The McGill Daily Vol. 109 Issue 16 by McGill Daily

The McGill Daily is located on Kanien’kehá:ka territory. Volume 109, Issue 16 | Monday, February 3, 2020 | mcgilldaily.com in an ACAB mood since 1911

table of Contents

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Table of Contents 3

Editorial • No RCMP on Wet’suwet’en Land

sci+tech • Seen and Heard

NEWs • SSMU-Milton Parc Assembly • Doctor Associated with Conversion Therapy Speaks at McGill • Commemoration Held for Victims of QC Mosque Shooting • Future of Saint-Henri Site Contested

commentary • McGill Promotes Illegitimate Award

features • From the MTA to the STM: Decolonizing Public Space

Compendium! • Notes From the Underground Campus

The Daily Publications Society is currently accepting applications for its Board of Directors. Are you in love with the campus press, and would like to contribute to its continuity and improvement? Are governance, bylaws and motion writing your cup of tea? If so, you should consider applying to the DPS Board of Directors. DPS Directors meet at least once a month to discuss the management of both Le Délit and The McGill Daily, and get to vote on important decisions related to the DPS’s activities. They can also get involved in various committees whose purpose ranges from fundraising to organizing our annual journalism conference series. Positions must be filled by McGill students, duly registered for the Winter 2020 semester and able to serve until June 30th, 2020, as well as one Graduate Representative and one Community Representative.

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EDITORIAL

Volume 109 Issue 16

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

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No RCMP on Wet’suwet’en Land

coordinating editor

Kate Ellis

managing editor

Willa Holt

news editor

Yasna Khademian Emily Black commentary + compendium! editor

Michaela Keil culture editor

Vacant

features editor

Pandora Wotton

science + technology editor

Leslie Brown sports editor

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video editor

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José Noé De Ita Zavala illustrations editor

Daisy Sprenger copy editor

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courtesy of Joshua Ngenda, The Martlet (University of Victoria) contributors Kismet Bandeen, Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel, Kate Ellis, Sam Fleischman, Willa Holt, Nabeela Jivraj, Joshua Ngenda, Daisy Sprenger, Pandora Wotton le délit

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Published by the Daily Publications Society, a student society of McGill University. The views and opinions expressed in the Daily are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of McGill University. The McGill Daily is not affiliated with McGill University.

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Boris Shedov

n Friday, January 11, the Indigenous Students Alliance (ISA) at McGill answered Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs’ call for solidarity against the Coastal GasLink Pipeline in a demonstration at the Y-intersection. This call came in response to an injunction against land protectors from the Wet’suwet’en Nation, which was granted by the BC Supreme Court on December 31, 2019. The call also followed the International Day of Solidarity – the first of which occurred one year ago after Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raids on the Unist’ot’en Camp led to demonstrations across BC. As of January 2020, the RCMP has invaded and is currently occupying Wet’suwet’en territory. The RCMP have been stopping or stalling foot and air traffic across several access points, indiscriminately restricting access to both the Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en camps for Wet’suwet’en people, volunteers, and journalists alike. In addition to road blocks, the RCMP recently admitted to monitoring Indigenous land defenders with drones, as uncovered by Vice, despite previous statements denying both air traffic restrictions and surveillance. In a press release on January 30, eight hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en Nation called for a public investigation into the RCMP’s influence over and access to the area around the pipeline. Earlier this month, The Guardian also reported that, according to court documents, the RCMP is prepared to use lethal force against Indigenous land defenders. This interference and violence by the RCMP is alarming, yet unsurprising considering its ongoing use of brutal violence against Indigenous peoples, and the use of military technology is indicative of the ways in which the colonial state reinforces its occupying presence. In a press release on January 5, Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs issued an eviction notice to Coastal Gas Link workers. Despite this action being legal under ‘Anuch niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law), as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), BC Supreme Court Judge Marguerite Church issued an injunction on December 31, 2019, barring the disruption of pipeline construction until the project is complete. Following the implementation of the illegal injunction, Indigenous youth activists held a sit-in at the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum in Victoria, where 12 people were arrested after occupying the building for 15 hours. On January 20, more than one hundred demonstrators blockaded the Swartz Bay ferry terminal with kayaks, completely shutting down ferry service to and from Vancouver sland. Across BC, students and Indigenous youth activists held sit-ins and walkouts in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation throughout the month. While solidarity demonstrations unfolded across the province, BC’s provincial legislature became the first in Canada to implement UNDRIP after it failed to pass federally. However, BC Premier John Horgan’s implementation of the legislation has been widely criticised as being “impractically

broad” – the legislation concerning how Indigenous and Canadian law will interact with the government’s thirdparty interests is not transparent. It is unacceptable and deceptive to pass this legislation while simultaneously undermining the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous peoples as well as Indigenous hereditary laws and land claims. BC’s implementation of UNDRIP does not accomodate or take into consideration Indigenous populations living outside of reserves, who make up the majority of BC’s Indigenous communities. Urban Indigenous communities live in their own unique contexts, with specific interests, which are not recognized by UNDRIP. Speaking to the CBC, Métis lawyer Patricia Barkaskas explained that Indigenous rights are inherent in Indigenous people, and aren’t relinquished when those people leave their First Nations. We must pressure the Canadian government, in BC and elsewhere, to recognize urban Indigenous communities as legitimate communities. Further, we must pressure the government to create legislation that reflects interests existing outside current government conceptions of land sovereignty and self-determination, which do not represent the specific needs of urban Indigenous peoples. As of January 30, the RCMP agreed to stand down during the seven-day window of talks between Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and the BC provincial government. The CBC reported that during this time the RCMP “would not enforce the court-ordered injunction;” despite this, there have been no reports of RCMP withdrawing forces from access points or camps at the time of print. Though, on the day they agreed to stand down, RCMP attempted to enter the Gidimt’en post, outside the injunction area, and threatened to arrest those monitoring the road. Though the type of direct action needed at the Unist’ot’en Camp and at access points is not possible from Quebec, encourage family and friends in BC to volunteer and support those on the frontlines. Condemn the provincial government for sanctioning and perpetuating colonial violence against Indigenous peoples. Contact members of the provincial legislature and pressure members of the provincial legislature to acknowledge and respect Indigenous sovereignty and land title. You can also donate directly to general and legal funds, or purchase items on wishlists and needslists for both Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en camps. The Unist’ot’en Camp website encourages individuals to create and share their own petitions and solidarity statements, which will be linked in the online version of this editorial. You can follow Wet’suwet’en Strong and Idle No More on Facebook for updates on organized solidarity events and action. The Unist’ot’en Camp website also has a supporter toolkit, as well as suggestions for how those outside of BC can organize action and support the Camp.

