The Tribune Vol. 43, Issue 7

The Tribune TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023 | VOL. 43 | ISSUE 7

Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University

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EDITORIAL

FEATURE

SPORTS

Support workers against the collapse of the public sector

Bad guys with good vibes: Why I will always love the villain

Redbirds’ lacrosse and rugby teams fly past Gaiters and secure wins for their seasons

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PG. 8-9

PG. 16

(The Tribune)

Pro-palestine protests rally against McGill University and Legault McGill administration calls for compassion amid rising tensions on campus Staff of The Tribune Content Warning: Descriptions of Israel-Palestine conflict, mentions of death, violence and mourning.

Hundreds protested against McGill University’s administration and Quebec Premier François Legault on Friday, Oct. 20, condemning Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza and the suppression of Palestinian voices on the univer-

sity’s campus.

Friday’s Montreal protests came after two weeks of Israeli and Palestinian demonstrations globally following an escalation between Hamas and the Israeli government.

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The luck of receiving Voltaire’s archive McGill received a rare manuscript collection from the acclaimed writer’s later years Kellie Elrick Contributor Elegant script, frayed edges, the occasional hole, and sketches of the man himself. Letters signed Voltaire, V, or—occasionally— Volt.

Université de Sherbrooke

professor Peter Lambert-David Southam has gifted McGill a stunning manuscript collection of 290 documents including handwritten letters, correspondences, and fragments of Voltaire’s work. Curated

by Ann-Marie Holland in collaboration with professor Nicholas Cronk and digitized by faculty and

students at the Université de Sherbrooke, these documents allow us to gaze into Voltaire’s life—particularly his time at the Château de Ferney. Four generations of Southam’s family lived in the Château after Voltaire, which is how the collection was assembled and brought to Québec.

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NEWS

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

Pro-Palestine protests rally against McGill University and Legault McGill administration calls for compassion amid rising tensions on campus Staff of The Tribune Continued from page 1.

According to the Associated Press, the Oct. 7 Hamas attack killed more than 1,400 Israelis, with more than 200 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliation has since killed more than 5,000 Palestinians and displaced at least 1.4 million people in Gaza.

McGill students and staff gathered at 2 p.m. on campus for a protest organized

by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill.

Speakers stood by the Y-intersection in front of a Palestinian flag and proPalestine banners with the backdrop of the McGill Arts building behind them.

The around 200-person crowd, mostly students, waved hand-drawn signs.

Passersby watched from a distance, while a half-dozen police officers remained around the perimeter.

“FREE FREE,” a SPHR member said into a microphone, kicking off the protest.

“PALESTINE,” the crowd responded.

“We are here today because it is our right and duty to support the people of Palestine,” the speaker continued. “What we are witnessing today is a genocide.”

Between chants, the speaker asserted that McGill had targeted SPHR McGill in its recent emails to staff and students. The speaker also denounced McGill’s partnership with Israel’s Tel Aviv University and McGill’s history of oppression. They turned and pointed to the flower bed in front of the Arts building that is the burial site of the university’s namesake and founder, James McGill, who enslaved at least two Indigenous children, and three people of African descent.

McGill University media relations, when asked for comment about SPHR McGill’s protest, referred The Tribune to an Oct. 20 communication from Angela Campbell, Associate Provost of Equity and Academic Policies, and Fabrice Labeau, Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning. They called for the community to “show compassion for one

Protesters march down Sherbrooke. (The Tribune)

another even when [they] feel scared, shocked, or outraged by current events.”

“While this is a very big ask, especially if these sentiments are rooted in personal experiences and circumstances, it is essential for our ability to function as a campus community,” Campbell and Labeau wrote.

McGill’s Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi denounced SPHR McGill’s social media posts in an Oct. 10 message to students and staff and ordered them to stop using the university name.

SPHR McGill responded to Manfredi’s message in a public statement on Oct. 19 condemning the McGill administration.

“In the face of active genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, rather than offering its Palestinian students and allies support, McGill is doubling down on its complicity with the Zionist state of Israel. Intimidated by the presence of our activism, the McGill administration is attempting to erase SPHR McGill’s right to represent the students of our university, pressuring SSMU to revoke our name and penalize us,” the group wrote.

The group commented on the protest in a statement to The Tribune on Oct. 23, affirming their previous public statements against the university and citing a letter of support signed by 28 McGill staff. They also called students to join them on Oct. 25 to walk out of their classes at 1:30 p.m. in solidarity with Palestine.

After the first speaker, the crowd heard from other SPHR McGill members, representatives from the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM), and a McGill professor. The speakers voiced their support for SPHR McGill and rallied for Palestinians. The Delegates’ Council of AGSEM voted on Oct. 18 to approve two separate motions in solidarity with Palestine and SPHR McGill.

Prior to the student protest on the McGill campus, the PYM led a protest at 1 p.m. which started in front of the U.S. Consulate General at the corner of Rue

Protesters gather in front of Premier Legault’s office. (The Tribune) Stanley and Rue St. Catherine. Chants of “FREE, FREE PALESTINE” echoed as around 100 people gathered to protest the Canadian and American governments’ support of Israel.

The crowd grew to around 300 people by 2 p.m. and made its way toward Premier François Legault’s office on Rue Sherbrooke to join members of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV)—a grassroots Jewish organization that advocates for peace in Israel-Palestine— who were blocking the entrance to the building. A heavy police presence, with officers on foot, bikes, horses, and in cars surrounded the area while Rue Sherbrooke was blocked off from Rue University to Rue Stanley.

“In partnership with the Palestinian Youth Movement [....] We’re calling on Legault to pressure the Canadian government to send immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza to acknowledge and respond to rising Islamophobic violence in Quebec and Canada,” a member of IJV told The Tribune while blocking the entrance to Legault’s office.

“We’re calling Legault to recognize and respond to that rising Islamophobic violence here in Quebec and call on the Canadian federal state to do the same in Canada. And we are calling on Legault to push the Canadian government to acknowledge its complicity in the unfolding genocide in Palestine,” they continued.

According to a CBC article on Oct. 23, the Canadian government has previously said that Israel’s actions against Palestinians do not constitute genocide.

As the protest gathered around Legault’s office, PYM representative Sarah Shamy, BA ‘21, also called for justice for people in Gaza, and led protesters to chant “END THE SIEGE ON GAZA NOW!” and “END THE BOMBING NOW!” By 3 p.m., the SPHR McGill protest wrapped up and the protesters marched to join the PYM and IJV protest outside Legault’s office. The crowd moved through the Roddick Gates before being

met with cheers as they stood opposite the PYM and IJV protest before merging into one.

“I don’t want another genocide committed in the name of Jewish people.

Certainly not in my name,” an IJV member and McGill PhD student told The Tribune.

“I find McGill’s response to these events to be incredibly one-sided and narrowminded. They’re actively erasing the voices of Palestinian students on campus and of students who support them.”

The protest started to thin out around 4 p.m. Since the crowd was small enough to fit on the sidewalk in front of Legault’s office, Rue Sherbrooke was slowly reopened to traffic by police. The PYM organizers called the remaining protesters to stage a sit-in in front of Legault’s office. They stayed seated for several hours as parked police cars surrounded them. Supporters taped signs to the front door of Legault’s office before the protest ended peacefully at 7 p.m.

“It makes me feel very energized and hopeful because, you know, day after day, when we organize a protest, even when it’s under extreme[ly] short notice, hundreds and thousands of people show up,” said Shamy, reflecting on the protest.

“So it definitely makes me feel hopeful that even though our states are turning a blind eye, the people are refusing to.”

The office of Premier Legault and The Students’ Society of McGill University did not respond to The Tribune’s request for comment before the time of publication.

Resources: For faculty and staff: The Employee & Family Assistance Program is available to McGill employees as a confidential support service.

For students: The Student Wellness Hub offers counselling services for students located in Montreal.

Keep.MeSafe is a service accessible 24/7 whenever you need to speak (or text) with a mental health professional for support. You can access Keep.MeSafe from anywhere in the world.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

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NEWS

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Education professors apply to become McGill’s second faculty union McGill contests the union’s certification, hearings to begin in November Ghazal Azizi Contributor

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n November 2022, Quebec’s Tribunal administratif du travail (TAT) certified the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) as the bargaining unit representing the Faculty of Law’s tenured and tenure-track professors, a first in McGill’s history. Less than a year later, the Faculty of Education, almost double the size, has followed suit.

The Association of McGill Professors of Education (AMPE) was created on July 4, 2023, and applied to the TAT for certification on Sept. 21, 2023. Dennis Wendt, Interim President of AMPE, says the demand for a union grew stronger within the faculty as dissatisfaction accumulated.

“There are different concerns that different faculty [members] have. If there is a grand narrative, it’s dissatisfaction. And, if there’s one thing that stands out more than anything, I think, is workload,” Wendt told The Tribune. “Any one thing is not a problem, but it’s like death by a thousand paper cuts, and so we have one thing after another after another laid on us, but nothing’s ever taken away.”

Helena Silen, U2 Education, is the vice-president of Academic Affairs at the Education Undergraduate Society of McGill (EdUS). She expressed solidarity with the Education professors on behalf of the EdUS and stressed the importance of fairly compensated faculty for students’ learning

conditions.

“As students, I think the bottom line is [...] that a happy teacher and a teacher who has the bandwidth and support to be present in the classroom will lead to a better class,” Silen said. “So, it makes me happy to think that they could be more fairly compensated.”

According to Wendt, teaching is only 40 per cent of a professor’s duties. Research occupies another 40 per cent of their workload, and the remaining 20 per cent is dedicated to service and community contributions.

Wendt argues that the expected workload exceeds the time and effort professors are compensated for. In part, he attributes this issue to changes in course-relief policies, which temporarily release professors of certain teaching duties following awards, research grants, or major administrative roles. Wendt told The Tribune that the administration has “cracked down” on granting course releases in the recent past, to the professors’ dismay.

AMPL President Evan Fox-Decent has found that since unionizing, the faculty has more equal footing against McGill. The union is currently in negotiations with the university over their first collective agreement.

“AMPL is thrilled that another faculty at McGill has decided to take better control of its own governance, and is confident that our colleagues in the Faculty of Education are going to find, as we have, that

the opportunities available to professors, ers will be in the future.” once they organize into a certified FacOn Oct. 11, McGill informed AMPE ulty Association, are unlike opportunities of their decision to contest the union’s certhat are otherwise ever available to them,” tification. In a statement to The Tribune, Fox-Decent said in an interview with The McGill’s media relations office reiterated Tribune. the university’s commitment to Quebec’s The path to faculty-level certification Labour Code, but refrained from discloswas laborious for AMPL, with the univer- ing more. sity contesting the certification in a year“We, as an employer, are limited in long legal battle and appealing to the Su- what we can communicate during a unionperior Court of Quebec for judicial review ization drive, in order to not be perceived of TAT’s certification decision. Given the or construed as interfering with the emadministration’s litigious approach to AM- ployee’s freedom of association,” McGill PL’s certification, Fox-Decent anticipates Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazea similar attitude towards AMPE. Howev- rolle wrote. er, he remains hopeful that the precedent The hearings regarding AMPE’s cerlaw professors set will relieve the need for tification will commence on Nov. 9 before long litigation. the TAT. “It’s regrettable because it’s a distraction.

It costs money [...] so it deprives us of a certain amount of resources and time and it expresses a regrettable attitude on the part of McGill toward some of their colleagues,” Fox-Decent said. “But it is what it is. It’s going to run its course, McGill is going to lose. And eventually, they’re going to have to just come to grips with the The Faculty of Education consists of three departments: The fact that two of their fac- Department of Integrated Studies, Educational and Counselulties now are organized, ling Psychology, and Kinesiology and Physical Education. (Wilder and it’s possible that oth- McNutt / The Tribune)

Amina Kudrati-Plummer wins SSMU VP Finance special by-election The incoming executive advocates for greater financial transparency with SSMU members Eliza Lee Contributor

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n the afternoon of Friday Oct. 20, polls for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice President (VP) Finance by-election came to a close with only 12.4 per cent of eligible students voting. Amina KudratiPlummer won the election with 60.6 per cent of the votes. The only other candidate, Brishti Guha, earned 31.5 per cent of the votes, the remaining votes being abstentions. The election came as a result of the resignation of former VP finance Alice Fang on Aug. 7. Since Fang’s resignation, the VP Finance’s duties have been divided between the current SSMU executives.

“I want to thank the McGill community for putting their trust in me, and I recognize my opponent for her good effort in this election,” Kudrati-Plummer wrote in an email to The Tribune. “I look forward to following through with the initiatives I have proposed and ensuring the transparency of SSMU finances.”

Kudrati-Plummer, U3 Arts, emphasized the importance of transparency and accessibility of SSMU financial documents in their platform.

In particular, she criticized the student government for failing to post the 20232024 budgets on its website and for

making the budgets for the previous two academic years only accessible under the “Legislative Council documents,” rather than under the “Budgets” tab.

Kudrati-Plummer also highlighted the need for more information to be provided alongside financial documents to make them more accessible for students.

