The McGill Daily Vol. 109 Issue 9

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QUEERLESQUE IN THE SPOTLIGHT pg. 15

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Content

November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Table of Contents 3 • EDITORIAL Sensitive Coverage, Accessible Support

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4 • NEWS Jirousek Talks SSMU Response

13 • letter Letters Policy + Response to McGill

• “What is it Like in the Inside?”

• SSMU Fall 2019 GA + No Barriers, Just Dental Dams • “Trans Rights Are Not Debatable”

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Response to letter

Daily on Zionism

14 • culture A Deal with the Devil

Commentary

• Queerlesque in the Spotlight

• Letter from AGSEM • McGill Must Do More to Combat Climate Change

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features

compendium!

• No More Compendium • Vote for Prom Royalty

• $1 for a Piece of History, $2 for 3

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EDITORIAL

Volume 109 Issue 8

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Sensitive Coverage, Accessible Support

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ounded by a member of St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in 1988, Open Door is a local shelter in Montreal that offers counselling along with referrals for both “mental health and drug addiction counsellors,” as well as “literacy training, bathroom and shower facilities, and employment assistance.”

In December 2018, Open Door was forced to relocate from their former placement on Atwater to their current location on Park Avenue, after a condominium developer purchased the lot. The shelter garnered public attention following the resignation of Operations Manager Anastasia Dudley.

The Open Door shelter is a vital resource for the MiltonParc community, especially Montreal’s disproportionate Indigenous homeless population, serving approximately 150 clients each day. The shelter is dedicated to allowing these individuals to preserve their culture, offering them space to eat and prepare country food, as well as having a dedicated carving room. Geta Etorolopiaq, a client of Open Door, also told The Link that the new location is preferable due to its proximity to the Native Friendship Centre on St. Laurent.

According to APTN News, Open Door is also the only shelter in Montreal that accepts clients who have been using drugs or alcohol and clients with pets.

Operations Manager Dudley resigned from her position in October 2019 following a number of other staff resignations.

These resignations came after the shelter’s director, David Chapman, was fired for insubordination in June. Chapman was not replaced, and the understaffing at Open Door has led to unsafe management.

Since then, the shelter staff have been subjected to “instances of violence,” according to Dudley. One employee was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder from physical assault. The shortage of employees has resulted in longer, more strenuous shifts with limited breaks. Zack Ingles, Dudley’s predecessor, told The Montreal Gazette: “Sometimes, someone would be in a crisis and you just stay with them after your shift for hours […] There wasn’t any kind of robust support from [the Board of Directors]. You feel like you’re on your own sometimes.”

In an effort to improve working conditions, the shelter staff have been given OMEGA training, an intensive three-

day conflict de-escalation course. Furthermore, the shelter has implemented a policy where there must be at least three people working at any given time.

However, as of October 2019, there are only four trained employees at Open Door – the rest of the labour is done by unpaid volunteers. Ruth Bresnen, who sits on Open Door’s Board of Directors, says that this understaffing is largely due to a lack of funds, as the shelter does not receive government funding and therefore relies on public grants and donations.

Recent media coverage of Open Door perpetuates harmful stereotypes about the homeless population. The Montreal Gazette’s article sensationalizes the situation and misattributes Dudley’s resignation to her having witnessed an act of violence; however, her resignation was ultimately a symptom of the lack of a support system for crisis workers at the shelter. In an interview with the Daily, John Tessier, an intervention worker at Open Door, criticized this type of coverage, saying that “sometimes when people are in pain, if we’re not understanding the type of pain that they’re in, we may mischaracterize them [...] it’s just not a true perception.”

We must commit to providing accurate, responsible coverage of issues involving the homeless population.

As the shelter does not receive government funding, individuals and groups can offer support by making donations to the organization’s CanadaHelps page or contributing items such as food, clothing, and hygiene products. Individuals can help the shelter through volunteer labour, which they can get involved in by contacting the shelter by telephone at (514) 939-1970. It is also important to support the creation and maintenance of shelters that accommodate those who have been using drugs or alcohol.

Additionally, we must pressure our elected officials to develop and fund housing initiatives that directly help the homeless population, and to be aware of the many factors that lead to homelessness, as well as the stigmatization of drug users and the criminalization of homeless people through targeted policing and racial profiling.

To hear the Daily’s full interview with John Tessier, visit the Unfit to Print section of mcgilldaily.com.

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NEWS

November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

McGill

Jirousek Talks SSMU Response

Timeline of Events, Student Reactions, & Future Plans Yasna Khademian and Alex Karasick The McGill Daily

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n October 11, just before the Thanksgiving break, SSMU VP Internal Sanchi Bhalla was mandated to send out an email on the listserv on behalf of SSMU Indigenous Affairs Commissioner Tomas Jirousek. The email in question was mandated by a motion passed at Legislative Council just a day prior, condemning the Liberal government’s appeal of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s decision to award $40,000 to First Nations children who were taken from their families by the federal government.

However, the email, notifying students of an upcoming demonstration, was not sent out until the next day, October 12, around 10 a.m. The delay in sending this email on the listserv led to the creation of a letter calling for Bhalla’s resignation, signed by Jirousek and seven other Indigenous student leaders. “It is the opinion of the Indigenous student community that the conduct of Vice-President Sanchi Bhalla is grounds for resignation,” the letter reads. “By failing to provide timely allyship to Indigenous students Vice-President Bhalla demonstrated a lack of respect towards the issues as well as the labour that Indigenous students had applied.”

Timeline of Events In Bhalla’s official statement, she wrote that a number of difficulties concerning the communications staff, as well as personal circumstances, led to the delay of the email. More specifically, Bhalla

said in her statement that she had incorrectly assumed that the communications department had been aware of the motion and the email it required.

Upon finishing a midterm, she stated that she did not have the most current password for MailChimp, the application used to distribute SSMU listservs, as it had recently been updated for security reasons.

As a result, she was unable to log on to compose and send the email. As well, due to it being a Friday night, she said that there were difficulties in reaching the communications director to fix the password, and only around midnight were they able to solve the issue. Just prior, around 11:30 p.m., Bhalla stated that a combination of a number of factors caused her to fall asleep.

Due to the omission of Bhalla’s whereabouts between 9:30 p.m and 11:30 p.m. in her statement and Facebook post, in combination with numerous sources informing the Daily of her presence at a bar during that time, the Daily reached out to Bhalla to clarify the situation. In an email, she confirmed that she went to Randolph’s Board Game Pub, which she identified as a cafe, around 9:30 p.m., “with notifications switched on the whole time,” and was there until 11:00 p.m.

Ineffective Communication The Daily spoke to Jirousek, who stated that Bhalla was not communicative. “I understand that we need to take time for selfcare, and can respect that Sanchi may have needed time,” he wrote.

“However, during this entire time she failed to respond to my email communication, in addition to a full

“I understand that we need to take time for self care, and can respect that Sanchi may have needed time. However, during this entire time she failed to respond to my email communication, in addition to a full day’s notice that the listserv need[ed] to go out that night. Moreso, efforts could have and should have been made to communicate to me personally that she was unable to act in allyship, at which point I would be able to make alternate arrangements.”

— Tomas Jirousek, SSMU Indigenous Affairs Commissioner

day’s notice that listserv need[ed] to go out that night.”

“Moreso,” Jirousek added, “efforts could have and should have been made to communicate to me personally that she was unable to act in allyship, at which point I would be able to make alternate arrangements.” At that point, it fell on SSMU President Bryan Buraga, who, per Jirousek, was “staying up, coordinating with staff, and ensuring that this situation was rectified as quickly as possible.”

Afterwards, Jirousek indicated that he sent an email to the entire executive, to which he received personal emails from Buraga and VP University Affairs Madeline Wilson.

“At the same time, Vice-President Bhalla made no effort to respond to my email, nor to relay that she was facing technical difficulties,” Jirousek added. “Due to her decision, Indigenous students who had worked on this statement, and expected to share the statement to

generate publicity for our event, were forced to continue work in a stressful situation due to a lack of support from Vice-President Bhalla.”

Student Responses Student responses to Bhalla’s statements have ranged from simplification of the situation as a “technological failure,” as the VP Internal phrased it, to the spread of intense anti-Indigenous racism across social media in response to Indigenous students’ calls for her resignation.

“It saddens me to see some students’ attempts to distort or misrepresent the current situation regarding the relationship between Indigenous students and Vice-President Bhalla,” Jirousek wrote to the Daily. “The actions of the Indigenous community have been undertaken with the goal of promoting reconciliation, solidarity, and support for future generations of Indigenous students.

