Sixty-five years and four Nobel Prize nominations after Dr. Thomas Chang invented the first artificial cell
in his McGill dorm room, the invention is still improving lives in countless new ways. From blood transfusions to cancer suppression and, most recently, COVID-19 treat ments, Chang’s invention continues to push the boundaries of medical possibility.
Chang developed the first crude prototype of an ar
In the “post”-#MeToo era, consent, sexual mis conduct, and cancel cul ture have become hotbutton topics present throughout news articles, thinkpieces, movies, and TV shows alike. From fiery op-eds insisting that there is a stark difference in severity between sexual
assault and sexual miscon duct to columnists who disavow complaints about ‘cancel culture’ as an ex cuse to avoid accountabil ity, it seems that everyone has a different approach to these contentious topics.
Enter Meet Me, an interactive new play pre sented by Live Action Theatre Project and Teesri Duniya Theatre. This inti mate production engages
audiences in conversations about sexual harassment and power dynamics di rectly by having them fol low one of the play’s three characters for the entire show. Audience members accompany their assigned character to the show’s three distinct settings, witnessing their unique perspective of an evening where a sexual encounter goes terribly wrong.
tificial red blood cell during his undergraduate studies at McGill.
“It was back in 1957 and I worked [...] in my dormito ry room in Douglas Hall,” Chang said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “I [did] my research in my bedroom and when people [were] not there, I used the living room.”
You could hear the music floating out from down the hall, and of course, anyone passing by could see displays with brightly-coloured crafts and cosmetic products practically jumping off of them. To really capture the essence of the Black Mar ketplace, you had to have
been there.
Organized by the Stu dents’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Black Affairs team, the first Black Marketplace brought local Black entrepreneurs, business owners, and com munity members to campus for Black McGill students and others to explore the wide range of goods and services on offer.
The SSMU ballroom
was transformed into a ring of tables, each covered with the wares of different, Black-owned, small busi nesses from around Mon treal. Davido and Burna Boy were serenading as people strolled,shopped, and got to know a little bit more about each business and the courageous entre preneurs who took leaps of faith to turn their dreams into reality.
“Woman, Life, Freedom” echoes through streets as Montreal rallies in support of Iranian protests PG. 2 (Cameron Flanagan / The McGill Tribune)Dr. Thomas Chang’s innovation revolutionized treatments for cancer, trauma, drug overdoses, and moreby the SPT, a student society of McGill University
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the streets of downtown Montreal on Sept. 27 and Oct. 1, marching in solidarity with the protests in Iran against the country’s current Islamic regime. The ongoing protests were sparked by the murder of Jina (Mahsa) Amini who died in custody of the country’s morality police for violating mandatory hijab laws.
As civil unrest and violent clashes between protestors and Iran’s police forces erupted, a wave of demonstrations followed across Canada and the world to honour the lives lost for speaking out against the government.
The demonstration on Sept. 27 saw hundreds of protestors holding hands and chanting
“Woman, Life, Freedom,” in several languages as they formed a human chain that stretched along both sides of McGill’s Roddick Gates on Sherbrooke Street. Shayan Asgharian, President of the Iranian Student Association of Concordia University (ISACU) and an organizer, felt that the event added
the voices of members of the Iranian diaspora to the protests in Iran amidst the government’s internet blackout.
“The point is to amplify the voices that have been shut down as the internet is cut,” Asgharian said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “Iranians have no access to the outside world. We are supposed to be their voices here, to [...] raise awareness for non-Iranians to know what our plight is. Last time the Internet was shut in Iran, around 1,500 people were killed in less than four days. So it is more crucial than ever for us to speak up.”
Waving her cut hair as if it were a flag, an Iranian McGill graduate and research assistant Homa Fathi, MSc ‘22, stood by the Roddick Gates. On the back of her jacket, the words “For Mahsa Amini” were printed below an arrow that pointed towards Fathi’s shaved head. Cutting or shaving one’s hair represents an ancient Iranian tradition of grieving that has become a symbol of the recent protests. Fathi emphasized, however, that while women are at the forefront of the uprisings in Iran, the movement is fighting for all human rights that the Iranian regime has violated.
“This round of protests is full of feminine manifestations,”
Fathi said in an interview with the Tribune. “We cut our hair, we shave it, we might throw our hijab [...] in the air or just burn it. We sing, we dance [...] to highlight the core of the movement, but it includes much more than that. What we want is regime change. We want to restore our dignity. We want freedom, basically.”
Fathi also condemned the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the world stage—Raisi addressed the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Sept. 2—and criticized the lack of support
from social media companies for the Iranian population amidst the protests.
“We are not asking [Westerners] to save us. We are perfectly capable of restoring our dignity and freedom. We just want them to stop protecting [the regime],” Fathi said. “Western companies and politicians [...]who run to save our regime should stop that.”
Sonia Nouri, U1 Arts, echoed Fathi’s sentiments and urged McGill to take action and support Iranians.
“I think it needs to be a matter
Only one member remains on the executive team of the Association of the McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE), the union that represents McGill’s casual and temporary workers. Due to the shortterm nature of these workers’ positions, article 5.2 of the AMUSE by-laws states that “an employee whose contract or working period has ended can keep their rights and responsibilities as member of the [union] for a period of 12 months.” AMUSE’s parent union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), permitted this practice despite its divergence from the PSAC’s constitutional requirement that “members in good standing” be under an active contract with their employer.
Former AMUSE Internal Affairs Officer Sebastian Villegas explained in an interview with The McGill Tribune that the lax enforcement of this policy was integral to AMUSE’s operations.
“This has been working for 10 years perfectly fine,” Villegas said. “We were working within the margins of our special deal with PSAC. Otherwise, [because] our turnover rate is incredibly high, it would be impossible for anyone at AMUSE to complete a whole year as an executive or a board member.”
On Aug. 29, PSAC chose to overrule article 5.2 for the first time and called for the immediate dismissal of all executives who were no longer “in good standing” under PSAC’s constitution. As a
result, AMUSE’s six-person Executive Committee became a party of one. Currently, AMUSE President and current McGill staff member James Newman is the only executive officer at the union.
“We were really happy for [Newman] to take over AMUSE in February,” Villegas said. “The thing is, I noticed a pattern in his behaviour very quickly after he was elected as president, especially after he went to the PSAC convention. AMUSE has never worked in a hierarchical manner [...] but [Newman] started acting unilaterally and communicating with PSAC one-on-one and doing a lot of stuff behind our backs.”
Linden*, a former executive at AMUSE, also told the Tribune that PSAC’s national triennial convention, held in May and June, preluded Newman’s noticeably “corporate and systems-based” actions. Over the summer, PSAC exclusively contacted Newman, who, in turn, did not share his communications with PSAC to AMUSE’s Board of Representatives (BoR).
By late August, PSAC had reached a decision. Aliya Frendo, one of the few Board members remaining, described her experience on Aug. 29 in an interview with the Tribune
“I check the Slack and there are 250 messages, which is very uncommon,” Frendo said. “It’s basically all of the execs; [Newman] had just forwarded them this email that PSAC sent that says ‘you’re immediately dismissed,’ which is insane because unions literally fight against that type of firing. And [Newman] was saying, ‘it’s not
of supporting Iranian students, bringing in Iranian academics and activists to come speak at McGill to explain the situation in more eloquent and legitimate language, so that people are actually aware of what’s going on in formal terms,” Nouri told the Tribune Downtown Montreal saw a sea of demonstrators again on Oct. 1 for the Global Day of Action for Iran, along with 150 other cities around the world. The march began at the Roddick Gates and travelled toward Jeanne Mance Park where protestors blasted Shervin Hajipour’s song “Baraye,” which means “For” in English. Hajipour was recently arrested by the Iranian government for the song’s lyrics. United echoes of “Down with dictators”, and “Your silence—the regime’s violence” reverberated through the streets, following the marchers’ footsteps.
“Oppression doesn’t know borders. Tyranny and actions of a theocracy will spread,” Fathi said as she encouraged non-Iranians to take action. “Like just a few months ago, people in America lost their legal right for abortion, so this is not your perfect world. We constantly should fight and, for that, we need solidarity. So please stand with us in solidarity.”
really a job, so it doesn’t matter that we immediately fired you.’”
According to executives interviewed by the Tribune, by failing to disclose his discussions with PSAC to the BoR, Newman violated AMUSE’s democratic governing principles. Newman also allegedly disregarded a BoR mandate that executives should remain on the payroll for the transition period until their replacements are elected and trained. Those who tried to continue performing their roles or to speak out about perceived injustices received a cease-and-desist letter from PSAC’s legal team on Sept. 14.
Several AMUSE members are concerned that being unable to retain experienced executives would threaten the future union operations, but expressed their faith in AMUSE and its enduring significance for McGill employees. A Special General Meeting to fill the vacant seats was held on Sept. 26, but it failed to meet the quorum of 15 members in good standing.
“If anyone reads this, I hope they are able to step up and help fix the situation,” Linden said. “Because as of right now, 1,700 people are being disserviced by a union that [does not have] the ability to help them based on the [unilateral] actions of someone.”
The Tribune reached out to Newman and PSAC for a statement on the internal issues at AMUSE. Newman declined to comment at this time. PSAC did not respond.
*Linden’s name has been changed to preserve their anonymity.
Despite accusations of Islamophobia, demonstrators argue that the burning of hijabs in some protests comes from decades of religious trauma and not out of disrespect for the religion. (Cam Flanagan/ The McGill Tribune) Linden* described PSAC’s negligence as particularly insulting after their high praise for the March 2022 AMUSE strikes and for the efficiency of the dismissed executive team that organized it. (Cam Flanagan/ The McGill Tribune)On Sept. 30, hundreds of people gathered in front of the George-Étienne Cartier monument at the foot of Mount Royal before marching through Montreal to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation—also known as Orange Shirt Day. Since 2021, Sept. 30 has marked a federal statutory holiday, although the province of Quebec does not officially recognize it. The event, organized by the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal and Resilience Montreal, featured speeches and performances from many Indigenous community members, such as Kahnawá:ke Grand Chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer,
Inuk musician Elisapie Isaac, the Generational Warriors group, and the Travelling Spirit Drum group.
Many of those who attended the walk wore orange t-shirts to honour the Indigenous children who were taken from their homes and forced to assimilate under Canada’s residential school system—many of whom were abused and never returned home. Marchers traversed Milton-Parc, where a disproportionate number of unhoused Indigenous people reside, and paused for speeches in front of McGill’s Roddick Gates before concluding the event at Place du Canada. Chants like “no pride in genocide” and the call-and-response “when I say land, you say back” echoed through downtown Montreal.
Steve McComber, a Mohawk elder from the Kahnawá:ke Nation and a speaker at the event, emphasized that the path towards Truth and Reconciliation requires a commitment to learning about the injustices that Indigenous communities have suffered.
“Becoming aware of what is the truth, is the beginning to reconcil[ing],” McComber said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “Our people lived under oppressive policies for generations, but people are not aware of that. So once people become aware, [then it will be] the beginning for things to change.”
Nakuset, the executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal and one of the march’s organizers, believes that attending Truth and Reconciliation Day events is a significant first step that non-Indigenous people can take to become educated and more active in the fight against antiIndigeneity.
“I want [settlers] to be here so they can listen to the messages that everyone will be giving,” Nakuset said in an interview with the Tribune. “Everyone has
a different message [...] for people to absorb it and to do better as opposed to deflecting, ignoring, and walking away, which is what we usually get.”
On the same day, McGill’s fourth “We Will Walk Together/ Skàtne Entewathahìta” took place at the Education Building from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event featured speeches and performances from Associate Provost (Indigenous Initiatives) Celeste Pedri-Spade, Alex Allard-Gray, and other Indigenous community members. Local Indigenous vendors and artisans and the Indigenous Law Association, which held an Orange Shirt sale, attended to fundraise for organizations such as Resilience Montreal.
Olivia Bornyi, U2 Arts and a member of McGill’s Indigenous Initiatives Unit, led the programming and the communications committee for the event. Bornyi believes that Truth and Reconciliation Day is “integral to students’ education” and hopes that McGill’s event starts a conversation about the historic oppression of Indigenous peoples.