Special thanks to The Martlet, especially Photo Editor Joshua Ngenda, for granting us permission to use their photo coverage of the demonstrations in Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en in Victoria, BC, on our cover this week. You can see more of their work at themartlet.ca.

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Sebastien Oudin-Filipecki (Chair), Boris Shedov, Michaela Keil, Kate Ellis, Grégoire Collet, Jonathan Cruickshank, Antoine Milette-Gagnon All contents © 2018 Daily Publications Society. All rights reserved. The content of this newspaper is the responsibility of The McGill Daily and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Products or companies advertised in this newspaper are not necessarily endorsed by Daily staff. Printed by Imprimerie Transcontinental Transmag. Anjou, Quebec. ISSN 1192-4608.

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February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

NEws: mcgill

SSMU-Milton Parc Assembly Participants Talk Affordable Student Housing

Willa Holt Managing Editor

n Monday, January 27, a group composed of SSMU representatives, community members, and housing activists convened to discuss affordable student housing in Montreal. As the first in a series of workshops hosted by SSMU and the Milton Parc Citizens’ Committee, the public assembly featured representatives from La communauté Milton Parc, the Concordia Housing and Job Resource Centre (HOJO), and Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE), who each spoke about their organizations’ experiences. Dimitrios Roussopoulos, from La communauté Milton Parc, opened the session by providing a brief history of the Milton Parc community and communal housing movements in Montreal. Roussopoulos clarified the distinction between Milton Parc as a neighborhood and the Milton Parc co-operative, the latter of which is the largest publicly-owned co-op in North America. Roussopoulos also highlighted the work of community activist Lucia Kowaluk – whose efforts and leadership shaped the community – and strongly recommended that students read Villages in Cities, a comprehensive history of the Milton Parc community, which he co-authored. He emphasized the importance of

creating more co-ops, highlighting that the Milton Parc community “removed six urban city blocks in the second biggest city in Canada off the capitalist market,” which he described as “quite an accomplishment.” Following Roussopoulos’ talk, Laurent Lévesque of UTILE took the floor. He described the sevenyear-old organization’s mission as “try[ing] to expand nonprofit and co-operative housing options,” with a particular focus on students. Lévesque expressed concern over new forms of housing speculation and development, asserting that “in the last three years, the average rents in the Plateau for a three bedroom apartment went up by 30 per cent.” Citing the fact that these rent increases are occurring in areas with the greatest concentrations of McGill students, Lévesque stated that “the housing crisis that Montreal is facing is also a student housing crisis.” He added that the quick turnover of students doesn’t help – each year, new incoming students arrive, introducing a new population of potentially exploitable residents. These issues highlight the already intense need for affordable, accessible student housing, something that UTILE is actively working towards. Currently under construction is a housing project called the Woodnote, a 90-unit student co-operative expected to house 144 Concordia undergraduates when completed, set to open this summer. Lévesque

summarized his and UTILE’s objectives, saying “the goal of building not-for-profit student housing now is not just to have options for students in the short term, but also to plan for future housing crises.” When asked how to get students excited about housing, Lévesque stated that the best way is to make it personal. “It seems abstract when you talk about housing,” he explained, “but when you talk about your house, it becomes very tangible.” Lastly, Leanne Ashworth from HOJO highlighted the importance of easily accessible, accurate information, which is often hard for students to find. Per HOJO, this is especially true for international students who arrive and need to find a place to live as soon as possible. These students, she explained, are more vulnerable – and landlords know it. Ashworth noted personal privacy as a prime opportunity for exploitation, explaining that landlords will often ask for excessive amounts of information, and desperate students will provide it. She observed that, “For a lot of students, when they come in and they’re given a[n application] form and they have no time to find an apartment, they will give everything.” Beyond their personal privacy initiatives, HOJO also helps students to advocate for themselves and organize with their neighbors. “A cool thing about organizing students,” Ashworth explained, “is that students know how to do homework.” Among

Daisy Sprenger | Illustrations Editor

the resources Ashworth provided was the informational site likehome.info (lappart.info in French, zufangba.info in Mandarin), which is designed to make housing issues more accessible to students. Though HOJO is a Concordia-based group, Ashworth emphasized that she welcomes McGill students to attend HOJO events. Their upcoming workshop on leasing and rent is slated to take place on March 23 from 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. The event was catered by Midnight Kitchen and sponsored in part by the

SSMU VP External and the SSMU Community Affairs Commissioner, who guided the group discussion. The next workshop in this series, covering Frosh, St. Patrick’s Day, and being a respectful neighbour, will take place on February 24. Students should be aware that the Montreal police will be present at this session. The following workshop on March 23 will cover homelessness in the community. At the time of print, the event page does not say that police will be present.

Doctor Associated with Conversion Therapy Speaks at McGill

UGE Encourages Community to Boycott Dr. Zucker’s Talk Kate Ellis Coordinating Editor

n Thursday, January 23, the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University hosted a talk by Dr. Kenneth J. Zucker, a child psychologist from Ontario who works with children and adolescents facing gender dysphoria. He is also a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Zucker has been largely criticized for his work, which has been called conversion therapy by transgender-rights activists. In 1994, Dr. Zucker said that one of the goals of his clinic was to “help the child feel more secure about his or her actual gender.” In 2015, he was dismissed from his position at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health when reviewers found that his clinic “focused on intensive assessment

and treatment in lieu of more modern approaches” which included “educating and supporting parents to accept a child’s gender expression.” Dr. Zucker was invited to the school by Professor Samuel Veissiere, a co-director of the Culture, Mind, and Brain program at McGill. When asked about his reasoning for inviting Dr. Zucker, Professor Veissiere told the Daily that “When individuals for whom transition didn’t work tell us they feel excluded from this conversation, we need to listen and learn.” Professor Veissere also argued that calling Dr. Zucker’s work “conversion therapy” is a “misconception.” To provide support to trans and non-binary members of the McGill community who may have been affected by the talk, the Joint BoardSenate Committee on Equity’s (JBSCE) Subcommittee on Queer People came up with the idea of

holding a “positive space” at the same time as the event, which they shared on their Facebook page. This idea was then put into action by Meryem Benslimane, who is the Equity Education Advisor of the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Equity and Academic) and co-chair of the JBSCE Subcommittee on Queer People, with the support of Angela Campbell, Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies). Benslimane told the Daily that the committee’s number one priority at the time “was to provide a positive space for trans and non-binary students, staff and faculty (and their allies) who might have been hurt by this event happening, and who would have felt the need to gather and be together in solidarity.” She added, “[we] wanted to let people affected by the talk know that ‘we see you and we love you’, and that we would not stand idly by and remain silent.”

