There is no doubt that Justin Trudeau is a leader. His charisma, his popularity, and his passion are hallmark characteristics of his speeches and image, and these traits have contributed to his success. In a recent National Post article by Mike de Souza, Trudeau is praised for his decisive lead and strong base of supporters in the Liberal Party leadership election. However, there is ongoing speculation as to how successfully these attributes will play out in the multi-party arena.
During his visit to McGill in February, Trudeau discussed some of his political strategy and ideology. Notably, he condemned the policies of the past decade for unequally representing Canadians, placing most of the blame on politicians for focusing their efforts on certain groups of people in order to maximize individual popularity. He specifically singled out Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and his political attachments to the West and big corporations as the main culprit. His solution was to implement new policies that would help all Canadians, rather than target specific, non-partisan groups.
Trudeau may be too quick to criticize. Politicians have successfully learned the ways in which people vote—not necessarily favouring what is best for the country, but for themselves—in order to maximize popularity. Whether that is ethically right or wrong is another issue; but should he choose to pursue his ideals when forming election strategy, Trudeau will lose many votes if his opponents opt to target specific voters and ‘play the political game’ as it is understood today.
The situation can be seen in terms of game theory: if Trudeau chooses a plan that is moderately agreeable across the spectrum and his opponents create policies that will maximize benefits for swing voters, Trudeau will certainly lose. Politicians aren’t really to blame, as they are reacting to the voters in order to do what they need to—win. Even if all of Trudeau’s competitors were to accept his ideals and engage in a new kind of electoral campaign, it would only take one defector, undercutting the others, to bring the whole thing down. This stand-off boils down to what is known as a prisoner’s dilemma.
If Trudeau hopes to realize his vision, it will not be an easy path. If he wants to win with a policy that will benefit all of Canada, he needs to first achieve a consensus amongst his political opponents to abandon their political games, and let ideas shine through. Theoretically, this can be implemented in part by monitoring and regulating advertisement investment in certain provinces. Secondly, Trudeau must convince voters to support what’s best for Canada, regardless of their political stance. To do this, he needs to initiate a movement encouraging voters to be vigilant and informed about issues across Canada, and the ethical implications of voting.
At the end of the day, change is very hard to come by, especially on this scale. Both voters and politicians are far more likely to pursue what they are familiar and comfortable with, and Trudeau will be forced to follow suit or risk being left behind. But however unlikely such systemic reform is in the near future, we know at least one politician hopes for more. If he were to overcome the obstacles, Trudeau’s vision could be not only successful, but could drastically change the nature of campaigns, and voters’ approach to Canadian elections.
December’s announcement of the drastic budget cuts facing McGill shocked the administration and the entire student body. While the cuts affect all of Quebec, there has been an emerging opinion among some Quebecers that McGill and other English-speaking universities should bear the brunt of these cuts. The argument is that McGill is not culturally part of the Quebec tradition, and is—as students often call it—a ‘bubble,’ set apart from the rest of the city and province. Nearly half of McGill’s student body is made up of out-of-province or international students, leading to a sense of dilution of the city’s French heritage, and consequently, lack of prioritization for provincial funding.
In addition to the recent budget cuts, there have been proposals from the Parti Québécois (PQ) which would specifically target McGill, such as a plan to provide increased funding to universities that attract more first-generation post-secondary students. As Lisa-Marie Gervais points out in an article in Le Devoir entitled “Sommet sur l’enseignement supérieur – Pour une gouvernance «efficace»,” McGill is typically attended by students from more educated families. Such targeting, however indirect, reflects the belief that francophone universities deserve more funding.
What these policies will do is put at risk the great benefits McGill offers to Montreal and Quebec as a whole. Far from being a threat to the culture of Montreal, McGill is one of the city’s biggest assets. The institution’s name recognition alone is something to nurture and take pride in; despite its recent fall in one ranking, McGill is a world-renowned university—placing 18th in 2012 according to the QS annual global rankings—which attracts a lot of positive attention. As a result, brilliant young minds move here, ready both to partake in the province’s tradition of knowledge and academia. Students explore the Montreal area and gain an understanding of Quebec’s deep culture, and indeed, its language. Another factor is the general tourist industry McGill generates. As a renowned university full of history on its own, the campus is an essential Montreal attraction.
