The Bull & Bear | Winter 2021 - Healing

feature 4 Zooming Out: Lessons from the Virtual Classroom 14 Healing Through Rage: An 8-Track of Angry Canadian Rockers 24 Mind the Gap: Fixing the Institution’s Unequal Presence in Equity Markets 36 Have a Good Trip: Healing Through Psychedelics

news 8 Angling for an Apartment: Student Housing Obstacles in Milton-Parc and the Plateau 10 Food for Thought: Coping in the Kitchen 12 An Unbearable Winter for Montreal’s Homeless Population

arts & Culture 18 The Star Behind The Wheel in “Driver’s License” 20 Self-Isolating With The Poetry of Emily Dickinson 22 McGill Artists Are Painting Their Own Silver Lining

business & tech 28 Starbucks’ Doubleshot Takes on a New Meaning 30 Helplessly Hoping: A Brighter Outlook on Equity Markets in 2021 32 Time to Book: Leisure Travel in a Post-Pandemic World 34 A Year Behind the Scenes: Thanking the Right People

opinion 40 Seeking Spiritual Healing 42 Honouring the Unique Journeys of Sexual Violence Survivors 44 From Old School to New School: Mending my Relationship with Academics

Maya Abramson Executive Editor

As vaccination efforts ramp up in Canada, and some in-person activities return to McGill campus, we are undoubtedly reaching a turning point. While we acknowledge all that has been lost due to COVID-19, it seems like we can now begin to feel optimistic about the future.

When choosing this theme we took inspiration from Montreal icon Leonard Cohen, whose song ‘Come Healing’ welcomes relief in dark times: “O, solitude of longing / Where love has been confined / Come healing of the body / Come healing of the mind.”

Some of our writers took this opportunity to share the things that bring them peace and comfort while we wait for a return to normal, and others wrote about the things they most look forward to doing once we can finally put this time behind us. Other pieces look at pre-existing problems that the pandemic has illuminated, and how some of the many adjustments in this time will actually change our world for the better.

As I prepare to graduate McGill this spring, I am forced to look toward the future. I am so grateful for the past four years at the Bull & Bear, and I am especially thankful for this opportunity to focus on the positive in a difficult time. May this digital “print” issue be a reminder of all that we have to be hopeful about.

executive board

editorial board

Business unit

executive Editor

news editors

finance officer

Managing Editor

opinion editors

general manager

Maya Abramson

(Editorial)

Rose Bostwick

Managing Editor

(Operations & Business) Clariza-Isabel Castro

Business Director Megan Abellera

Media Director Drake Wong

Web Editor Oliver Habert

Design Director Erin Sass

Andie Habert & Claire Chang Sarah Sylvester & Linnea Vidger

arts & culture editors

Alice Guo

sales Coordinators

Collin Wang, Joseph Cressatti

Sam Shepherd & Sarah Rose Manuszak

business & tech Editors

Rohan Roychoudhury & Youcef Sahnoune

copy editors

Rohaim Khan

Olivia Whetstone, Asa Kohn, Maria Hernandez, Devan Greevy

sales managers

Claudio Cichi, Diti Jain, Janav Valgi, Joanna Nguyen, Futong Zhang

photographers

Bella Carver, Athena Paramithiotis, Melis May Sarfati, Brian Schatteman, Megan Kuo

Podcast Producer Sarah Farb

operations team Anna Marukhnyak, Atussa Kian, Jessica Truax, Melis May Sarfati, Ece Sitki

Erin Sass

Design Director

Illustration, layout, and creative direction @erin_sass_design | www.erinsass.com

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Zooming Out:

Lessons from the Virtual Classroom

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by Andie Habert and Claire Chang

The last year of remote learning has been an eye-opening experience. Retaining the discipline to stay on top of virtual classes while caring for mental and physical health has proved to be the ultimate test of the McGill community’s resilience. As professors traded in their blazers for hoodies, and lecterns for kitchen tables, both parties attempted to navigate the new, complex dynamics that accompany virtual learning. For some, this physical separation has effectively eliminated any sort of classroom collegiality, while others have experienced a newfound humanity through Zoom.

last year. I love teaching, but I didn’t love the online experience.”

Lander, who is known to have what he described as somewhat of a “cultlike following” for his engaging lecture style, expressed the difficulty of trying to make introductory-level material interesting without the classroom energy.

“As anyone who has taken classes with me would know, I need a live audience… I need to feed off of laughter and that humorous environment, so I can push you to your limit academically, while at the same time smiling Dr. Moshe Lander, a course lecturer it off as me just being a carefree sort in McGill’s Economics department, is of guy… with asynchronous delivery, one of many professors who have ex- that doesn’t translate.” perienced the unique difficulties online platforms present to connecting In past years, Lander has enjoyed the with students. This year, Lander opted opportunity to mentor students who for an asynchronous delivery method, chose to visit his office hours, asking given that COVID restrictions left his for advice on career paths, choosing students scattered around the world, a major, or life in general. Yet, he exspanning various time zones. As such, pressed the inability to create these Lander believed that live Zoom lec- meaningful connections with stutures would be an inequitable option. dents in an online setting: “When it’s a pre-recorded video, you don’t have Unfortunately, as a consequence of that connective tissue that forms outthis decision, Lander expressed feel- side of class hours. There is nobody ing disconnected from his students. in line when class is done. The screen “I’m definitely finding a particular goes black and it’s over.” phrase I heard to be true–– that it’s double the work, for the same pay, While Lander faced unexpected conwith half the fun. I think that that re- sequences when forced to adjust and ally hit home for me, that that’s been adapt to an entire year online, in other the experience over the course of the cases, COVID-19 may have served 5

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as an equalizer between students and professors. Perhaps the casualness of these interactions has served to humanize student-professor relationships.

Jemark Earle, SSMU President, recounts situations where his professors were forced to pause lectures in order to deal with at-home emergencies or their children and pets running through their Zoom backgrounds.

“You start to see the professors as real humans,” Earle said. “So that’s something that’s really been beneficial, at least in my experience.”

Being able to see professors and other students in the context of their homes and lives, and forming more casual and human connections as a result, is one of the “positives” of being online, says Earle. Some professors, like Art History professor Dr. Matthew Hunter, have found an increased emphasis on compassion and humanity in a remote setting.

learning and it makes my teaching Gurvey has only had limited contact better.” with the McGill administration, he has appreciated the sensitivity shown The increase in human connection towards student concerns by the Dethat Earle and Hunter describe see- sautels Faculty of Management ading in their courses and lectures ex- ministration, particularly Associate tends beyond the Zoom classroom to Dean Benjamin Croitoru. the Zoom meeting. Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Programs) In general, the recognition that everyChristopher Buddle describes new one—students, professors, staff, and connections he’s formed, even with administrators alike—is under a trecolleagues he’s worked with for years. mendous amount of stress helps them be more understanding in their conaccording to Earle. Bud“The online university ex- versations, dle agreed that the sentiment “we’re perience has reduced a lot all in this together” has rang true over of the hierarchies because the last year, a connection and understanding that he hopes carries into the it’s allowed for some transition to in-person learning in Fall 2021. personal connections.”

Buddle noted that people in work or learning environments often assume a certain persona, whether it be of an instructor or a student. The personas we enter in the physical classroom are very different from those of our home space, and being virtual has created Hunter observed that Zoom discus- the opportunity to foster these more sions place the professor and their human and casual connections withstudents on equal footing, compared out the restrictions of those personas. to lecturing in a large lecture hall with a microphone to onlooking stu- Earle also mentioned ways the addents. The increased casualness and ministration was able to extend these openness to discussion created by re- more casual connections to their mote delivery and the “humbling” ex- conversations with SSMU and the perience of working from home has student body, saying there are many allowed for a different professor-stu- more “informal” conversations, and dent connection. even when they’re formal, there’s a “much more humanistic and personal “I appreciate the ‘levelling’ functions attitude” towards them. of Zoom discussions,” Hunter said.

“Students seem to be more inclined Jonathan Gurvey, Management Unto voice critical views—to ask direct dergraduate Society president, secquestions and press for follow up— onded Earle’s experiences in dealing in new ways. All of that is great for with university administrators. While

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“The online university experience has reduced a lot of the hierarchies because it’s allowed for some personal connections, and I think that’s a very, very big positive,” Buddle said. “Of course the hierarchies are still there, because someone has to assess the work and there are structures that have to exist … but having that human element has been something special, and I think we’ll carry a lot of that forward.”

Specifically, Earle and Buddle hope to see the increased level of student engagement and feedback continue.

Earle mentioned “there has been a big shift” in that students are now more eager to give professors feedback on their courses and content delivery because they see how that feedback has direct impacts on their education.

The past year has also brought an increase in student engagement and communication. Buddle mentioned

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that the administration has held five tional identity of McGill. Landor six town halls this year that have er expressed particular concerns had audiences of over a thousand about the 2020-2021 first-year people; on March 12, there was a students returning to campus. town hall regarding Fall 2021 that saw 2,000 people in attendance, a “I think that some of these [curturnout Buddle calls “incredible.” rent] U0 students could have their This increase in engagement may adjustment-to-university moment be due to the fact that online town coming next September. They’re halls and forums are a smaller com- going to realize that maybe they don’t have a first year of universimitment and are easier to attend. ty under their belt, because there’s However, Buddle joked that “you more to the story than just what can’t replace OAP online,” rec- they experienced in that year onognizing that many aspects of the line,” Lander said. “Whatever the university experience cannot be culture is of McGill, the absence replicated in similar or better ways of being live on campus,… the absence of being around other online. students regularly cannot be com“The very core of teaching and pensated for by having a chatroom, learning is about interaction, and or message board. They [lost] that talking, and being in the same institutional learning of ‘This is space,” Buddle said. “We have to the way it works at McGill.’” guard a little bit against going back against all the comforts we had… While the McGill community recan’t we say: ‘how can we do it a builds for Fall 2021 and the years little differently and learn from the to come, reflecting on the last great things that did happen when year has made clear that certain aspects of the online experience we were online?’” evoked by the pandemic should Hunter echoed the idea that there become permanent fixtures of the are positive lessons to be taken and student experience, while other implemented as the university tran- longstanding practices are in dessitions to in-person learning and re- perate need of renovation. builds the community. “If this year has taught me anything, it is to try “We have to do a little bit of soul not to look too far down the road. searching about what it means…

Vaccination, safe re-entry to cam- to say what’s special about Mcpus: all that still feels very far away. Gill, what’s special about being Whenever it does happen, I hope I a classroom, and we’re realizing will remember to keep the accent that it’s a lot,” Buddle said. “We’re not an online institution, we’re an on generosity and compassion.” institution that’s based on human Accompanying this optimism, how- connection, and I think that’s goever, are real concerns about the ing to be really noticeable when transition to in-person learning, and we’re back to in-person learning on a larger scale, the future institu- next fall.”

