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McGill, News

Fleeting Form Studio forges community-based climate action

by Shani Laskin on

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“We created this workshop not to enrich the community, but to build community,” co-founder of Fleeting Form Studio Hannah Marder-MacPherson said at the onset of the group’s inaugural event on Sept. 6. The organization, supported by McGill’s Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF), is hosting a series of six workshops inviting various artists to share their work, followed by creation sessions and discussions with the goal of fostering climate action through art.

Their first workshop invited artist Tina Marais—a visual artist who creates large, intricate textile pieces—to explore the theme of environmental change and degradation. After a brief lecture from Marais, the roughly 30 attendees broke out into discussion groups. The workshop ended with each attendee sewing together a small horn-like denim structure, guided by Marais, which she will put together into a collective piece.

Evelyn Logan, U2 Arts, told The Tribune that she was initially drawn to the workshop by her interest in fine arts, but she was pleasantly surprised by the community-building she found.

“I feel like we’re at a point where community is something that we all thirst for,” Logan said. “It’s so important to have even small-scale events like this, where you can meet new people and just feel a sense of oneness with the people that you meet and with the spaces that surround you.”

Fleeting Form Studio is the brainchild of McGill undergraduate students Saskia Morgan, Ava Williams, and Marder-MacPherson. The idea came from a project Morgan and Williams worked on for the class FSCI 198: Climate Crisis and Climate Actions. Over the summer, they decided to pursue it and applied for funding from the SPF.

The SPF is a fund valued at about $1 million CAD annually and supports students and faculty members’ sustainability initiatives on campus. Since its inception in 2010, it has provided funding to over 350 projects, including McGill Feeding McGill and Campus Crops. The funding comes from a $0.55 CAD-per-credit student fee from the Students’ Society of McGill University, the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society, and the Post-Graduate Students’ Society. Money received from student fees is then matched by the university.

“The Sustainability Projects Fund is a valuable resource that catalyzes student ideas into reality,” Shona Watt, Associate Director, Operations & Engagement at the McGill Office of Sustainability wrote to The Tribune. 

For Fleeting Form Studio, aid from the SPF went beyond just financial support. The organizers told The Tribune that they also got help brainstorming their idea and finding a space to hold it in: McGill’s Critical Media Lab.

“If I tried to do this project alone, it would just be lacking so much of the beauty that we created together,” Morgan said. “Every step of the way, I’ve felt so inspired that the SPF is there. I think it’s one of the best assets that McGill has—a platform for students to take action themselves.”

As students in fields such as Environment and Geography, the trio felt their coursework had disproportionately focused on the environmental degradation caused by humans with little emphasis on society’s capacity for change. This is a pedagogical gap they hope to fill.

“You get no inspiration from destruction, you just get despair, and that’s not a way to go about solving any problems,” Marder-MacPherson said. “So finding that unity in creation and that inspiration in creation is really what we wanted to do with this project.”

For Morgan, Williams, and Marder-MacPherson, fostering a space for dialogue and creativity is crucial when trying to spur climate action.

“Life […] is just full of compromises and you have to forge that safe space for yourself,” Marder-MacPherson said. “You’re always going to be operating within institutions bigger than yourself that make decisions and have financial power […] and that doesn’t mean that you can’t […] forge your own path that is still working to create something that’s very safe and very beautiful.”

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Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

TV writer Samantha Shier is on the rise

by Adrienne Roy on

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It is no secret that the entertainment industry is crawling with nepotism babies. For those of us without our parents’ illustrious networks, the path to a career within the industry is unclear and unpredictable, but McGill alumna Samantha Shier (BA ‘14) is climbing the ranks. Starting as an undergraduate at McGill’s Faculty of Arts, she is now a Staff Writer on FX’s English Teacher, which premiered on Hulu and Disney+ on Sept. 2.

In an interview with The Tribune, Shier emphasized that she does not define her undergraduate years by the things she did, but by the people she met.

“I was still trying to figure out who I was,” Shier said. “I had friends who started doing improv and stand-up […] and I never really found my footing while I was there, but I made connections.”

Shier’s narrative—of feeling stuck and uncertain about where to go or how to get there—is one that undergraduates don’t hear very often, but reflects the inevitable hurdles of young adulthood. Now, at 31, Shier’s credits include Emmy-winning series What We Do in the Shadows and The Bear, highlighting that it’s not only okay to feel lost, but it’s part of the journey.

