vol101issu25 by McGill Daily

Volume 101, Issue 25

January 19, 2012 mcgilldaily.com

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The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

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MUS President Dave Fortin The first in a series on faculty association presidents Naomi Desai

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t’s hard to believe that Dave Fortin was once a science student at McGill. The current Management Undergraduate Society (MUS) president has also served as VP External of MUS and VP Sports of the Jeux de commerce, a case and sports competition between Quebec business schools. However, the many successes did not come without challenges, the most controversial of which was the referendum on the proposed five-dollar fee increase to the MUS student fee. “I think anytime you ask someone for money you might get some push-back,” he admitted. Nevertheless, the referendum passed in November. In addition to the student fee increase, the MUS implemented a universal ten-dollar membership fee for any MUS-affiliated club. Fortin said that the old system, where some clubs were free and others cost as much as $25 to join, “didn’t make sense.” Now, regardless of their interests, students pay the same for each club. “It’s fair across the board, so any-

one can participate,” he said. MUS’s corporate relations team came under fire this year because few funds were raised outside of the MUS agenda and Frosh, leading to the team getting downsized from roughly twenty students to seven. The idea for a corporate relations team began when Fortin attended the National Business Schools Conference and saw the University of Manitoba’s Commerce Students’ Association’s success in generating funds. “In practice it was difficult, because we were very ambitious with it,” he said. “Setting it up is the bulk of the work.” Another controversy involved Desautels Career Services asking recent graduate Khaled Kteily to remove a database of consulting recruitment resources on his website, themcn.ca (Management Consultants Network). “I have the utmost confidence in Career Services,” he explained, adding that he did not want the database to prevent students from seeing an advisor. Career Services’ new mentorship program offered to U3 students is one way the faculty is improving its resources and reputation. Competitiveness is one of MUS’s three goals for

the year, and, to celebrate the faculty’s success, a secondary trophy case has been created on the second f loor. Another objective – environmental sustainability – has been achieved through a new recycling campaign, as well as a waste audit of Bronfman. Finally, the MUS budget was published online to help improve accountability. Fortin grabbed headlines early last semester when it broke that he was spearheading a review of SSMU governance with other faculty association presidents. When asked about SSMU, Fortin had good things to say. “I communicate with [SSMU President] Maggie Knight fairly frequently. We’ve worked on a number of projects together,” he said. Fortin has high hopes for the future, encouraging the Board of Directors and Executive to write detailed exit reports. He maintained that turnover, a problem in other student associations, is “not a huge issue.” The MUS has had to fill one vacated position this year for the Math/Statistics representative, who resigned from the position in order to pursue an actuarial internship. The MUS will hold its Annual General Meeting on January 30.

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Admin invalidates referendum results CKUT and QPIRG may face second referendum Queen Arsem-O’Malley The McGill Daily

he McGill administration has informed CKUT, McGill’s campus-community radio station, and the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG), that the results of their fall existence referendum questions will not be observed. The organizations are required to go to existence referenda every five years. In the fall 2011 referendum, both CKUT and QPIRG’s questions proposed changing the system of opting out of fees to an in-person process rather than online through Minerva. The organizations must pass their existence referenda in order to begin negotiating their Memorandum of Agreement with the University. Kira Page, a member of the QPIRG Board of Directors, said that the organizations met with Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson in December, “wherein [it] was firmly suggested that [rejecting the referendum results] would be the decision of the administration.” In a press release from CKUT and QPIRG, a letter from the administration is quoted as saying that referendum results were “unclear.” According to Mendelson, “[the administration] only saw the questions when they were published for the referendum – too late to suggest changes to improve clarity.” Before being presented to stu-

dents, referendum questions must either pass through SSMU Council, or gather 500 student signatures, as well as undergo a review by Elections SSMU (formerly Elections McGill). “Elections SSMU found the questions to be very clear,” said Rebecca Tacoma, chief returning officer of Elections SSMU, in an email to The Daily. “We did take note of the fact that some students expressed both questions to be a difficult choice between voting ‘Yes,’ for continuing to support the student group in question through a fee that is not opt-outable on Minerva, or voting ‘No,’ for not continuing to recognize the group in question as a student group that collects fees.” “However, just because the questions may have presented options that were difficult for some students to choose between, this cannot be confused with the actual clarity of the question,” Tacoma wrote. In an email to The Daily, Mendelson said that, in the past, “some fee referenda have not been implemented, because they also lacked clarity.” He did not offer specific examples. SSMU released a letter directed to Mendelson addressing the decision. “We are naturally concerned that a democratic decision by the student body – and, by extension, SSMU’s democratic processes in general – are being declared invalid, and would appreciate a response to these concerns,” wrote SSMU President Maggie Knight.

Page said that the administration has told CKUT and QPIRG to run a second referendum with questions that they approve. “[The organizations] can also ask a separate question on whether the fee should be non opt-outable, on the understanding that the administration cannot be bound by a referendum on the method of opting out,” wrote Mendelson. Voting for the winter referendum period will occur from March 8 to 14. Page pointed out that running a second referendum question would forestall negotiations with the University. “We’re definitely looking into other options…we had very clear student support from that fall referendum campaign, and [we are] using that to pressure the administration into accepting the results and looking into our other options in negotiations,” Page said.

J-Board Students Zach Newburgh and Brendan Steven have filed a case with SSMU’s Judicial Board (J-Board) requesting that the results of the fall 2011 referendum question regarding the existence of QPIRG be invalidated. According to J-Board Chief Justice David Parry, the public hearing for the case will be on January 30, in the Lev Bukhman room. Quorum for J-Board is three justices. The students’ 64-page case file – which includes evidence gathered from emails, Facebook activ-

ity, SSMU Council minutes, and campus publications – accuses the QPIRG ‘Yes’ committee of numerous infractions. The case claims that campaign rules were enforced irregularly, and challenges numerous decisions of Elections SSMU Chief Electoral Officer Rebecca Tacoma. After requesting access to the SSMU membership list in late September, Newburgh used his access to check the membership status of the signatories to the petition for the QPIRG referendum question. A list of 12 students who are deemed to be non-SSMU members is included in the case file. Steven distributed a press release about the case two days after the distribution of a press release from CKUT and QPIRG, which detailed the refusal by the McGill administration to recognize the referendum results. In a letter to QPIRG and CKUT, the administration cited concerns over the “unclear” referendum question. Similarly, Steven and Newburgh’s petition references a quote by Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson, in which he describes QPIRG’s question as “convoluted.” The case file focuses only on the constitutionality and clarity of QPIRG’s question, despite the nearly identical structure of the fall referendum question regarding the existence of CKUT. Tacoma, Newburgh, and Steven are not granting interviews regarding the case.

McGill plans to expand into Griffintown Concerns raised over student consultation and corporate involvement Erin Hudson

The McGill Daily

t the first 2012 meeting of Senate yesterday, plans concerning McGill’s involvement in the creation of an “innovation district” in Montreal’s former industrial centre, known as Griffintown, were presented publicly for the first time. The project, known as the Quartier de l’Innovation (QI), aims to create a “collaborative ecosytem” that will impact economic development in the district, innovate academic and professional programs, and serve as the site for part of McGill’s downtown campus. McGill’s partners in the QI include the École de technologie supérieure and the Quebec government. Announced in May 2011, the QI’s internal planning process began last summer and culminated in a final report submitted to Rose Goldstein, Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) in October.

Professor and Interim Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute, Phil Barker, chairs the QI’s internal planning process, and presented recommendations to Senate on Wednesday with Goldstein. Barker spoke to the project’s emphasis on creating a neighbourhood in the former industrial centre. In her presentation of the project, Goldstein described the area as “beaten down,” and noted positive feedback she has received from staff and students thus far. The report recommends the QI become a focal point for programs in areas like health technologies, social innovation, and innovation and entrepreneurship. The report states that “corporate partners are anxious to have access to [McGill’s] pool of highly trained individuals. We recommend that QI-based businesses be given unique access to this pool.” Corporate access would include job fairs, new innovation intern-

ship programs, and on-site interview infrastructure. SSMU President Maggie Knight raised concerns regarding corporate social responsibility among potential corporate partners named in the QI recommendations, such as Bombardier, Google, and Monsanto. “There’s a lot in that document about giving back to the community and the society and to the principles of sustainable development, and prosperity and so on,” said Knight. “But there’s also talk about relationships with some corporations that perhaps don’t obviously deeply value those same principles.” “There needs to be some sort of ethical process,” she added. PGSS President Roland Nassim pointed out the lack of student involvement in the project’s planning. Barker accounted for the lack of student input by stating that the process “unrolled quite quickly,” and was conducted over the summer at a “high level.” “We recognize we need student

input,” Barker added. “This is McGill and they know better – that students want to be involved,” Nassim told The Daily. “It’s a good project but we’re going to have to see how students can be integrated. This is about students’ futures and careers in general, and not just about the people involved in the renovations.” Knight noted Goldstein and Barker’s commitment to engaging students in the future, however, she added that “it was a little surprising to see something of that magnitude come to Senate for discussion before the students have been talked to. I think that’s not generally seen as best practices for engaging students.” “I hope that we’ll engage in a productive conversation [from] this point forward,” said Knight. The development of QI will undergo further consultation, with an aim to create a preliminary business plan by the end of March 2012.

