The McGill Tribune Vol. 38 Issue 2

The McGill Tribune Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 | VOL. 38 | ISSUE 2

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

CARTOON

Senate should not have to overstep to amplify student voices

Montreal: La belle ville des movie dorks

A more useful currency

PG. 5

PGs. 8-9

PG. 10

(Gabriel Helfant / McGill Tribune)

Redmen football overtaken late by stingers in Shaughnessy Cup

PG. 16

Number of campus harassment complaints double in 2017-18 Nina Russell Contributor McGill announced that Sinead Hunt has been appointed to the position of Senior Equity and Inclusion Advisor (SEIA) in an email to the student body on Sept.

9. The SEIA acts as a first contact for

students attempting to report instances of harassment or discrimination on campus.

The number of complaints increased in recent years; according to the Annual Report on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law, released on Sept. 12, there were 78 complaints were filed in the 2017-18 academic year, significantly surpassing the his-

torical average of 33 complaints per year over the previous five years. Of the 78 complaints filed during the 2017-2018 academic year, 26 were filed on the grounds of harassment, 11 on sexual harassment, 12 on discrimination, and 12 were filed as mixed. Nine of these cases proceeded to investigation and formal resolution, while the rest were withdrawn, did not advance

beyond initial inquiry, or were resolved informally.

Last year’s report recommended increasing the number of assessors from 10 to 12 and increasing the amount of training they receive, as well as outlining a specific role for the SEIA within the Policy.

PG. 2

Smart Pump improves insulin delivery to diabetics McGill team heads an innovative new project Ronny Litvack-Katzman Contributor With frequent needle pricks and the need for meticulouslymanaged blood sugar levels, most type 1 diabetics lead lives of constant monitoring and planning.

Unlike type 2 diabetes, type 1 often develops during childhood and cannot be controlled simply by changes to diet and exercise, although it can be mitigated.

Until researchers can discover a permanent solution to the chronic disease, studies continue to look for ways to ameliorate the lifestyle of those living with the condition.

Ahmad Haidar, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at McGill, and his team are leading the way with a new method to deliver insulin, a hormone that allows the body to control blood-sugar levels.

Presently, type 1 diabetics

choose one of two ways to administer insulin—by injection or by pump. The former option is the most common, although frequent injections can be difficult. Injections are typically administered twice a day to begin with, and, later in the prognosis, three or four times a day, usually half an hour before meals.

Timely insulin administration can prevent or delay the onset of eye, kidney, or nerve damage associated with diabetes.

PG. 13

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news

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

McGill Senate shows support for divestment from fossil fuels Board of Governors’ authority questioned

Society of McGill University (SSMU), the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS), and the McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT), as well as the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Law, and the School of Environment.

Yves Beauchamp, vice-principal (Administration and Finance), clarified the university’s investment strategy and warned that it might take some time for the impact of divestment to be visible.

“We have 45 managers at McGill to [whom] we are providing part of that 1.6 billion dollars [the size of McGill’s endowment as of Apr. 2017] and those managers are investing in different indexes,” Beauchamp said. “We don’t control the companies in which we invest and some of the investments we have to lock for five or 10 years. Even [if] we decide to divest tomorrow, we won’t see the impact [for a while].”

The motion carried, requiring that Fortier represent the Senate’s decision at the Board of Governors in the future.

Marie Labrosse Editor-in-Chief The McGill University Senate—the governing body responsible for academic policy on campus—approved a motion endorsing divestment from fossil fuels on Sept. 13. Senators also delivered four annual progress reports relevant to academic matters, including an update on the Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law. Determination of the Senate’s authority in an endorsement of divestment Divestment refers to abstaining from investing in companies that profit from fossil fuels through extraction, distribution, and sale. Before voting on the motion, Principal Suzanne Fortier questioned whether it fell within the Senate’s sphere of influence. As the highest governing academic body, the Senate’s mandate lies in determining academic policy such as curricula development and the administration of student services like mental health. McGill Statute 6.3.8 does, however, allows the Senate to exceptionally step outside of its mandate. “[The Senate can make] representations, through the Principal, to the Board of Governors as may from time to time become necessary or desirable, touching any claims and needs of the University or any part thereof,” Statute 6.3.8 reads.

Christopher Manfredi, provost and vice-principal (Academic), expressed reticence for the Board to pronounce themselves on divestment, perceiving it as a dangerous overreach on their part.

“I would submit that the purpose of Section 6.3.8 of the Statutes […] should be understood as filling gaps in the procedures, not as a means of circumventing [them],” Manfredi said. “Members of

Even if divestment occurs, it will likely take some time to make an impact. (Jane Canuel / The McGill Tribune)

the community may be dissatisfied with the Board’s response to their representation, but this is not sufficient reason to deploy Section 6.3.8 [….] It would violate a fundamental aspect of the division of authority on which the bicameral nature of the university’s governance structure depends.”

Report on harassment and discrimination Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) Angela Campbell presented the annual report on harassment and discrimination, which collects figures on complaints brought to the Senior Equity & Inclusion Advisor and their outcomes. The report notes a significant increase in the number of cases arising under the Policy during the 2017-18 academic year, 78 against an average of 33 per year over the course of the past five years.

“That’s a very large number,” Campbell said. “So, the question is of course why [….] My strong sense is that it is because of the enhanced awareness about these issues and greater propensity on the part of the individual to raise it to people in authority.”

The next Senate meeting will take place Oct. 24.

Show of support for McGill’s divestment from fossil fuels After lengthy debate, a large majority of senators voted to discuss the matter of divestment. Gregory Mikkelson, associate professor in the School of Environment, presented the motion and cited the University of Edinburgh and the Universities of California network as examples of academic institutions that have successfully divested. He also noted that many McGill networks had already expressed support for divestment, namely the Students’

Number of campus harassment complaints double in 2017-18 Sinead Hunt appointed as Senior Equity and Inclusion Advisor Nina Russell Contributor “The number of Assessors will be elevated to 12 in 2017 in view of an increase in the number and complexity of the complaints noted in recent years,” the report reads.

“During 2017-2018, Assessors will attend training sessions on: the mental health impacts of harassment, best practices in investigation of complaints, recent legal developments related to discrimination and of reasonable accommodations, the meaning and impact of unconscious bias, and basic mediation skills and principles.”

A Yale Law School graduate, Hunt has worked to advance human rights causes in Sub-Saharan Africa and advocated on behalf of children with disabilities in California. As well as acting as a contact for students, her role is to oversee the implementation of McGill’s Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Discrimination Prohibited by Law. The policy, which was initially ratified by the McGill Senate in Dec. 2005 and came into effect Apr. 2006, aims to reduce harassment by ensuring that the university’s policies are proactive in creating an equitable environment. It also outlines procedures for addressing discrimination when it occurs. As part of the latter goal, the SEIA position was created to assist students in reporting discriminatory behaviour and oversee responses. The SEIA works with twelve assessors, who are McGill staff members appointed by the Senate to investigate and mediate complaints.

“In my role, I receive and respond to any questions relating to the Policy,” Hunt wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Individuals can contact me by phone or email to discuss, in a confidential manner, any questions or concerns that they may have relating to subject matter covered by the Policy. I also conduct intake where an individual wishes to proceed with a complaint under the Policy, which may proceed by informal resolution, i.e., mediation, or through a formal investigation, which is conducted by an assessor.”

In the past year, student frustration with the McGill administration for failing to adequately address allegations of sexual misconduct, particularly with regards to teacher-

Hunt will work with assessors to address harassment at McGill. (Arshaaq Jiffry / The McGill Tribune)

student relationships, culminated in an open letter addressed to the administration and a student walkout last April. Following this, to address issues relating to harassment and inclusion more generally, McGill’s Task Force on Respect and Inclusion in Campus Life released a report in Apr. 2018 outlining recommendations to better promote respect on campus.

The report outlines how the policies in place can be improved, while acknowledging that policies are not sufficient to foster tangible change in the campus culture.

“While cognizant of current discussions about sexual violence on our campuses, we note that significant efforts have been mobilized in the past few years to create and implement policies, services, workshops and campaigns on consent and sexual assault awareness and prevention,” the report reads. “This includes the [...] Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Discrimination Prohibited by Law (2017) [....] Policies are not a substitute for necessary changes to institutional culture and practices. This is where community trust and relationships are crucial.”

news

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

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Forum on future renaming draws debate Phishers target McGill students for account information McGill’s use of the name ‘Redmen’ questioned Kendall McGowan Contributor A diverse group including McGill alumni, professors, varsity athletes, and campus groups representing racialized students met on Sept. 12 in New Chancellor Day Hall to give feedback on a draft report suggesting principles for future commemoration and renaming initiatives on campus.

The report was published by the Working Group on Principles of Commemoration and Renaming. The group was formed last January under the recommendation of the Task Force on Indige-

here, and I understand that they should have a say in it,” varsity hockey player Nathanael Halbert said.

“I [...] would also hope that the other side, the students, alumni, varsity players who wear the actual colors would get a say in how it would make them feel.”

Other attendees, including SSMU VP External Marina Cupido, raised questions about the representativeness of the working group’s composition.

Of the six Working Group members present at the meeting, five were white faculty and staff, while one was a black undergraduate student representative. While an Indigenous professor was consulted

Indigenous students say the term ‘Redmen’ is alienating, while other students argue that the term has been misinterpreted. (mcgill.ca)

nous Studies and Education and out of an acknowledgment of the need to reconsider inappropriate names for teams, buildings, scholarships, and other university structures.

While most attendees had come for specific debates over renaming, such as the controversy over the men’s varsity teams being named ‘Redmen,’ the co-chairs of the Working Group continually reiterated that their responsibility was only forming principles and not to make concrete decisions.

“The mandate we have from the Provost is not to consider any particular case,” Robert Leckey, Working Group co-chair and dean of the Faculty of Law, said. “It’s always interesting to hear what people bring to a meeting, but we’re fundamentally trying to move forward with our job to put forward the draft we have in December to the community.”

However, Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Indigenous Affairs Commissioner and Vice President of the McGill rowing team Tomas Jirousek pointed to the need for urgent changes.

“As I can personally attest to as an Indigenous varsity athlete, the continued usage of [‘Redmen’] creates immediate discomfort, anxiety, and anger,” Jirousek said. “The continued dragging out of the process only further serves to alienate and isolate Indigenous peoples and Indigenous students [....]

While you are debating and launching these working groups and all these further studies, the students are being hurt.”

Meanwhile, the varsity athletes argued that their perspective was not being sufficiently taken into account.

“It’s been brought up that the Aboriginals haven’t been fully incorporated into the discussion

in the creation of the report, she was unable to attend meetings consistently. The Working Group has yet to meet with any Indigenous or racialized offcampus groups.

“I was interested in [where] the report says the Working Group ‘regretted that the invited committee groups supposed to represent the interests of racialized or Indigenous groups off-campus did not follow up on its invitations,’” Cupido said. “I was wondering if [...that] suggests a problem with the way consultation was done.”

Debate also extended to the language in the draft report about “rehabilitating formerly problematic names.” While many in favour of keeping ‘Redmen’ claimed that the name referenced McGill’s Scottish heritage and should be interpreted as such, other parties argued that problematic names cannot be rehabilitated or reinterpreted. Both the participants in the town hall and the members of the Working Group found common ground in reflecting on the significance of how names and commemorative practices at McGill are perceived both by its community and the outside world.

“I use [the name ‘Redmen’] as an example to show people how backwards McGill is, still, when I’m back home in my Indigenous community,” Denzel Sutherland-Wilson, U3 Arts, said. “People don’t believe me that our sports team is called the ‘Redmen’ [....] I hope you know that when you say ‘I’m really proud to be wearing this and supporting this.’”

