The McGill Tribune Vol. 37 Issue 11

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017 | VOL. 37 | ISSUE 11

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

EDITORIAL

McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

FEATURE

SPORTS FEATURE

When educators are undervalued, everyone loses

From basement bookselves to college classrooms

Comic books and you

McGill cheerleading goes beyond the sidelines

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(Margaux Delalex/ The McGill Tribune)

‘Fables’ teaches us about the beauty in life’s relationships Players’ Theatre’s latest production explores trauma and mental health with humour and wit Samantha Ling Contributor One of the most beautiful aspects of life is our ability to form relationships with the people around us. Whether they

be platonic, professional, or romantic, these relationships shape who we are and determine who we will become.

Players’ Theatre’s production of Fables explores interpersonal dynamics.

Canadian playwright Jackie Torrens depicts the story of a doctor and the

relationships that he holds with various individuals in his life. Running from Nov. 15-18 and 22-25, the play follows the life of the doctor, his wife, and two of his patients as they deal with difficult times.

The audience peers into the personal lives of these characters—the events that have

haunted them, the thoughts they hold towards others, and their aspirations for the future. From overcoming self-hatred to dealing with hypochondria, Fables presents the struggles of each character as it sheds light upon struggles with mental health.

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PGSS General Assembly debates Making room for meditation external affiliations and welcomes How McGill students use the mindful practice to new Secretary General find peace GA votes to condemn Bill 62 Josh Marchesini Contributor McGill’s Postgraduate Students’ Society (PGSS) held its Fall General Assembly (GA) in the Thomson House ballroom on Nov. 15. At the GA, Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE) and the Quebec Student Union (QSU) gave presentations on their work and discussed what an affiliation with PGSS would look like.

Mary Keith Contributor

The GA also unanimously voted to condemn Bill 62, endorsed a ‘yes’ vote on the Daily Publication Society (DPS) Referendum after extensive debate, and welcomed recently-elected SecretaryGeneral Maria Tippler to the executive.

Following a brief presentation from Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer on the Our Turn national action plan, GA attendees voted to endorse the creation of a task force to implement the plan within PGSS.

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It’s no secret that attending McGill comes with a slew of academic and social demands. As a result, many students experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems during their time here. While there are ways to treat such disorders, including medication and therapy in persistent cases, another method to alleviate their symptoms is meditation.

As a practice that has existed for centuries, meditation comes with a range of benefits, including reduced stress, increased productivity, and improved moods overall.

Meditation is the practice of contemplation or focus for a fixed period of time.

It typically entails sitting still and often focusing on one thing, whether one’s breath, a mantra, or a guided recording. Many students who meditate opt for a few

minutes per day, while others try for 20 minutes in the morning and evening. There is no rigidity to scheduling, because meditation is what one makes of it. Taking the opportunity to meditate, even if it’s just for five minutes, is beneficial nonetheless.

Netanel Schondorf, U2 Arts, sets aside time everyday to just sit and breathe. He has been meditating for three years, and uses the practice as way to alleviate his anxiety.

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2 NEWS

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Daily Publications Society wins existence referendum despite heated ‘No’ campaign

Daily and Le Délit to continue publishing in 2018 Ozanay Bozkaya Contributor From Nov. 13 to 17, the Daily Publication Society (DPS), which publishes both The McGill Daily and Le Délit, ran a referendum on its continued existence as a student society at McGill. Despite a vocal ‘No’ campaign team calling for a majority vote against its existence, the DPS won the vote with 64.2 per cent of students voting ‘Yes.’ Every five years, Independent Student Groups (ISG) with mandatory student fees, such as the DPS, must receive majority approval from students through a referendum of its members. This year, the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns fought a particularly intense battle to influence the referendum.

Inori Roy, the Coordinating Editor of the Daily, characterized the vote as a matter of protecting the freedom of the press. “[We] believe that it is crucial for us to remain on this campus […] as voices for students who otherwise may not have that much of a voice,” Roy said. “These may be marginalized students, these may be Francophonie students.

We think that it is crucial to continue to [provide] a platform.”

Andrew Figueiredo, a member of the ‘No’ campaign, told The McGill Tribune that he felt that the DPS’ publications did not sufficiently represent its members.

“My main concern is that students are currently forced to pay for a paper that has been exclusionary, unaccountable, and divisive,” Figueiredo said. “My number one reason in

calling for a ‘No’ vote is because I believe that students should be empowered to demand changes in the DPS and to control where their money goes.”

Figueiredo further explained that, in his opinion, the ‘No’ campaign had successfully demonstrated the Daily’s antagonism towards certain students.

“Specifically, the ‘No’ campaign has highlighted some of the Daily’s more divisive posts and actions, including the closing of their comment section [in January 2017], so that people can see why we need change,” Figueiredo said.

At the end of the first day of voting, Elections SSMU, a Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) body, released a campuswide email to both undergraduate and graduate students stating that the ballot would be cancelled and started anew following mistakes in the list of students eligible to vote in the referendum.

“The elector’s list provided by the DPS omits a number of students within the SSMU, and potentially the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) as well,” Elections SSMU wrote in the email on Nov. 13.

However, hours after this notification was sent, the Elections SSMU team followed up with another email clarifying that the DPS was not at fault for this mistake.

“The DPS committed no wrongful action, and the mistake emanated purely from confusion by all parties involved about how to compose electors lists for this question,” Elections SSMU wrote.

Roy echoed this sentiment, and further

The restart of the referendum ballot caused confusion, but the DPS won with a vote of 64.2 per cent.

(Ava Zwolinski / The McGill Tribune) stated that she was convinced that the ‘No’ mally consider the ‘No’ stand’s distribution campaign had used this event to its advantage. of food at the Y-Intersection contradictory to “I hope that the student body was able to Article 6.2 of the SSMU Internal Regulations recognize [the mistake] and also to critically of Elections and Referanda: Campaigning, the engage with the ways the ‘No’ campaign mobi- incident was outside of its mandate since inlized around what ultimately turned out to be a ternal DPS by-laws regulated the referendum.

“As the issue cannot be sanctioned or misunderstanding,” Roy said. “From the Facebook page to the pensketch, the ‘No’ campaign regulated under the SSMU campaign rules or has been mistaken in many of their assertions, guidelines, the question of permissibility deincluding our finances and the status of our pends on what the DPS by-laws for campaignMoA [Memorandum of Agreement with Mc- ing state,” Levy said.

Levy stated that Elections SSMU, which Gill] in the case that we lost the referendum.”

Elections SSMU Deputy Electoral Officer allows ISGs to host their existence referenIsaac Levy believes that Elections SSMU re- dums on its Online Voting System, would look mained neutral on the matter. Levy explained into the establishment of stricter rules for simithat, although Elections SSMU would nor- lar votes in the future.

MUS investigates Hype Week participant donning misogynistic shirt McGill social media users debate rape culture within organized drinking events Helen Wu Contributor On Nov. 3, a student entered the Bronfman Building Quesada wearing a shirt that read “Newhore 17 Year Olds Only” on the back in permanent marker. The shirt was a team uniform for Hype Week, an annual week-long social event with a prominent focus on drinking, organised by the Management Undergraduate Society (MUS).

Mads Motush, U3 Arts student and floor fellow at Solin Hall, reported the incident to the Dean of Students, Chris Buddle, the MUS Executives, and the Students’ Society of McGill University Equity Committee. McGill and MUS have since begun investigating the misconduct, although the circumstances of the investigations are currently confidential.

Word of the incident also circulated throughout social media, sparking discussion of misogyny and rape culture on campus on McGill’s subreddit.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Motush explained that he, along with other onlookers at Quesada, felt outraged by the message on the student’s shirt. Motush later posted a photo of the shirt publicly on his personal Facebook page. However, even after reporting the sighting to the university through formal channels, Motush was disappointed by the responses he received, which he felt did not address the culture of Hype

Week as a whole.

“I felt that, despite my initial email where I detail how the perpetrator must have felt supported enough by the institution in order to wear that shirt, the email that Chris Buddle sent out really only addressed [the misconduct] as a singular instance,” Motush said. “I felt he should have at least acknowledged the structure of Carnival [and] Hype Week that encourages this type of behaviour.”

According to Vice-President Events of the MUS Yannick Leblanc, the MUS worked with McGill to take action against the student on Nov. 4 after receiving reports from Buddle and Motush. MUS President Alexandre Perron also posted an official statement about the incident, clarifying the Society’s stance on the matter.

“The MUS and the Winter Carnival Committee are committed to ensuring that a culture of respect, tolerance, and inclusivity is upheld in every event that we hold,” Perron wrote. “The MUS will continue to review and adapt its policies and implementation of events to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students involved.”

Buddle noted that his administration has been working closely with all student societies in an attempt to mitigate sexual violence at large social events.

“We have been working with all student societies on a suite of their events, including Frosh, Hype week and others,” Buddle said.

Christopher Manfredi also addressed this incident of misconduct in an email sent to all McGill students on Nov. 13. Manfredi condemned the Hype Week participant for perpetuating misogyny, and encouraged all those with concerns to reach out to McGill’s Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (O-SVRSE).

According to Bianca Tétrault, Sexual Violence Education advisor at the O-SVRSE, McGill’s organized drinking events are central to any discussions of sexual violence on campus. She recommended ways to prevent this type of misconduct, including educating students on the impact of inappropriate actions, encouraging bystanders to be active, and holding offenders accountable.

“Inappropriate behaviour are not isolated to specific events,” Tetrault said. “Our office strives to work with all different types of groups on campus to address violence in our community, but we do try to give extra attention to the larger groups as we know that when participant numbers rise, there is a higher chance that problems can occur.”

Students were outraged at an inappropriate shirt and the problems it represents in drinking culture.

(Mads Motush) “I believe there have been many improvements, including additional training and education. Our goal is to continue to work collaboratively with student societies.”

Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic)

For further resources on sexual violence and harassment, contact the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) at 514-398-8500 or main@sacomss.org or the Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support, and Education (O-SVRSE) at 514-398-3786 or svoffice@ mcgill.ca.

NEWS 3

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

PGSS General Assembly debates DPS and external affiliations and welcomes new Secretary General GA votes to condemn Bill 62

New Max Bell School of Public Policy created at McGill McGill’s new public policy program will involve theoretical and practical approaches Caitlin Kindig Contributor

The PGSS General Assembly welcomed newly-elected Secretary-General Maria Tippler to the executive. (Kendall McGowan / The McGill Tribune)

Kendall McGowan Staff Writer Continued from page 1.

Presentations and debate on Quebec student groups In his presentation, UTILE President Laurent Levesque, who was joined by SSMU Community Affairs Commissioner Julien Tremblay-Gravel, described the organization and invited PGSS to collaborate. According to Levesque, UTILE is a nonprofit organization that works with student unions throughout Quebec to improve students’ living conditions.

Levesque referenced “studentification,” in which the growth of a student population in a neighbourhood decreases local property values and alienates other permanent residents. He cited the Milton-Parc community and the Plateau as examples of this. According to Levesque, UTILE is conducting a study on this form of gentrification and the feasibility of student housing options that avoid perpetuating it.

However, PGSS Equity Commissioner Emil Briones said she was not satisfied with the UTILE feasibility study proposed, and called for further examination of the disproportionate impact studentification has on minorities.