Senate addresses Jutras Esther Lee

The McGill Daily

reaking the McGill administration’s silence on Dean of Law Daniel Jutras’ report on November 10, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum has announced that the administration accepts the report and intends to implement all recommendations. “Before confirming the plans for implementation, and as I committed to do in December, I will await the benefit of hearing the discussion at Senate,” wrote Munroe-Blum in her memorandum prior to Senate. Jutras introduced his report and said he was “quite confident that the text of the narrative is correct [due to] the plurality of perspectives with respect to each account of the event.” Jutras said he hoped the report would serve as a starting point. Arts senator Matthew Crawford requested that the McGill administration acknowledge the lack of evidence of violence on the part of the 14 student occupiers in the James Administration building. Crawford is one of the 14 individuals who occupied the fifth floor. Darin Barney, senator and associate professor in Art History and Communication Studies, said that protestors explained their intention of a peaceful occupation from the start of their action. Barney continued to state that based on Jutras’ report, within eight minutes of the occupation’s beginning the students’ political intentions were known. Barney stated that subsequent contact with the police, and, in particular violence outside the building, was “…[an] unjustifiable response to a justifiable political action.” “Any university that doesn’t know the place it must make for political activism has already lost its way... University is supposed to be a place where political activism, and its dissent, should, uniquely, be allowed,” Barney added. After the meeting, Munroe-Blum told The Daily that “a lot of different views were expressed and a lot of different recommendations came into play.” “I’m meeting with the student leaders coming up… This should not be the only formal administrative response to the Jutras report – there will be other undertakings that will happen,” she added. SSMU President Maggie Knight spoke to student input in the implementation of Jutras’ recommendations and other recommendations not in the report. “We don’t have a concrete idea of what that looks like, or how we’ll be involved,” she said. “We’ll be following up with the administration to try to clarify that.”

4 News

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

AUS implements changes for student strike vote Interim representative to SSMU elected; date for General Assembly discussed Queen Arsem-O'Malley and Devin Kesner The McGill Daily

he Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) held its first meeting of the semester Wednesday night. Items on the agenda included enacting a new voting requirement, discussing the recent outage of the AUS website, and electing an interim Arts Representative to SSMU Council. A large portion of the meeting revolved around voting to add a new by-law to the AUS Constitution that would require ten per cent of the Arts student body to vote on AUS referendums regarding student strikes. After lengthy debate, Councillors voted in favor of the new by-law. The decision comes as students are beginning to mobilize to support a general Quebec student strike this semester in opposition to impending tuition increases. A student petition for AUS to hold a second General Assembly on January 24 was submitted last week for Council to consider. Despite wording in the document that specifies a date, Council set a tentative date for January 31, which coincides

with the next AUS Council meeting. In light of the AUS website having been down over the past several weeks, Matthew Chung, VP Communications, explained that this outage was due to an unpaid fee for the web server. As of Tuesday night, the issue was resolved and the website is back up and running. To replace Arts Representative to SSMU Micha Stettin, Council elected Justin Fletcher as interim representative. Fletcher is currently the East Asian Studies Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association representative to the AUS. Stettin resigned his position at the end of the fall semester.

Orientation Week Theft The AUS Executive revealed to Council near the end of the fall semester that $12,000 of Orientation Week money was stolen from the AUS office. VP Finance Marlene Benavides discovered the theft on September 1. Benavides said that AUS is â&#x20AC;&#x153;aware of small thefts, especially during Orientation Week, but not to this magnitude.â&#x20AC;? She described the time around Orientation Week as â&#x20AC;&#x153;extremely hectic, and where we have an unusually large amount of cash

VIctor Tangermann | The McGill Daily

Last fall, Arts students voted for a one-day strike. in the office, which makes us an easy target for theft,â&#x20AC;? as well as a period of â&#x20AC;&#x153;high traffic in and out of the office.â&#x20AC;? McGill Security and the Service de Police de la Ville de MontrĂŠal conducted an investigation into the

theft. Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson said that the administration is unable to comment due to the investigation. According to Benavides, AUS has taken the steps of purchasing a new

safe and changing an alarm code for the office. Despite the theft, Benavides reported that AUS made a profit of approximately $6,000, a significant change from 2010 Frosh, which posted a $30,000 deficit.

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News

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com A lot of Knight’s goals were put on hold last semester, as one unexpected event after another demanded the SSMU executive’s attention. From the MUNACA strike to the November 10 riot, as well as the administration’s stonewalling of SSMU’s Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) and lease, Knight had to deal with a lot in her first semester as president. Despite this, she managed to make good on her promise to review direct democracy at McGill, through her work on reforming the SSMU Board of Directors to be more democratic, and by helping to spearhead the new Strategic Summits as a new form of student consultation. However, Knight will have to spend a lot of time playing catch up this semester on processes that were put on hold with the events of the fall, particularly by spending time working on SSMU bylaws and policy, and by opening communication with McGill students who aren’t already involved in student associations.

Midterm Plummer Todd

SSMU

Knight Maggie PRESIDENT

Plummer has had a few successes this year, including running 4Floors (which sold out in a matter of hours), and organizing the Exam Time Puppies canine therapy event. The Mac campus “hoedown” faced equity issues with its poster, and buses failed to show to shuttle students to the event, a disappointment to plaid-clad downtown kids. Plummer may be doing a good job running the typical SSMU events – but what originally set him apart from other candidates involved his ideas to bring in guest speakers and to connect with the Milton-Parc Community. We would encourage Plummer to make true of his campaign promise to help students reach outside the McGill bubble, and start by stepping out of it himself.

VP INTERNAL

First semester has been rough for Fraser: SSMU still has not completed lease negotiations with McGill, forestalling any plans for building improvements – of which Fraser has many. She hopes to take inventory of AV equipment and make them accessible to student groups, upgrade the SSMU ballroom, and digitize ancient student groups’ records she has unearthed. Lease negotiations were stalled for the most part due to protracted negotiations with McGill over SSMU’s MoA, which was notable for the 130 student groups forced to take “McGill” out of their names. Despite the challenges, Fraser said she has organized, streamlined, and institutionalized day-to-day communications with student groups and met with most face-to-face. A huge success was the record turnout at the fall Activities Night, which Fraser hopes to top with this semester’s interactive Activities Night – though we’ll see if a new format makes up for patchy advertising. Fraser’s biggest disappointment to students was the veto of the interior “green wall” that she promised in her campaign. Deputy Provost (Student and Learning) Morton Mendelson vetoed the project early on in her term due to humidity levels in Shatner. She hopes to get the Green Space in action and is looking into a portable “green wall.”

Review

Fraser Carol VP CLUBS & SERVICES

FERC Formerly a legislative black hole, Patel has returned the Financial Ethical Review Committee to relevance, passing a new Ethical Investment Policy through Council and fulfilling a major campaign promise. They are working on an ethical Purchasing Policy this semester.

The Book Bazaar Patel moved swiftly to phase out the Book Bazaar, the newer version of financial sinkhole Haven Books. Patel is replacing the service with the online Marketplace. Accessible only with a mail.mcgill.ca or mcgill.ca email address, Patel said he will start strategically promoting the site more heavily this semester, after a quiet debut this term. Time will tell if the latest incarnation of a SSMU bookstore solves more problems than it creates.

Student-run cafe

Patel Shyam VP FINANCE & OPERATIONS

Patel is sure to win hearts with his student-run cafe working group, which has finished its research phase and will draft a business plan this semester. Planning to open in 2013 in Shatner, Patel is authoring a General Assembly motion this semester asking students to mandate SSMU to establish a student-run cafe in Shatner. As for the cafe’s location, much hinges on the negotiations surrounding the future of Shatner’s second floor cafe space. A search for tenants began after negotiations broke down with current tenants, but Patel said the situation will not be resolved until next year.

