thursday, the News team covers the events of the SSMU Legislative Council and reports on what Councillors have been doing. Pitches also come in response to out of the ordinary events, like a special sports event, a renowned guest speaker on campus, an outstanding McGill production—or a flood on Rue McTavish.

The List Once a story has been pitched, planned, and discussed, it makes its way into the week’s story list. Contributors come to weekly meetings in Shatner 110 to pick up a story that captures their attention, or to pitch their own. After negotiating deadlines, sources to interview, and events to attend, each story idea finds a writer, and each writer finds a mission for the week.

The Process Contributors leave Room 110 with a story burning in their back pocket, or stuffed in their backpack with other worries and assignments. At home, waiting for them, is a followup email from the editors that shares an in-depth vision for the piece: who the contributor should talk to, and what reporters should keep in mind when writing. At the end of this email is always a friendly reminder that the story is due Friday at midnight.

Juggling this deadline with schoolwork and procrastination, the writer shoots off some emails to potential sources, hoping for a quick reply, or—hopefully—schedules in enough time to attend, cover, and reflect on an event. Once interviews are set up and a plan is made, the story sits quietly on top of the contributor’s agenda, waiting patiently among the rest of the week’s stresses.

the week 28 The Research Before writing, contributors do some background research on the topic or event, ideally steering clear of Wikipedia. Each writer outlines each of the key issues, identifying who’s involved, as well as the different sides to the story. If it’s a sports event, writers must look back over the team’s season and identify the issues that plague the squad. If it’s a speaker on campus, they must reflect on how this event will contribute to discussion at McGill.

With a close deadline looming, the writers work hastily to find the answers that piece all of these questions together. All the while, they hold the reader at the back of their minds: what will students get out of this story?

“The best sports stories ar en’t those written about what happens on the field, but the storie s that show the tenacity, the str uggle, and the inspiration of the athletes themselves” —sports editor

Putting the Pieces Together Integral to this contextual process are the interviews, where contributors learn firsthand about the issues from direct sources. This is the most interesting part of writing for the Tribune. It is also the most important, as it offers the opportunity to explore subjects that they would not have the chance to know about otherwise. The questions asked determine how the interviewee responds, which in turn dictates how the story is written.

Notepad in hand, writers jot down the quotes they find the most interesting or powerful and record the conversation to later on tease out all of the different elements in the story. Often, it turns out that the story is not what’s immediately evident, but is rather what’s not being said.

“Editors are the embodime nt of work behind the scenes . They are not very apparent, but the reason why I like this job so much is because I know I am contri buting to the perfection of the newspa per in its completeness.” —copy ed itor

The Writing Once the interviews have been collected and the framework has been sketched, the contributor works diligently to juxtapose a broad collage of information in order to present a story, making difficult choices along the way. Information can be contradictory. Interviewees’ quotes may be vague and hard to decipher. The final verdict to an event can be difficult to determine.

Sentences must be crafted with the utmost attention to the smallest detail. And length constraints are hard to reconcile with the amount of information that a particular issue merits. Among the unavoidable confusion that defines the writing process, the author’s underlying vision must shine through, shedding light on what needs to be said. After hours of hard work, some intensive writing, and quite a few cups of coffee, a story finally surfaces.

“Week in and week out, we portray the life of the Mc Gill community as best we can throughout both, its eventf ul and uneventful weeks.”

—photo editors

the weekend The Weekend: section edits Over the weekend, the piece goes through the section and managing editors. Each editor evaluates it from the reader’s perspective: what information is missing? What demands further explanation? The section editors exchange versions of the story’s draft, leaving each other notes in the margins. Once satisfied, stories are sent to a section’s managing editors for further review, and by Sunday night, the story is sent into the Tribune’s design editors, who create a clear and visually appealing layout for the story.

20-24 pages per issue 25 issues per year Aa

1,200-1,600 words per story 3 stories per page 600,000-800,000 words overall

Trib stats

mondayn Productio day

Monday: Production Every Monday, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., we work to make that week’s issue our best issue yet.

Monday morning, a story is printed and read a total of six times: four times by other section editors for clarity, grammar, and general feedback; once by the copy editor, for grammar, punctuation, and style; and once by the Editor-in-Chief for final approval.

Alongside this editing process, the design editors collaborate with our photo editors to create the layout of each section, skillfully arranging up to 24 pages of colour, text, headlines, images, photo-spreads, infographics, text boxes, and advertisements. Stories are then designed, laid out, exported to PDF format, and sent to the publishing company. There, each issue is printed, cut, and folded overnight. And the following morning, the outcome of a week’s worth of hard work is distributed on campus by the Tribune’s publisher.

“People often say ‘you had to be there’ our job is to make you feel like you were” —arts and entertainment editors

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Friday: Post mortem After Monday’s intensive work, the Tribune wastes no time. By the time the week’s issue hits the stands on Tuesday, the planning of a new issue is already underway. The editorial board meets every Friday to digest the week’s work. If mistakes have slipped through the cracks of the editing 30 process, they are generally dissected here.

Each section says one thing they’re proud of, one thing they’d like to change, and then presents the next week’s story list, defending the story’s content, timeliness, and relevance to students. A significant part of the meeting revolves around the next editorial.

Through hours of debate and consideration of every possible angle, a consensus is made on the content of this opinion piece. By this point, stories have already been assigned to contributors, and the wheels are set in motion. The process begins anew, and another 30,000 words are jotted down in preparation for the following Monday.

“The managing editor should be a jack-of-all trades, mo ving seamlessly between secti ons.

They need to keep the de tails in mind while never losing sig ht of the big picture” —managing editor.

Publish

A&E | 31

: s e n e c s ehind the

B

Theatre

Photos by Alexandra Allaire

A fatal thrust of the sword while your heart somersaults; the delightful ease with which a smile is teased from your lips. For many, such moments of passion and emotion epitomize the experience of live theatre. The sight of a performer, excelling in her craft before your very eyes, conveys excitement in a way that few other art forms can.

But the show itself is the culmination of months of preparation.

What is seen on stage rests on a foundation of sweat and tears, of mental and physical dedication and devotion. Behind every standing ovation is a tireless technician, a dogged director, and countless others who have poured heart and soul into providing you with a uniquely enjoyable experience.

For this special issue of the Tribune, A&E takes you behind the scenes of student theatre at McGill, celebrating the work of our friends and peers, the challenges they face, and the indelible joy that binds it all together.

A long and arduous path Come September, most students return to classes with wild stories, fond memories, and a reluctance to start classes. A few, like Martin Law, return with all that plus one other thing: an artistic vision.

Law is the director of Players’ Theatre’s current production of Macbeth, a position for which

he was selected last spring. The McGill Savoy Society, which just wrapped up their production of Iolanthe, similarly hired their director Emma McQueen last May. The directors spent the summer in research and reverie, and by the time auditions began in late September/early October, both had a game plan to set in motion.

Iolanthe began rehearsals Oct. 1, meeting 10 hours per week. Macbeth started a little later, rehearsing “three to four hours ... a night, five to seven nights a week,” says Stage Manager Celia Fogel. Time spent also varies across roles; Sophie Krahnke, who plays Celia in Iolanthe in addition to serving as President of the Savoy Society, says she spent up to 20 hours a week working on the show outside of rehearsals.

