On Oct. 25, François Legault and the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government called a special session to expedite the passage of Bill 2. The bill was pushed through the National Assembly just after 4:00 a.m., despite widespread opposition from doctors, medical students, and healthcare unions. Bill 2 will overhaul how physicians are paid, linking their income to performance indicators, such as the number of patients treated and classifications of the patients’ ‘vulnerability.’ Instead of incentivizing high-quality
patient interactions, clinical teaching, or medical research, this bill rewards what is easily measurable and superficially ‘efficient.’ The legislation also grants inspectors the power to enter medical offices and access patient records without warning, and threatens doctors who protest these stipulations with fines ranging from $20,000 CAD per day for individuals to $500,000 CAD per day for professional groups or associations. By attaching these daily fines to any form of dissent regarding this harmful legislation, the CAQ has turned doctors’ public protest—a right protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms—into a punishable offence.
Michelle Yankovsky Staff Writer
Hidden deep within the human digestive tract lies a dynamic and complex population: The gut microbiota, a community of over 100 trillion microbial cells that influence the body far beyond digestion. Consisting of bacteria, viruses, eukaryotes, and
eficial health effects, particularly in patients with cancer. But which of these countless microbes are responsible for transforming the beneficial compounds we get from our diet into molecules that can improve treatment outcomes?
This question has been the focus of researchers such as Arianna Giurleo, a secondyear PhD student in McGill’s Pharmacology and Therapeutics program and
Ramos highlighted the Sex and Gender Equity in Research guidelines as a step toward equity in academia, noting its gaps in representing gender-diverse people. (Zoe Lee / The Tribune)
Fall 2025 Referendum Endorsements
The Tribune ’s Editorial Board presents its endorsements for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Fall 2025 Referendum questio ns. The endorsements reflect a majority vote of the editorial board, with the option for editors with conflicts of interest to abstain from pertinent questions.
First Year Fee Renewal: Yes
This motion aims to create an opt-outable $0.35 CAD First Year Council (FYC) fee, following the expiration of the previous fee in 2023 and its non-passage in the Winter 2024 Referendum. The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote to establish this fee. The FYC offers essential services for first-year students, including social events, forums, and representation on SSMU’s legislative council. In previous years, the FYC has organized events for mental wellness, sponsored giveaways, and held town hall meetings to amplify the voices of an often underrepresented student group and support their transition into university life. The reinstatement of the FYC is particularly important in light of McGill’s decision to abolish Floor Fellows in first-year residences, as well as the death of a student in La Citadelle residence, in winter 2025, which both highlighted ongoing concerns about first-year support and safety on campus.
Renewal of the Access McGill Ancillary Fee: Yes
The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote to renew the Access McGill Ancillary Fee. The Fee directly supports approximately 4,500 students registered in McGill’s Student Accessibility and Achievement (SAA) office who face disability-related barriers to their studies and beyond. This is a non-opt-outable fee of $2.00 CAD per student per term, and goes towards SAA’s provision of resources, services, equipment, and facilities for students facing learning barriers. Specific services include one-on-one student academic support, funding for a dedicated Access Services Advisor, tailored support services such as sign language interpretation, conversion of course materials into more accessible formats, and continuation of over 25,000 exam accommodations per year, to name a few. Supporting the provision of these services is non-negotiable—they are essential to upholding democratic and accessible education at McGill. This fee is set to expire in Winter 2026.
Renewal of the SSMU Access Bursary Fund Fee: Yes
The SSMU Access Bursary Fund Fee, established in 1999, funds bursaries for undergraduate students in financial need through the McGill Scholarships and Student Aid Office. This opt-outable fee is $8.50 CAD for fulltime students and $4.25 CAD for part-time students per semester. All funds accrued by this bursary are matched by McGill, making it one of the university’s most significant bursary funds—in the 2024-2025 academic year, for example, the bursary fund allocated $763,000 CAD to 275 students in financial need. Right now, as Quebec imposes tuition hikes for out-of-province students at McGill, this bursary fund is more important than ever. If this motion fails, the bursary fund will end in Winter 2026, eliminating the $700-900k CAD it allots annually. Not only is this fee necessary for hundreds of McGill students to continue their studies, but it also upholds SSMU’s commitment to equity and accessible education. The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote for this fee.
Student Services Fee: Yes
The Student Services Fee motion aims to increase the Student Se rvices fee—currently $204.74 CAD—by 4% each year, for the next three years ($212.93 CAD in Fall 2026, $221.45 CAD in Fall 2027, and $230.31 CAD in Fall 2028). The fee supports several essential services at McGill, including the Student Wellness Hub, the McGill Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, Career Planning Service, Scholarships and S tudent Aid, International Student Services, the Office for Students with Disabilities, Cam pus Life & Engagement, and First Peoples’ House. The cost of maintaining these services now exceeds the revenue generated by the existing fee; without the proposed increase, many v ital programs risk a significant reduction in the services they can offer to students. The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote on this motion, with the caveat that SSMU ensures transparency in fundi ng allocation and makes a greater effort to engage students to maximize the value and accessibility of these services.
Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) Service Fee Increase: Yes
This motion seeks to increase the MSA’s opt-outable fee levy from $1.55 CAD a semester to $2.19 CAD. The MSA not only provides a space for Muslim students at McGill to connect but also promotes a variety of services, including prayer spaces, tajweed (Qur ’an recitation) classes, and social events. If this motion is approved in the referendum, the fee increase will go into effect in the Winter 2026 term, and will be voted on again for renewal in 2028. If the motion fails, the fee levy will remain at $1.55 CAD a semester per student.
The MSA claims its current budget does not allow it to fulfill its mandate, as evidenced by its decreased capacity for participants and, in some cases, cessations of certain programs altogether It notes the importance of this fee increase to match the increasing Muslim population at McGill, as well as rising costs in general. The MSA hopes the fee increase will allow for cheaper ticketing, larger venue capacities, and the broadening of activities unburdened by budget constraints. The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote given that the MSA provides vital prayer resources for Muslim students on campus, and the $0.64 CAD per student increase will result in a larger budget, leading to greater accessibility and capacity for the MSA.
Musicians Collective Fee: Yes
The Musicians Collective is a volunteer-run SSMU Service which provides students with a public ‘jam space’ on campus. The service allows students to rent instruments, book rooms, and make music at a minimal cost. This motion seeks to renew the $0.10 CAD fee to keep the Collective running and accessible to all undergraduate students.
The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote. Renewing this fee supports music, the arts, and community on campus while maintaining an affordable and inclusive space for students to create music and collaborate. Rooms in the Schulich School of Music are reserved for music students only, so it is imperative that the broader McGill community has access to inclusive creative spaces. Without this renewal, the Collective risks losing its funding and its ability to operate. In voting ‘Yes,’ the fee will go into effect from Winter 2025 until Fall 2029 (inclusive).
Creation of Gender Affirming Care Fee: Yes
This motion seeks to create an opt-outable fee of $10.05 CAD for the creation of a GenderAffirming Care (GAC) insurance plan offered through Alumo (formerly StudentCare). The plan will cover medication, gender-affirming procedures, mental health support, and more, funding up to $5,000 CAD per procedure with a lifetime maximum of $50,000 CAD per individual. Under prior GAC plans, lifetime maximum coverage was capped at $10,000 CAD, an insufficient sum unable to cover most procedures not already covered by provincial or international insurance. The current GAC insurance plan—a reimbursement program offered by SSMU’s Gender and Sexuality Commissioner—also falls short, as its mandate lacks formal protections and therefore fails to guarantee its long-term efficacy. Research shows that GAC reduces gender dysphoria, anxiety, depression, and suicide; it quite literally saves lives.
Without the creation of the new GAC fee, Two-Spirit, transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals (2STNBGN), who are disproportionately low-income, will experience financial strain and mental distress. As the referendum question critically notes, without the institution of this opt-outable fee, there will be no GAC plan offered to students in the upcoming year.
Although a non-opt-outable fee would be preferable given the vital nature of this fund to 2STNBGN students, The Tribune endorses a definitive ‘Yes’ vote for the creation of a GAC fee.
Angela
Campbell
cancels
SSMU-hosted municipal debate after protests from audience
Pro-Palestine
demonstrators call on Campbell to uphold student democracy, and for McGill to divest from companies complicit in genocide
Helene Saleska News Editor
On Oct. 27, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) hosted a debate in the University Centre Ballroom between representatives from four Montreal parties that competed in the municipal election: Ensemble Montréal, Futur Montréal, Projet Montréal, and Transition Montréal. Angela Campbell, professor in the Faculty of Law and Interim Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning, moderated the debate. After significant disruption from protestors in the audience who called for Campbell to listen to their demands for McGill to divest from weapons
manufacturers, the organizers decided to cancel the event.
SSMU Vice President (VP) External Seraphina Crema-Black, who organized the SSMU event, offered introductory remarks.
“Student democracy, and democracy in general, is really important. It’s something that we strive for at the SSMU,” she said.
Campbell then gave a land acknowledgement and began her introductory speech. She commented on the importance of engaging students in local democracy.
“This afternoon’s debate is an incredible opportunity for candidates to present themselves to the McGill student community, and to engage recommendations that matter the most to you as students,” she stated.
“With over 200,000 post-secondary students here in Montreal, it’s essential that [student] voices are heard and reflected in the decisions that shape our city.”
During her statement, a student in the audience stood up and addressed Campbell, asking her to speak directly to the pro-Palestine protestors demanding divestment from genocide at McGill.
“How dare you sit on stage and plan to represent student democracy, while you continue to repress the demands of the student protesters calling for divestment
Language
seminar
for Queer History
from genocide?” they asked. “After two years of the genocide, you’re responsible for suspending pro-Palestine groups like [Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance] and pursuing legal action against your own students.”
The student’s remarks were followed by yelling from the crowd. Campbell responded that she “would be happy to discuss this further [with the protestors] after the debate.”
After the audience member finished speaking, Campbell began to explain the structure of the debate, which would begin with opening statements, followed by three pre-prepared questions for the candidates in English, and three questions in French. Another protestor from the audience then stood up to address Campbell, expressing that disciplinary action against proPalestine protestors is undemocratic.
Again, Campbell offered to speak with protestors in another room to allow the debate to continue. She then introduced Danso, the candidate from Transition Montréal for City Council from the district Peter-McGill. Danso began their speech by expressing solidarity with the protestors, before giving a prepared opening statement.
After this, another protestor from the audience asked Campbell about the termination of McGill’s Memorandum of Agreement with the SSMU, which she announced on behalf of the Board of Governors after the three-day student strike for Palestine in April 2025. The protestor referred to this as a “blatant attack on student democracy.”
For several minutes, Campbell repeatedly emphasized that this was a forum for the electoral candidates, and that they had a right to speak on the issues of the city for the sake of democracy. Protestors maintained that Campbell should answer their questions in the name of student democracy.
One protestor then claimed that the SSMU debate was illegitimate because the questions were pre-selected and students in the audience could not ask questions themselves. VP CremaBlack pushed back, explaining that no one had taken advantage of the public online form to submit questions for the candidates, so she had to write all six debate questions.
After this exchange, Campbell announced that the debate was cancelled. No other candidates spoke. Only Danso and Maryse Bouchard, Projet Montréal City Council candidate for Ville-Marie, stayed afterward to talk with students one-on-one.
“I did witness police violence against protestors firsthand [at McGill],” Danso began. “We have the chance to change Montreal [....] We have seen the police budget increase from $600 to $800 million CAD in just the last five years, and that’s a reaction to the increased protests, which are themselves a reaction to the instability in society [....] Transition Montréal stands for community organizations, social housing, taxing the rich to pay for these things, and building a strong community.”
Month emphasizes the power of inclusivity
Department of Family Medicine seminar discusses language’s role in fostering equity within professional spaces
Eren Atac Staff Writer
The McGill Department of Family Medicine’s Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee hosted a seminar titled ‘Queer History Month: Inclusive Language Awareness’ on Oct. 28. Family Medicine graduate students Brigitte Durieux and Joshua Ramos presented the seminar in which they discussed the importance of inclusive language, emphasizing its vitality in professional and academic spaces.
The event coincided with increasing debates over inclusive language in Quebec. Earlier this year, French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge introduced legislation banning the use of gender-neutral inclusive language in all government communications. This policy has raised concerns among 2SLGBTQIA+ advocates and others who see inclusive language as crucial to visibility and respect. The Family Medicine Department’s seminar aimed to reaffirm that language is not just a policy issue, but one that affects the everyday lives of queer people.
Brigitte Durieux, a second-year graduate student in the Department of Family Medicine, presented the first segment of the seminar. They stressed the importance of respecting people’s pronouns, even if they appear unfamiliar or confusing.