“Housing is a really loaded issue and I was not satisfied from the response of the UTILE representatives,” Briones said. “We know from empirical studies on social inequality that there are hard racial lines to be considered when we discuss housing, and at McGill in particular. Because of the demographic makeup of the student body we are very much complicit in the displacement of minoritized communities.”

In the second presentation, QSU Vice President Guillaume Lecorps gave an overview of the organization, which advocates for 77,000 students in Quebec at both the provincial and federal level. Some PGSS members took issue with the Union’s stance on Bill 62, which only condemned its specific effects on students, not its broader social impact.

PGSS External Affairs Officer Hocine Slimani explained that he invited QSU to speak because PGSS is currently unaffiliated with any student advocacy group, leav-

ing it unrepresented on a provincial and federal level. He also explained that former Secretary-General Jacob Lavigne observed both QSU and the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ), and wrote a report recommending that PGSS join the former. The PGSS currently remains unaffiliated with any federal student association, but Slimani hopes to vote to change this at some point in the future.

DPS endorsement vote narrowly succeeds Family Medicine Graduate Student Society (MSc) Representative Jacquie Safieh moved for the PGSS to endorse a “yes” vote on the DPS Referendum. Safieh highlighted the Daily’s 116-year history and Le Délit’s status as the only francophone newspaper on campus.

Financial Affairs Officer Matthew Satterthwaite spoke against the motion because of frustration over how the referendum was implemented. He raised concerns that undergraduate students were overrepresented in the vote, and referenced confusion with distributing the ballot to all PGSS members, a miscommunication that led Elections SSMU to cancel the original online ballot at the end of the first day of voting.

“I don’t want this to be seen as me being against the DPS, I’m not taking a stance on that,” Satterthwaite said. “I’m against this referendum itself because it has not been run in a transparent manner, and it has been very full of confusion for everyone involved.”

The motion passed 35-25. The DPS has since won its referendum vote.

Introduction of new Secretary-General Nov. 15 marked PGSS’ first meeting since electing Tippler to fill Lavigne’s vacant seat.

Satterthwaite welcomed and congratulated her, and thanked the executives who fulfilled Secretary-General duties while the position was vacant.

“It has been fairly difficult for the executives in the past few months, and we have been without a Secretary-General since August, essentially,” Satterthwaite said. “I’d just like to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work of all the other executives, a lot of which are sitting here. Everyone really stepped up and we survived throughout all of this. We’re very fortunate to have a very strong team.”

On Nov. 7, at a panel discussion at the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal, McGill announced its plans to launch the Max Bell School of Public Policy after receiving a $10 million donation from the Max Bell Foundation. This school will be housed under the Faculty of Arts and will offer both a one-year graduate program as well as executive programs—graduate-level programs for business executives—led by professors with experience in the field of policy. The school is on track to begin accepting applications in August 2018 for the Fall 2019 semester.

The four pillars of the new school will be Applied Policy Research, Practical Policy Teaching, Effective Public Outreach, and Credible Policy Engagement, all of which the school hopes will cultivate both a theoretical and practical understanding of the policy creation process. The curriculum at the Max Bell School will include topics like open-ended policy solutions, partisan politics, structures of government.

Economics Associate Professor Christopher Ragan is the inaugural director of the new school, and is currently in the process of finalizing the details for its programming. He is responsible for designing the curriculum, executive programs, case studies of specific governmental policy issues, public engagement programs, and course plans. Ragan is also overseeing space, instructors, and scheduling for the school, which will likely be situated at 680 Sherbrooke street.

Ragan has consulted with research assistants from various universities throughout the world, including at the University of Toronto, Oxford University, and Harvard University, to gather insight and ideas for the School.

“I am simultaneously excited and swamped, but I am delighted to be doing this because McGill is a great place to have such a policy school,” Ragan said. “I have a generous financial gift, a blank piece of paper, and a year to build something wonderful.”

Antonia Maioni, the dean of the Faculty of Arts, is excited for the new project.

“The Faculty of Arts is so very pleased to have the new Max Bell School of Public Policy in the Faculty [...] as a new pillar of teaching, research and outreach in public policy that extends to colleagues,” Maioni said. “[The school will encourage] interdisciplinary exchange between faculty and students across the university, as well as practitioners in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.”

Suzanne Fortier, the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill, also expressed gratitude for the Max Bell Foundation’s donation. She foresees the School of Public Policy furthering McGill’s academic diversity.

“To create the new knowledge needed to solve our most pressing social and environmental problems, and to develop and implement the real-world policies that will effectively harness that knowledge, we need to bring together people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and experiences,” Fortier said. “McGill prides itself on the diverse background of its students and faculty. The Max Bell School of Public Policy will build on this strength by attracting an interdisciplinary, global cohort of scholars and students who will educate, and become, the next generation of policy leaders.”

The School of Public Policy seeks to promote a practical understanding of the policy making process.

(Christopher Ragan)

4 NEWS

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

SSMU Council discusses committee on governance reform

Motion for selection of future Board of Directors members to be anonymous passes Emma Avery Managing Editor At its Nov. 16 meeting, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council passed the Motion for Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors to Undertake the Selection of Future Board Members Anonymously and the Motion to Amend the Standing Rules to ease the deadlines for presenting motions. Faculty Councillor Anthony Koch was nominated to sit on the Special Committee on Anti-Semitism, which will report to Council in Winter 2018.

Ollivier Dyens and Council talk Governance reform The first major topic of the session was governance reform. Ollivier Dyens, deputy provost (Student Life and Learning), spoke to Council on this matter before the call to order.

Dyens explained that responsibility for student mental health falls not only on the university, but on students, who must work to cultivate a supportive environment for each other. To Dyens, clarifying SSMU’s constitution is essential to reducing conflicts between students. He suggested hiring an external party to lead the charge in reforming SSMU’s governance structure.

“You guys are going through a turbulent period,” Dyens said.

A UNIQUE JOB. AN ICONIC LOCATION. AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER.

“Your own constitution seems to be, at certain moments, unclear [....]

As a university, we want to see SSMU survive. We want to see SSMU together, and being a place where things are healthy for students and debate.”

Council later debated the Motion to Call a Special Referendum Period, which proposed an additional referendum later this month to consider a question regarding constitutional reforms. As the mover of the motion, SSMU Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer conceded that the question should be moved to the Winter 2018 Referendum, following concerns over voter burnout within SSMU’s membership. In the interim, she called for Council to commit to starting a larger conversation on governance reform in order to prevent similar issues from recurring every year.

“We need to start having a very large and very long conversation about what governance at SSMU is, and what we’re expecting, and where all the holes are,” Spencer said. “I would really like to pitch [...] a commitment to start a larger conversation about [SSMU’s governance structure within…] this body, because we’re all the elected representatives from all the different faculties, and we can make sure our students’ voices are heard within that.”

Following the debate, rules were suspended to add a Motion to Investigate a Committee on Governance Reform, which carried.

Council decided that executives and councillors would first look into the options available for starting the process of governance reform, and then determine whether creating an internal committee would be the best solution. VP University Affairs Isabelle Oke explained her stance that more research is necessary before a committee is formed.

“Committees as a first step are one option, [but] I don’t think it’s our only option moving forward,” Oke said. “What I’m suggesting is some kind of mandate, for somebody [...] to put together

The Board Nominating Committee will now select from an anonymous list of applicants. (Kendall McGowan / The McGill Tribune) all of the options that we can actually take as a council moving forward, and what resources we’re working with as well.”

Motion for selecting future Board of Directors members anonymously passes Council voted to remove applicants’ names from applications for future Board of Directors (BoD) seats, through every step of the nominating process until the interview stage. The motion passed with 27 votes in favour, with an amendment added to remove other identifying information irrelevant to the applicant’s qualifications for the position.

While discussing this motion, Council members advocated for the additional need to create a broader policy on hiring processes, which it does not have. SSMU is seeking to fill an equitable hiring position to investigate current hiring practices and alter them for accessibility and transparency.

“This [motion] is an interim step to try and deal with all of the cases that come to the Society now until we have the research that will help us have more rigorous and sustainable practices in our Society,” Oke said.

Introducing Building 21, a building with no structure A new space at McGill dedicated to intellectual exploration Elijah Wenzel Contributor

Become a PARLIAMENTARY GUIDE Applications due January 12, 2018 This summer, be part of the action at the Parliament of Canada.

Find out more and apply online at

lop.parl.ca/guides

In January 2018, the Office of Student Life and Learning (SLL) will launch Building 21 (B21), a building dedicated to providing a place for free academic expression. The structure will serve as a space for members of the McGill community from all different backgrounds and fields to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. Located at 651 Sherbrooke Street W, B21 boasts a virtual reality room and a large whiteboard space for planning out impromptu projects.

The building previously served as the Royal Victoria College warden’s apartment when the residence was a women-only facility before 2010. It then became the apartment for the Director of Residence at McGill, who resigned last year, making the space available.

Anita Parmar, senior advisor for Innovative Collaboration at SLL, is overseeing the initiative. She hopes B21 will become an area where students and faculty can examine educational interests that do not expressly match their chosen field of studies.

“We are trying to create a new type of space at McGill that encourages free exploration,” Parmar said. “It is very important to be guided through your educational career by experts, but if the only thing that you experience is being guided, then your ability to connect with your intuition, and to perhaps come up with new innovative and creative ideas, there is never a place to develop [those].”

Parmar believes that the project will allow the McGill community to step away from its legacy of strictly-regulated curricula.

“The underlying philosophy of Building 21 is that you come in and you explore the things [academic concepts that] you want to explore,” Parmar said. “You explore

the things that you are actually curious about, so you are not hindered by whatever faculty you are in, nor are you hindered by an impending deadline. The idea is simply to explore freely and really try to understand the essence of a particular subject.”

Deputy Provost (Student of Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens, who founded the B21 concept at McGill, credits the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Building 20 (B20) as his inspiration. MIT constructed B20 as a temporary radiation laboratory during the First World War. A wide variety of intellectuals gathered in the building, producing influential work, like the writings of Noam Chomsky and the invention of radio detection and ranging (RADAR) technologies.

“To explain B21 I have to explain B20, because B21 is named after B20,” Dyens said. “We said let’s call [the project] Building 21 in homage to Building 20. And 21 for the 21st century.”

B21’s motto, “Beautiful. Beta. Beyond.” is meant to convey that the initiative is a space for exploring and cultivating beauty.

STEM Support McGill member Pauline Pestre, U4 Science, aims for her group to use the space to promote an inclusive community in the fields of science and mathematics.

“We have similar goals [to B21] in that we want to bring people together from different fields,” Pestre said. “[At B21] we’ve hosted our inaugural brunch [and] a cocktail hour to discuss our ideas for what we want to do with the group.”

Currently, B21’s mission is loosely defined, and Dyens said he hopes its description remains flexible.

“This is not a research center,” Dyens said. “It is not an accelerator. It is not an incubator. It is none of these things that exist already at McGill. [It is a place] where you go back to the original idea of the university.”