Spending this much time together facilitates one of the biggest rewards of the rehearsal experience: a fostering of camaraderie among cast and crew, a sentiment which seems to be universally shared. Asked about her favourite memory from rehearsals, Isabelle Liu, who played Fleta in Iolanthe and serves as Publica-

Chris Liu A&E Editor

tions Director, replies, “starving together.”

“Most of the time, we don’t have time to go out and get lunch [during Saturday rehearsals], so we all end up starving with each other,” says Liu. “Rather than biting each others’ heads off, we just make fun of how hungry we are. it’s during that time that I realize that we’re all in the same boat; we’re all in this together.”

The frenzy of preparation reaches its apex the week before performances begin, when technical elements are all finally incorporated into rehearsals.

Lights are hung, sound cues are programmed, and emotions run high, as the fruits of the labours of the cast and crew are in sight.

This is tech week—or ‘Hell Week,’ as the Iolanthe cast affectionately termed it.

“I considered arriving at 3 p.m. and leaving at 10 p.m. to be a ‘short’ day at Moyse Hall,” says Iolanthe Stage Manager Marissa Lewis.

An array of challenges On top of the demands of

32 perfecting a theatrical production, students face a battery of institutional and physical barriers to a successful show.

One concern shared by the two productions was the rehearsal space itself. Macbeth rehearsed primarily in the English Lounge, and Iolanthe in the SSMU Clubs Lounge. Both shows were forced to secure alternative rehearsal spaces at one point or another, sometimes with little advance warning.

“It’s crazy, because we do three to four months of rehearsal[s] ... in a classroom, or a hallway, really wherever we can get space,” says Fogel.

“As a director you usually go a little more insane than everyone else in the cast,” says Law, pointing to his attempts to push rehearsal hours to capitalize on free space.

To this, Fogel replies, “I definitely would say that’s one area in which I try to put my foot down.

‘Martin, we are not rehearsing from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. just because SSMU is open and has free space.’”

For Fogel, the difficulty in finding rehearsal space is only one symptom of an environment in which professors and administrators are largely unsympathetic to the concerns of student actors and technicians. She points to the limited opportunities to study technical theatre at McGill, or to gain academic credit for experience gained in out-of-school productions.

“I think I understand where the university is coming from,” she says. “McGill isn’t known for its arts. It’s a research school known for its med program.... But it’s also a big, important, world renowned school. It should embrace this status and offer more opportunities for programs like theatre that are only growing in popularity every year.”

Fogel is also careful to point out that many professors, particularly those in the drama department, do “understand the difficulty of balancing an extracurricular passion like theatre with the demand[s] of school.”

Still, this balance act entails walking a precarious tightrope.

Law admits that “schoolwork suffers for sure,” but adds that “It’s worth it.”

Opening night An hour before the show opens, backstage buzzes with the hum of a well-calibrated machine.

Actors are conducting warm-ups, exercising their limbs and voices, in addition to getting into character and changing into costumes.

Technicians are preoccupied with setting the multitude of props, and doing one last check on lights and sound. Macbeth also rehearses their fight choreography prior to every performance, to ensure the preparation and safety of their actors. Law takes this opportunity to give last minute directorial notes—what to change from the last production, what to focus on this time—while McQueen is busy assisting with hair and makeup.

This well-orderedness disguises a hearty dose of nerves.

“I spend most of my time running around backstage making sure everyone ... is ready to go,” says Lewis, who describes her state of mind as “rather stressed.”

Liu, who describes herself as being “super nervous” prior to the show’s start, agrees. “Some people can’t stop talking because they’ve got the pre-show jitters; others just keep quiet.” “[I’m] always trying to find a balance between being pumped up and at the same time relaxed,” says Margaret Frainier, who plays Iolanthe. “What I like to do with the girls in my dressing room is put on some dance-y music and jam out.”

Not everyone is fazed, however.

“I don’t get that pre-show butterfly thing,” admits Fogel.

“From the minute I set foot in the theatre, I’m concentrated on what I have to do.”

Soon the doors fly open, and the audience shuffles in, buzzing with anticipation of seeing their friends perform, or whispering eagerly about rumoured surprises in store.

And then, the show begins.

Behind the performance The magic seen on stage is powered behind the scenes by actors and technicians who, though not visible to the audience, are wholly dedicated to ensuring the smooth running of the production.

Performers who are not on stage are often needed to assist with scene changes, or help other actors who have a quick change of costume.

“Sometimes you’re reflecting on the scenes that have gone by,” says Law. “But most of the time you’re just focusing on what [you] still have left to do.”

“The actors are pretty much concentrated and in character— there’s not too much joking going on backstage,” says Fogel. “You can tell everyone’s having a good time, but they take it very seriously.”

Much of this is due to necessity. Despite the enormity of talent on stage, Players’ backstage is a constrained space, and the narrow confines only increases the demand on actors to be efficient, focused, and of course, silent during performances. Moyse Hall, though no leviathan itself as a space for musical theatre, at least provides Savoy the luxury of a green room with a TV, so that backstage cast and crew can follow along with the onstage action. This also facilitates a more relaxed atmosphere.

“We goof off and have so

much fun backstage,” says Liu. “When we come off stage, everybody just gives each other a pat on the back and a ‘It looked really good!’ It’s a really nice feeling.”

In the lighting booth and while relaying cues through her headset, Lewis sometimes has to deal with “panic-filled problems,” such as the occasional tipping over of a set piece. But even the stage manager and technicians find opportunity to hit a more relaxed tone during performances: “We occasionally question plot holes—isn’t Phyllis still mortal?—and converse about parts of the show when technical work isn’t required,” she says.

McGill theatre: Theatre for McGill The performance itself is merely the tip of an iceberg, one that stretches deep, through months of intense preparation and work. Yet, for the people behind the spectacular productions that grace McGill’s stages every year, theatre is not only a personal creative outlet, but a way to give back to the community, and a school that lacks a fine arts program of its own.

“We as an executive really take it to heart that we are a student service,” says Fiona Penny, Players’ Theatre’s Executive Director. “What underlies every decision we make ... is, at the end of the day ... are we choosing people that will provide the most accessible show and provide experiences for other McGill students?”

She adds: “Most people [who] get involved in theatre don’t study theatre.... I think that, because it’s not school, that’s why people get so passionate about it.

It’s wonderful to have something outside of school that you can care so much about.”

The Tribune’s guide to

A&E | 33

Nuit Blanche 2013

By Carolina Millán Ronchetti

Montreal’s winters may be frigid, but the bleak weather doesn’t stop it from being one of North America’s most vibrant cities. The buzz of winter is most evident on Nuit Blanche, a night where the city explodes with light and activity.

As part of the Montreal en Lumière festival, artists, musicians, and everyday Montrealers will team up with the city of Montreal to present its tenth annual Nuit Blanche on Mar. 2. This evening, in which all sorts of venues open their doors for the entirety of the night, is conveniently taking place on the first Saturday of reading week—an excellent opportunity to venture outside of the McGill bubble and experience Montreal’s diverse culture.