Student activism Pedneault’s year has been unprecedented in terms of student activism. Mob Squad’s presence resulted in a semester full of demonstrations on campus, including an incident of Pedneault himself being charged (and cleared) of allegations of disruption at a demonstration in support of MUNACA. Throughout the strike, Pedneault’s distribution of information was prompt and thorough, as SSMU tried to address a complex set of student concerns.

Pedneault Joël

Tuition, tuition, tuition The key issue coming into this year, and the one that still eclipses Pedneault’s portfolio, is tuition hikes. Pedneault organized an impressive campaign and contingent of McGill students, staff, and faculty to participate in the November 10 demonstration – and sent large SSMU delegations to recent TaCEQ and ASSÉ meetings. He has continued former VP Myriam Zaidi’s work on compiling research on tuition hikes, though a promised report on the effects on international students is still forthcoming.

Milton-Parc A staple of the VP External’s job, Pedneault organized a community barbeque, and is including Milton-Parc representatives in the upcoming consultation fair on security. The relationship between McGill and the Milton-Parc community remains in a delicate balance and it should remain a central issue of Pedneault’s focus this semester.

VP EXTERNAL

Community spirit A central campaign promise of Clare’s to push for a more united campus community was hobbled from the get-go by the MUNACA strike, and then by the events of November 10. Furthermore, despite a semester spent trying to influence major policy discussions in Senate around the various crises, Clare and her caucus came up empty on appeals for student academic amnesty and reforms to the Jutras Investigation.

Cross-campus collaboration One of Clare’s successes is working more with groups external to SSMU, including the Macdonald Campus Student Society Senate representatives. Clare has also been working with external groups – including Concordia groups and the McGill administration – through the SSMU Equity Committee to help overhaul the Equity Policy.

Yee Clare Emily

The lease VP UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS

With negotiations to renew SSMU’s MoA with McGill dominating their time since the summer, the Executive hasn’t had much time to focus on lease negotiations for Shatner. Clare, one of SSMU’s lead negotiators, has formed an ad hoc Lease Committee with Knight and other SSMU Councillors, which Clare said has helped bring a fresh eye to the negotiations process. Waiting for McGill to respond to the Committee’s propositions, however, means lease negotiations could drag on for as long as the MoA’s.

Commentary

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

¿Viva la Revolución? Balaclava Discourse Davide Mastracci

balaclavadiscourse@mcgilldaily.com

n December of 1956, Fidel Castro and his band of revolutionaries descended upon Fulgencio Batista’s oppressive regime from the Sierra Maestra. The guerrilla fighters eventually succeeded in ousting Batista, and a new government arose under the leadership of Fidel. Now, in 2012, Cuba continues to survive under the leadership of the Castro family, despite the challenges it faces from the capitalist world. On November 10, new legislation was enacted that threatens the foundation upon which Fidel’s government was built. This law allows Cuban citizens and permanent residents to buy and sell real estate; a major break from the socialist housing prevalent since the early days of the revolution. A previous Cuban director of urbanism and agriculture, Mario Coyula, claimed that “wide-scale buying and selling would lead to a “huge rearrangement” in Havana and other cities, as the wealthy move to better areas.” Coyula claims that this rearrangement will “exacerbate class conflict,” while other critics state it will increase homelessness. Despite these concerns, figures in the Western world, such as Diane Ablonczy, the Canadian minister for Latin America, have applauded the implementation of this new law as a start, or another step, down the road to capitalism.

If travelling down this road is congratulated because it is perceived to be in the interests of the Cuban people, than the applause of the Western world is misled. Cuba’s trek down the capitalist road will be accompanied by social regression and American dominance; as such, a prompt u-turn needs to take place. While Cuba has never been a perfect state, some of the achievements under Fidel’s leadership should act as incentives for a more socialist economic system. For example, Cuba was ranked as the world’s greatest overachiever in a Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme in 2008. This implies that Cuba has achieved tremendously high levels of social development in relation to its income ratings, spurred by its socialist policies. “Social development” in this case refers to such things as health care, life expectancy, and education. In terms of healthcare, Cuba has the best doctor-patient ratio in the world, with one doctor for every 156 patients. In comparison, the United States has one doctor to serve every 370 patients. Also, the efficiency of the healthcare in Cuba has allowed it to maintain a life expectancy at birth of 79 years, the same level as the US. In terms of education, the literacy rate within Cuba is 99.9 per cent, and the student teacher ratio is approximately 12 to 1. All education in Cuba is also free. While all of these facts are impressive, they become even more remarkable when one considers that they were

Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

The rise of capitalism in Cuba

achieved despite the US embargo upon Cuba that has been in place since 1962. The embargo is essentially economic warfare against Cuba, as it has cost Cuba an estimated 89 billion in American since its implementation. The injustice of the embargo has been recognized internationally: the UN has overwhelmingly condemned it for the last 20 years, with the most recent vote seeing 186 nations condemning the embargo, and only the US and Israel supporting it. As such, those who have recognized the failures of the capitalist

system should not abandon Cuba as an alternative. The left has a tendency of criticizing everything outside of the ivory tower it safely nests in, and while Cuba does deserve criticism, in this case, the good should not be an enemy to the perfect. Cuba has been a strong check against US imperialism, and its role in providing a framework for the pink tide, a wave of progressive governments coming to power in Latin America which has begun to sweep over Latin America is vital. Though specific aspects of the Cuban govern-

ment certainly do require liberalization, these flaws can be worked out while moving towards a pure socialist state, and do not require Cuba to regress into becoming the puppet the Western world has always wanted it to be. Balaclava Discourse is a column written by Davide Mastracci on the structures of authority, hierarchy, and domination in society. It appears every other Monday in commentary. You can email him at balaclavadiscourse@mcgilldaily.com.

Accept tuition fee increases How higher fees will not jeopardize accessibility Jade Arnaout 2 Cents

ow is it that we as McGill students are protesting against the Quebec tuition hikes when simultaneously we were with the Munaca strike and have wanted our non-academic staff to earn higher incomes and get better benefits? Oh, and did I mention that our university is currently running a deficit? By the way, just in case you

forgot, your post-secondary studies represent a lifetime investment! I’m all for accessibility, and this is the essence of Quebec’s socialist system, which I find to be the secondbest in the world after Scandinavian countries. But the core problem lies in the fact that people have been taking post-secondary education for granted lately. Even in 2016, i.e. in five years from now, tuition fees in Quebec will still be lower than any other Canadian province and by far the lowest in Canada. The 2011 Canadian average

is more than $5000, more than double the current figure for Quebec. So we’re still going to be below the 2011 Canadian average. And now to directly answer your question, I firmly believe that with the right financial planning be it a part-time job when studying, a full-time job over the summer season, a government loan, a bursary, a scholarship, or other forms of financial aid and support a hard-working university student should be able to succeed in their post-secondary studies. All you have to do is look for

those opportunities, they’re all out there: We have to work for every penny we earn, that’s how life is. We have excellent academic institutions but they are living a crisis situation right now. Plus, keep in mind that as residents of Quebec, we have the option to go to public schools and CEGEPS and pay close to $0.00 until age 18 or 19. I think that $15,000 for a three-year degree from a top university is far from being a lost investment. And yes, we all need to gain a little perspective.

Coming from a third-world country, I can tell you that Canada has tremendous social class mobility and a tuition fee increase will not jeopardize it. You have to be ambitious and work hard, that is your recipe for success, and that’s how you climb the ladder. Jade Arnaout is a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations Management candidate. He can be reached at jade.arnaout@mail. mcgill.ca.