The Working Group is still accepting suggestions for changes to their draft by email until the end of September.

September sees increase in number of scam emails Leanne Young Contributor

With school starting and registration emails at their peak, it is the most convenient time for phishers to scam unsuspecting members of the McGill community.

Emails were sent from familiar sources with text reading “Cannot show this message” and a green box directing the user to an error page and subsequent account errors, have been sending students and staff alike into cyber turmoil this past month.

Phishing is an attempt to obtain sensitive information by posing as a trustworthy or legitimate entity in electronic communication, such as an email. A common tactic usually requests the victim to click on a link that leads to a fraudulent website that encourages the victim to submit their personal information. In cases specific to McGill, phishers usually try to acquire the student’s login information to gain access to their McGill email. From there, they can use the compromised email to send out additional fraudulent emails or reset passwords on a number of other accounts.

Benjamin Fung, Canada research chair in data mining for cybersecurity and associate professor in McGill’s School of Information Studies, says that it is no coincidence that a spike in phishing scams coincides with first-years starting class.

“Phishing campaigns targeting universities and colleges are more common in September because the phishers know that there are many new students who are not yet familiar with the university systems,” Fung said. “Some students are less alert to phishing as it seems to make sense that the system administrator may ask a student to change a password or reset something at the beginning of a school year.”

According to Fung, phishers may not have a specific target-demographic in mind when harvesting email addresses.

“After collecting enough email addresses, say one million, the phishers would then group them by domain addresses,” Fung said. “Therefore, they will pick large organizations [such as McGill] because there is a higher chance to find victims.

After identifying a target organization, they

will spend resources to customize a phishing email for the phishing campaign.”

U1 student Amrita Sandhu was the victim of the recent phishing scam, whose case exemplifies the issue. She appeared to have gotten an email from the intramural volleyball team with a link to access their game schedule. As the email seemed legitimate, she clicked on the link, which led her to a blank page. She eventually couldn’t log onto the McGill network, and her McGill email was compromised Fung advises students to avoid ever clicking on links in emails. He says that students should instead bookmark the websites that they often use and only access those websites via the bookmarks.

Hovering the cursor on the link or tapping and holding on a tablet will often show the “actual” link, which can help in identifying frauds.

“Note that phishers may create a fake webpage that looks real,” Fung said. “[For example] mcgi11 or mcgiII where the last two characters are [the number one or an] uppercase ‘i’ instead of ‘L’.”

Staff are not exempt from receiving the phishing emails either.

“My dad’s credit card was [de]frauded a couple of thousand [dollars],” a respondent to The McGill Tribune’s survey wrote.

“My father works [at] McGill and opened the email. His [credit card] company caught it.”

Some students caught onto the scam quickly and managed to avoid the consequences. Of the 66 respondents to the Tribune’s survey, 90 per cent saw the fraudulent email but only 30 per cent clicked on the attached link.

“A file titled “flash player” automatically downloaded but I did not install it [....] I [later] found out on Facebook about the scam and changed my password,” a respondent to the survey said. “I checked my sent folder and saw nothing weird had been sent out and [I suffered] no further consequences.”

For advice on phishing scams, students should register for McGill’s free IT phishing course and inform themselves by reading up on past cases in order to respond accordingly.

Don’t get caught in the phishing net. (Arshaaq Jiffr y / The McGill Tribune)

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news

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Université de Montréal kicks off the provincial election

Parti Québécois leader Jean-François Lisée talks education and social mobility Keating Reid Opinion Editor In advance of the upcoming Quebec provincial election, Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Jean-François Lisée spoke about about public transportation, unpaid internships, and the role of science in society at the Université de Montréal’s (UdeM) Ernest-Cormier amphitheatre.

The Sept. 11 event was organized by the Fédération des associations étudiantes du campus de l’Université de Montréal (FAÉCUM), the University’s student union federation.

A second event, featuring Québec Solidaire (QS) co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, is scheduled for Sept. 24.

“There are two phenomena that are transforming our reality, and which we must attack before it’s too late,” Lisée said. “These are [...] the climate crisis and [...] inequality.”

The PQ leader emphasized his party’s education policies—most notably, their plan to make CEGEP and university free for the bottom 50 per cent of Quebecers by income.

Funding would come from initiatives like the proposed ‘glutton tax’ on high-earning CEOs. “Education is the absolute key to social mobility,” Lisée said. “Education must be the nation’s permanent priority.”

Outside the amphitheatre, several students cited this policy as a key reason for their support for Lisée. Tobie Raphaël Godue and Sophie Lemieux, second and third-year students in UdeM’s Faculty of Law, were moti-

vated to join Lisée’s campaign because of his priorities.

“Free tuition for the middle and lower classes is important,” Godue said. “We need to give everyone the ability to become educated, and to become well-educated [….] It’s something that motivates me, working for education for everyone.”

Lemieux underlined the reasoning behind the PQ’s promise to pass a bill establishing a minimum level of funding for education.

“It’s to assure that, over the years, if we lose an election or not, there won’t be cuts to education like what happened in the last [Parti Libéral du Québec] mandate,” Lemieux said.

“I think it’s a concrete and very interesting measure.”

The crowd at UdeM included politically unaffiliated students who came to educate themselves about their options for the Oct. 1 election. Despite not being deeply engaged in the election, first-year UdeM political science student Marc-Antoine Héroux is still impressed by Lisée.

“Because I’m a political science student, I wanted to get more involved,” Héroux said.

“I think [Lisée has] set his sights higher than the rest of the candidates. He’s running the best campaign.”

However, not everyone is as impressed with Lisée and the PQ. Lisée’s campaign endured controversy on Sept. 7 when Jewish NGO B’nai Brith revealed in an open letter to Lisée that Michelle Blanc, PQ candidate in

Despite anti-Semitism controversy, the Par ti Québécois is seeing a small uptick in polls.

(Keating Reid / The McGill Tribune)

the riding of Mercier, had posted ‘racist, antiSemitic’ content online. Examples listed included a Tweet that read “[expletive], I forgot to celebrate Hitler’s birthday” and a blog post titled “Am I a racist,” wherein she expressed a desire for the Hasidic Jewish community of Outremont to disappear.

Lisée dismissed B’nai Brith’s concerns in an interview with The Montreal Gazette three days later.

“It’s clearly an attempt at intimidation, and them wanting to involve themselves in the political process, as is their right,” Lisée said. “Ms. Blanc has the right as did hundreds of thousands of Quebecers to criticize a religion.”

Daniel Minden, Vice-President Commu-

nications for Hillel McGill, a Jewish student group, is disappointed by Michelle Blanc’s comments. He is, however, willing to attribute it to misguidedness and drew attention to her outreach to LGBTQ2 Quebecers.

“Mme. Blanc’s tweet about Hitler’s birthday seems to be a poor attempt at dark humour but does not constitute hate speech in our view,” Minden wrote in a message to The McGill Tribune. “Without a doubt, Mme. Blanc’s article from eleven years ago made unfortunate generalizations about the Hasidic community with which we disagree, although we do not believe they cross the line into antiSemitism. We hope Mme. Blanc chooses her words more carefully and deliberately in the future.”

McGill cancels classes in accordance with the Election Act

Holiday aims to encourage youth participation in the Quebec general election 2018 Helen Wu Contributor On Oct. 1, residents across Quebec will head to the polls to vote in the province’s forty-second general election for the National Assembly of Quebec. In accordance with Section 306 of the Election Act, McGill University will be cancelling all classes, laboratories, and examinations for its students on election day. Élections Québec has been working on an awareness campaign to encourage young voters to cast their ballots since Aug. 31. Section 306 is one of several tactics to encourage democratic participation in youth from ages 18 to 24, a demographic that has increasingly yielded relatively low voter turnout.

“Last general elections in 2014, 71 per cent of electors voted,” Julie St-Arnaud Drolet, Élections Québec spokesperson, said.

“Nevertheless, on average a little over 55 per cent of the youth aged from 18 to 24 voted.

This realization is cause for concern for our democracy.”

The campaigns cater to young people with the use of videos, which feature influencers popular with the age group.

“We need to get the attention of young people to bring them to our website to give them information and encourage them to vote,” St- Arnaud Drolet said. “For the youth component, the costs are $700,000 for investment and production.”

Valérie-Anne Mahéo, guest researcher at the Université de Montréal’s Department

55 per cent of youth aged 18 to 24 voted in the last election. (Arshaaq Jiffry / The McGill Tribune)

of Political Science, believes several factors have affected youth turnout including changes in values, failure of political parties to engage young people, and lack of education.

“Due to changes in values, citizens have become more critical of political institutions and political parties,” Mahéo said. “We have seen this happening for a few decades now in many Western democracies. In former generations, voting was seen as a civic duty [....]

Now more and more younger people think it’s a personal choice. Voting may not be as

important as it used to be for previous generations.”

Mahéo also pointed to a National Youth Survey prepared by Nielsen Consumer Insights for Elections Canada which found that only 29 per cent of the youth aged 18 to 34 had been contacted by a political party or candidate during the 2015 federal election, compared to 59 per cent of the older adults who were contacted.

“We know that face to face contact and personal mobilization is a big and important

factor to explain why people show up to a polling station,” Mahéo said.

Education is also strongly correlated with voting. The National Youth Survey Report shows that 86 per cent of those who hold a university degree voted in the 2011 general election compared to only 69 per cent of those who held just a high school diploma.

“Education builds political engagement capacities in different ways,” Mahéo said. “[In] university, you develop critical thinking skills, information search abilities, your ability to debate, your ability to communicate and to analyze information, [...and] you tend to develop a network that is more educated and more interested in the election.”

Mahéo emphasized that a representative only functions if citizens exercise their voting rights.

“Representative democracy is the world we live in,” Mahéo said. “So, if citizens do not take part in it, the government would not be as representative as they should or could be.”

According to Fabrice Labeau, interim deputy provost (Student Life and Learning), the cancellation of classes is unlikely to have a negative effect on academics at McGill.

“Professors were informed of the government’s requirement late last year in order to allow them time to adjust their curriculum accordingly,” Labeau said. “As each faculty’s requirements, structures, and schedules differ significantly, so do their chosen methods for mitigating the impact of the cancellation.”

opinion

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

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

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

Senate should not have to overstep to amplify student voices On Sept. 12, McGill’s Senate passed a motion endorsing McGill’s divestment from corporations involved in the production, transportation, or sale of fossil fuels. The Senate’s decision puts pressure on the Board of Governors (BoG), which ultimately has the power to divest, but has already refused to do so twice before. The Senate, a governing body primarily concerned with academic affairs, exceeded its jurisdiction to stand in solidarity with students. The breach speaks volumes: Governing organizations should not have to overstep their mandates for student voices to be heard.

This development is the result of years of grassroots activism on campus, and the Senate is the latest and most powerful in a series of campus bodies to support divestment, including the McGill Association of University Teachers’ (MAUT), the Faculty of Arts, and the Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU). Fossil fuel reserves must be managed more conservatively to prevent further irreversible climate change, as the exploitation of fossil fuels has serious implications for widespread

Off the board

Multimedia Editor Tristan Surman multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Julia Kafato webdev@mcgilltribune.com Luya Ding online@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Melissa Langley copy@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Falah Rajput business@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors Marie Labrosse & Falah Rajput

Contributors Alden Tabac, Amanda Fiore, Amanda Ventrudo, Anna Walin, Athena Ko, Charlie Mascia, Cordelia Cho, Dan Aponte, Demaris Oxman, Emma Gillies, Gabe Nisker, Gwenyth Wren, Hannah Downard, Hannibal de Pencier, Helen Wu, Jane Canuel, Katherine Willcocks, Kaylina Kodick, Keira Seidenberg, Kendall McGowan, Krithika Ragupathi, Leanne Young, Lucas Bird, Makena Anderson, Millie Valencia, Nicholas Raffoul, Nina Russell, Owen Gibbs, Raffles Zhu, Sabrina Girard-Lamas, Sam Wendel, Sydney King,Wanlin Song

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Gabe Nisker Sports Editor Dairy, fish, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, tree nuts, peanuts, and shellfish. Seven rules for feeding me, or rather, what not to feed me— seven allergens that are ingrained in my memory. This list is a part of who I am. And no, it’s not easy navigating the world of food with a list of allergies like mine. Still, my parents never wanted my allergies to hold me back from culinary experiences; other kids I met at Food Allergy Canada meetings weren’t awarded the same comfort. It is both in spite and because of my allergies that food is essential to who I am.

