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NEWS 3 NEWS Demo in solidarity with Rojava
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
Protesters support Rojava Montrealers tell Trudeau to “end silence” on Turkey
Silence is Violence launched Workers march on Labour Day Anti-pipeline resistance
8 COMMENTARY An insight into the coup attempt in Turkey Cissexism rampant at Rio Olympics Muslim women’s experiences with Eastern and Western patriarchy
11 FEATURES Breadfaceblog and radical selfrepresentation
14 SCI+TECH A new metallic state of hydrogen on other planets Gut bacteria and aging
16 CULTURE Poetry stage for racialized women and femmes tells stories of resilience Thanya Iyer launches debut album at Resonance Concordia’s summer resident artists discuss their work Karen Tam deconstructs the chinoiserie in installation The Daily Reviews
19 EDITORIAL McGill’s Sexual Violence Policy needs student consultation
20 COMPENDIUM! Crossword BEACH DAY EVERY DAY
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Ryan Cannon News Writer
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n Tuesday September 6, a group of about 75 people gathered outside the office of the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs to protest the new Turkish military offensive in Syria. The protestors argued that the offensive, which Turkey justifies as a campaign against Daesh (also known as ISIS) with support from the United States (U.S.) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), targets the newly declared de facto autonomous state of Rojava, a Kurdish state founded in 2013. The protest’s organizers, members of Rojava Solidarity Montreal, affirmed Rojava as being a “free society, which seeks to create a democratic, ethnically harmonious, feminist, and ecological confederate” in the event’s Facebook page. The protesters sought to gain the attention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Dion. Recently, Turkey has begun taking military action against two groups in the region, the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG). According to the BBC, Turkey considers the PKK to be a terrorist organization, but the YPG is internationally seen as legitimate and has received military support from the U. S.. “We want Canada to end their silence against the Turkish regime,” said Maksuni Oerde, one of the organizers of the protest and a member of the Kurdish Foundation of Quebec, in an interview with the Daily. “What Turkey is doing is a human rights violation, and it’s a violation of international law.” Before moving to Montreal, Oerde lived in the Kurdish region of Turkey, where, he said, the government has been trying to eliminate the Kurdish language for decades. He told The Daily that Turkey discriminates against both the Kurds and other ethnic groups, and that the subject of the protest is a “very personal issue” to him, as President Erdogan of Turkey recently stated that he would oppose any creation of an autonomous Kurdish state, such as the de facto state of Rojava. As a member of NATO, Turkey currently receives aid from both Canada and the U.S.. “We want to see Canada stop sending arms to the Middle East. We see on the news that many of the weapons that we send end up
Demonstrators stand in solidarity with Rojava. in the hands of ISIS and other terrorist organizations,” said Armin Morattab, a Kurdish-Iranian human rights activist who attended the protest. “Our biggest concern, though, is Rojava — as we have seen, they are the most effective tool against ISIS.”
“We want to see Canada stop sending arms to the Middle East. We see on the news that many of the weapons that we send end up in the hands of ISIS and other terrorist organizations.” —Armin Morattab The protest also attracted attendees from outside of Rojava Solidarity Montréal, like Nancy Brown, an active feminist and member of Amnesty International. In an interview with The Daily, Brown said, “I think that many of
us had hope that with the change in government from the terrible Mr. Harper to the less terrible Mr. Trudeau, there would be more courage and more speaking out. But when it comes down to it, the Liberals have certain restrictions in terms of what they can say.” “It’s a shame, really,” she continued. “There are certain economic restrictions, and as long as Canada is going to be dealing with countries that are more interested in selling us oil, and that we are interested in selling Dubai oil from, this will continue to be an issue.” Brown has no illusions about resolving the situation in Syria, but does believe that support for Rojava could make a difference. “What would be wonderful and significant would be for Mr. Dion, on behalf of Canada, after getting the permission of Mr. Trudeau or even making it a parliamentary resolution, to come out in support of this particular Kurdish movement where people care about democracy and gender equality.” At the time of the protest, Dion was overseas in Vietnam, but a spokesperson from the Minister of Foreign Affairs office told The Daily in an email that, “Turkey is a NATO ally and a valuable partner for Canada in the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh. At the same time, we encourage Tur-
Ryan Cannon | Photographer key to take all measures within its power to minimize the impact of its operations in the region on civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
“What Turkey is doing is a human rights violation, and it’s a violation of international law.” —Maksuni Oerde But according to Aaron Vansintjan, a member of Rojava Solidarity Montreal, whatever encouragement Canada is offerring Turkey in this regard is nowhere near adequate. “Canada is actively supporting the Turkish government and the Turkish military by selling arms, and also implicitely supporting them by being silent on the topic of Turkey’s invasion of [Kurdistan],” he told The Daily. “In the Kurdish part of Turkey, in the last six months, there’s been a constant assault on Kurdish communities,” Vansintjan continued, “even those [communities] that weren’t resisting the assault, and there have been cases of chemical warfare.”
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September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
‘Silence is Violence’ launches at McGill Group aims to challenge culture of institutional violence on campuses
Alice Rougeaux News Writer
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A D U LT D A N C E C L A S S E S BALLET CO N T E M P O R A RY DA N C E INTRO TO BALLET S t a y f i t , p u r s u e y o u r p a s s i o n o r p e r f e c t yo u r a r t i n a f u n a n d p ro f e s s i o n a l a t m o s p h e re !
A 5-minute walk from McGill balletdivertimento.com • 514 285 2157 danse@balletdivertimento.com © Barry Goyette (with modifications) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
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he McGill chapter of Silence is Violence (SiV) launched on August 26, describing itself on Facebook as “a survivor-led collective of community members at McGill to advocate for institutional accountability and tackle rape culture on campus.” The group is part of a wider national network, with chapters already in existence at York University, University of British Columbia, and University of Toronto. According to York University’s SiV chapter’s website, the network does not get its name from the silence of survivors, but from that promoted by institutions. It seeks to combat a damaging systemic approach to sexual violence that puts pressure on survivors to keep quiet by casting doubt on their stories and otherwise making their lives more difficult. “We need huge, huge systemic changes in Canada to address this issue, and [the] SiV network is at its forefront,” wrote Paniz Khosroshahy, a U3 Women’s Studies and Computer Science student who founded the McGill chapter of SiV, in an email to The Daily. According to her, there are “administrators [at McGill] that literally re-traumatize students when [the students] report [sexual violence] to them, [and staff that] just sit in a room and repeat ‘I’m sorry that happened to you’ and ‘that sounds frustrating.’” She also stressed that these administrators do not provide material help to ensure safety and access to education. “Ending sexual violence doesn’t happen by talking, but by taking actual action,” she continued, explaining that for her, the most important thing is ensuring that “students have continued access to education after they’re assaulted.” Currently there are no systems in place at McGill that prevent a traumatized student from encountering their assailant on campus. This was also the case for Ariane Litalien, an organizer of McGill’s SiV chapter, who was sexually assaulted while pursuing studies at Harvard. “My assailant lived in my dorm at Harvard, and administrators refused to do anything about
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it,” Litalien wrote in an email to The Daily. She added that SiV is working to ensure survivors aren’t forced to carry out their education under such circumstances. As explained on York University’s SiV chapter’s website, the collective does not simply want improvement on these issues. They seek to implement radical change by ensuring that “those who have experienced sexual violence are placed in decision-making and leadership roles.” This would prevent universities from operating in ways that exacerbate trauma due to sexual violence. Litalien confirmed that the services already in place at universities such as Harvard are not enough: “We had a Harvard-sponsored Sexual Assault Center, and although I got some incredible help from the angels who work there, the office was severely understaffed and had virtually no power to hold the University accountable for its systematic silencing of survivors.” A McGill professor who preferred to remain anonymous expressed concern to The Daily in an email: “I personally believe that support after a case of sexual assault has occurred is vital [...] There are definitely people at McGill who want change and are willing to listen.” McGill’s Sexual Assault Policy McGill’s SiV chapter was also created because of growing frustration toward the University’s lack of response to ,and cooperation with, student demands and initiatives. Since 2013, a studentled working group had been drafting a Sexual Assault Policy for the University, without administrative support. On March 22, 2016, the administration, represented by former Dean of Students André Costopoulos and Associate Provost Angela Campbell, refused to bring the policy forward for approval by the Senate. Current Dean of Students Christopher Buddle told The Daily in an interview on August 30 that the student-drafted policy has been consulted extensively in developing a new policy to be brought to Senate by the end of 2016. In the interim, however, McGill still lacks official guidelines for handling cases of sexual violence.
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The anonymous professor confirmed this: “There have been calls for feedback over the summer, and a number of groups – including the Senate Subcommittee on Women and the McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT) – have made a number of recommendations. Faculty members like myself hope to continue to have input during this semester – alongside student groups,” she wrote.
“We need huge, huge systematic changes in Canada to address this issue, and [the] SiV network is at its forefront.” —Paniz Khosroshahy Founder of McGill’s Silence is Violence chapter In an email to The Daily, Associate Provost Campbell confirmed that the administration’s draft policy would be published on September 12. “We encourage everyone to provide feedback, which can be done online and anonymously if the commentator so chooses,” she added. McGill’s chapter of SiV does not want the policy to focus further on prevention awareness. While it is important, “the phenomenon of consent education [overshadows] any institutional accountability,” Khosroshahy wrote. As such, survivors of sexual assault such as Khosroshahy and Litalien are working to ensure institutions like McGill are held accountable to their students and communities. “I am involved not because I hate McGill, but because I love it enough to want to make it a better place,” Litalien concluded.
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September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
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Labour Day protesters call for better wages, working conditions Demonstrators march in solidarity with striking workers
Xavier Richer Vis The McGill Daily
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n Sunday September 4, the day before Labour Day, the Montreal chapter of the Industrial Workers of the World union (IWW) organized a march to protest precarious working conditions, the stagnation of industrial workers’ salaries, and economic disparities in Canada. Approximately 100 to 150 people were in attendance, many of whom were “Wobblies,” an affectionate name for members of the IWW. Protesters gathered in front of the fountain at the Maisonneuve Market, in the Hochelaga neighbourhood of Montreal, carrying banners, signs, and flags emblazoned with the IWW logo. Prior to the march, demonstration leaders spoke of the dangers of forgetting the true meaning of Labour Day: a day to commemorate the past and current struggles of international labour movements, and to assure better working conditions, hours, and wages for the working class.
