Vol104iss8

Volume 104, Issue 8 Monday, October 20, 2014

EDITORIAL: MENTAL HEALTH AT McGILL PAGE 23 Yes means Yes since 1911 mcgilldaily.com

Published by The Daily Publications Society, a student society of McGill University.

In search of prayer space page 12

Table of Contents 03

NEWS

Forum on weapons development Controversial new mental health initiative Union drive rattles administration Preview: consent week at McGill Emergency home for children

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19

CULTURE

what to check out this weekend

COMMENTARY

FEATURES

Why Muslim students deserve a better prayer space on campus.

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Scoreboard

An evening with D&Q’s graphic novel club

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Why countries need to reevaluate hosting the World Cup or the Olympics

Equity at AUS Council

The Line 9B action against Enbridge is welcome

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SPORTS

Zinemaker Aimee Louw talks urban accessibility

Why misunderstanding bisexuality is harmful

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PGSS lease talks kept under wraps

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October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

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SCI+TECH

The neglected positive uses of drone technology

Reviewing the Players’ Theatre production of Oh, What a Lovely War! The new releases from Tinashe and Caribou

22 COMPENDIUM! Wishbone!

Doctor Frood’s teachings must live on

23 EDITORIAL Students deserve a better mental health framework

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October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Students speak out on weapons development at McGill

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Feedback to be presented during research conduct review Emily Saul The McGill Daily

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n October 16, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held an open forum on McGill research regulations surrounding weapons development on campus.

The forum, led by SSMU VP University Affairs Claire StewartKanigan, took place as McGill begins a triennial review of its research conduct regulations, which is due to be completed by the end of this academic year. Stewart-Kanigan organized the event to gather student feedback to bring to the review committee, where she is one of two student representatives out of eight members in total.

The question of whether and how the policy should be updated to impose restrictions on research with military purposes was central to the discussion.

“One of the issues that is going to be coming up [during the review] is the fact that the research regulation used to have a component that required any research that was funded by the military to disclose whether the research was for something that had directly violent purposes – because the military can fund flood relief technology, but can also fund missile development,” said Stewart-Kanigan.

Prior to 2010, McGill’s regulation on the conduct of research included a provision that required applicants for contracts or grants whose source is a government military agency to indicate on the approval form “whether this research has direct harmful consequences.”

The provision was introduced in 1988, largely prompted by a three-day occupation of McGill’s VP (Research) office by seven McGill students. However, when the regulation was reviewed in 2010, the provision was removed.

“In my understanding, it was removed because the University stated that it wasn’t the norm amongst other Canadian universities to have something that specifically referenced military funding. They said it

was unusual,” said Stewart-Kanigan.

“I would say that that’s total shit,” said SSMU VP Finance and Operations Kathleen Bradley in reference to the unusual nature of the provision being used as a reason to remove it. “Your justification for doing something should never be because everybody else does it. That’s not a very sound argument.”

The majority of those present at the forum expressed strong opposition to current procedures in place, both with regards to the fact that weapons development takes place at McGill, and to the University’s lack of transparency on the matter.

In 2013, the University asked the Commission d’accès à l’information to grant it the power to deny access to information (ATI) requests, a demand that was challenged by student groups. Only after a year and a half was the suit settled and were the requested documents released, albeit heavily redacted.

“I don’t think it’s okay that the university is conducting this kind of research, and keeping it behind closed doors,” Arts Senator Kareem Ibrahim, who was present at the event, told The Daily.

“I think it’s shitty that our world is in a state where we use military activity to resolve issues, and that a major university contributes to that, is, in my opinion, really detrimental to our community,” Ibrahim continued.

Attendees discussed the value of academic freedom as an argument against regulation of military research. Kevin Paul – a member of Demilitarize McGill, a group that fights against military research at the university – argued that, because the companies funding the research influence its direction, academic freedom cannot be invoked to justify it.

“The situation now with military research at McGill is not one in which academic freedom prevails,” said Paul. “It’s long-term relationships [that] McGill [has] with defence contractors and military research agencies that made it so that the research options and priorities are shaped by the needs of those companies.”

McGill’s Shock Wave Physics Lab. An Engineering student who attended the event offered a different take on the matter.

“If you want to be a researcher in engineering, you have to get funding – engineering research projects aren’t cheap, and so oftentimes academic freedom also means that you need the ability to get funding where funding is available,” he said. “So if you have to go through red tape, to study flow over wings [for example], that becomes incredibly problematic for research grants for engineering.”

Stewart-Kanigan raised the possibility that McGill’s role could be to bridge between researchers’ interests and ethical ways to explore them.

“What the University’s role can be is [to be] more of a leader in directing professors and people interested in that type of research to more socially responsible measures,” she said.

Reactions to the forum “There certainly was a strong sense that stricter regulations on military research should exist at Mc-

Tamim Sujat | The McGill Daily

Gill, [that] the University should take a stronger stance in opposition to facilitating research whose express purpose is to affect violence on other peoples,” Stewart-Kanigan said.

“I do understand that the composition of the forum was not representative from a faculty perspective – I would like to make more efforts to specifically engage students who would be more directly affected by an increase in regulations or an alteration of regulations pertaining to military research [such as those in physics and engineering].”

Erin, a U2 History student, expressed similar concerns about the representation of the student body.

“I would’ve liked to see students from some of the more implicated faculties, such as Engineering. I think sometimes those students maybe don’t feel welcome in these kinds of discussions, or maybe they feel kind of written-off already. But I think it was very productive and it was great to hear some thoughts from some of those students, and one particular student in Engineering.

So I would’ve liked to see a broader discussion with a much more equal

representation [of both sides],” he told The Daily.

Cadence O’Neal, an organizer with Demilitarize McGill, spoke favourably of the event, but expressed reservations over the outcome of the forum and about the review in general.

“I’m glad [the forum] happened – it’s really important that we’re acknowledging this conversation,” O’Neal said in an interview with The Daily. “But looking at the history of this kind of activism on campus I’ve seen that McGill a) isn’t actually sticking to its own policies that it already has in place, and b) will probably not actually improve the current policies adequately anyway, so for me [...] I don’t feel it’s something I’m putting a lot of hope into.”

The issue will be further discussed at SSMU’s upcoming General Assembly on October 22, as a motion regarding the matter is on the agenda.

“I look forward to seeing how these conversations play out at the General Assembly when the [issue] of military research is brought up there,” said Stewart-Kanigan.

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October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

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Upcoming Wellness Portal to feature mental health self-screening Project’s effectiveness questioned, student input lacking Janna Bryson The McGill Daily

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n October 7, McGill announced that it would be launching a new mental health initiative in the spring, supported by a $1 million grant from Bell that will be split evenly with Université de Montréal.

McGill’s $500,000 share is being used to develop a Wellness Portal, the main component of which will be an online tool for students to selfscreen for mental health issues.

In a joint email to The Daily, Mental Health Education Coordinator Emily Yung and clinical psychologist Giuseppe Alfonsi, from McGill Mental Health Service, outlined the purpose of the portal.

“Students will be able to easily navigate to find more information on mental health topics, mental health services including peer support and resources both on- and off-campus, and calendar and gallery of events,” they stated. “[The grant] proposal was to develop online tools to help students in need with respect to mental health problems. The proposal included a screening tool.”

In an interview with The Daily, Director of Student Services Jana Luker said that, although the portal had undergone a test launch, further development is still underway. “We are bringing in some other types of assessments that are already tried and true that other universities have been using. We’re trying to make [the project] bigger than what it is right now.”

According to Yung and Alfonsi, “A plan is in place to collect stakeholder feedback (from staff, students, and faculty) which will help inform [the portal’s] evolution before it goes live.”

For Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) VP University Affairs Claire Stewart-Kanigan, however, the level of student involvement in the project has been underwhelming so far.

“I have been told that student representatives on last year’s Mental Health Advisory Board were consulted regarding the website’s content as well,” Stewart-Kanigan told The Daily in an email. “However, no SSMU members have been included on the Steering Committee [for the project] since its inception. Student Services has expressed willingness to strengthen their partnership with SSMU since the website’s launch, and we hope

to see that be upheld.”

Luker explained that, although the actual grant application was not written by students, it was informed, to an extent, by student input. “We have advisory boards that would have students [... and] ideas are coming out of student groups,” she said.

Luker did note a desire for more student input. “I think we could probably do better. We always try and strive to include more students, and what we had done in the process was have individual students that were involved in the services [relevant to the grant], but I think that what we’ve done now, which is even better, is involve the student unions or the student reps.”

Stewart-Kanigan emphasized that SSMU’s relationship with the project needs to be heightened.

“The project was presented to myself and the Mental Health Coordinator several times prior to the October 7 announcement,” said Stewart-Kanigan. “However, the relationship was a consultative arrangement, not a partnership. Given that SSMU is named as a partner on the website, consultation is not enough.”

Limitations of the grant Given the current university atmosphere of budget cuts and austerity, questions have been raised about the efficiency of using the grant to build the McGill Wellness Portal as opposed to allocating the money to other services.

“Whether this is going to be worth $500,000 – I don’t see how,” Norman Hoffman, the former director of McGill Mental Health Services from 1995 to 2007, told The Daily. “If you go online, there are hundreds of [self-screening tools], so I don’t know what [McGill is] doing with that money.”

Hoffman suggested that the money could have been used to hire a few additional staff, or to look more broadly at the mental health system at McGill. “People need access to care. The issue is how to provide that access,” he said.

According to Luker, the terms of the grant limit how it can be spent. “[The grant] is very specific, we’ve tried to expand it as much as we could. One of the main things was that it couldn’t be for salaries because it’s sort of a one-time-only influx of money,” said Luker. She noted that the grant application was also required to include a tangible idea, have a direct and immediate

McGill Mental Health Services. impact on students, be relevant to current trends, be liked by Bell, and be backed up by logical reasoning.

“We’re trying to [increase staff ] in parallel,” said Luker. However, a permanent increase in staff would require an increase in student fees, which is something Student Services is hoping to avoid.

Luker also noted that Student Services does vet their funding sources, and that the grant does not come with strings attached. “Bell’s name is branded on the actual tool, but the influence [the company has on the project] is nil.”

Conflicting approaches to mental health issues Concern with the portal was not limited to the financial realm. Stewart-Kanigan highlighted SSMU’s main reservations about the project.

“The consent of this year’s executive or [the SSMU] Mental Health Committee was not secured for all aspects of the website, namely the self-assessment tool. [...] SSMU has expressed discomfort with the use of an exclusively diagnostic/illnessbased approach to mental well-being, particularly within the context of self-assessment, and would be more comfortable with a more proactive, wellness-based approach,” she said.

SSMU’s Mental Health Policy,

Tamim Sujat | The McGill Daily adopted in February and valid for five years, is meant to set the groundwork for “a new culture of community, wellness, awareness, and acceptance of mental health diversity at McGill.” It also dictates that “all students have a right to live and study in an atmosphere that promotes and facilitates wellness and mental and physical health.”

“A website centred around psychiatric self-diagnosis, rather than self-care, peer support, and stigma reduction surrounding mental diversity, does not meet the Policy’s aims,” said Stewart-Kanigan. “We hope to have these concerns met by the time the site is made available to students.”

Hoffman also expressed concern with self-screening, particularly how it fits in with diagnosis-focused mental health treatment. “There is little evidence that screening is of much value. One of the issues is that screening is all diagnosis-oriented,” he said. “Everybody is trying to fit people into these little boxes and that is not appropriate for students.

There are other approaches [that] are much more appropriate and lead to much better health.”

Yung and Alfonsi noted that the portal is not meant to give a specific clinical diagnosis. “It is not a substitute for being seen by a healthcare professional,” they wrote.

Mental health at McGill The number of students seeking mental health resources at McGill has increased substantially over the last few years. According to a report released by McGill Counselling Services in October 2013, over 50 per cent of McGill students identified with symptoms of either anxiety or depression, while 10 per cent had considered suicide while at university. Currently, more than 3,000 students access mental health resources at McGill.

