The worst insult I ever received was at a parent-teacher conference. My third-grade teacher joked that I was “very serious” about school. I would have preferred it if she failed me. Taking something seriously was, to me, horrifying. It was an insurmountably embarrassing hallmark of someone uncool, someone self-important who[Read More…]
Off the Board
It’s time for the United States to finally get its 51st state
For many of my Canadian peers, the phrase “51st state” earns an eye-roll, no doubt in response to U.S. President Trump’s ceaseless political and economic antagonism. Yet, growing up in Washington, DC, “51st state” was a rallying cry, a call for the enfranchisement of the city’s over 700,000 residents who[Read More…]
The final edit
As you rifle through The Tribune’s final issue, I implore you to consider a heavy, urgent, and tender word: Responsibility. For the past academic year, student revolutionaries took on the responsibility to spearhead movements for Indigenous sovereignty and Palestinian liberation, fought against increasing conservatism and fascism across North America, and[Read More…]
The accent they mock, the voice I carry
Some of my earliest memories are of the way my mother sang me to sleep—soft vowels, careful consonants, and an accent I never thought twice about. Yet, I’ve sat in rooms where that accent—the one that raised me—was mocked. In my high school, classmates exaggerated syllables they didn’t understand. On[Read More…]
Solo side quests are self-care
In my first year of university, I saw crowds of first-years playing games, eating snacks, and sporting matching Frosh t-shirts, aware that I didn’t have one. Over dinner, a friend said, “I’m worried you’ll be lonely this weekend.” “No,” I responded with a smile. While I appreciated the care and[Read More…]
A love letter to crappy Chinese food
I love crappy Chinese food. Don’t get me wrong, I love all types of Chinese food and would happily eat only rice for the rest of my days. But I love greasy, crappy mall Chinese food served in a plastic container with three divided sections: One for Canto-style chow mein[Read More…]
My thoughts on femininity as a so-called 900-pound grizzly bear
For years, boys at school called me “Boog.” When I asked what they meant, they said that it was a character from the movie Open Season: “A nine hundred-pound bear,” they would say. So, naturally, I thought I was fat. I developed an intense anxiety about eating in front of[Read More…]
A struggle meal, among friends
I looked on, half horrified, half intrigued, as she set the timer for 10 minutes. Trying to hide my disgust, I attempted to confirm that this wasn’t some kind of strange mistake, a careless slip of the finger on the time selection wheel: “Did you mean to select 10 minutes,[Read More…]
McGill’s “gatekeeper courses” are against the spirit of education
The first time I expressed my desire to attend McGill, my enthusiasm was met with a warning: “You might get in, but it’s difficult to stay in.” They meant that although the university does not have the traditionally single-digit acceptance rates of American Ivy Leagues, the difficulty and low averages[Read More…]
My cultural identity is not dependent on a language
A few weeks ago, my friend Toscane and I were stopped by a man who asked us if we were French. With our affirmative response, he excitedly expressed his love for our accent before noticing the Hamsa pendant on my necklace. Also called the Hand of Fatima, the Hamsa symbol[Read More…]