“You don’t need to deeply understand or relate to something to respect its existence,” Durieux stated. “So it’s okay to be confused if you meet a new person and they use pronouns you’ve not heard before. It’s hard at first. It’s okay as long as you’re trying.”
Durieux went on to provide brief historical context on the treatment of 2SLGBTQIA+ people, discussing how systems of power have historically defined what is considered ‘normal’ or ‘acceptable,’ often marginalizing queer identities.
“Most queer people in most places have experienced some sort of power structure that ensures its own viability over time through identifying a correct way to live, [either] explicitly or implicitly through the way people socially treat each other,” Durieux explained. “In many places, it’s very illegal for sex between men to take place. This is usually related to religious texts and arguments about nature, despite the fact that homosexuality is naturally occurring.”
The seminar proceeded with a segment from Joshua Ramos, another graduate student in the Department of Family Medicine. They presented an overview of some theoretical frameworks of feminist and queer theory.
“There is no single feminist theory. Feminist theory can be considered a family of critical theories and approaches,” Ramos stressed. “Queer theory, [a term] coined by Teresa De Lauretis, is a critical approach to challenge norms and inequalities related to sexuality and gender. De Lauretis saw queerness as a way to understand sexuality and gender as fluid, socially-constructed concepts that enact resistance to dominant cultural and institutional powers.”
While Durieux and Ramos’ presentation emphasized the academic and theoretical dimensions of inclusive language, campus advocacy groups at McGill are also pushing for a broader cultural shift. In a written statement to The Tri-
bune, Queer McGill’s administrative coordinator Val Munoz emphasized that Roberge’s bill is an example of how language can be used to limit rather than empower.
“[Roberge’s language] ban is deeply concerning because it reinforces the idea that inclusivity is optional, something to be regulated rather than lived,” Munoz stated. “It also exposes how language and power are intertwined. By restricting how we can write or speak, the government is effectively restricting how we can think about gender. The French language’s rigid gender binary is already a barrier for many queer and trans people, and policies like this deepen that exclusion.”
Munoz concluded by highlighting the significance of linguistic inclusivity as a way to enact positive social change.
“Language is powerful; it can either liberate or silence,” they wrote. “True and critical allyship means recognizing that inclusive language is not about political correctness but about survival, dignity, and recognition [....] During Queer History Month, and beyond, I hope the McGill community reflects on how language shapes whose histories are celebrated and whose are erased, and chooses to speak in ways that affirm, rather than diminish, our existence.”
Soraya Martinez Ferrada was elected Montreal mayor on Nov. 2. (Zoe Lee / The Tribune)
Ramos highlighted the Sex and Gender Equity in Research guidelines as a step toward equity in academia, noting its gaps in representing gender-diverse people. (Zoe Lee /
McGill launches new Bachelor of Arts program in Population and Global Health
Students
Asher Kui News Editor
Mwill be
able to enroll in the cohort-based program starting in Fall 2026
cGill University has launched a new Bachelor of Arts (BA) faculty program in Population and Global Health. Beginning in the Fall 2026 semester, U0 students and incoming first years will be able to enroll in the program. Unlike other major concentrations in the Faculty of Arts, students in the program will progress together as a cohort, which they will be sorted into through the program’s five stream options.
In a written statement to The Tribune, Lisa Shapiro, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Department of Philosophy professor, explained that the new BA will extend beyond the Faculty of Arts’ scope because of its socioscientific approach to globally pressing issues.
“[The new program is] truly interdisciplinary [and] focused on developing a comprehensive understanding of the social determinants of health, ethics, [and] policy,” she wrote. “The program not only draws on expertise situated in the Faculty of Arts, it also represents the intrinsic strength of a Bachelor of Arts in enabling students to articulate values and understand complex contexts through a range of methodologies to be positioned to develop solutions to real world problems.”
Shapiro also explained why McGill will place students in cohorts in order to expedite their learning processes.
“The idea of a cohort is that students enter as a group and form a community with shared intellectual interests through which they can learn from each other, as they develop specializations, as well as from faculty members,” she wrote.
Alayne Mary Adams, associate professor in McGill’s Department of Family Medicine and co-director of the new BA, highlighted the community-focused and experiential learning aspects of the Population and Global Health program in an interview with The Tribune
“The program will admit a cohort of 40 to 50 students each year from high school and [CÉGEP],” she said. “They will progress through the program […] attending the same classes, [with] full semester [work placements], collaborating in teams of three to four students.”
Adams elaborated that the program’s community-engaged learning will primarily take place in two courses. GPHL 303: Community-Engaged Learning will connect students with local partners to work in small groups on pre-vetted, equitable projects for 24 hours across eight weeks. GPHL 401: Experiential Learning will assign students 455-hour projects, placing them locally or internationally in collaboration with research institutes, health agencies, and community organizations.
In an interview with The Tribune, Pearce-Tai Thomasson, the Arts Undergraduate Society’s (AUS) Vice President of Com-
munications, expressed that the new program will balance the MDCM’s—McGill’s fouryear undergraduate medical program—admission process, which is currently disproportionately based on provincial residency status.
“In Quebec, with CÉGEP rules, you can apply to go to medical school […] straight out of your CÉGEP with the [Med-P qualifying year],” he said. “[Now] there’s only five spots [in the MDCM] for out-of-province students [….] The [new BA program] is another way to […] [guide more out-of-province students] towards the health professions.”
Thomasson continued to elaborate on how the Population and Global Health pro-
gram will narrow gaps between academic knowledge and tangible world issues. He mentioned that during the COVID-19 pandemic specifically, many students became interested in finding realistic solutions to global crises.
“[In many other programs] you’re not necessarily going to be studying anything related to that, […] you’re [only] going to get a little bit of that knowledge every once in a while,” he said. “People are interested in medicine, but don’t certainly go to med school, but want to get into some health-related careers and diplomacy careers [instead] [….] I’m excited about the program, just because it gives people [such] opportunities.”
MISC hosts 2025 Mallory Lecture ‘Back to the Future’ with speaker Chantal Hébert Hébert revisits the 1995 Quebec referendum and its lasting impact on sovereignty
Asher Kui News Editor
On Oct. 29, the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) hosted its 2025 Mallory Lecture. Daniel Béland, professor in the Department of Political Science and director of the MISC, began the event with a land acknowledgement, followed by an overview of previous lectures MISC has held since 1995 in honour of James Russell Mallory.
“After retiring in 1982, [Mallory] was appointed professor emeritus, and continued to teach for another 10 years. Professor Mallory passed away in 2003,” Béland contextualized. “[Previous] lectures featured such renowned speakers as Bob Rae, Andrew Cohen, Alain Dubuc, Tom Kent, John Gomery, Elizabeth May, and many others.”
Béland then introduced the speaker for the 2025 lecture, Chantal Hébert, a bilingual freelance political columnist. In 1975, she started her career in Toronto in RadioCanada’s regional newsroom, before covering federal politics on Parliament Hill. She has since written for a range of newspapers, including La Presse and The Toronto Star
In 2015, Hébert’s book The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day that Almost Was was published in both English and French. Hébert started the lecture by describing her inspirations for writing the book.
“I suggested that I do a story about the 1995 referendum, and that my plan was to
go around to everyone […] in an elected political position, I would ask them […] what would happen if the ‘yes’ had won?” she said. “The morning after the last referendum and in the year that followed, nobody wanted to talk, […] because once the votes were counted, there was one question on everyone’s mind […] and the question was: Did no mean no?”
Hébert continued to comment on Quebecers’ evasive attitude towards the question of a sovereign Quebec.
“Since that night in 1995, [Quebecers] have had 18 opportunities to use the ballot box to rekindle the sovereignty debate,” she said. “If you were to connect the dots between all those votes, what you find is that over the past three decades, Quebec voters have gone out of their way to avoid revisiting the issue.”
Hébert ended her lecture by referring to Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s vow to organize another potential referendum.
“The next Quebec campaign is going to feature a referendum commitment, a real one, apparently, for the first time since Jacques Parizeau was elected in 1994,” she said. “In the world that I’ve lived in, we only had a referendum in 1995 because the rest of Canada really created the conditions for it during the Meech Lake Debate.”
Hébert then moved on to a Q&A session. An attendee asked Hébert about her thoughts on how some ‘spoiled’ ballots were destroyed by electoral officers during the 1995 referendum. Hébert responded by say-
ing that both the federalist and sovereignist sides were responsible for tampering with the results.
“With 94 per cent of voters voting, I don’t believe that one side stole it from the other,” she said. “The federal government [also swore] in people as citizens to make sure that they showed up to vote, so [it would be] kind of a waste of time [to compare the sides].”
As one of the final questions, an attendee asked Hébert, “What [do] you think the motivations for this referendum are, and how would they be different from the referendum 30 years ago, especially considering the rise of support for independence among young people?”
Hébert explained that the idea of a new referendum still centres on creating a country that protects the French language.
“The Parti Québécois [(PQ)] wasted 30 years and drew too much distance from not just newer Quebecers, but you cannot, in the same breath, say we’re proud of les enfants de la loi 101 and then not realize that your French-rooted kids went to school with people who are not from necessarily the same background,” she responded. “I think the PQ has failed to work its way into finding a way for Quebec’s diversity to be part of its project, and that would cost a vote [because] if you feel that your kids don’t fit in because of [la loi], you’re less likely to want to vote ‘yes’ [in the next referendum].”
McGill will require interested students to respond to three essay questions as part of the application process. (Anna Seger / The Tribune)
Chantal Hébert was appointed to l’Ordre nationale du Québec. (Armen Erzingatzian / The Tribune)
News Editors Asher Kui Helene Saleska Kaitlyn Schramm news@thetribune.ca
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Medical workers say care can’t be quantified—and McGill must uphold that
The Tribune Editorial Board
Continued from page 1.
This level of jurisdiction over medical professionals is deeply undemocratic; it redefines healthcare labour as a matter of bureaucratic control rather than public service.
Bill 2 is not healthcare reform. By forcing a market-driven model of care onto Quebec’s already lacklustre and overburdened public healthcare system, the bill acts as a coercive attempt to prevent medical professionals from providing safe and equitable care to the province’s population.
Contrary to the narrative the CAQ pushes, Bill 2 will not improve care. Under pressure to meet its appointment quotas, doctors will be forced to rush appointments and provide less personalized and empathetic care. The Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) warned that under
COMMENTARY
this legislation, patients will only be allowed to raise one concern per medical appointment. For those living with chronic illness or conjunctional conditions, this structure makes comprehensive diagnosis nearly impossible.
Reducing healthcare to mere statistics will only widen existing systemic inequalities in Quebec’s healthcare system. Research consistently shows that racialized patients—especially Indigenous and Black individuals—and women face disproportionate levels of medical neglect. A 2024 Statistics Canada report found that one in four Indigenous people experience discrimination from healthcare professionals, with two-thirds of those individuals stating their concerns were ignored or dismissed. Similarly, a recent study in Montreal found that Black patients experience similar patterns of bias: Participants reported their symptoms were often downplayed or attributed to non-medical causes. Women face similar medical oversight: 93 per
cent of women have reported feeling dismissed or ignored when seeking medical care. Women’s pain is more likely to be described as ‘emotional’ rather than physical, and medical research continues to underrepresent women’s bodies and symptoms.
Bill 2’s damage extends beyond patients: Over 100 doctors have already applied to transfer their practice to other provinces such as New Brunswick and Ontario, leaving those who remain in Quebec with heavier caseloads and probable burnout. For medical students and residents, the policy foreshadows a future where time spent teaching, researching, and listening to patients is not only undervalued, but explicitly penalized. What the government calls efficiency is, in practice, the systematic deterioration of the healthcare system.
McGill’s Faculty of Medicine, top-ranked nationwide, stands at the centre of Quebec’s healthcare system. Its graduates staff hospitals across the province, and its research defines public health policy. Yet as
Bill 2 changes the very structure of its system, the university has remained silent, offering no acknowledgement of how this legislation threatens its students and the province’s medical future. Fallout from Bill 106, the counterpart to Bill 2, has already delayed the graduation of nearly 1,000 Quebec medical students after clinical teaching was halted province-wide.
As a public institution, McGill bears responsibility not only to its students, but also to the province it serves. The university must denounce Bill 2, support striking faculty and students, and defend medicine as a public good—not a capitalist performance metric.
Bill 2 is not an isolated policy; it is part of the CAQ’s broader effort to reframe healthcare in relation to quantitative efficiency, stifling the human relationships that sustain it. To accept this legislation is to acquiesce to the dismantling of public healthcare itself. The future of healthcare in Quebec depends on the CAQ-run medical system electing care over austerity
Trump’s ‘Department of War’ rebrand shows the power of rhetoric in framing political narratives
Julie Raout Staff Writer
United States President Donald Trump renamed the Department of Defence (DoD) the ‘Department of War’ in an executive order issued on Sept. 5. Subsequently, ‘Secretary of War’ Pete Hegseth stated that the government is “going on offence, not just defence.”