“[September’s] Labour Day is effectively the capitalist Labour Day. [...] May Day, in history, is the actual labour day.”
Protesters at the demonstration. “The ruling class doesn’t want [us] to remember that,” Gauger continued, “so they moved Labour Day to September, so the memory of May Day and the struggle [wouldn’t] live on.” As a member of Montreal’s IWW chapter, Gauger marched to show solidarity for his fellow Wobblies, notably those who were on strike that day: as of September 4, around 200 of Montreal’s Old Port workers have been on strike for 101 days, along with Frite Alors employees, a number of whom have recently unionized in an effort to assure better wages and employee benefits. Workers from both unions marched and spoke in Sunday’s demonstration.
—Tim Gauger Member of Industrial Workers of the World Old Port and Frite Alors workers They also addressed what they saw as a corporate takeover of Labour Day. “[September’s] Labour Day is effectively the capitalist Labour Day [...] May Day, in history, is the actual Labour Day,” Tim Gauger, a member of Montreal’s IWW chapter and a McGill employee who attended the protest, told The Daily, referencing May Day’s traditional commemoration of those who died in the Haymarket Massacre of 1886.
voice demands “It’s now officially been 101 days since we went on strike,” said one Old Port worker to the crowd through a megaphone in French. “This is the fourth time that we have refused the management’s offer: the last offer was effectively the same as the mediator’s last offer, but with a few extra trinkets.” The Old Port workers on strike, members of the Syndicat des employés du Vieux-Port de Montreal (SEVPM), are seeking
Xavier Richer Vis | The McGill Daily a significant wage increase and want to boost entry-level wages from the current $10.67 an hour to $15 an hour, which they have declared a “living wage.” According to the SEVPM, the management’s latest offer proposed an entry level-wage of $12.38 an hour. They have also demanded better benefits. “As of now, all regular and occasional [Old Port] employees are not guaranteed sick days,” the speaker continued in French.
“We want to reappropriate this struggle, and put in their face that we still struggle.” —Adam Veilleux, Member of Industrial Workers of the World “We started this strike for better work conditions, demanding an increase in salary, a dialogue between the bosses and the workers, which as of now is inexistent, and paid sick leave,” a Frite Alors employee on strike
said in French to the crowd. “The food service industry, where the majority of workers are women, relies on a model of cheap labor, and workers that are unsatisfied with their conditions are forced to look for another job in their industry rather than try to demand recognition for their rights.” According to Montreal’s IWW chapter, Frite Alors employees on strike have demanded an increase of $2 an hour for all kitchen employees, with an additional $1.80 an hour for female employees, as well as five paid sick leave days per year, and a minimum of 20 hours of guaranteed work per week. Reappropriating the struggle Not all those who spoke during the march were workers on strike. Among those invited to speak at the demonstration were members of the BAILS committee, a Montreal organization that fights growing gentrification in the Hochelaga and Maisonneuve neighborhoods. Their initiatives decry the development of expensive condos and shops over affordable housing for lower to middle income families in the neighbourhood. Liliane Dupont, a member of the BAILS committee, highlighted the superficial nature of
gentrification in her speech, deploring what she sees as city initiatives that seem to help people by cleaning up neighbourhoods, but that do little to actually improve families’ social conditions. “Yes, the new parks are beautiful, and yes, the new flowers on Rue Ontario and Rue Sainte Catherine are beautiful, and yes, Rue Ontario is now very clean, but the sidewalk still dirties your pants when you’re sitting out in the street [because rent is too high], so let’s continue our demonstration, and continue to demand better working conditions as well,” Dupont exclaimed in French. In an interview with The Daily, Adam Veilleux, a Wobblie and construction worker, spoke on behalf of the march’s organizers about the importance of these strikes. “We want to reappropriate this struggle, and put in their face that we still struggle,” said Veilleux. “The [Old Port] union is fighting Ottawa, and you fight this big institution, and go protest in Ottawa in front of Trudeau, [yet] the Old Port site continues running with scabs [editor’s note: people who refuse to strike], then nothing happens. ““The site continues to make plenty of money.”
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News
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
Demonstrators protest Dakota
Community members discuss student
Protesters outside the U.S. Consulate. Marina Cupido The McGill Daily
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n the morning of Thursday September 8, a crowd of roughly thirty people gathered outside the American consulate in Montreal to protest the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline project. Chanting “Water is life!” and “Leave it in the ground!”, they expressed solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their allies, who have been engaged in a non-violent struggle against the project since July. The Dakota Access Pipeline, which would transport over half a million barrels of oil nearly 2000 kilometers across the U.S. Midwest every day, was approved for construction earlier this summer without consulting the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The pipeline threatens the Missouri River, an essential source of fresh water for the tribe, and cuts through land that holds deep spiritual significance for them. In recent days, the Standing Rock reservation has become a focal point of peaceful Indigenous resistance to what many
see as a form of neo-colonialism, with activists from across the continent travelling to the community to stand alongside the local protesters and offer support. Many others have expressed solidarity from afar, like Isanielle Enright, who brought her ceremonial drum to Thursday’s demonstration. “The drum represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth,” Enright told The Daily, “and it’s kind of an honour to be a drum bearer. It’s also a kind of social responsibility to be there at important gatherings, so that’s why I brought mine today: to sing some traditional songs, and also to give courage [...] to the people here who are gathered in support of Standing Rock.” “A lot of us cannot go to Standing Rock,” she continued, “so we want to let them know that there are people in the northern parts of America — of Turtle Island — that have their cause at heart. [...] Even if we can’t be there in person, we are definitely there with them in spirit.” Enright explained to The Daily that she has roots in the local Kanien’kehá:ka community on her mother’s side, and that this entails a
particular responsibility, “For a lot of Indigenous peoples, we are considered as the protectors of water and the protectors of Mother Earth, so it is our responsibility to step up when something like this is happening — when decisions that are motivated by profit threaten the ecosystem.” “A lot of people refer to the [Dakota Access] pipeline as the Iron Snake or as the Black Snake because of the oil it carries,” she added, “but it pertains to a much older prophecy that refers to [...] a time of great disturbance that would be caused by an iron snake.” Another demonstrator present outside the U.S. consulate, who identified himself as Jules, emphasized the idea of peaceful resistance in confronting these threats to the natural world. “In Kanien’kéha, the language of the Mohawk people, [...] there is a saying: when you meet someone, usually you will say ‘she:kon skennenko:wa ken?’ The ‘ken’ is making it a question, asking ‘is the great peace in your mind?’ [...] For us here today, it’s about that – finding the great peace in our mind, spirit, heart, and body.”
“A lot of us cannot go to Standing Rock, so we want to let them know that there are people in the northern parts of America [...] that have their cause at heart.” —Isanielle Enright Protester Opposition to the Energy East Pipeline Enright also expressed opposition to the proposed Energy East Pipeline, which would carry over 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day from the tar sands of Alberta to refineries in Eastern Canada. “[The Energy East pipeline] is going to cross the St. Lawrence,” said Enright. “You can’t put the
head of future generations on the execution block and try to reassure the population by saying there’s a pretty good chance that the axe isn’t going to fall. It’s too much of a risk, and we don’t want it here.” This pipeline, which already faces substantial opposition from environmental groups, became embroiled in further controversy recently when it emerged that two of the National Energy Board (NEB) members tasked with reviewing the project prior to construction had met privately with Jean Charest, a former Quebec premier currently employed by TransCanada, the corporation behind the Energy East Pipeline. When this conflict of interest was revealed, the NEB suspended its public hearings on the Energy East Pipeline amid protests in Montreal and called for the Board to overhaul its review process. Several of those demonstrating outside the U.S. consulate attended the protests against the Energy East project during the public hearings in Montreal two weeks ago, and some criticized the federal govern-
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September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
pipeline outside U.S. consulate
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engagement in pipeline resistance
Demonstrators hold up handmade signs. ment for failing to reform the review process adequately. This was one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign promises when he ran for election last year. “Everything they’ve signed, everything they’ve said, it’s just ‘blabla’,” said demonstrator Sandra Cordero, speaking to The Daily in French. “It’s really not serious, and we really have to get upset, and stand with the people who are oppressed. [...] [Trudeau] is going backwards with regard to what he promised to do, [...] so people are standing here and reminding him that [...] he hasn’t delivered on his promise.” Another protester, who chose to identify herself only as Sandy, echoed Cordero’s criticism: “Justin Trudeau puts on a very nice presentation, and he has his prettyboy smile, but [...] I believe [...] the Liberal government is serving the interests of big business, and at the end of the day, that’s who he’s going to be siding with.” After roughly an hour and a half, Thursday’s demonstration dispersed peacefully. Although at least one police vehicle was stationed down the block from the
protesters for the duration of the event, no attempt was made to interfere with them. For their part, passers-by seemed to have reacted positively to the protest. “Most people look [at us], some of them don’t show any visible reaction,” said a demonstrator named Marilyne, speaking to The Daily in French, “but we’ve also gotten encouragement and smiles - even just a smile warms the heart. [...] We haven’t received any expressions of anger.” Student involvement The Daily also spoke with members of the Montreal student community about pipelines, and about the ways in which those without personal ties to the areas directly affected can engage with what is, in some respects, a very local struggle. Keah Hansen, a U3 English student at McGill, is from Nova Scotia. In an email to The Daily, she explained that while Indigenous issues and climate justice are very important to her, she feels somewhat disconnected from the anti-pipeline resistance taking place in Montreal.
[Trudeau] is going backwards with regard to what he promised to do, [so] people are standing here and reminding him that [...] he hasn’t delivered on his promise.” —Sandra Cordero Protester
“I actually feel very removed from the Energy East issue,” Hansen wrote, “and I think that this is definitely a privileged perspective, as I’m not from Quebec, and, moreover, the potential dangers of a pipeline don’t affect my community of downtown Montreal. [...] However, as an academic institution located on the traditional territory of Indigenous communities, and seeing how so many
Indigenous groups have already been affected by pipelines and are opposing this proposed pipeline, [the McGill community] ought to [...] reject its installation.” According to Anya Sivajothy, a former editor at The Daily and the current Sustainability Commissioner of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), recognizing our relationship to the Indigenous land we occupy is an important part of becoming a useful ally to the pipeline resistance movement. But, she says, there’s more to be done. “These recent events are only one manifestation of an Indigenous struggle that is centuries old,” wrote Sivajothy in an email to The Daily. “Interested students can be allies first by acknowledging the kind of relationship that they have with the land that they are occupying and then communicating with Indigenous communities to see how they can show their solidarity.” Sivajothy also explained that pollution to the St. Lawrence River could have serious repercussions for McGill, Montreal and the wider region.