Furthermore, the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE) posted an open letter on Facebook in response to the event, which was signed by TVMcGill, Queer Engineer McGill, SSMU President Bryan Buraga, VP External Affairs Adam Gwiazda-Amsel, and VP University Affairs Madeline Wilson. The letter argued that Professor Veissiere was “determined to hold this event under the guise of academic freedom whilst ignoring the academic responsibility that goes alongside it.” The letter overall denounced the “speaking event and [encouraged] all those who may have been interested in attending to boycott.” In an interview with the Daily, Jeanne Prevost, Finance and Co-op Coordinator for the UGE said that hosting speakers like Dr. Zucker “tells the transgender members of the McGill community that their identity is up for debate, that some professors

care more about giving a platform to harmful theories and endangering their students’ wellbeing than they do about their academic responsibility.” She further noted that “every time an advocate of harmful theories is platformed, and subsequently their ideas, it legitimizes them further and enables discrimination against these vulnerable groups.” McGill students voiced similar concerns about the talk. VC Renaud, a trans U2 Psychology student, told the Daily that “having a speaker like this at McGill is not only harmful to the trans community in general, it could reinforce transphobic views in the general public and give well meaning medical professionals and med students the wrong information, which also has a negative impact on trans people.” At the time of print, the McGill administration has not released an official statement on the matter.

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

news: McGill

Commemoration Held for Victims of QC Mosque Shooting Members of the McGill and Montreal Community Reflect on Tragedy Three Years Later

Pandora Wotton Features Editor

in the media to prevent the perpetuation of ignorance and prejudice. “We, of course, represent a diversity of different nationalities, points of view, ethnicities, and that is something that, surprisingly, is not always projected sufficiently in the media,” Medani told attendees. “We really want to encourage the media also to represent Muslims in a realistic way – that has such an important impact on how people percieve Islam in general, and Muslim-Canadians in particular.”

small group of McGill students and Montreal community members gathered in the MacDonald Engineering Building mezzanine to honour the six victims of the Quebec City massacre on January 29, 2020 – the third anniversary of the attack. On the same date in 2017, a shooter opened fire in the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City mosque, shortly after evening prayer. Azzeddine Soufiane, Abdelkrim Hassane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Aboubaker Thabti, and Khaled Belkacemi were killed, and 19 others were injured, including Aymen Derbali, who was paralyzed by the attack.

For each name read of the victims [...], an attendee placed a white rose under the tree. This portion of the event also provided time for reflection and prayer in front of the memorial.

“It is important to remember that no such tragedy occurs in a vacuum.” - Hamza Lahmimsi, president of the Muslim Student Association The commemoration was held in partnership with the second annual Muslim Awareness Week (MAW), which takes place in Quebec from January 25–31 each year. Ehab Lotayef, a member of McGill’s Board of Governors and coordinator of the MAW organizing committee, described the week as “an initiative by the Muslim community to try to go beyond just compassion and sympathy after what happened in 2017, and to take that to the level of trying to build bridges and connections.”

“We really want to encourage the media also to represent Muslims in a realistic way – that has such an important impact on how people percieve Islam in general, and Muslim-Canadians in particular.” - Professor Khalid Medani from the Institute of Islamic Studies

The event finished with a walk to the tree planted on campus in memoriam of the mass shooting. For each name read of the victims who lost their lives, as well as Aymen Derbali, who has been permanently paralyzed, an attendee placed a white rose under the tree. This portion of the event also provided time for reflection and prayer in front of the memorial.

Pandora Wotton | Features Editor Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi and Caroline Savic, a representative of the Quebec National Assembly for Westmount-Saint-Louis, spoke on behalf of the McGill and Montreal communities, respectively. The Provost led a moment of silence. Hamza Lahmimsi, president of the Muslim Student Association, spoke on the lasting effects this act of terror. “It is important to remember that no such tragedy occurs in a vacuum,” he stated.

“Women were left widowed; children, fatherless. A whole community was wounded by the loss of their beloved friend. All Muslims were shaking at the realization that it could have been them in that mosque. How can a community be at peace when the place that gives them the most peace is no longer safe to enter?” Professor Khalid Medani from the Institute of Islamic Studies emphasized the importance of accurate Muslim representation

“How can a community be at peace when the place that gives them the most peace is no longer safe to enter?” - Lahmimsi

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

News: Montreal

Future of Saint-Henri Site Contested

Investment in Social Housing “Necessary,” Activists Say Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel News Contributor

wo Montreal organizations are engaged in a struggle over the future of the former Canada Malting site in Saint-Henri – Renwick Development and a group of local residents called “À nous la Malting.” At the heart of the conflict stands two different visions of what kind of development is needed for the neighborhood. Renwick Development wants to build a mix of condominiums, social housing units, commercial services, and spaces for “community needs.” “À nous la Malting” wants a 100 per cent community-based social housing project and sees condominiums as a threat to Saint-Henri’s social fabric. Saint-Henri has seen an influx of luxury condominiums in recent years, as the availability of affordable housing has plummeted. The hulking structure of the former Canada Malting is a familiar sight for residents of Le Sud-Ouest. Its decaying facilities have been abandoned since 1989, even though the location itself is of prime real estate quality, right by the Lachine Canal. This site “is very complicated” and presents “a ton of issues” as Julie Bélanger, director of the office of Le Sud-Ouest borough mayor Benoît Dorais, told the Daily. According to Bélanger, it needs decontamination, and it has historical value and components that need to be preserved and restored. Noam Schnitzer tells the Daily he is confident that his group, Renwick Development, can take care of these issues and deliver a sustainable project, one where “the provision of the services would not depend upon government funding.” He is the founder and developer of the company, and is responsible for the Malting site project. He presents his vision as “an inclusive project, open for everyone.” The site is currently owned by Quonta Holdings, an investment management firm.

