McGill Tribune Vol. 38 Issue 5

The McGill Tribune WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018 | VOL. 38 | ISSUE 5

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

CONVERSATION

So long, Marie-Anne: Gentrification’s impact in the Plateau

This will not blow over

In conversation with Casey Auerbach

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PGs. 8-9

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(Leanne Young / The McGill Tribune)

Lawsuit in Institute of Islamic Studies causes leadership crisis

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‘Don’t Read the Comments’ breaks the silence surrounding the complexities of sexual asssault Demaris Oxman Contributor Today’s climate – at McGill and worldwide – has drawn widespread attention to the prevalence of sexual violence. These

discussions lead to people questioning what exactly constitutes sexual assault. Produced by the Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (OSVRSE) as part of their Consent Campaign, Don’t Read the Comments delves into these grey areas of consent, forcing its audience to engage with

Saving the Farine Five Roses sign

Art project highlights Farine Five Roses sign in Montrealers’ collective memory Leyla Moy Contributor Since 1948, the glowing Farine Five Roses sign has been a fixture of the Montreal skyline: A series of neon letters that greets cars approaching from the Southwest District.

What began as a simple advertisement for Ogilvie flour, later Five Roses, has become a prominent part of Montreal’s iconography and one of its most treasured

landmarks. The sign spotlights the forgotten industrial past of the district surrounding the Lachine canal, which, at one point, held the largest concentration of industrial buildings in Canada. At the same time, the sign has been the subject of hundreds of photographs taken by tourists and locals alike and has become a Montreal landmark.

An ongoing art project by Concordia Communications Professor Matt Soar and

his collaborators highlights the past and present of this enduring city icon.

Throughout its existence, the sign has gone through just two major changes, no small feat considering the heft of the 15-foot steel letters. After Quebec’s Bill 101 passed in 1977, limiting non-French words on signage across the province, owners eliminated the English translation ‘Flour’ formerly placed below ‘Farine / Five Roses.’

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issues of such violence.

The show takes place in the format of a television talk show titled Don’t Read the Comments, with playgoers acting as the studio audience. The show’s host Wendy (Dakota Jamal Wellman) introduces her three expert panelists: Grace (Joy Ross-Jones),

Trip (Gabe Maharjan), and Cindy Nancy Cindy (Cara Krisman), the topic of the day: “Are there grey areas of sexual consent?”

The four characters are played in the bouffon style, a French form of clown theatre focusing on mockery and the reflection of a twisted society.

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Identity crises and queer history months Jacob Sailer Contributor October is Queer History Month at McGill, the first event of its kind at a Canadian university. It aims to explore and expand on the boundaries of heteronormativity through educational initiatives and celebrations: A four-week tangle in the complex web of queer identity.

I came into my own sexuality with an unusual sense of animosity toward events

like pride parades and queer history months. My identity felt pigeonholed by events like pride, walled in by the confines of what constitutes ‘gay pride’.

I’m gay. At least, I think I am. I’ll say queer for now— I’m young. I haven’t told my parents. They are two of the most loving and accepting people I have ever met, but I never got around to telling them. I assume they know: We fly a pride flag on our deck year-round. I probably would have taken it down

myself were I three or four years younger and carrying the same weight of self-doubt and anxiety.

I am forever conscious of being ‘gay enough,’ a phrase that I drag around like a ball-and-chain of internal insecurities. When I came out to my best friend in eighth grade, she didn’t believe me. It seemed that all the boys around me neatly fit into a category, while I was neither gay enough, masculine enough, nor proud enough.

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news

WEDNESDAY, October 10, 2018

Consent McGill offers sexual violence education and support All-female panel discusses role of law in accusations

Christina Bédard Contributor

McGill University hosted its fifth annual Consent McGill Campaign Sept. 24-Oct. 5, addressing the topics of consent, healthy relationships, and sexual violence in a series of on-campus events. The campaign is the annual initiative of the Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support, and Education (O-SVRSE), an administrative body tasked with educating the McGill community about sexual harassment and supporting survivors.

This year, the campaign featured traumasensitive yoga sessions, a movie screening of Pariah (2011) followed by a discussion in honour of McGill’s first Queer History Month, and a performance of the play Don’t Read the Comments, which explores the ambiguity surrounding consent and sexuality. O-SVRSE hosted multiple workshops in which participants learned about consent culture, acquired tools for responding to sexual violence disclosures, and received instruction on how to become active bystanders.

Bianca Tétrault and Émilie Marcotte, campaign coordinators and sexual violence advisors at O-SVRSE, are striving to develop new methods to support the recovery of sexual assault survivors at McGill.

“Along with other centres of resources, we are looking at creating more material, [such as] tool kits for faculty members and staff to address and respond to disclosures of sexual violence and problematic behaviours in the classrooms,

from either students or professors,” Tétrault said.

The closing event of the campaign, the Panel on Sexual Harassment and the Law in a University Context, featured an all-female panel discussion of the reporting mechanisms available to members of the McGill community seeking healing and justice. Tétrault and Marcotte brought together McGill General Counsel Line Thibault, Julie Dumontier from the Commission on Human Rights and Youth Rights (CDPDJ), Lili Luisa Lepore from the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST), and Sophie Lamarre from the Office of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.

McGill’s Policy against Sexual Violence provides a framework for people to address sexual misconduct by disclosing, seeking support, or reporting incidents for the purpose of an investigation. However, following criticisms from students and professors over a lack of accessibility, the university is currently in the process of improving its response by launching a committee on student-teacher relationships and has hired a special investigator to oversee sexual violence complaints. During the discussion, Thibault underlined the ways in which McGill’s legal policies already support individuals seeking legal action with regard to sexual violence.

According to Thibault, the University’s policy is designed to favour victims of sexual assault by requiring a lower standard of evidence for initiating institutional action than is necessary for sexual assault cases processed by the

McGill’s policy has a lower burden of proof for sexual violence accusations than the Canadian legal system. ( Andrea Karam / The McGill Tribune)

Canadian legal system.

“McGill’s Commission use[s] a method called the ‘valence of probability,’ which means the University applies its policy at a much lower threshold [of proof],” Thibault said. “If the event [more] likely than not occurred, [McGill University] will act.”

The Quebec Charter Of Human Rights and Freedoms categorizes sexual harassment as a form of discrimination, which is defined as “any conduct that manifests itself through unwanted words or actions that are offensive or degrading for the victim.” According to Dumontier, since

the charter protects fundamental rights, it applies to all aspects of life, meaning that the CDPDJ, a body of the Quebec government mandated to advise the public on conducting investigations with respect to human and youth rights complaints, has jurisdiction in most instances of sexual harassment.

“The Charter prohibits all forms of harassment in all interactions,” Dumontier said.

“Therefore, the Commission can protect anyone within the university’s walls. However, it’s still McGill’s responsibility to make sure you are safe and free of harassment.”

Shag Shop reopens at McGill to service students Pop into the one-stop sex shop to get your rocks off Kyle Dewsnap Staff Writer The Shag Shop, Healthy McGill’s sexual and reproductive health store, has reopened as of Oct 1. Students can now order contraceptives, sex toys, and menstrual products online and pick them up at the Brown Student Services building. Daneese Rao, U3 History and Lead Peer Educator at Healthy McGill, encourages students to take advantage of their easy and discreet ordering process.

“We know that university students have sex,” Rao said.

Rao is right: McGill students are having sex. In a survey conducted in 2016 by McGill Student Services, over ¾ of students responded that they were sexually active. However, the same survey found that roughly 20 per cent of those students were using ineffective means of contraception, like the pull-out method. Rao believes that the Shag Shop is a space for these sexually active students to discuss their options.

“Sexual health is relevant to students, because there’s so much that we don’t know,” Rao said. “When we start talking about things that are kind of taboo, [Shag Shop employees] will try to talk about these things in a friendly, anti-oppressive, and non-directional way. We want people to know that this is a safe space to come and talk about these products, and to order and try out these things.”

The physical shop closed down in 2014 to allow for the construction of an accessible entrance to the First Peoples’ House.

Since then, Emily Shallhorn, Associate Director of Student Services (Wellness and Outreach) at McGill, has tried to make the online ordering process as easy and discreet as possible.

“Students can pick up their items at the Brown Building [… where] they’ll receive a nondescript brown bag and they pay for it,” Shallhorn said. “The person that’s ringing up the payment never sees what’s in the bag, and the items aren’t listed on the invoice. If they pay using Visa or Mastercard, their statement will only read ‘McGill Student Services.’”

To preserve buyer anonymity, Healthy McGill was unable to tell The McGill Tribune where exactly students can pick up their orders.

The Shag Shop stocks both sexual and reproductive health products that may be hard to find elsewhere, such as a wide selection of condom sizes and eco-friendly menstrual products. Because the store is not-for-profit, their merchandise is sold at near-warehouse prices. For example, a $99 strap-on toy is currently being sold at the Shag Shop for only $20.

While the Shop hopes to attract as many students as possible, their pick-up only delivery model makes their store inaccessible to some. Fortunately, the new Rossy Student Wellness Hub will include a physical storefront. The Rossy Hub is currently under-construction and is scheduled to be completed by Fall 2019.

According to Janice Ireland, Senior Administrative Coordinator at Healthy McGill, the plans to reopen a brick-and-mortar location have been in the making since the closure in 2014.

“It’s always been on the table to reopen the space online to replace the physical space,” Ireland said. “We recognize that this is a service that students appreciate and often need. With the survey, [students] suggested the idea of pop-up shops to fill in the gap until we get a permanent space [....] We’re trying to make that happen.”

The Rossy Hub hopes to promote the roles of prevention and awareness in student well-being, and peer health educators like Rao believe that the Shag Shop will play a crucial role by teaching students about safer sex practices.

“Part of what we do at the Shag Shop is normalize that there are different kinds of sex and sexuality,” Rao said. “Sex doesn’t just mean heterosexual sex with two cisgendered partners. Sex can be solo, same-sex, polyamorous; we want to cater to a broad audience and to make sure everyone is represented in these products.”

The Shag Shop sells contraceptives, sex toys, and menstrual products at near-warehouses prices.

(Kaylina Kodlick / The McGill Tribune)

news

wednesday, October 10, 2018

Lawsuit causes leadership crisis in the Institute of Islamic Studies

Physics professor appointed as Steward of Islamic Studies

Student committee to advocate for fall reading week SSMU creates committees to examine fall reading week and society governance Helen Lily Contributor

Students in Islamic and Middle East Studies are displeased about the dismissal of the Institute’s former director and undergraduate program director. (Leanne Young / The McGill Tribune)

Jacqueline Yao Staff Writer Professor Michelle Hartman and Assistant Professor Pasha Khan of the Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS) have been dismissed from their respective roles as the Director and Undergraduate Program Director (UPD) of the Institute. The McGill World Islamic and Middle East Studies Student Association (WIMESSA) issued a statement on Sept. 20 expressing frustration with the McGill administration’s lack of communication with regards to the dismissals.

Dean of Arts Antonia Maioni and McGill Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi recused Hartman in light of an ongoing legal dispute involving an IIS student and faculty member. Over the summer, Assistant Professor Ahmed Ibrahim filed a lawsuit against Khan for defamation after Khan allegedly warned female students of Ibrahim’s sexual behaviours. The suit also named Sarah Abdelshamy, an undergraduate student, as a codefendant. According to Senior Communication Officer James Martin, appointing Physics Professor Martin Grant as IIS Steward is in the Institute’s best interests.

“The decision [to dismiss Hartman as IIS director] is intended to address a structural matter and in no way reflects the University’s confidence or trust in any individual member of the IIS,” Martin wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Instead, the decision seeks to ensure that no one in an administrative role in the IIS appears to be in a conflict of interest or is subject to allegations of such a conflict.”

