The McGill Tribune TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2019 | VOL. 38 | ISSUE 17
Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University
McGILLTRIBUNE.COM | @McGILLTRIBUNE
EDITORIAL
FEATURE
SCI-TECH
In solidarity with the Unist’ot’en camp
Beyond the stacks
DoVEE project aims to detect ovarian cancer earlier
PG. 5
PGs. 8-9
PG. 14
(Gabriel Helfant / The McGill Tribune)
MHAW takes mental health awareness one step further
PG. 2
Provincial student federation AVEQ announces dissolution Caitlin Kindig & Kyle Dewsnap News Editor and Staff Writer In a joint statement issued by the Concordia Student Union (CSU) and L’Association étudiante générale de l’Université de Rimouski (AGECAR), the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ) announced its dissolu-
tion on Jan. 26. AVEQ, the primary mandate of which was to represent students across Quebec by uniting their student unions and societies, was forced to dissolve following low student participation and poor financial management in recent years. Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) President Tre Mansdoerfer
said that he was saddened, but unsurprised, by the announcement. “It kind of makes sense,” Mansdoerfer said. “I think the group had good values, but they just really couldn’t act on them very well. They constantly created poor briefs, there wasn’t really any transparency, and they struggled.” In Feb. 2018, Mansdoerfer, then an
engineering senator at SSMU’s Legislative Council, presented a report of critiques against AVEQ. The report detailed the experiences of then-Post Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) external affairs officer Jacob Lavigne during his observation of AVEQ meetings, which he described as disorganized and ineffective. PG. 3
I don’t want to rent a lamp—I need to see a therapist
Centaur’s ‘Queer Reading Series’ celebrates new voices
Johanna Cline
Spotlight on tales of strength and resilience
Staff Writer
For most people, the decision to see a therapist doesn’t take place overnight. Often, a series of events will knock someone down until dealing with an issue alone is no longer an option. By the time that I decided to trek to the Brown building, my closest friends knew that I had been struggling for months. I had finally reached a point
where I did not feel safe in my own mind and needed external support to help me deal with my sense of hopelessness. So, when the receptionist at mental health services told me that there was a six-week wait to get an appointment, my stomach lurched. Finding the strength to reach out and ask for help does not come easily, and being denied that help can be demoralizing and, frankly, scary. Seeing the panic on my face, the receptionist reassured
me that if I came by for dropin hours I would be able to see a therapist by the end of the day. I arrived the following morning only to be told that all of the appointments were already taken. I started tearing up, but I knew that negotiation was not an option. All of the students before me needed to talk just as badly as I did, and what I was facing wasn’t a malicious plot against my mental health but a shortage of resources. PG. 6
Jonathan Giammaria Contributor Traditionally, a stage reading is a stripped-down version of an author’s work. With no set design and minimal effort put toward costuming or props, performance and plot are at the forefront. Attending a reading allows
keen audiences to access an unfinished product. Abandoning notions of polish and perfection relieves creators from the pressures of a full production. With the Queer Reading Series, which ran Jan. 31-Feb. 2, Playwright’s Workshop Montreal provided emerging artists from underrepresented
communities with a public platform to share their work, illustrating the diverse new generation of the Montreal theatre scene. For Ella Kohlmann, the Ontarian playwright behind Exits, this meant sharing her coming-of-age story about a runaway teenager infatuated with Moby Dick. PG. 12