Even more important are the established innovators McGill attracts. Among the most historically notable was Wilder Penfield, who founded the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (MNI), which continues to be a valuable resource to the city as a whole. In the future, there is no telling who will come to Montreal attracted by the prospect of McGill, and further contribute to the city’s amazing history of creation and culture. Despite its financial troubles, McGill has continued to commit to innovation with programs such as the recently announced collaborative aerospace projects with the francophone L’école de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), and the planned Quartier de l’innovation, which hopes to revitalize an old industrial section of downtown Montreal by providing space for joint endeavours between McGill, ÉTS, and private-sector companies.
McGill has a great deal to offer to Montreal, and has already done so much. Like any other asset, it must be nurtured and valued in order to thrive and provide maximum returns. Rather than being written off as a poor investment, McGill should be understood in terms of its potential benefits. While it may not contribute to the francophone legacy that the government is bound to protect, its benefits shine through in other areas. Given the opportunity and support, they will continue to do so for years to come.
McGill’s student population is an amalgam of culture and diversity, a mix of ethnic backgrounds making their way across campus every day.
Libraries and lecture halls buzz with snippets of conversation in an eclectic mélange of dialects. With over 20 per cent of the student population holding foreign passports, the university is truly international. Its students hail from regions as distant as Africa and the Asian Pacific, and as close as just south of the border.
As students, we herald this international status and feel proud about how “diverse” and “multicultural” our university is. But can one define what it is really like to be an international student at McGill?
Eline Koopmans, Netherlands (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)
DEFINING THE “INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE”
The truth is that the “international experience” at this university is as diverse as its student body. For reasons that range from country of origin and educational background to previous experience living abroad, international students from across the globe see their student lives through dramatically different lenses.
Director of the International Student Services (ISS) office at McGill, Pauline L’Écuyer said that international student life “is very personal, and depends also on the student’s ability to deal with inter-cultural behaviours. There are students who come from very far abroad, but because their families have travelled around so much, they adapt better and more quickly to a new environment than someone who may be just a five hour drive from here who has never been exposed to so much multiculturalism.”
Ching-Lang Lin, who also goes by Pierre, his French name, is a Taiwanese exchange student from the prestgious Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. He decided to come to McGill to improve his knowledge of English and French, which could help him become a judge in Taiwan. Though he faces a challenging language barrier, he appreciates Montreal and values its bilingualism.
To Ching-Lang, Montreal is “a city characteristic of its French and British roots,” similar to the mix of Japanese and Chinese cultures which characterizes his home country. He considers himself extremely lucky to be living and studying in a city like Montreal, which offers many the opportunity to explore different cultural sites outside McGill’s campus, but plans to return to Taiwan upon completion of his degree.
Eline Koopmans, a law student from the Netherlands, has also come to McGill from Europe on exchange. It was both Montreal’s location and McGill’s status in Canada that held special appeal for Koopmans, allowing her to travel and explore other areas of North America during her stay. When asked about her experience as an international student, she said it was the small local cultural nuances that made a big difference, such as the process of getting a phone plan, or the food and eating habits.
Unlike Pierre, who has found his experience most enriched by his ventures off campus, Eline found her niche by engaging in campus activities, like zumba classes at the McGill gym, a SSMU baking mini-course, and the SSMU Ski and Snowboard Club. She said she found it easiest to maintain social networks with students within her faculty. Though she harbours thoughts about staying in Canada for a couple of years after she finishes her program, she misses what she left behind.
“I feel the Netherlands is really my home. The small things and family, that is very important for me. I think I will always go back home in the end,” she said.
Mostafa I. Youssef, Egypt (Simon Poitrimolt / McGill Tribune)
Mostafa I. Youssef, a second-year student in civil engineering, comes from Cairo, Egypt. As a graduate of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, the academic experience at McGill posed no major difficulties. However, the initial decision to leave his home country, family, and friends was the hardest decision he ever made.
Mostafa finds it difficult to feel truly at ease when stepping outside the “McGill bubble,” and is unsure of whether he has been exposed to “real” Canadian culture. Still, he has adapted well to campus life.
“The fact that the community here is not dictated by a single culture gave me a unique exposure, as well as an opportunity to observe, discover, and learn,” he said. “It took me some time to adapt to the atmosphere in general, but I personally think that people are very similar everywhere around the world, especially people our age.”