When she moved home to Toronto and pursued a Television Writing and Producing Diploma at Humber College, her innate ability and genuine desire to seek out fellow TV enthusiasts proved crucial. In the entertainment industry, it is often those skills that, more than anything, propel careers to new heights.

“We weren’t handing scripts to anyone, we were just gabbing […] because all of those things count,” she explained.

Upon completing her diploma, Shier worked at various production offices in Toronto, running errands and filing paperwork for big shows. By the time she received an offer to be an Office Production Assistant on What We Do in the Shadows, Shier had begun moving up the ladder as an assistant on other American shows. She was familiar with the 2014 movie of the same name that inspired the series and seized the opportunity to join the production.

“It was a movie I had seen and if it was going to be a TV show, that’s the best I’m going to get,” Shier said. “I immediately said yes, knowing that it’s the lowest position, but that I’d be so happy to be in that situation [….] And that is the show that changed everything for me.”

While working for Shadows, Paul Simms (Girls and Atlanta), a writer and Executive Producer for the series, hired Shier as his assistant after the first season. In this coveted role, she frequently corresponded with the show’s writers and executives at FX, which helped her land a writer’s assistant job in the same company. Finally, in 2022, the network promoted her to Associate Producer on Shadows. 

Shier joined The Bear for its third season as a Writer’s Assistant and Script Coordinator. Five years after she began working on Shadows, Shier presented her spec script to Simms and comedian Brian Jordan Alvarez, who were developing a new show at FX. At last, Simms and Alvarez offered Shier a spot as a Staff Writer for English Teacher. In many ways, it was a dream come true for her.

“My main goal was to work on a half-hour comedy. It’s the only thing I’ve been interested in,” Shier expressed. “TV has always been in my body. I feel like all of my home videos are of me glued to a TV screen.”

Anyone who loves TV knows how important it is for a show to have writers who are as passionate about the material as the viewers. Between her work on Shadows, The Bear, and English Teacher, her trajectory has not always been clear, but seeing Shier work her way into the writer’s room to accomplish her dreams will inspire a new generation of McGill writers to do the same.
English Teacher, The Bear, and What We Do in the Shadows are available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.

Out on the Town, Student Life

Answering students’ cravings for coffee

by Malika Logossou, Auxane Bussac on

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Whether you prefer your coffee iced or hot, with whole, oat, or almond milk, flavoured with syrup or plain, there are as many ways to drink coffee as there are students at McGill. While it is best to keep one’s consumption of caffeine reasonable, a nice cup of coffee to accompany your study session, a reading break, or to share with friends is always pleasant. Here are off-campus coffee shop suggestions by The Tribune.

If you are looking for affordable cafes with an enjoyable ambiance near campus, here are our top picks for you. 

OSMO X Marusan

51 Rue Sherbrooke St W

OSMO X Marusan is a Japanese café that’s both student-friendly and exceptionally cozy. It provides ample workspace with accessible charging ports and a selection of snacks and coffee to keep you energized. If you need a break from screens, there’s a designated no-laptop table perfect for reading. The café’s spacious layout makes it ideal for both solo study sessions and group hangouts, while maintaining a relaxed atmosphere. 

Price: $

Milton B

3498 Park Avenue

Milton B is a coffee shop located just a five-minute walk from campus, and is open 24/7. They offer a variety of drinks, sandwiches, and pastries, so you will definitely have plenty of options. The café is a popular hangout among McGill students, so it’s not uncommon to find many of your peers there, deep into a paper or cramming for deadlines. Whether you’re looking for a quiet corner to focus on, a place to meet up with friends, or simply a change of scenery, Milton B Café is your pick.

Price: $

If you’re looking for a café that’s both aesthetic and Instagram-worthy, The Tribune recommends the following two spots:

Améa Café

1188 Rue Sherbrooke St W

Améa Café is a gourmet restaurant, coffee shop, and pizzeria all rolled into one. It has a clean, classy atmosphere with a lovely outdoor courtyard, making it an ideal place for studying or meeting up with friends. The spacious seating area is gorgeous, and the café’s close proximity to McGill campus makes it a convenient spot for a change of scenery or a quick decompression session. The customer service is great, although it can be hard to find a spot during rush hours. The Tribune recommends trying their New York rolls along with a cup of flavoured coffee. 