“I would really like to make those budgets more logical, easier for the average person to understand and also just make sure they are available, because that is a huge misstep on SSMU’s part over three years to just have those hidden on the very dense SSMU website,” KudratiPlummer said in an interview with The Tribune.

Similarly to Kudrati-Plummer, transparency was a key issue in Guha’s campaign. One of Guha’s proposals was to create a financial dashboard online to make public-facing SSMU financial documents more easily understandable for students.

“The dashboard would be a digital platform offering a snapshot of SSMU’s finances [such as] revenues, expenditures, allocations to clubs in a visually appealing and interactive manner,” Guha wrote to The Tribune. “Because every student has a right to easily understand where their fees are going and how their money is being used.”

Sophia Karabatsos—a physiology

master’s student and former co-director pandemic began. One program Kudratiof the McGill chapter of Scientista— Plummer proposes reintroducing is a echoed the need for greater transparency textbook exchange program wherein Le from SSMU. In an interview with The James bookstore buys students’ used Tribune, Karabatsos noted the difficulties books back from them to sell at a reduced that Scientista faced because of unclear price. information on the SSMU website “Initiating economically sustainable concerning club financial matters. programs for students is really important, “You want to kind of know where especially bringing back ones that died everyone’s money from the tuition is out over COVID, because a lot of stuff going,” Karabatsos said. “And if there is did,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “Especially this money available for clubs, it would be as things like food insecurity become good to be transparent about it, because a more pressing topics on campus, and also lot of clubs could use it.” with these new laws that [the] Quebec To limit any delays regarding funding [government] is suggesting, it’s really as a result of the unfilled position, important for SSMU to make student life Kudrati-Plummer also plans on holding as affordable as possible.” regular office hours and a workshop—something normally provided by the VP Finance at the beginning of each semester—for clubs in need of assistance with financial procedures.

The VP Financeelect’s platform also focuses on creating economically sustainable programs for students, including relaunching programs The VP Finance is responsible for tasks such as preparing the SSMU that were discontinued budget and overseeing the organization’s financial procedures. (Maïa since the COVID-19 Salhofer / The Tribune)

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NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

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McGill and AGSEM hold second bargaining meeting for new collective agreement Both sides discussed job security and information accessibility Emma Smith Contributor

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second round of negotiations between the McGill administration and the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) took place on Oct. 19. According to the union’s press release, the four-hour session was focused on aligning the new contract with McGill’s policies on intellectual property, labour relations, and university governance. The meeting also touched on establishing timelines for addressing employee grievances.

The collective agreement between the university and the union expired on Jul. 31, and the sides first exchanged proposals for a new agreement on Sept. 21. As expressed in their “No More Free Hours” campaign, the union’s core demand is to end the time teaching assistants (TAs) spend reading course material and sending emails that is not recorded or paid. The union also aims to establish better conditions for McGill TAs in terms of wages, healthcare, and methods of preventing sexual harassment.

The group alleges that McGill steals $1 million each year in TA wages.

The early negotiation talks have been around issues other than wages, including job security and ensuring that TAs have access to TA jobs. Another bargaining committee member, Nada El Baba, a second-year biology Ph.D. candidate, explained in the union’s press release that “information accessibility” was

additionally discussed at the session.

“TAs usually do not know the number of students enrolled in classes which they apply to,” El Baba wrote. “This is particularly relevant to those who teach labs where they are responsible for not only students’ education but also their physical safety around dangerous materials. TAs have the right to know what they are signing up for to make the best decisions for themselves and their students.”

In addition to the previously determined topics of discussion, the Quebec government’s decision to raise tuition for out-of-province students could impact negotiations as James Newman— the Vice President of Communications for the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE)— explained.

“I think McGill is going to be, as usual, very austerity-minded and not want to really offer much in terms of wages and benefits, particularly considering the pressure caused by the new decision,” Newman said. “They’re probably going to say that they’ve got new pressures, that they’re going to cut costs.”

Thomas Chalmers, the president of the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA), said that MUNACA was “deeply concerned” that McGill may use the tuition hike as an excuse to refuse wage increases or justify wage decreases.

Even without added pressures, negotiations over collective agreements

can be an arduous process according to Chalmers. In an email to The Tribune, Chalmers explained that, when MUNACA negotiated their collective agreement—a two-year process that ended in 2022—the union found the McGill administration resistant to change.

“Our biggest challenges about our negotiations were the stubbornness, interminable delays, and resistance to change we met at a great deal of our demands, whether that was non-monetary or monetary,” Chalmers wrote. “At the time we were negotiating we kept hearing the same replies: Workday [McGill’s employee management software] cannot do that and we have no appetite for that, were often repeated answers.”

Sean Cory, president of the Association

of McGill University Research Employees (AMURE), said in an email to The Tribune that while the uncertain financial situation could impact negotiations, wages do not usually come from tuition or government funds, but rather from research funds.

Cory also said that his membership was happy with the results of their negotiations and that negotiations for good collective agreements take time.

“The more gains you want to make, the longer negotiation takes,” Cory wrote. “It takes time to actually negotiate and discuss the issues, [...] it takes time to hold out for the positions and improvements that you want in your collective agreement.”

AGSEM and McGill’s next bargaining sessions are scheduled for Nov. 9 and 22.

AGSEM also represents invigilators who work at McGill. (AGSEM)

The Tribune Explains: Quebec tuition increases Out-of-province tuition to nearly double for incoming students in Fall 2024 Shani Laskin News Editor

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n Oct. 13, the Quebec government announced its plan to increase tuition for out-of-province Canadian university students. The policy will nearly double out-of-province tuition at McGill from the current $8,992 to $17,000 annually for Arts students. With concerns swirling around the McGill community about how this will affect students and the institution, The Tribune explains what these changes will mean.

Who will the policy affect?

The tuition increase comes into effect in Fall 2024 and has provisions that affect not just out-of-province students, but also international students.

All out-of-province students will be impacted by the tuition hikes, including non-Quebec students who are francophones. However, individuals covered by student mobility agreements, which allow French and francophone Belgian students to study in Quebec at the same price as inprovince students, will not see increases in the tuition. The changes will also not affect people pursuing doctorates or master’s students provided that their program

includes a thesis.

Starting next fall, the minimum tuition for international students at Quebec universities will be $20,000. McGill has yet to announce whether this will increase international tuition for incoming classes.

Students already enrolled in universities across Quebec will not be affected by this policy—only incoming students will see the tuition increases. Students currently enrolled will have five years to complete their respective degrees before any changes will be seen.

What is the CAQ’s rationale?

In an article posted to the Quebec government’s website on Oct. 13, the Office of the Minister of Higher Education wrote that this decision was made so that Quebec tax dollars will no longer subsidize “Canadian students who come to study in our English-speaking establishments and who, for the most part, leave Quebec after their graduation.” The Minister of Higher Education of Quebec, Pascale Déry, has announced that the surplus money generated will go toward funding French-language universities in Quebec.

The provincial government did not consult Quebec’s three English-speaking universities—Bishop’s University, Concordia

University, and McGill University—or the city of Montreal prior to the announcement of these changes.

dent Union (CSU) released a joint statement on Oct. 19 condemning the tuition increases and calling them “undemocratic and discriminatory.” The student groups expressed concerns that the increase will make education inaccessible and a “luxury item.”

Both groups will be holding town halls for students to express their questions and concerns. SSMU’s town hall will be on Oct. 25 and CSU’s will be on Oct. 26. Students from McGill and Concordia are planning a strike on Oct. 30 to protest the tuition increases.

How has the McGill community responded?

Principal Deep Saini said in an Oct. 16 email to the McGill community that these changes will have “serious consequences” for McGill. The university’s student population is made up of roughly 20 per cent out-of-province students and 30 per cent international students. Saini emphasized the importance of welcoming students from outside Quebec to study in the province.

In the days after the policy was announced, McGill decided to pause work on a $50 million program aimed at teaching students and staff French, citing changes in the university’s future financial situation due to the tuition changes.

The Student Society of McGill University (SSMU) and Out-of-province Acadian students will not see fee exemptions dethe Concordia Stu- spite french origins. (Corey Zhu / The Tribune)

opinion@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

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Editor-in-Chief Matthew Molinaro editor@mcgilltribune.com

Support workers against the collapse of the public sector

Creative Director Mika Drygas mdrygas@mcgilltribune.com

The Tribune Editorial Board

EDITORIAL BOARD

Managing Editors Lily Cason lcason@mcgilltribune.com Arian Kamel akamel@mcgilltribune.com Tillie Burlock tburlock@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Shani Laskin, Jasjot Grewal, & Caroline Sun news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editors Chloé Kichenane, Liliana Mason, & Monique Kasonga opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editors Ella Paulin & Athina Sitou scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Life Editors Abby McCormick & Dante Ventulieri studentlife@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Harry North features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Dana Prather & Suzanna Graham arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Anoushka Oke & Julie Ferreyra sports@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Drea Garcia & Sofia Stankovic design@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Mason Bramadat photo@mcgilltribune.com Multimedia Editor Anna Chudakov & Alyssa Razavi Mastali multimedia@mcgilltribune.com Web Developers Jiajia Li webdev@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Matthew Adelberg copy@mcgilltribune.com Social Media Editor Sainka Walia socialmedia@mcgilltribune.com Business Manager Sophie Smith business@mcgilltribune.com

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ince the end of September, public-sector employees unionized under the Centrale des syndicats du Québec, Confédération des syndicats nationaux, the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux and the Fédération travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, in Quebec have been marching to demand better pay and working conditions amid negotiations with the provincial government. With salaries that have fallen behind rising inflation and the increasing cost of living, public-sector workers have been consistently neglected by the provincial government. Quebec has the highest unionization rate in North America, and the common front has made a historic 95 per cent vote in favour of striking action, with some in favour of rotating strikes and others for full-fledged walkouts.

While Quebec’s anti-scab legislation prevents the provincial government and companies from calling on “replacement workers” to substitute those on strike, the law also means that a workers’

OFF THE BOARD Monique Kasonga Opinion Editor

TPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ella Gomes, Shani Laskin, Matthew Molinaro, Jacob Northfield & Sophie Smith

STAFF Ali Baghirov, Ella Buckingham, Eliza Lee, Jayda Smith

CONTRIBUTORS Ghazal Azizi, Lulu Calame, Ann Derham, Kellie Elrick, Kayla Gaisi, Naomi Gupta, Mia Helfrich, Oscar Johnson, James Knechtel, Alice Kreinin, Jay Lauzon, Madigan McMahon, Sophia Micomonaco, Ella Paulin, Maeve Reilly, Maïa Salhofer, Emma Smith, Kai Szablowski, Solenne Trequesser, Eliza Wang, Katherine Weaver, Marco Zeppilli, Irina Zhang, K. Coco Zhang

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his summer, I had the privilege of visiting my family in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the first time. We stayed in Kinshasa for the duration of our trip, but part of me wished to see what was beyond the capital city. Deep down, my true desire was to see the nature the country has to offer, the little pockets of life that embody what the Cradle of Humankind could have resembled without Western colonialism. Taking time in nature has always been of great importance to me. But after my trip, I realized that almost all of the

strike would completely disrupt social services in the province, causing an urgent need for the reception of the public’s demands.

As Quebec workers fight for their rights, citizens must stand with them against the government’s neglectful behaviour or face the collapse of the public sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic particularly intensified problems within public services.

While we celebrated nurses for their hard work, no action was taken to mitigate their material conditions.

Administrators expected educators to transition to new styles of teaching with little to no aid or support. Despite acknowledging these issues, the province faced a massive teacher shortage with upwards of 8500 missing just weeks before the start of this school year.

This shortage, paired with the consequences of the pandemic, has caused many students to fall behind and contributed to mental health issues for many others. The lack of interest in those qualified to enter the public education workforce is a clear sign that this system is no longer sustainable.

This burnout epidemic echoes in other social services such as healthcare, considering the loss

of nearly 21,000 health workers in Quebec in less than two years.

The provincial government continues to have an inadequate and weak response. Instead of allocating resources to those who actively contribute to the betterment of society and ensure the wellbeing of others, Premier François Legault has chosen to increase the salary of Members of the National Assembly, which would make them the highestpaid politicians in Canada. As the public sector employee shortage worsens, the province refuses to recant the discriminatory Bill 21 and allow for wrongfullyterminated teachers to return to the classroom.

The Quebec government does not value public sector workers.

The redirection of blame to the workers in Premier Legault’s responses demonstrates a greater political agenda to increase private sector services. In a province where the socioeconomic gap continues to grow, further privatization, especially within the health and education sectors, will increase inequality to devastating levels.

If the government continues to ignore public sector employees, the small number of those who can afford private schools and

OPINION

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healthcare will reap the benefits, while lower-income communities who lack access to basic services continue to suffer. With even less opportunity to access needed care in a discriminatory healthcare system, immunocompromised people, communities of colour, and disabled people will suffer Quebec’s disregard.

Informal and fugitive networks of care such as protests and peaceful demonstration are crucial for those in power to hear the demands of workers. McGill students must join these networks and stand with Quebec’s public sector workers. The “McGill bubble” has prevented students from demonstrating solidarity with the rest of the province and tying the university’s lack of regard to teaching assistants, floor fellows, and workers to broader social transformation.