Commentary

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

What is the FYC (First Year Council)? An open letter from the FYC executive

Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

ttention all first years! If this is your first year at McGill, your interests are represented by the First Year Council. We are a SSMU service composed of six first year students that are publicly elected by and for first years; the elections occured in mid-November, and we’ve been hard at work planning some great events and projects for all of you this semester. Our job is to represent first years in the McGill community, to help integrate you into McGill life, to serve as your advocates and guides, and, of course, to plan awesome events for you to enjoy. We are also dedicated to listening to feedback and suggestions from all of you. As we are dedicated to open and accountable student leadership, we’d like to tell you about some of the things we are planning this year, using the $1500 budget that SSMU provides us with – this is your money, so let us know if you love or hate our ideas! First, our fabulous events! The FYC is planning two great events this semester. We’ll have the perfect thing for midterm blues: free massages and candy! Then, near the end of the year, we’ll be having a new event: the First Year Formal! You’ll have a chance to

help us plan this awesome and fashionable end-of-year bash, the profits of which will go to charity. For this event, we’re working on collaborating with the Inter-Rez Council and the Off Campus Fellows program. The FYC is dedicated to student advocacy and improved access to information. It’s no secret that McGill is a huge place, but few know of all the great services that are provided (like the FYC). Additionally, information in such a huge place is daunting to keep up with, and a lot of students don’t know their student or academic rights, or the structures of governance – both student and administrative – that shape the University. To deal with this, we have two major strategies. The first is a partnership with the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) to produce a generalized version of the excellent AUS First Year Guide. This guide is an AUS publication that contains a lot of the relevant information for first years in Arts. We plan to add information from all the other faculties, revise it and update it and then distribute it – free of charge – to all first years and to new students. We will also be working with the first year

office to improve and expand the information available to first years on the new student website. Our second idea, which will hopefully involve a collaboration between the FYC and other McGill services, is a student advocacy service and a group of students trained to direct students with questions, ideas, or complaints, or who feel their rights have been infringed upon to the right people and services. Together, these two projects will help integrate first years more rapidly into the McGill community, providing them with the tools to make the best of their time here at McGill. There are so many things that McGill has to offer, from clubs and student activism to awesome spots in downtown Montreal. On the academics side, our VP academics will be creating a study roster for first years this semester, which students will be able to access and add themselves to through one of our future listservs. This resource will be a list of first years by residence, by program, and by class, and will serve as a way from people from the same classes to get into contact

and form study groups. In the spirit of our commitment to truth, accountability, and student activism we decided at the end of last semester to reserve up to $100 for the use of the Independent Student Inquiry Into the Events of November 10, 2011. November 10 was a traumatic day for the McGill community, and the money will help the Inquiry pay for Access to Information requests. These documents will help paint a complete picture of the event. Last semester may have been crazy – with the strike, protests, and riot police on campus – and it’s all a bit overwhelming for us first years. But we have it on good authority that things aren’t usually this chaotic! It’s obvious that there are many causes that a variety of people are fighting for here at McGill, and that means there are great opportunities to get involved, have your voice heard, and make some changes. This is the part where we ask for your help! First, we need your suggestions and comments to truly work as your representatives, if you have any ideas, please don’t hesitate to email us! Second, we are going to need a lot of help with our projects this year, so

we will be creating three committees: the advocacy committee (which will help us set up the advocacy program), the First Year Guide Committee (which will help research and compile the guide), and the Events Committee (which will help us plan events such as the Formal). If you would like to play a role in these committees, please feel free to email us your name and program, and we’ll get back to you about the first meeting date – this is a great way to get involved, learn about McGill, help your fellow students and to get something to put on your resume (we can act as references). Finally, remember all FYC meetings are open, and we’ll advertise times in the listserv, so feel free to drop in, and please email us with questions, comments, or concerns at fyc@ssmu. mcgill.ca.

Your First Year Council: David Benrimoh, President Michael Lessard, VP External Maymanat Nazari, VP Internal Mibo Zhao, VP Finance Sara Chughtai, VP Academics Max Blumberg, VP Communications

8 Features

Diapers, daycare, and dissertations

by Annie Shiel

How McGill is failing student parents Childcare shortages at McGill

People on the SSMU waitlist: 351 Spots in McGill daycare: 106 Spots in SSMU daycare: 40

or a McGill grad student and the parent of a small child, Hanady Bani Hani has a surprisingly tidy apartment. A few of her daughter Tia’s picture books littered the ground – otherwise, the place was spotless. But concealed behind the charming, orderly home I saw that evening was the story of a family struggling to stay afloat amidst McGill’s persistent neglect of students with children. As 14 month-old Tia ambled around the apartment picking up toys and occasionally reaching for my recorder, Hanady described the difficulty of balancing life as a student and parent. Hanady is a PhD student in Speech Therapy at McGill’s Faculty of Medicine. One of her and her husband Rasheed’s biggest stresses is the severe shortage of daycare spots at McGill and in Montreal. When Hanady became pregnant about a year into her studies, she

Alyssa Favreau | The McGill Daily

People on the McGill waitlist: 783

and Rasheed began to call around to find a spot for their child. Rasheed called exactly 153 daycares, including the McGill Daycare Center and SSMU Daycare. The McGill daycares, notorious for their long waiting lists, had no spots available, and they were turned away by many of the other daycares in downtown Montreal, whose spots are often reserved for employees of specific companies like Hydro-Quebec or Desjardins. Exploring daycares farther away posed other difficulties; the spots they found were over forty-five minutes away by car, and were of little help to the couple, who both work downtown. Cost was another problem. Spots in public daycares such as McGill Daycare Center and SSMU Daycare go for $7 per day, but are scarce. Private daycares, on the other hand, can cost from around

Courtesy of Hanady Bani Hani $45 per day to upwards of $60. Tia is not in daycare now. The couple experimented with hiring nannies, but found them to be unqualified and far too expensive (the cheapest nanny they found asked for $15 an hour before tax, which came to about $2400 per month). To compensate, Hanady and Rasheed have to be creative in their scheduling, sacrificing time and career opportunities. “Sometimes I’d have to work from home for a whole month because I didn’t have anybody and I had to write my comps,” Hanady explained, referring to the comprehensive exams PhD candidates are required to write. Other times, Rasheed would take days off work while Hanady went to school, and then Rasheed would work on the weekends. Or Rasheed would work in the morning and then spend the afternoon with Tia while Hanady studied.

Hanady’s PhD program often requires her to study more than 12 hours a day, time that she can only find once Tia is asleep. As a result, it is not uncommon for her to study from eight or nine at night until the same time the next morning. “Nobody understands this,” she said. “Nobody can see this. By the end of the day they think, ‘okay, what you’re doing is so normal.’ It’s not.” Sleep deprivation isn’t the only consequence of Hanady’s schedule – it’s also delaying her studies, both in terms of time and achievement. “I have to miss lots of opportunities,” she said. These include missed lectures and workshops. To say that the couple is disappointed with McGill’s show of support would be an understatement. “McGill is not a place for a parent,” Hanady said. “It’s not friendly to mothers. You have to [act] as though you have nothing else but your stud-

ies while you have a baby at home… and McGill is all about requirements, all about achievement. [They] ask me to be a full time student and act as though I don’t have any other responsibilities.”

he McGill Daycare Center, known officially as the Centre de la Petite Enfance de McGill (CPE McGill), was founded in 1973 with the help of a federal grant. Located in an austere stone building at 3491 Peel Street, the center serves 106 children of McGill students, staff, and faculty. There are 783 children on the waiting list, which lasts about three years. Because the center is governmentsubsidized, those fortunate enough to have a space pay just $7 a day. The SSMU Daycare, located in the Brown Building, is the other government-subsidized daycare

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

reserved specifically for the McGill community. It opened in 2004 on a part-time basis, until it began receiving government subsidies in 2007. Now it operates full-time, and, like McGill Daycare, charges $7 a day. According to director Amy Vincent, the SSMU Daycare serves thirty-two children (18-60 months) and eight infants (0-18 months). There are 351 children on the waiting list, with priority given to undergraduates, then graduate students, then staff and faculty. Undergraduates generally get a spot within a year of applying. According to Lisa Gallagher, the executive director of McGill Daycare, the biggest constraint on expanding daycare access is physical space. Daycares require large interior spaces as well as green space where the children can play, which must be within fifty meters of the center. In spite of these constraints, the center is aware of the community’s need for more daycare spots, and is working in collaboration with the Post-Graduate Student Society (PGSS) and the McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT) to find a solution. They have until February 24 to apply to the government for new childcare spaces. “We’re all putting our resources together and trying to actively find space to expand childcare services for the university community as a whole,” said Gallagher.

anady’s obstacles don’t end with daycare. Little did she know that as an international student from Jordan, she was ineligible for many supportive services from both McGill and Quebec. For starters, Hanady is on a scholarship, which she would lose if she went on maternity leave. And taking maternity leave would also mean she was no longer covered by her private health insurance. “Can you imagine?” Hanady exclaimed. “You give birth, you’re on maternity leave as an international student, and you don’t have health insurance? If I’m not covered, how do I give birth? What would cover my delivery? What would cover my baby?” Even more shocking to Hanady and Rasheed was the fact that Tia isn’t covered by Quebec public health insurance because of her parents’ international status, despite the fact that she was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen. “[The government] treats you as Canadian in terms of tax but they don’t treat you as Canadian when you need health insurance,” said Hanady. The family is now covered by Blue Cross, which charges $3800 a year for all of them, instead of the $1500 the couple would be paying on their own. The consequences of the policy are not only financial, however. Many pediatricians won’t take the baby if she’s covered by

private insurance, and those that will often have no spots left for new patients. “My baby doesn’t have a pediatrician,” Hanady said.

