The McGill Tribune Vol. 41 Issue 20 by The Tribune

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2021 | VOL. 41 | ISSUE 20

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Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

EDITORIAL

FEATURE

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

McGill’s commitments to Black History Month require sustained action

Putting nature in the foreground

Anger, crime, and punishment: Can we control our own emotions?

PG. 5

PGs. 8-9

PG. 10

(Brian Schatteman / The McGill Tribune)

The best four libraries on campus

PG. 11

‘I never went on any leave of absence’: SSMU President Daryanani makes first appearance at Legislative Council since Sept. 23

SSMU executives and councillors raised questions about harmful workplace practices Michelle Siegel Arts & Entertainment Editor On Feb. 17, the Students’ Society of Mc-

Gill University (SSMU) Legislative Council convened for a long 5.5 hours, with SSMU President Darshan Daryanani’s return dominating the meeting. Discussions concerns about

The Computer Riot, the Birth Control Handbook, and the struggle for Africana Studies: Brief histories of student activism In the archives, students at the forefront of change Wendy Zhao Student Life Editor Students have long been at the forefront of social progress, both on their

campuses and in the wider Montreal communities. The McGill Tribune looks back on a few instances throughout history when students banded together to advocate for their rights. PG. 12

racism and harassment within SSMU. Councillors voted on several motions, including one regarding a moratorium on ancillary fees, and heard presentations from several student

groups, including Student Support, Athletics and Recreation, and Divest McGill, about the different fees and services up for referendum at the SSMU General Assembly. PG. 2

Martlets hockey returns with a bang, winning first game back against Carleton Ravens They shoot, they score—three times! Sophia Gorbounov Sports Editor On a chilly evening at McConnell Arena, the McGill Martlets hockey team (10–3–0) played their first game of the semester after over two months of hiatus due to recurring pandemic

restrictions. The McGill team returned on Feb. 18 with style and determination, beating out the Carleton Ravens 3-0 (4–9–0). From the get-go, the game seemed promising, with McGill taking first possession of the puck and team captain Jade DownieLandry taking the first shot on

goal. However, both the action and the enthusiasm died down for the rest of the first period. Martlets forward Makenzie McCallum explained that the prolonged hiatus resulted in the team needing some time to find their footing on the ice once again. PG. 16

NEWS

news@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2021

‘I never went on any leave of absence’: SSMU President Daryanani makes first appearance at Legislative Council since Sept. 23

SSMU executives and councillors raised questions about harmful workplace practices Michelle Siegel Arts & Entertainment Editor Continued from page 1. Providing long-awaited transparency, Daryanani addressed the council directly during the meeting, revealing that he was not on a leave of absence, but that he had been suspended by the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) since Sept. 23, 2021. The suspension was set to end on Nov. 5, 2021, but the BoD extended it several times and did not give Daryanani a definitive end date. “Only on Sunday, February 13, was I informed by the SSMU Board of Directors that all reasons to justify the suspension were unfounded and declared inadmissible,” Daryanani said. “I can assure you that at every step, I fully collaborated with the process, despite the fact that the board frequently violated my rights as a SSMU officer and employee. To be clear, I never went on any leave of absence.” In the question period that followed, Daryanani said that he was never told the reason behind his suspension, but responded to several inquiries about his time out of office. Several student representatives and members of the gallery raised concerns about the lack of transparency on the part of other SSMU members regarding Daryanani’s suspension. Although all of

The meeting took place on Feb. 17 and ran for over five hours. (Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune)

the SSMU executives were present at the meeting, only Daryanani responded to questions regarding his suspension, with the others stating that such information was confidential. Engineering representative Hiraku Murakami questioned vice-president (VP) Finance Éric Sader about executives refusing to acknowledge Daryanani’s suspension due to confidentiality. Several other councillors also brought up the topic, with management representative Nathaniel Saad later adding, “There is a fine line between confidentiality and withholding information that students deserve to know.” As attention turned toward the actions and responses of the SSMU executives, many attendees became emotional when discussing questions about the “toxic” workplace culture for women and gender minorities at the SSMU. After member of the gallery and former SSMU President Bryan Buraga questioned why executives were acting “glib” about such a serious matter, VP Student Life Karla Heisele Cubilla quickly responded, claiming that executives were also “victims of the structure” and calling the question “insulting, almost.” While all the executives agreed that there are major issues in SSMU’s working culture that need to be addressed, tensions were high and the responses of executives differed greatly in manner. VP University Affairs Claire Downie spoke out broadly about the actions of male employees at SSMU. “Men who work at SSMU, men who are in these circles, please consider that you may be part of the problem,” Downie said. “You may not have these egregious examples that some people talk about, but many many men are part of the problem and I want people to be mindful.”” Councillors then addressed five motions concerning the Feb. 21 General Assembly before the session was adjourned: The Motion Regarding Amendment on the Moratorium Ancillaries Fees was not approved; the Motion Regarding the French Accessibility Fee Referendum Question and the Motion Regarding Referendum Question on the Increase of the 2022 SSMU Membership Fee were

both approved; and the Motion Regarding Reintroduction of the Facility Improvement Fee Referendum Question and the Motion Regarding Ratification to the Society’s Board Of Directors were both postponed. The remaining motions, including the Motion Regarding Referendum Question on the Creation of a Black Affairs Fee Levy, were postponed to email approval.

MOMENT OF THE MEETING

During the announcement period, VP Internal Sarah Paulin interrupted President Daryanani with a point of order, claiming that the revelation that he was absent because of suspension was confidential information. The Speaker of Council and a couple non-voting members of the council convened in a breakout room for roughly 15 minutes before continuing the session and allowing Daryanani to resume his speech.

SOUND BITE

“I just want to bring up one thing: That this is not a clash of McGill Athletics and Divest McGill. McGill Athletics is with the climate movement [....] However, this is a chance for the Student Union to actually stand up and protect the students [...] from the administration [....] This is a chance for [...] the thousands of students that use McGill Athletics to have a better experience and to be better able to control that experience out of the hands of administration,”—Gallery Member James Mulvaney, on how amending the SSMU moratorium of ancillary fees uplifts McGill Athletics without devaluing Divest McGill’s efforts.

McGill Committee responds to expression of concern regarding Dollarama warehouse workers, recommends no action

McGill to keep its investments in the company Madison Edward-Wright News Edit6or

n Feb. 10, McGill’s Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR) issued its report on the expression of concern the McGill Corporate Accountability Project (MCAP) submitted to the university’s Board of Governors (BoG) in August 2021. The expression of concern regarded the alleged human rights abuses and mistreatment of migrant warehouse workers by Dollarama—a company that McGill had invested $3.3 million in as of Dec. 2020. The BoG shared the report with MCAP on Feb. 14 and informed them that CAMSR recommended McGill take no action. MCAP originally penned its expression of concern after evidence surfaced throughout 2020 and 2021 of immigrant warehouse workers being mistreated by Dollarama. Reports detailed that workers were not receiving first aid after being injured on the job, or were being forced to work overtime for no pay, among other things. The Association of McGill University Support Employees

(AMUSE) and Montreal’s Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC) collaborated with MCAP throughout the process of creating the 16-page report, which included evidence compiled from multiple news reports, a 2016 report compiled by the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal and more. According to Frédérique Mazerolle, a McGill media relations officer, CAMSR made its decision based on its inability to find evidence of “social injury,” which it defines as something that causes extreme harm, social or otherwise. Furthermore, Mazerolle explained that according to CAMSR’s mandate, an expression of concern must contain evidence of “a pattern of breeches of existing rules” or “a pattern of serious and continuing” violations of business behaviour standards to warrant action on the part of the university. “Although the submission provided testimonies of warehouse workers expressing concerns relating to their income, employment and health and safety conditions, these concerns appear to be limited in number, and are not sufficiently supported by evidence

demonstrating the undertaking of other due processes, such as evidence considered by a tribunal or other regulatory body,” Mazerolle wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. Samuel Helguero, 3L, co-leader of MCAP, and one of the primary writers of the expression of concern, was dismayed by CAMSR’s report. He argued that the criteria that the committee used to evaluate the evidence submitted was arbitrary and stricter than they would have been in a court of law. “The issue here is that CAMSR is just inventing standards,” Helguero said in an interview with the Tribune. “I am convinced that if I brought this before a judge and they were deciding on the balance of probabilities, whether or not there was social injury here, reading through all this testimony, all the statistics and evidence, they would agree that there has been social injury.” AMUSE’s communications and outreach officer, Katia Lo Innes, views CAMSR’s report as part of a larger pattern of McGill’s continued refusal to support living wages. McGill has stalled contract negotiations with McGill University’s Non-Academic Certified Association over wage increases, while floor fellows are also struggling

CAMSR claims the expression of concern had less than 300 signatures, but a copy of the petition obtained by the Tribune had 341 signatures. (Cameron Flanagan / The McGill Tribune) to secure fair wages and more flexible meal plan options. “McGill continues to prove that it does not care about workers, nor does it care about social impact, it only cares about maintaining the status quo,” Lo Innes said in an interview with the Tribune. “Continuing to invest in Dollarama, a company that underpays its employees and reportedly pays third party employees and migrant workers illegal wages, shows where McGill’s priorities lie.” Helguero agrees with Lo Innes.

He views McGill’s inaction in the face of what he believes are blatant human rights abuse to be a clear lack of respect and care for immigrant workers. “Dollarama workers saying very similar things about their employer publicly [...] should be believed, just as we have the tendency, and should have the tendency, to believe victims,” Helguero said. “It baffles me that someone could doubt their testimonies [....] McGill’s response shows insensitivity to the experience of workers.”

news@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2021

NEWS

SSMU President back in the limelight, but questions remain

President Darshan Daryanani cites “unjustified suspension” as reason for his $32k disappearance Elena Lee Staff Writer

arshan Daryanani is resuming his duties as president of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) after a five month break rife with contentious questions and debates regarding the circumstances of his absence. In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Daryanani raised several grievances he has against SSMU leadership, who, in turn, remain troubled by the stillconfidential circumstances shrouding Daryanani’s vacancy. “It is a relief to be back fulfilling the duties I was elected to fulfill, but the transition has not been complete,” Daryanani said in an email to the Tribune. “Despite my formal reinstatement, I have still not been permitted to serve as Chairperson of the Board of Directors, nor to even attend its meetings, which severely hinders my ability to complete my duties.” According to Daryanani, the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) unilaterally decided to suspend him with pay—a salary of approximately $32,000—in a closed meeting that he was not present for. Daryanani believes that his suspension may have

been racially motivated. “When the Legislative Council posed questions about my absence, the other executives and board members continued to falsely claim that I [was] ‘on leave,’” Daryanani wrote. “This insidious rhetoric is

standard that would not be leveled against a non-racialized person.” During the question period, councillors grilled Daryanani with questions about his suspension. Nathaniel Saad, U2 management representative, does not think the