Price: $$

Crew Collective & Café
360 Rue Saint-Jacques

Crew Collective & Café is a great alternative to Améa Café if you are looking to get a coffee further away from the McGill bubble. This chic coffee spot is housed in the former Old Royal Bank, featuring high ceilings, stunning chandeliers, and grand staircases, while maintaining a modern touch. The ambiance gives off major Pinterest vibes, like it’s been taken from your dream board! You can even book meeting rooms and order food online for delivery to your table. However, given its popularity, it can get quite busy and difficult to find seats with plugs, so it’s best to arrive early. 


Price : $$

If you like Old Montréal’s scenery, the following spot is for you:

49th Parallel Café

488 Rue McGill

Located near the Square Victoria metro station, 49th Parallel Café is the perfect spot to study. With a wide array of coffee options and delicious pastries, it’s a haven for caffeine lovers. The inside is spacious, offering a great ambiance that encourages productivity. It can get crowded, but regardless, this place needs to be on your list for your next locking-in session. Although it’s a 25-minute walk from campus, taking the bus is a convenient alternative and their to-die-for doughnuts make the ride worth it.
Price: $

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment

‘Short n’ Sweet’ highlights Sabrina Carpenter’s range and confidence as an artist

by Sylvie Bourque on

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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (out of 5)

Following the success of singles “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” Sabrina Carpenter capped off her summer of pop domination with the release of her sixth studio album Short n’ Sweet on Aug. 23. 

As a fan of Carpenter’s music since her Singular: Act I (2018) era, I am thrilled to see Carpenter finally getting her flowers. However, I think it is precisely her slow rise into the limelight that has prepared her for the success she’s now experiencing. Developing her sound and style outside of the scrutiny that comes with mainstream success allowed her the freedom to experiment, make some flops, and grow as an artist. Now, with 10 years of hard work and five previous studio albums under her belt, her visuals, vocals, lyrics, artistic vision, and live performances are the best they have ever been.

Short n’ Sweet pushes the cheeky humour of emails i can’t send fwd: bops “Feather” and “Nonsense” to the extreme, tackling the tribulations of romance in a light yet unforgiving way while owning her sexuality and desire. The lead single, “Espresso,” perfectly sets up the summer vibes that dominate this album with its groovy production, silly innuendos, and visuals of a sixties summer beach day. “I know I said ‘I can’t relate to desperation,’ but turns out I’m just a girl,” Sabrina said when introducing “Please Please Please” during her performance at the June 2024 Gov Ball. 

Track three, “Good Graces,” introduces new genre influences into the album with a strong R&B vibe to the track’s vocals and rhythm. Similar to “Please Please Please,” this track is a warning to her partner to treat her right, but with more edge and threat than desperation. 

Tracks four and eight, “Sharpest Tool” and “Dumb & Poetic,” deviate from the previous pop bangers. Carpenter gets more vulnerable about the lack of closure and communication difficulties in a crumbling relationship over an accentuated acoustic guitar. “Coincidence” and “Slim Pickins” draws on country sounds as Sabrina details the process of all the “coincidences” that led to the person she is seeing getting back with their ex and reveals her difficulties in finding love. 

The album also showcases Carpenter’s raunchier flirty side that borders on unhinged in “Bed Chem” and “Juno,” which are paired with upbeat, playful instrumentals and vocals. The final tracks, “Lie To Girls” and “Don’t Smile,” end the album on a somber and more emotional note. In “Lie To Girls,” Sabrina reveals that not only her, but so many of the women around her, will often bend the truth about situations to present their partner in a more favourable light. “Don’t Smile” plays on the Dr. Seuss quote—“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”—which Carpenter flips to express how she doesn’t want her ex to get over their relationship while she remains heartbroken. 

The only thing I felt was missing from this album was the depth of vulnerability she displayed in moments from emails i can’t send, such as in the album title track, which touches on infidelity in her parents’ relationship. As of right now, my favourite tracks on the album include “Sharpest Tool,” “Bed Chem,” and “Don’t Smile.” I am a big fan of the lyricism and how the upbeat production contrasts the not-so-upbeat themes of “Sharpest Tool.” In “Bed Chem,” I thoroughly enjoyed how completely unserious and cheeky Sabrina is, and her vocals on this track are stunning. Finally, I love Sabrina’s softer vocals and production on “Don’t Smile.” Overall, I love this album, and it is almost skipless for me. Though I understand the criticisms that jumping genre and sound can make this album feel sonically discordant, the sonic variety in this album is one of the things I love about both Short n’ Sweet and Sabrina as an artist. 

