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Harold and Kumar, rehashed

by Sam Hunter on

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filmofilia.com

On the all-time stoner comedy list, A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas doesn’t sniff any of the classics—Up In Smoke and Half Baked are safe—nor does it approach the charm of its White Castle predecessor; however, no one’s going to argue that this movie isn’t a good time. And, by pulling the trick that so many marginally enjoyable movies have lately—appearing in 3D—it’s probably worth going to the theatre to watch.

This movie opens six years after the events of Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. In the interim, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) have grown apart and found new best friends. The differences in their lifestyles and personalities have grown too: Harold has a large house, while Kumar lives in a tiny, squalid apartment; Harold is more uptight than ever, whereas Kumar has let himself go almost completely to seed. The two are reunited when Harold’s father-in-law’s Christmas tree burns down and they go on a quest to replace it.

The plot is weak, but the Harold and Kumar series has never been about plot, or even pot for that matter. It’s about the incredible chemistry and general likeability of the two stars, Cho and Penn. Everything else is just window dressing. Unfortunately, the film forgets this, as the two don’t share enough screen time. Given the high-profile names in the supporting cast, giving side characters opportunity to develop makes sense on paper, but not in practice.

Amir Blumenfeld of CollegeHumor’s Prank War fame does his usual shtick (if you liked him on CollegeHumor, you’ll like him here, and the opposite) as Kumar’s nerdy, internet-romancing, pot-smoking replacement best friend. Thomas Lennon fills the same void for Harold, and his anal-retentive routine is at times funny, at others grating.

The presence of these two new characters, however, represents my biggest problem with the script. The most unbelievable part of the story wasn’t when Harold shot Santa, nor was it when a drugged-up baby crawled on the ceiling—it was when I was informed, at the beginning of the film, that Harold and Kumar weren’t friends anymore. It was ludicrous. The level of friendly chemistry they’ve displayed over the years sets the industry standard in the same way Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams’ romantic chemistry in The Notebook does.

Luckily, they’re reunited pretty quickly, but the audience is forced to wait longer for the return of Neil Patrick Harris, who comes in on a song and dance number, showcasing his musical theatre talents before making his usual raunchy contributions to the film. If he doesn’t steal his scenes quite as adroitly as he did in White Castle, that’s probably only because we’ve seen this act more than a few times now, and there aren’t too many places left to go with it.

A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas is exactly what you would expect. It’s not great, but it’s fun, and just as forgettable as an afternoon spent smoking pot. 

Sports

Martlets Capitalize in Ottawa

by Adam Sadinsky on

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Five was a significant number for McGill on Sunday as the women’s hockey team won their fifth game in a row with a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the nation’s capital. Leslie Oles led the way with two goals and an assist while first-year forward Mélodie Daoust contributed three helpers in the winning effort. Continuing along the lines of Martlet success coming in fives, McGill held Ottawa to five shots in each period and earned five powerplays. Martlet goalie Charline Labonté also got credit for her fifth win of the season. Head Coach Peter Smith was extremely happy with the effort.

“I thought we played extremely well in the Ottawa game. We controlled the puck, and had a ton of shots, leading to scoring chances,” Smith said. “There are many things we can take from this game both now and for the future.”

With the win, the Martlets maintain their first place ranking in the RSEQ, and will return home this Friday for a rematch  against the Gee-Gees, before battling Concordia on Nov. 27.

—Adam Sadinsky

Sports

Another bright flame snuffed out

by Sam Hunter on

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For a week, boxing was alive and well in the memory of its fans. Like George Foreman in 1994, when the then 45-year-old won the heavyweight championship, boxing beat back father time and became relevant, even central, to sport for a few short days.

This renewed interest was set off by a tragedy, the untimely passing of a great man. Smokin’ Joe Frazier, an Olympic gold medalist and a world heavyweight champion in arguably the greatest era of heavyweight boxing, died of liver cancer in his home on Nov. 7, at the age of 67.

One of the many who mourned his death was Muhammad Ali, Frazier’s fiercest rival. The two played integral roles in each other’s lives, shaping their respective legends in the fires of their three fights, polarizing boxing supporters inside and outside of the ring. 