OPINION 5

Tuesday, November 21, 2017 Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Jasinski editor@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Noah Sutton nsutton@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Audrey Carleton acarleton@mcgilltribune.com Emma Avery eavery@mcgilltribune.com Selin Altuntur saltuntur@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Holly Cabrera, Domenic Casciato, Calvin Trottier-Chi news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Jackie Houston & Alexandra Harvey opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Izze Siemann scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Grace Bahler studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Marie Labrosse features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Dylan Adamson & Ariella Garmaise arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Stephen Gill & Selwynne Hawkins sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Daniel Freed & Elli Slavitch design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Ava Zwolinski photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editor April Barrett multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Daniel Lutes webdev@mcgilltribune.com Julia Kafato online@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Ayanna De Graff copy@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Daniel Minuk business@mcgilltribune.com

When educators are undervalued, everyone loses

EDITORIAL

in it as service providers, educators do not receive the correspondingly essential respect and benefits for their work. Moving forward, it is essential that post-secondary institutions have the necessary channels to address faculty grievances before reaching breaking points. This will help improve working conditions for educators and, correspondingly, the quality of education their students receive. Moreover, students and administrators must critically revisit the value they currently assign their teachers.

The striking faculty members’ key demands—increased job security through more full-time jobs, as well as control over course content and teaching methods—are absolutely valid. Prior to the strike, part-time contract instructors—who, in addition to being paid less, don’t enjoy the job stability of full-time or tenured professors—made up 70 per cent of the Ontario college workforce. The faculty union’s core demand to get that proportion down to 50 per cent was a response to the majority of Ontario college teachers currently being in precarious, low-paying job situations. That is something worth striking over, for both teachers and their future students.

However, whatever future classes have to gain from more full-time professors and teaching assistants makes little difference to

Discounting after-hours help or a Saturday-morning email response as merely part of the job description undercuts all of the professional and, often, emotional labour that come with being an educator. When that unfairness becomes institutionalized in the form of short-shrift contracts or inadequate pay, and reaches a point at which educators feel they have no other option, they respond through the only effective means of negotiation left to them—they go on strike.

As part of the Ontario government’s intervention, colleges have been directed to refund the most financially-affected students, using savings from the striking faculty’s unpaid wages. This is a necessity, but it is also a retroactive band-aid solution to a deeper problem. To prevent future students from becoming collateral damage in another long-winded strike, it is essential that post-secondary institutions—whether it is an Ontario college, or a university like McGill—have adequate complaint and response mechanisms for overburdened or dissatisfied faculty.

More fundamentally, it is essential that post-secondary institutions, governments, and students alike demonstrably value their educators, in order to proactively reduce the likelihood that their faculty feel the need to resort to a strike in the future.

On Tuesday, Nov. 21, hundreds of thousands of Ontario college students returned to class as the province’s five-week college faculty strike finally came to an end. The 12,000 college faculty—including professors, instructors, counsellors, and librarians—had been on strike since Oct. 16. After all that, it’s hard to say who won. The striking faculty and College Employer Council never reached a deal, and it was provincial back-to-work legislation that ultimately put an end to the strike.

The immediate losers of the strike are clear: The some 500,000 students who lost a month’s worth of class. That meant losing a month of paid tuition, and of class time that could potentially result in delayed graduation. Students had no seat at the bargaining table, and virtually no power over the outcome, yet they were the most directly affected by the strike. It’s not hard to see why some students wanted to assign blame. While some called for solidarity between students and their striking professors, others criticized the faculty members who walked out of classrooms in the first place.

This apparent rift between student and faculty interests, and the events that produced the strike, point to a deeper problem for postsecondary institutions and students alike: Although education is seen as an essential service, and teachers

OFF THE BOARD

Advertising Executives Grayson Castell, Noah Cohen, Vincent Li ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors

Nicholas Jasinski, Daniel Minuk, Katherine Hutter, Julia Métraux, Anthony Kuan, Elli Slavitch, Holly Cabrera, Jeeventh Kaur, Katherine Milazzo, Becca Hoff

Staff Writers

Julia Métraux, Fionn Adamian, Kendall McGowan, Cherry Wu, Grace Gunning, Gabriel Rincon, Avleen Mokha, Virginia Shram, Sophie Brzozowski, Kate Lord, Sam Min, Oceane Marescal, Miguel Principe, Emma Carr, Wasif Husain, Jordan Foy, Patrick Beacham, Winnie Lin, Cordelia Cho, Erica Stefano, Gabriel Helfant, Margaux Delalex

Contributors

Amy Hauer, Arshaaq Jiffry, Brandon Kaufman, Brenda Thompson, Briana Vanular, Caitlin Kindig, Daria Kiseleva, Elijah Wenzel, Emma Gillies, Gabriela McGuinty, Hannibal DePencier, Helen Wu, Jade Prevost-Manuel, Jasmine Acharya, Karl Neumann, Kelsey McKeon, Kendall McGowan, Linqiao Zhou, Lucy Keller, Mary Keith, Miya Keilink, Ozanay Bozkaya, Samantha Ling, Sunny Kim

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Daniel Freed Design Editor Until this year, my university career had mostly consisted of evading responsibility and exhibiting a never-ending lack of foresight. Entering the Fall 2017 semester, however, I decided it was time for a change. Taking the biggest step I felt capable of, I bought a plant. Weighing in at approximately five pounds and standing at six inches tall, my brand new aloe plant would, theoretically, serve as a daily reminder that I was a functioning adult and member of society.

Miraculously, the plan

the students who were out of class for a full month. Of course, the point of any strike is to highlight the value of a service, by taking that service away. This necessitates negative consequences for users of the service in question—in this case, students. The irony is that in reality,

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Although education is seen as an essential service [...] educators do not receive the correspondingly essential respect and benefits for their work.

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student and faculty interests ought to align, not conflict, because the demands that faculty were striking over stand to benefit students in the long-run.

The more fundamental and ingrained issue underpinning the strike is the way that students and schools currently view teachers’ work. Frequently, faculty put in extra and often unpaid time and energy to help students succeed.

Growing pains worked. While tending to it was relatively easy and not at all timeintensive, it absolutely served its purpose. My mom had warned me that raising an aloe plant was difficult, and that even if I stayed on top of it, the plant would likely die alarmingly quickly. However, I was proud to prove her wrong.

Every day, rain or shine, the plant’s leaves glistened as if it didn’t have a problem in the world.

This success, I would find out about a month into my venture, was because my plant was actually made of plastic.

When this discovery originally came to light, my rising sense of self-confidence crumbled to pieces; I felt overwhelmed with shame and embarrassment. I felt as though my tiny leafy friend had bitten my feeding hand. As I emptied the ever-rising pool of water from the bottom of my vase into my sink, I couldn’t help but feel as though my future in the world of adulthood was bleak at best.

Yet, in retrospect, this visceral reaction was foolish. Today, several months later, I look back at my journey with the plant fondly.

If, in buying a plant, my goal was to learn a lesson, then a lesson I learned. University—and this

stage of young adulthood we find ourselves in—is a time to learn from our mistakes.

As we navigate the landscape of higher education and newfound freedom, we inevitably face innumerable choices: Should you take an 8:30 a.m. class on a Friday? Should you add guac to your Quesada order? Should you swipe right? Should you buy your first plant? Although it’s easy to see each of these choices as lasting and impactful, it’s important to remember that, more often than not, their outcomes don’t matter.

What matters, rather, are the learning process and emotional growth that go into making each of those choices. It’s making a novel decision and understanding it as exactly that—new, untested, and, by extension, far too often bound for failure. Whether that Tuesday at Café Campus brings you an unforgettable night, or whether you end up freezing in line the entire time, ultimately, it’s not the end result that you carry with you moving forward. While my plant may have been artificial, my efforts and my care for it were not.

I can proudly say that I learned a lot about responsibility, adulthood, and the deceptive realness of

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These are not only the mysteries of botany, but the

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mysteries of growing up.

plastic along the way.

Since the tragedy of my precious, plastic aloe plant, I’ve bought a new one. This one, a much larger specimen that hangs from the ceiling in my kitchen, I can say with about 99 per cent certainty is real. Truthfully, there are things about this plant, much like my plastic plant, and even plants in general, that I will never understand. I haven’t watered it in weeks, yet I routinely check its soil and find it damp. While disorienting, I take this in stride.

And, like so much else, I have no doubt that even if I slip along the way, this new voyage will turn into a valuable learning experience for me nonetheless. After all, these are not only the mysteries of botany, but the mysteries of growing up.

6 OPINION

COMMENTARY

Gabriel Rincon Columnist On Nov. 22, the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) will vote on a motion to eliminate subsidies for “binge drinking” events. The events in question are those that last for more than one day, and that budget for over three drinks per person, such as Frosh or EngGames. For-profit events like Open Air Pub (OAP) won’t be affected. That’s a good thing, because otherwise the EUS would likely have a mutiny on its hands. The purpose of the motion is supposedly to stop promoting binge drinking, the logic being

COMMENTARY

Hannibal DePencier Contributor McGill’s U0 Arts curriculum is failing its students. The Arts Freshman Program’s purpose is to encourage academic diversification, and provide students with a basis of knowledge in the liberal arts.

It requires first years to fulfill broad credit requirements across three of four streams—social sciences, humanities, languages, and mathematics and sciences.

Ideally, first-year McGill students would see the value of a varied and challenging education and choose their courses accordingly.

If this were the case, the current system would be a sufficient framework; however, leaving the burden on students to develop a challenging and well-rounded U0 curriculum is ultimately wishful thinking. McGill’s freshman program has the right idea in

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

EUS alcohol subsidy motion won’t change campus drinking culture on its own that a faculty subsidy represents a tacit endorsement of drinking culture. However, this motion can only be seen as a principled stance against students subsidizing other students’ liquor. Apart from that, the motion, if adopted, will have little to no effect on McGill students’ drinking habits.

Changing that will require a broader shift in campus culture.

According to a 2004 Canada Campus Survey, 95 per cent of Canadian students consume alcohol, and 18.4 per cent drink heavily—five or more drinks in one sitting, for men, and four or more drinks, for women— at least weekly. It makes sense that drinking is so prominent in university: It’s a way to be more sociable and have fun. These are very powerful incentives to drink, especially at a large university like McGill, where it can be hard to get to know people.

However, there are many negative aspects to the binge drinking culture at McGill. First of all, university students who don’t drink find themselves left out of important social events

that form the backbone of making friends and partying at McGill.

Furthermore, the health risks associated with heavy drinking, such as depression, liver disease, and other potentially fatal injuries are well documented. But, the pressure to drink in social settings is often too great, as it can often feel like one has to drink to fit in. In practice, there’s nothing in the motion to counter the social pressure or to mitigate the risks of drinking.

Many students have taken the motion as an affront to their right to drink, but the motion is nowhere near comprehensive enough to stop binge drinking.

Various profitable binge drinking events will still be sponsored.

As for the currently subsidized events, students who want to partake will simply end up paying more for them if the motion passes, in order to keep them running. Thus, the motion is merely a symbolic stance against binge drinking, since it doesn’t stop funding all drinking events or attempt to limit alcohol intake.

Binge drinking events will still be

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The motion, if adopted, will have little to no effect on McGill’s drinking habits.

Changing that will require a broader shift in campus culture.

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seen as desirable social events, and won’t be any more inviting to students who don’t drink. The only issue the motion solves is that, if passed, Engineering students who don’t participate in binge drinking events will no longer be paying for other students’ superfluous consumption.

The motion’s drafter, Morgan Grobin, U3 Engineering, recognizes that it alone is not enough. According to Grobin, it

will take a larger cultural shift to enact real change—and she’s right. Although students are autonomous adults—who have the right to choose to drink or not— the university should do more to promote responsible drinking practices. Efforts could start with faculty froshes, as presently, many students’ introduction to McGill is a week of events that glorify drinking. There are ways to make social events fun without placing such an emphasis on drinking, but again, this would likely require a cultural shift to decentralize drinking as the focus of many social events.