If you’re planning on spending the night wandering around the city, remember that the Metro is open all night long, but it’s not free. Your best bet is to purchase an Unlimited Evening pass for $4, which works from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. on both metro and shuttle buses.

This Nuit Blanche, the Tribune offers its recommendations for free events all over the city.

biodome penguins

Attention animal lovers!

On Nuit Blanche, the Biodôme takes some of its penguins from the facility and outdoors to play in the real Montreal snow and interact with visitors. Experts will be in the area to answer any questions about these birds from the South pole.

Free. 5 to 11 p.m.

Olympic park 4777 Pierre-de Coubertin Ave.

rio tinto alcan planetarium

If it’s a clear night, stop by the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, part of the Espace pour la vie complex. The planetarium, which will be inaugurated on April 6, will set up telescopes for visitors to stargaze and learn about astronomy.

Free. 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium 4801 Pierre-de Coubertin Ave.

coupe bizzarre

montreal museum of Fine arts

To complement its current exhibit Peru: Kingdom of the place des festivals Moon and Sun, the Montreal The flagship venue of the Museum of Fine Arts is hosting festival, Place des Festivals will a variety of activities, from a feature a huge urban slide, a showcase of traditional Peruvian ferris wheel, a 360° cinema, and dances, to a multimedia presenmore. Although this is one of the tation on Peru’s rich archeology night’s most popular destinations, and folk culture; to the delight with long lines and crowded of visual artists, there will also spaces, the area will be worth be a live-drawing workshop. But checking out at 9 p.m., when the highlight of the evening may fireworks officially kick off the be a free chocolate tasting by night. the Cacao Berry Lounge and live Free. 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. chocolate body painting (presumCorner of Jeanne-Mance ably, not at the same time). and Ste-Catherine.

Activities are free, and entry to the special exhibit is half price for the night. 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

1380 Sherbrooke West.

ballets jazz de montreal

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the Ballets Jazz de Montreal (BJM) is offering free dance classes all night long. In the same building, the BJM will be showing a documentary and a multimedia exhibit of its history, as well as holding a dance rally.

Free. Reservation required if you intend to take a dance lesson. 8.30 p.m. to 3.30 a.m.

Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal—Édifice GastonMiron 1210 Sherbrooke East.

For the more daring night owls, this Nuit Blanche the salon Coupe Bizzarre will be giving out free haircuts to those who stop by. The catch? You don’t get to choose the haircut. Trim at your own risk.

Free. 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

3770 Saint-Laurent Blvd

atelier circulaire

The printmaking experts at Atelier Circulaire are hosting a “scratching” session in which visitors will learn techniques of dry print etching on vinyl records while enjoying music by live DJs. Participants will be able to take their art home.

Free. 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

5445 De Gaspé Ave.

34

Wednesday, February 27, 2013 |

arts & entertainment

| Curiosity delivers.

Film

Snitch peddles emotion rather than explosion Newest Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson movie is surprisingly tame, aims for the heart Jack Tokarz Contributor The synopsis of Snitch seems to confirm the modern critique that Hollywood has run out of plausible ideas, and simply makes any excuse for action to occur.

This sentiment, however, is doubly incorrect for the newest Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson action-drama.

The story follows an ordinary citizen named John (Dwayne Johnson), who goes undercover in an attempt to arrest a major

drug dealer, so that the District Attorney will let his wrongfully imprisoned son out of jail. The plot sounds rather fantastical until viewers learn that it is based on a true story, and discover that this action-drama is surprisingly more dramatic than pulse-pounding.

Seeing Johnson as the lead character inspires the idea that this film will either be a testosterone-fest (Fast Five) or a family comedy (Tooth Fairy), but he instead brings out a more emotional side, emphasizing the pain of a parent worried about his son.

Jon Bernthal plays Daniel— an ex-con trying to set his life straight, who works with John on one last illegal deal in order to secure his family’s finances. Although both characters are meant to be average guys in a bad situation—men who just want to protect their families—their massive necks and biceps present a different story. I really tried, but I could not take Johnson seriously as a dramatic actor. Whenever he talks about his innocent son and tries to emote his anguish, I could not stop thinking about how many

protein shakes he must ingest per day.

Although he, too, is larger and stronger than the average gorilla, Berthal portrays the anxiety brought on by financial stress with his wife (Lela Loren) more effectively. The couple cycles through anger, sadness, and love at all the right moments in their arguments, and convinces the audience of the struggles straining their relationship. Malik (Michael Kenneth Williams), the drug dealer that John and Daniel first work with, also completely embodies his character. He emanates power and respect, manipulating Johnson (who could potentially crush his head like an overweight man sitting on an old kiwi) with only a sentence and a glare. Unfortunately, the performance of the higher ranked kingpin (Benjamin Bratt) fails to hold as much gravitas.

Part of the problem with Snitch is that the film seems constantly confused about its identity; it plays like an action flick while containing the plot and dialogue of a drama.

There are only a handful of real action sequences thrown in, but every scene contains an exhilarating score and shaky hand-held shots—implying movement when the scene merely consists of men conversing. The action scenes themselves are forced and unrealistic, but entertaining. At the onset of the film, John has never held a gun— a week later, he shoots and kills four people while driving.

The audience is meant to believe that John is endur-

Curiosity delivers. |

arts & entertainment

| Wednesday, February 27, 2013

35

Theatre

Something wicked this way comes Inventive yet faithful, Macbeth mixes stabbing humanity with Machiavellian politics

Players’ Theatre’s production of Macbeth, directed by Martin Law, transports Shakespeare’s classic tragedy to the end of WWI in the form of a humanized epic.

The play features a strong cast, with Matthew Rian Steen and Annie MacKay at the helm as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

Setting the play in a more modern time period makes this production of Macbeth feel more familiar. At its core, it is a tale of political megalomania and the limits of human nature. Watching the extent to which Macbeth will go to secure and maintain his kingly title is both fascinating and horrifying, and not so far from our modern reality.

Steen and MacKay deftly portray their characters’ rise as a lustful, power-hungry couple, as well as their descent into madness. In particular, MacKay breathes menacing life into Lady Macbeth from her very first moments onstage; she is compelling and versatile, revealing the crippling humanity behind such an inhumane character.

Emily Murphy’s Banquo is also worth noting, and her portrayal of his ghost is appropriately creepy and captivating in equal measures. Makeup artist Katey

Wattam aids this ghostly transformation with ample blood and white face paint.

Costume designers Jillian Caldwell and Claire Stewart deck the cast of all different shapes and sizes in perfect period costumes—a personal favourite is Lady MacDuff’s white gown, which contrasted nicely with Lady Macbeth’s black number.

Without the distraction of elaborately Elizabethan costumes, the play manifests on a much more intimate plane. As a result, it’s easier to digest the genuine emotions laid bare by the cast.

One of the most honest emotional performances in the play is Alex Rivers’ portrayal of MacDuff and his grief upon learning of murder of his wife and children.

Rivers delivers a stripped down, nuanced performance of mourning, then seamlessly transitions into swearing angry revenge on Macbeth.