Schnitzer plans to build “a total of 240 units, of which 80 will be social housing units, and the rest will be condominiums.” With regards to the social housing units, he intends to construct them in a separate building on a vacant spot of land. The remainder of the square footage would then be divided between commercial spaces and a collaborative workspace for artists, among other things. According to Schnitzer, the social housing units will be tailored to the needs of the community, which is “not a homogenous scenario; the need is actually for family-centric social housing units.” He intends for most of them to have two or three bedrooms. But 80 social housing units are “not even close to enough,” according to Shannon Franssen, coordinator for Solidarité SaintHenri, a coalition of community groups active in the neighbourhood. She tells the Daily that Saint-Henri needs at least 500 new social housing units, a number that the group arrived at by looking at the number of households who spend more than 50 per cent of their income on rent. Schnitzer feels like Renwick Development would do more than its fair share, going “well beyond” municipal requirements in terms of the proportion of social housing units. But Franssen insists: “We need to maximize the use of the vacant land that is available;” otherwise the needs of the community won’t be met, she says. Solidarité Saint-Henri supports “À nous la Malting,” a collective of residents and local community organizations founded in 2017 who is working on a project “that would involve 200 social housing units.” Franssen says that technical questions still need to be addressed, but that more information should be available in the next few weeks. A public presentation is scheduled for March 3, and the city expects a business plan and a feasibility study by the end of February.

Daisy Sprenger | Illustrations Editor

Daisy Sprenger | Illustrations Editor City officials seem both enthusiastic and worried about this project. “We hope to see actual numbers,” Julie Bélanger tells the Daily. “If they have a sustainable business plan, we will support [the collective], but we have not yet seen this” in the previous progress reports. Elected officials funded the collective and gave it over a year to come up with a proposition. One thing that seems clear is that the City of Montreal is not going to buy the property: “We don’t have the means to buy it, and it wouldn’t be responsible to do so,” according to Bélanger. However, she recognizes the need for affordable housing in the area. “Le Sud-Ouest is the borough with the lowest rate of vacancy in Montreal, [at] under one per cent,” she admits; “it’s a big problem.” The current municipal administration has pledged to create 12,000 new social housing units in Montreal, what Bélanger calls “a record number.” But to deliver this, the City has to think strategically. Given the difficulties presented by this site, the City claims the cost per unit would be extremely high. “They would probably be the most expensive social housing units in the country,” Bélanger says. “Financially, it wouldn’t be a responsible decision.” Montreal is currently experiencing a 15-year low vacancy rate, now at 1.5 per cent, according to a recent report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. As Bélanger underscored, the situation is particularly dire in Le Sud-Ouest, where the vacancy rate has dropped as low as 0.5 per cent. Such numbers naturally lead to

a high demand for rental units that people are willing to waive their own right; they’re willing to pay more to live in Saint-Henri,” Franssen tells the Daily. “This is what gentrification looks like.” According to her, part of the reason why housing is getting so expensive, “is because of real-estate speculation by developers like Renwick Development who want to build luxury condominiums on the canal.” This is a concern that Schnitzer dismisses. “For renters, the term ‘gentrification’ doesn’t exist; rent is controlled in Montreal. Simply because someone builds next door doesn’t mean that your rent will increase,” he tells the Daily. In theory, the Regulation respecting the criteria for the fixing of rent does limit the possible rent increases in the province well below what a free market would allow – but this may not reflect what actually happens. Yet-to-be-published research done by Solidarité Saint-Henri shows that rent has increased by an average of 91 per cent in the neighbourhood since 1996, whereas, according to the group, “if the landlords respected the law, we would’ve expected an increase of about 45 per cent.” Renwick Development says that they are “in discussion with [Le SudOuest] and waiting for the approval process to begin,” while Bélanger says that “no project has been authorized at the moment.” The city has an informal agreement with “À nous la Malting” that nothing will happen -Amy Darwish of CAPE until they receive the details of their plan. Whatever the outcome is, the This reflects a trend noticed next few weeks are likely to be crucial by Solidarité Saint-Henri in their for the future of the Canada Malting neighbourhood. “There is such site and the residents of Saint-Henri. concerns for low-income tenants who struggle to find – and keep – a decent place to live. Amy Darwish, from the Comité d’Action de Parc-Extension (CAPE), is “very concerned that if there is no action taken, a lot of people could find themselves being homeless as of July 1” she tells the Daily. The CAPE is not directly involved, but supports “À nous la Malting” in their struggle. For them, it’s absolutely necessary to invest massively in social housing. “The crisis is twofold” she explains. “There are fewer apartments and the ones that are available are much more expensive.” This, according to Darwish, means that we are likely to see more evictions and more race-based discrimination against tenants across the city.

“The crisis is two fold... there are fewer apartments and the ones that are available are much more expensive.”

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Commentary

McGill Promotes Illegitimate Award

Motion Condemning Professor’s Acceptance is Passed in AUS Anonymous content warning: discriminatory practices

his week, the Arts Undergraduate Society passed a motion brought forward by the World Islamic and Middle East Studies Students Association (WIMESSA), condemning an award that was accepted by Jamil Ragep, a professor at McGill’s Institute of Islamic Studies. WIMESSA introduced the motion because they believe that both the acceptance of the award, as well as its promotion, ought to be challenged. In mid-December, two WIMESSA representatives approached Professor Ragep on the matter. He listened to them, but said that he did not share their same concerns. The award, which comes with $30,000 USD, was given by the Turkish Academy of Sciences in Ankara. It was presented to Professor Ragep in person by President R.T. Erdogan. It would be a mistake to let this slide just because the award is not directly given by Erdogan. His regime’s influence is everywhere, and it is much more powerful than scientific fact. Science in Turkey is no longer based on research. It takes the form of what fits with Erdogan’s ideology.

Establishment of Turkish Academy of Sciences. These changes allowed the government to interfere with the functioning and structure of the scientific institution. Article 11 of the decree states that “the President of the academy will be appointed to serve for three years by the Prime Minister* among the three candidates to be determined by the General Assembly of the academy.” In addition to this, in the event of the failure of the selection process for the President, the Prime Minister gets to appoint the President. In response to this amendment, approximately 70 members of the TÜBA, who were elected on the basis of merit, resigned in protest. They went on to form the Science Academy Society of Turkey, as an alternative, independent organization.

Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK) TÜBITAK has been responsible for appointing one-third of TÜBA’s members since 2011. They’ve been accused of surrendering to political pressure from the government. For example, in 2013, TÜBITAK rejected a funding request for a summer program that was to be held on the topic of evolutionary biology. According to TÜBITAK, a supposedly scientific institution in Turkey, “evolution is a controversial Turkish Academy of Sciences subject.” These accusations took a more tangible form as Turkey (TÜBA) TÜBA was founded in 1993 as an moved from a parliamentary system independent academic institution. to a presidential system with the However, in 2011, the government 2017 referendum. The presidential tied itself to the organization by powers Erdogan gained in 2017 amending the Decree Law on the allowed him to add a Board of Directors in addition to the Science Board. The Board of Directors became the highest administrative body in TÜBITAK. Unsurprisingly, its members were selected by President Erdogan. The nature of the project applications received by TÜBITAK also began to change. In the early 2000s, awards were given in categories such as math, chemistry, physics, computer science, biology, and engineering. In 2016, “values education” was added to the list. During the annually-hosted science competition for high school students, one of the projects that made it to the final round aimed to place national characteristics on games and stationary used by children and youth. The purpose was to create decent role models. Is brainwashing a science? There were other obscure projects, including but not limited to protecting privacy with an EKG (electrocardiogram) apron. The apron would cover the patient’s body during an EKG, similar to the function of a hospital gown. This project would aim to reduce the amount of bodily exposure related to privacy concerns. Feel free to Daisy Sprenger enlighten me on how this project

is scientific. Upon the decline in quality witnessed by TÜBITAK, the France-based National Center for Scientific Research froze relations with the institution. Council of higher education (YÖK) A third of TÜBA’s members are appointed by YÖK. This council is also under the auspices of the Turkish government, as the President gets to appoint its president. The influence here is even more direct than with TÜBA, as the President has full decisionary power and is not even obligated to choose among the candidates nominated by YÖK members.

How can McGill advertise one of its professors being honoured by such an illegitimate institution? This means that two thirds of TÜBA members are appointed by government affiliated institutions. Mehmet Özdogan, one of the 70 members who resigned in protest, stated in an interview with Yigit Özar that “if [the] government selects whoever it wants, TÜBA cannot be an academy.” Özdogan further argues that the reason the government made this move towards tighter control of the academy was to stifle some of the research topics that were being pursued by TÜBA. These topics include evolution and politics, which challenge Erdogan’s authoritarian governance. The Turkish President indeed has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to people criticizing his government. In Turkey, evolution eventually went from being “controversial” to getting removed from the curriculum.

Daisy Sprenger | Illustrations Editor denounced the government’s firing and jailing of scholars through decree laws. A few scholars were eventually released from prison, but most were unable to get their jobs back.

campus that may feel uncomfortable with this event. It is not just these groups who have been historically targeted, and continue to be persecuted in Turkey. Alawites, Jews, Kurds, and Circassians have also been discriminated against and are receiving differentiated treatment by the Turkish government under Erdogan. Through this motion, students of the Faculty of Arts aim to disassociate themselves from this unacceptable award, and to stand in solidarity with our friends on campus as well as Turkish academics fighting for human rights in Turkey and abroad. How can McGill advertise one of its professors being honoured by such an illegitimate institution? How can an academic uncritically accept this award, and the money it comes with, while his colleagues are being imprisoned by the very same people presenting it? When will Turkey leave obscurantism behind? Will we ever come to the point where I could have written this article without being anonymous? I invite professors at McGill to be more conscious regarding from where and from whom they receive an award.

The motion The McGill Faculty of Arts sent out an email on November 20, 2019, in which the Turkish Academy of Sciences award was advertised. The email indicated that it would be “presented by the Turkish President Erdogan at a ceremony in Ankara on December 30.” WIMESSA’s motion condemns the faculty’s careless promotion of such a problematic award. Not only was the award presented by Erdogan, who has been accused of a number of human rights abuses, but it was also given by an institution that has lost its credibility in the international scientific community. The normalization of Erdogan’s actions, and the implicit support of the McGill administration through the promotion of the award, are unacceptable. Are these the kind of actions McGill wants to be Being an academic in Turkey associated with? The WIMESSA motion takes into After the failed coup attempt in 2016, Erdogan declared a state account other atrocities committed of emergency that lasted for two by the Turkish government, years. During this period, his grip including the denial of the genocide on power got stronger. In January of committed against Armenians, the same year, academics released a Assyrians, and Greeks. It highlights * The office of Prime Minister was petition that criticized the curfews the diverse group of students on our abolished after a referendum in 2017. imposed on Kurdish provinces by the government, and the deliberate massacre and deportation of Indigenous peoples in the region. The coup gave Erdogan the pretext that helped him fire a number of academics without due process and have their passports taken away. Signing the petition resulted in a one-way ticket to prison for many of them. Universities in Turkey hosted “Don’t Touch My Professor” protests where students

Not only was the award presented by Erdogan, who has been accused of a number of human rights abuses, but it was also given by an institution that has lost its credibility in the international scientific community.

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Seen and Heard

SCI+TECH

Meet the People Making Mental Health Care More Accessible Nabeela Jivraj Sci+Tech Writer

“

It’s so important to be able to have your story, and own the complexity of your own story,” Parneet Chohan tells me over the phone. Parneet is a therapist who operates their own private practice here in Montreal. They have a Master’s in Counselling Psychiatry, and are currently training in psychosomatic experiencing. After a day at work, they’re chatting with me about the peer supervision group they started for racialized therapists, and why creating such a group was needed. This strikes a chord – many of us can unfortunately relate to the gut-wrenching feeling of having your experiences reduced and dismissed. For anyone seeking mental health support, the risk of experiencing this feeling carries much higher stakes. Fears of being misheard, questioned in your experience, or the emotional burden of needing to explain are all a part of what Parneet describes as the effects of subtle stereotyping of racialized people [predominantly by white professionals] in therapy. This gulf in understanding is experienced not just by patients, but also by practitioners. The inability to own the complexity of your own story in a therapeutic space is a major barrier to getting or seeking healthcare. “Private practice can be very isolating – you don’t get a lot of socializing time. Even though you’re working with people all day, you’re not necessarily working around people all day. I was wanting to spend time with other therapists who understand the sacredness of the work and its weight. And not only from working with racialized clients, but as a racialized person myself – there is a way that I would want my colleagues to empathize and understand me as well. I wouldn’t want to have to explain myself continually to other [white] colleagues. There is something powerful about unspoken understanding.” I asked Parneet how sharing an identity with clients impacts their practice, and how clients might feel about it. They shared that in their experience, having a common identity eliminates shame surrounding culturallyspecific struggles. “I’ve heard from clients with a racialized or minority identity that they