“I would also just like to note in closing how much damage has been done at this point. While Sanchi may feel this response is unnecessary, there has been very real damage done to the relationship between Indigenous students and the SSMU due to her inaction, whether she meant to do so or not. Further, her failure to take a personal stake in the course of these events is particularly saddening. Yes, her inaction may very well be a symptom of a larger institutional issue. However, we still remain personally responsible for our actions and their effects. She had the choice to personally reach out, and discuss the issue when I emailed. She ignored my email. She had the ability to apply herself diligently the same way President Buraga and Vice-President Wilson had. Again, she didn’t.”

— Tomas Jirousek, SSMU Indigenous Affairs Commissioner

Sadly, certain students fail to understand this underlying goal and work done by the Indigenous community at McGill.”

Jirousek added, “Indigenous students are marginalized, isolated, and made to feel culturally alone on campus. Indigenous students struggle with systemic barriers which limit our success at institutions like McGill. For students to try and portray the actions of Indigenous students as some type of ‘attack’ is saddening and speaks to the struggles we face on campus.”

Future Plans Regarding the reforms in SSMU that Jirousek proposed in The McGill Tribune – “a three-step reform to ensure our independence and autonomy in mobilizing to promote Indigenous issues at McGill” – he has already begun to meet with certain executives to work on implementing these changes.

The three proposals include the creation of an Indigenous Equity Fund, changing the position of the Indigenous Affairs Commissioner to operate independently of the SSMU executive, and reforming the SSMU Indigenous Solidarity Policy.

In addition to Vice-President Wilson’s work helping to draft and support the Indigenous Equity Fund, Jirousek stated that he has “had conversations with VicePresident Wilson about the change in power dynamics and [...] received her full support for the changes.”

With regards to the other members of the executive committee, Jirousek expects to meet with them individually to discuss how the changes in the Indigenous Solidarity Policy will affect their respective portfolios. “Sadly,” he added, “I do not expect to receive such support from the Vice-President Internal, but I do look forward to working with the other five executives.”

November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

NEWS

McGill

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“What is it Like in the Inside?”

2SLGBTQIA+ Medical Professionals Discuss

Abigail Popple News Writer

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n October 30, 2019, the McGill Faculty of Medicine, Post-Graduate Student’s Society (PGSS), and Social Accountability and Community Engagement Office (SACE) hosted the panel “What is it Like in the Inside?” to discuss the experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals working in healthcare.

Topics discussed included the difficulty of continuously having to come out to both colleagues and patients, the difficulties of reforming the healthcare system to be more trans-sensitive, and the impact which the intersection between race and sexuality has on one’s identity.

The event began with a presentation by Saleem Razack, pediatrician and Director of the Social Accountability and Community Engagement Office at McGill, which defined the goals of the panel: namely, to provide a space for 2SLGBTQIA+ identifying students and faculty, as well as allies, to gather, to encourage fostering an intergenerational dialogue about issues impacting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and to assess interest in forming a Queer Health group at McGill. According to Razack, the event was the first Queer History Month event hosted by the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. David Eidelman, VP-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, also expressed his support for Razack’s efforts in creating a space for such discussions, and stressed the importance of diversity, especially given McGill’s historical lack of tolerance in the Faculty of Medicine.

Razack continued his presentation with a history of the attitude towards the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in the medical profession. He referred to the significant advancements in the treatment of HIV-AIDS made in his lifetime as well as historic psychiatric “diagnoses” of 2SLGBTQIA+ people to illustrate the positive influence which members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community can have on health care. Razack emphasized the activism which took place to make this progress, from psychiatric professionals advocating against conversion therapy to activists outside of healthcare seeking to hold the medical profession accountable for its treatment of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals. Such history plays an important role in how Razack teaches medicine; he

advocates teaching that “owns” the intolerant history of medicine.

“We aren’t discontinuous with that history […] the way to own it is to bring it out, make it be known.”

He concluded his presentation by stressing the important role that he believes expressing his sexuality plays in his practice: “I’ve been a doctor who was not out […] there’s no going back for me. Being gay and being out as gay has made me a much more authentic and real doctor.”

“I’ve been a doctor who was not out [...] there’s no going back for me.

Being gay and being out as gay has made me a much more authentic and real doctor.”

— Saleem Razack

After the presentation, members of the panel introduced themselves and briefly described their experience in healthcare as a 2SLGBTQIA+ person.

Many of them emphasized the need for a queer community amongst medical professionals – Donovan Duncan, a pediatrician who identifies as a queer male, characterized his experience in medicine as “empowering,” thanks to the community of queer students which he found in his first year of medical school. Paul Lerner recounted his time as a trans man in college who was not out, saying that he had no support and felt isolated. Eventually, he concluded that he needed to be “out” at medical school to access a supportive community.

Panelists also acknowledged the difficulty of coming out; each described coming out as a continuous process. “One of the weird things about your third year of medical school is that you’re essentially starting a new job every few weeks [...] how are you going to signal being out to a new group of people?”

Lerner wondered. In the context of working in an international capacity, coming out became even more complicated for Hiba

Phoebe Pannier | Illustrations Editor Zafran, occupational therapistpsychotherapist. She recalled working in Lebanon, where she didn’t come out to her colleagues for fear of her own safety; Razack had a similar experience in Siberia. Each emphasized the importance of ensuring one’s own safety when making the decision to come out.

Zafran and Razack emphasized the importance of ensuring one’s own safety when making the decision to come out.

Zafran and Razack also spoke about the intersectional nature of their identities – Zafran identifies as a queer person of color, and Razack is a gay man of South Asian descent.

For Zafran, it is difficult to reconcile these aspects of her

identity with her teaching demands: “the curriculum is straight, and the curriculum is white, and even though I’m not those things, I represent the curriculum,” she remarked in a comment concerning a class she held about sex and gender diversity. Razack encourages embracing all aspect’s of one’s origin, even if at times they may conflict; being Muslim and gay has allowed him to appreciate aspects of Islamic culture which he otherwise might not have, he says.

The panel also speculated as to how medical professionals could be trained to be more transsensitive, especially in light of the recent death of Hayden Muller.

Muller was a non-binary trans activist whose death in September was attributed to the transphobia of their health care provider – their doctor advised against a double mastectomy – despite Muller’s desire to have the procedure done – to combat stage 3 breast cancer. Panelists stressed the magnitude of work needed to be done regarding trans-sensitivity in healthcare. They pointed out that not only doctors, but also secretaries, orderlies, nurses – anyone the patient

might encounter during their treatment – should all be educated on trans issues, but this would be a monumental feat. Furthermore, in a healthcare system which is simply not built to be transsensitive, there is work which needs to be done on a systemic and legal level to encourage trans-sensitivity.

Anyone the patient might encounter during their treatment should be educated on trans issues.

Razack concluded the event by emphasizing the importance of providing good healthcare above all else. “We’re here to build community, but we’re also here to serve patients well,” he said, stressing how including the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in discussions around healthcare would ultimately improve quality of care for patients.

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November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

NEWS

McGill

No Barriers, Just Dental Dams

Amanda Chiu News Contributor

The Shag Shop Talks Queer Sex Ed

I

n collaboration with McGill’s Queer History Month, a Queer Sexual Education event was held on October 22. The event was organized by the Shag Shop as a part of the Healthy Living Annex at McGill.

Aiming to “provide information that is often harder to come across,” the Shag Shop’s goal is to “empower queer people to have informed sex that is relevant to their desires and bodies!” In an interview with The McGill Daily, the Shag Shop discussed the importance of these resources being accessible for queer people, and emphasized the various barriers they face in accessing adequate sexual education. “There is a lack of standardized and comprehensive sexual education in Quebec that includes queer experiences and bodies,” the Shag Shop said. They also elaborated on the lived differences that queer people experience regarding sex and sexuality, including the notion of having to “come out” as someone with a queer identity, and then subsequently having to navigate the various social expectations and pressures that are often present in heterosexual relationships.

Further, the general stigmatization of discussing sex and sexuality is

a barrier in itself; the Shag Shop spoke to how “just generally talking about sex openly, especially if one’s desire is not what is ‘expected’ of them, can be really awkward and hard for queer people, [making] accessing or engaging in sexual education challenging.”

To address these barriers, the event started with a discussion facilitated

by Shag Shop co-ordinator Leigh Hoffman and co-fascililtator Anna Walton on how to talk about sex and sexuality in inclusive and nonjudgemental ways. The organizers used gender neutral language throughout the event when discussing bodies and sex acts in order to ensure that the event was a safe space.

The workshop covered a variety of topics, including STIs, protection and barrier methods, sex toys, and lubricants. The language that was used in discussing these various topics was

positive and inclusive, destigmatizing many of the traditionally taboo subjects. The event was also very interactive – the Shag Shop passed around some sex toys that they carry, as well as examples of various protection and barrier methods including a demonstration on how to convert a condom into a dental dam.