According to Daryanani, his concerns about racially-motivated harassment and discrimination at SSMU were “met with retaliation, exclusion, and retraumatization” in the form of a suspension imposed by the SSMU Board of Directors. (ua.ssmu.ca) typically used to target, delegitimize, and dehumanize people of color based on racist tropes which portray Black and Brown people as ‘unfit’ for positions of authority. This is a double

majority of SSMU members share the President’s enthusiasm about his return, saying he was distressed by the number of messages he received throughout the Council meeting from

concerned student employees and members. “[People are feeling] very mixed emotions, but all negative, unfortunately,” Saad said. “People were texting me during the [Legislative Council] meeting saying, ‘can you please do something?’ or ‘I’m not feeling okay.’” At the Nov. 25 Legislative Council meeting, Saad and management co-representative Mary Zhang put forth a motion calling for Daryanani’s resignation due to his prolonged absence that included a provision for a possible student body referendum on his impeachment. It passed with no opposition in the Council, but the SSMU BoD struck the motion down a week later. Saad told the Tribune that some SSMU members, including Yara Coussa, U3 arts representative and BoD member, have reached out to him calling for the motion’s revival. “What I will say is that there is an ongoing culture of sexism at SSMU, and in the past, we have seen a certain type of personality run,” Coussa said in an interview with the //Tribune//. “You’re not very well-paid [and] giving up one year of your studies is a privilege [...] most often held by people who are in places of power, [...] so we end up in this position

where SSMU is not an accessible space for gender minorities or anyone who doesn’t fit the standard—the hetero, cis, patriarchal standard.” Though Daryanani believes the motion only passed Legislative Council due to the BoD’s deliberate mischaracterization of his absence, Saad contends that the crux of the motion was that Daryanani was holding a title and getting paid $32,000 from student fees for doing nothing, regardless of circumstance. “Whatever term we’re using, he wasn’t there and he wasn’t doing his job,” Saad said. “Having [his salary] donated to a charity, or putting it back toward students who need it [...] would be a wise choice that demonstrates leadership, which we’ve been lacking.” Daryanani says he hopes to earn the McGill community’s confidence again by fulfilling his duties and promises. “In light of the many issues surrounding SSMU’s workplace climate, my main priority is to act on my main platform promise, which is to make SSMU a more inclusive, equitable and accessible place,” Daryanani said. “I believe it is important now, more than ever, to put this promise at the forefront of the next few months.”

‘When Injustice is Fully Bilingual’: Emilie Nicolas’ Mallory Lecture discusses linguistic barriers to anti-racism work in Quebec

Frequent denials of racism delay substantive progress Shani Laskin Staff Writer

milie Nicolas, a columnist for Le Devoir and the Montreal Gazette, took to the virtual stage on Feb. 15 for this year’s Mallory Lecture, speaking about language barriers to anti-racism work. The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) hosted the talk. Nicolas introduced her lecture by describing a “war-time story.” The spring of 2016 saw numerous manifestations of systemic racism that mobilized many Montreal activists, including Nicolas herself. Investigations into the Val-d’Or police over allegations that a retired police officer sexually assaulted multiple Indigenous women, and the Montreal police killing of Jean-Pierre Bony contributed to a larger call for immediate and institutional change. Nicolas noted that systemic racism in the province is often regarded as a foreign influence rather than a homegrown set of ideas, practices, and institutions. “[An] accusation was that systemic racism was an English concept, it was an American concept that we were importing into Quebec society and that Quebec society was different,” Nicolas said. “Quebec society was always [framed as] welcoming and peaceful and tolerant [...] and we were trying to put English ideas into Quebec society.”

Nicolas highlighted the tendency of settler-colonial states around the globe to deny their own systems of oppression. While countries like the United States, France, and countries in Latin America hold different narratives surrounding their histories of institutionalized oppression, a common thread remains: People who deny the existence of systemic racism within their states. “Canada is one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time,” Nicolas said. “The whole idea about niceness and politeness and all of that being put in a position with the violence of the United States is one of the core, founding

mythologies [...] around Canada.” Nicolas feels that many Englishspeaking Canadians continue to hold such a narrative. On the other hand, Frenchspeaking Canadians perceive themselves as the minority group in Canadian society which, according to Nicolas, allows them to deny their own racism. She gave the example of the little-acknowledged history of francophone Quebecois nuns being deeply involved in the residential school system. “There was a widespread perception that residential schools were an English thing, were a British thing, and that French-Canadians didn’t do that and didn’t

Emilie Nicolas is the recipient of the SODEP 2020 Excellence Award for Best Essay as well as the Harry Jerome Award for leadership. (mcgill.ca)

participate in that,” Nicolas explained. “More than half of the residential schools in this country were operated by oblates that are based in Montreal and were recruiting French-Canadian Nuns from the Saint Lawrence river [....] There was a lot of denial when that aspect of the story started to be covered.” This denial and air of moral loftiness, according to Nicolas, can be exhausting for people trying to advocate for racial and social equality across the board. “There is this hockey game going on [...] and people like myself are the puck. We’re not even players,” Nicolas said. “[The] treatment of racialized folks and Indigenous folks and Black folks are argument points that are used to [...] prove that you have the better social model or you have the moral high ground, which is a way to produce the very idea of white supremacy, which is about civilizational superiority. It’s a vicious circle.” Blair Elliott, the communications and events associate for MISC, stressed the importance of learning from people like Nicolas. “It’s important not to tokenize these issues, and to recognize that the work of advocating for decolonization, antiracism, and social justice is not only complex but also constant,” Elliot said. “It’s also important to remember that these conversations cannot be isolated from ongoing policy discussions.”

NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2021

news@mcgilltribune.com

McGill Senate presents COVID-19 reports, discusses accommodations and long-term planning

Lecture recordings and S/U options remain off the table for the Winter 2022 semester Sophia Gorbounov Sports Editor

values, there are also certain risks sometimes [that] students may ‘free ride.’” Toward the end, the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option for the current semester was floated amidst the discussion of long-term academic adjustments. Although some Senators, like Derek Nystrom, were in support, many, including Senator Gillian Nycum were not. “Following the decision to increase S/U flexibility during the Fall 2020 term and Winter 2021 term, we had a lot of negative feedback,”

uring a remote meeting on Feb. 16, the McGill Senate discussed a report on pandemic-associated accommodations for students. Other presentation points included the annual report of the Ombudsperson for Students, and the annual report on Enrolment and Strategic Enrolment Management. Principal and vice-chancellor Suzanne Fortier presented the opening remarks, noting that McGill is monitoring the current COVID-19 situation in Quebec and following the government’s proposed reopening plans. “We will, of course, inform our community on how these various stages of lifting restrictions affect our own university and campuses,” Fortier said. “We have not been informed of any significant outbreaks in our classrooms or in our research activities.” The majority of the meeting, however, focussed on the report presented by the Ad Hoc COVID-19 planning committee, also known as the Ad Hoc Committee on COVID Academic Planning and Policies, led by Christopher Buddle and Associate Provost (Equity & Academic Policies) Angela Campbell. Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Programs)

Of the 246 total requests received by the Ombudsperson, 51 were student requests for assistance associated with the current pandemic. (Talar Ajemian / The McGill Tribune) Christopher Buddle summarized the report, which addressed student accommodations like the 24-hour period final examination windows and hybrid learning options. The report reaffirmed that professors do not need to implement mandatory lecture recordings. Some senators were against adopting more academic changes, beyond those already implemented, before the end of the term. Senator Anja Geitman felt that students should be encouraged to return to campus first, then should decide after whether or not they feel comfortable with the increasing activities on campus.

Senators then discussed the accommodations that had already been put in place in response to the pandemic, and whether the Senate ought to consider them for long-term implementation. The proposition of mandating lecture recordings for all professors was again mentioned by several senators, including group 5 rapporteur, but some raised concern that students would somehow take advantage of the opportunity. “Lecture recordings were discussed, not in the idea that they should be mandatory, but just discussing their values and drawbacks,” the rapporteur from group five said. “Though they have

Nycum said. “[The option] created a lot of confusion around things like GPA calculations, scholarships, admissions to graduate programs [....] We had many, many angry students.” Although ideas were introduced and deliberated, the Senate ultimately came to no consensus regarding how to proceed with the information from the COVID committee’s report.. The only approved motions of the meeting came for the appointment of new members to certain Senate standing committees.

MOMENT OF THE MEETING

Professor Patricia Hewlin, Ombudsperson for students, presented her annual report, detailing the diverse reasons that students reach out to her with complaints. She noted that the majority of the complaints were academic, a category in which requests for support increased by 45 per cent between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Hewlin further critiqued the existing power dynamics between students and their institutions, noting that many of the requests she received did not progress past her office.

SOUND BITE

“Mental health and sensitivity was mentioned, [particularly] how to notice when something is wrong with a student, and how it is impacting [their] academic performance. Professors need tools and training to identify this kind of issue,” — Senator Momar Ndao, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, on how to improve students’ mental well-being in classrooms.

‘Decolonizing Approaches to Research’ tackles whitewashing and Eurocentrism in research

Panellists discussed strategies to dismantle pervasive neocolonialism in research Anoushka Oke Photo Editor

cGill’s Faculty of Education hosted a panel on Feb. 17 titled “Decolonizing Approaches to

Because of their wide range of experience, from the medical field to sociology, panelists were able to discuss problems in research from a variety of different perspectives. (mcgill.ca)

Research” that addressed colonial barriers to research through the lens of McGill’s research relationship with Barbados. Moderated by Jean St. Vil, a special advisor to the vice principal, the panel featured professor Terri Givens, provost’s academic lead and advisor on McGill’s Action Plan to Address AntiBlack Racism, Dr. Saleem Razak, a pediatrics and health sciences professor, PhD candidate Jamilah Dei-Sharpe, and students Asia Blackman (M.Sc. Epidemiology) and Khaelan King. The panel was part of the university’s official programming for Black History Month. Throughout the online event, St. Vil directed questions at specific panelists, who traced pervasive colonial attitudes to the historical foundations of research that continue to influence the way that knowledge is produced in academic institutions. Dei-Sharpe detailed the predatory relationship that often exists between researchers and racialized participants. She referenced “dehumanizing and exploitative [research] practices” Western scientists have conducted throughout history, and stressed the urgent need for change. The sociological concept of the “white gaze,” Dei-Sharpe

explained, is one such colonial effect that needs to be dismantled in academia. “For me, research is a way to understand the world, people, and the environment that we frequent,” Dei-Sharpe said. “Since the 17th century, the Western scientific method has propelled a standard for who and what is researched, and how to conduct research that positions the European and racially white person with the authority to interpret and draw conclusions on the world.” Razak elaborated on his belief that the whitewashed standard for research has not only made academia non-inclusive as an educational space, but also had negative impacts on the value and accuracy of studies. Oftentimes, the populations whose data is used for research have little involvement in the scientific process. This has especially been true in the field of medicine, one of the many factors contributing to systemic medical racism. “There are pulse oximeters that measure the pulse of the blood, [which are] absolutely crucial to care in the hospital,” Razak said. “But they were designed in the ‘80s and tested on light-skinned individuals. They have now evolved, but for a long time, they were less

accurate in dark-skinned individuals. That’s an example of a systemic racist research protocol.” Because universities are involved not just in research, but education, it is essential that course curricula be decolonized, explained King. If not, the colonial stains on the research process will seep into classrooms—and young minds—unchecked. Though she recognizes that many courses do acknowledge the past colonial harm that has been done, she explained that much of this acknowledgement is whitewashed through a Western, colonial, lens, and does not come from the perspective of people who have actually been harmed by colonial forces. “In order for McGill to actively educate our student body from a global perspective, our research methods and the selection of professors has to be more inclusive,” King said. “As a student, for me, the importance really lies in the material that we’re consuming, [and] in utilizing reading materials that give alternative perspectives [...] because we know [that] time and time again, history has been told from the perspective of the victors [....] Broadening the way that we’re approaching research [is] the first step in decolonizing it.”