Navigating allergies is even more complicated when considering my Jewish heritage, a culture that is famously food-centric and reluctant when it comes to compromising.

When I asked my uncle if the Purim (Jewish Halloween) treat I wanted to eat was pareve—meaning dairy and meat-free—he gave me the go-

environmental pollution, ecosystem degradation, water contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions. Given the plethora of well-documented environmental benefits and growing campus-wide support, The McGill Tribune’s own endorsement is overdue.

That Senate, McGill’s second-highest governing body, has chosen to reach beyond its mandate in support of divestment is even further proof of a growing campus consensus, one which the BoG continues to willfully ignore.

Whereas the Senate is only mandated to govern academic policies such as curricula development, the BoG—McGill’s highest governing body—manages the University’s corporate interests and affairs. The BoG, however, has little student representation: Only two of its 25 voting members are student representatives.

The Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR) advises the Board on socially responsible investing, and has recommended that McGill not divest twice before. Nine of CAMSR’s 10 members sit on the BoG, and there is only one student

representative. CAMSR’s terms of reference currently do not prevent them from endorsing investments based on political affiliations. This represents a conflict of interest, as both CAMSR’s composition and the manner in which its members are selected mean that the committee is inevitably affiliated with BoG politics.

Even CAMSR’s terms of reference themselves are open to sporadic change at the whims of the BoG. In March 2018, the Board attemptedto cripple CAMSR’s ability to advise on socially responsible spending, by proposing that it be prohibited from endorsing investments based on social causes.

Additionally, CAMSR only holds closed meetings. With a lack of student representation on the committee itself, and no easy way for students to voice their concerns and opinions about the Committee’s suggestions, CAMSR cannot take into account the desires of the entire McGill community. Strict limitations on press access to its sessions limit measures for holding the committee accountable.

The Senate is supposed to be

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EDITORIAL apolitical, but so is CAMSR. Faculty endorsements have been insufficient in convincing the BoG that divestment is in the university’s interest. The BoG’s rejections of divestment prove that it does not represent community demands.

The BoG solely represents McGill’s corporate demands, not the demands of the community—that needs to change.

McGill has expressed its commitment to achieving carbonneutrality by 2040. If the university truly wants to reach this goal, then divestment is a crucial step. The move to divest is not merely an environmental issue, but a proof of institutional transparency.

CAMSR needs to open its doors, and if the Committee is to act as the BoG’s social conscience, it also needs to act in accordance with student and scientific consensus.

In the meantime, the Senate’s decision should be celebrated as the result of the hard work of student-led activism.

Students are largely responsible for the success of the divestment movement on campus, and it is imperative that they continue mobilizing to hold their institutions responsible.

You are what you eat ahead so I dove right into a poppy seed hamantaschen. You may recall that I am allergic to poppy seeds, which landed me in the hospital for several hours.

Still, the foods I eat paint a picture of who I am, whether they’re the ones that I have to live without or the ones I can’t live without.

Compiling a list of my favourite foods pulls from a thousand different sources.

This is why recipes get passed down generations, something I’m intimately familiar in the context of my Jewish heritage. My family talks about my great-grandmother’s matzo ball soup and her potato kugel with reverence. But what doesn’t always get passed down are the little things—the spices, the personal flair. Try making someone else’s recipe: It probably won’t taste the same. Highly personal and familiar, home cooking is a sign of comfort.

While eating homemade food shielded me from a scary world of

dairy and poppy seeds, I still find risks exciting. Going to restaurants is an adventure I enjoy. Eating safely means giving every waiter a laundry list of restrictions and in exchange, eating safely means listening to the restaurant staff explain their processes for avoiding crosscontamination.

Because of my allergies, travel is thrilling too. My dad and I venture yearly across the United States, touring different Major League Baseball stadiums. In our time in those cities, we seek out spots featured on food shows hosted by Guy Fieri and Anthony Bourdain— two electric personalities with a penchant for creativity and adventure. But, for all their great choices, I have to do my own extra layer of digging. A hamburger bun mustn’t have seeds; a dessert mustn’t have nuts. It adds a twist to our search.

It has been about 10 years since an allergist told me I could eat dairy. I

celebrated the occasion with a party, complete with a cheeseburger main course. Now, the food has worked its way into my diet. I stopped drinking soy milk, and I love a good plate of nachos. In fact, nine-year-old me wouldn’t believe you if you told him how much dairy I now consume.

I’ve shed plenty of other allergies over too; continuously trying new foods is exciting.

With fewer allergies and 19 years worth of bad allergy experiences, I am equipped to handle my food choices independently.

Food is not a restriction, but something that connects me to others. Last March, when picking out an apartment for the school year, my roommate and I settled in at Schwartz’s Deli to discuss our options. In an unfamiliar situation, I chose familiar food for me, a safe option. Smoked meat is so good— and getting to share my heritage with my roommate was pretty good, too.

opinion

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commentary

Lucas Bird Contributor This past summer, I decided to stay in Montreal. In June, I walked around the McGill Ghetto and the Plateau, delivering my CV and asking for interviews.

Working in the service industry means that you work with people, so, without fail, each time I handed over my meagre resume, the person behind the counter asked whether I spoke French. I replied with a scripted “un petit peu,” meaning “a little bit.” At McGill, it can be easy to shield oneself from the island’s Francophone roots. While this posed a minor inconvenience to

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

Quebec’s quest for monolingual domination makes healthcare less accessible my quest for summer beer money, for many, like the elder patrons of St. Mary’s Hospital, the French linguistic domination of Quebec can pose more serious problems.

In 2015, the Quebec government passed Bill 10: An act to modify the organization and governance of the health and social services network, in particular by abolishing the regional agencies. Along with a laundry list of other changes, the bill brought St. Mary’s Hospital in Montreal’s Côte-desNeiges neighbourhood under the administration of a new umbrella organization: The Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre (CIUSSS).

Shortly after the passage of the bill, the CIUSSS began replacing many of the informational and directional signs in and around St. Mary’s Hospital. While the signs formerly displayed text in both English and French in equal size and hue, the new signs display English text in a significantly smaller and lighter font than the French. The St. Mary’s Users’ Committee, which advocates

commentary

for patients’ rights, immediately noticed the change.

The group expressed concerns about the practicality of the signs, specifically elderly patients’ ability to read the small text. Additionally, the Anglophone community in Côtedes-Neiges, which is larger than in many other areas of Montreal, has expressed broader concerns about a pattern of language legislation that is detrimental to English speakers. Although the provincial government has since tabled several amendments to Bill 10 in response to the public backlash, there continue to be communal worries about what will happen to other Côte-des-Neiges hospitals once they are amalgamated under the CIUSSS umbrella.

Linguistically, the McGill student body shares similarities with the community of Côte-desNeiges, and should therefore share its concerns. As a McGill student, the city is our campus. Montreal is a beautiful cosmopolitan space unlike any other. One of the things that makes this so is the combination of European and

North American cultures and languages. It’s important, not only to the inhabitants of the city, but to me as a student, that the Quebec government strive to preserve French culture and traditions, linguistic and otherwise. That being said, the changes being made at St. Mary’s should not strike even the most traditionalist Quebecer as an effective strategy.

The price we pay to preserve the French linguistic tradition should not be the Anglophone community’s ability to access healthcare services. This past year, McGill saw over 2,000 international students enroll from the United States. It’s important that these students feel secure in their ability to access health and social services if need be.

Legislation like Bill 10 is not only detrimental to that security, but is attempting to address an imagined decline in the French linguistic tradition.

As provincial politicians and the media fuel the fire that drives these legislative changes, it’s clear that, while there are indeed fewer mother-tongue French

Free higher education is not a “misguided notion”

Sydney King Contributor As of May 2018, Canadian students collectively owe $28 billion in student loan debt. Quebec’s protest culture has helped keep tuition rates low in the province— some of the lowest in Canada, second only to Newfoundland and Labrador. Still, many Quebec students face thousands of dollars of debt upon graduation. In an op-ed featured in the Montreal Gazette, Alexandre Moreau and Miguel Ouellette of the Montreal Economic Institute explained that making higher education tuition-free would cost the province $1.1 billion to implement for Quebec students, and $1.3 billion if it were extended to include all Canadian and international students.

Despite the hefty price tag, making college and university tuition-free offers numerous benefits to students and society as a whole.

Loans are a common way for students to cover the costs of university, but they

speakers in Montreal than there were 10 years ago, French itself is actually on the rise. A study by Université de Montréal economics Professor François Vaillancourt found that French employers still significantly outnumber English ones in Quebec. The study also found that the percentage of French speakers in Montreal has actually increased, from 88.1 per cent in 1971 to 94.5 per cent in 2016.

While hysteria about the decline of French remains in provincial politics and the media, the language crisis is farcical.

French is linguistically alive and well in Montreal. Changes like the ones resulting from Bill 10 at St. Mary’s hospital are not only impractical and unfortunate— they are combatting an illusory problem. Access to healthcare is an issue that the provincial government professes to care about, but the debacle in Côtedes-Neiges proves the contrary.

In Quebec’s misguided effort to preserve a linguistic tradition, they have made healthcare less accessible.

Student debt can weigh down students’ financial futures. (Wanlin Song / The McGill Tribune) often leave graduates shackled to making repayments for years or even decades.

As of 2017, students who took out loans to finance their education graduated with an average of $22,084 in debt. Due to the relatively low tuition rates in Quebec, the provincial average is likely lower, but any amount of debt may take years to repay: The average length of time to repay student debt is 10 years.

Debt forces graduates to forgo traditional rites of passage like buying a home or a car, or even getting married and starting a family. Student debt negatively affects credit scores and prevents graduates from opening savings accounts,

investing for retirement, and fulfilling other long-term financial goals. The need to make loan payments while working an entry-level job—or even an unpaid internship—puts graduates in a precarious financial situation.

Even if loans were a stable solution, lower–middle-class students who just barely miss qualifications for need-based financial assistance are often overlooked in conversations about free tuition. Students whose educations are financed by the government may find that their aid does not cover books, computers, off-campus housing, groceries, or other cost-of-living expenses. Tuition is only one of many

expenses postsecondary students incur.

For students who can only work part-time during the school year, their income may be sufficient to cover living expenses, but perhaps not tuition.

Moreau and Ouellette believe that forcing average Quebecers to pay for students’ tuition is unfair because those students eventually out-earn their benefactors. According to their research, 71 per cent of Quebecers do not have a university diploma. This group has a median annual income of $42-56,000, depending on whether they completed CEGEP, while the median university graduate makes $79,000 per year.

However, this means that graduates pay more than twice as much combined income tax as non-graduates, as they reach a higher tax bracket. Therefore, an initial investment in higher education is actually fed back into provincial coffers.

Alleviating the burden of tuition for students studying in Quebec will not reduce the value of a degree, and the alternative to free higher education is not necessarily more money in the pockets of average Quebecers. Opponents of free tuition treat post-secondary students like entitled children who demand that the government subsidize their futures.

