The McGill Tribune Vol. 37 Issue 3

The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 | VOL. 37 | ISSUE 3

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

FEATURE How power and popularity shape McGill’s Multi-Day Organized Parties

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McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

VIEWPOINT

Accessible care or adequate care: Students with eating disorders shouldn’t have to choose

Trying (and failing) to run my first marathon

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(Ava Zwolinski / The McGill Tribune)

SSMU Board of Directors discusses constitutionality of current membership at public session Domenic Casciato News Editor On Sept. 24, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD) held a public session to discuss the constitutionality of the composition of

the current membership of the body, among other agenda items. SSMU Vice-President (VP) Finance and Director Arisha Khan introduced a motion to add the discussion to the agenda, and explained her stance that the BoD’s current 12 director membership is not in accordance with the SSMU constitution.

University students are anything but “fragile flowers” Alexandra Harvey Opinion Editor In her Sept. 19 column for the Globe and Mail, Margaret Wente compared today’s university students to “fragile flowers,” arguing that increasing concern for mental health on campuses is conditioning young adults to be weak, not resilient. Wente needs to learn a thing or two about resilience.

Wente’s staunch disapproval of mental health services on Canadian campuses comes at a time when students are under more pressure than ever before— according to a 2016 National College Health Assessment survey,

a fifth of Canadian students struggle with depression, anxiety, or other mental health challenges.

Distressed students are looking to their institutions to provide adequate support for mental health, and in some capacity or another, it finally seems as if universities are listening. Mental health is on the radar, and—despite Wente’s spiel about the dangers of coddling— that’s a good thing. As such, McGill students and faculty need to work together to normalize conversations about mental health, in order to continue to dismantle toxic stigmas and create a safe and fair academic space for all. Mental health issues are ubiquitous on university campuses.

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“As of right now, we have a composition of three officers and nine membersat-large, which is not in line with the constitution,” Khan said. “Any potential decisions that have been made by the Council with this composition [...] could also be up for contention.” Section 6.2 and 6.4 of the

SSMU Constitution stipulate that the BoD has up to 12 voting members: Four Directors from the student-elected SSMU executive, four Directors from the student-elected Legislative Council, and four members-atlarge who are appointed through the BoD Nominating Committee.

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Where did these butterflies come from and where are they off to?

Painted Ladies make their way to southern Quebec contrary to usual migratory patterns Myriam Driss Contributor As summer transitions into fall, an increased flow of insect and bird migrations takes off.

The McGill campus, as well as greater Montreal, has experienced a southbound butterfly migration in preparation for the winter. Although these butterflies are commonly misidentified as monarchs, they are actually Vanessa cardui, or Painted Ladies.

Insect expert and Curator of the Lyman Entomo-

logical Museum Stephanie Boucher pointed out that this misidentification is common.

“Most people know the monarch [butterfly] very well, [since the] monarch has a lot of publicity and attractivity [surrounding it],” Boucher said.

“They are both orange, but they have big differences; Painted Ladies have a mosaic of brown, [while] the monarch [has a] darker central body. The Painted Lady [also has] a much smaller wing width. [However, they] are both migratory species [with

similar] unique life patterns.”

Different weather and temperature patterns can affect the life cycles and migration habits of many insects, in both good and bad ways. Vinko Culjak Mathieu, graduate student in ecology at McGill, noted that “migration, [and other life events] are impacted by various factors [such as] daily temperature, moisture, light, etc.” Warmer winters lead to early snowmelt, and, subsequently, early flowering.

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2 NEWS

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

SSMU Board of Directors discusses constitutionality of current membership at public session

SSMU VP Finance Arisha Khan challenges makeup of Board of Directors Domenic Casciato News Editor Continued from page 1.

The eight non-executive Directors are then approved by student referendum or at the SSMU General Assembly.

The President, VP Finance, and VP Operations and Sustainability automatically sit on the Board, while the fourth executive is nominated by SSMU Legislative Council.

Jonathan Glustein, a member-at-large of the BoD, pointed out that the Board could not maintain its stipulated composition.

“It is impossible, within the parameters of reality, for the Board to be at 12 members all the time without appointing members-at-large,” Glustein said. “I think it’s pretty evident that not only was the Board acting within the best interests of the Society by filling it to 12 members, but in fact it would have been unconstitutional for the Board not to put 12 members in the Society.”

Section 7.4 of the SSMU constitution defines the BoD’s quorum—the minimum number of Directors needed to conduct business legally—to be seven Directors, a simple majority of the voting members. Khan stated that the constitution does not explicitly mandate the BoD to fill all 12 of its seats at all times, and raised concerns about the accountability of a Board with many appointed members.

“I think the discussion item here is, while the constitution may be murky, is it ethically murky,” Khan said.

“In order to meet quorum, [it would only require] seven Directors such that Legislative Council could appoint members come the first Council meeting, specifically the [...] executive because that is quite important [....] Right

now we are a Board of nine [members-at-large.] So these are members that have not been elected by the membership [to the BoD] and are not accountable to the membership in the same way that elected Board members or officers should be.”

Given that all 12 seats of the BoD are currently filled, one of the members-at-large must resign in order for the constitutionally-mandated fourth executive to be nominated. On Sept. 14, the Legislative Council met, but a motion to elect a member of the SSMU executive to the Board was not presented.

Glustein reiterated that keeping a Board of only seven members would be of detriment to the SSMU membership.

“I think, considering the fact that we had five resignations in a month’s time [in Winter 2017...] and the fact that if the Board falls below seven members we cease to function as a Society, [...] it would be extremely imprudent [...] to keep that number at seven and [...] hope that someone doesn’t have any extenuating circumstances,” Glustein said. “One resignation would render the entire Society ineffective.”

SSMU General Manager Ryan Hughes, who was also present at the meeting, recently consulted the Society’s legal team to review the constitutionality of the BoD’s current composition. The legal opinion he received stated that, while falling in somewhat of a constitutional grey area, the membership is in accordance with the SSMU constitution, but that the BoD, along with Legislative Council, will be in violation if they fail to expeditiously nominate and appoint a fourth executive member at the bodies’ next meetings.

“I will concur with the rest of the Board that [the situation] is murky,” Hughes said. “This is what hap-

The SSMU BoD, chaired by SSMU President Muna Tojiboeva, met on Sunday, Sept. 24.

(Ava Zwolinski / The McGill Tribune)

pens when you have a constitution that is as complex as ours [....] It is very difficult to navigate sometimes, and sometimes you may make an oversight [....] When it gets discovered, it is your obligation and duty to repair it, to address it. This is what this Board needs to do, this is what Legislative Council needs to do [....] It’s known, we’re going to repair it, and get back to business. That’s it.”

SSMU VP Internal and Director Maya Koparkar said that the most pressing matter for SSMU going forward is re-establishing trust with its membership and that she intends to begin the fourth executive nomination process at Council’s next meeting on Sept. 28.

“I’m actually bringing a motion to Legislative Council next week to nominate a fourth [executive] from SSMU to the Board of Directors,” Koparkar said. “I don’t know what happened [this summer], would it not have been possible to just have 11 members of the Board of Directors?”

This article originally appeared online on Sept. 24.

New professor Kelly Gordon introduces feminism to McGill political science scene Gordon shares her vision of feminism as broad in application and appeal Emilienne Hamel Contributor As of Fall 2017, the newest addition to the McGill faculty is Assistant Professor Kelly Gordon, a proud feminist who is introducing McGill students in her class to the role of gender in politics. This is her first academic position, directly following the finalization of her of post-doctoral work at the University of Ottawa (UO).

In the Department of Political Science, where 26 of the 36 professors are male, Gordon focuses her research on conservative politics and the role that gender plays in political persuasion. Gordon believes the field of political science could benefit from a gender studies analysis it is currently lacking.

“It’s very difficult to understand contemporary politics without studying gender,” Gordon said. “[And] it’s very difficult to understand Donald Trump without understanding the role masculinity plays in politics [....Feminism] is more of a lens through which you see the world. It’s not a defined set of policies or ideas.”

Gordon completed her Masters of Arts in Political Studies and Feminist and Gender Studies at UO in 2010. She was inspired to pursue a career in academia after noticing the misconceptions surrounding conservative politics, especially the differences between East Coast Canadians’ perceptions of life in conservative Alberta

and the reality. During her undergraduate degree, she never planned on becoming a professor.

“I had no idea that this was the route that I was even going to take,” Gordon said.

“I think when I was doing my undergrad, I wasn’t really sure what a PhD even was.”

Gordon was originally inspired to focus on the role of gender in politics by her mother, who worked as an abortion provider. She also sought inspiration from a 1983 book called Right-Wing Women by Andrea Dworkin, which argues that the American political right mobilizes women by exploiting their fears.

“I disagree with most of [the book], but I think that it was a huge catalyst for me being interested in conservative politics as a feminist,” Gordon said. “Feminism is about economics [and] social, racial, legal injustice. Feminism is for everyone.”

Gordon applied her vision by working in a variety of areas within gender and politics. In 2015, she co-wrote a book with her thesis supervisor, Paul Saurette, titled The Changing Voice of the AntiAbortion Movement: The Rise of “ProWoman” Rhetoric in Canada and the United States. In 2016, the work received the Donald Smiley Prize for best book relating to the study of government and politics in Canada. Yet, Gordon’s proudest achievement is sitting on a task force at UO in 2014 and 2015 that revised the university’s sexual assault and sexual vio-

lence policies.

“We undertook a big consultation with all the different stakeholders at the university,” Gordon said. “[I] got involved with being an advocate for survivors of sexual violence, and I think that’s something that I’m the most proud of that I’ve done.”

Currently, Gordon is teaching POLI 379: Topics in Canadian Politics and researching several independent pursuits such as the implications and motivations of victimization, conservative political persuasion, and the men’s rights movement in Canada. Gordon hopes to complete her

works that are currently in progress—titled “Think About the Men!: Victimhood, Conservative Ideology, and Men’s Right Activism in Canada” and “Gendering Political Persuasion: Sex Work, Bill c-36, and Discourse of Victimization in Canadian Conservatism”—during her time at McGill.

“I’m really just getting started,” Gordon said. “I really enjoy teaching. Until now, there really hasn’t been a gender and politics course offered within the political science department. My students are super excited about it, which makes me really excited about it.”

Kelly Gordon brings a new approach to political science through a feminist lens. (Gabriel Heftant / The McGill Tribune)

NEWS 3

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Refugees flee the US for Canada, Seventh Annual Indigenous Awareness Week stay in McGill’s Royal Victoria brings together views on reconciliation Hospital Speakers call for Indigenous rights legislation to be

President Trump’s intention to revoke Haitians protected status leads to spike in asylum seekers in Quebec

McGill’s Royal Victoria Hospital is currently housing refugees. (Margaux Delalex / The McGill Tribune)

Ryan Canon Contributor

Fearing the revocation of their protected status, thousands of refugees have fled the United States for Canada. While the number of refugees coming per day has dropped since August, processing times are still high, and Montreal is responding to the influx of asylum seekers with temporary housing across the city—including at McGill’s old Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH).

Following the devastating Haitian earthquake in 2010 that killed over 200,000 people, all Haitians were granted protected occupation in the United States, giving them temporary immigration status. On May 22, U.S. President Donald Trump extended the protection of Haitian refugees, which was set to expire at the beginning of 2017, through January 2018. However, in July 2017, the Trump administration suggested that it might revoke their protected status. In response, many Haitians fled the United States via the Quebec-New York border, seeking asylum in Canada.

According to the Government of Canada, the number of asylum claims jumped from 781 in June to 5,530 in August. Refugees who are waiting to be processed—thus waiting to be given asylum, access to health care, and work permits—were given shelter in buildings around Montreal, including the Olympic Stadium, RVH, and other out-of-service buildings.

The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) was unprepared for the seven-times increase in the number of asylum claims. Yet Stéphane Malépart, a representative from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), confirmed in an email to The McGill Tribune that appropriate resources were allocated in response to the situation and that temporary shelters are still present at the border.