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Angling for an Apartment: Student Housing Obstacles in Milton-Parc and the Plateau

by Makenna Woodward-Crackower

On May 1 each year, crowds of McGill students fill the streets of Milton-Parc and the Plateau, enlisting moving trucks—or just their friends— to transport boxes of belongings and furniture across the neighborhood into new apartments. This past spring, however, the streets were emptier, with many opting not to renew or sign new leases because of online classes.

70 percent of McGill students are from outside of Quebec. When COVID-19 forced the university to move online in March 2020, many of these students who were renting apartments in the city chose to leave Montreal and stay with their families instead. In addition, fewer new immigrants were entering the city due to border closures, causing the housing market to lose customers.

Since the 2020-2021 academic year has been remote, the lack of students renting apartments in areas like Milton-Parc and the Plateau has caused vacancy rates in the city to rise; according to a study done by CORPIQ, Montreal vacancy rates are six times higher now than they were the previous spring.

In the struggle to get new tenants, apartment rental companies had to lower their rent prices in order to compete in the struggling market. This is highly unusual – rent prices usually increase in incremental amounts 8

each year in order to keep up with inflation. Ali Farasat, the president at YULIV, one of the top rental agencies for students in the Milton-Parc area, explains how they decided to handle their rent prices in response to increased vacancy.

ly rent of Ikeda’s apartment is going up by $200 next year.

Saman Gholami, a third year Mechanical Engineering student, is also moving from his current apartment, partially because of difficulties with his landlord, but also because his monthly rent is increasing by $100. He explained that the noticeable increase in rent prices at apartments he’s visited thus far doesn’t really make sense: “Space is a major issue in most apartments and they all haven’t seen any major renovations, making the price tag usually not worth it.”

“The demand for housing this year is much lower, but it isn’t catastrophic,” he stated. Many rental agencies in more desperate vacancy situations are offering a few months off of rent in some listings in order to entice potential clients. Others have been forced to increase rent prices to stay afloat. “We haven’t needed to increase our rent … some [rent prices for our apartments] Safety during the pandemic has also were brought down but most stayed played a major role in the decisions the same.” people have had to make over the past year. Even if vaccines are rolled out Unfortunately for many renters, the and new cases slow down, finding expected influx of students in the Mil- roommates who choose to obey govton-Parc and Plateau areas from 2020 ernment safety restrictions on social to 2021 has been a factor for an in- gatherings adds to the difficulties of crease in prices for certain apartments, apartment hunting. especially in order to make up for the massive vacancy rate of the past year. “I can say that the biggest reasons I wouldn’t sign would be if the ten“I’m sure landlords are raising the ants were not COVID-conrent on their properties for the next scious,” explained Ikeda. year just to recoup from their losses “Obviously it is a huge from this one,” stated Atsushi Ikeda, deciding factor for everya U2 English literature student, who one, but it’s interesting to is searching for an apartment for Fall note how that’s become 2021. “[Raising rent prices] is al- such a specific part of lookready standard practice anyway, and ing for new roomies or tenof course they’d double down, what ants.” Ikeda also mentioned with the ‘New Normal’.” The month- that some people who have

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come to visit his current apartment are choosing to move out of theirs because of roommates who have ignored COVID-19 restrictions.

even more difficult. One anonymous McGill Reddit user wrote: “being an international student who hasn’t even got to experience the city yet, I’m clueless as to how I’m supposed to Shared living situations can be made find a place to stay for September … more stressful because of COVID-19. I’m pretty worried.”

Some household members have had different ideologies concern- Due to COVID-19 safety regulations, ing COVID-19-related safety, and in and because of the number of potenmany cases, roommates being forced tial new student tenants who aren’t in to stay inside together has created the country, some apartment rental tense group dynamics. Farasat said agencies have had to come up with that he even had to intervene in a new ways of letting potential tenants housing situation between roommates sign a lease without them ever setting when one was sending death threats foot in the apartment. Many compato the other. “In some situations it nies, including YULIV, have opted was very hostile,” explained Farasat, for pre-recorded and video chat tours, “we’ve seen a little bit more of that the inclusion of floor plans in their this year.” listings, and electronic lease signings to ensure safety.

On February 23, McGill announced that Fall 2021 would be mostly in-per- For first year students who have never son, meaning that students will likely lived on their own or with roommates be expected to be in Montreal. For in Montreal, the upcoming school some international students re-enter- year presents several new hurdles. Aning the city, this might mean having other anonymous McGill U0 student to quarantine in a hotel for three days on Reddit and paying up to $2000. Once entering the city, finding housing could be

wrote: “I could get an apartment but then I don’t know whether I should live alone or room [with] the few friends I’ve met online [which seems risky].”

Fortunately for McGill students, Montreal apartments are among the cheapest in major Canadian cities. This year, according to Padmapper, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,350, down 12.9 percent from last year. Two-bedroom apartments are similar, averaging $1,670 a month, down 13.9 percent from last year. Montreal has had the second-largest decrease in rent price among all Canadian cities, after Toronto.

While the chaos of apartment-hunting has been unprecedented in the past year for McGill students, the Milton-Parc and Plateau areas might just start returning to normalcy in the fall.

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by Tali Pukier Many university students find food preparation laborious and time consuming; yet, remote learning has given students more time in the kitchen to improve their culinary skills, and in some cases, to share their love of cooking on Instagram.

Through these accounts, food has helped students realize their passions, take time for themselves, and find order amid this year’s chaos.

You have three exciting opportunities a day to make something fun… and I see [cooking] as a realistic creative outlet for me.”

Rogers started her Instagram account near the end of March 2020, after encouragement from her friends to share the meals she cooked.

“At the start of Fall semester, I started to reach more people outside my Blythe Rogers: @blythesbites immediate circle, and began incorporating more elements to my account.

Blythe Rogers, U2 sociology, com- Over time I realized I had built a communications, and urban systems, munity that was uplifting and posispoke to the Bull & Bear about the tive.” benefits that cooking provided her.

Rogers said that her relationship @blythesbites incorporates meal inwith food “changed for the better spiration and Rogers’ take on diet in the past year. It allowed me to culture. As her following continues engage in something that I love, to grow, she spoke on how she’s been while improving my mentality able to keep up with cooking even surrounding eating.” when school is busy: “It’s positive reinforcement, but it goes deeper than Lockdown gave Rogers the that. I want to make an influence on time to reflect on her rela- people that I can tangibly see, and tionship with food, and sharing [my passion with food] is allowed her to realize her something that allows me to do that.” passion for cooking and baking. “We eat every Rogers has kept her passion for cookday. Cooking gives me ing in mind when pursuing activithe opportunity to put ties that go beyond her kitchen. She time and energy into volunteers at Santropol Roulant, a nourishing my body Montreal based social organization in a way that makes focused on working with sustainable me feel really good. agriculture to provide meal delivery

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to people who have lost their sense her friends and family through someof autonomy. Rogers noted that she thing that she loves. would not have volunteered if not for remote learning, sharing, “I wouldn’t Emma, Polly, Stella, and Taylor: have had the time. Volunteering has @456_nomz helped me realize what my passions are. I want to go into food security Emma, Polly, Stella, and Taylor are and urban planning.” second year students in chemical engineering, arts and science, cognitive Jaimie Muscat: @midweeksupper science, and management. Their first year out of residence gave the group U3 sociology, communications, and of four the newfound freedom to cook GSFS student Jaimie Muscat has at their own leisure. They capitalized grown up around food. Her parents on this privilege, incorporating new own a food company, and cooking and exciting meals into their weekly has been one of her passions her routines. whole life. “Food is my life, my day revolves around what I’m going to The four cook together most nights, eat, it’s really exciting for me.” making recipes that are exciting and collaborative. “Now, we treat cookJaimie reflected on how the past year ing as a study break. It’s social, and offered new opportunities to enhance it breaks up our day,” said Emma. her time spent in the kitchen. “The They use dinner as a time to decombiggest thing that has changed was press, relax, and regroup after a day of that during regular times everyone studying separately. “We have meals is cooking short quick meals, mak- we especially like; rice rolls, stir fry, ing recipes that carry over to the next spaghetti squash,” the others chimed day. Now, because we’re home all the in. When they don’t cook together, time, my roommates and I—most- they ensure they eat at the same time. ly because I lead the cooking—have “We have an impact on what the rest pretty much every meal together. Be- of us cook [when we do it separateing together, [delegating] tasks and ly]. If everyone around me is cookeating together is something we all ing something it makes me more inlook forward to, which has been a big clined to do it too,” said Emma. change [since lockdown].”

They started their Instagram, Jaimie started her instagram @mid- @456_nomz, at the start of the weeksupper out of convenience. Winter 2021 semester. “We “Because I’m cooking fun recipes started taking random pictures anyway, I thought, why not make it of our food, then it evolved as into an Instagram account? It’s real- Polly came up with the name ly rewarding to see people sending 456nomz,” said Stella, payme photos of dishes they’ve made, it ing tribute to Pins and Parc makes me feel credible. Also, it’s re- Street, where the four live. ally great for me to write my recipes “We got really creative down, so I have an archive which I with the captions, postthink is really cool.” The lockdown ing [our first picture] gave her the opportunity to allow her about soup and passion to flourish, bringing together cheese

strings. The part I love most is sitting together and coming up with captions.”

For them, time in the kitchen allows the four to check up on each other and become closer in the process. “When one of us is down, we’ll cook or bake something to cheer them up. Mealtime is a time when we can open up about what’s been on our minds,” noted Stella, recalling a stressful time in the past year.

But it’s not always serious. Throughout their year, many culinary mishaps have occurred with the group, including one tofu faux pas a few months back. “I learned that you don’t mix hot oil and water… learned that one the hard way,” Taylor said, the rest of them laughing in the background.

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An Unbearable Winter for Montrea On January 9, Quebec implemented a province-wide curfew from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am, later extended to 9:30pm on March 17. Premier François Legault declared the curfew mandatory for everyone, including the homeless population.

Many advocates have spoken out about how the curfew was carelessly applied to the homeless community. “[The homeless] have nowhere to go home to once the curfew starts. That reasoning alone should exempt unhoused people from the curfew,” explained U4 student Sophie Hart, the founder of Meals for Milton Parc, a community project that provides resources for the homeless community near McGill.

“André lost his life hiding from the police in a portapotty in our community so he wouldn’t be subject to a fine he couldn’t afford,” shares Hart. “André was found only steps away from the shelter, where he could have spent the night had it not been forced to close early.”

