The McGill Daily Vol104Iss19 by McGill Daily

Volume 104, Issue 19 Monday, February 16, 2015

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Why McGill needs alternative education

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There is still more time to apply for Personal Credits of up to $3000 for educational, language or cultural programs.

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These include courses at universities, colleges, trade or training schools or for programs and workshops provided by community-based groups or cultural centres for activities related to Aboriginal language and culture. Personal Credits can be used by a Common Experience Payment recipient, shared with up to two family members or pooled for group education services. The deadline to apply has been extended to March 9, 2015. Help with completing the Personal Credits Acknowledgment Form is available.

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February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Simplified standing rules to be drafted for Winter GA

NEWS

Lengthy debates at SSMU Council Disability services funding Community seeks justice for Muslims PGSS interim election P-6 protesters acquitted Faculty supports divestment New systems needed for survivors Panel: state violence in Palestine New documents on military research Equity in Management

COMMENTARY

Rehabilitative prison systems are still punitive Alternative education can solve McGill’s poor learning environment

ART ESSAY

Behind the cracks in a white space The face of fatigue

FEATURES

Radical community research through a healthcare lens

SCI+TECH

Statistics provide insight on inequality in STEM fields William Gibson’s perspective on digital life

SPORTS

Tennis’s unanswered problem

CULTURE

Blanket solutions threaten the Islamic Studies Library Photo exhibit depicts Euromaidan The Daily reviews Reviewing Tuesday Night Cafe Theatre’s Dear Elizabeth What to check out this week

22 COMPENDIUM! Cafeteria workers to be treated like floor fellows Anarchist Aunt Abbey’s Advice

23 EDITORIAL McGill must divest from fossil fuels

Council votes to oppose international tuition deregulation Marina Cupido The McGill Daily

he Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council convened on February 12 to discuss the drafting of standing rules for the upcoming Winter 2015 SSMU General Assembly (GA) and the possibility of a new $2 fee levy in support of the ECOLE project. Council also voted to oppose the deregulation and increase of international tuition fees. Simplified standing rules for Winter 2015 GA Arts Representative Patrick Dunbar-Lavoie, Science Representative Zacheriah Houston, and Arts and Science Senator Chloe Rourke brought forward a motion to increase accessibility at the upcoming Winter 2015 SSMU GA, to take place in March, by drafting simplified standing rules, engaging volunteers to clarify procedural questions, and holding a motion-writing workshop prior to the GA. Writing to The Daily, Houston explained that the standing rules will be drafted by the president and the speaker, and ratified by Council in the coming weeks. “Ideally, any standing rules adopted for the GA would be to encourage [...] full and free discussion and [...] ensure that everyone, including a minority, has an opportunity to be heard,” he explained. “This could include changing the default speaking time [...] to ensure that as many members are heard as possible, or rules designed to simply make it easier for members to understand what is going on.” VP Internal J. Daniel Chaim opposed the motion, arguing that it was unnecessary as SSMU was already committed to accessibility and transparency at GAs. “I do understand the point about some people not liking the rules, but adopting standing rules is a scapegoat,” he said. “It’s not [solving] the issue.” “We have to bear in mind that this motion was largely [...] written with a constituent who felt that the last GA was not accessible, so it was supposed to address some of the issues that came out of last year,” said Rourke, defending the motion. “The GA is a really important forum for SSMU; it’s a really important part of our democracy [...] so making it as accessible as possible to students is something I think we should all value.” Rourke added that these measures would not solve all of the GA’s

Tamim Sujat | The McGill Daily challenges, but would be “a considerable improvement.” Despite the continued opposition of Chaim and VP Finance and Operations Kathleen Bradley, the motion passed by a significant margin.

“The GA is a really important forum for SSMU; it’s a really important part of our democracy.” Chloe Rourke, Arts and Science Senator Councillors voice opposition to tuition deregulation Another motion concerned McGill’s ongoing efforts to deregulate tuition for all academic programs. Brought forward by a number of councillors, including VP External Amina Moustaqim-Barrette, the motion sought to resolve that SSMU officially oppose the deregulation of international tuition fees and condemn the administration’s lack of transparency and consultation on the issue. Several councillors advocated tabling the motion until the upcoming GA, arguing that with such an important issue at stake, as many students as possible should be able to contribute directly to the discussion.

“I don’t think we can deny that this motion is something people are a little more divided about,” said Houston, speaking in favour of postponing the vote. “This motion in particular is something that affects different faculties in different ways, and consultation [with councillors’ constituents] is very important.” VP University Affairs Claire Stewart-Kanigan disagreed, reminding councillors that this issue formed an important step toward SSMU’s mobilization against austerity. “If we’re talking about building solidarity with other Quebec universities, such as through the anti-austerity mobilization, supporting deregulation is directly affecting them,” she said, going on to argue that deregulation, and the tuition hikes that typically follow, render education increasingly inaccessible to lower-income students. “While I do think that, under ordinary circumstances, this would be a very appropriate motion for the GA, the issue of timeliness is something that we should be considering,” said Stewart-Kanigan. “Given that the GA is going to be happening quite a lot later this year [...] dealing with it now [...] may be the more appropriate route.” After more than an hour of deliberation, Council decided against tabling the motion, and it passed. The vote was taken by roll call at Houston’s request. ECOLE project Council approved a Winter

2015 referendum question asking students to vote on a new levy of $2 per semester for ECOLE, optoutable and renewable every three years. ECOLE, which launched its pilot year in September, aims to provide a socially and environmentally sustainable space for research and learning, and bring together sustainability projects from McGill and the wider Montreal community. ECOLE co-coordinator Brooke Nancekivell explained that while the project has proved highly successful so far, its funding from McGill’s Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF) will come to an end in April. Having considered various alternatives, she said, ECOLE’s coordinators determined that a small student fee levy would be the optimal solution. “In our question, we would be asking for three years of funding,” said Nancekivell. “We’re also saying that during that time we can explore other options [...] so that hopefully we can [avoid putting] the burden of [high rent costs] on students.” President Courtney Ayukawa supported the referendum question, and expressed disappointment that McGill’s administration had been unwilling to negotiate a lower rental fee for ECOLE’s facility, thereby placing the project under increased financial pressure. Arts Senator Kareem Ibrahim brought forward an amendment increasing the proposed levy to $2.50, but this failed after a lengthy debate.

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February 16, 2015 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

Understanding state violence in Palestine Social Justice Days event examines Israeli policies

Yasmine Mosimann The McGill Daily

n February 12, attendees convened at “The Face of State Violence and Police Brutality in Palestine,” the latest workshop in the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) McGill and the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s Social Justice Days 2015 series. Facilitating the workshop were Margaret Gilligan and Zahra Habib, members of McGill Students in Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), a student organization that advocates for the rights of the Palestinian people. The workshop offered an overview and discussion of the ways in which state violence and police brutality are used by Israel against Palestinians as part of a larger apartheid project. The event began with a discussion of the ways in which state violence manifests visually in the lives of Palestinians, illustrating how these effects originate from institutions, such as the Israeli government and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), as well as

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ideologies like racism, Zionism, and settler-colonialism. “What’s important to understand is that these are not isolated incidents,” said Habib, referencing the Israeli government’s disproportionate use of force. Habib cited the Dahiya doctrine, which calls for the use of asymmetrical warfare as a means of deterrence. Habib said that, although this doctrine violates the principle of proportionality in international law, it manifests itself on a daily basis for Palestinians through large-scale aerial raids (such as in Gaza last summer), home raids and demolitions, and arbitrary arrests, even of children. Gilligan told The Daily that this kind of workshop is an important counterbalance to the dehumanizing effects of the Israeli and Western media. “The state violence perpetuated by the Israeli government is a very important part of the narrative of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and it is a part that is missed at best and silenced at worst,” she said. “So we think it is important to put forth the voices of civilians and children who have been harmed by statesanctioned policies, and make sure

everyone’s story is being told.” One topic discussed was how to unpack the way Israeli and Western media tends to dehumanize Palestinians, and portray instances of state violence as responses to Palestinian dissidence. In the discussion, workshop attendee Nadir Khan asserted that the world knows Israelis are using disproportionate force against Palestinians, but the magnitude of the violence and damage does not seem to resonate enough for the international community to demand change. Khan went on to question what students could do to bring about concrete change. Ralph Haddad, a U2 Middle Eastern Studies and Women’s Studies stdent and former Daily editor, suggested countering the Israeli public relations machine as a method. “We should employ emerging media that exist outside of that sphere to further our own cause [...] because Israel is known to employ students and employees in giant operations, using Facebook and Twitter and social media to spread propaganda to gain sympathy for the IDF. There is no way to

Inès Dubois | Le Délit counter that without stopping [the perpetration of ] our own rhetoric.” Haddad also stressed the need to recognize the connections between Palestinian struggles and other struggles. Intersectionality “makes us stronger,” he said. During the workshop, Gilligan highlighted increasing awareness of the intersectionality between black struggles in the U.S. and those in Palestine, as both governments respond

to dissent with similar repression. “It’s important to make this connection because they stem from the same place and I think a lot of similar strategies can be used to combat them. And again another direct link is that one of the police forces that was used in Ferguson to calm protesters was trained by the IDF. So we have the policy links, the theoretical links, we also have a lot of direct links that are a lot closer than we think.”

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February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Community seeks justice for Muslims Vigil honours Deah, Yusor, and Razan, students killed in Chapel Hill

Arianee Wang The McGill Daily

n February 12, a candlelight vigil was held in honour of Deah Barakat, Yusor AbuSalha, and Razan Abu-Salha, three Muslim students murdered on February 10 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. McGill students and Montreal residents alike showed up to stand in solidarity with the three victims of what many have condemned as a hate crime. The vigil started at the Roddick Gates before slowly making its way toward the Y-intersection. Participants engaged in a moment of silence for the three students before coordinators shared information about the lives and accomplishments of Deah, Yusor, and Razan. There were also several readings from the Qur’an. One coordinator, Yara Hammami, shared with attendees, “My friends, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of three beautiful lives [who] selflessly contributed toward the betterment of other lives.” “How a man can kill three innocent lives is something beyond all of us here,” stated Summia Saed Aldien, another event organizer. When reading the mainstream media’s coverage of the murders, Aldien called for attendants to “not

Candles are lit in memory of the three murdered students. be naive and accept what the media has been trying to feed us.” “The murderer is not a deranged, psychotic deviant. We need to acknowledge that this is part of an ongoing institutionalized system that condones, caters [to], and even [commits] violence toward Muslims.” Antonius Petro, a vigil participant, noted the discrepancies be-

tween media coverage of the Charlie Hebdo attack and the murders in Chapel Hill. Petro stressed that media coverage of the shooting at Chapel Hill has been far less extensive. “Half my classmates don’t know what happened,” said Petro of the Chapel Hill shooting. Liza Riitters, a McGill student from Chapel Hill, said, “I feel like more people need to pay more at-

tention to this because this isn’t really an isolated incident. Stuff like this happens all the time.” “The whole thing about the parking dispute kind of pisses me off,” she added. Aya Siblini echoed this disappointment with media coverage of the killings, and criticized a specific CBS news segment covering the shooting, which attributed it to a parking dis-

pute, and used the homicide to transition into a segment with tips on how to find parking at the mall. “To me that seems like the media is dehumanizing or normalizing the thing, or just pushing it aside and not giving it the value that it deserves,” Siblini said. Before the vigil, Aldien spoke to the crowd, condemning the murders and the subsequent media coverage. “We are here to show the world that we will stand united in the face of bigotry and hate crimes, and to reject this crime as simply a dispute over a parking spot.” Ammar Saed, a McGill student who read a passage from the Qur’an at the beginning of the vigil, expressed his approval of the way in which the event paid tribute to the shooting victims. “It’s a peaceful way to celebrate these people’s lives, and at the same time to tell people that the media hasn’t covered [this] enough, the hatred crime that has happened,” Saed said. Aldien also tied the events of the week to other lost lives by paying respects to other victims. “Let us honour the lives lost in Gaza, Douma, Burma, Ferguson, Yemen – the list goes on,” stated Aldien. “I believe in actions, I believe in demonstrations,” said Petro. “We should not stop here. We should do this over, and over, and over.”

Tamim Sujat | The McGill Daily

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February 16, 2015 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

McGill profs signing military research contracts via private companies Demilitarize McGill denounces lack of transparency

Igor Sadikov The McGill Daily

cGill mechanical engineering professors David Frost, Andrew Higgins, and Samuel Goroshin have signed research contracts with Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) through companies whose primary shareholders are Frost and Goroshin, documents released on February 11 by campus group Demilitarize McGill have shown. According to a contract obtained by Demilitarize McGill through an access to information (ATI) request, DND commissioned research titled “Reactivity Study for Gasless Systems” from ZND Inc., a company whose primary shareholder is Frost. Among other things, ZND Inc. was tasked with “report[ing] on [...] experiments on detonation and combustion of heterogenous explosive mixtures to understand and improve the overall performance of heterogenous explosive mixtures.” Frost, Higgins, and Goroshin collaborated on the research in question, which was valued at over $150,000 and took place in 2009. McGill graduate students also participated in the research, according to Higgins. “The documents show that at least three McGill professors [...] have been using [...] companies in order to sign explosives research contracts with the Canadian military, and do so under reduced scrutiny,” said Kevin Paul, an organizer with Demilitarize McGill, in an in-

terview with The Daily. Speaking to The Daily, Higgins explained that “most of the work” was done off campus, in the Canadian Explosives Research Laboratory (CERL) in Ottawa. Frost cited reasons of convenience for going through the private company instead of the University. “It seemed to make sense to do it off campus, and the reason is [...] it’s more convenient to rent an off-site facility, rent a technician’s time [...] and do these tests intensively over a short period of time,” said Frost. “We don’t have these facilities

“If [people] think [the work we do] isn’t appropriate work, they’re free to voice that concern.” Andrew Higgins, engineering professor [on campus], and so we go to a government testing lab in Ottawa. [...] There’s no necessity to go through a McGill research agreement [...] and so we go through a private company, which is more convenient,” he continued. “It’s done completely outside McGill, it’s done by a private company – there’s no reason why it has to go through a review process,” added Higgins.