McGill, News

SPHR McGill calls on students to wear keffiyehs as sign of Palestinian solidarity

by Fabienne de Cartier on

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Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) at McGill called on students to wear a keffiyeh on campus on Sept. 5 as a way to show solidarity with pro-Palestinian mobilization. Other pro-Palestinian activist groups from across Montreal joined their call, including SPHR Concordia, Groupe de Solidarité pour les droits humains des Palestiniennes et Palestiniens de l’Université de Montréal, Palestinian Youth Movement Montreal (PYM), and Al Raya Dawson.

In a written statement to The Tribune, SPHR explained that wearing the keffiyeh was a way to continuously draw attention to pro-Palestinian activism on campus. 

“The keffiyeh is a visual reminder of the Palestinian struggle—of the ongoing genocide and of the people’s fierce resistance,” SPHR wrote. “The goal for today is to make Palestine unavoidable on the same campuses where our administration continue[s] to fund occupation and genocide and where students have faced brutal repression for simply speaking up. In that sense, it is a small but collectively powerful symbol of resistance.”

The square, chequered scarf, often worn as a headdress, has not always had political connotations. Political science professor Rex Brynen, whose areas of study include comparative politics in the Middle-East, explained that during the late Ottoman period, rural communities in various parts of the Middle East frequently wore keffiyehs around the head, especially ones that were all-white. Keffiyehs were widely used by Arab fighters in the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule during World War I and were later incorporated into the uniforms of some Arab military forces. Brynen clarified that it wasn’t until the early-to-mid-20th century that the keffiyeh came to be a symbol of Palestinian identity and struggle.  

“In Palestine, they became a symbol of resistance to British colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s. With the birth of […] modern Palestinian nationalism after 1948, Yasser Arafat (head of Fatah and the PLO [Palestinian Liberation Organization]) famously wore a black-and-white patterned one, and the chequered keffiyeh became globally associated with Palestinian resistance,” Brynen wrote in a statement to The Tribune. 

At McGill, many students wear keffiyehs on a regular basis to continuously signal support for the Palestinian cause. The McGill Media Relations Office (MRO) explained to The Tribune that students have a right to freedom of expression on campus within the university’s limits. 

“McGill supports the right to freedom of expression within the boundaries of the law and the University’s policies,” the MRO wrote. “The university is working to ensure an environment where every member of our community feels welcomed, recognized, and capable of sharing views without fear of retribution, regardless of who they are or what perspectives they hold.”

Jordan* explained that some students may not want to participate in protests for fear of academic or professional repercussions, as well as police violence following the police’s use of tear gas during the James Administration occupation and the arrests made at the encampment this summer. Rory* added that wearing a keffiyeh was a way for students to quietly protest outside of demonstrations. 

“It’s [a way] to show without words that you do support [Palestine] […] because a lot of people do support it, but they are scared,” Rory said.

Jordan drew a connection between the keffiyeh and the newly planted grass that pro-Palestinian protestors tore out of the lower field on Aug. 30, noting that, to them, both were a symbol of resistance. 

“It’s the same thing as the keffiyeh [….] People see that lack of grass, and they [realize] that’s where the encampment was. It’s a constant reminder […] that there’s solidarity amongst the university community,” Jordan said. 

Quinn*, who was wearing a keffiyeh on Sept. 5, told The Tribune that they are seeing support for Palestine continue to grow in the wake of the encampment. 

“I think people are a lot angrier now,” Quinn said. “The administration clearly doesn’t listen to their own students, despite claiming to. I think we’re ready to see a shift.”

*Jordan, Rory, and Quinn’s names have been changed to preserve their anonymity.

Off the Board, Opinion

Growing up and down

by Lulu Calame on

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Two weeks ago, I moved into my first apartment. I have the privilege of living in a bright, homey little place with high ceilings and two balconies, and that of living with my best friend. As my mom got ready to leave, she told me how excited she was for us. “You and Renée are both so stubborn,” she said, “and you know what you need.” She also pointed out how lucky we are to have in-house laundry. “I didn’t have that until I was in grad school,” she said wistfully. I hugged her goodbye, and walked inside feeling self-possessed and splendidly grown up. 