After André’s death, Montreal Mayor, Valérie Plante, called on the Quebec government to exempt the homeless from the curfew. These efforts proved futile. Legault stated in a press conference that “if we change the rules and say you cannot give a ticket to someone that is saying he is homeless, you may have some people who may pretend to be homeless.” The Premier also noted that there were enough beds in shelters throughout the provCurfew disproportionately harmed ince to accommodate the homeless those experiencing homelessness, population, and thus saw no need for which was emphasized when Raphael special circumstances.

Napa André, a 51-year-old, died tragically in a portable toilet overnight. Dr. Eric Latimer, professor and lead John Tessier, Intervention Coordina- investigator of a study on Montreal’s tor at Open Door shelter located in homeless, explains that there are a downtown Montreal, said André number of reasons why these original was a frequent client. assumptions do not hold up in practise and make for a highly difficult

situation for the homeless population.

Latimer points out that “the lives of homeless people, who are often struggling with addictions and mental illness, are often not carefully planned and organized. It is unrealistic to expect all of them to neatly sort themselves by 8 pm every night into the available beds.”

Many people experiencing homelessnes choose not to sleep in shelters because of issues like bed bugs, lack of privacy, and restrictive rules. Some shelters restrict those who are not medicated for mental illness, while others have rules prohibiting intoxication, a history of violence, and pets.

All of these are barriers preventing access to shelters that are considered “available” in the eyes of the government.

Moreover, Avery McClure argues that it’s a waste of resources to worry about giving fines to a population that will not be able to pay them. “They are not in COVID protection mode like the general population is; they are in survival mode from the elements at this point in time.”

Witnessing this situation in Montreal, various McGill student-run organizations took the initiative to assist the homeless community directly. Meals for Milton Parc provides meals three times a week to unhoused people in the area, and is working to distribute

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al’s Homeless Population winter necessities donated by community members with ties to Royal Victoria COVID Shelter and the Open Door Shelter.

give us a good reason as to why they were kicking people out; we didn’t understand how we are safe enough to house people during the day and at 9:31 pm it becomes unsafe,” said “We have a responsibility as commu- Tessier. “We wanted to keep people nity members to stand in solidarity inside, and we could not.” with our unhoused neighbours,” states Hart. “We need to do what we can to Eventually, Quebec Superior Court support mutual aid funds, community Justice Chantal Masse ruled the organizations, and unhoused people homeless population exempt from directly. ... Communities take care of the curfew. She made this ruling on each other and we have a lot of com- the basis that the current restrictions munity members in Milton-Parc who threaten the safety and health of the need extra support this winter.” homeless, which brought back hope to the communities and for the future The Open Door Shelter had to adapt of the pandemic. its operations in order to comply with government health measures. Un- With the lifting of the curfew for the like other sectors whose activity has homeless community, the Open Door slowed down since the onset of the Shelter has been able to provide more pandemic, according to Tessier, the services but stays constrained by the shelter’s activity increased since the health measures due to COVID-19. outbreak of COVID-19 last March.

“We still have to turn people away “When public health officials asked every day with the [COVID-19] outus to close at 9:30 pm they didn’t break in the homeless community,

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and the health measures,” explained Tessier.

Tessier also lamented the slow implementation of measures by the city of Montreal for shelters. “We had asked for COVID-19 testing on-site since the beginning of the pandemic, and we were always told ‘it’s not possible or it’s not necessary.’ With the second wave, there is full testing in the span of a week in hotels, so obviously it was possible, they just did not want to do it here.” Since February 8, 2021, the shelter has now started to test people directly at the shelter for COVID-19.

Dr. Latimer believes that “at the end of the day, COVID-19 has, among other effects, highlighted the moral imperative to end homelessness.

There are not that many people who are chronically homeless in Montreal—in the order of 3000. We could … ensure that everyone has a decent place to live.”

In these difficult times, shelters are grateful for the community support they have received. Open Door says local businesses are “overstocked and [have] donated things to us; the community has been amazing and really helpful and we are very appreciative of that.”

As this brutal winter comes to an end, it seems shelter operators, and activists supporting those experiencing homelessness are trying to move beyond the pain towards a more promising future.

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ARTS & CULTURE

by Sam Shepherd & Sarah Rose Manuszak In a recent interview for the CBC radio show “Q,” Alanis Morrisette said, “Anger is such a powerful, beautiful emotion that can move worlds, it can set boundaries, it can help us show up, it can help us vote, it can help us not tolerate certain circumstances anymore.”

In 2021, we have seen what anger can do when channeled for purposes other than violence or hate. Anger has helped set forth powerful activist movements that have reckoned with the ugly reality of racism in Canada, and it has helped us process terrible emotions that have arisen during a uniquely stressful couple of semesters. So, rather than sharing sad or slow music that relates to the theme of healing, we decided to channel our inner Alanises and showcase some angry Canadian artists who prove that, hey, sometimes it’s okay to recover through rage.

Sam’s Side A “Narcissus” by Alanis Morrissette When it comes to Alanis Morrissette, there were a lot of songs I could have picked. Of course, there’s “You Oughta Know,” the fiery breakup track and number one song choice for drunk 14

millennials at karaoke parties. Then there’s “Hands Clean,” a true story about Alanis’s sexual exploitation by a manager in the music industry when she was only fourteen.

But for this playlist, I decided to go with “Narcissus” from the album Under Rug Swept. In the song, Alanis sings about unrequited love for an emotionally immature boy. “I know you’ve never really taken responsibility / I know you’ve never really listened to a woman” she speak-sings, listing the many, many irritating traits of her partner. Every time I listen to the song, I am caught off guard by the chorus: “Why, why do I try to love you? / Try to love you when you really don’t want me to.” Despite his countless flaws and her unreciprocated affection, Alanis can’t let go of her infatuation for a mediocre man. Now, doesn’t that sound like a McGill student singing about a Mile End boy?

“The Virus” by A Tribe Called Red Credit for this entry goes to the department at CBC Music, whose music series, “Reclaimed,” introduced me to a range of inspiring North American Indigenous protest music, including A Tribe Called Red. The band, consisting of members from the

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Cayuga, Nipissing, and Mohawk Nations, fuses traditional powwow drum beats with electro-dance-music.

The result? Radical protest music you can get down to at the club. (Or, more realistically, your bedroom.)

For this list, I went with the song “The Virus” from the band’s most recent album, We Are The Halluci Nation. Using techno music, A Tribe Called Red sings about land dispossession, proselytizing Christian missionaries, and the spread of deadly, contagious diseases. The beat drops at the line, “We are not a conquered people,” reminding us that despite the damage of settler colonialism, Indigenous Canadians continue to resist and assert their sovereignty to this day. In 2021, as we all contend with mutating strains of anti-Indigenous racism and a new pandemic, A Tribe Called Red’s powerful beat of resistance takes on a radical new meaning.

Their songs may be emotional, but that’s not to say this legendary Canadian folk band can’t get angry as well. “New Orleans is Sinking” is a short but powerful rager, complete with an impressive extended electric guitar riff. Using a metaphor that has become all too literal since the song’s release in 1989, Downie sings about how he would rather abandon the city he knows than watch it deteriorate into a place he can no longer recognize. Sounds like the perfect refrain for when a recent wave of Montreal construction makes your favourite campus bar inaccessible, or for when your favourite Mile End cafe gets replaced with yet another Starbucks.

job interviews inside the back corner of Santropol restaurant. Reading over McGill students’ resumes, it’s easy to construe every minor club position that you never actually attended as an outstanding achievement. “Oh, you’re the VP Internal of the Wine-Tasting Society?” “Oh, you have a perfect GPA because you minored in a language you already speak?” “That don’t impress me much” because your job is probably going to be performed by a robot in two years’ time.

Yet, Shania Twain’s song is more than just an indictment against LinkedIn bros and egotistical overachievers.

Twain points to how we should search for warmth and commitment in our “That Don’t Impress Me Much” by romantic partners, not just glamour Shania Twain and glitz. Deep stuff for a pop star There’s something distinctly McGil- from the 90s, if you ask me! lian about Shania Twain’s anthem of utter unenthusiasm. “That Don’t Impress Me Much” sounds like it was written after a round “New Orleans is Sinking” by The of rapid-fire Tragically Hip In October 2017, Canada lost one of the greatest rock musicians in the nation’s history: The Tragically Hip’s lead singer, Gord Downie. Alongside his five bandmates, Downie devoted his life to making music that forever changed how we appreciate Canada’s magnificent outdoors.

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Sarah’s Side B “Rebellion (Lies)” by Arcade Fire Montreal-born band Arcade Fire is known for its transcendent indie anthems and cross-genre hits. “Rebellion (Lies),” from the band’s 2004 debut album Funeral, takes the listener through their own kind of cathartic temper tantrum. From the first lines, this song tells me what I need to hear when I can’t find the motivation to get out of bed and log into my 8:30 Zoom meeting: “Sleeping is giving in / No matter what the time is / Sleeping is giving in / So lift those heavy eyelids.”

In maintaining your rebelliousness, you have to keep working.

As much as I’m sure we all feel the urge to rebel against nearly a year of forced isolation and the constant lie that it’s all getting better soon, channelling your rage and rebellion into a short burst of emotional release while dancing to “Rebellion (Lies)” is a healthy way to work through your pandemic anger.

“Complicated” by Avril Lavigne No Canadian mixtape would be complete without the queen of pop-punk herself, Avril Lavigne. The woman who single-handedly made it cool for girls to wear ties, Avril Lavigne is herself a microcosm of the early 2000s. This timeless banger is all about loving and accepting yourself As Wyn Butler croons, “Come as you are; there’s no need to make it on baby, in our dreams / We so complicated. When you have concan live our misbehavior,” fidence in your genuine self, people will respond to your individuality. the lyrics take on a new meaning, as the “misbehavior” we’re craving “ In these difficult times in our dreams has beof seemingly never-endcome something as simple as going to ing restrictions, we hope the club with that listening to this our friends.

playlist can help you all release some of that hard-earned rage.”

I dare you to listen to “Complicated” without singing along. You’ll find yourself believing the lyrics: “Chill out, whatcha yellin’ for? / Lay back,

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it’s all been done before.” At a time when we are all struggling to find motivation, sometimes it’s nice to give yourself a break and remind yourself to take everything a little less seriously.

“Rockstar” by Nickelback I love Nickelback. At a time when everything is topsy-turvy, it’s comforting to know that Chad Kroeger will always be there to look at this photograph. Although Kroeger’s marriage to Avril Lavigne was short-lived, lasting only from 2013 to 2015, their music comes together on this mix to embody the perfect Canadian ragerock. In “Rockstar,” Nickelback takes a satirical look at the rock industry.

Being washed-up comes with the territory of being famous; in wanting to be a rockstar, Kroeger needs to give up the individuality that Lavigne urges us to build up in “Complicated.”