opinion@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Sequoia Kim editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Ruobing Chen rchen@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Kennedy McKee-Braide kmckee-braide@mcgilltribune.com Madison Mclauchlan mmclauchlan@mcgilltribune.com Maya Abuali mabuali@mcgilltribune.com

News Editors Lily Cason, Ella Fitzhugh & Madison Edward-Wright news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Matthew Molinaro, Aubrey Quinney & Sepideh Afshar opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editors Shafaq Nami scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Life Editors Holly Wethey & Wendy Zhao studentlife@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Tasmin Chu features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Lowell Wolfe & Michelle Siegel arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Sarah Farnand & Sophie Gorbunov sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Jinny Moon & Xiaotian Wang design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Anoushka Oke photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editors Wendy Lin multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Abby de Gala & Sneha Senthil webdev@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Jackie Lee copy@mcgilltribune.com Social Media Editor Taneeshaa Pradhan socialmedia@mcgilltribune.com

McGill’s commitments to Black History Month require sustained action The McGill Tribune Editorial Board

n Feb. 1, an opening ceremony with keynote speaker Dr. James Jones marked the lineup of events for McGill’s fifth annual celebration of Black History Month. In an email to students, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier and Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi acknowledged that the work of McGill’s Anti-Black Racism plan builds upon ongoing advocacy by the Black Students’ Network, the McGill African Students’ Society, and the Dr. Kenneth Melville Black Faculty Caucus, and that celebrating Black excellence should be a year-round commitment. These words are an important, yet minimal, first step in reversing the documented apathy toward the sustained, storied, and long-standing realities of anti-Blackness at McGill. Committing to promises of anti-racism and truly honouring Black History Month requires bolder, multilateral solutions that fundamentally reimagine the core structure of the university—which disproportionately impacts Black community members’ abilities to flourish. McGill’s commitment to year-round care for Black history has yet to be realized. This, in part, stems from the university’s initial reluctance to officially recognize Black History Month—21 years after the House of Commons’ official recognition and years of grassroots Black student advocacy. McGill’s involvement fails to extend beyond surface-level engagement. For example, the university often pigeon-holes Black academics’ events into February, rather than offering them prime speaking opportunities

OFF THE BOARD Maya Abuali Managing Editor

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TPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sequoia Kim, Reem Abdul Majid, Matthew Molinaro, Shafaq Nami, Joseph Abounohra, Namrata Rana, Shreya Rastogi

STAFF Ghazal Azizi, Valentina de la Borbolla, Léa Bourget, Tillie Burlock, El Bush, Elissa Dresdner, Mika Drygas, Saumya Gogte, Suzanna Graham, Bronte Grimmer, Karthikeya Guatam, Charlotte Hayes, Rose Kaissar, Arian Kamel, Leo Larman Brown, Shani Laskin, Elena Lee, Louis Lussier-Piette, Dima Kiwan, Adam Matthews-Kott, Abby McCormick, Adam Menikefs, Zoe Mineret, Juliet Morrison, Sara Chiarotto O’Brien, Juwel Rana, Mikaela Shadick, Erin Smith, Courtney Squires, Niamh Stafford, Dante Ventulieri, Corey Zhu

CONTRIBUTORS Cameron Flanagan, Sébastien Géroli, Zoe Karkossa, Monique Kasonga, Chloé Kichenane, Isabelle Lahiri, Brian Schatteman, Sonja Soo

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oward the end of my winter break, I flipped open my copy of the New York Times to find a dying Socrates, scantily clad with arms outstretched as if to spread the last vestiges of his sagacity to his surrounding party. He was trapped in the chassis of an article written by Molly Young, who was describing the revival of Stoic philosophy during the pandemic. Young writes that ancient philosophers Epictetus and Seneca practiced stoicism to escape psychological enslavement— which, today, many attribute to their abundant screen time. But this is old news; we are all too cognizant of (and admittedly complacent with) the fact that technology is taking over our lives. A grave element of the issue,

at more “prestigious” events, like the Beatty Lecture. Although McGill has finally admitted that its namesake, James McGill, enslaved at least three Black people and two Indigenous people, it took repeated instances of vandalism before his statue was taken down—for “repair and restoration.” Year-round support for Black lives means well-intentioned engagement, beyond funding, that challenges McGill’s tendency to exclude and ignore Black presence on campus. McGill’s hesitancy to engage could be perceived as giving Black student groups autonomy to organize, but it is critical to remember that the administration ultimately holds power over the university’s direction. Consider the underrepresentation of Black faculty––who made up just 0.8 per cent of the over 1,700 tenuretrack or stream academics in September 2020–– especially in, but not limited to, disciplines like science and engineering. The focus on Black excellence, already concerning in its validation of Black humanity only within spheres of neoliberal achievement, has not translated to representation on the syllabus or in the classroom. At the faculty level, departments must question why race-critical approaches sit on the periphery of curricula. Professors have a responsibility to understand that teaching one Black thinker on their Eurocentric syllabus is hollow without meaningful engagement. Courses centred on race are often offered solely at the 400 and 500 levels, rather than being seriously integrated into introductory courses across the sciences and humanities. In turn, programs continue to value a white status quo over the experiences of Black and racialized people often affected by the radical, white supremacist

OPINION

EDITORIAL

misinterpretations of these disciplines. McGill students can currently graduate without understanding how colonialism and systemic racism subsist and survive as all-consuming forces—all of which affect what courses are taught, who gets to teach them and how, and how Black students connect lived experience in the world with those in the classroom. McGill students are not exempt from these changes. To lazily criticize McGill without taking action or changing one’s own attitude is to allow systemic anti-Black racism to propagate for personal, performative benefit. In spite of their limited diversity, McGill student organizations need to go beyond rhetorical shows of support—and in the Students’ Society of McGill University’s case, need to go beyond utter radio silence—they can further share calls to action and concretize constitutional commitments to equity. Unburdening Black students involves fairly compensating them for their labour and sharing power, rather than consulting them in symbolic “safe spaces.” McGill needs to hold itself accountable for its commitments to Black people. These actions are neither all-inclusive, nor easy for students, faculty, or the administration—and they should not be either. McGill needs long-term changes across all levels and must raise the bar to which it holds itself. McGill should communicate progress updates on their Anti-Black Racism plan more clearly and consistently, as should SSMU with the Black Affairs Committee. The tiered, multi-layered process of breaking barriers and making space for McGill’s Black community is necessary in the pursuit of an equitable, just, and anti-racist future.

The unspoken harm of digital hoarding however, often flies completely under the radar—that is, our newfound capacity to indulge in technological hoarding. It is not just the photos dating back 10 years that we carry around with us. It is the countless messages across every social media platform that have documented our every conversation. Not to mention our notes apps, brimming with every grocery list, fleeting idea, or emotional word vomit we have churned out over the last decade. In the same space, the digital footprint looms, ominous and unassuming, ready to bite us in the ass with a mortifying Facebook status from 2013. The development of iCloud has ensured that the litter of our daily lives—things our parents would scrawl down on scraps of paper or send away in physical letters— remains with us on every device for the rest of our lives. We casually carry around remnants of every moment, relationship, and discussion we have had since our adolescence. The healthy bunch of our generation might pay this no mind, but to the anxious remainder, these colossal archives are a merciless poison. Nostalgia, the secret force behind our troubles, convinces us that life is nothing without moments to remember, good or bad. Poet Anaïs Nin once wrote

that we write to taste life twice; the victims of Nostalgia, however—who pore over old texts or notes like daily prayers—do not read their writing as a rare indulgence, but as a persistent and nauseating gorging. We consume good memories like drugs—looking back at our pictures or notes to chase the first high of the lived moment, but never quite catching up to it. As we re-indulge in these moments, the dull ache of forcibly induced dopamine rises like bile in our chests, each time less potent than before. A once determined fist that has tired knocking on the same door, its wrist too limp to cause that satisfying rap against the wood. We devour the bad memories with the same insatiable voracity. We mull over the word choice in our every text. We feed on each obsessively recorded moment in our notes apps. We revisit conversations that should have been forgotten the moment they happened. Like a siren, nNostalgia beckons, promising us signs of personal growth, or at least a little more self-awareness, should we return to these memories. And so

every horrendous haircut, traumatic interaction, and cringe-worthy word written to a trusted friend—or a despised ex—it’s all there, in our little, useless, rectangular Library of Alexandria that we refuse to burn. How can we expect to heal from a past that we can never escape? Whenever our ancestors said something to regret or experienced something profound, they would allow the memory of the moment to dissolve. The shame or embarrassment or joy would fade with time. Our cells may divide and regenerate every decade or so, the same way theirs did—but we prevent ourselves from shedding the skins of our past. Whether it is guilt, loss, rage, or pure sentimentality that has you rummaging through your past, know that it is a practice we were never meant to engage in at this level. Purging our phones of our past is something we all must do for a semblance of primeval sanity. Clicking delete may feel like losing a part of ourselves, but it is the only way for us to grow.

CLARIFICATION In an article published in the February 15, 2022 issue (“When it comes to drugs, McGill is still stuck in the past”) the interview to Dr. Gobbi was extrapolated from another context and the view contained in this article does not necessarily reflect the sources interviewed.

OPINION

COMMENTARY

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For a better future, McGill must learn from Black history

Monique Kasonga Contributor

very February, Black History Month comes around with growing support, yet there is still room for growth on behalf of institutions and individuals. Oftentimes, corporations and institutions appear to care about Black history, while truly not doing much good for anyone. These institutions shape Black History Month increasingly around Black trauma when, this month should really be a celebration of Black achievements and history.

This year marks Montreal’s 31st anniversary celebrating Black History Month. (Concordia)

COMMENTARY Dima Kiwan Staff Writer Content warning: Mentions of sexual violence

ctivism is an artform. Inspiring and resonating with enough people to make a difference often demands human connection through loud and creative means. Like spoken or written words, nudity carries endless potential for representing a cause, both within and beyond the feminist domain with which it is most commonly associated. Just last week in Montreal, demonstrators outside Hudson’s Bay went nude to mark National Anti-Fur Day, protesting The Bay and other companies’ manufacture and sale of fur. Of course, in most cultures, a mass of people marching down public streets in the nude carries shock value. Although naked protests are much more than a simple scheme to attract public awareness to a cause, in politics, nudity is a metaphorical goldmine. While the Free the Nipple movement has seen significant victories in past years, nudity can be an effective political tool against more than just challenging sexist indecent exposure laws. It can also represent masses “stripped” of their fundamental rights, or it can spotlight the brutality of government, industry, and law enforcement in its juxtaposition to the fragile and vulnerable

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

Most importantly, this celebration should take place all year, keeping the discussion prominent and accessible in the mainstream. The history of Black nationalism in Canada dates back more than 400 years, but many students only know about Black American history, which diminishes the role of Black internationalisms in the history of Pan-Africanism and Black nationalism. This is shocking considering the major links between Black Canadian and American history. For example, the parents of Malcolm X, Earl and Louise Lansing, met in meetings of the then-newly formed Montreal branch of Marcus Garvey’s United Negro Improvement Association and later wed in the city. After defending his family’s right to reside in a predominantly white neighborhood in Michigan, Earl was killed, and Louise was subsequently admitted to a mental health asylum. These experiences pushed Malcolm toward the ideology of Black nationalism, with which he would greatly influence the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s as he fought for racial justice. This great connection between Canadian and American Black history should be recognized and more widely taught. Montreal’s role in the emergence of jazz culture makes the city a cornerstone of Black history, and is even home to the largest Jazz Festival in the world today. The roots of Montreal’s jazz culture can be traced back to the early 20th century when the Black community of Little Burgundy established a number of social organizations to counteract poverty and social marginalization, out of which arose artists like Oliver Jones and Oscar Peterson. During the Golden Age of jazz, several famous artists visited Montreal and frequented clubs founded by the Black community, such as Café St-Michel and Rockhead’s Paradise, the latter being

the first Black-owned nightclub in Canada, founded by Rufus Rockhead. The impact that jazz has had on the city is indisputable, and countless McGill students spend their weekends enjoying jazz bars. Residents of Montreal have the responsibility to recognize the rich history of Black culture in the city, to help revive historical and cultural narratives. McGill has made great progress in celebrating Black History Month with events, and supporting organizations like the Black Students’ Network and the McGill African Students Society, which have brought attention to Black history. However, it is the obligation of McGill students to make use of these resources to further their knowledge of Black history and its impact. These organizations use history to help understand current issues facing Black students, and also offer calls to action that equip students to be better allies to the Black community. McGill should offer more on Canadian and Montreal Black history. Moreover, McGill is very loud and proud as an institution regarding their alumni, but many students may not have heard that Julius Garvey, son of aforementioned Marcus Garvey, attended McGill. This is a strong link between the Black nationalist and Pan-African movement that the university should recognize during Black History Month. Montreal and McGill both have profound Black histories. With living in a major city comes the responsibility of acknowledging and understanding the history that shaped it to be what it is today. Montreal holds a diverse population, and increasing recognition of local Black history can truly impact the way residents treat each other and can go a long way toward cultivating an anti-racist society.