The White House’s rebranding of the institution is not a benign change in nomenclature but a symbolic shift to embrace violence in governance. The new department title serves as a prime example of language weaponized to accomplish political goals and influence public perception—a strategy also wielded by educational institutions like McGill.
CONTRIBUTORS
Dylan Hing, Sofia Lay, Sofia Kuttner Lindelow, Sukey Ptashnik, Sophia Angela Zhang Ryan Dvorak, Tarun Kalyanaraman
University Centre, 3480 McTavish, Suites 404, 405, 406
necessarily represent the views of Mc- Gill University. Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@thetribune.ca and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact informa- tion. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune.
the author and do not necessarily re- flect the opinions of The Tribune, its editors or its staff.
Trump’s rhetoric surrounding the DoD name change emphasizes victory, strength, and a readiness to engage in warfare to “secure what is ours,” a combative language bordering on imperialistic intent—one that harks back to Trump’s last labelling stunt of renaming the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America’ just this January.
The administration’s war on naming speaks more broadly of a will to heroicize America in the eyes of American citizens and the international community. Hegseth glorified violence when he declared that the DoD title change aims to restore “warrior ethos.”
Yet, language that celebrates strength and warfare often finds its counterpart in language that disguises domination
as diplomacy and violence as peace. Hegseth justified the evolution of the Department of War’s mission by arguing it seeks to bring peace—a comically paradoxical declaration that is a testament to America’s long history of waging devastating wars under the pretense of peace.
The bitter irony of Trump’s ‘peace’ rhetoric is more conspicuous in his 20-point plan announced on Sept. 29, in which he pledged to bring about an ‘everlasting reconciliation’ between Israel and Palestine. The plan aims to establish a transitional government for Gaza, overseen by a ‘Board of Peace’ led by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The ‘Board of Peace’ is questionable by definition, given the two key figures appointed as its leaders. First, Blair was responsible for Britain’s decision to back up American troops in the 2003 Iraq war. Second, Trump has displayed nothing short of a flippant attitude towards Israel’s genocide. On Feb. 25, he reposted a concerning AI video imagining the future of Palestine, featuring himself sipping a cocktail by the pool of a luxurious hotel with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump leverages the language of war and peace to legitimize and glorify America’s participation in international conflicts—a common rhetorical tactic in high-power politics around the world. Whether it is the Israel Defence Forces title invoking
national defence to deny genocidal violence, or Quebec Premier François Legault’s fear-mongering claims of a French Language extinction to rationalize Bill 96, curated rhetoric saturates global politics.
Like politicians, institutional leaders too weaponize rhetoric to shape public perception on political affairs and drown out the objectives and campaigns of social movements. On campus, we have also witnessed firsthand how the ‘peace’ rhetoric often hides a latent and divisive political agenda. At McGill, students and faculty continuously organize against the university’s financial investments in military technology companies tied to the Israeli occupation: This movement has included—but is not limited to—the passing of the Policy Against Genocide in 2023, the McGill Association of University Teachers endorsing an academic and cultural boycott of Israel, the 75-day encampment, and two student strikes for divestment.
However, McGill President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini consistently asserts that McGill University must abstain from “commenting or taking a position” when addressing protests. By asserting a supposedly neutral political position, McGill fundamentally sides with the perpetrators of genocide. Abstaining from taking a side in a political conflict is, in effect, siding with the powerful, and is far from an act of peace.
President Trump has stated that the Department of War name-change will cost “Not a lot.” Estimates suggest the rebrand’s cost will amount to approximately $1 billion USD. (Eliot Loose / The Tribune)
The president of a university is appointed to represent the institution’s interests. President Saini’s condemnation of vandalism advocating for divestment in February is understandable in its aim of protecting McGill property. However, Saini’s systematic refusal to address the motives behind the vandalistic acts dismisses the greater concern of students at hand. By cherry-picking what to comment on and where to claim alleged neutrality, Saini constructs a ‘peace’ rhetoric that maintains the genocidal status quo.
The rhetoric embedded in our political landscapes shapes and distorts depictions of political events. Whether glorifying aggression or masquerading behind the façade of peace, these distortions serve one purpose: To protect power. Students must proceed with caution and consider the intentions and interests underlying seemingly impartial political statements appealing to ‘peace’ or ‘security—especially during times of intense mobilization.
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Simona Culotta, Defne Feyzioglu, Alexandra Hawes Silva, Celine Li, Lialah Mavani, Nour Kouri, Laura Pantaleon
Norah Adams, Zain Ahmed, Eren Atac, Basil Atari, Rachel Blackstone, Amelia H. Clark, Defne Feyzioglu, Samuel Hamilton, Merce Kellner, Antoine Larocque, Alexandra Lasser, Lialah Mavani, José Moro, Jenna Payette, Julie Raout, Parisa Rasul, Alex Hawes Silva, Jamie Xie, Michelle Yankovsky, Ivanna (Ivy) Zhang
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Defne Feyzioglu Staff Writer
THousing is urgent; disclosure should be too
here is no debate that Montreal is experiencing a housing crisis. It is also equally evident that Chinatown's remaining infrastructural heritage is scarce and essential to the preservation of Chinese culture in Montreal. Those two facts should be mutually exclusive, but right now, municipal lawmakers are threatening to turn Chinatown heritage sites into social housing, forcing a debate over what the city should prioritize: Heritage or housing. However, the urgent question should not be whether to build social housing, but how to do it—in a way that avoids undermining cultural vitality.
Achieving this kind of support is not straightforward; it requires dialogue, visibility and transparency. Montreal has signalled that multiple municipal sites will be released for nonmarket housing in 2025, yet the government has not disclosed to the public a clear, citywide list of addresses, unit ranges, and timelines.
However, without a clear public site analysis, the decision to place a housing project in a small, racialized heritage district obscures what was a conscious choice by the city government as an unavoidable sacrifice. That opacity creates an unnecessary opposition between cultural protection and human need—two necessities that do not have to be positioned as rivals.
Montreal does have a formal policy of ceding municipal properties for non-market housing, along with an online map demarcating
At capacity, Montreal shelters have been offering seats—rather than beds—as a last resort for unhoused individuals looking for a place to stay overnight. (Armen Erzingatzian / The Tribune)
these sites. The city has acquired or transferred other buildings for housing throughout 2025, including 20 buildings to the Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM) to lock in affordable supply and several projects outside the Ville-Marie district. However, what the city does not make publicly available is their comparative reasoning: Which sites were assessed first, which were set aside, and what factors led to the selection of the Wing building—which has played a long-standing role in supporting and providing for the Chinese community in Montreal.
Montreal has only recently acknowledged its historic failure to protect Chinatown. In July 2023, Quebec classified the core of the
neighbourhood as a heritage site, protecting 10 key buildings and 14 lots from demolition or major alteration, including the Wing building. In January 2024, Montreal designated Chinatown the city’s first official historic site, alleging an aim to ‘protect and enhance’ the rare francophone Chinatown.
Altering even one of these culturally emblematic buildings implicitly devalues the culture and history those buildings reflect, while simultaneously denying a geographic and infrastructural cultural hub for future generations.
However, there is no denying that the housing crisis in Montreal is just as pressing as cultural erosion. In the winter of 2024–2025,
Montreal shelters and warming stations turned away roughly 50 people each night, and by late 2024, day shelters serving elderly unhoused people were also at capacity.
In November 2024, the Centres intégrés universitaires de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de Montréal stated there were 1,864 spaces in shelters across the city, with about 200 more to be added at the start of December. However, local officials warned that Montreal was still short of 500 shelter units. In a city where winter conditions are life-threatening, the acute housing shortage is not an abstract policy problem but a structural shortfall and a threat to basic survival.
By disclosing part of its plan and keeping the rest offstage, Montreal turned two legitimate claims—social housing and historical heritage—into a confrontation. But this apparent clash between communities is really a gap in disclosure. Montreal has the power—and the responsibility—to disclose its 2025 housing data in full. Publishing the 2025 sites, the selection criteria, and the rejected options for new housing developments is not a courtesy to Chinatown or to housing groups. It is the minimum condition for the project to proceed.
Transparency is not a rival to urgency; it’s what makes it credible. Montreal is asking residents to accept that some meaningful, historic locations will change and carry new functions. That is a heavy ask, but it’s also a reasonable one—only once the entire plan is on the table. Consent begins with disclosure, and Montreal has still more to show.
Quebec French seduction programs are a win-win for francophones and anglophones alike
Sofia Lay Contributor
Since the 1960s’ Quiet Revolution, Quebecois secessionists have advocated for the creation of a separate Quebec nation-state and the preservation of strong French cultural and linguistic ties within the province. Yet French cultural initiatives, such as business language requirements, are often unnecessarily exclusionary towards the province’s anglophone residents, enforcing rigid norms in the name of cultural preservation. However, unlike exclusionary language policies, Quebec’s French educational seduction programs strengthen cultural preservation while respecting both francophone and anglophone autonomy.
Recently, the French Consulate announced a new initiative aptly termed the ‘seduction program,’ designed to increase the accessibility of French education for Quebecois students. The program enables Quebecois students to enroll in French universities at the same tuition rate as French citizens. Additionally, the program streamlines the application process to French universities, allowing students to apply to multiple schools for a modest cost. As of 2019, merely 1,600 Quebec students study in France—a paltry headcount that seduction programs aim to increase.
This program offers a positive countermodel to other Quebec initiatives aiming to preserve French language and culture. Unlike some contemporary policies that
promote French language use at the cost of English linguistic accessibility, French educational seduction programs provide Quebec citizens—regardless of their native language—with opt-in opportunities to immerse themselves in French culture.
Given relatively low demonstrated student interest in studying in France, some might argue that the program’s continuation is unjustified. However, in reality, the volume of interest in these programs does not decisively determine their value.
Regardless of whether French educational seduction programs are capitalized upon, they serve an important secondary function: The provision of increased cultural agency for the Quebecois people.
Increased autonomy is the core demand of Quebecois secessionists, who view the preservation of French culture as a vessel for autonomy. Providing francophone students with the option to engage in affordable, French-immersive education empowers them to determine their own cultural destinies. This program could offer a substitute for more exclusionary practices— such as proposed French proficiency mandates at universities like McGill— that promote similar aims of French language retention. In short, this seduction program offers the option for Quebecois to embrace French without undermining English linguistic rights.
Of course, each Quebecois student who chooses to pursue higher education in France represents a loss in revenue for Quebec universities. Only five to six per
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cent of students from Quebec obtain their college degree out of province, so, indeed, it appears that every student gained by French seduction programs is effectively ‘poached’ from the Quebec university system. Yet, major Quebec universities like McGill and Concordia generate the majority of their tuition revenue from international and outof-province students who are not eligible to participate in French seduction programs. Additionally, given that roughly 95 per cent of Quebecois students remain in-province for university, it doesn’t appear that local schools would suffer from the loss of a few resident students to France. Ultimately, French education programs are a positive opportunity for Quebecers
and a net-neutral for universities. Functionally, these programs won’t lead to mass disinvestment from local universities due to their demonstrated lower levels of participation. Rather, these programs bolster provincial cultural autonomy and provide a positive outlet for engagement with French culture. Unlike more typical cultural preservation programs, incentivized education abroad has no exclusionary impact on the province’s English-speaking residents. What little revenue is lost to Quebec universities through these seduction programs seems a small price to pay in exchange for a cultural compromise that honours both francophone and anglophone interests.
Quebec-born students are among the least likely, relative to students born in the rest of Canada, to pursue higher education outside of their home province. (Mia Helfrich / The Tribune)
Artistic gems within the depths of Montreal
Four hidden corners where creativity lies
Sukey Ptashnik Contributor
Art drifts through Montreal like a living current, extending far beyond museums and concert halls. It spills out of the city’s hidden bars, sculptures, and cinemas, inviting anyone who dares to wander to step into its imagination. Here are four corners where Montreal’s artistic heart pulses strongest.
Step into the secret rhythms of Bootlegger
The bar Bootlegger has a discreet, almost concealed entrance meant to emulate the speakeasies of the bootlegging Prohibition era. Stepping inside, you find yourself transported back to the time of secret and illicit jazz saloons and taverns. Dim, red lighting creates an intimate and warm setting. The bar displays many decorative antique bottles of liquor; the stylized lounge area near the entrance adds to the 1920s feel. Live jazz music plays every Sunday and Wednesday, contributing to this mysterious ambiance. The music from the backstage fills every corner of the room, and there isn’t a bad seat in the house. Bootlegger is more than a bar; it is a place where music, light, and memory entwine into a world apart from time.