“I would have liked to see a little bit more student turnout, but we did get a fair bit,” Bornyi said in an interview with the Tribune “It’s a very emotional day for many members of the Indigenous community, which is very important to recognize.”
Philippe Haddad, 2L, used his position as a member of the Rugby Leadership Group to get his teammates to attend the event. Haddad called on the McGill community to become more “active participants rather than complicit bystanders” by engaging in conversations about Indigenous rights.
“Many [dissociate] from Truth and Reconciliation by regarding it as a legislative issue,” Haddad said in a statement to the Tribune. “As an educational institution, McGill should be highlighting safe spaces for dialogue and storytelling [...] specifically for Indigenous folks, providing alternatives to settler-colonial educational structures, and freeing itself from settler-colonial influence in [...] governance as a first step to addressing a prevalent imperialist mindset.”
Voters streamed to the polls to cast ballots in Quebec’s provincial elections on Oct. 3. Polls closed at 8 p.m., concluding five weeks of campaigning dominated by issues such as language and minority rights, Indigenous issues and separatism, and housing and healthcare. The McGill Tribune followed the results as they rolled in to explain what they mean for the McGill community and beyond.
The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), led by incumbent Premier François Legault, surpassed the 63 seats needed to win a majority government and will lead the Quebec National Assembly for the next four years. The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) held on to their status as the official opposition party. Québec solidaire (QS) secured the minimum 12 seats or 20 per cent of the popular vote necessary to maintain official party status, making it the third and last political party at the legislature.
Conservative Party of Québec (PCQ) and Parti Québécois (PQ), however, failed to achieve official party status. The newlyformed Bloc Montréal, led by McGill alumnus Balarama Holness, also failed to secure a seat in any of Montreal’s ridings despite running on a platform based on representing city’s interests.
Daniel Béland, McGill professor and Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC), explained what a CAQ reelection means in a statement to the Tribune
“The CAQ has an even stronger majority of seats than in 2018 and the opposition is considerably weaker, [...] in terms of number of seats,” Béland wrote. “This is likely to mean ‘more of the same’ for the next four years in terms of both policy and politics. The opposition might struggle to keep this strong government accountable and social movements might have to organize to offset this.”
Voter turnout was similar to the last provincial election in 2018, with around 68 per cent of the eligible population casting a ballot. Béland noted that the statistic was comparable to Ontario’s provincial election in June 2022, which saw its lowest voter turnout in history at around 43 per cent. He added that “analysis will be necessary to know turnout among university students but on-campus voting like we saw at McGill this year is a step in the right direction.”
Reflecting on the election results in an interview with the Tribune , Maxence Regaudie, BEng ‘18, expressed conflicting emotions about the CAQ’s victory. He specifically took issue with Legault’s nationalist
language law, Bill 96.
“Economically speaking, [the CAQ] have been doing great things so far. They want to invest in technology, and they actually get shit done,” Regaudie said. “Socially speaking, I just cannot relate to [the CAQ’s] idea of what they think Quebec should be. I do not think it is the right approach. I think pushing any sort of bill against English and trying to villainize English people, it just feels wrong.”
Jennifer Maccarone, incumbent Liberal Party member of the National Assembly (MNA), was elected
for the Westmount-Saint-Louis, where McGill is situated. This will mark the second term in office for Maccarone, who won the riding’s seat over Jacques Chagnon in 2018, who had held the position for 33 years. Maccarone made her debut in provincial politics as the President of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) in 2015. Her platform focuses on access to education and opposing Bill 96. Maccarone has also pledged to follow her party’s platform to address the housing crisis, which she recognizes as a pressing issue for students.
All adult Quebec employees were entitled to four hours of paid time off to vote, according to provincial law. (globalnews.ca) March organizers requested that campaigning politicians not attend the event out of fear that the day of remembrance would be weaponized ahead of the Quebec provincial elections. (Cam Flanagan/ The McGill Tribune)Several students launched a petition on Sept. 24 after a tweet allegedly posted by McGill PhD student and course lecturer Soroosh Shahriari garnered immediate backlash. The tweet, which was written in Persian and has since been taken down, translates to “How good and heartwarming it will be to experience the execution of hundreds of Mojahedin leaders arrested in the recent riots. Oh God, it is sweet!”
Protests have erupted in Iran and around the world against the Islamic regime following the death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini, who was detained and beaten by Iran’s ‘morality’ police forces for ‘improperly’ adhering to Iran’s mandatory hijab laws.
The petition has now garnered over 23,000 signatures and demands that McGill investigate the identity of the user who posted it and calls for the university to take
adequate disciplinary measures.
Ryan*, who helped launch the petition, found the content of the tweet to be distressing. Ryan believes the tweet, along with other posts by Shahriari’s alleged account, violates principles of free expression and raises concerns about public safety for both Iranians and Canadians.
“This individual not only openly backs up the Islamic Republic of Iran in killing its own people but calls the demonstrators ‘rebels,’ ‘beast,’ ‘leech,’ and ‘[Mojahedin] members’ and consequently hopes for their mass execution,” Ryan wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “He [...] hopes for the protestors’ mass execution and finds this ‘sweet.’ We believe this shows that this person is radical, and we find this extremely disturbing.”
The petition states that the tweet violates section 319(1) of the criminal code of Canada, as it uses hate speech to target an identifiable group. Víctor MuñizFraticelli, associate professor of law and political science at McGill, explained that these claims are
difficult to prove and that it is unlikely sec. 319(1) will apply.
“Sec. 319(1) requires that the statement be ‘likely to lead to a breach of the peace.’ Whether this applies only domestically or also internationally might be relevant, as might also be the causal effect that the statement may have on the actions of the Iranian government,” Muñiz-Fraticelli wrote. “The section requires a likelihood of a causal link which may be difficult to prove.”
Muñiz-Fraticelli further acknowledged that academic freedom can protect individuals against disciplinary action in these circumstances.
“The university community may also consider this inappropriate, although the protections of academic freedom applicable not only to professors but to other scholars would presumably shield the speaker from direct reprimand.”
McGill media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle stated that the university is aware of the petition and the claims against Shahriari.
“We are looking into the matter very closely and we have reached out directly to Iranian students at McGill to offer support at this difficult time,” Mazerolle wrote in an email to the Tribune “We encourage all students, whether Iranian or not, who require support to seek out the resources available at McGill.”
On Sept. 30, Fabrice Labeau and Angela Campbell, co-acting Provosts and Vice-Principals
(Academic), sent out a universitywide email addressing the tweet. They condemned the message while reminding the McGill community to consider that freedom of expression provides “wide protection.”
Shahriari declined the Tribune’s request for comment on the allegations.
*Ryan’s name has been changed to preserve their anonymity.
On the heels of Pierre Poilievre’s victory in the Conservative Party of Canada’s (CPC) leadership election, polling and party data indicates that huge waves of voters are purchasing political party memberships and supporting the Conservatives under his leadership. On campus, the Conservative Students’ Association (CPC McGill) is also reporting a growth in membership.
On Sept. 10, Poilievre was elected leader of the Official
Opposition after a record-setting victory in the Conservative leadership race, earning 68.15 per cent of the vote on the first ballot—an immediate victory requiring no subsequent rounds of voting. Poilievre’s platform centres on limited government intervention. He promises to promote free speech, build more pipelines, cut the carbon tax, and protect the rights of firearm owners.
Another shift marked by the leadership race was the number of registered party members who voted. September’s leadership election saw a voter turnout of around 675,000 compared to
approximately 270,000 in the 2020 race.
In an interview with The McGill Tribune , Kelly Gordon, assistant professor of political science at McGill, attributed much of Poilievre’s success to his ability to run an efficient campaign, as well as general fatigue with previous Conservative leaders and current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“He ran a really sophisticated digital campaign, he was tapping into a lot of salient issues in the political zeitgeist,” Gordon said. “I think maybe the [CPC] is sick of losing. They lose a lot, and so are maybe ready to mobilize around somebody like Poilievre.”
Gordon noted that the CPC’s high polling stats could not, however, be entirely attributed to Poilievre’s tactical political manoeuvrings. Canadians are increasingly feeling the deleterious effects of economic downturn, which Gordon believes Poilievre is tapping into to garner youth support.
“I think part of it is a frustration with the Liberal Party, and [part of it is] this kind of political moment,” Gordon said. “Soaring costs of living, unaffordable housing, and all of these things that sort
of disproportionately affect youth. So it is not surprising that there is some kind of political mobilization happening right now, and maybe [Poilievre] has been able to sort of tap into the youth because of the issues that we are facing right now.”
Nathaniel Saad, U3 Management and president of CPC McGill, told the Tribune that the CPC was not the only organization to notice growing engagement with the conservative platform.
“I was actually really shocked,” Saad said. “Just as the [CPC] got record numbers of membership in their ranks for this leadership election, we actually more than doubled our membership in the last few months.”
Whereas Saad conveyed optimism about the CPC’s growing popularity on campus, Peter Cocks, U3 Arts and Liberal McGill co-vice-president Communications, is unimpressed by Poilievre and unconvinced of the CPC’s ability to capture McGill students’ political interest.
“Conservative McGill is going to have to sell to [the student] body a candidate who can not answer any questions
on [...] issues of abortion, gay marriage, cannabis legalization,” Cocks said. “And even if he does give an answer, it is not going to look pretty to the student body at McGill.”
Like Cocks, Angelica Voutsinas, U3 Arts and president of Liberal McGill, is concerned about the potential ramifications of the social conservative movement both on campus and across Canada.
“All of a sudden we are seeing this dramatic shift to the right that is tapping into a base of people that are going to want their views represented,” Voutsinas said in an interview with the Tribune . “I think that could be a scary thing, depending on how it all plays out.”
For his part, Saad noted that the McGill conservative community remains hopeful about the direction of the CPC, Poilievre as a leader, and the growing conservative movement on campus.
“There’s a wide range of opinions in the conservative club, but I can definitely say that the majority of us right now are optimistic,” Saad said. “We are eager, we are excited to see what [Poilievre] is going to do in the House of Commons.”
Muñiz-Fraticelli explained that Twitter, as a private company, may consider the contents of the tweet to be in violation of its code and conduct. (nytimes. com)Editor-in-Chief
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National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federal statutory holiday honouring those impacted by Canada’s residential school system, was held on Sept. 30. Despite the significance of this day, McGill did not give students the day off school, unlike many universities across Canada. Meanwhile, McGill is embroiled in a legal battle with the Kanien’kehà:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) who are attempting to halt construction of the New Vic Project until a Kanien’kehà:ka (Mohawk)led investigation into potential unmarked graves on the site is conducted. McGill’s attempts at silencing an Indigenous group in court and disregarding this day of remembrance are glaring reminders that the fight for reconciliation at McGill still has a long way to go. The Kahnistensera argue that there may be unmarked graves of Indigenous children on the New Vic site—children who were experimented upon by Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron during the 1950s and 60s. Halting construction to allow for a full Kanien’kehà:ka investigation— whose unceded territory the site is
The
Tillie Burlock Sports Editorlocated on—is the bare minimum students should demand from the McGill administration. By weaponizing their legal team and wealth of resources against the Kahnistensera, who, not wanting to litigate within the colonial system, have chosen to represent themselves, McGill is fighting an unfair battle to push forward its $700-milliondollar project. McGill’s actions demonstrate that their alleged commitment to reconciliation only stands when their business interests are not threatened.
McGill’s New Vic Project intersects with other forms of colonialism that permeate throughout the university. Most notably, McGill is still named McGill: The institution refuses to sever ties with its namesake James McGill, a slaveholder of two Indigenous children and three people of African descent. Not only has the university kept his name, but is continuing to perpetuate his legacy by using the wealth he created from his colonial businesses, along with the money from the Iroquois Trust Fund—which was never repaid—to create a bureaucratic legal machine that is attempting to stifle and discredit the Kahnistensera.