“More and more concerns are being revealed with regards to the pipelines, especially with ones that are close to us such as the Energy East Pipeline. Just recently there was a report talking about how the pipelines may affect the safety of drinking water near Winnipeg. Oil spills are also constantly happening, which lead to environmental destruction despite the promises that the pipelines are safe and monitored. [...] We are not removed from these problems.”
“The Liberal government is serving the interests of big business, and at the end of the day, that’s who he’s going to side with.” —Sandy Protester
COMMENTARY
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
Uncomfortably numb
Arda Eskigil Commentary Writer
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How it feels to watch your country fall to autocracy
Trigger warning: violence
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junior army officer shoots a general in the head before being executed by fellow soldiers. Soldiers fire at defenseless crowds. Policemen shoot at the military. Tanks roll over people. Angry mobs lynch soldiers. Warplanes bomb the Parliament building. On July 15, a group of army officers allegedly attempted to overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime in Turkey. In addition, Erdogan claims he was the subject of an attempted assassination while he was on vacation. After narrowly surviving this supposed attack, he appeared on Facetime from an unknown location to urge people to resist the coup by fighting aggressors in the streets. After flying to Istanbul, he slowly regained his power. According to many, including scholars and Erdogan himself, most of the soldiers involved in the plot were followers of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Turkish preacher and entrepreneur of the self-styled ‘Hizmet’ (service) movement, a highly influential and shadowy religious cult well-positioned in the state apparatus. Once strongly supported by Erdogan, Gulen’s relationship with the Turkish President is now rife with conflict. Since 2013, the two sides have been waging an unrelenting war for dominance where they have each played both the culprit and the victim’s role. Was it really Gulen? Was Erdogan informed in advance and ready for backlash which would then give him the upper hand? Or was Erdogan responsible for the staged coup, using it as a power grab? The people of Turkey don’t know. We probably never will. The failed coup attempt corroborated my strongest conviction about our country: getting a taste of the authentic ‘Turkish experience’ is far more thrilling and delirious than being the pro-
“No one can defeat the Turkish nation” tagonist of the most sensational Hollywood movie ever made. Here, fiction is de trop. As Robert Walser famously pointed out, “we don’t need to see anything out of the ordinary. We already see so much.” Perhaps we see a little too much. In fact, Turkey is one of those countries where one is taught, at a fairly young age, to master the honorable art of watching and ignoring. “Keep calm, and mind your own business.” Syrian kids living in poverty within Turkey, Daesh (also known as ISIS) planting bombs that explode at airports and open air summer weddings (the last one a few weeks ago, killing 55 people), and an unacknowledged civil war raging in the Southeast where the state continues to disenfranchise and kill the Kurdish peoples like they have for the past forty years, do not even come up in our daily conversations. We’re just like you, except we talk about soccer instead of hockey.
Over the past fifteen years, we watched our once-democratic, moderately conservative leaders mutate into third-rate dictators: building tasteless palaces, prioritising the financing of projects that could jeopardize the economy, and jailing, persecuting, and marginalizing anyone uttering the mildest, most inoffensive criticism. It would have been uncharacteristic for Erdogan not to follow such a long-established pattern of tyrannical ruling. Watching one’s country drift into quasi-dictatorship is a curious affair: a regular man rises to uncontested power under the supportive, passive, or despairing gaze of others. Millions are left contemplating how this ‘chosen one’ became the embodiment of a nation, reforming and imposing the ‘will of the majority’ onto powerless and subdued minorities: an omnipresent, self-declared messianic figure that gradually invades civilian lives, dictates their mind, and inhabiting their nightmares. Weary of putting up a forlorn resistance that could lead to incarceration, people have
Arda Eskigil | The McGill Daily finally given up. Sarcasm, cynicism, and eventually nihilism prevail, while hope withers away.
As Robert Walser famously pointed out, “we don’t need to see anything out of the ordinary. We already see so much.” Perhaps we see a little too much. July 15 marked a dark day, a day where Turkish people were left with a tragic choice: a populist and merciless autocrat or a cruel, cold-blooded military intervention that could’ve led to a civil war. In
any case, the only predictable outcome in this highly unpredictable country is that things are bound to get worse. The recent crackdown on tens of thousands of teachers, professors, doctors, businessmen, journalists, activists, politicians and even athletes and stand-up comedians labeled as ‘plotters’ or ‘terrorists’ will inevitably bring more injustice, which in turn, will lead to more frustration, violence and instability. In the meantime, we can seek refuge in Kurt Vonnegut’s words, watching and ignoring the decadeslong crisis that rages on and threatens our future: “No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media, and our religious and charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful” For how long can we keep mumbling cheery, bustling tunes in the dark? I don’t know. Arda Eksigil has an M.A. in Ottoman History. To contact the author, please email arda.eksigil@mail.mcgill.ca.
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Commentary
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
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Gender equality loses at Olympics
The Olympics are unsafe for gender-nonconforming and trans athletes
Jennifer Guan | The McGill Daily Kiara Bernard Commentary Writer Trigger warning: cissexism, transphobia, trans/gender nonconformingexclusionary language
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f one were to give credence to the idea of a gender binary, it would seem as if women’s rights have significantly improved since the Olympic games were first held in 1896. At its inception, the inclusion of women in the games was frowned upon by organisers, including founder Pierre de Coubertin. A report written in 1912 after the Stockholm games, and published with Coubertin’s support, read, “An Olympiad with females would be impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and improper.” Women first competed in the Olympics in 1900, making up 2.2 per cent of the total Olympian population. In 2016, 120 years later, the Rio Olympics featured the highest percentage of participation from women than ever before in Olympic history: about 45 per cent of competing athletes were women. However, this is not an indicator that the Olympics are truly progressing towards gender equality. An issue surrounding gender equality that has recently resurfaced is the case of South African middle-distance runner, Caster Semenya. Semenya, who won the
gold medal in 800m running in Rio this year, has a condition known as “hyperandrogenism”, meaning her testosterone levels are naturally higher than what the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) considers the norm for women. As a result of this, she has been continuously subjected to public scrutiny and an invasion of privacy, not only by Olympic officials and authority figures, but also by her fellow athletes and the world at large. Since 2009, when she was first revealed to be hyperandrogenic following her success at the world championships in Berlin, Semenya’s status as a “real woman” has been scrutinised with complete disregard of her right to self-identify. As a result, her eligibility to participate in athletic events was put in jeopardy. The International Association of Athletics Federations and the International Olympic Commission (IOC) requested Semenya take a “gender verification test” – details regarding the nature of this test remain undisclosed. Following this, the IAAF and the IOC modified their policy on “gender verification,” which had beforehand been vague, to include limitations on testosterone levels for those competing in women’s sports. As a result, Semenya was banned from competition between November 2009 and July 2010.
Semenya’s status as a “real woman” has been investigated and questioned with complete disregard of her right to selfidentify. In 2015, the IAAF and IOC policies were overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following an appeal by Dutee Chand, a sprinter from India who was also barred from competition in female athletic events due to hyperandrogenism. At the Rio Olympics, with the ban no longer in place, Semenya was able to live up to her potential and became a gold medalist. However, not everyone was happy with her win, and the intrusive discussion surrounding her gender was reopened. Regardless of the outcome of the deliberations between the IAAF and IOC regarding acceptable testosterone levels in women athletes, Semenya identifies a woman. However, institutional policies refused
to allow her the right to self-determination and identification. To say that she could not compete in women’s events because her testosterone levels were too high was to directly tell her, “no, you are not a woman.” If IAAF and IOC policies dictate that a female-identifying person with high testosterone levels is not a woman, they are immediately taking away the right to self-identification from trans women, gender nonconforming women and femmes, or any women with high testosterone levels that might want to compete in sports.
To say that she could not compete in women’s events because her testosterone levels were too high was to directly tell her, “no, you are not a woman.” The IAAF should be more concerned with elite athletes consciously and willingly taking performance enhancing drugs than with marginalising an individual who has no control over their physiology. Trying to alter someone’s
body to conform to what they deem is an acceptable level of testosterone to have is outrageous. The Russian team faced no consequences for their performance enhancing substance usage, but a woman simply trying to compete to the best of her abilities was scrutinised, publicly shamed in the media for her appearance and hormone levels, and had her identity questioned for over five years. It seems wholly unfair to discriminate against someone like Semenya, who has trained hard for her medals, on the basis that her testosterone levels give her some sort of “advantage” – an argument that has been disproved by geneticists and Athletic authorities within the past year, not that it matters. To claim that keeping Semenya out of the game was done in order to “protect” her competitors from an athlete with an “unfair advantage” is both paternalistic and discriminatory. It is an outright rejection of gender rights that the IAAF should be working towards. Moreover, it is simply a show of bad sportspersonship. Kiara Bernard is a McGill student in U3. She is majoring in philosophy and double-minoring in world religions and communications. To contact her, email kiara. bernard@mail.mcgill.ca.