Goroshin also noted that “the biggest reason [why] sometimes we don’t go through McGill” is that “McGill is too greedy – they take 65 per cent overhead.” The professors emphasized the “openness” of their research. Frost noted that the professors published some of their findings in journals such as the Journal of Applied Physics after the research was completed. “People are free to look at the work we do, and if they think it isn’t appropriate work, they’re free to voice that concern,” said Higgins. For Paul, however, the use of private companies has the effect of hiding the research from public scrutiny. “Using the companies is also having the effect, today, of making it much harder to find out about this research,” Paul said. “Access to information requests to McGill turned up nothing about these contracts, and McGill denied holding any information on ZND Inc..” Paul further noted that the research report was not available on the defence research report database maintained by Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), which is DND’s research agency. Frost said that the publication of the report on the database was DRDC’s decision, and that he had no control over it. Paul also expressed skepticism about the non-involvement of McGill resources in the research. “It simply isn’t credible that this research took place fully outside McGill and without the support of

McGill resources,” he said, noting that the contract indicates that the CERL blast chamber was only rented for an estimated four days. The research also involved electron microscopy and laboratory analysis, and it is unclear where those parts of the research took place. Both Frost and Higgins indicated that they did not remember where the microscopy was conducted, but Frost acknowledged that it could have been done at McGill. “McGill has general testing facilities,” said Goroshin. “If we need to do electron microscopy and so on, we pay. We pay this on [a] commercial basis.” According to Frost, Goroshin was the one responsible for subcontracting the microscopy for the research in question. Military applications The Shock Wave Physics Group – which includes Frost, Higgins, and Goroshin – has been a frequent target of Demilitarize McGill’s criticism for the military funding and alleged military applications of its research. “The Shock Wave Physics Group should be shut down,” said Paul. “It’s research that exists primarily to help the military [...] and it shouldn’t exist.” Although each of the professors emphasized that their research was “fundamental science” and not “weapons development,” Higgins acknowledged its potential military applications. “We had interest from [DND]

to look at [gasless combustion] for different applications,” said Higgins. “One is you can use this gasless combustion to make different materials, you can make very hard ceramics out of this that might be of interest, for example, for making a better armour.” “Gasless combustion could be used to maybe make better ceramic armour, it’s used in propellants, so they [DND] have also an interest in fundamental understanding of metal combustion,” added Higgins. In 2009, when the research was conducted, McGill research regulations included a clause requiring applicants for grants whose source is a military agency to disclose the “direct harmful consequences” of their research. Frost and Higgins indicated that the clause never prevented them from undertaking research at McGill before it was struck down in 2010. “When that clause was in effect [...] I would write an additional statement explaining the nature of the work and that then was approved,” said Higgins. “It was never rejected, [but] it did put in some significant delays.” McGill’s research regulations are currently under review by a committee that includes two student representatives, but Paul was not optimistic about the process. “There is no policy solution to military research on campus,” said Paul. “Students can and should put pressure on the University through other means.”

Secretary-general candidates present platforms Saturnin Espoir Ntamba Ndandala and Yony Bresler to face off in PGSS by-election Daniel Huang News Writer

n February 10, the PostGraduate Students’ Society (PGSS) held its first hustings for the election of the interim secretary-general position following the resignation of Secretary-General Juan Camilo Pinto. The event featured only one of the two candidates, Saturnin Espoir Ntamba Ndandala, who delivered a short speech and answered questions from the audience of approximately thirty people. The absent candidate, Yony Bresler, provided a short written statement read by Chief Returning Officer (CRO) Colby Briggs. The statements provided by the

candidates focused on similar ideas, notably the need for an experienced candidate, and the ability to quickly learn the intricacies of the PGSS governing system and its relationship with the university. Bresler highlighted how his previous involvement with both PGSS and the Physiology Graduate Student Association (PGSA) allowed him to learn about “the various aspects of our student governance bodies, including procedures, activities, and ongoing issues.” Ntamba Ndandala, while noting that this was his first semester at McGill, pointed to his previous leadership roles as president of the student societies at the University of Cape Town, Sorbonne University in Paris, and the Univer-

sity of Toronto, as evidence of his “great expertise in leadership.” On policies, both candidates’ platforms emphasized the need for greater transparency in PGSS. Bresler noted that, if elected, he would introduce “strict timelines for existing practices such as the release of minutes,” thereby giving PGSS members a quick and reliable source of information about the society’s activities and discussions.” Most strikingly, the event highlighted the substantial contrasts between the candidates’ visions and leadership styles. “As far as my goals if elected, I would be tempted to make bold and ambitious statements. However, given the short-term nature of the interim position [...] my main goal

would be to consolidate and assist in the activities of the current executive and Council officers,” wrote Bresler in his statement. Ntamba Ndandala, on the other hand, enthusiastically outlined his plan to challenge the University on the issue of student funding, to create new fundraising events so that a minimum level of funding for every PhD student at McGill could be established, and to introduce a mandatory sexual harassment awareness plan where “new PhD and [post-graduate] students at McGill would be quizzed on the school’s sexual harassment and bullying policies.” On PhD student funding, Ntamba Ndandala pointed to the growing problem of “students in some

departments not getting sufficient funding.” He noted that other top universities in North America, namely Harvard and Stanford, provided individual funding for each PhD student to pursue independent research; he challenged McGill to provide a reason why it couldn’t do the same. In response to these ideas, an audience member questioned Ntamba Ndandala’s ability to understand the “extremely complicated bureaucratic machines” of PGSS and McGill. Acknowledging this issue, the candidate clarified that his platform would extend beyond the interim, toward a second full term as secretary-general next year. The voting period for this byelection runs from February 18 to 24.

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February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

No faith in the system Community members say sexual assault survivors need more support Subhanya Sivajothy The McGill Daily

oth students and community groups seem to be reaching a consensus that the systems that deal with sexual assault need to change. Dissatisfaction with the system has been ongoing for decades, recently fuelled by events such as the reports of sexual assault by former Redmen players and well-publicized assaults by taxi drivers, among others. McGill Law students and other community members discussed with The Daily how rape culture affects the way sexual assault cases are handled by the judicial system, and spoke to a growing need for alternative, pro-survivor approaches for responding to sexual assault. “Right now we don’t even have a system designed to catch most sexual assault cases,” Annie O’Dell, a member of the Feminist Collective of McGill Law who has experienced sexual assault, told The Daily. “Most of it is ignored, forgotten about, or dealt with on a personal level.” Forms of support for sexual assault survivors – namely sexual assault centres – are often inaccessible. According to Nathalie Duhamel, coordinator at the Regroupement Québécois des CALACS, a nonprofit that supports a network of sexual assault centres, the Quebec network has gaping holes that make transportation difficult or impossible for some. “There is not a single sexual assault centre in Northern Quebec,” she said. Deciding to report Sexual assault survivors face difficult choices before deciding to report the assault – many choose to remain silent. Campaigns such as #BeenRapedNeverReported have created awareness of the overwhelming proportion – roughly 94 per cent according to SexAssault.ca, a resource for survivors – of sexual assault cases that aren’t reported. Duhamel said that not enough acknowledgement is given to the social implications of a survivor deciding to come forward. “What’s intimidating, firstly, is the step forward, and acknowledg-

ing that you’ve been a victim of a sexual assault,” Duhamel told The Daily. “Women feel that there’s an impact with their family, with their friends, in their jobs.” O’Dell said that, based on a paper by University of Ottawa criminology professor Holly Johnson, the primary form of dealing with sexual assault in Canada is criminal law, which only addresses 3 per cent or less of all sexual assaults.

“The legal system will break into your life, challenge your credibility to prove that you consented even though you did not.” Annie O’Dell, Feminist Collective of McGill Law Justice through the courts? According to SexAssault.ca, prosecutors have “the power to force [a survivor’s] testimony and will do so if they feel it is in the public interest.” “The legal system will break into your life, challenge your credibility to prove that you consented even though you did not,” said O’Dell. Part of the problem is in how rape culture infiltrates the courtroom, Andrea Tredenick, co-president of McGill Women and the Criminal Law, told The Daily in an email. “People still believe a drunk or scantily dressed woman ‘was asking for it’ [or...] that if a woman consents to sex with a man once, he has free reign over her body forever, [or…] that women actually falsely report sexual assault for revenge or a laugh,” she said. According to Tredenick, these normalized ideas can – and do – seep into the courts. Under the “rape shield law,” a defence lawyer is not allowed to infer that the survivor “was asking for it” or to cast doubt on their credibility by asking about their sexual history. They often ask anyway,

Jonathan Reid | The McGill Daily however, during the survivor’s testimony. If the Crown does not object to the defence’s line of questioning, the survivor could give an answer that might affect the views of the jury, judge, and others present. According to Tredenick, another problem is that these distorted understandings of consent make it especially difficult for the survivor to prove their testimony beyond a ‘reasonable’ doubt. “All the accused has to do is say he ‘thought’ the survivor was consenting and throw in any mildly plausible excuse to justify his ‘mistake,’” said Tredenick. “Never mind that a person who is incapacitated by drugs or alcohol cannot legally consent to sex.” Duhamel explained that the likelihood of proving a survivor’s case beyond a reasonable doubt is a major factor in whether or not the case is prosecuted at all. “Not all complaints are selected or kept by Crown prosecutors, it depends on the facts and if the Crown prosecutor feels that he has a chance to establish proof without a doubt.” The decision to prosecute comes at the end of a long string of legal procedures that sexual assault survivors would have to follow, if

they decide to report their case. When the survivor turns to the judicial system, the first thing a survivor must do is account for every detail surrounding the assault, and either sign a written statement or make a statement on film. This is all followed by medical examinations and police investigations. Only after a few weeks or months is the case finally turned over to the provincial Crown prosecutor. “Other than [the criminal system] there is the civil system – you can technically sue somebody for sexual assault, but that is expensive, and the cost is on the survivor to do this,” said O’Dell. Support for survivors Although a new sexual assault policy is being revised by a student working group, currently there is no policy in place at McGill that deals specifically with sexual assault cases. O’Dell explained that the current process at McGill is the same as the process for dealing with claims of plagiarism. “For plagiarism, you have the right to face your accuser. [If ] a professor says that you have plagiarized your paper you have the right to in-

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terview and question your professor,” said O’Dell. “For sexual assault, the person being accused has the right to question the survivor and be in the same room – so already just the way it works is very problematic.” Students at McGill are currently leading the drafting of a new sexual assault policy, the main goal of which is to get the University to adopt a pro-survivor approach that offers services and options to survivors. “In most cases of sexual assault, reactions and policies tend to focus on the perpetrator: whether they’re ‘guilty,’ what sort of action should be taken, whether and how they should be disciplined,” the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) wrote in a statement to The Daily. “Instead, we want to put the focus back on the survivors, and on ensuring they feel safe and are supported.” “There’s really nothing in place for the average person who doesn’t want to have their life torn to pieces at trial, which still often happens in a university administration setting. That’s why this policy needs to happen,” said O’Dell. “We need to allow people to have that space to be believed and supported, because it doesn’t exist outside.”

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February 16, 2015 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

McGill disability services funding uncertain under new grant model Allocation of increased government funding left to universities’ discretion Emily Saul The McGill Daily

cGill’s internal distribution of government funds allocated to services for students with disabilities remains unclear in the wake of an embezzlement scandal at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). On January 31, Le Devoir reported that funds from Quebec’s education ministry – the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de la Science (MESRS) – allocated to UQAM for services to students with disabilities were instead going to be used in other programs in the face of budget cuts. The finding came to light on January 30, during a meeting of UQAM’s Comité de la vie étudiante (CVE). On February 3, it was condemned by UQAM’s Commission des études, or academic policy committee, which passed a resolution calling on the administration to “respect the allocation of dedicated budget, as established by the budget rules,” and demanding that the $900,000 allocated to help students with disabilities be used for that purpose. UQAM’s administration denied the misuse of funds in a statement published February 3. It declared that the claims made against the

university were false, and that the grant of $900,000 was “used according to the conditions provided by the Ministry.” In an email to The Daily, UQAM management student association spokesperson Mathieu Oligny wrote, “the student associations equally represent all students, and that’s why we continue to hound the leadership on this issue.” In the past, disability service providers in Quebec were required to apply for the MESRS subsidy every August, and if approved would receive a direct annual injection of funds. According to Frédéric Fovet, the director of McGill’s Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD), this amounted to around $750,000 for all universities combined. This model is being phased out by the MESRS this academic year, and is being replaced by a $7.5 million funding budget. For this academic year and the following, the funds will be allocated among universities depending on the number of students using disability services, and a new allocation process will be decided by a joint committee featuring MESRS and university representatives by the 2016-17 academic year. Fovet said that the funding provided to McGill by the MESRS both this year and next year will be in excess of $1 million.