By denying a proper investigation of the Kahnistensera’s claims, the university is disrespecting Indigenous knowledge systems and
wisdom—a common theme across the university. Indigenous lecturers are underrepresented at McGill, and courses about Indigenous topics are frequently taught by white professors. Paired with McGill’s predominantly white student population, this contributes to discourse on campus that treats colonialism as a problem to be studied retrospectively rather than as an ongoing issue that harms every aspect of Indigenous people’s lives.
The land acknowledgement copy-pasted on most McGill syllabi, for instance, treats Indigenous people and their oppression as bygone relics. As an educational institution, this is unacceptable. By presenting a static and false narrative while simultaneously ignoring the continued colonialism and land theft it perpetuates, McGill shows that it does not prioritize reconciliation beyond performative gestures.
Despite the university’s unfettered colonialism, the annual Pow Wow and Indigenous Awareness Weeks represent steps in the right direction. They provide a much-needed space of joy for Indigenous students on campus and also an opportunity for nonIndigenous students to learn about Indigenous culture. The Indigenous community dedicates resources and preparation towards these
events, and many undertake the heavy burden to educate the McGill community in place of the university, which has unequivocally failed to do so. All students have a responsibility to learn about the unceded land they inhabit and take advantage of the incredible educational opportunities put on by Indigenous community members.
Of course, these events must be paired with tangible action by the university. McGill must give up their harmful litigation and immediately halt construction of the New Vic Project until a Kanien’kehà:kaled investigation of the site has been conducted. McGill must also address the underrepresentation of Indigenous lecturers, and, crucially, students must enroll in Indigenoustaught courses. McGill should also make an Indigenous studies course mandatory for all students. Lastly, students should have the day off on Sept. 30 to learn about Indigenous culture through the numerous events held in Montreal—and to show Indigenous students respect on this day of remembrance.
It is high time for the university to change the colonial status quo set by James McGill and for students to recognize that the battle for Truth and Reconciliation is actively taking place on a campus that is still named after a slaveholder.
disappearance and murder of Hae Min Lee. She picks apart inconsistencies within the prosecution’s case against Syed, uncovering new information and putting a plethora of chronic issues within the American justice system on display. Koenig’s narration, however, blurs the line between straightup reporting and something more opinionated. Serial is not only about Syed and Lee—it is about Koenig’s storytelling, an unconventional structure that lands Serial in an ethical grey area revealed by Koenig’s relationship with Syed, tendency to withhold information, and neglect of Lee’s family.
me to question how this relationship factored into her reporting. When Koenig encountered red flags that may have countered her narrative of Syed’s innocence, such as inconsistencies with his alibi, she tended to play them off as stray details that she didn’t know what to make of. Why not follow the lead?
over the internet. The innumerable flaws of the justice system not only failed Syed—they failed Lee as well. With Serial’s intended narrative revolving around finding justice for Syed, this sentiment seems to be lost not only on listeners, but on Koenig, too.
On Jan. 13, 1999, Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore, disappeared. On Feb. 9, 1999, her body was discovered in Baltimore’s Leakin Park, and on Feb. 25, 2000, her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was found guilty on charges of first-degree murder. Fifteen years later, Rabia Chaudry—an attorney, advocate, best-selling author, and childhood acquaintance of Syed’s—reached out to Sarah Koenig, a producer on This American Life, and, from there, Serial was born.
Over the course of the 12-episode podcast, Koenig re-investigates the
After maintaining his innocence for 22 years, Syed’s conviction was vacated on Sept. 19, 2022. As a former listener, I had spent endless hours puzzling over Syed’s innocence. Koenig’s dulcet tone was a constant in my life, a hallmark of my walks to class and morning coffees. I was all too happy to have Serial back in my life with an emergency episode addressing Syed’s release—but this time, something felt different. With eight years having passed since the podcast’s release, those complicated ethics were no longer in italics, they were in bold.
Koenig’s bizarre relationship with Syed is cause for concern. The personal nature of their conversations forces
Koenig’s provocation of armchair detectives to speculate about the case alongside her invades the privacy of all those involved. In turning Hae Min Lee’s murder into a dramatized whodunit, Koenig transforms the real people involved into characters who no longer have agency over how their story is told, as is often the case with true crime. Koenig’s reporting of an investigation she had not finished, along with her tendency to withhold information for the sake of cliffhangers, further provoked listeners to conduct their own research at the cost of Lee’s privacy. She allowed for millions of listeners to justify poring over a dead girl’s diary, speculating about Lees’s relationships, and posting outlandish conspiracies all over the internet.
Although this wasn’t Koenig’s intention, Serial catalyzed a neverending nightmare for the Lee family. The podcast has served as a constant reminder of the horrors of Lee’s death, and her family has been clear that they did not want Lee’s story plastered all
My last point of criticism is directed at Koenig’s career postSerial. Although she was well into her journalistic career, the podcast skyrocketed Koenig to a whole new level of fame. Following the success of season one, Serial was renewed for a second season, developed into a fourpart HBO documentary, and bought for $25 million by the New York Times in 2020. Koenig has benefitted financially and professionally from Serial’s success, while the friends and family of Syed and Lee have little to show from the podcast’s success.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from listening to Serial. I’m just saying that Koenig was not perfect in her execution of the podcast. She missed details and crossed lines that should’ve never been breached. She did not bring justice for Adnan Syed, or for Hae Min Lee, but that’s not what she set out to do. She told an enthralling yet flawed story because that is who she is. A storyteller. And a damn good one at that.
Joseph Abounohra, Kareem Abuali, Ella Gomes, Sequoia Kim, Shani Laskin, Kennedy McKee-Braide, Madison McLauchlan, Michelle Siegel, Sophie Smith
Margo Berthier, Kowin Chen, Luce canglard, Aimee DeLong,Julie Ferrey ra, Adeline Fisher, Sumire KierkoszUneo, Dima Kiwan, Elena Lee, Monika Maneva, Zoé Mineret, Sabrina Nel son, Harry North, Simi Ogunsola, Ella Paulin, Maeve Reilly, Millie Roberts, Dylan Schofield, Atticus O’Rourke Rusin, Dana Prather, Olivia Taylor,
TPS
TRIBUNE OFFICE
The six blocks bounded by University, Ste. Famille, Milton, and des Pins form the notorious “McGill Ghetto”, a neighbourhood adjacent to campus, swarming with students and their vices. For first-years eager to integrate into McGill’s vibrant community, this area holds great appeal. It is a hub for young students to run free and make memories for the fleeting years that they are there—but at what cost? Not only does the name “McGill Ghetto” vainly claim this neighbourhood as students’ own, but it also offends the historic struggle
to protect this cherished area against gentrification. Language matters. These six blocks are not the McGill Ghetto. They are Milton-Parc
Nearly five decades ago, most of the historic buildings in Milton-Parc were purchased by the real estate giant Concordia Estates Ltd. in order to make room for shopping centres, hotels, and new highrise, high-rent buildings. Local activists protested the construction, seeking to protect the community’s character and residents’ access to affordable housing. The protestors occupied the developers’ offices, and many were arrested and jailed for mischief. Remarkably, their movement to prevent the
construction was successful. The familiar LaCité apartment building is the only project outlined in the $250-million development endeavour that was completed.
The struggle for Milton-Parc was a historic catalyst for similar municipal urban movements around the world and, to this day, it remains one of the largest housing projects in North America. Most buildings are owned by 22 non-profit and housing cooperatives, and community involvement is alive and well, represented by the MiltonParc Citizens’ Committee (CCMP).
It is deeply disrespectful for students to ignore the plight of long-time residents considering the rich history of resistance and struggle to protect their neighbourhood. For decades, there has been tension between students ad established residents over the McGillians’ inclination for yelling in the streets at night, throwing loud parties, and recklessly throwing garbage onto the streets. Traditional gentrification harms communities through forced displacement and exclusion. Governments and corporations erase the history of entire neighbourhoods to make room for more profitable developments and demographics. But through so-called studentification, students harm communities through neglect, more so out of immaturity than profit-seeking.
Not to mention that the term “ghetto” is itself loaded, and its use in any case is inherently insensitive and should not be any student’s vocabulary. “Ghetto” originated in reference to the forced segregation of Jewish people into closed areas, and is now
used as slang for neighbourhoods with high concentrations of ethnic minorities and levels of poverty. For students to distinguish it as such, based on their perception of the area as a playground for university life, further implies that the entire neighbourhood belongs to and revolves around us.
Paying attention to our language and using the correct terminology for MiltonParc demonstrates an intention to improve relations with established residents and, ultimately, work together to benefit the entire community. For instance, Mobilizing for Milton-Parc (formerly Meals for MiltonParc), a meal-share initiative providing food and care packages to unhoused people in the neighbourhood, was developed by former McGill student Sophie Hart (BA ‘22) in 2020. Participating in this initiative is one of many ways that students can shift to a more inclusive perspective of the neighbourhood—one that recognizes its existence outside the McGill bubble.
McGill students spend some of their most formative years in Milton-Parc, and, in turn, build valid emotional attachments to the area and incorporate it into their identity. If anything, it is because of these attachments that students should be more reflective and intentional about the language they use when referring to their neighbourhood. Milton-Parc is an anomaly in the capitalist landscape. It would not exist without residents’ persistent struggle, and they are owed the utmost gratitude and respect for their fight to protect our shared community.
“People don’t talk enough on the first floor of McLennan.” - Aidan Starosta, U2 Arts
“Those people who open the emergency doors at Leacock have a lot of fire and brimstone in their future.” - Theodore Yohalem Shouse, Opinion Contributor
“Vinh’s is overrated.” - Lucas Brabant, BA ‘22
“I think McGill has a fake activism culture on campus, and that the administration [...] cares about their image more than actually fixing people’s problems on campus.” - Nina Sekai, U3 Arts
“McGill Varsity, the gym is just terrible for athletes. We don’t have enough equipment. We don’t have enough space and the atmosphere is just whack.”Elijah Williams, U2 Arts
“In October, Redpath Museum should be turned into a haunted house with professors as monsters.” - The McGill Tribune Senior Editorial Team
An
An
An article published in the September 27, 2022 issue (“Say her name—Jina Amini”) stated that all Kurds in Iran are forced to change their names and go by Iranian ones. In fact, it is not in every prov ince in Iran that Kurds must change their names. The Tribune regrets this error.
Milton Parc is the largest co-operative neighborhood in North America. (Canadian Centre for Architecture) cloak of Lines: Quebec’s major parties on housing and healthcare”) incorrectly stated that high vacancy rates were contributing to Quebec’s housing shortage. In fact, low vacancy rates for residential units are associated with rising rent and therefore the housing shortage, while high vacancy rates are present among commercial units. The Tribune regrets this error.
Simi Ogunsola Contributor
Continued from page 1.
In between acquiring a handmade Cameroonian bracelet and a fruit-charmed anklet, I caught up with a few of the business owners myself.
A duo of best friends was selling jewelry for their company, Noir Essentials. I stopped by their table and, after telling me about their business, we quickly got wrapped up in celebrity gossip, chatting like old friends.
This is, for Ebonee Myers, co-owner of the company, one of the biggest draws to running a small business.
“Meeting people is probably the best thing,” Myers told me.
Myers started Noir Essentials, a jewelry and athleisure-wear company just six months ago in March 2022. She runs the entire operation by herself and admits that, while keeping up with trends and administrative work can be hard, her love for custom jewelry and the incredible people she’s met along the way keep her going.
I then stopped by Nathan
Garrett’s table, drawn in by silky durags embroidered with images of Stephen Curry and The Weeknd. Talking to Garrett was the most inspiring thing; you could feel his intelligence and creativity spilling into every word. He told me about his company, Empire Durags, which sells durags and sweaters with custom embroidery––all made by him.
“[The best part of running my business] is all the things I’ve been learning about myself,” Garrett said.
Being the only person behind the company,which started in 2017, Garrett found himself lacking feedback, doubting himself, and having to figure things out alone. Studying others’ successes, asking “why can’t it be me?”, and plain old discipline taught him more every day and encouraged him to continue working harder.