Coming from the Middle East, he did notice the distinct college culture present at McGill, one of drinking, partying, drug use, and more liberal sexual tendencies. While religion is not the sole factor in defining the Egyptian identity, Mostafa notes that it is very embedded in the culture, leading to a close, and often inseparable connection between social and religious habits.
“[In Egypt,] you can’t simply pop a can of beer in the middle of the street, or walk around drunk. It’s not something that is culturally acceptable,” he said.
In contrast, the adaptation process described from an American perspective presents a radically different face of the international experience from that described by Mostafa. Owen Nelson from Minneapolis, Minnesota came to McGill because he wanted to be “at least a thousand miles [away] from home.” His initial reaction to Montreal was eye-opening.
“My mind was blown. I got tingles all over my body. I knew it was perfect. It was a great city, the culture was so diverse, and had a ton of great energy,” He admitted.
Nelson’s work in the music industry has enriched his experience at McGill. Having had the chance to branch out to perform at various venues around Montreal, he learned first-hand about Canadian culture outside of the McGill bubble. Yet, when asked about the main cultural differences between Americans and Canadians, he couldn’t help but find similarities instead.
“I feel like we’re pretty similar…. I didn’t really feel like I was an international student per se, because I was on the same continent, and I spoke English.”
Yet, while universities in the U.S. also boast a high number of international students, Nelson finds McGill “a lot more culturally diverse and open,” touching on the contrasting cultures of accommodation and assimilation that prevail in the two countries.
“Right now, I’m building a network that I might be able to use [for] the rest of my life,” Nelson said. “Once I start my career, I can do business, or communicate with people from all over the world, and that’s what I feel is a really great aspect at McGill, that sense of networking on a global scale.”
Ching-Lang (Pierre) Lin
WHO IS HERE TO HELP?
As Canada’s identity is based in multiculturalism, it is simultaneously accommodating—allowing students a degree of comfort and belonging—and exciting for those experiencing it for the first time.
However, regardless of where they come from, or why they came, international students at McGill have one common resource open to them: the ISS office hosts a variety of services, including orientation activities, a social and support network, health insurance guidance, workshops, and international student advising.
Whereas various educational systems worldwide prepare international students for adaptation to McGill’s academic environment, circumstances outside of the classroom can often present some of the toughest obstacles to their time at the university.
“Obviously, they were admitted to the university because we thought they could perform,” L’Écuyer explained. “Very often, academic difficulty is related to homesickness, or problems back home. One parent may be sick, there may be an accident, and the student may not be able to concentrate.”
This challenge is compounded by language barriers. While, according to L’Écuyer, the inability to speak French does not often deter students from wanting to come to McGill, the challenge of finding jobs without an intermediate level of French quickly dawns on them. This problem is shared by many of their Canadian colleagues, but for students from abroad, it can be especially grim.
“Very often, students come with enough funding for their first couple of years and they hope that through part-time work or scholarships, they will be able to stay,” said L’Écuyer. However, if funding runs out, international students are sometimes unable to pay the steep international tuition fees and complete their degrees, especially given the difficulty of finding jobs off campus without good knowledge of French.
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Aware of the adversity that international students can face due to their temporary status, the ISS offers programs that aim to help students develop social connections and support networks to overcome these challenges. Popular among them is the “Buddy Program,” which matches international students with a “buddy” from McGill, according to faculty, country of interest, and gender. To Max Thoman, a second-year political science student who volunteered as a buddy, “it’s really about being able to show them the ins-and-outs of McGill in particular, and the things that set it apart from other universities.”
Other student support groups, such as the International Student Network and the many culturally-based student clubs on campus, welcome international students with open arms, catering to specific cultural groups to help students find a niche in the McGill community through events, gatherings, and student activities.
The international status of well over 8,000 students at McGill carries with it the excitement of constant discovery, the joy of that comes along with adaptation, and the nostalgia of leaving behind what is known and dear. In the end, it is only through mutual support that the shared experiences of these students can lead to their eventual success.
Mechanical engineering is one of the oldest engineering disciplines, burdened with long-standing traditions. However, many students are deterred by the field’s abstractness. The discipline is also characterized by a significant imbalance in the ratio of males to females involved.