Throughout the event, participants were free to ask questions to the presenters, and it was clear that this event offered many participants a safe space to pose questions facilitating discussions outside of the workshop’s agenda, opening the conversation to topics such as pornography or how hormones interact with birth control.

Queer sexual education is a crucial resource to be able to access, especially during McGill’s Queer History Month. Speaking to the gaps in sexual education that drove them to run the event, the Shag Shop posed the question: “how can folks

explore their sexuality or engage in sex safely if they do not know what risks are associated with the kinds of sex they have, or have never encountered sex ed materials that include trans bodies?” The Shag Shop emphasized why a need exists for fundamental, queer oriented sex ed: “for so many reasons, folks may not have had access to informed, sex positive sexual education. Beyond having access to foundational sex ed, even fewer folks have had access to sexual education that specifically focuses on sex/sexualities of queer people.”

The Shag Shop provided a safe, accessible, and informative Queer Sexual Education event for their attendees that positively contributed to McGill’s Queer History Month.

“In order to be best equipped to have happy, healthy, and consensual sex lives, we need access to information that is relevant, informed, and non-

judgemental about the types of sex that we have, the types of bodies we have, and the kinds of relationships we have!”

The Shag Shop and the Healthy Living Annex provided many resources for those who attended the event, including free condoms and access to sexual health services. These resources are inclusive and available for all McGill students. The Healthy Living Annex organizes studentrun workshops on a variety of topics including sexual health, and the Shag Shop coordinator is always available to answer questions regarding sexual health. Furthermore, the McGill Shag Shop is a great sex-positive resource to access sex toys, condoms, lubricants, menstrual products, pregnancy tests, and more at low prices (www.mcgill. ca/shagshop). The Shag Shop also referenced scarleteen.com as a reliable additional resource for sexual health.

Lia Spear | Illustrator

SSMU Fall 2019 GA

Samosas, Nominations, and Platform Promises

Ahmad El Zammar News Contributor

T

he SSMU held its Fall 2019 General Assembly (GA) in the New Residence Hall Ballroom on October 28. Failing to reach the quorum of 350 people due to low attendance, the GA was only a “Consultative Forum,” meaning any motions reached must be reapproved by the Legislative Council when it meets next on November 14.

Approved in principle were the two motions that were presented: one nominating twelve individuals to the 2019-20 Board of Directors (BoD), and the other nominating the current auditor, Fuller Landau LLP, for the 2020 fiscal year.

SSMU President Bryan Buraga commented on the deadline extension for the re-opening of the University Centre, now projected for April 2020 – despite most recent promises having estimated for January 2020. “What we’ve been told is that this extension is due to a lack of skilled tradespeople,

specifically in the areas of plumbing and heating […] and due to that there has been ongoing delays with the completion of this project,” he said, in reply to a question by Medicine Senator André Lametti.

VP Finance Samuel Haward, in response to a question by Arts Rep. Aidan Chan, updated the assembly on the “samosa situation.” Haward stated that SSMU will be getting equipment for samosa sales and other perishable foods that need to be kept at a certain temperature, and bake sales will recommence soon. The following day, SSMU sent out a statement to the student body regarding the matter, as well as its own SSMU Sale and Service of Food Policy.

Following the question period, the SSMU executives gave their reports. Buraga presented the BoD report, going over key decisions such as funding for live-streaming equipment and further funding for legal services, such as the Involvement Restriction Policy (IRP). The IRP is a policy tool

developed to protect students from abusive students by barring the latter from participating in SSMU and faculty events. Buraga also provided updates on ongoing projects, such as the renovation of 3501 Peel. The building, which was purchased by SSMU two years ago to the tune of $3.5 million, is currently being renovated into the new location for the “Student Wellness Hub.” Buraga assured the council that the renovations are on track, and that students should be able to use the service as of Fall 2020.

In his own report, as President Buraga went over the progress made on his platform promises.

After consulting the Scholarships and Student Aid office, Buraga learned that reducing SSMU membership fees for students in financial need is logistically impossible with McGill’s “current technological constraints.” Similarly, because of financial constraints, there will not be a “Stats SSMU” or a SSMU phone app. Buraga will also not go ahead with creating

“Communications SSMU,” after discovering that a communications department already exists at SSMU. Highlighting thus-far-completed promises, Buraga said that the Francophone Affairs Committee’s work is currently underway, that he is sitting on the Board of Governors (BoG)’s Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR), and that the Conflict of Interest Policy is being implemented at SSMU. Buraga recognized, however, that work is yet to start on the following: ending uncompensated student labour rendered on behalf of the Society; compensationg SSMU staff fairly in order to make positions more financially accessible; creating a SSMU Legal Defense Fund/Legal Service; creating “Ethics SSMU,” an independent office empowered to act at an administrative level with issues to deal with equity, anti-violence, and conflict of interest; and finally, holding biweekly Facebook Live updates and Q&A sessions.

Additionally, Buraga gave a quick update on the progress towards having a Fall Reading Week, saying that members of the McGill administration are currently consulting with professors to hear their concerns, and that a decision should be reached by Fall 2020.

In the Finance report, VP Finance Samuel Haward said that the University Centre closure has cost $1 million in lost funds thus far.

Engineering Rep. Mustafa Fakih asked whether McGill is providing any compensation for those lost funds and whether the executive team or the BoD have considered taking legal action. Haward replied that no legal action can be taken against the university, but SSMU is not currently paying the Centre’s $200,000 yearly rent, with talks currently underway to have it reduced in the future.

The GA was adjourned after two hours.

The Winter GA 2020 will be held on February 20, 2020.

November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

news

7

Beyond

“Trans Rights Are Not Debatable” Queer Activists Oppose TERF’s Presence in the TPL

Kate Ellis Culture Editor content warning: transphobia

T

he Toronto Public Library (TPL) is facing backlash for renting out a space at the Palmerston branch to a third-party event on October 29 featuring Meghan Murphy, a well-known trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF). Murphy is known for actively opposing Bill C-16, a Canadian law that provides protections from hate speech for transgender people. In the past, she has purposefully and publicly misgendered transgender indiviuals and argued that transgender women should be banned from women’s locker rooms, bathrooms, and prisons.

Murphy previously spoke at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL) in January. Community activists publicly opposed the VPL’s decision, resulting in protests outside of the library on the day of the event.

City librarian Vickery Bowles defended the library’s choice to host Murphy, stating that the Toronto Public Library is “a democratic institution and [is] standing up for free speech” and that she will not be getting involved in a discussion of the issue. This has also been defended

by Gord Perks, City Councillor for Toronto riding Parkdale-High Park, stating that he believes that “libraries are a cornerstone of a free and open democratic society and that that role rests on a broad application of the principles of free speech.” In his official statement, he references a case of City Council members attempting to defund Pride due to the presence of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, therefore equating the group’s activism with Murphy’s ideologies.

LGBTQ+ groups and activists in Toronto have expressed disappointment in the TPL’s decision, arguing that it violates the Toronto Public Library’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. LGBT Youth Line, Pride Toronto, Glad Day Bookshop, It Gets Better Canada, and The 519 have published open letters condemning the TPL and suggesting a boycott of the library.

Dr. Jill Andrew, MPP for Toronto-St Paul’s and NDP Critic for Culture and Women’s Issues, argued that “allowing Murphy a space to disseminate her views serves to provide platforms where individuals may promote homophobia, transphobia and hate speech.” Kaleb Robertson of Fay &

Eloïse Albaret | The McGill Daily Fluffy, a drag queen storytime hour, has announced that he will be ending his relationship with the TPL, stating, “I am a trans man who is fiercely protective of trans kids and women. I could not call myself an ally and fighter for my community if I continue a relationship with a space that will host someone who is actively fighting to take away my legal rights as a human.”

Logan Dougherty, a non-binary student at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, told the Daily that “Free speech is vital to a high functioning society and culture; however, the types of things Murphy preaches in her work are blatant transphobia. It’s exclusionary and it’s divisive. We as a community can’t allow this type of hate speech to be displayed, welcomed, and supported in public spaces. Trans and nonbinary people exist. We’ve always existed and we will continue to exist, and no amount of denial, false claims, or hatred will change that.”

The Toronto Public Library held a pre-scheduled board meeting on October 22. Community activists and organizations attended in protest of the event, speaking about their own experiences with transphobia and how Murphy’s presence would impact Toronto’s queer and trans community. At the meeting, the Toronto Public Library defended their decision to host Murphy, saying that while her views are controversial, she

has not been arrested, so they cannot be considered hate speech. According to non-binary journalist Al Donato, this was “met with loud boos.”