The use of lighting in this production is also inspired, especially in the scenes featuring the three witches (played brilliantly

by Olivia Blocker, Arielle Phaedra Nowak, and Ayla Lefkowitz). It illuminates the importance of these mystical interludes, out of place with the political themes of the play, for the casual viewer.

Similarly, the banquet scene featuring Banquo’s ghost is en-

hanced by the use of isolation lighting, which makes the audience aware of exactly who can, and who cannot, see the ghost, adding to the ominous quality of Murphy’s performance.

One of the few flaws of the production comes from the use of sound effects, which at times ended rather abruptly and oddly, instead of fading out subtly.

Overall, this production is well worth your time; it keeps moving at an even pace from beginning to end, with help from a

ing this hardship to save his son; in reality, he doesn’t even know the boy particularly well. John divorced the mother years earlier, and he now has a new family. He completely ignores this new family, however, isolating his daughter like he did his son, despite beginning the film by swearing never to

make that mistake again.

An unexpected political message came in the last shot: the statement that a first-time offender of non-aggressive drug possession in the U.S. may serve more time than someone convicted of rape or manslaughter. This fact inspires a more political angle from

which to consider both the film’s events and tone.

Despite questionable motives and wobbly shots, Snitch contains a few scenes with real emotional impact, and a strong sense of suspense throughout.

Due to its action veneer and dramatic content, the film could be

Diana Wright Contributor

Matthew Rian Steen as Macbeth. (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune) revolving set piece that allows for quick scene changes. There are no extended pauses for the audience to catch their breath, heightening the tension and driving the action of the production. Macbeth’s century-old intrigue rarely seemed more fresh and relevant.

Players’ production of Macbeth runs from Feb. 27 to Mar. 2, 8 p.m. at Players’ Theatre (3rd floor SSMU). Student tickets $6.

a bridge for a younger audience learning to appreciate movies— not just for pure entertainment, but for their emotional message.

Snitch is playing at Cinema Banque Scotia (977 Ste-Catherine West).

Interview

Jonathan Emile on McGill, cancer, and Kendrick Lamar Max Berger Contributor Jonathan Emile is only 27, yet he’s already overcome one of the toughest challenges anyone can ever face.

The 27 year-old JamaicanCanadian musician, Montreal native, and McGill student-on-hiatus fought a lengthy battle with cancer after being diagnosed at the age of 18. Today, he’s an artist on the rise with his own record label, and a soon to be released collaboration with rapper Kendrick Lamar.

“I only started taking [music] seriously when I went through my illness,” Emile tells the Tribune.

“That’s when I really found a love for it and decided, ‘Hey, if I make it through, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’”

Emile defeated the cancer and followed through on that life-changing decision. During the recovery period, he began to lay the foundation for Mindpeacelove Enterprises, a label that would aim to become a creative hub for so-called “conscious” artists.

“It’s a label in the most basic sense of the word,” says Emile.

“We just produce records with a certain sound, a certain aesthetic.

It’s a sonic aesthetic, but also thematic. Our records are all positive records; they’re all conscious hip-hop, R&B, rock, reggae. It’s all conscious social music. It’s like neo-soul.”

In 2009, Emile’s debut album, The Lover Fighter Document, was the label’s first release.

In 2011, the EP was long-listed for a Grammy nomination.

Even on the heels of such a successful first effort, Emile has been focused on more than just his career. He backs up the message of his music with social action in the Montreal community.

Emile is greatly involved with the

Montreal-based organization Overture With the Arts, a group dedicated to bringing performance arts education to youth.

Overture is also responsible for the Songs of Freedom Tour for Black History Month, which brought Emile to McGill on February 20th. In the SSMU ballroom, he delivered an inspiring hourlong presentation that educated and excited the hundred or so high school kids that were invited to attend.

As he explained to the students, the thesis is simple: “Music is a tool for communication and social justice.” Then, he took them on a chronological musical journey that jumped around from early tribal music to legendary anthems of change “Redemption Song” and “A Change is Gonna Come,” and eventually freestyles and written raps that he authored himself.

A few years ago, Emile was working on his music while studying Philosophy and Political Science at McGill, but realized that he couldn’t juggle both at the same time if he was going to make a serious run at the music industry, so he took an “extended sabbatical.” He speaks fondly about his passion for both disciplines (eagerly recommending Professor Buckley’s class in Phenomenology), and plans on eventually finishing his degree, then either exploring more academic opportunities or working in education.

The way things are going, it could be a while before he finds himself on campus again. Emile is working hard to try and get his second album released sometime in the fall, and when Kendrick Lamar isn’t busy living the high life and hosting Saturday Night Live, the two are planning to get together to shoot a music video for their collaboration, “Heaven Help

A

Dem.” Emile is excited to meet the celebrated rapper in person, but his most anticipated event will come in the spring when he will get married, and travel to France and Spain for his honeymoon. It’s a big step for Emile—but then, he’s taken quite a few of those since con-

quering cancer and committing himself to pursuing his musical dreams.

Check out Jonathan Emile on the last stop of his tour on Feb. 28, 5:30 p.m., Riverdale High School (5060 Sources Boulevard). Free admission.

Biffy Clyro Opposites

Josh Groban All that Echoes

14th Floor

Reprise

Album

reviews

Walk The Moon Tightrope RCA

Following the release of their self-titled breakout album, pop outlet Walk The Moon (WTM) garnered quite the fan following, and toured around the U.S. festival circuit this past summer. After attracting festival-goers with their playful, sing-along inducing indie-pop, WTM briefly returned to the drawing board to throw together a follow-up EP, titled Tightrope.

The album picks up exactly where Walk the Moon left off, with six spring-ready tunes. On the title track, lead singer Nicholas Petricca belts, “Walk your tightrope, walk your little tightrope, this heart is burning up” to a symphony of cutesy percussion and smooth guitar riffs. “Drunk in the Woods,” reminiscent of Cold War Kids, sounds like a beckoning anthem for the carefree atmosphere of summertime, and “Tightrope (acoustic)” is a colourful simplification of the upbeat title track. Walk the Moon’s lyrics are not ridden with social commentary nor any complexity. Instead, the band sings about fleeting romance, putting your feelings on the “tightrope,” and winning back ex-girlfriends: songs for beach parties and pre-drinks.

Tightrope is cheeky, easily consumable, contagious pop music. While this EP does not mark deep progress or evolution from their previous release, one can tell that the band had way too much fun last summer, and are just simply trying to re-live the experience by doing what they do best: producing another youth-celebrating indie-pop record.

— Emily Jacobi

Josh Groban has a new album ready to go, and it’s going to hit listeners like the opposite of a freight train. That’s not because All that Echoes is weak, nor because Groban’s voice is weak. Quite the contrary—his is the most majestically gentle voice in music today. Straddling the line between pop rock and classical singing is Josh Groban, weighing in at one hundred and thirty pounds.

Groban is the little engine that could. He’s been singing all his life, pursuing the performing arts, working hard, and leaving university for months in order to pursue his musical career. His breakout moment was well-documented, when he filled in for legendary tenor Andrea Bocelli to perform a duet with Céline Dion.

Since then, Groban’s been a fixture in the powerful male vocal register circuit.