In reality, many students live with the constant stress of paying for their education, which is exacerbated when they graduate with thousands of dollars of debt. Students might appreciate their degrees more if they had fewer strings attached. Although the initial cost is high, Quebec may find that the return is worth the investment.

student living

Tuesday, sEPTEMBER 18 , 2018

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Viewpoint: Add-drop is over, now what?

Five tips for studying efficiently

Hannah Downard Contributor With the end of Open Air Pub comes a bitter awakening: The end of add-drop. Goodbye to missing class because it’s syllabus week; so long to lounging on Lower Field; and adios to putting off that textbook purchase until you figure out if the class is for you. With the end of the add-drop period comes the fresh reality of readings starting to pile on, assignment notifications popping up, and the symphonic hum of clacking keyboards throughout campus.

The start of classes invites a common mantra among students: “This is the year where I try to stay on top of everything.” That ‘everything’ can be a long list: Don’t miss class; do work out, complete readings on time, be prepared for conferences, and make something healthy for dinner.

As someone who has difficulty adhering to these ‘September standards,’ I constantly find myself paying the price in October. Missed readings abound, my lecture notes aren’t up to par, and my fridge is empty. Getting organized with a few simple routines can make a world of difference when it comes to your own health, hectic periods of the school year, or even your day-to-day understanding of your courses.

More than supporting academic success, keeping organized during the semester can be a form of self-care. A bit of planning at the start of

the semester can minimize frantic McLennan allnighters.

The following is a list of my most useful organizational tricks that I hope to adhere to, to make this semester, the semester that I finally stay on top of my studies.

Plan out important dates

Upon receiving your course syllabus, mark all the significant due dates on your calendar: Midterms, papers, presentations, and anything else with a due date—write it down! By recording these dates, you’ll have peace of mind knowing exactly how your assignments interfere with one another and how much time you have between deadlines to shoulder the workload. It also ensures that you don’t get caught off-guard by a surprise deadline.

Part 1: Attend class.

Part 2: Attend class, on time.

Don’t be afraid to Helpful resources handwrite notes to support your focus if Sometimes jotting it down old-school is the you need it best way to help your brain soak up course material.

Even if it means rewriting typed notes onto paper later on, the process of writing out concepts can be therapeutic, but also forces you to think through the material on a deeper level, more so than a maddash typing spree usually allows.

Make a study plan

realistic

A mile-long to-do list can be overwhelming.

Break down the work, day-by-day, into more manageable pieces. Make an approachable todo list of the subjects you are going to tackle, or the specific chapters you are going to cover. An achievable plan also helps you to monitor your progress, ensure you’re staying on track of your goals, and feel triumphant in finishing your entire workload.

If your own pure motivation isn’t enough against the lure of social media, websites like KeepMeOut and Chrome extensions like Self Control filter out the distractions for you.

Sometimes, digital horse-blinders can be the best way to make sure you stay on track.

Keeping these helpful tips in mind, I hope that this newfound sense of organization will help me keep both my assignments and my stress-level under control. Careful planning, while ridding myself of the Fieldhouse-sized pile of last-minute assignments on my desk, is invaluable. So long, add-drop; here’s to this semester, the semester.

This sounds simple, but go to class. Don’t hit snooze on your alarm. Sometimes lecture recordings fail to upload or the audio malfunctions.

To truly get the most out of a course, the best strategy is to actually attend it. That way, you will understand the material better, and you won’t need to worry about scrambling for notes or explanations of concepts once midterms roll around.

Your weekend by metro: The green line edition A five-stop Metro-venture down the green line Millie Valencia Contributor

and dumplings, each under 10 dollars.

Fourth stop: Beaudry

The gateway to the next weekend getaway is only a couple blocks from campus at the McGill Metro Station. Grab a pal and an STM day pass and enjoy a day-long expedition with The McGill Tribune’s five-stop green line itinerary.

3 p.m.: Located in the Gay Village, indulge in dessert from Cacao 70 on Rue Sainte-Catherine Est, an eatery that specializes in chocolate delights.

Between dessert pizzas, cheesecakes, waffles, fondue, and ice cream, you’ll want to save some room for a post-lunch treat. The restaurant also serves brunch until 4 p.m. as well as savoury options, such as crepes, until closing time if you aren’t craving sweet food.

First stop: Lionel-Groulx

8:30 a.m.: Situated by the Lachine Canal, the Saint-Henri neighbourhood brings the small-town charm to Montreal. Fuel up for the day at Restaurant Greenspot on Rue NotreDame Ouest. You can choose from their selection of classic breakfast food, sip on your morning coffee, and immerse yourself in the timeless atmosphere of this old-school diner. In addition to eight-dollar breakfast platters, facesized pancakes, and classic omelettes, this spot also offers top-notch lunch and dinner menus, including an exhaustive poutine selection, served after 11 a.m.

9:30 a.m.: Before winter begins, take advantage of Atwater Market’s outdoor area. The popular farmers market buzzes with an assortment of fresh produce, plants, local delicacies, and bakeries— everything you need for this week’s grocery trip. Grab a panini and coffee for a second breakfast at Brûlerie Aux Quatre Vents, pick up your bulk food essentials at Le Vrac du Marché, and stop and smell

Spend a day on Montreal’s green line. (Kaylina Kodlick / The McGill Tribune) the roses at Angel Jardins.

Second stop: Place-des-Arts

10:15 a.m.: Squeeze in a study session at the Anticafé on Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest. This public workspace charges you by time increments, rather than amount of food and drinks consumed, and is perfect for the student on a budget. Three hours at the café costs eight dollars, with an infinite array of cookies, bagels, lattes, and espressos all at your disposal.

Next, visit the Musée D’Art Contemporain de Montréal and take a gander at their collection of contemporary

art from Canada and around the world.

The fall exhibition, “Manifesto,” featuring artists Françoise Sullivan and Julian Rosefeldt, will open on Oct. 20.

Third stop:

Saint Laurent

1:30 p.m.: Satisfy both your shopping needs and your stomach at Eva-B, an eclectic thrift store always overflowing with the latest vintage trends. With two floors full of clothes, it won’t be hard to find your fall wardrobe while still keeping your student budget in mind.

Additionally, their in-store café features lunch options such as soups, sandwiches,

Fifth stop:

Pie IX

4 p.m.: Once the stage for the 1976 Summer Olympics, Olympic Park hosts a diverse array of attractions, events, and activities. Attend an outdoor event, such as the “First Fridays” food truck festival that convenes on the first Friday of every month at the Esplanade Financière Sun Life. Alternatively, explore ecosystems from around the world at the Biodome, or take a ride up Montreal Tower, the tallest inclined tower in the world. Illuminate your evening at the Botanical Garden’s “Garden of Lights,” featuring dazzling light displays and sculptures in the First Nations, Japanese, and Chinese Gardens.

Montreal: La belle ville des movie dorks The search for a foothold in the Montreal film scene

Dylan Adamson

Features Editor

"We were shown, as in some strange phantasmagoria, scenes from different places in France. First there was the arrival of a train at the Lyon-Perrache station [...] you could clearly see each individual. It was most lifelike: you really were at the station. The train left and everything disappeared [...] And the sea? We saw it, not immobile, but rolling its waves. It was most striking. 'How refreshing!' cried a jocular fellow."

So reads the only surviving document of North America’s first film screening. On Boulevard Saint Laurent, on June 27, 1896, a bewildered La Presse writer sat in an invite-only crowd of equally-bewildered French-Canadians, in an evening inaugurating the illustrious traditions of Montreal cinema, industry events, and film dorkery.

Montreal has long served as the capital of a national film industry working outside of the Hollywood monopoly.

The Palace Theatre screening was merely the beginning of motion pictures’ complex history in Montreal.

Louis Minier, the Canadian franchise holder for the Lumière brothers’ newfangled “Cinematograph” machine, along with his assistant, Louis Pupier, held the premiere at 974 Boulevard St-Laurent. For fin de siècle Montrealers, the present-day Chinatown address was the site of the glamorous Palace Theatre, housed in the now burned-down Robillard Building.

For the better part of the twentieth century, however, this primeval screening was absent from history textbooks. Anglophone film scholars, when conducting their research, failed to sufficiently spelunk the deepest annals of Quebecois film journalism when conducting their research. Until the 1980s, Canadians were led to believe that our nation’s cinema was founded in an Ottawa park, when a pair of ambitious Ontarian brothers screened Thomas Edison’s The Kiss outdoors, less than a month after the two Louis’ baptism of North American film.

While the Hollywood studio system churned out racy and provocative hits such as The Ten Commandments (1923), the Catholic Church rigorously censored the production and distribution of films in Quebec. In a singularly bizarre example of an institution nefariously

Raph Sandler, a filmmaker who graduated from Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in December 2017, organized The Neighbourhood Film Festival in Spring 2017. The festival showcased eight films from first-time, Montreal-based filmmakers—none of whom had ever seen their work screened at a festival before.

“Me and the other organizer, Matthew Ober, were surprised at the response,” Sandler wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Filmmakers are not usually known to be very prolific, but we had 12-15 submissions for the festival, just by reaching out through friend groups and minimal social media promotion.”

Sandler’s festival received an enthusiastic response from filmmakers and attendees alike, but his transition from film school to the wide world of industry work in Montreal hasn’t always been so fun.

“I was lucky to find a job in the industry a few months after finishing school,” Sandler wrote. “But it is a non-creative gig, and it’s proving more difficult to get deals on equipment rentals and find people who have the time to work on passion projects without school as a

“Professors have to make it possible for students to do this other stuff,” Osterweil said. “You can’t do everything. You can’t read 400 pages a week and be editing a film." leveraging a tragedy, after the Laurier Palace Theatre fire killed 78 children in 1927, the Church prohibited anyone under the age of 16 from seeing a motion picture. The law wasn’t repealed until 1961.

In the 1960s, bureaucratic shifts toward secularism paved the way for the robust Montreal film industry of today. A new provincially-administered film ratings system supplanted the Church bureau of censorship. The federal government introduced the Canadian Film Development Corporation in 1967 with an office in Montreal, alongside an allocation of $10 million in support of the national film industry. Quebecois cinema blossomed. The Canadian cinema history books of the late twentieth century are littered with Michels, Denises/Denyses, Claudes, and Jean-Claudes.

Today, the Ville de Montreal website boasts over 50 production studios in the city, in addition to the headquarters of Canada’s National Film Board. According to the website, over 600 national and international films are shot in Montreal every year.

Ben Stiller was seen on campus in 2016, and Steve Carrell drove a car through the Arts Building doors in 2008, but that’s about as far as McGill’s involvement in the world of motion pictures extends.

The university doesn’t have a fine arts school, nor a film school, and the anglophone shadow it casts over the area around campus can leave students feeling isolated from the Montreal film scene. Ara Osterweil, visual artist and associate professor in McGill’s Department of English, spoke with The McGill Tribune about her experience living and teaching in Montreal.

“When I first started at McGill, I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have an art school,” Osterweil said. “Because I feel like the presence of an art school at a major university really creates a different kind of environment where that stuff’s always going on simultaneously with the more scholarly stuff.”

Beyond the Milton Gates, it seems like everyone is part of an improv collective or a noise band. Aside from Montreal’s burgeoning, government-sponsored film industry, the city is rife with DIY spaces, mini-festivals, and screening events on every corner north of Avenue Mont Royal. Almost everything is pay-what-you-can, but for many McGill students, it’s less a question of dollars and cents and more an issue of time.

“I think it’s inhumane that McGill expects students to take five classes,” Osterweil said.

“I think that’s absolutely antithetical to learning, and it induces so much anxiety and stress. It’s not healthy.”

A full courseload leaves little room for improv or noise-making, nonetheless filmmaking Osterweil insists, however, on the necessity of exploration in the student experience.