f course, many of these issues are largely out of McGill’s hands. But there seems to be a consensus among many student parents that a lack of information and understanding from the school’s student services is compounding the problem. For Ieva Paberzyte, a PhD student in anthropology, one of the biggest issues is a lack of information. Ieva is an international student like Hanady, originally from Lithuania. She has two children: Joris, who is two years old, and Benas, who is fifteen months. “What I really missed from McGill is information,” she said. “I went to the office of international student services with several questions when I had just become pregnant with my first baby and they couldn’t provide me answers. There’s nobody [there] who specializes in family issues.” Ieva recalled how the office would often direct her to the website of the Quebec government for her questions about benefits. “There’s so much on that website,” she said. “What is the help in just giving out web pages? I can google these things myself.” Although Ieva explained that the Office of International Student Services had helped her a great deal in other areas, she felt alone when it came to family issues. For example, like so many other parents, Ieva found it nearly impossible to find a cheap daycare spot on her own. “I couldn’t find any other solution than to just put all the money into daycare so I could start moving with my studies, otherwise I’d be kicked out of the country,” she explained. “I really think that there should be a person in the international office who knows about family issues – how to find a daycare, what benefits you’re eligible for, when to apply, how to apply for daycares, things about health insurance.” Julia Tischer, a PhD student in the School of Architecture, felt a similar lack of support on family issues. Julia was pregnant during her first term at McGill. “First year was really hard,” she recounted. “My whole pregnancy was hard, from the moment I started to show. There were lots of misconceptions, like [people would] think you’re going to be a worse student or fall behind.” Once her daughter Mia was born, things were no different. “I was looked at differently,” she said. “[People] would have comments that were hurtful about my performance as a student. It wasn’t really direct and it was always cheerful, but I felt really bad about it.” For Julia, the issue wasn’t a lack of

balance between motherhood and student life, but of a lack of real inclusion for student parents at McGill. She explained that she thought having a child during her graduate studies was a positive thing – she felt mature enough to have a baby and it gave her something to work for – but that the lack of certain services like daycare, as well as a lack of understanding from administration, made things difficult for student parents. “There was no network to fall back on,” she said. “It was really me alone against my crazy schedule.”

iven that the majority of student parents are grad students, the Post Graduate Student Society (PGSS) clearly has a role to play in providing childcare at McGill. Until recently, it hasn’t done much. Though still in its infant years, the Family Care Committee of PGSS is working hard to change that. The Family Care Committee was founded in the fall of 2008 to provide support for students caring for young dependents or for dependents who can no longer care for themselves, such as elderly parents. It organizes events for student parents, serves as a liaison between graduate students and administration, and seeks to represent the priorities of graduate students and their families at McGill. For the past few years, the committee has been awarding needbased financial aid to graduate student parents in lump sums of $3000, $1500, and $500. However, PGSS stopped the program when they realized that their status as a nonprofit organization might make it illegal to pay dividends to their own members. According to Family Care Commissioner Irina Pivneva, PGSS is looking to circumvent this problem by transferring funds to McGill’s financial aid office, so aid packages would be distributed by McGill rather than directly from PGSS. They hope to have the financial aid program reinstated by the end of the year. The Family Care Committee has also been working with McGill Daycare and MAUT to find a solution for the severe shortage of daycare spots at McGill. Pivneva described three possible solutions in progress. The most immediate of these is a potential partnership with a private daycare in Westmount to reserve a number of drop-in spots for PGSS members at a reduced rate for several hours a day. Pivneva and VP Finance and former Daily columnist Adrian Kaats, working with an architect and a daycare consultant, have also recently completed a feasibility study that would allow them to apply to the Minister of Education for a license to build a daycare on campus specifically for PGSS members. As a third

avenue, the Family Care Committee is working with MAUT and McGill Daycare to assess the needs of the McGill community and possibly apply to the Minister of Education to expand the existing McGill Daycare to include more spots. Although organizations like PGSS and McGill Daycare are working diligently towards this end, Pivneva hinted that other members of the McGill administration have not been so willing to help. She recounted a presentation that Principal Heather MunroeBlum gave at a PGSS council meeting last spring. According to Pivneva, when asked about the issue of daycares, Munroe-Blum replied, “McGill is not in the business of daycare.”

hile PGSS and its partners work to secure funding and daycare spots for its members, many student parents are still struggling to balance student life with parenthood. As of now, students are left with a patchwork of well-meaning but inadequate programs. The McGill Chaplaincy, for example, houses the McGill Student Parents’ Network, a community of parents, children and student volunteers that hosts a number of programs to support families, such as in-house babysitting, and events that allow student parents to network and share stories. One program, “Study Saturdays,” occurs once a month at the Thompson House and provides childcare services and a healthy lunch for a few hours while parents can study. For Dareen Abd El-Aziz, a dental student and mother who takes advantage of these services whenever possible, it is not enough. As I struggled to play back Dareen’s story with three-year-old Yaseen’s exuberant rendition of the ABC’s playing in the background, I imagined how difficult it must be to find quiet time to study when daycare is not an option. The Chaplaincy only provides three hours of free babysitting a week while the parents are home, and since the volunteer sitters are students, they are often busy themselves during exam periods when parents may need them most. Dareen also expressed a desire to have Study Saturdays more often, and a serious need for family residences at McGill. In all my interviews with student parents, the same theme returned again and again: it’s not enough. There are not enough daycare spots, not enough information. Not enough support from McGill administration or understanding from the community. “I don’t think they really care. I don’t think there’s a lot of understanding from the McGill administration in general,” said Julia. “I felt really left out as a parent and student at the same time. It’s hard enough, and there should really be more support.”

An average person with a child on the McGill Daycare waiting list will change 6570 diapers in the three years it usually takes to get a place

Health&Education

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Everything but the kitchen zinc Mathura Thevarajah Health&Education

ndividuals as varied as political and economic leaders, undergraduate students, and community-based service providers are increasingly recognizing the value in understanding global health challenges and their solutions. Yet, the term global health continues to be defined, as many people seek to understand how we can effectively collaborate across cultures, disciplines, languages, and sometimes wide-ranging differences in resources and training, to solve challenges and ensure equitable health. These obstacles are substantial, but the opportunities to self-educate and to become the impetus of progressive change are greater. One such opportunity was the 2011 Global Health Conference which took place this year in Montreal. This three-day conference focused on advancing health equity in the 21st century. It attracted leading global health leaders, practitioners, faculty, and students, who engaged with world renowned keynote speakers, invited guest speakers and lecturers, and partook in the break-out conference sessions, symposia, plenary panels, and oral presentations that the conference embraced. Hosted by the Global Health Education Consortium, the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, and the Canadian Society for International Health, this conference was an exciting way to showcase and shape global health research, education, and advocacy with individuals from a vast spectrum of backgrounds, interests, and stages of training that make global health the dynamic field that it is. The Sunday break-out session on the Global Burden of Disease included an eye-opening talk entitled “Infant Mortality and Micronutirition” which focused on zinc. The deficiency of this micronutrient is the greatest in the developing world. The first speaker, Doctor Robert Black, spoke of the unmet potential of micronutrients and how zinc supplementation has great impacts on infant mortality. In fact, The World

Health Organization estimates that the global burden of mortality attributable to zinc deficiency is 750,000 deaths annually. This deficiency is most commonly found in individuals living in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Black revealed that time after time, studies show that zinc supplementation can decrease mortality by 15 to 30 per cent in infants 6 to 35 months old. Furthermore, 178 million children suffer from stunted growth, and zinc supplementation has a positive effect on such anthropometric measures. Zinc supplementation also curbs infectious disease rates. One study in India showed that zinc supplementation reduced the incidence of diarrhea by at least 20 per cent; when zinc is given as a treatment of diarrhea during an acute bout, it decreases future prevalence of diarrhea by 34 per cent. Black was followed by Doctor C. Larson, a McGill Medical Graduate specializing in paediatrics and public health. Zinc, he explained, is an important mineral in a large number of biological functions; it supports normal growth and development, promotes wound healing, enhances taste and mood, and is essential for cellular metabolism and immune function. Dietary sources of zinc include oysters, meats, beans, and nuts. He spoke of international efforts to scale-up zinc treatment in an effort to curtail the insidious effects of childhood diarrhea. So far, international efforts have achieved 10 per cent coverage of supplementation in rural areas. He claims the greatest challenge is that such initiatives must have sustainability and it is difficult to distribute resources to the mouths of those who are most in need without creating disparity. “There is this idea of marketing, which we as health care professionals don’t understand nearly as much as we should, and which is the key for success in large-scale initiatives that involve supply and demand,” he said. Specifically, the problem with zinc supplemention is demand. Most people are not educated on the importance of zinc. A few years ago, supply was also a barrier, since only France was producing zinc supplements. Currently, Zambia