The McGill Board of Directors named Grant as the IIS Steward on Sept. 1. In addition to conducting theoretical physics research, Grant is now in charge of assigning academic duties within the IIS, overseeing its budget, and supervising its support staff. Professor Robert Wisnovsky, Associate Professor Khalid Medani, and Hartman—who remains the chair of the IIS tenure consideration committees— sit on the Steward’s advisory committee.

Grant has full faith in his advisory committee. “[Hartman] and [Wisnovsky] are knowledgeable, [as] they were both former directors, [...and] they recommended [Medani] to the ad-

visory committee,” Grant said. “We are having weekly meetings but I should mention that, [while] I listen to their advice, any decisions are mine to make.”

As Dean of Science from 2005 to 2015, Grant initiated Soup and Science, a popular event hosted every semester where students can attend science professors’ research presentations and mingle over lunch. Grant plans to roll out similar pilot projects in the IIS to promote increased academic interactions between students and faculty.

“What can we do to get people feeling ownership of the academic mission of the Institute again?” Grant asked. “I’m really big on the idea that the university is about academia.

All of us, the support staff and the professors, feel very proud [of our commitment toward scholarship and research] because that makes a big difference for the students.”

According to the statement, Maioni and Grant informed WIMESSA and the IIS Graduate Student Council representatives of Hartman’s dismissal on Sept. 4. The McGill administration did not consult students before making the change and has yet to officially announce its decision to remove Khan as UPD. According to a WIMESSA representative who wished to remain anonymous, Khan directly notified WIMESSA Presidents Sabeena Shaikh and Ashutosh Kumar that he would no longer serve as the IIS UPD. “We were disappointed that [...] Khan wouldn’t be the UPD this year, as we had already met and begun discussing our goals for the year,” the member wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Without [Khan] notifying us, we would not have known, as the [administration] has not yet reached out to us in any way to inform us of the development.”

In the future, WIMESSA hopes that the administration can communicate decisions directly to students instead of relying on Association to relay information.

“As WIMESSA stated in its statement, we believe that there needs to be much more transparency in communication between the administration and the students,” the WIMESSA member wrote. “This also means meeting with us when we request it [...] and not just when they decide [to] clue us in.”

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The first major steps are underway for the implementation of a fall reading week and a restructuring of the Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors. Following the 2018 SSMU Winter Referendum, in which over 96 per cent of electors voted in favour of a fall reading week, conversations have begun at the administrative and student level with the creation of an ad hoc Fall Reading Break Committee and a subcommittee under the Enrolment and Student Affairs Advisory Committee (ESAC).

Among the leaders of the reading week committee is McGill Arts and Science Senator Bryan Buraga, who researched the implementation of a fall reading week last year. He sees more potential in this year’s effort compared to SSMU’s attempts in 2015, which were sparked by a motion endorsing a fall reading week. “[Campaigning in] 2015 was focused more on administrators and deans as far as I am aware,” Buraga said. “It is different now because there is a new Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning who is open to hearing student concerns, and that is a huge leap from where we were last year.”

According to Fabrice Labeau, McGill’s interim deputy provost of Student Life and Learning, obstacles to a fall reading week encountered during the 2015 discussions still need solutions. Scheduling a fall reading week could mean having to compact the final exam schedule or start the term before Labour Day, which could leave some students having to pay an additional month’s rent.

“There is the question of when [...] we make up for the time during the semester that will be taken up by this fall reading break,” Labeau said.

“Some faculties, like Engineering and Medicine, have accreditation requirements that involve a certain number of contact hours. So, whenever you lose a day, you need to add a day to the semester either at the end or before the usual beginning of the semester.”

Buraga intends for the Fall Reading Week Committee to split into two working groups, one of which will lobby and negotiate with McGill administration while the other group collects data and researches the needs of the student body.

“I think it’s going to be important to listen to the needs of all students,” Buraga said. “It’s going to be a balancing act, for sure, because [while] we cannot please everybody, […] we need to get a large majority of

students to agree that we are okay with Saturday exams or we are okay with starting earlier before Labour Day or some sort of compromise.”

Buraga remains optimistic about the implementation of a fall reading week at McGill.

“Before the 1990s, there was not a winter reading break,” Buraga said. “It was a student-led initiative to get a winter reading break. With that precedent in mind, it is definitely very possible that we may get [a fall reading week].”

The SSMU Board of Directors could also face major changes within the next couple of years. SSMU President Tre Mansdoerfer has taken action to examine the structure of the board and address what he argues are systematic weaknesses. According to Mansdoerfer, the board, which consists of five members at large, three councillors, and four executives, is easily exploited by members with strong political ideologies.

“You have people of similar political ideologies on the board with an intent to express their political ideologies on a board issue,” Mansdoerfer said.

According to Mansdoerfer, an ideal board would see the council representatives and members-at-large replaced by academic representatives from every faculty.

“The [concerns of the] board should be financial, legal, [and] operational and the current structure doesn’t really reflect that,” Mansdoerfer said.

“We can have faculty presidents where stakeholders from every single group [will be] on the board deciding the financial operational decisions for McGill students. [....The proposed reforms are] really trying to make sure the board is what it should be, looking [out] for the best interests of students.”

Over 96 per cent of electors voted in favour of a fall reading week in the 2018 SSMU Winter Referendum. (Arshaaq Jiffr y / The McGill Tribune)

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news

wednesday, October 10, 2018

Board of Governors refuses to vote on divestment Senate’s endorsement of divestment left to CAMSR

Gabriel Helfant Photo Editor On Oct. 4, the McGill Board of Governors (BoG) held its first meeting of the academic year. Members discussed the diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia and the university’s world rankings. On the subject of the Sept. 12 Senate motion to divest from fossil fuels, the Board agreed to ask that the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR) investigate the matter before they put any motion to the floor.

McGill’s Saudi students Principal Suzanne Fortier addressed this summer’s diplomatic dispute between Canada and Saudi Arabia and its subsequent consequences for McGill. She assured that the 223 Saudi students enrolled in the McGill Medical School are no longer at risk of losing their spots due to the political dispute.

“The government of Saudi Arabia changed their course of action and allowed all of the medical residents to continue their program or return to Saudi Arabia,” Fortier said. “[The situation was] a stressful period for the trainees.”

According to Fortier, the program will not be affected, and McGill has already begun interviewing applicants for the 2019 entering class.

Rankings In its ninth annual report, The Times Higher Education ranked McGill as the 44th best university worldwide, three

On Oct. 4, the McGill BoG discussed the Saudi political dispute, world rankings, and divestment. (Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune)

spots below its 2018 classification.

Fortier informed the Board that this is not a sign that McGill has degraded— it has, she says, improved. Rather, she sees the drop in rank as a result of Asian universities receiving significantly more funding and, thus, growing faster. Fortier anticipates that McGill could continue to lose spots in the coming years as well.

“They are predicting that we will see the Western universities lose their spots as Asian universities enter the ranks,” Fortier said.

One board member suggested that Canadian universities would see similar growth if the government would increase

funding to Canada’s three leading research institutions.

Deferring divestment to CAMSR The McGill Senate, responsible for the university’s academic affairs, uncharacteristically endorsed divestment from fossil fuels. Now, as the final authority over McGill financial matters, it lies on the BoG to actually enact the endorsement.

Ram Panda, Chair of the BoG, recommended that the board defer the issue to CAMSR, which would investigate divestment and report back to the Board. Ehab Lotayef, who represents administrative

and support staff, disagreed and proposed that the BoG move forward with a motion at once.

“I think that [...] we should put a motion on the BoG and not defer it to the committee,” Loyatef said.

Panda insisted that such a motion would be irresponsible on the part of the BoG given that CAMSR exists to advise on the social responsibility of financial investments. Associate Professor Darin Barney, who represents academic staff, appreciated Lotayef’s ambition but insisted that any action should be well thought out.

“The fact that the Senate expressed an opinion on this matter that disagrees with ours does not constitute a governance crisis,” Barney said. “What would precipitate a governance crisis is if we ignored their views.”

Barney suggested that Section 6.3.9 of the statutes be invoked, which would create a conference committee to settle the disagreement over the Senate’s endorsement. Such a committee would consist of up to 11 members who equally represent the BoG and the Senate and make recommendations to the BoG. Many members insisted that the disagreement was not clear enough to constitute the use of a conference committee and that CAMSR should remain responsible for investigating divestment. With members of the pro-divestment group Divest McGill observing the meeting, Panda cautioned that the BoG must take this issue very seriously before motioning to adjourn.

McGill promotes vision for equitable learning

Symposium examines equity and diversity within teaching, learning and research Emma Chittleburgh Contributor McGill students and faculty, along with Montreal residents, discussed the role of community in education and research at the 2018 Social Equity Undergraduate Research (SEUR) and Engaged Learning Symposium on Oct. 4. The symposium, which featured panel discussions alongside the second annual SEUR Awards, examined how the principles of equity and diversity ought to feature in the academic world.

The first event of the symposium, which was hosted by McGill’s Social Equity and Diversity Education Office (SEDE), consisted of a learning panel and dialogue that took the form of a ‘storytelling harvest,’ featuring activities that engaged the crowd and opened discussions about the role of diversity. Audience members were assigned predetermined mindsets by organizers on arrival, directing participants to process the story differently. These mindsets included ‘skill building’ and ‘expectation and experience,’ to demonstrate how stories can be absorbed from different perspectives and the value in sharing them.

Anurag Dhir, co-organiser of the event and engaged learning and access coordinator for SEDE, highlighted the significance of McGill’s role in Montreal’s unique communities.

“Knowledge being learned in the commu-

nity must come back to the classroom for it to constitute engagement,” Dhir said. “We must make sure these relationships are reciprocal.”

Community-based exchange forms the basis of SEDE’s vision to carve out a space in the university which fosters more diverse voices within research. SEDE hopes that doing so will inspire new, equitable ways of learning.

Community-driven initiatives like Suspicious Fish, NDG Food Depot, and Blac Biblio were showcased as a testimony to the importance of SEDE’s goal.

Founded in 2007, the Suspicious Fish Creative Literacy and Arts program is a non-profit organization that engages with school children in the Verdun area and focuses on developing literacy and artistic skills to improve career opportunities. The program is in a partnership with Literacy Quebec, the McGill School of Architecture, and the School of Urban Planning, which provide institutional support.

Beccah Frasier, youth program coordinator of the NDG Food Depot food security program, echoed similar sentiments concerning the importance of community-based exchange.

“Research on cross-sector partnerships has been very interesting and has allowed our programme to expand,” Frasier said.

Blac Biblio is an organization that provides educational resources on the subject of Canadian black history for elementary school teachers.

Genevieve Vande Wiele Nobert, panelist and

The McGill community takes to initiatives providing education on literacy, ar t, and black histor y while learning things in turn. (Emma Chittleburgh / The McGill Tribune) member of the organization, emphasized the el- the constructive nature of the research awards.

“The principles of equity must not only ement of self-development in community-based reside in the pages of textbooks,” Mansdoerfer projects.

As a McGill student involved in the proj- said.

Sophia Thierry, U2 Psychology, received ect last semester, she views community-based exchange as an environment in which her own the award for her research on the impact of musical training on observable positive behaviours in academic interests can flourish.

“Approaching community-based research children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). through a lens of self-development makes it For her, becoming involved in communitymuch less invasive in communities,” Vande based research was the result of participating Wiele Nobert said. “Knowing that communities in a study last semester. Inspired to conduct her can teach me something encourages genuine ex- own research and an engaged style of learning, Thierry noted that the process was important to change.”

The SEUR Awards ceremony values ideals her own personal development.

