The McGill Daily: Volume 113, Issue 3

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LK-99: How Internet Hype Rammed Ahead of the Scientific Process

All members of the Daily Publications Society (DPS), publisher of The McGill Daily and Le Délit, are cordially invited to its Annual General Assembly:

Wednesday, October 4th @ 6:00 pm McGill University Centre, 3480 Rue McTavish, Room 107

The general assembly will elect the DPS Board of Directors for the 2023-2024 year.

DPS Directors meet at least once a month to discuss the management of both Le Délit and The McGill Daily and get to vote on important decisions related to the DPS’s activities.

The annual financial statements and the report of the public accountant are available at the office of the DPS and any member may, on request, obtain a copy free of charge.

Questions?

Send email to: chair@dailypublications.org

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The McGill Daily is located on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory

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le délit Léonard Smith rec@delitfrancais.com

Listen to the Mohawk Mothers

On September 11, the Royal Vic project agreement between McGill, the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), and the Mohawk Mothers took a steep turn for the worse.

For those new to McGill or unaware of the situation, the site of the old Royal Victoria Hospital, located just above avenue des Pins, is currently contested between McGill and the Mohawk Mothers, or (kanien’kehá:ka kahnistensera), a group of Mohawk women from Kahnawake.

On one hand, McGill and the SQI want to use the land to build a new research and teaching facility for the university in a project known as the “New Vic.” On the other hand, the Mohawk Mothers have drawn attention to the high probability of unmarked Indigenous and non-Indigenous graves on the site from the MK-ULTRA mind control experiments conducted by McGill University and the CIA in the 1950s and 1960s.

In October 2022, a court decision forced McGill and the SQI to work with the Mothers to conduct a thorough and culturallyrespectful investigation of the site for possible unmarked graves.

In the past few months, tensions have risen due to multiple disagreements over McGill’s handling of the project. The Mothers expressed that they constantly feel excluded from the process, which they said “can no longer by any means be considered ‘Indigenous-led.’” The final straw came when McGill and the SQI began to drill holes in the ground, prompting the Mothers to schedule an emergency court hearing to get an injunction on any further excavation. The hearing took place on September 14, but at the time of writing, no decision has been reached.

You wouldn’t know any of this from reading the email updates sent to our McGill inboxes by the university administration. Prior to the hearing, Provost Christopher Manfredi assured the McGill community that the archaeological investigation was complete, and that McGill’s actions were completely in line with the settlement agreement and the recommendations of an independent panel of archaeologists. Although Manfredi admitted that the university had begun drilling on the site, he claims that this work will continue being monitored. However, he said that the Mothers “communicated that they and their cultural monitors will not be present at the site as this new phase of work begins.”

Manfredi’s vague wording seems to imply that the Mothers simply chose not to be present to monitor the archaeological work, but the Mothers tell a different story. After the work began last week, they issued a statement strongly condemning McGill’s actions.

Additionally, at a press conference attended by the Daily, they further explained that they were not present on the site because they didn’t feel safe there. Neither the Mothers nor their cultural monitors were given proper safety training for supervising construction work. Additionally, they said that a security guard who had previously harassed the cultural monitors was spotted on-site despite the SQI promising to

suspend her. This shows a clear disregard for the Mohawk Mothers’ wellbeing on the part of McGill and the SQI, and it’s particularly insidious that McGill is misleading the community by omitting this context.

During this press conference, Mohawk Mother Kwetiio explained that McGill has used “every chance available to take grey areas and manipulate them to their advantage.” For example, Manfredi claimed that “this stage of the work has not produced any evidence of human remains or unmarked graves.” Again, the Mohawk Mothers emphasized that this was not the case: in fact, there remained several uninvestigated anomalies.

The Daily has been following this story for over a year. It has been appalling to observe how McGill has prioritized its own interests over seeking justice for those who have been harmed by the institution. Instead of collaborating with the Mohawk Mothers to ensure that the site is properly searched and that all possible remains are treated in a culturally appropriate way, McGill’s actions show that they remain intent on pushing forward with construction no matter the cost.

For those of us who are settlers on this land, we have a responsibility to support Indigenous struggles against ongoing colonial repression. As McGill students, we have a duty to stand with the Mohawk Mothers and speak out against the colonial violence perpetrated by our university. As the Mothers continuously emphasized in their press conference, they’re doing this to unearth the truth of what happened to their children, and seek justice for the harms done to their community by McGill. No matter what McGill throws at them, they’re not going to give up, and neither should their allies.

The dissonance between McGill’s narrative and that of the Mothers’ is a clear indication of the selfish agenda driving McGill’s actions. It is a reminder of the importance of seeking out sources beyond McGill to understand what’s going on up the hill.

The Daily remains committed to accurately covering this story and continuing to uplift Indigenous-led activism. To stay updated, visit mohawkmothers.ca, the site run by the Mohawk Mothers, and Mohawk Nation News, where the Mothers frequently post updates about their work. There may be actions happening near campus in the coming weeks to express solidarity with the Mohawk Mothers, so look out for these and try to attend if you can. Follow @takebacktekanontak on Instagram to see when community actions are happening. If you’re able to donate, there is also a fundraiser to support the Mothers with any expenses they may incur trying to get justice for their children.