According to Hoffman, the university environment can have a major impact on students’ mental health. “The more student-centred the university is, the more it provides a kind of open emotional environment for students, the better students will be.”

“I do think the new principal is more in tune to [student needs] than [former Principal Heather] Munroe-Blum, who was clearly not student-centric at all, and was in fact quite dismissive of students, but hopefully there will be change,” added Hoffman.

“Mentorship with students is important, and providing that space, providing a support system. The more bureaucratic the university becomes, the less that is provided.

There are problems right from the top that need to be addressed.”

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October 20, 2014 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

Tensions between McGill, union over campaign-related communications

Email contact during working hours can violate labour code, University says Igor Sadikov The McGill Daily

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he McGill administration is challenging student associations’ right to freely promote AGSEM – McGill’s Teaching Union’s ongoing unionization campaign to their members, The Daily has learned. AGSEM’s campaign, which seeks to unionize undergraduate teaching support staff, including teaching assistants, course graders, and note-takers, has been endorsed by both the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and the PostGraduate Students’ Society (PGSS), with SSMU having been further mandated to “assist in distributing information about the union drive to its members.”

According to AGSEM Grievance Officer (Invigilators) and Interim Union Drive Coordinator Jamie Burnett, McGill’s interpretation of Article 5 of the Quebec Labour Code,

which prohibits any person acting “in the name or on behalf of an association of employees” from “solicit[ing] an employee to join an association” during working hours, would interfere with SSMU and PGSS’s ability to promote the campaign to their members via email.

“McGill indicated to us that their interpretation of the Quebec Labour Code was such that it was not possible for anyone to communicate about a unionization campaign – such as the campaign that we’re currently engaged in to unionize teaching support workers – that it’s not possible for anyone to use McGill emails to communicate about that campaign,” Burnett said in an interview with The Daily.

“We think that the interpretation McGill is putting forward has no basis, and we think it’s really troubling that they’re using this interpretation to try to prevent the free association of students who have independent

student associations [that] are free to adopt the position they’re willing to adopt,” added Burnett.

McGill’s Director of Labour and Employee Relations Robert Comeau did not entirely dispute this interpretation, but clarified that contacting employees via email to promote a unionization campaign was only prohibited during working hours.

“You’re not allowed to contact the employees during the time they’re at work,” Comeau told The Daily.

“Contact means physically, or [sending] them an email, or [calling] them if you want to recruit them to form a new union. That’s the labour code.”

Comeau also confirmed that, in the University’s view, the prohibition applied to individuals and organizations that are not part of a union, such as a student association.

“If you’re contacting somebody to invite them to form a union, the labour code does apply, whether or not you’re a member of the [union],”

said Comeau.

Burnett argued that McGill’s interpretation of the code was not in the spirit of the law, and distinguished between interfering with an employee’s work and merely sending them an email during working hours.

“I don’t think that’s a reasonable interpretation of how email works.

People send emails at any time, people receive emails at any time; the employees that we’re unionizing are people who can be working at all hours of the day,” said Burnett.

“The question is really about when does the activity involve the employee – and I think that it’s really not reasonable to claim that someone who’s a grader, who’s working maybe twenty hours during the semester, can’t use their email because they might be working.”

Comeau noted that it would ultimately be up to the Commission des normes du travail, Quebec’s labour board, to decide whether the union

drive was conducted legally.

“If somebody doesn’t respect the labour code when they’re trying to unionize a group, that could mean that their motion, if ever they file one, could be rejected,” said Comeau. “Of course, the board would have to make that decision.”

Echoing Burnett’s concerns, SSMU VP External Amina Moustaqim-Barrette expressed unease with the fact the the University would attempt to interfere with SSMU’s communications to its members.

“I think that it is a bit disturbing that McGill is trying to limit the communications that [SSMU] is having with its constituents,” MoustaqimBarrette told The Daily. “[SSMU] is just mandated to distribute this information so that people are aware, and we are held to high standards of accountability and transparency. I find that it is frustrating that McGill is trying to limit the Society’s ability to do that.”

#ConsentMcGill week to tackle rape culture Events to promote knowledge and the practice of consent in McGill community Subhanya Sivajothy News Writer

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rom October 20 to 24 on the downtown campus, and from October 22 to 24 on the Macdonald campus, McGill will be holding the #ConsentMcGill campaign. Seeking to increase campus awareness and understanding of consent, #ConsentMcGill will include events throughout the week such as movie screenings, information booths, workshops, discussions, and much more. #ConsentMcGill was created through collaboration with students, faculty, and staff working to spread understanding of the concept of the “yes means yes” model of consent, where silence or the absence of a ‘no’ does not mean consent.

“I think this campaign is targeting the youth at large,” Brighita Lungu, Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Member Services Officer and Graduate Student Liaison for #ConsentMcGill, told The Daily.

“It is designed to challenge misconceptions and stereotypes about what consent means, when one needs to ask for it, and what are the limits one has to respect without giving it a second thought.”

The campaign initially started as a working group of about thirty par-

ticipants, but is now a collaboration between student-led and university groups, such as the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS), the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE), the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), the Social Equity and Diversity Education office (SEDE), McGill Athletics, and Counselling Services.

The campaign is part of the University’s response to the controversy that occurred last year after it was revealed that three Redmen football players had been charged with sexual assault in 2012.

Zine workshop On Tuesday at 1 p.m., the UGE will hold a workshop on consent that will give people the opportunity to create their own zines, according to Leela Scott, the Co-op Coordinator for the UGE and facilitator of the workshop.

“The purpose is to expand on the discussion that’s going to be going on at the booth and tabling events around campus,” Scott told The Daily, referring to stations around campus where students will write a short statement about what consent is and what it means to them.

“We think that’s a really good starting point, but we think that there needs to be more,” said Scott.

Scott described the workshop as an open space where participants will be “free to come with any ideas that they have.” They said potential topics include personal reflections on consent or a description of what the world would be like if everyone practiced consent perfectly.

In addition, Scott said that there would always be an opportunity for participants to take their projects further. “If people are interested after that workshop in making a zine about consent, the UGE accepts stipend requests, so we can sponsor someone to make their own zine. And if it fits with our mandate, then we’re pretty down to fund that,” said Scott.

The purpose of #ConsentMcGill According to Bianca Tétrault, McGill’s Liaison Officer (Harm Reduction), #ConsentMcGill focuses on three main aspects of consent: asking, listening, and respecting.

“Consent runs deeper than just sexual activity. It’s about asking, listening, and respecting the people that we’re with and interact with in our daily lives,” Tétrault told The Daily.

“Instead of using a top-down approach, we really wanted to be an inviting campaign [... and] have people engage with us instead of us telling them what to do.”

#ConsentMcGill is structured as a kickoff event for many of the events, discussions, and workshops that will be held throughout the year.

“The idea of the campaign is to be a platform to launch the other events

that are going to be happening throughout the year,” said Tétrault.

“So although the campaign is not going to be continuing out through the year, the conversation around consent and sexual assault will.”

Upcoming #ConsentMcGill events: Union for Gender Empowerment zine-making workshop Workshop to craft zines that explore the concept of consent.

Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Shatner building, Lev Bukhman room

AUS grey area and consent workshop Explore how consent plays out in the real world, by looking at topics such as how to say no and how to make sure that consent has been given and understood.

Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Leacock building basement, AUS Lounge

Rez Project run-through Learn more about Rez Project and how it has changed – for the first time, the Rez Project workshop will be open to the public.

Wednesday, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Royal Victoria College, West Lounge

SSMU Equity: Building a Culture of Consent on Campus A panel discussion exploring strategies that the McGill community can employ to promote a culture of consent.

Thursday, 3 p.m.

Arts building, Room 145

SACOMSS Active Listening and Support Workshop A workshop on supporting others through active listening and situations where active listening can be useful.

Thursday, 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

Shatner building, Clubs Lounge

News

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

7

Temporary house for children intended to decrease abuse Indicator of tensions within the foster care systems of Montreal Cem Ertekin The McGill Daily

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n September 23, La maison Kangourou opened as a temporary house where parents or guardians can leave their children during a period of crisis. The project began in 2011 by Josée Fortin, and is run entirely by volunteers.

A temporary house for children Fortin told The Daily that she initially started La maison Kangourou to serve as an emergency service to children whose parents are temporarily undergoing crisis situations at home.

According to Fortin, what differentiates La maison Kangourou from foster care services is that participation by families is completely voluntary; it is parents who decide whether they need some time away from their children and who reach out to the organization.

“It’s not a foster home; we don’t keep the children. We just keep them temporarily, [for] the time that the parent needs to resolve their problems. Sometimes, it’s not resolved, but they can take a pause.

And that makes the whole difference,” said Fortin.

Fortin stated that La maison Kangourou is meant to be a preventive measure to relieve the stresses of family life that can lead to child abuse or other problems, which in turn might require youth protection services to intervene. A parent or guardian can leave their children for up to 15 days in order to give them time and space to deal with their own ongoing problems at home.

“We have cases where the father has committed suicide, and the mother has to deal with that. So, maybe you don’t want your kids to be in the house while this is happening, while you deal with the cops and whatever. We have a case where a mom was trying to kill her kids, and herself, in a dark moment. That mom in particular now has separated, and now she has met someone else, and she has a nice home in Quebec, and her life has totally turned around,” Fortin explained.

Problems in Quebec’s foster care system Youth protection and foster care services in Montreal have faced problems in the past.

In 2012, the Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, a youth rehabilitation placement service, faced criti-

cisms for placing children into a foster home where they faced sexual abuse. According to CBC, the first child was placed in the home in the Laurentians in 2006, and the abuse started when the child was just six years old, lasting six years.

A young girl who also lived in the house became pregnant and gave birth at the age of 12. A Quebec Human Rights Commission investigation concluded that certain necessary steps were not taken by Batshaw, and said that background checks into criminal records were not done thoroughly.

“It’s not a foster home; we don’t keep the children.

Sometimes, [... the problem is] not resolved, but [the parents] can take a pause. And that makes the whole difference.”

Josée Fortin, founder of La maison Kangourou Furthermore, many children in the greater Montreal area still face situations that require the intervention of youth protection and foster care services. For instance, Batshaw has 550 children under foster care in 350 homes.

Rubin detailed the reasons for the need of youth protection and foster care services for children in an interview with The Daily. “[Batshaw] will be looking at emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and so forth. [...] You may have a young parent, who maybe does not know how to be a parent, does not meet the needs of their children. We do not necessarily go in and remove the child. We look at how we can support this parent,” she said.

Foster care systems in Quebec According to Fortin, it is required that someone report any situation in which the health and safety of a child are compromised to youth protection and foster care services before action

Alice Zhao | Illustrator can be taken to assess the family and investigate the situation.

Once a report has been made to youth protection and foster care services, it is then up to the individual agencies to decide whether or not a child’s health and safety has been compromised.

According to Robert Pagé, Vice President of the Fédération des familles d’accueil et des ressources intermédiaires du Québec (FFARIQ), the child may be placed under temporary care for periods that could last up to 12 months, in order to give time for the youth centre or the director of youth protection to assess the situation and to try to work out a plan with the family.

“The ‘youth protector’ does not take it onto [themselves] to take the child directly, [they have] to go to court for that. [They have] to prove that the family is not capable of taking care of the child,” said Pagé.

Pagé also stated that the agencies try to make sure that the situation with the biological family of the child can be improved, so that the child may eventually go back under its care.

“We have cases where the father has committed suicide, and the mother has to deal with that.”

Josée Fortin On the other hand, Fortin says that it is less likely for youth protection and foster care services to intervene in situations where nothing damaging to the well-being of the child has yet occurred.

“You have to have somebody call in and say, ‘Look, we think something is going wrong with the family.’ That’s when foster [care] comes in, however.

That’s when the state comes in, and they decide what to do with the child, if they feel that this child is neglected, or their security is compromised,” Fortin explained.