Their history is a complicated one. When Ali was stripped of his title and arrested for his refusal to be inducted into the Armed Forces, Frazier, then the number one contender, refused to compete in the tournament for Ali’s vacated belt in protest of the decision. When Ali was released from prison and had his boxing license reinstated (in part due to the efforts of Frazier), the two met in the first of three fights, appropriately titled Fight of the Century. In the first-ever match between undefeated heavyweight champions, Frazier beat the older Ali resoundingly in a unanimous decision. Frazier then defended his title twice before losing to a young and ferocious Foreman. Ali and Frazier’s second fight didn’t have the import of the first or third as it was a non-title fight. But their third, the Thrilla in Manila, will go down in history as one of the greatest ever.

Since Frazier died, I’ve re-watched all of these fights in their entirety and have been enthralled by the display of boxing and fighting ability shown by the two champions. The thing that struck home the most though, was the beauty of their contrasting styles.

Ali’s feet sought to refute the scales’ calculations that he was indeed a heavyweight, as he floated and danced around the ring with preternatural quickness; Frazier’s heavy soles, like his persona, were bound to the earth. A blue collar hero in his adopted home of Philadelphia, Frazier didn’t have Ali’s flourishes—his winks at press row, his interactions with the crowd, or his mocking glove, extended in a hapless opponent’s face—Frazier was a simple juggernaut, a perpetual motion machine that knew only one direction: forward, leading with his head and bobbing and weaving through the onslaught of blows longer-limbed fighters would rain on him from above. Finally, like a greyhound or a heat-seeking missile, Frazier’s head would close that gap and come to rest on his opponent’s chest, nuzzling it, almost tenderly. There, he was safe, at least physically, as Ali couldn’t generate the power to hurt him from that close. He would absorb a torrent of verbal abuse though, between grunts from Frazier’s powerful left hook, a clubbing blow that shattered ribs and was particularly effective at intimate range. Frazier’s one idiosyncrasy was his head, which bobbled like a demented jack-in-the-box with a specially tuned affinity to Ali’s punching rhythm. At times he ducked his way through torrents of Ali’s sharp jabs seemingly unscathed.

Outside of the ring, the fighters were also vastly different. Frazier was a hero to the working class, while Ali was a playboy, a fast-talking draft dodger who was close friends with the dangerous and divisive Malcolm X. Ali, known for his verbal sparring nearly as well as for his sparring in the ring, let his tongue run loose against Frazier in the lead up to each of their fights, calling him “ugly,” and “the gorilla.” Those taunts hurt Frazier deeply and the animosity we witnessed in their matches wasn’t staged, at least not on Joe’s part.

The two reconciled much later, only after they had both turned deaf ears towards the pleas of their daughters, also boxers, to make peace.

Every one of Frazier and Ali’s fights was incredible—compelling acts of physical, technical, and tactical artistry. But in the aftermath of watching them, rather than contentment, I was filled with bilious rage.

This relates to the second, much less important but still notable piece of recent boxing news, Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Márquez III. They fought one of the better fights seen in years, but it only whet my appetite for the one fight that all fans have waited, and waited, and waited for: Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather.

These two should have been our generation’s Frazier and Ali, but they’ve hemmed and hawed and it looks like they’re equally complacent to end their respective careers without ever having fought. I wonder if they fear to fight because the loser would end up like Joe Frazier, doomed to runner-up status. If that’s the case then they’re foolish, because I know a lot of people, myself included, who will remember a warrior like Frazier with more fondness than either of them.

Like Muhammad Ali said, “[T]hat’s one helluva man, and God bless him.”

 

—Sam Hunter

Sports

Valérie Grand’Maison, McGill’s unsung Beijing hero

by Sam Hunter on

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zimbio.com

Valérie Grand’Maison, a 23-year-old double major in history and psychology at McGill, won six medals in Beijing in 2008, three of which were gold. But you’ve probably never heard of her.

That’s because Grand’Maison won her medals at the Paralympics. She competes in the S13 category, which, according to the simplified explanation she gave me, is reserved for people in the mildest class of visual impairment (she estimates that she has about ten per cent of her vision). Upon her return to Canada from Beijing, the lack of recognition for a three-time Paralympic champion was hard for her.

“I had such high expectations of what life would be when I came back. I thought I would be a whole different person and people would talk to me differently, but they really didn’t. Nobody knows what the Paralympics are … I thought I would have more recognition but it just didn’t happen, obviously,” she said. “Now I know what I’m doing this for.”