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2023–2024 Legislative Council Meets for First Time President Hopes to Encourage Participation

Abe Berglas

Copy Editor

The first Legislative Council meeting, on September 11 in the University Centre, was short and small. Although a full council has 30 members, many of these positions have yet to be filled: 12 councillors were there in person, and another five attended the meeting virtually. Ordinarily, the first meeting is when executives report what they did over the summer. However, because of a technical mix-up – executives not receiving an invite in their Google Calendars, according to President Alexandre Ashkir – it was moved by VP Sustainability and Operations, Hassanatou Koulibaly, that the reports be given at the next Council meeting, and this was adopted.

The Motion Regarding a Special By-Election for the role of SSMU Vice-President Finance was then presented by Ashkir. The proposed timeline is that a nomination period will begin September 18, and that the new VP Finance will be elected by October 12. After Speaker Jonathan Dong encouraged debate, Koulibaly stressed the importance of the VP Finance role, and VP Student Life Nadia Dakdouki echoed this sentiment, adding “the executive jobs at SSMU are packed… theoretically we could choose not to move forward with a by-election of the VP Finance, but that would be even less sustainable”. This motion passed unanimously. The final motion on the agenda was a motion to adopt new standing rules, as is customary at the beginning of every academic year. Standing rules - as defined in Robert’s Rules of Order, the parliamentary authority of the Legislative Council - modify Robert’s Rules’ pre-existing procedures.

The proposed 2023-2024 Standing Rules were very similar to the previous year, with slight modifications. Two motions can now be submitted as late motions, at the discretion of the daisthe Speaker of Council, Deputy Speaker, Parliamentarian, and Recording Secretary - as opposed to one. Legislative Council sessions are also now more frequentonce every two weeks rather than once a month. This schedule is a return to that of two years ago.

In an interview with the Daily , Ashkir said they experimented with monthly meetings last year, but found in an end-of-year poll that the majority of councillors preferred biweekly meetings instead. Ashkir is hoping that this change will shorten meetings and

create a faster work turnaround.

Changes were also made to account for in-person meetings, according to Dong. That being said, some rules are still inappropriate for the latest council meeting. For example, one rule requires members to “raise their placards to alert the Speaker,” although there were no placards at this meeting. Finally, Dong explained that the steering committee had made “small changes to make [the rules] more coherent,” specifically a section regarding behaviour in meetings. He may have been referencing section 3.8.8, which in the 2022-2023 version prohibits “texting or messaging during a given meeting, pertaining to discussion, and outside of the meeting”. The section has since been changed to “texting or messaging during a given meeting, pertaining to discussion, inside and outside of the meeting room ” (italics added). The meaning is the same - texting during a meeting is prohibited - but the wording is hopefully clearer. It was difficult to track all the changes, since unlike previous years, modifications to the standing rules were not marked by colour.

During debate, a member of the McGill Student Union Democratization Initiative said that these motions had not been made available to the publicthe hyperlinks in the agenda were broken and led to a login page. Councillor Jacob Shannon asked whether the motion would be available to the press, publicly, before voting on it. Dong responded that “usually we inform the Governance Manager and the governance department, and generally speaking they’re the ones responsible for posting them to the website, so in this case we did our part”.

Dong then messaged the Governance Manager, who encouraged him to extend viewing access of the document, and, the motion to adopt standing rules having just been published, debate resumed. Although the hyperlink for the standing rules was fixed in the meeting, the hyperlinks for the report of the steering committee and the motion for the VP Finance by-election continue to be unavailable at the time of writing.

Shannon moved to postpone the motion until the next meeting so that the public and the press could review the motion. Dakdouki argued, “I do see the press’s concern and I agree with it and I appreciate that the dais took the time to share it with them, but the standing rules do only affect members of the Council and not members of the gallery at

all... I would be opposing the motion because it would be preventing us from holding Legislative Council, essentially.”

In fact, it is possible to hold Legislative Council without standing rules: the rationale in the motion defines standing rules as “mechanisms by which Robert’s Rules of Order can be fine-tuned,” and the risk section says that “should this motion fail, the meetings of the Legislative Council will lack decorum and proper parliamentary procedures”, a far cry from not being able to hold meetings at all. Some rights of non-Council members to participate in meetings are also determined by the Standing Rules. Section five describes how members participate in discussion. The Standing Rules are somewhat unclear here: members presumably refers to Councillors, and members of the Legislative Council, terms that are used interchangeably. Under this interpretation, section 5.4 insinuates that non-Council members may only participate virtually: “Members of the Gallery may participate in discussion or debate by using the ‘Raise Hand’ feature via the virtual platform”. This is presumably a remnant from previous years where Council meetings were held entirely remotely.

Shannon said he was confused how Council had just approved two motions if Dakdouki’s arguments were true, and reasoned that if this was possible, then returning to the Standing Rules at the beginning of next meeting couldn’t hurt. VP University Affairs Lalia Katchelewa asked whether tabling the motion to approve standing rules would lead to the adjournment of the Council, and

Dong responded that they would not, as adjournment is provisioned for in Robert’s Rules. At the end of the debate, Dakdouki agreed with the concerns and apologised for missing the point, suggesting that the adoption of the Standing Rules be the first motion on the agenda at the next council meeting. The motion to postpone the Standing Rules passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:16 p.m., the shortest first Council meeting in the past five years. This is in part because allocating committee seats and nominating councillors to sit on the Board of Directors is traditionally done during the first Council meeting – President Ashkir said that this will happen at the next Council meeting instead.