Take in artistic ambiance at Else’s
Located in the Plateau, Else’s is another cocktail bar and restaurant which presents an artistic environment with its theatrical decorations and quaint street corner location. The exterior is completely blue, an intriguing disruption from the classic beige and brick colouring of the surrounding houses and buildings. The inside is even more eye-catching: The walls are painted a dark green, and near the bar area lie all kinds of medieval puppets of devils and other creatures. There isn’t an inch of the place without some form of artistic display. Though at a slightly costlier price range, it is worth it for the ambiance. At Else’s, the mundane melts into the extraordinary, turning every drink into an encounter with art.
See the French-English feud immortalized in Old Port
Located in Old Montreal, one of the more noteworthy public displays of art in the city is The English Pug and the French Poodle —two opposing but interweaving statues. It features two pet owners wearing masks, comically tipping their noses up in the air at one another. Incidentally, the alternate name of the statue is The Two Snobs . This sculpture is meant to evoke humour, a joke between the French and the English. With the woman carrying a French poodle and the man holding an English bulldog, it represents the dynamic
between the two cultures in Montreal, and satirizes the friction between the two.
Study the classics at Cinema du Parc
If you are in the mood for some quality entertainment, Cinema du Parc is the perfect place for film buffs, cinephiles, and casual movie-goers alike. Located on av. du Parc, not far from McGill’s downtown campus, the cinema is convenient, less expensive than other theatres, and screens both classic films and new movies. With a distinct charm, an oldfashioned feel, and smaller screens and rooms all on one level, it offers a much more traditional movie-going experience.
Cinema du Parc is also one of the few theatres that celebrate prominent anniversaries of renowned films, such as its recent rescreenings of Jaws , One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest , and more. An independent cinema, it promotes local artists, charity organizations, and Montreal communities. Cinema du Parc is a great way to be entertained without a huge price tag.
Montreal’s art can not be contained: It lives, breathes, and whispers in every corner. If you have run out of sights to see and places to visit, these four places are a few of the many places that you must check out. They are just droplets of the city’s artistic scenery.
Cult Play triumphantly faces dark truths of the need for belonging
The interactive solo show explores how consent is warped into control
Dylan Hing Contributor
Cult Play, a new play written by nonbinary playwright and Concordia graduate Scout Rexe, recently made its world premiere at the Segal Centre. Presented by Imagos Theatre, the play follows Alex (Madeleine Scovil), a queer actress in Montreal who falls in love with a woman named Taylor (Kayleigh Choiniere). The one-woman show explores the cost of the natural desire for belonging and the question hovering over Alex: Do we actually have the capacity for fully informed consent?
Alex narrates the play, and the characters she interacts with are presented through video or, in certain scenes, via audience participation. As the only conveyor of the story, she controls the narrative and grants the audience consent to witness it.
Cult Play begins when the two lovers form a lust that manifests itself through bondage, first interacting on the phone and later meeting in Arizona. Taylor persuades Alex to join her at a mysterious retreat centre in California, referred to as ‘The Centre,’ a place devoted to the practice of bondage. The facility’s charismatic owner, Hunt (Thomas Valliéres), runs the retreat with a sort of radical idealism.
In videos of his interactions with Alex, Hunt questions societal structures that he believes chain people to a capitalist mindset. He criticizes the idea of therapy, claiming it creates a dependence which prevents
individuals from meaningful improvement. As the play unfolds, it is clear that his view of dependence is not exclusive to therapy, shaping Alex’s experience in the retreat.
The centre initially seems like the perfect place for Alex, who has trust issues stemming from her unsupportive, demeaning father. Encouraged to be more definitive in facing her obstacles, she feels like she has finally found a space where she belongs. Surrounded by people who seem to understand her—alongside the love of her life—she quietly steps away from her acting career and focuses on herself.
However, the play quickly reveals that this ‘Centre’ is not entirely meant to heal. A mystery involving Taylor and Hunt, a push for Alex to share more, and ever-weakening personal barriers give Alex the sense that she might just be in a cult.
Hunt dismisses the act of being able to consent, as he claims that individuals do not have the capacity to enjoy their own choices. His belief that people require guidance to make good decisions manifests itself in a gradual but shocking tearing of boundaries, pushing Alex into more intimate bondage situations. Though increasingly nervous about the Centre’s control over retreatants, Alex reluctantly complies with Hunt’s requests to desperately win the approval of the Hunt-devoted Taylor.
Fittingly, Cult Play uses audience interaction as a framing device for its central theme of consent. Alex begins by presenting questions on a projector, lines which audience members are encouraged to ask
her.
In doing so, audience members consent to becoming active participants in the story and trust that boundaries will not be crossed. Using the same framing later on, the audience is encouraged to ask for Alex’s consent to look into more harrowing parts of the narrative. Verbally, they affirm the theatre as a safe space. When prompted, audience members may also choose to join Alex in performing scenes alongside her, a gesture of mutual respect and boundaries.
Scout Rexe’s masterful script blends physical performance, digital media, and audience interaction in an immersive experience that bleeds emotions out into the real world. Through an immensely intimate experience based on trust between the performer and the audience, Cult Play argues that consent isn’t irrational— and that choosing happiness isn’t a perpetuation of some capitalist status quo.
Ultimately, Alex discovers that true belonging means acceptance of all of her. She learns to let go of a place where she felt she belonged because, although it accepted her queerness, it did not accept her desire to feel comfortable with
her own choices. In her final reflections, as Alex reckons with the paths laid out in front of her, she harnesses herself to the onstage shibari structure, pulls herself up, and allows herself to float. And then the lights go out.
Low prices offered at Bootlegger’s every day from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Emiko Kamiya / The Tribune)
On stage, Madeleine Scovil bridges the gap between the audience and pre-recorded performances. (Emelia Hellman / Cult Play)
Drinking culture on campus
Cheers, Santé, Salud, Sláinte, Prost, Kanpai, Skål, Geonbae. No matter the language, you know what it means—it can be a call for celebration, a verbalization of excitement over an accomplishment, an honorific bestowed in anticipation of something good yet to happen, or purely a declarative, announcing that the weekend’s approach quickens. The chant of this sacred phrase is no stranger to our lives on campus. Week in and week out, the halls that breathe life into this short verbiage teem with crowds of students as Gerts Bar, Bar des Arts (BdA), Blues Pub, and 4 à 7 come alive. It matters not wheth er you yourself partake in a weekly dose of giggle water, or prefer to ab stain from such activi ties—nearly everyone can feel and notice the pull of the drinking cul ture which haunts McGill’s campus.
inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmission. Short-term alcohol use increases certain inhibitory neurotransmitters—making our memories foggy and moods swing—and suppresses others, proffering excitatory effects and its famed euphemism of ‘liquid courage.’
Other BdA attendants’ experi ences seemed to attest to such bi ological mechanics. Leah Dube, U3 Arts, told The Tribune, “After a solid hour, I’d say everyone is very friendly.” When asked if she thought alcohol might play a role in this, Dube continued, “I would say that could definitely be true.”
It seems naive, however, to suppose that the drinking culture fostered on campus simply exists—that it spawned spontaneously, was created ex nihilo, or emerged from the masses of stressed-out students without cause or intention. This is not to say that social drinking is an abnormal phenomenon; the creation and consump tion of alcohol stretches across the annals of human history. Dating back to 7000 BCE, the use of alcohol is common in thousands of cultures. However, this does not mean that McGill’s proud little bars, tightly packed into basements of lecture halls and universi ty buildings, are as innocent as they appear. The Bard’s eternal wisdom may prove use ful: Something indeed might be rotten in Denmark.
What exactly is it about these spaces that attracts McGillians in sweaty, hungry, thirsty, and sociable droves? What are the forces which make these spaces and events paramount in the social sphere?
For many, the reason for drinking-cen tred spaces’ preeminence in the campus social markets is that they draw a large at tendance. In an interview with Anette Nowakowski, U3 Science, explained that community is a key reason she enjoys BdA. “Way more people are here [at BdA]. You can meet people, new people from many different places, different faculties. It’s a great way to socialize, too.”
Indeed, it’s harder to name campus hotspots more conducive to interfaculty exchange and fraternization than our local watering holes. Many think of alcohol as a kind of social drug: One that reduces inhibitions and gets you out on the dance floor, endowing you with the courage to talk to that special someone you haven’t been able to take your eye off. As a suppressant, alcohol achieves its effect by altering the balance of
Nowakowski followed this sentiment, “Usually, the people, like the crowd, [have] good vibes. I don’t know how [else] to explain it. It’s like [they’re all] friends, and [have] good vibes [between them].”
Still, the social dynamics at play seem to motivate attendance as well. Many have known the pains of waiting in excruciatingly long lines for campus bars on the first and last days of ‘the season.’ Others have hoped for admittance when the venues feature special events, only to be met with the cruel reality of exorbitant wait times.
Dube noted, “[Long lines] could have one of two effects. It could be that it is more exclusive, and it adds to the ‘wanting to get in,’ and you’re more willing to spend more time in line. Other times, it can lead to giving up before you even try.” She clarified, “If [someone is] on the fence, they’re not get-
Pricing, too, certainly contributes to the appeal of campus bars. At most faculty bars, students can purchase a beer at a quarter of the price a local Montreal bar would charge. “I think part of the ‘BdA Thursday’ [that] is important [is that] the cheap drinks make it so you don’t spend that much money on alcohol. It’s a nice addition to the whole experience,” Nowakowski added.
Consequences of
Although the accessibility and allure of campus drinking culture make it so appealing, the use and misuse of alcohol can facilitate unsafe environments. A 2016 study found that alcohol use may be correlated with increased sexual risk behaviours among university students, such as unprohood of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission. A 2015 study also demonstrated that increased alcohol use and misuse among university students are correlated and frequent ly co-occur with instances of sexual assault. While alcohol is never a cause nor excuse for sexual assault, it is undeniable that it plays a role in facilitating environ-
ments where such crimes occur. Because many believe the consumption of alcohol will naturally lead them to irrational, frenzied, and crazed behaviour, it may function to give bad-faith actors an ‘excuse’ to commit these acts. This, combined with alcohol’s hampering of higher-order cognitive processing, inhibition of motor functions, and altered social dynamics amongst peers, increases the likelihood of sexual violence. Moreover, increased alcohol use can lead to both short-term and long-term health issues. Binge drinking—reaching a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 per cent, roughly five drinks for men or four for women within two hours— raises the risks of ‘blackouts’ and alcohol overdoses.
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Patterned binge drinking is also associated with immunocompromisation, damage to the pancreas and liver, and other chronic diseases. As a known Group-1 carcinogen, alcohol also poses a risk for cancer development. For people under 25, consumption can impair longterm brain development by causing a decline in grey matter and hindering white matter growth.
Thus, we arrive now at an impasse. Drinking-centred events clearly have something to offer: Fun, socialization, relaxation, and catharsis at quite an affordable cost. In fact, it seems that faculty bars like BdA, by maintaining affordable prices, effectively democratize the social atmospheres
of their higher-end counterparts. At the same time, however, the patterned (over) consumption of alcohol has very clear potential dangers—some possibly fatal. What are we to do? Can these two truths be reconciled with one another?
Toward a solution
At such a junction, it can be tempting to point fingers—at individuals, for the act of drinking itself, or at groups like faculty bars, for the promotion of this kind of culture. Neither, however, seems to cut through to the heart of the problem.
bune, Professor Dennis Wendt, director of Cultural and Indigenous Research in Counselling Psychology at McGill, who research es substance and alcohol use, emphasized a decline in drinking habits among young people.
“If you look at the data, and I don’t know if it applies to McGill, but in general, young people are drinking less [....] Drinking is down in society, and further, now, more recently, a nar rative about drinking that is more cautious than it used to be,” he said.
door to Blues Pub—promote breweries and non-alcoholic Budweiser. Umbrellas at Open Air Pub on Lower Field flaunt beer and hard seltzer logos, signalling that one ought to purchase a drink. Across campus, the same message is delivered, made im-
Drinking culture is so present, persuasive, and forceful at McGill because it is hy-
In my conversation with Professor Wendt, he stressed that this is not an acci-
drinking
promote alcoholuseoncampus
Blaming individuals does little to find a solution. At best, it serves as a passive-aggressive reprimand to encourage healthier habits; at worst, it risks alienating those who may silently struggle with addiction, assigning them liability for a disease difficult to mitigate. Having a dry campus will not necessarily solve the problem. In Quebec, where virtually every student can legally drink off campus, a prohibition would likely have little effect in discouraging drink ing as a whole. Furthermore, while drinking culture may seem highly saturated on campus, data suggest that this may not accurately reflect big-picture drinking trends amongst young adults.