“It is an important way [...] to build upon similar to Vande Wiele Nobert’s. Speaking at the ceremony, Students’ Society of McGill Univer- your interests and pursue your own questions,” sity (SSMU) President Tre Mansdoerfer praised Thierry said.

opinion

wednesday, october 10, 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

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EDITORIAL

So long, Marie-Anne: Gentrification’s impact in the Plateau Many McGill students will tell you that they went ‘home’ over the Thanksgiving long weekend. It’s a revealing statement: Despite spending eight months of the year in Montreal, for many, home still means somewhere else. However, the student body’s effect on the city is permanent. Neighbourhoods like the Plateau, Saint-Henri, and the Gay Village have transformed into desirable—and increasingly expensive—places to live, due in part to Montreal’s 170,000 students. Students are a key factor in the Plateau’s gentrification, and they should ensure that the neighbourhood retains its unique atmosphere and accessibility.

On Oct. 2, the PlateauMont-Royal borough council passed a new bylaw that restricts commercial short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs, to designated sections of St. Laurent and St. Denis. According to the bylaw’s preamble, the proliferation of unofficial hotels has led to quality-of-life concerns for residents, and increasing demand for short-term tourist lodgings risks displacing businesses. Like tourists, students are a major

Emma Carr Student Living Editor Before I left for my exchange term at the University of Edinburgh last winter, I sat in Leacock 132, half-listening to a mandatory safety presentation, when one line caught my attention: “This is going to be the best five months of your life.” At the time, the idea terrified me: I was by no means hoping to peak at 20. Still, there was a part of me that wanted to believe this fantasy. Only two months later, I found myself sitting on the edge of my squeaky twin bed at four a.m., jet-lagged and teary-eyed, praying that the presenter was just being hyperbolic.

When I first settled in Edinburgh, I wasn’t consumed by

economic asset to the city, and, as with tourists, coexisting with students is not always easy for long-term residents.

According to Radio-Canada, the Plateau is one of Montreal’s most expensive neighbourhoods, a fact at odds with its bluecollar roots. From the 1850s until the 1970s, the borough’s Mile End district was a multicultural landing pad for working-class European immigrants. But, as with other famous, culturally rich North American neighbourhoods like New York City’s SoHo, the Plateau has become a victim of its own success: The influx of demand for housing risks pricing out the people who made it so desirable in the first place.

Cities across North America have created policies to keep housing affordable, and Montreal should take note. In 2016, British Columbia instituted a 15 per cent tax on property purchases by foreign nationals, which has since been raised to 20 per cent.

Toronto’s “Yes In My Backyard” (YIMBY) movement advocates for the development of new housing in the city. On Oct. 9, Montreal’s Executive Committee

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approved a $1.6 million investment in student housing in the Plateau. The project will create 90 new units that range from studios to four-bedroom suites. The city deserves praise for taking prompt and meaningful action.

However, rising demand for housing is not the only rationale for the Plateau-MontRoyal’s new bylaw. According to Richard Ryan, the Mile End city councillor who introduced the bylaw, tourists occupying Airbnbs often leave garbage on the street and disturb local residents with excessive noise and partying. Unlike municipal housing legislation, common decency is a problem that students can solve on their own. It goes without saying that keeping the streets clean and minimizing Hype Week chants are basic neighbourly responsibilities.

However, truly integrating into a neighbourhood requires more than just common courtesy.

While getting involved with initiatives outside of McGill can be intimidating and unfamiliar, this need not stop students from contributing to their communities.

Volunteer opportunities are abound: Santropol Roulant, a meals-on-wheels service, creates community ties while providing an essential service. Sun Youth, a Plateau-based community-service charity that does everything from school supply distribution to neighbourhood bike patrols, has many opportunities for student volunteers. Some McGill courses, such as GEOG 494: Urban Field Studies, get students out into the city as part of the coursework, deepening their knowledge of Montreal’s physical and social geography. Even choosing to shop at locally-owned stores helps to ensure that neighbourhood institutions can stay open as operating costs rise.

Without the combined forces of policy and individual effort, gentrification risks erasing that which defines communities like the Plateau. Students impact the places they live in whether they invest in their communities or not.

By treating the places they live in as they would their own homes, students can ensure that these changes are for the better—even if ‘going home’ means heading somewhere else.

Missed connections: Exchange can be isolating excitement or post-arrival jitters.

Instead, I felt an overwhelming pressure to have “the greatest time of my life,” without being entirely sure what that entailed.

I spent my hours of free time in the middle of the night, courtesy of jet-lag, reading personal essays written by students claiming that studying abroad was life-changing. I scrolled through my fellow travellers’ polished Facebook albums of far-off places. From my latenight research, I deduced that, for everyone else, exchange was as exhilarating and wondrous as advertized. I felt obligated to live a similarly exciting, adventurous, and problem-free existence during my own exchange term, and was disappointed in myself for failing to do so.

Adjusting to my new and temporary life in Edinburgh was difficult. Yes, I spent time exploring the city, meeting new people, planning adventures, and traveling around the countryside.

But, I also navigated a foreign healthcare system with a fever, slept on suspect mattresses in derelict hostels, and spent many nights alone in my bedroom.

Though I had predicted the early adjustment period would

be a challenge, nearly halfway through my program, I was still nostalgic for my familiar life back at McGill, and felt isolated without my usual support networks. At a particularly sensitive moment, I found myself welling up after receiving a Facebook invitation to an event in Montreal, and I lamented giving up a comfortable semester back at McGill. Every time I expressed frustration and defeat, I worried that I would come across as unappreciative to people back home, and I was concerned that I was not taking advantage of all the opportunities available to me.

Things did become easier over time. I became more content spending time alone, and Edinburgh became less foreign to me. Ultimately, I have come to appreciate that my bouts of vulnerability and loneliness were just as formative as my other

adventures abroad. I expected to have the best time of my life while still achieving some sort of personal growth, but these ambitions were incompatible: It would be impossible to challenge myself without facing any obstacles. In the absence of close friendships, I ventured to become more independent, and, by the end of the semester, undertook a solo trip to the west coast of Scotland.

Was my exchange term in Edinburgh the best five months of my life? I hope not. In fact, I have never felt more relieved to return to a recognizable routine as the moment my plane touched down in my hometown of Chelsea, New York. But, when I reminisce with people back home about my travels, the hardships fade to the background, and I find myself feeling a little nostalgic for Edinburgh’s grey skies and my solo adventures.

ERRATUM

An article published in the Oct. 2 issue titled “Quidditch for the ages” incorrectly stated that Brooklyn Carey is the McGill Quidditch Vice-President (VP) Internal. In fact, Carey is VP Communications. The Tribune regrets this error.

opinion

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commentary

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018

Identity crises and queer history months

Jacob Sailer Contributor Continued from page 1.

But it got easier. I kissed a boy; I gossiped about crushes with the girls in my English class; I watched Brokeback Mountain in my room by myself.

I developed little ‘tells’ over time. I don’t know if they came naturally, but I started to fit the bill. I even internally rejoiced when one of my roommates told me that he got a specific ‘vibe’ from me during the first few days of our living together. I felt victorious, like I had finally found the proof I was looking for.

commentary

Mo Rajji Contributor On Oct. 1, Quebec elected 74 members of the Coalition Avenir du Québec (CAQ) to the National Assembly, giving the party a majority mandate. The CAQ campaigned on a platform of reducing immigration, restructuring government institutions, and maintaining ‘religious neutrality.’

Discussions about religious neutrality are not new in Quebec: In 2013, the Parti Québécois government proposed the Quebec Values Charter, which would have banned religious symbols like turbans, hijabs, and kippahs for swaths of public employees, but were voted out of government before the bill could be passed.

In contrast, the CAQ’s proposal

October is McGill’s first Queer History Month, the first event of its kind at any Canadian university.

(Sabrina Girard-Lamas / The McGill Tribune)

There seems to be a stale cultural attitude toward LGBTQ+ expression. I used to experience mass queer pride as focused entirely on the grandeur of

celebration, ignoring the larger reasons for why such a month is necessary. It felt like too commercialized a festivity—a mass-produced bastardization

of an existing cultural identity.

In trying to elevate the queer community, those on its outskirts fall to the wayside.

Celebrations of queer pride

need to ground themselves in history, especially in Montreal.

75 per cent of Montreal’s LGBTQ+ community experience bullying for their sexuality; the Sex Garage riots are a lasting stain on the city’s acceptance of the queer identity. Recognition of Montreal’s checkered history of queerness means not only celebrating, but also informing and including.

McGill would need 10 more queer history month celebrations to fully capture the queer community’s rich and diverse culture. So, I’m taking this time to recognize the shapes, voices, faces, feelings, and experiences of this rich and diverse community; but, also, to take a step back, to take time and let queerness be. Too often, the queer identity is walled in; too often, queerness is reduced to a TV segment about a pride parade or rainbow face-paint on cheekbones. This is a disservice to its diversity. This October, let those exploring their own identities come forward and share what they will. I’m taking a break from asking questions; I’m putting on my rainbow underwear and smiling at everyone I see on the sidewalk.

Religious neutrality isn’t neutral to ban ‘ostentatious’ religious symbols for those in positions of authority might seem mild, but it has the same flaw: Eradicating religion to create social progress is a false equivalence. While removing the power of any one religious view from government gives freedom to those who come from different backgrounds, the erasure of religion from public life is an entirely different matter.

While the CAQ’s policy ostensibly applies to all religious symbols, they have put nonChristian accoutrements on the forefront of the platform; the party has stated that they will not be removing the crucifix in the National Assembly. Secularism does not mean abolishing religion from the public sphere, but rather removing religion from the decision-making process of the government. This is not what the CAQ hopes to achieve: They do not plan to remove religious influence from government, but, rather, to remove non-Christian iconography from public view. This duplicity not unique to the CAQ: In 2017, the Parti Libéral du Québec (PLQ) introduced Bill 62, banning the wearing of face-covering while giving or receiving public services, and 68 per cent of Canadians outside of Quebec support similar

The crucifix hanging over the speakers’ chair in the National Assembly was installed in 1936. (Clement Allard / The Canadian Press)

niqab bans in their own provinces.

The CAQ’s move to ban overt religious symbols follows a long history in Quebec of anti-Semitism and racism. The CAQ’s plan will ban the hijab, the Jewish kippah, and the Sikh turban. Critics of the CAQ have focused on how this will affect hijabi women because of both the precedent set by Bill 62 and remarks from CAQ leader François Legault about how he believes religious symbols like the hijab represent sexism. Yet, there are hijabi and niqabi women in

Quebec who fear that these ‘antisexist’ bans will not only remove Muslim women’s liberty of choice, but will also punish them by removing them from their jobs if they do not comply. The CAQ’s proposal does not protect the rights of women; instead, it co-opts feminist ideas to further racist and religiously-intolerant agendas.

Religion has provided answers to the question of human morality and informed much of our modern culture and belief systems.

Religious movements have both

helped and hurt the quest for the amelioration of humanity, reflecting the complexity of people and how we relate to one another.

Removing religion from the public sphere will not end bigotry, nor will it create an egalitarian utopia. It will generate a void in which human uncertainties cannot be assuaged by a transcendent purpose. Religion is not its own entity, but an extension of humanity: Identifying religion alone as the cause of social dysfunction fails to evaluate larger systems of inequality.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

wednesday, OCTOBER 10, 2018

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‘Don’t Read the Comments’ breaks the silence surrounding the complexities of consent and assault Interactive theatre experience at the core of Consent Campaign Demaris Oxman Contributor

Riverdale Season 3 premiere

Continued from page 1.

Each of the panelists is an exaggerated stereotype: Grace is an ‘angry feminist,’ Trip is a ‘self-proclaimed male feminist,’ and Cindy is a middle-aged ‘prominent citizen.’ The characters are familiar; aspects of each might remind audience members of themselves. As the show progresses, characters work themselves into twisted arguments that stand upon warped logic: They victim-shame, twist each others’ words, and dismiss men who come forward with their own assault stories. Wendy, meanwhile, provokes her guests and turns them against each other, creating drama for her audience.