“Protest Song” by Broken Social Scene Listening to Broken Social Scene will make you reminisce on your good ol’ emo days, whether or not you’re currently experiencing a pandemic-induced emo resurgence. Songs like “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” allow you to revel in teenage angst. Although we have to remain separated, “Protest Song” encourages us to remember that we exist in the “Rockstar” is a great song to listen to larger historical context of the contin- on a walk up slushy Mount Royal. Try ual fight for equality. not to slip and fall while imagining living the high life in LA. Maybe “Protest Song” connects you to histo- one day you’ll “trade this life for ry and roots you in the assertion that fortune and fame,” swapping humanity will continue to persevere. chilly Canada for sunny HollyThe listener is implored to “Just take wood just like Kroeger did. As it, just take it like you’re strong,” a much as I miss “standing in reminder that, no matter what, you line to clubs I’ll never get in,” can get through this. At a time when it’s nice to imagine throwing it feels like we’ve pressed pause on a rockstar bash at your hillissues of collective social justice un- top house with your famous til it’s safe to gather, the refrain that friends.

“We’re just the latest in the longest rank and file list / Ever to exist in the history of the protest song” provides comfort in the fact that the fight for social justice will remain strong after the pandemic.

Check out our mix on Spotify and Apple Music by searching “Healing Through Rage” on either streaming service.

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The Star Behind the Wheel in “Driver’s License”

by Hannah Wallace

At the beginning of 2020, I fell head over heels with the Disney+ show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Amid long reading lists and gloomy cold days, this TV series offered me a much-needed distraction from the real world. The meta show takes place at the high school where High School Musical was shot and follows a group of students who perform the classic Disney Channel songs.

While I loved the clever mix of original songs and old favorites, as well as the quirky cast of characters, Olivia Rodrigo was who made the show stand out for me. Rodrigo plays Nini Salazar, a timid musical theatre enthusiast who decides to try out for the lead role of Gabriella.

ality, made the show all the more entertaining. During filming, producer Tim Federle offered Rodrigo the opportunity to write two songs: one by herself and one with her co-star Joshua Bassett. When I wasn’t rewatching the show, I was listening to her songs on repeat, convinced that one day she would take the world by storm.

achingly relatable. In it, Rodrigo reflects on the bittersweet event of getting her driver’s license, lamenting over the fact that the one person with whom she was looking forward to sharing this milestone isn’t a part of her life anymore. The line, “you said forever, now I drive alone past your street” hurts my heart.

On January 8th, my hopes became reality when Rodrigo released her debut single, “Driver’s License.” Though I eagerly awaited the midnight release and have been listening to the single on repeat ever since, I didn’t expect the song to blow up as quickly as it did. Within days of its release, stars like Taylor Swift and Niall Horan were talking about the song online, it was being used in hundreds of thousands of TikToks, and Jimmy Fallon did a sea shanty cover of it. Rodrigo reached 100 million streams within nine days, making it the fastest any song has hit this milestone. At 17 million streams, the song also broke the record for the most Spotify streams in a single day.

Whether or not you’ve been in a romantic relationship, everyone can relate to the heartbreaking moment when you realize that the person you used to share everything with is no longer a part of your life. It’s obvious that this song came from a place of vulnerability, and Rodrigo’s raw honesty is what makes it so entrancing.

Olivia Rodrigo expertly uses “Driver’s License” as a space to express all of her pent-up pain and there’s a feeling of catharsis that comes along with the end of the song. She has crafted an intimate listening experience, one that allows listeners to process their own pain alongside her. Sometimes the best way to move on and heal is to accept the full strength of your emotions.

I was particularly a fan of Olivia Rodrigo—who was only sixteen when High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (HSM: TM: TS) was being filmed—because I found it refreshing to see a high school student played by an age-appropriate actor, as this is so seldom the case in the entertainment industry. This authenticity, alongside Despite being a musically simple her killer vocals and vibrant person- song, “Driver’s License” is heart- While I think Olivia Rodrigo’s song18

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writing and vocals speak for themselves, many people have chosen to focus their attention on guessing who the song is about. Lyrics such as “you’re probably with that blonde girl” and “guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me” have people on the internet speculating that the song is about her HSM: TM: TS co-star Joshua Bassett. Bassett plays Nini’s love interest, Ricky Bowen, and their chemistry on the show was so convincing that fans wondered whether it might be more than just a “showmance.” However, Bassett has been spotted these past few months with Sabrina Carpenter, which has led fans to believe that she is the blonde mentioned in “Driver’s License.”

ua Bassett released a song called “Lie Lie Lie,” about someone who’s been spreading lies about him. Even though Bassett wrote this song in 2019, before HSM: TM: TS had aired, people are convinced that this song is about Rodrigo.

While it’s natural to be curious about the subject of “Driver’s License,” I don’t think that should be people’s main focus when talking about this hit single. Rodrigo is an incredibly talented singer, and her song stands on its own. The drama definitely adds to the intrigue of the song, but some articles have gone as far as saying that this intrigue has made this song so popular. The rumor of a love triangle might make someone listen To complicate matters further, a week to the song once, but it’s Rodrigo’s after Rodrigo’s song came out, Josh- heart-wrenching lyrics and impecca-

ble voice that have left people listening to it on repeat.

It doesn’t and shouldn’t matter who “Driver’s License” is about. What matters is that Olivia Rodrigo took something that was incredibly personal and painful and turned it into something beautiful. We need to move away from this misogynistic habit of defining a woman’s talent by the men who surround her. Maybe Bassett did inspire this song, but it’s Rodrigo’s talent alone that is responsible for the success of “Driver’s License.” If this song hadn’t blown up, I am sure that another song later in her career would have. This is just the start of Rodrigo’s flourishing musical career, and I can’t wait to see where this first, smashing success will take her. Keep those roads clear—this artist is just revving her engine.

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Why We Should All Self-Isolate with Emily Dickinson

by Evelyne Eng There may be no better time than the present to curl up in one’s favourite reading couch/office chair/designated Zoom corner and delve into the poetry of Emily Dickinson than in the middle of a pandemic. The American Renaissance-era poet spent much of her time in a quarantine-like state, peering out of her bedroom window in her parents’ home to gather poetic inspiration from her backyard in Amherst, Massachusetts. The fruit of her social distancing is a massive collection of poems, most of which she never saw published during her lifetime. Rather than stifling or claustrophobic, Dickinson’s most famous works are liberal in their exploration of what limited space she had.

ARTS & CULTURE

Dickinson viewed her poetry as a sort of “letter” to be launched into the frightening, faceless public realm.

“This is my letter to the World” accurately expresses the creeping unease I embody every time I post something on social media or email an essay to a professor from my bunker of a bedroom. There is an anxiety attached to this intensely distanced — and, therefore, mediated — form of communication. What if they misunderstand me? How could I possibly convey my true self in a digitized block of writing, or in a cramped, pixelated square? While such concerns are inherent in our generation, the pandemic foregrounds them in a way that Dickinson has already done:

This is my letter to the World That never wrote to Me The simple News that Nature told With tender Majesty Her Message is committed To Hands I cannot see For love of Her - Sweet - countrymen Judge tenderly - of Me The poem’s first two lines convey a particular fear that no one is really paying attention to us anymore.

A mosaic of disjointed faces separated by black squares, who are seldom confident enough to look directly into the camera, doesn’t provide the same validation as in-person encounters. We can’t know if our classmate is looking at us as we drone on about the Spenserian stanza, or if they’re scouring Marketplace for more pandemic plants. Like the speaker of Dickinson’s poem, all we can do is hope that everyone cuts each other a bit of slack and responds openly to the questions in the chat.

In confinement, our minds may enter a harmful thought spiral concerning the extent to which we are missing the spontaneity and stupidity of our twenties.

With “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church - ,” Dickinson arrives to reground us. Here, she displays her expertise on making the most of the domestic.

The gist of the poem is that one need not actually go to church for worship or religious experiences because one’s backyard is teeming with glory.

By “staying at home,” the speaker explains, we can witness the private, everyday wonders of life. Welcome to COVD 119: Intro to Appreciating the Little Things.

Sure, we can no longer get dressed up once a week for soul-feeding social events (which church often is), but we can “just wear [our] Wings” (read: sweatpants, unwashed hair, and a transcendent book). Life doesn’t stop because its structure seems to have collapsed: “instead of getting to Heaven, at last - / [we’re] going, all along.” Housebound is not a synonym for stagnant.

Who better to preach this sermon than a woman of the nineteenth century, a figure who spent a significant part of her lifetime quarantined in the domestic realm with no hope of a vaccine?

Dickinson has much to say to those who “could not stop for Death” and to those who are left with the loss.

If you are pinned down somewhere stifling, pacing the waiting room for this to pass, consider turning to “After great pain, a formal feeling comes - .”

This is the Hour of Lead Remembered, if outlived, As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow First - Chill - then Stupor - then the letting go Are we not in the Hour of Lead? Dull, sinking, unspectacular. Invisible ankle weights strapped on as we plod up the steps to the same vacancy, uncertain if we will “outlive” it when so many have not. We are the “Freezing persons” who traverse the grief outlined by Dickinson. First, we have gone through the “Chill,” the initial shock of the teeming hospitals and disrupted careers. Now, perhaps, we have moved on to “Stupor,” auto-pilot, numbness to increasingly dismal statistics and eternally-delayed plans, habituated to the dashes that break up our flow and relationships, as they do to these lines of poetry. The speaker of this poem cannot reassure us that we will surpass this moment. But if we do, she reminds us, “the letting go” will come, as it has in every other instance of “great pain.”

While we await the release that vaccines will hopefully grant us, Dickinson’s poetry may help us thaw the aspects of ourselves and our daily lives that the pandemic has kept in hibernation for too long.

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Natalie’s Studio WE CAN ALL AGREE

that sitting in the same room each day watching lectures on laptops has not been the most inspiring way to spend the semester. The snowy winter has brought on new challenges, leaving us with only the memory of last semester’s socially distanced outdoor picnics with friends. No one can deny that this year has been tough, but I have made it my goal to seek out the positive elements that have emerged amidst the chaos of the pandemic, however small they may be. I was thrilled to hear from a few McGill students that have taken remote learning and turned it into an invitation to pursue creative passion projects.

Natalie Lloyd, a U2 Sustainability student, decided that if she was going to spend the semester in social isolation, she might as well use it as a chance to commit to her passion for painting. Natalie moved back home to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the semester where she was able to build an art studio in her basement.

