McGill Tribune Vol. 38 Issue 7

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018 | VOL. 38 | ISSUE 7

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

SPORTS

McGill should blaze a trail in the legal-cannabis era

Beyond the answer sheet

How we fell in love with our favourite teams

PG. 5

PGs. 8-9

PG. 15

(Dan Aponte / The McGill Tribune)

Café suspendu: a hidden gem on Mont Royal

PG. 7

Home is where the hoco isn’t Hannibal de Pencier Columnist McGill homecoming has come and gone, unappreciated and hardly attended.

Many students lament this apparent lack of pride and the absence of support for athletics at McGill, while most are simply

apathetic. But, university homecomings are not really about pride in athletics: They’re about partying. When McGill students decry our lack of school spirit, they’re usually referring to the absence of a Queen’s-style street party or mass hysterics in a sea of red.

Perhaps such manifestations of pride aren’t something we should really be aspiring to.

Rather than representing a unified

Sad girls and soft boys convene and cry

Celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month at McGill

Throughout October, the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminism (IGSF) has organized a diverse spread of events, featuring famous LGBTQ+ speakers, professors, and authors, as part of McGill’s

inaugural LGBTQ+ History Month. This achievement has initiated a conversation about LGBTQ+ culture and knowledge on campus, and the events have highlighted the achievements of the LGBTQ+ community.

In celebration of this initiative, The McGill Tribune reflects on LGBTQ+ McGillians who have

and Science Games, to name a few. To our credit, McGill doesn’t conflate its parties with its identity in the same way some other schools seem to.

McGill’s lack of uniform pride is a symptom of its cultural diversity. Queen’s and Western follow the American model of school pride, synonymous with fraternities and game-day tailgates.

PG. 6

Mitski devastates at Club Soda

LGBTQ+ McGillians making a difference Anna Sixsmith Contributor

student culture, outbursts of ‘school pride’ at other schools’ homecomings are more indicative of an overly homogenized campus. If you go to a university like Queen’s or Western, conformity to the party mob is an inescapable requisite to participation in campus life. For massdebauchery enthusiasts, McGill is well covered with Carnival, Faculty Olympics,

Ariella Garmaise Managing Editor

made history on campus and beyond.

Will Aitken Originally from the United States, Will Aitken is one of Canada’s most celebrated openly-gay film critics as well as a highly-regarded novelist and journalist.

PG. 10

On Oct. 21, Mitski— or, as the marquee would have it, Mitsik—performed for a sold-out crowd at Club Soda. As anyone with a name too long or foreign to pronounce can attest, the switch of the ‘i’ and ‘k’ stings more than most typos.

You can tour with Lorde and have an 8.8 on Pitchfork and

sell out a North American tour, and they’ll still spell your name wrong. Fittingly, albeit coincidentally, Mitski opened with “Remember my Name.”

With the release of her most recent album, Mitski has achieved peak indie darling status. She is teetering on the brink of mainstream stardom, at a strange inflection point in her career. Her latest album,

Be the Cowboy, released on Aug. 17, is sonically reflective of this transition: With hits like “Why Didn’t You Stop Me,” “Lonesome Love,” and “Nobody,” Mitski takes her insightful and emo lyrics, as popularized on Puberty 2 and Bury Me at Makeout Creek, and sets them to pop melodies. The result is a sense of loneliness you can dance to.

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news

The McGill Book Fair reaches its final chapter

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

Cumulative $1.8 million raised since 1975 Leanne Young Staff Photographer The annual McGill Book Fair is a popular event for students, staff, and residents of Montreal.

A large selection of over 50,000 books in a wide range of categories, from fiction to physics, delight book enthusiasts. However, this year’s event, which ran Oct. 16-18, is likely the last one ever at McGill.

The Book Fair started in 1971 as a joint effort from the Women’s Associates of McGill— an association comprised of the wives of McGill professors—and the Women’s Alumnae Association. Its primary goal is to raise money for scholarships and, at an average price of $3 per book, it has raised about $1.8 million since 1975. The funds are divided into three bursaries: The McGill Book Fair Bursary in Music for undergraduate students in the Schulich School of Music; the Jane B. Hood Bursary in English Literature, dedicated to the first and longest serving coordinator of the Fair for over 30 years; and the McGill Book Fair Bursary,

which is for all undergraduate students.

Bursaries are vital for many students. Deanna Duxbury, U3 Arts, for example, believes that she would not have been able to pay tuition without the financial assistance the bursaries provide.

“I was working to pay my way, and the Book Fair bursary was so helpful.” Duxbury said. “[It] makes me want to give back.”

In addition to providing scholarships, the organizers of the Book Fair seek to contribute to sustainability and social equity. Books are available at a low cost and the remaining texts are donated to charities, providing information and literature to students and families with limited resources.

According to Susan Smith Woodruff, co-coordinator of the Book Fair, this year’s event was difficult to organize due to construction work being done at Redpath Hall.

“These achievements of the Book Fair don’t just come from getting books and putting them on the table,” Woodruff said. “There

are a lot of details to deal with [….] This year, we had to rearrange everything that we would normally do in order to accommodate the dictates of the fire module from the construction being done next to Redpath.”

According to event organizers, the 2011 Book Fair was supposed to be the final iteration.

Only a handful of volunteers were available to cope with the physical demands of hefting books and boxes, leaving more physical work on fewer shoulders. It was a unanimous vote among the team that they could not continue to host the event. However, two McGill graduate students, Fraser Dickson and Jonathan Haines, were determined to keep the Book Fair going, deciding to step in and organize the the event in 2012.

Following a hiatus in 2013 due to construction work on Redpath Terrace, the Book Fair reemerged in 2014. However, restarting operations posed significant challenges according to Anne Johnston Williams, one of the Fair coordinators.

“In 2014, people didn’t think it was going on anymore,

The McGill Book Fair seeks to contribute to sustainability and social equity. (LeanneYoung / The McGill Tribune) so it was hard to get people back building to have it in,” Williams again,” Williams said. “The book said. “The building may be findealers didn’t come even though ished next September, but we don’t know.” we let them know.”

According to Woodruff, the Due to required maintenance on the heating, ventilation, and logistical burdens involved in the air conditioning systems of the project are too heavy to make the building, Redpath Hall will not Book Fair viable for next year.

“It’s bittersweet,” Woodruff be available to host the Book Fair said. “We’ve been so involved next year. “[Woodruff] and I are not [that] it’s going to be hard not to doing it again, and we can’t have have the book fair, but it’s also a [Redpath Hall] next year as far relief because we have so many as we know, and [it] is an ideal other things to do.”

Montreal’s second Demonstration Against Racism draws support across city As protests target the CAQ, citizens express their discontent Lauren Mayes Contributor For the second year in a row, the Demonstration Against Racism drew around 3000 protestors on Oct. 7. The protest was co-organized by the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC), Montreal Antifasciste (ANTIFA), Food Against Fascism, Solidarity Across Borders, and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Protesters moved into the streets around 3 p.m., gathering at the moving truck provided by ANTIFA, which was filled to the brim with speakers. It blasted out three main speeches, touching on the normalization of racism, colonialism, and disappointment in the recent Quebec elections.

Despite not being the official reason the march was called, the newly-elected CAQ was the main target of the protest. Shouts of ”Francois Legault has got to go” rose through the air as the masses of people snaked through downtown.

The CAQ has proposed several changes to Quebec’s immigration policies, including a ‘Quebec values test,’ which Legault has stated will test whether or not immigrants agree with Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and will guage their grasp of conversational French. It is still unclear what would happen to those who fail the tests, as the CAQ has stated that it is, ultimately, Ottawa’s responsibility to deal with unsuccessful attempts.

Bénédicte Santoire, a protester and Université de Montréal (UDeM) Master’s student, said that she had known about the protest before the election, but Legault’s victory spurred her to

come out.

“I just don’t like their position on the [Quebec values test], on immigration,” Santoire said. “[The CAQ is] a right-wing party. I disagree with their core beliefs.”

The protest was an opportunity to raise awareness for many causes. Nicholas Gibbs was a black NDG resident shot on Aug. 21 in a police altercation. During the demonstration, his nephew called the Montreal Police (SVPM) the “biggest gang in the city,” stating that the police had unfairly profiled his uncle due to his previous convictions and that they were lying about his uncle being armed the night he was killed.

The protest followed ANTIFA’s truck down Boul. René Lévesque, mostly broadcasting chants like “so-so-so-solidarité” and “say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here” while intermittently relaying speeches from members of the community. In front of Complexe Des Jardins, a large banner read “JUSTICE POUR NICHOLAS GIBBS: another racist murder by SVPM.” “When we separate, when we show hate, we hate on each other. They love that because we’re divided,” Gibbs’ nephew said. “They’re the biggest gang in the city, they’re the biggest gang and when we’re like this, when we’re together like this, I can guarantee you on my life, none of us will get profiled. We need more of this.”

The nephew claimed that the city’s police intend to divide residents, revealing the need to stand in solidarity. This speech was followed by chants such as “tout le mode déteste la police”

The Demonstration Against Racism drew around 3,000 protestors to Downtown Montreal.

(Lauren Mayes / The McGill Tribune) (“everybody hates the police”) directed at the police officers blocking off the roads for the protest.

The demonstration ended with speeches from members of the community and leaders of the co-organizing groups sharing messages against racism, Islamophobia, capitalism, colonialism, and fascism. Graham Bélanger, a first

year fashion design student at LaSalle College, captured the crowd’s mood.

“It’s really important [that] citizens engage,” Belanger said. “Democracy can be very corrupt sometimes, and this is our last chance as people to gather and push it in the right direction.”

news

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

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SSMU addresses resignation of VP External

Department ratifies guidelines on staff-student relationships

Councillors debate appropriate use of official social media accounts.

Political Science becomes first department at McGill to pass guidelines regarding instructor-student relationships

Nina Russell Staff Writer

Elizabeth Strong Contributor

SSMU executives decided that the VP External’s tasks will be redistributed among new and current student staff.

(Nina Russel / The McGill Tribune) The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council met on Oct. 18 to address the resignation of the SSMU vice-president (VP) external, Marina Cupido. Cupido resigned on Oct. 10 due to mental health concerns partially stemming from the heavy workload of the position.

The position itself also fell under scrutiny, as the council discussed the appropriate use of executive social media platforms. The discussion was following Cupido’s controversial Facebook post on Oct. 2, which condemned the newly-elected Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ). Meeting lengths and the restructuring of SSMU’s fees were also up for debate.

Motion Regarding Responsible Representation McGill Arts and Science Senator Bryan Buraga introduced a Motion Regarding Responsible Representation in response to Cupido’s now-deleted post. In the post, which was retracted on Oct. 11, Cupido criticized the CAQ’s “xenophobic, farright” policies and discussed their implications for students at McGill. The motion, which was tabled at the previous Legislative Council meeting, recommended that SSMU remove the Facebook post and apologize. It also outlined steps for preventing and addressing such instances in the future. Under the motion, operators of SSMU social media accounts would have to ensure that social media posts represent the consensus of the Legislative Council or the Executive Committee, rather than just being matters of personal opinion.

Arts Representative Andrew Figueiredo asserted the importance of the motion in ensuring that the student body’s opinions are represented in student government.

“I think this motion requires that SSMU takes certain steps to be sure that its [...] opinions are actually reflecting what is being said by the people who are in SSMU,” Figueiredo said. “I think that this doesn’t encumber [SSMU external communications] in any way, it just makes sure that our voices are being heard [....] It’s a motion that’s made from a place of wanting our student government to represent students, and I think that’s the least we can ask for.”