After briefly quitting swimming following the Paralympics, Grand’Maison rediscovered her love for the sport. She credits this, at least in part, to McGill Swimming Head Coach Peter Carpenter.

“I actually quit, and then I heard that Peter was starting as the swim coach at McGill and I thought maybe I would just try as a social thing,” she said. But she enjoyed the training so much that she began to ramp it up again. “I really, really enjoy his program; I really like the guy.”

When asked if it was really the program that lured her back or whether the sport had an addictive hold over her, she laughed. “It’s a little bit of both, I guess,” she said. “I’m addicted to training—really, really addicted to endorphins.”

Now Grand’Maison is juggling two concurrent swimming seasons—CIS and Paralympic—while maintaining a course load that will allow her to graduate next year. The conflicting schedules of the two seasons keep Grand’Maison very busy. For example, over the past weekend she traveled with the team to a CIS swim meet at Dalhousie, one that her teammates and competitors had been training to excel at. For Grand’Maison, the competition was a bump in her training schedule. Her preparation, in the short term, is for a Paralympic meet in two weeks. In the longer run, she’s aiming to peak next fall at the London Paralympics.

“She was sort of going to this meet in a different frame of mind and a little different state of preparedness because she has a swim meet coming up,” Carpenter said. “So she wasn’t tapered the way the others were.”

Even if she isn’t a star in the CIS like she is against Paralympic competition (she holds the world record for the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m freestyle and the 400m IM), her experience at the highest levels of the sport sets her apart on the McGill team in some ways.

“As a university swimmer she’s just one of the gang. She’s not the best swimmer on the team but she is definitely the most professional athlete on the team,” said Carpenter.

That professionalism translates into leadership of the type that Carpenter appreciates.

“Huge, massive leadership, absolutely. In many, many different ways. The way I value the most is just her setting an example,” he said. “[She’s] always one of the first people on deck.”

It all stems from her priorities, which are swimming first, school second, and everything else wherever it can fit into her busy schedule, lodged between three courses and 25-30 hours of training per week. If that doesn’t sound like enough, Grand’Maison finds readings and writing assignments take longer due to her visual impairment, which was caused by macular degeneration starting at 12 years old. 

Whatever the difficulties, she’s happy to be on the path towards the 2012 Paralympics that she’s taking right now.

“I know that coming back from London I have to sit down and figure out my life,” she said. “[But] my life for the next 10 months is pretty figured out.”

Sports

Redmen light up Golden Gaels in shutout win

by Trevor Drummond on

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Ryan Reisert / McGill Tribune

The McGill Redmen hockey team exploded out of the gate Saturday night, scoring four times in the first period, en route to a 6-0 victory over the Queen’s Golden Gaels. Thirteen different Redmen made the score sheet, most notably Maxime Langelier-Parent, Marc-André Dorion, and Francis Verreault-Paul, all of whom enjoyed multi-point nights. The Golden Gaels, plagued by injuries, were outshot by the Redmen 36-20 and were outplayed in all facets of the game.

On Red Light Night at McConnell Arena, Redmen coach Kelly Nobes praised his players for moving their feet and communicating well on the ice. 

“We knew we would have a decent crowd tonight,” Coach Nobes said. “We wanted to get on them right from the start and the puck was bouncing right for us.”

Gaels goaltender Riley Whitlock, who entered the game with a sterling 2.30 goals against average and a .933 save percentage, was lit up for six goals on 28 shots before being pulled 12:25 into the second frame. To his credit, Whitlock made several impressive saves, particularly on the penalty kill, but was hung out to dry by his teammates.

The Queen’s skaters looked dazed and confused for the entire game, unable to execute basic breakouts or maintain puck possession on a two-man advantage in the third period. The Golden Gaels went 0-for-9 on the power play and the Redmen were able to create scoring chances on the penalty kill, including a shorthanded goal by Benoit Levesque at 8:27 of the first period.

The Redmen victory was especially important for Hubert Morin, who earned the shutout Saturday following a rough outing, in which he allowed three goals on 13 shots in a 3-2 loss to UQTR on Nov. 9. The Redmen offence took the pressure off their goaltender by scoring early. The defence corp was rock solid, consistently winning one-on-one battles along the boards. 