“The whole point of going to school in a major city is to get into the city and not expect the school to offer everything, because the city has to become the campus,” Osterweil said.

“There’s nothing wrong with living in the McGill Ghetto, but get on a Bixi and get out of there too.”

The Montreal film scene is scattered across town, but one venue in close proximity is Cinema du Parc. Located in the basement of the Galeries du Parc mall, Cinema du Parc was famed as Montreal’s first multiplex when it opened in 1977. Today, it’s the smallest one in the city. The theatre showcases international festival-circuit fare, subtitled in English, in tandem with larger independent American titles, which are subtitled in French.

With recently-installed recliner seats now featuring cupholders, Cinema du Parc is a haven for film dorks; however, for newbies looking to get their own movies screened, getting a foot in the door can prove difficult.

means to allow for creative work.”

Unlike Concordia and other universities in Montreal, McGill doesn’t provide an institutional creative outlet for students. Finding an entry point to the film industry postgraduation is that much harder as a result. Some professors have tried to fill the gap. In addition to running a creative graduate class, Osterweil accepts student film submissions for marking in her undergraduate classes.

“I’m a painter, and I completely stopped painting while I was in college,” Osterweil said.

“So I stopped when I was 18, and I didn’t pick it up again until I was 26. [...] So I’m really attuned to that with students, many of whom did lots of creative stuff before they came to McGill, [... but] then they just can’t because they have too many classes, too much work, not enough time.”

Osterweil’s point rings true for many a creatively-stifled McGill student. Particularly with filmmaking, the logistical effort involved in coordinating equipment, cast, crew, and funding can make even the preliminary stages of production feel like a pipedream for students coping with a full course load.

Hannah Moore, a U3 Cultural Studies major and filmmaker, praised the services that are available to students passionate about filmmaking at McGill.

“I am always quick to recommend the production companies that do exist when I have a chance,” Moore wrote in an email to the Tribune. “The course MUPD 204 (Production for Digital Media 1) is a great resource for learning camera and editing skills in a classroom setting, and the Marvin Duchow Music Library has A/V equipment which I’ve rented for personal projects over the years.”

The resources are there if students have the time to look for them. But despite its place in the cradle of Canadian film, McGill offers only the Cultural Studies major and World Cinemas minor for students interested in pursuing film.

Osterweil is well aware of the potential for students to get wrapped up in academics in their time at McGill, only to emerge on the other side of four years having not made a film in half a decade.

“Professors have to make it possible for students to do this other stuff,” Osterweil said.

“You can’t do everything. You can’t read 400 pages a week and be editing a film. It’s not going to happen. So I feel like, if professors want to enable that, they have to clear some space because learning does not all happen by reading a book. Actually, it’s a detriment to learning in many ways, because you just simply can’t absorb all that, and, you need to get out [to] be involved.”

Too often, McGill is a place where bright-eyed teens come to forget about their adolescent ambitions. Exams and deadlines tend to take precedence over noise and improv.

Hollywood dreams cede to a communications degree.

To that end, Osterweil closed with some advice for the creatively smothered students walking the halls of McLennan. Her sentiment is not a demand for students to organize their own film festivals during midterms, but a plea for students simply to not forget their artistic dreams.

“I know from an older person’s point of view [...] how [students are] going to regret that they stopped playing piano, that they stopped drawing, when these were really vital and essential parts of who they are,” Osterweil said. “So I am always trying to encourage students to not let that go, even though I know how difficult that is, because those are essential parts of who we are, and [...] they serve so many vital purposes to you as a human being as you go through the different stages of life.”

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student living

Tuesday, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

Keeping Montrealers cycling

A survey of bike co-ops in Montreal’s downtown core

Anna Wallin Contributor Around Montreal, local communities are organizing bike-co-ops to get city-dwellers moving.

In the downtown area alone, Concordia and McGill Universities both host co-ops designed to make everyday bicycling more accessible to a wider range of people. In fulfilling this mission, the volunteer-run projects have become an integral part of the Montreal student and biker communities.

Montreal is home to a multitude of volunteerrun spaces where cyclists can receive assistance in repairing and maintaining their rides. Among them are Concordia’s Right to Move/La Voie Libre and McGill’s The Flat Bike Collective, where cyclists can get help fixing their bicycles, gain skills in bike mechanics, and even build their own bike in a community setting, no matter their skill level. The co-ops aim to keep cycling an affordable mode of transportation for all Montrealers, regardless of their background.

These downtown co-ops were founded, in part, as educational centres. According to Flat volunteer Athar Ejaz Qureshi (U3 Engineering), the goal of volunteering is to empower people with relevant skills to take on projects of their own.

“There’s no minimum requirement on what you need to know,” Ejaz Qureshi said. “We’ve had instances where we’ve had people come in who don’t know anything, and they’re willing to put the time in, and by the end of the shift, they know how to fix a flat.”

At both organizations, patrons can come buy frames at each stage of the building process. Visitors can also start their own bicycle building projects, with volunteers there to guide them along the way. For longterm projects, the co-op offers storage space for bikes and tools.

In their efforts to become more accessible, the bike collectives have also established a more public presence on Montreal campuses. The Flat has a

bike parts vending machine located in the Burnside basement, which allows students to obtain the parts they need outside of the cooperative’s operating hours.

“The vending machine [...] was started with seed funding from the Sustainable Projects fund,” Ejaz Qureshi said. “[The machine is] full of bike tubes and brake parts [for students to purchase].”

Several current Montreal co-op volunteers started out as members, coming in to fix their bikes.

Myke Wilder has now been a regular for eight years.

During his involvement, he eventually took the Right to Move’s mechanics class and started showing other people the ropes.

“I would come in to fix my bike, and people who were volunteers would help me,” Wilder said. “[As a volunteer], I can see when people are doing the kinds of things that I would do. Over the years, I’ve learned a fair bit about bikes, and every week I learn from the people who come into the shop to fix bikes.’”

In addition to providing open studio space, both Concordia’s Right to Move and McGill’s The Flat Bike Collective host nights designated for specific groups. The Right to Move opens the shop exclusively to women/trans/femme (WTF)-identifying people every Wednesday. The use of the specific word “femme” illustrates that they strive to offer a bilingual service to the Montreal community. The Flat hosts a similar event, Women Trans Queer (WTQ) Night, on the first Wednesday of every month, that welcomes members of the group. These initiatives both create a greater sense of community within the collectives and uphold their inclusive missions.

“There are some people who are not comfortable in the shop on an evening [...] where it’s just four guys, and there aren’t a lot of women,” Wilder said.

These downtown co-ops allow Montrealers to hone a new skill, encourage environmentallyfriendly transportation, make cycling a more affordable alternative, and create a welcoming community.

cartoon

A more useful currency Sabrina Girard-Lamas Contributor

Full-time student, part-time employee

A look into the routines of working students

Many working students struggle to strike a balance between their personal and professional responsibilities. (Amanda Fiore / The McGill Tribune)

Katherine Willcocks Contributor McGill students find employment for all sorts of reasons: Paying bills, accumulating spending money, or gaining valuable field experience. While working during the school year helps boost financial independence and time-management skills, it comes with its share of challenges.

For many students, taking on a job while still in school opens the door to new opportunities. Mikhaela Neelin, BSc. ‘18, worked 20-hour weeks during her undergraduate career so that she could live independently and still be able to travel.

Working while in school provided Neelin with enriching experiences that, otherwise, would have been out of reach.

“It allowed me to go on long trips during my bachelor’s degree, including McGill’s Africa Field Study semester in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania,” Neelin said.

Despite these benefits, Neelin had to make certain sacrifices when she first started working during the academic year.

“I loved getting to explore so much of the world without [going] into debt, but I was often distracted from my studies and could not be as involved in gaining practical lab experience as I would have liked to be,” Neelin said. “I had to stop running on the track team because of time conflicts, and my grades suffered as I juggled all of my commitments.

It’s a question of priorities, and mine were more about experiences than they were about grades.”

During this time, Neelin learned to develop her time-management and schedulemaking skills to balance her academic and professional responsibilities. Though Neelin is proud of her practicality as she adjusted to life as a working student, she cautions that taking on too much can affect one’s friendships and community-building opportunities. In her experience, balancing part-time employment with full-time studies puts a dent in a person’s spare time, which can make it difficult to

connect with friends.

“I woke up very early, and free time was next to nonexistent,” Neelin said. “My answer to ‘want to hang out’ was almost guaranteed to be ‘I’m busy,’ and ‘Netflix and chill’ was an idea I only heard about in memes.”

Angela Novaković (U2 Sciences) thrives on her busy schedule. Last year, she worked around 13 hours a week at the McLennan Library, volunteered as a French tutor and in Dr. Tomislav Friščić’s chemistry laboratory, and juggled a 15-credit course load. To manage the demands placed on working students, Novaković prioritizes academics, while still remembering to take care of herself. She never studies after midnight and generally manages to fit in seven hours of sleep every night. The key to the work-life balance is just that—balance.

“You’ll have fun, and [working through school] is going to help you organize yourself in a better manner,” Novaković said.

Working a part-time job while studying full-time can seem daunting, but it can become a social activity, which may also help develop a professional network. As young workers, making the right connections can give students a leg up on their competition when preparing to enter the job market full-time. According to Novaković, the connections made on campus can also benefit a person’s mental health and academic life.

“By studying and working on campus, I have met new people who have become like a family to me,” Novaković said. “It allowed me to share and receive tips and tricks about classes that I took or was about to take.”

Novaković also highlighted the importance of enjoying one’s part-time job, noting that it helps reduce stress by creating a welcome break from academic pressure. At the library, she had fun with her coworkers and found completing tasks as simple as finding the proper reference book for a student’s course rewarding. Ultimately, Novaković recalled a sense of pride in giving back to the McGill community.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

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‘Resplendent Illuminations’ showcases centuries-old opulence

New MMFA exhibit invites viewers to experience sacred Medieval texts up close Each book is framed either by architectural backgrounds showcasing early attempts at linear perspective, or by tangles of bright flowers and tracing vines.

When looking from a specific angle, the works gleam; careful brushstrokes

Keira Seidenberg Contributor Softly lit walls and echoes of medieval chamber music provide the backdrop for a history-buff’s dreamcome-true in the Montreal Museum of Fine Art (MMFA)’s current exhibition, Resplendent Illuminations. The show, which runs until Jan. 6, exhibits the work of centuries-old craftsmen in a sizable collection of books of hours.

One of the most widely distributed forms of literature in the Middle Ages, books of hours are Christian devotional texts, named for their prescription of specific prayers to be performed at designated hours of the day. Notable prayers within the books include the hours of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit, and various other saints. Critics and historians have lauded books of hours for their ornamental design and lettering, as their aesthetic beauty and lavish materials are meant to convey piety.

The books of hours displayed in Resplendent Illuminations date from the 13th to 16th centuries and are drawn from a variety of personal and private collections, including McGill University’s rare books collection. While many of the books are shown in their entirety, several of the artifacts have survived only as single sheets due to the passage of time. Many of the books pages are also warped, likely by water, or due to poor-quality paper.

The MMFA’s book of hours collection offers insight into medieval art. (Zoé Yalden / The McGill Tribune)

Still, the delicate lines and elaborate patterning reveal the painstaking care that conservators and historians have taken to preserve the medieval works. Many of the pages on display are devoted to scenes of religious lamentation or depict Christian imagery.

of gold leaves shimmer, accentuating lettering and framing religious figures.

Stepping away from the MMFA’s graphic prints and suspended sculptures was a staggering experience; both the space where the works were displayed and the attention they demanded were enough to temporarily distract from the realities of presentday. The books of hours had a resounding immediacy, showcasing the artist’s hand in a way often absent from polished prints. Peering into the long cases filled with books was awe-inspiring. It’s easy to imagine the production of the ornamental books and the reactions they inspired.