It’s uncomfortable to watch, but that’s the point. The purpose of bouffon is to make viewers examine their own behaviour, revealing the perversions of society and their own participation in the corrupt Sarah Segal-Lazar finds a new medium to express poignant stories. (Montreal Rampage) status quo. The show’s creator, Sarah Segal-Lazar, used quotations from a variety ing trip in Ireland, and some drinks in a pub As Pamela finishes, Wendy and the of news articles in her script, incorporating with unfamiliar men. One of them asked to panelists return and it’s up to the audience the real world into her play. Sources ranged take her home, and she refused repeatedly. to decide: Was Pamela assaulted? Given from the far right to far left; from highly ac- After much intimidation and coercion, she three slips of paper, ‘YES,’ ‘NO,’ and ‘?,’ a credited to less reputable—but, the rhetoric reluctantly let him put her in a cab, tak- ballot box circulates. It’s a real-world simuis familiar to the audience, no matter their ing her back to his apartment. She wasn’t lation of the court of public opinion every background. beaten or violently restrained, nor did she time someone comes forth with a story like Eventually, Wendy dismisses her pan- give willing consent. All she wanted was, Pamela’s. elists and invites an ‘anonymous guest’ to she said, to “get it over with”—so she let In the end, the questions that the show tell her story. At this point Segal-Lazar her- it happen. explores go unanswered, but the silence self, and introduced under the pseudonym Segal-Lazar doesn’t sugarcoat or both- that surrounds them begins to break. As she Pamela, takes to the stage alone. In contrast er with clean language. Her story is about told the audience, Segal-Lazar’s aim was to the bouffon characters, Pamela is strik- the fear of saying ‘no’—one many women never to give a clear answer to these grey ingly real: Simple attire, no makeup—and can relate to. Her delivery is powerful and areas, but to make people discuss them. It’s recounting a true story. raw, and the jarring shift in tone magnifies up to the viewers to maintain their own acFor Pamela, it began with a backpack- the intensity of the narrative. countability.

The latest season of the absurd, ridiculous show that we can’t stop watching.

Oct. 10, available on Netflix.

Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Catch the best of Canadian and International film.

Oct. 3-14.

For more information visit https://nouveaucinema.ca/en

Matangi/Maya/M.I.A The Sri Lankan refugee turned global rap superstar’s story finally hits the big screen.

Cinema du Parc, Oct. 12, 7-9 p.m. $10.00

AJJ + Kimya Dawson

Satisfy your 13 year old dreams of seeing them Juno soundtrack live.

L’Astral, Oct. 12, 7-11:30 p.m. $26.25

The end of the world as we know it Jeremy Shaw’s ‘Liminals’ comes to the MMFA Keira Seidenberg Contributor Vancouver native and Berlin-based artist Jeremy Shaw’s video art installation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), Liminals, is a dystopian exploration of the human psyche. Set several decades into the future when human extinction is imminent, the film follows the lives of eight individuals.

Taking place in a single, drab interior setting, Liminals is free of spatial and temporal context; the cagey interior could belong to any decade or found within the bowels of any city. The eight characters in the film are tasked with averting the impending human demise through a scientific-spiritual process of DNA augmentation and religious rituals. ‘The Liminal’ is the titular term used to describe the elevated state of mind that the participants are attempting to reach—a state of consciousness that will allow for the next step in evolution and ensure the continuation of human existence.

The film is primarily shot with a 16mm camera, giving the footage a nostalgic quality. The story opens with a description of the historic background voiced over footage of the enclosed space that provides the setting for most of the pseudo-documentary. The film transitions into

a mock interview with one of the characters—a shirtless and oddly symmetrical man speaking in an incomprehensible dialect somewhere between Boston slang and Quebecois French. Much of the work fixates upon the ritual dancing and stretching of the group of eight, cutting rapidly in and out of facial shots and broader panoramas to the beat of an intensifying rhythm.

Liminals comes to a close as shots of the soft edges of characters’ limbs and hair transform into a frenzy of rotating colors and shifting pixels. The concluding sequence is a frightening and surreal whirlwind of psychedelic imagery in which heads are born from heads and human forms emerge from a rainbow rendition of psychic trauma. This visual vomit is the place Shaw describes as ‘The Liminal’. The scene leaves viewers fidgeting in their seats, perturbed at the simultaneous push and pull of the scene’s declared significance contrasts with its overwhelming abjection. This overstimulation raises the question of whether ‘The Liminal’ is truly a state of transcendence or merely the result of an overindulgence in ‘consciousness-expanding’ substances.

In Liminals, Shaw appeals to both the human fear of the unknown and the tendency to inflate one’s sense of self. Still, a feeling of mundanity pervades much of the work; while Shaw has constructed an apocalyptic

Jeremy Shaw’s surrealist dystopian trip is on display at the MMFA. (youtube.com)

narrative to accompany the buttery film quality, one begins to question whether it is the draw of the plot or simply Shaw’s lens that elevates the film into an art form. The final sequence salvages the work: Not for its cinematographic brilliance, but, merely because viewers are left blinking and befuddled enough at the end of the film to simply register that they saw something.

What is most striking about Liminals is not its acid-trip, indie-girl-with-acamera aesthetic, but the psychological process of experiencing video art within a gallery setting. Liminals functions as a

quiet and forceful environment to participate in an extended artistic experience rather than the forty second pause most paintings receive. For the more recreational viewer, Shaw’s work is a test of endurance—provoking the same feelings associated with reading poems in eighth grade English class, where you just didn’t quite ‘get it.’ Despite a self-proclaimed interest in the avant-garde as an Art History major, I found myself eying fellow viewers, wondering if I could outlast them in this periodically-unsettling viewing experience and claim the title of ‘best audience member.’

THIS WILL

NOT BLOW OVER Ariella Garmaise, Managing Editor

Examining McGill’s response to student protests against sexual violence “We will not be silenced! This will not blow over!”

So chanted the frustrated masses gathered outside the James Administration building on Apr. 11, 2018, protesting a university culture of abuse and open secrets.

The walkout—which brought together students from McGill and Concordia— represented a fever pitch for student outrage. This event did not occur in isolation.

On Apr. 4, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) sent an open letter to McGill, demanding that the university launch an external investigation into the Office of the Dean of Arts’ responses to reports of sexual violence. Thousands of students signed the letter. In conjunction with the exposure of a similar culture of abuse at Concordia earlier in the year, the walkout felt like a watershed moment for institutional accountability.

The open letter and subsequent walkout put the spotlight on the McGill administration. Reports from CBC, Global News, and the Montreal Gazette drew the public eye to a university at odds with its student community.

On May 10, the university announced that it would hire an independent Special Investigator to oversee sexual violence complaints and that it would launch an Ad Hoc Senate Committee on Teaching Staff-Student Intimate Relationships. McGill seemed to be making substantial changes to the way it handles reports of sexual misconduct.

Months later, however, it is unclear if this outrage has, in fact, blown over. In turn, it remains to be seen whether or not these administrative shifts have actually addressed student concerns.

SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR McGill announced the hiring of Special Investigator Maître Caroline Lemay in a campus-wide email on Sept. 11. Lemay is tasked with investigating all on-campus reports of sexual violence. In many ways, having an external party to investigate such matters is a victory for students; without the burden of an additional, entirely separate portfolio, Lemay has no conflicts of interest, and will be able to focus all of her attention on the issue of sexual violence on campus.

Still, this victory is not without caveat. The special investigator was hired to investigate all reports of sexual violence, whereas SSMU’s Open Letter asked for the University to look into procedures within the Office of the Dean of Arts. Lemay’s broad role does not address specific departments with abusive professors.

Bee Khaleeli, U3 Honours History, is SSMU’s former gendered and sexual violence policy advisor and the undergraduate representative on the Ad Hoc Senate Committee on Teaching Staff-Student Intimate Relationships. Khaleeli believes that the special investigator’s expansive mandate fails to respond to the students body’s request.

“Caroline Lemay’s publiclystated job description is to investigate all complaints of sexual violence. That is a diversion tactic,” Khaleeli said. “That is McGill trying to shift attention away from the actual issue at hand, [from] the issue specifically of internal mechanisms for addressing the problem of predatory professors, of professors who are flat-out abusive, and professors against whom multiple complaints exist. McGill did not follow through on what students asked them to do.”

Moreover, the special investigator only has the jurisdiction to look into past

complaints both if the complaint was never previously investigated, and if the defendant is still a member of the McGill community. This precisely ignores what students asked for: Getting administration to investigate the alleged mishandling of existing complaints.

“I am of the opinion that McGill hired someone because they were pressured to hire someone,” Khaleeli said. “But, they made the very conscious decision of broadening her job description so that they could pull attention away from the question of professors, which is how they got here to begin with.”

The walkout was meant to call attention to specific abusive professors and the departments that abet them: While taking preventative measures with a special investigator is a good start, McGill also needs to address existing concerns.

Lemay’s publicly-stated "jobCaroline description is to investigate all

complaints of sexual violence. That is a diversion tactic.

"

POLICY CHANGES

Student frustration extends to the university’s existing Policy against Sexual Violence. In a feature I wrote for the Tribune in the fall of 2017, I explored the policy’s flaws. Namely, how difficult it is to navigate: The policy is not standalone and refers to multiple documents. It also fails to clearly outline what constitutes a teaching staff-student relationship and what the repercussions are for such abuses of power.

In these respects, McGill’s policy is not yet in adherence with Bill 151: An Act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions.

The 2017 Quebec bill, itself a product of consultation with student groups, requires that all higher education institutions in the province have a standardized sexual violence policy by Sept. 1, 2019. Fixing the policy was a rallying cry for students in the walkout last spring.

Though the policy still stands for now, the university has partially responded to students’ calls for change. In addition to Lemay’s appointment, McGill launched the aforementioned Ad Hoc Senate Committee.

However, getting the university to agree to simply review the policy was a gruelling task. Connor Spencer, SSMU’s 2017-18 Vice-President (VP) External, was a driving force in student protests, having co-authored the Open Letter and coordinated the walkout. In an interview with the Tribune, she described negotiating with the administration as a harrowing process.

“A term that was used throughout that process, that I think was actually really fair, was [...] ‘institutional gas-lighting’,” Spencer said. “It was a lot of McGill telling us

that we were wrong, not acknowledging that there was a problem, and instead saying [...] ‘Oh, well, if these students just went through the existing policies, [they’d see] we’re already doing this’.”

The Ad Hoc committee will generate and compile observations and recommendations in a report to the McGill Senate toward the end of the Fall 2018 semester. In addition to the findings of the pre-existing Committee for the Implementation of the Policy against Sexual Violence and Ad Hoc Panel to Conduct a Campus Study of Sexual Violence, the report will inform a new policy.

“The Policy will be developed to reflect the requirements of Bill 151 and the needs and commitments of the McGill community,” Angela Campbell, associate provost (Equity and Academic Policies), wrote in an email to the Tribune. “The Policy review will result in important changes to the Policy, including the development of a procedure for investigating reports of sexual violence, and a clear framework governing intimate relationships between teaching staff and students.”

Campbell’s claims are hopeful, but structural problems within these committees persist. Despite having been the driving force in the protests that forced McGill to review its policy, undergraduate students hold little representation on these committees. Khaleeli, the only undergraduate representative on the Ad Hoc Senate Committee on Teaching Staff-Student Intimate Relationships, explained that more student representation in such processes is crucial for substantive change in McGill’s policy.