“Focusing on the application, rather than theory, could be a means to draw women into engineering,” proposed Dr. Fiona Zhao, assistant professor in mechanical engineering at McGill University.
For Zhao, the dearth of females in engineering was plainly evident throughout her education and career. At the start of her graduate studies at the University of Auckland, she was the only female among the faculty members and students in her program. As Zhao’s career progressed into industry and academia worldwide, the trend failed to change. She was often the only female, and the youngest member on research teams. Inarguably, navigating through this “all-boys club” was intimidating at first, but it also motivated her to strive for more and hold her ground.
“The best part about research is that you’re judged on your work,” explained Zhao.
Zhao’s own journey into mechanical engineering was due in part to rebellion and the other part, to coincidence. Both parents, working as professors in the biological sciences, encouraged her to follow in their footsteps; but Zhao opposed them. Instead, she chose to study electromechanical engineering at the prestigious Beijing Institute of Technology. Fascinated by the field’s rapid pace, she continued to pursue her PhD at the University of Auckland.
Her current research follows three themes: manufacturing informatics, sustainable manufacturing, and additive manufacturing technology. The recent media spotlight on additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, has led to increased demand. Through optimization and simulation of manufacturing technologies, Zhao’s research aims to design innovative model development methods in both medical and aerospace sectors of the field.
In particular, Zhao is interested in integrating classical computer-aid design (use of computer programs to create 2 or 3D graphical representations of physical objects) with internet-based manufacturing (e-manufacturing). Through developing these novel methods in manufacturing informatics, she aims to make manufacturing more efficient and sustainable. As manufacturing processes of goods are often subdivided and sent offshore to remote locations—such as parts of a plane that are produced in different parts of the world and assembled at a central location—the ability to efficiently coordinate each step is crucial to product development success.
“The production of the Boeing Dreamliner has been delayed multiple times due to inability to streamline manufacturing information,” added Zhao.
With the vehement push from both government and the public for greener and more sustainable production, companies are putting a more conscious effort into refining their manufacturing process. On this front, Zhao focuses on developing new metrics and databases, for evaluation and design theories related to products’ sustainability
By emphasizing the utility of engineering, Zhao hopes to inspire the next generation of females to venture into this exciting field, and provide more perspectives in mechanical engineering. As a start to solving this problem, Zhao proposed that a mentorship program in which high school and undergraduate students meet monthly—an ideal outreach method.
The need to address such gender imbalance in engineering is felt not only felt by faculty members, but students as well. Initiatives such as POWE (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Engineering) have attempted to raise awareness of the issue and encourage high school students to explore prospects in engineering. Despite such efforts, the proportion of female undergraduates enrolled in Engineering at McGill University has remained practically unchanged for the past 10 years: it was 27.2 per cent in 2002 and 24.5 per cent in 2012. With more initiatives such as the mentorship program Zhao proposed, we will hopefully see a rise in this number.
The question of whether eggs are a healthy protein source or a deadly cholesterol bomb is among the most disputed topics in dietary sciences. An online query into the subject proves more confusing than helpful—many studies give contradicting results. Some say that eating eggs is worse than smoking, while others maintain the meal is an athlete’s best friend. However, by sorting through professional opinions, the truth about what’s inside the little white shells becomes evident.
The first step I took towards solving the dietary conundrum of eggs was speaking with Dr. Karine Auclair, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at McGill University.
“A lot of times, the media blows these things out of proportion, kind of starting a fear campaign,” said Auclair in response to a set of articles on a study that suggested egg consumption was nearly as harmful smoking. She suggests consulting only well-trusted sources, such as Health Canada, for these issues.
Looking into Health Canada’s pages—although no articles explicitly discuss eggs—many papers, such as “Foods with less sodium” and “Cooking and meal planning tips” directly recommend including eggs in one’s diet.
Further, the Mayo Clinic’s information on “High Cholesterol: Risk Factors and Causes” do not include eggs on the list of cholesterol risks, which include red meat, smoking, and saturated/trans fats. It seems that eggs may not be as high-cholesterol as they are made out to be.