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tiative,” said Fovet. With the new grant, Fovet said that he is hopeful that the projects will now be able to move forward with “renewed vigour.” When asked by The Daily about the publication date of a report detailing McGill’s use of the new MESRS-allocated funds for disability services, Provost Anthony Masi responded, “We have not received from the Ministry specifications or deadlines related to reporting our expenditures for students with disabilities.” When asked to clarify when a public report will be available, Masi said that the government had not yet asked for a specific report related to disability service spending, but that McGill “make[s] public all [its] financial statements once a year, after they have been audited, usually in late fall.” Fovet said that he remains hopeful the sum will bring new opportunities for the OSD. “I am confident this injection of dedicated sums by the provincial government will open the door to a new, proactive, and campus-wide process of management of change, that will seek to rapidly and efficiently widen access for all diverse students,” said Fovet. “With now-adequate funding, there should be few administrative barriers in achieving these goals.”

The News editors of The McGill Daily request the honour of your presence at their next contributor meeting, on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Shatner B-24. Sincerely, Jill Bachelder Janna Bryson Igor Sadikov Emily Saul

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However, “[the OSD has] not yet heard from the central administration the basis on which these funds will be allocated within McGill and the method for determining which actors will play a part in shaping innovative practices these funds will now allow,” Fovet said. Additionally, in November, the OSD was explicitly informed by the MESRS that it should now look to the wider allotment managed by McGill for its government funding. “Effectively, we will be short on our annual budget by 15 per cent starting next May, unless we obtain confirmation of other arrangements in place,” said Fovet. This new system was implemented in an attempt to meet the needs of the growing number of students with disabilities who are now enrolling in higher education. According to a statement made by CVE member Gabriel Boileau to Le Devoir, the number of students in Quebec who require these services has risen by 25 per cent in one year, and by 600 per cent in the past five years. For four years, the OSD has been seeking additional funding in order to create more accessible support programs for students with disabilities. “Faculty and administrators at McGill have often sighed that limited resources restricted the impact of such an ini-

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February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Management students elect new president, Board of Directors

Replacement for this year’s all-male exec to be selected this week Arianee Wang The McGill Daily

ast week, the Management Undergraduate Society (MUS) elected a new president and Board of Directors, including U1, U2, and U3 representatives, two representatives to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), and one Senator for the 2015-16 academic year. Speaking to the Daily, newly elected MUS President Élie Lubendo outlined his priorities for the coming year, and discussed some of the ongoing equity concerns facing the Society. According to his campaign video, published on the Bull and Bear website, Lubendo ran on a platform that focused on three key issues: fostering a good relationship with the incoming Dean of Management, developing a new fiveyear strategy for MUS, and bridging the gap between the Society

and its constituents. This five-year “Vision 2020” strategy, Lubendo explained, would impact recruitment in human resources (HR) and Dave’s Store, a student-run shop in the Bronfman basement. According to Lubendo, the employees at Dave’s Store are “only paid through [the MUS] payroll.” “They don’t have an employee manual or contracts,” he said, acknowledging the long-term liabilities of the situation. “Right now, it’s [very] under the table.” One issue facing MUS is a lack of gender diversity in leadership positions. “It’s hard to blame the MUS fully for that, when [no women] applied [last year],” said Lubendo, in response to concerns over the Society’s all-male Executive Council. “Yes, there are eight male executives, but then again, zero women applied. The women who did apply for Board of Directors positions won.”

Lubendo continued, “It’s one of those things that everyone knows [is] definitely an issue, but no one really knows why [...] and what exactly the solution is.” Lubendo also divulged that, so far, applicants for the upcoming year’s executive positions have predominantly been women. Meagan Prins was one of two women elected to the Board of Directors for 2015-16, as the U3 representative. She also served as U2 representative this year. Commenting on the gender composition of MUS student leadership, Prins said, “As much as I would have loved for there to be a representative proportion of females on the Executive Council last year, I don’t think we can use the events of the past year as sufficient evidence to diagnose a systemic problem.” “The Board of Directors actively seeks to fill positions with candidates that would best meet the needs of the student population, and these candidates vary in demo-

Judge acquits protesters charged under P-6, calls police conduct “staggering”

n a decision rendered on February 9, Montreal Municipal Court Judge Randall Richmond acquitted three protesters charged under the P-6 bylaw in March 2013, criticizing the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM)’s conduct and providing a potential precedent for similar ongoing court cases involving hundreds of people. The three defendants, along with 291 other people arrested on March 22, 2013, were fined $637 under article 2.1 of bylaw P-6, which prohibits demonstrating without providing a route to the police. The judge ruled that this provision could only apply to the organizers of the demonstration, and further noted that failure to comply with the article did not create a penal offence, making it legally impossible to convict people on this basis.

“Justice must be served in spite of the consequences.” Judge Randall Richmond “[The decision] is going to have a huge impact on the other P-6 cases that are still moving through the court,” said McGill student and member of the Legal Committee of the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ) Kevin Paul in an interview with The Daily. Although the City of Montreal attempted to argue against the decision, stating that 1,200 people arrested under the bylaw would have to be acquitted, Richmond dismissed this argument, stating that “justice must be served in spite of the consequences.”

In his judgement, Richmond also expressed strong criticism of the SPVM’s handling of the distribution of the statements of offence, which were all signed by the same police officer to expedite the process, even though she had not witnessed the violations. “The trivialization of this violation of the law by senior SPVM officers is staggering,” Richmond wrote in the judgement, in French. “It seriously undermines the confidence we can have in the documentary evidence that is used every year in thousands of criminal proceedings.” “This part of the decision gives further backing to the claim that the SPVM arbitrarily arrested thousands of protesters since the student strike,” ASSÉ stated in a press release sent out on February 10. For Paul, Richmond’s decision was not a surprise. “Anybody who witnessed the police procedure for mass arrest and ticketing of protesters would not be surprised by the decision to throw out the tickets on the grounds that the accusations were falsified by the police,” he said. Paul was ambivalent about the effect that the judgement would have on future police behaviour. “It’s hard to say how the police practices [will] change,” said Paul. “What we learned over the last few years is that the police will always adapt to [...] repress demonstrations, and we need to be ready for whatever new laws or measures or police practices arise in response to this decision.” —Michele Zampa

Tamim Sujat | The McGill Daily graphic composition from year to year,” she continued. Connecting with constituents Another concern for some in MUS is the gap between representatives and their constituents. According to Lubendo, student involvement is a priority for him. “[The Bachelor of Commerce program gets] over 1,200 applications every year. However, it seems that from year to year it’s always the same students getting involved.” “Even though we’re a faculty

of about 2,200, it really seems like [...] it’s being run by 300,” he stated, adding that students may feel intimidated because “they see the MUS as a far-away ivory tower.” “People want an executive council that they can approach, and that’s something that I think we’ll be able to fix next year,” Lubendo added. An application package for executive portfolios was released last week. The interview process will take place from February 16 to 18, and the new VPs will be announced on February 19.

Over 100 faculty members sign letter in support of divestment

n February 9, an open letter with the signatures of over 100 McGill faculty members was submitted to the Board of Governors (BoG) by the McGill Faculty for Divestment campaign. The letter was distributed just one week after Divest McGill submitted a 150-page research brief to the BoG’s Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR), and calls on the administration to divest McGill’s endowment fund from fossil fuel companies. In an email to The Daily, Divest McGill organizer and U3 Environmental Sciences student Kristen Perry spoke to the significance of this faculty backing. “I think that faculty support will absolutely play a role in the ultimate decision by the Board. When they are hearing the call for divestment from multiple parts of the McGill community – students, faculty, alumni, staff – that only strengthens the message that we want McGill’s investments to reflect the values we extol, including a commitment to sustainability and leadership.” According to McGill professor Darin Barney, he and other faculty members were approached about a year ago to start developing formal faculty support for divestment. “I would say [McGill Faculty for Divestment] was really prompted by the students of Divest McGill,” said Barney. The letter, which is still open to signatures, has received support from professors in a range of departments from Art History to Physics. “We were quite pleased with the level of faculty support [...] we still think we can do better, but our goal was to get 100 signatures

by the time the petition and brief were submitted by Divest McGill [to CAMSR], and we exceeded that goal,” said Barney. McGill is not the first university to see significant faculty support for divestment from fossil fuels. Earlier in February, faculty at the University of British Columbia (UBC) voted 62 per cent in favour of supporting divestment from fossil fuels within the next five years. While Divest McGill has been organizing on campus for over two years, signatory McGill professor Shaun Lovejoy was not surprised that McGill has been slow on the uptake. “McGill – the administration and BoG – are a pretty conservative bunch,” Lovejoy told The Daily. “I don’t think they want to be the first to do something like this, but I doubt they want to be the last.” According to Barney, McGill Faculty for Divestment has broader plans moving forward. “We’re now moving into the phase where we’re going to be liaising with some of the faculty groups that are at campuses across the world [...and] approach different kinds of faculty bodies at McGill to try to get collective support [for divestment].” Perry said that Divest McGill also plans to continue working with McGill Faculty for Divestment. “We are certainly going to be continuing to work with these wonderful faculty members. There is already a dedicated group of them working on promoting divestment, and they seem to have lots of energy and ideas, so we’re excited to move forward.” —Janna Bryson

Tuesday, March 10 & THURSDAY, MARCH 12

The staff of

the mcgill daily

will elect

the 2014-15 editorial board If you’re interested in joining our non-hierarchical team, here’s a quick intro to how to become a Daily editor, how the election process works, and how to get in touch with us.

the basics Unlike most student newspapers, our editors are elected by Daily staffers rather than hired by committee. To run for an editorial position or to vote in the election, you must be Daily staff. To be staff, you must have contributed six points. Articles, photos, graphics, and illustrations count for one point each. Writing a feature or coming in for a production night counts as two points. If you’re not staff yet, there’s time before the election, so email an editor to get involved!

the positions Twenty editors share equal voting rights on issues, and work together to produce the newspaper every week. Each editor receives a small monthly honorarium. For more information on individual positions, contact each section editor (emails can be found on page 23 of this issue). You can also stop by The Daily’s office in Shatner B-24.

deadlines The Daily requires all candidates to submit a one-page application, including your qualifications and interest in running, as well as one sample of writing, photos, illustrations, or design. Final applications are due to coordinating@mcgilldaily.com by March 9 at 11:59 p.m.. Rundowns and elections are March 10 and 12, at 6 p.m. on both days, and organized by section.

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All staffers who want to vote in the election must attend rundowns in Shatner B-24. Candidates will interview in front of all voters at the election in Shatner B-24.

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Commentary

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Discipline and punish

Prison ‘rehabilitation’: another form of punishment and control The Termite Collective Commentary Writers

adir Khan’s piece on mandatory minimum sentences (“Mandatory minimums, maximum harm,” Features, February 2, pages 13-15) finishes with a call to fight these sentences and to push for a “system based on values of fairness, rehabilitation, and compassion.” From the 1970s to the present, prison reform has been centred on the concept of rehabilitation, in which prison is supposed to reform incarcerated people so that they successfully reintegrate into society upon release. Well-meaning, but quickly co-opted, rehabilitative policies actually tend to disguise the harmful and punitive effects of the Canadian penal system. Enthusiasm for the concept has led to a number of measures that are meant to help: ranging from parole officers, to halfway houses, to life skills programs, and to access to postsecondary and vocational study while incarcerated. Nowadays, however, these ‘rehabilitative’ approaches to the penal system are actually just another form of punishment. In April 1971, there was a fourday riot at Kingston Penitentiary against overcrowding, cuts to programs and activities, lengthy periods in solitary confinement, very little time out of cells, and a lack of institutional channels to address these issues. The riot resulted in the death of two incarcerated individuals and the destruction of most of the prison. The conditions that incarcerated individuals fought against during this riot were not out of the ordinary. When a prison guard didn’t like an incarcerated individual, or if they were deemed a troublemaker, beatings, long-term solitary confinement, cutting electricity in the cell and water for the toilet, and flooding the cell were all common. This riot, and subsequent ones, forced the spotlight on prisons in Canada and paved the way toward the rehabilitative model of incarceration. However, way before the toughon-crime approach of the current Conservative government, the rehabilitative approach was co-opted and used as a way to increase the control and surveillance of individuals incarcerated and on parole. Parole officers are now a mandatory part of the prison experience regardless of available support systems, and they act as trip-wires for perceived public safety. The role of parole officers isn’t to support people on parole in finding jobs, housing, or a solid support system. In fact, their role is to scru-

tinize those newly-released from prison to make sure they don’t break any of their parole conditions. These conditions leave people vulnerable to punishment at any sign of perceived ‘lack of transparency,’ such as failure to disclose to a parole officer every single purchase, phone call, or intimate detail of a partner or expartner’s life. Parole conditions can also include mandatory urinalysis, complete non-association with anyone who has a criminal record, and mandatory participation in life skills programs. This constant state of surveillance causes stress, especially since any perceived failure to adhere perfectly to the Correctional Service of Canada’s release plan results in an automatic return to prison. The person who was put in place to support you upon release now simply watches you, waiting for you to make the tiniest of mistakes. Halfway houses – group homes often run by the state, complete with