“Tents have been set up at Lacolle since Aug 9 to offer temporary shelter,” Malépart wrote. “CBSA’s planning makes the most effective use of all of the resources available, including the use of overtime and temporary reassignment of resources [….] We work in close collaboration with other government departments and will draw on their resources as required.”

The Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Est-del’Île-de-Montréal (CIUSSS) is responsible for the temporary accommodation of asylum seekers on the island of Montreal. Francine Dupuis, the associate CEO of the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, expects to shut down sites where the refugees have been processed.

“We have decided that on Friday we are going to decrease the number of sites,” Dupuis said. “Right now we have a lot of different sites [in use] with a lot of space available, and we want to bring it down to maybe two or three.”

Political dimensions make the situation more complicated. In 2002, Canada and the United States signed the Safe Third Country Agreement, which declared the United States a safe country and allowed the CBSA to reject refugees from the US. As such, many of the Haitian asylum seekers fear rejection, and the Canadian government is restricted in the type and number of healthcare and work permits they can provide.

“It’s really an unintended consequence of a bad policy […] and if we fixed [the Safe Third Country Agreement], this would stop happening,” McGill Social Work Associate Professor Jill Hanley said. “As long as these people are kept in limbo and not given the rights of regular refugee claimants, it makes them vulnerable to exploitation.”

Although the number of asylum seekers in Canada has increased within the past year, these numbers are not historic for Canada, and Hanley confirmed that Montreal has adequate space to handle the influx.

“The numbers that have been coming in are actually not that exceptional in Canadian history,” Hanley said. “The numbers prior to 2001 were higher than what we have today [....] There used to be more shelters in Montreal for refugees […] but it’s not like the community centers don’t have room for them now.

Maybe it is time for Canada to get back up to its old levels of refugee claims, and make it possible for people to get here and claim refugee status.”

recognized Julia Métraux Contributor

From Sept. 18 to 22, the Social Equity and Diversity Education’s (SEDE) Indigenous Education Program hosted the 7th Annual Indigenous Awareness Week. Members of the McGill community attended presentations, film screenings, and activities on intersectionality, indigenous rights, and culture.

Among them were presentations on the creation and application of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and the experiences of indigenous students in academic institutions.

From Principle to Implementation: Indigenous Rights, the Constitution, and UNDRIP in Canada with Dr. Hayden King and Dr. John Borrows On Sept. 21, the Indigenous Law Association hosted a discussion led by Hayden King and John Borrows. King is a member of the Beausoleil First Nation and current Director of the Centre for Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University. Borrows is a member of the Nawash First Nation and the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Victoria Law School.

The United Nations adopted UNDRIP in 2007, but, according to Borrows, only the federal government and the provincial governments of British Columbia and Alberta claim to honour it. The purpose of UNDRIP is for member states of the UN to protect indigenous rights by addressing human rights violations. To Borrows, Indigenous Peoples play a vital role in contributing to UNDRIP; tangible ways Indigenous groups can do so include translating the document into their languages and citing their own experiences when using the Declaration in their spaces.

“UNDRIP is [...] a challenge to Indigenous Peoples [to enforce UNDRIP in their own spaces],” Borrows said. “We spent about 30 years in the international realm trying to get space to recognize our policies, our languages, our sources, our spirituality.

We shouldn’t expect nation-states to only play their role.”

Although King reiterated Borrow’s message on the importance of the Declaration, King highlighted that it is critical to remember the genocidal events behind the creation of this declaration. This dark history includes the impact of the Doctrine of Discovery, a law which permitted Christians to seize indigenous land for Christian monarchs in the late 15th century. “[UNDRIP]’s emergence in international law in 2007 [was an attempt to reconcile the damage created

by] one of the very first pieces of international law which [had] genocidal intent,” King said. “That was the Doctrine of Discovery.”

Worse, the wording and structure of UNDRIP is too soft on member states, according to King. This allows room for states to fall inactive in addressing Indigenous rights. “[Indigenous activists] weren’t able to change [the wording in] 43 of the articles,” King said. “[People working on the declaration] removed two articles, and added article 46, which is a back door out of [UNDRIP].”

Borrows said that as the Canadian government continues on its path to recognize indigenous rights through legislation like UNDRIP, the public must maintain an open mind and a discerning eye toward the opinions of politicians and activists.

“It’s important to pay attention to the nuance that is presented to us and to be aware of the danger of a single source,” Borrows said. “We can get caught in too much optimism, [and] we can get caught in too much pessimism. There are opportunities and obligations to see this world and its richness and its impoverty.”

For NDN Girls at the End of the World: Stories of Sovereignty with Erica Violet Lee On Sept. 20, the Institute of Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies hosted a lecture from Erica Violet Lee, a Nêhiya community organizer and current University of Toronto graduate student. Lee discussed her own experiences with feeling unwelcome in academic institutions.

“I was wondering at the beginning of [presentations I give as an activist] if I should introduce myself [in a formal] way,” Lee said. “Because it positions me as a young person, a young brown Indigenous woman, who needs to prove my intelligence and worthiness to speak in a room to take up space in the academies.”

Lee stated that she used to have a more pessimistic view on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Calls to Action, which gives guidelines for institutions to follow to improve indigenous rights, until she met the people who worked on TRC’s guidelines. Lee has grown to believe that universities should take steps outlined in the document to fulfill their role in reconciliation efforts, such as hiring more indigenous faculty and paying indigenous communities for use of their land.

“There are very basic actions which institutions like McGill, University of Saskatchewan, [and] University of Toronto can do to start fulfilling these simple recommendations, and they’re not,” Lee said.

Indigenous leaders Hayden King and John Borrows come to McGill to discuss Indigenius rights. (Ava Zwolinski / The McGill Tribune)

4 NEWS

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Senate report shows alarming increase in reports of sexual harassment Manfredi gives updates on the Indigenous Task Force and Student Services Jesse Wu Contributor At the first Senate meeting of this academic year, held on Sept.

19, student representatives, faculty, and administration reviewed the Final Report on the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education. Senate also delivered reports on cases of sexual harassment on campus during the 2016-2017 academic year, and discussed improvements within Counselling Services including shortened wait times for students.

Development of the Indigenous Task Force At the beginning of his pre-

sentation on the Provost’s Task Force, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi pointed out the need to improve McGill’s efforts in Aboriginal education. He launched a task force on Indigenous education in Fall 2016 and spent this summer implementing it.

“As we discovered more than a year ago, [...] we’re actually doing quite a bit [in the area of indigenous education], but we can do more,” Manfredi said. “We can do more in a more coordinated way, so what we need to do is to progress the past, invest in the present, and build to the future.”

In the report, the task force asked the university to create a second staffed Indigenous Recruitment Officer position to en-

gage directly with indigenous students and identify their academic interests at McGill. Whereas in 2016 there was reported to be 300 indigenous students enrolled at McGill, the Provost’s academic plan aims to increase that number to at least 1,000.

Manfredi also highlighted recent initiatives to make attending McGill more feasible to students from a variety of backgrounds, such as McGill’s new acceptance of transfer credits from Ontario colleges and the new Youth in Care Bursary for students who spent time in foster care or youth protection.

“The intention [of these initiatives] is to make McGill accessible for capable students with a wide variety of backgrounds,” Manfredi said. “Beyond opening doors, we must reduce barriers to entry.”

Reported increase of sexual harassment claims According to the Annual Report on the Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law prepared by Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) Angela

Campbell, there were 42 inquiries and complaints of harassment, sexual harassment, and discrimination last year, higher than the yearly average of 36 cases.

The report indicated that 36 per cent of complainants during the 2016-2017 academic year were undergraduate students, while 42 per cent of respondents were academic staff. The total number of student respondents increased, and the number male respondents nearly doubled from 20 to 38 in the past two years.

Sixty-two per cent of the cases did not proceed beyond the inquiry stage, during which a complainant brings forward concerns about their experience with sexual harassment to an Assessor or the Senior Equity and Inclusion Officer, Pascale Legros. After the inquiry stage, both parties then decide whether or not to carry out a full investigation into the complaint. This year, 7 per cent of the complaints were withdrawn in the process and the remaining 31 per cent proceeded to a full investigation. “[Having] 31 per cent of cases proceed with a formal investigation [is] actually quite a

significant proportion,” Campbell said. “The year before, only 10 per cent of cases went to a formal investigation. Last year also saw the highest number of cases ever since the policy’s establishment go through a full investigation process.”

Committee on Student Services After facing criticism last year over the capacity of McGill’s Counselling and Mental Health Services to serve all students, the Committee on Student Services adopted a Stepped Care Model to expand counselling options. Led

by Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens, the committee spearheaded the inclusion of new forms of treatment, including Therapist Assisted Online programs to group counselling, while doubling the number of Client Care Clinicians assigned to each student as their mentalhealth care provider.

“Hopefully the services will greatly improve this year, so that’s something I am really, really happy to report on,” Dyens said. “[Nonetheless], we still need all the advice, suggestions, and ideas that we can get.”

Former Sadie’s location remains vacant

SSMU considers new lessees, decision yet to be made Amrit Grewal Contributor Four months after its closing on May 5, the space that Sadie’s, the former studentrun cafe, once occupied on the second floor of the Shatner Building remains vacant.

With limited room in the Shatner Building as a whole, this space would be a valuable asset for many other student groups and societies.

Sadie’s had a history of financial issues. From its launch in 2013, it ran a consistent deficit throughout its operation. In Winter 2015, the SSMU Finance committee brought Sadies’—then called the StudentRun Cafe—deficit of over $100,000 to the Legislative Council’s attention, and ultimately opted to give the cafe a year to restructure its business plan and increase its revenue.

Although Sadie’s ended 2016 with a deficit that was $20,000 less than the Finance committee anticipated, it still wasn’t enough to keep the operation afloat. As a result, the cafe was shut down, with the staff only receiving three weeks notice of the closure. “[Sadie’s’ closure] was quite surprising because we had received our contracts to sign and return to the SSMU HR department for the 2017-2018 year until April,” former Sadie’s employee Alex Arkilanian, U3 Science, said. “We had been hearing from both Simona [Trunzo], the manager at Sadie’s, and [former SSMU Vice-President

(VP) Operations] Sacha [Magder] that Sadie’s was doing well and better than it had in the past. Contracts for catering were on the rise and we were working on developing relationships with clubs through that and other departments inside McGill to cater to.”

SSMU assured former Sadie’s staff that it would help them find employment in other departments. However, former Sadie’s assistant manager Madison Lowe spoke of the difficulties in finding replacement jobs within SSMU. “No one actually came forth to me saying here’s the new position, we had to seek it out ourselves,” Lowe said. “I kind of took it upon myself to figure it out if anyone who worked at Sadie’s would want to work at Gerts so we could give them that opportunity.”

According to SSMU President Muna Tojiboeva, space in the Shatner Building is allocated based on the needs of the student population. “[We would prefer an outside cafe] that is price-friendly and offers a variety of food choices [to take the space],” Tojiboeva said. “For now, however, the space is being used for SSMU’s catering services and from time to time as an events space, although we are still looking into all the different options, and still have lots of consultations to do.”

SSMU VP Finance Arisha Khan also confirmed that the SSMU executive is looking for replacements to fill the empty space.

The space formerly occupied by Sadie’s is still vacant four months after the café’s closure. (Linqiao Zhou / The McGill Tribune)

“Although there are no plans at the moment, obviously any low cost, studentfriendly eatery would be ideal,” Khan said.

“We have our hands tied, as our lease from the University states that no sublease can extend beyond the end date, currently 2021.

Most reliable options are not willing to sign such a short lease, which is why we are limited in choice.”

Khan feels that Tim Hortons would be an ideal client, but doubts it would agree to such a lease. Unlike Sadie’s staff, executives of Midnight Kitchen, a free studentrun kitchen that serves lunch daily, were notified in advance of Sadie’s closure as

they were offered the space that previously was occupied by Sadie’s, but declined the opportunity to change location.

The Sadie’s space will remain unoccupied for the time being, until the SSMU executive finds a new operation. Lowe continues to grieve its absence.

“I want Sadie’s to be back there and I think that it’s a huge disappointment that it’s closed,” Lowe said. “I think a lot of people are extremely surprised with the abrupt decision to just shut down an establishment like that [....] It was such a positive thing to have on the second floor so I would love to see something like that.”

