After dominating all season long, McGill Swimming excelled again this weekend at the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Provincial championship. Earning over 1,100 points and 33 medals combined, including 19 gold, Redbirds and Martlets left little for their competitors. In 2023, McGill became the first team to win all three categories for three consecutive years, and they broke their own record this season,winning it for a fourth time.
With four medals, third-year software engineering student Naomie Lo was crowned athlete of the meet, alongside senior engineering student Hazem Issa, who tied with senior Elizabeth Ling to be the most decorated athlete of the meet with five gold medals.
Closing the RSEQ championship on a victorious note, rookie Mats Baradat was crowned Athlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year after stellar performances on 1500m and 4x200m relay during the season.
McGill will be hosting the USPORTS National Championships on March 7 to 9 at Pointe Claire.
Martlet Hockey (5–18–2)
Martlet Hockey were edged 2-1 by the Carleton Ravens (18–16–1) in overtime on Feb. 16 at McConnell Arena. This defeat marked the end of the season for both sides, as well as the Ravens’s last ever game in the RSEQ as they are set to move to the Ontario University Athletics along with UOttawa Gee Gees for next season. Finishing last place, it was a challenging season for a young McGill squad. The team has been rebuilding for the last two seasons after their run to U SPORTS Nationals in the 2021-2022 season, and hope that the challenges of the last two years will propel them back into playoff contention in 2024-2025.
Martlet Basketball (5–10)
Martlet basketball was defeated by the Concordia Stingers (6–9) on Feb. 17 at Love Competition Hall. While the Stingers only led 18-15 at the end of the first quarter, McGill was unable to close the gap, and lost 76-59. While McGill was outclassed, exciting freshmen Lily Rose Chatila led the scoring with 10, and Seyna Diggs and Daniella Mbengo bagged nine points apiece.
Martlet Basketball (5-10) will be hosting undefeated Laval Rouge et Or (15-0) in the last game of the regular season at Love Competition Hall on Feb. 24. This is also the Martlet senior night.
Redbirds Basketball (3–12)
Last-place McGill Redbirds prevailed over the league-leading Concordia Stingers (11–4) to claim the Lengvari Cup in a 83-81 thriller that went right to the buzzer. Co-captain Sean Hercovitch scored 11 points and made 14 assists, breaking the school record for most assists in a single game (10) which had stood since 2009. This is the fourth year in a row that McGill have won the Lengvari Cup, only losing the initial iteration of the competition. This victory is not only a significant morale-booster, but also jeopardizes Concordia’s first-place position.
The Redbirds (3-12) play their final game of the season against fourth-placed Laval (6-10) on Feb. 24 at Love Competition Hall.
Martlet’s Volleyball (15–6)
On the heels of a dominating 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-15) win against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees (10–11), the Martletshosted the first place Université de Montreal Carabins (17–4) for their final game of the regular season. Despite being their first home loss all season, the ultimate 0-3 (16-25, 15-25, 19-25) loss for the Martlets was a big one as it occurred on their Senior Appreciation Day. With co-captain Victoria Iannotti sidelined with a cold, the Martlets were no match for the Carabins as they boasted 44 kills and only 12 errors on 98 attempts while McGill had just 24 kills and 18 errors on 98 chances. To add insult to injury, McGill posted a season low .061 hitting percentage while the Carabins dominated with a .327 success rate. Finishing second overall in the RSEQ standings, the Martlets will kick off the playoffs with a best-of-three semifinal series against Sherbrooke Vert et Or that is yet to be scheduled. McGill finished the season ninth overall in the USPORTS women’s volleyball rankings.
With over 85 million users, Too Good To Go is exploding in popularity. The app is especially widespread among students, budget-conscious consumers, and environmentally-aware citizens who are concerned about having a positive impact on our planet.
Launched in Denmark in 2015, the app’s main objective is to fight food waste by connecting users with partner services like grocers, restaurants, and bakers, who save unsold and close-to-expiry food and sell it at lower prices. Beyond its ecological purpose, Too Good To Go also allows people access to affordable food, as the products are sold at a third of the original price.
The app covered mostly European cities until 2020, when the service became available in the United States. As of now, it is available in 17 countries around Europe and North America with 150,000 active partners. In Montreal, well-known brands such as Tim Hortons, Metro, and Pizza Pizza work with Too Good To Go, along with local shops such as Café Navire, Chatime, and some convenience stores.
For Romeo Bande Martinez, a regular user of Too Good To Go in both Lausanne, Switzerland and Montreal, the eco-friendly aspect of the platform is what matters the most.
“The system is great, you get to avoid throwing food away and that’s why I started using it in the first place,” Bande Martinez said. “Even if they raised the prices it wouldn’t bother me and I would still use it. Being able to combine eating things I love and making a gesture for the planet is so satisfying for me.”