The EUS motion to limit subsidies for drinking events isn’t a paternalistic dry law. It’s simply trying to make the funding structure of binge drinking events more fair: Students who choose to drink should be doing so on their own dime. However, addressing the fundamental issues identified by the motion—inaccessible social events, and the glorification of drinking—will require a campus-wide effort to promote safer drinking practices.

McGill Arts Freshman Program needs a rehaul

spirit, but not in execution. The university needs to radically reorganize the Freshman Program in order to realize its intended value.

The program’s current form allows students to largely subvert its aims. Many courses, like English and French, overlap as two categories (language and humanities), allowing students to avoid one layer of diversification.

Instead of pursuing challenging and widely applicable subjects, students often take whatever courses seem easiest in a category, particularly within the categories that they are less academically interested in. Fringe courses, like The Art of Listening, Natural Disasters, and Chemistry of Drugs end up packed with apathetic students, enrolled purely to meet program stipulations, or trying to get an easy A. Such courses may be valuable in and of themselves, but are often insufficient to serve as a basis of knowledge in that field.

Students’ disregard for the value of academic diversification, and inclinations to specialize prematurely are understandable. Undergraduate degrees—especially in the arts— are an increasingly large and uncertain investment. As such, aggressive specialization— especially in majors that are seen as employable—and a subsequent disregard for exploring a diversity of subjects seems like a logical solution. Expertise is marketable,

and it’s often tempting to simply take the easiest route to gain proof (a diploma) of such specialized knowledge.

While specialization is necessary in academics, it should be preceded by comprehensive overview of subjects for two major reasons. First, taking a breadth of courses allows students to consider multiple fields that they may not have previously been exposed to.

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McGill’s freshman program has the right idea in spirit, but not in execution.

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More importantly, it also forms a necessary basis of cultural and intellectual context from which to view and critically examine a narrower academic field. In a field of study as interconnected as the liberal arts, a system funnelled toward specialization limits the possibilities of valuable cross-subject conjecture.

Philosophy, for example, cannot be divorced from any subject in the Arts. Be it art history, political science,

gender studies, or linguistics, a basic education in philosophy immediately expands a subject’s potential breadth. A student of 17th-century literature, for example, is at a loss if they are completely ignorant of the era’s popular political theory, just as their study of Wagner is lacking without consideration of Nietzsche. The liberal arts are ultimately cultural phenomena, and lose potency when perfectly siloed.

Examples of comprehensive general programs do exist.

Columbia University’s Core Curriculum claims “to provide all students [regardless of major] with wide-ranging perspectives on significant ideas and achievements in literature, philosophy, history, music, art, and science.” The freshman program’s mandatory courses include a survey of moral and political thought since Plato and an introduction of Western literature. In Canada, the Foundation Year at King’s College in Halifax incorporates a

mandatory and intensive seminal reading list comprising its entire first-year curriculum. While McGill may not need to go as far as to adopt a uniform curriculum like King’s, the university should be more prescriptive in its role to ensure a foundational freshman education.

McGill cannot assume that students will independently choose a diverse range of courses, rather than the easiest option to fill a quota. Instead, the school should make certain courses mandatory in each of the already specified streams, for example an introductory philosophy course in the humanities. Education should be an end unto itself, and McGill’s Freshman Program should emphasize this principle.

That means overcoming the reduction of university education into a simple transaction of money and time for a diploma.

McGill needs to re-evaluate its U0 Arts program, and build it as an introduction to new ideas and fields of study, rather than just a hurdle to U1.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

7 STUDENT LIVING

How to make the most of office hours

Professors and Teaching Assistants are there to help, not hinder Lucy Keller & Gabriela McGuinty Contributors As the Fall semester comes to an end, students are frantically turning in term papers, taking their last round of midterms, and reluctantly beginning to think about their upcoming finals. While there is no magic solution for securing a high GPA, there is one resource from which all students can benefit: Office hours.

For many students, the idea of chatting with a professor one-on-one is more anxietyinducing than any exam, but it’s essential; office hours are arguably the best way to get to know the person who is grading your work.

What should I talk about at office hours?

Although meeting with a professor or teaching assistant (TA) outside of class might seem intimidating, there is no faster way to establish rapport with a teacher than to stop by their office. In all four years that Kieran Jimenez, PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science, has been a TA, he has always found this to be true.

“Office hours can be a moment to add [...] that personal aspect [of learning], where the TA can see that there’s a person behind the paper that he or she is marking,” Jimenez said. “The student can have the same opportunity to talk to the person behind the

marks that appear on his or her essays.”

Office hours are meant for more than just the academic. For Rachel Zellars, a course lecturer in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, meeting with professors and TAs outside of class is crucial for addressing personal issues that may impede a student’s learning. Although it may not always feel like it, most professors and TAs only want to help their students.

“For me, it is essential to have a large chunk of time for office hours,” Zellars said. “Whether it’s taking the opportunity to listen to personal stuff [to] support [the student] in some way, or listening to and working through ideas that would become an assignment, just having a conversation about needing an extension for an assignment [matters].”

Office hours also provide students the chance to have a private tutorial with the professor; it’s the perfect opportunity to clarify confusing concepts or remedy miscellaneous issues that might feel awkward to ask in a 500-person lecture.

How do I get over my nerves about going to office hours?

Admitting that you don’t understand a concept can be daunting at first. This was the case for Abigail Leblanc, U0 Arts, who recently met with one of her political science

professors for the first time to discuss a grade she was unhappy about.

“Honestly, I was terrified because he’s the professor of 600 people and he’s never seen me before, obviously, but you just have to do it,” Leblanc said.

Afterward, Leblanc realized how important and unexpectedly rewarding office hours are.

“Usually your teacher will surprise you and be pretty nice,” Leblanc said. “Not many people go, so you’ll probably get good oneon-one help as well, like I was the only one there when I went.”

Coming prepared with questions and talking points can help students feel prepared to attend office hours.

“I’ll usually have a list of questions and some follow-up questions,” Sebastian Pazdan, U3 Arts said.

Getting into the habit of making lists beforehand can help calm nerves, organize thoughts, and clear the mind. Additionally, lists help to specify the scope of questions and allow students to get the most out of their office hours.

What can I do to boost my GPA beyond going to office hours?

Attending one professor’s office hours is not the only way for students to get a leg up; familiarizing oneself with other resources

Students should take advantage of office hours while they can. (Sunny Kim / The McGill Tribune) available within their specific department can help in this realm.

Contacting other TAs and professors, joining student-led Facebook groups, booking appointments with the McGill Writing Center, or setting up study sessions with students and tutors can boost students’ GPAs. BookUp Study Groups, an app, allows students to plan and organize study groups on an online public or private forum, ending the hassle of scheduling study sessions and facilitating the process of finding people to study with on the McGill campus.

While it might be nerve-wracking to be vocal in office hours or class participation, taking that leap of faith and communicating with professors is worth it.

“It never hurts to go to office hours,” Jimenez said. “Once you get over the hurdle of [going for the] first time it’s always easier to do it again.”

Making room for meditation

How McGill students use the mindful practice to find peace

Mary Keith Contributor

in the first three to four days, and continues to notice improvements in his mood and outlook.

“I am using this tool to further enhance the things that I don’t know and as I keep using this tool, things are getting more clear,” Valapakam said. “I just have general introspective clarity about things, starting with myself as a person [....] When starting meditation, be skeptical, not cynical, in order to allow something to work, and if it does work, then you are the living experience of the truth that is happening.”

Meditation has stood the test of time and has benefited many at McGill. If students are interested in giving meditation a try, there are plenty of how-to-websites, with free guided meditation and breathing exercises of all sorts of lengths that can fit into any schedule or location: Headspace or Calm are just two of the many free meditation apps available. Furthermore, the McGill Office of Spiritual and Religious Life offers free campus meditation services. With a jumpstart on meditation, perhaps the benefits will kick-in just in time for finals–so keep calm, and meditate on.

Continued from page 1.

“If you are an anxious person and tend to get lost in cyclical thought patterns, one thing that meditation will do is remove you from the situation and let you be a passive observer to your thoughts, and not necessarily pursue them and not get stuck in them,” Schondorf said.

Aside from experiencing the desired long-term benefits for his mental health, Schondorf found that meditation helped him look inward and harness a sense of selfawareness. Over time, meditating aided in regulating his sleep schedule and altered his relationship to stress. “[Meditation] will make the stress you feel healthier,” Schondorf said. “Stress is just going to happen, and trying to fight stress doesn’t work very well, but coming to terms with it tends to work a lot better.”

In addition to managing stress and anxiety, Schondorf developed productive working habits as a result of his meditation.

When presented with the choice of watching Netflix or studying, he has fostered a sense of self-discipline to choose to hit the books.

With all of its undeniable benefits and overall positivity, Schondorf recommends pursuing meditation with patience to all.

“Don’t go into it with any expectations,” Schondorf said. “It’s a pretty long-term thing, and the changes are subtle over time.

What I will say is that even if you don’t see immediate results, of all the activities I do that have made my life better, this one has the

Meditation can be a way to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.

(Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune) lowest investment with the highest payoff.”

Niketan Valapakam, U3 Management, has been meditating for four months. He began after experiencing sadness and anger following a job rejection.

“When I realized my state of happiness is dependent on such small things

around me, I can’t really go far in life,” Valapakam said. “I decided to get more introspective about how I feel about things.”

Valapakam took lessons through the program Inner Engineering, which includes lessons online, in books, and at retreats. He started seeing small changes in his mindset

Meditation is not meant to be a cureall for depression and anxiety, and should one experience persistent symptoms of these disorders, seeking help through medicine and therapy is the recommended route. McGill offers both psychiatric and counselling services, both of which students can and are encouraged to use. If you find yourself in a crisis, you can call the McGill Nightline at 514-398-6246 or the Quebec National Crisis Line at 1-866-277-3553.

U O Y D N A S K O

O B C I COM

S TO E V L E OKSH MS O B T EN ASSROO M E S t Editor n A L e B m C e in FROM COLLEGE Enterta & s t r on, A Adams n a l y D By

“People can hardly form sentences that make any sense anymore; they’re making nouns into verbs, and acronyming words out of the first letters of a lot of other words, and using words wrong all the time to mean things that they don’t.

So I guess little pictures are about the only way we’re going to be able to tell stuff in the future, since most anybody can understand them.”

This spirited defence of the graphic novel medium comes courtesy of the unnamed “well-known and highlydecorated researcher of popular culture” sourced in the introduction to Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth.

Jimmy Corrigan was released in 2000 to near-universal acclaim. It was the first graphic novel ever to win the Guardian First Book Award. Following in the footsteps of masterworks Maus (1986) and Watchmen (1987), the success of Chris Ware’s tour de force was indicative of how graphic novels had entered the literary pantheon. Indeed, Jimmy Corrigan was first published in its complete non-serialized form by Pantheon Books, an American imprint which has published works by the likes of Noam Chomsky, Jacob Burckhardt, and Simone de Beauvoir.