Amidst the clutter of ancient artifacts in many medieval exhibitions, illuminated manuscripts such as the books of hours are often overlooked.It takes a patient eye to appreciate the intricate floral designs and detailed facial expressions. Modern technological advancements mean we are often desensitized to the history of process and production. Resplendent Illuminations is a deliberate reminder of the craftsmanship once demanded to produce even a single page of a book, and the age old relationship between Christianity and the visual arts.

Resplendent Illuminations runs until Jan. 6, 2019. Tickets are available at https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/ exhibitions/on-view/resplendent-illuminations.

‘Birds Crossing Borders’ connects Syrian and Canadian communities Khadija Baker uses her multimedia exhibition to tell the stories of six Syrian refugees

Nicholas Raffoul Contributor Since 2017, over 6,100 Syrian refugees have arrived in Montreal. With her multimedia exhibition, Khadjia Baker puts a name, face, and voice to six of these individuals. Her captivating and powerful audio-visual installation, Birds Crossing Borders, premiered on Sept. 13 at the theatre and gallery, Montreal Arts Interculturels. A Kurdish-Syrian who witnessed the Syrian civil war firsthand, Baker presents a collection of stories from Syrian refugees living in Montreal to chip away at the myth of refugees as radical extremists.

In Birds Crossing Borders, Baker displays the anecdotes and narratives of Syrian men and women new to Canada on three televisions and two projectors of different sizes in a dim gallery. Two of the films, “Powerful women looking for freedom” and “Family of recently arrived refugees,” offered audiences insight into the humanity and wounds of Syrian refugees through first-person storytelling.

The short films last anywhere from approximately 13 minutes to an entire hour. Baker creates a moving multi-sensory experience that transports viewers into the lives of each storyteller.

The screens of the installation stand in each corner of the room, alongside plexiglass boxes filled with clear water and tubes that connect each box in the centre.

“The movement of the water through these vessels is a conceptual reflection on dis-

placement and the dynamics of belonging in one’s home,”Baker’s exhibition introduction revealed.

The first box fills up with a red liquid, which slowly passes through each plexiglass box. Using simple objects found in a chemistry lab, Baker comments on the connectedness of human movement and the relationship to new land and new people.

Zain Merhaba, a 27 year-old Master’s student from Aleppo studying childhood education, had one of the most gripping narratives on offer. While other storytellers spoke French or English, Zain told her stories in a Syrian dialect that reminded me of my own Lebanese family, and made her seem familiar. Zain shared her experiences as a school teacher and hospital volunteer during the war, how she looked to children for hope, and the difficulty of having to learn a new language.

As someone who has experienced the effects of displacement—my siblings having been forced to flee Lebanon in 2006 due to military conflict—Zain’s experiences resonated with me. The sense of solidarity I felt was a feeling Baker had set out to evoke. “[The exhibition] aims to develop healthier relations with displaced people from the Middle East as a way of avoiding social separation and conflict,” Baker’s introduction stated.

The exhibition’s interview storytelling technique offers a unique perspective into the lives of Syrian refugees at a time when their perspectives are often forgotten.

Baker utilizes the physical and auditory mediums to create a gallery experience that is as unforgettable as it is powerful. (Dan Aponte / The McGill Tribune)

“One-sided images from Western news media intensifies the paranoia around ‘alien newcomers,’” the introduction read.

Baker’s small yet forceful exhibition dismantles barriers created by popular news sources, giving full attention to the Syrian refugees themselves, rather than political sensationalism. Baker’s collection of films showcases a raw and unscripted perspective of these six men and women. The installation takes away viewers’ ability to respond, and instead, it requires that they listen.

Although I experienced Khadija Baker’s Birds Crossing Borders with no other patron in the gallery, it did not feel like I was alone.

As a person of Lebanese descent who appreciates the effect that displacement can have on a family, I left the exhibition having been transported somewhere familiar.

Birds Without Borders runs from Sept. 13 to Oct. 13. at MAI. Tickets are free. For more information, go to http://www.m-a-i.qc.ca/ event/birds-crossing-borders.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, september 18, 2018

From the Viewpoint: The resilient whimsy of stop motion animation Festival Stop Motion Montreal celebrates 10 years Charlie Mascia Contributor

This spring, to the beat of drums and the barks of strays, Wes Anderson released his second animated film, Isle of Dogs, nine years after his first, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Both use the century-old technique of stop motion animation. Though I enjoyed both films immensely, I knew nothing of the laborious technique behind their distinct aesthetic, until The McGill Tribune sent me to the community-focused Festival Stop Motion Montreal.

Ten years since its inception, Festival Stop Motion Montreal is thriving. The three day event was organized around the screening of more than 50 films hailing from around the world. The festival also offered seminar classes and interactive exhibits for experimentation with stop motion.

This year’s guests included Tim Allen, the animator who brought Isle of Dogs to life, and Dale Hayward, who helped animate The Little Prince (2015).

The stop motion technique is simple in theory: Animators move objects incrementally, and photograph each change in position. To create the sense of movement, the images are played in a sequence, then stitched together in post-production. The process is painstakingly slow, and, typically, 12-24 images account for only one second of film.

This process is inexplicably complex for a film like The Empire Strikes Back, where the Hoth battle scene includes dozens of different stork-like ATAT figurines assaulting the rebel base at once.

Despite the charm and beauty of stop motion films, the increased efficiency of computer-generated imagery (CGI) technology threatens to render the artform extinct. The festival’s success, with seven categories of films and multiple premieres, is a notable indicator of stop motion’s resilience in the face of CGI. In an interview with the Tribune, Festival Director, Érik Goulet explained how stop motion is adapting to recent breakthroughs.

Montreal’s beloved festival showcases the simple joys of stop motion animation. (Athena Ko/ The McGill Tribune)

“[Stop motion] is already interacting with new technologies,” Goulet said. “From digital cameras for faster capture to ease animator feedback, to 3D printing to speed up the process of lip syncing, and finally VR for more stop motion interactive storytelling.”

The festival emphasized these innovations with its installment of a “Virtual Reality Garden,” in which VR stations enabled festival-goers to explore stop motion animated worlds interactively with Oculus headsets.

I had never appreciated the difference between stop motion and CGI, but, after viewing the screenings, it became apparent to me that the former lends itself to radically more evocative imagery. Texture, colour, and movements feel more enchanting. Each film had such individual flair and sentiment; they would have lost their artistic imperfection and distinct aura had they been animated with CGI. The festival featured a variety of fantastic, and sometimes head-scratching, independent and professional films.

Negative Space, directed by Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata, was my favorite production, a five-and-a-half minute tour de force in storytelling and design. Focusing on a fatherson bond, the film follows the life of a small child and his meaningful ritual of packing his father’s suitcase. The story is moving, and the imagery is surrealist: A road becomes a zipper and the inside of a suitcase becomes the playground of a young boy, splashing around in the packed clothes that lap like waves around his body. Independent productions like The Moon’s Milk, directed by Ri Crawford, and Así son las Cosas, directed by Juan Pablo Zaramella, were also festival highlights.

At the festival’s end, I was lucky enough to run into special-guest Allen. We talked Wes Anderson, Star Wars, and what makes stop motion animation so inexplicably special.

“CGI can be more realistic, or even completely lifelike, but stop motion accepts the imperfection and appreciates the fantasy, and somehow it feels more realistic and more emotionally true,” Allen said.

Vikki Gilmore’s ‘Someone’ is a life-affirming portrait of young adulthood McGill’s own Vikki Gilmore unpacks her new EP Demaris Oxman Contributor For many students, it often feels impossible to pursue creative growth alongside academic demands—yet U3 McGill psychology student Vikki Gilmore is doing just that. The McGill Tribune sat down with the singersongwriter to talk about her new EP, Someone, and the inspiration behind her work.

With Someone, Gilmore articulates themes common among those her age: Struggles in letting go of the past, navigating love, and the simultaneous fear and elation that come with breaking free from one’s comfort zone.

“I find [that this EP is] like a journal entry from this segment of my life,” Gilmore said.

It’s an apt comparison, considering the EP’s raw vulnerability, as well as Gilmore’s creative process. Much like a diary, Gilmore begins writing the lyrics of a song first. For Someone, she drew inspiration from listening to the stories of people around her and relating them to her own experiences, weaving together a narrative that is both personal and relatable.

“Someone walks into our lives and changes how we see,” Gilmore sings in her title track, elegantly summarizing a universal experience and inviting listeners to resonate with her work.

“I find it’s nice to write about something that people can interpret in a million different ways,” Gilmore said.

Even for Gilmore, her songs are constantly lending themselves to new interpretations.

“Every time I listen to [the EP], or every time I play it, it’ll mean something different to me,” Gilmore said.

From a lyrical standpoint, Someone is an insightful exploration of a single chapter in a much larger story. Gilmore sings of love and pain, of loss and longing, and finishes with a farewell to old comforts with “Home.” It is a bittersweet conclusion, that allows for the close of one narrative to make way for the beginning of another.

Gilmore admits that as a selftaught musician, instrumentation does not come as easily as writing lyrics. Listeners can hear that she’s still learning: Someone’s melodies are relatively simple. However, in a world in which popular music is often gimmicky and overproduced, simplicity isn’t necessarily a disadvantage. Gilmore’s strippeddown arrangements lend her work a raw, yet sophisticated quality, drawing attention to the beautiful timbre of her voice and amplifying her emotional honesty.

Gilmore expresses immense

gratitude for her producer, fellow Montreal indie musician Mathieu LeGuerrier, and his understanding of her artistic vision.

“I was able to tell him, ‘This is what I have in my head, this is the idea I have, I don’t know how to explain it musically,’ […] and he did it, and it was amazing,” Gilmore said.

A Montreal native, Gilmore cites the city’s unique artistic backdrop as a major influence. She describes an incredibly positive, supportive experience within the local music scene.

“You can do absolutely anything and people will include you,” Gilmore said.

In forging her identity as a This Gilrmore girl navigates the tribulations of late musician, Gilmore is inspired by the adolescence in her music. (Vikki Gilmore) music of her upbringing as well as the local music sphere. this is probably the city to do it.”

“I was raised on folk music, so Gilmore plans on attending that’s where I kind of lean [...] but I graduate school post-McGill, find in Montreal we have a beautiful continuing her music while pursuing indie scene,” Gilmore said. “I’ve tried her interest in psychology. taking a lot of inspiration from that, “I know a lot of people have their merging the two.” professional careers and their music She urges fellow young musicians careers on the side,” Gilmore said. “If to take advantage of the opportunities I can do that at McGill, I can do it in of such a vibrant scene. the real world too.”

“In Montreal, we have a lot of opportunities to just get out there,” Gilmore’s two EPs, Where You’re Gilmore said. “People are really From and her new release Someone, willing to support local art. If you are available now across all music reach out and put yourself out there, platforms.

science & technology

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

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Sounds fishy: Omega-3s and the fish reduction industry Fish oil supplements are not as perfect as they seem

Emma Gillies Contributor Omega-3s have a storied reputation in the nutrition world. Studies claim that the fatty acids found primarily in fish can help fight inflammation, improve brain health, and may even prevent heart disease.

Since 2002, the American Heart Association has recommended two servings of fish a week, or, for those who detest the taste, omega-3 fish oil supplements. The first major assertion of fish oils’ health benefits dates back to the 1970s, when Danish chemists Hans Olaf Bang and Jorn Dyerberg found a high concentration of omega-3 fats in a Greenlandic Inuit community with a low rate of heart disease.

However, Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill’s Office for Science and Society and a professor in the Department of Chemistry, pointed out that the study was a classic case of confusing cause and effect. While the researchers said that omega-3s may explain the low incidence of heart disease, they never confirmed it. In fact, it was later found that the community did not have reduced rates of heart disease.

“The only way a cause and effect relationship can be established is by mounting randomized, placebo-controlled trials,” Schwarcz wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

Since the 1970s, there have been many such trials. While the early studies showed benefits in consuming omega-3s, many recent ones have not. In an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), author Paul Greenberg discussed how, in the past ten or fifteen years, many meta-analyses— studies that group previous studies together to extrapolate larger findings—have concluded that omega-3s have a very limited effect. Even the American Heart Association has made an effort to rephrase its recommendations, stating

Omega-3 benefits have long been promoted, but, due to recent research and environmental exploitation, there is reason to be skeptical. (hindustantimes.com) that fish oil supplements are only significantly beneficial to enough basic information on the actual species themselves, [and] also [on] how those species use their environment,” those diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.

On top of that, the fish-reduction industry—which Roy said.

Sustainable fisheries must pay close attention to boils small fish into oil for use in supplements and animal the reproduction of the species as well as the number feed—is largely unsustainable.

According to Greenberg, about a quarter of the fish of fish that the environment can support, known as we catch are used in the fish reduction industry. Many the carrying capacity. Overfishing can cause populations are keystone species, which means that other species’ to crash and regenerate at much lower carrying capacities.

To complicate management decisions, fisheries assure the populations are highly dependent on them for survival.

According to Denis Roy, a fish ecologist and assistant livelihood of about 10-12 per cent of the world’s population, professor in McGill’s Department of Natural Resource expanding the stakes of the fishing industry beyond the Sciences, many of the world’s commercial fisheries—the environmental implications of collapse.

For those still adamant about the benefits of omega-3 reduction industry included—have either collapsed or are on the verge of collapsing. For him, it’s important to understand supplements, it might be a worthwhile and environmentally proactive venture to try algal oil instead since, through the ecological implications of fisheries management.

“I think one of the major issues with the way in which aquatic food chains, algae is the origin of the omega-3s a lot of fisheries are managed is that we just don’t have found in fish.

Smart pump improves insulin delivery to diabetics McGill team heads an innovative new project

Krithika Ragupathi Contributor Meanwhile, insulin pumps, which are attached to the body, are pre-programmed to release a certain amount of insulin throughout the day. Diabetics wear pumps under their skin via a catheter. Pump users receive steady levels of insulin throughout the day and press a button to receive a larger dose of insulin prior to mealtimes. Pumps minimize user involvement throughout the day, however, they are more expensive than injections.

While the pumps and injections provide regular insulin delivery, they are not fool-proof treatment methods. The body’s need for insulin may fluctuate based on factors which alter the amount of blood glucose available such as diet, exercise, and one’s emotional state.

“On average, people with the best available therapy spend about 40 to 50 per cent of the time within the target [insulin] range, and the remaining 50 per cent, which is 12 hours a day, either above or below the target range,” Haidar said. “What we’ve found is that it is extremely difficult for people to get insulin at [the] right times.”

The solution that Haidar and his colleagues are working on is a smart insulin pump which acts as an artificial pancreas. In healthy individuals, the pancreas continuously monitors and releases amounts of insulin according to current blood-sugar levels.

Likewise, the smart pump system detects insulin levels and adjusts the amount of insulin released.

The smart pump combines three elements: The conventional pump, a continuous glucose monitoring system, and an algorithm developed by Haidar’s lab.

“Every 10 minutes, [the algorithm determines] the optimal amount of insulin that aims to bring sugar levels into target range,” Haidar said.

This summer, Haidar’s lab tested their algorithm at Camp Carowanis, a summer camp that aims to empower young insulindependent diabetics in SainteAgathe-des-Monts.

In the short-term study his team conducted, Haidar described an improvement in the overnight blood-sugar control. Additionally, the study found that users reported better psychosocial outcomes, including improved quality of life and wellness, and less anxiety.

While the product still

McGill biomedical engineering lab develops an algorithm that improves insulin delivery as compared to current delivery technologies. (Cordelia Cho / The McGiill Tribune) requires more testing before it can be made available to the public, Haidar’s lab is already working on a more advanced system which uses multiple hormones, including glucagon and pramlintide, to enable better hormone regulation.

Pramlintide slows meal absorption,

while glucagon raises blood sugar levels by signalling the conversion of stored forms of sugars in cells into blood glucose.

“With [just] insulin, it’s like driving a car with only gasoline, but then [adding] glucagon, you now have brakes. You have more

control,” Haidar said.

Although adding these two hormones to the system would certainly be more expensive it would enable better regulation of sugar levels and hence better health outcomes for those living with the chronic condition.

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science & technology

Tuesday, september 18, 2018

Policy and research struggle to keep up with opioid epidemic Addiction more unyielding than previously assumed

Calvin Trottier-Chi Managing Editor Although once upheld as an exemplary source of pain relief, opioid painkillers have quickly come to cause a deadly health emergency across North America. While in 2016 there were 2,458 reported opioid-related deaths in Canada, 2017 saw a considerable increase to 3,987 deaths. In light of this growing crisis, the Montreal non-profit Science & Policy Exchange, an organization dedicated to applying research to government policies, held a seminar on Aug. 29 with four experts sharing their perspective on the opioid epidemic.

“Canada [...] has one of the highest rates of opioid-related death in the world,” Rebecca Jesseman, director and senior policy advisor at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, said. “The rate of deaths due to opioids is highest in British Columbia at 29 per 100,000 and in Alberta at close to 17 per 100,000. The majority of those deaths are unintentional and involve fentanyl.”

Fentanyl is one of the most frequently prescribed opioids in Canada.

It is particularly infamous because of how cheap it is to illegally produce and transport. Its potency also makes even a quarter of a milligram of the drug fatal.

“Today, the illicit drug supply is becoming increasingly toxic, with fentanyl present in close to 70 per cent of opioid-related deaths reported by coroners

Safe-injection sites have only recently been approved, by the federal government allowing those suffering from opioid addiction to consume with medical and legal support. (Calvin Trottier-Chi / The McGill Tribune) in 2017,” Jesseman said.

Canada and the United States have some of the highest rates of painkiller prescription. Historically, they have been recommended for those temporarily suffering from severe pain, due to trauma or surgery, but there was a substantial rise in long term opioid usage after they started being prescribed to patients suffering from chronic pain. Unfortunately, research did not consider the effects of using opioids for extended periods. “[In 2006 and 2015], authors reviewed roughly 40 randomized trials and they found that opioids are superior to placebos for pain relief [...], but the

problem with these randomized controlled trials is that the average duration of those trials so far has been [just] five weeks,” Marc Martel, the research director at the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit, said. “What we’ve [now] learned is that the opioid addiction-rate in patients with chronic pain is around 10 per cent.”

Today, there is more consideration for the likelihood that an individual might become addicted to opioids, with young males and those with substance use or psychological problems being the most susceptible to drug abuse. A major factor in addiction is how the patient is weaned off of prescribed opioids.

“The abrupt discontinuation of opioid therapies can be really problematic, [and] may lead to reduced access to pain care, under-treatment of pain, and, most importantly, may lead to risky opioid-seeking behaviour,” Martel said.

“Roughly 11 per cent of patients with pain who have been discontinued from opioids turn to illicit sources in order to get opioid pain relief.”

Government policy has recently acknowledged the futility of trying to prohibit addicts from further usage. In an effort to rectify the oversight, harmreduction has become one of the four pillars of Canada’s federal drug strategy in 2016, alongside prevention, treatment, and reduction.

“The harm- reduction approach aims to assist people who use legal and illegal psychoactive drugs to live safer and healthier lives,” Sandhia Vadlamudy, executive director of Cactus Montreal, said. “In Canada, harm reduction policies include increased access to Naloxone [a drug used to treat an opioid overdose] and support for supervised injection sites.”

Safe-injection sites offer open spaces where those suffering from opioid addictions can safely use the drug without legal repercussions and with the support of medical equipment and services.

Although they are not the only solution, they are one of many helpful tools to reduce the growing number of opioid fatalities as research-backed policy moves to counter this health crisis.

The immaculate conception of the internet: A balancing act Hidden benefits of ads, radicals and fake news

tools to catch.

Although Facebook and Twitter use the report feature to minimize hate speech on their platforms, Ruths exposed an unintentional result of monitoring content. According to him, it is not uncommon in authoritarian regimes, such as Myanmar and Vietnam, for the government to censor content that they believe threatens their power. As a result, moderating material on the internet raises questions over who gets to decide what counts as hate speech and what the criteria are.

Another issue plaguing the internet is the current trend of fake news that misinforms and manipulates the public’s knowledge.

Gwenyth Wren Contributor On Sept. 13, the Redpath Museum hosted Derek Ruths, a McGill professor of computer science and director of the Centre for Social and Cultural Data Science, who addressed a pertinent problem of our technological world: The dark side of the internet.

According to Ruths, the three most substantial issues with the internet are behavioural tracking, referring to websites tracking their users’ web-browsing information, aggressive behaviour such as harassment and hate speech, and misinformation or manipulation via bots.

A regular social media user has likely had the offputting experience of seeing an ad related to something they Googled an hour earlier.

According to Ruths, this occurs as a result of ad networks which track internet activity and enable advertisers to provide more personalized ads.

Some see this strategy as a minor annoyance, while others see it as creepy or even a violation of privacy. However, these nuisances are necessary costs for free services, flexibility of expression, and right to access.

“Advertising has enabled an unprecedented level of innovation on the internet,” Ruths said.

Everything we take for granted as free online is funded by ads. There is no such thing as

A key challenge of preventing internet trolls is defining what qualifies as ‘bad behaviour.’ (deanhawkins.com) a free lunch: If you’re not paying for something directly, you’re still paying another way. On the internet, subjection to ads is a form of payment.

On the streaming service Spotify, for example, paying customers can listen to their favourite songs anywhere and anytime, uninterrupted. Those who don’t pay must instead listen to an advertisement every 30 minutes. A choice arises between paying to avoid ads and tolerating them. Ultimately, the decision lies between paying with one’s money or with one’s time.

With many internet users hesitating to pay for online services to begin with, ignoring irritating ads has become a frequent pastime.

However, looking past the hate speech that infiltrates many internet spaces is significantly more of a challenge, both ethically and technically. Ruths pointed out that simply agreeing on what qualifies as threatening behaviour on the web is extremely difficult. The moderation of offensive content can come at the cost of freedom of expression. Furthermore, what most can agree constitutes offensive content may be too nuanced for digital detection

“The three core problems with misinformation are detecting it, detecting accounts that propagate it, and presenting information responsibly,” Ruths said.

Identifying bots, software that can automatically and rapidly perform internet tasks, is a key challenge of fighting online manipulation.

Bots have the ability to borrow words from real users to appear human or human enough to fool the technology trying to detect them.

In conclusion, Ruths reminded attendees that finding an acceptable trade-off between accessible, free services and the internet’s darker underbelly is crucial to ushering the internet into a less malevolent era.

sports

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

15

Point-Counterpoint: The case for Le’Veon Bell

Is the Steelers running back’s demand for a monster contract justified?

Running back Le’Veon Bell, in search of a $17 million contract, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have reached an impasse in contract negotiations. Should Pittsburgh acquiesce to the back’s demands?

Pay the man Gabe Nisker Sports Editor When Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley signed a four-year, $60 million contract this past July, the NFL world turned on its head. He’s good, and now he’ll be getting paid accordingly. So, why can’t Le’Veon Bell get the same respect?