“What do we do now?” Renée asked me when I got to the top of the stairs. Her eyes were red and I had a painful lump pressing against the back of my throat. Under the kitchen’s brash overhead light we surveyed our unfamiliar pantry. “My dad makes really good chili,” Renée said. I said I’d ask my mom about her bolognese. We turned off the kitchen light and scurried into the living room to wait for communications from headquarters. And so, our first evening passed.

At IKEA the next day, I campaigned for smaller serving bowls—not for practicality (in fact, against it) but because they were the closest to the blue ceramic ones that nestle above the counter at home. Renée was used to the big plates with bowl-esque rims. We settled civilly in the middle, and the medium-sized gray bowls remain jarringly foreign to us both.

My mom is right that Renée and I are as strong-willed as we are assured in our sensibilities. But during our first weeks living in a home of our own, that grounded self-possession—and the energy that went into it—morphed into a vehicle in which we carried and displayed the sensibilities of those who had raised us. When we disagreed about whether butter should be kept in the fridge or on the counter, it was not a fight of personal convictions, but a defence of our upbringings, which were, now, our only grounds of familiarity. The confident composure with which we seasoned a chicken breast with oregano and cumin was a weak cover for our desperation to enact our parents—the same way a toddler repeats a curse word proudly without knowing what it means. The moment our parents drove away we pledged a new patriotism to their ideologies—those from which we had worked so hard for so long to diverge, rebel against, and reimagine.

I have since become fond of the way in which Renée and I are growing in two directions at once—returning to the absolute dependency of childhood while turning into the oldest and most capable versions of ourselves. We filled those first days living alone together with stories—of how to use old tomatoes, find the studs in the wall, and cook with the doors closed so our sheets wouldn’t smell like garlic—all gathered from the lived encyclopedia of our separate lives, and brought forward for reference, comparison, and evaluation. 

Now, two weeks after moving in, our parents’ world has settled around us and from it, the buds of a world completely ours have started to spring, in more and less glamorous ways. Only yesterday Renée and I stood on the back porch surveying our trash bin, alive and teeming with maggots. She and I put on gloves and an apron respectively and poured kettle after kettle of boiling water down the trash bin walls and into its infested ridges until our thousands of writhing rice-sized foes had been boiled to death and flushed down the toilet.

Amidst groceries, bills, and maggots, Renée and I are finding our sea legs on the current of adult independence, where we are worldlier, intuitive with spices, and conscious of our energy consumption. But to get here we had to hold tightly to our parents’ hands, becoming, for a fleeting moment, children again—but this time with in-house laundry.

Science & Technology

38th Soup & Science event sees talks on ice, stars, and Panama

by Russel Ismael on

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The McGill Faculty of Science hosted the 38th edition of Soup & Science in the SSMU Ballroom from Sept. 3 to 6. Here, professors and students across many disciplines, from psychology to astrophysics, presented their scientific passion projects. 

Monitoring Arctic sea ice

To begin the Sept. 5 presentations, Mallik Mahmud, assistant professor in the Department of Geography, discussed how satellite imagery can detect changes in sea ice.

“The area of sea ice is decreasing drastically. At the same time, the thickness of the ice is also reducing over the years,” Mahmud explained. “Compared to the last 20 years, we have a very different set of ice in the [Arctic].”

Mahmud and his team also trekked to the Arctic to set up weather towers and use techniques like radar imaging, which uses light to create two-dimensional landscape images, to confirm the satellite imagery.

Eco-evolutionary dynamics in Alaskan lakes

Andrew Hendry, a professor in the Department of Biology, studies the evolution of biological diversity and is especially interested in the ecology of Alaska’s lakes.

“What [the Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics Laboratory does] is think about the fact that within each of those species, there is evolutionary variation,” Hendry explained. 

His group is researching how genetic variation affects the structure of lake ecosystems, paying special attention to the population of fish.

“[The fish] have all been sequenced individually with high coverage across their entire genome,” Hendry said. “We have complete knowledge of the genetic variation of all the [fish] in these lakes.”