To strip or not to strip: The power of political nudity human body. It can articulate themes of transparency, to protest corruption and politicians’ shady behaviour— or individuality, to protest mass consumerism and the hegemony of large corporations. This is what protestors had in mind when they flooded the streets leading up to Montreal’s 2012 Formula One Grand Prix, one of Canada’s largest global tourist events. Among others, Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes led nightly naked protests against the Grand Prix and its elitist stakeholders. “You’re sexy, you’re cute, take off your riot suit!” chanted protestors in response to police repression. From a feminist perspective, the symbolism is even more powerful. For many feminist activists, marching together in the nude means regaining control over both the body itself and predominant gendered narratives of femininity. Through bold messages and paint smears on their exposed bodies, protestors shock bystanders and media away from romanticized, delicate, and inferior depictions of femininity. Men who leer at and objectify these protestors do not invalidate the intention behind their nudity—principally, it is her choice, no matter his reaction. Protestors’ decision to participate in nude protests highlights women’s autonomy over their own bodies, an issue central to sexual violence, exploitation, and reproductive justice. For example, at the

2015 Slutwalk, a topless protest in Rio De Janeiro, up to 3,000 women marched against a sexist bill introduced by Eduardo Cunha that would require people in Brazil who wanted an abortion to provide evidence that they had been raped or faced medical danger due to the pregnancy. Similarly, in 2016, women in Sierra Leone protested naked against then-President Ernest Bai Koroma’s scrapping of a safe abortion bill under pressure from religious leaders and their foreign funders. This intentional nudity sends a clear message that a woman’s body, rights, choices, and decisions are hers, and hers only. Regaining control through nude protests also subverts the overt sexual objectification of women. At the Brazil Slutwalk in Rio De Janeiro,

nude protestors explained that they sought to challenge the narrative that women face sexual violence at their own fault because of what they choose to wear. Likewise, several Grand Prix protestors challenged the increased sexual exploitation and harassment that women in Montreal experienced during the event by tourists who then left before police initiated proper investigations. Commenting on the 2012 Grand Prix demonstrations, former Premier Jean Charest claimed naked protests attacked the wrong people, disrupting the public instead of productively vocalizing concerns to the government. But nudity provokes action too. It is worth more than just its shock value and can be equally as intentional, meaningful, and targeted as other forms of protest. For exam-

ple, in 2012, many Montreal students protested nearly naked to challenge proposed tuition hikes in Quebec, contributing to unrest that resulted in then-Premier Pauline Marois cancelling the proposal. During this demonstration, the students’ nudity did not prevent aggressive police repression with tear gas, batons, and pepper spray, but rather highlighted its arbitrary brutality. The image of police in full riot suits chasing down completely exposed demonstrators is worth a thousand words. Indeed, this unconventional form of protest is about more than provoking double-takes and controversial conversations. It is legitimate and effective activism: The human body, in all its diversity and vulnerability, is extremely impactful.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals coined the famous campaign slogan “We’d rather go-go naked than wear fur” in the late 1980s. (CTV News)

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Giving back and moving forward in the medical sphere

Faculty of Medicine event highlights four Black students and professionals shaping tomorrow’s healthcare Zoe Karkossa Contributor

acial biases have major impacts on the medical field, from inaccurate diagnostics to nonconsensual procedures—but always to the detriment of marginalized communities. Many medical professionals at McGill and in Montreal are working to change this, however: The Social Accountability and Community Engagement Office of McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and Health highlighted four Black changemakers in health care during their event “Research, Advocacy, and Philanthropy in Health Equity” on Feb. 10.

Berson Augustin Berson Augustin is a PhD student in epidemiology at McGill who has been working in community health care for many years. As a researcher at the Lady Davis Research Institute, he aimed to improve Hepatitis C virus screening through community outreach among migrants in Montreal. But before then, Augustin got his start in medicine as a volunteer. After a chance meeting with a doctor at a free clinic in Florida, Augustin was encouraged to volunteer as a translator for Haitian immigrants seeking health care. From doctors to refugees in Canada, all the people Augustin has encountered during his life have profoundly shaped his passion for medicine. “To be able to have moved on, little by little, because of these people that have been supporting me is the reason that I think doing this kind of work and thinking about medicine is important,” Augustin said.

Victoire Kpadé Victoire Kpadé’s experience in medicine, too, was

Marginalized communities often face barriers to health care on patient, provider, and systemic levels. (Hero Image / Getty Images) deeply shaped by her peers. A current medical student at McGill, Kpadé started seriously looking into medical programs after an inspiring conversation she had with her friend Lashanda Skerritt, another speaker who had recently been accepted in a similar program. Kpadé’s work centres around giving back to the community. One of her past projects was developing clinical guidelines for medical professionals working with unhoused individuals. “At this point, I feel like I have a lot of different pieces of research,” Kpadé said. “Now I want to see how to translate that research into sustainable interventions that will have a long standing impact to improve the access of care and particularly for members of marginalized communities.”

Lashanda Skerritt As a MDCM and PhD student studying family medicine, Skerritt researches the reproductive health-care needs of women living with HIV, who are often at the intersec-

tion of many different forms of oppression. An essential concept that Skerritt uses to guide her work is Two-Eyed Seeing, known as Etuaptmumk in Mi’kmaw, which was introduced to her by Indigenous professionals she works with. Two-Eyed Seeing seeks to integrate the strengths of both Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. Skerritt’s work focusses on bringing together traditional epidemiological approaches with community knowledge. “Working with communities requires us to change the way that we view [those] that might be experiencing barriers and challenges,” Skerritt said. “There are a lot of ways in which community organizations, Black community groups, do incredible work to support our community that’s outside of the health-care system, outside of academia.”

Nicolas Cadet Graduated from McGill Medicine in 2012, Nicolas Cadet is the first opthalmologist of African descent specializing in oculoplastic surgery in Canada. Encouraged by his parents to give back, he is intent on using his role in health care to support his community. Cadet is an advocate for the importance of community and mentorship for Black medical students, and part of his current work includes establishing a bursary to support them. Establishing a sense of community trust, he said, is crucial in delivering effective health care to marginalized communities, highlighting the importance of health care built by and for Black people. “My dream is to see how we can all come together as physicians from Black communities to actually build something for our communities,” Cadet said. “I think that the change should come from us, so let’s make that change happen.”

Winter Olympics 2022: Mother Earth returns empty-handed From artificial snow to the destruction of a natural reserve, Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 are an ecological nightmare Chloé Kichenane Contributor

fter the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing ended with a grandiose closing ceremony on Feb. 20, it is time for a review—not so much of the sports, but rather of the ecological impact of the quadrennial event. Some may wonder as they read this: Didn’t the International Olympic Committee (IOC) assure us that these would be the most sustainable Games in history? They certainly did, but if anyone is still unclear about what “greenwashing” is, here is exhibit A. While Beijing boasted about its renewable energy efforts and the IOC published a 130-page sustainability report on the Olympics, nothing can erase the startling image of a completely artificial ski slope rising up amid a semi-arid landscape. The almost post-apocalyptic picture has been trending all over social media, sparking indignation and shattering the eco-friendly myth Beijing tried to spin. Far from being the

most environmentally friendly games in history, the only title that Beijing 2022 managed to earn is being the first winter games to fully rely on artificial snow. But what exactly is artificial snow? Joe Schwarcz, director of the McGill Office for Science and Society, explained that snowmakers produce droplets of ice, each with a diameter of about one tenthousandth of an inch, by quickly

releasing water and compressed air, which then expands. The temperature drops and freezes the water, thus releasing heat. “This should be obvious when we realize that in order to melt ice we have to add heat,” Schwarcz wrote in an article for the Office for Science and Society. “The heat released is taken up by the expanding compressed air. Incidentally, this is why the

The North East of China, where the Olympic sites are located, is known for its dry winter. Despite the cold weather, it hardly ever snows. (Corey Zhu / The McGill Tribune)

‘snow making’ pipes are always high in the air. If the snow were made close to the ground, the heat released by the freezing process would actually warm up the ground and melt some of the snow.” The process of snow-making itself is not environmentally harmful: The IOC has ensured the absence of chemicals in artificial snow. The biggest problem with artificial snow is the massive amount of natural resources needed to produce it: 185 million litres (49 million gallons) of water is required to generate enough snow for the Games. This is a significant demand from a region that receives only 300,000 litres (300 cubic metres) of water per capita per year, more than two-thirds below the UN’s water-scarcity threshold, which is 1,000 cubic meters per capita per year. Hosting the snow-based events in Beijing could require enough water to fill 800 Olympic swimming pools. To add to the environmental catastrophe, China has also made the decision to establish its ski

domain in the Sonshang nature reserve in Yanqing, causing the decimation of 20,000 trees, the equivalent area of 1,000 soccer fields. On top of that, the IOC’s commitment to transplanting all the felled trees reveals, once again, the crucial lack of commitment the Games has to environmental issues—not the slightest consideration was given to the impact of such a decision on the region’s biodiversity. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as the IOC’s primary mission is the “democratization of sports”—with its market of 1.6 billion people, China turns out to be a purely strategic choice to fulfill this goal. The tug-of-war between profit and environment is on display. And yet again, profit wins. But is this struggle even worth the price? Unless greenhouse gas emissions are drastically reduced, only one city out of 21 host cities surveilled—Sapporo, Japan— could feasibly host the event by the end of the century. It seems like the IOC should start worrying about ecological concerns, for its own survival.