However, some research suggests otherwise. Dr. John David Spence, professor of neurology and clinical pharmacology at the University of Western Ontario, published a study that The Vancouver Sun covered in an article entitled, “Egg Yolks Almost as Bad as Smoking, Researcher Says.” In the study, patients at vascular prevention clinics at Western University hospital filled out a questionnaire about their diet and smoking habits. Each questionnaire was then compared to the corresponding patients’ cardiovascular health portfolio. Surprisingly, results suggested that heavy egg eaters and smokers had almost equal exponential growth of carotid plaque area (the part of the arteries that are clogged).
Further supporting Spence’s study, the Heart & Stroke Foundation, among many other organizations, recommends those with high cholesterol levels to “limit [their consumption of] whole eggs to no more than two per week.”
There seems to be steadfast evidence on both sides of the spectrum: the most trusted sources have called eggs beneficial, deadly, and harmless for one’s health. However, subtle observations show that all of these studies taken together are actually aligned with the same point of view.
Although the effects of eggs and smoking on carotid health have a very strong correlation (p <0.0001), no experiment has been published on the relationship between diet and carotid plaque area, the topic of Spence’s study. So while the study shows a relationship between egg consumption and plaque, any factor related to cholesterol increases could have confounded his result.
For example, what if the subjects’ three strips of bacon they always ate with their three eggs was not accounted for in this study? It is therefore reasonable to take Spence’s study as a suggestion that a relationship exists, but likely at a lesser extent than suggested in his findings.
The idea that both the anti- and pro-egg organizations and researchers share is the key phrase, “unhealthy if you already have high cholesterol levels.”
The Info-Santé phone line, 8-1-1, answered my egg question by directing me to the University of Montreal’s website extenso.org. Here, too, the phrase, “if you already have high cholesterol levels” came up.
Research shows that although eggs are high in dietary cholesterol, most of it will not be absorbed by the bloodstream. The 8-1-1 line even went so far to say that a five-egg-per-day diet is unlikely to cause any issues, unless you already have hypercholesterolemia, or high cholesterol levels.
The bulk of trusted sources seems to agree that eggs in moderation are a perfectly healthy breakfast, unless you have high cholesterol. Even those with genetic hypercholesterolemia disease are not restricted to avoid eggs altogether. Alhough there are always some limits and restrictions, eggs are a long way from being as detrimental as cigarettes or high levels of saturated and trans fats.
Coffee is often a welcomed friend during the semester. According to folklore, the bean’s energizing properties were first discovered by an Ethiopian goat herdsman, who found his flock frolicking after eating coffee berries from nearby bushes. It’s not just goats that enjoy the effects of caffeine, however. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at least 80 per cent of adults in the U.S. consume various forms of the stimulant every day. But the caffeine addiction does not stop there—some proclaim their love of the chemical by displaying its structure on T-shirts, mugs, and laptop cases.
However, the five deaths linked to Monster Energy drinks and 13 linked to 5-Hour Energy shots in the U.S. last year, according to FDA records and an interview with an agency official, suggest caffeine might not be such a nice friend. Bertil B. Fredholm, emeritus professor of pharmacology at the Karolinksa Institute in Sweden told Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) that caffeine is a popular stimulant that triggers alertness in the body at low doses. Once absorbed by the bloodstream, the compound is metabolized in the liver, where it is transformed into three different primary metabolites (molecules produced during metabolism): paraxanthine, theophylline, and theobromine. Subsequently, these metabolites bind to two adenosine receptors, A1 and A2a, which are located throughout the body. These are proteins that regulate different physiological functions when activated by the neurochemical adenosine.
In normal circumstances, adenosine is produced by neurons—brain cells—throughout the day. The adenosine receptors are responsible for regulating nerve cell activity, and the release of neurotransmitters—brain chemicals that communicate information between the brain and body—such as dopamine. The interaction of the adenosine molecule with its receptors also promotes drowsiness. As adenosine binds to its receptors to activate them, it slows down nerve cell activity, causing sleep.
However, when caffeine enters the bloodstream, the interaction of adenosine with its corresponding receptors is interrupted. Caffeine and its metabolites look like adenosine to nerve cells, but do not cause resulting response in receptors. Therefore, these metabolites bind instead to the adenosine receptors and prevent adenosine from doing its job. Consequently, dopamine and other neurotransmitter levels increase, resulting in a surge of nerve activity in the brain and on the heart. Furthermore, although caffeine looks like adenosine, it is not a neurochemical. Therefore, instead of slowing down the nerve cell’s activity, it speeds it up, causing you to feel more awake.