Kismet Bandeen | Sci+Tech Illustrator feel scared to say ‘this is what’s happened in my family, or my community,’ because they don’t want white therapists to paint with broad strokes that this might be all Indian families, or Ethiopian families, or whatever it might be. And I can think of comments from people who have worked with white therapists, who will respond to a client with ‘well this makes sense, since you come from XYZ identity.’ These are subtle types of stereotyping that arise when you don’t work with diverse clients, or don’t have diverse friends which might sensitize you to their experiences.” When I ask Parneet about cultural competency training, they tell

me that beyond professional schooling, updating diversity training is up to each individual to undertake on their own. “It is a fascinating profession, in that we really are on our own.” Of course, it’s not just doubts about the safety and comfort of the therapy space that pose a barrier to seeking care. While racialized therapists might be fewer in number and difficult to find, therapy costs can also be exorbitantly high, putting it out of reach. For those living with a disability and those living in more rural areas, physical access to therapy spaces, especially culturally-competent ones, can be an issue. Stigma around

discussing and seeking mental health care is an ongoing barrier to accessing healthcare. In this landscape, online support and resources have rapidly emerged as a potential solution to increasing access to care. Eric Coly is an LA-based entrepreneur originally from Senegal who is seeking to close the therapy gap for racialized individuals and minorities, with a focus on intersectionality of identity. The platform AYANA Therapy is an app that seeks to connect individuals with accessible therapy where they find their own identities represented. Ayana asserts that “finding the right therapist is a

right, not a privilege.” Following a detailed questionnaire, users are matched with a licensed therapist. The platform provides individuals with the option to call, video call, or text with the provider they are matched to. Originally set to roll out in Fall 2019, the app will launch early this year. The delay is largely due to the overwhelming response from both clients and counselors. “We had 6500 emails in two and a half weeks that came in, and it spoke to the high demand and the gravity of the situation that exists regarding lack of access to mental health,” Eric explains. “We are dealing with a rather disappointed audience that has been ignored

SCI+TECH and ostracized [by the healthcare system] – so we need to be able to show up with as high a level of integrity as possible, which means – at minimum – being able to respond with as many counselors as possible.” He tells me that they already have around 80 counselors, with double that in applications received.

The inability to own the complexity of your own story in a therapeutic space is a major barrier to getting or seeking healthcare. I asked Eric about the match process, and what an emphasis on intersectionality means in that context. “Our objective is to make intersectional counselling available to those who want it. So if you tell me, “Look Eric – I am Muslim, biracial, and gay,” and it’s important for you to have a therapist who understands this well, we want to make that accessible for you. The most important pillars of the questionnaire are: race, ethnicity, gender orientation, and religion, all along specific modalities. After we ask for your ethnicity, we ask you how important it is for you to have a counselor of the same ethnicity as you. The answers to the questionnaire are nuanced, with a gradation of answers (very important, not important at all, etc.). The use of nuance is pretty important to us.” The match process, and emphasis on individual experience, is what

As more options for access to therapy open up, it’s worth remembering that the modality of modern psychiatry is eurocentric in itself and might not suit everyone.

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily sets Ayana apart from other – predominantly white – online therapy platforms. While some helpful resource options specific to certain groups exist (such as Therapy for Black Girls), there continues to be a need for intersectional options. “From a mathematical standpoint, to optimize matchmaking, we have to have enough of a sample to pick from, and I didn’t feel as though we currently have that. Which is [also] why we are pushing rollout, so we can be able to increase the number of counselors to 400.” While there will be costs associated with accessing the app, in order to pay the licensed therapists providing services, Eric described a need to make the platform financially accessible. “Often those who need it the most are those who can least afford it, and for me, part of being able to base success is if someone from a local community who is lowincome is telling me that ‘you’ve partnered with such-and-such foundation that has enabled me to have access to your product.’ That to me is so important.” Ayana is currently speaking with non-profit and communitybased organizations for them to potentially assist in subsidizing access for lower-income clients. Coming originally from a background in finance and fashion, Eric tells me that he is a “neocyte in this space.” It is passion for the project that has fuelled him to overcome the obstacles presented with learning and making moves in this [health] industry, which hasn’t been an easy journey. “Instead of looking up at the mountains (obstacles), I have really focused on the quarterly goals. Our focus is in mental health, which to me does not get enough attention in this country. It is very much looked at through the lenses of classism and racism – and the way people see cancer in this country is not the same way people see mental health issues. For example, half of the people who are homeless in LA have mental health issues. A substantial proportion of those people are Black. So this has really fuelled my passion, as did my own issues with mental health. There is a strong relatability between myself and the people I’ve been fighting for.” As more options for access to therapy open up, it’s worth remembering that the modality of modern psychiatry is eurocentric in itself and might not suit everyone. Parneet shares that “Psychiatry is very white, but we are seeing more East Asian, African and Latin American practices starting to show up that are not necessarily psychology, but are absolutely related to mental health. The older I get,

Daisy Sprenger | Illustrations Editor and the more people I work with, and with my own healing journey, it is clear that it is all related, even if it’s not “mental health” per se. Our past traumas, how we eat, who we live with. It’s fascinating because in biological notions of health – everything is kept separate. In reality it makes a huge difference if the place you come home to is safe and supportive, yet that’s something that might not even get asked on an intake form for psychiatry [...] I am happy to say that there is a lot more alternative medicine and wisdom (such as naturopathy, homeopathy and Ayurveda) showing up in a more mainstream way.” That said, for those of us seeking therapy, it can be difficult to know where to look. Parneet shares several resources for Montrealers with diverse identities to access (links featured in the box above), emphasizing that though there may not be a physical collective space

for therapy in Montreal, there is ample online and collective support to find what you might specifically be looking for. “The online space broadens the types and price of resources available. For example,

“There is something powerful about unspoken understanding.” – Parneet Chohan there are counselling services online where you can purchase 20 minutes with a counselor, which is small but can go a long way if that’s all you can afford.” The Facebook group Montreal Healing Space, and others, present a powerful part of online

communities. In internet forums, support can be “fast-tracked” – you can simply put an ask out for something specific you’re seeking, and ideally someone else can point you in the right direction. Through an informal vetting process online, such as Facebook forums, trust is built around certain service providers in the city. Eric says that though he keeps getting emails from Canadians, Europeans and Carribeans, the immediate needs and focus for Ayana are local and domestic to the United States. “In the future, yes of course. Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world. The country has yet to keep up with its demographic growth, and in terms of services many people of colour are not being served properly. There are many reasons why Canada would be a great market for Ayana. I just want to make sure we do it right.”