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

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

OPINION 5

Accessible care or adequate care: Students with eating disorders shouldn’t have to choose McGill’s Mental Health and Counselling Services face a twofold challenge: Make mental health care efficient and accessible to all students, while ensuring that care is appropriate to each student’s specific needs. Given limited resources, it is not an easy balance to strike. But it is, fundamentally, a balance—not an either-or situation. The Sept.

20 announcement that McGill has cut its dedicated Eating Disorder Program (EDP) flies in the face of this wisdom. The abrupt rollback of the program and after-the-fact informing of affected students is not just a case of sloppy communication.

More alarmingly, it reflects a flawed assessment of the unique nature and risks of eating disorders, and the needs of students living with them.

When it comes to eating disorders, students are at special risk. The transitory, high-stress rollercoaster that is university life— and first year in particular—can frequently trigger or exacerbate disordered eating. Like all mental health challenges, eating disorders vary widely in severity and symptoms. More uniquely, however, they often lack the clear cognitive or functional correlates frequently used to flag prevalent mood disorders, like depression and anxiety—especially in the context of the already semidysfunctional norms of student life.

OFF THE BOARD

Copy Editor Ayanna De Graff copy@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Daniel Minuk business@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Grayson Castell, Noah Cohen, Vincent Li ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

TPS Board of Directors

Nicholas Jasinski, Daniel Minuk, Katherine Hutter, Julia Métraux, Holly Cabrera, Elli Slavitch

Contributors

Amrit Grewal, Avleen Mokha, Brandon Kaufman, Cassandra Lee, Chloe Wong-Mersereau, Cordelia Cho, Daria Kiseleva, Egor Fedorov, Elli Slavitch, Emilienne Hamel, Erica Stefano, Felicia Chang, Gabe Nisker, Gabriel Helfant, Gabriela Rey, Gibran Haque, Isaac Berman, Jasmine Achayra, Jesse Wu, Johanna Cline, Julia Metraux, Karl Neumann, Katherine Milazzo, Keira Seidenberg, Kelsey McKeon, Leo Stillinger, Linqiao Zhou, Margaux Delalux, Mary Keith, Millie Valencia, Myriam Driss, Ronny Litvack-Katzman, Ryan Canon, Sam Min, Sam Wendel, Stephanie Sim, Wasif Husain

Tribune Office

Shatner University Centre Suite 110, 3480 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 0E7 T: 514.398.6789 The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University.

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Alexandra Harvey Opinion Editor Continued from page 1.

In a Spring 2016 American College Health Association survey of almost 44,000 Canadian undergraduate students, 89.5 per cent of respondents reported feeling overwhelmed by all they had to do at some point within the 12 months prior to the survey, 64.5 per cent had experienced overwhelming anxiety, and 44.4 per cent admitted to feeling so depressed that it was difficult to function. These numbers only begin to tell the story of the pressures facing university students today.

Eating disorders can be deadly, yet too often, they go unnoticed.

McGill’s EDP had been available to students since 2009, providing individual therapy, nutritional counselling, and group therapy sessions. Despite the chronic understaffing of McGill’s health services, a patient of the EDP has previously praised the program for its multidisciplinary, tailored approach to each student’s needs.

Things look different now. Even prior to last week’s announcement, staffing had been continuously reduced: A coordinator position was already cut previously, and the program’s single nurse resigned this year, and hasn’t been replaced.

The EDP’s psychotherapist is being moved elsewhere in mental health services, and the dedicated nutritionist will now be servicing all students—not just those with eating disorders. For the time being, group therapy sessions have been cut altogether. Diagnosed students seeking treatment will now be funneled through the school’s general Psychiatric Services, with the possibility of being referred to offcampus, specialized clinics.

McGill’s decision to cut these resources without adequately warning the students who rely upon them, nor offering support in transitioning them to alternatives,

is egregious. The message it sends to students struggling with eating disorders—diagnosed or not— is that their school isn’t there for them. That is unacceptable. Martine Gauthier, the executive director of McGill Student Services, has herself acknowledged the poor communication of the circumstances.

In a written statement to The McGill Tribune, the administration explicitly apologized to affected students.

However, this drastic step raises problems that extend beyond a shoddy messenger—problems that are perhaps reflective of broader flaws in McGill’s approach to mental health services. Explaining the situation, the administration’s statement cites a necessary redistribution of resources, in order to more efficiently address the full range of mental health needs of all students on campus.

In strikingly utilitarian fashion, the statement notes that, according to a 2014 McGill Student Psychological Wellbeing survey, only one to three per cent of students on campus struggle with eating disorders. Last fall, McGill Student Services gave similar reasons for streamlining Counselling and Mental Health into a single service: The transition was meant to decrease wait-times, and to deliver the least intensive and most accessible treatment for all students, regardless of severity.

EDITORIAL These are legitimate goals; however, in the trade-off between accessibility and quality of service, the former cannot eclipse the latter— especially when the service in question is as crucial as supporting and treating students with eating disorders. Following last fall’s merging of services, an open letter from the McGill Students’ Mental Health Working Group raised concerns about the new model’s capacity for tailored care, particularly for students in crisis situations requiring a specialist. The individual needs of a student living with an eating disorder are a case in point.

One of the EDP’s clear strengths was its multi-pronged, holistic approach to each student’s unique situation. To the university’s credit, moves towards a more collaborative model of mental health care match that spirit, particularly in their focus on preventative care. Yet at a more fundamental level, McGill’s approach to its mental health services must be rooted in a commitment to both accessibility and to studentspecific care. Steps to optimize these services must be taken accordingly.

When it comes to mental health— and especially, the unique, potentially lethal nature of eating disorders— students shouldn’t have to choose between getting an appointment and getting the right appointment.

University students are anything but “fragile flowers” The truth is, students have a whole lot to be anxious about. University life demands a careful—and unattainable— balance between good grades, meaningful co-curricular involvement, and a booming social life. This doesn’t leave a lot of time for self-care. While university itself is replete with pressures that trigger and test students’ well-being, undergrads are additionally burdened by the uncertainty of, what comes next?

A bachelor’s degree is no longer a set path to stable employment.

Young adults are increasingly finding themselves ripe out of university with a degree that holds less and less value, and no job to show for it. Pile on the average $25,000 of student debt and it’s no wonder students are feeling overwhelmed.

The first time I contemplated my own mental health was during my second year at McGill. While I had undoubtedly experienced feelings of anxiety before beginning university, it was the first time I had reflected upon those feelings, and identified them as such. I suddenly felt the pressures of university life weighing down on me in a way that they hadn’t before. My mood

was consistently low, and my selfconfidence suffered as a result. I could not control the negative thoughts that were going through my brain, and that made me feel helpless.

“

By speaking openly about our own struggles, we can find strength in knowing that we’re not alone.

”

At the time, I felt fragile. But looking back, I am grateful for this experience, because it took feeling incredibly overwhelmed to realize what my mental health means to me, and to come to terms with the way I experience anxiety.

Accepting myself as a somewhat anxious person, and finding the strength to be able to talk about it with my peers, has made it infinitely easier for me to cope with pressure.

Listen closely, Margaret: Speaking openly about our personal mental health struggles and asking for help when we need it doesn’t make us fragile. It makes us incredibly strong.

The image of a field of delicate daffodils swaying in the wind may be pretty, but it’s no metaphor for today’s students.

Rather, I see a dense forest of trees, securely rooted in the ground, battling wind, rain, snow, hail— or hurricanes, for that matter—all the while fighting to grow taller and extend their branches further.

As Wente explains, access to therapy dogs or extra time on exams will not guarantee students with mental illnesses a life devoid of hardship. She’s right. Speaking openly about mental health— and recognizing that a disability doesn’t have to be physical to be valid—will not make mental illness go away. Still, by promoting a culture of support and acceptance, universities tell students that mental health is nothing to be ashamed of. And by speaking openly about our own struggles, we can find strength in knowing that we’re not alone, and hopefully make it a bit easier for those who come after us. Sounds pretty resilient to me.

6 OPINION

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

LAUGHING MATTERS True-Bro: The Prime Minister reflects on his days at McGill

Isaac Berman Contributor Justin Trudeau (B.A. ’94) recently made his return to McGill for the first time since becoming Prime Minister of Canada. As he exited the front doors of the Faculty Club, a rambunctious hoard of McGill students rushed to greet him.

Trudeau proceeded to reminisce about his time as a McGill student, and how it helped shape him into the leader he is today.

Trudeau just wrapped up a meeting with the Fijian Prime Minister regarding trade agreements and tariffs. This is a topic that especially stimulates him, but what trumps the feeling of euphoria that he gets from a good handshake

COMMENTARY

Johanna Cline Contributor With two swipes right on their phone screens, Snapchat’s 173 million daily users arrive at the app’s Discover page, where Publisher Stories—news articles by major media outlets— are featured daily. On Sept. 8, Snapchat announced on its blog that it will be partnering with universities across the United States to bring college newspaper content to the Discover page.

With rapidly changing methods of internet and mobile media consumption, platforms like Snapchat are crucial for news outlets to stay relevant, particularly because the app’s largest user demographic is

and photo-op are the memories he has from the 45th annual Carnival, where he admirably anchored his team, entitled “Cum Campbell,” to boat race victory just a few blocks away at Café Campus.

Suddenly, an RCMP officer on Trudeau’s detail acted like he had an important matter that needed addressing by the Prime Minister.

Instead, after the officer yanked Trudeau aside, he presented a 330ml bottle of Smirnoff Ice to him.

Trudeau proceeded to get down on one knee as the crowd of students began to chant, “HERE’S TO JUSTIN, HERE’S TO JUSTIN…” Trudeau tossed the bottle into the crowd, and continued taking selfies with the students, not wanting to pass up the opportunity to be visible in as many students’ Snapchat stories as possible and further inspire Canada’s future leaders.

At that point, Trudeau’s senior advisor, and fellow McGill alumnus, Gerald Butts (B.A. ’94, M.A. ’96), exited the Faculty Club to join Trudeau. Trudeau gave Butts a light tap on his butt, before winking at him and continuing on to a blacked-out van in a side alleyway. This version of blacking out is different from the one he was familiar with in his years at McGill.

As the motorcade passed Upper Residence, Trudeau and “Gerry-Boy” [sic] debated the merits of approving the Kinder Morgan pipeline, in preparation for an interview he had later that day

“

What trumps the feeling of

or not a burrito can be classified as a sandwich. For the record, Justin was always in favour of the resolution that a burrito is, in fact, a sandwich.

The procession of government vehicles continued down University Street past the McConnell Engineering Building. The sight of the McConnell basement helped Trudeau recall stories about Julie

euphoria that [Trudeau] gets from a good handshake and photo-op are the memories he has from the 45th annual Carnival .

”

with the CBC. Trudeau and Butts owe their debating experience to their years on the McGill Debate Team. At this point, Trudeau pensively looked out the window— as if he were in a Celine Dion music video—and saw a picnic table just outside of Gardner Hall. This table reminded him of the many nights he and “G-Sauce” [sic] spent sharing The Prime Minister’s love for Canada is surpassed only by his love for Four Loko. (Felicia Chang / The McGill Tribune) a joint and arguing over whether

Payette (B.Eng. ’86). Many people believe that Payette was named Governor General because of her extensive service to Canada as an astronaut, engineer, and businesswoman. And she was, of course, but the Prime Minister had one additional reason for appointing her to be the Queen’s representative—the insane stuff she used to get up to at Blues Pub. We’re talking ‘drinking beers out of a hard hat’ crazy—along with some other lore that cannot be discussed on these pages.

The Prime Minister looked around on that beautiful late summer afternoon at all the young faces of McGill students in both the mob that has gathered around his car, as well as on the rest of campus. He knew that they would all go on to do great things with their lives, leading the next generation of innovators in many different disciplines. However, the Prime Minister also hoped from the bottom of his heart that the students remember that their time at McGill is fleeting, so that they make the most of every second, form relationships over a beer or a joint (after July 1, 2018) and who knows—they might even meet their own future senior advisor or Governor General.