Putting nature in

the foreground Finding natural spaces in an urban setting Anoushka Oke, Photo Editor

he one constant for me throughout this turbulent pandemic has been seeking refuge in the outdoors. Between the headlines, elections, and political battles that constantly preoccupied everyone’s minds, nature became a source of comfort and solace. It was in April 2020 when the virus initially surged in New England, right when the bitter cold started to thaw. Two weeks off from school started to look like it was going to be a lot longer than anticipated. After weeks without schoolwork and a waning social life, I eventually grew bored of online shopping and scrolling through TikTok. Instead, I began spending more time in my own backyard. Just being in the sun and surrounded by greenery was a refreshing break from the constant stream of information I absorbed from news and social media. Addicted to the exhilarating feeling of being outside, I started taking walks around my neighbourhood, looking for nature both in our local parks and in less obvious crevices of the suburban landscape—like thriving gardens dominated by native plants or mini-ecosystems flourishing on mossy rocks. Later in the summer, after getting my bike fixed, I started taking long bike rides on the rail trail that bisects my town. No matter which turn the pandemic or any other current events took, I could always walk into the open arms of the outdoors for consolation. Though I’m in Montreal now, I still try to seek this solace in nature. Admittedly, it can be much more challenging to do this in a big city, which is certainly more urban than my suburb outside Boston. The harsh winter that wipes away most of the greenery for almost half the year makes it even harder to interact with the natural world, especially when most of the city is blanketed by layers of snow.

But even in an urban setting, nature physically and culturally shapes our landscape more than we realize. Animals and plant life physically enter into and interact with what we deem “human spaces,” and their presence or absence affects how we as humans connect with our world. There are, of course, the public parks that all Montreal-dwellers enjoy— Parc La Fontaine, Mont Royal, and Parc Jeanne-Mance, to name a few—but even in seemingly bleak downtown areas, nature still manages to creep through. No matter how much humans make their mark on the planet, even our most urban spaces are occupied by plants and animals that seek to share space with us; squirrels make McGill’s campus home, plants constantly weather our man-made structures, and pigeons shadow humans anywhere there seems to be food. To see the omnipresence of the natural world sometimes requires a change of perspective: You need to put nature in the foreground of how you view the city. Whether it’s the weeds sprouting through the cracks of sidewalks or fences covered in thin vines of ivy, one is reminded that the natural environment and the city are not mutually exclusive. During last week’s tumultuous weather, I took a walk through Montreal with my camera in hand. Though the fresh snow that had fallen that morning made the experience somewhat difficult, it was still gorgeous and enjoyable. As I strolled through the Milton-Parc and Plateau neighbourhoods, I snapped shots of the traces that the natural world had left behind while it hibernated for the winter. As I walked, I decided to take on a new perspective of my surroundings. Rather than looking around and just seeing an imposing array of towering buildings and “concrete jungle”esque roads and parking lots, I saw a space of constant interaction between the human and natural world. It’s a strategy that all lovers of the outdoors can benefit from, especially at times when human life seems too chaotic. Design by Jinny Moon, Design Editor

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

Anger, crime, and punishment: Can we control our own emotions? New research establishes link between intuitive anger and punitiveness Mikaela Shadick Staff Writer

team of scientists from McGill, the National Institute of Scientific Research (IRNS), and the University of Ottawa have identified anger as being an intuitive, near-instantaneous reaction to crime in a recent study published in Psychology, Crime & Law. Their research shows that emotion, alongside factual evidence, can play a significant role in determining punishments for criminalized individuals. Led by Carolyn Côté-Lussier, professor of urban studies at the INRS and assistant professor in the University of Ottawa’s criminology department, the experiment asked participants to make snap decisions about the degree of punishment 52 males should receive based on their photo. Participants were told that the men had previously been convicted of a crime, but their actual crimes were not listed. By measuring both the participants’ electrical impulses that control facial expressions and their punitive decisions, Côté-Lussier’s team concluded that anger could

manifest itself physiologically within only 500 milliseconds. Participants had decided on a punishment for a criminalized person after only 1.3 seconds, on average. The researchers used facial electromyography (fEMG), a technology that records minute movements in facial muscles down to the millisecond, to quantify the physiological manifestation of emotion. The movements of corrugator muscles, those directly responsible for frowning, were specifically recorded to isolate instances of anger. “We respond to other people’s facial expressions and emotions, and we also have our own facial expressions that express our emotions,” Côté-Lussier said in an interview with //The McGill Tribune//. “I’m very interested in these micro expressions, in how we feel intuitively. You might not be aware of where an emotion is coming from, but it [manifests] itself on your face.” The team observed that participants felt varying levels of anger toward the individuals they were shown, and that there was a correlation between how “warm”—or friendly—the individual was perceived to be and the degree of pun-

ishment the participants said they should receive. “When I was creating the groups of pictures, I was focussed on how they differed on the dimension of warmth,” Côté-Lussier said. “Because this […] is the thing we pay attention to the most [in this experiment] and will really orient our emotions to a particular social emotional group.” Côté-Lussier noted that this intuitive manifestation often stems from biases founded upon demographic characteristics like race, age, perceived social status, or attractiveness. “These kinds of biases […] are infusing our reasoning, they are tinting the way that […] we see people, and we can work actively to try and dismantle that. But when we look at the data, we tend to see the same kind of biases being manifested,” Côté-Lussier said. “So there is a link here between the intuition and the outcome that we end up seeing.” Côté-Lussier says that other characteristics that provoke such biases pose possible areas of future study, now that the link between the intuitive nature of anger and punitiveness has been quantified. “For instance, I haven’t con-

Facial electromyography (fEMG) measures facial contractions and expressions by picking up on electrical impulses generated by tiny muscle fibres. (Unsplash) sidered the race dimension in the analyses themselves, partly because I made an effort to control for that by having the same kind of composition across the two groups,” Côté-Lussier said. “But that doesn’t mean that that stops us from looking at those dimensions [in the] future.” And according to Côté-Lussier, it is these internalized biases and tendencies to make snap judgments that proliferate and fester in our criminal justice system, even if we make efforts to check them at the door of the courthouse. While Côté-Lussier recognizes that this research does not directly emulate what occurs in the courtroom, specifically because judges

and jury members are expected to make decisions based on evidence, not just a photo, she reminds us that our innate tendencies can lead us to make emotionally-guided judgements. “I think it would be incorrect to expect that a judge or a jury member could do away with the emotional intuitive reactions,” Côté-Lussier said. “For me, the important thing is less about how I hope people will pay attention to [this research] in the criminal justice system, and more about how I want it to tackle social, structural inequities. If we reduce those inequalities, we’ll see less crime and less anger about crime.”

How to care for caregivers: A new online dementia education program Virtual training program for caregivers for those with dementia in development at McGill Sonja Soo Contributor

any caregivers for those living with dementia are family members and friends who sacrifice their time— and even compromise their own health—to care for their loved ones. However, family and friends often lack training and support, which can put them at risk of suffering from stress and burnout. A new program at McGill seeks to change that. Ten Online Modules over Ten Weeks for Adult Learners (TOTAL) eLearning is an online-based education program still in development that aims to educate caregiv-

ers about dementia. Today, more than 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, with the most common form being Alzheimer’s disease. As a progressive disease, dementia starts with memory loss and eventually progresses to losing the ability to eat, walk, and communicate. Compared to those caring for healthy seniors, caregivers for seniors with dementia feel more distress from the extended hours they put in, as well as navigating the cognitive, mood, and behavioural symptoms associated with dementia. This new program will be based on the in-person workshops from the McGill Dementia Education Program founded by Claire

One in five Canadians have experience caring for someone living with dementia Social media: McGill is developing a new online dementia education training program for caregivers. (Getty Images)

Webster, a certified Alzheimer’s care consultant. Webster, whose mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2006, felt wholly unprepared for taking on the role of a caregiver. “I got absolutely no information or education at all about the illness and as a result, it definitely had an impact on the quality of care that my mother received,” Webster said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “It had a ripple effect on my health and a ripple effect on my family.” Webster started volunteering at various Alzheimer’s disease groups, teaching medical students about post-diagnostic care and eventually collaborating with McGill clinician-scientists Dr. Serge Gauthier and Dr. José Morais to develop caregiver workshops in 2017. The workshops covered topics such as safety and caregiver burnout, and consisted of simulated scenarios portrayed by actors. “[The workshops] had a very powerful effect, because a lot of these caregivers had never been educated [about dementia] before,” Webster said. However, these in-person workshops were limited to Montreal and could only accommodate a certain number of participants. Caregivers also needed to leave their patient partners to attend these workshops. Yet, even before the pandemic, Webster envisioned an online program that centres accessibility, flexibility, and support. That is how the collaboration with McGill professor Tamara Carver began. Carver, the Director of the Office of Education Tech-

nology and E-learning Collaboration for Health (Ed-TECH) at the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning is tasked with leading the transition of the program to an online format. Recently, the Public Health Agency of Canada granted the project over $750,000 in funding to develop the online program, which is set to launch in October 2022. Accessibility is key: The program will be delivered in both English and French, and tablets will be available on loan to participants in remote areas with minimal internet access. The program will also undergo feedback from the caregiver participants to ensure that it can be reworked to accommodate changing concerns and demands. “We want to know: Does it meet the needs of the participants? Do they feel more supported? Are they more confident in their ability as caregivers?” Carver said in an interview with the Tribune. “This is the exciting aspect about creating community education. Our goal is to help them and also learn from them in a community-based participatory approach.” Both Webster and Carver emphasized the importance of the various departments and institutions that came together to develop the Dementia Education program, upon which the TOTAL eLearning program will be based. “What the Office of Ed-TECH is doing [...] is one important project,” Carver said. “What the acronym stands for, to me, is really important [....] The ‘collaboration’ is really key to the success of the projects we take on.”

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

STUDENT LIFE

Outfits for cancelled and postponed concerts

Standing out in the crowd, beyond the auditorium Holly Wethey & Wendy Zhao Student Life Editors

n its prime, Montreal was the place to be if you wanted to catch an electrifying concert. With names like The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, and Tyler, the Creator lined up to perform in 2022, it seemed like the revival of the Montreal concert scene was finally underway. Unfortunately, Omicron brought with it a wave of concert cancellations. In light of this, here’s a list of the outfits we might have worn to these concerts.

Men I trust

Formed by high school friends and Laval University graduates, this indie band holds a special place in many Montrealers’ hearts. Their soothing dream-pop melodies and 2000s electronic influence call for a loose, comfortable outfit that is casual but still tells people that you are indeed cool and artsy. Pair a neutral base layer—turtleneck, button-downs, and carpenter work pants—with a Carhartt jacket and rolled-up beanie. (To be honest, half of you already dress like this.) The band has also said that the solitary confines of rural Quebec were influential in shaping their 2019 album Oncle Jazz. If you, too, wish

to pay homage to this landscape, wear a monochromatic outfit with subdued tones of green to conjure the stretches of sloping green plains.

in a bright blue cardigan and hat, holding two vintage suitcases. You might also choose a more ultra-realistic approach and take inspiration directly from Tyler’s tracks. Put on your glasses because all you need is 20/20 vision to manifest the lyrics from one of Tyler’s most famous songs.

Montreal Symphony Orchestra

We’re missing the symphony too. Though the Maison Symphonique concert hall remains without your presence for now, that doesn’t mean your elegant outfit for the night has to go to waste too. If you’re tuning in to the concert webcasts at home, why not take the opportunity to dress up in your fanciest suit, dress, and accessories––perhaps a blazer and nothing else? You might also visit the Schulich Music Building to snag a few outfit ideas from fellow student musicians familiar with orchestra fashion.