Features

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

From the MTA to the STM: Decolonizing Public Space Nabeela Jivraj Features Writer

content warning: police brutality

n Friday, January 31, people turned out en masse to protest against police presence in the New York City transit system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The protests included mass turnstile hops across the city, campus walkouts and park assemblies, and speak-outs in stations and on campuses against police presence in schools and subways, culminating in a final mass protest at Grand Central Station at 5:00 p.m. In addition to protest signs and widespread graffiti, demonstrators posted examples on social media of methods to keep the turnstile system inactive, such as propping exit doors open and filling swipe machines with Super Glue. Dubbed #J31 / FTPIII, this was the third in a series of “fuck the police” (FTP) protests. The city-wide day of transit action was carried out to embody the following demands:

1. Cops out of the subway. 2. Free Transit. 3. End the harassment of vendors and performers. 4. Full accessibility for people of varying abilities. These protests have been facilitated by Decolonize This Place, an action-oriented decolonial movement in New York City. The organization “brings together many strands of analysis and traditions of resistance: Indigenous insurgence, black liberation, free Palestine, free Puerto Rico, the struggles of workers and debtors, de-gentrification, migrant justice, dismantling patriarchy, and more.” Ahead of #J31, the collective provided public information surrounding the MTA, the NYPD, and ways to organize autonomously

and safely via social media and in a series of communiques. The first series of FTP protests took place on November 1, 2019, as an emergency action organized in response to circulating videos of police brutality in the MTA against Black and Brown youth. On November 22, 2019, a second action was carried out in even larger numbers, met with a more extreme militarized response and ultimately resulted in 58 arrests. In December 2019, the MTA board affirmed Governor Cuomo’s call for increased crackdowns on fare evasion and attacks on transit workers through the addition of 500 cops into the MTA system. Fare evasion is cited as a major cause of revenue loss – $240M USD from March 2018-2019 – for the MTA, which remains heavily in debt. Proposed installation of surveillance cameras to cover turnstiles at all subway stations is earmarked at approximately $250M, and the cost of additional officers pushes the MTA deficit to $1B. Amidst this, multiple officers have confirmed being explicitly told to target Black and Hispanic people to fulfill arrest quotas. Though predicated on financial rhetoric, the crackdown on fare evasion indexes a focus on security through the criminalization of racialized people and those living in poverty. Representative Alexandria OcasioCortez has spoken out against Cuomo’s transit plans, demanding an improvement in transit services in lieu of policy which targets racialized individuals, and criminalizes poverty by burdening those who can’t afford a $2.75 fare. In an interview with the Daily, Decolonize this Place said that the response to the November 1 action was much greater than anticipated, which speaks to the fact that the issue of over-policing in subways resonates across the city. They shared that the formation of FTP action to date has been in line with their principles of unity, enabling individuals to take action in methods that work best for them. “The vision on the horizon is for diversity of liberation, which requires diversity of tactics. Organize with the crew you trust, your friends, and organize actions that are appropriate. This builds horizontal power. We are all pushing where we are, in the positions we are in, with the

capacity that we have, with the skills that we hold. By pushing at every front, this allows people to participate at the levels that they are at, which does help a large number of people to participate.” Social media has been a central part of this strategy, acting as a “feedback loop” for both information sharing and organization. “Social media is a way to put out our own narrative – it needs to feed back into organizing and what is happening on the ground, in terms of actions, and then in turn to let people know about the action.” Because the accounts have been frequently blocked and shadowbanned, the organizers have several backups accounts to continue circulating information. In addition to this online resource presence, the week ahead of #J31 was a week for organizing and trainings. “These have been a place to plug in [to what’s going on], workshop ideas for action, and have training around knowing your rights, and in medical responses in case something happens.” NBC reported early Friday that command staff within the NYPD had been told that, “while we will always protect people’s right to protest, illegal conduct that puts law-abiding community [sic] and cops in danger will not be tolerated in New York City.” With respect to the mass arrests made during FTPII, Decolonize this Place highlights that a large part of the action has been jail support for those arrested. “Action isn’t over until everyone is out. We are tracing

Image Courtesy of Decolonize This Place Station, with police barricading Bryant Park station, where a mass fare evasion took place. Photos and video footage shows police using

“Organize with the crew you trust [...] and organize actions that are appropriate [...] We are all pushing where we are, in the positions we are in, with the capacity that we have, with the skills that we hold.” – Decolonize This Place these people so we know where they are in the system.” Following the Grand Central assembly at 5:00 p.m., protesters moved towards Brooklyn. As of 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 31, social media reports indicated heavy police presence and arrests being made at Grand Central

excessive force against protestors. Though Canada often positions itself as more progressive than its southern counterpart, the increased policing of racialized bodies in transit systems is blatantly apparent in Montreal. In April of last year, the Board of

Directors of the Montreal Transit Authority (STM) proposed a plan to grant police-like powers to STM transit inspectors. Racial profiling by the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and the brutalization of fare evaders by STM inspectors has been widely documented in qualitative research and on social media. While Quebec does have a police watchdog, The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), it has been questioned on its efficacy relative to other police watchdogs nationally and on whether it is effectively serving its function. Simultaneously, city officials have taken steps to acknowledge that discrimination is taking place. In summer 2019, a Supreme Court Judge authorized a racial profiling class-action lawsuit launched by the Black Coalition of Quebec against the City of Montreal, acknowledging that racial profiling within the SPVM is a problem. Shortly

Features

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Image Courtesy of Decolonize This Place thereafter, results of a report studying police interceptions in Montreal over the period of 2014 and 2017 were publicly released. The report found that Black and Indigenous peoples were four times more likely to be subject to street checks than white people, while Arab people were were two times more likely. Montreal police chief Sylvain Caron acknowledged the report’s findings, but attributed them to individual implicit biases on the level of police officers, rather than institutionalized racism. “We don’t have racist police officers, we have police officers who are citizens, and who, inevitably, have biases like all citizens have.” Taken in contrast with the explicit targeting of Black and Brown bodies by the NYPD, the narrative attributing increased checks on racialized bodies to implicit bias tries to negate the possibility of systemic racism. Balarama Holness, an educator, law student, and activist with Montreal en action, spoke with the Daily about the status of racial profiling in Montreal. He commented that the claim that the numbers outlined in the report are attributable to implicit bias alone is false. He explains that where those in positions of power are given authority to systematically act (and enforce) their own implicit biases, it becomes an explicit bias. “The action taken by police in New York has been overt, but in Montreal it is the same thing. There is a set of normative legal rules within the system that permits that – it is a vicious cycle, and a self-fulfilling prophecy.” This self-fulfilling prophecy is also reflected in the report to the SPVM. Between the period of 2014 to 2017, targeting also increased – according to the report’s analysis,

an Indigenous woman was three times more likely to be stopped in 2017 than in 2014. Overall, street checks increased during the four year period, from 19,000 per year to more than 45,000 per year. The heavier policing of areas deemed “high risk” leads to more arrests, causing the overrepresentation of people from those areas in the system. Holness adds that the structural nature of systemic racism and cycles of economic inequality mean that proposed increased transit policing is especially confusing for many people. “Many young people [from

all over the city] take the Metro and appear to be ‘loitering,’ and by [VP Craig Sauve of the STM] pushing for more police-like powers, the state and the STM and the SPVM are taking more from a community that needs space to breathe.” The Daily asked Holness about potential tension in public perceptions of the police. “The state is the creator of culture, and they create the culture of how we see them. They are often wearing army uniforms, which sends a specific message. It is confusing to be called ‘agents of peace,’ and to be wearing military uniforms.