The common front’s action reminds us that strikes bring negotiations outside the private arena to the public sphere—giving workers power over the ruling class.

Students have the chance to make their voices heard and change the narrative at McGill, and supporting the strike is essential to protecting workers’ rights in the future.

Green spaces tend the roots of ecological justice outdoor recreation and education I’d received––outside of that received from my own family––along with the value I found in nature had come from white-dominated-dominated spaces.

Kinshasa is a fantastic city, and I can’t wait to go back. But I was struck by the lack of green spaces. The government is currently prioritizing other issues like preventing Rwandan aggression, strengthening the economy, and unlinking the country from Western aid and implication.

These concerns, paired with the city’s foundations of Belgian colonial infrastructure, explain the limited focus on green urbanism and environmental liberation. However, the busyness of the city made me think of my love of nature, and how, while only living in major cities my whole life, finding some refuge among flora has consistently bolstered my mental health. The connection with nature and the sense of community that comes with it has led me to meet like-minded individuals and opened my mind to new perspectives and realities. I continued to wonder if exposure to green spaces could help alleviate the stress of living in a busy city and offer even more health benefits to Kinshasans. And perhaps, it would be able to unite a people and further foster community, something

that is key to decolonization, by placing the drivers of change in the hands of locals.

During my stay, I had the chance to drive outside the city centre to visit a privately-owned park. There, I was faced with some of the most breathtaking natural scenery that I had ever seen. After seeing the mountainous terrain paired with abgba trees and animals roaming free within the lush plant life, my cousins who have lived in Kinshasa their whole lives were in equal awe, expressing that they had never encountered such natural beauty either. At that moment, I thought of how unfair it was that they had never had the chance to see the nature of their own country. A lack of exposure to nature for people of colour is not a new phenomenon, and research shows that the majority of people who participate in outdoor activities and recreation are white middle-class men who live in affluent areas.

This experience led me to recall my summers as a kid at a sleepaway camp in Northern Ontario, and later working there as a counselor. I pondered the cherished canoe trips I took with friends in my teens and the numerous hikes I’d enjoyed with my family. The feeling of being free and connected to nature characterized

my childhood, and gave me many chances to feel completely reflective and at peace. My trip this past summer showed me how much of a privilege and rarity this is.

People of colour in Canada are three times more likely than white people to live in places that have no immediate access to nature. This inaccessibility shows how legacies of exclusion due to colonialism continue to plague communities of colour.

Particularly in Canada, marginalized communities are unable to access the trails and activities that exist on the already stolen lands of Indigenous peoples. Why is it that mainly white people get to bear the benefits of spending time in nature?

My experience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and my life in Canada reminds me that people of colour worldwide continue to be excluded from spaces stolen from them in the first place.

Black communities, Indigenous peoples, and people of colour need to reconnect with nature, but the objectives of this go beyond just enjoying the environment: All marginalized people’s cultural identities, communal health and healing from intergenerational trauma depend on returning to nature, and the time to start is now.

OPINION

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COMMENTARY Kai Szablowski Contributor

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recent article published in the Financial Post titled “Montreal 2.0: Could it challenge Toronto for Canadian economic supremacy?” describes how Montreal could regain its position as Canada’s business capital. Montreal was Canada’s largest and wealthiest city until the 1970s, when the rise of Québécois nationalism during the Quiet Revolution drove most English-speaking businesses to move to Toronto. In the article, the Montreal of today comes off as bursting with entrepreneurial spirit, a city of immigrants and hustlers aided by a “probusiness” government and an early advantage in artificial intelligence.

However, a realistic comparison of the two cities reveals that Montreal is unlikely to overtake Toronto anytime soon.

For many Montrealers, the city’s constant measuring against Toronto is draining and for Torontonians living in Montreal, the comparison may seem outlandish. Economic growth is not a zero-sum game, and the context of Montreal’s loss of prominence to Toronto in the 1970s must be ac-

LAUGHING MATTERS

Will Montreal resurge as Montreal 2.0? knowledged when weighing the two against one another. However, while Montreal’s era of business dominance may evoke fond memories for anglophone Montrealers and former residents, this is certainly not the case for the rest of Quebec, particularly Francophones. In Quebec, this period, when the Anglo business elite colluded with the Catholic Church and the government to control the province, is known as “la Grande Noirceur” or “the Great Darkness.”

French-speakers in Montreal were second-class citizens in a city where they were the majority, and Englishspeakers held disproportionate economic and political power. These historical tensions exist today, where Quebec’s government prioritizes protecting the French language through policies such as Bill 96 rather than trying to attract English-speaking business, at the expense of potential economic growth.

The Financial Post touts Quebec’s “pro-business” government as a potential growth driver. However, Ontario too has a self-proclaimed “pro-business” government under Premier Doug Ford—although the effectiveness of either of these governments is debatable. More distin-

guishing is that Quebec’s government is anti-immigration, while Ontario is not, at least in terms of its policies which include doubling the number of economic immigrants it selects in 2025 to over 18,000. In 2021, Toronto welcomed nearly 30 per cent of the country’s new immigrants, while the Montreal area welcomed only 12 per cent. Montreal’s surprisingly small share of the country’s immigrants reflects the government’s attitude that high immigration levels would be “suicidal,” in the words of Premier François Legault, for French culture in Quebec. As a result of strict immigration measures imposed by As of 2022, over 6.6 million people were living in the Toronto metropolitan area while Quebec’s government, Toronto en- Montreal had a population of 4.4 million people. (Michael Descharles / unsplash.com) joys a burgeoning labour force while Montreal suffers from a labour short- imposed on out-of-province students the Quiet Revolution. The proudly age which costs the province billion by Quebec’s government exemplifies French-speaking, cosmopolitan, CAD annually in lost manufactur- their reluctance to attract English- beautiful, and chaotic city that has ing output. In all, Toronto’s GDP speaking Canadians to the province. sprung up is something to appreciate, per capita is 25 per cent greater than Their strict immigration policies and warts and all. Accepting that economthat of Montreal, and Toronto also language laws, such as Bill 96, will ic growth is, and will likely continue has a considerably larger and faster also ensure that the labour shortage to be, slower than in Toronto is acgrowing population. Montreal’s his- persists. As Québécois voters mull cepting reality. But there are so many torically lower housing and childcare the next election, there should be no things to appreciate about living here. costs can make it more liveable for illusions as to the impact of such pol- It’s better to focus on sustaining the families, but employment and busi- icies on Montreal’s economy. wonders of Montreal—the excellent ness opportunities remain scarce However, Montreal doesn’t architecture, parks, nightlife, restaucompared to Toronto. need to be or beat Toronto. Montre- rants, bicycle infrastructure and art The recent doubling of tuition al 2.0 has been in the making since scene that make this city special.

For lack of heft, crumb, and flavour: A manifesto against the Montreal bagel

Lulu Calame Contributor

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

opinion@mcgilltribune.com

still remember my first morning in Montreal, when I found myself in a hungry queue that extended out the door of the St. Viateur bagel shop in Mile End. The line moved fast––unlike those in New York––and I watched hopefully as the freshly-rolled bagels slid into the oven just behind the counter. Could this new bagel outdo the Manhattan one I held so dear? Perhaps, I mused, I am a bagel convert in the making.

I was snapped out of this daydream, however, when charged with the task of choosing my preferred cream cheese from the refrigerator along the wall. My roommate grabbed a tub of Philadelphia plain and I bewilderedly did the same. It was then our turn at the counter where we ordered six bagels, which were tossed in real time––uncut and untoasted––into a brown paper bag and handed to us in haste for the next in line.

Back on the sidewalk, we opened our bag. The bagels were, for lack of a better word, wimpy. They sparked in me the image of a baking day gone wrong; perhaps the yeast had expired. Could they, I gasped inwardly, be gluten free?

“You’re supposed to dip the bagel in the cream cheese,” my roommate said sceptically. We chuckled. That was absurd. Almost sacrilegious. But we obligingly ate our bagels, like a resigned congregation mourning what was lost.

In the weeks since that morning at St. Viateur, I have continued what I have grown to call my “Bagel Research.” I have come up with three essential characteristics that prove, with incredible resolution, the inferiority of the Montreal bagel in comparison to

its New York counterpart––namely: Heftiness, crumb, and flavour.

The Montreal bagel is worryingly thin. The only synonym that comes to mind beyond “wimpy” is simply “malnourished.” A bagel is a glorious comestible invention, and should therefore be nothing short of satisfying—a satisfaction that manifests in a New York bagel so beefy that its centre hole has sealed completely shut, and if a hole does still exist, it is packed almost brutally with cream cheese.

The Montreal bagel lacks the proper heft in both its physique and in its scant attitude towards cream cheese.

As if its slender French frame is not deficient enough, the Montreal bagel does not deliver the chewy, springy bite of a well-poached New York Bagel. It tastes—if I may—diluted, like it has passed the expiration date and been hurriedly revived with some tap water and a toaster.

I have found, time and time again, that when defending their home bagel, Montreal locals claim that their bagel has the best crust.

But the Montreal bagel, I find, has a crust disproportionately crusty for its sparse bready innards, and whose required baking conditions are partially to blame for these innards’ neither here nor there nature.

Probably the most off-putting of its three shortcomings is that, frankly, the Montreal bagel tastes bad. On the spectrum of baked goods, there is on the far left, the tang of a good sourdough, and on the far right, the sweetness of a muffin. A good bagel should fall very far left, providing a distinct bready flavour that contrasts its cream cheese stuffing. When I ate my first— and second and third—Montreal bagel, I felt perplexed by what on Earth was wrong with it and why it brought to mind the vivid image of cardboard.

Upon reflection, I realized that its flavour landed on the border

“Montreal bagels are boiled in honey water, giving them a slightly sweeter taste than bagels made in New York” (Deiorio’s) (Monique Kasonga / The Tribune) of sweetness, though not sweet enough to taste the sweetness, just enough to cancel out the proper bready flavour. It fell grotesquely in the middle of the baked-good spectrum, where nothing should ever fall, leaving its consumer in a state of perturbing cognitive dissonance.

And so I stand loyally at the side of the New York bagel, which holds all the opulence, flavour, chew, cream cheese, heft, and satisfaction that the Montreal bagel lacks. Anyone can try to convince me otherwise but on this, my mind is made and sealed better than a New York bagel—I will not budge.

ERRATUM An article published in the October 17, 2023 issue (“ Based on traits: Selecting more resilient wood for future wood-building industries”) stated that softwoods are the most desirable woods, contradicting the opinion of the paper being covered. We have also updated the formatting of a few poorly structured and incomplete quotes. The Tribune regrets this error and has uploaded an updated version of this article to our website.

scitech@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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Micronutrients: Friend or foe?

Dr. Brian Ward discussed the benefits and potential harms of micronutrients K. Coco Zhang Contributor

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cGill’s Department of Global and Public Health hosted a seminar on Oct. 18 with Dr. Brian Ward, former director of the J.D. MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases and professor in McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Ward gave an eye-opening talk titled “Micronutrients and microbes: Some things we know and many things we don’t.”

Micronutrients often refer to vitamins— including vitamins A through E and K—or minerals such as iron, zinc, and iodine. Although humans need them in very small amounts, they are critical to overall health and disease prevention in the body.

Diet is the primary source of most micronutrients, but other sources include sunlight, which enables the production of vitamin D in our skin.

“The gut microbiome contributes significantly to our access of several micronutrients, particularly the B vitamins, via the metabolism of the bacteria,” Dr. Ward explained.

Because micronutrients play essential roles in various bodily processes, including immune and bone functions, micronutrient deficiencies can lead to health problems.

For example, Joseph Bramhall Ellison established the association between vitamin A deficiency and measles. “In 1937, [he] found that if you give cod liver oil, a dietary supplement that is extraordinarily high in vitamin

A, to babies, you could reduce mortality from measles by 80 per cent,” Dr. Ward noted.

50 years later, scientists repeated this experiment in South Africa and demonstrated a 50-per-cent reduction in mortality rate for children with severe measles.

Unfortunately, micronutrient deficiencies can pose notable dangers for people in certain occupations that necessitate strong visual acuity at night.

“Our eyes contain rods responsible for vision at low light levels. These rods are particularly sensitive to low vitamin A levels, so one of the first signs of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness,” Dr. Ward explained.

“This is why pilots in World War I and later have been routinely tested for vitamin A deficiency.”

Dr. Ward also highlighted that a surplus of micronutrients can be just as dangerous as a deficit.

“If you don’t have enough iron, you’ll have anemia and neurodegeneration. If you have too much iron, you’ll have arthritis, liver disease, and overwhelming infections,” Dr. Ward noted. “Similarly, if you don’t have enough zinc, you’ll have mental lethargy. If you have too much zinc, you’ll have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and an increased risk of prostate cancer.”

Having established the critical role that micronutrients play in our health, Dr. Ward gave an overview of the history of nutritional science, concluding by looking ahead to his hopes for the future of the discipline.