The Weeknd

The Weeknd’s recent music has delivered a perfect soundtrack for the current times, replete with themes of chaos, nihilism, and the trappings of excess. Though we won’t be able to indulge in the madness with Abel, he’s luckily provided us with a manifold of personas with which to experiment. For a statement look to mirror his 2020 Save Your Tears

Tame Impala

Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker was on his way to his final astronomy exam when he received a call from Modular Recordings offering him a record deal. He dropped everything, went home to write more music, and hasn’t looked back since. (Wikimedia) mania get-up, throw on a red blazer with a pair of your coolest-looking leather gloves. Your bottoms can be any pair of black pants, but be sure to complement the hands with a heeled, black boot. Optional accessories include gray hair, plumped lips, botched fake cheekbones, and a wide, slightly creepy, smile. For a more low-key option, draw inspiration from the Weeknd’s 2011 album Echoes of Silence, made in this very city. The refraining lyric of the song Montreal––“Laisse tomber les filles”––should provide ample inspiration for your most sadboy-in-love look.

Tyler, the Creator

You better put your best fashion foot forward with this one because Tyler, the Creator is a style icon (he even has his own clothing line). With the concert scheduled for March 9, there’s no guarantee that it will take place, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a lesson or two from Tyler’s fashion books. Pair a blond bowl cut with fresh pastels to channel the artist’s Igor character from his album of the same name. Or, if wigs aren’t your thing, try recreating the alternate cover of Tyler’s latest album, which features an oil painting of the rapper

We’re crossing our fingers that this concert’s going to happen, but with the date set for March 10, we figured we might as well include it on this list. Besides, how could we resist the urge to put together an outfit for this psychedelic rock project? Despite popular misconceptions, Tame Impala is actually only made up of one person—Kevin Parker. And luckily, KP’s style is easy to recreate. Tie a bandana around long, straightened hair to replicate the Australian artist’s ‘do. No long hair? No problem! Just pull any tie-dye clothing you have out of the dark depths of your closet (we know it’s in there). You can also whip out your best Aussie accent for added effect. Or, for a more realistic look, try dressing up as an impala, the gazelle-like creature from which Tame takes its name.

The best four libraries on campus

Ambience, noise levels, and quirks of our favourite study spots El Bush Staff Writer

cGill is home to a plethora of libraries all with their own unique charms and perks. With due dates and midterms piling up, it’s hard to know which library is right for you! The McGill Tribune is here to break down our top four favourite libraries to help you make the best choice.

1. McLennan Library Address: 3459 McTavish Street Hours: Monday to Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m. Weekends: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Birks Reading Room is located within the Religious Studies building, which houses a chapel where former students and staff can get married. (Brian Schatteman / The McGill Tribune)

For many students, McLennan is the natural option for studying because of its large capacity and flexible hours. The Social Sciences and Humanities Library sits directly in the heart of campus, making it a popular study hub for students in all faculties. Although McLennan is not the most aesthetically pleasing library, it has its perks: Namely, the endless outlets and the countless places to spread out your work and study. Each floor is home to a different vibe; whether you want the second floor’s social environment or the sixth floor’s intensive studying atmosphere, you’re sure to find a space for you. If it weren’t for the midnight closing time, students could probably make this their second home. McLennan also houses many group study spaces for all those late-night midterm cram sessions with friends.

The Nahum Gelber Law Library is a beautiful study spot on Peel Street with large windows that provide ample lighting for your darkest studying days. With its beautiful architecture, the library is a fantastic option for anyone who wants to study whilst being surrounded by some neat art and a—slightly spooky—spiral staircase. As the library is open until midnight, it’s also convenient for those night owls who find themselves most productive past 9 p.m. Its patrons can sink into the trappings of a research essay or assigned reading for long, uninterrupted stretches of time. However, if you do decide to study here, be ready to maintain complete silence; this library is home to many stressed-out law students who won’t take well to whispering.

2. Nahum Gelber Law Library

3. Islamic Studies Library

Address: 3660 Peel Street Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m. Weekends: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Address: 859 Sherbrooke Street W Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 9 p.m. Weekends: CLOSED

The Islamic Studies Library is located just behind Leacock and is best known for the stunning octagon room–– commonly used in McGill’s promotional material––tucked away at the back. Although this library is only open until 9 p.m., every hour spent there is worth it. Its beautiful stained glass windows, wood accents, and high ceilings make it a cozy spot to write an essay or two. Filled with hidden nooks, such as a couch tucked under the staircase, this library is ideal not only for studying, but also for exploring. The library is known for its mandated silence levels, making it easy to concentrate on the tasks in front of you.

4. Birks Reading Room Address: 3520 Rue University Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Weekends: CLOSED Situated on Rue University, the historic building is home to a plethora of quiet spaces to study, read, take a break, or get married in the second-floor chapel (yes, this has happened before). For a more relaxed environment, the firstfloor student lounge is a great place to get some work done or have a quick nap on the most beautiful and comfortable green couches. For those looking for a place to grind out an essay or finish off the 500 pages of reading your professor assigned, the second-floor reading room is just what you need. With large tables and lots of light, it is the perfect space to finish up any outstanding coursework and spread out all your supplies. If you’re a daytime studier who loves light academia vibes, we recommend choosing Birks for your next work period. It’s a cozy escape from the cold Montreal winters— just be sure to wear your best socks, as it is a shoes-off building!

STUDENT LIFE

studentlife@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

Scouting out the best areas to eat on campus

An on-campus survival guide for cold and hungry students Dante Ventulieri Staff Writer

ith some time to go before terrasse season starts and eating outside becomes viable again, it’s important to know the comfortable indoor places to eat on campus. COVID-19 measures, including social distancing and mask mandates, have made the simple act of eating lunch an arduous process. The McGill Tribune visited some of the designated indoor eating areas at downtown campus to help alleviate meal-time stress.

Redpath

The basement of the Redpath library is one of the most popular eating spaces on campus, even prior to the pandemic. It does have some advantages, including being in the library, having various food options, and housing a variety of vending machines. However, it can get crowded and noisy, especially during peak hours. The lineups at Redpath Café and the stress of finding a table can eat up most of the time you were hoping to spend on your meal. The constant influx of people and the large crowds might also be a bit jarring for those worried about catching COVID-19.

Education

Although the Education building, tucked

away near the McTavish Reservoir, might be too long a trek for some, those who don’t mind the uphill climb on icy sidewalks will be rewarded with a pleasant eating experience. Even at peak hours, there are usually plenty of tables and seats available. There are large windows, microwaves in the basement, group and solo seating spaces, and even some occasional live piano. Here you can also find the Education Café, a modest eaterie with plenty of options, including some weatherappropriate soups and grilled cheese.

McConnell

Hidden behind Dispatch coffee, the McConnell cafeteria is easy to miss. At lunch time, the space can feel pretty cramped and it gets near impossible to find a single seat, never mind trying to find one for a friend. Even accessing the microwaves requires some pushing and shoving. However, if you’re strapped for food, the McConnell Café offers plenty of options and typically speedy service.

Café has an array of warm soups to keep you toasty during the subzero temperatures.

Flex Spaces

Another option is flex spaces, classrooms which are free at designated times for eating. The main advantage of these designated areas is their location–– chances are, there’s probably a flex space in or near one of your classrooms, making them practical for sneaking a quick bite before or after your class. Popular lecture hall rooms like Leacock 132, Arts W-120, and Stewart Biology S1/3 become flex spaces when there are no classes.

Honourable Mentions

There are many more eating spaces scattered across campus that, though imperfect, may be more convenient or suited to your needs. The first floor of Trottier has a designated area for eating, although the Trottier Café has unfortunately been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. The Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry building has a small eating area on the second floor, but it’s quite a trek up the hill and is really only practical for those who have a class in the building. The Ferrier student lounge is a quiet, but small, eating space with cushy couches, tall tables, and microwaves.

Burnside

The small eating area in the Burnside basement might be great for quick bites, especially because of its direct outdoor access and convenient location on campus, but the heavy foot traffic and lack of natural lighting aren’t ideal for a lengthy lunch. In contrast to the building’s cold architecture, the Soupe

With no end in sight for these freezing temperatures, eating outside is still not an option. (Léa Bourget / The McGill Tribune)

control methods as well as other useful information on sexual health. The handbook’s co-editors, Allan Feingold and Donna Cherniak, worked alongside Montreal-based doctors to conduct research and compile practical information on everything from condoms and diaphragms to abortion services and IUDs. Feingold and Cherniak also sought to highlight how social and political issues affected access to sexual health resources. At a time when contraceptives were inaccessible, the handbook responded to a huge demand, with more than three million copies distributed, in and beyond McGill, by 1974.

Continued from page 1.

1969 Computer Riot at Concordia

This protest would come to be known as the largest student riot in Canadian history. In the spring of 1968, six West Indian students from Sir George Williams University filed a complaint against their professor, Perry Anderson, for deliberately giving Black students lower grades. Though the university agreed to establish a Hearing Committee, Black students denounced the impartiality and incompetency of Concordia’s representatives. They walked out of the hearing with around 200 other students and occupied the school’s Computer Centre. After days of negotiation between the administration’s lawyers and the students, a settlement that would institute a new Hearing Committee was established, and the end seemed near. As protesters began to leave the Centre, assuming that the agreement was all settled, however, the proposal was scrapped. The next day, the

This quote comes from the special issue of the student newspaper The Georgian produced by student protestors called The Black Georgian. (Concordia Archives) administration called in the police and riot squad to handle student threats of vandalism. When they arrived, a large portion of computer equipment had been destroyed and a fire had broken out—totalling $2 million in damages. Though the accused professor was reinstated soon after and received no consequences, the occupation forced the administration to establish student representation on university decision-making bodies. Soon after, University Regulations on Rights and Responsibilities and the Ombuds Office was established.

(Rise Up! Archives)

The Birth Control Handbook

In 1968, the dissemination, sale, and advertisement of birth control methods was still illegal across Canada. In spite of this, the McGill Student Council passed a motion to form a Birth Control Committee and host a student seminar on sex education, eventually leading to the conception of the Birth Control Handbook, a guide to the pros and cons of various methods birth

The struggle for Africana Studies

In the 1990s, the Africana Studies Committee (ASC)— formed after McGill attempted to downgrade its African Studies program to only offer a minor— worked to, among other goals, bring an Africana Studies program to McGill. This program would study the Black diaspora as well as the interdisciplinary, internationalist perspectives that characterize it, and not to mention act as a departure from African

Studies’ problematic history of centring white scholars. Black students at McGill worked for four years to craft a proposal for the expanded program, presenting it to the McGill administration in 2000. It was the culmination of several initiatives, including a public demonstration that demanded the African studies program continue, the fundraising of approximately $20,000 for the Committee, and the organization of the Africana Congress 2000, which brought students, community activists, and lawyers from different countries together to strategize the future of Black studies at McGill. The proposal was also delivered at an important time: McGill had recently received more than $65 million in private donations and a commitment of $80 million in government investment. In the end, however, the administration showed its blatant resistance to the needs of Black students, stalling and eventually shelving the proposal once the student leaders graduated. Throughout the years following the ASC’s proposal, the Black Students’ Network has continued to spearhead the initiative for an Africana studies program at McGill.