It is also possible, although rarer, for parents who are going through hardships to report themselves. In these situations, youth protection and foster care services are more reluctant to intervene, but still try to provide guidance so that families can access resources to prevent youth protection and foster care services from intervening in the first place.

“But they [social services] won’t intervene at that moment. But if the parent does not get support at that moment, well, maybe, [that] could bring to neglect,” said Fortin.

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October 20, 2014 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

Negotiations continue on Thomson House lease

PGSS executive, University keeping negotiations confidential Emmet Livingstone The McGill Daily

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he Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) and the McGill administration are still negotiating over the terms of the Thomson House building lease.

The current lease agreement is set to expire on May 31, having been extended by one year to accommodate the negotiations.

Under the present arrangement, PGSS pays $24,000 a year in rent to McGill for Thomson House. According to former PGSS SecretaryGeneral Jonathan Mooney, the current lease does not require PGSS to pay any of the building’s annual utility costs, which total $50,000.

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) rents the Shatner building at $130,000 per year, and pays $100,000 per year in utility fees. Although SSMU and the administration concluded lease negotiations in the signing of a lease agreement in March 2014, the controversial student fee increases that resulted from the deal were only approved by undergraduates in the Fall 2014 referendum on October 1. A similar fee failed to pass in the

Winter 2014 referendum period.

Mooney told The Daily that he thought PGSS’s financial situation would differ from SSMU’s after negotiations conclude, pointing out that Thomson House is smaller than the Shatner building and costs less to heat.

PGSS Financial Affairs Officer Nikki Meadows agreed. “I think that you’re talking about two very different entities.”

However, Lorenzo Daieff, a former McGill Graduate Association of Political Studies Students representative told The Daily in an email, “It is my understanding that we will definitely be paying for utilities [...] which will up the price we pay substantially.”

“It seems counterintuitive that McGill could just raise fees by that much and we’d be happy,” he added.

Transparency of negotiations At present, both PGSS and the University have agreed not to discuss the terms of the lease negotiations with the public.

Mooney, who initiated the lease negotiations when he was in office in 2013, said there is no need to hold negotiations in secret, but that the reason that PGSS and the Universi-

ty observe confidentiality is because of “an implicit agreement between the parties [...] to respect the fact that negotiations will continue, that they’re ongoing.”

“The demand for private negotiations further skewed the power balance between the administration and SSMU in McGill’s favour.”

Claire Stewart-Kanigan, SSMU VP University Affairs However, he explained that confidentiality is often not observed when other organizations negotiate with the University. “I know in other cases, for example when different unions negotiate with McGill, they will often publicize [...] exactly what happened

in each negotiation – and that’s a valid strategy,” he said.

SSMU VP University Affairs Claire Stewart-Kanigan expressed concern over the opaque nature of negotiations with McGill. “My primary concern with the SSMU lease is the pressure from the McGill administration to keep negotiations private throughout,” she told The Daily in an email. “The demand for private negotiations further skewed the power balance between the administration and SSMU in McGill’s favour.”

“The PGSS lease provides the administration with an opportunity to adopt a higher standard of transparency in negotiations with student associations,” she continued. “Students deserve to be aware of, [and] provide input to, ongoing negotiations that directly affect them.”

Members of the PGSS executive gave no indication that the administration was pressuring them to maintain confidentiality, however. “It’s not good practice, seriously. [...] It’s just the principle of how negotiation works,” said Meadows. “In poker, you’re not going to reveal your hand before

you have to, are you?”

Student response The fee increases that resulted from SSMU’s lease agreement with the University generated significant backlash among undergraduates.

“PGSS will [be] facing similar issues to SSMU with regards to the University’s aim for them eventually to take on paying utilities in Thomson House,” predicted Stewart-Kanigan, who added that transparency makes a difference to how students perceive lease negotiations.

“It’s possible that [PGSS] will ask for a fee increase and then people will debate whether that’s a good idea,” added Mooney, referring to the possibility of an unfavourable reaction of PGSS members to the lease. “But I think the magnitude [of the reaction] would be less.”

“I very much hope that there’s not a huge backlash [...] I very much hope that whatever lease comes out of this [is] something that our members can see and understand and it’s something that makes sense to them,” said Meadows.

McGill’s representative in the PGSS negotiations, Vilma Campbell, declined to comment.

AUS councillors receive equity training Measures to increase executives’ accountability adopted at Council meeting Teddy Liptay News Writer

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n October 15, the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Legislative Council addressed the issue of equity within student life and government. Council was introduced to the Liaison Officer (Harm Reduction) Bianca Tétrault and received equity training from the Social Equity and Diversity Education office (SEDE). Council also instituted additional accountability measures for AUS executives.

Equity training, update on consent campaign Tétrault was invited by AUS VP External Lola Baraldi to update Council on various events that she will be involved with organizing this year.

As part of her work on campus to raise awareness of consent and sexual assault, Tétrault has been working with the Office of the Dean

of Students on the educational campaign #ConsentMcGill. The event takes place this week, and features information booths at the Y-intersection, as well as educational workshops at both the downtown and Macdonald campuses.

“We’re really looking forward for everyone to come out, to get involved, to raise awareness around consent in regards to sexual activities, and in our day-to-day lives,” said Tétrault.

Recognizing that positive change within the Arts student body requires precedent from within its governing body, Council also received equity training from two employees of SEDE. Equity Educational Advisor (Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity) Sarah Malik and Equity Educational Advisor (LGBTTQ) Tynan Jarrett led Council members in a workshop discussion on the nature of power dynamics and the ways in which the negative aspects of these

dynamics can be reduced.

Focusing on examples regarding the role of Legislative Council, Malik and Jarrett examined the equity considerations required to appropriately plan events, identify aggression, and address oppression.

Councillors also discussed the nature of terminology such as ‘inclusion,’ ‘empowerment,’ and ‘safe(r) space.’

In addition, councillors spoke positively of the equity training given during Arts Frosh, noting its crucial contribution to this year’s relative success. AUS VP Communications Max Drabkin also cited the popularity of this year’s Frosh’s ‘after movie,’ which garnered 8,000 views in its first 24 hours on YouTube and 17,000 by mid-October, as further evidence of Frosh’s success.

“We couldn’t be more happy with it,” Drabkin told Council. “The feedback we’ve been receiving is overwhelmingly positive, and it’s wonderful to see it doing so well.”

Financial bylaws motion withdrawn, other motions passed Proposed amendments to AUS’s financial bylaws saw mixed opinions.

The motion, which had been tabled at a previous meeting, sought to double the number of hours worked that can be compensated for work-studyeligible executives from ten hours per week to twenty in order to increase the positions’ accessibility. At the previous meeting, concerns were expressed about executives voting on a motion concerning their own pay, as well as about the changes in accountability that could result from higher pay.

Carribean and Latin American Studies & Hispanic Studies Association (CLASHSA) representative Vincent Simboli voiced his discomfort with voting for a motion in a room surrounded by the executives who would be affected by the motion.

“I do not feel comfortable voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ right now in this room because it is very difficult to look any exec in the eye while they’re

here and say no, I do not want you to [increase your pay].”

“I agree with CLASHSA representative [Simboli], we shouldn’t decide on this here,” said Arts senator Kareem Ibrahim.

The motion failed to gain sufficient support and was withdrawn

by AUS President Ava Liu. Council also saw the approval by councillors of a new motion instituting additional accountability measures for AUS executives. The motion requires the executives to make their timetables public and provides means to solicit feedback from constituents, such as a formal complaint process and a once-persemester feedback survey.

Motions to adopt the updated constitution of CLASHSA, and a motion to approve Narmada Gunawardana and Christina Liu as AUS Deputy Returning Officers, who assist in the running of AUS Elections, were passed with nearly unanimous support from Council.

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Commentary

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

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Bisexuality and expectations Why questioning someone’s identity is harmful

Manuela Galindo-Carvajal | Illustrator Arielle VanIderstine The McGill Daily

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identify as bisexual. Before you assume anything, let me tell you what that means. To me, saying I’m bisexual is my way of telling people that I am interested in men and women both emotionally and sexually. It places me not in the middle, but somewhere in between straight and gay on the spectrum of sexuality. I am not attracted to everyone, and I am not still deciding which I like better.

Whether or not I choose to label my sexuality has no impact on my feelings or desires. Unfortunately, stepping into one of society’s pre-made ‘boxes’ of sexuality – gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, pansexual – subjects a person to a set of common assumptions, or stereotypes, about their personality and their actions. Bisexuality does not mean the same thing for everyone, and sweeping assumptions only obstruct understanding of the person. Bisexual people often get pushed to the wayside of the discourse around sexuality, with much discussion centring on the difference between gay and straight. As a result, bisexuals face several damaging generalizations, and it’s time to get the record ‘straight,’ so to speak.

Bisexuality is often pitted as ‘just a phase,’ and not a true identity.

I’m not against people who are curious or experimenting: sexual experimentation is a part of the selfidentification process. However, if someone tells you that what they think and feel is real, you can be assured it’s not a phase. It’s as simple as that. Refusing to acknowledge the validity of someone’s sexuality because you haven’t experienced it

yourself is ignorant, and this sort of dismissive attitude ultimately perpetuates a dominant violence toward bisexuals.

It also hurts to be told that your strongest, deepest emotions are non-existent or somehow inferior to those of others. Sadly, even people who have identified as bisexual for dozens of years are still being told by others in both the straight and gay communities that what is only a stepping stone to a ‘real’ sexuality.

A common stereotype, or assumption of bisexual people is that we’re ‘greedy,’ wanting a piece of everyone.

Lesbians have told me that bisexual people aren’t satisfied enough, and sleep with men to make up the extra.

Straight women have told me that bisexual people only sleep with women to attract more men. Saying bisexual people want to sleep with everyone is as wrong as saying that a straight women want to sleep with every man.

We, like everyone, are picky about preferences and ‘types,’ and our sex drives, on average, are no higher than yours. I feel no void when I’m exclusively with a man or with a woman.

Whether a person is male or female is simply not a deciding factor in whether I will be attracted to or will fall in love with someone.

Assumptions often become farfetched and offensive. Many bisexual people, myself included, are subjected to distasteful comments and even grotesque proposals about threesomes. Let’s be clear: a person’s sexuality in no way defines the types of sexual activities they enjoy. Gay people are no more into BDSM, straight people are no more into rough sex, and bisexual people are no more into threesomes than any other person on the planet. I’ve also heard people claim that bisexual people are

somehow more sexually insatiable than others. Some bisexual people define themselves as such strictly based on emotional connections, with little to no sexual interest. A person’s degree of sexuality is in no way related to their sexual orientation, and a person’s identity is not the place to start making assumptions about what goes on behind their bedroom door.

Making assumptions about sexuality impacts a person directly.

For many people, the process of discovering one’s sexuality is long and confusing: identity offers stability. Being stamped with harmful assumptions can make a person question themselves fundamentally. A person may mistakenly try to detach from their sexuality, thinking that it is inherently ‘wrong,’ even though this is a natural part of their identity.

Bisexuality does not mean the same thing for everyone, and sweeping assumptions only obstruct understanding of the person.

Though I consider myself overall very comfortable with my sexuality, I have come face-to-face with the consequences of these assumptions. I’ve been shut down by lesbians in bars who simply ‘don’t date bi girls’ (supposedly because of assumptions that I’ll leave them

for a man). I’ve been asked harmful questions like, ‘Don’t you need to date both a guy and girl at the same time to be happy?’ or ‘How are you going to choose which one you want to marry?’ I’ve sat speechless after hearing comments like, ‘You’re luckier than gay people; you can just choose to be normal and date a guy.’ Even on T.V. people tell me it’s not possible to be who I am: Orange is the New Black only once mentions Piper’s bisexuality, choosing instead to paint her as indecisive and flopping between lesbian and straight. Society’s assumptions and ignorance can beat down even those of us who are most confident in our sexuality.