In terms of goals for the Legislative Council this year, Ashkir hopes to increase interest and participation, especially after COVID-19. He’s keen to foster an interest among students of becoming a cwouncillor and showing up to Council meetings. He says that his running unopposed is symbolic of the current atmosphere among McGillians.

“We can’t have democracy on campus if people are not interested, and if people continue

to not be interested, we have to have a re-evaluation of why. This year is a year of trying to get people interested, trying to get people involved, and if that doesn’t work at the end of the year, if we have the same issues as last year, then we need to have a broader evaluation of democracy on campus – what can we do to make it truly representative?”

Part of Ashkir’s strategy will be to work closely with the media, to increase advertising efforts from SSMU , and to revisit internal documents. He hopes to make these documents - namely, the Constitution and Internal Regulations - more simplified and accessible. He also hopes to remove personal interpretation from these documents. “That’s another democratic principle - it should be very clear to everyone, this is how things are done,” he said in an interview with the Daily . Ashkir is working on revising governing documents with the Governance Manager and the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, who are both fulltime staff. They will then present their findings to the Governance Reform Committee, and finally to the Legislative Council.

“We can’t have democracy on campus if people are not interested, and if people continue to not be interested, we have to have a re-evaluation of why”.

- President Ashkir

Rasha Hamade | Photos Contributor

An Interview with Midnight Kitchen Collective

will operate with a larger budget this year

India Mosca and

Lister News Editors

Midnight Kitchen, a worker and volunteer-run collective, works to combat food insecurity through the provision of food on McGill’s downtown campus and beyond. Last fall, Midnight Kitchen held its first free lunch service on campus since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A year later, the Daily met with Delali, the general coordinator of Midnight Kitchen, to discuss the service, the progress they have made in the past year, and their plans for this year.

The McGill Daily (MD): Could you briefly explain what your association does? What are your main activities and goals?

Delali: Briefly, our goal is to provide alternative food options on campus. One of our biggest programs is our free lunch program that we do on Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. in the ballroom of [the University Centre]. Our goal is to serve approximately 150 meals this year at each service. But we do a lot of different things.

MD: Could you explain what an “alternative food option” is?

Delali: Typical food options are grocery stores, restaurants, and stuff like that. And usually there’s a big price tag attached to those things, especially in recent years. Prices keep going up, but it’s not accessible to everyone. Food is a necessity. There was a point where people could access food by growing it themselves or trading for it, but as things have progressed, [this has] become less of an option, or it’s a lot harder for people in the city to grow all of their own food to provide for their family. So Midnight Kitchen just adds another option that doesn’t require money.

MD: Do you feel like the food situation on campus has worsened in recent years, with the inflation of food prices and COVID-19?

Delali: For sure. I feel like even before COVID, prices for food on campus were pretty steep for a student coming to campus every day. If you weren’t making all of your own meals and you had to buy lunch every day between classes, often people choose whatever is around, and what’s around is usually quite pricey.

MD: Have you seen an increase in student demand?

Delali: Absolutely. A lot of mobilization came from frustration with the current food situation on campus. It’s great that people love our service and use it, but we’re not going to solve

the issue as one service. But I feel like there have been new things popping up that are trying to offer alternatives, such as the grocery store in [the University Centre] with cheaper lunches.

MD: How has McGill responded to your actions? Has there been an increase in support?

Delali: No, we’ve never had support from McGill, and there’s not been an increase. Since we’re a student service, and most of our interactions are with SSMU, we don’t really have a relationship with the administration.

MD: Would you like McGill to get involved and help?

Delali: Of course, we would love that.

MD: Can you discuss the fee increase that happened last year? How has that helped? What were the reactions?

Delali: We’re really happy about the fee increase. Our biggest goal was just to expand our food budget so that we could not only cook with donated food that we get through Moisson Montreal – which is a food organization that distributes food that would have otherwise been thrown out. We do get a lot of free food through them, but it’s also nice to have the option of buying more fresh stuff to cook while keeping an inventory of options of things to cook for students. So in order to make sure that we can still provide all the same services and more, the increase has been really helpful.

MD: Have you been receiving a lot of student support?

Delali: Yes, but we always get lots

of student support, which is always very heartwarming. There’s always a lot of students who are interested in volunteering with us and helping to cook. Honestly, I wish our kitchen was bigger so we could have more people in the kitchen helping us cook.

MD: How do these volunteer training sessions work?

Delali: Usually we will have people come to a training session, happening next week, and then also fill out a little form just so we know that they’re coming. Then, we have a big sheet with the shift times and stuff like that. Usually, shifts are two hours. And anybody is welcome to come – you don’t have to have experience cooking at all. Just an interest, curiosity, and [willingness] to help out in any way.

The Midnight Kitchen Collective will be hosting its volunteer orientation on Monday, September 18, from 5:00–6:00 p.m. at the University Centre (Room 304) and on Tuesday, September 19, from 5:00–6:00 p.m. at the University Centre (Room 302/304). To register for an orientation session, fill out the form on Midnight Kitchen’s website.

The free packaged meal service schedule can also be found on the Midnight Kitchen website. The next free meal service will be held on September 21 at 1:00 p.m. on the third floor of the University Centre. The food provided is plant-based and nutfree, and Midnight Kitchen asks that participants bring a reusable container and utensils.