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Uncharted’ might be Nathan Drake’s most daring quest yet Despite criticism, ‘Uncharted’ sets high bar for movies based on video games Karthikeya Gautam Staff Writer

ince its 2007 release, Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series has honoured three generations of PlayStation consoles with its preeminent fable. The quartet of video games follows treasurehunter Nathan Drake, accompanied by mentor Victor Sully and reporter Elena Fisher, as he quests for ancient treasures and mysteries across the world. Uncharted is revered in every aspect of its composition, setting unrealistically high standards for any related media to come. While the fourth game (Uncharted 4: A Thief ’s End) seemed to wrap up the series for good in 2016, the Feb. 18 release of the Uncharted movie brought Nathan Drake back to the screen—albeit this time, the silver one. Basing my judgment off the previous terrible movie adaptations of some of the most iconic video games, I issued a self-consolatory sigh and convinced myself to watch the movie without expectations. The story introduces a much younger Drake (Tom Holland), a confident and talented bartender whose side-hustles include, but are not limited to, pickpocketing

and retelling conveniently relevant historical facts—oftentimes simultaneously. A descendant of the notorious explorer Sir Francis Drake, the younger Drake’s seemingly ordinary life takes a sudden turn toward an inescapable destiny when Mark Wahlberg’s Sully requires his assistance in tracking down an ancient treasure. Before going any further into the review, however—and on the topic of Sir Francis Drake—it is important to acknowledge the romanticization of exploration present throughout the Uncharted franchise. The asymmetry in power between the explorer and the area explored makes the latter a mere fascinating object of study for the former. This “Orientalization’’ of the landscape subdues local autonomy over its own peoples and cultures, providing the explorer with free-reigned ownership of historical artifacts. The movie follows a simplistic storyline that is predictable to anyone well-versed with the Uncharted games. However, the high production value and star-studded cast offset that weakness, delivering a final product that far outshines the script. Effortless camerawork complements the overthe-top, video-game-esque action.

There are frequent and delightful references to the games, such as visual puzzles, occasional stealth (it isn’t Uncharted without massive crates you can hide behind, after all), and ledge-grabbing parkour that only Nathan Drake could execute. That being said, Uncharted has a few inherent flaws in need of immediate acknowledgement. For one, the characterization takes a serious backseat to the action. Nate’s brother, for example, is introduced at the beginning for only a few minutes, yet the viewer is expected to form a sympathetic bond with him. This is virtually impossible, considering the only personality traits divulged to us are that he steals things and likes to disappear without explanation. Holland and Wahlberg’s chemistry pays homage to Drake and Sully’s immutable dynamic, wherein one is but the extension of the other on every quest. However, while this is reflected from the source material, it is a bit too smooth at times. They form a bond within minutes of knowing each other, making for humorous quips that seem a little ill-fitting for near complete strangers. Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas) is the run-of-the-mill

This movie sets optimistic scope not only for future installments within the franchise, but for movies based on video games in general. (dexerto.com) villain, providing the unidimensional “bad guy” without a purpose. This boundless immorality caricatures his personality, reducing the impact that could have been dealt had he been a more polished, well-developed antagonist. At times, the story seems unsure of its own characters’ motives. This confuses viewers, as they question their sympathies with characters who make arbitrary decisions fuelled by unjustified motivations. Most characters go through little to no development over the course of the movie, and when they do, it is often abrupt and clumsy.

When it comes to movies based on video games, historical precedent painted a grim picture for Uncharted far before its release. Critics and audiences alike circled like vultures, waiting to tear it apart. And quite frankly, most did. However, this movie sets an optimistic scope—not only for future installments within the franchise, but for movies based on video games in general. To synthesize well-known and loved faces in a production of such immense magnitude showcases a hopeful mainstreaming of video game storylines—a bank which holds an ocean of hidden treasures, and then some.

CBC’s new series ‘The Porter’ tells stories of Black resilience in 1920s Montreal New drama explores Little Burgundy’s past as a railway hub and jazz centre Isabelle Lahiri Contributor

ar from the rosy multicultural haven one may have been taught about in their high school history class, Canada has a sordid legacy of anti-Black racism and discrimination. CBC’s new show, The Porter, released on Feb. 21, explores the little-known history of Black Canadians in Montreal through the lens of Black railway workers in the early 1920s. An eight-episode series, The Porter follows the lives of train porters Junior (Aml Ameen) and Zeke Garrett (Ronnie Rowe), as well as Marlene Massey (Mouna Traoré), a Black Cross nurse, and Lucy Conrad (Loren Lott), a jazz club performer. Though characters face systemic problems in their professions—including dangerous working conditions and racist and sexist higher-ups—their stories are imbued with strength and resilience, with a major plot point of the show centering on Zeke’s efforts to establish the first Black labour union. Though it tells a fictional story, The Porter incorporates real historical events into its plotlines. Zeke’s efforts to unionize Black porters, Junior’s bootlegging operations, Marlene’s involvement with the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and Lucy’s work in the entertainment industry encompass a range of true stories, albeit consoli-

dated and rearranged for engaging television. A crucial element of the show is its location in Montreal’s own St. Antoine neighbourhood— also known as Little Burgundy. As both a railway hub and the home of Canadian jazz, St. Antoine attracted a diverse and growing Black community from the Maritimes, the Caribbean, and the United States in the early 20th century. Several dance numbers in the Stardust Club pay homage to St. Antoine’s African and Caribbean heritage and give credence

to Montreal’s 20th-century status as the “Harlem of the North.” Though the show was shot in Winnipeg, the production recreated life in Montreal in the 1920s, drawing upon archival photographs and consultations with historians. Aside from its captivating historical perspectives, The Porter’s strength lies in its diverse array of nuanced characters and situations. Tragedy strikes when Henry, a fellow porter, dies after falling off a railway car due to a lack of safety precautions. While Zeke

Working as a porter was one of the only jobs available to educated Black men, and brought with it inhumane working conditions. (cbc.ca)

attempts to reason with the Cross-Continental Railway higher-ups and rallies to unionize his fellow porters, Junior enters the bootlegging industry in Prohibition-era Chicago. Junior sees Henry’s death as proof that work as a porter is fundamentally inhumane, so he quits as an act of self-preservation, while Zeke tries to change the nature of the job to help his community.Though the two bonded as soldiers in WWI, their differing reactions are understandable—they reveal their complexities of coping with the racist society surrounding them. Marlene’s internal conflict in wanting to help those struggling in her community but questioning whether her work as a Black Cross nurse is ultimately useful enough to them, presents a similar struggle. With a healthy dose of human drama, The Porter presents an engaging and thought-provoking look into a chapter of Montreal’s history, striking a satisfying balance between soap opera and historical drama. It entertains viewers while simultaneously encouraging them to look further into the stories of Black Canadians and Montrealers. With a talented cast of characters with diverse backstories and perspectives, The Porter brings to life some of the many stories that made Canada into the country it is today. The Porter is available on CBC and BET+.

14 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

The Sally Rooney effect

Melancholic fiction and brutally realistic characters create enthralling appeal for all Courtney Squires Staff Writer

n reaction to the pandemic, people have indulged in melancholy. Though Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People was neither her debut nor her most recent, it was the one that made her famous. The gloomy but beautiful novel was published in 2018, and adapted for television by the BBC two years later. The television series, released right in the midst of the pandemic, became a smashing success, and BBC’s most streamed series of 2020. Dubbed this generation’s Salinger, Rooney did more than create a bestselling book: She changed the romance terrain. Fueled by BookTok and the rising popularity of melancholic literature, the deglamourized romance of Marianne and Connell provided comfort for many readers. Along with this influx of melancholic,

domestically themed novels like A Little Life, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and of course Normal People, the trope of the self-aware narrator has become increasingly popular in contemporary fiction. Protagonists, such as Marianne, weave self-criticism and eerily astute observations about their own flaws into the narrative, creating a sense of nonchalant introspection that makes their stories seem more realistic. This transparent style of writing walks a thin line between poignant awareness and cliché. No one wants to read a novel where the protagonist spends the whole time complaining—no matter how self-aware they are—but Rooney’s characters emotionally level with readers. The writings of melancholic authors like Rooney or Emily Austin are especially pertinent to struggles of the pandemic era. This genre certainly deviates from the previous trends of romantic fiction literature.

Dark domestic fiction takes over the literary market, appropriately mirroring the gloom of the world around us. (Mika Drygas / The McGill Tribune)

As the pandemic continues, many seek comfort in reading, and while before people turned to fantasy or cheesy rom-coms, now, these dark, and domestic, fictions are growing in popularity. Without leaning too heavily on the self-aware narrator, these novels embrace the melancholia of the everyday. These novels’ unforgettable ability to languish in the uncomfortable has become indicative of their genre. With social media’s increasing popularity, it is no surprise that the literary market is also affected by this shift in trends. BookTok, a subsection of TikTok, is a worldwide reading community that discusses books and drives sales. All of the larger-name book stores have some sort of a “Trending on TikTok” section—if a book blows up on BookTok, it is bound to sell out in stores. The hashtag #normalpeople has amassed 6.2 billion views on Tik Tok, proving the Gen Z literary influencers have spoken. However, there is a distinction between timeless and trending, and for these novels, it lies within the characters. Especially for novels like Normal People, the characters are the core of the story, and they are endearing because they are so unfiltered. They nest in the perfect middle ground: Realistic but not too realistic, relatable but not too relatable, funny but not too funny. And especially when touching on more sensitive topics, like abuse, addiction, and fluctuating power dynamics, authors must tread lightly. But what allows these novels to resonate is their almost unintentional disregard for their readers, as they appear to remove the performative aspect of character development. It’s always most difficult to do the simplest things well, and Rooney masterfully created a love story that is as raw and brittle as her characters, shattering the illusion of the tried-and-true romance.

Green Week Photography Challenge

Science Undergrad Society’s Environment Committee holds a week-long photo challenge celebrating sustainability and nature! Photos will be entered to win a free personalized water bottle. Mon, Feb. 21–Thurs, Feb. 24, 11:59 p.m. Submit Online to SUSEC Linktree form Free

Astronomy Trivia Night

Join the McGill Space Institute for a fun astronomy themed trivia night! Play alone or with a team, and the winners will get prizes! Tuesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Online; Register on the AstroMcGill Facebook page Free

Hidden in Plain Sight: Artist Lecture

Come listen to artist Amy Suo Wu discuss how oppressed groups have used steganography, the art of hiding messages in plain sight, as a form of resistance. Wednesday, Feb. 23 12 p.m.–1 p.m. McLennan Library 4th floor Free

Skate and Rock Out

Come skate on the Scotiabank Skating Loop while listening to metal music by Heavy Montréal! Thursday, Feb. 24 9 p.m.–11 p.m. Place des Festivals Free; Skate rental available

Local artists explore the trials and triumphs of Quebec’s hip-hop scene The artists shaping and redefining this niche genre Charlotte Hayes Staff Writer

n the dark depths of winter, the PHI Centre, a creative space known for hosting many of Montreal’s most creative and experimental art installations, is bringing a little light back to the city. Their latest exhibit, entitled Visions Hip-Hop QC, displays the work of Marven Clerveau, a 26-year-old contemporary auditory and visual artist working with Diversité Artistique Montréal (DAM). Curated by music historian and author Vladimir Delva, the exhibit takes visitors through a sensory journey to discover the artists who have shaped the Quebec hip-hop scene through innovative producing and genre-expanding sounds. The exhibit pairs multimedia art to each musician’s works, complementing the full scope and

range of their music. Clerveau’s talent as a multidisciplinary artist shines—but the true stars of the show are his new series of portraits that aim to capture a person’s essence and are imbued with personality in favour of realism. Exaggerated expressions and distorted facial features tell the story of these artists’ works visually. Colour-changing lights accompany the portraits, and auditory guides softly usher the viewer from room to room throughout the PHI Centre, making a particularly stunning sight at night. The exhibit occurs alongside a four-part discussion series that kicked off on Feb. 17, featuring rappers, producers, artists, and managers discussing their contributions to Quebec’s hip-hop scene. Starting off the series was a panel entitled Women in Hip-Hop, hosted and moderated by Keithy Antoine, a self-described socially