What is bisexuality, then? People who identify as bisexual are diverse in their views of love and sexuality. Some can see themselves spending time with, sleeping with, dating, and marrying either a man or a woman with no hesitation.

However, it’s often not a 50-50 split. Personally, I have a stronger emotional attraction to men and a stronger sexual attraction to women. Others feel the opposite. Bisexual people can fall anywhere on this spectrum, and it makes them no more or less bisexual. It’s important to understand this internal diversity before generalizing anything about someone who identifies as bisexual.

The easiest and most harmless way to understand a person’s sexuality is to ask them about it, and to listen to and believe what they say.

Harmful assumptions are not exclusive to bisexual people. Many lesbians are questioned for being ‘too pretty,’ gay men for being ‘too masculine.’ Even people who identify as straight are subjected to the social assumptions surrounding their sexuality: marriage, kids, a perfect

conformity to feminine or masculine gender expression. People who may not identify with a sexuality that the wider society understands (pansexuals, polysexuals, asexuals, queer, et cetera) may reject a pre-defined set of prejudices, but face discrimination because so few understand their identities. Letting boxes of assumptions define people only limits our understanding of one another.

Sexuality is a dynamic, diverse, and defining feature of humanity. By limiting our acceptance to a select few configurations of love, emotion, sex, and gender, we limit our unique ability to express ourselves sexually.

People are already pushing the traditionally accepted boundaries of sexuality: a man who sleeps with a man is not necessarily gay, and a woman who marries a man is not necessarily straight. Convenience, social pressure, and curiosity can all be factors in an individual’s sexuality, but ultimately, it is defined by what makes them happy.

It’s time to break up with onesize-fits-all boxes of sexuality. I’m not necessarily against labels altogether: I use them to help define my own sexuality. However, accepting sexuality as an individualized identity is critical in achieving equality.

Bisexuality exists. It exists because people identify as such. By refusing to accept people’s choices, you refuse to listen to the voices of real people who are trying to express their very real feelings and identity.

Let’s grow up, listen to each other, respect each other, and love whomever we want to love.

Arielle VanIderstine is The Daily’s web editor, but her views here are her own. To contact her, email web@mcgilldaily.com.

Commentary

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

11

Resistance as justice The Enbridge Line 9B protest was necessary and brave Fatima Boulmalf Commentary Writer

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n October 7, four activists chained themselves to the gates of Montreal headquarters for Enbridge Inc., an energy pipeline company. The activists were protesting the reversal of the Enbridge Line 9B, which will carry tar sands oil from Alberta through Montreal for eventual exportation.

Police officers were on-site and proceeded to physically remove the protesters from the premises. One of the four protesters had placed a chain around her neck, and police officers were required to use a small saw to remove the bicycle lock around the chain without causing her harm.

This is the most recent act of resistance against Line 9B and the tar sands. Community organizations, human rights and social justice groups, and individuals have previously spoken out extensively against the Line 9B project, to no avail. Opposition has been suppressed and ignored, leaving individuals little choice but to resist through direct action and civil disobedience.

Alyssa Symons-Bélanger, one of the four protesters, explained in a press release that the action was their last resort “because there are no other means for [their] voices to be heard.” According to Symons-Bélanger the protesters “want to send a clear message to oil companies and to the Harper and Couillard governments: the residents of Quebec are opposed to the transportation of the tar sands and are calling for an immediate halt to their extraction.”

The protest was more than justified: there is substantial evidence regarding the risks associated with tar sands pipelines. Pipelines carrying tar sands oil (also known as crude oil) are more likely to spill than those carrying conventional oil.

The 38-year-old pipeline that now carries ‘normal’ oil through Quebec and Ontario will be reversed to carry heavy crudes, something for which the pipeline is not equipped.

Moreover, resistance to the pipeline extension project stems from deeply-rooted opposition to the exploitation of tar sands as a nonrenewable energy source. Mining of tar sands releases at least three times the CO2 emissions as regular oil production, and in Canada, it’s the “[fastest] growing source of greenhouse gas emissions,” according to ForestEthics, a grassroots environmental organization. The Line 9B project is predicted to lead to a 30 per cent expansion of tar sands extraction. Undeniably, greenhouse

gas emissions from the tar sands are a major environmental issue.

There are other worries. Greenpeace Canada is among the many prominent environmental organizations working to raise awareness about the impact of tar sands oil, but the organization also campaigns on the “social and health costs of the tar sands.” With pipeline development comes the destruction of the traditional lands of Indigenous communities, housing crises precipitated by an influx of oil workers, and a spike in rare cancers among people living in affected areas. Enbridge also has a history of environmental damage and dishonesty that is incredibly troubling. ForestEthics writes of how a leak was discovered by an Inuit hunter in the Northwest Territories, only to be dismissed as a “pinhole” leak by Enbridge. This leak is now estimated to have released over 1,500 barrels of oil.

The measures adopted by the federal government to consult public opinion over Line 9B were clearly geared toward restricting the public’s participation. The National Energy Board, an independent economic regulatory agency that regulates the construction of oil and gas pipelines, approved the project using an undemocratic process designed to silence dissent. The Conservative government put in place a stringent set of rules and requirements, effectively only allowing specialists or those directly affected to be heard, for the alleged purpose of speeding up the consultation process. Furthermore, people who lived near the proposed pipeline were only allowed to submit letters of dissent, and were only given two weeks to do so.

So far, several municipalities along the pipeline have expressed environmental concerns and over 130 Indigenous nations have declared their firm opposition to the project. These Indigenous nations have ratified the “Save the Fraser Declaration,” in which they state, “We will not allow the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, or similar Tar Sands projects, to cross our lands, territories and watersheds, or the ocean migration routes of Fraser River salmon.” The declaration further states that the signatory nations “will not tolerate this great threat to us all and to all future generations.”

What this shows is that opposition to the tar sands project is extensive and well-organized, but mostly ignored. A spokesperson for Enbridge responded to the action in Montreal by stating that “three protesters who break the law to

Alice Shen | The McGill Daily make their point [do not] represent the people of Quebec” and that “the public review of Line 9B [in Quebec] was extensive, open and thorough.” If the public review were as extensive, open, or thorough as the spokesperson insists, then the Indigenous nations, human rights and social justice groups, as well as individuals’ opposition to the project would have been taken into account – Line 9B was approved despite fierce resistance from a varied demographic. In light of the government’s disregard for this resistance, civil disobedience and direct action is fully justified. In fact, there comes a time when civil disobedience is not only acceptable, but necessary. That time is now.

Not only did the Montreal protesters cause a disturbance, the action generated media attention, which is crucial in raising awareness of the destructive consequences of Line 9B, as well as reviving the public’s interest. This media attention

is particularly necessary given the scarce coverage of the issue in the past months. It also sends a clear message to those in charge that opposition to the pipeline will not be silenced. Critics of direct action argue that there are other means of demonstrating opposition and that civil disobedience is a threat to the democratic process. What these critics fail to realize, however, is that democracy is sustained by opposition and scrutiny, and that our leaders must be challenged when they do not protect our collective interests.

An informed public is also a pillar of democracy, and raising awareness about the pipeline projects is of utmost importance.

Therefore, the protesters’ actions were not premature or irresponsible in any way, as they resorted to direct action after their opposition was repeatedly overlooked by the authorities that approved the project, to the detriment of our environment and

health. Critics of civil disobedience argue that it is nothing but law-breaking and does not yield concrete results, as stated above by the Enbridge spokesperson. However, some of the greatest civil rights movements in history employed this tactic and affected profound and widespread change.

Rosa Parks disobeying unjust public transportation laws is an example of successful civil disobedience.

As citizens, we have an obligation to follow the law, but only insofar as the law does not oppress and endanger individuals. In that case, we have a moral obligation to resist.

The Enbridge pipeline reversal project endangers our safety and our environment. With all this at stake, the courage and initiative of these activists should be applauded.

Fatima Boulmalf is a first year in the Med-P program. To contact the her, please email fatima.boulmalf@ mail.mcgill.ca.

Features

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

NO SPACE TO PRAY IN SEARCH OF PRAYER SPACES ON CAMPUS

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Features

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

WRITTEN BY ZAPAER ALIP

O

n top of balancing academics and student life, Muslim students on campus face the extra challenge of constantly searching for alternative prayer spaces. In 2005, the University removed the existing prayer room in the basement of Peterson Hall, citing its secular mandate as an academic institution. With the McGill administration unwilling to offer any assistance, SSMU offered a temporary space in the Shatner building for the Muslim Student Association (MSA) to use as a prayer room.

The room remains a less than ideal space, with its

limited access, poor sound insulation – try meditating with the Top 40 songs being blasted from Gerts – and lack of washroom facilities to make ablution. When the building is closed or access is limited, such as during Activities Night and other events, Muslim students are left with no viable alternatives. Those who can go home to pray, while long-distance commuters are left with the choice of praying under stairwells, in isolated corners, or between library bookshelves. This photo essay aims to highlight some of these desolate spaces, and reiterate the need for a larger, permanent prayer space.

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LINE JABER ZAPAER ALIP TAMIM SUJAT

“Part of being on a diverse campus, if you want to truly represent multicultural values, [is to] create a space where everybody feels welcome as they are. As practicing Muslims, prayer is a part of our identity and it’s never an issue in terms of interfering with people’s -/,!2 1&3&16ǽ " /" 3"/6 Ɲ"5& )" 0 20)&*0Ǿ within the bounds of our faith.”

– Omar Edaibat

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October 20, 2014 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

Features

“It’s a question of just having a space on campus that is accessible and easy for us to be able to pray and worship. We’ve seen it across other campuses and it works very well – multi-faith prayer rooms or [rooms] 0-" &Ɯ 1, 20)&*0ǽȋ – Omar Edaibat

“It was [midday] prayer time, and we were getting ready to pray [in the Redpath basement]. A security guard approached us and said we are not supposed to [pray there]. He pointed to a notice that said the basement area is only for getting books and that the study space is upstairs. I think he was reading between the lines because it didn’t say explicitly we couldn’t pray there. But another security $2 /! 0 &! &1ȉ0 Ɯ+"Ǿ " 20" #,/* ))6 1%"/" &0 +, 02 % ȝ/2)"Ȟǽȋ – Bilal Ahmad

Sci+Tech

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

15

Pacifist drones A look at the positive applications of drone technology

Karen Chiang | Illustrator Rackeb Tesfaye Sci+Tech Writer

D

rones. What comes to mind when you hear that word? For many, drones have become synonymous with death and evil Orwellian robots that ominously hover over the sky, like something out of a sci-fi novel. This is particularly true in the U.S., where Predators (weaponized drones that are being used by the CIA to target ‘militants’) have been responsible for the deaths of more than hundreds of civilians. As a result, media coverage of drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has mainly focused on its application within a military context. While, the militarization of drones and their horrific repercussions are a reality, it’s not a comprehensive one.

The constant negative portrayal of drones in the media has

shaped the public’s misconception of this fascinating and intricate technology. Due to their military application, a lack of good science communication, and tight regulations surrounding their commercialization in North America, drones are facing a huge public image problem.

The U.S. Congress has given the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a 2015 deadline to loosen its regulations and integrate drones into civilian airspace, which will allow for more commercial and domestic use of drones. The Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) has projected that by 2025, integrating the commercial use of drones in the U.S. will have a large economic impact, reaching $82.1 billion dollars and creating 100,000 jobs.

Although there are problems that need to be faced with integrating drones into our society, it is

hopefully a step in the right direction to eliminating skewed public perceptions. From the good to the bad to the downright silly, the possible applications of drones seem endless. Whether you believe in the use of drones in the military or not, it is crucial to understand the full extent of what they can do for society, starting with the research here at McGill, and the many different applications around the world.

Drones at McGill It’s a bird, it’s plane… it’s a drone!