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COMMENTARY
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
Spectacle first, person second
Muslim women are faced with both secular and religious extremism khatira mahdavi Commentary Writer Trigger warning: Islamophobia, misogyny
T
he Muslim woman is a spectacle. She is a worldwide phenomenon, misunderstood not only by men and non-Muslims, but by women and Muslims too. Her existence is fetishized and politicized. She is viewed as something to be conquered, a wrong to be corrected, someone who needs saving. A lot of attention has been focused on Muslim women this past year. Our feats were grand and momentous, and they broke glass ceilings for our communities. For example, Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first American athlete to ever compete with a hijab in the Rio Olympics and her achievements brought visibility to Black Muslim women in sports. However, around the same time, several coastal towns in France set a ban against burkinis worn on beaches. Burkinis, for those who haven’t been following the furor, are full body swimsuits that expose only the face, hands, and feet. They were created to allow covered Muslim women to feel comfortable on beaches, which are often unwelcoming of their dress styles. Some French officials justify the new ban as an attempt at liberating Muslim women from the “oppression” of the burqa, while others claim outright that the burkini represents the “threat of Islamic extremism.” Many leaders in France have been consistent with their Islamophobic rhetoric despite the state court ruling that the burkini ban is “a serious and manifestly illegal attack on fundamental freedoms.” This ban, which local leaders have refused to change despite the court’s statements, is only a further infringement of Muslim women’s right to bodily autonomy. These narratives of policing Muslim women’s bodies and behaviours are constantly played out in different contexts, which, according to popular rhetoric, are two polar-opposites: the West (Europe and North America) and the East (western, central, and southern Asia). In ‘eastern’ countries, the scrutiny that is directed towards Muslim women is rooted in patriarchy. In ‘western’ countries, patriarchy joins with cultural imperialism, resulting in their hostile treatment. The intersections of Muslim-hood and womanhood make it excruciatingly
difficult for Muslim women to navigate societies which are both patriarchal and functioning on values of extremism, whether Islamic or secular. Islamic extremism is not a concept that we’re unfamiliar with, as it has become synonymous with governing Muslim bodies. Secular extremism, however, is a new concept which attempts to capture rigid anti-religious sentiments that are used in a similar manner to strip religious women of their agency and dignity. Undoubtedly the most central element of any discussion about the value of secular, as opposed to religious, binary is the hijab: the cultural-religious head covering that carries with it the burden of scrutiny by the external world, forcing Muslim women to continuously fight off both extremist sentiments and patriarchal judgement from all sides.
In ‘eastern’ countries, the scrutiny that is directed towards Muslim women is rooted in the patriarchy. In ‘western’ countries, patriarchy joins with cultural imperialism to result in their hostile treatment. In Muslim societies, the struggle over the compulsory/optional status of the hijab stems from male insecurity with regards to the control they have over women. Conversations regarding the status of the hijab in religious contexts, such as the Quran and the hadith, are restricted to male scholars, so women often having no say in what regulations are being made in regards to their bodies. The state interferes with women’s personal choices, which is why the compulsory hijab is viewed as oppressive: not because a woman’s liberation depends on the modesty of her clothing but because women are constantly scrutinised for any choices they make. The practice of barring women from making decisions about laws and regulations that direct-
Nadia Boachie | Illustrator ly affect them is one that we are not unfamiliar with in the west, although it is one we like to distance ourselves from. The idea that extremism is inherently related to religion and religious governments is false and incredibly misleading. The burkini ban is a secular extremist act because the state is still dictating what women can and cannot wear, which essentially is no different than the compulsory hijab. The hijab, however, is no longer just a representation of modesty, but has entered the realm of politics. It is now worn with different motivations, some religious and some political: onecommon reason is to uphold a symbol of national identity and opposition to the imperial West during independence and nationalist movements. The veil is being used to maintain a sense of cultural identity in a world that aggressively enforces Western norms. But choosing to wear the hijab as a political choice (rather than a cultural requirement) becomes incredibly difficult in countries such as France, where the hijab is banned in social and professional spaces. This form of social restriction stands in complete contrast to religious extremism, and can be referred to as secular extremism.
The idea that extremism is inherently related to religion and religious governments is false and incredibly misleading. Secular governing systems can only be deemed democratic as long as they abide by the policy that the separation between the church and the state is purely political, rather than cultural. This form of secularism is moderate and lenient, and it only loses its credibility when it escapes the political sphere and begins to look like cultural policing, or interfering in the personal lives of members of the society. France’s burkini ban has made it clear that its secularism is not moderate, but extreme; it tries to impose homogeneity in cultural values by using the force of the state. Although the hijab as a representation of modesty is not only
politicized in Western societies it can be used by women as a tool of protection against deeply patriarchal, misogynistic Muslim men. For example, in Afghanistan, the burqa was a culture statussymbol for many, and also allows women to enter the public realm while maintaining their modesty in male-dominated spaces. Afghan women within Pashtun and non-Pashtun groups living in remote regions where religious beliefs can often remain extreme and stagnant would have found it impossible to present themselves in public without the burqa. The burqa is making public, maledominated spaces accessible to Afghan women in the same way that the burkini is making public beaches accessible to Muslim women elsewhere. Muslim women, in different ways across the world, use the hijab to combat state violence and regulations. To see the right to expression and freedom be stolen away from them by French authorities begs the question, how can one form of extremism ever consider itself to be more liberating than another? Khatira Mahdavi is a Muslim Canadan U1 Cultural Studies student. To contact her, email khatira.mahdavi@mail.mcgill.ca.
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A toast to Breadfaceblog A gluten-filled ode to disrupting the capitalist landscape of Instagram Written by Mars Zaslavsky
@breadfaceblog “It started over the summer. I bought a green tea roll cake from a Korean bakery and I started off gently powdering my face with it. It felt so good.” This is the explanation a young East Asian woman provides for “Breadfaceblog,” her unique and fascinating Instagram account comprised of selfie videos. The woman behind Breadfaceblog – I’ll call her Bread Face from now on – perches her smartphone on a table and records herself ceremoniously presenting a piece of bread, pastry, or other gluten-based food, and smooshes 1 her entire face into the bread in question. Sometimes she tenderly rolls her cheeks over the loaf, and other times she plows into the bread with headbanger-esque ferocity. She pairs fuchsia, neon orange, and emerald green lipsticks with meticulously done nails, often holding up a lipsticksmeared loaf at the end of a video. As of this writing, Breadfaceblog offers over seventy videos.
many commenters have noted, there’s also a sense of fetishistic voyeurism to the videos: a young East Asian woman, alone at home, doing something strange and gluttonous to a piece of bread, with rapturous enthusiasm. In an interview with the Vice television show Munchies, Bread Face admits, “I think this always disappoints people but there was actually very little thought that went into this. I wanted to put my face in bread, and so I did it. I thought people would really enjoy that.” And the masses have spoken: Bread Face has garnered nearly 90,000 followers since the inception of Breadfaceblog in June 2015, and her fanbase is growing daily.
There is nothing frivolous or shallow about a woman of colour practicing radical selfThere’s a sense of representation. fetishistic voyeurism I argue that Bread Face deliberately fetishistic content as a means for a to the videos: a young creates young woman of colour to reclaim a space East Asian woman, from the normative – white, male – centers of cultural production. I’ll focus on alone at home, doing the 44th and 45th videos posted on Breadfaceblog: “District Social’s housemade something strange Rosemary Sesame Roll” and “Brownstone Cinnamon Roll,” respectively. I’ll and gluttonous to a Bagels be using Theresa Senft and Nancy Baym’s paper “What Does the Selfie piece of bread. collaborative Say? Investigating a Global Phenomenon”
The comments reflect a sense of confusion surrounding this phenomenon: most viewers tag their disbelieving friends, or attempt to verbalize their shock. But, as
to explore how marginalized people use selfies to take back agency over their own representation. Senft and Baym are feminist scholars and academics whose work
explores social media culture, the online performance of self, and the circulation and consumption of this performance. They conceive of the practice of digital self-portraiture as “fundamentally ambiguous, fraught and caught in a stubborn and morally loaded hype cycle.” Women and femmes 2 taking and circulating their own selfies is often turned into a pathology. A binary division arises wherein the selfie-taker is either a narcissist or is lacking in self-esteem – but this rhetoric only reduces the selfie to either a wholly empowering phenomenon or an entirely disempowering one for women and femmes. The key difference between objectification and empowerment is whether the person being looked at holds the power in the situation. If they have control over their own representation, they are not being sexually objectified. Breadfaceblog is wresting back control by taking selfies, and while there’s no shortage of disdain for bread-facing, this essay serves to argue that there is nothing frivolous or shallow about a woman of colour practicing radical self-representation. CLAIMING SPACE, BREAD-TO-FACE As Senft and Baym argue, “In the history of Western art, women have had little control over the representation of their bodies and subjectivities.” Bread Face, however, exercises control throughout the entire set-up of each video, from the curating of background music to specific lighting and clothing choices. Her makeup is sometimes meticulously done and subsequently (and very satisfyingly) ruined as she faceplants directly into her pastry of choice. Immaculate makeup allows women and femmes control over their own pre-
sentation – but to publicly ruin it on one’s own terms is arguably equally as empowering. For a woman or femme to make it obvious that she’s wearing makeup by conspicuously smearing it is a “fuck you” to all the misogynists who say that women and femmes are “lying” by wearing makeup, or police them for the amount and type of makeup they wear.
For a woman or femme to make it obvious that she’s wearing makeup by conspicuously smearing it is a “fuck you” to all the misogynists who say that women and femmes are “lying” by wearing makeup. In “Brownstone Bagels Cinnamon Roll,” Bread Face wears a bra over her clothes and adds a quip to her caption, writing, “This is for all of you who requested I wear a bra,” after having been previously criticized for her nipples being visible in another video. She is thus performing a kind of deviant femininity: wearing a bra, but purposely making it visible. Images of women and queer people tend to be more socially policed than those of heterosexual men, and Patricia Hill Collins,
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Video 44, @breadfaceblog the African American feminist writer, famously noted that people of color are subject to surveillance by white people, who then assess the legitimacy of their actions. Senft and Baym similarly say that “young people have fewer claims to privacy than older people.” Since voyeurism depends on violating one’s privacy – something that women, femmes, and people of colour have to constantly contend with – Bread Face is reclaiming that objectifying lens by deliberately making her underwear public. In her words, she’s “giving the people something they didn’t ask for,” as she writes in her Instagram bio, this statement sandwiched between two bread emojis.