Vincent Mousseau, stand-in for the Social Work Representative, raised concerns that the mo-

tion would negatively impact SSMU’s ability to condemn oppressive policies and protect marginalized students.

“I feel like it’s very irresponsible to have a motion that’s going to stifle the expression of elected members of this student union,” Mousseau said.

“We know [which policies will negatively affect our students], and we need to be naming them. We need to be critiquing them, and not just putting out [vaguely] worded statements that give some semblance that we’re willing to critique and [instead] actually [do] something concrete to stand up for our students. And in a larger sense, I think it’s important to understand the way that an amendment like this would appear to marginalized students, who are in need of [our support].”

Following an hour-and-a-half–long debate, the council voted against the motion, with 13 opposed, 10 in favour, and three abstentions.

Generative Discussion on VP External Position The council discussed how to address the vacant VP External position. SSMU President Tre Mansdoerfer announced the SSMU executive board’s plan to redistribute the position’s duties among existing commissioners. While the idea of holding a by-election was mentioned, council decided that a new VP seven months into the year might not be cohesive with the team.

“We will not be running a by-election for the VP External role, [and, instead], we will be creating new student staff positions for the External portfolio to cover previous projects that were previously under the responsibility of the Vice President,” Mansdoerfer said. “As such, we will create a Francophone Affairs Commissioner position, a Sexual Violence Mobilization Advocacy Commissioner, [and] we will be doubling the hours of certain commissioners.”

Though some raised concerns regarding the increased workload for these commissioners, Mansdoerfer stated that a three-person advisory board would be established to offer institutional support and advice on matters specific to the role.

The next SSMU Legislative Council meeting will be held on Nov. 1 in McConnell Engineering Room 603.

The Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) announced on Oct. 9 that the Department of Political Science had unanimously ratified a set of guidelines regarding relationships between instructors and students at McGill, becoming the first department at McGill to do so.

McGill’s Policy Against Sexual Violence suggests that professor-student relationships constitute an abuse of authority, although the administration also released a memorandum in May which outlines how intimate relationships between staff and students should be conducted. For its part, the Department of Political Science’s new guidelines take a strong stance against intimate relationships between instructors and their students.

“The department regards intimate friendships as well as sexual and romantic relationships between instructors and students as generally incompatible with educators’ professional responsibility,” the guidelines read.

The guidelines define ‘instructors’ as professors, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and teaching assistants. The document also offers a list of recommended practices for teaching staff, including advice on appropriate office hours, social media conduct, and respecting students’ privacy.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, PSSA President Bella Harvey stressed the importance of having these guidelines formally and explicitly written out.

“I think some things, even if they’re understood, [need to be formalized],” Harvey said. “I think [the guidelines are] an accountability mechanism for students to have and for the department to have.”

Harvey also expressed her belief that these guidelines will set an example for other departments and even inspire them to pursue similar guidelines.

“I know [the Department of History] is working on [similar regulations] now, too, and I’ve had [the Institute of] Islamic Studies [ask about them as well],” Harvey said.

“I think a lot of students and professors in various departments would like to establish these on a departmental level. I think they’re a good template for other departments and students to use, as well.”

However, Harvey emphasized that these guidelines are part of a greater change.

“Hopefully these issues will stop in their tracks,” Harvey said. “But I also realize that a piece of paper isn’t necessarily going to do that [...] I at least think it is a step in the right direction.”

PSSA Vice President (VP) External Jennifer Chan echoed these sentiments and further clarified that these guidelines are the result of the previous work of many students.

“I think it’s important to remember that this is just one step forward and that the step forward could only happen with the labour put in by people, student groups, [and] individuals last year,” Chan said. “It’s not the first time people have been talking about student-teacher relations. And this kind of labour is disproportionately taken on by women, women of colour, black or Indigenous folks, trans folks.”

According to Chan, SSMU’s April 2018 Open Letter Regarding Complaints Against Professors helped mobilize the Department of Political Science to pass their guidelines. The letter, which asserted that the Office of the Dean of Arts had failed to seriously address complaints of sexual violence, called for a third-party investigation into the Office of the Dean of Arts on the handling of formal and informal complaints.

Chan and Harvey both emphasized that the good nature of the relationship between the PSSA and the Political Science Department was essential in getting these guidelines ratified. According to Harvey, had it not been for the support of the department, it would not have been possible to pass these guidelines.

“We are very privileged and lucky as a student association to have the relationship that we do with our department.” Harvey said. “I know other groups have a harder time, but it’s still important that they try.”

PSSA President Harvey calls guidelines a “step in the right direction.” (Zoé Yalden / The McGill Tribune)

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news

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

Indigenous support inside and outside classrooms School of Social Work centennial hosts indigenous panel

Isabella Lyons Contributor McGill’s School of Social Work held a panel on the indigenous student experience at McGill on Oct. 13, featuring speakers from Indigenous Access McGill (IAM) and indigenous students. The event is part of the celebration for the School’s 100th anniversary.

Nicole Ives and Wanda Gabriel, associate professors from the School of Social Work, spoke about why IAM, a community and academic-oriented support program, is an important initiative at McGill. It has previously assisted 18 indigenous students and is currently helping 13.

“One of the areas [in which] we found support was needed was this disengagement [...] from the education process,” Ives said.

“The past is based in colonization, residential schools, and day schools. Education was primitive and did not give the students what they needed.”

IAM is defined by three core components: Curriculum development, student assistance, and summer support. It offers an indigenous field course to bring McGill and the Kahnawá:ke community closer together

in reconciliation and action. It also provides misconceptions.

“It can be very awkward as an indigsummer orientations that give incoming indigenous students an opportunity to see what enous person,” Gray said. “Whenever your culture is mentioned or your people are menuniversity is like.

The student support creates what Ga- tioned, it’s in the form of stereotypes.”

Even when correcting stereotypes, Gabriel calls ‘cultural buffers’ to allow students to participate in a classroom setting without briel sees that it is difficult for people to exfeeling the shame of not having all the an- press themselves as an Indigenous because their very culture has been broken. swers.

“When you have a sole student being “[There are] not many faces that are our own,” Gabriel said. “Pressures [are] experi- asked, ‘what does the indigenous world enced in class […from] being the only indig- think,’ they won’t have all the answers,” Gaenous person in the classroom. When Indig- briel said. “When that kind of pressure is put enous issues come up, that student is asked to on over and over, it brings lots of stress.To have these places where we can see ourselves speak for all of the indigenous people.”

Alex Gray (BSc ‘18) , spoke of his ex- within the university, to see people that are perience as an indigenous student during lectures.

“I can remember taking a global health course,” Gray said. “Oftentimes, when indigenous issues came up, I felt like [I was] representing all of [my] people. You get your heart pumping, you start to sweat a little, and it’s not a fun experience. You feel compelled to talk [....] You’re not just in a post-secondary institution representing yourself, you are representing your community. ” Iniigenous experiences are more than just “Canada’s Little Gray also felt the burden of correcting Secret.” (mcgill.ca)

sharing the same journey, is so important.”

Gray, who is also member of the Medicine Bear drum group, credited the First Peoples House as a helpful resource in his time at McGill.

“A number of us met through First Peoples House, and there was a growing interest in getting a drum group going,” Gray said.

“Bringing the drum out [...] is an easy way to make a space, especially in a colonial body such as McGill, into something more welcoming to Indigenous peoples.”

The indigenous experience has always involved barriers, yet Gabriel puts faith in initiatives like IAM to rise to the challenge.

“We have to keep pushing with determination, [though] we are born into struggle and resistance,” Gabriel said. “Our people survived cultural genocide through determination and [resilience]. After all of these actions to eradicate our people, we’re still here [….] There needs to be further dialogue of what comes up for non-indigenous professors when they are teaching indigenous material. There are ways to teach about indigenous studies by coming from this perspective—the honest perspective—not Canada’s little secret.”

50 years of career reinvention School of Continuing Studies celebrates anniversary Diamond Yao Contributor Founded in 1968, the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) celebrated its 50th anniversary on Oct. 11. To mark the occasion, the SCS hosted a reception titled Careers by Design: Building Futures in an Age of Disruption. Speakers shared how they found fulfillment by following their own instincts and continuing to pick up skills along the way.

Enza Cignarella, a McGill MBA who is currently a life coach and pharmaceutical executive at Novartis, spoke at the event about her personal career experiences.

“I am very excited about this event because ‘careers’ as we know them, the notion that we have one career for our entire lives, is probably not something that is true nowadays, and this is really exciting,” Cignarella said. “It’s an opportunity to network and connect with people who are facing career transitions.”

As a first generation university student who studied industrial relations and a first generation Canadian from an Italian immigrant background, Cignarella was exposed to harsh discourses about how careers would make or break her life. She found this to be extremely anxiety-inducing, and it, ultimately, derailed her business career. She has since redirected her professional life towards a dual career in both the pharmaceutical and the life coaching industries.

Chris Kelly, who works as a project manager of automation and rigging at Cirque du Soleil, had a similarly circuitous career trajectory. Kelly left home at 14 to strike out on his own and never finished his formal education, working a series of odd jobs before advancing in the automation industry.

“I always knew that I would be involved

in entertainment somehow,” Kelly said. “Since a young age, I was doing musical theatre in school. I did ballet for six years. Originally, [I] was a performer and went to musical theatre for a very short while, and then discovered I was just as happy backstage doing technical production and just never looked back.”

The changing nature of careers as a reflection of a changing world was a recurring theme throughout the reception. Rommel Romero, a public relations professional, suggested that being proactive and engaging in pursuits that may not have an obvious outcome is crucial in today’s economy. Since graduating from the SCS with a degree in public relations in 2012, he has enjoyed many career iterations, including work in video game journalism, programming, and banking. He is now beginning a career in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.

“When you are in PR, there’s no manual,” Romero said. “There’s nothing to tell you and to guide you as to how you can get into an industry. So I kind of had to make it up as I went.”

Kelly agreed with Romero’s statement, further emphasizing the benefits of a hands-on approach to career training.

“I’ve just fallen into a bunch of things [and] got a lot of unexpected results,” Kelly said. “Don’t wait until you are ready. Sometimes you just need to be able to go, do the thing, and discover what you need to know to be able to do the thing later.”

Cignarella emphasized the importance of schools of continuing education like McGill’s in enabling flexible career paths.

“Schools of continuing education are great places for us to get new skills, to establish new networks, and to reposition ourselves in what direction we ought to take in such a changing environment,” Cignarella said.

The School of Continuing Studies has come a long way since its creation.

(Diamond Yao / The McGill Tribune)

opinion

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

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

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

EDITORIAL

McGill should blaze a trail in campus cannabis regulation Hundreds of Montrealers lined up at the Société québécoise du cannabis’s (SQDC) Ste. Catherine and Peel location on Oct. 17, vying to be among the first Canadians to buy legal marijuana. Only a few blocks away, a few new rules were also taking effect at McGill.

In accordance with provincial law and the school’s smoke-free campus policy, smoking or vaporizing marijuana on-campus is forbidden.

Though these rules are only temporary, they will act as guidelines for McGill’s permanent regulations, which are scheduled for release this fall. In creating permanent rules, McGill should emphasize a harm-reduction approach, and be cautious of the racial discrimination often associated with marijuana regulation.

According to the McGill’s interim guidelines about cannabis use on campus, all forms of cannabis consumption are prohibited on campus and in residence, including smoking, vaping, edibles, and topical creams.