Snapchat’s partnership with college newspapers keeps students in the loop college-aged adults—roughly 78 million of daily users are between the ages of 18 and 24.

Featuring university gazettes on Snapchat is advantageous for students and journalists alike.

For students, easy mobile access to their school’s newspaper will make it much easier to stay in the loop with campus news and events. Compared to the hassle of tracking down a print copy, or trying to navigate a web browser on their phone, Snapchat provides a convenient and accessible way of reading the news. Plus, incentives—such as maintaining streaks in Snapchat conversations with friends—keep daily traffic on the app very high. The average user opens the app 18 times per day and totals about 30 daily minutes—that’s enough to time to flip through a couple of articles.

This method may vex traditionalists who feel bombarded by the influx of news on social media. Yet the fact is, employing technology to spread relevant stories to the public is an intelligent journalistic move.

Additionally, students must be informed about the institutions in which they invest their time, money, and futures; so building readership of school newspapers will only benefit the student body, and Snapchat’s accessible nature

can help facilitate this.

In the era of evolving news consumption, many sites such as Facebook have resorted to algorithms to curate their content.

Snapchat’s approach, however, is unique in that it refuses to let algorithms manage its newsfeed.

CEO and co-founder Evan Spiegel stated on the Snap Inc. blog that “Social media companies tell us what to read based on what’s most recent or most popular […] We count on editors and artists, not clicks and shares, to determine what’s important.”

Another way Snapchat keeps people, not computers, in control is by giving users the option to construct personal newsfeeds.

Users can hide news from publishers they don’t enjoy, or subscribe to the ones they want at the top of their feed. All of these settings maintain consumer agency, an aspect that benefits students because it keeps the power in their hands. Instead of being fed an automated pile of algorithmically selected articles, students remain more conscious and autonomous in their news consumption.

College papers, like mainstream media outlets, need to tap into social media networks if they want to maintain competitive readership. Snapchat

is a promising way to do just that. Buzzfeed, one of Snapchat’s largest publishing partners, has said that 20 per cent of its views come from Snapchat. Print publications are also making use of the app. The New York Times exercises Snapchat as a tool to grow and engage with audiences

“

The average user opens the app 18 times per day and totals about 30 daily minutes—that’s enough to time to flip through a couple of articles.

”

in highly visual ways. Its Morning Briefing alone has 1.3 million subscribers on the app.

On top of boosted circulation, under this new partnership, college newspapers will receive a share of advertising revenues, in order to “help each school monetize

and grow their newspaper.” This increase in resources will provide an opportunity for college papers to build their journalistic teams and invest in new production equipment. Further, as Snapchat points out, college media is where many writers and editors start their careers. The additional funding will also provide young journalists the opportunity to learn more about optimizing content for this modern news medium.

Having school newspapers on Snapchat’s Discover page will not only help students stay more easily informed, but it will also create opportunities for the aspiring journalists who work for the publications. Snapchat’s commitment to algorithm-free newsfeeds keeps an important aspect of human agency in students’ news consumption.

Overall, partnering with social media sites is a smart move for journalists, because this new form of exposure may attract different kinds of readers by producing new ways to engage with audiences—a crucial tool for remaining relevant in the modern digital age. While Snapchat’s college news partners are exclusively American at the moment, Canada should be next on the list, so McGill readers can swipe through The McGill Tribune’s articles via Snapchat.

7 science & technology

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

From the trash and back again: The importance of recycling on campus How McGill staff and students can get serious about recycling Ronny Litvack-Katzman Contributor From the shelf, the average recyclable is typically used, emptied, and hopefully placed in a recycling container. It then awaits collection and sorting, until it can be sent to the corresponding manufacturer to be reused in the most appropriate manner. The problem in this system lies at the very start: Getting the right product into the right bin is essential.

The issue lies not in the lack of resources to recycle, but in the efforts individuals are willing to make in order to recycle properly.

The Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS), rates universities and colleges on their sustainability.

Out of a comprehensive score of 100, McGill received a 72.6 last year—a ‘gold’ rating according to STARS—but far from where it could be in terms of achieving its sustainability goals.

The “waste” category hit McGill hard, with a score of 3.89 out of a possible 10. After years of attempted reform on waste-reduction initiatives, McGill still scores dismally on this fundamental aspect of sustainability. The systems are in place for McGill to become a recycling haven, but the reality is more dystopian. Despite the recycling bins and compost centers accessible on campus, McGill students and staff throw their recyclables into the trash, and later, the landfill.

Those with or without a background in sustainability can get involved with variety of initiatives on campus—such as McGill Students for Greenpeace and Climate Justice Montreal.

However, recycling starts from the ground up, meaning students should pay attention to what is done with their own recyclables.

The McGill Office of Sustainability (MOOS), which is responsible for providing “strategic guidance to transition McGill into an institutional model of sustainability for society,” states in their 2014-2016 strategy, Vision 2020:

McGill students and staff must work to recycle properly and reduce landfill.

(Erica Stefano / The McGill Tribune)

“[Zero] waste (energy, water, solid, air) is the target for all activities at McGill. This target is aggressively pursued and improvement is continuous.”

The downtown campus employs a stream-based system for the disposal of waste. The colour profile on bins separates each of these streams; yellow for metals, glass, and plastics, blue for paper products, and black for refuse and non-recyclables. Newly installed electronic-waste disposal centres, including those for batteries, can be found at various locations, such as in the SSMU building. Furthermore, four

of McGill’s seven dining halls have the means to properly compost.

The ramifications of neglecting these resources are far-reaching and profound. The garbage that amasses in classrooms and hallways is taken to landfill sites around Montreal where—at the expense of an already fragile environment—it will sit for centuries. Hundreds of Montreal parks and communities have been built atop of repurposed landfill sites: A number set to rise if the amount of trash is not reduced.

The McGill administration is aware of environmental needs on campus and, along with the Vision 2020 strategy, is attempting to reform the way the school handles its waste output. During the 2016-2017 academic year, the MOOS reached out to the McGill community in order to incorporate student and staff sustainability concerns and goals into their revised Vision 2020: Sustainability and Climate Action Plan 2017-2020. This program is set to be released this fall.

Despite flaws in McGill’s waste reduction practices, 3.91 tons of material intended for disposal were repurposed on campus and 15.28 tons of recyclable materials were diverted from the landfill in 2014—a feat of which McGill’s Office of Sustainability, as well as the community as a whole, should be extremely proud.

Individually, McGill students and staff should be thinking about the waste in their hands and where it should be thrown away. By holding on to recyclables in bags and disposing of them properly later, rather than tossing recyclable materials into nearby trash cans, members of the McGill community can keep the growing landfill to a minimum.

Other minds, same problems

‘Westworld’ and the ethical dilemma of sentient machines Karl Neumann Contributor While deep in conversation with your childhood best friend, you catch glimpse of a frayed wire and grey hinge protruding from the side of their neck.

“I thought you knew,” they calmly remark at your gaze.

Suddenly they swing the hinge open to reveal an intricate set of wires and flashing lights hiding behind what you thought was their face.

“I’m synthetic, but I think and feel just as you do, so what difference does it make?”

What difference does it make?

Despite Facebook’s $7 million investment into a new artificial intelligence (AI) lab at McGill, AI is still far from matching human capabilities.

Nonetheless, pop culture encourages viewers to ponder the controversy of the future of AI. HBO’s critically-acclaimed series, Westworld, explicitly wrestles with many of these same themes.

In the show, humanoid machines known as “hosts” are designed to entertain human customers in a life-sized, Westernthemed, adult playground. The hosts are pre-programmed with memories and daily routines—convinced that their lives are as ‘real’ as any human’s. However, their memories reset daily, while guests—humans visiting the park—continue to use them for their own enjoyment.

As the show progresses, the line between hosts and guests blurs. Hosts begin to learn about their imprisonment and question their purpose. They are capable of everything the guests are, most notably the ability to suffer, which raises the question as to whether it is ethical to use the hosts as appliances for the guests’ pleasure.

Modern society grapples with the concept of equality among race, gender, and numerous other identity traits. Now, society must consider what ‘equality’ among those biologically created, and those engineered, means. As with most ethical questions, no answers are self-evident—but philosophy and cognitive science can help shed light on this dilemma.

An important insight comes from what Alan Turing coined the “Imitation Game”—now referred to as the “Turing Test.” Simply, if something can convince humans that it’s able to think, then they must assume it’s conscious.

A converse philosophical quandary, the “Problem of Other Minds,” highlights that an individual can never be certain that anyone else is thinking. Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am,” reassures said person that only they, themselves, can. Although humans believe that other humans are capable of thought because they’re similar, they can never be sure.

However, non-human animals also seem capable of thought,

Two ‘Westworld’ robots, Dolores and Teddy, discuss the possibility of a new life. (HBO.com)

despite having brains that humans struggle to understand. With all of this in mind, if a machine with sensory receptors and a speaker system can maintain a conversation and respond to its environment, one must conclude that it’s conscious.

Stevan Harnad, adjunct professor of psychology and cognitive science at McGill and the Université du Québec à Montréal, insists that composition of the cognizer is irrelevant.

“Why would anyone think that [controlling the AI] is any different than a human, because of the metal?” said Harnad.

He went on to assert that the

current treatment of non-human beings, AI or otherwise, is more a matter of power than ethics.

Harnad also drew parallels between Westworld and the rodeos that just occurred for Montreal’s 375th anniversary. Bulls in the rodeo are used as a means to an end for human pleasure in the same way the show’s hosts are.

Modern treatment of animals dates back to Descartes’ declaration of animals as “automatons”—devoid of feeling—as absurd as that may seem now. This sentiment creates a real-life Westworld in McGill’s own backyard.

History is filled with ethical

failures that were only obvious in hindsight. The debate regarding how to treat non-human individuals isn’t a new one, but with the inevitable progress in AI, the time to discuss in thought experiments is shrinking.

Conventional ethics assert that discrimination based on origin is unethical. AI demonstrates that human-like cognition can originate outside the realm of biology, and the treatment of animals shows how incoherent the valuation of nonhuman feeling can be.

If the question is a matter of flesh versus steel, and not consciousness versus unconsciousness, the answer is clear: There is no difference.

tank tops, hoodies, and bonus points

T

he two of us met the way many McGillians seem to: On a Saturday night in a poorly-lit bar, a pitcher of Sleeman between us. That evening, we had a conversation about our reservations concerning the various social events we had taken part in: Hype Week, Carnival, Science Games, and Faculty Olympics.

We both felt that these events generated an unhealthy social hierarchy, with the event organizers at the top like “party gods.”

The events appeared to revolve around this group of people whom everyone, ourselves included, tried to please and impress.

As trusting second years, we instantly felt compelled to befriend these older students and be liked by them. We acted this way despite the fact that they were not particularly approachable, not always helpful, or even people we necessarily liked. And yet we attended event after event, constantly trying to impress and outdo one another. Each event felt like a popularity contest on steroids.

At the time, we were embarrassed to speak so critically of these events, and to think that such hierarchies existed. What our conversation revealed was that the “VIP” culture we were trying so hard to adjust troubled us. Three years later, after finishing our undergraduate degrees and four consecutive years of fierce partying, we return to this conversation with a lot more to say.

All hail the king and queen

How power and popularity shape McGill’s Multi-Day Organized Parties Egor Fedorov &h Cassandra Lee Contributors

At McGill, multi-day organized parties (MDOPs) are annual social events, that revolve around partying, dancing, and drinking.

MDOPs organized annually at McGill are Hype Week, Carnival, E-Week, Science Games, and Faculty Olympics. What sets these events apart from a typical college party is their length, extensive organization, and competitive rules. Participants are separated into teams, with captains, group chants, and ridiculous team names, such as “Sriratchet” or “Deez Nuts.” During the daily events, which follow a rigid schedule, teams earn points by winning games and exhibiting team spirit. It’s hard to identify the most absurd element of these events: The comical onesies worn by team members, or how seriously people approach the whole week. Some participants and leaders, including ourselves, even spend weeks practicing in order to compete. By the end, each event crowns a winning team based on the number of points collected throughout the week, as well as the “King,” “Queen,” and “MVPs,” participants whose efforts stood out.