The aptly-named David Bird, a professor of Wildlife Biology at McGill, has been studying birds of prey for the past 45 years. Bird is regarded as a leader in his field, being among the first biologists in North America to integrate UAVs into wildlife research and management.

He realized the possibility about eight years ago with a former ornithology student, while work-

ing on a project that investigated the possibility of a drone designed to look like a hawk to scare away falcons from a vineyard. Since then, and with the help of the Kenneth M Molson foundation, he has been able to successfully use drones in his other projects, such as understanding how birds respond to drones and wildlife population tracking.

Bird is currently looking at the potential use of drones equipped with noisemakers to scare away nuisance birds, like Canadian geese that attack crops and starling flocks that damage vineyards.

He is fast to point out that drones, in comparison to helicopters, improve data accuracy, are more cost-effective and time-efficient, and are less stressful to the wildlife they track. He specifically emphasizes the element of safety.

“The number one source of mortality for bird wildlife experts is dying

in a plane crash. UAVs eliminate this threat.”

His enthusiasm for the possibilities of drones has led him to create the Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems, which publishes four times per year online. Bird is a huge advocate for the potential application of drones in general, saying, “For the first time in my life as a scientist, I feel like I’m on the cusp of something great.”

Permits from Transport Canada are hard to come by, and have forced Bird to conduct some of his research outside the country. In fact, Bird proudly mentions that he is the first Canadian researcher to be granted permission to use a large fixed-winged UAV over a forest in Labrador, within a military-controlled area, to detect the signals of woodland caribou and their movement patterns. This is a huge feat, considering the strict drone regulations in Canada.

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Sci+Tech

October 20, 2014 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

Although he is a firm believer in using drones, Bird approaches their use with caution and agrees with the strict regulations enforced by the FAA and Transport Canada. “At times you can have no control over [drones]. You can have flyaways where the computer goes haywire.”

The possibility of providing aid to millions of people around the world, with no access to healthcare, clean water, or even road infrastructure is a powerfully exciting future to think of.

He stresses that there is still a long way to go before the risks are eliminated, which is why he’s concerned about how readily available they are to amateurs. “Anyone can go into a hobby store and buy a helicopter with a camera on it.” The problem with accessibility, Bird points out, is if you’re not responsible when flying around an urban area, like downtown Montreal, it can lead to horrible crashes involving innocent civilians or interfering with private property.

In June, a drone being used to film a commercial in downtown Vancouver crashed into a building.

Luckily, no one was injured and an investigation by Transport Canada resulted in no charges against the operator of the drone. However, the City of Vancouver did issue a temporary ban, which has since been lifted. There have also been several incidents of small drones being used to airdrop drugs into prisons in Quebec.

It’s “stupid actions” such as the aforementioned that Bird worries might make Transport Canada further tighten its regulations, as the FAA did in the U.S..

Another area Bird feels very strongly about is the misconception behind drones. “Public perception bothers me. [...] Conjure up the word drones and people think of the U.S. killing people,” he says irritably.

Like many, Bird agrees that there is a severe lack of scientific communication when it comes to drones and believes that “it is the responsibility of scientists working with [drones] today that need to show they can be

used for good and not evil.”

Advancing the science Meyer Nahon, a professor of Mechanical Engineering, focuses his research on the underlying science of UAVs rather than the application. The goal of his group is to further develop technology so drones can become fully autonomous. This means a drone wouldn’t require direct control from one person, but rather a specific command (such as flying from Montreal to Toronto), which it can route themselves. Another project his lab is currently working on is landing a UAV on a moving platform.

Most of Nahon’s work with drones takes place indoors, where they are easily controlled and safe away from the public. With the spike of interest in civil drones, he sympathizes with regulatory bodies like Transport Canada who are under a great deal of pressure. He stresses that there is a high risk associated with flying drones over a populated area, as there is very little experience compared to other aerial vehicles.

Even with a large commercial push, Nahon is “personally skeptical we will see billions of little drones flying around our heads anytime soon.”

No stranger to protests, Nahon has had to face backlash for his own work on drone technology. Last year, Demilitarize McGill blockaded the Aerospace Mechatronics Lab, where Nahon is a researcher.

In response to whether he believes it’s the responsibility of scientists to communicate the misconceptions of drone technology, he states, “It’s not that we hide our heads in the sand; but rather because we are confident there are many positive (and non-military) reasons to want to do that.”

He adds, “This is what we are interested in, this is why we are in university. The application or the use of this technology is determined by the people that make use of it […]

It would be like saying, well there shouldn’t be any research done on the internet because it’s being used by the military, but look where we are now, it’s analogous […] it’s a mistake to focus on the negative when there are so many benefits.”

Like Nahon, Professor Inna Sharf in Mechanical Engineering also focuses her research on autonomous UAV technology, so they can be applied successfully. Her interests lie with smaller rotary vehicles, including how to make them last longer and withstand elements, like the wind. Sharf is also currently looking at algorithms to allow UAVs to recover from collisions.

Sharf has come under scrutiny from campus activists, especially Demilitarize McGill, for the funding of her research. While Sharf has denied the military applications of her work, in the past, doc-

uments obtained by access to information (ATI) requests revealed that she received several contracts from Defence Research and Development Canada in Suffield, totalling more than $500,000.

Sharf encourages other researchers in her position to speak up when they get a chance, but at the end of the day she believes, “It is we as society, it is all of our responsibility to make sure how particular technology is used.”

Drones around the world There are many applications of drones that have the ability to impact society in a positive way. However, many are put on hold until drone technology can develop, or until regulating bodies (such as the FAA or Transport Canada) loosen their restrictions on commercial drones. Here are a few.

Musical drones?

The Montreal-produced classical music video channel, noncerto, is currently enlisting the aid of a drone to capture its original footage. Wael Chanab, noncerto’s drone videographer, first proposed the idea while overhearing the director, Alexandra Oakley, discuss a particular shot she wanted for a classical music video. “I suggested that a drone could probably achieve it, and researched a few possibilities. noncerto decided to purchase a drone for classical music videos and offered me an internship for the summer with their non-profit organization operating the drone.”

Chanab says that noncerto’s drone has allowed for “interesting and unique perspectives of artists playing concerts in unusual and unique locations in Montreal” in addition to capturing “stunning angles and movement.”

One great reason for the use of drones, according to Chanab, is that it allows for an efficient, easyto-use tool at the disposal of the video directors, and it’s also much more cost-friendly compared to other aerial vehicles.

Being one of the first organizations to shoot classical music videos with a drone, noncerto is definitely adding to the versatility and list of possibilities of this technology.

The age of farm drones According to the AUVSI, agricultural applications of drones will account for $75.6 billion by 2025 in the U.S., making it by far the most dominant market. There is a huge demand from farmers with large acres of land, as drones are being created to assess the health of crops and livestock, increase yields, save money, and quickly detect infestation or drainage issues. One potential impact is the reduction of pesticides (and other chemicals).

Since drones are able to quickly find infested areas, they can spotspray a precise area rather than

mass spraying unnecessary acres as they currently do, which would have great environmental benefits.

Agricultural drones have been used in Japan for years, allowing farmers to tend to their land more quickly, effectively, and efficiently. Many now believe this is the time for agriculture in North America to adopt this technology.

Lights, camera, drones!

New and shiny technology: of course Hollywood wanted a bit of drone-loving. Although the film industry has been using drones in other countries where regulations are less stringent, the FAA has now given the green light for six television and movie production companies to film using drones on U.S. soil.

Disaster relief and humanitarian aid More and more non-profits and start-up companies have aimed to use drones for social good during times of disaster for communities who are in need of aid.

One start up company, Matternet, aims to accelerate the process of humanitarian responses with the use of drones to deliver medicines and other crucial supplies to remote areas. In 2012, Matternet conducted its first field trials in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They were able to successfully distribute medication to camps set up after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti and deliver supplies and diagnostic kits from big healthcare centres to smaller, remote ones in the Dominican.

Even though the company has developed safety precautions for its drones, including shutting them down if hijacked, Matternet is still working on making them safer before considering humanitarian deployment.

Knock knock… drone delivery!

Whether you find it cool or downright silly, millions of dollars are being invested to have drones deliver to your doorstep. Domino’s Pizza (yeah, you read that right), has tested the ‘DomiCopter,’ a pizza delivery drone that delivers to your home in ten minutes. Alas, it was just a clever marketing ad by the company, but who knows: maybe it will become a reality! It would give a whole new meaning to the term fast food.

What is real, however, are the millions Amazon is spending to develop drone technology so that its products can be delivered in thirty minutes after they are purchased.

More and more non-profits and start-up companies have aimed to use drones for social good during times of disaster for communities who are in need of aid.

Additionally, this year, Google also announced its plans to use autonomous drones to help deliver relief to disaster-stricken areas. Its program entitled “Project Wing” has been running test flights in Queensland, Australia, since the regulations on drones there are more laid back compared to North America.

The possibility of providing aid to millions of people around the world, with no access to healthcare, clean water, or even road infrastructure is a powerfully exciting future to think of.

Search and rescue One of the first successful documented cases using a search and rescue drone occurred in Saskatchewan in May 2013. The RCMP were unable to find an injured victim of a car crash whose vehicle had rolled over in the middle of the night in a remote area. A ground search and an air ambulance were unable to find the victim. The RCMP launched a drone after receiving a call from the victim’s cellphone; equipped with heat-sensing technology, the drone was able to locate the victim. What could have potentially resulted in a fatality during the freezing night was mitigated by the use of a drone.

The use of drones for search and rescue is becoming an increasingly popular tool.

Protecting wildlife Drones are currently being used to monitor and protect wildlife by the U.S. government and other organizations around the world. One nonprofit is using drones for orangutan conservation in Indonesia and Malaysia. These ‘conservation drones’ are able to track the distribution and resting spots of orangutans. The hope is that the information collected will be used to petition the government to protect national parks from developers interested in the palm trees for palm oil production.

While the drone industry continues to be mostly represented by the military complex, it is becoming clear that drones can offer significant non-lethal applications.

Scientists need to strongly advocate for and shift to developing civilian applications. But ultimately, it is up to us as privileged students and citizens to ensure the proper use of this technology by holding our leaders accountable and voicing our dissent.

Sports

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

17

Sporting authoritarianism Is hosting the Olympics or the World Cup worth it?

Madison Smith Sports Writer

T

he International Olympic Committee (IOC) is currently deciding who will host the 2022 Winter Games, and it doesn’t exactly have a wealth of options.

At press time, only two cities remain in contention: Beijing, China and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Oslo, Norway recently dropped its bid to host due to the ludicrous number and type of demands made by the IOC. Neither of the remaining options are particularly well-suited to hosting the Winter Games; Beijing is 120 miles away from the nearest skiable mountain , and Kazakhstan does not have the budget to host the event. A representative of the Kazakhstani Olympic Committee has gone on record saying that if the city gets the Games, “it will not be a big budget.” More troublingly, both Kazakhstan and China have terrible human rights records, and are currently classed by various freedom indices such as Human Rights Watch and Freedom House as “not free” or as having “authoritarian regimes.”

Looking at the slate of massive, global sporting events happening in the next ten years, one notices an alarming amount of “unfree” or authoritarian host states. Russia, hot on the heels of its troubled 2014 Winter Olympics, will host the World Cup in 2018. After that, the next host will be Qatar. The Olympics will take a post-Sochi break from being hosted by despots, landing in Rio, Brazil in 2016, Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018, and Tokyo, Japan in 2020. However, unless things change dramatically, the Olympics will once again run into the open arms of a repressive government in 2022. Even when large sporting events are held in nominal democracies, the mere presence of such spectacles seems to turn the host countries despotic. The widespread protests in Brazil last year in the run-up to the World Cup were met with government crackdowns, and Britain used the 2012 Olympics as an excuse to increase its surveillance state and to push residents out of poor neighbourhoods to make room for the event.