Furthermore, selling, distributing, cooking, and growing cannabis is also prohibited. Breaking any of the aforementioned rules may result in disciplinary action.

Other universities in Canada have introduced similarly conservative models. Concordia University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Ottawa all prohibit consumption on campus. However, some are more permissive: The University of Alberta allows consumption in designated areas and the University of Manitoba prohibits smoking, but does not explicitly ban other forms of consumption.

While the university has the right to regulate what happens on its campus, it is not the administration’s place to encourage or discourage general cannabis consumption. Instead, groups like Healthy McGill, McGill Student Emergency Response Team (MSERT), Frosh organizers, and other student groups should update their education initiatives to respond to the change in cannabis’ legal status, and continue empowering students to make their own choice. Healthy McGill already has a harm-reduction mandate regarding recreational drug use and MSERT trains their responders in emergency first aid, which includes cannabis response. As Canada is one of only two countries in the world to legalize cannabis at the federal level, the vast majority of future

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international students will be unfamiliar with the system’s ins and outs, making the need for objective education all the more pressing.

Any university regulation of cannabis should comply with the principle of harm reduction. During the peak of the fentanyl crisis, floor fellows were trained to carry and use naloxone, a temporary antidote for fentanyl overdoses. Instead of focusing on preventing opioid consumption, floor fellows were equipped to respond to possible crises. McGill’s new guidelines should follow this model.

Moreover, McGill should be mindful that the the criminalization of marijuana has a disproportionate effect on indigenous Canadians and other people of colour. Black and indigenous Canadians are vastly overrepresented in cannabis-related arrests, despite cannabis use being similar across different racial groups. In implementing disciplinary procedures, McGill needs to create policies that account for, and actively resist, racialized discrimination.

Still, McGill has embraced legal marijuana in at least one respect: The Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences put on two workshops on cannabis production

in August 2018, with the aim of establishing a professional certificate program by next winter. This is a positive step; it would be a major missed opportunity for the university not to offer instruction in a field with such potential for economic growth.

However, the administration must again consider criminalization’s bleak legacy. Many racialized Canadians have been imprisoned for doing what is now considered a legitimate career path. McGill can play a part in redressing historical wrongs by including destigmatization initiatives in their training and by prioritizing opportunities and spaces for people of colour in their policy design and execution.

As one of Canada’s leading academic institutions, McGill has the opportunity to set an example for cannabis regulation in universities across the country. In doing so, it should embody the principles of harm reduction, accessibility, social equity, and education. While cannabis’ legalization is new, its consumption is not. If McGill stands by the methods already practiced by its floor fellows and staff, it will be prepared for what change may come.

Multimedia Editor Tristan Surman multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Luya Ding webdev@mcgilltribune.com Tristan Sparks online@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Melissa Langley copy@mcgilltribune.com

OFF THE BOARD

Business Manager Falah Rajput business@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Declan Embury, Maharshee Karia, Sara Al Sharif ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors Abeer Almahdi, Becca Hoff, Jeeventh Kaur, Marie Labrosse, Katherine Milazzo, Daniel Minuk, Falah Rajput.

Nina Russel, Kevin Vogel

staff Hannibal de Pencier, Taja De Silva, Kyle Dewsnap, Owen Gibbs, Emma Gillies, Sabrina Girard-Lamas, Mary Keith, Sunny Kim, Sydney King, Winne Lin, Ronny, LitvackKatzman, Ender McDuff, Gabriela McGuinty, Sofia Mikton, Nicholas Raffoul,, Nina Russell, Julia Spicer, Leo Stillinger, Bilal Virji, Kevin Vogel, Tony Wang, Helen Wu, Jacqueline Yao, Leanne Young

Contributors Keli Geers, Angelina Giordano, Caroline Lou, Isabella Lyons, Lauren Mayes, Paul McCann, Luke Sarabia, Anna Sixsmith, Elizabeth Strong, Kaja Surborg, Chiso Ufondu, Sam Wendel, Sophia White, Gwenyth Wren, Zoé Yalden, Diamond Yao, Jessie Ye

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Tristan Sparks Web Editor Popular media offers a vivid portrayal of modern corporate culture, but I didn’t expect it to translate so literally to my experience at my first tech internship this previous summer. It was nothing short of jarring to recognize so many phrases I had previously only heard from the mouth of Jared on HBO’s Silicon Valley. Still, my introduction to corporate culture was positive, if bizarre.

The office I worked in implemented an ‘Agile’ methodology.

Agile, a term coined in the unironicallytitled Manifesto for Agile Software Development, is an approach to software development that emphasizes individual interaction over processes

Corporate culture, as seen on TV and tools. In practice, this meant that every morning at 9:30 a.m. my coworkers and I engaged in ‘Scrum,’ a meeting for team updates that takes place in front of a Scrum board, a visual organization of all of a team’s tasks to track their progress. The Scrum board my office used was nearly identical to the one featured in Silicon Valley. As I moved my completed ‘stories’ from the ‘in progress’ column to ‘peer review,’ I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was participating in some religious ritual.

I felt as though those around me, who seemingly found the entire affair completely normal, were brainwashed by some Agile god whose influence I had somehow escaped. The whole experience was made even more peculiar by the requisite card game that followed. I quite enjoyed this part, though, I almost always won the little plastic giraffe offered as a prize.

Scrum has been proven effective by countless performance metrics, so, undoubtedly, my secret theory that it was all some tedious exercise meant only to please the powers that be was misguided. This was, however, hard to keep in mind as I sat through my umteenth ‘Q4 Fun-times’ celebration.

My tenure overlapped with the fourth fiscal quarter, so, every Friday, we

would sign out 15 minutes early and go down to the concert hall, a magnificent old stage complete with crown mouldings and intricately-crafted pillars, to celebrate the week’s sales of abstract corporate research. The powerpoint presentation that followed was almost always painfully boring for a young software-developer intern such as myself. But, in keeping with the company’s emphasis on competition, it was followed by a thoroughly entertaining game invented weekly by the ‘Committee of Fun.’ As I became more comfortable at my internship, Scrum actually became my favourite part of the day.

As embarrassing as it was to mumble “I’m still working on the failing tests” fourteen mornings in a row in front of coworkers I admired, by July or so we had developed a rapport. Eventually, I even looked forward to miming the phrase ‘Hannah Montana’ for my puzzled superiors to try and guess—

by this point, we had graduated from simple cards to ‘Heads Up.’ One of the strangest parts of working in a company like this was that no one ever acknowledged how peculiar the environment really was.

When you’ve never heard the phrase ‘backlog grooming’ before, it can be easy to assume everyone around you is brainwashed and chalk the vernacular up to doublespeak. But, eventually, I realized that my coworkers weren’t brainwashed: They were just adults going to work every day. Scrum didn’t exist at my company to impose arbitrary rituals—it existed because it works.

And, as peculiar as the mandatory company ‘Fun Day’ still felt to me in the final weeks of my internship, it did serve its purpose. The softball tournament was a fun and welcome break from the day-to-day monotony, even if it was at the expense of half of the IT department’s ability to walk for the next week.

ERRATUM An article published in the Oct. 16 issue titled “SSMU Legislative Council debates a fee levy fir a gendered and sexual violence policy” incorrectly refrerred to Bee Khaleeli as ‘she’ instead of ‘they.’ The Tribune regrets this error.

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Sydney King Columnist The 2018 Campus Freedom Index (CFI) bestowed the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) an F grade for its lack of free speech protections and a C for its political practices in 2018.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom (JCCF) sponsors the CFI, an annual assessment of the successes and failures of campus free speech in Canada. But, the CFI is by no means impartial and leans to the right. Its criticism of SSMU merely emphasizes conservatives’ refusal to acknowledge that free speech protects progressives and right-wingers equally.

The CFI points to SSMU’s Equity Policy as its biggest flaw, citing its support for safe spaces and disapproval of microaggressions. These things,

commentary

Hannibal de Pencier Columnist Continued from page 1.

However, McGill isn’t suited to this sort of monocultural assertion. Unlike Kingston or London, Montreal is an international hub, and its sociolinguistic diversity is reflected within McGill’s 30-percent-international student body.

For many international students— except maybe our 2413 American peers—this model of school spirit is not part of their cultural lexicon.

McGill subcultures engage with a broader and more variable community than that which exists in smaller cities.

Even if this model were

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Free speech protects all ideologies, not just conservatism the CFI says, hinder free speech.

However, while a right to free speech is not explicitly entrenched in SSMU’s constitution, Article 3.2 of the Equity Policy states that the policy shouldn’t detract from students’ right to engage in open discussion of controversial opinions. Safe spaces actually help marginalized people share their stories and opinions, promoting equitable free speech.

Beyond the Equity Policy, the CFI points to SSMU’s politics as another vehicle for suppressing free speech.

Taking political stances allegedly diminishes the university’s freedom of expression. SSMU represents the entire student body, but it is an elected body and, therefore, inherently political. The society has a long history of political expression and has explicitly taken an anti-oppressive mandate since 1989. It announced its support for Black Lives Matter in 2016, participated in antiausterity protests in 2015, and called out McGill’s response to sexual assault reports this past April. All of these political stances actively defend the free speech rights of marginalized people.

Former SSMU vice-president external Marina Cupido’s Facebook post about the newly elected Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government was accused of infringing on campus free speech. Cupido faced considerable backlash for calling the CAQ ‘racist’ and ‘xenophobic,’ and for alleging that the party has connections to white

supremacists. Regardless of their failure to cite their sources or confer with fellow executives, Cupido had a right to take a stance, even on the official SSMU External Affairs Facebook page. The post may have been ill-advised, but they were elected to a political executive office by a majority of voters. Students who did not feel represented by Cupido’s statement should at least respect the result of the democratic process.

The narrative that only leftist voices inhibit freedom of speech is tired and biased. Beyond McGill, conservatives have long bemoaned the plight of free speech on college campuses. One such conservative is Rick Mehta, former professor in Acadia University’s Department of Psychology. In March, Mehta prompted controversy after defending Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak’s right to post racist remarks on her government website. Beyak shared arguments from Canadians criticizing indigenous communities for receiving government aid and asking for reparations for injustices like the residential school system. Statements like hers perpetuate harmful stereotypes, and Sen. Beyak was rightfully removed from the Conservative caucus for platforming them. But, Mehta saw himself as a counterbalance to liberal bias on campus, and so, he stood up for Beyak.

While Mehta said that he does not support racist comments, he attacked the Conservative Party for impeding

Martlets deserve free speech, too. (Abeer Almahdi / The McGill Tribune)

Beyak’s right to free speech. But, even if he does not believe in the far-right sentiments that he defends, Mehta was magnifying them. Amplifying hyper-conservative and racist voices does nothing to diversify mainstream conversations—it only reinforces historically-entrenched traditions and beliefs.

Mehta’s story challenges the dominance of conservative ideology in the free speech arena. If right-wing ideologies perpetuate traditional ways of thinking, which have historically excluded marginalized people from public debate, then they stand to hinder free speech as much as left-wing

ideologies.

The right to free speech does not guarantee freedom from criticism.

Conservatives like Mehta and the JCCF need to stop conflating valid criticism of right-wing belief systems with the infringement of fundamental human rights. As much reason as there is to criticize SSMU, claiming that the organization hinders free speech by promoting marginalized voices and leftist politics is absurd. Students should challenge these arguments, which are made in bad faith and without a comprehensive understanding of free speech, to create a productive space for discourse that includes minority voices.