Comic books, once sold alongside flavoured rolling papers in head shops across North America, were metamorphosing at the turn of the millennium. Though they had long been subversive—as any single issue of Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman’s RAW magazine (1980-91) can testify—the prevailing image of comics as lewd or childish works of non-literature was beginning to subside. Persepolis, Fun Home, Palestine, and a plethora of other graphic novel titles began to appear atop year-end literature rankings. These weren’t $2 stapled-together paperbacks to be found alongside superhero schlock—Joe Sacco’s Palestine is bound in a sophisticated mud-brown hardcover, prefaced with an essay by renowned cultural critic Edward Said. It retails on Amazon for CAD $39.69. This pioneering generation of graphic novels, distinguished from their comic predecessors by an air of hardcover legitimacy, redefined preconceptions surrounding the medium. The term “graphic novel” had entered our cultural lexicon. McGill’s English department even offers a course on them.

As early as 1989, Drawn & Quarterly (D&Q), a Montreal publishing press, began to make a name for itself in the emerging field. D&Q began as a quarterly anthology, compiling content by mostly local artists. It has since become an independent publisher of graphic novels, supporting two Mile End bookstores.

Peggy Burns, D&Q’s current publisher, shared her experience working in the world of comics with The McGill Tribune.

“I was a publicity director at DC Comics in New York City,” Burns said. “[While] I was there, I respected the superheroes as a tradition [...] but I didn’t enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the Vertigo comics, [DC’s more adult, graphic content. They] were more creator-owned [....] When there was an author behind the book, it was much more natural for me to promote it [....With the superheroes] it’s a team [....] It can all be a part of a bigger marketing initiative.”

Burns left DC Comics to work with D&Q founder Chris Oliveros in 2003. She was the company’s third employee, and Oliveros was then working out of a reclaimed dentist’s office. Her choice to relocate was due in large part to D&Q’s

b A G Z U N

The modern day comic book reader conceals his ponytail underneath a tiny hat. (Briana Vanular)

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M O O b W P W O P T S A W O Z I !

P A Z V U K W O D G N ! early roster of well-established artists—including Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, and Joe Sacco—but also the hands-off policy that D&Q took with its creators.

More than 14 years and four office spaces later, D&Q has become a recognizable brand in its own right. D&Q’s progression from its humble origins to the two lavish bookstores it currently operates mirrors the evolution of the comic book medium.

Julie Doucet, one of D&Q’s top cartoonists, began her career photocopying handmade zines documenting her dayto-day life, which were mailed out to friends on a personalized subscription basis. D&Q is compiling the series—entitled Dirty Plotte—in a glimmering hardcover anthology to be published in Fall 2018. Burns detailed the efforts D&Q makes to preserve the hyper-personal, unauthorized quality of comic books’ roots, while working to legitimize graphic novels as a medium.

“I think it’s really about getting behind the artists,” Burns said. “I think if you’re 100 per cent behind your artists, you’ll always be cutting edge. Chester Brown, he did Paying For It, which is a memoir [about a man who frequents prostitutes], he’s always forcing us to reconsider what we might publish, understand through his eyes.”

D&Q works directly with artists, prioritizing their visions over editorial or marketing concerns. Julie Doucet’s brand of raunchy, explicit, feminist humour was unpalatable to most in the 1980s. Signed to D&Q in 1990, her early works are now at the forefront of recognized graphic novel artistry. D&Q prioritizes equal representation in the works they publish, and their construction of an inclusive graphic novel canon is worth getting excited about.

In her time at D&Q, Burns has strived to alter the traditionally male-dominated industry.

“It was a Boys’ Club,” Burns said. “It [still] is a Boys’ Club, but it’s becoming not a Boys’ Club [....] My biggest concern with being a woman in comics is making a company that has other women in it. D&Q has 24 employees, and I would say about 75 per cent are female [....] It’s about empowering [women].”

While working tirelessly to feature female and other underrepresented artist perspectives, publishing houses like D&Q are bringing comic books up from strip mall basements and into New York Times listicles. The archetypal image of the ponytailed Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy is being supplanted. A greater diversity of graphic novel retailers and artists is emerging.

D&Q firmly believes in the power of inclusivity, and building the graphic novel canon on these terms.

Like anything, however, canonization has its pros and cons.

Sean Carney, associate professor in the English department at McGill University, fondly remembers the pre-graphic novel days of dingy storefronts, soda-stained pages, and action figure displays. He spoke of the nostalgic appeal of comics as an illicit art form.

“If you grew up reading comics, you associate them with having something in childhood that belonged to you, that was unauthorized, and was probably disapproved of by authority figures in some way,” Carney said. “[It] was bad for you.”

Comic books, as well as Carney’s engagement with them, have progressed in decisive, confusing ways. This semester, Carney is teaching ENGL 492: Image and Text, with The Graphic Novel as the topic of choice. No longer on the receiving end of his parents’ anti-comic lectures, Carney now delivers biweekly academic lectures on comics to an audience of millennials.

Despite his own mixed feelings on the intersection of comics and academia, he believes that graphic novels offer something unique for students.

“As an academic, I don’t get a chance to do much reading during the school year, other than the reading that I have to do,” Carney said. “So it’s a manageable form of distraction, and it offers some very immediate satisfactions and pleasures [....] In a way, it’s too straightforward to warrant discussion, but there is something to be said for the pleasure of looking. And comic books are essentially an invitation to do that, at your own pace.”

Elliot Sinclair, U2 Arts, is currently enrolled in Carney’s ENGL 492 class to fulfill the 400-level theory component of the Cultural Studies minor. His own experience in reading graphic novels aligns with Carney’s.

“It’s a different type of engagement,” Sinclair said. “[With

graphic novels] you’re able to sit there and look at pictures. I find it less of a daunting task to start reading a graphic novel than to sit down and read a novel. It’s easier to motivate myself to read that kind of stuff.”

Many of the books in Carney’s course syllabus, such as Jimmy Corrigan, require meticulous attention to detail in order to fully experience the content. But, like going to an art gallery, it’s entirely up to you how long you choose to stay with each image.

Carney views this subjective experience of pacing in graphic novels—particularly those inviting lengthy consideration—as a worthwhile respite from our relentless modern experience.

“You have to find time to relax,” Carney said. “[The] rendering efficient of our experiences automatizes them, it renders them mechanical. Everything has to be done efficiently, everything has to be done according to a time clock, everything has to be done as quickly as possible. And the experience of work like this is just to go contrary to that part of our modern experience. To get you to stop.”

Symptomatic of this relentless modern efficiency, our experience of time as McGill students is rendered in deadlines.

One thing needs to be done sooner to make time for another thing that needs to be done better. Convoluted priority lists dominate our thought processes. The experience of reading for pleasure, at a personable, leisurely pace, is all but forgotten when October rolls around, only to be remembered with newfound excitement come May. Throughout the semester, many students’ primary form of distraction is either making or enjoying memes, which share more similarities with graphic novels than one might expect. The components are already there: The image, the text, the layered irony, and the all-pervading existential dread. Ware is a mememaker born 30 years too early. Carney is essentially a content aggregator—a FuckJerry, if you will. Perhaps our generational proclivity to these image-text combinations speaks to a terrifying decline in literacy, as Ware’s introduction and general scientific consensus would seem to attest. But, perhaps Carney is right as well. The world is asking a lot of young people these days. As a parent of a millennial, Burns sees graphic novels as a welcome escape for these overwhelmed youths.

“There’s so much pressure on kids to succeed that I do think we’re not as literary,” Burns said. “We also want our kids to have 10 after-school activities. And so then when you get to university, I do think students are attracted to the graphic novel class because it’s not going to take you three months to read the book.”

Sinclair recalls his first impression of graphic novels as a field of academic study.

“My knowledge of [graphic novels] wasn’t too [extensive],” Sinclair said. “I used to read comic books a bit when I was a kid [and] I had read Watchmen before, so I knew that I enjoyed them.

But I had never looked at them from the literary perspective that this class offers. I always looked at them as something to be enjoyed rather than something to be analyzed.”

Sinclair's statement represents much of our generation’s engagement with comic books. Many of us recall comic books as a juvenile hobby: A relic of our parents’ generation, whose nerdiness we hold at arm’s length through stylized movies and TV shows. The Dark Knight made superheroes serious for us.

Riverdale made Archie comics sexy. Graphic novels, though on the rise, are still in the process of infiltrating our cultural consciousness.

ENGL 492: Image and Text, despite its pretentious Cultural Studies course title, is a class about picture books. Across the street from the original Librairie D&Q, only a few doors down, D&Q has opened up La Petite Librairie D&Q, stocked entirely with graphic novels for children (also known as picture books).

You could stumble into La Petite Librairie D&Q, and it would take more than a cursory glance to realize you’re in the wrong place. The books really don’t look that different.

But don’t we, as students, deserve to read a picture book once in a while? Maybe we’re dumber than our parents. Maybe this return to childhood things is indicative of our generation’s stunted development. Maybe it’s social media’s fault. But graphic novels have arrived, for better or for worse, and like social media, memes, Tasty videos, and an infinite number of other millennial fascinations, they’re here to stay.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

STUDENT LIVING 10

Beyond protests and picket signs: How student activists make a difference Emma Carr Staff Writer Illustrations by Arshaaq Jiffry

Student activism can take many forms, from petitions and hashtag campaigns to marches and guerilla theatre. But such avenues for dissent have one thing in common: A passion for challenging the status quo. Young student organizers are committed to bettering the world they will graduate into by advocating for equality and challenging public opinion.

The most recent showing of McGill’s student activist energy took place on Nov. 12, when close to “A 100 McGill students gathered at the the comm Roddick Gates and stopped is a se ac on t t h i traffic to march down equ com vist read al a mitm mov in St. Catherine street, a nd e jus ent to ment ll eventually joining activist t so s cie a mo re groups from across the city ty. “ as part of the Manifestation Against Racism and Hate.

Student demonstrations are loud, disruptive, and attention-grabbing.

These mass displays of public discontent can influence social and political attitudes toward policy, acting as a check on the government.

A study from the Pew Research Center indicated that 74 per cent of Americans strongly believe that protests are vital to maintaining a healthy democracy. On campuses and beyond, university activism manifests as visible protest. In Canada, McGill’s campus in particular boasts of a diverse history of grassroots mobilization against oppression. For example, the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) McGill organizes annual discussions on social issues at their workshop series Culture Shock, Divest McGill staged a 72 hour sit-in outside the James Administration building in 2016 to show their disapproval of McGill’s fossil fuel investments, and Demilitarize McGill led a tour of military research facilities on campus at the 2015 open house. Regardless of the tactics chosen, a common thread in all these activist movements is a commitment to a more equal and just society.

“Activism, for me, is the will to change things,” Connor Spencer, VicePresident (VP) External of the Students’ Society of McGill University said. “The will to point out when things are wrong [....] To believe in something so much that you can put yourself “C a out for it, to engage, to stay engaged, to care ad m ch ual ppus a about the folks around you and what the ange urp ctivi o s is happening to the folks around po stu and se: m s liti de cal nt to ed To af erve you, to see yourself as part of inj pop uc fec s us ul ate t a larger system, a larger kind tice ati s. “ on o of ecosystem of humansw and n thoughts and feelings and institutions.

[To see yourself] as not only a member but also a contributor to the capitalist, patriarchal society that we live in.”

Beyond McGill’s campus, youth have historically served as a main source of energy for a variety of activist movements, from the Greensboro sit-ins in North Carolina during the American Civil Rights movement, to the 1968 student protests in Paris.

Today, in the shadows of the alt-right movement and growing inequality, campus activism is more important to university students than ever. Despite relatively low voter turnout rates for Canadian youth aged 20-24, this age grouping is the most likely to engage in some form of political activism, suggesting that they deem it to be the primary way to initiate political change.

