27 minute read
VOICES
When Life Gives You Cancer, Milk It
ISABELLA BLU PTITO-ECHEVERRIA Copy Editor
Advertisement
going to take a leave from school?” view people as machinery. If the strugI’m allowed to do that? was my first gles are invisible, as mental health thought. issues are, does it mean they’re inI used to frown upon those who took I’d wanted to take this semes- finitely endurable? No one gets called ‘mental health breaks’ from school. I ter off since it began, but I’d always weak when cancer prevents them from figured the line between self-care and frowned upon the idea. I was sure my working, even though both cancer and self-indulgence would inevitably blur family would think less of me for want- mental health issues fester, grow, and upon dropping out. “Just an excuse to ing to take a break from school over obstruct, like tumours. That got me get stoned, wallow in self-pity and do something as trivial as ‘mental health thinking– the pressure put on young nothing with your time,” I judged. struggles’. But now I could take that adults these days, to always strive to
This criticism was the excuse I leave under the guise of it being be- be the most optimal versions of themused to keep myself from tending to cause of cancer. selves– is rather cancerous. As Edward my own mental health issues. The con- Even though I’d already stopped Abbey puts it, “Growth for the sake of stant helplessness I felt grew engorged attending classes, I suddenly didn’t feel growth is the ideology of the cancer like a cancerous tumour. Getting out of guilty over it. I MIO’d my teachers cell”. bed was difficult. I regularly had dis- about my diagnosis. I finally felt like Nowadays, I’m learning to enjoy sociative spells of face-picking, and I I had a legitimate excuse to be out of doing nothing. I spend most of my time often bit my nails down to the quick. I school; It felt pathetic to say I was too seeing my friends, going to shows, and seldom did my homework, even though anxious and depressed to come to class, watching TV. While that may look I’d been keeping track of due dates and even though that was also the truth. pathetic to you, it’s serving me damn deadlines throughout the semester. When my disease became physical, I well. I’m coming to terms with the fact “I will never be a drop-out over this took it seriously. But why only then? that both my mind and body need the shit,” I’d tell myself as I ached with I attribute it to a longtime strug- break. Human beings are not machines disinterest during lectures. I ached gle I’ve had with self-respect. I’ve spent created to optimize and produce for all with disinterest as I hung out with a long time under the impression that eternity. I am allowed to enjoy my life, friends, which was more like watching I’m only valuable if I’m spending my even if it isn’t always yielding somemy friends hang out as I watched them time productively, be it by making thing tangible. through the window of a house I could art, furthering my academic career, or It isn’t self-indulgent to take never leave. I viewed my melancholy self-improving. For a while, my inner breaks. Enduring suffering for long as a whiny, belligerent teenager that voice sounded like a factory owner periods of time in hopes of achieving needed to shut the fuck up so that we mercilessly ripping on their worker: something will slowly drive a wedge– could do what needed to be done in the “You better keep working, Isabella! I one with the potential to grow cancerpursuit of our goals, whatever those don’t give a shit if you’re ‘anxious’ or ous– between you and it. From now were. I never let myself view the sad- ‘depressed’!” on, take your suffering seriously; Don’t ness, anxiety and disinterest I felt as a Physical hindrance is the only wait until you have a literal tumour disease that interfered with my life. I excuse to stop working, that is, if you poppin’ out of your neck to do so. p p trivialized and white-knuckled my way through it. I was its willing, belittling host, and I let it grow. It eventually grew so big it nearly killed me. That is, I nearly took my own life over it
Hospitalized, I was sent in for a CT scan to assess the damage of my attempt. Coincidentally, that scan uncovered that this near-constant ball in my throat, which I assumed was just anxiety, just teenage melodrama, just psychosomatic-- was literally a cancerous tumour. Thyroid cancer; a papillary thyroid carcinoma, 2.3 centimetres. A tumour the size of an eyeball had been growing in the right side of my neck for who knows how long, and I’d had no idea.
Upon hearing the news, my brother, a cynical sigma male nicknamed ‘the Optimizer’, the most adamant about me rushing to finish CEGEP, called me. To my surprise, he asked, “Are you Photo VIA @OFFERMOORD // DEVIANTART
Volodymyr Zelensky: From Pretend President to Wartime Hero
CASEY KISS Voices Editor
Modern-day politics require modern-day politicians. On that note, it seems more and more that our elected officials are coming from A-list backgrounds.