Zoe

Hyeyoon Cho | Illustrations Contributor

A lot of mobilization came from frustration with the current food situation on campus. It’s great that people love our service and use it, but we’re not going to solve the issue as one service. But I feel like there have been new things popping up that are trying to offer alternatives, such as the grocery store in [the University Centre] with cheaper lunches.

- Delali

If you weren’t making all of your own meals and you had to buy lunch every day between classes, often people choose whatever is around, and what’s around is usually quite pricey.

- Delali

A Week of Disasters in North Africa

The Moroccan Students’ Society mobilizes to help with earthquake relief efforts

India Mosca

News Editor

H istorically devastating earthquake hits Morocco –causes and aftermath

Within days of each other, two North African countries were severely hit by disasters affecting thousands of civilians. The magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck central Morocco on the night of September 8 originated in the High Atlas Mountains, 45 miles southwest of Marrakech, causing extensive damage in nearby rural and urban areas. As of September 15, over 3,000 people have been

killed and 5,500 injured in what was the country’s deadliest earthquake in over 60 years. As search and rescue operations continue these numbers are only expected to grow.

Earthquakes are commonly caused along the line where two tectonic plates move against each other, and in Morocco, earthquakes mostly happen where the African and Eurasian plates meet. Scientists have explained that the earthquake resulted from a geological phenomenon called a “reverse fault”. This phenomenon occurs when tectonic plates collide, causing the Earth’s crust to

thicken. The stress along these fault lines can induce earthquakes as rocks abruptly shift to release accumulated stress, which is characteristic of a seismic fault.

T he earthquake caused severe damage, rendering thousands homeless, forcing many people to evacuate, and prompting the authorities to declare three days of mourning. South of Marrakesh Al-Haouz was the hardest-hit region, but other provinces – including Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua, and Taroudant - were also left devastated. Some isolated villages have been destroyed,

“The reason villages got destroyed was because the houses were made using traditional methods.

A lot of wood and clay. These materials are not resistant, they are not earthquake-proof. That’s the problem.”

– Moroccan Students’ Society

Genevieve Quinn | Photos Editor

and rescue teams are struggling to reach others. Government inspectors have informed residents that they must evacuate their homes because the earthquake has rendered them unsafe. Nevertheless, many residents are hesitant to leave because they lack alternative shelter and are afraid of possible aftershocks, leaving hundreds of survivors sleeping in the streets.

Questions about the preparedness of the country

The amount of material destruction caused by the earthquake raises questions about Morocco’s ability to withstand major disasters. Indeed, the earthquake seemed to highlight the vulnerability of a large number of homes to widespread damage, particularly in rural areas. The earthquake has revived a national debate on the strengthening and application of anti-seismic standards. In recent years, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has stressed the need to promote “build back better” mechanisms following disasters, in order to mitigate future risks.

A week after the disaster, the Daily met with Simo Benkirane, the Co-President of the Moroccan Students’ Society (MSS) to discuss the impact of the earthquake and the response that has been organized both on-site and on campus. Simo explained that “the reason villages got destroyed was because the houses were made using traditional methods. A lot of wood and clay. These materials are not resistant, they are not earthquake-proof. That’s the problem.” Compliance with anti-seismic standards was similarly put on the agenda following the February 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which killed 56,350 people.

Initial response

The focus is now turning to rehousing the survivors and rebuilding villages to respect anti-seismic standards. According to an International Medical Corps situation report, Morocco’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection confirmed that more than 300 tons of medicines and medical devices have been delivered to the AlHaouz province this week. The national stock is anticipated to meet the needs of those injured at this time. In addition to trauma and health needs, additional areas of support requested include food and water, shelter and non-food items, and mental health and psychosocial support

services. Additionally, the report highlights that delivering aid is currently hindered by several factors, including roadblocks resulting from the earthquake, the risk of landslides, and existing infrastructure challenges, particularly in the mountainous terrain.

Benkirane emphasized the amount of solidarity within the country and the Moroccan government’s response: “The Moroccan people have been very united. I don’t know a single Moroccan who hasn’t been helping in their own way”. He told the Daily that “whether they’re in Morocco or whether they’re outside of Morocco, like us, raising awareness on the issue, everybody is contributing,” and added that “the Moroccan government is helping the people affected. Our king and the government have opened up a huge fund to build back the villages using the proper norms.”

Geopolitics and politicization of international aid

However, debates have emerged regarding the management of foreign aid. Indeed, the mobilization of aid on a national and international scale was, from the very first days following the earthquake, tainted by a phenomenon of politicization of emergency aid. The Moroccan government has been selective in terms of accepting aid, only allowing support from Spain, the UK, Qatar, and the Emirates, despite numerous offers from governments worldwide. Meanwhile, countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada –as well as the United Nations –

have all said they are prepared to intervene but are waiting on authorities to respond. There are different explanations for this reluctance from the Moroccan government to accept all foreign aid. One is political and the other is logistical. Some have interpreted the non-recourse to French aid as a reflection of the tensions between the two states. Relations between Morocco and France, a former colonial power, have been tense for several months, over issues of visas for Moroccan nationals, the recognition of Western Sahara, and relations with Algeria. Currently, Morocco doesn’t have an ambassador in France. The two countries broke off diplomatic relations in 2021 after French President, Emmanuel Macron, tried to get closer to Algeria. One one hand, foreign aid can be seen as a tool of foreign politics and as a way for the donor to expand its influence and power. Indeed, it can be used by policymakers to further their foreign policy objectives, as it allows the donor state to assert its military capacities and ability to shape international affairs. This is especially relevant when taking into consideration the France’s colonial past. On another hand, the Moroccan government and experts have been sustaining that too high an input of foreign aid can be more of a hindrance and weakens the possibility of efficient coordination. “There are huge logistics issues that accompany the inflow of international aid. In my opinion, having hundreds of countries come and just do whatever they want can cause huge chaos,” said Benkirane. “Our government is very organized. We know what

we’re doing and everything is working according to plan.”