Selfies exist to be liked, scrolled past, pinched to enlarge, and screenshotted. But some bodies are grabbed, pinched, and violated more than others: those of women and femmes of colour. While Bread Face exerts a remarkable amount of control over her videos, selfies are not stagnant artifacts. Rather, Senft argues that selfies are “created, displayed, distributed, tracked, and monetized” through a kind of gestural, tactile practice
that grabs or can be grabbed by consumers, in this case Instagram users. Selfies – posted to Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook – exist to be liked, scrolled past, pinched to enlarge, and screenshotted. But some bodies are grabbed, pinched, and violated more than others: those of women and femmes of colour. Men feel they are entitled to own and use the bodies of women and femmes, while white people feel entitled to control and violate the bodies of people of colour. Oppressions based on race and gender intersect such that women of colour are constantly – in media and in real life – being reduced to objects. Bread Face is an East Asian woman, part of a group of people who, in media and pop culture, have been explicitly exoticized as submissive, docile, and petite. East Asian women are the subject of constant fetishization: a survey by dating site AYI.com found that Asian women users were the group that was most likely to recieve messages from non-Asian male users. East Asian women are denied the ability to have desires of their own, whether they are sexual or not, because they are seen as submissive, and are only given space if it serves to fulfill the desires of others – namely white men. Bread Face thus embodies a radical feminist spirit: she is a woman of colour reclaiming a space for her own desire. Instagram is the land of the “personal brand” where people can amass millions of followers by posting photos of their daily outfits, food, and friends. So where does Breadfaceblog fit into the capitalist landscape of promotionalism and self-branding? Bread Face is what social media researcher Alice Marwick terms a “microcelebrity” –
she holds considerable traction in a niche Instagram community, locating herself in the “attention economy,” which assigns value to a piece of content based on its ability to capture and sustain attention. According to Marwick, to be a microcelebrity is to engage in “a mind-set and a collection of self-presentation practices endemic in social media, in which users strategically formulate a profile, reach out to followers, and reveal personal information to increase attention and thus improve their online status.” Bread Face interacts and communicates with her audience through the content of her videos; she adds captions with information on her bread choice and sometimes her clothing, and occasionally responds to comments left by viewers. However, Bread Face remains an elusive subject. She remains anonymous in the few online interviews that exist, using the pseudonym “Breadfaceblog” or “Bread Face Girl.”
Bread Face is complicit in the collapse of “any meaningful distinction between notions of the self and capitalist processes of production and consumption.” Instagram as a platform allows Bread Face to exert control over her self-image
by curating content, using a pseudonym, and countering user comments whenever she pleases. In video 35, featuring a rosemary sesame roll, user @bridgets.ink tags another user, @chrispatin0, and leaves the following comment: “When you have no clue how to be Instagram famous so you do this.” This comment directly speaks to the necessity of self-branding and feverish promotionalism in order to achieve any kind of cultural or monetary capital on social media sites. Bread Face retains her autonomy and agency through her unaffectedness: though her selfie is constantly grabbed and transmitted through various channels, she does not respond directly to these kinds of comments. Watching her slowly, gracefully land into a sesame roll, one cannot help but think that the ritualistic, mesmerizing gesture of faceplanting is a metaphorical finger to the proverbial haters. UNDER CAPITALISM WE WILL NEVER BE FREE Bread Face navigates a capitalistic landscape by monetizing her acts of bread-facing through the use of online payments. Her Instagram bio sometimes includes a link to her PayPal account, sometimes to items she’s selling on eBay, and in individual captions that accompany certain videos she directs the viewer towards making a cash contribution. In video 35, she writes, “link in bio in case you wanna donate $1 to...my#breadfacing.” The practice of “tipping” content creators via PayPal is relatively new, and echoes notions of the sharing economy and alternative, cooperativist models for exchange that have become popular with young
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Video 45, @breadfaceblog people. In order to gain not only followers, but also a profit, Bread Face must turn the act of bread-facing into content that people are willing to exchange money for. In the words of Alison Hearn, a scholar whose work examines the intersections of media and culture, the branded self as a commodity “must generate its own rhetorically persuasive packaging, its own promotional skin” that fits in with a landscape of corporate imagery. Hearn notes that the labour of turning oneself into a brand is a “highly self-conscious process of selfexploitation, performed in the interests of material gain or cultural status.” Insofar as a selfie is a representation of one’s self, by monetizing her selfies, Bread Face turns herself – or at least her bread-facing – into a commodity. Under Hearn’s framework, Bread Face is complicit in the collapse of “any meaningful distinction between notions of the self and capitalist processes of production and consumption.”
“Women’s labor, typically performed in domestic settings, has long been obscured by cultural, ideological, and legal means.” – Tamara Shepherd, Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary While you can find microcelebrities everywhere on Instagram, Marwick says
the most successful ones often “reproduce conventional status hierarchies of luxury, celebrity, and popularity that depend on the ability to emulate the visual iconography of mainstream celebrity culture.” For Canadian and American media, this means that the most popular microcelebrities create content based on white supremacy and patriarchy. And since Bread Face is neither white nor male, she is immediately identifiable as an outsider in the realm of content creation. For her to find success as a microcelebrity and monetize her popularity despite this, is subversive.
Her Instagram account reflects a contemporary struggle, obser vable through social media, of an East Asian woman sur viving within a capitalist system that thrives off aggressive promotionalism. As Hearn argues, “self-branding illustrates how flexible corporate capital has subsumed all areas of human life, including the very concept of a private self, so conveniently celebrated as sacrosanct by the ideologies of neoliberalism.” Bread Face “tags” the brands that produce the
clothing and makeup she wears in two videos (@unif and @sephora are but a few), coupled with gentle yet cheeky reminders that donations are always accepted. Thus, Bread Face makes explicit that nothing – not even supposedly “free” social media platforms – are safe from the influences of capitalism. However, this practice does not invalidate the potentially radical space she occupies on Instagram. Self-branding involves the careful construction of the self, through filters, posing, and interacting with commenters. As such, self-branding is an obstruction of the labour involved in the creation of content which “recalls the way that women’s labor, typically performed in domestic settings, has long been obscured by cultural, ideological, and legal means,” as articulated by Tamara Shepherd, whose research focuses on digital culture and its many manifestations. Work traditionally done by women, like cooking, cleaning, and housework has long been dismissed and made invisible, even though this work is essential to capitalist accumulation. She draws a parallel between the so-called “shadow labour” of women and the way social media sites like Facebook invisibilize the labour of its users. Senft and Baym note that social media use, and particularly selfie practices, has been feminized in mass culture, evoking images of young women performing the archetypal duck face. The fact that Bread Face capitalizes on a practice that obscures the labour inherent in its creation and dissemination, in a manner similar to the delegitimization of feminized labour, characterizes her blog as a feminist pursuit that is disruptive to the capitalist landscape of Instagram.
Bread Face capitalizes on niche content without shame. Breadfaceblog is many things. It is a visually and conceptually shocking, sensual, and oddly mesmerizing spectacle. It’s also a vivid representation of postmodern aesthetics, and a feminist shout into the social media void. Bread Face capitalizes on niche content without shame. Her Instagram account reflects a contemporary struggle, observable through social media, of an East Asian woman surviving within a capitalist system that thrives off of aggressive promotionalism that often delimits a user’s creative potential, and conditions social media users to exist within normative standards of expression and identification. Bread Face remains an elusive subject: she is inscrutable as a whole as she continues to hide behind a gluteninfused veil, yet her work is an unapologetic challenge to the singular and universalizing narrative painted of women and femmes of colour on social media. In the process, she has captured the hearts of thousands. Bread Face will have her cake, and eat it, too. 1 I have chosen to employ the term smoosh to explain the act of planting one’s face in bread, as it was used to describe Bread Face’s habit in an online interview with Maxim. 2 A working definition of the word “femme” is “a person who expresses and/ or identifies with femininity.”
SCI+TEch
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
Put pressure on hydrogen
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Existence of metallic hydrogen confirmed
Tony Feng Sci+Tech Writer
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t standard temperature and pressure (25 C and 1 atm), hydrogen exists as molecules in the gaseous state. In January 2016, a team of physicists from the University of Edinburgh, led by Eugene Gregoryanz, successfully made metallic hydrogen by using a pair of diamonds to compress hydrogen molecules to a pressure of approximately 3 million atmosphere. This development, which has hitherto remained elusive, could mean more insight into planetary structure. Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe; at room temperature, it is a gaseous nonmetal. As a nonmetal, its electrons are unable to move freely. Eighty years ago, scientists first hypothesized that the metallic form of hydrogen might exist under high pressure and would have properties vastly different from its nonmetal form.
Since metals have freely moving electrons, metallic hydrogen is predicted to be a superconductor. One of the most notable examples of this phenomenon is at Jupiter’s core, which is believed to be made up of metallic hydrogen. Jupiter’s rapid rotation compounded with metallic hydrogen’s conducting properties might explain the planet’s magnetic field, which is about 20,000 times stronger than that of Earth. The attempts to create metallic hydrogen have until now been fruitless because the pressure exerted on hydrogen was not great enough to transform it into its metallic form. In a press release, Gregoryanz stated, “the past 30 years of the highpressure research saw numerous claims of the creation in the laboratory, but all these claims were later disproved.” This January, upon creating metallic hydrogen, Gregoryanz and other researchers discovered that at pressure approxi-
mately 3.25 million times that of Earth’s atmosphere, hydrogen entered a new phase — phase V. This new form of hydrogen started to show properties similar to those of metals: their electrons became freely moving, and the molecules broke down to atoms. Their experiment further showed that the boundaries between phase IV and phase V seemed to be completely pressure-based, and independent of change in temperature. However, the research team found that phase V wasn’t the fully metallic form of hydrogen, since there was evidence that some bonds between hydrogen might still be present. The physicists noted that their findings were “the onset of the predicted non-molecular and metallic state of hydrogen,” and higher pressure would be needed to achieve the purely atomic state. In an interview, Gregoryanz explained that “[their] study presents the first experimental
Marina Djurdjevic | The McGill Daily evidence that hydrogen could behave as predicted, although at much higher pressures than previously thought. The finding will help to advance the fundamental and planetary sciences.” This breakthrough in the study of metallic hydrogen sheds new light on the structure of gaseous planets like Jupiter. It
further suggests that metals and nonmetals are not immutable. A non-metal may transform into its metallic form under suitable conditions, and vice versa. Still, for a better understanding of metallic hydrogen, future experiments need to apply greater pressures to obtain the pure form of this elusive state of hydrogen.