Home is where the hoco isn’t compatible with McGill’s culture, a conventional homecoming is a logistical impossibility.

McGill doesn’t have a student neighbourhood coherent enough to facilitate a big homecoming event. The 80 percent majority of the Milton Park neighbourhood that is not McGill students—not to mention the Montreal police— would never tolerate that kind of party.

Queen’s students are able to disregard the annoyance of Kingston locals largely because the university’s presence is so powerful in such a relatively small city. Similarly, at Western, where an unauthorized homecoming event incurred an estimated $100,000 in damage, students command a sufficient presence to make the event practically unstoppable. In fact, when the university tried to diminish the scale of the celebration by moving it to a weekend during the midterm season, Western students continued hosting the event on the same weekend, cutting the event’s affiliation with the university’s homecoming weekend. The party is now called #FOCO, or ‘fake homecoming.’

McGill students do not command the same necessary presence in Montreal to initiate such an

event.

However, we shouldn’t want to. Perhaps to the detriment of our athletic culture, McGill doesn’t conform to what is, ultimately, a fallacy of group

identity, one that is non-inclusive and that discourages independent subculture. McGill defines itself through its many outlets for communal engagement. Whether they are a part of Carnival,

cartoon

Midterm Fashion Sabrina Girard-Lamas Staff Illustrator

Model UN, or varsity football, McGill students all participate in an egalitarian conception of communal identity—one that resists the homogenizing spectacle of homecoming.

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Café suspendu: A hidden gem on Mont Royal

Promoting community and minimalism in the outdoors Sophia White Contributor Situated atop Mont Royal, Café suspendu offers an outdoor café, a spot to hang out with friends, and a panoramic view of the city. The project to create the space was launched by La Pépinière, a non-profit collective dedicated to creating community spaces throughout Montreal. The initiative’s most recent project, Café suspendu, takes advantage of the natural allure of the mountain to create a unique and charming environment for locals and tourists alike.

The café opened in June 2018 as a part of Ville de Montréal’s five-month ‘Projet Pilote’ initiative, designed to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of Mont Royal and improve its accessibility. Belvédère Camillien-Houde, the road along which Café suspendu is located, has been closed to personal-use vehicles as a part of the project in an attempt to make the road easier to reach for public transportation vehicles, bikers, and pedestrians. Sarah Normand, café and programming manager, explained that the project aims to preserve the future of the

roadway and the surrounding area. “[Belvédère Camillien-Houde] used to be a tramway until the ‘50s and ‘60s,” Normand said. “The goal [of the Projet Pilote initiative] was to think of the park in a different way, [and] to try to reduce the excess of the roadway [....] The Projet Pilote is all about trying new things, and we’ve had a good reception from Montrealers and tourists.”

Café suspendu is a convenient and inviting space for visitors to grab a coffee, enjoy the scenery, and embrace the community spirit.

Creating café classics with basic tools and ingredients, the space offers a selection of coffee, tea, juice, beer, wine, cocktails, and various snacks.

Since its opening, the café has hosted a variety of events, including musical performances, tai chi sessions, and themed workshops.

The space is built on a terrace with swings overlooking a sweeping view of the city from the Belvédère Soleil observation deck. The café’s homey design reflects the organizers’ goal to create a welcoming environment in which visitors can come together and appreciate the beauty of the mountain.

Still, what’s most appealing

The local café creates a community space among the trees. ( Dan Aponte / The McGill Tribune ) about the spot is the view, which is made especially vibrant by the changing fall colours. It’s the perfect stop on an excursion up Mont Royal to relax and enjoy the outdoors in the company of friends. The combination of nature and community is what sets the space apart from other local cafés, according to Normand.

“The big idea behind the space was to make something special, simple, and affordable for

everybody,” Normand said. “What makes [Café suspendu] unique is its spontaneity and simplicity. [It adds] big value to a space, giving it colour and human presence.”

The collective is committed to promoting community involvement and empowering local patrons through the creation of inclusive environments, so all of the installations are free and designed to be accessible to the public.

Café suspendu has embodied La

Pépinière’s mission perfectly by providing an accessible and community-oriented meeting point on top of the mountain.

Café suspendu is accessible through public transit by taking the STM bus 11 or 711 from the Mont-Royal metro station and is also easily accessible by foot. The installation will be up until the end of October, but the café is only open on weekends.

Implications of the ‘Freshman 15’

How the negative stigma of weight gain affects first-year students Jessie Ye Contributor Incoming university students are susceptible to gain weight, due to the change in lifestyle that university precipitates, such as diet modification, lack of exercise, stress, and alcohol consumption. But, the infamous ‘Freshman 15’ are more of a playful alliteration than a representation of reality. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, only 50 per cent of students gain weight during their first years, and even then, they only gain about 2.7 lbs on average.

Nevertheless, the myth persists within contemporary culture and has many tangible consequences on first-year students.

The idea of the Freshman 15 is so entrenched in popular culture that most students have heard of the phenomenon far before they’ve even begun to think about university. In movies and TV shows, first-year weight gain is a recurring gag. For example, on the hit television show Gilmore Girls, as the protagonist Rory Gilmore prepares to leave for university at Yale, her family jokes about her possible weight gain.

Catherine Dillman, U1 Arts, notes that the idea of weight gain isn’t always threatening until students begin to receive personal warnings about it.

When friends and family offered her

The ‘Freshman 15’ can put unecessary pressure on incoming students. (Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune) advice about life at university, many cautioned her to be wary of weight gain, and others even deemed it unavoidable. “[I was told to] beware of the Freshman 15,” Dillman said. “‘Make sure you exercise, make sure you eat

well’, but I would also [hear] that it’s inevitable, there’s nothing you can do about it. The food the [cafeteria] offers isn’t very healthy, but because we’re aware of it, you always want to try to eat healthier, [especially with] the [...]

pressure of everyone talking about the Freshman 15.”

While trying to stay healthy is wise, weight is an unreliable indicator of overall health. Research suggests that half of ‘overweight’ people are actually metabolically healthy, while a quarter of those considered ‘slim’ have two or more cardiovascular risk factors. However, for many students like Dillman, weight is often the only quantifiable measure of health that they have access to, and its importance, in turn, is overstated. Consequently, weight gain is concerning for many students because so much of self-esteem can come from body image.

Fortunately for some, the Freshman 15 puts a healthy amount of pressure on them to pay attention to their nutrition.

Adin Chan, U0 Arts, explained that, while his family did express concerns for him to eat healthily, he was not worried about weight gain. He views gaining weight as inconsequential, rather than shameful.

“My family was just worried that I wouldn’t eat vegetables, not so much gaining weight, [and personally] I would not be concerned.” Chan said.

The opposite is true for many femme-identifying first-years, who express far more concern for their weight. For them, ‘getting fat’ is emblematic of straying from an ideal body type. Lena Kozarov, U0 Science,

and her friends discussed their fears of gaining weight before leaving for university, a fear which she attributes to social media. Kozarov views the constant digital onslaught of perfectlyedited images as partially responsible for female insecurities because they set standards that are impossible for university-aged students to attain.

“Me and my friends from high school would [...] be like, ‘Oh, Freshman 15, you gotta be careful, you gotta watch out,’” Kozarov said. “No matter how healthy you eat, no matter how much you work out, that comparison [to those on social media] is always in the back of your head, like, ‘I could be doing better.’”

First year is hard for everyone, and the constant fear of weight gain, whether placed upon students by wellmeaning family members or gleaned from popular culture, only makes the transition to university harder. The Freshman 15, though grossly overstated, is not in itself a bad thing—it is reflective of the problematic stigma of weight gain. Though it can help to encourage healthier eating habits, more often than not it leads to feelings of inadequacy and shame and could even push students to develop unhealthy relationships with their bodies. The most stressful thing about first year should be midterms and exams, not worrying about a number on a scale.

Beyond the answer sheet Liberating mathematics from stifling teaching methods Miya Keilin Sports Editor

“Math is everywhere. To varying degrees, of course, but math is just something that’s everywhere,” Professor Limin Jao, assistant professor and assistant graduate program director in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

She’s right, of course. There’s math in our kitchens, on our walks to school, and in the way the clouds move. It’s everywhere, and though many of us try our best to live in denial, it will always be everywhere.

But, math doesn’t have to be scary. Taught in the right way, math is beautiful, joyous, and important.

The way math is taught now in many primary and secondary schools across North America, however, leaves much to be desired. Most curricula foster a high-pressure learning environment, heavily focused on students’ abilities to recite formulas, perform calculations, and not ask questions.

Students have numbers and equations thrown at them and are assessed on how quickly and accurately they can replicate textbook solutions. All the while, they miss out on some of the most valuable lessons that math has to offer.

Marta Kobiela is an assistant professor and graduate program director in the Department of Integrated Studies. Her own experience learning math led her to research the relationship between learning material and applying the knowledge in practice.

"Students have numbers and equations thrown at them and are assessed on how quickly and accurately they can replicate textbook solutions. All the while, they miss out on some of the most valuable lessons that math has to offer."

“When I started my bachelor's, I pretty soon came to realize that the math [I learned] as a math major was very different from the math I had experienced for my 13 years of education before that,” Kobiela said.

“Whereas before it had been very procedural, [...] in my math classes at university, I was then expected to actually engage in reasoning and proofs and form some mathematical argument. [It was a] very different kind of thinking. So I felt a little bit cheated, in a way [....] I had thought math was one thing, and then now I’m realizing math was something else.”

In her research, Kobiela found that curricula often do not integrate theoretical material with real-world application.

“It’s not that they’re these separate entities, and we’re just going to fuel people with knowledge and then [...] teach them practice, but how [can] they learn both of them at the same time?” Kobiela mused.

In approaching her own research, she asked herself how to bridge the gap between learning and practicing math, and how students could develop skills like mathematical argumentation and justification.

“An area I worked in was mathematical defining, so, actually constructing definitions,” Kobiela said. “We often think that definitions are created, and that’s it, and they don’t change, but [...] as new knowledge is created, new definitions are created. So part of the work I looked at was how do you engage students in that construction process, that reasoning process that’s associated with it, and [the] practices [of] constructing

questions or conjectures.”

Kobiela’s move away from traditional methods of teaching mathematics and toward flexible ways of thinking has become increasingly popular among educators across North America. Jo Boaler, a professor of mathematics education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, has written about how students can feel constrained in math class because of a fear of judgement.

“For many people, the words ‘math’ and ‘freedom’ can’t be put in the same sentence—because they’re taught mathematics as a subject of rules, conformity and constant performance,” Boaler wrote in an article for Time Magazine.

Boaler emphasized the importance of leaving behind an outdated system in which performance is everything and replacing it with a culture that encourages free thinking.

Methods as simple as leaving constructive comments instead of marks demonstrate to students the value of learning over performing and help promote a creative and openended learning space.

“My research on math learners suggests that when students think they’re in class to learn—to explore ideas and think freely—they understand more and achieve at higher levels than when they think the point is to get questions right,” Boaler wrote.

Kobiela also stressed the potential of a learning environment where students are empowered to explore math on their own terms and make their own discoveries. It is important to her that students get to immerse themselves in math instead of standing on the outside looking in. This shift helps them gain confidence in their problem-solving abilities and tackle the misconception that there is only one right way to find a solution. “[Something] that teachers can do that might be less about connecting [math] to real life that is very powerful is to make students feel like they are authors of mathematics, and they are agents, and they’re not always relying on the teacher and the textbook for answers,” Kobiela said. “If the kids feel like they’re authoring ideas, they feel like they have a voice. [If] their ideas are respected, it makes a huge difference for their lives and how they approach mathematics.”