Student support and engagement

The Daily asked the MSS if there were ways for the students to mobilize in relief efforts and how their society had been organizing their engagement from campus. Their main goal is to be a central “point of communication by raising awareness and trustworthy sources” for students on campus. One of their first actions was to share reliable links that would allow students to get involved in the relief response. Benkirane also mentioned that they are “also working with SSMU and different associations around Montreal to be able to raise donations and gather items of clothing and cafe equipment that we can then send back to Morocco.” He added, “we’re also going to have a bake sale to raise money for Libya which has had floods, and Morocco and that’s mostly all that we can do.” This will probably be held next week on campus and will be advertised through their social media platforms. In moments like these “it’s really nice to see that people care and want to help. Even one dollar makes a difference” added the MSS.

disaster that has already claimed more than 11,000 lives. Libya is particularly vulnerable to the impact of natural disasters as it has no unified government, since two rival administrations that are locked in a political standoff following a civil war that began in 2014. Moreover, it is interesting to look at how Libya and Morocco have very different responses to their disasters, and the way in which it reflects the current state of the two countries. While the two countries are geographically close to each other – 2,000 kilometres – there is a stark difference in their ability to respond to the disasters. Indeed, whereas in Morocco people have been mobilized on a large scale in coordination with the central government hours following the earthquake, in Libya international aid was able to reach Derna only two days after the disaster struck. This gap in response between the two countries shows how Libya’s divisions have exacerbated the ongoing disaster. More than a decade of war has weakened infrastructures and state services, and an inability to coordinate, leaving the country dangerously unprepared to respond to this mass-scale humanitarian disaster. Experts say that the near-simultaneous occurrence of these two events in the Mediterranean is symbolic

Recurrence of catastrophes: Libyan floods

In addition to earthquakes, climatic catastrophes are becoming increasingly frequent and widespread - as in Libya, where Storm Daniel struck on September 10, causing unprecedented flooding, leaving thousands dead and injured in the Derna region. On Friday, Libyan authorities limited access to the flooded city of Derna, to make it easier for searchers to dig through the mud for the more than 10,000 people still missing and presumed dead following a

of the major challenges posed by climate change.

During a UN News Briefing, Martin Griffiths, the UnderSecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations, said that “climate and capacity have collided to cause this terrible tragedy”, acting as “a massive reminder” of climate change and the challenge it poses.

If you would like to keep being informed on the possibilities of helping on campus visit: https:// linktr.ee/mssmcgill.

Debates have emerged regarding the management of foreign aid. [...] the mobilization of aid on a national and international scale was, from the very first days following the earthquake, tainted by a phenomenon of politicization of emergency aid. The Moroccan government has been selective in terms of accepting aid, only allowing support from Spain, the UK, Qatar, and the Emirates, despite numerous offers from governments worldwide.

“Climate and capacity have collided to cause this terrible tragedy,” acting as “a massive reminder” of climate change and the challenge it poses.

– Martin Griffiths

Bottoms on Top How Emma Seligman revamps the vulgar teen comedy genre

Isabella Roberti Culture Staff Writer

Whatever happened to the perfectly unhinged, theatrically-released, R-rated teen romp? No, not the Netflix franchises that desperately try to appeal to Gen Z with buzzword-heavy dialogue and preppy 90s fashion. I’m talking about the ones that create their own aesthetics and form meaning organically. The chaotic, messy stories that hyperbolize the grossness of growing up. Thankfully, Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott are here to save us with their sophomore team-up Bottoms: a bloody and brutal beatdown fest that sums up the status of young and awkward queer women in the world today.

The film is centred around gay best friends Josie (Ayo Edebiri) and PJ (Rachel Sennott), who create a “self-defence” fight club in an effort to attract the interest of popular girls Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber). The club, in turn, becomes a safe space for all the girls in school. The film breathes new life into the gory teen comedy genre in a way that is both simplistic and subversive. It is hilariously selfaware of its themes like identity and typical high school movie structure, relishing in its absurdity rather than forcing discourse. And as a theatrical release, the film could not come at a more crucial time. Not only does it rejuvenate this genre; it shows that young people and artists are not dependent on streaming services — the central perpetrators of the SAGAFTRA strike — for innovative and provocative content.

What makes Bottoms so deeply refreshing is its satirical relationship to genre and identity politics – it’s able to make poignant commentary through genius humour. From the jump, Josie and PJ are allowed to just exist in their queerness without the film needing to include some dramatic “coming out” backstory. Nor does it adhere to the one-gay-protagonist-per-film rule, or input unnatural verbal cues that scream “remember: they’re gay!” When the film does reference direct identity categories, it does so in a way that is side-splittingly satirical. In a scene between Josie and fellow club member Annie, Josie delivers the line: “I know you’re a Black republican but you’re the smartest girl in the club.”