This to me speaks volumes, because it tells us what you think about yourself in that position. Civil disobedience can take many forms, but ultimately the form of protest is the message.” In Montreal, anti-racism and antidiscrimination activists have pushed hard for system-wide change, leading to a public consultation on systemic racism and discrimination led by the Office de la consultation publique (OCPM). Montreal en action, led by Holness, began collecting signatures in 2017, ultimately collecting 22,000 signatures to mandate the consultation process. The consultation has offered a forum to citizens to challenge the city on its approach to accessibility, diversity and inclusion, and the systemic barriers racialized citizens face. The OCPM’s final recommendations to the city will be released in March, 90 days after the final consultations were held. Holness is hopeful that the recommendations will be impactful. “They should have enough teeth to move the city forward, and will have an effective language. As they are built around municipal jurisdiction, [the recommendations] will be specific enough to implement and measure success throughout the years.” Ahead of the recommendations, the Quebec Human Rights Commission urged Montreal to set a precedent for the rest of Quebec by taking concrete action to address systemic discrimination. They recommended the City of Montreal, SPVM, and STM “take steps to serve the ethnocultural

and diverse population they serve,” through removing employment barriers and discriminatory policies, and increasing access to housing. While the specific demands

Where those in positions of power are given authority to systematically act (and enforce) their own implicit biases, it becomes an explicit bias. and approaches taken by activists in Montreal and New York are divergent, the parallels between them highlight a global and urgent movement towards decolonization of our shared spaces. Through different instruments, the impacts of these acts of civic action and engagement speak to the power citizens hold to enforce accountability. “People are becoming more and more aware that participatory democracy is a continued daily activity,” says Holness. “People in political positions of power don’t have issues in their core interests unless it is something that will get them elected. Civil society is going to decide which and whether or not issues get taken up.”

Daisy Sprenger | Illustrations Editor

February 3, 2020 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

compeNdium!ß Lies, half-truths, and using my oneCard at the Shag Shop.

Notes From The Underground Campus Sam Fleischman Compendium! Contributor

n anonymous source recently contacted me with a decidedly scandalous email subject line: Big Brother is on campus. I hurriedly answered back, and my correspondent replied that we should move our conversation off of the McGill email network. Someone might be looking, they said. Wow, I thought, this must be serious. The messages quickly began to pour in. Secret memos, clandestine on-campus meetings, international monetary rings, cyber-surveillance. I was overwhelmed and for the life of me couldn’t make sense of it all. McGill University was a leading progressive institution in the public sphere, but invested in fossil fuels? Our campus promoted religious diversity while secretly promoting oppressive governments and dubious advisory groups? But the most heinous of all was a single sheet memo, which I believe tells of a far more insidious situation. Below is a purported copy of the introductory tip-sheet for new campus tour guides. Read it and weep.

- Smile! T his is very important, you don’t see too ma especially ny smiles during fin mental he on campu als season alth initia s. Plus it’s when tive (fake - Routes. Y a c it ri tical part o ‘t il l you make ou should f our very easy it!) always be gin and en to point o d at McLe ut any nu over their mbe nnan Libra laptops, w ry. It’s ho all serv r of studious worke - Keep an e r-bees hun to glorify ou eye on the ched r academic in for, but parents. T rigour. the adults hese kids don’t kno have been concrete w what th exa around th ey’re e block. T bleary-eye mples of academic hey want d U1 stude prestige a to see nt in Redp nd what’s it’s too da ath who av mn cold a better tha nd the on n a closed ind ce-famous oids going outside b efinitely. ecause tunnel to the Arts B uilding is

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All Hail Big Suze Best,

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ists to nger ex table lo . o s n t s p in g. Gert tly acce key po a few as a good thin found perfec hotography r e v o e sure he p ’s go s hav n. Let complete clo tudent group ective and t y?) uctio s ll a ’s r o e w t U C h y s t n M f n o ns SS da ws how Co s. Most shape Musicia se groups nee . No one kno t out Try to uly undergrad pt for the it o th , poin past t unr (exce pace did n’t even walk ning. Instead alism of s h c u distrac y locations e o oclassic t how m ar n happ atter, d tempor darkroom. Bu k. For that m e hell it’s eve uch as the ne s c h t , o ’s s e Hall. onstruction society ntering Leac l take, or why achievement urnsid B e hc f l il o a id w r o Av as muc ’re currently talism ation itectu u v h id r o c o b n r v a e g a r l u to rin at wn ll. We long th other beautif r the overbea your routes us at a r up and do p m a y o n c n , la a u g m ? p o m t u n in r e e o ld s s e o h t bu all ent Mu shou dpath elium b ctually lar a guided h, you h a ic t ia h o v n the Re w trip opu g of entail how p tseeing Speakin which may nsider e kind of sigh o le C : ib s s e as pos ernativ ld be? Or som ing alt explor y street wou sit Univer

If someone brings up th e eco-graffit last year, or i tags which the dumpin were spraye g of red pai that it only d on the step nt over Quee took a team s near Leaco n Victoria’s of five sanit the spray-pai ck statue, chuck at io n nting was an workers two le and expla act of a lone days to get ri - Little whit in anarchist w d of e lies are yo the paint, an hose threat ur friend. D McGill is in d th at h as be on’t the process of divesting from be afraid to embellish en neutralized. - It’s importa the truth. Ju fossil fuels. nt to not let st say that back in a co students kn ow how pow hesive and large scale erful they ar think we’re m e if they actu anner, so ju willing to h st be suppor ally do fight ave a dialogu - As a diversi tive enough e. on, share th to make them in the rain. e classic vid eo of flood gi rl being swep t down McT avish street If someone in your tour ke eps bringing tell them th up McGill’s ey’re welcom shady fossil e to ta - If possible, fuel and mil record that p lk more indepthly to an itarization d other represe er son’s name an - Also, try to eals, ntative after d submit it to snap a pictu the tour. partnered w ou re r character ev of this poten ith a survei aluation dat tially undes llance softw tandem with abase. irable studen are group w facial recogn t. We have h ic h it u re our universi ion software ti ce li ze ntly s ou r on-campu ty. This is, of to keep an ey s cameras in course, for yo e out on ever ur safety. yone and ev erything in