Well-meaning, but quickly co-opted, rehabilitative policies actually tend to disguise the harmful and punitive effects of the Canadian penal system. cameras, curfews, and round-theclock staff – were another result of the turn toward rehabilitation, and were created for people who were getting out of prison and had nowhere else to go. But these days, halfway houses are a mandatory part of many sentences – regardless of need – contradicting their original purpose. The length of time spent in halfway houses has been consistently increasing over the last decades as well – now going up from six months to as many as three years, creating a lucrative economy for those who run halfway houses. Life in these halfway houses is tough because of the state of limbo created from the illusion of freedom in an environment of constant control. Individuals on parole are forced to interact while in the house, yet are barred from speaking to each other outside of this setting, due to conditions of nonassociation with anyone possessing a criminal record. Under such

Jonathan Reid | The McGill Daily conditions, you literally have to figure out if someone you are talking to has a criminal record within the first 15 minutes of conversation, or you could be thrown back in prison for violating your condition of nonassociation. This non-association condition also prevents friends who have supported each other while inside prison from continuing to see each other. The effect is to destroy any sort of social support network that people may have created for themselves with the only individuals they were allowed to see consistently for years. Furthermore, incarcerated individuals are also coerced into attending self-improvement programs such as anger management, Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous, budget management, along with other services helping with effective job applications, interview preparation, resume writing, and apartment hunting. If you don’t participate in these programs, you’re liable to have your visits cut and to be denied recommendation for parole. You might even see your security classification increased, resulting in a move to a higher-security prison often farther away from your outside support network, where your family or other visitors would have to pass extra security clearances just to be allowed to visit you. This coercion makes irrelevant whether people actually want to gain perspective and life skills. As if that weren’t enough, these programs aren’t even accessible. Existing programs in Quebec are

rarely offered in languages other than French, and waitlists to join any program are long. While you sit on the waitinglist, your parole officer ignores you, and the parole board denies you parole until you have completed the program. When the ‘rehabilitative’ era started, programs were run by outside volunteers who would come into the prison. These days, program instructors are no longer teachers or experts in certain fields; they are prison guards who often receive inadequate training. These programs may have come from prisoners’ demands back in the day, but since the state has co-opted them, they have ceased to function under any guise of ‘rehabilitation.’ It’s just punishment via bureaucracy instead of physical abuse. Last, but not least, access to any postsecondary education or vocational training has been almost completely eliminated, resulting in individuals leaving prison without the skills that enable them to support themselves. In the fall of 2013, the wage that incarcerated individuals earned working inside prison was cut by 30 per cent, going down to an average of $2.10 per day, with a limit on how much they can make every two weeks. With this pay, incarcerated individuals have to save for a very long time, not buying anything, to be able to afford a family visit in a trailer. This extremely low pay also prevents incarcerated individuals from having any financial resources once out of prison. The rehabilitative approach has transformed the way control works inside prisons. Incarcer-

ated individuals are not physically abused as much as they used to be anymore, but the constant surveillance and control leads to psychological harm. For example, any alleged deviance from the regimented prison routine or accusation, substantiated or not, is documented in your file by prison officials. Ten, twenty, thirty years later, these notes can and will be used to force you into another useless program, deny you parole, and generally keep you incarcerated. The fear of bureaucratic reprimands and surveillance creates a constant climate of anxiety. Inside prison, the rehabilitative approach is often considered to be much worse than the punitive approach by individuals who have experienced both models. When imagining alternatives to mandatory minimum sentencing, solitary confinement, or any other aspect of prison viewed as unjust, it is important to remember that the Correctional Service of Canada will always co-opt any reforms and use them to reinforce its hold over incarcerated individuals. To effectively resist these policies, conditions, and the harm caused, we need to think of solutions that do not involve the Correctional Service of Canada. The Termite Collective is a group of creative and concerned people who want to expose the increasingly repressive nature of prison through writing, workshops, political parody, and criminal cabaret. To contact them, please email commentary@mcgilldaily.com.

Commentary

February 16, 2015 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

Turning the page on education

Alternative education can solve McGill’s poor learning environment Drew Wolfson Bell The McGill Daily

cGill, like other research universities, trades on its name. The so-called ‘Harvard of Canada,’ McGill is thought to grant valuable degrees because of its academic reputation. We tend to view research universities as the epitome of high-quality learning environments, when in fact, they are anything but. The structures McGill puts in place to maintain its reputation directly contradict what is understood to be a good learning environment. What’s more, prioritizing research puts the education of undergraduates on the back burner, and students are tested using methods that only suit a few. If McGill really wants to lay claim to being the best school in Canada, it needs to adopt an alternative approach. McGill has an institutional culture that is common in research universities: undergraduate education is undervalued, while academic research is prioritized. The result is a cold and informal brand of education. Look, for example, at how first-year courses are structured: lecture-style courses with huge enrolment numbers in which students have little to no contact with the professor, but rather with a group of teaching assistants (TA) who very often have next to no pedagogical training. Because class sizes are big, students can often feel ignored. This is harmful because a lack of individualized attention stunts educational development. It’s true that some academic staff don’t care, and teaching is merely something they have to do to receive grant money; however, it’s an oversimplification of the issue to place the blame solely on TAs and professors. Instead, we should blame the constraints that are placed on them by McGill. It’s nearly impossible for a professor to give 500 students individual attention, even if all the professor had to do was just teach. Research universities require staff to do much more than teach in order to get tenure, and it’s expected that they will produce work that will increase the prestige of the school. While this work is valuable, in some ways the cost is paid in the quality of undergraduate education. Another way in which education at McGill founders is through its use of large-scale assessment methods. Multiple-choice exams, which are common at McGill, don’t foster critical and connective learning. Knowing the right answer does not equate to being able to connect it to the big picture, and regurgitating information is not indicative of critical thinking. If anything, this method of assessment stunts intellectual development.

Lia Elbaz | The McGill Daily Some will still argue that having everyone do the same assessment provides a level playing field, but this is just false. Everyone has a different way of learning, and whether it be visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or otherwise, the way in which you learn will directly affect how you well you will do on tests. For example, an auditory learner retains knowledge by either hearing or speaking, while kinesthetic learners retain information through tactile experience. If you assessed both students through an oral exam, the auditory learner would do better, because the assessment method plays to their strengths. The fact is, there is no one way to measure someone’s intelligence or grasp of a subject. Trying to impose one form of measurement is not only unfair to some, but often discouraging and dismissive. The reason the system is set up this way is to make it easy to point out who is the ‘best’: either to make it easier for companies to hire from a mass of similar people, or for McGill to be able to boast of its success and secure more funding. But what’s the point in this? Standard assessment methods are almost completely subjective – the only thing they show is that the student can succeed within the specific constraints of the institution. Test results do not measure the kind of

creativity and independence of mind that makes you grow as person. Education should be a mutual agreement between student and teacher, where the student tries their best to learn and the teacher does their best to convey information to them in a way that fits their learning style. A good learning environment accomplishes this focusing on the quality, rather than the quantity, of the content. Real learning requires a personal relationship that allows new perspectives to not only be heard but valued, and an environment where different styles of learning are welcome. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of learning environment that we have at McGill. In order to improve the quality of education at research institutions, students need to be considered the priority, instead of numbers. McGill needs to turn toward alternative models of education, which put individual student needs ahead of everything else, in order to stop discriminating against students based on poor teaching and subjective assessments. Though the situation seems bleak, it’s actually not out of the grasp of research universities to adopt an alternative model. Take the faculty of Education at McGill: students are able to form a distinct and meaningful bond with their professors, which allows them to express how they

want to learn. In my experience, it’s not uncommon in an education class to have the professor offer several options for final assessments in order to cater to the different learning styles of their students. In other words, students are put first, and everyone has an equal opportunity to learn. This learning environment fosters the idea that knowledge is the main goal, and grades are secondary. It also creates an enjoyable atmosphere that allows students to look forward to classes and learn out of genuine interest, and not out of fear of failure. McGill could also place greater emphasis on community-based education. The value of engaging with local communities as a form of education is that people’s lived experiences become just as valuable as the professor’s voice. This is incredibly important for tackling social justice issues, because it allows students to view the issues that they study firsthand and engage with people who actually have a stake in them. It’s clearly more valuable to learn Indigenous history from an Indigenous community, rather than from a book written by a white settler. Research universities could start shifting to this model by actually valuing their communities, and working toward community engagement. The Social Equity and Diversity Educa-

tion Office (SEDE) at McGill already does this. Another example is the ECOLE project, which not only conducts applied research on sustainability, but goes beyond this by offering a community space and a model for sustainable living. This allows students to continue their education beyond the walls of the classroom, leading to self-motivated and exploratory learning. These initiatives are good, but things would improve further if the model were applied more widely. Some people might argue that there is no use for alternative education, and that they went through a large research institution and were able to thrive. But whether they would like to admit it or not, most people have had a teacher at some point in their life that encouraged real learning. This may sometimes happen at McGill, but the institution is not set up in such a way as to encourage real education. If anything, it discourages learning, and discriminates against some forms of learners. It’s only fair that we structure our higher education systems so that we might all have that chance. Drew Wolfson Bell is an Education student and the Sports editor at The Daily, but the views expressed here are his own. To contact him, please email sports@mcgilldaily.com.

Art Essay

Cracks

by Xuan Hu

Using visual media and the imagination to explore whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behind the cracks in a white space.

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Man salivating & crying

by Jonathan Reid

This describes the feeling of fatigue that makes you yawn so big your jaw dislocates and you tear up.

Want to see your art in print? Submit sketches, paintings, photos, mixed media pieces, sculptures, or any other art to The Dailyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual Art Supplement!

Send your work to artsup@mcgilldaily.com by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, February 17.

Features

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

l a c i d Ra unity m m Co search Re

Written by Selin Jessa Visual by Ralph Haddad

Reflections on alternative research through the lens of healthcare This year, a social justice research project pulled me out of the lab and into the community. As a participant in the Community-University Research Exchange (CURE), I worked with Solidarity Across Borders (SAB), a Montreal-based migrant justice network, to investigate access to healthcare for immigrants without status in Montreal. Over the course of the project, my conceptions of healthcare systems in Canada as ‘universal’ were dramatically challenged. I also thought hard about who are the primary producers of

knowledge in our society, whose accounts are entered into the canons of academic literature, and about the pitfalls of traditional relationships between academic researchers and marginalized groups. Alternative research programs like CURE can present a meaningful way for students to apply skills to local needs – in my case, the need for healthcare. Alternative research programs can potentially reinforce values of shared production of knowledge, local relevance, and critical thinking about the impact of our work.

Features Healthcare for immigrants When immigrants in Quebec find themselves in need of a doctor, two government programs define whether or not care is available and accessible. The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), operated by Immigration Canada, delineates who is covered for what healthcare services. Refugee claimants, victims of human trafficking, and migrants from countries Canada has placed under a moratorium on deportation are insured for essential health services, while other groups including temporary workers, immigrants with temporary status, and undocumented migrants are covered only for treatments for conditions that could pose a threat to public health or safety. At the provincial level, the Régie de l’assurance de maladie du Quebec (RAMQ) provides more comprehensive insurance, but the program mandates a three-month waiting period before immigrants can enroll and only if they are eligible under its own set of citizenship and immigration requirements. An estimated 20,000 to 50,000 migrants without regularized status living in Montreal do not qualify for medical insurance under either program. In Canada, availability of care is largely predicated on hierarchical categories of citizenship and identity. This notion of who is and who is not Canadian dissolves when we consider this country’s colonial history, and that many of those who draw these lines of identity are themselves settlers upon Turtle Island. Activist and organizer Harsha Walia extensively describes in her book Undoing Border Imperialism how this results in the marginalization of minority groups. Additionally, immigrants often arrive in Canada through forced processes of displacement abroad only to meet rigid immigration regulations at the borders and pressure to conform to capitalist ideals of the ‘good’ and ‘productive’ migrant. Immigration regulations and societal stigma, along with geographic location, financial cost, and lack of language translation services are among the many barriers that make healthcare inaccessible for non-status immigrants. An alarming number of epidemiological studies are citing data that indicates that non-status migrants – those who fall between the cracks of health insurance programs – are experiencing negative impacts to their physical and mental health.