Groban’s legendary voice is both tenor and baritone, but because there is no authoritative standard voice classification system for non-classical music, it’s probably just best to describe it as ‘impressive.’ All That Echoes is Groban’s sixth effort as a pop-classical artist. It features Groban’s skill as a multilingual singer, performing in Spanish with legendary trumpeter Arturo Sandoval on “Un Alma Más,” and in Italian on a duet “E Ti Prometterò”) with the famed Italian singer Laura Pausini. “Un Alma Más” is one of the strongest tracks of the album, and the fact that Groban is not a native Spanish speaker does not hold him back.

Fans of his, and of contemporary classical music, will love All That Echoes.

— Vincent Simboli

With the charts dominated by catchy pop stars, and the occasional indie group who has broken through to the mainstream, it is refreshing to listen to actual rock ‘n’ roll. Biffy Clyro, a Scottish band currently touring with Muse made it big in 2007 with the release of their album Puzzle, which went platinum in the UK. In 2009, their album Only Revolutions followed the same path. With six music awards and 15 nominations under their belt, Biffy Clyro released their sixth studio album early last month.

Boasting 20 tracks, Opposites, the band’s first #1 album, is an ambitious undertaking.

Simon Neil, lead vocalist and guitarist, elaborated on the album’s concept of duality in an interview with BBC Radio One. “Each album is the exact opposite vibe to the other lyrically,” says Neil. “One’s about putting things in the worst possible way and thinking you’re getting yourself into a hole.

The other looks at things more positively.”

Biffy Clyro is distinctively rock, characterized by a solid bass-line, deep melodies, and a vocal-centric full tenor. “Different People” (with wistful, heartfelt vocals), “Biblical” (exemplary of the band’s powerful sound), and “Spanish Radio” (with a playful Spanish guitar rhythm) are particularly good examples of the group’s musicianship. The two discs do have opposing vibes, and every song is well put together and interesting, although few are truly amazing stand-outs—while it is split over two discs, this arrangement may be excessive. A more compact, though still dual album would have left more of impression, and been more poignant, while still retaining the concept. Nevertheless, their position on the UK’s top 100 speaks for itself.

— Joanna Schacter

Behind the scenes Martlets Rising:

Revealing the keys to success From game tape to practice to the court, the Martlets remain focused together Remi Lu Contributor

“What should we do better?

What else can we do better?”

It’s 5:30 p.m., and the Martlet basketball team is sitting in front of a television; they’re not catching the latest Breaking Bad episode, nor are they relaxing on a couch chatting with teammates.

Instead, what separates this group from their common undergraduate peers is the person standing in front of them, Martlet Head Coach Ryan Thorne, gesturing at the screen where all attention is focused.

The women have notebooks out. Pens scribble, pages turn, heads shift from their coach to the paper in front of them. For the players, this is a standard video review session the day before a game. The team is watching footage of themselves playing against Laval earlier in the year, and Coach Thorne is grilling them about their efforts on screen.

“What can we do better?”

Coach Thorne asks again.

The players respond, immediately pinpointing the issues Coach Thorne wants addressed: they need to improve their awareness on the court, their communication, and tighten their pick-and-roll defence. The team’s knowledge of the game is obvious; Coach Thorne leaning back and nodding as each player contributes to the discussion.

Laughter dots the hour-long session. As I will discover in my two days with the team, levity and

Coach Thorne addresses his team before big game against Laval. (Remi Lu / McGill Tribune) seriousness balance each other out in the Martlet locker room.

However, there is one key aspect that’s never absent: focus.

The Martlets leave the video room a short while later, jogging across the corridor to Love Competition Hall where they hold their practices. They are clearly eager to get a basketball in their hands after staring at a screen for an hour.

The team needs no prompting from Coach Thorne as they warm-up—they’ve been through these motions many times before.

The mood is light and relaxed, and the group’s chemistry is on full display. The Martlets are extremely comfortable with each other, both on and off the court.

“Before the game, we put some music on, [and] sometimes some girls dance,” rookie forward Mariam Sylla says, laughing.

As Coach Thorne calls the Martlets to centre-court and practice formally begins, the mood change in the gym is palpable.

Intensity uproots the lighthearted-

ness instantaneously. It’s time to work.

The team begins rapidly— suicides, full-court drills, half-court drills—with Coach Thorne focusing on the issues they identified during the film session. The players pick up on the improvements quickly, and both the offence and defence hum along smoothly by the end of practice.

The smiles and laughter return as the Martlets finish the day.

There is no reason to be nervous for tomorrow’s matchup. They have tweaked their game to perfection, and have thoroughly scouted their opponents.

They are confident that tomorrow, they will beat Laval.

The gentle notes of a “Teach Me How to Dougie (Remix)” greet me as I enter the Martlet locker room the next day. It’s 30 minutes before tip-off, and the girls are going through their pre-game motions, namely: dancing, staying loose, and laughing.

Coach Thorne walks in and reminds the team of their game plan: remember to run in transi-

tion, box-out the opponent, and stay intense on defence. The girls nod. He offers a few last words of encouragement, and then gathers the team for a huddle before leaving the locker room.

As a last ritual before they step onto the court, the Martlets gather in a circle with their arms around each other and start swaying together as a team.

“Who runs it?”

“McGILL!” “Who runs it?”

“MARTLETS!”

The game is a rout. McGill dominates the boards, runs the Rouge-et-Or out of the gym, and shuts down Laval with their stifling defence. Hélène Bibeau stars for McGill with 19 points; Sylla registers a double-double, and Françoise Charest and Dianna Ros both log over 30 minutes to lead the Martlets to a 63-39 victory.

After the game, McGill honours team veteran Anneth Him-

Curiosity delivers. |

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“There is a look of respect on every player’s face.

They have reached this level of excellence together as a team.”

Lazarenko, who had previously retired due to recurring back injuries. She had an illustrious career, garnering accolades such as All-Canadian, RSEQ Rookie of the Year, RSEQ First Team All-Star, RSEQ scoring champion, and RSEQ Player of the Year.

“It’s ridiculous, the contributions she made [for] us,” Coach Thorne says. “She’s a winner. She gave us a lot [and] helped turn this program around. When she [came] here we had missed the playoffs [and] had our worst season ever.

[Since] she’s been back, [we’ve] been very successful.”

As we enter the locker room, Coach Thorne addresses his team.

“I’m proud. … You guys just kept going, kept going, and kept going. Listen, that team had to deal with you, you, you...” he says, as he points around the room.

It’s clear that he’s proud of his team’s effort.

“That [one] move that she made,” he continues, pointing to Ros. The team explodes in con-

gratulations and laughter, recalling a moment earlier in the game when Ros shook her defender with an ankle-breaking move. “Wow … that was amazing.”

He continues to praise the team, occasionally offering constructive criticism. It’s been a perfect day for the Martlets; the type of perfection that is achieved by refining details through constant practice and repetition. The team enters the RSEQ playoffs in first place, not by any fluke; but rather, consistent hard work.

As Coach Thorne reaches the end of his post-game speech, he looks around the room at each of his players. There is a look of respect on every player’s face. They have reached this level of excellence together as a team. To make a deep push into the playoffs, the Martlets must move forward together and continue to improve.