Although Bottoms does include discursive dialogue, it does so sparingly and with great impact. Such is the case near the end of the film, after the horny motives of the club are revealed. Josie is left on the outs with PJ and Isabel and seeks the advice of her older lesbian neighbour, Rhodes (Punkie Johnson), who tells her something along the lines of “when I was in high school you couldn’t be gay. Now you can, nobody cares, but you can’t also be untalented.” This point underscores the very soul of the film, which is that sexual identity

today is only a small fragment of the disastrous high school experience, echoing the feelings of all the “ugly, untalented gays” like PJ and Josie.

Bottoms is just as sharp in its selfreferentiality when acknowledging genre conventions. At one point, PJ directly confronts the absurd trope of classes only lasting the span of one scene (“why is the bell ringing? We just sat down.”) The film also toys with the jock archetype through its main antagonist, Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine). His monumentally absurd ignorance – most palpable when he lip syncs “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” blissfully unaware that his house is being egged – relentlessly spoofs the hyper-masculine, narcissistic way that jock characters are usually portrayed.

Bottoms lets its social criticism speak for itself, allowing the film to

pack itself to the brim with cutting one-liners, original sight gags and gory slapstick. It is easy to tell that Seligman and her star and co-writer Sennott have been jotting down quips for and writing the film since college, as the script never once misses an opportunity to go for the joke. In the very first scene Sennott and Edebiri exhibit their ludicrously funny chemistry, concocting a horrible yet entertaining plan to get the attention of Brittany and Isabel. By prioritizing the comedic aspects of the film, Seligman and Sennott do something queer, female-led teen comedies are never allowed to do: ditch the sentimentality for pure, uncensored, youthful madness, all without glazing over important themes.

We have Seligman to thank for the final product of Bottoms achieving all its gruesome glory, because she refused to take no for an answer from producers. Seligman said that it took multiple pitches to get the film picked up, as production companies kept asking her to make it either less violent, less gay, or less sexual. Thankfully, smaller companies like Brownstone and Orion, who did pick up the film, are willing to take risks and support the ambitious work of younger, marginalized artists like Emma Seligman, who share the lived experiences of their characters and intended audience.

Bottoms being a theatrical release

also sets it apart from the content of major streaming services. It firstly is a nod to the origins of the teen sex comedy, which gained popularity in the 2000s with movies like Superbad . But it maintains great authenticity in comparison to the faux-progressive, nostalgia-porn teen films by streaming services like Netflix. Not all of their teen content is bad, but much of it is very clearly an attempt at discursive cinema

representation and connect with these works can support it through ticket sales, unlike the unfair compensation creators get from streaming services. These pay cuts also disproportionately impact marginalized filmmakers like Emma Seligman, who is a queer Jewish woman. Although production companies and theatre chains aren’t saints either, going to cinemas and supporting the

that is rendered shallow and incomplete by its recycled subject matter and aesthetics. Just look at the Kissing Booth or the To All the Boys franchises.

Relationships between content and distribution are incredibly important amid the SAGAFTRA strike. Independent, theatrical distributors are more inclined to release meaningful, personal projects like Bottoms than streaming services.

Viewers who appreciate their

work of independent filmmakers is an excellent way of supporting artists during the strike. Most importantly, it acknowledges the will of the viewer; young people are not as reliant on titan streaming services as they think we are. We care about good cinema that represents us in our current moment, which for many of us means seeing other weird, unhinged gays try to figure out who they are. And to them, and to anyone else who needs to laugh harder than they ever have, Bottoms is essential viewing.

The film breathes new life into the gory teen comedy genre in a way that is both simplistic and subversive.

Olivia Shan | Coordinating Editor

Bottoms lets its social criticism speak for itself, allowing the film to pack itself to the brim with cutting one-liners, original sight gags and gory slapstick.

Part of Whose World?

Historical revisionism in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023)

Eliana Freelund Culture Editor

cw: anti-Black discrimination, slavery, colonization

To say that the release of Disney’s 2023 live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has been smooth sailing could not be farther from the truth. The film has been infamously bathed in criticism since its very conception. Most notably, the loudest and most egregious backlash came from racist bigots on the internet who used their platforms to throw a fit over the casting of Halle Bailey, a young Black woman, as Ariel. Sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB were even subject to droves of review bombs that affected the reputation of the film for weeks. This tidal wave of hatred was truly horrific to watch unfold. It felt like we were taking not a step forward but a dive backward in history with how vitriolic and downright stupid these responses were.

Mermaids, like Tolkien’s elves or Marvel’s superheroes, are not real. They exist in fantastical made-up worlds and can look, act, or sound however we want them to. And with such a long history of anti-Black discrimination and oppression latent in every corner of Western media (looking at you Disney!), isn’t it the bare minimum for Black actors to get more casting opportunities in Hollywood? But empathy and common sense never had anything to do with this hateful response. This backlash was just another instance of many where unaddressed, carefully repressed racism bubbles to the surface.

At first glance, it might seem like this outrageous public response is the only aspect of The Little Mermaid (2023) that harbours such latent anti-Black sentiment. Unfortunately, because of Disney’s decision to make the story “more realistic,” the film itself has been built on a foundation of crudely sanitized imperialism, slavery, and colonization.