From around 1850 to 1960, the field was to guide future research on human health. just beginning to come into its own. “In this “How does the gut microbiome react to era, research scientists were discovering new micronutrients? Do micronutrients interact micronutrients and figuring out how to pre- with other micronutrients? If you have the vent individual nutritional deficiencies,” Dr. wrong gut microbiome, does it reduce the abWard said. sorption of micronutrients?” he asked.

Between 1960 to 1990, public health In his closing remarks, Dr. Ward pointed messaging emphasized the qualities of indi- to the need for more research to investigate vidual nutrients, but in the present era—1990 how micronutrients act alone, in concert with onward—the focus has shifted to overall one another, and in concert with the gut midietary patterns. More positive messaging crobiome. around diet, such as the Mediterranean diet—a primarily plant-based diet featuring the consumption of whole grains, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts—has emerged.

Over the next two decades, Dr. Ward anticipates that the gut microbiome will become a focus in the world of nutritional science.

“The gut microbiome has vital impacts on the activities of the brain, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, bone, muscle, skin, kidneys, and bladder, but very little is known about the micronutrients supplied through the gut microbiome,” he said.

Dr. Ward ignited the Carl Peter Henrik Dam, a Danish scientist at the Biochemical Institute audience’s thinking by pos- of the University of Copenhagen, was credited with discovering ing a few crucial questions vitamin K in 1929. (eatyournutrition.com)

Unlocking the brain’s potential through neuroplasticity and amblyopia treatment Exploring dark therapy and its impacts on neuroplasticity and modern medicine Ann Derham Contributor

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he term ‘neuroplasticity’ never fails to incite intrigue. It involves structural and functional transformations within the brain as a way to adapt, often in response to interactions with the environment. Over the past decades, the concept of neuroplasticity has gained substantial traction in neuroscience, offering novel insights and opening up new possibilities.

Professor Robert Hess, Director of Research in McGill’s Department of Ophthalmology, recently published a paper in the Journal of Physiology investigating how the potential of exposure to darkness could impact neuroplasticity in adults.

Hess has dedicated his academic career to neuroplasticity, driven by his interest in amblyopia, a condition where the brain’s inability to adequately process input from one eye causes it to favour the other. The main cause of amblyopia does not lie within the eye itself but instead resides in the brain’s visual cortex. “[W]e can recover [visual] function because the hardware hasn’t been lost; it’s just that the software needs to be changed,” Hess said in an interview with The Tribune.

This notion of ‘software’ change is at the heart of neuroplasticity: An idea that Hess and his colleagues pursued in 2011 in their efforts to treat amblyopia in young

children. They created innovative therapies, including movie and video game interventions developed in collaboration with the gaming giant Ubisoft to remarkably improve eye coordination and vision.

In his new study, Hess investigated the impact of a 60-minute period of complete darkness on neuron activity and visual plasticity in the adult human cortex in both normal-sighted and amblyopic adults. In the brain, the transmission of information occurs through the firing of neurons as they communicate with one another. To successfully fire, the cell must be depolarized by excitatory stimuli, while the cell becomes hyperpolarized from inhibitory stimuli, leading to decreased activity of communication.

“Previously, people had shown that this works only in juvenile animals [like] kittens, and mountain primates too, but to my knowledge, not in adults,” Hess said.

He explained that past research, which demonstrated improvement of visual function in kittens following ten days of complete darkness, partially inspired his recent study. However, it is believed that neuroplasticity is most effective during critical periods—developmental periods that end when an organism reaches adulthood.

“So this is where this sort of metaplasticity comes in: There is a degree of plasticity that is over, and you can’t reactivate it, but you can modulate it. You can extend it

a bit,” Hess said. ly believing that “there is no such thing as a Following the 60-minute dark expo- stupid question.” sure, the researchers measured the excitHis lab is always seeking participants atory and inhibitory balance in the primary for ongoing research experiments. With visual cortex using magnetic resonance unwavering enthusiasm, he anticipates that spectroscopy (MRS). They found that this this involvement will shed more light on the period of dark exposure strengthened the adaptability of the human brain at any age local excitability in the primary visual cor- and contribute to the discovery of more eftex and boosted visual plasticity in normal- fective treatments for disorders such as amsighted adults only, while in amblyopic blyopia. adults, plasticity remained unaffected.

Interestingly, the researchers concluded that the amount of brain chemicals called ‘excitatory neurotransmitters’ did not have a strong correlation with enhanced plasticity.

Instead of chemical quantity, what mattered was how much these chemicals changed, suggesting that the physiological basis of plasticity in humans is more complex than the relationship of cortical excitation and inhibition.

“This is a first attempt in an area that is developing and that we know so little about, but could be important,” Hess said.

Hess encourages everyone to have the “confidence to ask the questions that you might Dark therapy offers hope for vision recovery in individuals with think shouldn’t be asked,” firm- amblyopia. (Irina Zhang / The Tribune)

Light spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Bad guys with Why I will always

onormative mainstream, this can perpetuate a harmful stereotype sugGrowing up, I was always drawn to the vilgesting suggesting that lains when watching animated shows. I wasn’t drag queens, and by exrooting for them per se (I’ve always condemned tension all queer individTeam Rocket’s Pokémon-snatching antics), but uals, are exclusively bent something intrigued me about how villains on causing harm. always went against the grain of whatever fictiTransgender characters tious society they were aiming to topple. faced a similar fate. FuturWhether I was idolizing Ursula’s flamboyant, ama’s 2003 episode “Bend Her,” for example, larger-than-life eyebrows and vivid eyeshadow in depicts a male main character—and arguably The Little Mermaid, James’ play with ‘feminine’ complex anti-hero—Bender, who dresses up as disguises in Pokémon, or Shego’s sole loyalty to a fembot to deceive and cheat other competitors herself in Kim Possible, villains have always held during female events in the robot olympics. Not compelling characteristics to me. While these only does this narrative reinforce the longstandtraits are separate from what makes these charing (and false!) idea that men are physically acters ‘villainous,’ the phenomenon that I was ‘better’ at sports than women, it also supports mostly drawn to anti-heroes was no mere coinci- the biologically-essentialist narratives that trans dence. Why were only the ‘bad’ characters given women only want to compete with cis women to these attributes? Throughout my tween to teen ‘defeat’ them—when in reality, trans athletes just years, I couldn’t seem to put my finger on why want to be included.

I preferred these characters to their hero counterparts, but I recently—finally—figured it out: Seeing yourself in the dynamic villain Their sense of subtle queerness.

Alongside these negative depictions are villains with nuance. Each character has a backstoNegative depictions of queer ‘villains’ in media ry, fears, hopes, and—ultimately—depth besides Many of these character subtleties in media their (admittedly occasionally stereotypical) stem from the radical Christian, nationalist, and queer traits that defies the flat label of ‘queer repressive censorship ban in Hollywood that villain.’ These are the villains that I—and other lasted from 1934 to 1968, known as ‘The Hays queer people—love.

Code.’ The code banned several topics, such as One of my favourite characters is Zuko from homosexuality, in their goal of enforcing ‘appro- the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. Although priate’ media production. Although homosexual a prince, he is scarred and cast out of his family characters didn’t disappear from screens, they at the age of thirteen due to his father perceiving were pushed into villainous categories—imply- him as weak—a classic misogynistic stereotype ing that queer people were ‘bad’ based on their associated with gay men. His initial goal in the sexuality or gender and allowing the hero char- series is to capture Aang (the titular Avatar) to acters to be more ‘presentable’ to general audiwin back his father’s favour. While Zuko spends ences. Naturally, these emerging queer type-casts three seasons antagonizing the heroes, he simulstayed on the side of evil after the motion pictaneously forges a new path, showing that he ture industry abandoned the Hays Code, replac- doesn’t have to fit into his family’s expectations ing it with aged-based ratings that are still in use to be loved and accepted. That’s today. the exact thing that makes him For animated shows in the ‘90s and ‘00s, like so redeemable to queer audiencThe PowerPuff Girls and Pokémon, 2SLGBTQIA+ es. Queer youth don’t have the plotlines still connected queerness with inherluxury of fitting into the assigned ent malintent. Take Ursula from Hans Christian boxes that are deemed ‘acceptAnderson’s fairy tale, The Little Mermaid. In the able’ by a cishet society. We don’t original story, Ursula is merely a sea witch who even have the language or the acts as an enabler to Ariel’s whims. But Proknowledge most of the time that ducer Howard Ashman (a gay man) supported other identities are possible. Gabs animator Rob Minkoff’s original sketches that Gaston (BA ‘23), a trans-masc were based on Divine, a legendary drag queen self-described villain lover, said whose high-arched, thin eyebrows define Urit eloquently when explaining sula’s face. Divine is a lesser known figure now why they relate to characters like (which is honestly criminal), but she was a cult Zuko. figure during the height of her career—People “I not only see myself in Magazine once called her the “Drag Queen of [these characters in] how I’m the Century.” Contemporary audiences may not othered by society as a queer immediately relate Ursula’s garish performance person, but also with the inner in “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” low voice, and turmoil that you have,” they said stark wig-like hair to Divine, but she still carries in an interview with The Tribune. the qualities of an ‘othered,’ queer villain. While “That’s part of the queer experisome people, myself included, appreciated Urence is trying to figure out your sula’s distinctive appearance as an enhancement identity—whether it’s sexuality to her character, the unfortunate reality remains or gender. [...] And going against that she lacks depth or redeeming qualities the grain is [really] hard. It’s beyond a superficial ‘gay’ portrayal. In the heter- painful and it’s difficult, and it’s

Exploring the relations villainy and q

Written by Suzann Entertainm like everything is against you.”

Growing up cis and quite feminine meant that I consumed mainstream narratives about how I was going to grow up and marry a man.

There’s always been such a binary about how— in my experience—women should and shouldn’t act. So when I started to realize I wasn’t attracted to guys like my peers were, it made me feel like there was something wrong with me. I didn’t know there were other ways to live. Seeing these characters who were ‘outsiders’ helped me feel like I wasn’t alone. The villains’ mere existence was enough to show me I didn’t have to follow every social expectation.

Gaston agreed and said that while they didn’t like every choice the ‘villains’ made, they could understand how a lifetime of vilification could persuade characters to lean into it.

“When you are someone who has been confronted with needing to detangle and deconstruct that [binary] because of how you personally identify, [...] that allows you to see nuance beyond binaries of good and bad as well,” Gaston said. “You can hold in tandem relating to this character who has been rejected from society and has been othered and who has gone through a difficult situation, while at the same

h good vibes: s love the villain

gender I can relate to, but through cosplay I was allowed to experiment with being a boy in a socially acceptable way.

For costumes, I was able to lower my voice, wear a binder, and contour my face without anyone suspecting that I might be queer.”

Although some 2SLGBTQIA+ people discover their queer identities at a young age, many take years of self-discovery to articulate who they are. And some never feel the need to label themselves—but this self exploration happens nevertheless. Dressing up or even emulating these villain characters gives a lot of queer people the space to safely explore means of presenting outside their assigned gender at birth, or outside what society has regulated as acceptable.

Ultimately, your body is a means of physically presenting how you feel on the inside. And this isn’t an experience unique to queer people.

We’ve been told all our lives to fit in with whatever status quo governs our social sphere, when in reality, your appearance is how you express how you feel on the inside. I think Judith Butler, a legendary modern philosopher on gender, says it best. “‘The body’ appears as a passive medium on which cultural meanings are inscribed,” Butler writes in their impactful 1990 book, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity.

“These limits [of gender] are always set within the terms of a hegemonic cultural discourse predicated on binary structures that appear as the language of universal rationality.”

Sure, other people will always make assumptions about you based on how you look. But because these villain characters are visible in mass media, the discourse widens within the binary structures that many of us queer people still feel impacted by.

“A lot of cis people only see transness as fitting into the same cis binary of gender, where it’s like, if you are a trans man, then your goal is automatically to transition and look like a cis man,” Gaston said. “What a cis man looks like isn’t necessarily what a man is, in general. And there are so many grey areas in between that people might want to live in. I find a lot of freedom and self love in that grey area.”

Even people like me, who are cis and dress femininely, can take these villains as inspiration.

Think of Poison Ivy, originally a DC comic character, but who’s been adapted in so many franchises since. While she may have been created to pander to heterosexual male audiences, these same viewers simultaneously vilify her for using her sexuality and femininity to her advantage. She is feminine, smart, and

ship between animated queer culture

na Graham, Arts & ment Editor time understanding that not all their actions [are good].”

How villains help queer people discover how they identify and present Villains stand out from their hero counterparts: Why shouldn’t they? They’re powerful, confident, and defiant—counterculture personified in terms of style and ethics. So when queer people see themselves represented in villains, there’s a natural desire to embody them. These embodiments are not to replicate their wrongdoings: Instead, they aim to embrace their interpretation of the villain-aesthetic.

Oona Avery-Jeannin, a queer 3D animator whose work includes the short Hex Boyfriend, discussed with the The Tribune over Instagram how cosplaying as Deidara, a villain from Naruto, helped them to understand their relationship with gender.