I also had an incredible time talking to Yveline of YDS beauty. She had a huge smile beaming across her face, and her energy was infectious. We gushed at her display table overflowing with the most beautiful array of press-
on nails you’ve ever seen. Like, Euphoria -level nail art. With my jaw firmly on the ground, we chatted for a few moments about how she created this empire of French manicures and sparkly 3-D embellishments.
Yveline fell in love with doing nails in high school but found herself and her business in a tough spot when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. While lamenting to her Twitter followers and surfing
TheFaculty of Arts’ favourite undergraduate bar reopened its doors on Sept. 22, ready for what might be the first year of regularly scheduled dollar beers since the 2018-19 academic year. After three years of waiting, students rejoiced at the return of Bar des Arts.
Since 2007, Bar des Arts (BdA) has been known for its $1 beers and grilled cheeses offered every Thursday out of the Arts Lounge in the basement of McGill’s Leacock
Building. The tradition took a turn in 2019 when BdA was forced out of its home base in Leacock at the onset of renovations in the building. The bar’s student managers worked hard to find a new home for BdA but were faced with high costs and a lack of support from members of the McGill administration. Thus, BdA had to be shut down, and on Oct. 24, 2019, BdA hosted the “BdArtsLounge Funeral.”
The fight was not over yet. On Feb. 11, 2020, over 1,000 students signed an open letter demanding support from the university’s administration to help BdA reopen. Deputy
social media, she was struck with the answer: Press-on nails. She leveraged her online following to launch YDS into what it is today, creating an entire subsection of the business with easily removable and reusable nails.
Like Garrett, Yveline advises future business owners to focus on growing both as a person and as an entrepreneur. “You have to always be learning,” she said.
Though many attended
the event to shop and browse, walking around and chatting with everyone felt like a gift just for me. It wasn’t only the beyondinspiring entrepreneurial spirit that overflowed the room, it was the pride and celebration of Blackness, too, in the university space. The event was an incredible way to kick off the year––and we can only hope that we’ll be seeing another Black Marketplace very soon.
Provost Fabrice Labeau finally agreed to give back the Arts Lounge by Apr. 30, 2020. Students could almost smell the warm beer flowing.
But in the face of COVID-19 restrictions, BdA has had to wait until this fall to try its hand at another full year of service. Every Thursday, the doors of the notorious Arts Lounge open at 5:30, but dollar beer lovers wait in line starting as early as 4:30, dressed according to that week’s theme. On Sept. 29, BdA hosted “BdAdam Sandler”; the basement of Leacock was buzzing with students in baggy t-shirts, long shorts, and backwards caps to show their dedication to all that BdA stands for—friendship, memories, and tight student budgets.
Campbell Graham, U1 Arts and BdA staff member, chose to work at BdA because of her positive past experiences with the Arts Undergraduate Society.
“Everyone is just so fun—like, there’s no one who is disappointing to work with,” Graham said in an interview with The McGill Tribune
Mitchell Horwood, U3 Arts and BdA cochair, echoed Graham’s sentiments.
“We’re trying to have all the inclusivity [we can], all the amount of amazing times that people can have [with the re-opening of BdA],” Horwood said.
The vibrant atmosphere in the Arts Lounge certainly contrasts its grey, windowless, and low-ceilinged design. People are meeting new friends, laughing with old ones, or posing for a photo in every corner of
the lounge. One alcove is home to a pool table with several students perfecting their game.
In an office adjoining the Arts lounge, some staff are running the grilled cheese station—or rather, a panini press. The line to buy the popular snack extends out of the office and into the lounge. Crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside: The BdA grilled cheeses make the perfect comfort food.
Sam Stourton, U4 Arts, points out that BdA’s grilled cheeses come at a great bargain.
“In the times of eight per cent inflation, the fact that you can come here and pay one dollar for a slightly subpar grilled cheese, which hits every single spot you could possibly have […] I mean, I personally couldn’t ask for anything more,” Stourton said.
It is clear that the anti-luxury regime of Bar des Arts adds to its charm in the eyes of those who frequent it.
Stourton proudly proclaimed to the Tribune, “I’m living life at BdA. Life has never been better.”
While most of BdA’s staff and students are newcomers, its atmosphere confirms that student traditions die hard. As always, this generation of Arts undergrads came for the cheap beer and stayed for the community it created. Though we should be wary of making too many predictions, it might be safe to say that Bar des Arts is back for the long haul.
You can find Bar des Arts on Facebook and on Instagram at @bar_des_arts or in the Arts Lounge in the basement of Leacock every Thursday from 5:30 to 8:30.
Leacock basement beckons a new generation of dollar-beer loversOn Sept. 28, the SSMU ballroom became a ring of tables, each one covered with the wares of different Black-owned busi nesses from around Montreal. (SSMU) Bar Arts
Walking onto campus for the first time in months this September, my eyes were im mediately drawn to the blue banners now adorning the Arts building and along the Y-intersec tion. These banners advertise the university’s Sustain ability Projects Fund, featuring illustrations like bees, plants, bikes, and electric cars, along one of the most traversed and photographed paths on campus. They immediately rubbed me the wrong way.
It isn’t that I have something against the Fund— in fact, I think it’s an amazing resource for those looking to do research and projects in the field of sustainabil ity at McGill—but rather, I’m wary that these banners deceptively portray McGill as a haven of environmen tal sustainability and innovation. Admittedly, I am not an unbiased source: As a member of Divest McGill, I am hyper-critical of McGill’s attempts to paint itself in a positive environmental light. Despite this, healthy skepticism is necessary whenever one is accosted by such advertising.
‘Greenwashing,’ a term coined by ecologist and environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986, is the now widely-recognized practice of a company, organiza tion, or, in this case, a university marketing itself or its products as environmentally sustainable while fail ing to live up to these claims. Analysis conducted by the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network shows that a staggering 40 per cent of the nearly 500 websites randomly reviewed from across the globe hosted false, vague, or misleading environmental claims, thus potentially breaching consumer law.
The problem with greenwashing is that it leads to dangerous complacency. When the university ob scures and misrepresents its environmental record, it is only pretending to care about accountability to the public. Effective solutions are bound to be lacking, and we do not have time for this: Greenhouse gas emis sions are at a record high. Without a drastic and swift reduction of our emissions, limiting global warming to one-point-five, or at most two, degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels—the ‘safe’ threshold established by the Paris Agreement of 2015—will prove impossible. Globally, almost 80 per cent of human-caused green house gas emissions come from burning fossil fuels and industrial plants. Per capita, the United States, Russia, Japan, China, and the European Union, in that order, have the greatest emissions. Just like it isn’t equally en gendered, the effects of climate change aren’t equally felt: Racialized people in the Global South face rising
about the challenges that it faces, the failures that sometimes it experiences, the learning that’s happen ing, you know, the positive and negative examples on this journey.”
While McGill does some important work— most notably through its Office of Sustainability which oversees the Sustainability Projects Fund and the university’s sustainability and climate goals––greater transparency about its shortcomings are desperately needed. The press releases, tweets, and videos that McGill releases paint a picture of innova tion by zeroing in on the positive changes occurring on campus: The continued “outstanding” results of decarbonization initiatives, successful educational festivals, professor and student spotlights, and high rankings on climate and sustainability action. Organizations’ greenhouse gas emissions are broken down into three scopes for analysis in Etzion’s line of work. Scope 1 emissions are direct and often the most obvious, like the fuel burnt to operate cam pus vehicles and McGill labs. Scope 2 emissions are indirect and encompass the energy bought for things like lighting, heating, and cooling university facil ities, and operating computer labs. Scope 3, which Etzion describes as “where a lot of the action hap pens,” includes all other indirect emissions, such as professors’ air travel, the food supply chain, and the university’s investments.
Greg Mikkelson was a tenured professor at McGill, but stepped down in 2020 after the Board of Governors (BoG) refused to divest from fossil fuels. He thinks the university’s so-called ‘decarbonization’ efforts to reduce the carbon-intensity of the McGill Investment Pool (MIP) are a smokescreen and a clear example of greenwashing. Mikkelson points out that McGill selectively measures the carbon emissions of its portfolio. During an April 2020 open session meeting of the BoG, it was mentioned that McGill uses the MSCI index carbon footprint metrics when assessing its investments. MSCI only considers the scope 1 and 2 emissions of companies; in the case of fossil fuel companies, this means the actual burn
The university’s continued billion endowment fund in the fossil vironmental faux-pas that generates traction. Despite universities like and Concordia pledging to divest, panies like Canadian Natural Resources Energy Corp., Pembina Energy Inc. The Climate groundbreaking Carbon fossil fuel compa nies 35 per cent of the CO2
It had $18,266,470 worth nies listed above as of has only increased to $24,027,260
The McGill Sen ate, tives from across
Mikkelson.
12 of whom are appointed by the Board rife with conflicts of interest—its Committee of Social Responsibility, which makes divestment to the Board, is currently ro-Canada executive Cynthia Price
In lieu of divesting, the university
investment of the roughly $1.9 fossil fuel industry is likely the en generates the most controversial public Harvard, University of Toronto, McGill remains invested in com Resources Ltd, Suncor Energy Inc., TC Pembina Pipeline Corp., and Cenovus Climate Accountability Institute’s Carbon Majors research shows that 20 nies are responsible for an alarming CO2 and methane released since 1965. worth of holdings in the five compa of Dec. 31, 2021, and the amount $24,027,260 as of June 30, 2022. comprised of over 100 representa the univer sity, voted to divest in 2018, but the BoG ultimately struck down the motion, which was
The fund, reportedly valued at $10.8 million as of May 2022, allows donors giving over $100,000 the option to keep their money out of fossil fuels. While the university ensures that large donors can feel moral ly secure about their investment portfolio, students are given less agency––both over the ramifications of their tuition money on the climate and the messaging they receive about McGill’s environmental impacts. Further, the fund divests a mere half a percentage point of the endowment—this should not be the bragging point it has become.
The university advertises that its decarbonization initiative is more fruitful than divestment from the Car bon Underground 200, the top 200 publicly listed coal, oil, and gas companies, and is yielding fast results. The administration declined to answer questions about how it actually measures the carbon emissions of its endowment, or to provide examples of the companies it has stopped investing in as part of its decarbonization initiative.
According to Frédérique Mazerolle, a media rela tions officer for the university, “[t]he latest figures show that the University continues to accelerate the effective decarbonization of the approximately $2-billion MIP [McGill Investment Pool], including the reduction by 42 [per cent] of carbon emissions of the endowment port folio vs benchmark (up from 30 [per cent] in December 2021), further reducing its exposure to large users of oil, gas, and coal, as well as fossil fuel producers.”
Etzion believes the bar should be higher. “We have tons of brilliant people [at McGill] who are excit ed to work on sustainability. We have wide latitude to experiment and innovate. So we have basically the best possible toolkit to try to be more aggressive and ambi tious in these types of efforts,” he pointed out. “I think the McGill administration has kind of fallen short on [...] setting an agenda that would be much more meaningful and inspiring that we could all rally around.”
“It’s not nearly as ambitious as it could be. And that they’ve let us down in that regard, but not really urging us to do as much as we can on this very important matter.”
At a sustainability review in 2020, known as the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), McGill received a score of 76.69, earning the university a well-publicized gold designation, one
In fact, 23 per cent of Canada’s methane emis sions come from the country’s landfills. Just like the STARS rating, this is a conservative goal that follows others’ lead. In fact, the city of Montreal plans to be ze ro-waste by 2030, five years before the university. (The city, however, is aiming for a 70 per cent diversion rate.) The university plans to be carbon neutral by 2040. This goal, in particular, is too little, too late. In 2017, a re port put out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announced that we could reach one-point-five1.5 degrees Celsius of warming by 2040 if we continue our current levels of greenhouse gas emissions. McGill, both as a fount of scientific scholarship and as a well-en dowed institution, should be ahead of the curve on car bon neutrality before it becomes the absolute last resort in 2050.