The app is easy to use; once you enter your location, you have access to all the stores around you that offer surprise bags with prepared meals, baked goods, and groceries, as well as vegan and vegetarian options. The amount of food varies, as does the price, which typically ranges from $5 to $15.
Flore Bantegny, U2 Arts, shared her experience with the app in an interview with The Tribune.
“I like the idea of not knowing what you are going to get in the surprise bags,” Bantegny explained. “You’re the one choosing the restaurant so you know you are going to like it but it allows you to still discover products you’ve never tasted before and it’s fun.”
Some complaints about Too Good To Go include that there seems to be a disconnect between the app and its partners. For example, Bande Martinez mentioned that the app might sometimes show that a bag is available despite the restaurant being closed. Still, those occurrences appear to be quite rare. Others such as Noriane Fetiveau, U2 Arts, believe that Too Good To Go should strive to increase the number of restaurants it collaborates with by incentivizing food services with good standing and publicity.
As a new user of the app, Fetiveau expressed her discontent toward her perceived lack of offers in Montreal.
“The problem with Too Good To Go here is that there are not enough places where it is available,” Fetiveau shared. “I activated the one-kilometre filter to find offers close to my apartment but I rarely find any. In France, we have so many more options.”
No on-campus eateries—which are notoriously expensive and inaccessible—currently use this service. Using Too Good To Go would align with the university’s environmental policy and help combat food insecurity among students. The Redpath Café is actively using Cano, a service offering reusable cups—Too Good To Go could be the next step.
For students like Bantegny, who often use the platform, this would be a great opportunity to further their ecological aspirations.
“If it ends up being used on campus, I would definitely be the first client!” Bantegny said.
As of Fall 2023, members of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) are eligible for a new legal care program offered by StudentCare called “The Essentials,” for an additional $30 per year. Unless they choose to opt-out, members will automatically have access to many legal services for a whole year. Students who enroll in the winter semester will have a lower fee of $20 to pay for the program.
How does it work?
The legal care program functions in partnership with a law firm which provides access to lawyers certified by the Barreau du Québec for both consultation and representation purposes.
Consultation services include legal meetings, research, document analysis, legal interpretation, and case follow-up. This advice will be available to students in any area of the law.
Representation services include expenses which are incurred through hiring a lawyer, attendance fees, court fees, as well as witness fees and expert witness expenses that value up to $1,000. Concerning aid in legal proceedings, students are covered in specific areas of the law including housing, employment, academics, small claims, human rights, and civil mediation.
In an interview with The Tribune, Samuel Wong, a first year student in the Faculty of Law at McGill, explained the value he sees in the provision of legal aid to university students.
“I think it’s really important especially […] in light of issues of access to justice because, let’s face it, […] legal aid isn’t always the most accessible thing to have, so I think there definitely is value,” Wong said.
What is the goal of the program?
According to their StudentCare webpage, SSMU established this program to facilitate undergraduate students’ access to legal counsel, which can be intimidating and expensive, with the average hourly wages of lawyers in Quebec ranging from $100 to $350.
According to SSMU Vice-President Finance Amina Kudrati-Plummer, SSMU felt comfortable implementing the program because they had seen it successfully adopted in other student unions and had done well during a trial in the previous academic year.
Kasia Johnson—Director of Community Services at the Legal Information Clinic at McGill (LICM)—spoke to the importance of providing university students with clear legal information in an interview with The Tribune.
“A lot of the time […] there’s just so much information out there and it’s really confusing,” she says. “Sometimes people just need to know how to contest a rent increase,” Johnson said.
How is it different than the LICM?
The LICM has provided students with legal information since its establishment in 1973. What SSMU’s legal care program will offer to students is legal advice.
In an interview with The Tribune, Blaise Evelyn, LICM’s Executive Director, differentiated between the legal information provided by LICM and legal advice offered by SSMU’s Essentials.
“Legal advice is what lawyers are, under the law, reserved to provide. So that’s advice on what a client should do in a specific case, and as well as reviewing documentation, and representation in court,” Evelyn said. “Legal information is providing people with information on the state of the law, on what their rights are, and all their options under the law without necessarily telling them what they should do.”
This new legal care plan seeks to provide legal advice to students, which LICM is unable to do. However, the two program’s services are highly complementary and in instances of student advocacy when lawyers are not allowed to be present, LICM, too, fills a gap in the Legal Essentials program’s services.
“There are so many things that Legal Essentials doesn’t do or can’t do for students that the LICM does. So, in a lot of ways, we’re complementary, like we’re the walk-in clinic to see the doctor for an issue, and they’re the hospital emergency room,” Evelyn said.
The Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) held a one-day strike on Feb. 13 to pressure McGill to return to the bargaining table and negotiate their collective agreement in good faith. The collective agreement, which has been under negotiation for more than a year, will set the terms of employment for tenured and tenure-track professors in the Faculty of Law for three years.
AMPL first started drafting the collective agreement in November 2022 when they were certified by Quebec’s Tribunal administratif du travail (TAT) and became the first faculty union at McGill. However, in a letter to students, AMPL explained that despite the TAT’s decision, McGill continues to contest their certification before the courts and delay the bargaining process, offering AMPL just “two and a half days of negotiation between now and the end of the semester.”
AMPL’s proposal for the collective agreement contains 32 articles, 17 of which have already been resolved. However, in their letter to students, the association stressed that critical aspects of the collective agreement are still being negotiated. These unresolved articles include both monetary proposals, such as salary and employee benefits, and working conditions, including promotions, tenure appointments, and sabbatical leaves.
Evan Fox-Decent, AMPL’s president, told The Tribune that the strike had two key aims. First, AMPL hopes that the strike will compel McGill to set up a reasonable bargaining schedule with meetings once per week. Second, AMPL hopes to pressure McGill to negotiate a collective agreement that is binding for both parties. According to Fox-Decent, although McGill has been willing to negotiate key issues, they have refused to give up the authority to unilaterally change the terms of the collective agreement after the contract has been signed. He highlighted that if McGill retains this unilateral authority, the collective agreement could essentially become moot and called on McGill to negotiate a collective agreement that is mutually binding.
“We’re not striking for a better salary, or for even better work conditions,” Fox-Decent said. “We’re striking for the possibility of better salary and better work conditions just by virtue of getting McGill to agree to actually engage in a process that results in a binding collective agreement.”
Fox-Decent also noted that McGill locked members of the Faculty of Law out of their email and online services on the day of the strike without justification or prior notification.
“The university gave us no notice that we would be electronically locked out, and since then has not provided any justification for its action,” Fox-Decent said.
The Association of McGill Professors of Education (AMPE), which applied to become McGill’s second faculty union in September 2023, supported AMPL at the picket line. Dennis Wendt, AMPE’s interim president, told The Tribune that AMPE has faced similar pushback from McGill in their effort to become certified. Wendt asserted that McGill’s efforts to impede AMPE’s unionization have been unnecessarily obstructionist.
“McGill’s already fought the law and the law won,” Wendt said. “It is a waste of time, waste of money, [and] waste of resources [….] We’re going through a long drawn out process for an inevitable outcome.”
“I think it’s absolutely crucial that faculty organizations and student organizations band together,” Thomson said in an interview with The Tribune. “We all have power, power to withdraw our labour and our support and I think that it’s very important that McGill knows that we support our professors.”
Although AMPL members expressed hope that the strike would be effective, Fox-Decent noted that AMPL has the authority to call up to five strike days. AMPL has notified McGill that if they do not have a collective agreement by April 15, they will go on strike once again.
Frédérique Mazerolle, McGill’s media relations officer, declined to comment on the collective agreement discussions, noting that “[McGill] will let the pending negotiation process run its course.”
The Super Bowl is 2024’s biggest marketing event. As the most watched U.S. program ever, each image shown influences droves of North Americans. Luckily, the Kansas City Chiefs avoided propagating racism. Sure, their name, history, and mascot are all offensive, but that’s not what they stand for! In fact, they’ve proven it, by writing “End Racism” in the end zone, above the insignia of their (racist) team name. In viewing the Super Bowl last weekend, it was not a sweaty Usher on roller-skates nor the mistaken decision to receive by the 49ers in overtime but the glaring insincerity that stood out most. The hypocrisy of the Chiefs’ team name and their attempt to prove their anti-racist sentiments demonstrate the severity of their performative activism.
What is the problem with the name “Kansas City Chiefs”? The name ‘Chiefs’ originates from a white man who appropriated and impersonated Native American culture. Harold Roe Bartle, the eventual mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, was a member of the Boy Scouts program where he went by the nickname “Chief Lone Bear”, claiming that the local Arapaho nation welcomed him, although they did not. Ultimately, when selecting a new name for the former Dallas Texans when they relocated to Kansas City, the Chiefs was officially chosen in 1963 making it the most recent team to adopt a name or logo that referenced Native Americans.
Quickly, the “Tomahawk chop,” an arm gesture along with a singing chant, became a popular cheer. As well, fans adopted Indigenous non-traditional headdresses, regalia, and face paint to support the team. Until 2021, the games began with a horse named ‘Warpaint’ galloping in, ridden by a cheerleader playing an Indigenous-style drum beat.