“While I was portraying [Deidara] I really got in touch with acting more masculine, and feeling euphoria for the first time. I wouldn’t say he’s queer-coded per se, but having a more feminine appearance yet acting super masculine is what really resonated with me,” Avery-Jeannin wrote. “I still don’t have a clear idea on what

doesn’t exist to be eye candy to men. For many queer women, there is a struggle with accepting their femininity while shedding the patriarchal social expectation that they mould their femininity for the male gaze.

Gaston emphasized this, saying that they know several butch lesbian friends whose relationships with femininity have changed since embracing their sexuality. “[These butch lesbians] were actually able to embrace their femininity more as a butch lesbian because their femininity was not for male consumption. It was not within the male gaze,” they said.

Deconstructing the ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ character binary Besides Zuko, the majority of characters I saw fell amidst a stark binary of ‘good’ and ‘evil.’

And while queer people find camaraderie in these anti-hero characters, it is frankly exhausting to only be portrayed as the villain. It teaches both queer and straight people a single narrative: That 2SLGBTQIA+ people are bad, and nothing more.

But lately, I’ve been noticing more storylines where the villain has similarities to the heroes.

The 2018 show She-Ra and the Princesses of Power showcases the majority of conflicts between the hero Adora (who magically turns into She-Ra with a sword—it’s complicated) and the villain Catra. Despite growing up together as cadets for an evil Horde army, their relationship fractures when Adora chooses to fight against the army alongside rebels while Catra says they may as well use their Horde power for self-indulgence. While the two leads are on opposite sides of this war, their underlying (homoerotic) friendship reinforces the notion that both are more than the ‘evil scum’ or ‘princess’ label that their respective friends call the other. And Adora understands Catra’s motivations—her feelings of otherness, her fears of rejection, and her queer undertones—despite Catra’s actions. In the end, Catra changes sides, but doesn’t change her personality. Her queerness still exists, and she is loved and accepted for it.

“As someone who had to learn to love themselves, growing up in a situation where [I was] told not only from society but by family members that these parts of who you are are unlovable [...] it’s appealing to see a character who is ‘othered’ and then reintegrated into a different family,” Gaston said.

Villain characters have long been a sign that queer people can exist outside of society’s gendered expectations. However, these newer storylines that explicitly depict queer-coded villains finding love and acceptance without changing their physical presentation or personality shows 2SLGBTQIA+ people that their identity is not inherently evil. Villains persist to demonstrate that in an exclusive culture, disrupting the social norm is the way to make space and look good doing it.

Designed by Drea Garcia Avila, Design Editor

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

scitech@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

The many colours of bio-imaging

“Art of Imaging” exhibition reveals the artistic side of medical research Ella Paulin Science & Technology Editor

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rom Oct. 15 to 19, the Art of Imaging exhibition showcased a remarkable collection of medical imagery created by scientists across Quebec, peeking out between the pink concrete towers of the Montreal Convention Centre’s Lipstick Forest. The exhibition by the Quebec Bio-Imaging Network (QBIN) was held during Amazing Brain Week and the World Congress of Neurology.

While the exhibit’s images are no longer accessible in person, anyone can view them, along with insightful commentary in both English and French, on the QBIN website.

Captured with a wide array of techniques including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), microscopy, tomography, and ultrasounds, the images provide a glimpse of the intricate and beautiful images that many scientists work with daily.

According to Estrid Jakobsen, Communications and Student Engagement Manager for QBIN, appreciating the aesthetic value of these medical images is one of the primary purposes of the exhibition.

“A lot of science produces these really cool images, but I think a lot of scientists, because they’re so used to seeing them every day, they don’t realize just how cool they are,” Jakobsen said in an interview with The Tribune.

Jakobsen, with the support of several PhD students on QBIN’s communications committee, has been guiding the project since its inception several

years ago, with various images displayed alongside a fundraiser at The Neuro. Since then, the collection of images has grown and the organizers have started using professional printing techniques, displaying them properly as artistic creations.

“What is key in the exhibit, is that they’re scientific images, but they’re really displayed and appreciated as if they were art, because of their artistic value,” Jakobsen explained. “Just by taking a scientific image and putting it in a frame, you kind of see it in a different way.”

This shift in perspective, Jakobsen argued, is crucial both for scientists and for public outreach.

“It’s good practice to take a step back from your scientific images and be like, ‘Hey, actually, these are really cool. Like, these look great,’” Jakobsen said. “When we’re stuck in our scientific viewpoints, we often lose track of the bigger picture of our research.”

For the public, highlighting the artistic value of scientific images provides a new and important way to engage with science that might otherwise be inaccessible.

“That’s part of what I do in my communications committee [is] show people why is it important that we’re doing this research, and I think art for me is a gateway into that, because so many people [that] appreciate art may not think that they appreciate science,” Jakobsen said.

In the exhibit, visitors can see everything from a stunning 3D rendering of structural connections in the human brain, created using diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI), to an incredibly high-

resolution scan of a mouse’s brain, created using a technique that combines ultrasound technology with the injection of millions of tiny bubbles into the mouse’s bloodstream. Each image in the collection is sure to spark wonder and curiosity.

The beauty of the exhibit’s art prints helps hook viewers in, driving them to learn more about the images and the scientific tools used to create them. This is part of the broader Open Science movement, which emphasizes tearing down barriers in science and engaging with the public, something especially critical for medicine.

“Everyone, at some point in their lives, is probably going to have an MRI scan, or an X-ray of a broken bone or something like that. And I think it’s not just important, but also cool to understand why is that happening? And what is happening?”

Jakobsen said.

To further these public outreach goals, the QBIN plans to continue developing their Art of Imaging collection, in addition to their blog and their annual Scientific Day, which occurs each summer and features lectures from some of the top experts in bio-imaging from across Quebec.

The exhibition took place in the Lipstick Forest, a public artwork created by the design firm CCXA in 2002. (Ella Paulin / The Tribune)

Exploring the groundbreaking architecture at the “Design for the Global Majority” exhibition Sustainable housing solutions originating from McGill, destined for the world Eliza Wang Contributor

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s the global housing crisis worsens, a revolutionary project spearheaded by the Minimum Cost Housing Group (MCHG) at McGill’s Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture promises to reverse the narrative.

“Design for the Global Majority,” an exhibition happening on campus from Oct. 2 to 27, showcases affordable and sustainable housing designs tailored to the needs of low-resource communities across the developing world and beyond.

The Tribune attended the opening keynote lecture on Oct. 19, 2023, Thousand Million Clients, by Vikram Bhatt, Professor Emeritus at McGill and former Director of the MCHG, in conversation with Ipek Türeli, Associate Professor at McGill and Canada Research Chair in Architectures of Spatial Justice, and Robert Mellin, retired Professor in McGill’s School of Architecture.

“According to the United Nations sustainable development goals observatory statistics, between 2014 and 2018, the population of the urban poor grew from 23 per cent to almost 25 per cent [...] the number is bigger than 100 million, ” Bhatt said during the lecture. “And by 2030, it’s assumed that [the global urban population] will be six billion, and six out of 10 people will be living in the cities. It’s critical, I think, that architects, urban designers, and planners engage in this.”

Türeli acknowledged the rising issues in urban settlements and drew connections to the group’s “Design for the Global Majority” project across five thematic areas: Upcycle, Harness,

Plan, Leverage, and Hack.

The MCHG has concentrated on experiments with low-cost building materials and repurposing waste, aiming to develop ecological autonomous housing for under-resourced populations, which are sustainable because of their independent energy and water supplies. The extensive research on upcycling materials such as sulfur concrete eventually led the group to a new goal: Reducing the operational and environmental costs of buildings while also resolving household challenges of sanitation. To this end, the MCHG built and tested eight solar still variations, devices that harness solar energy to purify water through evaporation and condensation.

Moreover, in building the ECOL House, one of MCHG’s first major operations, the group harnessed natural resources to resolve water and power issues in a decentralized, small-scale, and low-cost approach. They collected rainwater for showering and hand-washing, and converted the used, dirty water back into drinking water using the rooftop solar stills they designed. As for electricity, they harnessed wind energy by installing a wind machine next to the house, which provides electricity for radios, pumps, motors, and lights.

“Stop the Five Gallon Flush!” is one way that the MCHG has tackled household sanitation challenges with an ethic of environmental conservation. In 1973, when Bhatt was a McGill student, the MCHG was already engaged in investigating alternatives to the unsustainable standard flush toilet model.

“Do we want to send one litre of solid waste with 20 litres of water every time we flush?

Should we not be looking at alternate systems?

And there was tremendous interest in this,” Bhatt recounted. “Suddenly, these ideas which were there [became] very successful.”

The MCHG designed a minimal freestanding sanitary unit, reducing water waste by combining the toilet and the washbasin. The publication, “Stop the Five Gallon Flush!”, catalogued the group’s various designs of alternative waste disposal systems, selling 5,000 copies and becoming an exemplar within the field of water conservation. Additionally, the MCHG’s various designs in the early 1970s had caught the eye of international organizations such as the United States Agency for International Development

(USAID) and the World Bank, seeking out the group as they looked for low-cost infrastructure and sanitation solutions.

Indeed, the MCHG’s work is not merely limited to regions perceived as the developing world. “Design for the Global Majority” is not simply a project about housing, agriculture, and urban sanitation, but a sustainable housing solution to the ever-increasing urban population problem in Canada and around the globe. With continued research, development, and support, the designs and methodologies pioneered by the MCHG team have the potential to redefine the landscape of affordable housing worldwide.

50 years in the making: From low-cost housing to sustainable human settlements. (Kayla Gaisi / The Tribune)

studentlife@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

STUDENT LIFE

11

A look into Quebec’s reduced tuition policy: Stories from France and beyond

Francophone students share their insights on the province’s bilateral student mobility agreements Naomi Gupta Contributor

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ince 1978, the Quebec government has upheld several bilateral student mobility agreements with foreign French-speaking countries. They signed the first of these with the French government in August 1978, and later signed another with the Belgian government in 2018, allowing French-speaking Belgians to attend the university at a discounted rate. Although these policies aim to increase student mobility, they have an underlying goal: To promote the French language in Quebec.

Under these agreements, some foreign students holding a French or Belgian passport are eligible to receive a signifi-

Paul Boura, U2 Finance As a France-born Malaysian, Boura’s dual citizenship allowed him to benefit from Quebec’s bilateral agreement with the French government. Wanting to pursue a degree in management, he explored educational opportunities abroad, but options in France were limited and not entirely suited to his needs.

McGill compelled him with its highstanding reputation, international student population, and low cost.

The $11,000 annual tuition rate, combined with Montreal’s relatively low cost of living, enabled him to pursue an affordable, international undergraduate experience.

He noted that French students, especially in Management, are “very close to each other.”

“When I hear French being spoken, I am drawn to it,” Boura

Paul Bourra discusses the socialization effects of McGill’s francophone community. (MingXi Gu)

cant discount on Quebec’s international student tuition fees.

Instead of paying the standard international rate of $42,190.38 for a Bachelor of Arts degree, French and French-speaking Belgian students can instead benefit from the province’s out-of-province tuition of $11,426.28—a 73 per cent discount. Because of the policy, ever-increasing numbers of Francophone students are drawn to McGill each year, which plays out in the makeup of the school’s student population. Together, McGill’s French and Belgian students represent a combined 18.6 per cent of the total international student population—making it one of the largest international communities at the university.

To better understand these agreements’ impact on McGill’s student population, four francophone students shared how the tuition exemption policies have benefited their educational opportunities and fostered a strong francophone community at the university.

added. “Although I can say that McGill’s high French population facilitated my integration and making friends here, it did also restrict me from meeting other types of people and going outside of my comfort zone.”

Lisa Matmati, U2 Political Science Matmati is a second-year French student, raised both in Lyon, France, and San Francisco, USA. Her dual citizenship deeply influenced her selection of a post-secondary institution. Despite living in France at the time, she hoped to pursue a university education in English. However, she found all of these boxes difficult to check; the desire to study in English combined with her hope to pursue an international education was not easy to find.

“Outside of France, your options of where [to go] are limited [by] price, distance and what you want to study,” Matmati explained.

“Before Brexit, a lot of people went to the UK, since it’s close to home and prices were feasible, but that is no longer the case. Being American,

I did want to find a North American type of school system without having to pay the cost of American schools.”

Matmati shared that without the tuition exemption for French students, she never would have considered McGill.

“It simply wasn’t feasible for my family,” she said. “As an international student, going to and from Montreal is already a huge expense—flight tickets aren’t cheap— so if you add that to international tuition fees, it would’ve been way out of budget.”

Mathieu Fouilloux, U2 Joint Honours in Economics and Finance Fouilloux was born in France and lived in Singapore and other cities before coming to Montreal. Despite growing up outside of France, his French citizenship made him eligible for Quebec’s international tuition fee exemption.

Like many, Fouilloux admitted to being surprised by the number of francophones at McGill, and he recognizes that it made a positive difference in his student experience.

“I was expecting a much more anglophone experience,” he shared.

“Although meeting other Frenchspeaking students wasn’t my primary goal, being surrounded by people who spoke my first language felt comforting.”