Eugenia Cheng, a mathematician and scientist in residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has developed many outreach projects to make math a more accessible subject. She hosts a wide range of outreach projects, including public lectures, workshops, and art, for diverse audiences. She is adamant that not only can everyone appreciate mathematics, but everyone can enjoy it, too. However, she understands that everyone has a different relationship with math and believes that, since no two students are the same, the spaces in which they learn math need to reflect the variety of learners.

“The ideal learning environment is one that is sufficiently flexible to be able to respond to different students' needs and personalities,” Cheng wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Trying to teach everyone the same way is not something I support [....]

I support environments where we concentrate on not putting people off [of] math, rather than just trying to get them to be proficient at it.”

A central component of Jao’s research is studying the ways in which teachers engage their students and why teachers choose certain teaching practices over others. For her, connections are key, whether they are made across content, with the real world, or between teachers and their students. “[The goal is] developing good thinkers [who...] have an ability to do mathematics in flexible ways, [...make] connections [...] between the different [...] content areas of math or [...] between math as a field and baking, or whatever else is going on in their life, so they don’t think of math as just this own little pocket thing that has nothing to do with language arts or history or riding a bike to school or anything else,” Jao said.

Jao is a strong advocate for developing teacher-student relationships that help engage individuals in the classroom. Students who develop personal relationships with their teachers are much more likely to attend classes and actually learn.

“It’s important for teachers to understand [their students’ interests, backgrounds, and experiences] and get to know those parts first [because] that’ll inform [their] teaching practices,” Jao said. “We’re teaching a subject area, but we’re also developing people, and we’re working with people. So, at the end of the day, I still want to get to know my students, and I care about them as people, too. If I can connect to what they’re interested in or if I can just help them grow as people, [...] that’s still a benefit to them, too. If [...] they learn some math content at the same time, that’s great, too, but that [does not] necessarily [have] to be a math teacher’s only focus.”

As math curricula progress, they are shifting toward making clearer connections, between math’s different subjects, math and the real world, and the application of skills developed in math to other disciplines. For many students, math is frustrating and pointless because it is difficult for them to see these connections: Why are there letters in math?

How did we get from shapes to integrals? When will I ever need to use trigonometry?

The connections are all there, but, too often, they are hidden by seeminglymeaningless formulas and endless calculations. Math is broad and continuous, but for practical reasons, math curricula cannot replicate the fluidity of mathematics. As the curricula gets broken down into separate bits and pieces, student interest can run up against the barriers of textbook chapter divisions.

“In a textbook, you have chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, so it would be up to the student, or the teacher, or the curriculum guidelines to say, ‘By the way, these might be in nice units because the publisher needs to have some way to organize it, but can you create thread between them,’” Jao said.

Combating the disconnect between mathematical subjects does not have to be a complex process. Kobiela used the equals sign as an example of a potentially-simple adjustment in elementary instruction that can help make a clearer connection between arithmetic and algebra.

“In elementary school, sometimes [...] students are taught to think of the equals sign as ‘do it’, […] and what the equals sign is supposed to represent is ‘the same’ and that’s a really core idea for algebra.” Kobiela said. “Solving something like this [6+5=x+3], relies

on you understanding what the equals sign means [....] At an early age, if we change what kids see, [as] they’re very flexible thinkers, they will start to understand [that the equals sign] means that the two sides are the same.’”

Another way to strengthen the connection between different areas in math is through problems that require students to integrate those different areas into one solution. In Quebec, for instance, math standards now include situational problems: A set of more in-depth exercises that combine several topics in mathematics in a real-world problemsolving context. These problems are not designed to have a single or immediately-obvious solution, thus promoting a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving. Students have all the tools that they need to come up with a solution, ranging from skills they have learned in math class to their ideas and insights gained from lived experiences.

“These are really complex problems that require [students] to use a lot of areas of mathematics and, in some cases, [...] areas outside of math,” Kobiela said. “So, there is that motivation from standards to encourage [teachers] to foster this kind of thinking, but it does take time [....] It’s not just a problem on a piece of paper [....] They have to think about ‘what do we need to find out, what resources do we need to mobilize,’ and go through [those...] problem-solving processes as they would in real life.”

Jao commends this effort by the Ministry of Education in Quebec to give students hands-on practice in making connections. “[The situational problem is] one of the ways that the Ministry has tried to support the idea that math isn’t these siloed segments, [and] that math topics are related to one another,” Jao said. “It’s not a straightforward calculation, but you have to reason with it and problem-solve and then also use these math topics to solve the problem.”

Math is so much more than the equals sign and algebra and trigonometry, but, in grade school, students’ exposure to the subject is limiting and off-putting, so, it’s easy to lose interest. Cheng encourages students to take a step back and reflect before they give up.

“Remember that the subject is beautiful, open-ended, ambiguous and flexible,” Cheng wrote. “And, then, hope that you can make it through the less interesting stuff and get to what you really want to do.”

Many of Kobiela’s students are future elementary school teachers. When they come to her claiming that they are not ‘math people’ or ‘bad at math,’ she is quick to contradict them.

“It’s not that you’re not good at math, it’s that maybe you just didn’t have opportunities that would have allowed you to excel at math,” Kobiela said. “You are good at math, you have all the potential to excel at math so there’s nothing innate about you, but it’s really about the opportunities that you were given. You just have to work on developing your relationship with mathematics.”

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LGBTQ+ McGillians making a difference Celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month at McGill Anna Sixsmith Contributor Continued from page 1.

He graduated with an MA in English literature in 1975.

In 1973, Aitken co-founded Montreal’s first LGBTQoriented bookstore, Librairie L’Androgyne, located on Crescent Street before its closure in 2002. He has worked as a film critic and journalist for various news outlets including the BBC, CBC, and National Public Radio. Additionally, Aitken taught briefly at Dawson College and continues to write in the Montreal area. His most recent book, Antigone Undone, was shortlisted for the 2018 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

Charline Labonté An alumna of McGill’s Physical Education program (BEd’12) and former Martlet,

Charline Labonté enjoyed an impressively-decorated hockey career. Labonté played for the Canadian Women’s Hockey team in the 2006 Turin Olympics, and her impeccable goaltending helped Canada win the gold medal. Later, Labonté won ‘Top

Goaltender’ at the IIHF Women’s World Championships in 2009.

When she publicly came out as lesbian in 2014, Labonté thanked her Team Canada and Martlet teammates for their support, acceptance, and love. Labonté retired in 2017 with three Olympic gold medals, two world championships, and six world silver medals.

Suniti Namjoshi Born in Mumbai in 1941, Namjoshi is an internationallyacclaimed author, poet, and fabulist. In 1972, her thesis on the poetry of Ezra Pound earned her a PhD in English literature from McGill. Namjoshi has produced a dynamic body of literature, publishing novels, poetry collections, scholarly articles, and over a dozen children’s books. Her 1981 anthology, Feminist Fables, is critically acclaimed as a scintillating reframing of traditional fables that encourages female empowerment. Much of her work explores themes related to gender and sexuality and actively challenges sexism, racism, and homophobia. Between 1995 and 2001, Namjoshi held the position of Honourable Research Fellow at Exeter University’s Centre for Women’s Studies.

Alan Emtage One of the founding fathers of the modern internet, Alan Emtage (BS’ 87, MS’91) earned two degrees in computer science from McGill. After graduation, Emtage went on to invent Archie, the world’s first internet search engine. Emtage

was also a founding member of the Internet Society, a multinational nonprofit committed to improving internet standards, policies, and access. Previously, Emtage has stated that he felt isolated as a child, due to his LGBTQ+ identity, which encouraged him to pursue solitary interests including computer science and technology. He is currently chief technical officer at web engineering company Mediapolis, which, among other projects, operates popular LGBTQ+ internet forums.

Brian Lewis A professor with degrees from Harvard University and Oxford University, Brian Lewis currently teaches in McGill’s History and Classical studies department, specializing in British History and sexuality studies. In his History of Sexuality survey course, Lewis often ‘comes out’ to his students.

He finds this practice liberating and an effective way to create a safe space for his students. An author of multiple books in his field, Lewis remains a notable LGBTQ+ scholar and teacher and is a favourite professor among history students.

Prof Buddle talks Reddit, podcasting, and student outreach

The Tribune huddles with Dean Buddle Mary Keith Staff Writer As part of his duties as Dean of Students, Christopher Buddle shares weekly wisdom with McGillians through his Dean’s Corner newsletter. The column has garnered attention across campus, even leading to the new #buddlehuddle moniker for his student outreach efforts. Buddle sat down with The McGill Tribune to discuss the #buddlehuddle and his greater role as Dean of Students.

McGill Tribune (MT): What inspires the advice you give to students?

Christopher Buddle (CB): “[Dean’s Corner] serves a number of purposes [....] In many cases, it’s just kind of what I see as issues with students or in academia that maybe I can offer some advice or opinions [on], or highlight services [for....] I have a long [...] list of different ideas, and I basically think about what’s going on around campus and what might be good advice or things to talk about at that time. I always try to time some around midterms to [recommend] resources [....] Sometimes I just give advice from experience. I did that a couple weeks ago with a post called ‘Learning to Fail.’ I failed courses in my undergraduate [career], and it’s okay to fail. In fact, it’s normal for students to struggle academically now and then, and that doesn’t define you. That’s part of what it is to be a student and go through a transformation.”

MT: Do you have a favourite Dean’s Corner installment?

CB: “I made this [post], ‘Hey Prof Dude: How do we help

students write effective emails,’ and I actually got pushback from students saying, ‘Well what about profs? Because they write horrible emails’ [....] We all have to be respectful and think about how we communicate with people all the time, so I loved that one [....] People still write me [emails addressed], ‘Hey, Prof Dude’ on purpose.”

MT: How did you find out about the Buddle Huddle?

CB: “I think it was embedded in the comments on Reddit.

After I wrote the ‘Learning to Fail’ [post], some people questioned why the Dean of Students wrote them an email about failing. One of the comments was something around [joining the] #buddlehuddle, and I read it and thought, ‘well, that is outstanding,’ because that’s actually what I want to do. I want to find a way to connect with students. I think I can own that hashtag, [and it will] be beneficial in connecting with students.”

MT: Are there any plans to use a #buddlehuddle in the future to better connect with students?

CB: “Yes, I think [there are....] I’m constantly looking for ways to engage and to be accessible, and so, the ‘Buddle Huddle’ idea is one step in that journey. I’m thinking of starting a podcast in January [....] My goal [...] is to answer questions that people have about the university [and] about the Dean’s office. I know students listen to podcasts, so I’ve got to go to where students are [....] I think I’m going to pursue a lot of those things. I think it’s great, and I’m not sure it’ll succeed. Some things work [and] some things don’t, but, who knows? I’ll try.”

MT: If you could only give one piece of advice to McGill

Buddle is exploring new methods to reach out to students. (Erica Stefano / The McGill Tribune) students, what would it be?

CB: “[I would like students to know that] thinking and doing beyond the classroom is important [....] I don’t mean to not concentrate on academics, but, beyond the classroom [this might mean] finding your community. We all need friends [....]