The team has superficially attempted to move away from their racist practices, but only through performative activism. In 2014, Kansas City created guidelines with local Indigenous groups for fans to follow. Though the chop, along with other references or appropriations of Native American culture, were banned before the 2020 season, many fans elected not to abide by this.
These actions proved to be nothing more than performative. If this fixes everything, then why were masses of Americans gathered, cheering to “stop the chop” and “change the name”? A true dedication to ending racism would be listening to the decades-long calls from local Indigenous groups, like Not in Our Honor to change their name, and through this, team culture. A 2005 study from the American Psychological Association wrote that “mascots based on stereotypes had a harmful effect on the social identity development and self-esteem of young [Native American] people.” Writing “End Racism” does not tangibly help Indigenous peoples in the Americas. The participation in racist practices, both in the stands and of fans at home, is what matters.
Although it took years of activism, McGill serves as an example for Kansas City. A 2018 report by a McGill Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Education recommended that McGill change its team name. Many student mobilizations also pushed for change, and in 2019, McGill became the Redbirds. 2020’s Arts Valedictorian Tomas Jirousek, one of the few Indigenous valedictorians in McGill’s history, was critical in raising awareness and speaking out against this injustice. Showing that McGill would commit to redress their Indigenous appropriation, this spurred some relief and hope for more reconciliation efforts in the future. At the beginning of the regular season in 2020, Kansas City wrote “End Racism” in their end zone. As the Black Lives Matter movement was at its heights, the team took it upon themselves to do the most American thing possible: Act performatively. Kansas City must listen to the demands of Indigenous peoples and change their culture of Indigenous appropriation. Writing “End Racism” is not enough to do that. While the NFL continues to have a long way to go in a number of respects, a name change for Kansas City is the first step to combatting the practices of a racist league.
Every serious person knows the importance of preparation. The simple act of extensively accounting for every iota of variability within one’s pursuits. Without it, Napoleon would never have set Europe ablaze, Genghis Khan’s conquest would not have claimed the lives of millions, Pitbull would never take on the moniker “Mr. Worldwide.” It is with this mindset that I set out to fulfill my lifelong dream, to make a low-budget student film.
Part I. The Story
This did not come easy. It’s practically common knowledge that the most important factor for a filmmaker to make a great film, outside of a strong liver for their scotch consumption and an even stronger arm for throwing chairs at unpaid interns, lies in a solid script.
My initial idea was a film about love and glory, delving into friendships and hardships, all through the adventures of a team of brave, technologically advanced guinea pigs. To my horror, I quickly learned that this film had already been brought to life in 2009’s //G-Force//. So, once again, I returned to the drawing board.
My second idea, inspired by the touching vignette I had written the year prior about my childhood love for Richard Nixon, was the tale of an underdog. A story about a small child from Thunder Bay, Ontario, (a town with which I have no affiliation) that decides to rebel against the system, changing the perception brought upon by the old guard and restoring Nixon’s reputation. And they know just how to do it, by contacting Nixon’s ghost through a spiritual medium so that they can bathe in his wise words and put them into action.
I had a basic premise, but a script needs so much more: It required an antagonist. For reasons I can’t fully explain, the first and only contender was… a pigeon. Following this, I needed a source of conflict and decided it would naturally be the aforementioned pigeon. A vile and cruel creature hellbent against the restoration of Nixon’s image. Some might suggest the pigeon serves as a metaphor. Those people need to back off; the pigeon is all too real.
To this day, I’m still ambivalent about which aspect of a pigeon’s nature makes it the perfect heel to my story. Is it their lightweight skeletal structure, perfectly adaptable for flight? Perhaps it was their short, conical beaks, remarkably efficient for seed and grain consumption? Or maybe, it was the lingering memory of being violently attacked by a one-eyed, crooked-beaked pigeon as a child? I’m not sure; it remains a complete mystery to me still. Yet I was determined to find an answer. I reached out to avid baseball card collector and my paterfamilias, Majid Kamel, for potential answers.
In an interview with //The Tribune//, Kamel said, “What are you talking about? What pigeon? Is this seriously how you’re spending your last semester? You have the MCATs in three months, Arian.”
The mystery continued.
Nonetheless, no matter its Freudian origins, I know that I had a deeply powerful and moving story in hand, and that it was my responsibility to create it.
Nixon, Mon Amour (Screenplay) – Scene #14
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INT. SPIRITUAL ROOM – NIGHT
The INCREDIBLY HANDSOME LEAD paces nervously, addressing the
SPIRIT MEDIUM.
INCREDIBLY HANDSOME LEAD
Could you ask Nixon what I need to do to fix his reputation?
It seems people are unaware or forgetful of all the great things he’s done, I don’t know what else I can do to wake the masses up!
SPIRIT MEDIUM
(Contemplative)
Hmm…yes…the spirits seem to be saying that Nixon is
mentioning “real estate speculation in Cali” a lot, so maybe that’s something.