Aging is a gut reaction
Well-balanced intestinal microorganisms are the key to longevity Elroy Lee Sci+Tech Writer
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or the past few decades doctors and researchers have emphasized the importance of naturally fermented foods, such as kimchi and yogurt. These foods have a significant impact on the microorganisms living in our intestines, and research suggests that the state of this flora has a significant effect on overall health. However, the exact mechanisms and association between the community of microorganisms living in the intestines, also called gut microbiota, and aging is still relatively unknown. Each individual has a unique and vast microbial ecosystem in their body; the gastrointestinal tract itself harbors up to 100 trillion bacteria. These microorganisms play a role in balancing the immune system and their imbalance is associated with many health issuses including cancer, allergies, chronic gastrointestinal diseases, and metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity. Such imbalances can be triggered by the use of antibiotics, excessive hygiene, diet and even aging. In fact, after the age of 70, the decline of bodily functions can lead to a decrease in the count and diversity of beneficial species in the gut microbiota, ultimately weakening the body’s defence against disease. There are approximately 1000 types of bacteria in a healthy adult’s gut ecosystem, the major-
ity of which is composed of phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. As the most dominant phyla in the gut, the ratio between these two groups of bacteria is informative in determining gut health, according to an article published in Age, an international research journal specializing in the biology of aging. A classification-based analysis by researchers at Kyung-Hee University showed that aging is associated with changes in composition of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Specifically, an increase in Firmicutes, and a reduction of Bacteroidetes was observed The Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio has also previously been shown to be increased with obesity, which can lead to health concerns. “Inflamm-aging,” as coined by researchers, is chronic, low-grade inflammation that occurs during aging and that involves inflammatory network activation and the release of proteins promoting inflammation. Researchers believe that inflamm-aging may be associated with age-related changes in gut microbiota composition. Proteins such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are a major component of the outer membrane of some bacteria, acting as a protective barrier, and their production is boosted by age. Unfortunately, they can also trigger the body’s immune system and cause inflammation. Levels of LPS production in the gut microbiota, and expression levels of inflamm-aging mark-
ers such as p16. P16 is a cell-cycle regulator, and is an inductor of senescence, the process of deterioration with age. With age, p16 expression increases in order to suppress stem cell proliferation and tissue regeneration. Results from the study showed that LPS lead to increased p16 expression in the colon of aged mice, along with increased activation of inflammatory markers. These results indicate that aging can accelerate inflamm-aging by inducing p16 expression in mice by increasing LPS levels in gut microbiota. Such age-related gut microbiota modifications and imbalances are associated with inflamm-aging and immunosenescence, a decline in the functionality of the immune system. By preventing imbalances in the gut, it may be possible to prevent inflamm-aging and senescence, decrease symptoms and diseases related to aging. A study by University of California, Los Angeles researchers published in Cell Reports in 2015 showed bacterial changes in the intestine and leakage of intestinal tracts before death in fruit flies. Antibiotics, which reduce bacterial levels in the intestine, prevented the age-related increase in bacterial levels and improved intestinal function during aging, significantly prolonging the lifespan of 40 day-old flies. The average lifespan of the fly type Drosophila
Nadia Boachie | Illustrator melanogaster is approximately 50-60 days. These suggests that similar results may be possible in humans through minimizing harmful bacteria which multiplies with age, while preventing the loss of healthy bacteria, and improving intestinal functions. Although the association between gut microbiota and aging is still relatively undefined, studies suggest that certain diets such as those containing whole grain and high fiber content can contribute to maintaining a balanced intestinal flora, help preventing agerelated diseases and promote
longevity. For individuals over 70 years of age, focusing on restoring balance and preventing disease-causing inflammation may help thwart age-related issues and symptoms. Although researchers continue the search for novel treatments for agerelated issues, keeping a healthy gut environment through diet at an individual level by eating pro and prebiotic foods and avoiding foods causing inflammation can also aid in prevention of disease. This could be particularly relevant for some age groups, such as our baby boomers as they ease their way into retirement.
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Candidates will interview in front of all voters at the election in Shatner B-24.
deadlines: The Daily requires all candidates to submit a one-page application that includes your qualifications and interest in running, as well as two samples of writing, photos, illustrations, or design. Email your letter of intent to coordinating@mcgilldaily.com by September 19 at midnight.
CULTURE
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
16
The storm was needed
SistersInMotion provides catharsis for racialized women and femmes Anne-Cécile Favory and Zahra Habib The McGill Daily
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he voices of Black, Indigenous, and racialized women and femmes (BIWOC/BIFOC) are seldom heard, let alone given a public platform. This lack of designated space is part of the systematic erasure that continues to deny marginalized women and femmes representation and livelihood. On September 7, SistersInMotion, a “[…] bimonthly […] writing showcase & poetry jam” for BIWOC/BIFOC, provided this much-needed stage and space. The event follows “Unravelling in Rhymes,” a series of free day-long writing workshops, where women and femmes of colour gather in solidarity to produce stories of their own. “I didn’t want to compete anymore [...] in a rigged game,” said event organizer Malek Yalaoui in an interview with The Daily. The world of competitive spoken word, in which Yalaoui was a long-time participant, has always been largely dominated by mediocre white men. Feeling alienated by the prevalent racism and misogyny, Yalaoui was inspired to “create [...] spaces [of storytelling] for other racialized, Black, Indigenous WOC.”
This event [...] strived to take more concrete steps towards decolonization by [reminding] us of the ongoing settlercolonial violence perpetrated on stolen Indigenous land. The night began with the sharing of tobacco and a land acknowledgment by Moe Clark, a multidisciplinary Metis artist. By and large, acknowledging the unceded land on which these events take place and recalling the traditional holders and keepers of the land and waters – the Kanien’kehá:ka people – is often limited to a short statement made at the outset. This event, in contrast, strived to take more concrete steps towards decolonization by having Clark help situate the audience “in relation
Kevin Tam | The McGill Daily
Stories of resilience performed at SistersInMotion. to the land and its keepers,” and remind us of the ongoing settlercolonial violence perpetrated on stolen Indigenous land. The showcase took place at the Jardins Cra-Terre, an urban farm tended to by Coop Bioma. Co-organizer Dona Nham found inspiration from “this piece of land […] and [wanted] to do something here.” The agricultural land, bordered by bridges and train tracks, created a stark contrast between the illuminated stage and the intertwining industrial landscape, providing a surreal backdrop to the performances. The three organizers Yalaoui, Nham, and Harleen Bhogal, brought to the forefront the complex relationship between the land and racialized, Black, and especially Indigenous women and femmes; there are many parallels that can be drawn when it comes to the treatment of the land and that of BIWOC/BIFOC by settler-colonialist societies. The stage, made of stacked crates, twinkling lights and accent lampshades found in the middle of an urban farm on Hutchinson, was a testament to the grassroots efforts that made this event possible. One after the other, Black, Indigenous, racialized women and femmes of colour took to the stage to tell their stories of struggle, resilience, healing and survival through poetry; the crowd, mostly composed of racialized women and femmes, absorbed every verse, shedding tears, nodding in understanding and erupting in applause at the end of every poem. As the spir-
ited emcee, Yalaoui established a milieu where both performers and audience felt held, heard, and recognized.
In a society where Black, Indigenous, and racialized women and femmes are continuously marginalized, otherised, and rendered invisible, safe and accessible spaces like these ought to exist. Many present at the event expressed the need and the desire for more spaces like this. “This is the only space I can recall that centres Black, Indigenous, and women and femmes of colour that is organized by them as well,” says Nham. Giving space for women and femmes of colour to write and realize that their experiences are worth sharing “allows us to make linkages with each other and see the value and legitimacy to [our work],” says Yalaoui. “Not only in our experiences but in giving them the time, care, and weight that they
deserve. [...] And what blossoms after that is incredible”. As an audience member, being surrounded by other women and femmes with common struggles is a welcomed escape from predominantly white and masculine spaces. This sense of belonging and empowerment can serve as a powerful catalyst for community-building and mobilization by BIFOC/BIWOC. In a society where Black, Indigenous, and racialized women and femmes are continuously marginalized, othered, and rendered invisible, safe and accessible spaces like these ought to exist. Kata Kunhert, an attendee, said “when the space fits the needs of the audience and performers [...], the spirit of the event has room to breathe in the life and love created there.” For instance, the accessibility infographic shared on social media and elsewhere prior to the event was indicative of the effort made by the organizers to provide an accessible space. In a world built without regards for universal access, creating accessible spaces is a continuous process of unlearning, recognizing limitations, and collective effort. Kunhert agreed, saying “one thing that I thought was amazing was how aware the organizers were about accessibility needs.” In fact, Yalaoui, Nham and Bhogal were open about accepting more suggestions and admitting limitations, such as not being able to provide some accommodations, including captions for the hard of hearing. “That’s why events like
this are so important,” Kunhert continues, “because they bring [the] realities [of an ableist society] out of the shadows.” Accessibility efforts included providing “accessible taxis,” having active listeners on site, including content notes and trigger warnings, and taking into account chronic illness and fatigue. Whisper translation and childcare were also offered. The event was pay-what-you-can with food by donation, provided by beat:root, a catering service started and staffed by racialized women and femmes striving to decolonize food preparation by creating “nourishing foods infused with love, using natural whole-food ingredients and traditional methods of preparation.” The site itself was wheelchair accessible – while the terrain was uneven, the organizers did remove rocks and added additional wood chips to the grounds. “Our goal is to set the standard for accessibility, so we’re aiming as high as possible,” says Yalaoui. Throughout the evening, the grey skies loomed large over the crowd but only gave way to a bit of rain towards the end of the event, as the last poet performed. As the organizers took to the stage for final thank you’s and last words, one of the organizers mentioned that they had been weary of the rain because it was not the kind of storm that was needed, because the storm needed was here, among us; a storm created by the stories of struggle, resilience and survival, a storm that washes everything clean.