The bulk of the organizational tasks falls upon the eventplanning team, known as “Committee.” The Committee puts in months of preparation for each event and runs them according to a clear hierarchy: Coordinators at the top, staff and leaders below, and finally participants. A position on the Committee takes a lot of work, but it comes with perks: Power, party privileges, and high social visibility. Not only do coordinators design the entire event, they also designate the games’ winners and losers, and allocate “bonus points”—earned at the sole discretion of individual Committee members, instead of by winning games.

They have access to VIP lounges and backstage areas at clubs, and act as the face of the events they organize, thanks to their recognizable gear and social-media exposure.

Nepotism in the water While the majority of coordinators do their job diligently, power abuses do occur. Some coordinators adopt arrogant behaviour toward participants, sometimes threatening to ban attendees from events without any valid reason.

This conduct creates a barrier between Committee members and participants, which is then reproduced within McGill’s social structures once the event is over. For some students at McGill, MDOPs hold a central position in campus social life.

Dhruv Janmeja, Co-Chair for the Faculty of Management’s 2017 Winter Carnival and 2016 Management Frosh Coordinator, recognizes the influence the power dynamics had on his broader experience as a student at McGill.

“Committee has this [...] influence and that has for sure been abused in the past,” Janmeja said.

“I’ve known previous Committee members be really mean to first years because they thought being on Committee gave them a free pass to do so. I was really afraid of going into Bronfman in my first year because [of that power dynamic]. I felt looked down upon if I didn’t know people in power or on Committee.”

This environment, one that conflates a Committee position and social worth, also raises the question of accessibility; there tends to be a culture of nepotism when Committee positions are filled.

Kieran Cousins, a 2016 Science Games Coordinator, perceives these events’ elitism as a vicious cycle.

“There’s no denying that nepotism is a huge [problem] within MDOPs,” Cousins said. “It begins [with] individuals in positions of power [hiring] friends or people they know, and then it becomes cyclical. Because they got that ‘one-shot’ [even though] they may not have deserved it, they get the experience, [and] add it to their CVs and future applications. [This] hinders [hiring opportunities] for outsiders trying to also get that ‘big break’.”

Prejudiced hiring limits the diversity of people and ideas among organizing Committees, as those recruited tend to come from the same social circles.

Heterogeneity among coordinators is essential, as it ensures that the events constantly evolve, and integrate innovative ideas. Most importantly, it sends the message that MDOP Committees are accessible to everyone, and not only to the people “inside the circle.”

it begins [with] individuals in positions of power [hiring] friends or people they know, and then it becomes cyclical.

For the points “Power trips” and cliquish attitudes displayed by even just a handful of people in charge can cause discomfort, particularly for younger students.

Participants place these ordinary individuals on a pedestal and act in accordance with what they think the Committee will like. They will often try to earn bonus points by “sucking up” to them. Reflecting on our experiences, we remember thinking that hooking

up with a Committee member or buying them drinks would somehow give us power, or at the very least earn our team points. Some Committee members would even actively ask for such favours.

Now, take this logic and factor in the desire to fit in and receive social validation. Then place this mix into an environment where being the craziest partier warrants the crowning title of “King” or “Queen.” When students feel compelled to impress one another for points, dangerous situations may arise.

Bess Zafran, U3 Arts, who has taken part in several MDOPs, acknowledges the incredibly commanding force of these structures.

“Most people have a hard time resisting the pressure and say[ing] ‘this isn’t for me,’” Zafran said.

“Because of the nature of the peer pressure, you can be tangibly punished for [not participating in] something that ‘isn’t for you.’ If you don’t [take part in a certain challenge], your team may lose points for it.”

For us, the problem wasn’t only being encouraged to perform stupid party stunts, but that we valued Committee members and prioritized their opinion and attention over others solely because of their position for a week. To many at these events—particularly newcomers—even the subtle glamorization of Committee members can have a pronounced effect on how they interact with others. We both felt that we would have had a much better time if we stopped trying to prove that we were having fun—at least not according to the rules of these random senior students, but on our own terms.

Positively changing the culture Still, not every MDOP coordinator at McGill is a power-hungry, attention-seeking drama king or queen. Lately, more and more coordinators are striving to make events fairer and more inclusive every year.

Frosh presents many similarities with MDOPs in its hierarchical organization, and has led the way in mitigating unhealthy power dynamics between organizers and participants by developing extensive training for staff and coordinators. One of the most notable changes is the implementation of the “Golden Rule,” which prohibits any leader, staff, or coordinator from engaging in sexual activity with Froshies, or coordinators with leaders and staff.

Moreover, coordinator trainings have progressively integrated discussions about “VIP” Culture and how to avoid projecting an image of exclusivity.

Frosh Coordinators are not the only ones aware of the necessity of change. Janmeja believes that the culture has been changing in all events in the past few years. Carnival organizers in particular made a point to minimize the systemic pressures behind non-consensual behaviour, and instead promote positive role-modelling, camaraderie, and spirit. All participants now have to complete online consent training before the event.

“The reason for being on Committee across McGill has changed.” Janmeja said. “I feel people are more doing it selflessly. They do it because they wanna change the culture [....] One of our biggest changes [...] was changing the nature of bonus points. In the past they had been used as a way to get extra benefits for Committee [....] This year, we made it clear to all captains, who then relayed it to participants, that bonus points would be given out for [...] teams that demonstrated creativity and enthusiasm, [or who] helped us and our staff [or other participants].”

Ultimately, according to Janmeja, VIP culture and nepotism are strongly based on the perception coordinators project through their individual behaviour—both during and outside of events. He believes it is every Committee member’s job to be aware of these perceptions and to work to mitigate

them.

“I don’t think there is a bad intention with [cliquish] attitudes, you naturally become close with people,” Janmeja said. “But what we need to work on is [for] that attitude [not to be] perceived as hostile.

People on Committee need to understand how they can be perceived. [...] Once this awareness is [raised], we can work on that. We have the opportunity to run this event, [...] but not for us, [...] for everyone.

We need to check our privilege in that way.”

The power to create good After our first conversation three years ago, both of us kept on participating in MDOPs. From our perspective, it is hard to tell whether the culture has truly changed or if we came to feel more included, as we became closer to people in power after taking up leadership positions ourselves. Many coordinators remain committed to changing the culture.

Stratified levels of authority will always be necessary in order to fulfill logistical requirements and bring MDOPs to life. These structures bring with them power dynamics and social hierarchies, opening the door to authority abuse and peer pressure.

Raising awareness of these dynamics presents the

Most people have a hard time resisting the pressure and say[ing] 'this isn't for me', Zafran said. Because of the nature of the peer pressure, you can be tangibly punished for [not participating in] something that 'isn't for you.'

opportunity to reduce and reverse negative effects, as well as to promote an environment of inclusivity.

Of course, inclusivity and accessibility should be fostered from the top down, as exemplified by the changes implemented in Frosh training. It is the responsibility of those in charge to insist on fair interview procedures, hire competent people, and communicate appropriate norms of conduct to their coordinators. But first and foremost, inclusivity can— and should—be personified by individual coordinators, regardless of their portfolio.

Don’t get us wrong; we are both extremely grateful to have been able to take part in these events, and their specific organization is also what makes them fun.

Rather, taking oneself too seriously in the context of these structures is what can trigger harm, whether it is as a Committee member overplaying their position and engaging in conscious or subconscious power tripping, or as a participant shaping their experience around gaining approval. MDOPs are becoming spaces where everyone is truly free to define their own fun.

And we can only encourage everyone involved to keep on going down that path. Because, ultimately, such change is dependent on each and every individual.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

science & technology 10

Where did these butterflies come from and where are they off to?

Painted Ladies make their way to southern Quebec contrary to usual migratory patterns Myriam Driss Contributor Continued from page 1.

This occurrence is unfavourable because it is out-of-sync with the arrival of the butterflies. “[When] temperatures [are] high, migration happens earlier, and [the butterflies may] get to [their destination] without food or other available resources,” Mathieu said.

However, this summer, the butterflies had a successful mating season. “[The butterflies] had [access to] a lot of water and [flowers in the south],” Boucher articulated. “[For that reason], they were better able to reproduce when they came up north.” This year brought favourable environmental conditions from Quebec to Mexico.

Yet, observing the direct effects of rising temperatures on migration patterns proves challenging. Both Mathieu and Boucher agree that trends, instead of singular effects, require observation.

Orange Painted Lady butterflies fluttered through southern Quebec and onto McGill campus. (Cordelia Cho / The McGill Tribune)

Boucher explained that changes in climate can affect the migratory patterns of the butter-

flies. “[The butterflies would] be affected because they would

not be able to [return back] to the same site,” Boucher said. “[Overall], migratory species

will be affected in different ways and will eventually adapt [to climate changes] slowly, [however] studies would need to be made, to see how their overwintering sites will be affected.”

Butterflies may be abundant this year, but the appearance of orange Painted Ladies in Montreal isn’t totally unique.

“It [may] seem like an exceptional year, but it has been seen before 2012 and in 1973 there were [also] large migrations,” Boucher said. “The environmental conditions at the wintering site [were] good for them, [and so] they came up north in a larger population than before.”

Another reason why we are seeing so many Painted Ladies on their journey south is the result of strong high-altitude winds. “[Painted Ladies usually] migrate south 300 to 400 metres above the ground,” Mathieu added, “[but] strong winds force them to stay low. They [are also taking] advantage of the warmer weather to collect more nectar to continue their migration journey.”

Predicting Alzheimer’s with artificial intelligence New algorithm accurately detects dementia before its onset

McGill researchers created an algortihm that can predict dementia 24 months before its onset, with 84 per cent accuracy.

(Gabriela Rey / The McGill Tribune)

Sam Min Contributor Researchers in the Douglas Mental Health University Institute’s Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory at McGill have created an artificial intelligence-based algorithm to recognize dementia before its onset—an elusive task, even for neurologists. The algorithm uses statistics to learn what the determining markers of the disease are—a process called machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence.

With a success rate of 84 per cent, the algorithm identified individuals who

would develop dementia 24 months later.

Dementia is a disease characterized by memory loss. It can range from subtle to severe, with many types—the most common form being Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, no practical treatment exists for Alzheimer’s, while only a few pharmacological studies have reported conclusive data on preventing its onset.

The development of the novel algorithm used in the study took time.

First, the algorithm had to be trained to analyze the expression of amyloid protein—a marker for Alzheimer’s—in positron emission tomography (PET) scans of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). These scans are employed by a variety of researchers to identify the health of organs and tissues.

The algorithm had to go through a series of processes before it was applied among patients. Computer scientist and master’s student at McGill University Sulantha Mathotaarachchi told The McGill Newsroom that he “used hundreds of amyloid PET scans of MCI patients [...] to train the team’s algorithm.”

Once the training session was complete, the team applied the algorithm to a new pool of patients with mild cognitive impairments, and predict which patients would develop dementia.

Amyloid protein can pile up, forming a deposit in the brain. However, not all regions that have the amyloid deposit may pertain to progression of Alzheimer’s.

Over time, the amyloid chunk can grow or wither in specific regions. Identifying such locales within the brain is crucial to make this algorithm capable of predicting the course of the disease.

“The algorithm operates in two stages: First it identifies the brain regions which [could be relevant to Alzheimer’s] progression,” Mathotaarachchi said. “[The second] step is to use these signatures with machine learning to predict if an individual will progress to Alzheimer’s dementia in 24 months.”

The creation of this algorithm marks an unprecedented achievement in the history of Alzheimer’s research.

However, according to Mathotaarachchi, amyloid is only one of the biomarkers for Alzheimer’s.

“The algorithm could be used to enrich clinical trial populations,” Mathotaarachchi said, since subjects who are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s make good candidates for testing the efficacy of new drugs.

To test the efficacy of a drug during clinical trials, clinicians recruit patients, divide them into two groups, and administer a drug of interest to one group (the experimental group), and a placebo to the other. The goal is to prevent the experimental group from developing the illness. However, it is difficult to select patients who will develop the targeted disease in the first place. Some members of the experimental group may not have

developed the disease being studied, with or without the drug of interest.