Community healthcare research Last fall, in a collaboration with SAB, organized by CURE, I set out to document what health services are available to immigrants without regularized status in the Parc-Extension neighbourhood of Montreal. SAB is a local migrant justice network that organizes to build dignity and support for migrants contending with Canada’s inequitable and rigid immigration system. The demands of SAB’s Solidarity City campaign are safe, affordable, and confidential care for all. My task was to contribute to key resources for newcomers and allies in Parc-Extension, including the development of a database of accessibility information on local healthcare services. While the IFHP and RAMQ define provincial and federal regulations regarding access to care by strict categories of identity and circumstance, a fundamental finding of my work with SAB was that accessing care is much more complicated at the local and individual level. Through interviews with doctors, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals in public clinics around Parc-Extension, I found that there exists little formal, written policy that is applied locally by those who offer

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily care to immigrants without status. Though all agreed that access to healthcare is a fundamental right, varying practices and accessibility barriers among clinics mean that basic healthcare needs are not always met. At the local clinic, CLSC Parc-Extension, patients without RAMQ cards or IFHP certificates face a host of restrictions; they can only see a doctor during walk-in hours, at a cost of $100 per visit, and translation services are available only with appointments booked in advance. One doctor described physicians’ constant and conflicted responsibility to weigh the cost of treatment or test for a patient without coverage because costs are so quick to add up and medications are difficult to prescribe. Another doctor recounted the story of a woman who has been living in Montreal without documentation for 20 years, ineligible for services such as childcare benefits, because she fears deportation or detention should she begin the regularization process. These concerns surrounding disclosure of patient status have become more prevalent following reports of Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) agents arresting individuals inside health facilities, making hospitals spaces of contention rather than neutral and safe spaces of care.

treal through CURE, a collaborative project of QPIRG-McGill and QPIRG-Concordia. CURE facilitates partnerships between students and local community organizations to carry out action-oriented research with a focus on social justice. The emphasis of CURE’s mandate is on local, grassroots research that contributes to tangible social change. In doing so, CURE seeks to challenge systems of privilege and hierarchies of knowledge that universities maintain and reinforce. These alternative research programs outside the university setting invite students to approach the work of social change with academic rigour and an activist spirit. Through CURE, students can also undertake projects for academic credit. I completed my project as the focus of an independent study course through McGill’s department of Geography. Researching immigrant access to care alongside a community organization through an academic course, I encountered one question over and over: who holds the power to produce knowledge in our society? Historically, minority groups have been the ‘subjects’ on whom research is ‘done’ and from whom knowledge is extracted. When social inequality becomes the project of academics, these minority groups

When social inequality becomes the project of academics, these minority groups rarely see themselves reflected in academic literature as the makers of knowledge. An often-identified key barrier is that immigrant groups feel disempowered by a lack of knowledge of how the healthcare system and insurance regulations work. Cuts to the IFHP in 2012 – and more recently a temporary expansion of IFHP coverage this past November (following a Federal Court ruling that the 2012 cuts violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) – have only exacerbated the situation. Many immigrants who may have some healthcare coverage aren’t aware of the existence and extent of that coverage, and therefore aren’t able to access the care to which they are rightfully entitled. The perspectives of care providers and the challenges they face also impact the availability of care, especially when no professional resources, local policies, or best practices exist. According to one participant, “[A] French-Canadian doctor coined the term ‘Je m’en fout-isme,’” or “I don’t care-ism,” because physicians would categorically refuse care for patients even with IFHP coverage because of the administrative burden of obtaining reimbursement for care. Through my work with SAB, I sought to curate a useful and accessible database of information for non-status migrants seeking care in Parc-Extension. I learned that barriers including language, cost, confidentiality, and physical and geographical accessibility of clinics effectively lock undocumented immigrants out of vital health services. I had hoped to understand what local policies that might serve to expand access to care for those with precarious status, and found that in Quebec, systemic racism, rigid immigration guidelines, and the criminalization of identities still stand in the way of needed policy change toward a more accessible and equitable healthcare system.

Knowledge making and radical research Research partnerships between organizations and students happen every year in Mon-

rarely see themselves reflected in academic literature as the makers of knowledge. Many academic fields are moving toward inclusion of lived experiences in their literature, but we have yet to reach a point where the authors of these accounts are primarily the people who live them. Meanwhile, ethics committees carefully detail guidelines for confidentiality and data storage. Consider that these standards are set out by the institution sponsoring the research. Whom are these guidelines meant to protect? CURE can play a necessary role in mediating research partnerships in an equitable and useful way. Instead of perpetuating exploitive relationships based on the authorship of knowledge production, research questions are selfidentified by the organizations in need of labour in the form of research. For many collaborations, informed consent is replaced by a process closer to reciprocity. In a culture that celebrates the individual, the best, and the genius, alternative research groups like CURE are steadfastly facilitating collective research that meets real needs and contributes to change at the grassroots level. From the moment I began working on this project in earnest, my intention was to speak with, not for, immigrants with precarious status. In proceeding one by one through clinics in Parc-Extension to assemble information about health services, I learned about many barriers immigrants face in accessing these services. Unfortunately, however, I was never able to work closely with the immigrants affected by barriers to healthcare access or consult individuals about their lived experiences. My portrayal of the situation is a poorer one because of it, one that does not explore or amplify the the agency, self-determination, or resilience of immigrants confronting precarious status and successfully overcoming barriers to the healthcare system. CURE was crucial in guiding me to navigate these issues transpar-

ently and ensuring that ultimately, my project worked toward establishing an important resource in the Parc-Extension community. The most valuable part of radical social justice research for me was the ongoing conversation with my academic supervisor and my collaborators at CURE and SAB surrounding these considerations. Alternative research partnerships, where a commitment to the community group exists from the start, offer a model for researcher accountability to the groups they are serving, and demand shared production of knowledge. Moving forward, an important part of maintaining equitable grassroots research partnerships in this way will be to ensure that consideration of anti-oppressive principles, questions of voices consulted, and emphasis on participatory process don’t simply become items to check off to meet an arbitrary requirement of self-reflexiveness.

Alternative research programs on campus The buzz on campus surrounding radical, alternative, applied, and community research is growing. This past September saw the launch of the ECOLE project on University, which is part model for sustainable living, part community space, and part nascent research institute for applied student research. (My role as a facilitator and researcher-in-residence within the ECOLE collective was what prompted me to take on this project in the first place.) ECOLE has its roots in the Alternative University Project that grew out of the rising printemps d’érable and student protests in late 2011 and the spring of 2012 as a way of organizing a space for free, democratic, and exploratory learning outside of the university. ECOLE, then, is one vision of what a university of the future could look like: connected to the surrounding community, making use of socially and environmentally sustainable practices, operated by consensus by its members, and facilitating self-directed learning and research. In another example of successful community-based research, since 2008, a number of McGill-based applied student research projects, collectively known as the M(X)Ps, where X = the research focus, have been taking shape. The groups include the McGill Food Systems Project, the McGill Waste Project, the McGill Energy Project, and the McGill Spaces Project. The M(X)Ps have carried out research funded by the Sustainability Projects Fund on campus practices, and then presented findings to staff and administrators at McGill for implementation and institutionalization of identified solutions. Independent study courses are available in many faculties, and so the academic infrastructure to support students interested in undertaking applied, community research exists. Groups like CURE and ECOLE, as well as units like the McGill Office of Sustainability and the Office of Undergraduate Research in Science, offer resources to enable and support these collaborations. Institutional research projects have historically separated the producers of knowledge from its subjects, and universities have rarely had constructive and positive relations with neighbouring communities. Radical research alternatives in Montreal are transferring power from institutions to people. In the process, they establish reciprocal, mutually beneficial community-institution relationships that bridge students with meaningful work. These projects are occupying the spaces between the university and the neighbourhood to turn the traditional research paradigm on its head.

Sci+Tech

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Feeling like an outlier

New statistics show just how little diversity exists in STEM Subhanya Sivajothy The McGill Daily

iversity in science, technology, engineering, and math – which together make up the fields of STEM – has been a constant struggle for decades. Historically dominated by white men, women and people of colour who enter these fields must often grapple with society’s perception that they do not belong, and can be subject to discrimination in their workplaces. There is a lack of information when it comes to diversity in STEM fields. There are only a few, limited statistics available for women in STEM fields, and there is almost no information for women of colour. However, the information that does exist is enough to highlight the huge gap in equity between women, especially women of colour, and their male counterparts in STEM fields. In a recent study conducted by the Canada-centric datablog The 10and3, statisticians Michael Kuzmin, Arik Motskin, and Zack Gallinger published a disconcerting diversity report concerning the number of women in STEM fields that hold professorship positions at major Canadian universities. The report was inspired by a similar diversity report released by Google and other tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the statistics gathered showed that women are vastly underrepresented in tech fields, and many tech companies refused to share information. Motskin pointed out in an email to The Daily that perhaps the gender disparity is more well-known within the tech industry and Silicon Valley; however, data regarding gender imbalance in universities is more hidden and inaccessible. Estimates by 10and3 suggest that about 25 per cent of tech positions in Canada are held by women. “We felt that there was a similar information vacuum in the math, computer science, and engineering departments at Canadian universities,” said Motskin. “While everyone knows there is a gender imbalance [...] it’s difficult to have a meaningful conversation about the depth of the problem without concrete figures, looking both at particular institutions and at the variation between institutions.” Regarding professorship ranks held by women at Canadian universities, the results were far lower than that of the tech companies. When looking at computer science, math, and engineering departments,

Andy Wei | The McGill Daily

Post-talk discussion with audience. most universities didn’t reach the 25 per cent mark, and many failed to even have 10 per cent. One specific department that was highlighted in the study was McGill’s Math department, which, out of its forty-member academic staff, has only two women. Motskin also noted that departments don’t always publicly make a clear distinction between tenured and tenure-track faculty (who do both teaching and research), and teaching-intensive faculty (like instructors and lecturers). They found that a disproportionate number of the non-tenure, and so less prestigious teaching positions are taken by women. “It’s as if universities are happy to have very well-qualified women teaching the students, but are not happy enough to grant them the most secure academic jobs,” said Motskin. The sources of barriers to diversity in STEM From tokenization to feeling out of place, there are several factors that can deter women from STEM fields, according to Simrin Desai, the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) equity commissioner. She noted that, while some departments try to fix the problem through compensatory action such as hiring quotas, which do provide women and people of colour with opportunities to hold STEM jobs. “It can often re-perpetuate the idea that the minority group is not actually fit for the position, and their incorporation into the company is a forced act which does more harm

to the person of the minority group than giving them the hiring opportunity may do,” she explained. Desai said that sometimes as a result of being the only or one of the few women at their workplace, women in STEM face more pressure than their male counterparts. “For instance, at McGill, there are some faculty events that require a female faculty member’s presence. This is great in increasing overall diversity in voices present at said event; however, on a personal level it tends to add another layer of work to female faculty,” explained Desai. Female professors are tokenized and are expected to be the voice of diversity. However, this essentially results in added work, such as having to attend meetings or events to maintain an artificial image of diversity. If they cannot handle this it will make them seem ‘incapable’ for their profession — even though the extra workload is a result of their gender. She also cited the fact that women sometimes feel that their success in STEM is an irregularity, as media and other outlets in society “suggest that they should not be present in this field.” “Women end up feeling like imposters in a male-dominated field.” Shawana Habib, VP Communication of Promoting Opportunities for Women in Engineering (POWE) – told The Daily that there have been some women in POWE who expressed frustration with facing discrimination in their workplaces and the classroom. “During our general meetings,

some members have expressed that they face discrimination from their male peers in the classroom, and we are always open to discussing such matters,” Habib said. She also noted that in the past, some people featured at the networking events POWE holds for female engineers have said that they felt they had “not been given importance or their opinions had not been taken into account,” generally by older male employers or coworkers. Adding to the challenges women face in the workplace, Motskin pointed out that women also face a “pipeline problem,” meaning it can sometimes be hard to retain women at important steps that lead to STEM careers, spanning from when girls are studying science in schools up to graduate school, employment, and tenure. “The challenge is to avoid having too many qualified women drop out at any given stage, for one reason or another,” she wrote, noting that there is room for universities to get involved at some of these steps to help keep women on track to STEM careers. Ingrid Birker, McGill’s Science Outreach Administrator, recently spoke at a lecture entitled “Women in Science.” She outlined some of the reasons for the pipeline problem and why qualified women may feel pressured to leave STEM careers. One of the problems she identified was funding. Data shows that when searching for funding, women are less likely to receive funding (such as grants) than their

male counterparts, and if they do receive funding, they tend to receive smaller amounts. Birker also noted some problems are present from the very the beginning with societal deterrents, such as the encouragement of girls when they are young to enter typically ‘female’ professions. This, along with many other types of school- and work-based discrimination, brings up certain obstacles that aren’t present for men. This also results in women being less self-assured on average than men in the workplace where confidence is valued just as much as competence. Habib noted that POWE has created programs aimed at combatting these problems, such as networking events for female engineers, an annual conference, and discussions on how to increase the number of women in engineering. While limited, the information from the studies portray the ongoing struggle against discrimination in STEM fields, and states that the problem of equality is as relevant today as it it was twenty years ago. The statistics from these studies highlight the lack of women and women of colour working in STEM fields. Ultimately, they indicate that current attempts to amend this through compensatory action only, such as hiring quotas, is inadequate. To effectively encourage and support women in STEM fields, early and comprehensive intervention is needed to address the challenges and discrimination many encounter throughout their careers.