Loneliness and isolation are huge concerns for me among our students, so [a main focus is] how [...] we facilitate getting beyond the classroom and developing that community, whether it’s support, whether it’s a club or activity, or whether it’s finding out what resources are available.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

tuesday, october 23, 2018

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‘FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CINEMA’ SHOWCASES FILMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD BRINGING YOU THE SILVER SCREEN ON A SILVER PLATTER

The 47th edition of Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC) ran Oct. 3-14, gracing Montreal’s silver screens with an eclectic program of films ranging from festival-circuit fare to microbudget Québecois features. The McGill Tribune team was there in full force .

Thunder Road—Jim Cummings Gabe Nisker, Sports Editor Based on his 2016 short film and one-man-show of the same name, with Thunder Road, writer-director-star Jim Cummings has managed to upstage even his own source material.

Thunder Road tells the story of police officer Jimmy Arnaud, played by Jim Cummings, and his difficulty with coping in the immediate aftermath of his mother’s death. Citing Alfonso Cuaron’s Children Of Men as an influence, Cummings allows his scenes to develop over time; he favours long takes, and his writing relies largely on monologues. Cummings surrounds his lead performance with a wonderful ensemble cast, and, together, they beautifully transform the one-man-show into so much more.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night—Bi Gan Dylan Adamson, Features Editor As someone who craves structure and instruction, I wasn’t going to miss Bi Gan’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Halfway through the movie, I had read, viewers are told to don the 3D glasses that they were given upon entering. How would they tell us? Would the movie pause? Would a Cineplex employee stride out with instructions? Would they be in English or French? The cue was implicit, to my disappointment, but the film’s remaining hour-long, 3D single take was more than enough to compensate.

Bi’s neo-noir odyssey is thematically dense and visually brilliant. There’s no telling how, if, or when this will reach North American cinemas, but, if it ever does, it is not to be missed.

If Beale Street Could Talk—Barry Jenkins Gabe Nisker Barry Jenkins makes good movies. If Moonlight’s Academy Award for Best Picture wasn’t enough to prove that, then Beale Street should suffice. Based on the James Baldwin novel of the same name, the film could very well win Jenkins a second Academy Award. It’s a gorgeous period piece tracking two timelines—the initial romance between Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), and their present-day tragedy that occurs when Fonny is wrongfully imprisoned for rape. Nicholas Britell adds a suave, jazzy score to complement James Laxton’s beautiful cinematography. If everyone saw faces the way Jenkins and Laxton do, the world would be a better place.

Shoplifters—Hirozaku Kore-eda

Roma—Alfonso Cuaron

Dylan Adamson

Gabe Nisker

When audiences are first introduced to Osamu (Lily Franky) and his son Shota (Jyo Kairi) in the grocery store, stuffing backpacks with stolen non-perishables, it’s clear that Kore-Eda is not going to shy away from the difficult questions concerning family relationships. In the opening scene alone, Kore-Eda questions Shota’s wide-eyed reverence for Osamu, Osamu’s involvement of Shota in the family business, how the need for sustenance has become a father-son bonding ritual—as in the rest of the film, Kore-eda weaves the tapestry of a family unit bound by necessity and love—in that order. As we meet the other family members, we see how hard they all must work to keep their musty, cobbled-together house of cards standing.

Shoplifters has little narrative information to disclose, but as the truth eventually finds its way to the surface, it is shattering.

Seeing Roma is an experience, one that is difficult to shake.

Scheduled for release on Netflix by mid-December, Alfonso Cuarón’s latest film is best seen on the big-screen. It is an ode to Cuaron’s childhood in 1970s Mexico, and, specifically, to the caretaker central to his complicated family. The film features deep shots, rich with detail, and a lead performance from soonto-be-star Yalitza Aparicio, who brings strong emotion to the role of Cleo. Sadly, what might be lost in the translation from the big to the small screen is the sound design. For viewers at home: It’s worth investing in a good speaker. Roma is most definitely not to be missed, regardless of the platform on which you watch.

The Sisters Brothers— Jacques Audiard Gabe Nisker The Western genre provides countless opportunities for incredible cinematography, and The Sisters Brothers is no exception. Director Jacques Audiard’s English-language debut is a sight to behold. Based on Patrick deWitt’s 2011 novel, The Sisters Brothers also features an impressive ensemble cast. John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix star as the titular Sisters brothers— Reilly proves his dramatic chops with a nuanced performance and Phoenix follows Reilly’s lead on comedy, providing relief from the otherwise tense script. When Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal reunite on screen as Hermann Kermit Warm and John Morris, the chemistry is undeniable. This movie is the epitome of calm and collected, even when its characters are not.

Happy New Year, Colin Burstead—Ben Wheatley Sophie Brzozowski, A&E Editor Writer and director Ben Wheatley’s latest film, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead is, in a word, boring. The story follows the Burstead family, all piled into an ostentatious and gaudy rental mansion over the course of one long, dreary New Year’s Eve. The micro-dramas that ensue are predictable and clichéd, as are the characters themselves. The shaky, handheld camera work and pithy dialogue provide the tense, uneasy atmosphere necessary for a successful family dramedy to unfold, but the humour falls short of resolving said tension, contributing instead to the overall phoniness of the whole production.

Burning—Lee Changdong Climax—Gaspar Noé Dylan Adamson

Gaspar Noé is the enfant terrible of indie cinema. He’s all about disruption. Narrative structure means nothing to him. His movies are hard to watch. Sometimes he’ll show a pregnant woman getting beat up because he doesn’t care what you think, loser. Despite this generally obnoxious, extreme approach, Noé is newly self-reflexive in Climax, a film squarely focused on the youthful drive to live in and make the most of each individual moment. When someone spikes the punch with LSD at a modern dance troupe’s year-end party, fun, kinetic dance-offs give way to a nightmarish soiree of hedonistic violence and cruelty. It’s the best execution of Noé’s bad-boy approach to filmmaking yet, largely because of its focused, 90-minute runtime, the entirety of which may be spent alternatingly gasping and clapping.

Dylan Adamson Filmmaker Lee Chang-dong and novelist Haruki Murakami share fascinations common to many auteur-type artists—isolation, and futility. What distinguishes them from their similarly-minded peers, however, is their insistent doubling back. Characters in Murakami’s novels will spend multiple chapters trapped in wells by their own volition. The murky isolation is frightening and disorienting, but, when the sun hits the right spot in the sky, the climactic moment of warmth and light is impossible to match. Burning, Lee’s masterful adaptation of Murakami’s short story, Barn Burning, plays out with a simmering, disorienting ambiguity punctuated by these same moments of startling beauty.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

tuesday, october 23, 2018

Mitski devastates at Club Soda

Sad girls and soft boys convene and cry Ariella Garmaise Managing Editor Continued from page 1.

Thanks to A Star Is Born, debates about what constitutes pop versus ‘selling out’ overwhelm cool-alt-kid Twitter.

In Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, country rock star Jackson Maine (Cooper) meets Ally (Lady Gaga), an unassuming waitress. The two fall in love, and Maine watches as Ally catapults to celebrity, perhaps, the film suggests, at the cost of her artistic integrity. Mitski, Twitter’s other obsession, is in the midst of a moment similar to Ally’s, but her career resolves any outstanding uncertainties as to whether mainstream success and individuality are compatible.

If Ally’s ascendance in A Star Is Born represents the demise of music, then Mitski is the antidote, proof that pop isn’t synonymous with industry, nor does it exclude originality. She was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk, but did so screaming into her guitar; on Sunday, she performed to hundreds of doting fans, but when fans proclaimed their love for her, she responded timidly, “I’m not very good at banter.”

As Ally, the New York Times writes, Lady Gaga “transforms from a soulful crooner into a writhing automaton.” At

Club Soda last night, Mitski was equalparts crooner and automaton, the two intertwined and inextricable from one another. In “Me and My Husband,” she shimmied like a cartoon ingenue, and in “Washing Machine” she jutted her arms out robotically. Her dance moves, ranging from mechanical to bizarre, were clearly choreographed, but no less authentic than Jackson Maine’s bare acoustic numbers.

Behind Mitski were three screens projecting psychedelic backgrounds reminiscent of 2000s Windows desktop screensavers: Cheesy optical illusions and computer-generated panoramas punctuated her guttural vocals. Neon spotlights adorned Mitski’s melodramatic facial expressions; performance is not a distraction from the music but integral to it. Mitski was magnificent not just when she was singing, but in the in-between moments, too.

Still, Mitski was not without her soulful “I’ll Never Love Again” moment. The crowd may have been counting down to “Nobody,” but it was slower hits, like “First Love / Late Spring,” that were really draw-dropping. Her haunting rendition of “Two Slow Dancers,” set against American Beauty-esque rose petals falling on a black backdrop was a personal highlight. The couple next to me sashayed, and it didn’t make me roll my eyes.

Porches / Palberta Formerly known as PORCHES, catch the Pleasantville based synthpop superstar (now in lower case).

Théâtre Fairmount, Oct. 26, 9:00 p.m. $22.00/$25.00 at the door.

Rocky Horror Picture Show Ball

I

Calling all creatures of the night! The largest RHPS event in North America is coming to town.

Cinema Imperial, Oct. 26,27,31, 7:30-11:30 p.m. $5.00 (Student discount).

Exhibition: Gould / Lewis & Taggart / Anderson & Schidlowsky Two full rooms of art for your viewing pleasure!

Centre d’art et de diffusion CLARK, Oct. 25 - Dec. 1.

Drawn + Quarterly Berlin and Dirty Plotte launch ‘My name is MitsKI,’ the artist clarified on stage.

(Bee Khaleeli / The McGill Tribune)

In celebration of big kid comic books.

176 Rue Bernard O., Oct. 25, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Album review Luke Sarabia Contributor

Kurt Vile is coming up on forty, and not only does he have kids, but he has albums! (pitchfork.com)

BOTTLE IT IN

KURT VILE

Halfway through Bottle It In, Kurt Vile’s newest album, he covers country veteran Charlie Rich’s “Rollin With The Flow.”

“Guys my age are raising kids,” Vile sings.

Vile is raising kids too. Not only that but, at 38, he’s on his eighth album: By that age, many of Vile’s welldocumented influences—Neil Young and Stephen Malkmus among them— were already several years past their prime.

Yet, Bottle It In is Vile’s best work to date by a significant margin.

Vile’s songs rely on repetitive, acoustic-picking grooves laid under dense instrumentals. It’s the same formula that produced his biggest hit, 2015’s “Pretty Pimpin’,” but, on Bottle It In, the arrangements are more diverse and sophisticated.

The album’s title track features the harp, played by classically trained musician Mary Lattimore, contrasting with Vile’s curious and wandering country drawl. Although the album spotlights Vile’s best lead guitar to date (“Check Baby,” for one), the strongest instrumentals occur when Vile’s backing band, the Violators, relax into a groove for a while. On “Bassackwards,” backward guitars guide strains of organs through ten minutes of what feels like

staring out a car window on a gorgeous country drive. It also features some of the album’s most incisive writing: Vile loops through surreal rhymes, repeats them, forgets some, sets up expectations, defies them, and then follows them again.

The album’s opener, “Loading Zones,” showcases Vile’s wit: It is a song about parking a car, but it is also about loving a city and elusive moments of freedom. Throughout the album, Vile juggles cerebral instrumentals, guitar heroics, and sing-along hooks.“One Trick Ponies,” likely the album’s best song, manages all three at once with ease.