Why do big sporting events tend either to occur in authoritarian states or inspire authoritarian actions from governments who claim to be representative democracies? There is something about these events that is inherently hostile to democracy. For one,

Jonathan Reid | Illustrator the governing bodies of both international soccer and the Olympics demand the right to change the laws of host countries by authoritarian decree. FIFA forced the Brazilian government to relegalize alcohol sales in stadiums after they had been banned for ten years, causing a return of the dangerous levels of drunkenness that prompted the ban in the first place. When Norway rejected the 2022 Winter Olympics, one of its cited reasons for doing so was the ridiculous list of required accommodations for IOC members, which included a request for an extra lane on all streets used for Olympic business and reserved exclusively for the travel of IOC members. If these are the sorts of conditions expected by the IOC and FIFA, it is not surprising that they have an easier time finding authoritarian hosts. It is generally

riskier for democratically elected officials to change laws on a whim than it is for dictators, although the recent experiences of Brazil and London show that the mere presence of democratic elements does not necessarily protect it from these kinds of injustices if its leaders are in the pockets of big sporting organizations.

Furthermore, hosting the World Cup or the Olympics has little actual value to a country other than perhaps conferring on it a certain level of prestige. Economically, being a host can be disastrous. Montreal finally paid off the last of its debt from the 1976 Olympics in 2006, and the Olympic Stadium sits basically unused except for tours. The bill for the 2004 Olympics was one of the stressors that led to Greece’s later economic crash. Russia spent $51 billion in Sochi for facilities that are already decaying from dis-

use. Perhaps Norway’s rejection of the 2022 Olympics is a sign that democratic citizens can no longer be duped by their leaders into believing that hosting giant sporting events confers an economic benefit that trickles down to them. Brazil’s World Cup protests definitely showed that the citizens of Brazil were aware of the economic injustice of spending billions on stadiums that would be used a single time in a nation where millions live in favelas. The economic benefits of the Olympics and the World Cup are overwhelmingly concentrated in the hands of the IOC, FIFA, and sponsors like Coca-Cola.

While world leaders may still crave the prestige that holding a world-class sporting event confers, it is becoming harder and harder for them to justify to their citizenry that holding these events benefits anyone but large corpora-

tions and other elites. Unfortunately, as shown in Brazil, citizens’ awareness does not always save them, as purported democracies still use tools of oppression to help the IOC and FIFA keep the money flowing and keep events running smoothly. However, the backlash to the most recent World Cup and Olympics seems to be giving all but the most repressive states second thoughts about the practicality and utility of hosting these big spectacles. Hopefully, the bidding wars for the next few global sporting events will be as dismal and uninspiring as the one for the 2022 Olympics. Perhaps that will make the governing bodies of world sports realize they need to restructure the way they run these events, and find some way of actually benefitting their host nations instead of stealing money and freedom from their citizenry.

18

Sports

October 20, 2014 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

SCOREBOARD REDMEN Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lacrosse at Concordia

Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ice Hockey at UOIT at Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

MARTLETS Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Basketball

W 27 - 0 vs Lakehead

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hockey

L 2 - 3 at Princeton (NCAA) W 4 - 3 at Yale (NCAA)

Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Baseball vs Carleton vs Carleton

Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rugby vs Concordia

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Volleyball

W 9 - 1 vs Memorial W 3 - 0 vs Montreal vs Moncton

T 17 - 17 Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rugby vs St. Francis Xavier

W 68 - 51 L 2-4 L 0-2 L 2-3 L 0-3 W 3-2 L 17 - 34

UPCOMING GAMES Martlets 10/25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Volleyball, vs Dalhousie 10/25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Volleyball, vs Acadia 10/26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Volleyball, vs Saint-Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10/26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ice Hockey, vs Ottawa 10/26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Soccer, vs UQAM 10/30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Field Hockey, at CIS Championship 10/30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Rugby, at CIS Championship Ç&#x2013;Ç&#x2022;ČĄÇ&#x2DC;Ç&#x2013; Č&#x201D; , "/Çž "*&Ć&#x153;+ ) 10/31 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Volleyball, vs Sherbrooke 11/1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ice Hockey, vs Ottawa* Redmen 10/25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Basketball, vs York 10/25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ice Hockey, vs Laurentian 10/26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Basketball, vs Ryerson 10/26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Soccer, vs UQAM 10/26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Baseball, at CCBA National Championship 10/29 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Rugby, vs Sherbrooke* Ç&#x2013;Ç&#x2022;ČĄÇ&#x2DC;Ç&#x2022; Č&#x201D; /,00"Çž 1 01 ) 6,Ć&#x203A;0ČĽ 10/30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ice Hockey, vs Brock* Ç&#x2013;Ç&#x2022;ČĄÇ&#x2DC;Ç&#x2013; Č&#x201D; , "/Çž "*&Ć&#x153;+ ) * home games

1 p.m., CEPSUM (Montreal, QC) 8 p.m., CEPSUM (Montreal, QC) 10 a.m., CEPSUM (Montreal, QC) 2 p.m., uOttawa Sports Complex (Ottawa, ON) 5 p.m., Stade Saputo (Montreal, QC) TBA, Gryphon Centre (Guelph, ON) TBA, Gryphon Centre (Guelph, ON) TBA, TBA 6 p.m., Pavillon Univestrie (Sherbrooke, QC) 3 p.m., McConnell Arena 2 p.m., St. Catharines, ON 7:45 p.m., Countryside Arena (Sudbury, ON) 10:30 a.m., St. Catharines, ON 7 p.m., Stade Saputo (Montreal, QC) TBA, Gary Carter Field (Cote St. Luc, QC) 9 p.m., Molson Stadium 8:30 p.m., Forbes Field 7 p.m., McConnell Arena TBA, TBA

Culture

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

19

Diving into accessibility Disability activist Aimee Louw discusses her new multimedia project, Underwater City

Audrey Carleton Culture Writer

I

n February 2014, Montreal activist Aimee Louw began a trip across Canada in search of the country’s most accessible city. In her recently published zine, Underwater City Zine 1: Searching for the most accessible city in Canada, Louw sheds light on ableism and the realities of living with limited mobility in today’s cities. Louw takes readers along on her tour of five Canadian cities, zooming in on the accessibility of each one with reports on accessible infrastructure, interviews with locals, and personal narratives.

She uses the image of an “underwater city” as a utopia in which all spaces are fully accessible for all people. She develops this ideal throughout the zine in her own personal journal-like reflections and in conversations with other people with disabilities encountered along her journey. The Daily sat down to talk with Louw about her inspiration for the project, accessibility in Montreal, and hope for the future.

The McGill Daily (MD): Can you tell me a bit about the Underwater City Project in general?

“My mobility changes a lot.

Some days I can get into a cafe, and other days it’s not gonna happen. [...] All these experiences made me think ‘I need to do something about this creatively.’

Aimee Louw, creator of the Underwater City project Aimee Louw (AL): The Underwater City Project is a multimedia research and documentation project. It started when I was in the pool one day, and I was kind of swimming around and fantasizing about how it would be to get around if everything was underwater. Rather than having to worry about transit, I could just swim

wherever I wanted to go. When I was a kid, the pool was a really pleasant place for me, and I swam a lot, so I have all these really nice associations with water. I had been thinking a lot about accessibility before that – I knew I wanted to do some sort of creative project, but I didn’t know exactly what. Often when I get an idea, I end up working around a theme.

[Next], I did a research trip last spring. I left in February and went for a number of months. I went to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Victoria, Halifax…I only focused on five [cities] in the zine, but the research I was doing was in a lot of different cities.

MD: What kinds of things did you look at in the different cities, as far as looking at accessibility? How did you go about doing that?

AL: Well it’s not a scientific study, I’ll tell you that. Mostly I just experienced it. I talked to people, interviewed people, I took transit.

The zine was kind of the product of some of the writing I did on that trip. It’s by no means an [evaluative] comparison, but more like my experiences and other people’s experiences in those cities.

I always look at transit because it’s such an integral part of life in the city, and it’s such a daily frustration for me here. I fantasize about [public transit] being so much better in other cities. [Sometimes I wonder] is it really, or am I just building it up? But yeah, it is actually better. So much better.

MD: Which city was public transit the best in?

AL: Vancouver. It’s completely accessible, actually.

MD: What kinds of features did Vancouver’s public transit system have that made it the most accessible?

AL: Everything is accessible for a lot of different people. The SkyTrain, which is their underground metro system, is 100 percent wheelchair accessible. They have raised panels next to the train tracks, for people with visual impairments, so that it’s well-defined.

They have trails in the different stations with different textured ground, so that people using canes for visual impairments can tell where they’re going. The buses are 100 percent accessible.

Of course, all buses break down sometimes, but they are proud of their accessibility, whereas here [in Montreal] it’s seen as a service or a charity. In terms of structural accessibilities, but also in terms

Lia Elbaz | Illustrator of interactions with employees of the system, Vancouver has an openness of spirit [toward people with disabilities.]

MD: What is your goal for this project?

AL: I originally took that trip to research and scout out filming spots, and to find people I wanted to interview for a film. But it turns out I did a lot more writing, which is why I wanted to first publish a zine: so I could get some of the stories out there and kind of spread the word about the project.

As I said before, it’s a multimedia project, so my goal is to eventually produce a short documentary. [...] In the meantime, I want to put out another zine, or another publication of some sort, looking more specifically at Quebec. It’s kind of interesting because accessibility in urban spaces is one of those areas where as soon as you look at one thing, there’s a million other questions that need to be looked at.

MD: So your inspiration for this project came from the pool?

AL: Yeah! It came from the pool. That’s the little nugget where I got the idea, but it also just came from daily experiences – feeling isolated and ostracized, feeling like I can’t get into places.

It’s written about in the zine a bit, but my mobility changes a lot.

Some days I can get into this café, and other days it’s not gonna happen. Whatever, it’s not like a huge social injustice not to get an expensive latte. But at the same time, almost every single commerce that I and other persons with limited mobility try to access, we can’t. Like, where do I go to buy socks? All these experiences made me think “I need to do something about this creatively.”

MD: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

AL: I would say if any of your readers have read my zine […] The writing that I did about Montreal was very negative, because it is easily the worst or the second-worst city in terms of accessibility. But there are some positive things to Quebec in terms of social programs, so that’s something else I’m going to address in my next publication.

There are still places that we can plug in and improve.

MD: Yeah, there’s work to be done.

AL: Oh for sure, but it’s not impossible, it’s just going to take a lot of people – a lot of people who are aware and care and can do things about it.

That was one really cool thing

that one of the people I interviewed in Edmonton told me. She was talking about the queer scene in Edmonton, and how a lot of the queer-friendly spaces aren’t accessible for a lot of people. They’re not free, they’re not wheelchair-accessible, the lights affect people with neurological [issues], and they’re also sometimes really expensive.

She was telling me that they started raising awareness in their city, and that people started cancelling events if the spaces weren’t accessible. So the venues started thinking, “Oh shit, we have to do something if we want business,” and things slowly changed.

I would love to see some of that cultural work happening here in Montreal, because the arts and culture scene is part of the reason people want to live here. That’s somewhere people can plug in, you know?

- This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

To find out more about the Underwater City project and zine, visit: underwatercityproject.tumblr. com and facebook.com/UnderwaterCity. For an extended interview, head to mcgilldaily.com

20

Culture

October 20, 2014 The McGill Daily | www.mcgilldaily.com

Getting graphic Drawn & Quarterly hosts its monthly graphic novel book club Lauria Galbraith The McGill Daily

“

Do we have beer? I should get beer.” Drawn & Quarterly’s creative director, Tom Devlin, seemed nervous as he set up chairs around a table in the back of Drawn & Quarterly’s storefront. The Mile End shop is small and packed to the ceiling with books, the wood decor giving it a warm and cozy atmosphere. Once a month, this store holds Montreal’s only publicized graphic novel book club. Devlin stopped to chat with me before heading to the dep to grab some beer for the gathering.

The book club was the idea of associate publisher Peggy Burns, said Devlin. “Because we have the comics identity here, she wanted to bring that to the floor,” he explained.