These effects might all seem harmless, but when taken in excessive quantities, caffeine can cause anxiety, irritation, and general mental discomfort. Importantly, caffeine can also have many negative physiological effects on the body, including increased blood pressure, rapid heart rate—and in extreme cases, death.
Chances are, one cup of coffee is not going to kill you. The toxic level of caffeine in humans, about 10 g, is roughly equivalent to guzzling 75 cups of brewed coffee (in eight ounce mugs), or 120 cans of Red Bull over a few hours. However, this lethal limit is hardly a guideline. The tolerable amount of caffeine varies widely from person to person. Factors such as genetics, smoking, and age, all have an influence, although scientists are still unsure what exactly causes death by caffeine before the lethal limit.
Due to the variability in caffeine sensitivity among people, the FDA does not recommend a consumption limit for the entire population. However, the agency states on its website that 600 mg (four to seven cups of coffee) of caffeine is too much. While it is difficult to regulate the caffeine content of food and drink—since beverage manufacturers claim the compound is a necessary flavour enhancer for their products—the FDA puts a limit of 0.02 per cent (6 mg per oz) on the amount of the chemical allowed in cola-type beverages.
Unfortunately, beverage limitations do not apply to energy drinks, which are sold as dietary supplements. Drinks like 5-Hour Energy Shots may contain caffeine levels that exceed 6 mg per oz. Furthermore, beverage manufacturers often include caffeine as part of the “energy blend,” on the label. These contain multiple ingredients, none of which are broken down individually by milligrams. As a result, it is unclear how much of a contribution to the “energy blend” is made by energy-boosting compounds.
Despite the dangers of a caffeine overdose, it seems a caffeine craze has caught on in the marketing industry. Cracker Jack has switched out its caramel corn for Cracker Jack’d—two ounce packages of “power bites” jammed with 70mg of caffeine. It will join a market of many other caffeine-infused products, such as Water Joe—a bottle of water with the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee—caffeinated pancakes, and marshmallows.
While the marketing industry makes it easy to get caught up in the hype surrounding caffeinated food and beverages, everyone’s body metabolizes this chemical differently. While it is unlikely that a morning cup of coffee will do you any harm, it serves as an important reminder that there is no fixed threshold for the amount of caffeine your body can tolerate. With finals looming in the future, it might make more sense to swap out that 5-Hour Energy Shot for some sleep.
Sylvie-Chantale Duquette couldn’t stand much higher than five feet tall, but every inch of those five feet is bursting with energy. Her friendly greeting to every customer entering her spa is something McGill students have come to associate with the intimate atmosphere of SCC Spa Urbain. Despite catering to patrons from all walks of life, Duquette maintains that students are the core of her business.
A native Quebecer, Duquette always wanted to help people:
“I’ve always been in retail, so for me, opening up a spa was a huge change in my life. I knew that after 50 I would want to make a change, and really care for people. When I was younger, I used to always tell my mother that I wanted to go to Africa and help kids; and I think if I’d won [the lottery] that’s what I would have done. I didn’t win, so then I told myself, ‘What could I do that would mean I’m caring for people, but also [has] a bit of beauty and health in it?’ and I decided to open the spa.”
From there, things took off quickly. After a meeting with experienced friends in the beauty industry, Duquette resigned from her job, and set about renovating the space SCC Spa urbain currently occupies. The space, on 385 Sherbrooke, opened in Dec. 2011.
“We wanted to introduce ourselves to the area, and make sure that we were going to [cater specifically] to the customers around here, and a lot of them are students.” Duquette explains. “So we’ve been very mindful of not only choosing products for them, but making sure that this place is [somewhere] you feel comfortable.”
Duquette even gives some of her clients relationship advice.
“[Some of the girls] come in and they bring pictures [of guys] on their iPhones; and I get a vibe, and I tell them, ‘This guy only wants you for this,’ or ‘No, this guy is no good for you,’ and so far, I think I’ve made some good decisions for them.”
Besides offering match-making services, Duquette’s spa features daily student-oriented discounts. The week’s specials are updated on the spa’s Facebook page.
“Every Sunday night, I post promotions for the entire week; [but] at the end of the day I think it’s word-of-mouth,” Duquette says about the spa’s success. “[If] people come, enjoy it, and feel comfortable, they’ll come back; they’ll talk to a friend [about it]. I’ve noticed that since we’ve been doing that, more people have been coming.”