INCREDIBLY HANDSOME LEAD
(Confused)
He’s mentioning “real estate speculation in California”?
SPIRIT MEDIUM
(Nodding)
Yeah, he seems to have a good feeling about the current market.
INCREDIBLY HANDSOME LEAD
I don’t understand.
Suddenly, a PIGEON breaks through the glass window, very intimidating stuff.
SPIRIT MEDIUM
Your doubt has angered the spirits; they’ve taken a host. Relax spirit, calm BOY, CALM. They come in peace; they mean you no harm!
PIGEON bodies the medium (almost certain death); chaos ensues.
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Part II. The Production
The next point of order for my magnum opus is tackling the actual production elements—the essential tools to turn my script into cinematic reality. However, I once again stumbled upon another bump in the road—a complete lack of funding, resources, and technical skills. A lesser filmmaker may let this stop them, but I had a secret weapon—humility.
I drew inspiration from the mantra “Lights, Camera, Action” and figured that all I needed for my production were a few cameras, some lighting equipment, a couple batteries, perhaps one or two CGI experts, around a dozen intimacy coordinators, and an experienced pigeon tamer. The only issue was, I had no idea where to find them.
Leveraging my higher-education critical thinking skills, I quickly turned to Google and typed in “McGill short film?” And there was my answer, like a beautiful quail perched upon a slightly less beautiful branch, the club known as Student Television at McGill (TVM).
Wasting no time, I quickly sat down and interviewed the honourable Sofia Andrade, president of TVM and my former subletter, to better understand what my next steps would be.
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Interview Transcript with Sofia Andrade
//What exactly is TVM?//
TVM is a filmmaking service that provides McGill students with the support and equipment to make any kind of video project.
//You do student short films? Why?//
Yeah! We do all sorts of projects. Anything video-related. We do service requests, event coverage, podcasts, and short films.
McGill does not have a filmmaking program so having a space where students can meet other filmmakers, borrow equipment, access software, and generally learn how to create films—even with no prior skill—is very important.
//How much money do I get?//
If you make something as a TVM project, we’ll do our best to fund what your film requires. We provide equipment and assistance, and we’ll make sure everyone gets fed.
Filmmaking can be a very expensive venture and while we don’’t have an infinite budget, we do what we can to make sure it can be an accessible venture for McGill students.
//Are my chances of getting TVM’s help decreasing as this interview continues?//
Perhaps.
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TVM’s generosity meant that I had the equipment I needed, leaving the props as the final missing element for my shoot. My lack of capital however did necessitate a certain dose of creativity.
Unusually tall stool → Graciously beg Gerts bar manager to borrow stool (cost: Free?)
Richard Nixon T-shirt → I actually already own three (cost: parent’s pride)
Spiritual voodoo table → Ikea table that I found on Facebook (cost: $5.00)
Worn-out watch → I actually inherited a watch from my great-grandfather recently (don’t worry, he passed away peacefully in his sleep…while driving) (cost: family tragedy)
Part III. The Cast
The final step of my preparation would be the most important. I needed to cast the right talent to portray the harrowing, dark, criminal depictions of human struggle and strife in my film. Luckily, with the abundance of Nixon clips available online, hiring a lookalike to reenact Nixon’s charming demeanor would be unnecessary and significantly reduce costuming costs.
This would be my sole consolation in this wretched journey called life.
Now, I wasn’t completely sure where to find the right actors: Facebook, the streets, or approaching people donning scarves inside cafes? None of the options felt right.
I decided to do what all great directors before me have done; I resorted to pressuring my close friends to get involved. And I’m proud to report that after only two months of dignified begging, haggling, and more begging, I successfully rallied enough support to commence filming. For my dear readers who are also aspiring to create their cinematic works and possibly doubting this approach, I spoke with one of the actors involved to highlight the specific talents and skills I was seeking.
In a discussion on her acting “method,” Sadie Bryant, an actress and potential pigeon tamer, shared with //The Tribune//, “I know it’s controversial, but I find the scientific method always works best for me. You know, question, research, hypothesis. It prepares me for pretty much every project I take on.”
(Sadie [left] & me [right])
I was able to quickly fill the cast this way, except for one role, some would say the most important role: Pigeon. It makes sense: To play a pigeon to its full potential, one would need real talent, mental fortitude, physical grace, and of course, a great intellect. This combination of qualities could not be found at McGill…yet. If you believe you or your loved one could fit his description, please get in touch. I don’t bite, on most occasions.
“Pigeons: They’ve got wings, but they walk a lot.”
Karl Pilkington
Part 4. The film
Throughout my journey, I have been confronted by skepticism from those around me. “Are you writing about Nixon again?” “I don’t understand what the pigeon is for.” “Man you’re so talented and probably better than most at long division.” Some comments come up less than others.