These three main objectives—a platinum STARS rating by 2030, becoming zero-waste by 2035, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2040—like the decarbon ization of the endowment, have been heavily publicized. Such initiatives, while important, are not “ambitious” like the university claimed in a statement to the Tribune “Sustainability is an institutional priority at McGill as evidenced by the ambitious goals we have set out for ourselves,” Mazerolle wrote by email. “We have shown leadership in sustainability and climate activities relat ing to operations, governance and administration, and research and education. Adopting a more carbon-con scious investment approach complements McGill’s far-reaching climate change and sustainability goals..” While it is important to acknowledge the challenges of propelling institutional change, Etzion believes the only way to fix the greenwashing culture within universities is to call it out. When an employee from the Office of Sustainability working on a sustainability report for Mc Gill came to Etzion for advice, he confronted this dis comfort firsthand.
“I think she was aware of the greenwashing is sue,” Etzion said. “But she had her boss and her boss wanted a nice report [....] I said, well, let’s just be honest [...] because that’s the point of reporting. It’s like, you know, we don’t want all report cards to be full of A’s. No, we want report cards to say, ‘Are you doing okay? You’re not doing okay, you’re failing, [or] you’re succeeding.’”
The information that McGill releases on its sus tainability efforts conceals the truth of the university’s commitment to the issue, leading the casual observer to believe that the institution is doing all it can to address the ever-worsening environmental crisis. Greater trans parency about McGill’s need for improvement and its strategic neglect of scope 3 emissions are greatly need ed.
Mikkelson. The BoG has 25 members, Board itself. The membership is Committee to Advise on Matters makes recommendations regarding currently chaired by former longtime Pet Verreault. university launched the Green Centu
Design by Shireen Aamir, Design Editor
Margo Berthier Contributor
Reading Week is fast approaching, and while this is a much-needed break for McGill students to catch up and relax, it is also the perfect opportunity to get to know our temporary (or permanent) home––Montreal. Whether you plan to stick around in the city or take a trip nearby, Montreal offers an expansive variety of activities and events to enjoy this fall. With summer tourists long gone, the city has taken on a new cozy atmosphere as the air turns crisp and the leaves crunch underfoot. Treetops are bursting with colour, and the social calendar is packed with fun holidays and artistic spectacles.
To kick-start your weekend, try an evening activity at the Botanical Garden. The Light & Lantern Festival offers “An Ode to the Moon” sensory experience. Grab a friend and discover the majestic Chinese garden filled with glowing lanterns and autumnal light displays.
Continue your discoveries against a colourful backdrop with the fourth edition of “Carnaval des Couleurs”, hosted in Montreal’s downtown core from Oct. 7-9. This event gathers and celebrates multicultural and LGBTQ+ communities with free music shows in the Quartier des Spectacles near Place des Arts metro.
Keep an eye out for the last day of Piknic Electronik on Oct. 9 this year. Located in Parc Jean Drapeau, a mere 20-minute metro ride from downtown, Piknic has established itself as a flagship event on the Montreal summer calendar. DJs come every weekend over the summer and set fire to the dance floor. Partying, music, dancing, and human connections are at the heart of these events, and a vibrant, unforgettable experience awaits.
After the parties and festivals, get your cozy on and recharge with promenades around Montreal’s vast natural parks and trails. From a casual stroll around Parc La Fontaine to an energetic hike to the top of Mount Royal, take the time to breathe in the fresh air, observe the colourful explosion of orange and red foliage, and let your mind reset.
Try riding your bike or an easy-torent Bixi to a nearby Farmer’s Market––this is harvest time for fall’s best fruits and vegetables and the bike ride makes the experience all the more enjoyable and ecological. Montreal’s rich history of urban markets provides a wonderful opportunity to get a taste of the province’s cheeses, pastries, and fresh produce that come straight from Quebecois farms and artisans.
The city’s biggest public market is JeanTalon. Nestled in the heart of Little Italy, the market boasts an enormous variety of
Italian specialties, fresh produce, bakeries, and much more. Next, situated along the Lachine Canal bike path, the Atwater Market offers high-quality, seasonal products from local producers. This market is a great place to walk around and get to know the farmers, butchers, fishmongers, and cheese-makers who help make the city thrive.
Once you have returned home with a basket filled with unique finds, get into the Canadian Thanksgiving spirit and cook a warm holiday meal. This year, Thanksgiving lands on Oct. 10, so take this opportunity to experience the age-old tradition of friendsgiving through a culinary experience. On the menu: Roasted turkey with gravy, creamy mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels
Harry North Contributor
My parents were in town last week, so we did the classic rounds of the city. Old Port, St. Laurent, a tour of McGill campus—you know the drill. They’ve never been to Montreal before and, indeed, they had their observations: “Are there any old people here?”—yes, you! “Has anyone ever tried poutine twice?”—Well, try it again after two bottles of wine at 3 a.m. and get back to me.
We walked through Old Montreal quite a few times, which is not the regular spot for McGill students, granted. But occasionally—for birthdays or anniversaries, or if the family is in town—you might head down for dinner or drinks, or if you’re lucky, both.
We passed by Jacopo on Jacques-Cartier—right in the centre of the tourist district. I pointed it out as a fairly wellknown new Italian restaurant, often featured in Montreal’s eating-out guides. My dad looked at the menu and saw the suppli al telefono dish, which just took him back to Rome. I booked a table for the next day.
Don’t be under any illusions: Tourists do not lead to better restaurants. Most of them walk in tired, maybe jetlagged, with no idea what time it is, and will eat anything. So as long as they get to tell the server their life story, they will have a good time.
Jacopo has an upmarket, stylish feel, which is well-catered for these worldly travellers looking for that hip Montreal vibe. There were wooden beams, a bar with colourful drinks, and a rustic stone wall that just takes the average Joe back to their 2017 summer holiday in Italy like a large glass of Chianti in the sun. There was also a seating area outside, but it was a bit nippy.
The interior design came together too well not to be professionally designed—a common trend for restaurants these days. And the reason why is simple: The feel of a
restaurant is important. I’d just prefer if this feel was created by their cooks, and not their interior designers.
The waitress came over and well, we didn’t click. How do I put this: I said spaghetti, she said penne or something like that. Judge a chef by how they chop and a server by how fast they can bring a soft drink—and my diet coke sang Happy Birthday to the nearby table before it made its way to me.
sprouts, and a timeless apple pie. Invite a couple of friends, wear something nice, and spend a terrific evening eating and laughing. If cooking isn’t the way to go, plenty of the city’s restaurants offer traditional holiday meals for lunch and dinner.
Looking to get away from the city? Quebec’s Oka National Park has a new boardwalk with 360° fall foliage views. Located just a 45-minute drive from downtown Montreal, the national park offers a great variety of trails, observation towers, and walks through maple groves. For $9.25 a day (tax included), grab a picnic basket, find a spot, and spend the day at Oka for the most magnificent views and a calming environment.
Jacopo was founded in 2019, so it’s still technically a new kid on the block. But its menu had the swagger of an established restaurant. The octopus salad looked good, as did the squash ravioli. Of course, the calamari fritti is a classic, and there was also the fish of the day and roasted chicken. We ordered the suppli al telefono and the bruschetta al pomodoro to start.
Now the suppli al telefono is a clever dish. It’s from Rome originally and is effectively a ball of mozzarella wrapped in rice and bread crumbs, and then fried. The idea is when you break it in half, the cheese will droop like telephone wires.
Jacopo’s take on the classic was disappointing. With little to no rice and breading so oily that it was sickening, it felt more like a greasy snack at a frat party—certainly not the standard for a $26 starter in Old Montreal. The bruschetta, though, was actually pretty tasty. The tomato, basil and red onions worked together nicely to pack a punch. Bizarrely, they served it with the same bread as the bread basket—toasted focaccia.
For my main, I got the grilled lamb chops with truffle polenta and vegetables. Generous would not be a word I’d use to describe it, nor impressive—insipid is more appropriate. The lamb was overcooked and the polenta looked like porridge from the trenches and didn’t taste much better. I felt sorry for the vegetables—they should have stayed in the ground. And for $42 before tax and tip, I think not.
At the end of the day, Jacopo’s problems all come back to one thing: The quality of their dishes. It’s just not good enough. Jacopo can hire interior designers until they’re puce in the face, but it’s not going to do diddly squat for grilling lamb chops.
Score: 2 / 5 stars
Alternatives nearby Stellina - a new pasta restaurant Barraco - European cocktails & food
Via Rail offers discounts for students and youth passengers to help make inter-city travelling more af fordable. (Sofia Stankovic / The McGill Tribune) Founded in 2019, Jacopo is an Italian restaurant in Old Port, known for its calamari fritti (restomontreal.ca)Continued from page 1.
Along with seven others, I fol lowed Gemma (Darragh Mondoux), an accomplished young artist and aca demic eager to make an impression on her attractive new co-worker Qas (Ze shaun Saleem). Throughout the play, each character consults their audience on how they should proceed, allowing you, as an audience member, to collec tively shape the course of the narrative in real time. For Gemma’s group, this meant weighing in on everything from which outfit she should wear for drinks with Qas and her academic mentor Roslyn (Leigh Ann Taylor) to how she should respond to a breach of her con sent.
Audience members were given earbuds and a cell phone specially programmed to display social media posts, texts, voicemails, and video calls from the other characters, providing additional context that could influence the group’s decisions. With this unique structure offering a choose-yourown-adventure experience, audience members inevitably butt heads if they
disagree on how exactly the adventure should play out. But in the show’s press release, Meet Me director Rosaruby Kagan expressed her acceptance and enthusiasm for these potential conflicts.
“Meet Me is an opportunity to get people together who may not share the same political beliefs or ideology, to talk about the divisive theme of callout culture and responsibility for one’s actions,” Kagan wrote. “I am hoping people will leave the play understand ing on a visceral level why someone might make choices that they them selves wouldn’t.”
Though there were a few small disagreements within my group, we often came to a consensus about how Gemma should proceed after Qas vio lated her consent during a sexual en counter. Instead, moments of potential conflict mainly emerged during the play’s outdoor transitions.
Meet Me is created in the style of promenade theatre, in which a show guides audience members to different locations from scene to scene and en courages them to participate in the per formance itself. In my case, this meant following Gemma on foot to her artist’s studio (a room in the Armstrong Build ing decorated with black and white
What happens when you throw Gen Zs into a classic revenge plot? Netflix’s new teen drama, Do Re venge, gives us a fresh, yet unsat isfying look: It avoids predictable characterizations while still relying on tried-and-true dramedy tropes. The film enlists actors from a range successful teen shows—Euphoria, Riverdale, Outer Banks, Stranger Things, and 13 Reasons Why—leav ing each of their respective fanbas es to converge around the film. Its massive success––topping Netflix’s streaming charts––is no surprise due to its acclaimed cast, contemporary soundtrack, and Gen Z pop culture relevance. The film both honours and pokes fun at Gen Z culture while taking inspiration from icon ic teen films from the 90s and 00s. But these triumphs do not prevent the movie’s character development, costume design, and pacing from falling short.
The film follows queen bee Drea (Camila Mendes) after her boyfriend leaks her sex tape and she becomes a social outcast. Drea befriends the awkward new girl Eleanor (Maya Hawke), who is hesitant to enter the school’s social scene, haunted by a homophobic rumour started by her ex-crush.
The girls agree to exact revenge on each other’s enemies by any means necessary. While the scheme for Eleanor’s vengeance is immedi ately successful, the girls struggle to bring down Max (Austin Abrams), Drea’s manipulative ex-boyfriend. The setback brings up larger issues within the girls’ partnership, reveal ing even deeper secrets and uncov ering the movie’s true, unexpected conflict.
The premise of Do Revenge is enticing and unique because it relies on contemporary struggles created by the internet and social media to fuel the plot. While major con flicts in teen dramas such as Clue less, Mean Girls, and Heathers are often related to bullying and social
portraits) and the campus bar (Morrice Hall 017). Those in Qas and Roslyn’s respective audience groups followed their assigned character as they moved between the campus bar and a third lo cation.