“It’s telling that, for example, I’m the only undergraduate on this Senate committee [...], when a lot of the mobilization was led by undergraduate [students],” Khaleeli said. “I think more meaningful consultation with students, a better understanding of what barriers to consultation exist, and a very concrete attempt to work against those barriers [are important next steps for McGill].”

SSMU GENDERED AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE POLICY While the administration often limits undergraduate representation on Senate committees, students have more opportunity to participate in reforming their own government. As McGill reviews its Policy against Sexual Violence, SSMU is simultaneously working to build a Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy (GSVP) of its own. Caitlin Salvino, the 2017-18 national chair of Our Turn, a national, studentled action plan to end campus sexual violence, along with advisors Khaleeli and Priya Dube, BA ‘18, wrote the GSVP in response to several instances of sexual violence amongst the SSMU executive in the 2016-17 school year. After a year of consultations, town halls, and troubleshooting, SSMU’s Legislative Council will be voting on the product of their work this Thursday, Oct. 11.

In building the policy, the GSVP’s creators used their frustrations with McGill’s policy to inform their own work.

“I think McGill[‘s Policy against Sexual Violence] was kind of like a What Not to Wear: Policy Edition for us,” Khaleeli said.

Specifically, the drive to create a comprehensive and accessible policy—one that could actually be implemented and help survivors in a meaningful way—fuelled the coordinators’ efforts.

“I really hope that [the administration] can learn from our survivor-centric and intersectional approach,” Dube said. “So, if somebody has experienced violence, but all they want from a resolution is to not see that person in their classes, they should be able to have that as a resolution, and that should be something that is enforced, without them having to go through the entire scary process, be it a criminal case, be it a dean

" McGill[‘s Policy against Sexual

Violence] was kind of like a What Not to Wear: Policy Edition for us.

"

disciplinary hearing.”

Should the GSVP pass at Legislative Council on Oct. 11, an accompanying fee levy to fund two part-time positions to oversee the policy’s implementation will go up for student vote in the upcoming fall referendum period. While referenda have notoriously low voter turnout, it is crucial that students make their voices heard to ensure that their student society establishes proper procedures and personnel to protect against sexual violence.

WHAT'S NEXT? Since Apr. 11, McGill’s administrative playing field has shifted. The special investigator, the committee dedicated to staff-student relationships, and SSMU’s proposed GSVP each offer the potential to help reform campus culture. However, as the student activists who spoke to the Tribune stressed, now is not the time for complacency.

“I think important ground was gained last semester,” Spencer said. “But also important ground was gained in 2015, and 2016 when the policy was first passed,

" We need to keep pushing, and not let McGill use the special investigator as their answer to our call last semester.

"

and then quickly after we saw a decline in activism that led to further steps not being implemented right away. That’s something that I think we hopefully can learn from this, [that] we need to keep pushing, and not let McGill use the special investigator as their answer to our call last semester.”

Students need to continue engaging themselves in these processes—whether that means talking to their departmental representation, showing up to ad hoc committees’ town halls and consultations, or even simply voting in the upcoming online referendum.

“Students will have a vital role in how McGill fosters safer spaces,” Bianca Tetrault, the Sexual Violence Education Advisor of McGill’s Office for Sexual Violence, Response, Support and Education, wrote in an email to the Tribune. “I encourage students to take part in events related to equity and discrimination, to attend town halls, submit letters to committees seeking feedback, and continue discussing these very real topics with anyone you can.”

Spencer believes that real change will happen by reforming independent departmental procedures, and groups like the Political Science Students Association have already begun to develop their own internal guidelines.

“I think students really need to get involved with their departmental associations,” Spencer said. “That’s where [...] I think the important activism on the student end is going to be housed within the next couple years, of holding their own faculty accountable and their own department accountable.”

Last April’s walkout will continue to signify a pivotal moment in student activism, but students cannot let their involvement stop there. Dube says she was surprised to find that, despite the walkout’s considerable turnout, students were much less enthusiastic about involving themselves in the SSMU GSVP drafting process.

“We held two open consultations, [and] a couple [of] closed consultations, and even people who championed this issue on their platform didn’t bother showing up to a consultation,” Dube said. “Yet, everybody showed up for the walkout, because that’s an easy action to take, and while the support is appreciated, it was really bewildering to me that people cared about it when they could take a quick Snapchat and show that they participated in it, but didn't come out and provide concrete feedback and be part of the solution when those opportunities were presented.”

The walkout should be a reminder that student activism works. McGill would not have hired a special investigator, nor would it have launched the Ad Hoc committee, had students not thrust the university under public scrutiny. To continue spurring change, and to make sure that McGill meets its promises, students need to keep putting pressure on these institutions.

“The development of a policy and hiring of an investigator is meaningless if these processes are not [implemented] properly or conducted in a way that is survivorcentric,” Salvino wrote in a message to the Tribune. “It is important [that] we continue to hold SSMU and McGill accountable to ensure they are properly implementing these policies and providing survivors with the support they deserve.”

This past year has seen tremendous progress, but students need to stretch their involvement beyond Snapchat and CBC photo opps. Having prompted substantial change last spring, students now need to show administration that their anger still won’t blow over.

10

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, october 10, 2018

Taking POP Montreal to prom The festival’s 17th iteration shows no signs of slowing down

Better than your high school prom. (Abeer Almahdi / The McGill Tribune)

While late September is commonly known as the season of midterms and rain, for the past decade and a half, the start of fall has also been synonymous with POP Montreal. The annual festival took over Mile End from Sept. 26-30, pushing aside third-wave coffee venues and bicycle co-ops to make space for over 450 performers. With such a breadth of acts, the sheer selection can be overwhelming.

While the A&E team couldn’t decide on who deserved the crown, we still have the authority to bestow superlatives to our favourite acts.

Best Homecoming - Homeshake Katia Innes, A&E Editor In the year since the release of his latest album Fresh Air, Montreal-based musician Peter Sagar, better known as Homeshake, has kept a relatively low profile. Playing only a handful of shows this past summer following his 2017 tour, Sagar has remained a reclusive figure on the music scene—he hasn’t played a show in Montreal since 2016. On Sept. 29, to a crowd of tiny-hatted and frayed-jean-clad

spectators packed into Theatre Rialto, Sagar breezed through his 15-song set.

Making sure to include fan favourites like “Every Single Thing” and “Call Me Up,” Sagar interrupted his dreamy set only twice to address the crowd.

“We’ve been here for seven, eight years. I’m trying so hard to move, guys,” Sagar joked.

Despite Sagar’s apparent weariness of Montreal, the hometown crowd seemed to love every second of the set, with chants reverberating around the Rialto as Sagar and company exited the stage.

Never before has a horde of cultural studies majors been so riled up. What a fitting comeback performance for an unlikely hometown hero.

Sweatiest JPEGMAFIA Katia Innes For 45 minutes, Baltimore rapper and ex-marine Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks, better known as JPEGMAFIA, played a frenzied set at Le Belmont.

All expectations of personal space were thrown out the door as the crowd clawed for the best spot in the pit. Equipped with nothing but a microphone and seven bottles of water, Hendricks radiated manic energy. Burning through tracks from his recent album Veteran, Hendricks stripped down to nothing but a pair of shorts and a bandana, quickly draining the aforementioned water bottles. Playing tracks like “Baby I’m Bleeding” and “1539 N. Calvert,” at one point Hendricks jumped into the writhing mass of bodies that greeted him below. Talk about a close encounter.

Best Red-Eye Show - Kilo Kish Katia Innes Playing the Piccolo Rialto theatre—arguably the sweetest venue of the festival—Brooklynbased rapper-singer-and-visual artist Kilo Kish didn’t take to the stage until 1 a.m., but her set was well worth the wait. Drawing mostly from her recent EP mothe, as well as her full length album Reflections in Real Time (2016), Kish swayed hypnotically around the stage, exuding a strange magnetism. Kish cooed over slow the slow beats of a drum machine, crooning songs such as “Self Importance” and “San Pedro. In such a small venue, the lack of space can restrict performers.

However, Kish’s allure made it impossible to look anywhere but the stage. Perhaps it was the crowd’s exhaustion or the intimacy of the venue, but Kish was spellbinding.

Most Resembling the “Elevated Consciousness” Meme - Oneohtrix Point Never Noah Simon, Contributor On Sept. 26, Daniel Lopatin, also known as Oneohtrix Point Never, performed his show MYRIAD at the Monument National Theatre. MYRIAD is Lopatin’s ambitious art installation/’concertscape’ that seeks to redefine the concert. With a combination of electronic synths, samplers, and live drumming in addition to a backdrop of fragmented LED screens and elaborate light show MYRIAD is an immersive live experience. With original music he wrote specifically for the MYRIAD show, and tracks from his album Age Of (2018), Lopatin pits his digital soundscape against abstract images of the expansion of capitalism across Earth, exposing the show’s own artificiality as a consumer product.

But what a product it is! Videos of animated flying eagles combine with angelic synth patterns,

POP Montreal is in its 17th ideration.

(Katia Innes / McGill Tribune)

followed by a montage of newspaper prints and an abrasive drone. The range of visual and musical styles reflects Lopatin’s conflicted perspective of our current place in history; he points towards the dangers of computers and electronics while fully acknowledging MYRIAD would not be possible without them. It was engrossing.

Best Venue - U.S. Girls, Cinema L’Amour Noah Simon

A venue can completely alter the nature of a concert; the building’s history can pervade the physical space and affect the experience. This was certainly the case for the U.S. Girls’ show at Cinema L’Amour, the local adult theatre on Boul.

St. Laurent.

Opening act Johnathan Rice put it best.

“I’m very happy for two things tonight. One, that I can perform for all of you, and also that people still get together to watch pornography,” he quipped.

There were no such jokes from Meghan Remy and her band, and the seemingly-dated institution perfectly reflected the sentimentality of her act. Remy’s set felt like a relic in time: The disco, funk, and attire all transported the audience to a different era. The crowd seemed liberated by the night’s taboo and danced to fan favourites like “M.A.H.” and “Pearly Gates” as much as the confines of the cramped theatre allowed them. It was exciting and provocative, and one of the best acts that POP Montreal had to offer this year. All of those walking out with Cinema L’Amour merchandise seemed to agree.

Chillest - Advance Base Noah Simon Being one of the lesser known artists playing POP Montreal, Advance Base’s festival closing show at Bar Le Ritz was pleasantly intimate. His music exemplifies the tenderness of youth and the comparative hardships of adulthood. In addition to his keen eye for life’s minutiae, Ashworth’s swirling synths and subdued piano melodies express a bittersweetness—a simultaneous melancholy and fondness for human existence. After five days of running around the city, there was something poignant and rewarding in witnessing Ashworth, accompanied only by his keyboard, singing about dogs to a 15-person crowd.

“What if someone locked all the doors and we just did this all night,” Ashworth quipped.

student living

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018

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McGill’s political history: A conversation with Prof. McNally The history of radicalism and conservatism at McGill

Gabriela McGuinty Staff Writer McGill’s reputation is a leading factor that encourages students to apply to the university. An institution with a rich history, McGill has been at the centre of controversies, conflicts, and debates since its founding. On Sept. 25, Professor Peter F. McNally, a professor emeritus at the School of Information Studies in the Faculty of Education and the director of the History of McGill Project, delivered the lecture “Radicalism and Conservatism: Student Life at McGill.” The talk focused on McGill students’ radical and conservative views birthed in the ‘60s and how they have played a role in defining McGill today. In an interview with the

The McGill Tribune, McNally discussed McGill’s dynamic political history.

McGill Tribune (MT): Would you say that McGill has earned a reputation for being a radical university? How so?