Recent statistics echo this sentiment. A 2023 Statistics Canada survey found that 67 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 22 reported not having con sumed alcohol in the seven days prior to the survey—a higher percentage than other age groups studied. Likewise, only 8 per cent had reported drinking seven or more alcoholic beverages in the last seven days, a percentage nearly twice as low as other age groups. In the same year, a survey conducted by Gallup found that even among Americans aged 18 to 34 who drink regularly, the percentage of those who reported having consumed an alcoholic beverage in the past seven days fell from 67 per cent in 2001 to 61 per cent. Writ large: Regular drinking habits in young people are waning.
Professor Wendt continued, remarking that in his classroom, more and more young people seem to recognize both the hazardous effects of alcohol on health and that the idea that moderate drinking poses no health risks is a myth.
“I know that when I talk about these things in my classes, sometimes I’ll say, ‘How many of you have heard that drinking some red wine is good for heart health?’ And a lot of people raise their hands,” he said. “[Then] I say, well, how many peo ple have heard that alcohol is a known carcinogen? [....] When I started doing that about eight years ago, hardly anyone raised their hand, but today, most students do. So that is a shift in awareness.”
Furthermore, in an interview with The Tri-
Given the data, a campus drinking cul ture does not seem to be founded on a particular drinking problem with young adults as a whole. Why, then, does drinking culture appear to be so sedimented at McGill? Why does it seem to create a gravitational pull in the social sphere, sucking after-class life deeper and deeper into it? The answer may be far simpler than what fantasy imagines. Campus drinking culture announces itself everywhere. Posts on social media, of course, are the fastest way this culture is communicated. But what about subtler forms of advertisement? Posters in the bathrooms of the basement of McConnell Engineering—coincidentally next
“There is [the beer, wine, and spirits] industry here [on campus] that is very interested in you all drinking [....] And I would hope that more college students have a critical eye towards that, just as they do towards all kinds
The solution to the problem a strong drinking culture imposes is not so simple and clear-cut. Besides potential ineffectiveness, blatant prohibition might produce the opposite effect, encouraging more frequent binge-drinking in environments less safe than what the campus provides. At the same time, it is important to remember that the activities we participate in do not exist in vacuums. There are real risks and potential for harm when such a culture becomes excessive. Companies and executives, too, have much larger stakes in our activities than many would imagine at first blush. Assessing and balancing all of these values is paramount if we wish to reduce harm without succumbing to a kind of moralism that seeks to enforce a strict prohibition on substance use outright and demonize those who participate in it.
What we can do
In light of these issues, it is imperative to raise the visibility and awareness of non-drinking-centred after-class events. Advertising events that offer fun, socialization, and relief from stress without the variable of alcohol allows individuals to better choose how they wish to spend their time. Simultaneously, promoting these events not specifically as non-drinking alternatives but as enjoyable in and of themselves will help decenter drinking as the ‘norm.’ Moreover, it will broaden the extent of people who can participate in such forms of socialization, no longer excluding those groups that drinking events necessarily do, such as those who cannot drink for religious, health, or other reasons.
Campus drinking culture is neither the devil in disguise nor a sufficient scapegoat onto which we can project all problems. However, this does not imply that it is always innocent. In any case, it is important to be cognizant and aware of how we socialize with one another within a strong drinking culture and the risks contained therein.
Written by Gregor McCall, Student Life Editor & Designed by Zoe Lee, Design Editor
Laufey transforms vulnerability into art at Place Bell A Matter of Time vocalizes the singer’s deepest parts of herself
Sophia Angela Zhang Contributor
Following a Grammy for her second album, Bewitched, singer-songwriter Laufey’s A Matter of Time tour explores a new side of herself. Suki Waterhouse opened the Montreal tour stop with ethereal vocals, priming the audience for Laufey; both artists delivered outstanding performances at Place Bell on Oct. 21st. From the first musical notes of “Clockwork,” Laufey invited the crowd on an intimate exploration of her being, translating the vulnerability of her album into a compelling performance.
Laufey’s earlier work often explored youthful, innocent, and almost-naive love through a unique jazz-pop musical style that infused her lyrics with a dreamlike quality. A Matter of Time intentionally subverts these expectations by revealing an honest sincerity. While love remains a major inspiration for Laufey—particularly after entering her first relationship, experiencing the love she had long sung about—her third album does not shy away from some of the more unsavoury experiences of her life. These include the pain of losing a friend, insecurities, and homesickness for Iceland, where she grew up.
In an interview with TIME, Laufey explained what motivated the risk she took with her album: “I wanted to take this idea of beauty that’s often around my music and throw it in the fire a little bit, just for the sake of showing the complexity of female emotion.”
The dichotomy between A Matter of Time and Bewitched can be seen in the way she treats the theme of insecurities. “Letter to my 13 Year Old Self,” from her second album Bewitched, explores the central theme of physical insecurities. Sung to her younger self, who felt like an outsider growing up half-Chinese in Iceland, Laufey comforts and affirms the child’s appearance.
“Snow White,” released as a single earlier this year, is a cynical, dispiriting song about how Laufey feels inferior because of the unreachable standards of female beauty. The lyric, “Sometimes I see her, she looks like Snow White,” reveals her tendency to compare herself to an impossible, idealized image of femininity. The stage was decorated with mirrors and lit in dark blues and pinks; the performance let the audience bear witness to her harsh internal feelings as she embodied her own worst critic. While “Letter to my 13 Year Old Self” explores the same central theme of physical insecurities,
the careful sympathy and solace she offers herself is nowhere to be found in “Snow White,” which is marked with a hard-edged pessimism. However, with “Letter to my 13 Year Old Self” as the last performance of the night, Laufey left the audience on a positive note as she fulfilled her childhood hopes and dreams of performing on stage.
“Sabotage,” the first song Laufey composed for A Matter of Time, is especially unique in its sound, as it intermittently inserts brief bouts of orchestral cacophony to convey personal anxiety. It’s “a song about the fear of losing someone, because you’re in your own head,” she explained to The Grammys. Her on-stage performance mirrored that anxiety, with the lights flashing erratically when the musical dissonances interrupted her singing. In personifying the anxiety she felt in a romantic relationship, she replicates a dread that many can relate to. Laufey captures the feeling of knowing that her own overthinking and anxiety
about a relationship could turn into a selffulfilling prophecy.
By the end of the night, Place Bell had become a collective diary, where heartbreak, nostalgia, homesickness, and selfdiscovery intertwined. Her ability to transform authenticity into music left the audience spellbound long after her final notes.
Music as a medium for change: Political voices resonate through sound
Pop culture has changed drastically over the years. Many argue that the era of monoculture—when people shared the same cultural experiences, listened to the same songs, watched the same shows, and followed the same celebrities— is behind us. Audiences are now scattered across various playlists, social media platforms, and niche subcultures. Some claim that, because of this fragmentation, a single song can no longer be universal or unify a broad audience as it might have in the past. This makes activism in music less culturally resonant than in previous decades.
Yet despite this fragmentation, music has long been—and continues to be—a vehicle for resistance and social change. Through powerful lyrics and rhythmic sounds, music transcends our ever-changing culture and permeates our daily lives. In recent years, many artists have taken their activism one step further: Using music as a form of advocacy and protest. King Krule, alongside Brian Eno and Damon Albarn, played a show in London, Together for Palestine, last November, which raised money to send aid into Gaza. In January 2024, Sudanese singer and poet Mustafa organized the Artists for Aid benefit, with all funds going to the organization Human Concern International, to raise money for food and medical distribution in Gaza, as well as Port Sudan, which is undergoing a genocide resulting in the most devastating humanitarian crisis in the world. Well-known singers such as Clairo and Faye Webster participated in the show. These acts demonstrate that
culture can operate as a tool for resistance, even when audiences are diverse and fragmented.
In a monocultural era, mass media coverage is what sparks widespread public engagement. However, today, activism in music adapts to this decentralized media ecosystem. Lorde, Japanese Breakfast, Björk, and Massive Attack are a few among hundreds of artists who have participated in a boycott against Israel’s genocide in Gaza by banning their music on Israeli streaming services, as part of the No Music for Genocide movement. Not only do such movements aid in denormalizing genocide on a cultural level, but they also aim to influence the music industry to end its complicity in the genocide. The movement claims that even though countries like the United States are also complicit, boycotting Israel holds a specific weight: It encourages social and cultural dissent, fighting against dominant government narratives, while reflecting Palestinian calls to boycott Israel completely.
Music videos also allow artists to position themselves as activists. Though not a recent development, in an era where censorship is prevalent and dissent is stigmatized, artists continue to embed activism in visual form. In her single “Next 2 U,” American singer Kehlani has background dancers performing with Palestinian flags and wearing suits styled with keffiyehs. Her music video also opens with a quote from the Palestinian poet Hala Alyan: “Keep your moon /
We have our own / Keep your army / We have our name / Keep your flag / We have fruit and in / All the right colours.” Symbolic gestures as these show that solidarity through art carries tangible weight. Musicians worldwide have taken a stand against the genocide in subtle but vital ways, going beyond social media advocacy. While using music as a tool for activism may seem futile, solidarity in the arts is an overlooked yet crucial aspect of social change. Not only do boycotts like No Music for Genocide symbolically reject the normalization of Israel, but they also pressure
the music industry to sever economic ties with Israel. These acts demonstrate that advocacy is not limited to marches, petitions, or divestment campaigns; culture, including music, carries political weight.
In a world without monoculture, it may seem harder than ever for artists to influence broad audiences. Yet the recent activism surrounding Gaza and other humanitarian causes, such as Sudan, demonstrates that powerful messages can still reach listeners. Advocacy extends beyond the overtly political, and culture is a powerful tool in shifting public opinion and (de)normalization.
Laufey grew up in a family of classical musicians and started cello lessons at age eight. (Lilly Guilbeault / The Tribune)
OFF THE BOARD
My acoustic coup against the classical
Lulu Calame Opinion Editor
Iwas six years old when I walked into my first violin lesson, and for the twelve years that followed, I stood— posture erect—at dutiful attention to the staid technicalities and smug rectitude of classical music.
I was a happy cadet and a relatively successful one, for what it’s worth. For a decade, I practiced just about every day, commanded by the despotic Ševčík, the melodramatic Beethoven, and the kind, forgiving Bach—as well as a similarly varied array of personal instructors. I learned to differentiate spiccato and
staccato by bending my pinkie, to sightread anything short of Vivaldi on a first try, and to shift to third, fourth, and fifth position deftly enough to know that even in those upper strata of my fingerboard, I would hit high D.
By junior year of high school, I was my orchestra’s concertmaster—the cadet had become the field marshall, reigning over the neat semicircle of chairs facing the conductor—and I felt contentedly indifferent. It’s not that joy and fun could not be found on the symphony’s stage, but rather that it existed only outside our music, which we saluted soberly, properly, and with well-trained technical accuracy.
I’ve stopped playing violin formally since coming to university— for lack of time and a good opportunity to do so. But I have taken up the guitar. At first, I only picked up the instrument to learn “Landslide.” Then I spent a week learning the F-chord just so I could play “Bathroom Light.” I can play maybe twelve chords now— eight confidently—with just enough plucking dexterity to keep Stevie Nicks sounding presentable, and a persistent inflexibility in my strumming pattern
that I keep promising I’ll do something about.
But the little I do know was enough for my roommate and me to perch ourselves on our balcony one September evening and play Noah Kahan. She sings, I strum, and sometimes I sing with her. This evening, though, when we had finished playing, the singing didn’t stop. On the street below our balcony was a three-strong congregation of flashlights, swaying back and forth, as the voices behind the lights sang the chorus we had just finished. They stopped, turned off their flashlights, and called up to us through the dark to play the song again, “from the top.”
This time I played guitar and we all sang—an earnest, multi-elevational chorus on rue Aylmer. When we were done, my roommate and I leaned over the balcony and learned that our backup singers were our neighbours, and that the one on the left was turning 21 that weekend. He invited us to the festivities, and we said goodnight, each party still unaware of what the other even looked like.
We and our neighbours now play guitar regularly—on their balcony, in
our kitchen, and in their living room. All three of them, it turns out, are far more talented with a guitar than I ever was on the violin, but when I do know the chords to a song, they let me play it: Me with my kindergarten-level strumming, absolutely giddy with happiness.
I’ve never made friends with any across-the-street neighbours by practicing Vivaldi’s Concerto in A Minor for any of the three violin recitals in which I played it. And I’ve never played a partita in the kitchen.
This is not a smear campaign against my violin. Like a strict aunt, classical music raised me (if not a little coldly), and for that I hold a familial fondness—and always will. But what I lack in technical skill on my acoustic guitar (almost everything, actually) is made up for twice over by the few chords I can claim. Like a tiny army of their own, these chords throw themselves unabashedly at anyone who comes their way—Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, Simon and Garfunkel, and Beck—who themselves call to those around them to walk across the street, sing into the dark, and invite whoever is perched up there to a birthday party.