He smiles.

“Tomorrow, time for more video.”

Martlets huddle up for their pre-game ritual. (Remi Lu / McGill Trihune)

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sports

| Curiosity delivers.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Ken Dryden takes skills from the rink to the classroom Hall of Fame goalie, politician, professor discusses his many roles before, during, and after hockey David Stein Contributor McGill Tribune (MT): Growing up, how did you balance the challenges of being a student, with your high expectations as an athlete?

Ken Dryden (KD): All my life I played sports and all my life I was in school. I liked both. If you like something, you get absorbed by it. You lose track of time because you just keep doing it. You can see when you’re not doing it well [and] you see when you are doing it well. You notice how you feel in each instance. You like how you feel when you’re doing it well, and you don’t like it very much when you’re not, and you want to get better. … Once you develop a kind of taste for doing something well, you don’t lose it, you don’t leave it behind, because it haunts you. So to me, it wasn’t any different whether it was on or off the ice. It’s just—if you’re going to do something, you may as well do it well.

MT: How would you describe the course you lecture called “Thinking The Future to Make The Future” and why did you decide to teach it at McGill?

KD: This is the second year I’ve taught this course. I went to McGill with the idea and it was kind of an experimental [at first].

The approach of it is not to focus on learning what was and what is, but to apply that to what a future might be. So I divided up the course into different elements of

the way in which we live; whether it is the workplace, family, religion, health or healthcare, or politics and public discourse. To have [a lecturer] in who’s an expert in each of those fields [is important].

I enjoyed doing it last year and I’m enjoying it again this year.

MT: You wrote a book titled “The Game” in 1983.

What inspired you to write it?

KD: I read a lot of sports books while growing up and when I played. Some of them were very good, but none of them described quite what I had experienced as a player, and the full life that you live. That’s natural [because] everyone takes in experiences differently. So I wanted to have my chance.

MT: Why was the 1972 Summit series so special?

KD: It was one of those very special experiences [and] it turned out more special than any of us ever imagined because it was harder than we thought [it would be]. In the end, because it was harder, it was far more memorable.

MT: How closely do you pay attention to what is going on in the NHL? KD: I think I watch like most fans. It’s once or twice a year, that I’ll watch a whole game. I’ll see bits and pieces, and I go to one or two games a year. I’ll catch the sports at 11, so I roughly know who’s doing well [and] who isn’t.

About every two or three weeks, I’ll look at the standings and be surprised at some [team] who I

missed that is doing better than I thought, or some teams that are performing worse than I thought.

I watch the first round of the playoffs, but [the subsequent rounds] less.

MT: What was your take on the recent NHL lockout, and who do you think was to blame?

KD: This was something that was going to happen. And like a lot of things, a trail of something before leads to something later.

The seeds were sown in 2004.

So you arrived last summer when they really started negotiating, and all you had to do was look at the circumstances of the parties.

The league had won in 2004. The end result of that negotiation was that the NHL players’ association basically broke apart—its leadership left, the interim leaders came and went; it was a mess. … They were run over in 2004. So when you lose, you need to find a way of winning the next time, or else others see you as a loser; players know that better than anybody.

When you win, you see yourself as a winner. Winners win. Winners win the next time. Winners can’t lose. Self-images get determined out of all of that. So going into this negotiation, you had one that had to win and one that [couldn’t] lose. … In 2004, the owners could claim victory because they got the salary cap, even if a season was lost. This time, neither was going to win if there wasn’t a season. I think in the end, that’s what generated the season.

(Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune) MT: How do you react when someone compares a current NHL goaltender to you?

KD: Usually, the person bringing it up will sort of think ‘Well wait a second, he’s early in his career. He hasn’t earned his place yet.’ That’s not what it feels like to me. For me, you just don’t know yourself as a player.

You played, but others can put you into some kind of perspective. I don’t have that perspective on myself. I just know what I see on a television screen. I see some nights—and whether it’s Carey Price or somebody else—just doing what seem to be impossible things. If the commentator [compares that goalie] to past ones, [including myself], then that’s terrific. It’s wonderful because what you see on the ice looks so good, so if people want to make that comparison, then thank you very much.

Image from sportsthenandnow.com

Curiosity delivers. |

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BASKEtball—Redmen 71, Laval 70

Staying at home: McGill clinches first in conference Redmen win first regular season banner since 2001 in nail-biting affair; clinch home court advantage

Fans greet Alexandar Mitrovic after his last regular season game as a Redmen. (Remi Lu / McGill Tribune) Steven Lampert Sports Editor When Dave DeAveiro took over as McGill Redmen head coaching position in 2010, the program was in a bit of a rut.

The Redmen couldn’t match up with division foes like Concordia, Laval, or UQAM, all of whom regarded McGill as an easy victory on the schedule. DeAveiro was determined to turn things around.

With solid recruiting, a team-first environment, and immense player development, the Redmen have reached prominence once again.

On Thursday night at Love Competition Hall, McGill clinched their first regular season RSEQ title since 2001 by defeating the Laval Rouge-et-Or 71-70 in a game that showcased exactly how far the program has come.

The game quickly became a defensive struggle, as both teams traded ugly perimeter-oriented possessions. As a result, each team made fewer than 40 per cent of their field goals in the first quarter.

McGill held a slim two-point lead heading into the second—thanks in large part to their defence— dropping seven points off of turnovers.

The Redmen have prided

themselves on defence all season, something that DeAveiro has cited as crucial for success.

“We are one of the best teams in the country, defensively.

Usually, that gives you a chance to be successful [in any game],” he said.

McGill found success against Laval’s defence during the first five minutes of the second quarter as the Redmen built a nine-point lead after generating a structured inside-out balance. However, McGill fell apart down the latter stretch of the frame, as the Rouge-et-Or duo of Karl Demers-Belanger and Boris Hadzimuratovic bullied the Redmen in the paint, en route to a 17-2 Laval run to close the quarter.

With the stakes higher than ever, it was clear the Redmen were a bit tentative. Perhaps they were shying away from their big opportunity. DeAveiro disagreed and credited the last-placed Rouge-etOr. “Laval’s record is deceiving.

They are a young, talented team, [and] aggressive defensively,” he said. “At this time of year, it is important for us to block out distractions [like the se expectations].”

The Redmen settled down after the break, and caught fire offensively. Second-year duo Vin-

cent Dufort and Te’Jour Riley each stepped up—something they’ve been doing all season—and combined for 19 of McGill’s 25 points in the quarter. Riley finished with a team-high 15 points, while Dufort chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

McGill was tested in the game’s final quarter, however, as Laval nipped at the Redmen lead.

After closing McGill’s advantage to a mere two points, they finally overcame the deficit with just over three minutes remaining, after a strong post move by Antoine Beaumier. Beaumier was dominant all game, finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds. The Redmen answered right back, as Adrian Hynes-Guery nailed a jumper to regain the lead. With a chance to seal the game, the usually reliable Christian McCue missed two free throws, giving Laval a chance for one last possession. However, the trademark Redmen defence stepped up and forced Laval’s Ryan Hugues into a difficult threepoint shot. McGill collected the rebound to secure the win and the RSEQ title.