Peter McNally (PM): McGill earned a reputation for being the most radical university in Canada [in the ‘60s]. I think it was the fact that, in the ‘60s, McGill hired [...] new faculty [members], many of whom came from the States and were quite radical. McGill has always had a high international enrollment, so you had a lot of American students here in the late ‘60s, and I think a lot of it had to do with their ideas and the SDS [Students for a Democratic Society], which basically factored control [over] SSMU and the McGill Daily [....] There’d be occupations of the principal’s office, political rallies,

huge demonstrations.

MT: Was McGill unique in this regard compared to other universities at the time?

PM: Other universities [were similar to] this. It’s just that, at McGill, it was that much more intense. [Activism was] happening, to a greater or lesser extent, everywhere, but, somehow, at McGill [activism] just captured the headlines, partly because it’s Montreal and partly because of McGill’s reputation.

MT: Do you believe that McGill’s location in Montreal played a role in this history?

PM: Without a doubt. McGill University is an English-language university in a jurisdiction where the

official language is French. Now, English of course does have official status in Quebec, partly because parliament passed the Official Languages Act [....] But, even so, the official language of Quebec is French, and there are very few examples of a university operating in a different language from the official language of its jurisdiction. I think this gives a particular edge to McGill. We tend to see the world in a slightly different way [because] we are in [Montreal].

MT: How would you characterize McGill’s history of radicalism?

PM: Cutting edge [...and] optimistic.

These are still parts of the identities of McGill, but I don’t know that [they are] the full definition [of the university’s present-day identity].

Saving the Farine Five Roses sign Art project highlights iconic sign in Montrealers’ collective memory Leyla Moy Contributor

Continued from page 1.

The ‘Five Roses’ line was permitted because of Bill 101’s exception for English brand names. After the brand changed ownership in 2007, the sign was turned off, seemingly for good. Then, resistance rose on social media and was soon backed by advocacy groups including Heritage Montreal.

The public response inspired Soar to start a blog to crystallize the effort and preserve the landmark.

Soar—who also founded Logo Cities, which keeps record of the many high-rise logos that mark the Montreal skyline—examines the relationship between hypercommercialism and signage. Hypercommercialism is the idea that advertizing increasingly seeps into every area of our daily lives. In gathering and researching advertisements for his work, Soar discovered the remarkable social and personal power of the iconography that saturates urban environments.

“What became abundantly clear was not

only do we have hypercommercialism […], but when people see, commune with, and touch old signs, it sparks memories,” Soar said. “They act as lightning rods for local memories.”

With this in mind, Soar expanded the reach of his project, which first emerged as the “Save Farine Five Roses” blog, to chronicle the drama surrounding the sign’s possible removal. His new objective was to preserve the landmark in the public’s memory. For example, his photoshopped anagrams of the 15 letters, called ‘Farinagrams,’ generated more interest than simple news aggregation. Though Smuckers, the new owner of the Five Roses brand, ultimately relented to public pressure and committed to restoring and maintaining the sign at significant cost months later, the blog remains active. The Farine Five Roses project has been running since 2009 despite the fading threat of the sign’s demolition. Today, it continues to document updates as well as modern homages to the sign, such as Five Roses tattoos and costumes. By examining how the sign continues to influence culture, Soar showcases the new meaning that the sign has taken on in the eyes of Montrealers.

“I suppose I’m holding on to two

The Farine Five Roses sign has become a Montreal landmark. (Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune)

contradictory ideas,” Soar said. “The critical idea of there being too much advertizing, but [also the idea] that some signs are worth thinking about and worth saving.”

According to Soar, a rewarding part of the project has been hearing stories that tie the sign into the living city beneath it. People remember the Five Roses sign in the background of their childhoods and their lives as students and young adults; for years, it has been there to greet them on their return from outside the urban centre. Montreal’s iconic signage is embedded in the city’s visual culture, and, in many ways, synonymous with it. Soar notes that this coalescence is evidenced by our drive to preserve symbols originally meant merely

for brand promotion. This is because we draw memories and construct meaning under the ever-present glow of signage.

“The sign [has been both present and in flux...], reflecting economic developments, [as well as] cultural and commercial ones,” Soar said.

The changes to the Five Roses sign reflect the changing nature of branding alongside the tensions between anglophone and francophone Montrealers. But, its lasting presence is a testament to the city’s collective and individual connection with those 15 neon letters that have stood watch over Montreal for 70 years—and, hopefully, will for many more to come.

cartoon

You’ve got this!

Emma Paulus Contributor

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student living

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018

Montreal’s greatest foes

Inside the McGill-Concordia rivalry Mary Keith Staff Writer McGill and Concordia have the perfect ingredients for a legendary rivalry: Close proximity, a shared language, sports programs, and bright students. Both universities’ students appreciate the struggle of attending competitive anglophone institutions in a bilingual city, Montreal’s wonderfully cheap rent, and the survival techniques to weather harsh, long winters. Despite these similarities, students choose to focus on the universities’ differences, particularly in academics and athletics, to create a competitive atmosphere.

Each university offers something distinct—McGill, founded in 1821, is a well-established institution with a prestigious history, while Concordia, founded in 1974, focuses on innovation and creativity within its student body. Concordia hosts a greater number of arts-oriented programs such as journalism, painting and drawing, and sculpture—none of which McGill offers. McGill, meanwhile, spreads its attention around faculties to a higher degree than Concordia. To Chris Liang, McGill U3 Arts, the difference in academic offerings—not some great disparity in intelligence—helps explain why some students end up at McGill while others choose Concordia.

“McGill students continue to put that higher standard on Concordia kids and label them as ‘stupid,’” Liang said. “But, at the end of the day many students choose Concordia over McGill based on the programs they offer.”

The reasons students choose between McGill and Concordia are diverse, but both universities’ environments can influence their students’ views and perspectives in the long-run. Antony Dagger, former Concordia student and current 102.3FM radio host, produced two videos that asked McGill and Concordia students the same questions and observed their responses. In one question, “Would you rather have $100,000 or a 4.0 GPA?” McGill students unanimously chose the perfect GPA, rationalizing that academic success would hopefully lead to an income of more than $100,000, while most Concordia students chose the $100,000. Dagger took note of the different

McGill and Concordfia have a long-standing rivalry. (Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune)

approaches the two student bodies took in answering.

“At McGill, [students] took two minutes to think about it. At Concordia, they didn’t care, they would rather just have the $100,000,” Dagger said.

In the realm of sports, meanwhile, Concordia has a clear advantage. For the past few years, McGill has consistently lost the Shaughnessy Cup to Concordia, a trophy awarded to the winner of the annual football game. Meanwhile, men and women’s ice hockey results have been less decisive. Some sports have even leaned McGill’s way. With stadiums only miles apart, the Martlets and Redmen usually get to play in front of their biggest crowds when facing the Concordia Stingers.

The McGill-Concordia rivalry is all about identity.

According to Dagger, this feeling of individuality allows students to feel a sense of attachment to their respective

universities.

“At the end of the day, students just want to be proud to be a part of their schools,” Dagger said.

Such pride makes students competitive beyond the classroom and the sports field.

“The rivalry will continue to persist, no matter what we challenge each other at,” Liang said. “We are some of the best universities in Montreal and we continuously try to challenge each other in different academic, sports, and social activities, so, we will continue to be competitive with them no matter the activity.”

The McGill-Concordia rivalry will continue to persist for generations, as it has since Concordia’s inception 44 years ago. Compared to other rivalries, ours is relatively young—which leaves plenty of room for new tales and traditions.

Midterms & mental health: Alternative student resources Navigating mental wellness services and outlets on campus and beyond

Anna Sixsmith Contributor It’s that time of year again: Midterm season. McLennan library now has permanent tenants, and the weekly Tokyo outing is declined with, “Sorry, I have to study.” Due to the added academic pressures, midterm season sees a great increase in demand for mental health services—a need that isn’t easily satisfied at McGill. In addition to the classical Counselling Services, students have access to a variety of alternative mental health resources to assist them during particularly stressful weeks. The McGill Tribune spoke with SSMU Vice President (VP) Student Life Sophia Esterle about these services and resources.

Peer Support Center Esterle’s first suggestion was the Peer Support Centre, which offers a space for McGill students to speak to a trained peer mentor about any issues they are experiencing. Open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, the Peer Support Centre is accessible for those wanting a discreet, anonymous conversation; they accept walk-ins for any sort of problem that a student may have.

Peer mentors are also accessible by appointment and will listen and share resources during their 45-minute sessions. The Peer Support Center is currently located on the second floor of 3471 Peel Street.

Nightline Nightline is a confidential phone line that operates from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. every night. They are an anonymous, nonjudgemental service run by McGill students extensively trained in crisis management and active listening.

“Nightline is [...] a great resource for someone to talk to when [they] have to pull an all-nighter and start feeling [poorly], and no one is around,” Esterle said. “[Nightline is] just a phone call away.”

Nightline accepts calls from anyone, McGill student or otherwise. The organization lists many other resources on its website, including French phone lines, calming exercises, and LGBT-specific support.

Poetry and Comedy shows Esterle also shared some of her favourite off-campus stress outlets. Small, student-run shows for poetry, comedy, and improv provide a space to unwind and meet new people in the McGill community. Creative activities have been found to relieve stress, aid communication, and slow cognitive decline.

“What I personally like to do is, [...] after a long day studying, going to a poetry night at Kafein or McSway or to [...] improv shows,” Esterle said. “It’s really nice to take a break and remind myself of the things and places I love and that my grades aren’t all that matters.”

Kafein, a café in the downtown area on Bishop Street,

hosts an open-mic poetry night every other Tuesday. They offer a safe, anti-racist, and anti-sexist space in which to share poetry. Similarly, McSway Poetry hosts poetry recitals at 3559 University Street. Montreal Student Comedy hosts stand-up comedy shows by students, for students. Otman’s Basement: Comedy on Campus is the group’s series of free comedy shows held on the last Thursday of every month in the McConnell Engineering building.

Counselling Services Most importantly, for students requiring professional attention, Esterle suggests McGill Counselling Services ‘workshops and groups. These sessions provide communitybased support for students seeking counselling on a range of problems.

Counselling Services offers life skills workshops that cover happiness, mindfulness, and overcoming perfectionism. They also have issue-specific workshops that focus on trauma, body image, grief, and sexual assault. Workshops are mostly free, exclusive to currently-enrolled students, and require registration.

Most workshops begin mid-October or early November.

Students should reach out for help if they feel they are in a crisis situation. Campus services are available to offer students professional and medical treatment, including Counselling and Mental Health Services. If you feel that you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1, or if you are on campus, Campus Security at 514-398-3000.

science & technology

wednesday, october 10, 2018

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Restored museum unlocks McGill’s medical history Fascinating medical artifacts on display in Strathcona

Claire Ramsay Contributor A newly-opened exhibition in the Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building offers researchers, students, and members of the public the opportunity to explore a fascinating array of anatomical specimens, dating back almost 200 years. The Maude Abbott Medical Museum provides visitors with insight into the rich history of medical studies at McGill as well as the rare opportunity to see preserved organs and other body parts up close.

The history of the artifacts goes back as far as McGill itself. Among the antiquities are specimens dissected by the first members of the Faculty of Medicine, including Sir William Osler. Known as the Father of modern medicine, Osler founded both Johns Hopkins Hospital and the History of Medicine Society in London, and he pioneered the practice of exposing medical students to bedside clinical training.

“These are some of the oldest

things that McGill University has,” Richard Fraser, the director of the museum, said.

The museum’s namesake, Maude Abbott, took original charge of the collection in 1898.

Abbott was among the first women to graduate with a BA from McGill. However, as a woman, the university refused her entry to study postgraduate medicine. She studied elsewhere, graduated at the top of her class, and returned to McGill. Still barred from holding a faculty position, Abbot took on the role of assistant curator of the collection.