Culture
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
Of music and family
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Thanya Iyer’s album launch awes Café Résonance Carly Gordon Culture Writer
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hen Thanya Iyer sings, she really sings. Hers is a voice that’s airy and soulful, grazed by the slightest fry, and intertwining in snug harmonies with Shaina Hayes’ elegant backup vocals. The pair offered a sunny antithesis to their band’s bassheavy sound, which thrummed through every square inch of Café Résonance at their September 3 album launch, electrifying an audience nearly 100 strong. The band describes their music as something between folk and jazz – defying genres, or perhaps creating a new one. Iyer’s background as a classical violinist shines through in her richly orchestrated compositions, and her website cites her studies of Carnatic music – a nod to her Indian ancestry – as another influence. At the launch show, a space so crowded and brimming with palpable support for the artists on stage, layers of intimacy are bound to emerge in breathtaking patterns. Friend groups sat in clusters around tables of vegan eats: some were fans of the cafe; others, of the band; and still oth-
ers were strangers, newcomers to this music or the space, yet welcomed like family. Thanya Iyer’s music springs from family. There’s the family of listeners she has won over with her heartfelt songwriting and charming rapport. There’s the family on stage with her - the musicians who brought her album to life. There’s also the supportive “second family” of local women and femme singer-songwriters who joined the band on stage to sing backups for the haunting and waltzlike number “Can We Be Still.” And then there’s her own family, supportive of her career, watching in the audience with congratulatory bouquets tucked under their seats. “[Bassist] Alex’s mom was there and my mom was there,” Iyer said in an email interview with The Daily. “Alex’s mom has been super supportive of his music career and our band. She has always encouraged him to play music and really helps us with anything we need.” “My mom […] is also very encouraging of the band and comes to almost all of our shows,” Iyer added. “My dad passed away just before I went to CEGEP, and it
was there where I started writing music and singing. [He] was a singer himself.” During her time at CEGEP, Iyer discovered many of the collaborations and friendships that would help shape her music. “Alex and Shaina and I all met at the Vanier [College] music program,” she said, “and what formed there was a really beautiful community of other musicians […], a lot of whom were at the show.” Iyer and Hayes’ breezy vocals and spacious piano – described on the band’s website as “ethereal” – hovered over powerful bass lines played by Alex “Pompey” Kasirer-Smibert, punctuated by drummer Daniel Gelinas’ sparse yet compelling beats. “We […] understand each other’s personalities. For example, Daniel likes to drink tea and play music for two hours every morning, and is more of an introvert,” explained Iyer. “When it comes to arranging, usually Alex and Dan and I do everything together. With the album, it was a super collaborative process.” At their Résonance show, the band played a set drawn from their debut album, Do You
Thanya Iyer and band. Courtesy of Frédérique Bérubé Dream?, paired with striking visuals by artist and designer Elysha Poirier. During the song “Painting,” close-up swirls of colour panned across the projector screen. “This one’s about finding your way,” Iyer said as she introduced the song. “It’s about finding your own path.” “[Our music is] constantly turning into something else and I hope to keep it that way,” Iyer stated. “The music has changed so much this year and grown as we have [also] grown and developed a
chemistry with playing together.” “I’m not even sure if we have found our sound yet. But I hope we are onto something,” she continued. They’re onto something, alright. Thanya Iyer has found her own path. It’s a path of music, and of family – a path that’s sure to lead her to enchant Montreal audiences for years to come. Catch Thanya Iyer live on September 22 at Le Cagibi as part of POP Montreal, or stream Do You Dream? on Bandcamp.
Sharing, and working with, space
Concordia’s Artists at Work residents discuss contemporary art production Anya Kowalchuk Culture Writer
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his summer, Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts (FOFA) gallery put two emerging local artists to work in a summer residency program, with the aim of producing works that discuss contemporary art production. The program concluded on August 26 with a finissage and walk-through, lead by featured artists Steffie Belanger and Rebecca Munce. The gallery, currently serving as a studio, has been open all summer, allowing visitors to explore the sprawling work space and the process of production. Belanger’s work is largely concerned with the practical uselessness of the art object. “I took some risks during this residency,” she explains in an email interview with The Daily, “I used materials that I usually don’t, but [...] I followed my usual way of processing ideas.” Throughout the residency, Belanger found that round and circular shapes emerged strongly in her kinetic sculptures, which rely on physical motion for artistic effect.
Her use of these shapes draws on the historical function of circular forms, such as the forms used in designing tools like the wheel. By rendering these previously functional forms useless, Belanger highlights, with a sense of irony, their lack of practicality as artwork.
“The [...] sculptures are all about doing something powerful [but ultimately meaningless] as a gesture.” —Steffie Belanger As her sculptures often take on a performance-like quality, a key element to Belanger’s works is their anti-climatic effect. Belanger
intentionally misdirects the audience’s attention by creating structures that perpetually move and appear complex, but ultimately accomplish nothing in practical terms. “The [...] sculptures,” Belanger explains, “are all about doing something powerful [but ultimately meaningless] as a gesture. But I still want [people to experience] a certain degree of climax and expectation.” Meanwhile, Rebecca Munce creates drawings that manipulate both filled space and negative space. By working with extremely fine lines and pastels, Munce creates a dreamland – one rife with hedonism and carnality. While aesthetically, her drawings are reminiscent of children’s book illustrations, the darker themes in her work are revealed in her composition, which allows empty spaces to act “as living consumable things that have the potential to hurt and be hurt.” Munce’s composition diverges from that of a typical illustration, lacking foreground and background as well as logical proportion between human forms and objects. This subverts the traditional
practice of giving precedence to human forms, and puts all aspects of the drawings on equal ground.
[With] fine lines and pastels, Munce creates a dreamland – one rife with hedonism and carnality. In physical proportion too, Munce does not favor human forms over nonhuman objects in her drawings, explaining that “objects and belongings become as important, if not more so, than the [human] subjects themselves in exposing narrative.” According to the artist, stories sometimes unfold in ways that do not conform to linearity, and objects are not subordinate to figurative actors. Munce explains, “I see narratives as non-linear. When building spaces and narratives, I am interested in the sense of collective
concurrent time as opposed to singular chronological spaces.” Negative space in her drawings is thus also pregnant with meaning, as she explores how empty spaces can be agents in their own right. Though the program was not intended to be a collaboration, both Munce and Belanger admit that it was difficult to avoid influencing each other’s work while sharing a workspace. “[Not being alone] in a studio is really important to me. Conversing about [my uncertainty] helps me resolve problems, just because to formulate what’s wrong makes you see it clearly,” Belanger explained. Munce added that her own art was altered by sharing space with someone who was also working with both two-dimensional and three-dimensional effects, “I ended up working on [their relationship] more so than I thought I would.” By dispelling traditional artistic practices, both artists seek to utalize space to create a reality different from the typical expectation of art.
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CUlture
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
Fakes, fetishes, and furniture Karen Tam exposes the chinoiserie as colonial product
Kevin Tam | The McGill Daily
“Terra dos chinês curio shop” by Karen Tam. Muhan Zhang Culture Writer
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pon entering Karen Tam’s “Terra dos chinês curio shop,” the viewer immediately encounters a blue and white porcelain vase. There’s nothing remarkable about it – that is, until you notice the huge HomeSense price sticker proclaiming it to be worth “$24.99 (COMPARE AT/ COMPARABLE À $40.00!).” Objects such as this vase, made expressly for consumption in Europe and North America, date back centuries to the chinoiserie – art and decorative objects, furniture, and architecture that evoked or imitated Chinese motifs – that decorated palaces across Europe. Whether produced in Asia or Europe, these objects always catered to European fetishistic understandings of the exotic “Orient.” Like the chinoiserie of yore, the items in Tam’s installation, plucked from the likes of HomeSense, souvenir shops, and eBay, present a fantasy image of Chinese culture as imagined by the West. Tam, who holds a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a PhD in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London, creates works that meditate on how visual and
spatial cues, which serve to exoticize a given culture, are constructed. In the past, she has recreated various spaces dominated by these cues, such as the Chinese restaurant, karaoke lounges, and opium dens, in order to explore Western perceptions of the Chinese as Other.
Tam invites the viewer to critically engage with objects that, to the unassuming Western eye, would register as authentically and traditionally Chinese. In “Terra,” a work which she first debuted in 2015 at Artspace in Peterborough, Ontario, Tam plays up the faux-authenticity of a variety of found objects by displaying them with her own imitations, which are made out of com-
mon household materials. In one glass case, jade ornaments made of soap hide among piles of the “real thing.” On another shelf, vases made of papier-mâché rest sideby-side with antiques made of porcelain. Another display houses a flashy recreation of a cloisonné vase made of sequins and Styrofoam. In this manner, Tam questions the reliability of the viewer’s eye – is the ornament before you made of jade or soap? Does the porcelain antique have any more authenticity than the one Tam has fashioned out of papier-mâché’d Chinese newspapers? This game of spot-the-fake is how Tam invites the viewer to critically engage with objects that, to the unassuming Western eye, would register as authentically and traditionally Chinese. From their inception, the objects are meant to convey to the Western gaze a sense of “mystical” oriental authenticity. As such, on the HomeSense shelf and subsequently in the home of the HomeSense shopper, the aforementioned blue and white vase, by nature of its arabesque design, porcelain constitution, and the giant Chinese character on the front, would signify just that. The HomeSense vase, while similar to its 18th century chinoiserie predecessors, also demonstrates what has changed since
then. This vase, despite having been designed for Western consumption and sold at a Canadian HomeSense, was nevertheless very likely made in China. In fact, a majority of the items in stores like HomeSense, whether they are coded ethnic or not, are likely made in countries like China, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, among many others, where labour and production costs are significantly lower than in the countries where they are ultimately sold.
Tam deconstructs the notion that an object can be essentially, traditionally, or authentically anything. The production of this vase is stratified such that one appropriative design may be replicated cheaply by exploited foreign labour, sold domestically at a reduced rate of $24.99, and still make a profit for the transnation-
al corporation that produces the objects. On the other end of the spectrum, Tam’s fakes are made to be one of a kind, and by an artist with a Western education and audience, thus raising them to a seemingly higher monetary and artistic value. The irony that a fake is somehow more genuine or precious than the original unveils the absurdity of proscribing artistic or monetary value to certain objects over others. Moreover, by juxtaposing objects of varying shades and degrees of authenticity, Tam disrupts the concept of authenticity altogether. By questioning and complicating what it is that makes an object authentic, Tam deconstructs the notion that an object can be essentially, traditionally, or authentically anything. The concept of cultural traditionalism and authenticity is itself a fabrication of oppressive colonial regimes and relations, as a means of marginalizing, obscuring, Othering, and profiting from original minority works and voices. Therefore, the experience of viewing these objects as a collective installation is to recognize the complexities of ethnic spaces starting with – but far exceeding – the Chinatown curio shop. “Terra dos chinês curio shop” is on display until October 2 at articule.