Despite these doubts, I remain steadfast in my commitment to my vision. The upcoming weeks are crucial, as we will start filming and editing before submitting our work to the Cannes Film Festival. I’m not entirely sure what’s driven me to this moment, maybe ego, probably boredom, but I’m genuinely excited to spread my wings and walk towards a brighter tomorrow.
In the last few years, confrontations with histories of abuse have shaken the world of Canadian sports. Following the settlement of a case of sexual assault involving eight members of the Canadian Hockey LeagueCHL in 2018, The Globe and Mail’s investigation that followed unveiled the existence of multiple slush funds exceeding $15 million intended to protect athletes from legal troubles regarding non-insurable offences such as sexual abuse. On Jan. 30 of this year, five players—four of whom are currently signed to contracts in the National Hockey League––were charged with sexual assault. The Hockey Canada scandal, however, reveals that systemic abuse pervades all elite competitive sports in Canada. Given sports are a fundamental aspect of Canadian identity and influence abroad, federally funded sports organizations must address the structures of abuse that harm youth and professional leagues.
Abusive coaching practices are central to the socialization of young children in sports. Coaches teach young athletes from the moment they enter sports to prioritize winning above all else. For this reason, hostile coaches are able to justify hitting children as a tool of motivation or verbal abuse in front of teammates as tactics to help the team win. The Standing Committee on the Status of Women delved into many abuse allegations in 2022, revealing stories of Gymnastics Canada coaches who fixated on players’ eating habits, publicly chastising them if they were seen to have gained weight. For many athletes, these damaging coaching practices also come in the form of ignoring dangerous hazing practices that often deteriorate into sexual abuse.
The fixation on performance trumps all other elements of an athlete’s well-being. The extreme emphasis on winning entrenches abuse even deeper into sports culture. Young athletes then struggle to identify abusive situations they are involved in, let alone speak out against them. When parents make a considerable financial investment in their children’s athletic careers, this raises the stakes to perform well and exacerbates the pressure to ignore abuse.
With this reality in competitive sports, minority athletes are often even more vulnerable to abuse. In emphasizing diversifying sport through inclusion, institutions pay little attention to how marginalized individuals are treated by teammates, coaches, and fans after they are brought in. As such, practices of predatory inclusion in which sports include non-white players under exploitative premises continues to pervade the predominately white world of elite sport in Canada. Moreover, when it comes to speaking out, it is much more challenging for marginalized athletes to come forward as their inclusion remains conditional on the acceptance of white supremacy.
The reality of abuse in sports speaks to a larger culture of acquiescing to violence within Canadian institutions. The same strategies of protection and silencing are at play. Abusive authority figures are moved from institution to institution, while violent coaches are often transferred to teach at lower levels when their practices are called out. Canada continues to address this issue on an individual basis, instead of recognizing the overall systemic issues that both perpetuate and encourage abuse.
The three-person commission to investigate systemic abuse and human rights violations in Canadian sport announced by the federal government on Dec. 11 is simply not enough. Canada must launch a national inquiry—as many former athletes have called for—and implement a public database of coaches and athletes involved in abuse.
As the accusations of abuse at Western University show, university sports face the same endemic issues. Canadian universities, including McGill, lack a system of accountability to address abuse as athletes enter what are often the final stages of their playing career. At the university and in all other leagues, Canadian sports need to actively support victims who speak out to dismantle the system of abuse, both through better psychological care of athletes and steps toward accountability for perpetrators. Sports must come back to its roots of community and the passion for playing, rather than just owning the podium.
Valentine’s Day is not the time for chocolate or flowers or even love. It’s the time for playlists. Breakup playlists to scream at your ceiling, classy playlists for candlelight dinners, or salacious playlists for “late-night activities.” Whatever playlist you might be making, here are four great love songs to consider adding.
If you’re in the mood for an infectious serotonin boost and a delulu level of self-confidence, this is the song you want on blast. But beware: The song comes with an inescapable bout of sudden obsession for Reneé. Apart from turning heads with her unique and modernized take on the classic character of Regina George, her performance of “Not My Fault”has been circulating on TikTok, inciting a truly terrifying wave of simping fans in the comments. The song encourages confidence, self-respect, and spontaneity in relationships. Recommended for anyone who feels like the mess of relationships is hitting them too hard. It will remind you not to take things so seriously…well, that and to “get her number [and] her name.”