Vile has a strong sense for musical history; he has used his expertise to inform an album that is both inventive and engrossing.Bottle It In is an accomplishment not just in its own right, but also as the extension of a larger body of work: As the patient listener will find, Vile’s effortless growth as a writer and guitarist are just as magnificent.

science & technology

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

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Orgasm equality is a long time coming Theories behind the gender gap of sexual pleasure Gwenyth Wren Contributor

Communication is an important component of the female orgasm. (Taja De Silva / The McGill Tribune) ) Many women are familiar with the frustration of finishing a sexual encounter

without actually finishing. This disparity between men and women’s sexual satisfaction, colloquially known as the ‘orgasm gap,’ refers to the fact that men are far more likely to orgasm than women in heterosexual encounters. In a recent study from The American Association of University Women examining 800 college students, 91 per cent of men reported that they usually or always experienced orgasm during sex, while only 39 per cent of women could say the same. The orgasm gap is not an individual problem, but rather a function of western sexual culture.

Mayte Parada, a sexologist and postdoctoral research fellow in McGill’s Department of Neuroscience and Psychology, looks at intimacy to explain why heterosexual men are the most likely to experience orgasm, followed by gay men, lesbians, and, lastly, heterosexual women.

“One of the theories [of why] lesbians are more likely to experience orgasm [than heterosexual women] is because they have more of a connection with their partner and are more comfortable communicating what they like and don’t like,” Parada said.

A paper published by Meredith Chivers, an associate professor in the

Department of Psychology at Queen’s University, reaffirms the importance of having an intimate connection. Chivers explained that communication between heterosexual partners can increase a female’s likelihood to experience orgasm.

Chivers said that, for many women, sexual pleasure requires more than just physical stimulation.

A recent study from McGill’s Laboratory for the Biopsychosocial Study of Sexuality investigated the orgasm gap further. Researchers found that the subjective experience of orgasmic pleasure and satisfaction depend more on psychological and psychosocial factors than on physical ones. These could include the quality of a couples’ relationship and their emotional intimacy.

Despite these recent scientific endeavours, the physical mechanics of female pleasure remain shrouded in mystery. In fact, the female orgasm remains one of the most poorly understood sexual responses, since past sex research predominantly focuses on male sexuality.

For example, labs previously only used male rats when conducting sex research, until they realized that the findings in males were not representative of the female

population.

“Researchers are still studying what purpose [orgasm] serves in women,” Parada said. “If people are enjoying themselves and communicating, orgasm doesn’t have to be the be all and end all.”

According to Parada, the orgasm is a poorly-understood sexual response because it actually isn’t that important for sexual satisfaction.

“A lot of people [...] don’t have sex just for orgasm,” Parada said. “Different phases of sex are what people are aroused by, and the activity itself [is] what people [find] most enjoyable.”

Regardless of the emphasis on orgasms, the topic of sex and promiscuity is still extremely gendered and worth exploring from a female perspective. Even though society is becoming more progressive and permissive, topics of sex and its idiosyncrasies are still difficult for some people to discuss without embarrassment, ignorance, or cultural taboo coming into play. As a result, women can find themselves with a shortage of opportunities to learn about sexual pleasure.

“This stuff is important to research and know about,” Parada said. “Because, without sex, we wouldn’t be here.”

Bridging gender inequality one Wikipedia article at a time Honouring mathematician Ada Lovelace

Angelina Giordano Contributor In honour of Ada Lovelace Day (ALD) on Oct. 9, people connected over their laptops to help close the gender gap on Wikipedia.

ALD honours Ada Lovelace, a brilliant mathematician—often considered the world’s first computer programmer—as well as all women in the fields of science and technology.

This year, the McGill library celebrated ALD by hosting Montreal’s first-ever Wikithon, an event where people can come together to learn about and edit Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia with content that users can freely contribute to.

The website is an integral tool for many university students with over 40 million articles. Its cultural significance is evidenced by the fact that the easiest way to explain Wikipedia is via a Wikipedia article itself.

The ALD Wikithon enabled students to come together and edit pages to make the global encyclopedia more genderequal, since over 90 per cent of the encyclopedia’s content is male-authored. The hope is that this will lead to more articles on female pioneers in STEM, such as Donna Strickland, who have comparatively fewer articles than

Ava Lovelace is considered the world’s first computer programmer. (independent.co.uk) their male counterparts.

“Donna Strickland, who won a Nobel prize [and was the] third woman in physics to win it, didn’t even have a Wikipedia page till last week,” Rackeb Tesfaye, the founder of the podcast Broad Science, said. “She was told that she wasn’t notable enough to be on Wikipedia.What notable means, not only on Wikipedia, but in our society, [...] what we deem to be valuable and who [we deem] a

scientist, definitely needs to be [redefined].”

When Wikithons first began in 2012, women only represented 15 per cent of all Wikipedia biographies; now, in 2018, that number has only increased to 17 per cent. In trying to boost these statistics, McGill’s Wikithon mirrored similar global events held throughout the week in honour of Ada Lovelace and female contributions to science.

“[It’s a] nice introduction to editing Wikipedia pages,” Mitaali Taskar, U2 Science, said. “[I got to] look up incredible women I would not have known about otherwise.”

To edit Wikipedia, users must first create an account and a username. Coding is not required since the interface provides a textbased editing layout. The website gives users a user page to practice edits, and recommends that new

users edit at least 10 articles so that Wikipedia can differentiate real users from bots.

While events like McGill’s Wikithon aim to introduce newcomers to Wikipedia’s editing process, many people see Wikipedia editing as much more than a hobby; almost all of the edits on Wikipdia are made by a select 1,500. Jess Wade, a well-known Wikipedia editor, has written over 270 articles dedicated to female scientists in the past year. Her goal is to ensure that all women who have made important contributions to science get the recognition they deserve.

“I kind of realized we can only really change things from the inside,” Wade said in an interview with The Guardian. “Wikipedia is a really great way to engage people in this mission because the more you read about these sensational women, the more you get motivated and inspired by their personal stories.”

Opportunities to change the article content of Wikipedia are available to everyone.

“It’s nice to know that you don’t have to be an expert [in] something to change the page,” Maryse Thomas, a PhD candidate in neuroscience, said. “You can just do research and feel confident enough in yourself to go ahead and make [...] a major edit.”

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science & technology

tuesday, october 23, 2018

Putting your footprint in your mouth

McGill PhD candidate presents solutions to the G7

Caroline Lou Contributor In light of growing global concerns about oceanic pollution, Mathilde Jutras, a PhD student in McGill’s Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, produced a video proposing a solution to the continuously worsening ocean environment: Labelling consumer products with their carbon footprint. Jutras suggested that products should be labelled to indicate the carbon dioxide emissions from production and transport as well as colour-coded to indicate low, medium, or high levels of emissions.

Jutras entered her video in the Oceans Youth Innovation Challenge, which called for participants from each of the G7 countries to submit a solution to an ocean-related challenge that they were working to address. She was one of two winners of the challenge, both of whom were given the chance to attend the G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia Sept. 19-21 this year. The other contest winner, Kaoru Yokono from Japan, proposed packaging-free areas in stores and the standardization of non-plastic packaging among retailers.

Jutras made her video entry out of a desire to make science more accessible in the fight against climate change and oceanic pollution.

“I realized the importance of science, especially in the communication between scientists and decision makers,” Jutras said. “I saw this opportunity and thought it would be a really good chance to see what the decision makers think, how [the decision making process] works, and how scientists can make their work useful to decision makers.”

Jutras found her time in Halifax to be an eye-opening experience. Although a large portion of the G7 meetings were closed, she attended several environmental outreach events and presentations during the coinciding Oceans Partnership Summit and Inspiration Expo.

“It was really interesting to attend the Oceans Partnership Summit on the first day and to see discussions with people from

Slowing climate change requires cooperation from scientists, government decision-makers, and consumers themselves. (durhamradionews.com) such different backgrounds […] trying to reach a consensus,” Jutras said.

Jutras noted the diversity of voices and the range of perspectives from which attendees approached climate change.

She was pleased to see the variety of stakeholders present to take a multi-disciplinary approach to waste management, one of the leading causes of pollution.

“There are people who are all about technology, saying that we can [make] plastics that are 100% recyclable,” Jutras said. “But [someone else pointed out that] ‘the problem is, in Southeast Asia, they have so much plastic being consumed and they don’t have the infrastructure to recycle. So even if [the] industry does [make] recyclable plastic, it’s just going to go in the trash anyway, or directly into the rivers.’”

Even if producers want to help slow down climate change

do the right thing, they face constraints.

“There are some companies that want to do stuff that’s better [for the environment], but they don’t have money and can’t get money from the banks to start a project,” Jutras said.

“So [the man at the conference] was attacking [the problem from] the financial side [....] I thought that was really interesting and it inspired me.”

Although oceanic protection and the broader topic of climate change can seem daunting, local and national governments, industries, institutions, and individuals all have the power and responsibility to tackle these issues.

“One of the things I realized is that not a lot of people will make a major change, but everyone will make a small change,” Jutras said. “And, if everyone is trying to make a change, it will make a big impact.”

Montreal wood fireplaces get smoked out

Wood-burning regulations aim to reduce smog and protect public health Emma Gillies Staff Writer

A new bylaw bans residential wood-burning appliances, and businesses may soon be under fire, too. (Kellyane Levac / The McGill Tribune) In 2011, Montreal was ranked as the city with the second-worst air pollution in Canada. Sarnia, Ontario, a place otherwise known by the nickname ‘Chemical Valley,’ came in first place.

It’s no secret, then, that Montreal is a polluted city—thankfully, policymakers are trying to address the problem. On Oct.

1, a Montreal ban on certain wood-burning fireplaces and stoves came into effect after a three-year grace period. Originally implemented in 2015, the bylaw prohibits using solid fuel-burning appliances during smog warnings and prohibits appliances with emission rates greater than 2.5 grams of fine particles per hour. Residents who don’t obey the regulations can be fined anywhere from $100 to $2,000.

Wood-burning is the main culprit in air pollution. The Service de l’Environnement reports that it accounts for 39 per cent of fine particle emission on an annual basis.

These fine particle emissions contribute to climate change by producing black carbon which traps heat in the atmosphere for short periods of time. More damaging than the heat, though, is the risk to respiratory health.

“Wood heating is a major source of air pollutants like carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and most importantly, of fine particles,” Montreal’s Service de l’Environnement wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

Scott Weichenthal, assistant professor in McGill’s Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health, remarked that these fine particles— otherwise known as particulate matter—are extremely harmful to our well-being.

“What comes out of chimneys is similar to what comes out of cigarettes,” Weichenthal said.

While cigarette and wood smoke contain many of the same harmful chemicals, smoke inhaled from burning wood is a much larger-scale public health risk than second-hand cigarette smoke. If inhaled in equal amounts, the lifetime risk of cancer is 12 times greater with wood smoke than with cigarette smoke. In addition, its particulates are chemically active for much longer than that of cigarettes, meaning that they harm the body for longer.

Wood smoke particulates have widespread effects on respiratory and cardiovascular health. According to Weichenthal, they can also have neurological impacts and even result in death. Residential wood burning is the main cause of wintertime smog: A mixture of smoke and fog which is especially harmful to elderly people and children, as well as to those with heart and lung conditions. During Montreal’s bitterly cold winter months, the increase in wood smoke production for heating makes the smog particularly bad.

The number of wood-burning stoves in Montreal exploded after Quebec’s 1998 ice storm. Across the province, 900,000 people were left without power—some for more than thirty days—prompting many to

buy wood-burning appliances as back-up heating sources.

Naturally, the memory of one of the worst natural disasters in Canadian history makes people reluctant to let go of their wood-burning ways, so solid fuel-burning appliances will still be permitted during electricity outages lasting longer than three hours. Even so, Poêles et Foyers Rosemont, a Montreal-based fireplace company, reported that there have been many woodto-gas appliance conversions in light of the new bylaw.