Sci+Tech

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

It’s all cyber-real

Sci-fi writer William Gibson on digital life and identity Hera Chan The McGill Daily

he man on the couch to the right side of the stage coined the term cyberspace in 1982. He’s credited as birthing the cyberpunk literary genre and imagining the semantics of the information age before the internet became popular. The Canadian American sci-fi novelist William Gibson sat in conversation with Concordia professor Fenwick McKelvey on February 5, on the stage of the D.B. Clarke Theatre to discuss the internet, fiction, and the future, as per the description on the Facebook event page. We’re talking about digital life and digital identity here. Globe and Mail journalist Erin Anderssen moderated the conversation; apt as this was the first in a series of four conversations this year co-presented by Concordia and the Globe and Mail, called Thinking Out Loud. Before setting my mind free to project conceptions of why anyone would attend a talk about digital life (other than that William Gibson was there), let me qualify my position: to me, digital life is real life. Generally, I’m never really sure what people are talking about when they bring up the word reality. I didn’t know you could experience nonreality. Aren’t mediated forms of exchange such as Tumblr, Instagram et cetera. reality? If I remember a scene from a film, isn’t that a part of my reality? My memory? Gibson offered the model of a cyborg to help us understand our relationship to technology. Think of “your phone [as] a complex pros-

thesis,” suggested Gibson. That is, think of technology as extensions of human capability, as a way of increasing productively and displacing mundane administrative tasks such as remembering phone numbers, dates, historical facts onto our technological apparatus. It’s all about the order of the mind. Supposedly, with more technology and cognitive streamlining, humans will get to work less, and play more. “When we take on a new technology, we become it,” said Gibson. He also said that we’re going to “lose previous modes of existence.” For example, I can’t imagine an existence without my smartphone — not to say that life is contingent on the existence of functioning smartphones — but rather I can’t un-know what I know. I also can’t rid my mind of the multi-screen view I have of the world, so sure, I agree with Gibson. We’re seeing a reorganization of our sense perceptions with the onset of the digital age. Before, people had to go to the cinema to see a film, but we now have Netflix. The difference there, other than the on-demand factor, is that we don’t have to go sit in a room full of stranger humans in silent collectivity to see the moving image on the big screen. We can just sit at home imagining that all these other humans are doing it at the same time, if we even imagine that. It’s like a Twitter revolution. No leaders, just hashtags. Now, our journalism is more politically leaning. Our media is increasingly participatory, but the kind of participatory where there are certain necessary conditions. At a distance, without having to

Katrina Gibbs | Illustrator physically interact with another human, we can raise our collective voices to air public grievances. We have democratized media! We feel agency! There is a fine line between a self-defined meaningful engagement with the world, and the feeling of participating in social justice movements without experiencing physiological movement. “While we are being couch potatoes, we imagine that we are being active,” said Gibson. Curiously enough, he himself is a self-declared Twitter addict. McKelvey raised a question, asking what a true interruption looks like in a constant stream of interrupting feed. Media never stops, and the only calamity is that there is always a new one. Why is being

a well-informed citizen – who may very well choose not to take action – considered positive? Gibson’s latest book called The Peripheral – which was available for purchase after the talk along with a book signing – is described by him as a sort of sci-fi realism, in which the characters from the future are using technology that we would consider incredibly magical, yet they treat it as totally banal. Even in our contemporary world, we are able to do previously unimagined things – access to the collective vault of human knowledge through a handheld phone – that we have come to take for granted. You even have the ability to “rewind your entire life,” as McKelvey put it. More and more

human abilities are being placed onto our technological extensions, and we treat these developments as complete banalities. Regardless, we support the drive for technological development, the push for progress. In a technologically mediated world, our sense of self is spread out through all the devices and applications we use. We divide our identities into little bits of information to be traded publicly on the internet, and select a multitude of hashtags and causes to like on Facebook to demonstrate some sort of individuality. We make digital records of all that we do, and relegate the burden of remembering to our digital spheres. Like McKelvey said, nowadays, “we’re all basically cyborgs.”

The Daily is publishing a special issue on RACE. We want to facilitate a diverse dialogue about race and we need your help. our next pitch meeting will be on Tuesday, February 17 at 5:30 p.m. in SSMU B-24 check out The Daily’s Facebook page or email community@mcgilldaily.com for more information.

Sports

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Racquets and racism

Why tennis needs to be more inclusive

Drew Wolfson Bell The McGill Daily

n sports, “generational players” refers to those who are so talented and so impactful that their dominance and contributions to the sport will be felt years after they retire. Serena Williams is one of these players. Unfortunately, her accomplishments have been overshadowed by institutionalized racism within the tennis industry. On February 4, Williams announced that she would be ending her 14-year boycott of the Indian Wells tournament. In 2001, Williams was attacked by boos and racial slurs when walking onto the court, whereafter she pulled out of the tournament. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. In 2007, while at the Sony Ericsson Open, Willams again faced racial slurs. This time at least, the ‘fan’ was removed. This is harmful and disgusting behaviour, prevalent in many places, but especially in tennis. In 2014, the president of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpischev, referred to the Williams sisters as the “Williams brothers” while comparing them to Russian players, who he de-

The hypersexualization of women of colour has existed throughout history, and women of colour are still stigmatized for not having bodies that adhere to the Western construct of beauty. scribed as “elegant and beautiful.” He continued by joking about their size, saying that when they pass by, “remains in their shadow for forty seconds.” Tarpischev’s remarks

use the Williams sisters bodies’ as the butt of a joke that plays into racialized stereotypes. Serena Williams responded by condemning his remarks as racist and sexist, and he was later fined and banned for 12 months by the Women’s Tennis Association. Racially motivated jokes such as these are not uncommon. In 2012, Caroline Wozniacki decided it would be funny to impersonate Williams by stuffing her front and behind with towels. Some have defended this as ‘innocent fun,’ that the two are ‘friends’ and it was ‘only a joke.’ However, as Dominique an editor at the feminist writers’ collective Disrupt Dinner Parties pointed out on Twitter, Wozniacki’s actions were merely an “old racist trope about our supposed hypersexuality and sexual abnormality.” In tennis, a historically white, upper-class sport, black bodies are under constant criticism. The hypersexualization of women of colour has existed throughout history, and women of colour are still stigmatized for not having bodies that adhere to the Western construct of beauty. The tennis community is not an exception. The Williams Sisters, have felt the brunt of this racism due to their high status within the sport–but in no way is it limited to them. Taylor Townsend, another tennis player of colour, is the number one-ranked junior player in the world. At the age of 15, she secured wins at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, making her the next budding superstar of the sport. However, despite all of her accomplishments, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) refused to fund Townsend until she lost weight. Townsend is the most dominant player in junior tennis, but still, the only thing the USTA is concerned with revolves around her appearance. This is because it doesn’t fit into the dominant mold of what a tennis player looks like, which is a thin, white woman. This is a problem that Williams has had to battle as well. “As a black tennis player, I looked different. I sounded different. I dressed differently. I served differently. But when I stepped onto the court, I could compete with anyone’ Williams said. Sports

Alice Shen | The McGill Daily should be a place where one is valued solely on their ability; tennis has yet to achieve this. This discrimination stems from the sport’s long history of racism, which it has yet to confront. In the 1960s, Alabama only had three tennis courts that were open to people of colour, while 119 were open to white people. This statistic marks a nationwide trend. Though courts have since been desegregated racist microaggressions are still all-too-common. For example, this exists in the way that sports commentators talk about William’s games. She is

described as lacking strategy and being overly aggressive by commentators. Crunktastic, a blogger for Crunk Femmisnim, says the result is the media painting her as a “hypermasculine, ‘unattractive’ [woman] overpowering dainty, white female tennis players.” Williams, currently ranked as the best tennis player in the world, still has yet to receive the same level of respect that white players in her position have been afforded. Williams has won 19 grand slams, and it is likely that Townsend will follow in her footsteps.However this sucsee does

not mean they will not face institutionalized racism. Which is not only damaging to them as individuals, but also to the sport. It serves to uphold the racist divide in tennis that fosters a harmful environment to play in. As the Serena Williams are set to make their return to the Indiana Wells tournament, it is clear that it is still important to question the racist structures still in place in tennis today. There is no place for racism in sport, and although some changes have been implemented, it is not enough to solve the problem.

Want to share your opinion on sports? Email sports@mcgilldaily.com or come by SSMU B-24 Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

Culture

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

In defence of our Islamic Studies library

Speaking against blanket solutions and austerity measures Margaret Gilligan Culture Writer

ack in November, The Daily reported on how the apparent shift from print to electronic sources may not be as positive as it first appears (“In defense of our books,” Culture, November 3, page 22). However, the assumption of a popular desire for more electronic sources is what caused the McGill library administration last semester to instate large, across-the-board cuts to library budgets that were aimed at funding for print materials. This, along with the closing of the Education Library, the merging of the Life Sciences Library with the Schulich Library, and the general threat of austerity economics, makes it imperative to write now in defence of our libraries. One library that has been particularly affected by the cut to print acquisition funding is the McGill Islamic Studies Library (ISL), given its impressive collection of texts from across the globe that are not available digitally. The ISL would also be particularly inconvenienced by the proposed, haphazard removal of its print sources to off-site storage. While the digitization of resources and a change in the setup of library spaces are not necessarily negative changes in and of their own, it is imperative that these changes are approached for the right reasons and in the right ways, by listening to those who would be directly affected. According to the vision statement given in the library administration’s 2014 feasibility study, “McGill University’s print collection is used less and less frequently while occupying prime real-estate in downtown Montreal.” The vision statement asserts, “plans need to be developed to relocate the majority of the print collection to appropriate storage while retaining a minimal presence of print books in high demand in the various branches.” There is an underlying assumption behind these decisions that students want more study space as opposed to access to physical books. Michael DeRamo, a Master’s student at the Institute of Islamic Studies who attended the Islamic Library Advisory Committee meeting on October 30, asserts that we must first question this notion that print collections are being accessed less frequently. “You notice [the administration] did a survey at the end of last semester [asking] ‘what’s your reason for coming to the library?’ “When the results came out, it was like 6 per cent of the people were going to the library to look at books, [and] the vast

McGill’s Islamic Studies Library. majority was going to study. Well, they distributed that survey in the middle of exams, so of course everybody is going there to study.” In order to make room for this study space, McGill libraries would have to move books from their open stacks into off-site storage vaults. However, the proposed process by which the books that allegedly ‘no one uses’ would be selected for storage is faulty at best. According to DeRamo, “They’re going to look at statistics of the last time a book has been checked out, and the one[s] that [haven’t] been checked out since 1995 will go to the high-volume storage.” Problematizing this, DeRamo added: “But they don’t know if people are using that book in the library, you know, maybe it’s a big book [...] You go to the library and use it then put it back on the shelf.” With regard to structural causes behind these library changes, Frances Calingo, a U3 student in Middle East Studies and Anthropology, told The Daily, “This seems to be a part of greater austerity measures, which makes me very uncomfortable and frankly scared.” Calingo explained, “Part of the austerity measure is cutting back on things that aren’t seen as ‘essential’ or ‘necessary.’ [...] What is starting to happen is putting more time and more resources and more money into libraries that are larger and that people think are more used.” Once libraries are closed, the history around their closures can start to be rewritten. As Pasha M. Khan, the

chair in Urdu Language and Culture at the Institute of Islamic Studies, told The Daily when asked about previous library closures, “There [have been] suggestions that there was no opposition to [the closing of the Education Library] or that the library administration hasn’t heard any discontent.” Khan explains, “We have to think about whether this is true or not, whether the closing of libraries like the Education Library is remembered, whether it’s produced a decrease in quality for scholars of education.” Indeed, there was intense protest around the closure of the Education Library. Part of the problem with the library administration’s approach to ‘improving’ libraries is the underlying assumption on its part that all libraries serve the learning process and contribute to the quality of scholarship in the same ways. While financial strains are a valid concern, a universal approach to all libraries that ignores differences amongst the libraries and dissent from faculty and students is not a viable solution. In the case of the ISL, for example, its particularity and its importance comes in part from an impressive collection of texts and manuscripts written in Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, Urdu, and many other languages besides English or Latin languages, texts that are used and cherished by students and professors alike. Contrary to the feasibility study’s November report, which found that library print sources are not being used, Calingo underscores not only a want but a necessity

Andy Wei | The McGill Daily for print sources, at least in the ISL. “A lot of the places where primary source materials are being produced for our library don’t subscribe to this kind of digitization,” Calingo says. Similarly, DeRamo notes that “[the ISL] has done a wonderful job of getting all these sources from the Middle East. Usually, these things don’t exist in translation, you can’t buy them [in Montreal].” DeRamo also emphasizes, “We have a lot of people here who work on manuscripts, that work on historical questions, and everybody here works on things that are in other languages. Those are three things that are completely not conducive to digitization, to high-volume storage.” The digitization movement is more concentrated in Western European and North American countries. The Eurocentric assumption that it is in all libraries’ best interest to digitize ignores the needs of departments at McGill that need resources from places other than Europe and North America. DeRamo points out that “[Masters students] have come from all over the world to work at this institution, to do research here, because we really think it’s a wonderful collection […] almost one of a kind in the Western hemisphere.” DeRamo continues, “Sometimes we want to feel like the university as a whole recognizes the treasure that is here, in all senses of the word. Architecturally, it’s a treasure on campus; historically, it’s […] the first institution of its kind on the

continent, the first Islamic studies institute of any sort, it has a lot of heritage. [...] We want to make sure that the university recognizes that.” The library administration’s feasibility study suggests that “with the relocation of the print collection to appropriate storage, McGill University can re-imagine how spaces are used.” However, the current physical spaces of libraries hold just as much value as the materials that these spaces contain – one cannot discount the experience as a student of just getting to be in a library and working with physical texts. According to Khan, because of the library’s rich history, “students think that it’s equally important for them to interact with physical materials and with the physical space of the ISL given that, again, it’s perhaps the core of the Institute’s history.” As students, we can continue to get our voices heard by making it known that we do not forget or accept the closure of our campus libraries, nor will we accept any cuts or changes that do not serve our collective needs. We can certainly try to use the tools the library is giving us to communicate by volunteering for their feasibility studies and giving our feedback about libraries. McGill is has a diverse student body with diverse academic needs. While from a bureaucratic standpoint it may be easier to lump all libraries and their patrons into one category, in the long run, this can only hurt the academic accomplishment of students, and thus that of the university.