Another concern is ensuring the products SCC Spa urbain carries are environmentally friendly and affordable for students. Every product offered by the spa is either organic or free of animal by-products; such as its Jane Iredale makeup and skin care line, which is endorsed by David Suzuki. Aside from being green, Duquette maintains that they always work.
“I’m so at ease with [the products] we’ve chosen, that I tell people “Take it home. [If] you’re not happy, bring it back and [you’ll get your] money back.” And I do that with everyone, and no one has ever come back. But if that day should come, [I’ll] stand by my word.”
The atmosphere at SCC Spa Urbain is cozy, as the space consists of a reception/manicure area, and two private rooms. With increased business, the vibe can get a little hectic, but Duquette manages to keep up consistent individual attention with her customers.
“We have a lot of international students who just come and cry when they’re lonely, [and] some of them are calling me their mom away from home,” Duquette laughs. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to have children, so for me, a lot of the students are really the children that I wish I had had. I do care, you know? I want this place to be authentic; it’s not just about beauty, it’s about a healthy lifestyle. So if I can help promote that, and be a good mentor, well great. All of our staff is chosen for the same reason: because they care about people.”
Duquette works with McGill students on other private or charitable projects to help publicize the spa. One student, an aspiring artist, held an exhibit of her work at 385 Sherbrooke, and managed to sell 34 out of 37 pieces to a full house of 50 people.
“Also,” Duquette adds, “during the month of February, every time someone would book an appointment, we’d give a dollar to Borderless World Volunteers. Diana [Famintsyna], who’s on the [executive team], is a customer of ours….so I said ‘Whatever we can do at the spa, you let me know.’”
SCC Spa Urbain offers standard spa services, and caters to both men and women. With a welcoming environment, warm and professional staff, and affordable discounts, Duquette has developed something of a hidden gem in downtown Montreal. At the end of our interview, Duqeutte left me with this:
“I finished my bachelor’s so many years ago, but since I’ve opened this place I’ve learned so much from young people. I feel privileged that they share their stories with me. Every day I feel so excited to go to work, like ‘What am I going to learn today?’”
For more information, including hours of operation, visit www.sccspaurbain.com/ and like their Facebook page for weekly deals on products and services.
Infectious diseases have been a terrible killer in the past, and still are today. With the development of vaccines, the discovery of antibiotics and drastic changes in public health, the human life span has increased over the past century. Yet, the threat of infectious diseases still haunts us. As an HIV epidemic attacks Africa and South East Asia, and a global avian influenza pandemic looms, there is an urgent need to understand, and help the immune system in its battle against pathogens. A study conduced at McGill offers more insight on just that.
One of the most important features of the immune system is its ability to differentiate between self (i.e., one’s own cells) and non-self (i.e., a pathogen). When a virus enters a cell in our body, a host of immune proteins (such as MDA5, RIG-I) recognize patterns that are common to pathogens, but not present in us—double stranded RNA, for example, which is different from humans’ double stranded DNA. When these patterns are detected, cellular signaling pathways are initiated, resulting in the secretion of a key cytokine—a molecule involved in cell communication in the immune system—called interferon. Interferon, in turn, activates numerous genes to produce defence proteins, including the IFIT family of proteins in the infected and surrounding cells, creating an anti-viral environment. Identifying these proteins and the roles they play have been an area of intense research.
The IFIT family of proteins consists of four members (IFIT1, IFIT2, IFIT3 and IFIT5), which are dramatically increased in cells upon viral infection or the addition of interferon, suggesting an anti-viral role. “[The IFIT family of proteins] have been discovered for quite a bit of time, but the functional analysis started maybe 10-15 years ago,” says Dr. Bhushan Nagar, associate professor in the department of biochemistry at McGill, and in whose lab this work was done. IFIT proteins have long been known to mediate an anti-viral effect by disrupting the production of new proteins in an infected cell.
In 2011, Dr. Giulio Superti-Furga’s lab at the Austrian Academy of Sciences used a proteomics approach, which involved fishing in a soup of laboratory cell extract with triphosphorylated RNA as a bait. To their surprise, they captured the IFIT proteins. Nagar refers to this work as “the seminal finding.” Superti-Fagar contacted Nagar, whom he had met during the latter’s post-doctoral study. This started the collaboration that led to the team’s current work, a structural description of the IFIT5 protein and its interaction with triphosphorylated RNA, which was published earlier this month in Nature.