Nowadays, you can’t scroll through your news feed without seeing something about the Russia-Ukraine conflict or about the presidents of both countries respectively. While I won’t delve into any specifics of the conflict as it’s a constantly developing story, there is something that has been occupying my thoughts: A new history-making political figure has emerged from this war, and that is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He is being praised for his handling of the conflict and his impeccable ability to rally both his own people and the leaders of Western countries, prompting them to send aid. Even corporations like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Nike have suspended any and all business in Russia. I had to wonder– how is it that a newly-elected, freshfaced politician is capable of doing so?
Zelensky was elected in Ukraine’s 2019 presidential election, but what I find fascinating is that shortly before this, he had a successful career in entertainment. Zelensky was a wellknown comedian in Ukraine, acting in films, television and sketch comedy shows. This is not unlike former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who was also heavily praised for his masterful skills in public speaking after a career in entertainment. Before making it to the Oval Office, Reagan starred in several major film productions and served as a different kind of president, being named president of the Screen Actors Guild for a number of years according to the Reagan Foundation. How is it though, that celebrity presidents are so effective in capturing their nations’ attention and minds?
Zelensky and Reagan are the main examples of celebrity leaders that I think of, though I can’t overlook former U.S president Donald Trump. Despite being extremely (extremely is barely a strong enough word) controversial, you can’t deny that his speeches captivated his audience. Coming from the mainstream success of both The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice, the TV personality’s speeches were so compelling that he both prompted, and ended, the infamous insurrection on Capitol Hill on January 6th 2021.
So, is coming from an entertainment background an asset in politics? Looking at Zelensky, he makes the answer clear; absolutely. Facing the global superpower that is Russia, Zelensky has made us look beyond our regular feeds and actually care about a country that (without any connection to it) we normally wouldn’t give a second glance to.
Zelensky’s entertainment career even holds one piece of delicious irony I have to mention. Zelensky starred in the tv show Servant of the People, in which he played a high school history teacher who, guess what? Gets elected President of Ukraine. I’ve seen a few episodes (with subtitles) since it was recently added to Netflix, and let me tell you the show is poppin’.
Just like Reagan and Trump, he demonstrates a prowess in public-speaking. His speeches are moving, and according to the BBC, are written fully by Zelensky himself, with the help only of close aide Dmytro Litvin. You could take almost any line from one of his speeches and imagine an action hero like Tom Cruise saying it in an action thriller at the box office. That’s where his power as a politician lies.
An actor or comedian’s success is based on their ability to connect with their audience and manipulate their emotions through speech. Zelensky masterfully pulls on viewers’ heartstrings. Recently at the 64th Grammy Awards, Zelensky prepared a short video with a speech to introduce a performance dedicated to Ukraine, which would be followed by a link to a charity for Ukrainian refugees. In this speech he reminds us, who tuned in to see celebrities in fancy outfits win tiny gold trophies, how privileged we are to be able to absent-mindedly enjoy these events because currently, the people of Ukraine can’t. A hard-hitting standout line being “What’s more opposite to music?...The silence of ruined cities and killed people”.
With every speech, he employs the skills he developed as an actor and comedian, with famous quotes like “I need ammunition, not a ride” in response to President Biden’s offer for evacuation, and “We will come first. You will come second” warning that letting Russia win here will only fuel them further.
It seems that coming from an entertainment background is an incredibly valuable asset in politics. Possessing that kind of mastery in connecting with your audience is a very powerful tool that Zelesnky has made good use of. It seems to be the best way to get people to do what you want them to. Looks like I’ll be taking a few acting classes for the next time I ask a teacher for an extension. p p
While You Were Busy Being Neurotypical, I Was Busy Learning How to Kick Ass
BEE BERGERON Contributor
When I was four, two occupational therapists came to my kindergarten class to evaluate a little girl in my group. While they were there, they noticed that I seemed to stay on the outskirts of where the other kids would play. I interacted more with my teacher than with my classmates, and my speech was more advanced than is usual in a four-year-old. They concluded that something a little funky was probably going on with me. They reached out to my mother to offer an evaluation.