“I think there is this idea of energy,” Spencer said. “[At this age], we are going through a phase in our lives, and especially on university campuses, when a lot of us are having blinders removed, or a shifting of lenses. I think that what comes with that is a realization of what’s going on, and I think that it is very natural for people that are inquisitive to end up at universities and end up studying. [It’s] not that all inquisitive people end up here, there is a certain amount of privilege that goes with it.”

The rich history of activism in Quebec has given university students an opportunity that many McGill students do not know how to take full advantage of. Since the 1960s, Quebec university students have protested a number of issues, including austerity, Islamophobia, and government corruption.

Notably, in 2012, in what was later dubbed the ‘Maple Spring,’ Quebec university students—with the exception of McGill—clashed with the government over a proposed 75 per cent increase in tuition fees, and they were ultimately

successful in preventing such hikes. For nearly seven months, student protesters were met with violent backlash from the police, who were armed with pepper spray, batons, and riot gear. In Montreal, the protests reached a peak in May 2012, when students barricaded the streets and lit bonfires, which the police responded to with excessive force. In September of the same year, the newly-elected Parti Québecois came into power, and the proposed tuition increases were scrapped. Since then, when Montreal students have taken action, the government takes notice.

“We have a legacy [...] that we directly benefit from, which is that because of the work of our predecessors we’ve been given a huge megaphone,” Spencer said. “I think we don’t really realize that because so much work has been done in the past that the government is kind of afraid of the students and how much they can mobilize.”

Paige Hunter, U3 Arts, understands the power McGill students wield in influencing future politics. In 2016, she joined Generation Screwed at McGill, a non-partisan campus activism group, after learning about Canada’s growing national debt. Today, Hunter is the organization’s campus coordinator.

“Activism stimulates change,” Hunter wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “If young people don’t make their voices heard on serious issues that will certainly have an effect in their future, those in charge will not get the message [....] I would like to live in a prosperous, economically-sound country, but we can’t have that if we’re drowning in debt. I think many Canadians want the same.”

For Hunter, campus activism serves a dual purpose: To affect change and to educate the student population on political injustices. Throughout the year, Hunter and her team at Generation Screwed hold events on campus aimed at encouraging students and politicians to take action. Among them, the group organizes re the ” s a ce, t documentary screenings and petitions i n p. de just dee u urging candidates running for political n re st oi n a office to commit to tackling the he tic t ces W e n Canadian debt crisis. h ue “ at ap seq

“I hope young people will n co have their consciousnesses raised

about the Canadian federal debt in terms of understanding how this issue will directly affect their future,” Hunter said. “All the taxpayer dollars that go to servicing the debt could have been used to pay for social services that all Canadians need and want. Better yet, Canadians could have been given a tax break. With this knowledge, perhaps young people will begin to favour political candidates that prioritize a balanced budget.”

Students continue to be on the front-lines of change within society, and their relentless commitment to greater equality impacts both local and national politics. Like Hunter, Spencer emphasized the need for students to take the future into their own hands. She explained that when students are apathetic to injustice, the consequences run deep.

“I think we are living [the cost of being passive],” Spencer said. “When you are passive, you get exploited, and it might not be you specifically right away, or you may not be able to see that you are exploited, but you are being exploited.”

Small steps to get started in activism If you have 5 minutes… Have a conversation with a friend about an inequality you recognize in society. This is a quick and easy way to express you concerns about what is happening , and brainstorm potential solutions.

If you have 30 minutes… Write a letter to your elected officials or sign a petition.

Though it’s not often headline-making, it is possible to do activist work within the existing systems. Many elected officials are accessible via email or phone, and can be swayed by pressure from their constituents. Additionally, these techniques have proven to be valuable mobilization strategies and help to create a list of people who care about the same issues.

If you have an afternoon… Attend a meeting for a group you are passionate about. McGill has a number of student activist organizations which exist within and outside of SSMU. In the past, on-campus groups have been responsible for organizing movements advocating for indigenous rights, environmental protection, and anti-austerity.

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

‘Fables’ teaches us about the beauty in life’s relationships Players’ Theatre’s latest production explores trauma and mental health with humour and wit Samantha Ling Contributor

Continued from page 1.

Directed by Filip Rakic, Fables is presented in two acts and uses the stage to portray three distinct settings: A doctor’s office, a family home, and a local park. Characters move between these scenes as their relationships with each other face conflicts, grow stronger, and become more complex. We see the connection between the doctor (Thomas Fix) and his wife (Sarah Tiplady) shift as they re-evaluate factors that threaten their marriage via living room dialogue. The doctor’s relationship with his patient, Sid (Alexander SitarasGrasic), evolves through fear and ambition for the future.

As action plays out in one of the three settings, characters not in the scene can be seen in character in the other two settings participating in day-today activities such as writing, drinking, or texting—the

Players’ Theatre’s ‘Fables’ balances its darker themes with moments of humour. (Margaux Delalex / The McGill Tribune) audience feels like a part of an ongoing conversation.

From the variety of liquor bottles on the living room table to the classic park bench upon which Lisa (Emily Sheeran) delivers a series of monologues

regarding her traumatic past, the production’s set employs detail and adds to the life-like experience that the story tells.

Furthermore, all four members of the cast excellently craft its characters by taking on specific

mannerisms and maintaining them throughout the show. As Lisa, Sheeran adeptly speaks with uncertainty to display her regret about her past.

Rakic’s decision to largely focus the play on the characters’

monologues allows for the audience to see not only the relationships each character is involved in, but also the inner feelings that these characters hold toward each other and themselves. Fables’ strength is in its intimacy; watching the play is like listening to four new friends who will tell you about their lives, their fears, and their desires.

Rakic, the cast, and the crew have come together to put on a performance that reminds us how the people in our lives accompany us through even the worst of times. Though the play deals with several dark themes, it also uses humour to show the optimistic side of its unhappy characters. Beyond trauma, fear, and regret, Lisa manages to work in hilarious jabs at the doctor’s old age, and Sid constantly mentions his aspirations to make a career out of being a sperm donor. This combination of heavy and light-hearted moments make for a play that provides audience members with a glimpse into their lives and all the ups and downs that are involved.

McGill’s first all-black play tackles injustice with poetry ‘for colored girls’ proves that ‘cultural neutrality’ is a choice, not a necessity Sophie Brzozowski Staff Writer “I was missin’ something,” begins Munyaradzi Guramatunhu’s note, introducing her rendition of the play for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf in Tuesday Night Cafe Theatre’s (TNC) black and white program.

“Something so important, something that ought to exist.”

Though the words were adapted from the play’s final poem, “a laying on of hands,” they rang especially true for the Zimbabwe native and firsttime director as she reflected on her time at McGill.

Guramatunhu’s show has the distinction of being McGill’s first all-black production, a fact that is more embarrassing than it is shocking.

McGill theatre is notoriously lacking in representation, a glaring weakness that is often defended under the guise of cultural neutrality, or lack of content. With for colored girls, Guramatunhu seeks to correct this inequality. “A lot of what’s disguised as cultural neutrality is not cultural neutrality at all,” Guramatunhu said. “It’s actually white hegemony in practice.”

The soul-crushing effects of racial homogeneity in the media is one of the many subjects packed into the 90-minute play. Presented

by TNC in conjunction with the Black Student’s Network, this adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s 1976 choreopoem explores themes of sex, love, abuse, and culture—demonstrating the ways that these universal subjects function in the worlds of young black women.

Located in the basement of Morrice Hall, just beneath the Islamic studies library, TNC’s

TNC’s ‘for colored girls’ is a celebration of black women. (Kelsey McKeon / The McGill Tribune) theater is small, but the cramped room and shallow stage only serve to make the cast members’ performance even larger and more captivating. The six-person cast radiated energy as they transformed seamlessly from persona to persona, each more heartbreaking and believable than the last. Though Ines Vieux Francoeur is the only McGill-based actress, Guramatunhu promises that there will be many more opportunities for actresses of colour to represent McGill in the future.

The play is performed as a series of poems rather than divided into acts. Some of the stories are told in a linear fashion, while others unfold as a conversation. Several are accompanied by musical

numbers, choreographed by Guramatunhu. Each of the poems illustrates a particular vignette or scene from a character’s life, written and performed so viscerally that they seem to have emerged from something more personal than a script. Despite the director’s lack of experience, the show is staged to near perfection—each scene tight and polished.

Although most of the stories revolve around broad themes of systemic injustice, the play narrows the scope of its narrative to focus on the intimate stories of individuals, rather than the politics surrounding the issues. Even the poem entitled “abortion cycle #1,” poignantly delivered by Keren Roberts, refreshingly forgoes the usual discursive

tropes. Instead of addressing the issue from a legislative point of view, discussing the female body as though it were the subject of some convoluted bylaw, the play tells a story about what it feels like to get an abortion. The pain, the shame, and the isolation of receiving a medical procedure—too often disguised as a punishment—are all portrayed brilliantly onstage.

The cast refused to censor the ugliness of some of it’s subject matter, often at the expense of the audience’s comfort; performances were often troubling, but always authentic. Likewise, the poem, “latent rapists,” performed with heartbreaking vulnerability by Jamila Joseph, Benita Bailey and Keren Roberts, discusses the humiliation and loneliness felt by survivors, rather than trying to tackle the effects of the epidemic at large.

Despite the tragedy and injustice that for colored girls depicts, the play is, above all, a celebration of black women and their strength and resilience.

“This is what it feels like to be at the bottom of the totem pole of so many societies,” Guramatunhi said. “But it’s also an act of therapy.”

Students can forward to more representational content from McGill’s theatre companies in the future.

“This is not a singular event,” Guramatunhi insisted. “This is just the beginning, the next play will be all black students from McGill.”

TNC’s For Colored Girls will show Wednesday to Saturday Night until November 25th at 7:30 pm in Morrice Hall, 3485 Rue McTavish. Tickets are $6 for students and $10 general admission.

13 science & technology

Tuesday, November 21 , 2017

Project pollution: McGill professor highlights risks from dirty air and water Nine million deaths from pollution worldwide in 2015 Jade Prévost-Manuel Contributor On Oct. 19, the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health released a report identifying pollution as the cause of nine million deaths across the world in 2015. The report addressed the costs of water, soil, and air pollution to the global economy and public health, stressing pollution as an underreported and terribly severe contributor to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD).

The GBD is an epidemiological study of global health trends since 1990. It aims to understand global health by examining measures like mortality and life expectancy to see how external factors contribute to declines in the overall health of a population.

The staggering figures produced by the GBD’s rigorous research deem pollution a significant health risk. The commission states that 92 per cent of all pollution-related mortality occurs in low-income and middle-income countries— and particularly those experiencing rapid industrialization. Air pollution accounted for 6.5 million deaths in 2015, followed by deaths caused by water pollution, which came in at 1.8 million.

According to the commission, the impacts of pollution on health are unevenly distributed, with pollution disproportionately affecting the marginalized and the vulnerable.

Niladri Basu, an associate professor in the faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and a Canada Research Chair in

Environmental Health Sciences, calls this an unacceptable truth and an issue of human rights.

“We all have a right to a safe workplace,” Basu wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

“We take this for granted in Canada but millions around the world can not say the same.”

Basu contributed to the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health’s report, and said that the report will raise awareness about the link between pollution and health. He further commented on how pollution’s severity is underrepresented in the media.