When The Little Mermaid became available on Disney+ on September 6, 2023, I got the chance to see the film for the first time.

I knew that like all of Disney’s live-action remakes, it would be a shadow of its original animated counterpart. Nevertheless, I was excited for a night of bright, colourful visuals and jaw-dropping vocals from Halle Bailey. But the movie left me with a bad taste in my mouth – Disney’s choice to make this fairy tale as realistic as possible produced an extreme case of historical revisionism.

The above-water scenes largely

take place on a fictional island governed by Prince Eric and his adoptive mother. Although the location is kept ambiguous, it is clear that Disney intended for this island to be somewhere in the Caribbean: most of the secondary characters speak with Jamaican or Trinidadian accents, aquaculture features prominently, fruit stands burst with ripe bananas and mangos, and street musicians jam out to calypso classics on steelpan drums. Disney most likely chose this location in keeping with Samuel E. Wright’s 1989 performance as Sebastian the crab in the original animated film. We can also see Disney’s attempt to adhere to a rough time period. The clothing and architectural designs suggest that the film takes place in the mid- to late-1800s, which was probably a nod to Hans Christian Andersen. On the surface, these choices might appear harmless. So what exactly is the problem here?

If you dive deeper into history, you’ll find that the 1800s Caribbean political scene was no fairy tale, especially for Black inhabitants. The slave trade brought unimaginable suffering to these nations, the legacy of which persists to this day. For example, Haiti has spent 122 years forcibly paying slaveholders and their descendants in France the equivalent of $30 billion USD today in order to “compensate” for France’s decreased income following Haiti’s abolition of slavery in 1793. With a story set in a place with such a painful relationship to colonization, how do you tell a whimsical love story between a white, British prince and a Black princess in a respectful way? Definitely not the way Disney did it.

I never expected The Little Mermaid (2023) to segue into

their day. In a blink-and-you’llmiss-it moment, you can see the rippling rows of sugarcane that line the carriage pathway. This small detail actually says a lot; in the 1800s the Caribbean was exploited by the colonies almost exclusively for sugar. You can’t open a history textbook on slavery in the Caribbean without encountering pages and pages on the brutality of the sugar plantations. To have Black actors stand against this backdrop while smiling and waving at a white, British prince reads as very tone-deaf to me. This scene has the potential to feed into the happy slave narrative present in some of Disney’s older films,

intentional, I couldn’t help but notice that this is the only scene of a character performing physical labour in service of another person, and it is performed by a Black actor while a white actor stands at a distance. Marcus Ryder, prominent activist and head of external consultancies at the Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, wrote in a blog post entitled “Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Caribbean Slavery, and Telling the Truth to Children” about his experience watching the film with his sixyear-old son. He writes: “the total erasure and rewriting of one of the most painful and important parts of African diasporic history, is borderline dangerous, especially when it is consumed unquestioningly by children.”

which he seemingly collected these objects an insidious tone. When Eric describes these trips to his mother as an opportunity for “cultural exchange” you can’t help but get the feeling that the film is trying to excuse, or Disney-ify, British imperialism. He directly mentions having traveled to Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia – all nations that were subject to colonization. All of a sudden his new song “Wild, Uncharted Waters” feels off. Eric states explicitly throughout the film that he wants to put uncharted waters onto maps. But this begs the question, uncharted for whom?

an all-out history lesson on the horrors of African slavery in the Caribbean. Despite that, I was pretty shocked at how they handled the positionality of the Black characters. During Ariel and Prince Eric’s slapstick carriage-riding scene, the camera turns to focus on various merchants and farmers as they go about

The Song of the South (1946) and Dumbo (1941).

These instances of historical revisionism essentially sanitize and erase the evils of slavery. In another scene, Lashana, a Black maid played by Martina Laird, gives Ariel a bath while a white maid looks on. Although this contrast may not have been

I would also like to critique Disney’s “update” to Prince Eric’s character. The Little Mermaid (2023) tries to create a parallel between Ariel’s desire to explore land and Eric’s desire to explore the ocean. However, the choice of location and time period once again complicates a seemingly innocent change. In a scene where Ariel admires Eric’s “treasures” from around the world, several objects are displayed from nations that have historically been victims of colonization. An oud, vahana elephant, and Buddha statue are just some of the objects that adorn Eric’s study. And yet, Disney attempts to pass this off as a harmless hobby akin to Ariel’s underwater collection.

Prince Eric is played by Jonah Hauer-King, a white British man. This gives Eric’s “voyages” on

By framing this exploration storyline from a sanitized European point of view, Disney effectively creates a world where imperialism and colonization either aren’t considered wrong, or flat-out don’t exist. I think that Marcus Ryder explains the effects of historical revisionism in The Little Mermaid 2023 best: “I do not think we do our children any favours by pretending that slavery didn’t exist. For me Disney’s preference to try and wish the inconvenient truth away says more about the adult creatives than it does about children’s ability to work through it.” It’s not that this film had to do a deep dive into the legacy of slavery and colonization in the Caribbean. But washing away the past will only lead to ripples in the future.

Genevieve Quinn | Photos Ediotr

With a story set in a place with such a painful relationship to colonization, how do you tell a whimsical love story between a white, British prince and a Black princess in a respectful way?