In an interview with Live Science, Dr. Pedro Rosa-Neto, a senior co-author of the paper and associate professor in the Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry at McGill, discussed how this algorithm could benefit future pharmaceutical studies.

“If you can tell from a group of individuals who is the one that will develop the disease, [you] can better test new medications that could be capable of preventing the disease.” Rosa-Neto said.

With this artificial intelligence-based algorithm, clinician-scientists can select more accurate patient-pools to test the effects of drugs in trials for Alzheimer’s studies.

“The future steps will be to incorporate more biomarkers, including structural imaging and neuropsychiatric measurements,” Mathotaarachchi said.

The lab has also created a real-time prediction tool, free and online.

“This is a pilot prototype using amyloid imaging data,” Mathotaarachchi said. “However, the framework can be used with any biomarker measurements available, including neuropsychiatric measurements.”

With this algorithm, clinicians could find apt patients for Alzheimer’s studies, run efficient drug trials, and hopefully discover one that would prove effective in treating Alzheimer’s disease.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 11

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Mount Eerie brings delicate, painful intimacy to POP Montreal’s final night A uniquely important tour date for Phil Elverum held audiences spellbound, heartbroken Gibran Haque Contributor

Most of the audience members seated in the Ukrainian Federation on Sept. 17 were well aware that the upcoming performance would mark an important tour date for Phil Elverum. The musician, who records under the moniker Mount Eerie, would have arrived at the venue with ambivalent anticipation. On July 9, 2016, Elverum’s wife, Geneviève Castrée, a cartoonist and musician from Montreal, died from a sudden onset of pancreatic cancer. In the following days, Elverum recorded an immensely powerful album in his dead wife’s room using her instruments. A Crow Looked At Me, released this past March, is less of a poetically packaged expression of grief and death, than it is an uber-personal and raw depiction of the pain and anguish experienced by Elverum following the death of his wife.

The skeletal instrumentation running throughout the album provides an unrestricted setting for Elverum’s deeply confessional crooning. To some, it might not even sound like music, but it’s not trying to. There are no catchy melodies, no folksy guitar riffs, and very few actual choruses. This simplicity is where the album gains its exceptional sense of urgency and raw emotional fervor.

From the moment Elverum took the stage, the room seemed to get smaller and more intimate with each song. The performance was unrelenting in its emotional punches—with every little detail of Castrée’s death and Elverum’s grief, the punches hit harder. Elverum began with “Distortion,” a non-album song that he had performed at earlier concerts, followed by the album opener, “Real

Death.” “Death is real, someone’s there and then they’re not.”

From the very first words of the song, the harsh reality of Elverum’s experience transcended the stage and washed over the audience. This was followed up by “Seaweed,” a song that served to remind the audience how close to his wife’s death Elverum actually started recording.

The last few songs he performed were all new songs, not part of the album. One that stood out was about the absurdity of being alive after experiencing the death of a loved one. This one felt different from the beginning; the guitar entered with toe-tapping chords and an oddly cheerful timbre. Elverum recalls a specific experience shortly after, when he was invited to play at an outdoor festival for a “bunch of young people on drugs,” with Skrillex heard blasting at the other side of the festival, and where he shared his experiences in song writing with Father John Misty while munching on baskets of fruit. This whole verse elicited chuckles from the audience, providing a much needed respite from the mournful nature of the rest of the performance. More than anything, this particular track felt like an artist wrestling with the sheer absurdity of their own existence and a very matter-of-fact interpretation of the world around him—void of any poetic internalization for the sake of song.

Before ending the night with a final non-album track, “Tintin in Tibet,” in which Elverum recalls memories of reading Tintin comics aloud in Haida Gwaii with his late wife—he thanked the audience for coming and stated that this would probably be the last time he would perform these set of songs in Montreal.

“I sing to you, Geneviève / I sing to you / You don’t exist / I sing to you, though.”

These words, perhaps, were a fitting conclusion and assessment of what the album’s core message is. As Elverum leaves the stage to a standing ovation, an aura of release looms over the auditorium; if grief truly is love’s unwillingness to let go, then A Crow Looked At Me exhibits the remorseless tenacity through which it acts.

Phil Elverum mourns his wife in his new akbum. (Dylan Adamson / The McGill Tribune)

‘Kuso:’ A film about bodily substances without substance Flying Lotus’s feature film stars feces

Leo Stillinger Contributor The magic of cinema lies in projected images’ power to profoundly move us. Everybody knows what it feels like to laugh at Ghostbusters (1984), or to cry at Marley & Me (2008). Kuso, the new film directed by the electronic musician Flying Lotus, demonstrates the power of movies to move us in a different way: That is, to gross us the fuck out.

Kuso prompted walkouts when it premiered at Sundance, along with awed reviews declaring it the “grossest movie ever made.” Even before it screened as part of FilmPOP (the film component of Pop Montreal), a Cinema du Parc employee gave a blunt warning: “This movie is really fucked up.”

Kuso is spectacularly, mercilessly disgusting—a film difficult to describe and even harder to watch. It is a journey into the darkest depths of the human subconscious. Unfortunately, in spite of the countless bodily substances smeared across the screen, the film itself lacks substance. Kuso engages neither the mind, nor the heart, but rather the gag reflex.

Imagine an experimental conceptual short made by a hipster film student, then cross it with The Human Centipede (2009).

This is Kuso. The plot, as far as can be ascertained, follows the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Los Angeles— weaving together the stories of several survivors. In one scene, a boy befriends an alien creature in the woods—and then feeds it his excrement. At another point, a talking cockroach appears out of nowhere

and declares, “Do not fear the feces.” It’s not a joke, but rather a necessary piece of advice, for it’s hard to overstate the sheer quantity of feces—along with pus, blood, and semen—in which the film is drenched throughout its 92 long minutes.

Alternating between jarringly indiscernible plot lines and confusing visual tangents, Kuso is a disorienting experience, creative if not cohesive. One highlight is the soundtrack, an ominous groove created by Flying Lotus himself, along with various artists including Aphex Twin and Thundercat. The music gives the film an underlying consistency, which it otherwise lacks.

Occasional relief comes from the film’s perverse humor, and the best moments of Kuso are its funniest as well.

When you laugh at a woman getting hit in the face with her own fetus, you’re also laughing at how quickly your own morals have degraded.

At times Kuso hints at aspirations of becoming something more than a grossout flick, like in the segment of spoken word poetry referencing “21st-century power structures.” Yet the film teases such themes only to fall back into selfindulgent depravity. That’s a shame, because a post-quake Los Angeles would be a perfect setting for an allegorical look at American society, and the shock of Kuso would have been more powerful if there was something thought-provoking underlying it.

Instead, the film is primarily an experiment in just how far the moviegoer is willing to be pushed. “When will you walk out?” it seems to ask. When a cockroach emerges from the therapist’s

anus? When a guy gets a blowjob from the talking boil on his girlfriend’s neck? Kuso makes you question your own limits, even if you don’t want to.

Kuso is a difficult experience

to communicate. Just as the film’s earthquake bonds its survivors together, the film itself creates a special bond between anyone who sits through it. For better or for worse, it’s hard to forget.

Flying Lotus’ Kuso pushes audiences to their breaking point–whether they like it or not. (static.stereogum.com)

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA live-scores classic kung fu film Martial arts and hardcore hip hop collide at Rialto Theatre

Brandon Kaufman Contributor At the Rialto Theatre, on Friday, Sept. 15, Wu-Tang Clan frontman RZA hovered over his computer, smiling and quietly conversing with the DJ beside him. The two were positioned almost offstage that afternoon, preparing to provide a live-scoring of the 1978 kung fu movie The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. The crowd let out a roaring cheer as the hip hop legend approached centre stage.

He offered a few generic comments about the movie, apologized for the presence of a large timer on-screen (it was necessary for the “composers”), and returned to his shadowy booth.

RZA began with some breezy soul instrumentals over the opening credits. Mere minutes after this period of calm, a meticulously choreographed action scene exploded onto the screen, as RZA spun one of his abrasive bangers. The audience rapped along with the record in sheer elation.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is a fictionalized account of the life of San Te (Gordon Liu), a student living in 18th century China. After the brutal murders of his friends and family at the hands of the oppressive Manchu government, Te becomes determined to seek revenge—pleading for an opportunity to train at the famed temple of Shaolin. The exclusive sanctuary initially rejects the non-member, but the headmaster takes pity on him. He begins training persistently to join the temple as a master. RZA overlaid a montage of Te’s strenuous training with the downtempo “C.R.E.A.M,” setting the stage for an emotional climax.

A story of dedication, rebellion, and most importantly, mastering the three section staff (a prestigious Chinese flail weapon) the movie is rightly considered the apotheosis of martial arts pictures. Te’s master immediately notices his remarkable progress. He asks him to choose one of the 35 chambers to head— each is dedicated to mastering a specific aspect of kung fu. He

requests instead to create a new chamber, one devoted to training the common man. Te is initially rejected, the elitist temple accepts only the rich and noble. However, after leading his country to victory, he is granted his wish. The film concludes with Te training laymen in the hitherto elitist art of kung fu.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is in command of its audience from the start. A palpable rush jolts the heart as the viewer watches the protagonist dodge the keen sword of his foe and quickly strike back. This adrenaline-like surge—which only the best action movies are able to bring about—heightened as RZA simultaneously played Wu-Tang’s “Bring Da Ruckus.”

At the end of the film, RZA returned to the stage and spoke about his personal connection to the film. As a child, he, his brother, and cousin (GZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard, both Wu-Tang members) watched the movie on repeat. From this, they developed insatiable appetites for art.

Both the music and aesthetic of the Wu-Tang Clan are as fundamentally egalitarian as the concept of the 36th chamber.

Their unpretentious songs are raw, simplistic, and to the point.

Wu-Tang members don’t look or behave like platinum-selling superstars. They don hoodies and loose-fitting jeans, and rap about being on food stamps and mispronouncing words. The late Ol’ Dirty Bastard summed it up best at the Grammy’s in 1998 when—10 years before Kanye—he interrupted Puff Daddy’s Best Rap Album of the Year acceptance speech to declare that “WuTang is for the children.”

RZA finished up his speech with some words about perseverance. He reminded the audience that only 25 years ago, he was unknown and destitute, trying to make his friends laugh by spitting absurd lyrics over stripped-down beats. When he closed the show, the audience shot to their feet and gave him a standing ovation. RZA and San Te are two souls separated only by two centuries.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is mandatory viewing for any Wu-Tang fan. (mondotees.com)

First Impressions - Princess Nokia: “1992 Deluxe” The queen of intersectional feminist rap reissued her album with eight new tracks Chloe Wong-Mersereau & Keira Seidenberg Contributors Keira Seidenberg: While Princess Nokia (Destiny Frasqueri) is often thought to bring a feminist edge to the generally male dominated hip hop genre, 1992 Deluxe (2017) is not an album solely dedicated to deconstructing genderbased social stratification.

In “Tomboy” and “Saggy Denim,” where Nokia tackles issues of femininity and gender stereotypes, she remains true to herself. Rather than using her sexuality as a tool for combatting the male gaze, like historicallycoined feminist rappers Lil’ Kim and Eve, she promotes herself as having “little titties and [a] phat belly.” While this may be a message of nonconformity, as she doesn’t assert her female dominance through sex or her ass, it is also simply a bold statement of comfort with her own physicality.

Chloe Wong-Mersereau: Tracks like “Kitana,” “Tomboy,” and “Brujas” embody a range of different identities. Nokia’s Puerto-Rican, African, and Harlem roots frequently mingle

CWM: In a documentary entitled Destiny, Frasqueri discusses her childhood in the Bronx, and her time spent in the foster care system after her mother died of AIDS when she was only 10. In “Bart Simpson,” Nokia refers to herself as an “inner city orphan” and “A nerdy girl with nymphomaniac tendencies / Reading comics in forbidden planet” to escape the craziness of her abusive foster home. At 16, she left her home behind with nothing but some loose change and her Nokia cell phone at 75 per cent battery. Princess Nokia was born that year in an attempt to take command of her own future in the face of dismal circumstances.