My mom accepted. They told her I was probably autistic, and they were right! But the way they presented autism to her forever changed her perception of me and what autism is.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself through difficulties in communication with neurotypicals (recent studies have shown that autistic people usually understand each other just fine). It also includes having special interests and making repetitive movements like rocking or flapping your hands. It’s a common misconception that autistic people are more likely to have an intellectual disability. The reality is that there is no link between autism and intellectual disability. Non-autistic people are just as likely as autistics to have an intellectual impairment.
So, this is where I have an issue with how those two health professionals introduced autism to my mom. There’s a reason we say autism is a spectrum; We’re an incredibly diverse bunch. Like everyone else, we’re each very good at some things and very bad at others. The two occupational therapists told my mom that I would probably never learn how to read and that she could kiss any hopes of normalcy for me goodbye.
‘‘It’s hard for a mother’s heart to be told by a health professional that our ‘perfect’ child is ‘defectuous’’’ my mom told me.
By introducing autism to my mom as a defect, a barrier to success, they did me more disservice than being autistic has ever done. When my mom saw me thrive in school, she decided that it meant I couldn’t be autistic; My mother had been told that being autistic would keep me from achieving typical milestones. She may have also thought that since I was predetermined to fail, there was no use in pushing me to succeed, was there? Even though I was way ahead in the language department, those two occupational therapists were already telling her about the different schools for developmentally challenged kids she could sign me up to.
If someone gave me the choice, I wouldn’t choose to stop being autistic. I have no interest in being neurotypical. I think your brains are weird and you communicate weirdly. I like my autistic qualities and traits. I think they make me a very driven andloyal individual. I can’t do everything a neurotypical can, but the opposite is true too.
I hope I don’t come across as vindictive towards those two occupational therapists. I’m not angry at them. I’m angry at the system, who either sees my success and dismisses my disability because of it, or sees my disability and assumes I’ll fail.
I was accepted to McGill in psychology last Tuesday. My mom sent me flowers and made a post about it on Facebook. I’m a big reader, but I suck at math. I’m very creative and passionate, like many of my autistic friends. I don’t think anyone can see the future of a four-year-old with absolute certainty.
During Autism Acceptance/ Awareness Month, I celebrate myself, my community, and our love and support for each other. We rock y’all. p p
The Alluring Disarray of the Atwater Metro
Photo VIA STAYHOMESEARCH
TYLER FRANKEL Contributor
Atwater Metro, which connects the Alexis Nihon mall and Dawson College, lies beneath Montreal’s bustling downtown core. For the past eight years on many occasions, I have traveled downtown to enjoy the action, and over that span, developed a meaningful connection with the Atwater Metro.
The Atwater Metro has its downsides. Upon walking into the metro, it’s impossible to ignore the powerful odour of urine and cigarettes. With the unpleasant and sad combination of the sleeping homeless and urine puddles in the corners, one can almost taste the offensive smell. Senses tend to go on overdrive, witnessing people moving around quickly, loud voices chattering, the roaring sounds of trains. There are times where you can catch wind of a conversation and listen to the interesting dialogue between students dreading going to school, or the morning argument someone had with their mother. In short, the Atwater Metro is a boisterous place! Despite the smell, homeless people using the space as a bedroom, and silly conversations, the Atwater Metro oddly feels “homey”.
This doesn’t mean I’m going to gather my family in the metro to eat dinner or hang out there with my friends. That being said, the surrounding chaos feels normal for the world we live in and I am comfortable in it. Life can be overwhelming, and at times, presents challenging obstacles. Ironically, every step I take into the chaotic station calms me and my senses. Being in the moment actually makes me feel as if the craziness of the real world is toned down, and it comforts me.
I have been taking the Atwater Metro route since I was ten years old. When visiting for the first time, it’s easy to be taken aback by the surface-level disorganisation. For close to ten years, very little has changed. Although I was too young to understand where the smells were coming from and why everyone in the metro was wearing a backpack, I was still observant and processing.
The population found at the Atwater metro is very diverse. There are privileged students that can often be heard saying things like, “I can’t believe I have to walk through this gross metro to get to school.” In parallel, I often hear the homeless asking people to “go to the ATM machine and take out money for me.” In a 30-meter radius, there are students complaining about trivial details while other people only have survival and satisfying their hunger in mind.