Redmen winger Francis Verreault-Paul, who went scoreless in his first four games of the campaign, now has eight goals in a five-game scoring streak. 

“The first few games I was shooting the puck 12 times a game, I had scoring chances in slot, but the puck didn’t want to go in,” the fourth-year forward said. “Now I’m out of it, we’re playing good hockey, and it’s been a long time since we had a game like that one tonight.”

The victory gives the Redmen sole possession of first place in the OUA East division with a 10-1-2 record and two games in hand on UQTR and Nipissing, who are tied for second place. The Redmen will look to pad their two-point cushion when they visit the Nipissing Lakers in their next game on Nov. 26 in North Bay, Ontario. The Golden Gaels drop to 6-5-1 with the loss and will host the Ottawa Gee-Gees in their next contest, coming this Friday in Kingston.

Arts & Entertainment

Goat Rodeo Sessions

by Akiva Toren on

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You recognize success in mixing genres when connoisseurs on either side think the music is beyond their field. My friend, a venerable bluegrass expert, recommended Goat Rodeo Sessions to me, saying he failed to understand the classical nuances. After I listened to this album, I wanted to give it back, lamenting my disappointingly insufficient comprehension of bluegrass. It was then that I realized how perfect this album really is.  

 In classical music, one must think big; of larger musical forms, key changes, and interplay of voices. In bluegrass, one has to think more humbly of melodies, rhythms, and smaller arrangements. Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan, Chris Thile, and Aoife O’Donovan (I mention them individually because they’re all phenomenal) bring together a brilliant balance between these two methods. The first track, “Attaboy,” sucks you in with its dancing rhythms. “No One But You,” with O’Donovan’s beautiful voice, is humble and poignant. “13:8” jumps from dance-like rhythms to slow, heart-wrenching dissonances. The finale, “Goat Rodeo,” exploits every mechanism in both genres. At some point the cello and fiddle are in Bach-esque canon in bluegrass rhythm. At another, the banjo is strutting in the background as the strings build agonizingly beautiful Wagnerian chords. 

Every track in this album is different. The crossover allows for vast possibilities, and they exploit them to every emotional end. My apologies in advance if you end up half as addicted to this album as I am.

—Akiva Toren

Arts & Entertainment

Drake: Take Care

by Liya Adessky on

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Drake is living proof that not every rapper has to resort to insipid, vapid rhymes about dollar bills and girls in order to still talk about dollar bills and girls. Returning strong with his second studio album Take Care, Drake continues to rely on his articulate, straightforward lyrics and his smooth, R&B-infused melodies to impress his ever-growing fan base. As he alternates between breathy vocals and self-assured rap verses, Drake makes sure to stay well within his previously defined lines as an artist, albeit a very versatile one. 

 Standout tracks include his collaboration with Rihanna on “Take Care,” in which their chemistry is nothing if not electric, and the single “Headlines,” a fast-paced track that is reminiscent of his past hit “Over.” Drake notably features his protégé The Weeknd on “Crew Love” in an offbeat tribute to his friends. There are perhaps too many other artists on the album, including Nicki Minaj, Stevie Wonder, Rick Ross, André 3000, and Lil Wayne. Of those, Stevie Wonder offers the most novel input on “Doing it Wrong,” by unexpectedly using only his harmonica. 

The overall mood of the album is noticeably subdued this time around, and is more likely to be background music than on full volume at parties, but Drake doesn’t sacrifice verses or beats in the name of brooding reflection. All this to say, the Canadian rap phenomenon isn’t particularly innovative on this album, but he’s definitely delivering the goods in a well-meaning package of blunt truths about the highs and lows of fame.  

—Liya Adessky

News

Senate discussion on Nov. 10 sees clash of viewpoints

by Anand Bery on

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The beginning of Wednesday’s Senate meeting focused heavily on the events of Nov. 10. In a departure from Senate’s tradition of a closed-door assembly, the first hour was streamed live over the Internet to the McGill community.

In her opening remarks, Senate Chair and Principal Heather Munroe-Blum apologized for the events that took place on Nov. 10. It was one of the first public apologies from the administration on the way that night’s events unfolded.

“We’re all dismayed by what happened on our campus,” Munroe-Blum said. “People across the board were hurt, intimidated, and threatened. As principal of McGill, I’m deeply sorry that events so at odds with the culture and values of our university, and so hurtful to so many, have happened here at McGill.”