Fouilloux shared that his firstyear living situation played into his socialization patterns at McGill.

“I lived in New Residence Hall when I was a first-year, where there was a particularly high concentration of French-speaking students,” he said. “Not only did that help me create a sense of community, but I also reunited with people from my international schools that I hadn’t seen in 10 years. It really reinforced a sense of belonging between French people from international schools.”

This speaks to how big and diverse the francophone community is; that subgroups of French people from different backgrounds emerge within the larger French student population.

Olivia Neuray, U2 International Development Born and raised in Brussels, BBorn and raised in Brussels, Belgium, Neuray moved to Canada at the age of 17 to pursue her undergraduate degree at McGill University. She highlighted the affordability of the tuition cost—in contrast with that of England—as a decisive factor in her choice to attend McGill.

Neuray also cited the increased cost

Mathieu Fouilloux speaks on the benefits of his French-speaking surroundings. (MingXi Gu)

for European students to attend English universities due to Brexit.

Neuray insists that the influence of a student’s francophone surroundings mostly depends on the type of person they are.

“If a francophone student only feels comfortable with French-speaking people, then I think they’ll be more prone to seek out a community of other French people,” Neuray said.

“Personally, I don’t feel that way, but I was still naturally drawn toward francophone students nonetheless.”

In Neuray’s case, the high concentration of French-speaking students at McGill has had a dual impact on her experience as a francophone student.

“Although I love the bond I have created with my [French] roommates, I didn’t travel across the world to end up spending most of my time with people from my country, or from a neighbouring country,” Neuray said.

These international student mobility agreements have, amongst other things, revealed how the impact of tuition fees extends beyond the simple matter of access to education; they have broader demographic and social consequences on student bodies.

While 2,000 French and Belgian students benefit from Quebec’s low out-of-province tuition, similar agreements with non-European French-speaking countries are seemingly nonexistent. How would McGill’s population look different if Haitian, Vietnamese, Moroccan, and Senegalese students were offered the same policies? Student population numbers from countries such as Nigeria (81) or Lebanon (119) are equivalent to or higher than McGill’s Belgian community. Yet, they face higher financial barriers when pursuing an education in Quebec. This begs the question as to what efforts have been made in this sense, or why the Quebec government has yet to undertake student mobility agreements with other countries.

The question of attracting francophone students remains a central issue in Quebec. A recent provincial policy proposal intends to double tuition fees for incoming out-of-province students and threatens to unbalance the distribution of McGill’s student demographic. Just like in 1978 and 2018, if enacted, this policy will change the face of who can and will be a McGill student.

Olivia Neuray shares how Quebec’s student mobility agreement drew her, and others, to McGill. (MingXi Gu)

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STUDENT LIFE

studentlife@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

Is Columbus Café & Co Montreal’s newest go-to study café?

Exploring what the French coffee chain has on the menu Katherine Weaver Contributor

Environment The Columbus Café & Co locations are very much work-oriented cafés. The high-ceilinged, spacious interiors are lined with many tables, booths, and high-tops.

The music is soft and inobtrusive, and the overall noise level is pretty low for a café.

I was pleased to find outlets near most tables, as computer charging is often the limiting factor in long café work sessions.

Against the grain of cafés that only remain open until the late afternoon, the hours are generous, open at the Robert-Bourassa location from 7-9 p.m. on weekdays and 9-7 p.m. on weekends.

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ontreal’s café scene welcomes a newcomer—or rather, seven of them. Many may recognize the Columbus Café & Co yellow grizzly bear logo that seems to have suddenly popped up on street corners across downtown and the Plateau within the past year.

The brand launched in France in 1994, becoming a pioneer in the French Coffee shop business. Since then, it has expanded to hold over 200 locations in France, Belgium, and now, North America.

After opening their first North American location on Mont-Royal Avenue, the brand has been rapidly expanding across Montreal, and now has seven franchises along the city’s busiest commercial centres. With so many locations, I figured that there must be something special about this French coffee chain, so I popped into a few to try some food and drink, and to check out the overall vibes.

Menu The overall food and drink selection is solid enough to fuel a study session or a quick snack break, but not impressive enough to seek out on its own.

On my first visit to the Robert Bourassa location, I ordered a “maxi” sized latte and a Cajun chicken sandwich before sitting down with a friend to study. The latte was a great deal for its

After the launch of the Mont-Royal location, Columbus Café & Co aimed to open one franchise per month in the Montreal area. (James Knechtel / The Tribune)

size at around six dollars, and it was probably the largest latte I’d ever seen. The espresso was smooth and slightly bitter, with hints of citrus.

Plenty of milk and milk alternative options were available upon demand.

The Cajun sandwich, on the other hand, was not as impressive. Despite looking and smelling amazing, with spiced chicken breast, sun dried tomatoes, and aioli, the sandwich was quite dry, likely because it was pre-made and reheated upon ordering.

At the St. Catherine’s location, I ordered a passionfruit and ginger iced tea and a heart cookie. The tea was amazingly refreshing, an exciting

combination of both sugar and spice. The chocolate and peanut butter cookie was a nice balance to the tea, though it didn’t last long on my plate.

Next time I go, I’ll definitely try their cheesecake—it looked so decadent on display!

One of the Café’s specialties are its pastries and muffins, which are baked daily behind the bar, distinguishing it from other cafés that outsource their pastry making. Columbus also boasts a decent variety of pre-made sandwiches and wraps. The overall selection is very similar to the wide assortment at Milton B and the prices are pretty much on par with the famous MiltonParc study spot.

Expansion The brand has lofty goals to expand within its Canadian markets. On Oct. 17, the company’s Canadian sector announced a partnership with Indigo Books & Music Inc. Customers can expect to see the coffee chain in the beloved Canadian bookstore within this year.

The New Go-To? At less than a five-minute walk from the downtown campus, the Robert-Bourassa location is often full of McGill students studying or collaborating on group projects. This comes as no surprise; Columbus’ vibes are very conducive to schoolwork and will prove to be a trusty change of scene from the library, especially as we near finals season.

Boosting your browsing with alternatives to Google Chrome Reconsidering one of the most used, but least thought about apps on our computers.

Dante Ventulieri Student Life Editor

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oogle Chrome has been the most popular browser for nearly a decade. While it was a welcome change during its early years, it has since rested on its laurels, providing a resource-heavy and lacklustre browsing experience that disregards privacy and doesn’t offer useful tools for students. Just as the world moved away from Internet Explorer in the 2010s, it’s time to consider some other browsing options.

Edge Microsoft’s default browser has come a long way since the Internet Explorer days. Edge is a powerful browser with a minimalist interface, but is loaded with tools that are handy for students. Edge’s Collections features make compiling sources a breeze—they allow you to save links quickly and then export all the citations with one click. Other handy features include its built-in screenshot tool that lets you to capture entire webpages, an immersive reader to eliminate distractions on webpages, a battery saver mode for laptops, touchscreen writing input, and a PDF viewer that allows notetaking and annotations.

Vivaldi Vivaldi excels in customization. There are so many ways to modify the browser to your preferences, including its appearance, functionality, privacy, and layout. The personalization features can be a bit overwhelming at first, but putting the time in can prove worthwhile in the long run. The private calendar and email client help limit the number of apps you need open to stay organized and the built-in note taker and reading list keep you on track during assignments.

Opera Opera is one of the oldest browsers that is still around.

It has a few unique tricks up its sleeve that make it a good alternative to Chrome and Safari. The apps in the sidebar are handy for staying on top of social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram and the player tool keeps your music streaming platform only a click away. The workspaces are a great way to separate your browsing for each class and stay organized during the semester. Opera emphasizes AI tools in recent updates. For gamers, try Opera GX, a version of Opera with RBG accents, a CPU and RAM limiter, and other gaming-focused features.

Since 2013, Chrome has been the dominant browser; today, it controls over 65% of the desktop browsing market. (Dante Ventulieri / Adobe Firefly)

Firefox Firefox is unique among tech companies as it is the only mainstream browser owned by a non-profit organization: The Mozilla Foundation. Mozilla has been a vocal advocate for ensuring the web is safe, accessible, and secure; the browser embodies these principles as it is open source, built on its own engine (not Google’s Chromium like every other browser on this list), and privacy-focused.

It has fewer productivity features than other browsers but for those looking for a simple browser that runs well on both modern and older hardware, Firefox is a great option.

Sidekick Sidekick is a productivity-focused browser with many tools that will help students with their assignments. Sidekick allows you to convert any website into an app that conveniently sits on your sidebar. Sidekick’s tab sessions are one of the most intuitive ways to avoid hoarding tabs, allowing you to collapse entire groups of tabs quickly so you can get back to them later.

The search feature parses through your tabs, apps, and documents, helping you to not get lost during research. The focus mode will prove valuable for those late-night sessions at Redpath, when absolute productivity is necessary.

Brave From its proprietary search engine to its advanced cookie and ad-blocking, Brave focuses on privacy and security. Beyond this, it can be a bit light on features, leaving a lot to be desired. But if that’s what you value above all else, Brave is an attractive choice. Another notable feature is its opt-in ad system, which rewards you in crypto tokens for allowing acceptable ads.

Arc

Though it’s only available for Mac at the moment—a Windows app is still in development—the Arc browser is a welcome newcomer to the browser space. The split-screen feature is so intuitive that it makes you wonder why it’s not offered on every browser. Like other browsers, it has a way to organize tabs, which, much like the rest of the browser, is very aesthetically pleasing.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

arts@mcgilltribune.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

13

Todd Haynes’ ‘May December’ exposes exploitation in the public eye

The film glibly comments on relationship age gaps and media scrutiny Sofia Stankovic Design Editor Mentions of sexual abuse

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t the Cannes Film Festival in May, Todd Haynes premiered his new film, May December, an immediate fan favourite. Known for his work on the critically-acclaimed Carol (2015), the director diverges from indie romance to a campy drama focused on Hollywood exploitation. The film draws parallels with real-world events, presenting them through a satirical lens to enhance the complex sentiments woven into the narrative. The story centres around Joe (Charles Melton) and Gracie (Julianne Moore), a couple with a shocking 23-year age gap. The couple is now married with two children, but they are still haunted by the controversy of Gracie’s sexual abuse conviction for her relationship with then-seventh grader Joe, who is the same age as her children from a previous marriage. Despite the occasional fecal hate mail, the family seems relatively happy. However, the pair finds themselves overwhelmed as actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) approaches them to conduct research for a movie delving into their relationship’s illicit history. As familial tensions rise, Joe and Gracie are forced to re-examine their relationships with each other and their extended family.

The movie does a fantastic job of getting into the characters’ heads with the actors’ visceral portrayals, and subtle changes in cinematography. Viewers begin to see how Elizabeth and Gracie are both so calculating in their own actions that they begin to almost merge as characters. Melton’s performance intensifies the film, bringing conviction to an already fantastic turn from both actresses. Joe’s character feels extremely honest and unvarnished, leaving the audience feeling guilty for witnessing the manipulation he undergoes.

While the movie intially addresses sexual abuse, it expands its lens to exploitation as a whole. Elizabeth initially seems to observe the couple with unique compassion, but ultimately manipulates them both in a futile attempt to achieve her fullest artistic expression. Unbothered by the family’s reaction to her depiction, Elizabeth treats Gracie and Joe as playthings to fulfill her character analysis rather than as real people. The film skillfully portrays the pervasive and far-reaching consequences of unresolved trauma. These impacts, then, ripple through Joe and Gracie’s children.

What sets this movie apart is its willingness to fully embrace its own absurdity. It doesn’t shy away from poking fun at itself and maintains a level of self-awareness that its characters continuously lack. The film calls out the glamorization of true crime, both by filmmakers and viewers, who treat victims as commodities. This distinctive approach blurs the lines between comedy and drama, extracting genuine human emotion from the very material of tabloid sensationalism. As viewers, we are thrust into a deeply uncomfortable space, encouraged to question our intrigue of the story and the morality of our viewership.

The 23-year age gap between Joe and Gracie becomes a central point of intrigue and scrutiny, challenging our preconceptions about love, relationships, and social expectations. In doing so, the film elevates itself beyond a mere exploration of a sensationalized story and invites us to reflect on the intricacies of human relationships and the mediation of reality and fiction.

May December is a profound and unconventional film that reflects the human condition in all its absurd and uncomfortable glory. As the characters grapple with their scandalous past and an intrusive filmmaker’s lens, the movie pushes us to question not just its own logic but the very fabric of our own relationships and societal norms.

All of the film’s actors bring their roles to life, forcing the

viewer to look beyond tabloid sensationalism to a deeper exploration of exploitation and the profound, long-lasting effects of trauma.