On the night of the lecture, protestors gathered outside of the Palmerston branch to oppose Murphy’s presence. The protest materialized as a “read-in,” where individuals gathered to read trans authors such as Gwen Benaway and Vivek Shraya. Individuals held signs

Dr. Jill Andrew, MPP for TorontoSt Paul’s and NDP Critic for Culture and Women’s Issues, argued that “allowing Murphy a space to disseminate her views serves to provide platforms where individuals may promote homophobia, transphobia and hate speech.”

with phrases such as “transphobes please leave” and “trans rights are not debatable.” However, the lecture still took place and protests were met with a heavy police presence.

City Librarian Vickery Bowles told The Toronto Star that the library “will be working very hard with the LGBTQ community, with the transgender community, with organizations such as Pride Toronto and The 519 to deliver programs and services and meet the needs of the transgender community, so that they we can support them in their equity-seeking goals.” However, it is unclear at this time what this action will be.

At the time of publication, sources have reported an event featuring Meghan Murphy scheduled to occur at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver on November 2 has been cancelled.

The online article will reflect updates regarding this situation.

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November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Commentary

Letter from AGSEM

Support the Unionization Campaign for Teaching Support Workers at McGill AGSEM

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s your grader... okay? Seriously, that’s a real question. Graders at McGill are one of the most overworked, underpaid, and invisible labour groups on campus.

No wonder many of them report stress and anxiety as a result.

What about your tutor – do they look overworked and underpaid? They might be.

We’ve learnt the hard way that when academic labour isn’t taken seriously by employers, it frays at the edges, hurting both the workers and the quality of education they can provide.

Did you hear about the recent pay cuts to note-takers with Office

for Students with Disabilities (OSD)? Workers who were previously paid are now given a line on their CVs, and made to compete for the chance to win a gift card. Their work is important – note-takers make our university a more accessible learning environment – and should be treated as such by McGill.

We are tired of seeing McGill administration take advantage of teaching support workers.

We are tired of, and deeply regret, the serious mental health concerns that arise from these working conditions.

And we are very, very tired of the elephant in the room: that many departments at McGill

continue to create jobs that are similar in nature to Teaching Assistantships, with none of the job securities, basic protections, and better wages that McGill TAs are afforded through AGSEM, the teaching assistant union within McGill.

McGill, your learning conditions are your working conditions. You deserve better.

We, the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM), are proud to launch a unionization drive for all teaching support workers at McGill (undergraduate, graduate, student, or non-student).

If you currently work, or have worked in the last 12 months as

a grader, tutor, marker, notetaker, demonstrator, facilitator, mentor, course assistant, student assistant, academic casual, placement exam administrator, or similarly-titled teaching support job at McGill, join AGSEM now to create better working conditions for all.

All it takes to create a healthier

work environment is two minutes of your time, and a legallyrequired union membership payment of $2.00.

You can do it. We can do it.

agsem.ca/join

McGill Must Do More to Combat Climate Change Sandra Teresa Hyde and Jonathan Wald Commentary Contributors

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ccording to the March 22 edition of the McGill Reporter, McGill is the first university to earn a Communauté Bleue award from the Quebec-based Eau Secours organization for its campaign to finally eliminate single-use water bottles from campus. In conferring the award, honorary chairperson of the Council of Canadians proclaimed: “In taking this step, the City of Montreal and McGill University have shown incredible leadership and foresight.” This award strikes us as odd. Many universities, including the University of Toronto, Ryerson, Ottawa, Concordia, Winnipeg, Queen’s, and Trent, removed single-use bottles by 2011. While it is important that we acknowledge there are many ways to access drinking water beside polluting our landfills, oceans, and waterways with plastics, why are we congratulating ourselves for such a belated action?

We began to strategize about this when I (Sandra) invited Jonathan to give a guest lecture on climate change as a public health issue in my Anthropology of Critical Public Health class.

By now most are aware that time has come and gone to seriously prevent heating the earth less than 2.0 degrees celsius. As computer modeling expert Rodrigo Castro says, “it is our predicament that we live in a finite world and yet we behave as if it is infinite.” Despite

the absurdity, limitless resource consumption and dreams of endless economic growth are still the dominant paradigms for North American institutions.

We should not be praising ourselves for minor changes, like replacing water fountains that were removed in the early 2000s.

Instead, we need to think big about how to address McGill’s wasteful consumption and contributions to the global climate crisis. McGill is a community of more than 45,000.

We must heed the calls to make a difference in our own daily lives and our academic institutions.

We know many will say the McGill community is already doing our part. We have the Catalyst Award for sustainability. We have student groups working on climate change. We have staff members who have devised novel ways to deal with waste. Despite all this, we are still monstrously behind the curve, a decade behind equally large Canadian universities.

When I arrived at McGill in 2000, we barely recycled paper, let alone sorted refuse. One of my colleagues used to come into my office with his recycling and physically throw it in the trash, reminding me that I was “not in California anymore.”

Things have not changed enough.

As David Wallace-Wells writes in The Uninhabitable Earth, it is time to panic.

For McGill to make a serious advances against climate change, we suggest five points of action, ranging from structural changes to quicker fixes:

1. McGill must divest its funds from fossil fuels. Large international public institutions like the University of California system, and locally, UQAM have already begun this process, citing its feasibility. Before McGill can make any claims to being a climate leader, it must cease contributing to the industries responsible for destroying our environment.

Recently SSMU voted to withhold the creation of any new students fees until McGill divests. Second, every McGill student, faculty and staff organization, that has held a vote on the issue has voted in favour of divestment from the fossil fuels industry. Only the Board of Governors (BoG) continues to maintain these investments. On December 5, 2019, the BoG will vote again on divestment; we thus urge our community to follow Principal Fortier’s own words, that we must act on the science we produce, “...that climate change and its resulting socio-economic impacts pose a serious threat to life on earth,” meaning we divest all our fossil fuel holdings.

2. We need a well-thought-out organizational environmental redesign of new buildings that go up and old buildings that need retrofitting. We have many experts at McGill who specialize in exactly these professions; why not tap the human resources that we already have? Tearing down buildings is more wasteful than putting up new ones, and with our expansion

into the Royal Victoria Hospital, we need better ecologically-minded policies that maximize space within an ecology-minded framework.

We can start by replacing the fluorescent lighting in offices which give off noxious pollutants and greenhouse gases when left in landfills – they are not recyclable.

LED lighting lasts twenty times longer than cathode tubes, and is easier on the eyes, meaning that, in the long run, they are cheaper and better for all environments.

3. Montreal ranks as one of the highest light polluters in the world, based on the fact that large buildings keep their lights on all night long. Many cities across North America have turned to graduated lighting that synchronizes with the ambient light outside. It is time for McGill to not have single light switches for buildings, where porters and cleaners have to turn on every single light in the building in order to access one floor.

4. Much of the food available on campus comes in unsustainable packaging from McGill’s current food service provider, Dana Hospitality. Furthermore, while there are garbage sorting facilities throughout campus, many of Dana Hospitality’s 27 concessions only have a single trash can, meaning that one has to walk outside their facility to recycle and sort trash. This could be a contract issue between Dana and McGill. We can demand onsite recycling for recyclable packaging, the use of more recyclable cardboard,

and invite students to bring their own containers.

5. The wonderful Thursday farmer’s market on McTavish went from offering fresh vegetables and fruits from local farmers and the MacDonald campus to a swank and expensive consumption mall; it’s time to bring back the farmers and to make affordable, organic, and locally grown food available to our community.

The era of “business as usual” must be declared over. However, whining and complaining just makes us part of the problem. We need an integrated, environmentally-centered approach that fosters the continuity of practices across our campuses and among our disparate faculties.

We should also learn from other universities’ best practices, so we are not reinventing the wheel.

Let’s be blunt. McGill is a colonial university. We sit on unceded Haudenosaunee lands.

Land acknowledgments alone will not change this history.

Transitioning our campus towards more conscientious relationships with the environment and with Indigenous peoples is only one (vital) part of forging a new and ethical relationship with the land and its communities.

Let us move forward in a panic and get on with addressing climate change in our community.

We can, and must, do better – for everyone in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the planet, and for generations to come.

FEATURES

November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

$1 for a Piece of History, $2 for 3

by Noah Merali

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November 4. 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Noah Merali Staff Writer

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grew up making samosas with my nani, or grandmother, and I loved it. I would watch her carefully fold the sheets of dough into pockets, stuff them with spiced ground meat, and seal them while she told me stories about her childhood in Kenya. I sat patiently as she made what seemed like dozens of samosas before we got to my favourite part: biting into a freshly fried, crispy samosa (and almost always burning my mouth). However, despite my love for the food, I never wanted to eat one in primary school. None of the other kids knew what they were and I feared being branded an outcast. My culture’s food felt like just another reminder that I didn’t belong.