The result wasn’t surprising to anyone who’s followed the team this season. This group of Redmen is different than years

past. They are a mentally tough bunch, who know how to handle adversity.

“I believe the team has shown resiliency. With all our injuries throughout the year, our team really proved that we are a team, and [it’s] not just about one or two players,” DeAveiro said. “Our players are [now] a year older. They are maturing and as a result, so is our team.”

Despite the excitement surrounding the regular season championship, the Redmen are far from finished. They battle UQAM on Wednesday in the RSEQ semifinal. DeAveiro kept it simple when he explained what improvements need to be made heading into the postseason. “[There are] always things to work on. [Specifically,] we need to shore up our rebounding and decision making,” he said.

With only one guaranteed RSEQ berth available for the CIS basketball championship, there’s nothing guaranteed for the Redmen. However, what is guaranteed is that they won’t be fazed by anything they encounter—a marker that the program is finally back on its feet.

H Re

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013 |

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| Curiosity delivers.

RSEQ Semifinal HOCKEY—Game 1: Martlets 9, Carleton 0 • GAMe 2: Martlets 3, Carleton 1 (Martlets win best-of-three series 2-0)

Martlets overcome Game 2 scare to sweep Ravens Last minute magic sends Martlets into RSEQ finals against Montreal Carabins Adam Sadinsky Managing Editor When you win 28 games in a row, some inevitably will be close and others less so. That was the case in the Martlets’ RSEQ semifinal series against the Carleton Ravens last week, as they prevailed 9-0 and 3-1, en route to a two-game series sweep. While Game 1 was a cakewalk, McGill relied on some late-game heroics from Stacie Tardif to advance to the RSEQ finals.

Heading into the semifinal series, there was no doubt that the odds were stacked in the Martlets’ favour. They were the top seed, had won 28 CIS games in a row, and had previously beaten Carleton 70 out of 72 games in their all-time series. The Martlets also had yet to lose an RSEQ playoff game since February of 2005, so anything short of a win would have been unacceptable.

As they have done all season—and in many before it—the Martlets pounced early and often in a dominating Game 1 performance. The dynamic duo of Leslie

Oles and Mélodie Daoust contributed an other-worldly seven and six points respectively, as each registered hat tricks. On any other night, the three points scored by Katia Clement-Hydra and Chelsey Saunders might have been the story, but in a game where one of Oles and Daoust had a hand in eight of the team’s nine goals, credit must be given where it is due. The Martlets didn’t even need those eight goals, as Taylor Salisbury stopped 17 shots for her fourth shutout of the year.

The return date in Ottawa was a different story, however.

After a scoreless first stanza, Carleton burst out of the gates and took the lead when Tawnya Guindon beat Martlet goalie Andrea Weckman under three minutes into the frame. Despite four power play opportunities, the Martlets seemed to have wasted all of their scoring power in Game 1. They went into the second intermission staring at a 1-0 deficit and a possible rubber match back at McConnell Arena.

Who else could the Martlets look to but the prolific Oles and Daoust to rouse them from their

scoring slumber. As the period neared the halfway point, Daoust found Oles, who slipped the puck past Ravens goaltender Eri Kiribuchi for her fourth of the series.

The teams dug in for the next 10 minutes, as any goal would likely end or extend the series. The Martlets were granted an opening with less than two minutes to play in regulation when Ravens defender Erin Beaver was called for interference. McGill jumped on the chance as Tardif—who is not known for her scoring prowess—fired a shot from the faceoff circle that beat Kiribuchi, sending the Martlets into the final and their fans to delirium. Chelsey Saunders would add an empty net marker to ice the series.

The Martlets now prepare to take on the rival Montreal Carabins for the right to represent Quebec at the CIS Championships in Toronto in March. The Carabins have only lost five of their 20 RSEQ games this season, with all five defeats coming from McGill.

The puck drops on Feb. 27 at McConnell Arena.

“Tardif fired a shot from the

faceoff circle that beat Kirbuchi, sending the Martlets into the final and their fans to delirium.”

McGill has already beaten Montreal five times this year, but needs two more. (Jesse Conterato / McGill Tribune)

championship

recap

By Jeff Downey

rseq championship — track & field For the third time this season, McGill hosted the wealth of track teams from across Quebec in the RSEQ provincial championships.

Battling hard throughout the weekend, the Martlets claimed their first conference title in the last six years—thanks in large part to an incredible meet by Alana Battison. En route to becoming female athlete of the meet, Battison claimed two golds, three silvers and a bronze to amount for 28 points over the course of the weekend.

Helping out Battison in the first place push were gold medallists Caroline Tanguay in the high jump, and the 4x200m relay contingent of Sarah Glen, Clare Williams, Ellen Parker, and Helena Reinfels.

On the men’s side, a different story unfolded. Finishing third overall, the team failed

to garner the results that the Martlets did. However, the team still mustered three golds over the weekend.

Vincent Parent-Pichette was golden twice, first individually in the 1000m and then again as the anchor of the 4x800m relay. Joining him in the relay bid were Benjamin Raymond, Nathan Goldstein, and Michael Abramson. Riley van Ryswyk then closed the weekend with a gold in the pole vault, clearing 4.31m.

Done now with provincial competition for the year, McGill Track and Field turns its attention to the national scene for the final event of the season for the CIS Championships, where 20 athletes have earned the right to compete.

Athletes are nominated based on their results throughout the year, needing to meet standards

set for each event to qualify. Any gold medallist from the RSEQ championships automatically qualified.

Most of McGill’s medal hopefuls land on the women’s side, with Battison leading the charge in the pentathlon.

The CIS national championship runs March 7-9 in Edmonton, Alberta.

(Sam Reynolds / McGill Athletics)

cis championship — swimming The butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle cmake up swimming’s individual medley (IM). It’s easy enough to remember, yet incredibly difficult to perform. Therefore, Steven Bielby’s feat of a CIS gold medal sweep in the 200m and 400m IMs are that much more impressive.

Over the weekend, Bielby joined 18 other McGillians in Calgary for the CIS National Swimming Championships. Over the course of the meet, McGill claimed four medals—Bielby’s two golds, along with a bronze and silver from upstart Katie Caldwell, again in the 400m IM and 200m IM. Overall, both the Redman and

Martlet swimmers finished eighth as a team. Caldwell was chosen for the second all-Canadian team, and Bielby reached first team allstar status.

Other strong results over the weekend came in the relay, where the men’s 4x200m relay team beat a McGill record, clocking in at 7:24.89, good for sixth place. The quartet, anchored by Pierre-Alexandre Renaud also includes Bielby, Marc-Andre Benoit, and Erik Cheng. The 4x200m women’s relay team—comprised of Caldwell, Taryne Landry, Rebecca Cheverton, and Jennifer Darling—broke a McGill record as well, as Caldwell swam the lead-off leg in 2:00.90.

With Bielby having now completed his final race as a Redman, a look back on his career reveals a history of excellence.

By far McGill’s most decorated swimmer, Bielby amassed 13 CIS medals, including eight golds, one silver, and four bronzes, as well as four all-Canadian selections over his five years with the team. Internationally, he has represented Canada twice at the World University Games, and plans to compete for his country for a third time this summer.