Weathering academic disappointment
How to cope with discouraging midterm results
Tamiyana Roemer Student Life Editor
My fellow students, we’re in the eye of the storm. Two weeks post-reading week, the first flood of midterms is just behind us. Unfortunately, the McGill student body knows the worst is yet to come. The forecast calls for a downpour of exams and assignments until late November, and as we brace ourselves for the next deluge of stress, our grades are also trickling in. For many of us, those results may not be what we hoped for, and they seep into our minds even as we try to look forward. It’s common for disappointment, frustration, and self-doubt to pour in. Yet, as the semester’s pressure builds, how we respond to these moments matters just as much as the grades themselves.
When the structures of university life dictate so much of our daily routines, it’s easy to see ourselves primarily as students. Thus, when grades fall short of expectations, they can feel like a reflection of our self-worth rather than measures of momentary performance.
Abril Meza Naranjo, U4 Arts, credits her classes themselves for teaching her how to deemphasize grades.
“I actually took a psychology class, and it taught me that the more [identities] you connect with your personality, like [being a] sister or [someone with] hobbies, the less your [sense of self depends on] school. That actually
really helped me with learning how to cope with failure,” she said. “ [....] I’m in another psychology class, my motivation class, [where I learned that] people [who did this mental] work [are more likely to] improve their grade than people [who considered their grade] part of their [identity].”
When we cultivate aspects of ourselves outside the classroom, we create space to see academic setbacks as minor and temporary rather than inflated and defining. Other students have found that shifting their mindset allows them to better handle academic disappointments.
Caroline Choucha, U2 Engineering, tends to remind herself that midterms do not define an entire semester.
“Since it’s a midterm, I usually try to stay positive and say, ‘Okay, it’s not the final, […] you could always catch up on the final.’”
In the haze of frantic preparation and anxiety, it’s easy to forget the purpose of midterms. Though seemingly designed to torment eager students and squander the joys of learning, we can also consider them a tool created in our best interest. After all, they prepare us for the end of the semester, which would be much more overwhelming without the preparation and feedback concomitant with midterm assignments and exams.
Liane Nsouli, U2 Engineering, uses low midterm grades as a diagnostic tool to guide future learning.
“In the beginning, l look through where I went wrong. [....] Then, I go to tutorials because sometimes they go [over] the questions and explain them. And if not, then I’ll go ask about the questions to actually understand [them]. [....] For the future, for other exams, I would go and ask more questions about the topic just to get a greater understanding.”
Ultimately, a disappointing midterm season is relative. McGill has over 40,000 students, each with individual experiences, expectations, and standards by which they measure themselves. A mark that seems devastating at first glance may, in a broader context, be far less alarming than we initially perceived it as. Recognizing this relativity allows us to approach our grades more holistically, reducing anxiety and making room for learning rather than self-judgment.
Of course, institutional pressures make grades important, and as students, we may not have the power—or even the desire—to change their significance. But in the thick of the semester, the best way to weather the storm may be by putting academic disappointment into perspective, however that may look for you.
At Frostbite, showing that you received a score below 30 per cent on a midterm worth at least 15 per cent of your grade earns you a free scoop of ice cream. (Alexa Roemer / The Tribune)
Boredom-busting activities that disrupt the endless midterm grind Easy ways to non-academically nourish your brain, both on and around campus
Mairin Burke Managing Editor
During McGill’s never-ending midterm period, motivation decreases at the speed of light. Your long hours at the library get less and less productive, yet the foreboding your incessant workload inspires, combined with the battle it took to secure a seat on your favourite floor of the library, keep you rooted in place.
Before this monotony and anxiety overwhelm you, making any level of studying impossible, it is crucial to build in breaks that combat academic ennui. The Tribune presents a list of boredom-busting opportunities that will fit your tight study
schedule and nourish your soul in ways McLennan never could.
Take advantage of campus museums
A hop, skip, and a jump away from any university library is McGill’s Redpath Museum, free with voluntary admission and open Tuesday to Saturday. Though it is perhaps most known for its central Gorgosaurus fossil, do not miss the museum’s stunning Abe Levine Shell Collection, which holds over 2,000 seashells that genuinely sparkle. Redpath also boasts a fascinating Ancient Egypt Collection that dives into the civilization’s funerary rites and mythos, and many stuffed zoological specimens, including extinct creatures.
Chronic boredom is associated with feelings of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and impulsiveness. (Ryan Dvorak / The Tribune)
For a more grisly experience, head to the equally proximate Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building to visit the Maude Abbott Medical Museum. Free to visit on Tuesday to Friday afternoons, Maude Abbott’s Cardiovascular Collection hosts a fascinating display presenting 39 examples of heart disease, including an alligator’s heart. While you could get lost perusing either museum, both Redpath and Maude Abbott offer quick breaks from
schoolwork that are much more informative and engaging than the classic midterm season doomscroll.
Watch dogs frolic at Percy-Walters Park
Whether strolling from campus along the south side of Mount Royal or coming from the mountain itself mid-run or walk, consider stopping by Percy-Walters Park. A quiet enclave surrounded by stately homes, the greenspace is a refreshing breather from McGill’s bustling buildings, and it offers amazing pet-watching via its fenced-off dog park. If you’re lucky, an owner might even let you say hello to their puppy: Just like a McGill-run animal therapy session, but without the queue.
Skip the cooking
There is nothing more rewarding during midterms than not having to coordinate meal prep. Whether by yourself or on a study date with friends, treat yourself to lunch or dinner at a restaurant to break up long library sessions and make sure you fuel your hardworking brain properly.
A BIXI ride away from campus on rue Rachel E, visit AMBER Restaurant for Indian-Pakistani cuisine with a wide range of exceptional vegetarian options. While the menu is sharing-friendly, try to stop by during lunch service from Thursday to Sunday to order your own personal thali, which comes with a comprehensive appetizer, three curries, rice, naan, and a dessert for only $25.99 CAD. The warm food will
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feel like a hug in your stomach during even the most trying of academic times.
Slightly farther on av. Fairmount O, brave the line at the Drogheria Fine window for piping-hot gnocchi, at just $5 CAD per takeout box—with a slight premium to add parmesan cheese or chilli flakes—payable by cash or debit card only.
If you don’t have any time to dine in during the midterm grind, order from I Am Pho near Concordia. This popular spot offers delicious soups that withstand food delivery journeys without compromising quality. Fragrant and spicy, their bún bò Huế is a must-try.
Take a total brain break to explore av. Laurier
For when you’ve truly given up on studying, call it a day and take a proper break to recharge: Why not spend an afternoon meandering along av. Laurier? Start by grabbing a warm beverage from Noble Café to sip on as you walk through SirWilfrid-Laurier Park and admire the last of the autumn leaves. If you head east after the park, consider picking up colouring supplies at art store Lézard Créatif as a further de-stressor for home, or enjoy a beer at Dieu du Ciel! If heading west on Laurier, stop by Librairie un livre à soi, a beautifully curated French bookstore, to find an alternative to your myCourses readings, or Marie Vermette, a florist whose bouquets can brighten up your desk even in the darkest of midterm seasons.
A student-made platform connects McGill students through lecture ratings and reviews
Parisa Rasul Staff Writer
Many are familiar with scrolling Letterboxd , a platform designed to rate and review movies. There, cinephiles convene over the range of emotions evoked from watching a movie—from laughing to crying, then back to laughing because you’re crying. Now, McGill students who feel the exact same range of emotions all within a one-anda-half-hour Zoom lecture can debrief on Lecky Lecky is a platform where students can connect with friends while reviewing lectures on a five-star scale.
Ashtyn Morel-Blake, U0 Arts, with co-collaborator Regan Heynoski, U0 Arts & Science, spearheaded the website. In an interview with The Tribune , Morel-Blake expressed that Lecky functions similarly to Letterboxd
“If you’re a fan of Letterboxd / and rating things, why don’t you also just rate your lectures when you go to them?”
Although this concept may sound reminiscent of pre-existing websites like Rate my Professors , Morel-Blake explains, “ Rate my Professors is about a person. [....] [With Lecky ], you actually choose which [individual] lecture you [rate].”
Because the website can be synced to McGill’s visual schedule builder, students can type in their course code to find their lectures easily, as well as tag the date of the
lecture for more specificity. Morel-Blake intends to expand the app to allow users to share notes back and forth, creating more opportunities for collaboration. A packed lecture hall can feel isolating, but with Lecky , Morel-Blake hopes to foster a community where students connect through shared experiences.
Despite his skill in coding, MorelBlake understands software engineering to be a narrowing job market. “There’s a higher probability that that career option’s kind of dead […] for the longest time [I wanted] to be a software engineer, […] [but now] the bar for quality of [a software] engineer is really high. […] I hope I’m in that top five per cent”.
Aspiring software engineers are now competing with AI models that have the ability to code. Morel-Blake believes that AI can create specific apps at a fast rate, albeit with negligible craft and ‘sloppy work.’ Morel-Blake refers to this specific type of AI-usage as ‘vibe coding,’ a process where humans use plain speech to describe an app’s purpose to an AI model, which then writes a functional code. Sometimes, however, human users do not read this code. It is often only tested by using the actual app.
The newness of AI software, like ‘vibe coding,’ can engender a lack of awareness among consumers and investors about the pitfalls of relying on automatically generated code, the backbone of digital products.
This naive optimism and overvaluation surrounding ‘vibe coding’ may be akin to the so-called ‘dot-com bubble.’ The ‘dotcom bubble’ of the late 90s occurred when lucrative start-ups received substantial valuations of shares in the stock market. When these companies could not deliver on their promise of profit, the ‘dot-com bubble’ burst, leading many companies to sink and resulting in massive financial losses for individual investors.
software.
Speculating that the ‘dot-com bubble’ bears a similar mark to the vast investments AI-firms currently receive, MorelBlake elaborates on this by suggesting that the innovation of these apps does not require comprehensive expert coding knowledge. The ease of creating has, therefore, diminished the standard for well-crafted
“Now we have the AI bubble, and everyone that doesn’t really know how to program and doesn’t really know what good software looks like […] [is] making all of these apps, and there’s no real expectation of quality”.
Even as AI’s inevitability takes hold, Morel-Blake’s passion for crafting and fostering community is a testament to the most enduring form of intelligence: Creative human innovation.
Y Combinator, a venture capital firm in the US, reported that, in 2025, 25 per cent of its startups used AI to write 95 per cent or more of their code. (Anna Seger / The Tribune)
The cooling power of wetlands: Climate benefits in Canada’s prai ries How protecting prairie wetlands could cool Canada’s farmlands
José Moro Staff Writer
Amid rising global temperatures and intensifying heatwaves, wetlands are among Earth’s essential natural defences. However, Canada’s Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) ecosystems are under threat from decades of drainage and agricultural expansion that have turned much of the landscape into cropland. This shift reduces their capacity to store carbon and regulate the climate, posing serious risks not only to the environment but also to local and regional agricultural economies.
A recent study published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology details these concerns as it ex - plores how wetland conservation can help mitigate heat stress and support the agricultural environment across the Canadian Prairies. Joyson Ahongshangbam, lead author on the study and postdoctoral researcher in McGill’s Department of Geography at the EcoFlux Lab, explained the motivation behind the research.
“We are working on understanding different ecosystems, especially the wetlands, and other ecosystem services provided by wetlands across different parts of Canada,” Ahongshangbam said in an interview with The Tribune . “We have many study sites in Vancouver, Manitoba, and […] Quebec.”
The study, conducted in southern Manitoba, explores how different wetland types
within the PPR contribute to surface cooling. Researchers dive into how vegetation, water coverage, and surrounding land use influence this effect. By quantifying the temperature regulation potential of these ecosystems, the findings provide insight into how conserving and restoring wetlands can counter the growing heat stress across Canada’s agricultural heartland.
The team focused on three wetlands:
An isolated cropland marsh (CA-EM1), an isolated grassland marsh (CA-EM2), and a restored marsh (CA-EM3). Two additional cropland sites served as reference points:
An organic cropland (ORG) and a conventional cropland (CON). Each site differed in size and vegetation type. Researchers used Eddy-covariance technique —a method that measures the exchange of heat and moisture between the land and atmosphere—to compare the sites.
“[This technique] is a micrometeorological technique using a set of instruments. The gas analyzer measures gas concentration at a very high frequency, […] [and] the anemometer measures wind speed and direction in three dimensions. We apply micrometeorological methods to measure concentrations of gases like CO2 or methane, with vertical wind speed, to understand how gases move,” Ahongshangbam said.
“From this, we calculate how much carbon is going from the ground surface to the atmosphere, or vice versa, estimating annual or multi-year carbon budgets and storage.
For energy fluxes, we measure net radiation from the sun and track how it transfers into various energy components. Some energy reflects to the atmosphere, some is stored in the surface or water, and some transfers through evapotranspiration.”