When I started studying at McGill last year, samosa sales shocked me. I was surprised to learn that samosas were widely known on campus but I was also surprised that they were not the samosas I grew up with.

The samosas that are (perhaps unhealthily) consumed by McGill students are large pastries stuffed with potatoes and spices, but these samosas are just one variant of many. The evolution and history of this millenium-old snack are both closely tied to the exploration, growth, and colonization of India.

Surprisingly, the humble comfort food we know now had vastly different origins. First described as the sanbosag in the 11th century, it was a delicacy commonly served in the royal court of the Ghaznavid Empire, encompassing an area of the modern-day Middle-East. The

features

sanbosag was a fried pastry made with minced meats and dried fruits and nuts. Its ingredients spoke to its purpose: it was a dish fit for a king. Other reports say that the sanbosag – also referred to as the sanbusak or the sanbusaj – was commonly eaten by merchants who carried these triangular snacks through their travels across Asia and Northern Africa. From its origins, the samosa has been a universal food beloved by all, even in a form we do not yet recognize.

As empires fought and traded, the sanbosag was shared betwen peoples and brought with traders as they made their way across the continent and towards India.

As empires fought and traded, the sanbosag was shared between peoples and brought with traders as they made their way across the continent and towards India.

Over the years, migrants changed the sanbosag to fit their needs; this is when it began to approach the samosa we know and love.

Pushpesh Pant, former professor of International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, says that along the way – around

modern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – the samosa changed from a royal snack to “a crude peasant dish.” It became more rudimentary and far easier to prepare. This iteration of the samosa did away with the fancy fruits and nuts, instead making use of roughly ground goat or lamb that was seasoned only with onions and salt. The samosa was no longer a regal pastry, but rather a hearty snack that a shepherd could take out into the field. Not only did this evolution serve as a testament to the samosa’s adaptability, it also allowed it to become a cheap street food that was accessible to anyone.

It’s not just the spices: everything from the texture of the filling to the dish’s social purpose can vary between regions.

Centuries after its departure from the Middle East, between the 1200s and 1500s, the samosa finally arrived in South Asia. From there, it became a microcosm of the rich cultural landscape of India. It was quickly adopted as a fast food and then adapted to fit the purposes, tastes and resources of various Indian regions. This

is the source of the wide variety of modern Indian samosas, from where it grew and developed by adapting to the unique spice mixes and flavour profiles of regional cuisines. In the 16th century, the Indian samosa was once again revolutionized when Portuguese traders introduced the potato to the Indian subcontinent. Whether it is chopped or mashed, potatoes are an integral part of many samosa recipes, proving once again how the samosa envelops cultures and embraces innovation.

It’s not just the spices: everything from the texture of the filling to the dish’s social purpose can vary between regions. In some parts of India, samosas are quite filling and can serve as a whole meal, while in other parts, the samosa has returned to its elevated status and become a light cocktail party finger food instead. In some regions of India, like Hyderabad, the samosa stays true to its Middle-Eastern roots; in Punjab, no samosa is complete without paneer (cheese).

However, though this variation continues even today, this is by no means the end of the story for the samosa and for the Indian people.

In the early 18th century, when British interests took hold of the subcontinent, India was unwillingly connected to a larger network of cultures. As Indians were relocated throughout the British Empire, often as slaves or indentured

As Indians were relocated throughout the British Empire, often as slaves or indentured servants, they looked to their food as a way of retaining their culture. servants, they looked to their food as a way of retaining their culture. The British colonial system encouraged the spread of samosas to a variety of English-speaking countries like Canada and the USA, where they are commonly served as exotic hors d’oeuvres at parties. Before they came to those countries, they were brought elsewhere by displaced people in an attempt to reconnect with their homes.

The samosas that I grew up with come from East Africa. Some of the first Indians in Africa were the tens of thousands of slaves, indentured servants, and other labourers who were brought over by the British Empire to either work in sugarcane plantations in South

November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

features Africa or to construct the KenyaUganda Railway. Though a small percentage of these workers stayed in Africa (the rest either returned to India or died), they cleared the way for migrants from Gujarat and other regions of India to settle in British Africa. As a result, the samosas enjoyed in Africa closely resemble the gujarati style: crispy, flaky, and often filled with ground beef or chicken.

The descendants of these immigrants were further displaced in the 1970s [...]

Once again, they brought their food with them in an effort to hold onto their culture.

The descendants of these immigrants were further displaced in the 1970s when strong anti-Indian sentiment led to the expulsion of around 80,000 South Asians from Uganda.

Many South Asians living in East Africa – including my parents and grandparents – fled to countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada. Once again, they brought their food with them in an effort to hold onto their culture – hence why samosas commonly found in the United Kingdom and English-speaking parts of Canada are similar to those found in East Africa.

Of course, the British were not the only colonial powers to rule over part of the Indian subcontinent. Portuguese rule over the southwest of India – namely Goa – also promoted the spread of the samosa. Due to the strong Portuguese presence, the chamuça – Portuguese for samosa – became a big part of both Portuguese and Goan cuisine. As a result, not only is the chamuça a popular Portuguese snack, but many former Portuguese colonies like Brazil have derivations of the samosa that are quite common.

Another branch of derivation from the samosa is the Jewish sambusak: a small pocket of dough stuffed with chickpeas, onions, spices and even nuts.

It is a dish strongly associated with the Mizrahi Jewish people, originally from the Middle East and North Africa, who settled in Palestine.

Samosas can also be found in other parts of South Asia. Pakistani samosas tend to be spicier, while in Bangladesh there is the beef livercontaining shingara. Nepal has its

own samosas that are sold around the country, while in Burma, a common street food is samusa thouk (samosa soup). Each of these countries has taken the samosa and made it their own by adapting it to their unique, local palate.

At McGill, it can be easy to see the samosa as a cheap comfort food that you used to be able to find everywhere on campus. You could pretend that it is nothing more than something to hold mock vigils over or write parody songs about. But when you choose to see it from that perspective, you sacrifice so much of its rich history. The samosa is an incredibly adaptable food that has changed to serve whatever purpose or palate it needs to. It is a food with a history as rich and as complex as the people who eat it. Refusing to acknowledge the inherent variety in samosa recipes

is to erase the history and the hardships of the diverse cultures behind them.

The samosa is an incredibly adaptable food that has changed to serve whatever purpose or palate it needs to.

Samosas are an important part of student life at McGill and they are very dear to all of us. However, when many of the groups responsible for the samosa are being actively persecuted by our government, it is time to reconsider our priorities.

To so many people throughout history, the samosa was more than something that got them through back-to-back lectures – even if it wasn’t hotter than 60ºC. To some, the samosa was a relic of a life they gave up (either involuntarily or by choice). To others, it was a way of keeping their heritage alive in a foreign land or a way to share their cultural identity with those around them. To me, it was a source of personal shame and a reminder that I wasn’t the same as my peers.

As a result, I would like to formally apologize to samosas.

Not because of their healthcode violations, or for their current absence from campus. Rather, I want to apologize for feeling embarrassed by them and for hiding from them. I should never have been ashamed; I should have

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been proud of my connection to them. I should have been proud of the effort that went into retaining a dish from almost a thousand years ago and proud of my ancestors for maintaining their identity through everything that befell them.

When I once again eat a samosa in the hallway of McConnell Engineering, I will bite into that delicious treat knowing that I am not only participating in a tradition upheld by the McGill student body, but a tradition that stretches through history and across the globe. We cannot separate what we consume from its origins, no matter how convenient that erasure may be.

We must remember the roots of our samosa and the cultures it comes from. Most importantly, we cannot claim it as our own, when it is so much more than that.

Illustrations by Nelly Wat | Managing Editor

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November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

letter

Our Response O

Introduction

n September 10, we received an email from two McGill Law students who wanted us to publish a letter in which they express, among other things, their dissatisfaction with The McGill Daily’s definition of Zionism.

Following a lack of response from our editorial board, these students approached the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Fabrice Labeau, asserting that the Daily was in violation of its Letters Policy. While the Daily’s position was, and remains, that the letter in question is in opposition to both our Statement of Principles and our Letters Policy, and that we should not have to publish it, Labeau determined that this perspective was not conducive to fostering an open exchange of ideas.