She spends her mornings in McGill classes and afternoons and evenings immersed in her art. Using BC’s natural landscapes as her inspiration, she takes her camera on hikes and finds 22

scenes that she recreates with acrylic Taylor Douglas, a U2 student in the paints. She hopes to ultimately show Faculty of Arts, is using the flexibility her pieces in a summertime backyard of remote learning to do pattern-makart show where friends and family ing and sew her own clothes. Taylor can safely gather. also returned home to Vancouver, where she has been able to take a Although Natalie has always had a pattern-making and design class at a love for painting, the pandemic gave fashion academy. Taylor spends her her the push to produce art purely days doing remote learning in the for her own enjoyment and artis- morning, pattern-making classes in tic growth. Social isolation is a hin- the afternoon, and splits her evenings drance to many activities, but painting between designing and homework. and hiking are two accessible ways of Remote learning has provided Taylor spending time while obeying social with newfound time to dedicate to her distancing restrictions. “When you’re craft, reminding her of the value of painting you don’t just paint for thir- taking the time to create art for herty minutes, you paint for at least two self. “Quarantine takes away the ‘auhours,” Natalie says. “So it’s taking dience’ to your life,” Taylor explains, advantage of the isolation that is re- “[so] everything I’m choosing to do is quired of us anyway.” actually for me.”

Natalie’s work reflects her desire to escape from the chaos of the world into the picturesque beauty of the forest, which remains peaceful regardless of the state of the pandemic. Spending hours a day in her studio has reaffirmed her love for painting and given her the chance to prove to herself that she can pursue an academic or professional career, while still making time for her art. “I can paint every day and it’s so relaxing, fun, and energizing,” she says.

Caitlyn McConnell is also taking the isolating semester and turning it around by building the Interdisciplinary Network of Students in Music (INSM). Caitlyn lives the interdisciplinary life firsthand as a student in a dual degree program, pursuing a Bachelor of Music in classical voice performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Computer Science.

ARTS & CULTURE

McGill’s Artists Are Painting Their Own Silver Lining

by Hannah Kahn Glass The INSM aims to inspire, connect, and support music students in their interdisciplinary career or academic pursuits. The organization centres on music students’ transferable skills and ways they can support themselves in other industries, academic opportunities, or as career musicians.

With a lot of cold-calling and outreach, Caitlyn and her team of five have been able to initiate workshops, lectures, networking events, and a mentorship program with music school alumni. Caitlyn explained that remote learning has normalized online events, giving them the opportunity to dream beyond the McGill music community and open up the network to students from all over the world. Already, music students from seventeen schools in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Ecuador are tuning into their events.

that COVID-19 presents. “Remote learning has been very challenging for music students who spend most of their time at the conservatory– playing with an orchestra, ensemble, or chorus, which cannot be replaced by online school,” Caitlyn explains. The INSM offers them a way to stay engaged. “It is nice for students to know that there is something out there for them and a community to support them in this time,” Caitlyn says. Even after we return to in-person learning, Caitlyn and her team hope to pass this club on to students so the network can continue to flourish and be a source of support for music students.

Through the experience of creating the INSM, Caitlyn has been reminded how supportive artists and community members are willing to be. “Even if it

doesn’t feel like it right now, [artists] are part of a larger community, and they should never be afraid to reach out … because [people are] always willing to help.”

These students’ stories are a reminder that although living through the pandemic isn’t getting any easier, there are ways to take our fate into our own hands and create something beautiful. Whether it’s pursuing an art project, building an online community, or picking up a new hobby, we can find peace and meaning, even in isolation.

Creating art is one thing not even COVID-19 lockdowns can touch, so grab a paintbrush, a pen, a camera, or whatever tool you need, and create something for you!

The INSM was partially born out of the challenges

Taylor’s Projects

Mind BUSINESS & TECH

the Gap:

Fixing the Institution’s Unequal Presence in Equity Markets

by Youcef Sahnoune & Rohan Roychoudhury

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Today’s markets present a series of remarkable characteristics, each one shedding light on a growing divide between institutional investing firms, which include major banks, funds, and trading firms, and individuals, who range from billionaires to working professionals to pretty much anyone with a smartphone. There exist two major forces in financial markets: the individuals who invest for themselves and the firms who invest on behalf of others. Recent events have exacerbated the divide between these two groups.

In January, many stopped to watch the individually-fueled rise of Gamestop (NYSE: GME) shares, which acted as a reflection of frustrated small-time investors. Working in collaboration to stimulate irrational exuberance around the stock’s value and drive the price up, massive pools of retail investors forced the share price in the opposite direction desired by some of Wall Street’s most prominent institutions, losing them billions. When retail trading platform Robinhood blocked individuals from continuing to do this, allegations flew in all directions. Aside from a fascinating spectacle, the event depicted a David and Goliath-like battle, in which scores of nonprofessional investors demonstrated that they, too, had a right to push back and control the equity markets.

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With the evolution of high-frequency trading algorithms and machine learning, hedge funds and major institutions have, for many years, dominated financial markets with their technological prowess and capacity, making millions of trades every hour, every day. This means that investments made by ‘everyday people’ (referred to as individual or retail investors in this article), while powerful in number, do not maintain the advanced level of financial strategy and capability that the institutions have.

special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), presents new evidence on how hedge funds have fuelled a boom for the benefit of all. The Financial Times discussed how today’s investment base has been overwhelmed by the success brought about by these new types of assets; backers with little financial expertise (or, as we know them, the individual/retail investors) have helped raise nearly $79 billion worth of market increases in these SPACs.

Setting aside the specific details of Ancient studies on equity markets what an SPAC is composed of, the have shown that, from as early as key takeaway is that hedge funds and 2000, fast-growing institutions and other institutions are able to extract a funds have seemingly managed to unique type of gain from the market cause and control the direction of that individuals simply cannot. This stocks. Some would argue that this is due to a combination of factors, is how it should be – without pro- but is mainly because these institufessionals to do the job better than tions hold some form of “early bird” us, using their array of insider mar- advantage, which allows them to inket knowledge and advanced tech- vest before most retail individuals are nology, what balance is there in the even aware. world? As sound as this may seem, the facts are quite simple. There ex- The example of the SPAC acts as simists a loud and vocal, albeit small, ply a vessel for this ongoing battle. group of individual investors who Ultimately, what must be understood have managed to cultivate a is that the advantage has always been significant amount of mar- (and will continue to be) in the hands ket buying power through of the institution. Forging an investthe use of easy-access in- ment strategy to run either parallel or vestment platforms, such perpendicular to the modern financial as the aforementioned institution is necessary to close any Robinhood. But if even gaps that are bothering the people. As the platforms are hand- the hedge funds gain, individuals with in-hand with the hedge large holdings in similar investments funds, what can be done have faced up to 15 percent in losses to humble the Wall Street this year alone. elite?

In just a few sentences, Laurence An analysis of Wall Street’s Fletcher of the Financial Times most latest investment vehicles, accurately described why the events

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of 2021 have painted financial institutions as even more malevolent: “They are mostly secretive, manage funds often based offshore and make big political donations. At their peak, their top performers earned more in a year than a small country’s gross domestic product. Perhaps most controversially, their best-known tool, short selling, is a means of profiting as a company collapses.”

As self-fulfilling as this cycle may seem, the only way to slow down the augmentation of this divide is mimicry. The Gamestop-related events described earlier in this article embody the idea that this imitation game may indeed be the only way to heal the divide between the institution and the individual in today’s investment environment.

the great force of togetherness and the internet that a large group of non-professional investors were able to combat Wall Street’s hedge funds with such bravery. This drastic shift in power was certainly risky, and not all individuals were able to succeed in profiting from the Gamestop phenomenon. But one thing is for sure: traditional market dynamics have shifted due to the major influx of retail investors. This new paradigm has given commoners the ability to truly stand up to the Wall Street elite and demonstrate an unwithering determination to stick it to the man.

The separation will persist, and perhaps this is a good thing. Individual investors simply do not have the mighty purchasing power of the big funds, but that is an issue of fundamentals. As for profiteering, the age of being taken advantage of may soon come to a close. The pandemic has supported the cultivation of online forums and groups designed to help unwitting individuals in their pursuit of investment equality. With this, a growing wave of people will soon be able to fight toe-to-toe with prominent individuals on matters similar to January’s Gamestop events.

Trading like a hedge fund is certainly no easy job. In spite of this, platforms such as Reddit’s Wallstreetbets have allowed individuals to enjoy the tool of collaboration; it was only through

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Starbucks’ Doubleshot Takes On New Meaning

by Sarah Wang

Though you won’t exactly be getting a vaccine on your coffee run, Starbucks is among a growing number of big-name companies—along with Walmart, Microsoft, and Amazon—to pledge their resources to the COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort.

“This is an opportunity to serve others and have an impact on a significant humanitarian effort,” said Kevin Johnson, Starbucks’ president and chief executive. “We are proud to contribute in every way we can to help operationalize and scale equitable access to the vaccine.” The Seattle-based coffee giant has thus far commissioned eleven employees with expertise in labour, deployment operations, and research and development to work with the Washington state government.

The U.S. vaccine distribution has been marred by operational bottlenecks pushing doses to near expiration and poor coordination between the federal government and states, leading to numerous regional shortages across America. According to a poll conducted in late January by the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly two-thirds of Americans believe their government is doing a “fair” or “poor” job of rolling out vaccines. Now, as the pandemic continues to weigh on the economy, corporate giants have found themselves in a unique position to make a significant impact in helping the world heal from COVID-19.

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Vaccine distribution is a data-driven process. Huge amounts of real-time data go through AI, the IoT, and blockchain everyday. It’s not just about getting shots into people’s arms— it’s about serial number verification, cold-chain traceability, and vehicle routing and geofencing. With all their technological and logistical prowess, there is an opportunity here for the private sector to make a win-win arrangement of a situation that has been far from ideal -- indeed, doing good for society, but also for the companies’ market perception, as well as the return of healthy, paying shoppers.

Tech companies have been contributing to the pandemic response for nearly a year now, when Google and Apple first collaborated to help with contact tracing. There has been no shortage of enthusiasm in the private sector since: Uber and Lyft have offered free rides to and from vaccination appointments; Google and Verizon are helping pay for advertisements promoting vaccine awareness.

Google also plans to transform four office locations, parking lots, and open spaces into public vaccination sites in Washington, California, and New York.

Other companies that aren’t in the Big Tech realm are also eager to help.

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, will offer the vaccine at 5,000 U.S. locations. “Walmart has the reach and the qualified, trained pharmacists and pharmacy staff to partner with community organizations to provide vaccination services at third party locations like churches, stadiums, and youth centers,” the retailer said in a news release. Indeed, big retailers are

in an ideal position to help with the vaccine rollout. Their core businesses are accustomed to serving thousands of customers every day, and have established effective national distribution and logistics networks.

Witnessing the challenges of vaccine distribution, companies like Workday, Salesforce, Microsoft, and ServiceNow have been eager to push new vaccine management service offerings into the market. For instance, Workday’s software can track the immunization status of employees and view vaccination rates throughout the company by job profile, region, etc. On the other hand, Microsoft’s system, developed for government and healthcare workers, aims to streamline the registration of vaccine providers and patients, phased scheduling, reporting, and forecasting. Their help, however, is meeting mixed reception.

people would prefer volume because it would get us out of the pandemic faster,” said Dr. Kim Rhoads, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, whose latest research examined COVID-19 infections in the Bay Area’s Black communities.