As the years go by, I continue to be adventurous and travel around the city. I can’t help but notice the same crowds wearing backpacks, long-bearded men, and the same pungent smells. For me, the sights and smells haven’t changed, but my perception has. How we see the world changes as we grow up. We gain insight and a greater understanding of the game of life. As a result, we may draw different conclusions from the exact same scenario. For me, the Atwater Metro is representative of how my own perspective has changed. I have empathy for the homeless and their predicaments, and a low tolerance for entitled students. Furthermore, experiencing the sights and sounds at the Atwater Metro helps me feel grateful for all that I have in my life. It serves to motivate me to achieve my goals. p p
As Seen in the Hallways: Dawson Confessions Confesses
JOSEPHINE ROSS Staff Writer
Last November, the Dawson Confessions Instagram account started poppin’ off. Through it, we were introduced to a plethora of secrets, gossip, and revelations. Feeding off the thrill of anonymity exclusive to the internet, confession pages allow students of a particular academic establishment to confess their embarrassing moments, sins, and shameful secrets freely, without accountability. The account’s popularity proves the strength of the natural morbid curiosity surrounding gossip, secrets, and taboo topics. I’ve been thinking about the ethics of such a platform, so to sate my curiosity on the matter, I interviewed the Dawson Confessions account manager.
What made you want to start your account?
It started off as a joke entirely. The idea was to do something like Gossip Girl and then it evolved from there.
A big part of the mystique surrounding your account is your anonymity. Are you scared of being “caught”, or your identity being found out?
Being caught is not a big concern. I think it’s easier to confess to a page or unknown entity instead of to a specific student. We didn’t tell anyone, it’s just me. I’ve been keeping it secret since it’s important to the account, but not that much to me.
You gained 3,500 followers in under five months, surpassing every other Dawson-related account. To what do you attribute this success?
The success was insane and [unexpected]; It’s exactly what [comes to mind] when you think of school, gossip, sharing secrets to your friends on a bigger scale. The posts help students disconnect from school and connect with their peers.
What kind of precautions did you take to avoid getting into trouble with the administration? How do you filter out confessions?
From the start, I established boundaries to what we would post or not, we filter out posts that do not fit within the mindset of the account. If they attack anyone, or talk about a sensitive topic, [the confession won’t be posted]. If a post is problematic, it is removed instantly.
There has been quite a bit of debate and controversy surrounding these confession accounts. Do you think those judgements are justified?
That judgment is completely justified. These types of accounts [are prone to partake in or be associated with] cyberbullying, which is why we have strict rules in place.
Following this interview, I continued my investigation by interviewing two anonymous Dawson students, whom we’ll call Andrew and Leo. The consensus was that DC, though entertaining at first, has become irrelevant. The hype that rapidly accumulated in the first weeks of posting died down just as quickly. It appears most of the posts are rooted in falsehood. Students estimated that 70 to 90% of the “confessions” are rooted in falsehood. “How many people can possibly be hooking up on the eighth floor?” said Andrew.
Accountability is a topic that arose repeatedly. “Anonymity is exciting to people,” said Andrew. “[DC provides a platform] for unfiltered opinions that aren’t necessarily profound or true. [The absence of accountability] allows bullying and sexual harassment to fly under the radar”.
Leo, on the other hand, says that “there shouldn’t be shame in talking about things that you’re not necessarily proud of, not everyone has those safe places, but there are limits”.
Andrew recalled a confession related to “Atwater Metro Lady”, referring to a well-known character amongst Dawson students, a homeless woman who busks near the metro entry. “The confession was essentially humiliating her, saying ‘she has a phone and a car, why is she asking for money?’” When people commented, calling out DC for the elitist nature of the confession, the owner replied that the post did not represent their point of view. “YouTube, for example, censors certain types of content, and whether we agree with it or not, the company holds a responsibility. They’re providing a platform for people to [vocalize questionable and damaging opinions]. I think it’s an excuse for them to be openly hateful without taking responsibility.” When I told Andrew about DC’s method of “filtering out” problematic posts, he replied “I guess that only applies to people who aren’t homeless.
The harm of unchecked “free speech” surpasses the DC account. Words have power and when an individual gets a hateful confession off their chest, “there’s a benefit for that one person, but many disadvantages for the people who are affected by [such a post],” said Leo. “If DC didn’t curate their posts and [someone spread homophobic ideas], a person who’s waiting to come out of the closet will read that comment and be pushed right back in.”
I do want to acknowledge an Instagram story that DC posted Wednesday April 6th.