and India are as well. Doctor S. Horton stepped up to the microphone next to speak about the economics behind micronutrients. She discussed the Copenhagen Consensus, which she describes as the “olympics for economists.” Occurring every four years, it is a meeting where ten of the most eminent economists in the world meet to answer the question of how to best advance global welfare, assuming there was 65 billion dollars at disposal over a four year period. The last meeting in 2008 – which included five Nobel laureates – concluded that micronutrient supplementation for children, specifically vitamin A and zinc, would have the most impact. According to Horton, the international community is making an effort to prioritize these interventions and implement changes as part of a broader international policy effort. Such efforts are funded with increasing contributions by the international private sector, the domestic private sector, domestic governments, and most importantly, by international donors. Doctor Mark Fryars, vice president of the Micronutrient Initiative wrapped up the session by talking about the need of strengthening inter-country capacity to scale-up micronutrient interventions. He started his powerful presentation with a quote by Richard Kohl: “start with the end in mind.” Scaling up is not simply about “coverage or about products,” he said. “It is very much about impact. There has to be a constant and major focus on those truly in need.” One of the conditions that is implicit in this issue is that sustainability is vital and that coverage needs to encompass those truly in need, and not just those in reach. He discussed the important capacities and capabilities needed to implement a scale-up program. The road for such projects seems clear cut: scientific evidence shows proof of concept, which leads to a scalingup process which allows for longterm sustainability. In practice, however, it is not so straightforward. In essence, political commit-

Alyssa Favreau | The McGill Daily

Examining the role of micronutrients in malnutrition

ment, distribution, proper uptake and utilization, affordable prices, the right people, adequate providers, promotion, business processes for engaging conversations between providers and consumers, and finally, complexity and diversity of partnerships are all crucial factors. He particularly stressed the need for secure partnerships. The making of which is, in and of itself, “a discipline, a skill, a science even,” requiring a wide array of interdisci-

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plinary efforts and collaborations. Zinc supplementation, then, in areas that have a high rate of deficiency has positive, significant benefits in reducing mortality and improving quality of life, yet the path to up-scaling is complex and takes time. It is vital that amidst the process of up-scaling we not lose sight of the ultimate goal – which should focus on positive global impacts and humanitariancentered interventions.

Health&Education

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Suing over silicone David Ou

The McGill Daily

he tragic death of Edwige Ligonèche on November 11, 2011 has raised questions about the role that her breast implants– manufactured by French company Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) – may have played in her illness. Ligonèche received the implants in 2005, and two years later was diagnosed with analplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare form of cancer that affects cells of the immune system. These cancerous cells developed in the capsular scar tissue surrounding the leakage areas on the implants, and subsequently, Ligonèche’s family launched an involuntary manslaughter case against PIP. The current case is being dealt with separately from the original investigations that shut down the company in 2010. The March 2010 scandal has now been reignited with the more than 2,400 women, including the Ligonèche family, who have made criminal complaints in France. PIP, originally located in La Seynesur-Mer in southwest France, had been producing implants ﬁlled with industrial-grade silicon not approved by the Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des produits

de santé (AFSSAPS), the French equivalent of the American Food and Drug Administration. By using industrial-grade silicon, PIP managed to spend a tenth of what they would have using medical-grade silicon. However, due to the decreased viscosity of the silicon used, many surgeons reported abnormally high rupture and leakage rates of up to 11 per cent. These reports lead to the AFSSAPS investigation which, in the summer of 2010, found that PIP had been using a “homemade” blend of silicon since 2001. These findings resulted in a complete recall of all PIP silicone implants from the worldwide market. The recall cost PIP over 9 million Euros, and the company subsequently ﬁled for bankruptcy. Six former PIP executives, including the CEO Jean-Claude Mas, are expected to be sentenced later this year by a Marseilles court in accordance with the March 2010 investigations regarding charges of aggravated fraud. Currently, Mas cannot be found, and has been missing since the March 2010 debacle. PIP’s lawyers have reassured the French Health Minister, Xavier Bertrand, that Mas is still within the country, somewhere in southern France. Interestingly, no direct linkage has been found between the industrial-grade silicon used and ALCL, as French and UK health authority

Louise Berrebi | The McGill Daily

French-made breast implants raise public health concerns

tests have failed to ﬁnd any chemical toxicity or genotoxicity related to the gel ﬁller. However, the French Society of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery claims the gel could have been an “aggravating factor”. On December 23, the French health authority advised some 30,000 women with PIP implants to have them removed or replaced, and promised to cover the procedure with public funds if the initial implants were inserted for medical reasons, such as after post breast cancer reconstruction. As of right now, there is no promise of monetary aid provided for women who had PIP implants inserted for cosmetic reasons.

In a less intensive act, the British and Brazilian governments have not advised women to have PIP implants removed because “no evidence of a link to cancer or an increased risk of cancer” has been found with the industrial-grade silicon, according to Dame Sally Davis, the British Chief Medical Ofﬁcer. However, both governments have advised all women to undergo periodic and frequent check-ups with their surgeons. Troublingly, Mas’ son, Nicolas Lucciardi, has just founded a company named France Implant Technologie (FIT) at Six-Fours-les-Plages, next to La Seyne-sur-Mer. In the business model, FIT is listed as a manufacturer for medical-surgical and dental

materials. And, further complicating the situation, Mas is listed as the Technical and Commercial consultant at the not-yet-formed company. The business model further plans on hiring two former PIP executives, and operations are expected to commence on the same site as PIP in La Seyne-sur-Mer. France is calling on the European Union to tighten prostheses regulations, as they currently only require a quality certiﬁcation and no strenuous clinical trials. The results of the Marseilles aggravated fraud sentence will be crucial towards changing future EU policies. But as for the recently ﬁled lawsuit of involuntary manslaughter, it is too soon to tell.

Truffles, two ways Truffles for the Spender: Maccheroncini alla Boscaiuola (literally translates to “pasta in the style of the wood-cutter’s wife”)

Truffles for The Rest of Us: Simple Truffle Pizza

Serves 4-6

Julia Boshyk| The McGill Daily

Serves 4-6

Marlee’s vegan kitchen Marlee Rubel

marleesvegankitchen@mcgilldaily.com

n 2007, Casino tycoon Stanley Ho purchased a 3.3 pound white truffle mushroom from Tuscany for a whopping US $330,000 at an auction

in Hong Kong. With this in mind, I would like to showcase both the devil and the angel constantly lurking on my shoulders when it comes to whipping up something new and exciting in my kitchen. The first part of me tricks myself into suddenly ‘needing’ a year’s supply of agave after seeing the ingredient in a single recipe, and the second part of me that knows

cooking on a budget can be just as delicious as, well, a truffle that costs about the same as my childhood home. So, who to listen to? Instead of offering words of wisdom from my wallet (or from my foodie heart), I’m going to make sure you’re just as well prepared to spend, as you are to save – and more importantly, that you’ll be able impress yourself either way.

1 handful of dried Italian porcini 2 tablespoons vegan butter (I recommend Earth Balance) 2 cups vegan cream 1 pound macaroni pasta 1 fresh white truffle, sliced 1 ½ cups grated vegan cheese Salt and pepper to taste

1. Soak dried porcini for 20 minutes in warm water, squeeze dry. Put soaking water aside. 2. Heat butter until melted, add porcini and cook until golden. 3. Stir in cream and ¼ cup of mushroom soaked water. Cool until mixture thickens. 4. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. 5. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Add truffle and cheese, toss over low heat. 6. Add salt and pepper to taste, serve immediately.

1 cup wild mushrooms 1/2 onion, sliced 2 red peppers, sliced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes White wine Italian seasoning: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, rosemary Truffle oil (a much less expensive alternative to the mushroom itself) Truffle salt Pizza dough 1. Saute a mix of wild mushrooms, ½ an onion, red peppers, garlic, and sundried tomatoes. Mix with a splash of white wine, and a sprinkle generously with Italian seasoning. 2. Splash truffle oil and a pinch of salt and pepper onto pizza dough, add sautéed vegetables, and bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes. 3. Finish with a touch more of truffle oil and truffle salt. 4. Add toppings to pizza dough, and bake for approximately 15 minutes at 425°.