“That’s the thing about website crashes and these tech systems being overwhelmed. We’re going for volume there.”

On the positive side, the private sector’s involvement in vaccine distribution is already contributing to a brighter future of healthcare. Governments have been considering a “vaccine passport” to enable international borders to reopen for travel, and the likes of Oracle, Microsoft, and Salesforce have partnered to create exactly that. The system will allow individuals who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to easily access their records to prove their status when traveling or using public spaces. The implementation of such a digital system could leave a lasting impact long after COVID-19 and be used to store other vaccine records for situations like young children entering school.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that Microsoft’s website rollout presented “real challenges” for the state, and his administration commented on their “subpar experience” working with the firm, noting that Microsoft’s platform was “misconfigured” and crashed regularly. Some users could sign up for appointments From a moral perspective, it’s wonat inactive or closed vaccination sites. derful to see companies using their power for good. From a branding Public health experts have jumped to perspective, it’s just good business.

Big Tech’s defense, arguing that these Conscious consumers have become challenges are not their fault. State and increasingly demanding, and while county health departments vary in the many firms have made pledges to way they set up vaccination sign-ups: sustainability and corporate social resome focus on volume, while others sponsibility, the COVID-19 effort is focus on the overlooked elderly, mi- another opportunity to show that they nority, and low-income populations. truly care about the world, and not “Everyone is talking about equity with just the profits they reap of it. the vaccine. But given a choice, most

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Helplessly Hoping:

A Brighter Outlook on Equity Markets in 2021

by Julian Robinson Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stock market has behaved in strange and unexpected ways. Tech stocks soaring throughout 2020 and their fall in late February 2021, as well as the GameStop and r/wallstreetbets fiasco of early March, are examples of this. Fears that the stock market is overvalued while consumer spending is lacking and inflation is rising have plagued some investors. Despite these aberrations and concerns, the long-term financial outlook for 2021 may still be a hopeful one.

come soon. An important financial indicator, the US non-farm payrolls, revealed on March 5 that 379,000 jobs were added to the US economy in February, a large improvement over the expected 180,000. In addition, most of this increase came from the leisure and dining industries, which is an indication that US reopenings are having a positive effect. Increases in consumer spending due to job creation will likely benefit companies in the consumer sector and thus the stock market.

The first and main reason for this is the improvement of the COVID-19 situation. On March 2, President Joe Biden estimated that vaccines would be available for every adult in the US by the end of May, much sooner than expected. Coupled with recent reopenings across the US, this could mean a quicker-than-predicted return to normal. Congress also passed Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, which was signed on March 11.

On the issue of consumer spending, some economists are concerned that it will not return to pre-pandemic levels soon due to recessionary saving. The worry is that household income from stimulus checks and re-employment will be saved, not spent. Despite this concern, surveys of economists have

There is reason to hope that the economic benefit of these changes will

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revealed an increase in expected annual GDP growth from 3.2 percent to 5.5 percent in 2021. It appears likely that as lockdowns relax, consumers will be willing to spend at least part of their savings on activities that were previously unavailable. Indeed, household spending may be the push that is needed to end the recession. Taking a long-term view, this increase in spending is bound to happen eventually as the COVID-19 situation continues to improve.

Another fear of investors is increases in inflation as consumers spend more and lockdowns ease. The problem is that the Federal Reserve may choose to raise interest rates early to counter inflation.

This would hurt

BUSINESS & TECH

Reallocation of value away from tech stocks to other sectors can be interpreted as an adjustment in the stock market that reflects the changing economic reality of a world slowly returning to normal, even if it hurts some investors. As with the inflation issue, if stock market gains such as the recent Dow Jones high of $32,389 are backed up by real economic growth, as the non-farm payrolls and GDP estimates suggest, there should be little concern about overvaluation. tech stocks, since many of them rely on borrowing for their growth. This fear is a reason for the dip in tech stocks in early March. Popular belief is that inflation erodes the value of equity markets; however, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has expressed little concern about this. What is true about inflation is that it should not erode the value of equity if it is coupled with real growth in GDP. As mentioned before, this growth is something that economists are predicting for 2021 and will inevitably happen as the pandemic recedes. Thus, investors’ worries about inflation are likely overblown.

Lastly, the topic of stock market bubbles has been common since the beginning of the pandemic. Many have claimed that tech stocks have become a bubble during the pandemic and some, including the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger, have claimed that the stock market itself is overvalued. The question of whether tech stocks are a bubble remains to be resolved, but even if they are, this is not a reason to believe that the entire market is a bubble. If tech stocks decline, it is likely to be combined with gains in the leisure, consumer, and travel industries as those sectors open.

Throughout the pandemic, reasons for hope have been few and far between. Regarding the stock market, there have been fears around lack of consumer spending, inflation from consumer spending, and bubbles.

While these concerns are understandable given the strange behaviour of markets since the beginning of the pandemic, there is also undoubtedly reason for hope. While there may be changes and aberrations in the market as the pandemic recedes, a big-picture view would suggest that as COVID-19 improves, so should the stock market’s performance.

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BUSINESS & TECH

The world is starting to heal. demand for travel. The study iden- attempt to boost demand. Throughout

After over a year of ambiguity and “unprecedented times” (I, for one, am tired of hearing this expression), the light at the end of the tunnel is near as countries around the world ramp up efforts to get their citizens vaccinated against COVID-19.

With the rush to herd immunity, one thing has become very clear: most people are eager to get the hell out of their homes and travel again. According to a Travel Technology Association survey, 65 percent of respondents plan to travel more than they did before the pandemic. A McKinsey partner in China told the Washington Post that domestic travel within China had already bounced back to around 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels by August 2020.

“Revenge travel,” the concept that travel will drastically increase after the pandemic to make-up for all the time spent confined at home, is likely to occur; a survey by Harris Poll illustrated the fact that the longer people are unable to travel, the greater the 32

tifies a positive correlation between countries with high levels of infections and the desire to travel, which confirms the idea that, after over a year of strict lockdowns, people are eager to get back out into the world.

Harris Poll’s survey revealed that the most common reasons for leisure travel after the pandemic are confidence that the public health risks will be significantly reduced, a strong desire to reconnect with family and friends, and a need to change scenery after “sheltering in place.”

“Conscious travel involves more meaningful experiences, motivated not by ‘clout’ and social validation but personal growth and a renewed sense of freedom.”

More so than that, leisure travel is expected to be the driver of commercial aviation’s path to recovery. Travellers should also expect more attractive offers than before as airlines and hotels

the past year, commercial airline fares have been extremely low, and some experts expect this trend to continue beyond the crisis. According to Kerry Tan, associate professor of economics at Loyola University Maryland, airlines simply do not have the market power to raise prices given that demand for travel is far lower than normal.

It is therefore not a matter of if, but when, leisure travel will come back.

Consulting firm Oliver Wyman asked respondents when they believe they will take their first trip after the COVID-19 pandemic, and found that many people are waiting for the green light from the World Health Organization while others are relying on governments to lift restrictions on travel.

On a personal level, the survey found that some respondents will feel more comfortable travelling once they receive their COVID-19 vaccine, while others will start packing their bags when local transmission decreases.

This being said, leisure travel is unlikely to “return to normal” at least in

BUSINESS & TECH

Time to Book:

Leisure Travel in a

Post-Pandemic World

by Ramsey Sharara

the short-term. Society is not going er than point-to-point, as travellers to wait for 70 percent of the global come to cherish both the destination population to be vaccinated before and the journey itself. Conscious it starts to move again, so tempo- travel aims to be more eco-friendly, rary safety measures will be neces- with people eager to spend less time sary until herd immunity is reached. in urban centers and more time disSuch measures include mandatory covering nature mask-wearing and social distancing between passengers when possible. “If implemented, vaccine Furthermore, some domestic travel- passports would likely take lers may opt to travel by car for the next few years rather than flying, in the form of a digital QR code order to avoid large crowds. that contains information The very structure of leisure travel will likely experience significant change, exemplified by the birth of “conscious travelling.” Euronews defines the conscious traveler as someone willing to stay away from home for an extended period thanks to remote working, and is “more appreciative of their surroundings and less reckless in their spending.”

Conscious travel involves more meaningful experiences, motivated not by “clout” and social validation but personal growth and a renewed sense of freedom. Trips may become longer and more spread out, rath-

such as when the individual was vaccinated and what vaccine they received.”

The issue of vaccine passports has recently been at the forefront of heated debates in several countries.

While it is unlikely that vaccination against the coronavirus will become mandatory, failure to provide proof of vaccination could create consequences, such as not being able to hop on a plane or attend large events.

The idea of a vaccine passport is gaining ground in the developed

world. An example is the European Union’s proposed digital health pass to facilitate cross-border flow.

Australian airline carrier Qantas is already asking for proof of COVID recovery or vaccination for all passengers. Commonpass is a new digital platform that will verify visitors’ vaccination status for airlines, hotels, concerts, and sports venues. If implemented, vaccine passports would likely take the form of a digital QR code that contains information such as when the individual was vaccinated and what vaccine they received.

Some countries, however, are less eager to support the vaccine passport initiative. Countries like Germany, as well as the World Health Organization and other human rights groups, believe that vaccine passports will increase inequalities, as not everyone has equal access to a vaccine.

With an end in sight to a pandemic that has pumped the brakes on our lives, we can finally start thinking about our next big adventure.

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SPORTS

A Year Behind the Scenes: Thanking the Right People

by Ezra Moleko

When did the pandemic really begin? The answer is technically March 11, 2020, but for many, it probably began to feel real when it affected their entertainment. For some, it was when those first troubling news reports came out of China. For others, it was when Coachella, Osheaga, SXSW and so many other venues suspended, then later cancelled their shows for the year. For many, my-

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self included, it was when the NBA, NHL, IOC, NCAA, and many other leagues suspended further operations.

The pandemic placed an undeniably oppressive scarcity on entertainment.

Regardless of what you take interest in, COVID almost definitely found a way to absolutely ruin it for you. For many, that was sports, both as a viewer and a participant. Not only could you not indulge in a round of hockey,

tennis, or soccer, you couldn’t even watch others do it. Something essential not only to our entertainment industry, but also to our basic social interaction, was gone.

With the gradual, cautious re-opening of sporting events came a much-appreciated escape from day-to-day drudgery. Professional athletes held, for a time, an even more tremendous

SPORTS

status in the eyes of the public. They were more than just our favourite players, they were our avatars. They were running, jumping expressions of our collective desire to move once again. Not only that, athletes became socially and politically involved in ways we had never seen before, as protestors, boycotters, and advocates.