Essentially, DC demonstrated their concern about confessions they’ve received regarding mental health issues. They said that they cannot post these, but encourage followers to “check in on your friends and loved ones, or reach out for professional help. A simple ‘hi’ or ‘how are you’ is more than enough and may do more than you think.” DC appears to have a good understanding of the possible dangers of their platform.
I doubt that this is the last time a platform for anonymous confessions will arise. Therefore, it’s important to have a discussion surrounding the ethics of this before the absence of accountability, probability of cyberbullying, and problematic unchecked “free speech” lead to greater risks in the future. Be kind, Dawson. p p
Ask The Plant
TÉA BARRETT
Staff Writer
Dear Plant,
What are false memories and how important is it to know whether my memories are real or not?
A Spiraling Philosophy Student
Memories are curious things.
They present themselves as thoughts, feelings, or images that can be brought forth by some unknown will of the subconscious, or perhaps enticed from the back store of your mind by one of the senses. They can appear quite meaningless, like in the vague familiarity of déja-vu, or they can hoard our attention, such as when our minds replay the most embarrassing things to ever happen to us while we are desperately trying to sleep.
False memories are a psychological phenomenon that can occur through misinformation, or misattribution to the source of the memory. Sometimes, I’ll have such a vivid and realistic dream that it sticks in my mind until so much time has passed that the memory of that dream evolves into a memory of a false reality I’ve created (real freaky stuff, if you think about your memories and what forms of solid truth you can attach to them). False memories can also be created by the influence of existing knowledge or other memories, in effect muddling the accuracy of any new ones you create. Otherwise, psychological disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder can heavily affect, not only the accuracy of an individual’s memories, but even the foundational trust in one’s awareness and capability to trust anything they remember.
One of the scariest situations involving false memories I’d heard of were the Reykjavik confessions, two missing person’s cases from Iceland that resulted in 6 different false confessions. The police had a bad habit of throwing their suspects into solitary confinement, one of them being a 20-year-old woman called Erla Bolladottir, who had an 11-week-old baby at home. They convinced Erla that she witnessed her boyfriend commit a murder and that her mind forced her to bury the memory of it. They even went as far as to write her confession for her because her attempts to ‘remember’ it were too contradictory. She spent a total of 241 days in solitary confinement, and she wasn’t even the one who was put there the longest (her boyfriend, Saevar Ciesielski, spent 741 in solitary confinement).
While intense trauma is known to disorient a person’s memories, it might be even eerier to learn about mass delusions, because it’s such a universal phenomenon. I’m sure almost every one can agree with me that Darth Vader says, “Luke, I am your father”; Curious George has a tail; the Monopoly Man wears a monocle; and obviously it’s spelt ‘Febreeze’. Nope. None of that is true. Sorry for poppin’ your bubble, but all of those ‘memories’ you have are from something called the Mandela Effect. It’s a phenomenon in which an individual or, more commonly, large groups of people, have a false or distorted collective memory. Some may say it’s proof of alternate realities, but it can probably be attributed to the frailty of the human mind.
The concept of false memories was pioneered by Pierre Janet and, more famously, Sigmund Freud. As someone with lots of… interesting theories (Try Googling ‘Oedipus Complex’ or ‘Penis Envy’), I was intrigued to know what Freud thought of memory. The opening line of Chapter 7 in The Psychopathology of Everyday Life reads: “If anyone should feel inclined to overestimate the state of our present knowledge of mental life, a reminder of the function of memory is all that would be needed to force him to be more modest” (Freud, 1901). In other words, Freud believed that memories serve as a limiting ‘screening’ from the self, protecting our consciousness from experiencing a type of destabilizing or uncanny knowledge about goals, desires, or purposes. He first encountered this insight with hysterical patients, where he claimed symptoms of hysteria were the representations of deeply repressed memories that were too overwhelming to be brought into consciousness.
So, it seems that memories are quite limited by human awareness. Yet, without our memories, we would have no way of constructing individualistic versions of the self, the infinite mass of things that make us uniquely us, because we wouldn’t have any knowledge or remembrance about our past self, thus eliminating the possibility for a self to exist. Despite this instability of knowing who we are and what makes us who we are, or whether our memories are real or something our minds falsified, I think the most important part of feeling grounded in your awareness of being is to enjoy living in the moment.