The media labels Montreal’s new regulations as some of the strictest in North America, however they may become even stricter in the future if officials crack down down on wood-burning businesses.

“We can’t work on the domestic side and ignore the commercial,” Jean-Francois Parenteau, associate member of the Montreal Executive Committee, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.

In fact, commercial food production accounts for about eight per cent of woodburning pollution. While St. Viateur Bagel is experimenting with a new pollutantremoving system, other businesses have switched to part-wood, part-gas ovens.

In the future, though, Montreal’s famous pizzerias and bagel bakeries may have to fully revolutionize their cooking methods for the sake of public health.

sports

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HOW WE FELL IN LOVE WITH OUR FAVOURITE TEAMS

a Matt Holliday bomb in Game 3, I don’t remember any of that series. It was in that one moment in the 2007 Championship Series, when the Sox took control over the series, that I really fell in love with the team. My appreciation has only grown since then, with another championship run in 2013, as well as their current run through the Yankees and Astros en route to what will hopefully be their ninth World Series title. team’s best since my birth.

Similarly to every other Chiefs season, it saw some cool things, some weird things, and, ultimately, it ended in disappointment. Fortunately, by now, I’ve become numb to the team’s failures, but the memory of that return—a single play that set my unhealthy passion for the sport into stone—will stay with me forever.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS Owen Gibbs Staff Writer

Lifelong sports fans tell the tale of their devotion to their teams KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Stephen Gill Managing Editor The first professional sporting event I ever remember going to was a tilt between my hometown Kansas City Chiefs and their arch-rivals, the Denver Broncos. The Broncos held a six-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and were punting the ball away to a little guy named Dante Hall.

Hall received the punt on his own seven yard line, immediately side-stepped a pursuing Bronco, and proceeded to perform football magic, finishing the return 93 yards downfield for what would be the game-winning touchdown.

Words cannot do the play justice. Watching the video back, six different Denver players could have, by my count, conceivably tackled Hall; none of them did so. This return was also the original ‘X-Factor’s’ seventh return touchdown in ten games—an NFL record. Given the historical significance and sheer magnificence of the effort, I’d say Hall’s play was and is the best punt return in NFL history.

Interspersed with other incredible displays from the man also called the ‘Human Joystick,’ that 2003 season was the

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It’s difficult to qualify why I love the Vancouver Canucks. I can’t point to any one event or any one player.

I certainly can’t call myself a bandwagon fan considering how unsuccessful they have been in recent seasons. It really comes down to my home and the environment around me growing up.

Before arriving at McGill, I had lived my entire life just 15 minutes away from Vancouver City Centre—the heart of Canucks fandom. Canucks supporters have a reputation for being fair-weather fans, and during my formative years, the weather was quite fair. In my first seasons watching the Canucks, they were among the best teams in the National Hockey League, and even went to the Stanley Cup Finals.

They were all anyone could talk about.

It could also have been hereditary for me. My grandfather was one of the first to get behind the new team in Vancouver when it entered the NHL in 1970, and he passed that love on to my father. Today, our love for the West Coast Express is the strongest bond of many within my family. They may not be turning any heads at the moment, but the Vancouver Canucks aren’t just on my mind: They’re in my blood.

BOSTON RED SOX Paul McCann Contributor My first memory as a sports fan dates back to midOctober 2007, when I was seven years old. The Boston Red Sox were playing the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS and on their way to winning their second World Series in four years.

They had gone down three games to one in the series, but were in the middle of an amazing comeback—second only to the one they staged in 2004 against the New York Yankees.

It was the bottom of the first in Game 6, and the bases were loaded. J.D. Drew stepped up to the plate and launched the ball over the fence in straight-away centre field for a grand slam, giving the Sox an instant 4-0 lead. They wouldn’t give it up for the rest of the night.

After beating Cleveland, the Red Sox went on to sweep the Colorado Rockies in the World Series, but, besides

BORUSSIA DORTMUND Kaja Surborg Contributor Whether I was playing or watching, the beautiful game has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

My earliest recollection of watching soccer is from the 2006 World Cup, when Germany lost its semi-final match to Italy.

Hailing from Germany, the memory still stings.

Fast-forward to 2012, and I had started paying attention to the Bundesliga in addition to the World Cup. Borussia Dortmund won the league and German Cup double that year. Watching them beat Bayern München in the final was nothing short of a spiritual experience. There was Shinji Kagawa’s early goal, Robert Lewandowski’s hat trick, and, as always, Jürgen Klopp’s priceless reactions. The joy on the faces of players and fans alike was enough to convince me to dedicate a very cringe-worthy Tumblr blog to my favourite team. I watched the young attacking duo of Mario Götze and hometown hero Marco Reus flourish, and I saw Lewandowski become one of the world’s best strikers. It was, in my opinion, one of the best runs in recent soccer history.

I can’t give a definitive answer as to why I have always supported Dortmund. Maybe I genuinely love the players and the fans. Maybe I just really hate Bayern and want to support their biggest competition. One thing is for certain, though: After watching Dortmund win that double in 2012, I’ll never stop supporting them.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS Ender McDuff Staff Writer I was four years old when I first decided I wanted to shoot on a full-sized basketball hoop. The pictures tell the story of my hopes; I was a small child, barely able to get the ball more than a foot above my head. The Los Angeles Lakers were back-to-back-to-back NBA champions, and that spurred my futile ambition.

Thanks to my dad, the Lakers were my religion. I studied old VCR-recorded games of the Showtime era to learn the skyhook and add a little ‘Magic’ to my passing.

When we were stuck in Los Angeles’ infernal traffic, the great Chick Hearn would be with us calling the game over the radio. And, when my family made the move to Canada, practicing Kobe’s footwork and fadeaway became one of the few constants in my life.

I’m lucky: Most fans only get to see their team raise a banner once or twice in their lifetime. But, the Lakers won their fifth championship ring in my lifetime with their come-from-behind-win in the 2010 championship to beat the Boston Celtics—a team I have been conditioned to hate so much that I used to refuse to own a single article of green clothing.

In the years since, I find as much joy in draft day as in Game 7 and I care just as passionately about the team’s rookies as its MVPs. Championship banner number 17 cannot come soon enough, but, in the meantime, I’ll be watching every game and enjoying every moment because that’s what Lakers basketball is all about.

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sports

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

2018 WORLD SERIES PREVIEW Dodgers and Red Sox franchises meet in World Series for first time since 1916

Sam Wendel Contributor Two storied franchises, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox, are set to face off in the 2018 World Series.

With the first pitch set for Tuesday night, Oct. 23, The McGill Tribune previews the Fall Classic.

Boston Red Sox The Red Sox are one of the most wellrounded teams in baseball history. They set a franchise record with 108 wins during the regular season and have maintained their blistering pace into the playoffs. On their path to the World Series, they have beaten the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, both of whom also won at least 100 games this season. Outfielders J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts, both American League MVP candidates, have paved the way to the postseason: In their incredible regular-season play, they hit 43 and 32 home runs, respectively. The Red Sox also have one of the best pitching

rotations in the MLB, led by Cy Young Award candidate Chris Sale.

Boston has few weaknesses. The biggest hole in their lineup is behind the plate; the team’s catchers, primarily Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez, combined for -2.1 Wins Above Replacement this season, which is the worst in the league at the position. Furthermore, the Red Sox bullpen has struggled with closer Craig Kimbrel’s shaky outings in the postseason. If the Dodgers can get through Boston’s starting pitchers quickly, they will be in a position to do some real damage. That being said, the Red Sox rarely slip up; it will take a perfect effort to exploit their deficiencies.

Los Angeles Dodgers After a tight seven-game series against the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the World Series for the second year in a row.

The last team to win back-to-back pennants was the 2014-2015 Kansas City Royals, who won it all in the second go-around.

With the powerhouse Red Sox in the opposing dugout, the Dodgers’ chances look slim this year. Still, they currently have the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw, whom manager Dave Roberts has used as both a starter and reliever this postseason in unorthodox fashion. Kershaw will, obviously, play a significant role in the series, as will fellow starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu, Walker Buehler, and Rich Hill. The Dodgers well of pitchers is deep; they can use their bullpen, led by All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, to mix and match to the opposing hitter.

Los Angeles also has one of the most powerful offences in the National League.

First baseman Max Muncy has soared this year, driving in 35 home runs in the regular season. Additionally, the bats of Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig, and trade-deadlineacquisition Manny Machado have been hitting home runs throughout the season, leading the Dodgers all the way to the Fall Classic.

Still, if the Dodgers offence is swinging and missing, they will struggle to stay in the game against Boston. If the Red Sox can earn early leads against the Dodgers’ pitching staff, Los Angeles’ chances at claiming their first World Series

Prediction Boston will win in six games. The Red Sox have a stronger, deeper, and more versatile starting nine. Fans can expect an exciting, hard-fought series to be won with offence, meaning that JD Martinez will be the MVP.

Stingers snap Redmen rugby’s undefeated start McGill unable to recover from tough first half in 22-15 loss

Chiso Ufondu Contributor On Oct. 19, the McGill Redmen (4-1) faced off against the Concordia Stingers (5-0) at Molson Stadium. Both teams entered the arena undefeated: Deadlocked in a tie for first place in the RSEQ and playing for sole possession of the top slot in the conference. McGill was slow to start, and their valiant second half effort was ultimately insufficient, falling to Concordia by a score of 2215.

The Stingers opened up the game with a quick 12-0 lead. However, McGill battled back: Thirdyear hooker Alex Pantis wrangled a try for the Redmen, ending their dry spell. Throughout the half, tensions spilled out onto the field, resulting in penalties for both sides. Ultimately, the penalties cost McGill points, which came back to haunt the Redmen later in the game. The Stingers closed out the first half with a comfortable 19-5 lead.

After halftime, a determined McGill team took the field. First-year fly-half Owen Cumming and third-year flanker Pierre Grison helped drive McGill’s offence, each picking up a try in the half.

The Redmen played phenomenal defence, too, giving up only six points to the Stingers in the final half. Despite their efforts, the Redmen couldn’t take advantage of the offensive and defensive surge, and the Stingers took home the victory by a 22-15 score.

“I thought we played very well in the second half,” Redmen Head Coach Ian Baillie said. “[We] took too many penalties. That cost us the game, but we moved the ball. We scored some really nice tries, and we looked good out there.”

McGill men’s rugby brought down by Concordia Stingers.

(Keli Geers / The McGill Tribune) McGill will be looking to bounce back from their loss in their upcoming game against the Sherbrooke Vert et Or (3-2) at Stade de L’Université in Sherbrooke on Oct. 28. This will be their last game of the season before the playoffs begin in November.

“We can use this game [against Sherbrooke] as a really good opportunity to come back from this game [against Concordia],” Pantis said.

Overall, the Redmen remain positive and are focused on their upcoming match and the playoffs.

“I think we’re going to go far,” Grison said.

“We’re going to put in the work to achieve what we want to achieve, which is to win.”

MOMENT OF THE GAME

In the closing minutes of the game, the Redmen secured possession and Grison barrelled past defenders to ring in one last try for McGill.

QUOTABLE

“When we play our game, like we saw in the second half, it’s something else. We’ve just got to stick to our game.” – Fly-half Owen Cumming

STATS CORNER

McGill held Concordia to 22 points, Concordia’s lowest offensive total this season.