Her work with the museum and its artifacts fuelled her success as a pathologist; by collecting and cataloguing heart specimens for the museum, she was able to publish groundbreaking works on congenital heart disease, becoming an international authority on the subject. Her personal success was mirrored in the success of her museum.

“She made it one of her life jobs to develop the museum, and she did,” Fraser said. “She developed it into one of the premier medical museums in North America.”

However, despite Abbott’s able custodianship, the specimens have not been easy to preserve.

Following a devastating fire in 1907, intradepartmental conflict over the running of the museum, and Abbott’s passing in 1940, the collection was neglected and forgotten.

This remained the case until Fraser stepped onto the scene.

When the International Academy of Pathology celebrated its centenary in 2006, many of the specimens were brought back into the light of day in a temporary exhibit recreating the historic museum. As Fraser became better acquainted with the specimens, he came to appreciate their value, both as historical artifacts and as anatomical teaching materials.

He was convinced that they were worth preserving and worth sharing. Fraser’s passion for the museum has culminated in the new exhibit, finally uniting the collection under Abbott’s name.

The exhibition brings together historic and contemporary approaches in the fields of anatomy and pathology.

The museum makes use of tablets dotted among the historic display

The collection offers the opportunity to see historical medical artifacts, including body parts, up close. (mcgill.ca) cases, showing informative videos on, for instance, how modern imaging technology can help visualize internal anatomy.

These aids help contextualise the specimens as artifacts of their time, clearly juxtaposing the old with the new.

As was the historical norm, specimens were often collected from patients without any explicit permission. This can make their display a sensitive issue, which, Fraser argues, makes it pertinent that they are displayed in the

correct context. According to him, part of an informative experience involves understanding the history and methods of the study of medicine, rather than merely the pathological curiosities in themselves.

The refurbished Maude Abbott Museum is a unique experience that brings together the past and present. The hope is that the collection that Abbott worked hard to curate will be appreciated as—in Dr Fraser’s words—a “jewel of McGill.”

Honouring the creative process

A behind-the-scenes look at video game development

Sariel R. Coronado Contributor It’s easy to forget that products of daily life, like video games, are the culmination of countless hours of work and meticulous design undertaken by teams as small as one person and as large as an entire company. Playing Hard – The Game Just Got Real, directed by Jean-Simon Chartier, delves into the minutiae of creating a video game.

Video game giant Ubisoft Montreal’s hit title For Honor sold three million copies in the first 10 days following the its release in Feb. 2017 and continues to retain a dedicated player base. With a large development team, the game represents a collective effort totalling millions of work hours. Focusing heavily on immersive third-person combat between online players on Xbox One, PC and PS4, For Honor depicts a tale of warfare over territory and resources between three powerful clans: knights, vikings and samurai.

Moreover, hidden inside the game lies an intense story about personal sacrifices in the pursuit of a dream. The protagonists: Jason VandenBerghe, creative director and eccentric visionary seeking to realize his passion; Stéphane Cardin, seasoned producer in charge of leading the project through endless obstacles; and Luc Duchaine, brand director on whose shoulders rests the marketing success of the entire enterprise.

The creative process is far from smooth, with shifting requirements forcing content

Creative Director Jason VandenBerghe demonstrates his ideas for combat in “For Honor.” (playinghardthemovie.com) to be cut and VandenBerghe’s demands becoming increasingly abrasive. The tale of For Honor’s development progresses like a play, complete with conflict, aspirations, and adversity. There is no end to the pressure and Chartier does not shy away from depicting each individual’s personal struggles.

The video game industry has a close relationship with violence given its simulated, lifelike conflict. Video game developers often feel responsible for addressing ethical dilemmas in their work. In a particularly

touching scene, VandenBerghe learns of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting and is moved to tears.

“There is a lot of hate in this world,” VandenBerghe said, adding that his game is meant to be “a tool against violence.”

“I think we all have to be conscious about the impact of what we’re doing, whether that be as filmmakers or video game creators,” Chartier said.

Nevertheless, Chartier believes that there could be a value in certain depictions of

violence in the medium.

“There’s violence in video games just as there is violence in film,” Chartier said. “In the end, violence is part of the world in which we live [...], so, people can live these things through something that is fictional and be able to understand more of themselves [in the real world….] There’s [also] been some studies on the impact of violence in video games, and some of those studies show that there is no link at all between violence in video games and violence in the real world.”

Indeed, current studies published this year in journals such as Molecular Psychiatry have concluded that video games, in fact, do not promote aggression, neither in the short or the long-term.

Ultimately, though, Playing Hard’s underlying message concerns itself with the way the industry treats individuals.

“I think we see this industry as being very savage [...], but I think [video game development] is not really about those big corporations,” Chartier said. “It’s about individuals that are passionate about something. There are human people behind these games, and at least when you play those games you have to take this into consideration.”

Playing Hard hit theatres on Sept. 21, and is a must-watch for anyone interested in game development at the scale of For Honor which is currently the eighth most played game in the history of Steam, the world’s most popular online gaming platform.

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science & technology

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018

New cities don’t mean new homes

Sea levels rise, but new cities still spring up on the coasts

McGill professor explores new city projects, many of which are doing little to adapt to climate change.

(Emma Paulus / The McGill Tribune)

Emma Gillies Staff Writer In the past 20 years, hundreds of new cities have sprung up around the world.

Some are new political centres, others are aspiring trade hubs or green cities. But, whether it’s Astana, Putrajaya, or King Abdullah Economic City, the reason is the same: To increase economic growth.

Surprisingly, though, many of these new cities are overlooking the risk of rising sea levels when building on coastlines.

Sarah Moser, assistant professor in Geography department, spotted these trends while working on a forthcoming study of new cities. Along with collaborator Idowu Ajibade of Portland

State University, she is studying the motivations behind founding new cities and their vulnerability to natural disasters.

Building new cities on coastlines is often justified as a way to relieve urban overcrowdedness, particularly in the Global South. However, as Moser found, the companies building these new cities are not really concerned about social ills such as overpopulation—their goal is profit.

“It seems logical, right?” Moser said.

“Let’s make new cities to address crowding and congestion and so people can live in a humane, clean, green environment. But, then, when it really comes down to it, new cities are often a way of justifying massive real estate developments.”

The continuing desire for luxurious waterfront real estate prompts the building of cities for profit on the water, regardless of climate change related costs.

Forest City, which a Chinese company is building on artificial islands in Malaysia, is expected to hold 700,000 people. But, because the project is driven by real estate, investors aim to buy 70 per cent of the houses purely for investment purposes and the price will only inflate as they try to sell to the highest-bidding interested homeowner. This case is illustrative of similar problems in many other new cities.

“Can the person earning two dollars a day taking plastic water bottles to a recycling centre ever hope to buy a condo worth two hundred thousand dollars?”

Moser said. “No. Such projects are for elites, although they are supposed to be for the growing middle class. Real estate in new cities is often bought not by the poor or middle class who need homes, but by the super rich who already own multiple homes.”

According to Moser, some projects are also using eminent domain laws— laws which allow the government to take private land for public use—to seize the area that they plan to build on. The vacated residents sell their land to the government for cheap only for the new developments to be unaffordable.

Of the 120 new city projects Moser is examining, she estimates that between 35 and 38 per cent of them are located on the coasts, making them vulnerable

to climate change as sea levels rise and storms become stronger. Worryingly, only eight of 120 city projects even mentioned climate change.

Even worse, these new cities inflict ecological consequences themselves.

Coastal areas are very sensitive to environmental changes. In the case of Forest City, sand is sucked off the seafloor and redistributed in piles to create islands.

In the process, a delicate ecosystem of coral reefs, fish, and an intricate food web that humans rely on is damaged.

Unfortunately, many environmental laws regulating these developments are weak or poorly-enforced.

While it might seem to make more sense to fix existing infrastructure in places like Lagos or Jakarta, building an entirely new city is easier from a political perspective. There is no existing population to question decision-making; there is no need to play politics or take bribes. And the profits are enormous: A technology company like Cisco, for example, can make about 400 billion dollars from a new city.

Moser isn’t against new development and feels strongly that Canadians shouldn’t be telling other countries what’s best for them. However, if new development is necessary, local people should be consulted. Perhaps, with more consultation, companies and governments would be building more sustainable and less vulnerable cities further inland rather than on beaches.

The REM: Too good to be true?

New light-rail network comes at unclear environmental cost Tina Giordano Contributor

With the sweltering heat of a Friday afternoon combined with yet another traffic jam on the Champlain bridge, almost any price might be considered worth paying for quicker and more accessible transportation.

The Réseau express métropolitain (REM), also known as the Montreal light-rail network, aims to provide a solution to Montreal’s congestion by December 2020.

With a projected budget of $6.3 billion, the REM will be a 67-kilometre fully automated public electric rail system linking the South Shore, the West Island, the airport, the North Shore, the Deux-Montagnes line, and downtown Montreal. Proponents toute the project for its environmental benefits, although members of the public, architectural experts, and environmentalists have critiqued the haste with which it has been pushed through approval and implementation.

Nonetheless, the consensus is that building some form of transit system is important for the long-term energy sustainability of cities. A report also suggests that an increased reliance on public transit could help Quebec’s economy by allowing the province to reallocate funds

from oil consumption to job creation.

“Usually, public transport, whether it is a bus or a tramway, uses less energy than cars,” Richard Shearmur, Director of the School of Urban Planning, said.

However, as much as public transportation might appear to be an obvious solution to reducing carbon emissions, building a new transit system still has environmental repercussions. As a rule of thumb, steps to make transportation more efficient tend to encourage more of it.

“Every study that has ever looked at traffic over the last seventy years has shown that when there is extra road capacity, new people actually get into their cars,” Shearmur said. “People that wouldn’t usually drive into town [tend] to come into the city.”

Furthermore, in addition to the debate among experts over the increased carbon emissions caused by transit systems, environmentalists question whether the municipal government has done its due diligence when considering the ecological impact of the REM project in particular. The project would involve cutting 20 hectares of trees and shrubs containing the largest heron nesting colony on the West Island. “[The REM project] has been very divisive because it has been imposed [on the city] rather than consulted about,”

The REM’s drafted tracks puts it on a collision course with West Island’s largest heron nesting colony. (lapresse.ca) Shearmur said. “What we need is legitimate availability. “[There] needs to be qualified, nonconsultations [between environmental experts and city planners] where real political people [in] a balanced committee to make a decision,” Avi Friedman, professor alternatives are considered.”

Proper consultation is a crucial part of in the School of Architecture, said.

In response to the outcry from any large-scale project with implications for the surrounding wildlife and their habitats. environmentalists about a lack of appropriate Critics suggest that the REM project has consultation, the city of Montreal promises not undergone adequate analysis. The to plant 250,000 trees to offset the CO2 province’s environmental review agency, emissions of this project, 100,000 of which the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur have already been planted. Nevertheless, l’environnement (BAPE), concluded in Jan. environmentalists are in the process of 2017 that the project lacks key information appealing to the Quebec courts to halt the on its costs and environmental effects process in order to allow for ‘meaningful’ while contributing little to public transport hearings on the project.

sports

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018

NBA season preview Basketball season set to tip off Oct. 16

Arman Imam Contributor The past few NBA offseasons have been full of surprises and excitement, and the 2018 offseason provided much of the same. Now, it’s time to focus on the regular season. Here are The McGill Tribune’s predictions for the season ahead.

contender. With young, athletic wing players and perhaps three of the most gifted passers in the game—James, Rajon Rondo, and Lonzo Ball—this Lakers team will certainly entertain. Once President of basketball operations Magic Johnson adds a threepoint marksman and a rim protector, the squad will hit its stride and finish in the top three of the daunting Western Conference.