Fast radio bursts—a cosmic mystery

Victoria Kaspi, a professor in the Department of Physics, discussed fast radio bursts (FRB), which are short radio wave flashes from space that last a few thousandths of a second. Kaspi said that FRBs are an “astrophysical mystery” that has received much public attention, with many erroneously ascribing it to extraterrestrial intelligence.

“How do you study the phenomenon? That’s the challenge,” Kaspi explained. “We need a telescope that can point everywhere all at the same time, all the time. We haven’t invented that, but we’re close—and that’s the CHIME telescope; the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Telescope.”

Canada’s CHIME telescope is located in British Columbia and has detected thousands of FRBs since its activation in 2018. 

How and why are friendships formed between people?

Melanie Dirks, a professor in the Department of Psychology, runs a lab that studies relationships and focuses on friendships.

Dirks explained that adults have certain beliefs about romances that extend to friendships. These beliefs are categorized into two groups: “Destiny” and “Growth” mindsets. A person with a Destiny mindset believes that a person is either “right” for you or not, and there is nothing to do about it. A Growth mindset, however, emphasizes the importance of overcoming conflicts that arise within the relationship.

“We tracked undergraduates’ friendships over the course of a year, and it turned out that people who more strongly endorsed Destiny beliefs and weakly endorsed Growth beliefs were more likely to tell us they had friendships end over the course of the year,” Dirks explained.

Sloths & science: The Panama Field Study Semester

Kristy Sanchez Vega, U2 Science, talked about her Panama Field Study Semester (PFSS), a four-month academic endeavour in Panama, and how beneficial the experience was.

“You take some amazing courses in PFSS,” Sanchez Vega said. “They vary from year to year, but the ones I took were history, agriculture, biology, and then an environment research course.”

Sanchez Vega described PFSS as an intellectually rewarding exchange which shaped her knowledge about land and environment. She also said that PFSS members receive an opportunity to present their research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

“There’s only so many opportunities that you can take like this in undergrad, so if anyone decides to take PFSS after this, then I think I’ve done my job,” Sanchez Vega said.

Soup & Science is a semesterly event that showcases McGill’s brilliant minds. The event allows the student audience to explore their scientific curiosities and aims to foster their drive to pursue new academic challenges.

Commentary, Opinion

Canada’s railway system is failing

by Monique Kasonga on

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Last weekend, what was meant to be a three-and-a-half-hour Via Rail trip between Montreal and Quebec City turned into a disastrous 10-hour ordeal. Due to the train breakdown, passengers were stranded mid-tracks with no food, water, or access to a toilet for hours on end. This delay is just one of many challenges that Canadian railways have faced in the past month. On Aug. 23, rail workers voted to authorize a strike, claiming that Canadian rail companies were not bargaining in good faith and were attempting to undercut progress on working conditions. Though Via Rail’s commercial passenger trains were not directly impacted by the strike, the unpredictable shifts in railway traffic during this period incited delays on all fronts of railway transportation. 

When comparing Canada’s railway systems with those in other countries, it’s clear that the country prioritizes freight over passenger services. Historically, railway infrastructure was funded by taxpayers, but today it is privately owned with no public obligations. The privatization in 1995 of the Canadian National Railway (CN) led to the company acquiring both trains and tracks. This effectively created a freight-dominated monopoly as the commercial line, Via Rail, must pay CN to use the train lines. In contrast, 80 per cent of European rail transport is dedicated to passengers, while only 15 to 20 per cent is for freight. This disparity highlights a significant issue in Canada, where the focus on moving goods rather than people has led to inadequate transportation options. 

Many Canadians have heard rumours of a high-speed train connecting Toronto and Montreal over the years. Via Rail’s high frequency rail proposal seems like the most recent move towards this becoming a reality. However, no concrete plans have been set into action. Countries such as the Netherlands and France have benefitted from high-speed trains connecting Amsterdam and Paris since 2009, and Japan’s Shinkansens have been around since 1964. These demonstrate the availability of technology and infrastructure for efficient and climate-friendly travel for those who are willing to invest in it. Despite Canada being one of the world’s self-proclaimed leaders in climate action, Canadians wanting to travel sustainably by rail are faced with old trains and tracks, delays, unfair labour conditions, and exorbitant prices. Sustainable transportation is not simply achieved through pushing for electric vehicles; it entails allowing Canadians to get around their large country at a reasonable rate, and to eliminate a dependence on cars and planes for short-distance trips. 