This is a clear display of administrative interference in the Daily’s Letters’ Policy, as the Deputy Provost referenced a “nuclear option” – arbitration between the Daily and the administration over interpretation of the Memorandum of Agreement. This process would ultimately require time and money which the Daily does not have, but which the administration does. If the Daily were to lose in arbitration, it would mean our funding would be withheld, as would funding for Le Délit Français, thereby jeopardizing the existence of both papers.

Any dialogue that gives a platform to ideas which dehumanize a group of people only serves to amplify those views. It is deeply disappointing that Labeau did not recognize the inherent anti-Arab racism and dehumanization of Palestinian people present in this letter, which we will address further in this response.

We have made a commitment to our readers to publish letters that are written to us in good faith and that hold us accountable, as per our Statement of Principles. However, citing our Letters Policy, the Daily and Le Délit reserve the right to reject “any letter whose content displays racial, ethnic, sexual, and socioeconomic prejudice.” This letter falls into that category. Our policy also states that we reserve the right to not publish any letter that is longer than 500 words in print, so long as it is in accordance with the rest of our policy. However, Labeau made clear to the Daily that this letter had to appear in our next print issue regardless and it can be found within this issue on page 13.

The content of the letter is unconscionable in its dehumanization of the Palestinian people. We therefore want to apologize to our readers for its presence in our paper, and provide the following response to it.

We would also like to apologize for our previously-published definition of Zionism for not being comprehensive. We hope our response here will address this lack of depth.

In addition, we would like to apologize for the definition’s lack of acknowledgement of anti-Zionist Jewish groups such as Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), who do extremely important work in dismantling the idea that anti-Zionism is inherently anti-Semitic.

The Daily’s previously-published definition of Zionism in the issue that the letter is referencing reads as follows: “A modern political movement advocating the colonial establishment of a Jewish state in the biblical land of Israel. Zionism’s ideological roots can be traced to the nationalist and European colonial movements of the 19th century. Two-thirds of the Palestinian populace were displaced in the war that led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Zionism has come to represent a racist attitude and violent practice towards Palestinians that recognizes only Israeli/Jewish hegemony and legitimacy to self-determination in Palestine. (For more depth and historical context, the Daily recommends visiting the website of the BDS movement.)”

Please note that the following response contains quotes from books referenced in the letter we received. These excerpts may be difficult to read due to their overtly racist content and we urge people to proceed with caution. We are choosing to publish this response because we would like to make clear our reasoning behind our anti-Zionist stance.

T

Our Response

he acknowledgement of a connection to the land itself is not inherently colonial. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim people all share a religious connection to the land. However, Zionism, at its inception, was a political, colonial movement. Theodor Herzl, whose work is endorsed by the authors of the letter, openly acknowledges this. To state that Zionism has always been peaceful is to erase the very history of those sources to which the authors direct us. Further, it not only shows a contradiction in the authors’ own arguments, but displays acute disrespect and disregard for the humanity of the Palestinian people.

The term “Zionism” was coined by Nathan Birnbaum in the late 1800s, following his description of Jewish nationalism in Palestine and “reclaiming” the land. In this vein, Birnbaum founded the “Zion Union of Austrian Associations for the Colonization of Palestine and Syria.”

Herzl further legitimized the colonization of Palestine through his racist, colonialist, and Orientalist rhetoric. Herzl’s Der Judenstaat demonstrates this explicitly. When talking about forming the state of Israel in Palestine, Herzl writes, “We should there form a portion of a rampart of Europe against Asia, an outpost of civilization as opposed to barbarism,” referring specifically to the “East” and deeming the Eastern peoples and Arabs to be “barbarians.” The fact that these students direct us towards this racist and colonialist book shows that their rhetoric is oppressive and harmful.

Further, in Altneuland, Herzl’s fictional descriptions of Palestine depict a barren land in need of saving from the Arabs who live there; he describes Jewish colonies in Palestine as “oases in the desolate countryside.” “Now everything is different,” Herzl has a Muslim character say, “They benefited from the progressive measures of the New Society whether they wanted to or not, whether they joined it or not.”

In a speech that Herzl gave in London in 1899, he told the audience, “And so I should think that here in England, the Zionist idea, which is a colonial one, should be easily and quickly understood.”

It bears mentioning that this idea was, in fact, “easily and quickly understood in England.”

The 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British foreign secretary of the time promised that the British government would do their best to establish a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine, paved the way for the creation of the 1918 British mandate of Palestine and the 1948 war which resulted in the establishment of the state of Israel.

The authors of the letter challenge the characterization of the state of Israel as a colonial project, but in looking at its origins and history, it is apparent that it is one. They argue that Zionism’s principal goal is to promote equality between Israeli citizens and the “non-Jewish minority.” The language in this phrase homogenizes the “non-Jewish” population, erases the lived experiences of Jewish Palestinians, and implies that this “minority” came into being naturally instead of as a result of the forced displacement of more than 80 per cent of the pre-war population in 1948.

In the letter, there is a vague reference to Israel having erred in some ways, which is a mischaracterization of what undoubtedly has been and continues to be ethnic cleansing. Plan Dalet drove Palestinians out of Palestine both through the material destruction of people’s homes and the threat of violence, which made it necessary for Palestinians to flee for their safety. By the time the 1948 war ended, around 750,000 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced and many still cannot return home, while others continue to live under violent occupation more than 70 years later.

We cannot allow the harmful arguments put forth by the authors to go unaddressed. The Orientalist and racist rhetoric put forth by Herzl heavily parallels European scholars’ justifications of colonization in the Middle East and elsewhere, and the fact that the authors recommend reading Herzl’s work is a large part of why the Daily was unwilling to publish this letter.

The Daily would like to thank IJV for their help in composing this response. They recommended the essay, “Zionism is Not ‘Not Judaism’” by Ben Lorber, which we would like to share with our readers as well. The link to the essay will be included in the online version of this article.

November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

letter

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The Daily Publications Society’s Letters Policy Any reader can submit a letter to The McGill Daily at commentary@mcgilldaily.com, but the editorial board reserves the right to reject letters from authors who are external to the McGill community to prioritize the community’s voices.

Letters sent electronically by students should go through the author’s McGill email address such that the identity of the author can be authenticated by the editorial staff handling the letter and for records purposes. Additionally, letter authors from the community should submit a paper copy of their letter and deliver it to the offices to sign their submission in or send a copy of it via regular mail. All letters are archived for up to a year, whether received electronically or through regular mail, and must be signed by their author.

Letter contents:

The McGill Daily and Le Délit Français reserve the right to reject: 1.) Any letter whose content is displays racial, ethnic, sexual, and socioeconomic prejudice; 2.) Any letter containing personal attacks or insults aimed at individuals or groups; 3.) Any letter which is libellous; 4.) Any letter whose primary purpose is commercial or promotional; 5.) Any letter The McGill Daily or Le Délit Français knows to be plagiarized; 6.) Letters should be no more than 500 words in length, any longer submissions (outside of reasonable variation) can be rejected for print at the discretion of the editorial boards, but will still be published online if it abides by article 1 of this section.

Response to McGill Daily on Zionism Michael Aarenau and Josh Shapiro

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will guarantee the “complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy

n their September 3rd issue, the McGill Daily published a glossary in an attempt to better educatestudents on

Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.” While we can

various complex socio-political terms. How pitiful then, that in their attempt to define “Zionism,” they misled

poke holes in how the practice has differed from the theory, the point is that the Zionist project, at its core, intends

the entire McGill community with a definition that is not only factually inaccurate, but malicious as well. In their

to safeguard the rights of the Jewish people as well as promote equality for all - including the non-Jewish minority

so-called definition, the Daily equates Zionism with colonialism, violence and racism. This erroneous definition

that resides there. Yes, Zionism does prioritize the safety and security of the Jewish people above all others, but

of Zionism is both misleading and irresponsible. So let’s take it from the top. Zionism is the national movement

thisis no different than other progressive movements that seek to advance the success of oppressed peoples. That’s

of the Jewish people to express their right to self-determination. Nothing more, nothing less. The Jewish people

why time and again our courts have ruled that affirmative action programs cannotbe characterized as racist. This

have faced millennia of oppression and discrimination from virtually every corner of the globe, from expulsions to

distinction is crucial. Finally, in what can only be described as a ludicrous attempt at irony, the Daily invites their

pogroms, and from forced conversions to genocide. Indeed, among the most recent and horrific attempts of our total

readers to learn more about Zionism by visiting the website of the BDS Movement. This is akin to defining religion

destruction was the Holocaust, which took place less than 75 years ago. Realizing that the world has continuously

and inviting readers to learn more about it by visiting Richard Dawkins’ website! The BDS Movement is an anti-

ignored the spilling of Jewish blood, many put forward the idea that the best way to ensure Jewish survival was