The journey down McTavish be tween scenes was short, but there were still plenty of interruptions from pass ersby. A perplexed dog-walker strolled straight through one scene, and a few confused students stopped to giggle and gawk at a passionate make-out be tween Qas and Gemma by the McTav
ish Gates before hurrying past. These moments certainly caused some awkwardness amongst the crowd, but they also intensified the play’s authenticity. The production’s setting is a university campus, so it makes sense that other students would notice if two individuals started to go at it out in the open. Furthermore, staging this moment—a precursor to the sex scene where Qas violates Gemma’s consent—in such a public space is un fortunately pertinent given the perva sive nature of sexual violence at post
secondary institutions.
In presenting this striking energy alongside its open discussion of con sent, violation, racism, and cancel cul ture, Meet Me proves to be a thoughtprovoking, engaging theatre experi ence that will keep audiences thinking long after the metaphorical curtains close.
Performances of Meet Me run until Oct. 8 at TNC Theatre, 3485 Mc Tavish (Morrice Hall). Tickets can be purchased by calling 514-848-0238 or online (Students: $20 ; Regular: $30).
status, the issues in Do Revenge sur rounding homophobia and revenge porn have been scarcely addressed in teen dramas, making it more re latable and intriguing. Max serves as the film’s primary antagonist, twisting the humiliation and slutshaming Drea faces into a campaign victimizing himself. This allows the film to comment on misogyny in a humorous and bite-sized portrayal of social justice.
The film’s eclectic music and costume design solidify it as a quintessential Gen Z flick. The soundtrack consists of a carefully curated playlist that includes Ol ivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, and other Gen Z staples. The soundtrack is one of the better-developed parts of
the movie, with just enough songs to not oversaturate the story but to provide relevant and contemporary accompaniment to the plot.
In contrast, the costume design falls short. Pushing boundaries with its colourful, campy style, the cloth ing design is eye-catching, but fails to accurately portray modern teen style. This is especially evident with Drea, who––despite being a schol arship student who thrifts most of her clothes––manages to wear the same high-end, modern styles as her trust-funded peers.
Beyond the engaging plot, the movie fails to develop the charac ters in a way that makes them sym pathetic to viewers. Both Drea and Eleanor’s characters disappoint as
their flaws are candidly pointed out to the audience, but are not given enough attention or time to make their redemption arcs believable. Mean Girls (2004), which shares tone and plot points with Do Re venge, subverts this well by show ing both the main character and her bully facing the consequences of their actions with the help of a welltimed school bus. Conversely, Do Revenge lacks conviction because of Drea and Eleanor’s unconvincing character developments. While the girls do seek to apologize to their new love interests, these resolutions are too rushed to feel compelling. Drea’s interest in her new boyfriend does not seem genuine due to both a lack of chemistry and predictable writing. Eleanor’s eventual girl friend is barely seen, with their rela tionship not even getting addressed until the credit scene.
Ultimately, Do Revenge is a solid entry into the teen film genre thanks to its acclaimed cast and ex citing plot. It lacks, however, the character development and thematic wit of its predecessors like Clueless, which inhibits it from becoming a modern classic. The cast and pro vocative plot are undoubtedly the most thrilling parts of the movie, but the writing serves up a revenge that just isn’t cold enough.
Do Revenge is now streaming on Netflix.
Actors Zeshaun Saleem and Darragh Mondoux in a scene for the immersive new play Meet Me (Jules Nerestant) ‘Do Revenge’ enlists acclaimed actress Sophie Turner as one of many cameos in a star-studded cast. (rogerebert.com)Back in 2020, Rina Sawayama released her debut album, SAWAYAMA , and entered pop consciousness like how one would kick down a door: Fierce and unapol ogetic. Her sophomore endeavour, Hold The Girl , has Sawayama looking back through the very same doorway, retracing her footsteps down the path of her childhood. Released Sept. 16,
the record is a loving and forgiving ode to her younger self, thematically orbiting around her experience grow ing up as a queer, Japanese, first-gen eration British immigrant woman.
Hold The Girl is at its best when it is conceptually and sonically fo cused, as exemplified by the ABBAinterpolated lead single, “This Hell,” the otherworldly “Frankenstein,” or the frenetic “Imagining.” By inter weaving a wide array of genres––hy perpop and rock in the span of two
songs––Sawayama embodies her am bitious and striking nature as an art ist. Hold the Girl twists, turns, and constantly surprises the listener. But the record occasionally gets lost in its own maze and loses coherency throughout its 46-minute run-time, such that softer tracks like “Catch Me In The Air” fall flat instead of offering a peaceful break. The thematic thread attempting to hold the album togeth er loosens with every startling sonic shift, and sitting through the entire thing can quickly become overstimu lating.
Despite this, Sawayama’s insis tence on honesty and innovation is commendable, providing a refreshing addition to pop music in an era where, as Beyoncé famously said, “[p]eople don’t make albums anymore.” Hold The Girl and its tracks evade the allure of creating a song around one catchy line intended to go viral on TikTok and instead offers a driven project stuffed with introspection and excite ment—even if it occasionally bursts at the seams.
For those who appreciate pop music, Hold The Girl is a goldmine— you just need to dig.
Hold The Girl is available on all streaming platforms
years after the release of the Disney film
Hocus Pocus, the Sanderson sisters are stirring up trouble once more. The first film follows teen ager Max (Omri Katz) in the town of Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween. While visiting the former cottage of the long-dead Sanderson witches, Max lights a candle and accidentally resurrects them. Along with his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and crush Allison (Vinessa Shaw), Max spends the fol lowing hour of the movie trying to vanquish the sisters once and for all. Like many of its films in the last de cade, the House of Mouse has chosen to resurrect the cult classic in the form of a sequel. Much like the Sanderson sisters, however, the franchise should have stayed dead.
The sequel brings us back to Salem, the town infamous for its gris ly witch trials in the late 17th century, following spunky teen Becca (Whit ney Peak), a magic-obsessed girl with a Hallowen birthday. The only thing more unrealistic than the magic in this movie is Becca’s endless supply of
The acclaimed translator of Japanese novels Brian Bergstrom discusses and signs his latest efforts: Trinity Trinity Trinity by Erika Kobayaski and The Shining Sea by Koji Suzuki.
Sunday, October 9, 2-4 PM
Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore
Free
Montreal Grand - Prelims Eleven Montreal’s Biggest Comedy Competition: In each prelim round, 9 comics compete for their spot in the semi-finals and the $100 prize, Grand Prize for the competition is $1000.
Sunday, October 9, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10 advance, $15 at door
The Diving Bell Social Club
Are you ready for Piknik Électronik’s final show? This hugely popular summer electronic music festival is wrapping up this Sunday, with performances from PARTIBOI69, SALLY C, and other incredible musicians!
Sunday, October 9, starts at 2:00 p.m.
Location: Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montréal, QC
Admission: CA$20.00 for online pre-sale tickets
Derek Seguin @TheComedyNestA well-established name in the MTL comedy scene, Derek Seguin can be seen on HBO Canada, Just For Laughs, and CBC’s The Debaters. Derek and his various opening acts will have you laugh your pants off!
March 24, 25, 26, staring at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Location: 2313 St Catherine St West, Montreal, QC Admission: CA$13.97 - CA$19.85
(Promo Codes: ThursdayStudent for CA$6.00 off & FridayStudent for CA$5.00 off)
convenient plot devices. She receives all the items that she needs to take on the witches in the first act of the film, complete with direct dialogue and in tense stares from Gilbert (Sam Rich ardson), the owner of a local magic shop, about how useful these objects might be in oddly specific situations.
Hocus Pocus 2 encourages its audience to be sympathetic towards the Sanderson sisters given the sex ism they faced as young women. But it’s difficult to ignore how the trio made a habit of consuming the souls of innocent children. Even with its comedic overtones, Winifred’s at tempts at consuming Dani’s soul in the first film always felt a bit dark, and it didn’t feel any better the second time around. The film begs the ques tion of whether a child-based diet can negatively influence one’s mental de velopment; the sisters don’t seem to have the common sense or the deduc tive reasoning beyond that of a fiveyear-old.
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy’s perfor mances were about as strong as the mediocre script allows. In the first film, Bette Midler, in particular, gave the role her absolute all. Her rendi
tion of I Put a Spell On You by Jalacy “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins is a musi cal performance recognizable to even people that have never seen the first film. There is only so much that es tablished actresses can do while act ing like immortal witches behaving like kindergartners visiting Toys “R” Us for the first time. While there is a certain appeal to picking up a story 30 years later, it does make one wonder what mountain of blackmail Disney
had on these poor actresses to drag them into this CGI-ridden mess.
In spite of Hocus Pocus 2’s flaws, the movie is not without its re deeming qualities. It is complete with two wonderful musical numbers, in cluding an inspiring rendition of the Blondie ‘70s classic “One Way or Another.” Of course, Becca’s friend Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) questioned why they were breaking into song, joining Flynn Rider as one of the
few Disney characters to do so. It is always refreshing to see a character break the fourth wall—given that, in reality, people don’t usually break into song when they successfully make a bowl of cereal. The costume designer mercifully chose outfits for the teens that a real-life high schooler might actually be seen in. The Sand erson sisters’ witchy wardrobe main tained their original appearance, and for good reason—why mess with perfection?
Hocus Pocus 2 does try its best to appeal to fans of the original movie and new viewers alike. How ever, many of its jokes fall flat and the poor attempts at social commen tary are quickly overshadowed by the witches’ evil intentions. It was 103 minutes of my life that I am never going to get back, but it may be worth a watch for those seeking some good old-fashioned nostalgia. Although I should have known better than to expect great things from a straightto-Disney+ sequel, the original Hocus Pocus gave me high hopes. That, or the Sanderson sisters really did put a spell on me.
Hocus Pocus 2 is currently streaming on Disney+.
Millie Robertsdropped the sequel to ‘Hocus Pocus’ 29 years too late
Rina Sawayama’s ‘Hold The Girl’ explodes with originality, but is sometimes lost among the debris
Sawayama is too ambitious with her sophomore studio album yet remains a formidable forceWith the release of Hold The Girl, Sawayama became the highest-charting Japanese artist in U.K. history. (Thurstan Redding) Originally, Hocus Pocus was titled Disney’s Halloween House. (abcnews. go.com)
In September 2022, McGill’s Office of Sus tainability granted three Catalyst Awards recognizing students, staff, and projects that have made exceptional strides in pushing sustain ability forward at McGill.
“Since its first edition in 2011, the purpose of the awards has always been to acknowledge and celebrate those who led the way towards in tegrating sustainability into McGill’s operations, curriculum, and overall culture,” wrote Francois Miller, executive director of the Office of Sus tainability, in an email to The McGill Tribune
Professor Catherine Potvin of McGill’s De partment of Biology received the Faculty & Staff Award for her work with the Bayano-McGill Reforestation Project. The project has planted over 44,000 trees in Panama in cooperation with local organizations and Indigenous authorities with whom Potvin had established ties through previous research. Potvin’s reforestation work is critical because trees remove carbon from the air through photosynthesis, storing it in their bio mass and in the soil. This process helps to offset McGill’s carbon emissions and contributes to the university’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2040.
The Office of Sustainability granted the Group Initiative Award to impact200, a competi tion held last year which gave teams of McGill students a platform to develop innovative start-
ups that address one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The finalists in cluded Miniwaste, which developed a food map ping software to connect food donors and people in need with local food banks, and CoolHealth, which is working to build solar-powered vaccine coolers for use in communities where access to refrigeration is limited.
The Emerald Key Award recognizes indi vidual students who contribute to McGill’s cul ture of sustainability and was awarded to Quang Nguyen, U3 Engineering, this year. Nguyen, who is currently on exchange at École Polytechnique de Lausanne, was last year’s co-president of the Research & Sustainability Network (RSN), an organization that connects McGill staff and stu dents with the aim of furthering sustainability projects.
“I got involved with RSN because I was interested in how it takes an interdisciplinary approach to the problem, with members com ing from engineering, science, but also arts and business backgrounds,” Nguyen wrote in a direct message to the Tribune. “This is the kind of di versity in perspective and skill set that we need to solve such complex and systemic issues that are often found in the sustainability space.”