Results showed that wetlands provide daytime cooling, though to varying degrees. CA-EM1 had the strongest effect, averaging 3.0 °C lower temperatures, while CA-EM2 and CA-EM3 showed smaller reductions of 1.4 °C and 1.5 °C, respectively, confirming wetlands in the PPR can lower summer temperatures by up to 3 °C. Wetlands act as natural buffers, cooling the air and reducing crop stress.
The PPR’s wetlands can help combat the climate crisis. By significantly lowering local temperatures, especially on hot summer days, these ecosystems should be central to Canada’s climate adaptation strategies. Wetland conservation and restoration not only enhances cooling but also contributes to long-term carbon balance and eco -
system stability. The research also emphasizes the need to manage vegetation and hydrology for both climate and agricultural benefits.
“I hope this paper inspires stronger conservation policies,” Ahongshangbam said. “By expanding our work with remote sensing, we aim to show just how far the cooling power of wetlands can reach, and how vital they are to Canada’s climate future.”
The cost of silence: How occupational therapy institutions have failed Palestinians Commentary invites dialogue to shatter the institutional silence amid genocide
Antoine Larocque Staff Writer
In the face of the Palestinian genocide, Canadian occupational therapy institutions have largely remained silent. This institutional silence has deeply affected many practitioners, who must navigate both ethical responsibilities and moral obligations.
To challenge this lack of a clear institutional stance, Hiba Zafran, assistant professor in McGill’s School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Pier-Luc Turcotte, editor of nursing journal Aporia, coauthored a commentary with collaborators titled “Shattering Silence, Inviting Dialogue: Anti-Oppressive Occupational Therapy During the Genocide of Palestinians.”
The piece argues that occupational practitioners cannot be disconnected from global conflicts and systemic oppression abroad. Thus, they find it concerning that institutions have not even opened a dialogue.
“In this context, deliberate silence is part of the system of oppression and the colonization of Palestine,” Zafran said in an interview with The Tribune This institutional silence also reflects a form of hypocrisy.
“As healthcare professionals and occupational therapists, we have the duty to defend human rights,” Turcotte told The Tribune. “And collectively, we all have an obligation to speak against and prevent a genocide when it occurs.”
Notably, the Competencies for Occupational Therapists in Canada explicitly states
that practitioners must be anti-oppressive and advocate for social justice. However, many who have spoken for Palestine have been silenced, primarily accused of antisemitism.
“There has been a whole global narrative suggesting that [talking about] Palestine automatically means being anti-Jewish, which is simply not true,” Zafran said.
In some cases, censorship has had devastating effects on students, with some being threatened with the loss of internship opportunities because of their social media posts. The concept of neutrality adopted by Canadian occupational therapy institutions is misused in a harmful way.
“In this context, they are going against the principle of medical neutrality when they refuse to aid an entire population out of fear of being accused of antisemitism,” Turcotte said.
Zafran pointed out the inconsistency in institutional responses to oppression.
“There were some very positive developments in 2020 regarding […] the launch of equity, diversity and inclusion and antiracism plans,” Zafran said. “Our association issued a statement, ‘No silence in the face of any injustice,’ which was cited by occupational therapy associations all over the world. [....] And when we get to [the genocide of Palestinians], it is just total hypocrisy.”
For healthcare professionals, institutional inaction has had consequences in the workplace.
“In our daily life, with our patients and colleagues, we are walking on eggshells. It is a betrayal of our very ethics, our competen-
cies, and the philosophy in our profession,” she said.
In Canada, occupational therapists work with patients impacted by the genocide. Many Arab, Palestinian, Jewish and other patients have also been affected by the genocide in Canada—some are recalcitrant about opening up to their therapist.
“There are practitioners who, in their work, meet people who are concerned about what is happening, […] and who live with grief and trauma on a daily basis,” Turcotte said. “The work of these practitioners has been impacted [….] Some [patients] even avoid coming [to the hospital] because they do not feel safe in certain clinics or hospitals due to their reputation.”
To advocate against oppression, we must avoid replicating colonial and oppressive patterns responsible for oppression in the first place.
“To me, anti-oppression is all in the process, not just in the hope for an outcome,” Zafran said. “If we have an anti-oppressive process, then the outcome is that we have changed how things are done, and that is going to lead to what we hope for.”
Compassion, kindness, and taking time to think about others can all contribute to effective anti-
oppression advocacy.
“It is important to sometimes slow down the pace of our actions […] to ensure that we are acting in the best interest of everyone,” Turcotte said.
For students engaged in advocacy work, Zafran recommends moving beyond criticism.
“If [we] want hope, then [we] need to go beyond resisting the world [we] do not want,” she said. “[We] also need to build the world that [we] want. And to do that, we need to treat each other the way that we want to be treated, even in advocacy spaces.”
*All quotes were translated from French
Wetlands make up 14 per cent of Canada’s landmass. (Tarun Kalyanaraman / The Tribune)
Sex-specific autonomic signatures of tonic pain
Emerging literature on the diverging physiological mechanisms of pain
Sofia Kuttner Lindelow
Contributor
The subjective experience of pain varies drastically between people, but subjective measures of pain correlation provide an important understanding of its underlying mechanisms. Emerging literature on pain points to a relationship between muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA)—a measure of how active the sympathetic nervous system is while signalling blood vessels to constrict—and acute pain. MSNA is closely tied to the cardiovascular system and typically rises with painful stimulation, linking autonomic arousal to the perception of pain.
The autonomic nervous system has two
branches: The sympathetic nervous system, which controls the ‘fight or flight’ response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with promoting states of calm. Previous research has shown that brief painful stimuli and standard cold-pressor paradigms—where participants submerge their hand in a bowl of ice-water—elevate MSNA, blood pressure, and pain ratings in both sexes. However, little is understood about MSNA’s relationship to chronic pain, defined as pain persisting over three months, or whether sex contributes to variability in MSNA responses to pain.
In her PhD Sex Differences in the Relationship between Pain and Autonomic Outflow during a Cold Pressor Test published in Biology of Sex Differences, Laila A. Chaudhry seeks
to address the research gap on the relationship between MSNA and chronic pain. In an interview with The Tribune, Chaudhry spoke about conducting the first such study, segregating pain measures by sex to distinguish whether there was a significant difference in its interaction with autonomic arousal.
“It encourages a shift from viewing sex differences in pain from purely a psycho-social [phenomenon] to something grounded in physiological differences,” Chaudhry said. “This [research] is very indicative that it is actually at the biological level as well, including something as simple as nerve conductance is different between the sexes.”
To test her hypothesis, the intervention protocol included a six-minute tonic cold pressor test (CPT) to simulate chronic pain—a longer protocol than previously tested. While participants submerged their hands in ice-water, they reported a tingling, throbbing, and persistent pain resembling chronic pain symptoms. The team collected subjective pain ratings and objective autonomic measures—heart rate (HR), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and MSNA—at various time points throughout the test. The team reported sex-aggregated interactions between time, pain, and the various autonomic markers during the intervention.
Although HR, MAP, and MSNA all increased in the initial submersion for both cohorts, a positive relationship between pain and HR emerged only in males for durations over 30 seconds. This association is an index of parasympathetic activity, meaning it points to predominant vagal withdrawal—as opposed to large vasoconstrictor surges, which indicate sympathetic activity—as the pathway linking sustained pain to cardiovascular arousal in men
once the initial shock phase passes.
In contrast, females showed greater painrelated sympathetic responses, with 2.2 times higher MSNA burst frequency than males. Mechanistically, this suggests that sympathetic drive in response to sustained pain may be implicated in amplifying and maintaining pain more strongly in females.
“[A] prevailing theory is that larger axons are less likely to produce chronic pain because, essentially, they don’t get over-fired [....] They have greater neurotransmitter release just because they have larger burst amplitudes, and men, just because of their physical size, are more likely to have larger axons and larger nerves,” Chaudhry said.
In other words, chronic pain in men is characterized by a reduction in the pain-inhibiting activity of the parasympathetic branch, whereas in females, it involves higher activity of the ‘fightor-flight’ system of the sympathetic branch. The discovery of different relationships between pain ratings and autonomic indices by sex—pain versus HR in men and pain versus MSNA variables in women—suggests sex-specific autonomic signatures of tonic pain. Chaudhry explained where this study falls within existing pain literature.
“This was part of a larger set of studies looking at sympathetic factors in pain [....] Pain treatment is interdisciplinary, and other techniques that work to target the sympathetic or parasympathetic systems could be informed by this knowledge of sex differences in chronic pain patients,” Chaudhry said.
Continuing to study the interaction between sex and pain is crucial for developing treatment protocols that adequately address differing physiological profiles and guiding targeted prevention and treatment.
Trust your gut: How your gut microbiota uses the foods you eat to prevent disease PhD student Arianna Giurleo investigates bacteria to improve cancer patients’ treatment outcomes
Michelle Yankovsky Staff Writer
Continued from page 1.
Her work explores how plant compounds called polyphenols interact with the gut’s microbiome. Gieurleo is particularly interested in identifying bacterial species that metabolize castalagin—a polyphenol isolated from the berry camu camu—to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
“Patients with cancer undergoing treatments like immunotherapy, when supplemented with castalagin-rich supplements, tend to do better [....] We’re interested in understanding which bacteria will break down castalagin into these downstream metabolites, which are beneficial for health,” Giurleo said in an interview with The Tribune. “I am currently looking at certain bacteria we’ve recently found that are capable of having this effect, and which genes or functions they use to do this.”
Giurleo explained that her motivation to pursue this research stems from a desire to bridge the gap between traditional research in microbiology and real-world applications.
“Microbiology can be very specific to just looking at a specific gene or bacteria, but it doesn’t really have as much translation as I would have liked [....] Having my own research be [applicable] to something that might help people down the line, such as in the form of a drug, is why I’m here now,” she said.
High levels of polyphenols are widely present in a variety of everyday foods.
“Polyphenols are obtained from our diet, mostly through fruits, vegetables, teas, nuts, and some wines,” Giurleo said. “Pomegranates and walnuts are what have been particularly studied the most.”
Gut bacteria play many roles, from harvesting energy from food to producing neurotransmit-
ters like serotonin and essential vitamins such as vitamin K. However, diet seems to be the most powerful influence for the establishment of a diverse gut microbiome. Non-digestible dietary compounds known as prebiotics, often found in fibre-rich foods such as berries, are key nutrients for stimulating the growth and activity of new gut flora.
“Your gut microbiome is connected to so
many things, and it’s crucial for general homeostasis of health [....] It’s really important to pay attention that what you’re eating is right, so that you can continue to keep proper functioning of your microbiome,” she said.
Giurleo discussed how even her own habits have changed as a result of her research.
“I have been a bit more aware of my overall diet, and I now try to implement a lot more fibrerich things,” she said.
The gut microbiota undergoes extensive changes across the lifespan, and these alterations may influence the gut’s ability to metabolize beneficial compounds. Although unable to disclose her exact results due to the ongoing nature of her research, Giurleo’s work is part of a growing body of epidemiological studies that have shown that polyphenols offer protection against the development of cancer, as well as induce a reduction in tumour formation and growth. These effects have been observed at several sites of the body, such as the mouth, stomach, intestines, and liver.
Giurleo concluded by pointing out that polyphenol intake will not be very effective without a pre-established strong microbiome. She highlights the importance of maintaining a healthy gut so that it can continue to protect us, particularly from metabolic diseases.
“We can take in all the polyphenols we want, but without them being broken down or transformed [by the proper microbes], there won’t be any benefit,” she said.
Breathwork, yoga, and pharmacology can be levers for sympathetic downregulation. (Emiko Kamiya / The Tribune)
McGill Varsity Swim secures top spot in RSEQ rankings after Cup 2 victory
Redbirds and Martlets triumph in the pool while fostering team unity and culture
Ivanna Zhang Staff Writer
McGill Varsity Swim hosted the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) University Cup 2 Meet on Oct. 26. Both the Redbirds and Martlets finished first on the leaderboard, earning an impressive total of 1,067 points. The event was the second of four RSEQ cup meets that Quebec universities compete in before the U SPORTS National Championships.
McGill has solidified itself as a powerhouse in university swimming under Head Coach Peter Carpenter, finishing in the top three nationally in 2025 and winning five consecutive RSEQ championships in the past five years. Their goal this season is to win their sixth RSEQ championship in a row, and place on the Nationals podium in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
In an interview with The Tribune, Carpenter described how the results and expectations for McGill Swim have changed drastically over the years.
“In my first year, we finished 15th and 13th at Nationals out of 25 teams or so,” Carpenter said. “Now, for the past five years, we’ve had a team in the top three. Last year it was the women, the year before, the men.”
The team’s Cup 2 win reflects their growth and consistency, placing first in 13 of 20 events at the Cup and showcasing the depth of talent that defines McGill’s program.