Hua Li released her critically acclaimed Yellow Crane EP in 2020. (phi.ca) engaged entrepreneur, visual artist, animator, and the founder and co-owner of Espace Urbain Montreal. Hua Li, Tammy Tuesdayz, and Sabrina Jean (AKA Skandal) completing the panel. In the first hour of the panel, each artist discussed their musical influences and career trajectories. The panel-

lists spoke about finding inclusion in their communities and a sense of identity in Canada through hip-hop music, and shared stories about connecting to their communities or family members through music. On the topic of women in hip-hop, the panellists explored

the ways in which they have seen their “femininity” act as an aid or hindrance to their careers. All three advocated for the creation of a safer and more inclusive space for women in the hip-hop industry, with Tammy Tuesdayz adding that she works to “break open doors” for younger women in the industry. They spoke at length about bringing other female artists with them on tour and balancing education and the pursuit of a musical career, concluding by sharing advice to young aspiring musicians in the audience. An Exhibition by Marven Clerveau: Visions Hip-Hop QC will be running for free at the PHI centre until Mar. 26, and the Visions Hip-Hop QC: Discussion Series will continue every Wednesday from 7–9 p.m. until Mar. 24. with topics ranging from Entrepreneurial Development in HipHop to Longevity in the Genre.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

sports@mcgilltribune.com

SPORTS

Dry spell for women’s basketball prolonged by 66-36 loss to Citadins Martlets fail to grasp points in the RSEQ standings Zoé Mineret Staff Writer

he seats of Love Competition Hall were sparsely filled as the Martlets basketball team (0–5) made their return to the court after a three-month hiatus to face off against the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins (3–2). With only nine players on the bench, the Martlets lost 66-36. “I approached Thursday’s game as the start of a whole new season. New year, new beginning,” wrote third-year guard Jessica Salanon in a message to The McGill Tribune.

Third-year guard Jessica Salanon finished the game with seven points, three rebounds, and a gamehigh three steals. (Matt Garies / McGill Athletics)

“[The] first half of the season wasn’t easy for us, but at this point we have nothing to lose, only experience to gain.” First-year guard Iman Ibrahim opened up the scoring with an easy layup. UQAM was quick to gain the lead back, but both teams’ defences kept each other on their toes. There was no clear leader in the first quarter until the last three minutes, when the gap between UQAM and McGill widened in the visitors’ favour, leaving the score at 15-13 for the Citadins. The Martlets started the second quarter with a dry spell until Salanon scored the team’s first points of the quarter at the 6:46 mark. Yet, the Citadins persisted, maintaining an 11-point lead. The Martlets continued to make unsuccessful attempts at field goals, and their defence fell short against the relentless Citadin offence. But Rathwell brought morale back up after a fantastic three-pointer, cheering up both the team and the crowd. Centre Kristy Awikeh made a layup with just over one minute left in the second quarter, while Salanon sank two free throws. The Martlets went into half-time reinvigorated despite UQAM’s 35-24 lead. “I think the first half of the game showed that we have improved as a team,” Rathwell said. “We are a very young team going against much older teams. There is no doubt that this is a rebuilding year for us, but I think that each of us have our individual strengths and have potential.”

By the end of the third quarter, the Martlets had only managed to score four more points, including another two free throws by Salanon. The Citadins scored 11 points, bringing the score up to 51-28, increasing their already significant advantage. Salanon was disappointed with the results of the third quarter, but took the time to reflect on how the team could improve moving forward. “Unfortunately, when we came back from half, things went downhill,” Salanon said. “We weren’t able to score and we were giving them easy baskets. I know we are a young team so we lack a lot of experience. We have to learn to stay consistent through the whole game.” The fourth quarter was dogged by player exhaustion on both sides, resulting in low scoring and several loose balls. However, guard Joy Taan-Tobias broke the slump through an amazing defensive move, setting Rathwell up for a layup. Spirits brightened, and the Martlets gave it their all for the end of the game. Rathwell scored an additional four points, but UQAM’s lead was too substantial, and they claimed victory 66-36. While it wasn’t the outcome they wanted, Rathwell believes that their moment will come. “Progress and winning isn’t something that is going to happen overnight, but I’m certain as we all fight our hardest this next month and for the seasons to come it’s something in our future,” Rathwell said.

With the team’s motivation and determination, it won’t be too long before the group solidifies the perfect winning combination. The Martlets next face off against fourthplace Laval on Feb. 24 at Love Competition Hall.

MOMENT OF THE GAME After a long scoring drought, the crowd saw a brilliant play from TaanTobias. The resulting turnover allowed Rathwell to score, reinvigorating the Martlets.

QUOTABLE “I think that for the rest of the season, our goal would be to be disciplined and [to] fight through the whole game, not only through the first half.” — Third-year guard Jessica Salanon

STAT CORNER With 11 points and five field goals out of 10 attempts, Katie Rathwell had her best game of the season yet.

McGill men’s basketball maintain their perfect record, rallying for back-to-back wins against Citadins Redbirds return to the court with renewed energy after two-month hiatus

Sarah Farnand Sports Editor

n Feb. 17, the McGill men’s basketball team (6–0) returned to the court for the first time in almost three months, lengthening their win streak to six games with a decisive 84-62 win over Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) (2–4), then a narrow 80-79 victory the next day. Thursday’s game started strong for the Redbirds, who sustained a lead from the first quarter to the last. Although UQAM demonstrated some beautiful passing that led to a few key scoring opportunities, the Redbirds dominated the game and easily secured the win. Sam Jenkins, a fifth-year guard, was on fire with a gamehigh 19 points, including five threepointers and nine rebounds. Jamal Mayali, also a fifth-year guard, had an impressive game with several three-pointers, contributing 16 points overall and four rebounds, ranking second in points for the Redbirds. “We moved the ball very well offensively, and as a result, a lot of guys were getting good quality shots and defensively, we were on point with our rotations for most of the game,” Mayali wrote to The McGill

The two wins gave McGill a series sweep over UQAM for the first time since the 2017-18 season. (Matt Garies / McGill Athletics) Tribune. Like many others, starting guard Cameron Elliot was excited to be back in action and was impressed with his team’s performance after an 11-week break. “I think we played well as a team, considering it was our first game back after a long break, but we have a lot to improve on if we want to reach our goals for the year,” Elliot said. “I think we did a good job of playing with flow and keeping the ball moving at all times, and I know we will only get better with time.” Less than 48 hours later, the Redbirds rematched against UQAM on Feb. 19. While the game was a

much closer affair, the Redbirds held on to win 80-79, coming back from a 12-point deficit to win on a buzzer beater from first-year guard Sidney Gauthier. In contrast to Thursday’s game, the Redbirds were mostly trailing their opponents, only gaining the lead with just over four minutes left in the last quarter. With less than two minutes left in the game, the Redbirds, trailing by six, called a timeout. After an apparently successful pep talk, Gauthier and third-year guard Elliot made two back-to-back layups to shrink the deficit to two. With 30 seconds left in the

game, now only down by three points, McGill called another timeout. This time, after a jump shot from Jenkins and two missed free throws from UQAM, the Redbirds were within one point of their opponents, and Gauthier’s last minute heroics clinched the team’s sixth victory. “I think it was certainly a team effort, and I never would want to take all the credit for that play, because all I did was make the shot,” said Gauthier. “[But] the feeling after seeing the ball go in is a feeling I never want to forget. It gives me chills just thinking about it again.” Fourth-year forward Kevin Li was happy with his team’s performance against a team he considers to be one of their top rivals. “For our team, I think it was a great two wins,” Li said. “The UQAM team is the team that beat us in my first year. We beat them in the regular season but when we went to the playoffs we lost to them twice. I think it’s a great message that we sent to them, saying we are not losing this year.” The Redbirds return to the court next weekend with a home-andaway series against Laval on Feb. 24 and Feb. 26.

MOMENT OF THE GAME With no time remaining on the clock and the Redbirds down by one point, first-year guard Sidney Gauthier netted a jump shot off an assist from Cameron Elliot to win Saturday’s game 80-79.

QUOTABLE “It’s just been so nice to be back on the floor with everybody that it’s hard to look past the excitement of the moment. But we’re hungry for more than just regular season wins, and I’m really looking forward to competing when it matters the most.” — Cameron Elliot on the return to competition.

STAT CORNER The Redbirds current record of 6 – 0 marks the team’s best start since 2001.

SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 2022

sports@mcgilltribune.com

Martlets hockey returns with a bang, winning first game back against Carleton Ravens They shoot, they score—three times! Sophia Gorbounov Sports Editor

MOMENT OF THE GAME

Continued from page 1. “It took a period for us to get back into the swing of things,” McCallum wrote to The McGill Tribune. “But once we found our rhythm, we were flying.” Indeed, toward the end of the first period, a new-found energy made its way through the Martlets, and their shots on goal increased. But the Ravens’ defence remained strong, proving difficult to penetrate for the McGill attackers. Though the puck spent more time on the Ravens’ side of the ice, the Martlets were busy solidifying their strategy. The second period saw a shift in the Martlets’ spirit. Netminder Tricia Deguire made several incredible saves, keeping the score at zero through her agile goaltending. Finally, after relentlessly pressuring the Ravens’ defence, first-year defenceman Jaime Kastelic scored the first goal of the game, assisted by forward Katie Rankin. The second period ended at 1-0, with every McGillian in the audience rejuvenated and at the edge of their seats. Both teams eased slowly into the third period, with McGill remaining cautious to keep the game in their favour. Several players, including Downie-Landry and centre Marika Labrecque, attempted shots on goal to

Early in the second period, the Ravens were able to get the puck to the Martlets’ side. In a whirlwind of back and forths, goaltender Tricia Deguire was alone defending the net, with the puck fast approaching. The crowd sat in suspense, as a goal against McGill seemed inevitable. Yet, Deguire beat the odds, blocking the shot, saving the puck, and retaining a score of 1-0 for the team.

QUOTABLE “Our coaches have really helped our team develop to the group we have today and I think it showed last night. The young group of defence have done a great job stepping up, which helps our overall success.” - Forward Makenzie McCallum

STAT CORNER With 196 points to her name, Martlets captain Jade Downie-Landry is close to becoming the seventh player in team history to break the 200-point mark.

The result of the Carleton match saw the sixth straight win for McGill over the Ravens, as well as improving their all-time head-to-head record to 105-5-1. (Cameron Flanagan / The McGill Tribune) no avail. Energies on both teams were high, yet the first half of the last period began to suggest a 1-0 finish. Then, with a burst of adrenaline, Downie-Landry scored

with an assist by forward Stephanie Desjardins and defenceman Elizabeth Mura, bringing the game to 2-0 for the Martlets. Celebrations had barely ceased

before Downie-Landry scored an unassisted third goal. Cheers soared through the crowd and players alike. With the score now at 3-0, and only 12 minutes left in the game, it was a sure win for the Martlets. With another game in hand, Downie-Landry is currently first in the nation for points among women’s U Sports hockey. Looking ahead to future games, Downie-Landry explained that the key to maintaining the streak is for the team

to constantly adapt and adjust after every game. “As the game progressed, we started getting back into our good habits which we had worked [on] towards the first half of the season,” Downie-Landry wrote to the Tribune. “What will be important for our upcoming games is to build off of the positive, yet learn from what we could have done better. Our growth has been tremendous up until now.”