Zionist movement founded by Palestinian academic, Omar Barghouti. We need not get into the specifics of the BDS

to put our destiny into our own hands. And just like that, the Zionist dream was born. Had there been a State of

Movement (and their rejection of the Two State Solution) in order to point out that they are not an authority on

Israel in the 1930s, who is to say just how many lives would have been saved from the gas chambers. But let’s

Jewish self-determination. If readers wish to learn more about Zionism, they are invited to do so by reading Der

move on. The idea that a Jewish national presence in the Levant is akin to colonialism has no basis in history. The

Judenstaat, a book outlining the Zionist dream by the man who largely envisioned it in the first place: Theodor

Jewish people originated from the Middle East. The Western Wall in Jerusalem is thelast remnant of the ancient

Herzl.We can’t imagine the Daily ever allowing a mens’ rights organization define feminism, so we can’t help but

Jewish Temple and there are countless other landmarks and artifacts that link our connection to this land as well.

ask why they believe that those who are inherently opposed to Jewish self-determination get to define it. There’s

Colonialism is predicated on settlers, with no connection to a territory, moving into it and exploiting its resources

a reason why the vast majority of Jews around the world (especially those at McGill) identify as Zionist, and it’s

on behalf of another country. We have already established that Jews have a legitimate connection to the land of

not because they’re violent, racist, colonialists; it’s because they actually understand what Zionism is and through

Israel, but furthermore, when waves of Jews began moving to Palestine starting in the 1880s, on which country’s

their lived experiences, understand why it’s necessary. Ultimately, there’s plenty of room to critique the State of

behalf were they doing this? With regards to racism and violence, Zionism as an ideology has always been rooted

Israel and even Zionism itself, but in order to have a real conversation, you have to understand what it is you’re

in peaceful cohabitation and equality. In Israel’s own declaration of independence, it states quite clearly that Israel

talking about.

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November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

A Deal with the Devil

culture

A Review of TNC’s Ti-Jean and His Brothers Ally Pengelly Culture Contributor

A

Caribbean folktale brimming with themes of morality, colonialism and autonomy, Ti-Jean and His Brothers marked the opening performance of Tuesday Night Cafe Theatre’s (TNC) 2019-2020 season. TNC is a student-run theatre company associated with McGill’s English department, operating out of Morrice Hall. Running from October 16-19, Ti-Jean and His Brothers was written by Saint Lucian playwright Derek Walcott in 1957 and is directed by McGill student Deneille Guiseppi, whose Caribbean roots and love of folklore drew her to this particular play.

Set in a forest that is home to whimsical creatures and haunted by the Devil (Jacob Berk), the play revolves around the trials experienced by an impoverished mother and her three sons. The oldest brother, Gros-Jean (Deneille Guiseppi), is the strongest, yet proud to a fault, whereas second brother Mi-Jean’s (Ryan Chahri) shortcomings stem from his intellectual nature. Meanwhile, the titular Ti-Jean’s (Laura Quenneville) youth and bravery quickly laid the foundation for his character arc as an underdog. The three brothers were challenged to the seemingly unachievable task of making the Devil feel human in some way, whether it be through hunger, sadness, or anger. The Devil took on various identities and disguises throughout the play

in order to torment the brothers and play on each one’s particular weakness. As Guiseppi herself revealed at the start of the play, the folktale draws parallels to the biblical story of David and Goliath – only in this story, Goliath is fixated on inflicting sadistic punishment.

As well as directing, Guiseppi also took a turn as an actor, performing the role of the mighty Gros-Jean.

Her performance was one of the strongest, enhanced by natural and spirited body language that effectively conveyed Gros-Jean’s egoism. Mi-Jean, played by Chahri, is the second brother to face the Devil. Chahri was convincing as an academic spouting philosophical idioms, whose weakness appears to be the pride he takes in his own intellect. Quenneville took on the role of Ti-Jean, portraying the youngest brother with a proper amount of naivety and courage.

Meanwhile, Camille Simon’s portrayal as the mother of these boys was understated and tender, effectively conveying the trials experienced by an impoverished and distressed mother.

Despite the care and devotion with which these roles were portrayed, the accents used by different characters varied significantly. It was unclear throughout the play whether or not the cast was supposed to be speaking with Caribbean accents, and a stable baseline would have enhanced the flow and believability of the story. In addition, while Ti-Jean and His Brothers centers upon an Afro-Caribbean family, all

Zach Coury | Photography Contributor

family members except Gros-Jean were portrayed by non-black actors.

The racial composition of the cast was an obvious and unavoidable matter, especially in the context of the play’s thematic interweaving of race and colonialism.

Colonial themes were most heightened in scenes where the Devil took on the identity of a plantation owner — the ‘Planter’ — in order to berate the brothers. These scenes had a disturbing quality, as the Devil’s antagonizing of Ti-Jean and his brothers aimed not only to torment them but capture their autonomy and personal freedom.

Jacob Berk as the Devil had the most engaging performance in the play, in what was an admirable first dramatic performance. His conveyance of menace and anger was particularly captivating, even managing to startle the audience during certain scenes.

Alice Wu took on the role of Bolom, a strange character who does not appear to be either dead or alive. While her motives remain rather unclear throughout the story, her ability to gain human feeling is dependent on the challenge set to Ti-Jean and his brothers. Wu gave a dedicated performance despite Bolom’s confusing character arc. Samantha Ling and Rebecca Turner played various creatures roaming the forest, acting as the story’s narrators in addition to contributing a dimension of playfulness and light to the play’s dark themes. The relationship between the brothers and these animals was telling, as the respect

Zach Coury | Photography Contributor each brother had for nature was correlated to their own common sense – a concept that certainly reverberates in today’s time.

The cast was quite small, matching the atmosphere of intimacy found in TNC’s compact and warm location in Morrice Hall.

The resulting ambiance allowed for audience members to feel as if they were in the play themselves, perfectly complementing the telling of a folktale such as Ti-Jean and His Brothers. Technical Directors Jet Elbualy and Michelle Yang, as well as Art Director Tom Ding, utilized this space skillfully while still managing to parallel the play’s tone. With limited space, the play’s set and props consisted only of simplistic items – a foliage-covered arch, wooden bench, and oil lamp – that evoked the story’s environment. Lighting was similarly straightforward, with spotlights shining on characters as they spoke.

The otherwise dim lighting fit the mythical yet menacing tone of the folktale’s forest, in addition to enhancing the theatre’s intimate feel.

Meanwhile, the characters’ costumes were also simplistic and avoided marking the play within a specific time period. A notable reappearing aspect of the performance was the inclusion of drum beats at the end of scenes, signifying unease or anticipation

for what was to come next. These drums were a welcome touch, signaling notable events or scenes to the audience while furthering the tension of the story.

Ti-Jean and His Brothers remained engaging throughout the performance’s running time of an hour and a half. Guiseppi’s ambition was undeniable, and her interpretation of the Caribbean folktale’s heavy thematic notions was an admirable effort. The resonance of the play’s comments on colonialism and racial power dynamics demonstrates the continued impact of Walcott’s commentary in today’s day and age. While the cast displayed commitment and respect with regards to the roles they performed, it is a shame that the actors whose experiences and roots more closely aligned with Walcott’s story were not also represented. Nevertheless, the narrative’s engaging unfolding and indispensable commentary on morality, colonialism, and identity made this play one worth seeing.

Tuesday Night Cafe’s 20192020 season continues with an original student production running November 14-16 and 21-23. For more information, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ tuesdaynightcafetheatre/.

November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Culture

Queerlesque in the Spotlight

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“The U-Haul is Waiting, Queen! Get in!”

Emily Black News Editor

T

his week, the Daily sat down with Avery Burrow, known by her burlesque name CiCi Garette, co-founder of Vice-Versa productions. Founded in February of 2019 along with their business partner La Gourmande, Vice-Versa is a queer event production company aimed towards creating spaces for queer women and non-binary people in Montreal. Together, they have organized four Queerlesque Shows, and the upcoming Queer Cabaret, “Morbid Decadence.”

Avery, an undergraduate student at Concordia, also produces “Blush”, a lesbian disco dance party series.

The McGill Daily: What are you trying to achieve with the project?

Avery Burrow (AB): I’ve been doing burlesque for a little while and I felt the scene didn’t have any good spaces. It’s like if you’re if you’re a person with a different kind of body, than normal burlesque whether that means you’re bigger, you have more body hair, that you are more masculine presenting in your femininity. There’s only space for one of those people per a “normal” burlesque show. You’re a number. Even people of colour are

considered a “number” in burlesque in the normal scene. Which I was not okay with.