Princess Nokia continues to bust boundaries on “1992 Deluxe.” (xxlmag.com)

over the course of a single bar. Her position as an urban intersectional feminist is strengthened as she draws on moments from her past.

KS: Nokia provides listeners with a narrative of her daily life, with songs such as “Green Line” and “ABCs of New York”

documenting her Brooklyn habitat, and others like “Brujas” providing glimpses of her Puerto Rican influences. This provides cultural context to her music, juxtaposing typical-New York references prevalent in the genre with a Central American background that is reminiscent of hip hop’s Jamaican origins.

KS: After listening to the album several times through, I came to appreciate her as a sociallyconscious artist. With underlying currents of racial tension, class divisions, and distrust of authority in her music, Princess Nokia’s real-world connections to her lyrics are readily apparent.

However, she presents it in a briefer framework with an awareness of her young age, rather than narrating an extended

personal journey, such as in Tyler, The Creator’s Flower Boy (2017) or a long-standing historical problem, as addressed in Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). In 1992 Deluxe, Nokia is an “old school hoe with a new school flow,” taking the more traditional elements of hiphop songs and interjecting her personal ‘don’t fuck with me’ attitude that has Plateau hipsters and Metro riders alike turning up the volume on this new release.

CWM: In familiarizing myself with her past and repeatedly listening to the mixtape, I was really drawn to her self-made, assertive, and independent style. Nokia chose to self-record and produce her mixtapes because she wanted nothing to do with the high demand and pressure of the music industry. Her newer raps, such as “G.O.A.T.,” “Brick City,” and “Flava,” unapologetically focus on empowerment and embracing every aspect of yourself.

I’m so excited that Princess Nokia is gaining attention on the mainstage for her artistry and hard-hitting authenticity. As far as role models go, she is certainly tough to beat.

13 STUDENT LIVING

Tuesday September 26, 2017

Freshman frustration: Breaking down the “best four years of your life” First-year students reveal the misalignment of what they expect and what they get Katherine Milazzo Contributor Every September, almost 7,000 firstyear students arrive at McGill and, after settling into residence and promptly ushering their families out of their dorms, eagerly dive into life’s next chapter. The expectation is that the next three or four years will be the best of their lives. But once the novelty of their new environment starts to diffuse, many McGill first years find themselves facing a gap between their prior expectations and the reality of university life.

A few days into their first year of university, students dive right into Frosh.

The expectations established by Frosh leaders are that this will be the best week of their first year. Frosh certainly provides space to make friends and connections that will supposedly last a lifetime. Yet, for some students, this simply doesn’t happen, and it can be hard not to worry that the rest of the year won’t amount to anything better.

For Carlyn Bujouves, U0 Arts, making friends during Frosh wasn’t as simple as she’d anticipated. “[During Frosh], you go out with your Frosh group, but it’s hard to connect with other people by screaming, ‘Where are you from?’ over blasting music in a club,” Bujouves said. “I found I couldn’t really dig deeper to build more genuine friendships, and that people were acting

in a way that would make them most appealing to others instead of being themselves.”

The pressure to make friends right off the bat carries on long past Frosh. But with the party scene and almost a month of first semester behind them, many first years expect to have already found a close group of friends. Sarah Fairbrother, U0 Arts and Science, has found it difficult not to compare her own newfound friendships to the progress that others have made in making friends.

“I’ve met people I like and we hang out, but I haven’t found my ‘people’ just yet, and it can get lonely without a strong social circle,” Fairbrother said. “It seems like most other people have found their cliques. I think I just haven’t been putting myself out there enough.”

Depictions of university in pop culture and on social media as the best four years of one’s life tend to omit the challenges students often face during this time, leaving many first years feeling alone in their struggle. Constant comparisons among friends and acquaintances on social media can exacerbate this; a scroll through one’s Instagram and Facebook feeds perpetuates unrealistic expectations of what first year ‘should’ look like, only highlighting users’ success and happiness.

Being emotionally vulnerable under the pressure to appear perfect can be challenging. But for Chloé Laflamme, U4 Arts and Science, staying honest about hitting a low point helped her connect

more deeply with others during her first year.

“After first semester, I was able to realize that I was partaking in certain behaviours for a lot of the wrong reasons,” Laflamme said. “I made my first genuine friend when I hit a very low point, and they showed me compassion and support in response [....So I] tried not to shy away from opening up and being authentic.”

For Laflamme, building such close friendships took time. There were no instant connections, no best-friendsforever right off the bat. Yet, years later,

Laflamme remains close with those firstyear friends who got her through the toughest parts.

“I lived with friends from rez all throughout undergrad,” Laflamme said.

“My main social circles can be traced back to who I met in first year.”

The personal growth that occurs over the course of university is not linear—it is filled with ups and downs. While the time frame for adjusting to university life varies on an individual basis—the imperfections are as much a part of it as the sublimity of it all.

First year can come with high expectations and stark realities. (L-A Benoit / The McGill Tribune)

Viewpoint: Trying (and failing) to run my first marathon My experiences running from responsibility

Mary Keith Contributor Sometimes life gets busy and it becomes hard to focus on ourselves. I, for instance, tend to neglect my health when school and work get in the way, eventually leading me to short, impulsive, guilt-motivated spurts of fitness. In one of these moments this past summer, I talked myself into registering for Montreal’s Sept. 24 Rock N’ Roll marathon—two months, two weeks, and six days before the race. Having previously run a halfmarathon, I felt well equipped to add another 13.1 miles in 11 weeks. Boy oh boy, was I wrong.

I had my work cut out for me from the start. Not only had I not run seriously in a couple months, but I had also moved for the summer from sea-level Montreal to Crested Butte, Colorado, a city with an altitude of 8,909 feet. I was out of shape, and given the altitude, I could not run down a short driveway without a frightening amount of wheezing.

Higher altitude air contains less oxygen, so transitioning to running in Crested Butte took a lot out of me during the first couple weeks.

However, this effort meant that running in Montreal would be easy in

I realized how much I’d overestimated the time I had available to invest in training. Every day that I didn’t run added to my feelings of guilt for under preparing myself. I knew that I was setting myself up for 26.2 miles of absolute pain. Avoiding my training was no way to indulge my pride. I thought about backing out of the race, registering for another one in 2018, and starting this year-long training process from scratch. Instead, I let my ego take over and decided to stick with the goal I had originally set.

Thus, I began another short, guilt-filled burst of training.

Work was finally slowing down, so I was able to find more time to incorporate training programs into my daily schedule. I set aside an hour or two everyday to run for as long a distance as I could manage. With only a little over a month to go, I really had no choice.

Once I got back to Montreal for the school year, my focus switched toward my social life, pushing the marathon to the back of my mind. My training took a full stop and instead, I filled up on beer at OAP with the rest of McGill. Before I knew it, I had not trained in over a week. My It’s important to establish realistic goals and deadlines when training for a marathon. (Elli Slavitch / The McGill Tribune) motivation levels were sinking fast.

comparison. I believed that if I could run in Colorado, I would surely be able to run the marathon in Montreal come September.

For many runners, marathon training is a long process that involves starting small and increasing one’s mileage each week. The ideal training time is four to five months, and I only gave myself two-and-a-half.

My training began with alternating between running and walking for three miles until I could run three without

stopping. This progression took two weeks, but soon thereafter, my internship took over and the 14hour work shifts started to hinder my improvement. I knew what was happening: I had aimed too high, and I wasn’t taking the steps to keep myself on track. After weeks of ignoring training, I had forgotten all about my marathon registration. My passion and commitment had gone out the window.

Beginning to feel foolish about registering for the marathon,

As time in my half-hearted training schedule ran out, the subject line “Marathon is cancelled,” showed up in my email inbox. Officials made the call to cancel the race on Sept.

20—Montreal would face record high temperatures on the day of the race, therefore it would be unsafe to continue with the full marathon.

So, on Sunday, Sept. 24, I slept in, avoided the heat, and thanked my lucky stars for not having to go through with my thoughtless decision.

From this tiresome venture, I’ve learned that beer is not fuel, running downhill is fun, and spontaneity pays its price. On a more serious note, however, this defeat taught me a lot about how I treat myself—by setting unrealistic goals and poorlythought-out expectations, I just made matters worse for myself. I’ve come to realize that sometimes life is going to be unbalanced; maybe with more thought and time put into an appropriate training routine, I could return to my dreams of running a marathon. Though it sounds cliché, this applies to any endeavour: Setting your mind and prioritizing your goals, and knowing when to skip out on OAP to squeeze in a run, can lead to incredible outcomes.

Tuesday September 26, 2017

STUDENT LIVING 14

Exploring loneliness within McGill’s nooks and crannies People who deal with loneliness—and what it looks like

Stephanie Sim & Avleen Mokha Contributors Fear has an infinite number of personalities. Often times, the cliché examples come to mind, like phobia of spiders, snakes, or the dark. But there are fears that often go undiscussed, like the fear of being alone. It is a fear of living in isolation, of being devoid of the comfort that friends and family bring.

By psychological definition, the fear of being alone goes by the name monophobia, and it’s no stranger to the millions of teens who move away from home for the first time to attend university; especially those who cross borders and oceans to get to McGill. The fear of loneliness hides in simple social activities that are often taken for granted, like sitting with friends at lunch, or knowing everyone in your classes. These things seem like a given until you realize that you’re eating your third meal alone that day, or that you haven’t left your room in well over five hours. Soon thereafter, the fear of loneliness sets in.

But not all students experience loneliness the same way; certain communities are more susceptible to this phenomenon, and the way it resonates with each is nuanced and varied.

The first year can feel like the hardest One of the groups that loneliness most notably permeates is first years–and many freshmen try to counter their fears by trying to connect with as many people as possible. The result is often an overabundance of superficial acquaintanceships stemming from the same frivolous icebreaker questions heard everywhere on campus during the first week or two, such as “What are you majoring in?” and “What residence are you living in?” These questions barely skim the surface, testing the waters for potential connections that students are expected to make. There’s a race to build one’s network

of friends and acquaintances—but resorting to superficial friendships can leave people feeling lonelier than they were initially.

“These [icebreaker] questions were really just conversation starters,” Isabella Lyons, U0 Arts, explained. “I only really remembered where people told me they were from because if we were both from the same place, it was something to bond over.”

For many, the struggle to maintain relationships often continues throughout university. In second year, when many students move off campus out of a student residence, they tend to lose the infrastructure of a communal space to help them socialize.

“In the first year, you’re mostly just looking for anybody that you can find to latch onto,” Matthew Foster, U2 Arts, said. “That’s why it’s a lot easier to make friends. But moving into the second year, you realize how easy it is to lose them. In the second year, I’d say it is more difficult to form friendships as well. You don’t have a lot of the same systems that put people [with similar interests as you] together.”

Transitioning from a dormitory is just one example of how new environments change patterns of socializing.

For students from abroad, making an international— even intercontinental—move by themselves is not only daunting, it can be rather isolating.

International moves harder transitions

make

for

even

For international students, finding a place on campus can be even more difficult. According to McGill Enrolment Services’ Admission profile, 32.1 per cent of the 6,467 students in the entering class of 2016-2017 were international students. Tackling cultural differences, dealing with homesickness, and building professional and social networks from scratch are just a few of the obstacles international students face.

“When I [moved from India], I was all alone,”

Loneliness affects everyone, but people coming into new environments tend to experience it more.

(Daria Kiseleva / The McGill Tribune)

Ravdeep Singh Boparai said. “I had to deal with everything from a different study pattern to harsh winter.

Culturally, with people coming from different cultures and regions here, some mix [with each other], some do not.”

As a non-native English speaker, Boparai initially found it difficult to navigate social circles on campus.

“Now, after six months, I am able to understand people more than I used to,” Boparai said. “But some people don’t understand me, and then avoid me, or the person with whom I’ll be talking will misunderstand me.”

Though McGill’s international aspect can make it difficult to find the right niche, student organizations and events offer hope in the midst of loneliness.

“I think joining clubs and taking part in extracurriculars is one of the biggest [ways to keep] a network of people of common interests,” Foster said.

“There are always people who are looking for people like them. I admit, it becomes more difficult as you go on.