Nguyen also participated in the 2041 Cli mateForce Antarctic Expedition, which spon sored young activists to journey to the Antarctic in March 2022, with the goal of inspiring them to preserve the Antarctic environment.
“My biggest takeaway from the Antarctic
trip is that climate change is created by humans so we should be able to solve it, too—but only if we overlook our differences and come together as a society,” Nguyen wrote. “The climate will not wait for us to overcome our political and economic delays. We need to act quickly and we need to do so collectively.”
In an effort to actively engage students, the McGill Office of Sustainability also recently se lected 60 students to participate in the 2022-23 Sustainability Ambassadors Program.
“This program offers a platform for stu dents to apply their skills and creativity in order to grow the sustainability movement at McGill,”
Miller wrote.
There are many ways for students to get involved in environmental activism on campus, from the McGill Office of Sustainability to re search, student-run clubs, and organizations such as the Research and Sustainability Network, the McGill Energy Association, and the Desautels Sustainability Network, to name a few.
“There’s so many opportunities that exist now,” Nguyen noted. “Whether you want to organize events and host environmental discus sions, work on a more hands-on project in green research, grow a community garden—there’s re ally something for everyone!”
Continued from page 1.
Chang’s artificial cells are not just physical entities. They are artificial and modifiable structures that can replace or supplement malfunctioning cells. The cells consist of an artificial membrane made of several types of polymers,, and/or crosslinked proteins that surround typical cell components like enzymes, proteins, other cells, and more. Artificial cells act as mini biore actors—or reaction chambers— where molecules can enter and react with the contents inside be fore being exported once again.
Artificial cells are uniquely useful because their membranes and contents can be modified to suit many needs.
“We can prepare them to con tain cells, stem cells, vaccines, mRNA, DNA, microorganisms, magnetic material, absorbents, hormones, drugs, and other mate rial,” Chang said. “There are un limited possibilities in variations for the artificial cell membranes and contents.”
According to Chang, artifi cial cells that contain hemoglobin
and other proteins mimic blood cells but do not belong to any blood type group, making them a universal blood substitute. This is
especially useful for emergency trauma cases when on-site blood cross-matching is not available, and for people who cannot accept
blood transfusions for religious reasons. And since the mem branes do not have antigens— which can sometimes cause the body to reject foreign substanc es—the artificial cells will not be attacked by antibodies or white blood cells. Beyond their use as a blood substitute, this makes them ideal to carry essential enzymes or substances into the body with out the risk of adverse effects.
“As a physician-researcher with the aim to do what is best for the patients, my plan has been to continue to do frontier innova tive research [...] and at the same time to encourage others around the world to develop these ideas for patient use,” Chang wrote in a statement to the Tribune
According to Chang, arti ficial cells have already been used as a delivery vehicle for mRNA vaccines. They have also been used to treat patients with COVID-19. These patients can develop a cytokine storm—a fatal release of excessive cytokines due to an overreaction of the immune system. Cytokines, small proteins that control the growth of blood and immune system cells, are more effectively removed by ac tivated charcoal than traditional hemodialysis. Activated charcoal,
however, can release harmful particles into the body and dam age red blood cells. By using an artificial ultrathin membrane to coat the charcoal, those negative side effects can be avoided while also increasing the speed at which cytokines are removed from the blood.
“A problem is a challenge, and challenges mean that you can innovate,” said Chang.
In a 2021 paper, Chang’s ar tificial cells showed promise in suppressing skin cancer. Inspired by a 2005 study that found that low levels of the amino acid ty rosine suppress melanoma tumor growth, Chang began working on a nanobiotherapeutic PolyHbtyrosinase, an enzyme that lowers levels of tyrosine in systemic cir culation to inhibit tumour growth in mice. Overall, their results showed that nanocarrier PolyHbtyrosinase suppressed tumour growth in mice and even inhibited tumor cell migration, also known as metastasis.
“We have only touched the surface of the potential of the extension, innovations and uses of artificial cells,” Chang wrote. For Chang and others working on the cutting edge of biomedicine, there is much more to learn.
The Adults Doing Things (In Sustainability) Podcast, produced by the McGill Research & Sustainability Network, highlights career paths in sustainability. (Kelsey Litwin / The McGill Reporter) Artificial cells can save the lives of patients who have overdosed on three times the lethal dose of a drug. (Drea Garcia / The McGill Tribune)Aging is one of the few truly uni versal experiences, yet it is one of those things that no one really looks forward to. Along with visible signs like wrinkles and grey hair, however, comes a more insidious and harder-to-combat symptom: The decline of brain function. But according to a new study from a team of
McGill researchers, the link between aging and cognitive decline may not be as clearcut as previously believed.
Jamie Snytte, a third-year PhD student in clinical psychology at McGill, supervised by Dr. Natasha Rajah and Dr. Signy Shel don, along with other colleagues, published a study centred around memory and its rela tion to brain volume. Snytte collected mem ory data from 125 adults by having them perform memory tasks—like showing a face
on a screen and having the participants at tempt to recall where the face was shown.
Those who performed worse on these tasks were mostly shown to have a lower volume of brain matter in their hippocam pus. The volume of the hippocampus is di rectly related to brain function and one of its main roles is to consolidate information from short-term to long-term memory. A decrease in hippocampal volume has been associated with decreased memory function in older adults.
Snytte and his team measured the sub jects’ performances on memory tasks, then measured the volume of the participants’ hippocampi and calculated the differences between participants. The researchers found that the hippocampi of participants who had trouble remembering details were smaller. The grey matter volume was lower in these participants, meaning that their hippocampi were just smaller than those of higher-scor ing participants.
Contrary to popular belief, this study suggests that old age is not in and of itself the cause of decreased cognition. Rather, it is the breaking down and atrophying of memory-related structures in the brain that lead to the decline. Not everyone will expe rience memory loss at the same time or to the same degree of severity.
In an interview with The McGill Tri bune , Snytte explained that atrophy in the brain is a normal part of aging.
“In healthy aging, there are lots of brain
structures that tend to change, that tend to atrophy,” Snytte said.
According to Snytte, this atrophy can be measured in three main ways.
“You’d look at the size [of the brain]— the amount of neurons or brain cells within a certain structure and how that changes,” said Snytte. “You can look at changes in brain function—so how much does a certain brain area activate, how much blood does it require to complete a certain task. And you can also look at white matter tracts, [which] are paths that connect different brain areas.”
Although the prospect of cognitive de cline may seem like a dreary fate, Snytte’s team found something else in their studies: Other parts of the brain were able to step in and take over to make up for the decreased function in the hippocampus.
“You can see stories of patients who are missing a big chunk of their brain, but their cognition is totally preserved,” Snytte explained. “They can do this by activat ing other brain regions, and this is usually called compensation.”
Pinpointing areas of brain degeneration is an important step in finding successful treatments for degenerative cognitive dis eases. It is also a fascinating look into the complex nature of our brains. Our brain has a backup generator of sorts, preventing the worst effects of the cognitive decline that come with aging, pushing us onwards with quite literally fewer brains, but just as much ability.
What if you could visibly lay out your entire ge nome sequence in front of you and see almost everything that explains who you are, from your eye colour to whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert? If this were true, we look at someone’s genes and calculate whether they will develop attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and offer them treatments right away. Unfortunately, accurately reading biomarkers isn’t as easy as laying the genome out like a map. Luckily, there are researchers working on ways to solve this problem.
Dr. Patricia Pelufo Silveira, an associate professor in McGill’s De partment of Psychiatry, is one such researcher. Pelufo Silveira, along with the help of Dr. Cecilia Flores, a pro fessor in the Department of Psychia try, developed a novel genetic scoring technique called expression-based polygenic risk score (ePRS), which they are using to score impulsive be haviour.
“High impulsivity has been asso ciated with several psychiatric disor ders,” Flores said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “Many times, it’s used as a trait of vulnerability.”
Their technique involves study
ing an entire gene network associated with DCC, a gene shown to influence impulsivity. Flores has researched the DCC gene extensively and found that it has a profound impact on guiding growing axons towards assembling the nervous system. The researchers used gene expression datasets from mice and identified the genes that had correlated co-expression with DCC. Then, a program filtered the genes according to the ones most expressed during the first 18 months of life, cre ating a DCC co-expression gene net work. The genes were then mapped and weighed based on their effect on the brain, resulting in the genetic risk score.
“We know that [DCC] is very important in the maturation of impulse control,” Flores said. “We also identi fied where in the brain that the func tion of this gene is important for the development of impulse control.”
EPRS goes much deeper than previous genetic scoring methods, such as the original polygenic risk score (PRS), which determines wheth er one is at high risk for a given dis order by looking at known, correlated genes. So, instead of connecting a gene to a disease like PRS does, ePRS connects a gene to other genes.
“The main difference is, instead of marking risk for disease, we’re marking variation in a biological pro
cess,” Pelufo Silveira said in an inter view with //The McGill Tribune//.
“It’s not only the genetic variance in a person and associating [that] with a disorder, but it’s how that variance influences the gene function of a pro cess in particular brain regions,” said Flores.
Not only is ePRS much more accurate, but it is also excellent at controlling for genetic factors such as ethnicity.
“We want what we call external validity, to be valid to many different groups independent of their genetic
background, but when you’re using genetics, this is difficult because peo ple’s [genetic markers] vary depend ing on their ancestry,” Pelufo Silveira explained. “[ePRS] is strong enough to predict this difference across differ ent ancestries.”
Flores and Pelufo Silveira also considered external factors such as social environment or drug exposure, which Flores stressed as being ex tremely important when researching ePRS in a clinical setting.
“You [want to] have more than one metric for each individual [which]
really personalizes the intervention, that’s the goal,” Flores said.
Given that everyone is impul sive to some extent, Flores says that a holistic approach is key when distin guishing between normal impulsivity and harmful impulsive behaviour.
“A single trait is not enough, you need information about other aspects to form a diagnosis; [some behaviours and circumstances] are red flags.”
In the future, Pelufo Silveira hopes that ePRS can be used to iden tify other biomarkers, not just those for impulsivity.
Grey matter includes regions of the brain that work to control senses and muscle control. (Louise PinaultSoutham / The McGill Tribune) Boys are more likely to be diagnosed with an impulsive disorder. (healthychildren.org)The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), previously known as the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), unveiled the league’s latest expansion team, La Force de Montréal on Aug. 30.
The new team will compete against the Boston Pride, the Buffalo Beauts, the Connecticut Whale, the Metropolitan Riveters, the Minnesota Whitecaps, and the Toronto Six. These seven teams, now including La Force, will compete for the coveted Isobel Cup in the 2022-2023 PHF season.
Despite holding the Montreal name, La Force will transcend the city’s boundaries, playing home games in seven cities throughout Quebec. With Gatineau, Montreal, Quebec, Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup, Saint-Jérôme, and Sept-Îles all given the opportunity to showcase the team, there is hope that women’s professional hockey will grow throughout the province.
In an interview with The McGill Tribune, assistant coach Katia Clément-Heydra emphasized the value of having the team play all over Quebec.
“With more visibility comes more fans,” said ClémentHeydra. “Their motivation, for now, is to build something bigger than just a championship team.”
On Sept. 13, Peter Smith was announced as head coach of La Force. His impressive track record includes 21 seasons as head coach of the McGill Martlets, leading the team to four national championships between 2008 and 2014, and holding the title of the winningest coach in the history of McGill hockey. Smith boasts numerous accomplishments at the international level, too, serving as head coach of the Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team from 2007 to 2008, and as an assistant coach with Team Canada under Melody Davidson.
Former Martlets’ assistant coach Clément-Heydra will join Smith while continuing to assist McGill with recruiting and player development. In addition to her impressive young coaching career,
Clément-Heydra played five seasons with the Martlets, four seasons with CWHL’s Montréal Canadiennes, and one season in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL).
To round out the staff, the former head coach of the Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team, Pierre Alain, will also join La Force as an associate coach.
Like the coaching staff, the team includes several McGill Martlets’ hockey alumni, with forwards Ann-Sophie Bettez and Jade Downie-Landry, and goaltender Tricia Deguire named to the inaugural roster.