Drawn & Quarterly specializes in comics, known throughout the city

for their artistry. Devlin added that “comics are not often ‘book-clubbed,’ so we wanted to explore that a bit.”

Each month the club picks a new book to discuss, with every gathering led by a different employee.

In literary circles, graphic novels have typically had a bad reputation, often falsely equated to superhero comics or newspaper cartoons.

Their visual elements, however, add a level of analytical sophistication that simply can’t be achieved in prose or poetry. Unlike serialized comics and cartoons, they are fulllength novels with mesmerizing art that takes the place of a hefty word count. However, illustrations are associated with simplified reads and children’s literature, readers often overlook graphic novels.

Devlin came back to the store with a case of St. Ambroise Pale Ale and slowly, other people started trickling

in. There was no obvious common characteristic between all the participants; one attendee was a high school teacher, another a university student.

A middle-aged francophone woman arrived late, while a younger woman came in carrying groceries. Everyone nursed a beer, timidly. Our group numbered a total of nine.

According to Devlin, the club “tends to be different crowds for each book, instead of the same handful of people every time. It’s anywhere from six to fifteen people, depending on the difficulty or popularity of the book.”

Devlin chose Chris Ware’s graphic novel Lint to read for this book club. Little handouts on the table described the comic as “one of the chapters of Ware’s ongoing Rusty Brown saga (ACME Novelty Library), Lint [is] a stand alone graphic novel focusing on Rusty’s bully, Jordan Wellington Lint. Each spread

Lauria Galbraith | The McGill Daily

of the book is a year of Jordan’s life, from birth to death.”

Nine strangers in the back of a bookshop fleshed out more insight from a graphic novel than I’d seen discussed in university lectures on The Aenid.

A projector was set up so that the group could examine the pages together. Devlin began the discussion, giving background on the ACME Novelty Library series, pointing out stylistic choices by Ware and commenting on the disorder of the panels and how they draw a reader’s eye, unlike the conventional paneling style of Archie or Batman. Tentatively, other members of the group offered opinions. By the third page spread, everyone was commenting on the colour scheme, the emotions of the design, and the story that Ware was trying to express. I was shy at first. My first comment, pointing out the way the colours and layout of one spread mimicked a previous spread, received an appreciative response, with some members remarking that they hadn’t noticed this themselves.

Awkward at first, the atmosphere became gradually warm and encouraging as thoughts were shared and beer was consumed.

Devlin mentioned to me that he does his “own personal book club with just cartoonists, so we can talk really hardcore, nerdy stuff.” But the details and interpretations that our

haphazard group discovered were already astounding, allowing for an understanding of the novel that would be hard to reach independently. The novel’s narrative is introspective but unreliable; it follows the altogether mundane and rather pathetic life of Jordan Lint, a bully, through his own memories, which ultimately prove to be untrustworthy and subjective. Devlin saw the story as a way for Ware to get back at his own bullies by giving them a story so boring and morally reprehensible that even pity could not be felt for them. Another member of the group saw Lint as a story about the “big moments” in our lives and how they become warped in our memories, sometimes changed to omit our own misgivings. Someone else pointed out that the cycle of abuse shown in the story could easily be false memories, fabricated to create a sense of victimization. Nine strangers in the back of a bookshop fleshed out more insight from a graphic novel than I’d seen discussed in university lectures on The Aeneid.

The literary world could probably benefit from a few more back-shop graphic novel book clubs like Drawn & Quarterly’s. With graphic novels, you get to interpret a story not just through plot and dialogue, but also visual imagery and colour palette. Interested in art? This club will show you a unique narrative style of art. Interested in literature? This club will expand your knowledge in an up-andcoming genre. Even for those who already spend all their time talking about books, it’s important to step off campus every once in awhile and have an in-depth discussion that doesn’t affect your GPA. Drawn & Quarterly’s next graphic novel book club will be discussing Lynda Barry’s One Hundred Demons.

The club starts at 7:00 p.m. on November 12 at their Mile End shop.

The Streetwalkerz and Couscous comedy Rosie’s Pick The StreetWalkerz: The Exhibition The StreetWalkerz, a Montreal website that chronicles “street style exhibitionism, underground night-life, and queer culture,” is hosting a party this Friday to celebrate its expansion to New York.

The event will feature live musi-

cians and DJs (including J’VLYN d’Ark of Faggity Ass Fridays), the premiere of a short fashion film, and a series of art installations that includes the blood art of Kristofer Dompierre. Sounds like spooky fun.

Some proceeds from the party will be going to Stella, a sex worker support and solidarity organization

in Montreal.

Niyousha’s Pick Couscous Comedy: Halloween Edition The Couscous Comedy Show is back at Cabaret du Mile End this weekend with a special Halloween edition. Since 2011, this monthly show has been a Montreal classic

in the making, bringing together dancers, singers, comedians, magicians, and other artists for a night of laughter. In case the laughter isn’t enough, Uncle Fofi, the multidisciplinary host, also cooks the audience traditional couscous using his mother’s recipe. If midterms have you left you sad and hungry, this show has the ingredi-

ents to turn things around.

The StreetWalkerz: The Exhibition is Friday October 24 at 11 p.m. at Cabaret Playhouse (5656 Avenue du Parc).

Couscous Comedy: Halloween Edition is Sunday October 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Cabaret du Mile End (5420 Avenue du Parc).

Culture

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

21

Commemorating, not celebrating Players’ Theatre presents Oh, What a Lovely War!

Anna Tyshkov Culture Writer

M

usical epic meets witty satire in the Players’ Theatre production of Joan Littlewood’s Oh, What A Lovely War! Through song and sarcasm, over-the-top characters retell the story of World War I, highlighting the horror and absurdity of history’s so-called proudest moments.

In vaudevillian, circus-like style, the actors arrive onstage as a Pierrot troupe, a style of travelling entertainment popular in early 20th century England. The troupe’s members take on different voices, often of soldiers or clueless diplomats, to narrate the moments leading up to and during the war.

Though the play’s subject matter is serious, it treats the war as a humourous satire. The humour often centres on cultural stereotypes, such as high-strung Brits or haughty Frenchmen. These absurd caricatures are overplayed with nearly flawless comedic timing which adds to the contagious onstage energy.

Some actors effortlessly speak in French and German, while others pull off quite the impressive range of British, Russian, and Austrian accents. This renders the characters more believable, momentarily drift-

ing away from satiric comedy to ground the show back in the harsh reality of its original context. When Connor Spencer, the show’s director, talked to The Daily about the talent onstage, she explained that she was looking for actors with “a willingness to play.” The growling British commander, played by Anni Choudhury, particularly stands out. Choudhury abandons all restraints and embodies every inch of this explosive character.

This playfulness also comes through in the show’s singing, dancing, and spontaneous guitar playing.

Through the use of exaggerated musical numbers, Littlewood originally intended to make the subject matter more accessible, as explained by the director in the program. She hoped to abolish sentimental views of the war by using laughter as a tool to engage the public. Accordingly, the Players’ production artfully uses the heavy subject matter as over-the-top entertainment while also quietly critiquing war. The actors’ powerful voices ring out as almost sickeningly sweet.

Spencer told The Daily that she hopes to show the twisted contrast between what was actually happening on the frontlines, and the propaganda and glorifying songs that civilians were exposed to back home.

Technically, however, the show is much more subtle. The lighting is

clean and simple. Similarly, the main costumes mimic the basic style of Pierrot, a ‘sad clown’ archetype of French pantomime theatre known for his foolish naïveté. No character wears khaki, perhaps because soldier attires could evoke the very sympathy and sentimental imagery which the play aims to counter. Rather than creating the familiar, heroic soldier characters, this effective aesthetic choice casts them as absurd and lost individuals put in unnecessary situations. Speaking of the normalization of war, Spencer said that “[war] veterans are treated as heroes, when in reality, they’re all flawed characters, like the rest of us.”

The set, simple but deliberate, consists solely of wooden boxes and a monitor that screens old photographs and devastating statistics of casualties during peak moments of tension in the play. Here, the absurdity of the war appears in its dark reality, an effective and grounding contrast to the exaggerated style of the rest of the show. On a platform at the back of the stage, live musicians provide the soundtrack. The interaction between the musicians and the characters, though limited, contributes to a sense of breaking down the barriers commonly found in theatre.

This absence of the fourth wall is the most striking aspect of the pro-

Srijan Shukla | The McGill Daily duction. From directly asking the audience questions to sitting amidst audience members, the cast creates an intense, refreshing intimacy between themselves and the audience.

These interactions also highlight the humanity of the actors, the characters, and those in the audience. The personal dynamics foster a collective hatred toward the unjustifiable price of war, that is, the senseless loss of human lives.

Spencer also spoke about the effect of treating war as satirical, and its relevance today, as this year marks the 100th anniversary of WWI. With reference to this anniversary, Spencer again lamented how the war is “celebrated rather than commemorated.” She went on

to say that “this [celebration] is how violence is normalized,” and that our focus should be on the uselessness of the war itself. With downcast eyes, Spencer concluded, “We haven’t learned from our mistakes.”

Spencer’s echoing of Littlewood’s original concerns should not be taken lightly. Today, as in 1963, the absurd glorification of war is an issue that needs a critical spotlight. Thoughtprovoking on one hand and entertaining on the other, this completely student-run production provides such a spotlight in a way which is bound to amuse and impress.

Oh, What a Lovely War! runs from October 22 to 25 at 8 p.m. at Players’ Theatre (SSMU building 3rd floor.)

The Daily reviews: Caribou and Tinashe

Christian Favreau The McGill Daily

A

fter seven albums, Dan Snaith is beginning to make his accomplishments seem effortless. In Our Love, his latest release, Snaith, who goes by the stage name Caribou, creates a dense forest of electronic patterns, proving himself to be a true master of the dance floor.

The album opens with “Can’t Do Without You,” the perfect summer dance single. Although it appears uncomplicated at first, with lyrics that simply repeat the title over and over, this opening track dives deeper through sonic levels than any typical club song. As a single, “Can’t Do Without You” is beautiful and hopeful – bouncing and rising, with the listener’s heart following close behind. In the context of Our Love, however, the track is tragic. In interviews, Caribou has explained that the constant loop of the words “can’t do without you” points to the dysfunctional traits of love. The album as a whole presents the stark

contrast between an idealistic view of love and its melancholic, sometimes obsessive, realities.

In keeping with his particular style of hypnotic dance melodies, Caribou launches his listener into the full sound of “Silver.” “I wish I never met you,” insists Caribou, his voice behind thick layers of trance. In the middle of the album comes “Second Chance,” a key moment in which trance church bells tumble down and form the backdrop for featured artist Jessy Lanza’s pleas of love. “Our Love,” which lends its title to the album, is Caribou’s most uplifting song as it exclusively presents the goodness of love. It’s also full of surprises, such as an outro of violin mixed with digitized beats matched to the bow strokes, all put together by none other than indie hero Owen Pallett.

Near the close of the album in “Back Home,” Caribou breaks out into strikingly honest lyrics: “I know that there’s something missing / does it mean you’re leaving me?” His dismal words segue from a jolting techno rise into an echoic ode as he asks, “Why is this what we’ve chosen?’

In this dance album, Caribou’s sound goes beyond movement; the warmth of Caribou’s crescendoing synths offers an escape from everything corporeal. His closing lyrics in “Your Love Will Set You Free” shift the album’s title from a past feeling to a present one and back again. In this conclusion, Snaith finally exposes the true heart of his album: a man who is powerless to the unpredictability of love.

Sabrina Mach Culture Writer

A

quarius, the debut album from R&B singer Tinashe, is a whirlwind of big emotions and big names. Named after Tinashe’s zodiac sign, the album features well-known collaborators and producers like rappers ScHoolboy Q, A$AP Rocky, and Future. Tinashe began her music career in 2012 with the release of two mixtapes In Case We Die and Reverie. A year later, she released her third mixtape Black Water.