To be in a constant state of liminality between past and future is to fully absorb every experience of the present as it occurs. For instance, when someone is speaking to you, what do you notice aside from the words they speak? If you’re eating something for the first time, do you immediately try to compare the taste to something of a past experience, or let it become a new one? Do you strive to know exactly what kind of person you are, or do you just let yourself be?
The Plant
Exodus of the Poor: A Modern Tale of Montreal
KIANA LALAVI Staff Writer
The Valerie Plante administration is currently going through a Pinocchio fiasco. Among other lies, the administration tries hard to sell a progressive, poppin’ image of itself through sham sustainable social justice programs.
They try to sell themselves as super green and progressive. However, under the pretense of having more socially fair sustainable planning, they have entered Parc-Extension, causing eco-gentrification and contributing to the displacement and impoverishment of residents in one of Canada’s poorest neighborhoods.
To “answer” the large disparity in tree canopy and its significant impacts on citizens’ health and quality of life, the Plante administration has put in place the “Vert le Nord” initiative. The initiative aims to reduce the effects of heat waves in Montreal’s hot spots and was kickstarted in Parc-Ex, the neighborhood with the lowest canopy cover in all of Montreal.
Although with the seemingly good intentions of reducing social inequality and contributing to sustainable development, the initiative has had terrible consequences due to a lack of actual care about residents, and the lack of consideration regarding the neighborhood’s already precarious situation.
Even before the Vert le Nord project was initiated, there was already much concern about gentrification within Parc-Ex because of the new UdeM MIL campus. The campus brings a sudden influx of demand for the neighborhood’s “cheap” affordable houses on the behalf of rich and middle-class students. The arrival of these students causes illegally high increases in rents by morally twisted landlords who, taking advantage of their tenants’ lack of knowledge regarding their rights, force long-term residents to either pay up or pack up.
As a resident expresses, within a month’s time, the owner of his home asked for 100$ more in monthly fees without any valid reason, representing an increase of 13.33% in his rent over a single month. For reference, the Tribunal Administratif du Logement’s recommended rent increase ranges between 1.28% to 3.73% for 2022, so this huge spike is 5 times above the legal rate.
Sadly, this pre-existing dumpster fire is only made worse by the greening project, which has contributed to the fanning of the flames, causing a significant increase to Parc Ex’s gentrification, and resulting in one of the first cases of eco-gentrification worldwide.
Undoubtedly, the impacts of eco-gentrification are hard at work in Parc-Ex, but they are hard to account for due to the subtle way in which they work. Simply put, eco-gentrification increases property value, changing the character of a neighborhood by attracting wealthy residents and displacing low-income, long-term residents. Looking at the timeline of events, it is safe to assume that the Vert le Nord initiative, along with the inauguration of MIL, has contributed to skyrocketing rents by 25% over the past 3 years, an increase 6 to 20 times over the TAL’s legal guidelines. This greening project is also most probably at the root of a rather big increase in municipal taxes, which has gone up by close to 1.5% in P-E, in 2022.
Through greening projects like these, the municipality aims to reduce intense heat waves and give better lung health and quality of life to the residents of Parc-Ex. However potentially good for the environment, their
actions have many negative social impacts. By greening, revitalizing, and marketing Parc-Ex as a more highend place to live, the administration is pushing out the poor, instead welcoming more “respectable” middle-class students and families. Thus, a question arises: How can the Plante administration possibly claim to have the best interest of the poor and marginalized residents at heart when the very project created for them is forcing them out of their homes?
Worst of all, residents are supposed to be grateful for all these marvelous measures making Parc-Ex more beautiful, green, and sustainable– but for whom?!
Obviously, this is yet another example of a wish left unfulfilled and Montrealers let down by their representative.
Perhaps you now feel discouraged or saddened, or maybe you just don’t care, but regardless of what you may or may not feel, I want to offer some easy actions which we can all take to help Parc-Ex residents. First and foremost, we can raise awareness about the gentrification in Parc-Ex and discourage fellow students from moving there. Furthermore, we can join protests to demand the creation of more social housing in Parc-Ex and surrounding areas. We can volunteer with local legal aid groups to inform residents of their rights so they may resist illegal rent increases. Finally, we can make sure that future green efforts actually respond to locals’ needs, rather than being elitist and top-down. Together, let’s ensure that Montreal truly fulfills its promise of sustainability, fairness, and equality. p p