Many students consider more than one city home. In McGill’s fall 2023 entering class, respectively, 21% per cent of McGill’s undergraduate and graduate student bodies are from outside of Quebec, pointing to an urgent need for a modernized and efficient rail system in Canada. As Canada’s rail system continues to prioritize freight over passenger services, students—many of whom are already grappling with tuition fees, housing costs, and other rising expenses—are disproportionately impacted by the lack of affordable, dependable, and eco-friendly transit options. This adds an additional stressor that the Canadian government could easily remove by implementing laws to place passenger trains at the forefront of railway traffic and travel.

Additionally, McGill has a vested interest in lobbying for a system that works better as it would benefit its students. If a better passenger transportation system is to be established, universities like McGill should collaborate with Via Rail to encourage and incentivize students to travel by train, whether through discounts, annual passes, or reward programs.


The Canadian government must work to end the monopoly that CN has on Canadian railways, which has impeded efficient passenger travel for far too long. A shift towards a passenger-focused approach in Canada’s rail system could transform infrastructural priorities, making private rail companies’ profits dependent on their ability to transport people efficiently. This would also ensure that commuters are not caught in disputes between private sector workers and management, ultimately aligning workers’ rights with the public’s need for reliable transit. And most importantly, it will emphasize how Canada’s trains can be central to a sustainable future.

Private, Science & Technology

How environmental enrichment protects emotional well-being

by Sarah McDonald on

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Globally, over 301 million people live with anxiety disorders, making it the most common group of mental disorders. According to the World Health Organization, as few as 27 per cent of patients receive any treatment, a situation researchers are currently making significant efforts to remedy. 

One such researcher is Randriely Merscher Sobreira de Lima, a postdoctoral fellow in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry. She has set out to better understand the role the environment plays in the progression of anxiety and other mental health concerns.

In a recent paper, published in the journal Brain and Behaviour, Sobreira de Lima and her colleagues explored early-life environmental enrichment and its protective role in one’s emotional development. 

Environmental enrichment occurs when the brain is stimulated by social or physical surroundings; for example, spending time in nature. This stimulation helps promote synaptogenesis and neuron plasticity, and has been proven to help protect against the effects of stress caused by early life adversity.

Early-life adversity—such as low birth weights, exposure to violence, and economic hardship—is not only common but a known risk factor for psychopathological developments, including depression, anxiety, and cognitive development disorders. 

“This first study […] was to try to mimic the early life stress in an animal model to analyze if exposure to environmental enrichment could improve the development of the animals after stress,” Sobreira de Lima explained in an interview with The Tribune.

In her experiment, rats were randomly separated into two categories. Half of the rats underwent maternal separation on postnatal days 11 and 13 in order to establish early life stress, whereas the other half did not. Following this, each group was further subdivided into two groups, in which half were provided with environmental enrichment, and half were not. In this experiment, environmental enrichment consisted of various toys and objects with differing colours, textures, shapes, and sizes. These rats spent 39 days in their respective environments, after which they were subjected to behavioural tests. 

At the end of the study, Sobreira de Lima compared the effects of early life stress and environmental enrichment. The results were shocking. 

“Most surprising for me was the lack of effect of this stress exposure,” Sobreira de Lima said.

The environmental enrichment increased explorational behaviours, illustrated through increased time spent exploring habitats—and also reduced anxiety-like behaviours. Nonetheless, there was no consistent effect from maternal deprivation, illustrating the major role personal difference plays in the study of mental health.

“I came from a big family with six siblings adopted, and all of them developed [mental health conditions] related to anxiety,” Sobreira de Lima explained. “So at the beginning, I was really interested to better understand how this stressor or adversity […] could affect individuals through life and how to better manage their symptoms.”

Sobreira de Lima’s work contributes novel insights into effective stress management. Assuming that these correlations hold true for humans, they help to paint a better picture of how to combat anxiety. Therefore, activities such as physical exercise and social interactions in our daily lives are key to managing stress and improving emotional well-being.

This experiment also raised more questions that pertain to Sobreira de Lima’s ongoing work. 

“Considering this variation in susceptibility and resilience to mental health disorder after the stress exposure is something really important for humans, […] that’s something that I’m working on right now,” Sobreira de Lima explained.