This new team and the newly restructured PHF, however, raise questions about the unstable reality of professional women’s ice hockey.
Currently, two professional women’s leagues exist in North America: The PHF and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), which is a hybrid between a league and players’ union. The two leagues remain divided in their abilities and demands, with the PHF unable to meet the PWHPA’s demands for health benefits, living salaries, and professional hockey infrastructure.
But this past summer, the PHF created a new policy that raised the salary cap to $750,000 per team, including a minimum salary of $13,500, an extension on contract length, and an increase in signing bonuses. While this new policy relieves some of the financial burdens of playing at such an intense level, it is important to note the stark contrast with men’s professional hockey as the National Hockey League (NHL) salary stands at $750,000 per player excluding bonuses.
This progress, in addition to the NHL’s statement that they
would only support a united women’s league and the PHF’s deal with ESPN+, leaves many hopeful that the two leagues will come to an agreement that would bring them together in creating a viable future for the sport.
The addition of La Force as a seventh team in the PHF offers more roster spots and playing opportunities for current and future players at the professional level.
“We may have lost an entire generation of athletes due to the fact that Montreal and Canada didn’t have the right structures,” said Clément-Heydra.
There is hope that the PHF will open doors for women to pursue their passion for hockey and provide a real opportunity to earn a living playing the sport they love. La Force ushers in a new era for professional hockey, and the determination of the team leaves fans eager to witness their inaugural season.
Sarah Farnand Sports EditorLastfall, the McGill men’s rugby team had an incredibly strong season that ended in heartbreak when they were blanked by Concordia in the RSEQ Championship game. One key component
absent from the Redbirds’ playoff squad was star fly-half Monty Weatherall who missed the majority of the season after an injury during the first match-up against the Stingers.
I sat down with the rugby star in The McGill Tribune office to hear about his rugby beginnings, his season-ending injury, and his goals for the years ahead.
“My whole family has played [rugby],” Weatherall began. “My granddad played back in the 50s, and my mom’s side of the family all played. I started playing when I was six. I’ve always played sports—I played rugby, soccer, and cricket until I was 15, and then stopped playing the other sports to focus on rugby.”
As for academics, when it came time to decide on a university, McGill was the only school outside of the United Kingdom that Weatherall applied to following a friend’s recommendation.
“When I got [here] I wasn’t sure if it was going to work out, so I thought I would just come for a year and see how I liked it,” Weatherall said. “And I just absolutely fell in love with being in Montreal and at McGill.”
Weatherall explained that all apprehension disappeared as he immediately felt at home with the Redbirds rugby squad.
“Coming to McGill, moving to a different country knowing only one other person here, I felt very lucky that I played rugby because it’s just an instant community of 50 people who always have your back,” he explained.
Unfortunately, after Weatherall’s first season with the Redbirds, the COVID-19
pandemic prevented the team from returning to play until his third year.
After the loss of a season in 2020, the 2021 home-opener was greatly anticipated, especially by Weatherall as his brother was able to fly in from the U.K. for the momentous event.
“I have three brothers and a sister, so I’m part of a big family and we are all really, really close,” said Weatherall. “With COVID, it was tough to see them, so the fact that my brother was able to come out and watch the game and then spend time with all my friends after and get to experience Montreal was really special for me.”
Sadly, Weatherall’s first season postCOVID was not without its hardships as three games into the season, he tore his posterior cruciate ligament and his lateral collateral ligament on the inside and outside of the knee, respectively. He also sustained a bone fracture that required surgery and ended his season before it truly even started.
“I spent the whole of this year doing rehab, spending a lot of time in the gym. And from that injury it was 11 months to my first game back against Carleton [in 2022],” Weatherall explained. “The [physiotherapists] at McGill looked after me really well, I am super super grateful for all the support that the McGill Sports Medical Clinic gave, not just to me but to all the other players who get injured because they are absolutely world-class.”
Now serving as the team’s captain,
Weatherall has several impressive accolades. But instead of focusing on himself, he highlighted the work of his teammates in spearheading fundraising initiatives.
“Our president, Owen Cumming, is just so amazing with his commitment to things off the field. With Movember, we are consistently one of the highest fundraising groups at the university, and he leads that massively. I think last year we were seventh in the country out of all sports teams for fundraising.”
As McGill’s leading scorer, I expected Weatherall’s warm-up to be rather intense. Instead, he explained that he prefers “chilled” music such as “Runnin’” by Beyoncé and Naughty Boy to keep his composure prior to a match. And so far, the pregame ritual seems to be working.
The Redbirds are currently at a 3–1 record, second in the RSEQ standings backed by Weatherall’s team-leading 38 points. The team hopes to maintain their momentum throughout the season to finally bring the RSEQ Championship back to McGill before Weatherall graduates this December.
“The goal for this season is to win the RSEQ,” concluded Weatherall. “We haven’t done it in [seven] years, so really we just want to win the conference. Every year I have been here, we have come runner-up in the finals, so this year we really, really want to win.”
And with Weatherall as captain, the ‘ship just might be McGill’s for the taking.
Twelve out of 16 players on La Force’s inaugural roster are from Quebec. The re maining four include three Ontarians and one New Brunswicker. (Chetna Misra / The McGill Tribune)
On a chilly Friday evening, Redbirds lacrosse fans turned out for the first annual Legacy Game as McGill (4–1) faced off against Queen’s University (2–2). A boastful crowd of 580 watched the Redbirds dominate the Gaels for their third win in a row, spearheaded by firstyear midfielder John Miraglia who led the team with five points. Less than two minutes into the first quarter, Miraglia opened up the scoring, giving McGill a lead that they maintained throughout the game. With 4:37 left in the first quarter, fourth-year attacker Cameron McGinnis buried a power-play goal, quickly followed up by fourth-year attacker Isaiah Cree’s first goal of the night, putting the Redbirds up 3-1. As the Gaels tried to battle back, they were silenced
threaten the Redbirds’ seven-run lead, scoring two in the third and three in the fourth, making the score 7-5. But the McGill offence bounced back, cushioning their lead with a two-RBI double from first-baseman Brad Marelich. The Gaels did not go quietly, scoring one in the fifth and one in the seventh, but left-handed pitcher Nathaniel Factor was able to close out the game and earn himself the save. In the 9-7 victory, catcher Chris Bodine stood out offensively alongside Rizzolo and Marelich, going 3-for-3 with three singles and an RBI.
“We came out, we played our brand of baseball in that first inning and [although] it didn’t translate to the full game, we were able to get a good clutch hit by Brad Marelich to tack on two more at the end,” said head coach Casey Auerbach. “We’re just looking to find our stride and be as consistent as we can offensively.”
The Redbirds finished out the weekend picking up two wins in their double-header against the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a couple of tight games, winning 8-7 and 4-3. Their
A sluggish first half defined the Martlets’ soccer (4–3–2) home game against the Bishop’s Gaiters (1–4–4). The first 20 minutes saw an aggressive Gaiter midfield trying to dominate possession, while the Martlets’ defence, led by Stephanie Hill, stood up to any scoring attempts, leaving goalkeeper Sophie Guilmette with little work to do. In the first half, the Martlets’ only offensive highlight was a quick counterattack by forwards Liliane Lefebvre and Giovanna Tiberio that was extinguished by Bishop’s goalkeeper in the 22nd minute.
Lefebvre, who was voted McGill Athlete of the Week, applauded her team’s performance in the game.
Men’s Basketball Dylan SchofieldAfter a tough start to the pre-season for the McGill men’s basketball team (0–4), the Redbirds were presented with an opportunity to right the wrongs of their opening three games in a difficult fixture against Queen’s University (2–0). From the very first moment of the game, the Redbirds were playing catch-up, with the Gaels winning the opening tip-off and racing away with a 16-0 lead. The first quarter was filled with frustration for McGill as they attempted to kickstart a comeback. Fourth-year guard Zachary Lavoie-Toure, along with guard and graduate student Sam Jenkins, led a spirited, albeit unsuccessful, comeback attempt in the second half. Jenkins also led the team in playing time and points with 34 minutes and 14 points.
by McGill’s unrelenting offence and ended the first half down 6-2 to the Redbirds. McGill blew the game open in the third quarter, scoring four goals, two from Miraglia. With the score at 103, Cree potted his third goal of the night, and opened the door for the Redbirds to breeze into a 12-5 victory over the Gaels.
“I was a little nervous at the beginning considering there was a lot of weight in the atmosphere and everything, but [the win] felt wonderful,” said Cree in a post-game interview. “[We’re] happy to go home with the win and looking forward to the next game as always.”
The Redbirds dropped their second game of the weekend 8-7 to Carleton and will play next on Oct. 9 at Nipissing.
After losing 3-1 in game one of a doubleheader against Queen’s University (8–2), ending an eight-game winning streak, the Redbirds (13–5) tried to get back into the swing of things in game two. Starting on the bump for McGill was left-handed pitcher Caden Welch, who settled in nicely after a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first. In the bottom of the inning, the Redbirds’ offence exploded, scoring seven runs with shortstop Milo Young paving the way with a single and a stolen bag. Their lead widened later in the inning when designated hitter Vincent Rizzolo knocked a two-RBI single. After a quiet second, the Gaels began to
next game will be on Oct. 5 at Université de Montréal.
Men’s Hockey Sumire Kierkosz-Ueno
On Sept. 30, the Redbirds (2–1) defeated the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) (0–4) 8-3 in a landslide victory. McGill opened the scoring with two goals in the first five minutes, seizing the momentum for a fastpaced, high-scoring game. Over the 60 minutes of play, six different players found the back of the net, with the rookies leading the way—firstyear defenceman Maxime Blanchard and firstyear centre William Rouleau scored two goals each. With an aggressive forecheck, McGill went four for six on the power-play, scoring all four goals within the first 30 seconds of their one-man advantage. Despite moments of sloppy play, the Redbirds were able to dominate throughout the game, outshooting RMC 61 to 22. In a post-game interview with The McGill Tribune, Rouleau, who was awarded the first star of the game, expressed optimism about the upcoming season.
“This year especially, I think we have a special group of guys [….] We’re getting really competitive this year so it’s really fun to see our potential,” said Rouleau. “So far in the preseason we have been playing great. We didn’t have the greatest game tonight, but still had a good result. The sky’s the limit for us.”
The Redbirds will play their next game on Oct. 7 against Université du Québec à
“I think we were comfortable defensively, but need to be better in scoring. We needed to be confident [going forward] in the final three quarters of the game.”
The second half only began to heat up in the final 10 minutes. Some great ball movement in the final third saw Lefebvre threaten the Gaiters’ defence minutes before the final whistle.
“We got past their press on several occasions but then got too rushed and lacked a bit of composure,” said head coach JoseLuis Valdes. “The effort is there, [it] just needs to be [supplemented] by quality play.”
Next, the Martlets play the Montreal Carabins on Oct. 7.
Head coach Ryan Thorne expressed his disappointment in the team’s start, and how that played into the rest of the game.
“They out-hustled us, they out-muscled us, they wanted it more than us,” Thorne told The McGill Tribune. “We showed some spots of fight, but that’s a good team, I think they finished fourth in Canada last year, so you can’t only show spots, you have to perform the entire time.”
Queens out-rebounded McGill by 43-32 and despite the Redbirds’ best efforts to stay in the game, even cutting the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter, they ultimately fell 71-55 to the Gaels.
Trois-Rivières at McConnell Arena. The Redbirds will play their next game on Oct. 14 against the Lethbridge Pronghorns as part of the McGill Redbirds’ Classic tournament. In last week’s sweep of Laurentian, outfielder Jonas Press went 5-for-8 at the dish, earning himself a spot as McGill’s Athlete of the Week. (Matt Garies / McGill Athletics) The Redbirds have a 31-game win streak against the Gaels with their last loss to Queens being in 2003. (Matt Garies / McGill Athletics) The Martlets’ fifth home game of the 2022-23 RSEQ season was characterized by classic fall weather and an enthusiastic crowd. (Matt Garies / McGill Athletics)