Typically, running backs don’t earn this kind of money, since their careers tend to be shorter. Furthermore, they have always taken the back seat compared to more prestigious positions, particularly quarterbacks. But, in the age of concussion protocols and rising safety concerns, football is changing. With new rules to protect offensive players and few running backs of Bell’s calibre, there is no better time than now to invest in Bell.

The business side of professional football has always seen the ball carrier as an expendable asset—if one gets hurt or performs poorly, the team can cut its losses and move on to the next one. But there’s a strong case for paying for a great one, since the running back can be the x-factor position for any team.

“Pass-throwers are still the key in a passing league, but runners like Gurley, on

teams that don’t have Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson, are the players who actually win games,” Mike Freeman wrote for Bleacher Report in response to the Gurley deal.

Le’Veon Bell is a winning player, and his impressive statistics rightfully rank him in the top tier of the league’s running backs. Fans and teams wait forever for the chance to have players of Bell’s calibre; the Steelers would be wise to lock him into a long-term contract and give him the money he deserves.

An Overrated Athlete Sam Wendel Contributor Le’Veon Bell is, undoubtedly, one of the top running backs in the NFL right now.

Last season, he was third in rushing yards and scored the fifth most touchdowns among running backs. But, he does not deserve the jaw-dropping $17 million that he is asking for.

Bell’s argument is that, as a lead running back and a number two receiver, he deserves guaranteed pay on par with his Steelers teammate, wide receiver Antonio Brown.

However, his 7.7 yards per catch in 2017 show that he is not particularly efficient in the receiving game, while just two receiving touchdowns suggest he couldn’t finish the job through the air either. His statistics simply don’t support his claim of being a number two

Is Le’Veon Bell worth the money he’s asking for? (Dilip Vishnawat / Getty Images) missing playing time, this is not the running back to invest in.

Ultimately, Bell is not a generational running back, he is no great receiver, and he is prone to missing games due to both injury and suspension. Currently, Bell is paid $14.5 million. He should take that paycheque and walk away happy, because he might not even be worth that much.

receiver.

Bell’s rushing numbers do not support an unprecedented contract, either. He ranked third in yards per game and his 4.0 yards per attempt last season were merely average.

It’s hard to argue that Bell is the best at his position. Consequently, he does not deserve to be paid as such.

Lastly, Le’Veon Bell’s injury-prone history and off-field issues suggest the Steelers should not guarantee him such a contract—he is not on the field enough to warrant it. In almost every season since his debut, Bell has dealt with serious injuries, including knee and groin problems. Additionally, in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Bell was suspended due to substance abuse issues. Given his history of

Editor’s choice He’s not worth it. Bell has been good, but he’s not enough of a difference-maker to deserve the extraordinary contract he’s asking for.

Redmen baseball take both games of doubleheader against rival Ravens Explosive offence backs strong pitching performances for back-to-back wins

Alden Tabac Contributor On a hot and humid day at Gary Carter Field in Côte St. Luc, the McGill Redmen (7-3) were victorious in both games of their doubleheader against the visiting Carleton Ravens (5-3), by scores of 11-4 and 4-1.

The team had a great day at the plate, scoring 15 runs over the two games while allowing just five. However, the doubleheader did not begin on a good note for the Redmen and Head Coach Casey Auerbach. A controversial call at home plate that ended the first inning ignited the McGill bench, and, after a brief, heated exchange with the plate umpire, Auerbach was ejected.

The Redmen did not let the early ejection affect their spirits—the bench yelled encouragement to their teammates throughout the day—and went on to score 11 runs in the first game alone.

Second-year relief pitcher Zach Salsburg played a key role in the 11-4 game one victory: The lefty held Carleton hitless in his 2.2 innings of work and struck out two batters. First-year outfielder Chester Dixon was also a major contributor, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. “[Hitting] Coach Kendel [McKenna] has been talking to me a lot,” Dixon said.

Moment of the game In the third inning of game one, Chester Dixon stole second base and ultimately scored thanks to an errant throw by the Carleton catcher trying to throw him out at second.

Quotable “The team has been in a bit of a slump.

We weren’t playing the brand of McGill baseball that we’re used to playing. Carleton is close to the top of the conference, too, so we wanted to come out today, play some good baseball, and come out with two big wins.” Game two starting pitcher Sam Greene

Stat corner

The Redmen baseball team celebrates after game one victory. (Gabe Nisker / The McGill Tribune) “He just told me to sit back, be patient, and wait for my pitch. It definitely worked out today.”

After securing a victory in the first game, the team exhibited an aura of confidence heading into game two.

“We feel like we’re better than [Carleton],” McKenna said between games. “If we put out our best, we should win.”

Coach McKenna was proven right; the

Redmen went on to win their second game of the day 4-1. Similarly to the previous game, the second began controversially.

After the first inning, Carleton put the game under protest, claiming that McGill was not playing with enough Canadians in the lineup.

Nonetheless, third-year McGill starter Sam Greene pitched a complete game, allowing just four hits and striking out 11 Ravens through his seven innings

First-year third baseman Michael O’Toole starred in both games, going 4-for-5 altogether with a double, two runs batted in, and two walks. of work. Greene made good use of his hard fastball and caught several batters looking with a well-located curveball.

After locking down their pair of victories, the Redmen baseball team travelled to Vermont on Sept. 16, winning both games of an exhibition doubleheader against the College of St. Joseph. Their next conference affair is against the Université de Montréal Carabins (4-6) on Sept. 18 at Parc Ahuntsic.

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Tuesday, september 18, 2018

Redmen football overtaken late by Stingers in Shaughnessy Cup McGill shows promising flashes, but falls 33-26 Stephen Gill Managing Editor On Sept. 15, the McGill Redmen (1-2) faced the Concordia Stingers (2-1) for the 50th annual Shaughnessy Cup. The Redmen gave their crosstown rivals a run for their money, but ultimately lost 33-26.

The first half saw limited offence from both sides. McGill struggled to move the ball across the field, sustaining only two drives of over 20 yards. Meanwhile, Concordia had more success in their end, but faltered in scoring range: The Stingers put up just three points on as many trips into Redmen territory.

Much of McGill’s defensive strength came from its eight sacks, thanks to strong play up front and in the secondary.

“Whenever you can get sacks, that means you covered well in the back end, [because] the quarterback didn’t have anybody open, and vice versa,” Assistant Coach Joe Hagins said. “[If] you can get there [quickly, it] means you don’t have to cover as long.”

Despite both offences’ ineffectiveness, each side still racked up points. Soon after Concordia took a safety to open scoring, second-year defensive back Chris Mbiya blocked a field-goal attempt, scooped it up, and scampered 64 yards for a touchdown to end the first quarter up 9-0. Later, McGill recovered a fumbled punt return at the Concordia 40. The offence took it from there, moving the ball into the end zone in five

plays, bookended by key receptions from second-year running back Daniel Adesegun.

The timely offensive spurt gave the Redmen a commanding 16-3 lead after the extra point, but McGill did not get to enjoy that lead a single play longer; Concordia took the ensuing kickoff to the house for a 107-yard touchdown. After forcing a McGill safety, the Stingers had closed the gap to 16-12 before halftime. That kickoff return proved to be the turning point in the game.

“I think if that return doesn’t happen, we make some plays,” Hagins said. “The defence had great momentum, and [on] offence, we were starting to get rolling, but they took that and just rode that high the rest of the first half, into the second half, until the end.”

With the new half came steadier offensive play from the Stingers, who finished three long drives with touchdowns.

The Redmen’s defensive performance was noticeably different from one half to the other.

“First half, I think we did well,” fourthyear linebacker Kamba Katchelewa said.

“We tried to put a lot of pressure on them and create confidence. The second half, we kind of slowed down and didn’t play to our standard, and it hurt us on the scoreboard.”

Although McGill scored just 10 points in the second half, the offence began to look more promising. The team’s best series took

The Redmen came within a touchdown of toppling the Stingers. (Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune) just three plays to drive 66 yards into the end zone.

“We could’ve done it all game long, but on this drive, everything was on point,” fifth-year receiver Remi Bertellin said.

Unfortunately for McGill, the offence had trouble holding its rhythm, and couldn’t sustain its lead or close the gap once Concordia pulled ahead in the fourth.

“We were on top, we just didn’t make that play to put the game away or make that play to put us in a position to put the game away,” Hagins said. “They made that play to keep it close and that play to overtake us.”

McGill will now turn its sights to a Sept. 23 matchup with the Université Laval Rouge et Or (3-0) at Stade Peps in Quebec City.

Moment of the game Third-year receiver Jeremy Sauvageau paired a twisting, 34-yard grab with a subsequent 29-yard catchand-run to set up fourth-year receiver Jacob Dwinnell for a toe-dragging touchdown in the back of the end zone.

Quotable “We played consistently, but didn’t make the plays we needed to make, and that was the difference today [....] We’re a really young group, so they made the plays, [and] we didn’t make the plays.” - Assistant Coach Joe Hagins on the team’s youth

Stat corner McGill’s eight sacks came from seven different defensive contributors.

Know Your Athlete: June Gleed A special day on the course highlights Gleed’s McGill journey Owen Gibbs Contributor Typically, golf is not the first sport to come to mind when thinking of McGill athletics. However, fourth-year June Gleed made waves on the McGill athletic scene when she hit a hole-in-one at the Omnium Rouge-et-Or on Aug. 30 in Quebec City— the first ever for McGill golf.

For Gleed, a native of Newmarket, Ontario, golfing has always been a way of life.

“Golf has really been a big part of my family life growing up,” Gleed said “All my siblings play, and my father plays, so growing up, golf was always playing on TV, and we were playing it a lot. It’s always really fun and competitive between us in a really loving way, so that’s how I got myself into it.”

The Omnium is an annual competition between top golfers from universities in Quebec. It was the first of the 2018-19 golf season, and Gleed left her mark early. She hit her hole-in-one on the seventeenth hole of the Cap Rouge Golf Club in Quebec, which, due to a bizarre problem, was one of the first holes she played that day.

“It was an odd morning,” Gleed said.

“My teammate and I couldn’t get out of our hotel room. We were up and ready to go,

June Gleed hit McGill’s first-ever hole-in-one. (Rene Cheng / McGill Golf)

and we couldn’t open our door, and neither could our coach or the maintenance staff.

Around 45 minutes later, they were taking a crowbar to our door to open it up, so it was an intense start to the morning.”

As a result, McGill was forced to start on the course’s back nine holes and were still fresh by the time they reached the 181-yard 17th hole. Gleed felt positive about her tee shot toward the hole, but was hesitant to get her hopes up.

“I knew I’d hit it well, and one of our coaches was saying that it was in, but I was unsure, and the other girls I was playing with didn’t really react, so you don’t want to get all excited and have it not [go] in,” Gleed chuckled. “We went up there and my coach said, ‘it’s in, it’s in’ so I started to get a little bit more excited after that, once I actually realized that it was in the hole.”

Following her impressive feat, Gleed had trouble staying focused on finishing her round.

“After that, it was hard to keep my

emotions in,” Gleed said. “I was really excited, but it’s a long game, so you have to keep your cool, [...] and keep playing every single shot, but once the round was over, I was very excited.”

Gleed draws inspiration from the recent victories of Canadian female golfers, such as Brooke Henderson.

“Brooke is around my age and we played in a lot of the same tournaments growing up,” Gleed said. “I never played with her, but it’s so inspiring to see how well she’s doing, and she’s representing Canada so well.”

Gleed will be graduating with a major in

political science, specializing in Canadian politics. Off the golf course, she has stayed active on campus: She was president of Young Liberals of McGill and currently sits on the National Board for the Young Liberals of Canada as Vice-President policy. Gleed will conclude her McGill golfing career when she graduates, but she will never stop playing the game she loves.

“I would love to go to law school and continue my studies,” Gleed said. “But, wherever that takes me, I know that I’ll always keep playing.”