She went on to express her thanks for student groups who mobilized quickly in response to those who were physically and emotionally hurt.

Dean of Law, Daniel Jutras, who will be heading an independent investigation into the events, reminded senators that his inquiry will purely engage in fact finding, and that he could not assign blame or compel testimony.

As Jutras spoke, a number of spectators turned their backs to the committee, expressing their reservations with having a faculty and administration member carry out an investigation that deals with his own administration.

In an interview with the Tribune, the McGill Daily, and Le Délit last week, Munroe-Blum emphasized that Jutras would act independently.

“I wanted someone who has deep loyalty and concern for the university and the wellbeing of everyone in it, and yet who is known for impartiality [and] independence,” she said of her decision to appoint Jutras. “He’s got complete autonomy, he doesn’t report to me in the course of doing this investigation … and I have confidence that he will serve the university, not any one individual.”

A number of senators, including Senator and Professor of Communication Studies, Darin Barney, noted their own concerns with having a dean and faculty member carry out the investigation. Barney suggested that Jutras be accompanied by one student and one faculty member in his investigation. The terms of the investigation, however, had already  been set.

As part of the discussion, Management Senator Tom Acker recounted his experience on the evening of Nov. 10.

“I watched close friends in pain as they tried to wash pepper spray out of their eyes. I’ve seen students on the verge of tears when describing what has happened to them,” he said. “I know that for many students, Thursday marks the day that they stopped seeing their campus as a safe space for self-expression and support. For me, that transition has happened much earlier.”

SSMU President Maggie Knight raised concerns as to why the administration had not responded with more urgency to support students, and took a number of days to inform students of where they could seek help.  She noted that, following the earthquake in Japan last spring, a notice of where students could seek help was distributed within hours.

Towards the end of the committee discussion, Provost Anthony Masi presented what he had witnessed that night. Referring to the occupiers’ entry as an ‘attack,’ he described the occupation of the fifth floor as one marked by violence and intimidation.

“You may turn your backs on the truth, but the truth is important,” he said to the spectators who had turned away from him.

“The women who were in the offices [at] the time, and there only were several women in at the time, were pushed and shoved,” he continued. “They were frightened and they were crying. Social media [was] being used to portray events inside that do not correspond to what most of those women were living through at the moment.”

During Masi’s account, spectators, some of whom were identified as occupiers, jeered and yelled “lies.” Matt Crawford, Arts Senator, who had earlier revealed himself to senate as a fifth floor occupier, walked out in response to Masi’s statement. Other spectators followed.

Dean Jutras’ investigation will be released on Dec. 15. In the weeks to come, he will be consulting with students, faculty, and community members to hear their experiences.

Opinion

We, too, are McGill

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McGill Tribune

We are seven staff members who were working in the fifth floor offices of the James Administration Building on Thursday, Nov. 10 when 14 protesters broke in and forcibly occupied our workspaces. 

We would like to add our voices and experiences as staff members to the public record in order to provide a fuller picture of what happened on that day.

We would also like to make it known that we take issue with the account presented in the letter authored by the 14 occupiers of our offices, published in the McGill Daily on Nov. 13. 

This was not a peaceful protest; this was trespassing, intimidation, and the restriction of our freedom.

In the student media and on the banner hung by protesters from a window in our office, this event has been referred to as “Occupons McGill.” The fact that the aggressive occupation of our work spaces is being associated with a peaceful international movement does not sit well with us. 

We are not oil barons or Wall Street bankers. We do our jobs because we believe in McGill and because we value higher education. We work to support the McGill community—students, faculty, and administration—and we are proud to do so.

The occupiers of our offices did not act like members of the McGill community as we know it. 

They were not peaceful. They seized and blocked the entry and exit of the doors leading to our common reception area and then overpowered a staff member to break through a locked door leading into the Principal’s and Provost’s private offices. 

They stormed into our offices and attempted to use furniture to blockade themselves inside spaces containing confidential documents.  

They refused to identify themselves and several were hooded and had masked their faces with bandanas. 

They refused to discuss their concerns or explain the purpose of their occupation when asked.  They forced their way past another staff member and into the Principal’s private office. When Security arrived and asked them to leave that office, some of them refused. 

They shouted insults and profanity at Security staff, including calling them “[expletive] pigs.”  