Joyce Cisse is the lead singer of flowerovlove and an up-and-coming Black artist. At only 18 years old, she is becoming a popular lo-fi artist in Gen Z’s eyes. The overthinking that comes alongside the giddiness of a new crush is a universal experience—and this song encapsulates that uncertainty. Staring at the sent message on your phone, dissecting every word as you anxiously stare at the “read” symbol below it. Feeling the butterflies, but fearing that they might not feel the same way. flowerovlove captures the vulnerability present at the spark of every romantic connection. Fortunately, instead of overthinking your own crushes, you can simply put her song on repeat. floverovlove articulates both heterosexual and queer relationships with the fluid switch of the lyrics—“would a boy like you like a girl like me”—to “would a girl like you like a girl like me” and “would a boy like you like a boy like me.” Through these subtle shifts, flowerovlove highlights the fluidity and complexity of relationships, while portraying the universal human experience of falling for someone new.
We all know “Bohemian Rhapsody”and “Another One Bites the Dust,”but with all the love in the air, we ought to give some recognition to Queen’s song “You’re My Best Friend.”It’s easy to get caught up in relationships and romance. Good friendships can be hard to find, but when you do find those connections, they are often some of the most special relationships in your life. Often we forget to tell our friends how much we care for and appreciate them. So this Valentine’s Day, show your friends some love by blasting this classic Queen song. Who needs a date with that kind of plan?
P.S. I am well aware that the song was written with the intention of being a love song from John Deacon to his wife, so Queen superfans, don’t come for me.
Although on the surface this may not seem like a love song, it is a proponent of perhaps the most important type of love—appreciation for those who inspired you. Hozier wrote the song with the goal of paying homage to various jazz players who came before his time, honouring them and their songs through lyrical references. In doing so, he portrays the love and reverence that we might have for those who inspire and pave the way for us. In another aspect, listeners of this song have taken away a different type of love. All across TikTok, people have sparked the sweetest trend from Hozier’s song, creating compilations of themselves during struggling moments and comparing them with how they are now—as happy as they were when they were in the innocence of childhood. Although this was perhaps not his intention, Hozier sparked a trend of internal affection, showcasing the self-love that everyone deserves.
Earlier this year, the federal government announced that this Black History Month (BHM)’s theme would be “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build.” Almost thirty years after its adoption, BHM today signals a response to persistent problems in Canadian society—anti-Blackness as old as the country itself and the histories of enslavement, neo-colonial exploitation, and carcerality that devise the present. BHM comes to us today from decades-long collaborations of historians, organizers, activists, and politicians, including the first Black Canadian woman Member of Parliament (MP) Jean Augustine, who saw our historic contributions as valuable to the national story. Yet, when we consider the precarious history of Black Canadian life, we must recognize that many of these contributions were coercive—and we are still here.
Conceptualizations of Black excellence reorder the violence that Canada continues to perpetuate. As a counter-insurgent, elitist formulation, the term segments our people and alienates those who defy the norm. It is to say that despite history, structural racism, and ongoing oppression, you must be excellent and palatable to the majority. Why should our gifts be recuperated by this nation? Has Canada not extracted enough from us? This theme erases not only longer freedom movements, but the everyday acts of resistance and refusal that Black Canadians practice; what we do quietly, for ourselves, and for our peace.
Our presence on these stolen lands marks survival, struggle, and strategy against state intervention. The enslaved and formerly enslaved people who came North knew that in the empire, freedom is always dangerous and often conditional. The sleeping car porters and domestic workers who migrated in the nineteenth and twentieth century faced abuse, exploitation, and dehumanization. In the twentieth century, African Americans fled to the Prairies seeking a better life and during the era of decolonization, many Caribbean young people came to Canada in search of education, opportunity, and cross-border solidarity. From the 1950s and 1960s, McGill and Concordia (formerly Sir George Williams students) alums ignited a vibrant protest culture that Black students in Montreal inherit to this day. My grandfather was one of these students, and is the reason I chose to attend McGill—to complete what he and his circle started.
This century, when the police killed Black and Indigenous peoples—unlawfully imprisoned Montrealer Nicous D’Andre Spring, teenaged Eishia Hudson, Black-Ukrainian-Indigenous Torontonian Regis Korchinski Paquet, Black Bramptonian D’Andre Campbell, Tla-o-qui-aht woman Chantel Moore, Somali-Canadian Abdirahman Abdi, and Montrealer BonyJean-Pierre, and far too many others—we organized, gathered together, and demanded life. In 2020, my white-majority hometown’s Black community mobilized, and we said the unspeakable: No justice, no peace, abolish the police. Say their names again.
Black excellence is not a fitting theme for what this month should be for our community. Almost four years after the murder of George Floyd, the global reckoning against policing, imperialism, and white supremacy led simply to discursive shifts rather than material transformation. Our Prime Minister paused for 21 seconds. MPs and political hopefuls came to protests. Year by year, police budgets in Montreal and Toronto increased drastically. “Abolish” became “defund,” which became “reform,” which became “fund,” which became “expand.” Instead of hearing our calls, officials once again sought to reconfigure anti-Blackness into forms acceptable to our uneven citizenship. What did it mean in 2020 that we could no longer accept Canada’s racism, yet policies across healthcare, education, and justice still marginalize us?