Culture

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Mockery of the memes Ben Poirier investigates the sober side of campus comedy

his fall semester, students at McGill hit a digital funny bone. Since September, our web browsers and news feeds have been characterized by an intriguing process. Humour in social media, more than ever before, has become a locus for student identity and dialogue. An increasing number of the collegiate set became invested in popular media devices and used new, novel techniques, such as the enigmatic “meme,” to ROFL on the web. Digital fora became host to multi-faceted interactions and discussions within a parallel universe of our campus. These began to penetrate higher-arching topics of race, sexuality, class, and gender. And, often manifested with a comedic overtone, the resultant proliferation of stereotyping seems problematic when considering that a lot of what is in these forums is not only provocative, but perhaps also offensive. Stereotypes have long been used and abused by comedians, whether they reign on their rightful stand-up routine or as part of a social interactions. Categorical humour to some degree unavoidable; it appears to act cathartically in reconciling the material difference that set us apart from one another, allowing us to feel a little bit more comfortable with the unpredictability and individuality of human nature. However, conversing through stereotypes reinforces common misperceptions and leaves many people feeling undermined by commonly perceived defining factors such as the colour of their skin

or their place of worship. This type of communication can be particularly potent in a campus environment, bolstered by our addiction to social media. Integral to this process are a number of Twitter and Tumblr accounts. Figures such as Tiffany Leacock and @McGillProblems gained notoriety for their unique spice of commentary, as they interpreted the life of a McGill student and its accommodating features in the succinct snippets of their medium. On another front, McGill Memes also came to prominence by displaying campus-themed captions over-layed on on a picture of Redpath Museum. It then began accepting submissions, effectively becoming an outlet for not only the people running the site, but for any one of its subscribers. These agents spread quickly throughout campus, gaining the attention of a large part of the student body and causing a trail of copycats. What this invigoration and repurposing of social media represents, beyond the opportunity to relay humorous commentary, is the ability to reach a wide audience. The puppeteers behind the Tumblrs and Twitters are pursuing the entire community of McGill. This can be seen in the subject matter to which their content is directed – we wouldn’t expect a student from Queens University to understand our brand of comedy. However, even within the campus demographic, subject matter must be more or less universal in recognition for it to be successful, which is

where stereotypes come so distinctly into play. In order to bridge the gap between a wide spectrum of different people on campus, comedians often rely on the galvanizing power of generalizations. These new forms of social media represented extensions of dialogue already common on the McGill campus, as even the most mundane conversation can be characterized by generalizations. However, these new, powerful, pervasive formats exacerbated these already prominent stereotypes. As these Twitter

and Tumblr accounts evolved, they rehashed many of the common misperceptions held among the population of McGill, but in a way that distracts us from their influence. The cynicism and brevity of the meme or the tweet restricts our ability to scrutinize its implications. Furthermore, many of these perceptions manifested in explicitly offensive ways, showing aggression towards specific individuals and social groups on campus. It is unclear if this novel form of comedy is actually harmless or just

Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily the manifestation of inane misperceptions. Some of the comments made can be deemed offensive to certain people, and many more than the subjected parties have expressed their opposition toward these kinds of humour. It’s positive that there are people who have discerned the negative implications of this media, and as such, will continue to refuse to subscribe to their typecasting. Whether or not this represents a lasting social trend, it is undeniable that stereotyping has been given a new and improved outlet.

Look out i. Even the roads are sickly. Tilt the city sideways step up from mountain rockface to mirrored facade. Roads stripped from the earth and thrashing against the globed sky, bent over shrinking heads and plummeting. The city folding on itself. Rub shoulders with rabble, gloved fists swinging steady and rhythmic, flesh pendulum. Shattered windows and metatarsals, plaster casts and glyptic scribbles. ii. The machines cutting pavement the sidewalks roped off the streetlights broken flashing on the second on the dot on the second. Even the roads are sickly. Calligraphy in tiretracks, left turn riddles. Quincunx intersections, read meaning in manhole cover placements. A city of tunnels, twisted and proud. iii. And running on fumes, mathematically exact. Five minutes between busses, the tick of the clock. The click of the streetlights shifting RED GREEN YELLOW, walking man countdowns, hands severed and grasping, held towards you in streets. Alarms set and repeating. Between jackets on corners, see shoes in hubcaps, circular spinning, this city chromatic. A city of dots, motes of light. iv. We tire night driving. We separate and walled and the city stretches and yawns, its lights striped, stippling black with patterns almost legible—hey, try to see home. Horizon flushed— let’s make this a moment to remember. And suffused, light fills alleys and corners, and home is somewhere there, where the city and our bodies overlapping, always cool to the touch, always standing against us.

— Max Karpinski

Inkwell

Culture

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Looking back on upward mobility Fifty years later, the architectural feat of Place Ville Marie is still standing strong

Hera Chan | The McGill Daily

Jane Gatensby

The McGill Daily The photograph “Montreal” by the Italian photojournalist Mario De Biasi depicts an immense white skyscraper. In its windows, one can see the reflection of an adjacent building, this one black and conventionally shaped. The black building’s edge interlays perfectly with the white building’s inverted corner, their clean lines merging. It’s a stark vision of modernism in perfect, mathematical symmetry. The photograph’s subject is Place Ville Marie – a business and commercial complex known for its crossshaped office tower that occupies a large city block at the southern end of McGill College. The structure is central and distinctive, and has often been referred to as Montreal’s bestknown skyscraper. Inaugurated in 1962, Place Ville Marie turns fifty this year, making 2012 an occasion for reflection on the building’s pivotal role in the tumultuous creation of Montreal’s downtown core. A child of the 1960s, Place Ville Marie was built at a time of transformation in Quebec. As new ideas rocked the political and social milieu, the advent of modern architecture and new approaches to urban planning and development were changing the way in which citizens interacted with their cities. Jean Drapeau – mayor of Montreal

from 1954 to 1957 and again from 1960 to 1986 – had ambitious plans for the city. His administration believed Montreal could become one of the world’s great metropolises, and projected for the population to double between 1961 and 1981. When an up-and-coming NewYork real estate developer named William Zeckendorf expressed interest in transforming an underused plot of land into the largest skyscraper that Montreal had ever known, Drapeau was happy to oblige. To design his building, Zeckendorf hired the ChineseAmerican architect I.M. Pei, who would later become famous for projects such as the pyramid at the Louvre. Pei’s associate, Henry Cobb, served as it’s principal architect, aided by a team of local architects, in designing a building that would be a testament to the new, modernized Montreal. Another collaborator in the project was Vincent Ponte, an urban planner who took advantage of the existing excavation in the area – the result of a series of unfinished rail infrastructure projects – to realize his dream of a “multi-level, interconnected city,” one that would stay vibrant and economically viable, despite the outward pull of suburbia. Ville Marie, with a floor-level shopping gallery and tunnels to Central Station and the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, was one of the first projects in the establishment of the

underground city, connected to the metro after its completion in 1966. Above ground, the municipal government widened Dorchester – now Rene Levesque – into a six-lane boulevard, creating a main artery to the downtown core for motorists. This intervention spurred the development of other skyscrapers along the strip, such as the CIL House – now Telus Tower – and the Hydro-Quebec building. A photo of the Montreal skyline in 1961 shows multiple towers under construction, with steel girders stretching upward to heights that dwarfed all others around them. Of these new skyscrapers, Place Ville Marie was the largest. Its main tenant was to be RBC, who appreciated the fact that it would be slightly taller than the adjacent headquarters of CIBC, it’s main competitor. Construction began in 1959, and, as with any great experiment, adjustments had to be made. Place Ville Marie’s builders soon realized that the tower’s unique shape made it subject to rotational stress as a pinwheel structure would be. Twice the amount of steel was needed, doubling the costs of construction and nearly bankrupting Zeckendorf. France Vanlaethem, a Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) professor who studies the history of modern architecture, commented in an interview with The Daily that, “At its origin, it was a very

interesting, very innovative project, locally and internationally. Its purpose was to make money, but it was financed by someone who was a great patron of modern architecture. Zeckendorf was a man who built on credit. What was the most ambitious was the scale. It was a risky endeavor.” Very quickly however, the building became a place of prestige, and finding tenants was no problem. The complex is comprised of the main tower and a few smaller buildings, rows of storefronts and a public courtyard. It includes 45 stories and enough space for 10,000 workers. It’s top story houses a restaurant, a nightclub called Altitude 737, and an observation deck. It’s eye catching, whether because of its circumnavigating searchlights or the sophistication of its design. “It’s a very simple architecture, with a clean, stripped aesthetic and a grand sense of spatiality,” said Vanlathem. “The row of buildings surrounding the plaza to the northwest integrates the complex into the fabric of the city.” Ville Marie’s opening in 1962 marked the final chapter in the decades-long migration of Montreal’s business and commercial elite from Old Montreal to the new, “uptown” city center that we now know as downtown. PaulAndre Linteau, a history professor at UQAM who has written extensively about the development of

Montreal said in an interview with The Daily, “The Ville Marie project bought a new dimension to the new downtown. Millions of square feet of office space was now available. All of a sudden, Old-Montreal emptied out… It was enormously significant. It became the symbol of modernity…of urbanism, and of a new conceptualization of the city. No other building has had that kind of impact.” According to Linteau, however, this zeal for modernity came at a cost. “It was part of a much bigger project, of Jean-Drapeau and of others, to modernize the city. Modernization came first, and entire neighborhoods were destroyed in its name. There were a large number of projects, sometimes ridiculous ones. At one point, it was proposed that part of Old Montreal should be demolished to accommodate a highway along the river.“ The sixties remain a controversial period in Montreal’s history, in architecture and planning as in everything else. The period’s positive impact on the city can be seen in the development of important urban infrastructure like the Metro, and Place Ville Marie, to which Montrealers have long professed a special attachment. “It’s a visual symbol of the city, something very unique, in the shape of a cross,” said Linteau. “We don’t have anything else like it.”