“The structural biology—technique-wise—is routine,” said Nagar. “We made the protein in bacteria, where serendipitously some portion of the protein was bound to bacterial triphosphorylated RNA.”
They initially had some difficulty studying this protein, since it bound to RNA of various sizes (heterogenous RNA). To further study the protein’s interaction with RNA, they had to make RNA in the test tube. Nagar credits Yazan Abbas, a fourth year PhD student and lead author of the paper, for “doing an excellent job in following up on the literature on how to make [large amounts of less heterogenous] RNA and really figuring things out.”
Both Nagar and Abbas concur, that making the RNA was the hardest part of the project.
The ‘eureka’ moment, says Abbas, smiling, was “seeing the electron density maps which are used to build atomic models of protein. We had this for IFIT5, but we were not sure of where the RNA goes. When we solved [the structure] with the RNA, when we had the electron density map with the triphosphate RNA—we got it. According to my boss, he just said ‘we’re in.’”
“The definite proof [of function] is when you have a crystal structure”, says Nagar. “Six months before our work, the structure of RIG-I interacting with RNA was published. Just today, the MDA5 structure was published; this is a very hot area of research,” he adds.
The IFIT family of proteins consists of a tetratricopeptide repeat domain (TPR domain) that, due to Nagar’s work in determining the structure of these proteins, is now known to interact with both triphosphorylated RNA and proteins. What this means in the context of anti-viral immunity is still unknown, and is where the project is headed. The next stages of this project will look at “drugs or inhibitors based on these RNA molecules, for when the immune response is too strong,” concludes Nagar. Other future directions involve understanding the role of this protein in viral infections, such as influenza.
“The virus is attacking, these proteins are defending, what you normally get when you see the flu virus is a balance between the two. If we did not have this defence, we’d have much worse symptoms than what we get.”
Abbas concludes, “I’ve been told that the option to graduate is open, but I agree with my boss. There’s just so much more to explore in the field.”
Over Reading Week, students voted on the Tribune’s website for their favourite Student of the Week out of the 20 students profiled this year. Votes were tallied, and we have compiled a semi-March Madness style bracket to share the results.
This week the Tribune is introducing a new advice column answering questions submitted by McGill students. Got problems? E-mail us at [email protected].
Dear Tribby,
I’m in my third year at McGill, going into my last year of undergrad next year, and I absolutely despise my major. I’ve considered switching before, but don’t want to feel like I’ve wasted two years, let alone three. That being said, I am absolutely sure that I don’t want to go into psychology. Well, pretty sure. Should I just bite the bullet, finish out my degree, and try to figure out a different career path after graduation, or should I switch my major and just stay for another year—or more?
—Sick of Psych
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Dear Sick of Psych,
Don’t worry, you are not alone! Many have experienced doubt; about their major or program. My advice for you is to figure out the opportunities you have for your future if you do stay with this major. Try visiting McGill CaPS (Career Planning Service) online, or in the Brown Student Service Building; they provide services from revising your CV to helping you plan your career after graduation. Also see what else you can find out online, and talk it over with your family. There may be more opportunities with your degree than what you have imagined!
That said, if you can’t stand your major and want to switch, make sure you think it through again before you make this choice. Talk to more advisors, family, and friends about your decision. If you want more information about a specific major or path, don’t hesitate to talk it through with a professor in that department. They can give you first-hand information, and advice on possible career paths with a degree in that particular program. After all, chances are, they went through the same four-year undergraduate degree that you are in right now.
Also do some research on your own before switching programs. In addition to checking out the possible careers associated with a new degree, look at the required courses. Are the courses offered interesting to you in any way? After all, you don’t want to go through the same problem a year into the degree. And as you mentioned, there’s nothing bad about staying at McGill for an extra year, as long as it’s feasible for you financially. Looking back 20 years from now, you will probably find that staying an extra year in university to figure out what you really wanted was worth it. My best advice to you is to think through your options before you make a decision, talk to more people, and decide what’s best for you—not for grad schools, future employers, or your peers. Trust yourself, and best of luck to you!