“Many of our donor agencies and foundations are rightfully committed to global health, though few of them have realized the immense burden that pollution plays,” Basu wrote. “Our report shows that pollution causes three times more premature deaths than AIDS, TB, and malaria combined.”

Pollution harms health, but it’s also harmful to economies. Welfare losses due to pollution are estimated to cost more than US $4.6 trillion each year, about 6.2 per cent of global economic output.

In middle-income countries that are heavily polluted and rapidly developing, up to seven per cent of annual health spending is allocated to cover the costs of pollution-related disease.

However, it’s not all bad news. The mission of the Lancet Commission is to inform economic and health policy makers worldwide about the burdens of pollution and to suggest affordable control solutions that focus on pollution prevention.

Pollution can be eliminated and the measures taken to do so can be cost-effective. In the

past, high-income countries have been largely successful in managing pollution, and in the last 50 years, air quality in Canada and the United States has improved immensely. Similar strategies at the level of policy can be applied to countries of all levels of income.

The report outlines six recommendations based on its findings, such as making pollution a high international priority and increasing the funding and technical support of pollution control.

As a professor, Basu is certain that education,

empowerment, and the communication of scientific knowledge are long-term solutions to the pollution problem.

“The solution to pollution resides in transdisciplinary sciences,” Basu said. “We need social scientists to link with natural scientists to link with engineers, public health officials, regulators, and so on. Multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary partnerships are the only way forward [....] Pollution is preventable, and it can be done in a cost-effective and win-win manner.”

Air and water pollution were responsble for 9 million deaths in 2015. (Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune)

AstroMcGill talk sheds light on the Big Bang

Where, When, & Will It Ever End: Unraveling the history of our universe Emma Gillies Contributor The universe is comprised of billions of galaxies— encompassing all of space, all of time, and all of its contents. It all started with a Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.

On Nov. 16, particle physicist and cosmologist Oscar Hernández spoke about the Big Bang at AstroMcGill’s event Where, When & Will It Ever End: a Muggle’s Guide to Our Big Bang, at McGill’s McIntyre

Medical Building.

Hernández pointed out a common misconception: The Big Bang was not actually an explosion. It was, in fact, an expansion. According to Hernández, a better name for the theory would be the “Everywhere Stretch Theory.”

Like most discoveries, this one cannot be localized or attributed to one person. In 1842, Christian Doppler proposed the Doppler Effect for light— that the colour of a star’s light changes according to its velocity.

Redshift indicates that an object

The galaxies around Earth are constantly shifting further away.

(Emma Gillies / The McGill Tribune)

is moving away from the viewer, while blueshift indicates that it is moving closer. Furthermore, in 1912, Vesto Slipher first observed galaxy light and saw that it was redshifted.

Other scientists contributed to the theoretical understanding of expansion. Albert Einstein published his general relativity field equations in 1915, which he was able to use to derive a history of the universe—despite its inaccuracy.

“Einstein got a solution to his equation but […] he forced that solution to be static,” Hernández said. “Spacetime tells energy and matter how to move, and energy and matter tell spacetime how to curve, and Einstein comes up with his static universe solution that’s not stable.”

Edwin Hubble was given the credit for the discovery of the cosmos. In 1923, Hubble showed that “clouds” that were previously thought to be nebulae were actually other galaxies that were millions of light years away. He then studied the velocities of these galaxies, and in 1929, concluded that they were receding from Earth, and thus that the universe was expanding.

In 1927, Georges Lemaître

proposed the Big Bang Theory— which he called the “hypothesis of the primeval atom”—using Einstein’s equations and theories of general relativity. Building upon earlier observations, he said that if the universe was expanding, the galaxies’ light should be redshifted.

Lemaître proposed and Hubble calculated that space was literally expanding and growing between the galaxies. Hernández equated galaxies to raisins in a rising loaf of bread—they’re not moving apart, but rather space is getting bigger.

“The laws of physics are time-symmetric […] so we can run this movie backwards 14 billion years to get this very dense, very hot, very wellordered, very small cosmic egg of pure energy,” Hernández said.

This relation directly connects the astronomically big to the infinitesimally small. In other words, to study the beginning moments of something as big as the universe, the extremely tiny must also be analyzed.“[For the first 380,000 years of cosmic time], when the temperature was above 3000 Kelvin, […] light electrons and protons were in a cosmic soup.

They were not bound together,”

Hernández said.

But as the universe aged and expanded, it cooled. The protons and electrons had less energy to resist one another, thus combining to form hydrogen: The most common element in the universe.

“With fewer free electrons for light to interact with, the universe became transparent,” Hernández said. “When we finally see the light here on Earth, [it] has been stretched so much by the 14 billion-year expansion of space that its frequency and colour have shifted from the original semi-white all the way to cool microwaves.”

This radiation, called the cosmic microwave background, is the heat left over from the Big Bang. Astrophysicists have even been able to map its afterglow.

So, to answer where, when, and will it ever end—the Big Bang occurred everywhere almost 14 billion years ago, and the expansion is not going to end. In fact, scientists have discovered that it is accelerating over time.

There’s still much to learn about the beginning of our universe. By fully understanding its expansion, the mysteries of its origin can be unravelled.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

science & technology 14

How e-Health can help new and expectant dads

Creating a website that specifically supports paternal mental health Kate Lord Staff Writer Post-partum depression is frequently associated with mothers, but up to 18 per cent of men also report depressive symptoms during their partner’s pregnancy or in the months after birth. A decline in mental health attributed to the transition into parenthood can be found across genders for similar reasons, according to Deborah Da Costa, a researcher in the division of Clinical Epidemiology at the Research Institute-Montreal University Health Center (RI-MUHC) and an associate professor in McGill’s Department of Medicine.

“Both men and women go through an important transition as they enter the parenting role,” Da Costa wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “There are changes to personal identity, the couple relationship, work-life roles, etc. While most people can adjust well, some have a more difficult time.”

The internet holds many resources

from many sources about pregnancy and parenting. However, a new study from the RI-MUHC found that most of the information available online is tailored to mothers, leaving expectant fathers without valuable resources to combat stress and ease the emotional burdens of becoming a parent.

“There is a lack of ‘father-friendly’ information that is easily accessible to expectant and new fathers,” Da Costa wrote. “It’s important that the information be credible and match [paternal] needs.

More than half the fathers in our study felt the information [online] was unhelpful and 3 in 4 told us it wasn’t tailored to fathers.”

The RI-MUHC study investigated the areas of the parental transition that are of greatest interest to expectant or new fathers, including infant and child care, maintaining a work-life balance, improving sleep, managing stress, and supporting and improving their relationship with their partner. The study gathered information used to inform HealthyDads.ca, a prototype website that promotes the mental health of fathers and

provides them with targeted parenting and pregnancy-related information.

Along with the help of future studies, HealthyDads.ca also aims to incorporate specific topics that are particularly pertinent to gay men who are new or expectant fathers. “[These topics] might include some of the challenges and benefits related to their selected pathways to parenthood (such as surrogacy, adoption, fostering) and how to cope with concerns or experiences related to discrimination and stigma,” Da Costa wrote. [These experiences] can impact them individually, as a couple, and as a family.”

Websites like HealthyDads.ca, which provide health-related information without the active participation of a health professional, are a type of care often referred to as ‘e-Health.’ This new wave of technology and internet-based activity revolutionizes the way that patients interact within the healthcare system.

“E-Health can play a very important role in removing some of the barriers to seeking and receiving help at the

individual, provider and system levels,” Da Costa wrote. “E-Health is far-reaching (95% of Canadians under the age of 55 have access), easily accessible (24/7), [and] anonymous mode of delivering mental health information and evidencebased strategies to improve mental health.”

The benefits of e-Health reach far beyond the fields of mental health.

E-Health can be seen in the rise of telemedicine, where patients can connect remotely with medical professionals for diagnostic purposes through the use of technology—as well as in the increased use of smartphone apps and text messaging to receive health-related information and diagnoses. Even the enormous popularity of fitness bands, particularly those that monitor steps, heart rate, and sleep patterns, are evidence of the e-Health revolution. “[E-Health] will have an extremely important role as part of a stepped care approach,” Da Costa wrote. “[However,] I don’t think it should replace more formal methods, particularly in more severe cases of emotional/psychological problems.”

McGill alumni poised to blow out headphone industry Innovative speaker technology first to commercialize super-material graphene Karl Neumann Contributor Audio loudspeakers, unlike many other technologies, have seen relatively little advancement since their creation in the late 1800s. That was until ORA Graphene Audio Inc., founded by brothers and McGill PhD graduates Robert-Eric Gaskell and Peter Gaskell, integrated a new material into their speaker design—taking the audio world by storm with their groundbreaking graphene-based headphone technology.

The sibling entrepreneurs both received their doctorates from McGill: Robert-Eric specialized in sound recording while Peter studied electrical engineering. The brothers founded ORA, now valued in the millions, in 2014 while they were still pursuing their doctorates. At the time, Peter was trying to use graphene in batteries while Robert-Eric Gaskell was working on microphone technology. What began as off-theclock experiments, mixing Robert-Eric’s microphones with Peter’s material-of-interest graphene, eventually transformed into a success story.

Graphene, the key to ORA’s innovation, was first extracted with regular Scotch-tape in 2004. The professors responsible for the discovery, Andre K. Geim and Konstantin S. Novoselov at the University of Manchester, subsequently won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. The material is comprised of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged into a hexagonal or ‘honeycomb’ lattice and has a variety of remarkable properties. The substance is the strongest ever discovered, over 150 times stronger than steel and 40 times tougher than diamond. Furthermore, it’s one of the world’s lightest material, extremely rigid, and excellent at damping vibrations.

Despite this assortment of useful characteristics, graphene has resisted commercialization since its debut over a decade ago. That remained the case until the Gaskell brothers created a composite material in 2013 which they dubbed GrapheneQ. Thomas Szkopek, associate professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, urged the siblings to patent their invention in 2014. GrapheneQ is made up of thousands of layers of graphene which comprise 95 per cent of the material, while the remainder contains binding components that enable its usability beyond that of pure graphene.

What sets ORA’s headphones apart from others on

The Gaskell brothers went from ordinary McGill students to extraordinary innovators. (Margaux Delalex / The McGill Tribune) the market is the vibrating cone within each speaker, made of GrapheneQ. This cone converts electrical signals into mechanical waves that are then interpreted as sound. Other speakers on the market use materials such as aluminum or composite paper for this component, but have to make cost-benefit decisions in order to maximize the three central qualities of a speaker cone: Minimal weight, maximal strength, and great damping ability.

The quality of these headphones will be benefitted by their cone material because graphene excels in regards to all three of the properties. The difficulty comes in molding and manufacturing the notoriously complex material. The layered GrapheneQ must be shaped while maintaining these desired properties. The result is crisp, loud, and energyefficient acoustics that could potentially set a new standard for headphone design.

Even though the brothers are currently pursuing the headphone market, the company has larger plans for the future.

Robert-Eric envisions potential for their technology beyond headwear.

“We can make loudspeakers much smaller but with the same output [as other products], which is attractive to smartphone producers in particular, in order to make thinner or louder devices,” Robert-Eric said.

This potential next step could bring GrapheneQ into millions of pockets worldwide.

A product that began with two brothers working off-hours in a McGill lab has amplified to the point that even Silicon Valley is yearning to integrate their new technology. No matter ORA’s next move, the burgeoning company is at the precipice of changing an industry and is turning up the volume in an otherwise unchanging market.