We held their efforts in high regard, especially under the circumstances, applauded their professionalism, and appreciated the potential sacrifices they made to their safety.

“When league and international play were suspended and casual athletics were placed on hold, thousands of rank and file workers were left without work and without a plan.”

The same cannot be said for the amount of recognition paid to the stadium vendors, team staff, and workers who made the whole thing possible. When league and international play were suspended and casual athletics were placed on hold, thousands of rank and file workers were left without work and without a plan. In the US, an estimated 1.3 million jobs in sports were impacted by the shutdown. The actual number was most likely much greater because jobs that are directly impacted by the hosting of public sports events go beyond those who work directly in the field, encompassing work in media, catering, and an array of other fields.

Many teams pledged to take care of their workers and staff, with arenas like the Staples Center, Wells Fargo Center, and United Center publicizing

plans to provide comprehensive compensation to their regular staff. These promises were ultimately either not kept or underdelivered in the wake of a massive economic upheaval; many third-party contractors and associated workers received virtually nothing.

While the resumption of play naturally allowed athletes to resume their role as the faces of the industry, the effort was entirely collective. Much was made of the mental and emotional stress that athletes were being made to play under, and for good reason.

The circumstances were truly difficult and they still found it in themselves to deliver a quality product that brought a lot of people comfort while minimizing the potential for spread-they earned that praise. Comparatively little was said of the impact, needs, or concerns of the essential workers that made it all happen. Often, they endured the same tight protocols and regulations as players for a fraction of the compensation. When athletes across the sports world took a stand against police brutality, league employees were right behind them. This has been, and always will be, a collaborative effort.

formers the face of music.

Staffers will go on as they always have-- the quiet, necessary components of everyday operation. Since the beginning of play resumption up to now, just as important as the athletes who draw us in are those whose job it is to deliver the product as smoothly as possible. Through their sacrifices, hard work, and careful planning over the last year, we were all given the opportunity to tune into quality programming and free our minds, if only for a short while. But now, as we look to enter a new-but-familiar chapter, it is important to avoid the tendency to allow ourselves to be distracted. Recognition and proper compensation for labour must always be at the forefront of our minds, even in sports.

As we begin our slow return to something resembling the status quo in the sports world and the entertainment industry in general, there is a lot to be happy about. Regardless of how you feel about the prospect of fans being back in arenas, it will certainly inject some of the missing energy back into events. As time goes on and more are vaccinated, we will almost certainly see a return to high-capacity events and games. In many ways, sports should remain essentially the same. Athletes will always be the public-facing figureheads of their leagues, just as actors will always be the face of TV and movies, or per35

by Linnea Vidger & Sarah Sylvester For many of us, the past year has felt like one long existential crisis, forcing us to reevaluate ourselves and confront an uncertain future as past trauma and mental illnesses bob to the surface. This is especially true for students, as we find ourselves at a critical period in our lives for discovering how best to heal from these difficulties. Our writers have explored the many ways our peers have sought healing over the past year, from speaking to psychics to supporting survivors of sexual assault. For our healing recommendations, we wanted to shed light on a unique method: psychedelics.

Psychedelics like LSD have long been used to treat mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and addiction. In the 1950s, scientists began observing how LSD reduced pain, anxiety, and depression in patients with cancer.

Just this past November, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that the psychedelic compound psilocybin, found in ‘magic mushrooms,’ reduced depressive symptoms in patients. While most McGill

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OPINION

students lack access to prescribed and controlled intakes of psychedelics, some of us have taken it upon ourselves to introduce psychedelics at home. Psychedelics have perhaps served as a way to address mental health issues and seek an escape from the confines of our pandemic-ridden lives.

Linnea: Reluctant to try psychedelics myself, I’ve spent the past year attempting to live vicariously through my friends’ trips by probing them with questions about what they saw and how they felt. My friends’ experiences have ranged from glittering moments filled with introspection amidst nature that “breathes,” to anxiety-provoking stress fests brought on by a hyper-saturation of the world around them.

Both the good and bad trips made me curious about the use of psychedelics as a method of mental healing.

I spoke to my close friend, Stephanie*, a psychology nerd fascinated by how psychedelics affect the brain, about her own experiences. Stephanie became interested in the healing and spiritual effects of psychedelics after reading How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan.

Stephanie has never been formally diagnosed with depression or anxiety,

but says that using mushrooms and LSD has helped her with some of her “neuroticism.” While it was difficult to pinpoint a direct before-and-after effect, Stephanie believes that experimenting with psychedelics has shaped her into a different person by helping her discover alternative ways of thinking. She believes there is promise in using psychedelics as a healing mechanism by helping those suffering from mental illnesses like anxiety and depression break out of unhealthy thought patterns.

I asked Stephanie what she knew about microdosing, the increasingly popular practice of consuming low doses of psychedelics. Stephanie tried microdosing for a short time during the pandemic, and while she didn’t notice a huge difference in herself, she recognizes its positive effects on mental health in others.

She also sees microdosing as a possible gradual way to introduce newcomers to psychedelics.

Stephanie doesn’t assume that the pandemic has necessarily prompted psychedelic use. Instead, she sees the pandemic and psychedelics as having parallel effects. For many,

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OPINION

the pandemic has brought on realizations that everything we know is breaking down: “school is fake, the economy is fake.” In spite of all of its difficulties, the pandemic has given us the opportunity to get a fresh perspective on how the world works, and this is similar to what Stephanie has experienced on psychedelics. Stephanie believes that a really tumultuous situation like this provides an opportunity for clarity in other aspects of life.

I later talked to Annie*, who has tried mushrooms, LSD, and MDE (a derivative of MDMA). Annie warns against using psychedelics in times of high stress, like during the pandemic. She once had a negative experience with psychedelics when she was in a bad place mentally. Annie says, “Knowing that I am more anxious than I have ever been makes [using psychedelics] much less appealing to me. When I hear of someone going through a hard time, I don’t try to convince them to use a psychedelic.”

Annie plans on experimenting with microdosing mushrooms that she is growing at home. She sees microdosing as a potentially safe way to continue using psychedelics, even amid the stress of the pandemic.

So, is microdosing (or experimenting with psychedelics in general) the key to our problems? Maybe yes, maybe no. What is key among all conversations I have had with my friends about psychedelics or healing in general is that it is an individual experience. Like Annie suggests, experimenting with psychedelics should happen “when you feel really comfortable and

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confident.” Whether this happens during the pandemic or not, psychedelics provide an interesting approach to healing that allows us to reevaluate what healing means to each of us.

Sarah: I had never tried psychedelics until my first year at McGill. At the time, I was struggling with my mental health, similarly to how people have been struggling during this pandemic. I felt isolated and bored of my routine, so when my friend offered that I join them for a trip, I decided it was worth a shot. I had read about people who suffered from depression and anxiety using psychedelics in order to feel some euphoria during a dark period.

I read about people’s success with magic mushrooms or psilocybin and how the trip had brought certain realizations regarding their life, mentality, and experiences.

A friend of mine from high school told me about her first acid trip, which she had taken alone in her room. She described what many people call “ego death” while tripping. Ego death is a “complete loss of subjective self-identity.” Basically, you’re supposed to feel a sort of out-of-body experience.

It’s similar to the concept of “spiritual awakening.” A complete loss of self-perception sounds terrifying, but the effects of psychedelics on the brain actually alleviates some fear and allows you to exist in the moment. My friend recalled her ego death as revealing certain truths deep within herself but completely dissociated her physical self from her mental self—she even forgot her own name.

But she didn’t describe fear or discomfort, but instead complete bliss while watching Alice in Wonderland and following the white rabbit. The

OPINION

terrifying aspects of psychedelics like DMT and LSD depend more on dosage, environment, and mentality.

The realizations you may experience during ego death can also be bothersome afterwards, because your ego will return from the dead, so to speak.

For people who are feeling lost during the pandemic, psychedelics have become quite popular. Microdosing has become a huge trend—I’ve seen at least 100 TikTok videos of people gushing over how much psychedelics have improved their mental health, especially in times of isolation and COVID anxiety.

Despite the surge of psychedelic use and social media coverage, people are not always educated on the negative side effects of psychedelics. As with all recreational drugs, psychedelics come with a list of things that can go very wrong, especially for people grappling with mental illnesses or disorders. Because these substances are theorized to influence brain chemistry, people with existing imbalances in serotonin and other neurotransmitters must be cautious with psychedelic use, especially while taking certain psychiatric medications.

a better trip, but never do this without medical approval. Going cold turkey on some medications can lead to serious complications that aren’t worth a better trip.

The last memorable effect I felt from shrooms was the come-down, when the drug is wearing off. It is different for everyone, but succeeding happiness is often crushing depression. I remember feeling more depressed than I had coming into the trip for several days afterwards. Sometimes self-realization isn’t healing but harmful, especially in a non-therapeutic environment. Your trip may bring up repressed trauma, which can turn into a terrifying experience rather than a good one. It’s important to evaluate your mental state before tripping.

Pre-existing anxiety and depression can turn a trip into one of the worst experiences of your life, even causing flashbacks later on.

Overall, my experience with shrooms was fun. I had a group of friends participating with me, as well as some sober people to make sure nothing went wrong. I didn’t have any huge realizations, nor any crazy visuals, but I felt amazing. The come-down was disheartening, but I don’t regret Also, if you are taking medications trying it out. While I’ve provided like SSRIs, there is a high probabil- plenty of reasons to avoid psychedelity of blunted psychedelic visuals/ ics, I by no means am telling everyeffects. In my own experience with one to steer clear. It’s a great way to magic mushrooms, the medications get relief in times like these, as long I was taking at the time complete- as you’re safe and prepared for the ly inhibited any of the beautiful and ride. So before escaping to a world wacky patterns that are associated of ego death and pretty colors during with psychedelics. While I did feel this pandemic, make sure you’re safe, a sense of euphoria, the fact is that and then have a good trip. if you are on psychiatric medication, you might have a less intense trip than your friends. You may be tempted to *Names changed to protect stop taking your meds in order to get anonymity.

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by Emma Buchta The past year has brought immense stress that has permeated every crevice of society. Every time it feels like we are collectively taking a step forward, setbacks follow: a new, more contagious strain of COVID-19, a second wave, or intensified lockdown restrictions. The rapid transformations we have all undergone and the resulting heavy uncertainty has taken a significant toll on mental health. To soothe this immense, collective anxiety and provide reassurance for the future, virtual psychic readings have become a common phenomenon.

Although psychics have always drawn attraction due to their mysterious, non-scientific approach, the current societal upheaval has boosted an interest in psychics as a way to cope with the loss of control over our lives and the physical loss of life. Psychic consultations provide insight on our futures, giving

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us a semblance of predictability that we are all craving. As a therapeutic form of healing amidst the uncertainty, loneliness, and despair that is heightened by lockdowns and isolation mandates, psychic readings provide hope for a brighter future. This is treasured at a time when we are flooded with unsatisfactory information on the course of the pandemic.