Culture

February 16, 2015 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

The spirit of Euromaidan Photo exhibit humanizes Ukraine’s revolution

Kateryna Gordiychuk The McGill Daily

t’s been over a year now that Ukraine has been caught in conflict, and newspapers have been providing scattered coverage every step of the way. The McGill Ukrainian Students’ Association (MUSA) recently hosted the “Maidan Photo Exhibition” at SSMU, an exhibit that showcases another side of the Ukrainian people’s revolution. The unpublished photographs by Anatoliy Boyko, an independent artist, made their way through showcases in Ottawa and Quebec City before reaching Montreal. The photographer is attempting to raise awareness about the socio-political conflicts in Ukraine by presenting the pictures as independent sources of information that emphasize the Ukrainian people’s spirit and culture. The Euromaidan Revolution refers to the Ukrainian people’s movement from 2013 to 2014, a public expression of discontent with the Ukrainian government, which was led by President Viktor Yanukovych at the time. The name “Maidan” – from the word for square in Ukrainian – came to designate the protests lasting from

November 2013 to February 2014 in the main square of the capital city, Kiev. Initially this movement was seen as the Ukrainian public’s reply to the government’s failure to cooperate with the European Union, a failure which was widely seen as jeopardizing the country’s

The photos portray a deep devotion and love for the country as, despite the harsh weather, the Ukrainian people continue to sing. prosperity. Over time, however, the uprising has come to be considered as a broader opposition to the government’s disregard for the public’s voice. Although the situation in Ukraine has grown into a more complicated military conflict between Ukraine and neighbouring Russia, the Euromaidan is viewed by Ukrainians and much of the international community as a starting point in

the country’s long path toward becoming a democratic nation. While a well-respected international source may be good for basic information about these recent events, it can hardly convey the heart of the uprising or touch one’s soul to the deepest. Boyko’s photographs fulfill that missing function, depicting the reality of the revolution in a way that words cannot. Boyoko’s photographs do not simply show the Euromaidan uprising as a series of events and their consequences – they also emphasize symbols of Ukrainian identity. In one photograph, a large group of people are pictured, led by a man wearing a Ukrainian flag like a cloak. They are visibly singing, possibly the Ukrainian national anthem. A monument to a famous poet, Taras Shevchenko, reigns over the crowd. Another picture portrays a young man pouring soup from a large iron cooker for passer-bys, the hot dinner keeping bodies warm and spirits high. The photos portray a deep devotion and love for the country where, despite the harsh weather, the Ukrainian people continue to sing. The photos also provide a useful reminder that despite the

turmoils of revolution, daily human life still goes on. This is what makes Boyko’s showcase so memorable – it spotlights the everyday things that keep people going in hard times, painting a picture of resilience. One photo in particular draws the viewer’s attention in the exhibit. It is a picture of a young couple dressed in traditional Ukrainian festive clothing, the woman in a white dress and an embroidered scarf, the man in a black suit and a yellow cravat. They’re getting married in a crowd of people leading a revolution. Another young man carries a decorated wedding bread, korovai, on an embroidered wedding towel – all traditional symbols of Ukrainian weddings. This emotionally evocative scene shows the people’s ability to experience rare moments of joy in the midst of disaster. Another particularly powerful photo shows a man wearing black clothes and a balaclava on his face; he is smoking a cigarette and playing the piano in front of the crowd of protesters. The piano is dyed blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian national flag. Posters attached to the instrument show this same man playing in front of the Berkut police, which partook in vi-

olently driving out protesters from Independence Square in Kiev from November to February. Another poster on the piano says in Russian: “In every music there is Bach, in every man there is God.” The piano player seems to be reminding the crowd of the importance of music to their shared cultural identity and of religious belief and hope. Zooming in on a moment of hope and resistance, this photograph passes on to the viewer the spirit that united thousands of Ukrainians during the revolution. In this exhibit, Boyko turns his focus away from the bloody scenes of the revolution, its most dreadful moments, and later consequences. He instead represents the Ukrainian people’s perception of Euromaidan, highlighting their collective actions and their unfading spirit. With the scattered flow of media information, it can be hard to filter out the important and accurate details about the conflict in Ukraine – even its citizens are often unsure how to describe the situation. But Boyko’s photographs provide invaluable insight into the spirit of the revolution and its human peculiarities, coming across loud and clear amid the newspaper reports.

Storytelling soundscapes from Matana Roberts The Daily reviews: COIN COIN Chapter Three

Grace Bill Culture Writer

idway through her new album, COIN COIN Chapter Three: River Run Thee, Matana Roberts calmly states, “I like to tell stories.” Anyone who’s been following Roberts’s work can attest to this. For the past four years, she has been using her COIN COIN series to tell stories about black history, through some of the most original and stirring jazz music produced in a long time. Roberts, primarily a saxophonist and bandleader, released the series on Constellation Records, a label best known for post-rock pioneers Godspeed You! Black Emperor (with whom she has collaborated in the past). In 2011, she released the first chapter in the COIN COIN series, COIN COIN Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres. That record blended spoken word, art-song, lullabies, and heart-wrenching screams within a jazz framework somewhat reminiscent of Pharoah Sanders’ work in the early sev-

enties. The next chapter in the series, Mississippi Moonchile, focused much more heavily on jazz alone, having only a few short spoken word segments and singing occasionally throughout the record. Now, with River Run Thee, Roberts has completely reversed that trajectory. River Run Thee strays far from jazz into drone, noise, and avant-garde music, and her storytelling is much more surreal now than on previous installments. While this makes for her most challenging and least accessible record by far, repeated listens reveal that this also may be her most accomplished and fullyrealized album yet. In the first two chapters, the spoken word was very much in focus, high in the mix. On River Run Thee, spoken word segments come and go without clear beginnings or ends, recorded low in the mix, producing a very surreal quality. Roberts adds to the surrealism of her storytelling with the great variety in source material. While Chapter One mostly fo-

cused on one narrative, Chapter Three draws from a number of sources, including field recordings from the American South, the ship’s log of an abolitionist in East Africa, and a speech by Malcolm X. The album opens with the lines, “your sadness grows as years roll

by / you grow remorse, may even cry / woe to live, afraid to die / the weeping of the willow.” These words of despair frame the album, establishing themes of sadness and black liberation, and tying together the diverse stories that follow. The music behind the narra-

tives fits very well, its abstract elements mirroring the fragmented words. Sax drones, pulses of electronic noise, and wandering, eerie vocal performances weave in and out of the mix, creating a kind of hallucinatory ambiance. The storytelling and soundscapes come together to make the listener feel as if the album is just one long dream. The lack of melody and structure does not make for easy listening, but after an initial shock, River Run Thee becomes very immersive. The pieces all seem to fit together very well – River Run Thee, like Mississippi Moonchile, was conceived of as one continuous piece rather than the distinct movements of Gens de couleur libres. The result is abstract yet beautiful, evoking a powerful dread or unreality. Roberts sounds more inspired on River Run Thee than ever before, which makes braving the difficult soundscapes definitely worth the effort. COIN COIN Chapter Three: River Run Thee was released February 3 on Constellation Records.

Culture

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

What might have been

TNC’s Dear Elizabeth romances the audience Lauria Galbraith The McGill Daily

s the anxiety about midterms sets in, you can find solace in the poetic reminder from Tuesday Night Cafe (TNC) Theatre’s Dear Elizabeth that all great people are plagued with uncertainty. Directed by Marina Miller, Dear Elizabeth dramatizes the lives of famous American poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell, based on the “over 300 pages of letters” they wrote to each other. The play examines the turbulent and emotional relationship between the two literary greats, who corresponded from 1947 until Robert’s death in 1977. Peppered with recitations of Elizabeth’s and Robert’s poems, the play draws you into the isolated world of these two characters. Fittingly, the play itself is ultimately poetic. It’s a story of the ‘might have been’ moments in the lives of two people who never realizef their loving relationship. Always apart and just briefly together, Dear Elizabeth masterfully tells a a story of falling in love without being allowed the chance to act on it. But this play will resound with students beyond its depiction of unfulfilled adoration. Despite their literary fame, Robert and Elizabeth were troubled souls, suffering from depression and crippling loneliness. Throughout the play, they constantly doubt themselves and their choices. This lack of confidence is perfectly encompassed in Robert’s quip about his age: “31 and nothing done.” His manic depression keeps him in constant flux between hopeful optimism and the crushing anxiety of his solitude, while Elizabeth’s depression and isolation bring her to tell Robert, “When you write my epitaph, you must say I was the

Xuan Hu | Illustrator loneliest person who ever lived.” This sense of loneliness and a constant anxiety about wasted potentials will likely be quite familiar to the student audience. Julia Borsellino portrays Elizabeth beautifully and unguardedly. In the scenes that show Robert writing letters to Elizabeth, her facial expressions explain the depths of her feelings more than words ever could: the look of heartbreak when Robert writes her about meeting Elizabeth Hardwick, his future wife; her expression of despair when Robert writes her a beautiful letter about their love that “might have been.” It is painful to watch the fear in her eyes when she turns to see that her lover, Lota, has committed suicide. Borsellino adds new depth to the play with her expressive acting, silently communicating sentiments that bring new dimensions to Elizabeth’s character. As Robert, Max Katz also por-

trays the psychologically struggling poet with a quiet finesse. Katz does not portray Lowell’s bipolar disorder in an unrealistic, overthe-top manner, but instead approaches the illness with introversion and discomfiture that make his character all the more believable. Rather than using swings of rage to happiness, Katz illustrates Robert’s shifts in personality with a reserved attitude, his happiness always guarded and his sadness always isolating. This makes the climactic scene where Elizabeth and Robert fight over the ethics of his confessional poetry all the more poignant, as the rage that finally breaks out of Robert’s resigned disposition adds an unexpected aspect to the struggling character. Katz and Borsellino have an undeniably entrancing chemistry. Despite their separation on either side of the stage, broken only in brief moments of reunion, the two actors rise to the task of portray-

ing a deep emotional connection despite the physical distance between them. The longing looks cast across the set, and the tension of being so close onstage but so far in reality, serve to heighten the nostalgic feel of the production. This careful attention to how the actors interact with the space points to Miller’s thoughtful direction. Divided in half, the set personifies the dichotomy that resounds throughout the play and visually echoes the theme of isolation. Each character has their half of the stage to which they are mostly confined. Elizabeth’s half is bright, airy, and feminine, while Robert’s half is decorated with dark oak and dusty books. The set constantly reminds us of the distance between the two characters, their letters travelling across continents and oceans; this makes their moments of face-toface interaction feel even more intimate, like physical representa-

tions of the intimacy in their letters. In the brief scenes when Elizabeth and Robert are united, the actors are silent, playing out their time together in a quiet, dreamy montage. Behind them, a screen displays typewriter font that types out their thoughts. This staging makes the letters into the true core of the interactions between Elizabeth and Robert, cleverly crafting their distance as more intimate than their moments together. Paradoxically, it is with such emphasis on distance that TNC Theatre’s Dear Elizabeth creates an engaging relationship between Elizabeth, Robert, and the spectators. Gripping the audience with the wishful intimacy of every moment, the play provides a story to warm our hearts on these cold winter evenings. Dear Elizabeth plays from February 18 to 21 at 8 p.m. at TNC. Tickets are $6 for students and $10 for adults.

Still I Rise & Screening of Just Eat It Rosie’s Pick: Still I Rise February is one of those months that disappears before your eyes; it’s the November of second term, but shorter. Before it ends and we all go into hibernation for reading week, make sure to take the time to check out some of the events happening all over Montreal for Black History Month. Still I Rise, one of many options, is an evening devoted to artistic performances and interpretations of the work of renowned poet Maya An-

gelou. Performers include members of Montreal’s Black Theatre Workshop, as well as up-and-coming local artists Odessa Thornhill and Jonathan Emile. Saxophonist Julian McIntosh will score the evening. A night of storytelling and poetic expressions of resistance, Still I Rise is a commemoration and celebration not to be missed. Over thirty years after “Still I Rise,” the poem, was first written, check out the event to see how its power lives on today.