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

volume 101 number 25

editorial 3480 McTavish St., Rm. B-24 Montreal, QC H3A 1X9 phone 514.398.6784 fax 514.398.8318 mcgilldaily.com coordinating editor

Joan Moses

coordinating@mcgilldaily.com coordinating news editor

Henry Gass news editors

Queen Arsem-O’Malley Erin Hudson Jessica Lukawiecki features editor

Eric Andrew-Gee commentary&compendium! editors

Zachary Lewsen Olivia Messer culture editors

Christina Colizza Fabien Maltais-Bayda

science+technology editor

Jenny Lu

health&education editor

Peter Shyba sports editor

Andra Cernavskis photo editor

Victor Tangermann illustrations editor

Amina Batyreva production&design editors

Alyssa Favreau Rebecca Katzman copy editor

Vacant

EDITORIAL

Join The Daily! About The Daily Since the first issue of The Daily rolled off the presses in 1911, it has evolved from a daily sports rag to a twice-weekly comprehensive newspaper that not only looks beautiful (if we do say so ourselves), but also informs, subverts, and entertains. In our pages, you’ll find more than just campus news. We’re home to critical thought, culture, ideas, and ferocious debate. We’re a non-hierarchical collective organization with dozens of contributors and 19 staff-elected editors. Every Wednesday and Friday is a production night in Shatner B-24 (our office), during which our reporters and editors write, edit, design, illustrate, and touch up photos for the issue to be put out the following weekday. Accordingly, you’ll find us on stands every Monday and Thursday morning. In order to operate, The Daily is funded by a student levy. As soon as you pay your student fees, you become a member of the Daily Publications Society (DPS), the autonomous, not-for-profit organization that publishes The McGill Daily and our French language counterpart Le Délit. This means, most importantly, that we are here for you – The Daily exists to represent the McGill community. Every year, McGill students elect six members to the DPS’s nine-member Board of Directors, which takes care of financial and legal matters at the papers. The students-at-large are joined on the board by three editorial representatives. All DPS members (mostly students) are entitled to attend board meetings, address the board, and collect signatures to initiate a DPS referendum.

web editor

Shannon Palus le délit

Anabel Cossette Civitella rec@delitfrancais.com cover design

Amina Batyreva Contributors David Benrimoh, Louise Berrebi, Houda Chergui, Sara Chughtai, Esther Lee, Michael Lessard, Brendan Lewis, Maymanat Nazari, David Ou, Marlee Rubel, Annie Shiel, Mathura Thevarajah, Mibo Zhao

The Daily is published on most Mondays and Thursdays by the Daily Publications Society, an autonomous, not-for-profit organization whose membership includes all McGill undergraduates and most graduate students.

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

Interested in being Daily staff? If you’re a writer, illustrator, graphic designer, photographer, or stickler for grammar, please come visit our office or shoot us an email! There’s no experience necessary to contribute to The Daily. And if you really enjoy contributing, you can accumulate six points (an article is one point, an illustration is one point, a photo is one point, a feature is two points, editing and sitting in on a production night is two points, et cetera) and become staff.

Interested in being an editor? Once you’re on staff, you can run in (or vote in) editorial elections! The editorial board is made up of a Coordinating editor, a Coordinating News editor, three news editors, two Commentary & Compendium! editors , one Features editor, two Culture editors, a Health&Education editor, a Science+Technology editor, a Photo editor, an Illustrations editor, two Production and Design editors, a Copy editor, and a Web editor. Editors are expected to be present on production nights and for editorial meetings. As a group, we discuss and revise all of our editorials extensively before they are put into print. Our editorial board also meets every

Boris Shedov Letty Matteo Geneviève Robert Mathieu Ménard

advertising & general manager

sales representative ad layout & design

dps board of directors

Anabel Cossette Civitella, Marie Catherine Ducharme, Alyssa Favreau, Joseph Henry, Sheehan Moore, Joan Moses, Farid Muttalib, Mai Anh Tran-Ho, Aaron Vansintjan (chair [at] dailypublications.org)

Errata The Daily is proud to be a founding member of the Canadian University Press. All contents © 2012 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.

In the article “GA reforms fail at SSMU Council” (News, Page 5. January 12), it was incorrectly stated that councillors voted to reject the proposed reforms for the General Assembly. In fact, the vote passed after being falsely recorded in the meeting minutes. SSMU Recording Secretary Clare Michela has apologized and corrected the minutes. The Daily regrets the error.

Monday night to discuss administrative issues related to the paper, choose covers, select our editorial topics for the week, and stay up to date with news about the DPS. If you would like to take part in our weekly meetings, the staff and editors of The Daily meet every Monday at 6 p.m. in the QPIRG building. If you have more questions about becoming an editor, you can stop by, shoot us an email, or give us a call! Any editor will take the time to chat with you and provide you with a copy of our elections policy. Our next election will take place the week of February 1. If you’re interested in running, contact an editor as soon as possible. Open positions include Commentary editor, Sci+Tech editor, Copy editor, and Web editor.

The S.O.P. The Daily operates according to our Statement of Principles (SOP). The SOP is a mandate which guides all of our paper’s content and the ways in which our non-hierarchal editorial board operates. 2.1 The fundamental goal of The McGill Daily shall be to serve as a critical and constructive forum for the exchange of ideas and information about McGill University and related communities. 2.2 Within this optic, the staff of The Daily recognizes that all events and issues are inherently political, involving relations of social and economic power. Further, we recognize that at present power is unevenly distributed, especially (but not solely) on the basis of gender, age, social class, race, sexuality, religion, disability, and cultural identity. We also recognize that keeping silent about this situation helps to perpetuate inequality. To help correct these inequities, to the best of its staff’s abilities, The Daily should depict and analyze power relations accurately in its coverage. 2.3 As an autonomous student newspaper, relatively free from commercial and other controls, The Daily can best serve its purposes by examining issues and events most media ignore. In particular, it should deal with the role post secondary education plays in constructing and maintaining the current order. It should also assist students and other groups working for change in a critical framework, with the aim of empowering and giving a voice to individuals and communities marginalized on the basis of the criteria mentioned in section 2.2. The Daily’s methods should be both educative and active, and determined democratically by its staff. 2.4 Finally, we recognize that The Daily must remain accessible to the student community it comes from, and should abide by an ethic of fairness while maintaining its autonomy.

Compendium!

The McGill Daily | Thursday, January 19, 2012 | mcgilldaily.com

Lies, half-truths, and the answers to last week’s song search

big empty box.

It’s too early in the year to have already pulled an all-nighter.

MINUS 300

Ryan O’Connell is speaking on Jan 24 and you should go.

PLUS 53

At least one of us will be attempting sex with him.

PLUS 50

TOTAL

MINUS 197

FUCK THE WINTER

Be a compendium editor. If you run for our open commentary position, you’d be editing compendium, too! Email compendium@ mcgilldaily.com.

Screechy Bitches

I hate winter. I hate freezing my ass off for 4 months. I hate the ice and I hate the slush. But this year I found a new way to love winter: riding my bike in the snow. You might think its crazy. It is. You might think you fall all the time. You do. But all the slipping and sliding is actually exactly what puts a smile on my face. Having a near-death experience everyday is not for everyone, but like a junkie, I have become addicted to that adrenaline rush when my back tire starts to slip and the only way to stay up is to contort your body to keep balance, and avoid meeting that cold, hard, and wet road just a few inches away. It’s not all scary though. Sometimes it can be tranquil. After a fresh snow there is nothing like that soothing crunching sound beneath your tires as you ride with the world to yourself. I hate winter, but I will always love biking.