And as for the dance parties, I mean it’s not to say that the lesbian scene doesn’t exist in Montreal. And when I say lesbian, I mean lesbian with a star at the end, like a woman oriented queer space. Because there there are “5 à 7”’s or happy hour lesbian events. But there’s definitely a big need for those spaces, there isn’t a place where you can go in know there’ll be gay women here always. The scene of performance spaces and nightlife that are open to all gender expressions and sexual orientations are super cool and amazing. That’s why I started this – I was so inspired by all those people.

MD: What is your personal connection to burlesque?

AB: I think it was through burlesque that I discovered myself as a queer person and became comfortable with my sexuality and my sensuality. I didn’t want to do drag. I didn’t want to be a drag king and I don’t really want to be a drag queen. And so I would say burlesque for me, is like drag, but it’s the drag of my sexuality versus the drag of my gender. I wanted to see a burlesque performer who expresses both

Courtesy of Carla Methot

femininity and masculinity onstage.

And so I said, why don’t I do it?

MD: Burlesque can definitely be associated with a very particular representation of femininity. As a queer woman how do you see that in connection to your own gender expression?

AB: That’s been the most amazing thing about putting on burlesque shows only with queer people because it really gives them a chance to make the burlesque that they want to make, not burlesque that they’re going to get booked for in main gigs. In my numbers usually I start in a suit or a mechanic costume, and then I end up in hyper-femme lingerie. That’s my schtick. It’s taking the butch and the femme, blurring those lines. Although some queer women are femme – and hyper-femme even – the mentality of expressing your femininity or the image of femininity that burlesque is, is not necessarily a hundred percent harmful. With femme women, their sexuality is not seen in the same way because they can pass as straight. Walking through the queer world like that comes with its disadvantages, whereas walking through the straight world comes with its privileges for sure. I think that being able to experience that is a positive thing, but I just think that the rhetoric around that being the ideal is what needs to change. And also, being told that I’m not going to get booked unless I like shave my legs, like, it’s 2019, sir.

MD: You were kind of touching on that earlier, especially about beauty standards and barriers in burlesque. Do you want to speak to that? How you are trying to break that down?

AB: We book anybody. If we like your number and it’s not problematic, we don’t really care what you look like. In most burlesque spaces, you get to have one drag performer or one fat person in this lineup and it’s like, no, we’re going to have the people who fit the bill best for this.

It doesn’t matter what they look like and that’s how it should be. But we have a really strong policy that we prioritize queer people of colour.

We try to prioritize people with differently-abled bodies and people of different sizes. So if you’re not a thin, white person and you submit to our show, we would definitely pick you above somebody with the same level number. Our show started out as a newbie show where we would only have one big performer.

And now it’s moved the other way, but we still always have a newbie

Courtesy of Dupaul spot. We put a call-out every time we do a show, we allow one person who has never had the chance to go on stage, to go on stage. And I think that in the Montreal scene, you have to be super polished to get booked, you have to be perfect before you’re getting on any stages. That’s really toxic to new performers. That’s something that’s really important to me. When I was in Europe, Berlin was a bit like that, but they still have a lot of separate newbie shows. In Paris, you can just get on stage and do whatever the fuck. If you want to fuck with gender and do a sexy dance, they let you just have fun.

MD: You’ve talked before about the lack of specific spaces for queer women and non-binary people.

Why is that so important?

AB: The two main lesbian nights that we currently have in Montreal, “Lez Spread the Word” and “L Nights.” I love them, but they are definitely white spaces, created by and for white francophones. A lot of my friends, who are lesbians of colour, I don’t want to speak for them but I know that they don’t necessarily feel like that’s the space they want to occupy. Regardless of how I feel about actually being in those spaces, they are not clubs. It’s not that I don’t want to go to the bar and mingle and chat with lesbians – that’s great, that’s awesome. I really want to make a space where queer women can go and interact with other queer women and not feel watched by men, and can just dance, listening to music played by other queer women. That’s my thing, it’s been my goal to only book queer people: I only book people who identify as women or non-binary. It just makes such a good feeling in the room: to know that you’re dancing with and to the music of people who understand your experiences. In the end, we have a huge turnout— it’s awesome. Everybody leaves at like 2:30 a.m?, but that’s because they’re

lesbians and they have to go home to their cats and their girlfriends. The U-Haul is waiting, queen! Get in!

Anyways, I think people want this, it’s not just me. And yeah, people are really craving these spaces.

MD: You talked about how the community has an issue with representing intersectional experiences. How do you see your positionality in making these spaces within the community?

AB: It’s not that it’s hard to make these spaces, but it’s hard to have a position on this as a white ablebodied person with thin privilege.

The priority has always been to remember that in booking – there’s so many amazing queer female or non-binary DJ’s of colour in this city, there’s no way I’m not going to book them. And then as far as performers, it’s interesting. When you’re a queer company and you’re putting “equity” on the call-out, we’re already all queer and we already face certain prejudices as queer people. But there are people who are more oppressed and face more daily oppression. Obviously, I get weird looks on the metro holding hands with my girlfriend.

But that’s not the same as facing actual prejudice in my work environment. So for Vice-Versa’s shows, we don’t charge Indigenous people entry, people of colour have different entry prices, and for “Blush” we have a pricing option where people can do work for us either promoting or working the door and get in for free or you can just ask a pay what you can price.

To learn more about Avery and “Vice-Versa”, visit their instagram @cici_garette, or Vice-Versa’s Facebook page. They have two upcoming events in November, “Morbid Decadence” on November 9, and “Blush: II” on November 22.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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November 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

compendium!

Lies, half-truths, and fake view counts.

No More Compendium

We Regret to Inform You that Satire is Cancelled The McDill Gaily Editorial board

page paper, one page per week is devoted to satirical, lighthearted, or otherwise amusing content. We assured Billie that if she were to Dear readers, open a copy, she would find that The Gaily’s editorial board the rest of our paper is in fact an has decided to retire the actual newspaper. section formerly known as “Compendium.” From now on, page 16 of our paper will be blank.

We believe that a blank page fits our anti-oppressive mandate better than a satire, crossword, or comic section ever could. After all, no one deserves to have any fun until the world has been rid of all inequality.

We came to this difficult decision last Friday at 4 a.m. Some members of our understaffed team had been in the office for 13 consecutive hours, while others had been working for a mere 10.

As we toiled away at this labour of love we received a knock on our door. There were three people who had come to talk to us, and Another concern was that they had some very valid concerns about Compendium. For one Compendium is rarely funny. “You thing, they don’t find it valuable. know who’s funny? Seth Rogen.

“I don’t read the Gaily regularly,” That guy really knows how to make Billie McGrount (Arts U1) told me laugh,” said Gert Clumbert the underpaid board members. (Science U0). “Or like, I dunno, “But sometimes I look at the back who’s that lady comedian? She’s, cover if someone’s left a paper uh, you know. You know the one out. And let me tell you, I think I’m talking about.” Despite the it’s disgraceful. Your content is entire board repeatedly telling Gert consistently sarcastic. How can that we genuinely did not know you call yourselves journalists?” to which “lady comedian” he was We explained that out of our 16 referring, he refused to give us any

We believe that a blank page fits our antioppressive mandate. [...]

After all, no one deserves to have any fun until the world has been rid of all inequality.

Left to right: Brent Gillam, Billie McGrount, and Gert Clumbert specifics other than: “you know the one I mean, she’s... kinda... you know...” The Gaily remains on the case, pushing our exhausted staff to figure out the identity of this “lady comedian.” Regardless, Gert makes an excellent point. Our sense of humour is a far cry from that of Seth Rogen. We deeply regret this fact.

The last criticism of Compendium was that it draws attention away from the rest of the paper. “Like I have no problem with it, per se, it’s just that it delegitimizes the actual content you produce,” said Brent Gilliam (Arts U2), who then admitted he also had no idea what kind of “content” we

produced. “It’s like, a magazine, yeah? Sorta like Vice News?”

The three students bid their leave and then proceeded to stand directly outside our office complaining loudly. We alerted them to the fact that we could hear them and they apologized for their rudeness. Once we went back into the office they began again at the same volume. “It’s like, they think they’re a real paper, or something,” laughed Brent. “But what’s most important is that they’re all having fun.” The others agreed, and as they departed we could hear them discussing an “underground artist” they all seem to have “discovered”

recently. They deemed Lizzo “a feminist icon,” who “deserves to get more mainstream recognition.”

They all shared the same opinion, but the discussion remained lively due to the fact that they wanted to hear themselves speak.

For the reasons presented to us by those three students, we have come to the difficult decision to let go of Compendium. It has served us well, but it’s time to move on. Next week, a blank sixteenth page will be a sobering reminder of the world’s ultimate futility.

In solidarity, The McDill Gaily

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