In her current role at McGill’s Meaney Lab, Sobreira de Lima and her supervisor, Dr. Patrícia Pelufo Silveira, are working to find ways to directly apply their research to humans. 

“At McGill, instead of using rats, I’m using mice. And instead of using stress exposure, I’m focusing only on environmental enrichment,” Sobreira de Lima said. 

Sobreira de Lima aims to improve preventative measures and refine solutions for people with conditions such as anxiety. 

“[I’m] trying to identify […] the molecular basis for resilience so we could focus more on individuals that are resilient or vulnerable to stress exposure,” Sobreira de Lima said.

Moving forward, Sobreira de Lima will work with both mice and humans, allowing her to fully explore the relationship her team has previously determined and more deeply understand stress-related psychopathological disorders.

News, PGSS

PGSS executives discuss low attendance, support of Palestine at semester’s first council meeting

by Dana Prather on

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The Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) of McGill University gathered for its first council meeting of the Fall 2024 semester on Sept. 4. Despite continued calls from Secretary-General Satish Kumar Tumulu for attendees to recruit other voting members to join the meeting, only 26 councillors were in attendance. The meeting marked another instance of the council failing to meet quorum—33 voting members, or roughly one per cent of the PGSS’ membership. As a result, attendees could not vote on the motions discussed. 

In an effort to meet quorum going forward, the PGSS will be enforcing the Society Activities Manual’s (SAM) rule which requires councillors to attend at least three council meetings in order to keep their seat. 

Next, Tumulu turned the conversation towards the legal dispute surrounding PGSS’ statements and motions in support of Palestine. This includes their statement following the December 2023 council meeting, as well as three motions that passed at the February 2024 Annual General Meeting: Motion 7.1,  Motion 7.2, and Motion 7.3, which aims to “support and encourage [Post-Graduate Student Associations] to address the ongoing genocide in Gaza and investigate their ties to settler-colonial violence and [the] genocide against the Palestinian people.” 

As per their Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), PGSS met with McGill to discuss the approved motions. The council then concluded that they would implement Motion 7.1 as is, that they would reject Motion 7.2, and that they would implement Motion 7.3 with modifications from McGill. 

However, on June 20, McGill and the PGSS received a legal notice from an anonymous member of the society who asked both parties to abide by an interlocutory injunction against motions 7.1, 7.3, and the council’s December 2023 statement. The notice asserted that the motions contradicted the PGSS’ governing documents. Tumulu explained the chronology of events.

“After we received the legal notice and [attended the] first hearing, […] McGill also said [their] legal consultation thinks that we are breaching the MOU, but before that […] we never received [an] official email saying we’re breaching [the] MOU,” the Secretary-General said in the meeting. “So [on] the day of the first hearing, it was decided that PGSS would go [into] discussion with McGill and come to a neutral point, if possible.” 

In the intervening months, the executives requested that McGill provide amended versions of the Motions. Notably, the McGill administration revised Motions 7.1, 7.3, and the December 2023 statements to exclude all mentions of the words “Palestine,” “Israel,” “Gaza,” and “genocide.”

“The language would have to depart from a focus on Palestine and solidarity with a particular people and instead focus on general commitments that allow PGSS to uphold its commitments to all of its members,” explains a comment left by a McGill administrator on the amended version of Motion 7.1.

Though they were unable to vote on whether to approve these modifications, attendees like Brenagh Rapoport of the Organization of Urban Planning Students (OUPS) expressed their gratitude that PGSS was looking to their members for consultation before amending the motions. 

“I don’t think that anyone would say that we should hold a line that would actually threaten PGSS’ ability to continue representing our students and exist as the official representative body. But I am glad to hear that there is an interest on the part of PGSS executives to push back in some way against McGill,” Rapoport said. “Clearly it’s something that our student body cares a lot about, and it’s really important, and we can’t let McGill just completely erase it.” 

Moment of the meeting: Kumar Tumulu strongly encouraged members to apply to the Appointments Board Lottery to fill several notable vacancies, particularly the PGSS’ two seats for graduate students and one for a postdoctoral scholar in the McGill Senate as well as a seat on the Council of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (CGPS). 

Soundbite: “These motions were decided through democratic processes. If we let McGill just change motions whenever they want […], we will never hear the end of it.” – Ambre Lambert, Member Services Officer 

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