“Psychic consultations provide insight on our futures, giving us a semblance of predictability that we are all craving.”

Aside from the constant instability and vulnerability that people are feeling due to the pandemic, many no longer have the same outlets to cope with mental health struggles that they once had. Things that we used to distract ourselves with before, like going to class, seeing friends, and going to restaurants, were ripped away seemingly overnight. The loss of regular outlets has resulted in the resurfacing

OPINION

of past mental health problems, and It is important to note that although now that future plans are up in the air psychics can provide an outlet for for many, spirituality has become an those looking for reassurance and alternative. guidance, they are usually not trained mental health experts, and are there“Now that future plans fore not under the same mechanisms of accountability as licensed doctors are up in the air for therapists. While appealing, psymany, spirituality has and chic services are unregulated which become an alternative can leave those looking for psychic guidance at risk of being scammed. outlet.”

I spoke to a McGill student about her experience with virtual psychic readings and what first drew her to them.

For her, predictability was one of the most appealing aspects. In the beginning of the pandemic last March, she felt especially intrigued by psychics out of a need to plan for the future at a time when her fate was uncertain. She spoke to two psychics over the phone in March, one who was recommended to her by a friend and the other found through a quick Google search of Montreal psychics. Her conversations with the two psychics prompted a new interest in spirituality, meditation, and the law of attraction as a form of mental healing when she began facing mental health problems a few months into the pandemic.

Although we cannot rely too heavily on the accuracy of psychic predictions, the benefits of seeing a psychic may go beyond what they say about your future love life or your career prospects. Seeing a psychic in these uncertain and vulnerable times is about finding an outlet to express your self-compassion to someone who will listen to you. By framing psychic readings as an alternative style of healing meant to act as a catalyst for our journey of emotional well-being, we can become more accepting of the ways in which we seek reassurance and comfort.

“Seeing a psychic in these uncertain and vulnerable times is more about finding an outlet to express your self-compassion to someone who will listen to you.”

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OPINION

Honouring the Unique Journeys of Sexual Violence Survivors

by Alia Shaukat When speaking to friends during late-night (and heavily wine-fueled) talks, the conversation often turns to the expectations of university we had when we were younger compared to our current realities. Remarks about our mediocre grades that never seem to rise, and our unfortunate abilities to cook a repertoire of only 4 meals (including coffee) flutter around the room; anecdotes about raging roommates and terrible Tinder hookups

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mense amount of traction through viral social media posts and petitions in early 2021, it’s no secret that McGill’s sexual violence policy is “archaic” at The overwhelming majority of my best. Many survivors are left feeling friend group has experienced overly unheard, unvalued, and scrutinized vague, majorly uncomfortable, yet for their trauma by both their peers exceptionally important discussions and the administration. with parents and guardians about “staying safe on campus” before we “Many survivors are came to McGill. Most of the time, left feeling unheard, they cover the basics: don’t ever lose sight of your cup, don’t walk home unvalued, and scrutialone at night, don’t talk to strangers.

There is an air of an awkward, heavy nized for their trauma suffocation during the conversation, by both their peers and likely because even considering the the administration.” prospect of sexual violence against you—or your child—while transitioning into university (and adulthood) is To combat these feelings of judgment, a disturbing thought. When dealing student organizations like It’s On Us with a campus like McGill, howev- McGill exist as a resource for both er, these conversations are absolutely survivor healing and supportive education. It’s On Us McGill works to necessary. achieve its goal of ending sexual viMcGill takes pride in their high sta- olence on campus through “various tus. Yet, its great reputation cannot workshops and creating awareness be reconciled with the high threat of about bystander intervention” while sexual assault and sexual violence on recognizing the current threat of “sexcampus that characterizes the expe- ual violence that does occur on camriences of so many students. pus.” Emily Brown, Co-President of With stories of McGill It’s On Us McGill said, “We try to on-campus sexual support anyone who experiences this misconduct that violence.” This survivor-centric apgained an im- proach has proven to be crucial during the tumultuous Winter 2021 semester bounce off the walls. Eventually, the conversation turns to more distressing topics.

on campus, as Anna Cutler, Co-President of It’s On Us McGill, details how the increase of social media activism throughout the past term coincided with an increase of stress and anxiety for survivors.

“Our responses to trauma are often non-linear, confusing, and twisted throughout many different veins of life.”

As our campus has slowly transitioned classes and clubs into an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our social lives and forms of activism quickly followed suit. Online activism has proven to be more accessible, allowing for participants to quickly and widely share crucial protest—surpassing both the physical and economic boundaries previously presented by traditional activism.

This positive effect has certainly influenced our call-out culture on campus, as a recent petition combatting sexual violence on campus gained upwards of 50,000 signatures through promotion on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The effects of this new wave of activism, although overwhelmingly positive, can often be triggering to the survivors on campus; with our screen times now averaging to unhealthy amounts, seeing this content is practically unavoidable without the proper social media protocol.

It’s clear that the journey of healing has grown complicated for many survivors as McGill’s sexual violence activism is becoming more mainstream. All of our relationships, including those with ourselves, have been forced to change. Cutler suggests “taking a break from social media” in order to provide survivors

with the necessary distance from damaging content during their healing process. In addition, It’s On Us McGill encourages people to always put content warnings before their posts that incorporate explicit language pertaining to sexual violence in order to accommodate survivors. Survivors of sexual violence are all around us, whether they choose to speak out or remain anonymous.

Therefore, a simple warning to make them feel welcome and safe in these spaces is crucial.

OPINION

vate. Demanding survivors to publicly prove that their experience was ‘justified’ is triggering, humiliating, and degrading. In response to this, Cutler repeated the core philosophy of It’s On Us: “you should believe survivors, regardless of if they’re providing proof or just sharing that they were assaulted.”

Honouring the individuality of the healing process is most important.

Our responses to trauma are often non-linear, confusing, and twisted throughout many different veins of life. Brown emphasizes how “the healing process for survivors looks different for everyone, for some people it might be really short, for some it may be long.” Some may adopt a new self-care routine, some may seek help from therapists, some may sleep with amethyst under their pillow for protection.

Safety for survivors, should they choose to report publicly or privately on campus, is a serious concern for organizations like It’s On Us McGill.

Cutler mentions that the organization “supports survivors coming forward and discussing what happened to them, but are also concerned with survivors facing any legal or social retaliation for coming forward in a public format,” something that they’ve actively discussed, combatting with the McGill administration. During the events of December 2020, we saw far too many survivors being prodded to Despite all of these subtleties of healshare explicit details to provide ‘legit- ing, Brown mentions that the most imacy’ to their stories. significant constant we can provide to the survivors in our communities is a system of “people who can support “Healing must be peryou when you need them—friends, ceived as an entirely family, partners, counselors, people who can be there during your journey.” unique process—it is It is, of course, a complicated process, never defined by outyet an important one to take part in. ward perception, and it Parents and children shouldn’t need to have painful discussions about preis always defined by the venting violence that dampen university excitement, but this is impossible intricacies of our huto avoid unless the threat is eliminatmanity as a process.” ed. By increasing open communication and supporting survivors during It is important to remember that survi- healing, I hope that our conversations vors must find power in any way that become a little less painful and a lot they can—for some, this is through a more productive as we take steps topublic, open discussion of their ex- wards ending sexual violence on uniperience, whereas for others, it is pri- versity campuses.

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OPINION

by Sofia Woo

When talking about healing, we consider it to be the process of restoring something to its original state. Whether it’s a physical or mental wound, we heal to get back to our original condition. By now, we have probably reminisced on returning to the “before” times when we could laugh with others, sit in two-hundred-seat lecture halls with friends, and embrace family members. There is often talk about how and when we can get back to normalcy. Many of us have come to the realization that at this point, “normal” will likely take a different shape than what we knew in February 2020. So, if we never fully return to our previous lives, does it still count as healing?

It is not news that the past year has taken a dark toll on people’s wellbeing—it definitely has for me. Despite this, I have come out of 2020 with a mindset that could only have arisen out of a disruptor as impactful as the COVID-19 pandemic. I, like many other McGill students, used to be 44

tightly wrapped up with academics; I had an unhealthy relationship with school and a narrow definition of success. My studies and grades were a zero-sum game: I either received an A or I had failed. It was not until the pandemic hit that these beliefs began to change. With millions suffering from illness, unemployment, and other crises, I realized that my problems were not problems at all. I had finally looked into the mirror and faced my internal behavior. This commenced my healing journey—the path to fixing my hyper-fixation on school and unreasonable measures of success.

The more I started viewing my education as an opportunity to learn rather than a transactional relationship and a path to financial success, the more time I spent reaching out to others and caring about issues beyond my own.

The successive chain of major events that I have witnessed (the Black Lives Matter protests, the California wildfires, and the 2020 election) prompted me to realize that while academics

matter, the world is so much greater than just four years of university. Reaching this conclusion was not easy. There were moments of existential dread—does anything really matter anymore if the world has seemingly reached its apocalyptic end? I, like many, began to feel a sense of hopelessness. If everything that we once knew was suddenly stripped away, what good is it to continue attending Zoom lectures?

“The more I started viewing my education as an opportunity to learn rather than a transactional relationship and a path to financial success, the more time I spent reaching out to others and caring about issues beyond my own.”

OPINION

It was reaching out to others that gave life more purpose. Even just seeing others through a screen and taking the time to ask how they were doing brought a little bit of vibrancy back into my life. Most importantly, it took losing what we used to take for granted (like social interaction) for me to cherish it more than before.

Yes, school still mattered, but I slowly began to break away from the confines of overworking and the pursuit of GPA perfection. My healing goal was not to return to a pre-pandemic era, but to start anew.

As hope emerges with the arrival of vaccines, there is often talk about what we will do after this is all behind us. We dream about dining in restaurants, going to bars, and traveling freely. I’m not immune to this yearning, either. But as difficult as facing reality is, we must understand that we will emerge from this era as a completely changed society. While this transition will be challenging, we should take this as an opportunity to

heal—not just in the sense of returning to our previous lives, but instead in learning from this period and applying these lessons to move forward. For me, this means putting my problems into perspective and being more forgiving with myself and others.

“My healing goal was not to return to a pre-pandemic era, but rather to start anew.”

As the topics of illness and death became a closer reality, I began to see life and my academic career as not just a linear checklist that I needed to complete. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes extreme events to come to this realization. While I do wish that the pandemic never happened, I cannot alter the past.

I can, however, reflect and learn from it. Instead of thinking of healing as a way to go back to a seemingly better time or a way to purge negative emotions, we should acknowledge the past and use it to help us grow.

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