But I think it’s also the nature of friendships, the ones that remain are [the] genuine [ones].”

Though loneliness strikes certain communities in different ways, it can become a nuisance no matter the time or place.

SPORTS 15

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Examining sophomore slumps in the NHL Are last year’s breakout rookies set to take a step back?

By Wasif Husain / Contributor

The sophomore slump, an infamous term among pundits and fans in North American sports, happens when a player makes an immediate impact in their rookie year and follows up with a disappointing second season. The phenomenon is real for some players, who see their statistical outputs fall between their first and second campaigns, but no more than a myth for others who have no trouble beating their previous season’s marks.

Last year, the NHL had a standout rookie class. A trio of Toronto Maple Leafs—Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitchell Marner—took the league by storm. Meanwhile, Winnipeg Jets sniper Patrik Laine, who scored three hat tricks before his 19th birthday, had a tremendous year of his own. Naturally, a season full of impressive rookie performances begs the question of whether those players are destined for regression or steady development into bonafide stars.

Many factors come into play when considering the potential for a sophomore slump: The first is shooting percentage. It’s common for players to score goals on a high percentage of their shots as rookies, but suddenly see that rate fall back into the normal range in their second season, leaving fans bewildered as their goal-scoring figures plummet.

Ice time also plays a role in slumping. The more a player plays, the greater the opportunity they have to score and assist goals. If an athlete gets less playing time in their second season, it is difficult for them to maintain or improve production. However, ice time is not the sole measure of opportunity: Audiences must also consider the quality of competition and zone starts. For example, coaches will adjust and try to play to a player’s strengths or push for the development of a more complete game. Matching up with weaker opposing lines and constant starts in the offensive zone can both create misleading stats.

Teammates can play a crucial role too, especially because roster change is inevitable every year. Sometimes, chemistry developed one year can be gone the next. Alternatively, playing with an established star can help boost a player’s production.

Finally, injuries can happen at any point, impeding a player’s progress during the season. The time it takes to get back into shape can also affect the player’s performance for the next season.

Looking back at past cases, hockey fans can better figure out how much of a role each factor plays.

Below, each of these four standout rookies are compared to those from previous years with similar stats. As they move into their second seasons, they may not turn into the players they are compared to, but—if they can stay healthy—the numbers suggest that they aren’t due for a sophomore slump. Each had very few unfavourable statistical anomalies, and both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets should anticipate a good showing from their blossoming sophomores.

Individual comparisons

William Nylander Goals: 22 Assists: 39

Brad Richards Goals: 21 Assists: 41

From a statistical standpoint, Nylander lines up closely with Brad Richards, with a similar number of goals, assists, and points. If Nylander can increase his shot totals and is afforded the same ice time, he should continue to improve in coming years.

Mitch Marner

Shooting Percentage: 10.8% Shots Per Game: 2.29

Patrick Kane

Shooting Percentage: 11% Shots Per Game: 2.33

Marner can be likened to a young Patrick Kane. For such a dominant player, Kane’s shooting rate, assists, and goals per game were only just a bit better than Marner’s. If Marner is to follow in Kane’s footsteps, an increase in his shooting volume may help him net more goals in his sophomore season.

Auston Matthews

Goals: 40 Shooting Percentage: 14.3%

Ilya Kolvachuk

Goals: 38 Shooting Percentage: 14.8%

Matthews’ rookie performance is most similar to Ilya Kolvachuk’s. Their shooting percentages, goal, and assist totals are comparable. Kolvachuk’s progress was encouraged by a significant bump in ice time and the gift of one of the best shots the NHL has ever seen. Time will tell if Matthews receives more ice time and is able to get into areas where he can convert a higher percentage of his opportunities.

Patrik Laine

Goals: 36 Shooting Percentage: 17.6%

Brian Bellows

Goals: 35 Shooting Percentage: 19%

Laine has a high shooting percentage, similar to Brian Bellows, a forward who played for the Minnesota North Stars in the early ‘80s. Laine’s inflated shooting percentage could mean he is in for a decrease in scoring; however, it also means he could mirror Brian Bellows, who went on to score 485 goals in his career. If he can continue to shoot at this high rate and increase his total shots taken, he could be a 40-goal scorer next year.

By the numbers Since the 2005-06 lockout, 26 rookies have scored at least 0.7 points per game (PPG).

Four of those players were from this past season (Laine, Matthews, Marner, and Nylander).

Of the 22 others, nine improved upon their rookie campaign, seven maintained their level of performance, and six meaningfully deteriorated in their second seasons. Those six were Colby Armstrong, Brad Boyes, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Marek Svatos, Jeff Skinner, and Nathan MacKinnon.

For Armstrong and Svatos, a decline in shooting percentage was responsible for the drop. The former saw his rate drop by over 10 per cent after losing Sidney Crosby as a linemate. Meanwhile, the latter’s astronomically high percentage fell from nearly 20 per cent to a more normal 8.4 per cent as he scored 17 fewer goals in turn. Among the four breakouts from 2016-2017, however, only Laine and Matthews put forth particularly high shooting rates.

On the other hand, Nugent-Hopkins (shoulder), Skinner (concussion), and MacKinnon (broken foot) were all injured at some point during their sophomore seasons. Each individual’s performance suffered as a result, but once healthy, they returned to their rookieseason forms. Nugent-Hopkins has since turned into a two-way centre and managed 56 points in two consecutive seasons. Skinner, coming off a 37-goal season, looks much more like the prolific goal scorer many predicted after his rookie season. MacKinnon has bounced back with two consecutive 50-point years on a rebuilding Colorado Avalanche team.

It’s not likely for such high-calibre players to get worse, especially considering that the injured players bounced back once healthy again. Of the 22 rookies who managed 0.70 PPG, most have established themselves as consistent scoring threats in the league—a transition Laine, Matthews, Marner, and Nylander look to replicate—as long as they avoid injuries.

All statistics from hockey-reference.com

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

16 SPORTS

McGill rowing team christens seven new boats New shells provide a link between past, present, and future

Sam Wendel Contributor With their fleet bolstered by brand new boats, the McGill Rowing Team is primed for another exciting season. The rowing team has purchased seven new boats in the past six years. These crafts have been crucial to the

team: Team Manager Jeff Hamilton appeared confident that the new acquisitions will inspire the rowers.

“New and better equipment give us a better chance to succeed,” Hamilton said.

The boats were officially christened after practice on Sept. 23. Their names honour both the school and McGill rowing alumni: Red

The McGill rowing team lines up alongside their newly christened boats. (Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune)

Dawn, Red Wave, The Boys of ’77, Aaron and Sarah Pape, Henry Hering, Ben Storey, and Alison Korn. The christening itself serves both to unite the team and illustrate its strong history.

Red Dawn and Red Wave reference McGill’s iconic red, while The Boys of ’77 is a nod to the rowing team of 1977—the year that the team relocated to the city-made Olympic Rowing Basin where the club still practices today.

The remaining boats are dedicated to McGill rowing legends, including Henry Hering.

Hering rowed for McGill in the 1990’s before competing in the world championships and becoming McGill’s Head Coach from 20022006. Ben Storey, another McGill alumnus, won the World Championships in 2000, and Alison Korn was a medalist in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic games. Aaron and Sarah Pape, meanwhile, were both on the McGill rowing team in the ‘90s and also went on to have Olympic careers.

Clearly, having boats named after these impressive McGill athletes is quite inspirational for the young rowers inside. This prestige also brings high expectations. Team President Craig McCullogh outlined the team’s objectives.

“Our goal every year is to get as many

rowers on the podium,” McCullogh said.

The standard of excellence that drove McGill rowing to great heights in the ‘90s doesn’t appear to have faded. However, this season looks to be particularly challenging.

Western University is always a strong club and will likely play a primary role in competitions once again. McGill’s biggest rowing rival is Queen’s University, which always puts forward a strong team. The head-to-head race between the two on Sept. 24 was an important chance to see how the two schools will line up this season. The McGill Men’s heavyweight eight won, as did the second lightweight eight and the women’s heavyweight four.The two victories were promising signs that point to an intriguing and competitive season ahead.

In addition to medaling this year, the rowing team also hopes to increase its visibility on campus among both students and faculty.

In order to try to increase support and viewership, the team hand-delivered boat-christening invitations to various McGill Athletics staff.

While rowing may be considered by many as a fringe sport, the commitment and dedication of the rowers can match or exceed those of every other McGill team or club. It’s always disheartening to see the lack of a fan base for such a squad—especially with their rich history and strong athletes.

NBA offseason recap

Gabe Nisker Contributor

Revisiting a summer full of explosive draft picks, trades, and signings

WESTERN CONFERENCE There was a certain air of predictability to the 2016-17 NBA season, with the Golden State Warriors taking the title against the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. But in the ensuing offseason, that sense of certainty flew out the window, as contenders scrambled to put together rosters capable of challenging the powerhouse Warriors. As a new season approaches on Oct. 17, here’s a refresher on the summer’s crazy events.

The Western Conference can somehow boast even more super-teams after its own flurry of offseason activity. Point guard Chris Paul opted into his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers so they could trade him to the Houston Rockets. Paul will play alongside the similarly ball-dominant James Harden, possibly making for one of the most dynamic duos in recent NBA history. GM—and salary-cap maestro—Daryl Morey quickly turned his attention elsewhere, adding defensive whiz PJ Tucker to the mix. The Rockets’ moves position them firmly in the hunt for the conference’s second seed, alongside the perpetually-stable Spurs.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, meanwhile, made a pair of splashy deals to recover from the loss of Kevin Durant in 2016. The Thunder’s acquisition of Indiana Pacers forward Paul George came out of nowhere after trade rumours suggested he was heading to the Los Angeles Lakers. Oklahoma GM Sam Presti took advantage and struck a deal for the low price of guard Victor Oladipo and forward Domantas Sabonis.

George will presumably slide into a Durant-like role in the Thunder system, given their similar skillsets. Presti struck again on Sept. 23, end-

EASTERN CONFERENCE

for being picky with deals, so the Celtics’ transaction-filled offseason could be described as momentous for him. The franchise landed small forward Gordon Hayward—formerly of the Utah Jazz—in free agency, thanks in part to Head Coach Brad Stevens, who coached Hayward at Butler University. In order to make cap space for Hayward, the Celtics moved perenniallyunderrated Avery Bradley to Detroit for Marcus Morris.

Despite an already busy offseason, Ainge still wasn’t done. In the usually dead month of August, Boston shockingly dealt the Celtics’ heart and soul Isaiah Thomas (along with Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and two draft picks) to their 2016 Eastern Conference Finals opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in a blockbuster trade for Kyrie Irving. After Irving forced their hand weeks before by requesting a trade, the Cavaliers managed to add assets for the present and future: They will use Thomas and Crowder to compete now, and the picks to succeed later. The Cavaliers continued a win-now focus in free agency, adding veteran point guards Jose Calderon and Derrick Rose. Rose’s original team, the Chicago Bulls, followed up on past feats of mismanagement by trading away Jimmy Butler for mere pennies.

Forwards Paul George and Carmelo Anthony pose with their new teammates. (Oklahoma City Thunder)

ing a summer of trade rumours swirling around now-former New York Knick Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony waived his no-trade clause to join the Thunder and will play the power forward role in the team’s new-and-improved starting lineup. A new big three—George, Anthony, and reigning MVP Russell Westbrook—will look to bring the Thunder back to the Western Conference Finals.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are hoping to make a similar leap after trading for a superstar of their own, Jimmy Butler, and adding point guard Jeff Teague to the starting lineup. Head Coach Tom Thibodeau, finally reunited with Butler, looks to take the Wolves to the postseason, ending the team’s league-high 13-season playoff drought.

After landing the third overall pick in the draft, the Philadelphia 76ers decided to go all-in on point guard Markelle Fultz.

General Manager (GM) Bryan Colangelo traded up for the first overall pick to land the University of Washington star, who will join Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid as centrepieces of one of the most promising rosters in the NBA. Philadelphia’s first overall selection came courtesy of the Boston Celtics, who selected Jayson Tatum with the Sixers’ original number three pick in the first major move in a busy Celtics offseason.

Boston GM Danny Ainge is notorious