May December is available on Netflix on Dec. 1st

Riverdale alum Charles Melton’s performance matches the level of Hollywood veterans Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. (imdb.com)

Marisol’s revolutionary art opens in Montreal New MMFA exhibit showcases the long-lasting impacts of 60s-era social movements Mia Helfrich Contributor

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he artist Marisol was a 1960s pioneer, with Warhollike pop art and sculptures that highlight the role of women in society. Open as of Oct. 7 at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), Marisol: a retrospective highlights works from Marisol Escobar, a VenezuelanAmerican artist known for her massive, striking wooden sculptures. After its run in Montréal, the Marisol exhibit, organized by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum in New York, will travel to the Toledo Museum of Art, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, and the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibit follows Marisol’s life’s work, starting chronologically from the 1950s to the end of her career in the mid-2010s. Her artwork fills an entire floor and is sectioned into six rooms—Material Experimentations, Mutable Forms, Mutable Selves, Self and Society, Into the Swim, Troubling Doubles, and Portraiture, from the Personal to the Political—that showcase the unique focuses of family, connection, and marginalization in her sculptures.

“I want people, even if they’ve never heard of Marisol before, to come away with a sense that [Marisol] is a truly visionary artist whose work is deeply relevant to us today,” Cathleen Chaffee, the Chief Curator of Buffalo AKG Art Museum, said in an interview with The Tribune.

After climbing the MMFA’s elegant staircase, the first sculpture one sees is Mi Mama y Yo (1968), which depicts an 11-year-old Marisol and her mother, Josefina Hernández Escobar. This piece introduces the viewer to her art style, which combines bold colours with cubic wooden people—each person connected by their geometry and symmetry. Huge geometric wooden blocks and bronze faces form both figures. Marisol’s body has a slightly lighter shade of pink paint than her mother, but their faces

could be of the same mould. This creates a duplicate effect which echoes within her portrayals of people throughout the exhibit. Her mother tragically passed away when she was eleven, which inspired the sculpture of them side-byside. This first look is raw and authentic, establishing the poignant and devastating themes that Marisol explores within her work.

Another striking sculpture, Baby Girl (1963), depicts a six-foot-tall wooden baby, adorned with a white bow and fringe. Minute in comparison, a small wooden mannequin standing on the baby’s thigh represents Marisol. Most of her sculptures are taller than those viewing them, the baby being a prime example of this distortion. The enormous infant reflects the immense pressure on mothers, the responsibility of raising children towering over them just as the baby comically towers over the mannequin. Marisol used this sculpture to foster empathy with caregivers and families. It visualizes the pressure on women to have children, which Marisol faced herself: She never had children but would often be asked when she would.

Baby Girl epitomizes Marisol’s intent to bring light to women’s struggles, and similar feminist themes can be seen throughout the exhibition.

“Looking from our position today, when we think so much about women’s roles, understanding of self, feminist issues, and ecological issues; [Marisol is] approaching all of those concerns and questions through her own subjectivity,” Chaffee said. “She makes herself vulnerable as a way of understanding the tropes we need to address.”

Journeying through each room, the larger-than-life wooden sculptures form a garden of statues, making the visitor feel humbled and small. The exhibit also includes sketches and drawings from Marisol’s childhood to her later years, providing viewers a glimpse into her growth as an artist throughout her life. There are films, also, one of which she made with Andy Warhol, that give the exhibit a fuller, dynamic experience. Additionally, quotes

Marisol’s sculpture, titled The Fisherman (1973), highlights environmental issues with a sci-fi-inspired creature that’s both man and fish. (Solenne Trequesser / The Tribune) from Marisol pop up along the walls, giving context to her pieces. With each sculpture that highlights issues we still face today, she urges people to find solace in one another, and have empathy and meditation for the struggles of marginalized people.

Marisol: a retrospective runs at the MMFA until Jan. 21, 2024.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

arts@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

An ode to the fall film The supernatural is not the only thing that defines our October watchlists Alice Kreinin Contributor

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here is so much more to October filmwatching than scary movies.

While viewers may inevitably crave the grotesque in the leadup to Halloween, autumn simultaneously evokes a search for comfort in the TV catalogue as viewers shy away from the frigid outdoors. I found this sense of warmth during the past reading break when I had the unexpected pleasure of watching the 1998 film You’ve Got Mail for the first time. It’s a charmingly dated rom-com where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fall in love over email, and I was delighted by every minute of it. I can attribute my delight largely to the gratuitous autumnal imagery that enveloped the film, panning over a yellowing New York City with the warm and wistful film grain of the late-90s. The fall aesthetic is ubiquitously dreamy, and it’s something that I pointedly search for in the media that I consume this time of year.

Just as I am overtaken by the annual urge to rewatch Gilmore Girls the moment a cooler breeze passes by, my roommates

Could be Good

with the “Fall” genre. Only a very small portion of the movies that my Google search produced were released in the last decade. This could very well be signalling a declining quality of fall-related movies over the past few years, but, nevertheless, this uncovers an autumnal desire to go back in time. Nostalgia makes these movies so re-watchable and serves as markers in time that The classic rom-com You’ve Got Mail was set in the Upper West Side to we can’t help but come back seem more quaint. (Anita Peeples / unsplash.com) to, over and over.

Tom Hanks and Meg settle in to watch Fantastic common motifs like ghosts, Ryan in You’ve Got Mail witches, and pumpkins.

Mr. Fox because “it’s just so fall.” “Fall” is not generally However, Halloween movies exchange emails throughout considered a genre of media come up amidst a long list the year, and yet they fixate in the way that “Christmas” of other movies that are tied on how much they love might be. However, the mass to one another in a different New York in the fall. As I production of Christmas way. These films don’t watched the film, I couldn’t movies reveals a collective feature ghosts or witches, help but think that I was need to indulge in seasonal but they do share an affective only so dazzled by its charm charm through the media atmosphere. In concept, these because it was a “Fall” we consume. What most films range from romances movie, although the events of people fail to realize is like When Harry Met Sally…, the movie are not limited to that the “Fall” genre does to psychological dramas like the season. “Fall” movies are exist and has been begging Good Will Hunting. Yet, they not about fall in the way that to be acknowledged for are all shrouded in the reds Halloween movies are about years. You’ve Got Mail and oranges of the season, as Halloween or Christmas made me realize that I have well as an undeniable sense of movies are about Christmas.

“Fall” is not about anything obliviously been a die-hard coziness and familiarity.

Coziness is a nebulous except a feeling, but it’s a “Fall” fan all my life.

A quick Google search criterion to define a whole feeling that’s as recognizable of “Fall movies” delivers genre, but it’s one that could as the conventions of any all the usual suspects of not possibly be removed from other genre. Defending the outwardly spooky films “Fall.” This cozy viewing existence of a genre on the like Hocus Pocus and The experience integrally forms basis of an indefinable feeling Addams Family.

These the genre’s ability to provide may seem far-fetched, but movies fit into the “Fall” comfort as the weather grows when my roommate says that genre simply through their harsher and we grow more something is “just so fall,” connection to Halloween. reclusive. Similarly, nostalgia we understand exactly what They gather together through is profoundly intertwined she means.

Caroline Vu Book Launch Trivia Night at Gerts

A general trivia night presented by P[h]assion Award-winning Caroline Vu launches third with a secret author prize for the winning team her of five. book Catinat Boulevard, depicts two friends who RSVP and buy ticketswhich online. choose different paths to aid and survive the Vietnam War. Tuesday Nov. 30, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

Gerts Bar (3480 Rue McTavish) Saturday, 28 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. $10 perOct. person Librairie Paragraph Bookstore, 2220 McGill College Ave Free

Bands as Bands: Halloween Covers Party the night away with more than six local bands playing your favourite Halloween songs. Karaoke afterparty to follow!

Saturday, Oct. 28 show 9 p.m.

Diving Bell Social Club, 3956 St. Laurent Blvd Étage 3 $15 in advance; $20 at the door

Rocky Horror Picture Show Come to the largest Rocky Horror night in North America presenting the cult classic film.

Prepare for massive audience participation and a wicked good time Thursday Oct 26 – Saturday Oct. 18 Imperial Cinema, 1430 rue Bleury $17 Student price, $22 General admission.

Tickets online

Trivia Mondays with Bambi Dextrous Love trivia? Bring a group of friends and test your random knowledge with drag host Bambi Dextrous Monday, Oct. 30 8 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Diving Bell Social Club, 3956 St. Laurent Blvd Étage 3 Free; reserve seats online

The luck of receiving Voltaire’s archive

McGill received a rare manuscript collection from the acclaimed writer’s later years Kellie Elrick Contributor Continued from page 1.

As Cronk noted during his lecture on Oct. 28, “The McGill Library has now become one of the world’s major centres for the study of Voltaire.”

But why care about manuscripts today? Cronk made a case in his lecture.

An 1841 letter has “Open Cautiously” written on the envelope. “Mr. Reed, who lives in Leeds” sent a letter to novelist Maria Edgeworth, begging for a signature. She wrote back with a signed reply—written on the inside of the envelope, knowing that if he ripped it open in his enthusiasm, he would destroy the signature.

An Ariosto manuscript at the Biblioteca Ariostea is smudged at the bottom. Over 200 years after its writing, Alfieri visited and loved the manuscript so much, he signed it like a visitor’s book (generally frowned upon today, but the librarians made an exception for Alfieri).

He cried, smudging the ink.

These remnants let us see a different side of the author’s life, one unpublished, uncirculated, unremembered. Authors are often so much more than what they publish—we go far beyond the selves we choose to present to the world.

Voltaire—whose given name was François-Marie Arouet—was an enormous celebrity as well as an amusing character in his time. He won the lottery multiple times— but not through luck. He and a group of friends discovered

that the prize fund exceeded the cost of each ticket. So they proceeded to divide and conquer: Buy every single ticket, split the profits, laugh at the authorities, repeat.

But what about the parts of his life that society didn’t see?

“In the French sphere, we’re all familiar with those writers mainly in the 19th through 20th centuries: Flaubert, Proust, Valéry, who kept enormous numbers of manuscripts, they kept all their work in drafts… Sadly— or maybe happily—you can’t do that for Voltaire,” Cronk said.

There are exceptions. A famous scene in Candide involves the titular character encountering an escaped enslaved person. He sobs. A manuscript was found in the 1950s, written the year before publication. This scene isn’t there—it was added later.

The Collection allows us to connect with a different side of Voltaire. These are letters he wrote to friends, fans, and loved ones (Voltaire often gave his work to “women admirers”). There are holes. No margins. Cheap paper. But we can also see the inverse: Instances of extreme formality, almost forced and very funny.

Voltaire wrote a letter to the (extremely Catholic) Queen of France seeking her approval of La Henriade (an epic poem criticizing the Catholic Church). The letter-writing convention of the time indicated that the more space left after the address, the more respect for the receiver. He left nearly a full page of space. She never answered.

The Collection offers incredible insight into Voltaire’s later years: Who he was writing to, what he

Professor Cronk’s talk and guided tour were part of the Canadian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies’ “Matters and Materials of Life” Conference. (news.library.mcgill.ca) was writing, how. Strings of poetry, history, fun, official correspondences, and mistresses weave a tapestry of not only his essence as a person and author, but his everyday life.

Fragments of quotidian life allow us to connect with the past on another level. These documents bring us to the fantastic—but also disconcerting—conclusion that authors are everyday people as well.

Selected works from the collection can be viewed in the ROAAr Reading Room without appointment from Mon.Thurs., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. with a piece of government or student ID.

sports@mcgilltribune.com

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

SPORTS

15

Know Your Athlete: Zach Gallant After two years in the AHL, Gallant is playing his first season with Redbirds hockey Tillie Burlock Managing Editor

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or many USPORTS hockey players, their dreams of playing professionally ended upon their enrolment in post-secondary education.

However, for McGill’s Zach Gallant, the dream is still alive.

Hailing from Oakville, Ontario, the Redbirds’ forward had a rather unorthodox path to McGill. Prior to being picked fifth overall in the 2015 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft by the Peterborough Petes, Gallant was set on going to play National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hockey in the U.S., as the prospect of playing professionally was still up in the air.

“I had just come off shoulder surgery [heading into the draft],” Gallant told The Tribune. “Going into that season was the first time I really trained in the summer so I felt really good [and] I played [for Ontario] in the Winter Games that year, and we won gold. [....] I really wanted to go to college, but being drafted so high kind of put me on the trajectory to play in the NHL.” The decision to play for the Petes proved to be the right choice as the Detroit Red Wings drafted Gallant 83rd overall right before he graduated high school in 2017. Following the Red Wings’ development camp, the team elected not to sign him, prompting Gallant to head back to the Petes for his first season as captain in 2018-19. Unfortunately, seven

games into the season, Gallant suffered another injury that required ankle surgery.

Having only played 30 games that season, Gallant elected to play in the Eastern Coast Hockey League (ECHL) so the Red Wings could get a better look at his playing style.

So, Gallant played four games with the Toledo Walleye before heading back to the Petes for his final year in the OHL. “The Coast [ECHL] is a real big grind,” Gallant said. “You travel a lot, you don’t really live in the best apartments, you’re not making a ton of money, and that’s when I originally applied to McGill [....] But lucky enough, in the summer, I had gotten an invite to [the] San Jose [Sharks’] development camp, and they offered me a deal after that camp, which kind of changed my trajectory.”

Gallant then signed an entry-level deal with the Sharks in 2019 and headed back to Peterborough to play in his final year of eligibility with the Petes while enrolling in a few courses at Trent University to jump-start his degree.