Rebecca McGrath, U1 Science student and a first-year swimmer at McGill, claimed
The U SPORTS Swimming Nationals will be held at the University of Toronto from March 12-14. (Lilly Guilbeault / The Tribune)
gold medals in all four events she competed in and was named women’s Swimmer of the Meet. McGrath sat down with The Tribune to explain the team’s plan going into this meet.
“Our biggest goal was to win all the relays,” McGrath said. “We weren’t able to do that in [our] first meet, but this time we did, which was more rewarding because [it was] a team effort.”
The team’s focus on the relays reflects their approach of valuing collective results over individual achievements. McGill Swim participates in annual retreats and intensive training camps—this year in Barbados—allowing them to set collective goals even in an individually-oriented sport.
“As an individual sport, everyone tends to think in terms of what they want to achieve,” Carpenter highlighted. “But at the
retreat, [swimmers] bring those personal goals to the table and ask, ‘How does this goal contribute to the team?’ The team goals are really an amalgamation of all the individual ones.”
That philosophy extends to McGill Swim’s training, where practices emphasize quality over quantity through event-specific workouts, instead of swimmers simply logging long hours in the pool.
“Volume is one thing, intensity is another,” Carpenter said. “Swimming is a sport that demands time in the water. You can’t replicate training unless you’re actually in the pool.”
The athletes themselves, led by captains Alejandro Giggey and Iris Tinmouth, also take a proactive role in their competition preparation. Despite missing Cup 2 due to injury, Giggey strives to create an optimistic atmosphere by leading team cheers and stretches.
In an interview with The Tribune, he described how he has balanced academics with athletics over the years, highlighting how the team puts its members first.
“Sometimes you will have to miss a practice for a midterm,” Giggy explained. “[Coach Carpenter] is very understanding of that. We are student-athletes, not athlete-students.”
McGill Swim also makes a point of supporting one another academically, often helping each other with schoolwork when needed. That close-knit community is reflective of the strong bonds the swimmers have built over the years.
In an interview with The Tribune, assistant coach Nikki van Noord, who has been part of the program for nine years—an athlete for six of those years—reflected on her journey from swimmer to coach, and the relationships she formed while on the team.
“It’s really because of [Coach Carpenter] that I decided to take the coaching route,” van Noord said. “It inspires me every day that he’s as passionate as he is.”
“My favourite part is developing longlasting relationships with the athletes,” Carpenter shared. “Nikki asked me to officiate her wedding this year. She’s marrying another former swimmer on the team.”
The relationships and mentorship built within the program leave a lasting impact on both athletes and coaches.
“The team builds more than just athletes, it builds people,” van Noord emphasized. “I wouldn’t be doing a ninth season at McGill if I didn’t love the team.”
Turning back time: What daylight savings teaches us about athletic career endurance
Top athletes who, despite their age, have shown they can still compete with the best
Merce Kellner Staff Writer
Daylight saving time: You hate it when you lose an hour of sleep in March, and love when you gain the hour back in November. This past Sunday, Nov. 2, our clocks turned back, and we attained that beloved hour. What if athletes could also ‘turn back the clock’ on their careers? Often, as sports stars age, they lose the athleticism they once had in their younger prime—but some athletes have withstood the test of time. In celebration of daylight saving time, here are the top athletes who have shown that, despite their age, they can “turn back the time” and still put up elite performances against younger competition.
Tennis: Venus and Serena Williams
Both household names, the Williams sisters have dominated tennis for decades. Venus and Serena have done it all, winning a combined 30 Grand Slam singles titles. As a duo, they have won three Olympic gold medals and 14 doubles titles.
Last July, at 45 years old, Venus became the second-oldest player ever to win a Women’s Tennis Association tour singles match, defeating 22-year-old Peyton Stearns. Despite their 23-year age gap, Venus dominated the game, winning in two sets. Similarly, during the 2022 US Open, Serena pulled off a major upset, beating the globally-ranked
number two player Anett Kontaveit. Serena, who was 41 at the time, is 15 years older than Kontaveit, who was 26 and in her prime. While Venus is 45 and Serena is turning 44, Venus continues to compete despite Serena’s retirement in 2022, showing that age is just a number—even at tennis’s highest level.
Football: Tom Brady
Known as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) of football, quarterback Tom Brady has not only achieved all one can in the National Football League (NFL) as its most decorated player ever, but continued to do so late into his career. Brady did not retire from the NFL until he was 45, even coming back to play another year after he initially announced his ‘retirement’ in 2021.
At age 43, Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to his seventh career Super Bowl championship victory. In his decisive 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Brady had an age advantage over opposition quarterback Patrick Mahomes of 18 years and 45 days.
Soccer: Marta
Marta Viera da Silva (Marta), regarded as ‘The Queen’ of soccer, has been critical to the success of her home nation Brazil on the international stage and is historically one of the best to ever play around the world. Still in the game at age 39, she has participated in six World Cups and six Olympic Games,
scoring 122 goals.
Despite initially ‘retiring’ from international soccer after the 2024 Olympic Games, Marta returned to play for Brazil in the 2025 CONMEBOL Copa América Femenina, a tournament between South American nations. Playing alongside many of her teammates who were a full decade younger than her, she was the star. In Brazil’s final against Colombia, Marta scored two goals in extra time to secure Brazil’s victory as the champion of the continent.
Hockey: Jaromír Jágr
A hockey legend, Jaromír Jágr continues to play professionally at 53 years old. Originally from the Czech Republic, Jágr was drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990. Throughout his NHL career, Jágr recorded 756 goals and 1135 assists, making him second on the all-time NHL
points leaderboard.
Jágr played in the NHL until 2018, 28 years after he was first drafted. Today, he continues to play in the Czech Extraliga, the highest-level league in the Czech Republic, for Rytíři Kladno. His last feature was on Oct. 17 against HC Vítkovice, showing that despite his age, Jagr still competes at the top level.
Ultimately, these athletes have taught us that skill does not have to come at the expense of age. Just as our clocks turn back every November, we are reminded of the stars who have done the same with their careers, proving that star power in the most elite players can trump the effects of growing older.
In major sporting leagues and tournaments, such as the Olympic Games, there is no age cap. (Zoe Lee / The Tribune)
European football experiments beyond borders
UEFA’s decision to allow Serie A and LaLiga matches abroad reveals growing tensions between global expansion and loyal home fanbases
Alex
Hawes Silva Staff Writer
Asignificant shift has taken place in the world of European football, as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has provisionally approved domestic league matches for Lega Serie A and LaLiga to be played outside their home countries. Specifically, UEFA has approved a proposed match between AC Milan and Como 1907 in Perth, Australia, and a planned match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF in Miami, U.S. The UEFA emphasized that these decisions were exceptions and should not be viewed as a common occurrence. As leagues like the UEFA explore new revenue streams and aim to reach broader audiences worldwide, the debate of how these international ambitions clash with the interests of domestic supporters intensifies.
Fans of the games moving overseas argue that these matches represent an inevitable step in soccer’s spread across the globe. Both Serie A and LaLiga have long searched for ways to grow their international audiences, particularly in regions such as North America and Asia, where the Premier League already dominates soccer viewership and sponsorship revenue.
Organizers say hosting games abroad
will strengthen fan engagement, attract new investors, and showcase the quality of their leagues to emerging markets. In Perth, tourism officials have already projected an economic boost from the AC Milan and Como 1907 match set for early February 2026, with thousands of international visitors expected to attend. This worldwide move reframes soccer clubs as a means of global entertainment rather than local institutions.
However, the UEFA’s language of ‘regret’ when discussing the move highlights the enduring tension between their commercial goals and traditional practice. The union approved the matches abroad only after lobbying from the leagues and insisted they be treated as one-off exceptions, not as a new model for competition. Even after approval, some games have already been cancelled; LaLiga scrapped its proposed Miami game due to logistical and stakeholder opposition issues.
Critics argue that holding league games abroad undermines the fundamental principle that teams play in front of, and for, their home supporters, on home soil. Soccer fan associations have also voiced frustration, arguing these moves centre profit over loyalty. Many fans view this transition as a harsh betrayal, especially if smaller clubs are forced to sacrifice home-field advantage to satisfy international contracts.
While this move abroad was a surprise, it is not the first proposition of its kind. In 2008, the Premier League proposed a now-abandoned, extra ‘39th game’ to be played overseas; LaLiga’s earlier attempts to play a match in the United States faced legal challenges and public backlash. The persistence of such proposals reflects a larger transformation within global soccer. As broadcasting deals and sponsorships greatly affect scheduling and location, the sport’s traditional boundaries shift with it. Whether these experiments become rare appearances or the first steps toward a globalized domestic season will depend on fan reactions and how far clubs are willing to go in pursuit of global exposure.
As European football reaches beyond its borders, the tension between global
opportunity and displeased local fanbases continues to grow. The UEFA’s weary approval displays both acknowledgment of the game’s international appeal and concern over what could be lost for dedicated local fans and communities. For now, the overseas matches in Perth and beyond remain experiments, rather than the norm. Yet as clubs and leagues continue to chase global audiences, the question of whether the world’s most popular sport will expand its horizons or stay loyal to its long-time traditions and communities still looms.
2025’s sports equinox: Four major leagues, one historic night
Oct. 27 marked the 32nd time in history that the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB all shared the spotlight
Zain Ahmed Staff Writer
Monday, Oct. 27, was a fever dream for sports fans. It was the kind of sporting sensory overload where four screens and a personal highlight-curator were necessities. For only the 32nd time in history, the sports equinox commandeered living rooms and sports bars across North America. The National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Baseball (MLB) all shared the same stage, each fighting for attention in one of sports history’s most crowded nights.
The evening began with a bang in the NFL’s Monday Night Football showdown, where the Kansas City Chiefs continued their mid-season surge with a 28-7 win over the Washington Commanders. Polarizing quarterback Patrick Mahomes reminded everyone why he is still the league’s leader for quarterback excellence, throwing for 299 yards and scoring three touchdowns. The Chiefs’ defense held Washington to just 260 total yards, a dominant display that represented their Super Bowl ambitions.
While Mahomes worked wonders on the gridiron, basketball fans were treated to an early-season spectacle in San An -
tonio. Victor Wembanyama, the NBA’s 2023-24 Rookie of the Year, posted 24 points and 15 rebounds as the Spurs slammed the Toronto Raptors 121-103. The 7-foot-4 phenom danced around the court with his fluid shooting and rampant defensive efforts, while Devin Vassell chipped in 15 points to secure the win. Raptors fans felt an all-too-familiar frustration at their team’s strategy: A dazed defensive response to Wembanyama’s versatility in the paint.
Then came the night’s main event: Game 3 of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. What began as a battle of the pitchers turned into a gruelling 18-inning marathon that ended in heartbreak for Toronto. The Dodgers ultimately prevailed 6-5, thanks to a walk-off home run from Freddie Freeman that broke a 5-5 deadlock after over six hours of play. Despite the loss, the Jays’ performance kept the series alive, with fans on both sides of the border glued to every pitch deep into the night.
Meanwhile, the NHL added its own two cents to the chaos. In Pittsburgh, the Penguins shelved the St. Louis Blues 6-3, with Sidney Crosby netting his 1,700th point to seal the deal for his team. Elsewhere, the Boston Bruins suffered a painful 7-2 loss at the hands of an overwhelming Ottawa Senators squad. The Senators’
offensive dominance was led by Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle with 2 goals apiece, while their intensive defensive effort was exemplified by goalie Leevi Meriläinen, who made 26 showstopping saves throughout the game.
What made Monday’s sports equinox so special was not just its variety. For any sports pundit, fan, or casual observer, it was the intensity across every sport that defined the night. From Mahomes’ clinical precision to Wembanyama’s coming-of-age performance, the Dodgers’ late-night resilience to Crosby’s timeless brilliance, fans experienced every possible emotion in one nonstop tidal wave of sporting highlights.
But the night also hinted at a new-age modern reality. With overlapping seasons, streaming exclusives, and wall-to-wall broadcasts, fans are increasingly forced to pick their battles. While this is a great problem to have, the once-rare overlap that defined the sports equinox is now a reminder of how crowded the sports calendar has become. It means that seasons stretch longer, off-seasons shrink exponentially, and networks compete fiercely for attention to provide fans with more time to indulge in their favourite sporting events.
recorded instance of all four leagues
on the same day dates back to 1971.
Monday’s sports equinox will stand as a snapshot of why we watch sports in the first place—more than just for scores or standings, but for the chaos, the cacophony, and those fleeting moments in every game when it feels like the stakes just cannot get any higher.
UEFA was created on June 15, 1954 in Basel, Switzerland. (Zoe Lee / The Tribune)
The term ‘sports equinox’ was coined in 2018, but the first