MVP: LeBron James

The frontrunners for this year’s MVP will be Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James. Somehow, it has been five seasons since James, the league’s best player, last received the award. Perhaps, this is because the world takes his brilliance for granted, or because the honour usually goes to a player who surprises the NBA with a standout season. With James’ move to the Lakers, a team that hasn’t seen the postseason since 2013, the award should find its place in James’ trophy collection for the fifth time.

Dark Horse: Denver Nuggets

Most Improved Team: Los Angeles Lakers

When LeBron James makes a free-agency decision, the basketball world comes to a halt. So, when the King announced his decision to don the iconic purple and gold, the move sparked some debate: How long does LeBron have to win in LA, and what can fans expect from this season? They should expect it to be fun. James and his band of seasoned veterans will join a promising group of youngsters to create a compelling

The Nuggets missed the playoffs by a whisker last April after losing the final game of the regular season—a de-facto play-in game—to the Minnesota Timberwolves. This season, however, they may finally make the leap into the postseason.

Jamal Murray and Gary Harris lead a capable young core supported by veterans like Paul Millsap and new addition Isaiah Thomas. Denver’s trump card, meanwhile, stands tall in the middle: Centre Nikola Jokic is a walking double-double with eyes in the back of his head. Rarely have we seen a big man with his court vision and passing ability. The Nuggets will likely finish in the lower half of the Western Conference’s top eight, and they may signal trouble for a top seed come the postseason.

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Western Conference Final prediction: Warriors over Rockets

Houston is the best bet to match the Warriors’ scoring prowess. The Rockets’ depleted defensive stock will set them back, but they have the necessary offensive arsenal with Chris Paul, James Harden, Eric Gordon, and new addition Carmelo Anthony to give Steve Kerr’s Warriors team a run for their rings. The wild Western Conference will come down to a rematch of last season’s seven-game classic. Fortunately, for basketball fans, this series has the potential to thrill once again.

Due to their superior defence, the Warriors will again prove to be too much for the Rockets in a closely-contested series.

Eastern Conference Final prediction: Raptors over Celtics

While the 76ers may win multiple championships in years to come, the Raptors and Celtics will edge them out this year. Led by one-time movie star Kyrie Irving, Boston is the favourite with plenty of scoring options and gutsy defenders.

Toronto, on the other hand, finds strength in its roster’s depth: Each member of the beloved ‘Bench Mob’ knows exactly what their role is. They will also have the best player on either team in Kawhi Leonard, so this iteration of the Raptors has every reason to believe that this will finally be their year. This matchup promises to be a nail-biter, too. At the end of the day, Toronto will use the lessons they have learned from past playoff disappointments to slide past the conference-favourite Celtics.

NBA Finals prediction: Golden State over Toronto

The Warriors’ myriad of stars will best the Raptors’ versatility and depth on the way to an NBA Finals three-peat.

In conversation with Casey Auerbach Getting to know the McGill Baseball head coach Gabe Nisker Sports Editor When asked about his favourite sandwich, Casey Auerbach was quick to reply.

“An ice cream sandwich,” he said. “It’s a little out there. It’s a little bit different.”

Auerbach’s new position at McGill is also a little bit different. Once the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for McGill baseball, Auerbach is now the program’s fourth-ever head coach. He assumed the role late this season after then-head coach and current General Manager Jason Starr stepped away on Sept. 12 to spend more time with his family.

“Jason and I have always run the program together, and that’s not going to change,” Auerbach said. “Our roles have just kind of changed a little bit.”

Auerbach’s love of baseball is evident in the way he talks about it; his lifelong passion for the game has led him to this monumental point in his career.

“My dad introduced me to the game when I was a kid,” Auerbach said. “My love for it kind of grew from there. I played a lot of hockey when I was younger, too, and I kind of had to make a decision [about] which sport I was going to pursue. Everyone thinks [that since] you’re in Canada, [you will probably pick hockey], but my first love was always baseball.”

The time he spent exposed to the game in his childhood had a strong influence on his interest in pursuing a career in the sport.

“I grew up around the game [and] would obviously play during the spring, summer, and fall time as a kid growing up,” Auerbach said. “[I] just loved being at the ballpark and loved being around the game.”

His career has taken him around the world. As a ballplayer himself, he played five seasons in a Redmen uniform and also spent summers playing in Switzerland.

“What’s cool is [that] baseball unites people across the globe,” Auerbach said. “I had the opportunity to play and coach overseas in Switzerland for a couple of summers, [...] which was an unbelievable opportunity.”

In his time on the field with the Redmen, Auerbach

Casey Auerbach is McGill’s Baseball’s fourth-ever head coach. (Josh Gordon / McGill Baseball) played in the infield and pitched from 2008 to 2012.

“It was great,” Auerbach said. “In terms of, first and foremost, academic fit, extracurricular fit, and then [being] able to play some competitive baseball along the way, [it] was a really good fit for me personally.”

At the conclusion of his playing days, Auerbach knew what his next move would be: Coaching.

“I was always interested in some of the off-field things that take place in preparation for game day,” Auerbach said. “It’s always something that was of interest to me, and [I] wanted to get more involved. It was a natural transition to remain on the [Redmen] staff [after graduating] and keep contributing in that way, as well.”

Since his transition to the coaching staff, he has

remained involved in the campus community. Like many McGill coaches, Auerbach balances a growing commitment to his team with a day job. He manages the McGill Welcome Centre, handling undergraduate recruitment and enrollment services. One of his main duties is to oversee the campus tour guide program. Not only does he recruit athletes to the baseball team, he also recruits all kinds of students to the school he loves from nine to five.

Perhaps it’s just as illustrative of his devotion to McGill that it takes only a beat for the Westmount native to name his favourite colour.

“It’s tough to coach the McGill Redmen and not like red,” Auerbach said.

16

sports

wednesday, october 10, 2018

Concordia Stingers stun Martlets soccer 2-1 McGill winless in last four matches despite quick start Bilal Virji Staff Producer The McGill Martlets soccer team’s (4-4-2) winless streak continued Thursday night, Oct. 4, as they fell to the Concordia Stingers (3-6-1) by a score of 2-1.

McGill started off strong, creating two chances on goal in the opening five minutes. The fifth minute even saw cries for a penalty, after a Concordia outfield player allegedly handled the ball in the penalty box, but the referee waved play on. Goalkeeping errors from the Concordia keeper in the 14th and 23rd minutes gifted the Martlets with two opportunities for wide-open goals, but on both occasions, they failed to hit the mark. A Concordia striker got the Stingers’ best chance of the half in the 30th minute when she found herself one-onone with Martlet goalie Sarah Dubois, but her shot went right into Dubois’ hands.

McGill then piled on the pressure, and fourth-year forward Tia Lore broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute. After the Concordia keeper rushed off her line again, Lore was free in front of the goal to convert an incoming cross. Forward Ariane Ducharme was also through on goal in the 39th minute, but, this time, the Stingers keeper was able to make the save. Ducharme again broke free in the 40th minute, but was stopped in her tracks by a brilliant sliding tackle from

a Concordia defender.

McGill continued to dominate the scoring chances at the start of the second half, but second-year forward Victoria Sturgess missed an open shot in the 46th minute, and third-year centre-back Nathalie Brunelle hit the crossbar a minute later.

The Martlets began to lose their composure after Concordia was awarded a penalty in the 61st minute when a McGill defender tripped a Concordia forward. Dubois saved the initial penalty shot, but she couldn’t stop the second effort off of the rebound, levelling the game 1-1.

“We didn’t capitalize on the chances we made, and didn’t secure the win early on, which kept them in the game,” Dubois said. “After the first goal, panic set in, and a bad pass put my centre-back in a hard position and led to a PK.” Concordia struck again two minutes later when a midfielder converted a cross from a set-piece. The Martlets had a chance to come back once in the 65th minute, when the Concordia keeper fumbled a cross and again, three minutes later, but brilliant recovering saves kept the game in the Stingers’ favour. Concordia held on to their lead for the rest of the second half, condemning the Martlets to yet another loss.

Nonetheless, Martlets Head Coach Jose-Luis Valdes remained positive about his team’s performance.

“Despite the loss, I am still happy with the way the team played,” Valdes said. “We’re moving in the right direction. It was just a very unlucky loss today.”

Moment of the Game

Concordia scored against the run of play as a result of a free kick, which ultimately caused the Martlets to lose their composure.

Quotable

“We will have to change our mindset and tactics for this week as we play Laval.

[They are] a much stronger team that will be coming to get a win out of us.” - Tia Lore

Stat Corner

McGill had 11 attempts on goal and four on target, while Concordia had just six attempts and three on target.

McGill men’s hockey falls to Queen’s in season opener Strong first period overshadowed by defeat in overtime Kaja Surborg Contributor On Oct. 5, the McGill Redmen (1-1) hockey team opened its season against the Queen’s Gaels (1-0) with a 2-1 loss in overtime. Their first win of the season came the following night against the Université du Québec à Trois Rivières Patriotes.

Just three minutes into the game, fourth-year transfer McGill centre Aaron Armstrong opened the scoring, assisted by second-year forwards Keanu Yamamoto and Michael Cramarossa. McGill was dominant through the first period and continued to create high-quality scoring chances throughout the night. Unfortunately, they couldn’t convert many of those opportunities, and, despite a strong defensive showing by the Redmen, the Gaels went home victorious after an overtime goal.

“Our execution needs to be a little bit better around the net,” Redmen Head Coach Kelly Nobes said. “We need to get more of a net front presence and get some second and third chances.”

Armstrong agreed with his coach’s assessment. “[We’ve] got to be finishing the chances,” he said.

“I had a few chances tonight that I should have put in.”

A strong first period demonstrated the Redmen’s potential for the rest of the season with a goal at the beginning and a solid presence in front of the Queen’s net throughout the period. “[We need to] play like we did in the first [period] and just stay more consistent,” Yamamoto said.

McGill was less dominant in the second and third periods, but still stayed strong defensively and created several scoring chances, including a thirdperiod breakaway that resulted in a shot off the post.

Unfortunately, a strong performance by the Gaels goaltender shut down McGill’s scoring, and Queen’s eventually found the back of the net on a power play in the second period to make it 1-1. In overtime, both teams had promising opportunities to score, but the Gaels capitalized on their chances first, and they took the game 2-1.

The first game of the season was an opportunity for the players and coaches to see where they can improve and what they are doing well. It was also a chance to see how the team works together in a meaningful game.

Despite the loss, McGill’s evaluations were generally positive.

“We’ve got a good group of guys here and a good

Aaron Armstrong scored McGill’s only goal against Queen’s.

(Keli Geers / The McGill Tribune) coaching staff,” Armstrong said. “It’s been a lot of fun and, hopefully, we’ll turn it around.”

Nobes, meanwhile, saw room for improvement.

“We’re still getting going and I don’t think everyone is operating at their full potential,” Nobes said. “They can be better, and they will be. [.... Nicolas] Poulin and [Jordan] Fournier up front [had a solid game] and Armstrong had our only goal.”

Putting the lessons from Friday’s game into place during the rest of the season will prove important. With some adjustments, the Redmen should be headed for a strong season: They hope to repeat last season’s Queen’s Cup title win and finish at the top of the OUA conference again.

Following the opening loss, the Redmen rebounded to defeat the Université du Québec à Trois Rivières Patriotes 4-1 on Oct. 6. They host the Patriotes again on Oct. 12.

MOMENT OF THE GAME

McGill’s first goal of the season came just two minutes into the first period, when Aaron Armstrong scored off of an assist from Keanu Yamamoto and Michael Cramarossa.

QUOTABLE

“I was the benefactor of a nice pass from Keanu and Cramarossa there, so that was pretty fortunate. They just did the work and then put it right on my tape.” - Aaron Armstrong on his first goal for the McGill Redmen.

STATS CORNER

Louis-Philip Guindon’s 26 saves kept the score even until overtime.