SPORTS 15

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

McGill cheerleading goes beyond the sidelines The team discusses training, fundraising, and managing misconceptions

By April Barrett, Multimedia Editor Photos by Gabriel Helfant From teen movies to major league sports, cheerleaders often attract a specific kind of attention, and it isn’t always based on their athleticism. The physical figure of the cheerleader, in these popular representations, seems to overshadow the actual sport of cheerleading. In reality, McGill cheerleading, a self-funded competitive club, is one of many competitive cheerleading teams where respect for the sport comes above all else.

“Our practices are completely dedicated for us to train for competitions,” three-year McGill cheerleading veteran Gabrielle Cloutier said. “That’s the one thing about cheer; people just see us at football games and they think that’s what cheer is all about, but really it’s way more intense.”

The team practices two to three times per week, with additional practices near competitions, which occur a few times a semester. If you’ve seen McGill cheerleading at basketball or football games, you’ve only seen their warm-up. This semester, the team is training for a competition in Montreal on Nov. 19 and then Power Cheerleading Association Nationals in Brampton, Ontario on Nov. 25. “[Cheering at a game] reinstates the basics we have,” thirdyear cheerleader Courtney Macdonald said. “We never do anything super difficult at the games because of the conditions [of the venue].”

Beyond games and practices, being a part of McGill cheerleading also means taking on the responsibility of fundraising for the team. The cheerleaders do everything from weekly samosa sales, to odd jobs, to performance gigs in the St. Patrick’s day parade in order to cover the team’s costs. These costs include renting practice space in a suitable gymnastics gym, coaches’ salaries, and travelling to competitions. The amount of fundraising required can be a lot for those new to the team.

“People don’t realize [the commitment], going into cheerleading [...] they think that it’s going to be a side thing,” Cloutier said.

Because of these extra requirements, being a McGill cheerleader demands a high level of mental involvement.

Aside from fitness and athleticism, spirit is also an important concept in cheering. The team members apply this idea to the way they approach their dedication to cheer and perseverance through challenges.

“I remember [the old team captain] telling me that there’s nothing that’s as much of a team sport than cheer is,” Cloutier said. “You have to be 100 per cent all of the time,

because if you’re not there, someone’s going to get hurt.

That’s where spirit comes in. If you’re on the mat and your stunt just fell and you have to keep going to your other stunt, having those voices telling you to keep going is crucial.”

This presence of mind comes in large part from synergy with teammates.

“I never used to be the most spirit-ful person, but since being on the team, it’s so easy to be [spirited],” Macdonald said. “When we take the mat we feed off each other’s energy.”

An added difficulty of cheering is managing people’s misconceptions of the sport, and of cheerleaders in general.

These notions range from the idea that cheerleaders are catty and shallow, to the idea that cheering is complementary entertainment, rather than a sport in and of itself.

“We’re not the only [cheer] team dealing with that at

all,” Cloutier said. “Even if you’re a complete all-star team that doesn’t even cheer at football games, you’re going to have [to face] that perception.”

Cloutier, a former competitive dancer, and Macdonald, a retired national gymnast, both emphasized that, despite common television portrayals, cheer competitions have less rivalry than other sports they’ve been involved in.

“The sport is respected so much that when the other team sees another team doing a stunt that is brand new or really hard to execute you’re going to cheer them on so much,” Cloutier said. “The drama you see in the movies, [...] that’s completely absent.”

As for the notion that cheering is sideline entertainment, Macdonald explains that anyone who is familiar with competitive cheerleading understands the extreme dedica-

tion, physical strength, and risk-taking it requires.

“We do a lot of conditioning, strength training, so that we can be 100 per cent to catch the girls,” Macdonald said.

Strength is a requirement while executing such physically demanding maneuvers. Everyone on the team understands the potential for injury if someone falters during a stunt.

“We have this rule that if our flyer [the girl thrown in the air] touches the mat, everyone does 50 push ups,” Cloutier added.

This year, try-outs were opened to male cheerleaders for the first time in a decade. Being coed would put the team in a different league, allow for new stunts to be performed, and help manage some of the stigma of being an all-girl cheer team. The team started the year with two males, but after a few weeks, they dropped off due to the high level of involvement.

“I think the fact that we went from being coed to all girl was our biggest challenge this semester,” Macdonald said. “We had to change the routine that our coaches had already started forming, and I think that for some people it was a hit to their morale.”

However, both Macdonald believes that the challenge has ultimately made the team stronger.

“I think we’re happier as allgirl right now,” Macdonald said.

“The obstacle of going from coed to all girl has gotten to us where we are today.”

After months of bonding and overcoming obstacles, teammates can now fully rely on one another.

“Right now, we’re at that point in the season where everybody who’s here is here to stay,” Cloutier said.

With so much physical and mental energy put toward making the team possible, both Macdonald and Cloutier wish the McGill community had a greater awareness of McGill Cheer. Not just for their role in cheering on other McGill teams, but for the level of athleticism the team works toward themselves, and the rigorous competitions they participate in.

“We’re fully competing, throwing very dangerous and cool skills,” Macdonald said.

Furthermore, cheerleading goes far beyond entertainment; as McGill cheerleading demonstrates, the team trains and competes as varsity-level athletes.

“We’re here and we’re a competitive sport,” Cloutier concluded.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

16 SPORTS

GAME REPORT

McGill synchronized swimming makes a splash at SEASON-OPENING INVITATIONAL Martlets show strong season debut Grace Bahler Student Living Editor On Nov. 18, the McGill Martlets synchronized swimming team hosted the McGill Invitational, bringing together eight universities in competition. The meet served as the season opener for the Canadian University Synchro Swim League (CUSSL), where novice and expert-level swimmers challenged each other in solo, duet, and team performances.

Although the results don’t count toward the national title—which McGill has won 14 times in the past 16 years—the meet serves as the perfect opportunity for veterans and novices alike to practice their boosts, verticals, and “ballet legs.”

“Early in the season, we’re really focused on getting [the team] up to the technical level that we want,” Head Coach Lindsay Duncan said.

“Later on in the year, it’s about polish [....We’re] still in the midst of choreographing the routines [...] but, I mean, everyone came out, and I think [we] had a nice performance, so we’re feeling really optimistic about the rest of the season.”

Each team was assessed by a panel of four judges, who evaluated the swimmers’ artistic impressions and technical manoeuvres. Overall, McGill fared well, with the novice team scoring an impressive 51.833 in comparison to McGill’s two expert-level teams—Red and White—who had respective scores of 58.667 and 64.999.

Despite McGill’s boastful lung capacity and pop-ups, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees established themselves as McGill’s chief rivals,

as both teams blew all other competition out of the water. The Martlets came out on top in the expert solo competition, with third-year swimmer Flordespina Dodds placing first. McGill’s novice team also secured a win over Ottawa, triumphing by a close 1.2-point margin.

The McGill Invitational provides an opportunity for newer swimmers to experience a structured competition environment. For Katharine Callahan, a second-year swimmer with the novice team, the Invitational was only her second-ever competition. Ultimately, the meet was nerve-wracking, but it allowed Callahan and her teammates—many of whom are new to the sport—to get in sync and find their rhythm.

“We were all a bit nervous, I think,” Callahan said. “For some of us, it was only our first competition [....] We took all our nervous energy and just put out a good performance. I think we were just able to be really sharp and precise and we travelled really well.”

It’s still early in the season for the Martlets, and they’ve got three months to practice and perfect their routines before heading to the CUSSL National Championships in mid-February. For second-year swimmer Jessica Henry, the competition was the foundation for success to come.

“I think we had a really great swim, it was sharp,” Henry said. “Obviously, there [are] a few things we can work on, but it’s a good platform to build the rest of the year off of [....] I think we all have a very good work ethic and work well together. Everyone comes to practice happy and they leave happy, and it’s a really cohesive group.”

McGill synchronized swimming looks to follow up on previous years’ successes. (Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune)

Moment of the MEET

McGill’s White team executed two boosts perfectly, with one entailing a full backward flip.

Quotable

“It’s one thing to start the choreography, and it’s another thing to work together as a team and figure out who needs to be where, and when, and how to swim [with] all eight people as one person.”

— Second-year Martlet swimmer Jessica Henry

Stat corner

Three minutes is the amount of time an average synchro swimmer can hold their breath underwater.

McGill Redmen basketball fall to Concordia Stingers in pots and pans game Strong Concordia defence stumps McGill in all four quarters

Miya Keilin Contributor On Nov. 18, McGill’s Martlet and Redmen basketball teams faced off against their Concordia rivals in the annual Pots and Pans double-header. After cheering the Martlets to a commanding 93-66 victory over the Concordia Stingers, the crowd excitedly whacked their pans to inspire the men’s side, hoping for

Redmen guard Jenning Leung goes up for a tough finish. (Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune) a McGill sweep. When the final buzzer was another one today.”

The Redmen scored first in the went off, the Stingers topped the Redmen 70-58, but the raucous crowd never first quarter, ending a minute and a half quit. Fifth-year guard and Redmen team of scoreless play, but it took another few captain Dele Ogundokun highlighted minutes before either team started heatthe immense support that the Pots and ing up. Every basket McGill scored was quickly countered by Concordia, with Pans games bring every year.

“We’ve had [...] successful pots the back-and-forth quarter ending 19-15 and pans [games] over the last two in McGill’s favour.

Scoring was tough to come by [years], great support from the community and the student body,” Ogundokun to start the second quarter, too. The said. “We expected a great turnout and it Stingers eventually found their footing,

taking advantage of the Redmen’s offensive struggles and weak defensive play to dominate the quarter and take the lead. However, fourth-year centre Noah Daoust broke McGill’s scoreless streak to give the Redmen new energy toward the end of the quarter, allowing the Redmen to ultimately the game back up heading into the half.

Early in the third quarter, McGill fell behind but their aggressive defence kept the deficit small. Ogundokun gave the Redmen their first lead since the beginning of the second quarter with a three-pointer. But, after playing a strong final minute, Concordia claimed a 46-41 lead going into the fourth.

McGill came out hot to start the final quarter but cooled off quickly, letting Concordia pull away. The Redmen struggled to find a way to slow the Stingers’ offence and with less than two minutes to play, McGill was down by nine. That deficit proved insurmountable. Offensive woes and defensive missteps haunted the Redmen throughout the rest of the game, allowing the scoring margin to grow. Head Coach David DeAveiro plans to use the lessons from Saturday’s game to improve his team’s adaptability.

“I thought we struggled today, offensively, and a large part of that was [Concordia’s] defence,” DeAveiro said.

GAME REPORT

“They went small on us and they were switching us [….] We’ll go watch video and we’ll get better.”

Following their loss against the Stingers, the Redmen fell to 2-1 in league play and now share first place in the RSEQ with Concordia and Laval.

They look to reclaim sole ownership of the top spot in their upcoming game at Bishop’s on Nov. 25. Catch Redmen basketball at home again on Jan. 6 against the UQAM Citadins.

Moment of the GAME

Down two with just seconds remaining in the second quarter, fourth-year guard Avery Cadogan raced down the court and tied up the game with a huge dunk as the buzzer went off.

Quotable

“I don’t think we played our best game today and they were really good so sometimes that’s basketball [….] You’ve got to face a little adversity if you want to be a national champion.”

- Head Coach David DeAveiro

Stat corner

The Redmen shot 22-56 (39 per cent) from the field and 5-21 (24 per cent) from three.