With the season over, the Martlets and Redmen take a break, before looking forward to another exciting 2013-2014 campaign.

Follow us on Twitter @mcgilltribsport

(Victor Tangerman / McGill Athletics)

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013 |

sports

THIRD MAN IN As a fan of Mixed Martial Arts, it should be no surprise that I have developed an interest in the sport’s different components.

This is why I was so excited to watch Freestyle and GrecoRoman wrestling during the London 2012 Olympic games. For anyone who tuned in to watch these sports, wrestling provided some of the Olympics’ greatest moments. On the women’s side of the bracket, two Canadians, Carol Huynh and Tonya Verbeek showcased their toughness with a hard-fought bronze and silver medal, respectively. On the men’s side, the Canadian Matthew Gentry came up just short of winning a medal in the men’s 74 kg freestyle. The man to whom he lost— the sublime American wrestler, Jordan Burroughs—dominated the gold medal match in a weight class typically won by Eastern European and Iranian wrestlers.

Given the athletic drama that wrestling provides, it came as a shock that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to remove wrestling from the 2020 Games last week, leaving in other sports such as modern pentathlon. Not only are many people ignorant to what modern pentathlon is, one would also be hard-pressed to find anyone who knows which five disciplines constitute this bizarre Olympic sport.

| Curiosity delivers.

IOC wrong to pin wrestling

For those interested, it is a combination of pistol shooting, fencing, 200m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a three-kilometre run. Designed to emulate the plight of 19th century cavalry soldier deep in the enemy’s turf, it unquestionably captures sport in the 21st century... or not.

The IOC’s purported reasons for removing wrestling were vague and not forthcoming. They said that this decision was not intended to discredit wrestling, but rather, to affirm how important the other 25 Olympic sports are, and how the IOC now has room to include a new sport in the 2020 games.

This reasoning is foolish.

First, wrestling has been included in every modern Olympics since 1896, and was the key component of the ancient Olympics. Wrestling is also a truly global sport, with 71 nations competing in the last Olympic games, and 29 different countries medalling. To eliminate this sport from the games would be a sign that the modern Olympics have no appreciation for its deep and rich tradition.

Next, the IOC’s decision reeked of corruption. Modern pentathlon maintained its status as an Olympic sport because of the persistent lobbying of the former IOC President’s son, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. It’s not a stretch to

Carol Huynh celebrates a gold medal. (vancouverobserver.com) say that nobody would be surprised if this ‘lobbying’ took place inside of fancy hotels and with the exchanges of fancy leather briefcases.

Wrestling also does not have a professional league. The Olympics is the only way any wrestler can ever expect to make a living from the sport, an option the IOC’s decision has put in jeopardy.

Finally, the move is unnecessary as the IOC could have just extended the Olympics another day, without eliminating any sport, and still adding new ones.

Fortunately, all is not lost for aficionados of this noble sport.

Wrestling still has a chance of being picked for the 2020 games amongst a host of other sports

Can’t beat us?

Join us. email: sports@mcgilltribune.com

such asbvnvgbnn wakeboarding, karate, golf, baseball, squash, wushu, and sports climbing.

Countries like Iran, Russia, and the United States are all deeply invested in maintaining wrestling’s status as an Olympic sport, and will likely lobby very hard on its behalf. If, for some reason, the IOC does not reinstate wrestling into the games, the committee will be sending a very clear message: consumerism and special interests are more important than the pursuit of athletic excellence.

— Joshua Freedman

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behind the scenes

PUTTING a name to the face

By Luke Orlando, Alexandra Allaire, Cassandra Rogers, Remi Lu & Simon Poitrimolt Adriana Rachubinski, Information Centre supervisor Adriana Rachubinski is the first person many prospective students meet before enrolling at McGill. Her office, right next to Service Point, is essential to ensuring that they and their parents are well informed.

Howard Zinman (porter) and Vlad Pereplavtchenko (janitor), Solin Hall Vlad has been working at Solin for ten years, but as he tells us, “It never gets old.” What is it about his work that is special? “Working here is not like working in just any other building: I work for a university, and not just any university. Not only do I get to interact with students every day, I get to work with students from around the world.”

Joe Suriano, buildings and grounds department Joe Suriano works for the buildings and grounds department of McGill. He works tirelessly to maintain the campus in all conditions. Shown here in front of his John Deere gardener’s car, Suriano handles snow removal and spring landscaping.

46 Brendan Edge, McGill bookstore Brendan Edge, a Canadian studies’ student, is an employee in the McGill bookstore.

Brendan spends the busy periods behind the cash register, and slower hours helping customers find books. He says it’s a perfect job; he helps students while being surrounded by the things he loves.

Katy McLaughlin, Liquid Nutrition Every Saturday Katy serves hungry students at SSMU with Liquid Nutrition’s “functional beverages,” as she calls them.

Majoring in dietetics, Katy knows a thing or two about making healthy smoothies. Tell her if you’re feeling stressed or drained, and she’ll know exactly what to recommend.

Benjamin Audet, Redpath Cafeteria night supervisor Robert Selby, Schulich Library supervisor After 25 years at McGill, Robert became the supervisor of the Schulich Library in 2010.

Facilitating library services is the core of his daily activities. From lost books to late returns, he helps students with all sorts of problems.

Benjamin Audet stands beside an endless trail of students in line for Tim Horton’s.

Recently hired as the night supervisor of the Redpath cafeteria, Benjamin ensures that the cafe runs smoothly, from employee scheduling to quality control. He admits that keeping the Cafe running amidst the high demand from students is a constant challenge.

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47

Alexandra Preimess, CaPS Working with CaPS since 2004, Alexandra creates a warm and welcoming environment for everyone in search of career advice. Her favourite part of the job?

“My students. Helping them out with all their problems and inquiries,” she said. Drop in at any time and she’ll offer you a smile to alleviate any job-search nerves.

Tania Canales, SSMU receptionist Tania Canales is the face of the SSMU office, greeting those who come to her desk with a smile, and answering a variety of concerns. From managing SSMU exec business to important requests from student services, Tania’s role at SSMU is definitely of utmost importance.

Fiona Penny, university tour guide To Fiona, being a university tour guide is a unique opportunity to be an ambassador for McGill, sharing a wealth of information on academics and student life with prospective students and their parents. “It’s a very interesting time to be a university tour guide, especially with all the protests going on; but my main concern is to give people a true sense of life at the university.”

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PRODUCT MANAGER EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING MANAGER WEB ANALYTICS MANAGER MARKET RESEARCH ANALYST SPECIALTY SALES MANAGER HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGIC ADVISOR TRAINING SPECIALIST CLIENT RELATIONS OFFICER

Become an EXPERT in a specialized field of business.

The MSc in Administration at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business is a research-based program that trains students from all undergraduate backgrounds for a professional career in: • Finance • Management • Marketing

To learn more or to sign up for one of our upcoming information sessions: • Monday, March 4 at 5:30 p.m.

• Monday, March 25 at 5:30 p.m.

Visit johnmolson.concordia.ca/msc.