Niyousha’s pick: Screening of Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story If you need a night off this week, head to ECOLE on Thursday for a cozy community movie night. You don’t even have to feel guilty about procrastinating because this screening promises to be both entertaining and educational. Co-presented by the AUS Environmental Council and Cinema ECOLE, the featured film is the 2014 documentary Just Eat It:

A Food Waste Story. Exploring the nitty-gritty details of food waste “from farm to fridge,” the documentary takes a real life experiment as its focus. For six months, Jen Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin commit to living only off of discarded food, and through their personal experiences and interviews with food industry experts, they shed a dark light on our consumption habits. Don’t worry about having to handle the ugly

truth alone – there’ll be snacks to comfort you during the screening and a discussion afterwards for collective reflection. The screening of Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story is on Thursday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m.. “Still I Rise” is Friday, February 20 at 6 p.m. at the Universal Negro Improvement Association, 2741 Notre Dame West. Entrance is free.

Compendium!

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Lies, half-truths, and hark, a fire!

Workers to receive free room and board

McGall SHES to implement floor fellow-inspired program for cafeteria workers Dame Jurus Lee The McGall Weekly

n February 12, 2015 McGall’s Student Housing and Eating Services (SHES) announced its intent to implement a floor fellow-style working arrangement for its cafeteria employees. This plan would house workers in conveniently located subterranean housing under cafeterias and reimburse them with free food. “McGall is facing tough financial times, by not paying our employees in actual money, we actually end up saving a lot of money,” said Janny Jorpson, McGall Residence Director, during a press conference held in front of Royal

Victoria College Cafeteria. “Montreal rent is expensive, and by providing housing right where they work, our cafeteria workers can always be on-call to serve tasty treats to members of the McGall community!” exclaimed an ecstatic Jorpson. The construction of this subterranean housing is expected to begin in late May; approximately 100 rooms will be constructed under Bishop Mountain Hall, Carrefour Sherbrooke, Royal Victoria College, and New Residence Hall during the summer months. Architectural plans obtained by The Weekly from SHES show that these rooms will be approximately four by four metres. Cafeteria employees will share

bathrooms with students and floor fellows. “We hope to replicate the success of our floor fellow program and the happiness of our fellows” said Jorpson. Several floor fellows were kicked out of the press conference for disrupting the proceedings. Some shouted and waved banners reading “We are literally paid in yogurt,” “I have another job because my job doesn’t pay me except in yogurt,” and, in small print, “Yes I like Greek yogurt but I would prefer money to exchange for yogurt. Wages can be exchanged for goods and services. Come on, guys.” Matt Thepearl, CEO of SHES, commented briefly on the disrup-

tion, “Our compensation is fair and just. Besides, cafeteria workers, like floor fellows, will have the option to barter using purchased cafeteria goods!” Instead of having a part-time manager for each cafeteria, SHES will have one full-time manager for all cafeterias. Similar to the cutback of part-time individualized hall directors, this full-time manager will be responsible for all cafeterias. “Having one manager will be great because we don’t need to pay a bunch of people. We are looking for a heroic multitasker with the ability to keep several balls in the air at once,” said Thepearl with a hearty laugh. “We are confident we will be able to

provide the same quality of specialized service.” Cafeteria workers have had mixed reactions to the announcement of the plans. “I kinda wish they listened to us when we talked about the cafeteria managers. Having one cafeteria manager for all cafeterias is going to make our jobs harder,” said Kara Brown, longtime cafeteria worker. “I mean, at least we have contracts already, the floor fellows needed to fight for them.” At the end of the conference, Jorpson hinted to a new pilot program where students could apply to be janitors, freely camp out on Lower Field, and keep half the food they scavenge from McGill’s garbage cans.

y e b b A Anarchist Aunt Abbey An anarchist solves your relationship problems! Dear Anarchist Aunt Abbey, My boyfriend and I have always had a healthy sex life. In the past week he’s become uncommunicative and distant. He’s now refusing to sleep with me at all. I’m a 22-year-old Arts student, my boyfriend is 23 and studying Occult Sciences. I’m a Taurus and he’s a Pisces. We’ve been together since first year and have been madly in love ever since. I’ve asked him if there’s someone else but he says there isn’t. I’m at my wit’s end. He says he still loves me but he’s just not interested in sex anymore. Dear Anarchist Abbey, what am I to do? I’m still deeply in love with my boyfriend and don’t want our relationship to end. However, I’m afraid that if he doesn’t relent soon I’m going to have to go somewhere else to seek intimacy. I just can’t go back to watching Netflix by myself. —Gladys Demoiselle, U5 Arts Dear Gladys, There are many reasons why a long term partner could suddenly lose interest in the physical side of a relationship, and it’s important to respect your boyfriend’s wishes. At McGall, pressure from schoolwork, rez fires, hangovers, or simply just exhaustion can lead to a flagging interest in sex. However, on this occasion, I fear that your boyfriend’s lack of energy in the bedroom is due to him worrying himself sick over McGall’s investment portfolio in the fossil fuel industry, which makes us all complicit in overwhelming and total environmental destruction. The only way for you to put the spark back into your love life is to hope and pray that CAMSR will review its investment policy in the coming weeks. And you should have fucking signed that petition.

E<ilaneh3 | The McGall Weekly

Editorial

volume 104 number 19

editorial board 3480 McTavish St., Rm. B-24 Montreal, QC H3A 1X9

February 16, 2015 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Divest, McGill

phone 514.398.6784 fax 514.398.8318 mcgilldaily.com coordinating editor

Dana Wray

coordinating@mcgilldaily.com coordinating news editor

Janna Bryson news editors

Jill Bachelder Igor Sadikov Emily Saul commentary & compendium! editors

Cem Ertekin Emmet Livingstone features editor

Alice Shen | The McGill Daily

Joelle Dahm

science+technology editor

Zapaer Alip

sports editor

Drew Wolfson Bell culture editors

Niyousha Bastani Rosie Long Decter multimedia editor

Alice Dutrut photo editor

Vacant

illustrations editor

Alice Shen copy editor

Molly Korab design & production editor

Katherine Brenders web editor

Vacant

community editor

Rackeb Tesfaye le délit

Joseph Boju

rec@delitfrancais.com

cover design Alice Shen contributors Grace Bill, Hera Chan, The Termite Collective, Marina Cupido, Inès Dubois, Lia Elbaz, Lauria Galbraith, Katrina Gibbs, Margaret Gilligan, Kateryna Gordiychuk, Ralph Haddad, Fiona Higgins, Xuan Hu, Daniel Huang, Selin Jessa, Sonia Larbi-Aïssa, Yasmine Mosimann, Stephanie Ngo, Jonathan Reid, Srijan Shukla, Subhanya Sivajothy, Tamim Sujat, Arianee Wang, Andy Wei, Michele Zampa

3480 McTavish St., Rm. B-26 Montreal, QC H3A 1X9 phone 514.398.6790 fax 514.398.8318

n February 2, Divest McGill submitted a second petition to divest from the fossil fuel industry to the Board of Governors. Two years after the submission of Divest’s first petition in February 2013, McGill fully retains its investments in fossil fuels and tar sands, even as action on climate change becomes an ever more pressing need. McGill has already fallen behind other universities taking action on this matter, and any further postponement is regressive. The fossil fuel industry contributes about threefourths of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, which indisputably lead to human-made global warming with devastating impacts. Divest McGill aims to hold McGill accountable for its complicity, and cut the links between the fossil fuel industry and our university. The campaign has grown tremendously in the past months, garnering support at the SSMU General Assembly and PGSS Council, as well as from more than 100 McGill faculty members, who collectively submitted a letter in support of divestment earlier this week. If successful, McGill would be the first university in Canada to fully divest from fossil fuels, following other universities worldwide. Divestment, though not all-encompassing, has been an effective means of working toward social change in the past. Divestment from the South African apartheid regime worked as a symbolic action to show unity against injustice around the world. Similarly, divestment from fossil fuels is a clear and necessary step in the short term for the fight against climate change. In the long term, however, failing to look be-

yond divestment to tackle climate change would fail to challenge broader economic structures, and could potentially play into a narrative of ‘green’ or sustainable capitalism. To combat climate change and environmental destruction, broader social, economic, and cultural change is necessary. So far, Divest McGill has conducted an effective divestment campaign and has mobilized a large number of students and community members for its cause. It is important to maintain this momentum and extend it to a broader struggle against climate change. Working with groups outside of the McGill bubble and in solidarity with grassroots activists, notably in Indigenous communities, who have been on the frontlines of this fight for decades, is a vital step forward. Direct action, such as stopping trucks at anti-fracking sites, industrial sabotage, or destroying pipelines, can not only bring about policy changes at the national level, but also directly disturb the mechanisms that cause climate change. McGill must urgently accept the petition and divest from the fossil fuel industry. We encourage students to contact Divest McGill to add their names to the petition and to get involved in the campaign to ensure that McGill divests as soon as possible. Beyond that point, the traction of the divestment movement must be used to mobilize people toward affecting broad systemic transformation to end climate change. Divestment is no longer an option – it is a necessity, and only the first step in a long line of necessary actions against climate change. —The McGill Daily Editorial Board

Errata The article “TAs grapple with the effects of austerity” (News, February 9, page 7) stated “Elgie confirmed in an email that AGSEM will not have a legal strike mandate until May, when it will finish collective agreement negotiations.” In fact, the end date of AGSEM’s negotiations is unknown. Additionally, the article should read that AGSEM is currently in a legal position to strike; however, it will not have a strike mandate unless a member-led motion to strike gains majority support. The Daily regrets the errors.

advertising & general manager Boris Shedov sales representative Letty Matteo ad layout & design Geneviève Robert

Mathieu Ménard Lauriane Giroux

dps board of directors Joseph Boju, Juan Camilo Velásquez Buriticá, Alyssa Favreau, Ralph Haddad, Molly Korab, Rachel Nam, Hillary Pasternak, Dana Wray All contents © 2015 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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Daily Publications Society’s

Student Journalism Week

The annual DPS Journalism Week is here! Join us February 16 to 19 for workshops, panels, speakers, and discussions about the skills you need to be a successful interviewer, writer and reporter!

Monday

Wednesday

4pm, SSMU Club Lounge

4pm, Madeline Parent Rm SSMU

February 16-19

Science Communication Learn about science journalism, current issues, and the importance of effectively communicating science research to the public. SPEAKERS: Stephen Strauss (The Globe and Mail, CSWA), Jean-Marc Fleury (Québec Science), Louise Fabiani, André Picard (The Globe and Mail)

Journalism & Litterature (in French) 4:30pm, ARTS 210

Learrn about being a journalist, and about the state of literary criticism in Quebec and in Le Devoir, only major independant daily newspaper. The presentation will be followed by a discussion. SPEAKER: Catherine Lalonde (Le Devoir)

Photojournalism 7pm, Education 539

Listen to expert photojournalists talk about freelancing, working for big media sources, and their experiences telling narratives through images. SPEAKERS: Marcos Townsend (The Montreal Gazette), Roger Lemoyne, Caroline Hayeur, Cindy Lopez (Cult MTL), Michel Huneault

Tuesday

Quebec documentary Juanicas 4pm, Madeline Parent Rm SSMU

Filmmaker Karina Garcia Cassanova presents her autobiographical documentary, Juanicas, which follows a family struggling with rootlessness and mental illness.

Montreal magazines: What do they want? (Bilingual) 7pm, Arts Building W20

This is your chance to gain insight into the world of Montreal magazines. Our panellist will discuss what the industry is looking for and how you can get your foot in the door. SPEAKER: Haley Cullingham (Maisonneuve)

Freelancing: How to get started We all have to start somewhere. Navigating this industry can be a hard and frustrating process. This event will discuss panelists’ experiences starting off as journalists and how you can make the transition and establish yourself as a working journalist. SPEAKERS: Lisa Fitterman (The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, The Globe and Mail), Alyssa Favreau (Maisonneuve, Reader’s Digest, Quirk Books), Simon Liem (Reader’s Digest, Harper’s), Marissa Miller (Teen Vogue, Montreal Gazette, Chatelaine), Erin Hudson (Canadian University Press, Montreal Gazette)

Reporting in Quebec (Bilingual) 7pm, Leacock Building 15

Our panel of Quebec journalists will be discussing current issues in the province and the Montreal community, and how to report in a bilingual province. SPEAKERS: Kalina LAframboise (Canadian University Press), Christopher Curtis (Montreal Gazette), Laura Beeston (Montreal Gazette)

Thursday

Listen up! Radio Storytelling 2pm, Lev Bukhman SSMU

Obsessed with all things audio? Join us for a panel dedicated to radio storytelling, where our panel will discuss the nitty gritty of getting heard. SPEAKERS: Aaron Lakoff (CKUT), Chris Berube (CBC), Matt Goldberg (Confabulation), Marilla Steuter-Martin (CJLO), Andrea Hunter

Advocacy Journalism, 5pm, SSMU 302

All journalism may be political, but there are those who’ve made a career out of writing about issues close to their hearts. Come learn how to integrate activism with journalism. SPEAKERS: Isabel MacDonald (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), Martin Lukacs (The Gardian), David Koch (Montreal Media Co-Op)

Wine and Cheese, 7:30pm

To end off Journalism Week we will be hosting a wine and cheese cocktail party. Yeah, you heard right! So come on by and get your schmooze on with journalists and other students. Free wine and cheese, enough said!

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at community@mcgilldaily.com