EDITORIAL
Volume 106 Issue 2
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
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editorial board
3480 McTavish St., Rm. B-24 Montreal, QC H3A 1X9
McGill’s Sexual Violence Policy must prioritize student consultation
phone 514.398.6784 fax 514.398.8318 mcgilldaily.com
The McGill Daily is located on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory. coordinating editor
Sonia Ionescu
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managing editor
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culture editor
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illustrations editor
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Anne-Cécile Favory
I
n April 2016, the McGill administration withdrew its support for the Sexual Assault Policy (SAP). Drafted over three years by an unpaid student working group, the SAP was a pro-survivor, intersectional policy created to address the fact that the University had no policy on sexual assault. In May, the administration announced that it would develop an entirely new policy through an ad hoc Senate committee, with the intention of presenting it to Senate in October, and having it approved in November. Today, the draft of this new Sexual Violence Policy (SVP) will be arriving in your inboxes. By all initial indications, it appears that the SVP draft will simply be a watereddown version of the SAP, with less focus on intersectionality and inclusive language, and lacking in meaningful student consultation. One in five female undergraduate students will be sexually assaulted in the U.S.. But this statistic doesn’t tell the full story: sexual assault happens disproportionately to marginalized groups, like queer, trans, and disabled people, women and femmes, especially those who are Black, Indigenous, and racialized. The McGill administration’s rejection of the SAP showed that despite claiming otherwise, they have no real commitment to making sure that the policy prioritizes the voices of those who have experienced sexual assault, and reflects the intersection of sexual assault and marginalized identities. Further, the issue of student-professor relationships has repeatedly been dismissed or ignored by members of the administration, despite being widely discussed by students over the past year.
Students have taken initiative to fill in the gaps where the University’s response to sexual assault has been glaringly inadequate. Two such student groups are the McGill chapter of Silence is Violence, launched this month, and the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS), which has faced repeated relocation and threats to its existence. Time and again, students are shouldering the unpaid and emotionally taxing labour of sexual assault advocacy and response, and they are the only reason there’s even a discourse about sexual assault on campus. Most of the work that is feasible for student groups – considering dwindling funding and little administrative support – consists of sexual assault prevention campaigns. while prevention campaigns are important, they’re used at McGill as a means for administrators to ignore the students who actually do get assaulted when the campaigns fail. McGill needs a sexual assault policy that is accessible, intersectional, and protects and prioritizes those who have been assaulted. And since the administration has already gone ahead and created a draft that appears to lack student consultation and intersectionality, it’s our responsibility as students to push for greater consultation and accountability before the draft is brought to Senate in October. Students must make it clear to the administration that there is nothing – not McGill’s reputation, not the administration’s internal machinations, not feelgood prevention campaigns – that should take higher priority than the safety of those who have experienced sexual assault. —The McGill Daily editorial board
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cover design Kevin Tam contributors Ryan Cannon, Alice Rougeaux, Arda Eskigil, Kiara Bernard, Khatira Mahdavi, Mars Zaslavsky, Tony Feng, Elroy Lee, Zahra Habib, Carly Gordon, Anya Kowalchuk, Muhan Zhang, Molly Lu, Jay VanPut, Jennifer Guan, Nadia Boachie, Sean Miyaji
Errata “What’s SSMU been up to?” Septmber 1, News, page 7, stated that SSMU President Ben Ger has been working alongside Secretary General Edyta Rogowska to make governance documents more accessible to students, and that he is in discussions with Ollivier Dyens to expand mental health training. In fact, Ger has been working alongside SSMU’s Secretary General Etienne Gratton, and is in discussions with Associate Provost Angela Campbell. The Daily regrets the error. “What’s SSMU been up to?” September 1, News, page 7, also stated that SSMU VP Student Life Elaine Patterson is planning to implement a common intake system. In fact, this work is being done mainly by Student Services. Patterson is working with them to execute it and make sure students are consulted. The Daily regrets the error. “Introduction”, September 1, Disorientation Guide pullout, page 15, stated in a blurb regarding the colonialist beginnings of McGill that the women who delivered the seizure notice to McGill in 2015 were referred to as “representatives” of Kanien’kehá:ka, which is incorrect. They do not have the support of the Kanien’kehá:ka Longhouse, which operates under consensus.
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Zapaer Alip, Niyousha Bastani, Joseph Boju, Hannah Besseau, Deeva Bowry, Julia Denis, Ralph Haddad, Igor Sadikov, Alice Shen, Tamim Sujat, Dana Wray All contents © 2016 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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COmpendium!
September 12, 2016 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily
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Lies, half-truths, and harsh judgement.
Student injured before beach day, every day, beach day every day, say what! Neighbours were not amused, but they probably went to Rad Frosh anyway
Yllom Musk The McGall Weekly “It’s the night of our nightmares It’s the night of our dreams” - High School Musical 3
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HE FLATEAU, LAST FRIDAY NIGHT – A McGall student’s night went either well, according to Frosh Leaders present at the scene, or badly, according to neighbourhood EMT’s, neighbours, noninebriated persons, and general misanthropes. The student’s liver could not be reached for comment, having transcended to another plane of existence. Frosh leaders, however, responded eagerly to The Weekly’s inquiries, declaring that “THIS IS THE BEST WEEK OF HIS LIFE,” in that remarkable way Frosh leaders have of conveying all caps, all the time. The student was taken from the scene in a posture resembling the Egyptian mummies of old
Jay VanPut The McGall Weekly
– wrapped tightly in restraints atop a stretcher, guts gone, a foreign substance flooding their cavities. When pressed for a response, McGall administration and Frosh organizers optimistically and unanimously informed The Weekly that “at least there weren’t any rape chants!” Certainly, McGall’s Frosh places strong emphasis on safe spaces, and forbids Frosh leaders from having sex with their underlings until at least the day after Frosh. The punishment for violating this tenet is severe – a dramatic breaking of the Great Frosh Manacle, that which alloweth entry to yonder vaunted clubs and events of the night. More importantly, it deprives the Frosh leader of their schoolprovided beer budget. When questioned about the validity of “safe spaces” during Frosh, given the absence of unimpaired judgement, another Frosh leader claims the alcohol serves as vital social lubrication for wary and unknowing female students who may well be drink-
ing for the very first time. “Greater alcohol consumption directly correlates to increased rate of them matching with me on Tinder a week later,” says same male Frosh leader, who, at the time of his interview with The Weekly, is finally sober and now drawing on knowledge of data analysis from his sociology and sexual diversity studies major. Of course, the intended beneficiaries of Frosh are not the Frosh leaders but the Froshies, and Frosh does a great deal besides imbuing them with school spirit via school spirits. For instance, preparing students by leaving them in a burned out state that will likely remain for the next four years, drilling them in mindless chants and regurgitation of both words and alcohol (which they will also do for the next four years), and allowing them to make lasting friendships that will only dissolve when classes start and they realize that hey had nothing in common besides
Sean Miyaji | The McGill Daily equal levels of alcohol consumption. The week of nightmares and dreams indeed. UPDATE: Injured student, now
revealed to be a Frosh leader, reports he was only setting an example for Froshie underlings. “Alcohol poisoning – say what.”
Crossword Across 1. Stars 5. Runs into 9. Small woods 14. Cousin of a bassoon 15. Zeno’s home 16. Leaves off 17. Skin: prefix 18. What a fortune teller might do 19. Place 20. Ceasefire 22. ____ change 23. Diesel in “Fast and Furious” 24. Bread or whiskey 26 Blow away 30. Wetter 35. Wife on “Family Guy” 36. Republicans, for short 38. Pester 39. Behinds 41. Music genre 43. Green party presidential candidate 44. “From ____ out” 46. Place to buy alcohol around campus, shortly 48. Schooner part 49. An occurance that sets off alarms 51. Enemies
53. Compass point 54. Blast maker 55. Scale 59. Difficult yoga pose 65. Part of a TV transmission 66. Cliff ’s ____ 67. Toward shelter, nautically 68.Rebuke 69. Author unknown 70. Bird on a $1 coin 71. Contemporary slang for “pissed off ” 72. “____ pis” (too bad) 73. 40 days before Easter Sunday Down 1. Fizzy drink 2. Popular “taxi” company 3. Standard 4. Big rig 5. Taking a nap 6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar birthname 7. Hired soldier, shortly 8. _____ and doers 9. Places of higher education 10. Melville novel 11. _____ de gallo 12. Stuart’s nickname, plural 13. To be, in old Rome 21. Law & Order: ___
25. Hither’s partner 26. ____ male 27. Boot company 28. Beauty pageant wear 29. Blender maker 31. “You ____?” (Do you understand?) 32. Brainstorms 33. “Fur ___” (Beethoven dedication) 34. Doesn’t own 37. Cushion 40. Gotye, ”_____ that I used to know” 42. 5 sided shape 45.Nintendo’s Super _____ 47. Undecided 50. Microwave 52. Mont Royal and others; abbr. 55. Mama from The Mamas and The Papas 56. Last Universal Common Ancestor, abbr 57. Talent show, American ____ 58. Fish sperm 60.Fashion designer in “The Incredibles” 61. Towering 62. ____ vera 63. Brightly coloured 64. Depression
Last week’s answers Across 1. stem 5. split 10. flew 14. yoda 15. trace 16. pope 17. dont 18. icier 19. area 20. slats 22. remarked 24. role 27. sibs 28. freedom 31. teepee 35. oars 36. gospel 39. haw40. abase 42. joe 43. slate 45. lbs 46. anitas 49. user 50. siesta 52. cookers 54. iota 56. else 57. johnnash 61. awful 65. akon 66. frighten 69. also 70. vase 71. holes 72. rebs 73. ayer 74. atone 75. mast Down 1. syds 2. tool 3. edna 4. mattress 5. sti 6. prc 7. lair 8. icees 9. termite 10. sparse 11. pork 12. epee 13. dead 21. sod 23. abels25. log 26. emoji 28. foals 29. rabbi 30. erase 32. phase 33. eater 34. ewers 37. sot 38. peace 41. eaton 44. lukewarm 47. Natasha 48. sol 51. sinner 53. osa 55. ascot 57. java 58. okay 59. hose 60. halo 62. flea 63. usbs 64. lost 67. ren 68. ese