I have spent my last four years at McGill working through this paradigm. This generation entered our undergraduate degrees knowing our namesake James McGill’s history of enslaving Black and Indigenous people—thanks to Professor Charmaine Nelson, who left McGill due to institutional racism, and her students, and the Black Students Network that circulated this history in popular media. Black students, staff, and faculty continue to speak out—in our ongoing revolt, the McGill we came to cannot be the same university that we will leave.
In an era of firsts, transformation and liberation can end this hyperfocus on the excellent individual. Beyond the federal government’s imposition, this month must be about recommitting ourselves to our ancestors’ radical imaginations for a free world. Refuse excellence. Dream otherwise, of an anticolonial future.
Coming back after a disappointing loss against third-in-the-standings Université de Montréal’s Carabins (13–9–2) on Feb. 9, the Martlets returned to the ice against the University of Ottawa’s Gee-Gees (7–12–5) on Feb. 11. The physical game was also the senior salute, which gave graduating students a thrill going into their final game against Carleton.
Before the game started, the graduating players were called to a red carpet in the middle of the ice to take photos with the Martlet hockey coaches and their parents. The rest of the Martlets lined up to the side, tapping their sticks and cheering when each senior’s name was called.
Both teams were evenly matched in possession in the first 10 minutes. 11 minutes into the opening period, the Martlets took advantage of a power play to open the scoring with a clinical finish by first-year defenceman Meganne Chailler to open the scoring for the afternoon. Whoops and cheers filled through McConnell Arena. A minute and a half later, defenceman Mia Giles put another one through the net, making it 2-0 for McGill.
The Gee-Gees fought back aggressively in response. Six minutes into the period, defenceman Reece Mepham accidentally knocked down a referee. A commotion ensued as the referee team called for Mepham to be taken off for physical abuse of an official, which the Gee-Gees coaches contested. Yet the 5-minute match penalty was awarded as Mepham was evicted from the match.
Just as the power play ended, Giles encircled the Gee-Gees net again, giving the Martlets a 3-0 advantage with only two seconds left on the clock.
In the second period, the Gee-Gees dominated and played cleanly, scoring early to make McGill work to hang onto their lead. Ottawa eventually broke through 11 minutes in, with forward Arianne Gagnon scoring to make it 3-2. Despite letting a goal in, McGill goaltender Jade Rivard-Coulombe remained a brick wall, saving the numerous shots hurtled toward the net.
The tension became palpable in the arena during the third period. Gee-Gees forward Béatrice Bilodeau scored within the first 30 seconds from close range. But the 3-2 win still seemed safe for the team. However, in the last 20 seconds, the Gee-Gees swarmed the McGill net again. Forward Katherine Birkby scored, tying the game 3-3.
As the game carried into overtime, the atmosphere was tense: The Martlets were pushing for their first home win of the season. But the deadlock would not last long. With 45 seconds left, Giles shot on the Gee-Gees from mid-range, swiftly landing it in the net and giving the Martlets a victory.
Head coach Alyssa Cecere spoke to //TheTribune/ about how the Martlets headed off Ottawa’s tenacity throughout the match.
“Ottawa’s an aggressive team and they don’t back off,” Cecere recounted. “We knew that was coming, but they gave us a good game and it was a good game overall.”
Going into their last game, senior forward Meg Harley highlighted the significance of Sunday’s win.
“We got one more left, so it’s bittersweet, but I mean for us to win our first home game tonight was really special,” Harley said. “We’re out of the playoffs now, but we still want to win and we still want to upset these teams. To disappoint [the Gee-Gees] was very exciting for us and hopefully we will carry that on to next week.”
The Martlets (4–18–1) will be facing off against Carleton University’s Ravens (7–15–1), who are currently second to last in the Réseaux du sport étudiant au Québec’s (RSEQ) standings.
Quotable
“It was just incredible. Our first period as a team was solid. I want to give kudos to the people who assisted the goals, because it wouldn’t have happened without them. But yeah, it was just really cool to put out a win today as a team [….] We stayed really disciplined and we were able to take the hits.”
– Defenceman Giles on the team’s victory in the tense match
Moment of the Game
The first 20 seconds of overtime were evenly matched, and then McGill took the puck. Chailler sprinted around the goal, drew in the Gee-Gee defenders, then passed it to Giles, who shot from mid-range, winning the game.
Stat corner
The match featured eight power plays. The Martlets scored on two out of their five, while the Gee-gees scored on two out of their three.