We were threatened and intimidated on the night of Nov. 10 in the very spaces we thought were safe. When Security attempted to escort us out of the building, we were prevented from leaving by a large group of protesters who had surrounded our building and were blocking the exits.  As we watched the clash of protesters and police from the windows of our offices, we understood how many of the non-violent protesters and bystanders outside must have felt. The rage and unreason of the few had hijacked a day of well-planned protests. The safety of those inside and outside the James Building was endangered by the actions of the few. One might even call them the 1%.

The spaces that were forcibly occupied on Nov. 10 are the spaces in which we do our work every day. Even though the protesters may not have stopped to consider us, we, too, are McGill. 

The 14 individuals who occupied our offices have published accounts of their so-called heroism. They did not, however, sign their names to their account.

We, too, are McGill, and by signing our names to this letter, we hope to remind them of what

that means.

 

 

Susan Aberman

Liisa Stephenson

Caroline Baril

Deidre McCabe

Laura D’Angelo

Katherine Wong

Djénane Andre

Private

This is what university looks like

by Ricky Kreitner on

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It’s always been unclear to me on what grounds those T-shirts labeling Harvard “America’s McGill” seek to compare the two universities. Clearly, they’re a response to people labeling McGill “Canada’s Harvard,” but that doesn’t answer my question. The implication is that the two universities are comparable in things such as quality of education, reputation, and prominence in each respective country’s moneyed and political elite. Only recently, however, did I realize that Harvard is similar to its northern counterpart in another way.

     Earlier this month, 70 Harvard students walked out of an introductory economics course in protest of what they considered the professor’s conservative bias. In a sprawling defence of the walk-out published in the Harvard Crimson, two freshmen tried out a few possible justifications for their protest, such as, that their professor, N. Gregory Mankiw, worked in the Bush administration and thus “played a key role in creating the policies which have exacerbated economic inequality and led to financial instability and collapse.” Left implicit is the suggestion that universities should discriminate according to political affiliation. Apparently, all that money their parents spent on tutors to prepare for the AP World History exam wasn’t enough to disabuse them of that classically totalitarian idea. 

Just two months into their academic careers, these students have the audacity to appoint themselves at once members of the tenure review board, peer reviewers of Professor Mankiw’s textbook, and respected dispensers of economic and political analysis in their own right. It’s almost impressive. 

“Our professor believes that progressive taxation sacrifices economic efficiency (total wealth) for the benefit of more economic equality,” they complain in the Crimson piece. “However, mounting evidence suggests that ‘the trade-off between efficiency and equality may not exist’ and that excessive inequality leads to negative consequences in the economy over the long run in terms of economic efficiency.” Hang the man!

     This is entitlement run amok. It escapes me how those students can be so confident in their own opinions only five months out of high school. Why would someone even go to university, much less America’s McGill, if they can’t stand to listen to an opposing view for a single semester? In a superb twist of irony, Mankiw lectured on income inequality the day of the walk-out.

The writers claim that Mankiw’s expression of conservative opinions “inhibits students’ intellectual growth.” I can’t think of a better way to inhibit intellectual growth than to announce that you’ve got it all figured out before the end of your first semester—thanks but no thanks, Harvard.

Many of the problems with the Harvard walk-out don’t apply to last week’s Quebec-wide students’ strike. The protesters from McGill and elsewhere were criticising the decision of a democratically-elected government, not academic freedom, and didn’t resort to the drastic measure of skipping class until more moderate tactics—protests on Saturdays—had already failed.

Yet there are some basic parallels that can’t be missed. Campus last Thursday—after the striking students left and before their noisy return—was somehow more pleasant, more collegiate than usual. There was a palpable focus and unity of purpose in the students’ strides, as if those who didn’t strike were in some way a purer distillation of the larger group usually in attendance. I imagine the students who stayed in Mankiw’s course felt the same way.

That doesn’t mean that the 600 students who didn’t walk out of the Harvard course necessarily support conservative economic views, or the professor’s allegedly biased presentation of them. Nor does it mean the remaining students at McGill last Thursday necessarily support higher tuition or applaud an administration that welcomes riot squads on campus. It just means that we didn’t come to McGill to go to war with it.

In the spirit of such a commitment, I was proud to sit in solidarity with my fellow students in class that day.

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