Definitely not the way Disney did it.

Room-temperature superconductors have long been darlings of pop culture’s futuristic trends: miracle materials that could power everything from levitating trains to ultra-efficient power grids to quantum computers in our near future.

Current superconductors need to be cooled to close to absolute zero (-273°C). This requires bulky and highly expensive equipment. Niobiumtitanium alloy, the superconductor used in high-speed maglev trains, requires temperatures of just 11°C. The existence of any roomtemperature superconductor would revolutionize nearly all modern technology. In power grids, room-temperature superconductors would save up to seven per cent more power while taking up less space than traditional metal wires, both considerable gains on a global scale. They would allow for electric motors with nearperfect efficiency. They would make quantum computers not just scientists’ toys but products accessible to all.

So when, in July, a team of South Korean scientists claimed the creation of a room-temperature superconductor using everyday materials, the viral frenzy was all

How internet hype rammed ahead of the scientific process

too predictable. In its name, “LK-99” signifies a promise. Short for “Lee Kim 1999” — named after lead researchers Lee Sukbae and Kim Ji-Hoon and the year they started this project — LK-99 is a testament to the time and work poured into making a dream come true.

demonstrating LK-99’s esoteric properties. Tech entrepreneurs rallied their followers toward investing in this “new big thing.” Tech stocks soared while memes and Reddit discussions spread as freely as electrons in a superconductor.

LK-99 became the equivalent of the sci-tech community’s new Taylor Swift album. It became the trend that everyone — from the average Joe to the Silicon Valley mogul — was buzzing about.

LK-99 was found, by researchers from Nanjing University, to not display the Meissner effect.

Alex Kaplan, a Princeton graduate, was one of the first to break the news. His tweet amassed millions of views in the following days, accelerating the growing online hype. Seasoned researchers and amateurs alike raced to replicate LK-99’s incredible properties. Videos of floating rocks quickly flooded the Internet, purporting successes at

“On the other hand, reactions from the scientific community were more subdued. Researchers in the field treated the results with natural skepticism. Historically, many supposed “roomtemperature superconductors” had already been synthesized through the years, only for their findings to be questioned after careful review. Issues with data accuracy disqualified most such findings. Academic misconduct also tainted the playing field far before LK-99 came along.

Crucially, LK-99 also failed to exhibit the Meissner effect, a critical test for true superconductivity. When a substance begins superconducting, any magnetic field will be expelled: this causes, for instance, the characteristic floating above a regular magnet seen in popular science displays.

Still, the hype continued. A disconnect widened between rigorous science and the general public. On one side stood the more likely reality: that LK-99 was yet another dead end, and the search for a room-temperature superconductor was far from over. On the other loomed the wellintentioned but misguided notion that somehow LK-99 would be the “eureka” moment of our time.

Fuelling these misconceptions, more than for previous roomtemperature superconductors, were those Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, afraid of stagnation and all too happy to jump on the bandwagon if it might stave off the current boom-and-bust cycle.

Gradually, as researchers failed over and over again to reproduce the South Korean group’s results, the body of evidence grew against LK-99’s status as the first-ever room-temperature superconductor. Researchers realized that many of LK-99’s properties, including the floating rock videos, were the result of normal ferromagnetism.

Other issues began appearing. Complaints were put forward by the work’s co-authors, purporting that the paper had been put forward for publication without their consent. At the time of writing, these allegations are still under investigation.

In the end, LK-99 didn’t become the shining arrow pointing to a new era of technology. It failed on the promise in its name, was hijacked by sharp-smelled tech execs, and exposed a lack of scientific understanding in the general public . Its saga shines light on the growing divide between the unforgiving truths of scientific progress, and its oversimplified interpretation in pop culture.

The existence of any roomtemperature superconductor would revolutionize nearly all modern technology.

Andrei Li Sci+Tech Contributor

Genevieve Quinn | Photos Editor

Historically, many supposed “roomtemperature superconductors” had already been synthesized through the years, only for their findings to be questioned.

HOROSCOPES

Aries (Mar 21Apr 19)

Ever thought about a music minor? Now you have.

Taurus (Apr 20May 20)

A presence from your past will re-appear this week!

Gemini (May 21Jun 20)

There is nothing worrying about listening to folklore twice a day. Pinky promise

Cancer (Jun 21Jul 22)

If you feel a breeze between your toes. It is time to stop wearing Flip-Flops.

Leo (Jul 23Aug 22)

Do yourself a favor and pretend your ex hurt you tremendously when listening to olivia Rodrigo’s new album.

Libra (Sept 23Oct 22)

The time has come. Pumpkin spice season is upon us. You cannot run and you will not hide. Embrace it.

Capricorn (Dec 22Jan 19)

Can you rock a beret? does the beret rock you? only time will tell.

Scorpio (Oct 23Nov 21)

When hesitating between dumplings and pizzas, go for pepperoni dumplings. Intriguing but tempting.

Aquarius (Jan 20Feb 18)

This is the year you will get a pixie cut. no questions asked.

Virgo (Aug 23Sept 22)

It is time to actually join the clubs you said you would join during activities night.

Sagittarius (Nov 22Dec 21)

this week will be a slay for you in terms of outFits.

Pisces (Feb 19Mar 20)

strut around campus with class, because you are the coolest Fishy there is.

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