Aquarius explores the ups and downs of being in love. With melodic crooning over a groovy bass and chiming notes, the eponymous first track establishes the tone for the album.

“Welcome to my world,” she whispers as the song’s percussive layers fade out. The song is a strong start for an album that only gets murkier as it goes on. Tinashe takes us on an emotional rollercoaster of falling in love, breaking up, and

making up. She sings about the profound joys of love in “How Many Times,” then shifts to heartbreak on “All Hands on Deck.” This rollercoaster, though musically pleasing, lacks a peak – we never get a gut-wrenching lament nor a euphoric proclamation of love like Beyoncé’s “XO.” Instead, the album is more of a collection of radio-ready singles, which compromises the logical progression between songs. This is not unforgivable, however, for a young artist trying to establish herself – concept albums can wait.

In Aquarius, Tinashe experiments with quite a number of industry veterans, and does so with mixed results. Chart-topping producers Mike Will Made It and DJ Mustard both offer excellent tracks. But, her album pays the price for its superb production and luscious beats with a jarring incoherence, the result of its array (or disarray) of musical styles. In the end, this disjointedness makes it hard to define Tinashe’s style.

The track with the most potential, “Indigo Child (Interlude),” is cut short after only a minute and a half. While it lasts, it captures the listener with a build-up of distorted bass haunted by trickling piano keys and capped off with reverberating drums that never quite climax.

Tracks like these show that Tinashe could, possibly, become an excellent artist. Aquarius has the elements of a great album – vocal passion and quality production – but an effective synthesis of the two has yet to be achieved.

Compendium!

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

22

Lies, half-truths, and Professor Frood meets Wishbone the dog.

Wishbone episodes that could never be With episode synopses

practice, including his special taste for Jewish mothers and dachshunds.

Heaven Sent & Peein’ More The McGall Weekly The Howling of Lot 49 Wishbone is called to investigate the death of a mysterious exlover as the executor of their estate.

Amid a groovy late-sixties California backdrop, Wishbone falls deeper and deeper into what appears to be a massive conspiracy involving mailmen… though maybe he’s just chasing his own tail.

The Paw and the Pendulum When inquisition judges hand down a ruling of “bad, bad boy,” Wishbone knows he’s in the doghouse. Panic sets in as our favourite furry friend flees from a series of torments that make a trip to the vet seem like a walk in the park.

Infinite Fetch In a near-future world not unlike our own, PetCo has released a chew toy so effective that dogs will chew on it until they die. Various factions – including a group of three-legged francophone poodle nationalists and the new North American government, the L.E.G.H.U.M.P – vie for the chew toy against a backdrop of an elite dog competition training facility and a rehab kennel. With numerous and extensive pawnotes!

Puppy’s Complaint Wishbone sits down with his psychoanalyst, Dr. Spielvogel, and proceeds to divulge a life of lurid sexual

Underwoof In this special three-hour episode, Wishbone experiences roughly everything that happened in the U.S. between 1950 and 1990, including the Shot Heard Round the World, nuclear paranoia, the comedy of Lenny Bruce, and the evolution of New York. Also, Wishbone is totally cheating on his wife – woof!

A Good Dog is Hard to Find A family road trip to Florida takes an unexpected turn when a notorious killer escapes from the pound. Confronted with senseless violence at the paws of the rabid ruff-ian, Wishbone has to think fast or get licked.

Gravity’s Rainbow-wow Wishbone starts the episode as an American soldier in occupied Germany post-World War II, of particular interest to a network of U.S. espionage agents because treats fall wherever he gets erections. Wishbone goes in search of a mysterious missing German dog toy, and then disappears in the last half of the episode. Good luck keeping up!

The Hound and the Furry Witness the Wishbone family’s tragic decline in the early twentieth-century American South.

Told in a shifting stream-of-consciousness style, “The Hound and the Furry” pushes the limits of the children’s educational daytime pro-

/(>o<)/ ecilashen | The McGill Daily gramming genre.

Love in the Time of Collar-a The fantastic and devastating story of a romance that’s more than just puppy love. Wishbone stars as a devoted dog who shows the true meaning of man’s – or should we say woman’s – best friend, as he spends his life whining and begging for the beautiful Portuguese Water Dog Fermina.

Madame Rover-y Wishbone, yearning to escape

the provincial backyard with all its meaningless bone-ality, falls into a sordid extra-marital affair.

pursuit of a nihilist dog catcher, on the hunt for a dog who’s dug up a bone he can’t handle. Maybe old dogs really can learn new tricks. Or not.

A Heartbreaking Tail of Staggering Genius Wishbone is excited to start obedience school when – ruh-roh! – his parents are taken on a one-way veterinary visit. Left alone to raise his siblings in a dilapidated doghouse, this puppy has to grow up quick.

120 Dogs of Sodom Four wealthy dogs, Wishbone included, resolve to experience a ruffrollicking life of debauched breeding sealed in a secluded kennel. When all is said and done, you’ll have a whole new definition of “doggy style.”

No Country for Old Dogs Wishbone plays an old sheriff in

SEASON FINALE: Old Yeller Oh, Jesus…

Open Letter from the Society for the Perpetuation of LEPIS NEUT Long May the Wisdom of Our Beloved Father Frood Live Mathilda Quimms The McGall Weekly

I

n recent weeks, it has come to our attention that academic criticisms of the work of Dr. Sigmoond Frood are still prevalent in many educational institutions, like your fair McGall, and you know something?

We’re sick and tired of it.

We are well aware that there have been criticisms of our Beloved Father Frood’s oeuvre for almost as long as his work has been available to the psychiatric establishment and the wider world. We allow this.

Hell, we created some of it in the beginning, for the sake of plausibility. But these days, it seems like fewer and fewer of your intellectual

types are acknowledging Frood’s work as valid in the realms of psychology and even literary analysis.

It is, frankly, hurtful.

Look, we know that it seems a little far-fetched to you, but where’s the harm in sticking to a grand tradition of wrongheadedness? Besides, who’s to say that everything isn’t about sex? Come on, everyone thinks about sex all the time, right?

Isn’t that what humans do? I mean, Grady’s niece tried to tell him about something called “asexuality,” but we don’t really buy it. Seems unnatural. Kinda alien, you know? And we don’t trust aliens. The basic tenets of Frood’s philosophy still reflect and interpret key aspects of our society as well as the human condition:

everyone wants to fuck their mom, penises are inherently male and also everyone wants one, something about the subconscious and dreams (or was that Jung? Whatever, not important). The tenets are durable and useful. Why fix what ain’t broke?

Our experts report that if an object is longer than it is wide, it does, in fact, represent a penis. There is no use arguing with this assertion.

To do so would only be indicative of an unspoken desire to have sex with your childhood pet or some shit like that.

Can we get real for a second, kids? Can we rap with you? Can we turn our ball caps to the back and straddle a chair at the front of this funky-fresh classroom in

which we’re currently imagining ourselves, like a hip new teacher laying down some knowledge for his ignorant-but-adorable charges?

We don’t really buy this stuff either.

Not all of it, anyway. But what’s the alternative? The obliteration of cissexism? Decolonization of nonWestern gender identities?

It’s just that these days, it seems like things are just changing way too fast. We did manage to get NASA off of all fast-tracked space travel nonsense, and we made a mockery of terraforming and casual interplanetary travel by putting it in the mouths of American Republicans during the last election, but is it enough?

If we can just manage to keep destructive Western society focused

on cis men (real men, as we like to call them) and their penises for a few more decades, we may be able to ensure stymied development for the entire planet! We do this to ensure that humanity never reaches the exalted stage of gender enlightenment required for entry into the Intergalactic Society for Peaceful Interplanetary Interface. Because seriously?

Fuck aliens.

So, come on, guys. What do you really care about? The safety of the human race? Or extraterrestrials and a nuanced understanding of the social construct that is gender?

Cordially, The Society for the Perpetuation of LEPIS NEUT

Editorial

volume 104 number 8

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

October 20, 2014 www.mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily

Students deserve a better mental health framework

phone 514.398.6784 fax 514.398.8318 mcgilldaily.com coordinating editor

Dana Wray

coordinating@mcgilldaily.com coordinating news editor

Janna Bryson news editors

Jill Bachelder Emma Noradounkian Igor Sadikov commentary & compendium! editor

Emmet Livingstone features editor

Hannah Besseau science+technology editor

Zapaer Alip

sports editor

Drew Wolfson Bell culture editors

Niyousha Bastani Rosie Long Decter multimedia editor

Alice Dutrut photo editor

Tamim Sujat illustrations editor

Alice Shen copy editor

Molly Korab design & production editor

Rachel Nam web editor

Arielle VanIderstine community editor

Diana Kwon le délit

Joseph Boju

rec@delitfrancais.com cover design Tamim Sujat contributors Nadia Boachie, Fatima Boulmalf, Audrey Carleton, Karen Chiang, William Doan, Lia Elbaz, Cem Ertekin, Christian Favreau, Lauria Galbraith, Manuela Galindo-Carvajal, Line Jaber, Teddy Liptay, Sabrina Mach, Emily Saul, Srijan Shukla, Subhanya Sivajothy, Madison Smith, Rackeb Tesfaye, Anna Tyshkov, Jasmine Wang

Alice Shen | The McGill Daily

O

ver the past year, mental health has become more visible at McGill, thanks to initiatives such as the annual Students in Mind conference, the Peer Support Network, AUS’ Wellness Week, the Monster Academy project, and the ongoing creation of McGill’s Wellness Portal. Having a wide range of initiatives is crucial to destigmatizing mental health and making mental healthcare more accessible. However, McGill still faces barriers in making mental health accessible in logistical terms and providing continuous, quality care for students.

Over 50 per cent of McGill students have reported identifying with symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to an October 2013 survey. McGill’s mental health network, as it stands, is plagued by stretched resources and a lack of decent education surrounding the services it offers, problems that are only worsened by ongoing cuts to student initiatives. While wait times have been reduced to under two weeks, a stark improvement from the past, the 16-session cap currently in place constrains students’ access to help as needed.

Furthermore, the distinction between Mental Health Services and Counselling Services is not made obvious to students, leading to build-ups that could otherwise be avoided.

Budget cuts have gone deep into mental health provision, with a $500,000 loss last year in university funding to Student Services. As increased funding in the next few years is unlikely, alternative and cheaper measures

need to be more actively pursued to fill the gaping holes in care at McGill. There are alternative services offered mainly through Counselling Services, such as group therapy and workshops focusing on proactive care, but these services are both underpublicized and not united enough to form a comprehensive framework.

Other universities, such as Cornell, have taken initiative to develop far more cohesive mental health frameworks, encompassing elements ranging from leadership statements, crisis management, and political initiatives, to professor and parent education and actual provision of services – and much more. McGill’s mental health framework does not include student, staff, or administrative initiatives in a way that is easily comprehensible, and is instead decentralized, inaccessible, and ad-hoc.

After many years of students and student-led groups filling the gaps, there has been more attention from the University to mental health, as well as the the provision care currently provided on campus. As our student population grows, and more and more students require care, there need to be tangible resources to match the increasing number of educational and awareness-raising initiatives. The University, because of its enormous capacities as an institution, needs to step up to the plate in doing this, and create a longstanding, holistic mental health framework.

—The McGill Daily Editorial Board

Errata

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

The article “Sustainable living project launches after years of rejected funding” (News, October 16, page 4) incorrectly stated that the ECOLE project was funded by Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) and the McGill Office of Sustainability (MOOS). In fact, the project is supported by SHHS and MOOS, but is not funded by them.

The Daily regrets the error.

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

Mathieu Ménard Lauriane Giroux

dps board of directors Joseph Boju, Juan Camilo Velásquez Buriticá, Joelle Dahm, Alyssa Favreau, Ralph Haddad, Rachel Nam, Hillary Pasternak, Thomas Simmoneau, Dana Wray All contents © 2014 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.

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