However, Gallant’s final season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was just such a killer,” said Gallant. “We were really good. Mason McTavish was on pace for 30 goals as a 16-year-old, Nick Robertson scored 55. We had a lot of buzz.”

With school being pushed online, Gallant enrolled at McGill in 2020 while playing in the American Hockey League with the San Jose Barracuda.

“The players are just so good,” Gallant explained. “The difference between guys playing the AHL and the NHL is so slim. I really didn’t love the travel aspects of being on the road all the time, and being at the rink and then being at home, so I thought it was time to mix it up and go to school.”

Prior to the 2023-24 McGill hockey season, Gallant was sidelined for 18 months between his last game with the Barracudas and his first game with the Redbirds. In accordance with the USPORTS rules, athletes that play professionally must sit out a season prior to becoming eligible.

But this year of ineligibility did

not hinder Gallant’s positive McGill experience. Despite being on the older side as a 24-year-old U3 student, Gallant has enjoyed his time studying finance and accounting, and the journey of returning to the life of being a full-time student.

Gallant is planning to graduate in 2025 with one remaining year of eligibility, and is not quite sure what the future holds for him.

“I still think I want to be an athlete and play hockey because I won’t be able to do it forever,” Gallant concluded.

Whether that means playing in North America or Europe, Gallant is open to any path that will keep him in the game.

In his final season with the Petes, Gallant scored 33 goals and had 32 assists. (CHL.ca)

Let’s reel in the disappointment surrounding Kim Ng’s departure from the Marlins

Ng’s time in Miami ends, yet hope remains for trailblazers pursuing front office roles Marco Zeppilli Contributor

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n Oct. 16, Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins announced that they would be parting ways with Kim Ng, the first woman to hold the position of general manager (GM) in any of North America’s four major men’s sports. In a statement, Marlins’ chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman announced that while the club had exercised its team option on Ng’s contract for the 2024 season, Ng had opted to decline her mutual option. It has since been reported that the organization was seeking to hire a President of Baseball Operations––an intermediary between ownership and the GM––to whom Ng would have reported directly. The tone of coverage surrounding

While this recent development is discouraging for many sports fans, the situation was handled fairly by Ng and the Marlins. (Samuel Regan-Asante / unsplash.com)

Ng’s departure has been largely critical of the Marlins, suggesting that Ng deserved better treatment from the club.

However, this sequence of events is neither outlandish nor does it undo any of the progress achieved by Ng and other women currently occupying or pursuing front office roles in professional sports.

Ng was originally hired as the Marlins’ GM in 2020, a significant development for women and people of colour in professional sports as the first person of East Asian descent to take on the role. Following former President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill’s departure from the club, Ng worked alongside former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who officially held the position of CEO and oversaw day-to-day baseball and business operations.

When Jeter left Miami before the 2022 season, his position remained vacant for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, leaving the club without a CEO or a President of Baseball Operations.

The Fish could have filled Jeter’s position by hiring an external candidate or promoting from within the organization. In the latter case, Ng, as the highest-ranking baseball operations executive outside of ownership, would have been a logical choice. However, Sherman and the Marlins opted for the former, exercising their club option that would have kept Ng as GM for 2024. While some pundits have criticized the Marlins for looking for a new President of Baseball Operations and making Ng secondin-command, the decision is unsurprising considering the club’s previous organizational structure and the current industry standard. While the Marlins decision not to promote Ng merits criticism given Sherman’s praise of her work as GM, the club is within their right to search externally for a President of Baseball Operations.

The desire to keep Ng in her role as GM should be viewed as a recognition of her success. In 2023, the Marlins reached the postseason for the first time in a 162-game campaign since their 2003 World Series triumph. Ng bolstered the club’s roster by acquiring batting champion Luis Arráez and oversaw a successful 2023 trade deadline, bringing in Josh Bell and Jake Burger, who both provided a much-needed boost to the team’s offense and played a pivotal role in the team’s quest for the postseason.

Ng’s reasoning for declining her mutual option remains unclear. In a statement, Ng said she and Sherman were unaligned in their views on the future of the team’s baseball operations, however, this ambiguity does not clarify to outsiders why the ties severed. A source close to Ng has stated the decision was related to the Marlins’ budget constraints, with the club’s payroll ranking in the bottom third of the league for the entirety of Ng’s tenure. Ng, who had previously worked in the New York Yankees’ front office, might have been dissatisfied with the Marlins’ inability to lessen the gap in payroll with high revenue clubs, making it more difficult to extend player contracts after arbitration or lure big ticket free agents.

In any case, Ng is a highly capable baseball executive with a proven track record at the sport’s highest level. Whether she finds employment with another Major League club or in the league office, her presence as a front-facing figure with the Marlins represented a refreshing change of pace in a historically white male-dominated field. The Marlins did what they believed to be in the best interest of their organization.

While the end of this chapter may be disappointing for some, Ng’s time in Miami remains significant for women and people of colour pursuing careers in professional sports.

16

SPORTS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 2023

sports@mcgilltribune.com

Redbirds unphased after Shaughnessy Cup homecoming game loss Despite a home loss, the team is ready to fight for their spot in the RSEQ playoffs Sophia Micomonaco & Oscar Johnson Contributors

Sherbrooke (0–6) on Oct. 28, which will decide whether they make it into the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) playoffs. Despite the loss against Concordia, the Redbirds are optimistic.

“I think we’re fine,” Rowe said of the game against Sherbrooke. “We showed a lot of heart at the end so I’m super excited for next week.”

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n Oct. 20, McGill Redbirds Football (1–6) played in their 54th Annual Shaughnessy Cup homecoming game against the Concordia Stingers (4–3) with the hopes of snapping a five-game losing streak. However, the Redbirds were unsuccessful, falling 40-23 to the Stingers in front of a sold-out homecoming crowd.

Concordia set the game’s pace early with a touchdown just over eight minutes into the first quarter. The Redbirds responded with a touchdown from running back Brandon Ciccarello with just two minutes remaining in the first to tie the game 7-7. However, with 48 seconds on the clock, the Stingers snagged their second touchdown to end the quarter up 14-7.

With 3,500 fans in the stands, the enthusiasm and spirit were high, despite an overwhelming number of Concordia supporters. On the sideline, the McGill cheerleading team performed stunts and led the crowd in chants, generating a lively atmosphere for the players and fans to enjoy.

“We were excited because [homecoming] games are always jam-packed with lots of fans, so we were expecting a huge turnout,” slotback Daunte Rowe said.

The second quarter began similarly to the first, with Concordia scoring another touchdown and making the field goal with eight minutes to go, widening the gap to 21-7.

Despite the scoreboard, the Redbirds kept up a hard fight and sustained their high energy

MOMENT OF THE GAME

Brandon Ciccarello rushed 21 yards in the first quarter, the most in the game.

(Maïa Salhofer / The Tribune) levels. In the seventh minute, the offence was able to make a play that initially looked like a second touchdown for McGill. The brief moment of excitement from the crowd was dulled as the play was called as a dropped pass, hindering hopes of a McGill comeback.

“The dropped pass was tough,” Rowe told The Tribune. “We had the energy, so, if we got the touchdown, we would have had more momentum.”

Concordia then scored yet another touchdown, leaving McGill to fight back from 28-7 at halftime.

The third quarter saw the Redbirds struggle to take possession and secure much-needed points. Concordia closed the quarter with a touchdown and last-second field goal to make it 40-7.

“We made good plays, but too many mistakes and missed opportunities,” quarterback Eloa

Latendresse-Regimbald said, referring to the second and third quarters.

Although this looked like a tough loss for McGill, the team continued to push through the final fifteen minutes and scored two touchdowns from slotback Darius Simmons and running back Cedric Dabady. The Redbirds’ defence managed to shut down a strong Concordia offence, allowing no points in the fourth, making the game’s final score 40-23.

Simmons’ touchdown was particularly rousing for the crowd. After walking off in the first quarter due to what looked like a head injury, he made a quick comeback on the field.

“The last quarter felt good, we finished strong and we still had a lot of energy,” assistant coach Kenny Charles said. “We still have one more game to go, so we’re gonna use the fourth quarter to take us where we want.”

The Redbirds will play against Université de

At halftime, members of the 1969 Redbirds Football Team were inducted into the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame. 1969 was the inaugural year of the Shaughnessy Cup.

QUOTABLE

“Scoring is always going to give us momentum. Defensive plays are great, but we also have to capitalize and keep scoring to bring the fight back.”

–Quarterback Eloa Latendresse-Regimbald

STAT CORNER

After having a mere 3:36 possession time in the third quarter, McGill took over in the fourth with a 9:19 possession time for a final 29:13 to Concordia’s 30:47.

Redbirds’ lacrosse and rugby teams fly past Gaiters and secure wins for their seasons

Both teams continued their respective win streaks against the Bishop’s University Gaiters.

Redbirds Lacrosse vs Bishop’s University: W 11-7

Madigan McMahon Contributor

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cGill lacrosse (6–2) returned to Percival Molson Stadium on Oct. 18 against Bishop’s University’s Gaiters (2–6) in their final home game of the season.

The first quarter started with midfielder Dylan James assisting midfielder Joshua Jewell’s goal in the second minute of play. Midfielder John Miraglia foiled Bishop’s attempts to pierce McGill’s defence as he intercepted the ball and passed it to James, allowing attacker Massimo Thauvette to score another goal. Bishop’s tied the score up by netting a goal from the doorstep and another goal with just under three minutes left in the quarter.

The second quarter opened with a couple of saves from goalie Joseph Boehm before he brought the ball up the field. The Gaiters intercepted the lobbed ball as they unsuccessfully attempted an open goal from the midfield line.

Midfielder Louis-Antoine Habre brought the ball to midfielder Rowan Birrell, who scored a goal, and was quickly followed by Miraglia. The Gaiters scored three more goals, leaving McGill down 6-4 at the half.

The second half saw Bishop’s score three minutes in, while the Redbirds came back with a goal from midfielder Owen Howard making the score 7-5.

“When you’re down in that momentum, that first goal means everything,” head coach Nicolas Soubry said, crediting Howard.

James scored two minutes later before attacker Isaiah Cree netted another goal with 30 seconds left. With just 18 seconds left, midfielder Luke Dawick put the team in the lead 8-7.

“Once you get the chemistry to click, this team is just on fire. It’s really beautiful to watch,” James told The Tribune in a postgame interview. “I’d say the turning point was in the third quarter and then we got seven straight.”

Carrying on their momentum, the Redbirds won the face-off and attacker Mark Symon scored. Thauvette netted another goal and Birrell scored the last goal of the game, ending 11-7.

“We really battled back as a team, and it makes the coaching staff really proud,” Soubry expressed his final thoughts.

The Redbirds won against Ottawa (0–10) on Oct. 21, in one of their final two games in the regular season.

Moment of the game: Redbirds come back from a three-point disparity, scoring seven consecutive goals in the second half of the game.

Quotable: “It was a rough start, but we really picked up the energy and the mentality in the

second half. It was a real mental fight towards the end of the game and we won it in the second half.”

– Midfielder John Miraglia on key points from the game.

Stat Corner: McGill moved to third place in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association regular season standings.

Redbirds Rugby v. Bishop’s University: W 25-15

Julie Ferreyra Sports Editor On a misty Friday afternoon, the Redbirds’ rugby team (4–2) took the field against Bishop’s University’s Gaiters (3–3) in front of an enthusiastic homecoming crowd.

The Redbirds set the tone early in the afternoon, as inside centre Alexander Armstrong buried a try in the third minute. The first half saw significant efforts on both sides, as the Gaiters closed the gap with a successful penalty kick.

After missing the first two penalty opportunities, outside centre Martin Laval successfully set a first penalty. The Gaiters quickly equalized with a converted try in the 32nd, bringing the scoreboard to 10-10 at half-time.

The second half saw increased intensity, with Laval successfully setting three more penalties amidst attempts to break through the Gaiters’ defence. As the Gaiters buried

an unconverted try and a penalty, the pressure mounted on the Redbirds’ defensive line. The referees’ final whistle at the end of the additional time saw the Redbirds erupt in joy, celebrating their last win of the regular season.

“We went in today with a game plan in mind, we stuck to our game plan for the most part. [...] We knew what we had to do to beat them and we went out there and did exactly what we had to,” Loosehead prop Nicholas Smith said in an interview with The Tribune.

The Redbirds clinched the third spot in the Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) standings and will face the University of Ottawa’s Gee Gees (4–2) in the semi-final on Oct. 27.

Quotable: “ÉTS and Ottawa are the two squads that have beaten us, and they’re strong squads too [....]

We’ll have to work on our planning and make sure we get how we want to play structurally sorted out; give ourselves the best opportunity.”

— Head Coach Ian Baillie, on the semi-final the team just secured a spot for.

Stat: This win constituted the sixth victory in a row against Bishop’s University, who last won this face-off in 2018.

Moment of the game: Right before halftime, after a kick, the ball went into the stands amongst the supporters. A child caught it and threw it back to the team on the field.