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Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Nathan Fielder’s ‘The Curse’: A failed attempt at a satire on gentrification

by Lily Dodson on

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Though The Curse was enigmatic and uncomfortable, I really thought that I would enjoy Showtime and A24’s newest television show starring Nathan Fielder, Emma Stone, and Benny Safdie. I have a fondness for Fielder’s previous works, such as Nathan for You and The Rehearsal. I especially enjoy his awkward humour that often makes you want to crawl out of your own skin, especially in his various schemes involving real people. So, part of the appeal of The Curse would be seeing a more serious side to Fielder—I’ve never seen him in anything that attempts to explore serious themes, whatsoever. 

The show’s premise is not entirely clear and also incredibly hard to explain, even after watching all ten episodes. What I’ve gathered and have chosen to believe is this: The Curse focuses on Asher Siegal (Fielder) and Whitney Siegal (Stone), a couple who build eco-friendly homes in Espanola, New Mexico, with the goal of “improving” the lives of its mostly Indigenous community members. Most of the show focuses on their filming of a new HGTV-style show titled “Fliplanthropy,” though the title later changes to “Green Queen” because Whitney wants the show to focus more on her. The concept behind this fictional program is much clearer than that of the actual show: The Siegals are building environmentally-conscious, passive homes and are trying to find people to move into them. Basically, they’re actively gentrifying the community while trying to create the opposite impression. 

While the final results are not that strong, the one plotline that The Curse successfully pulls off is showing the surface-level impacts of gentrification and how far some are willing to go to achieve it. In episode five, the Siegals’ high-end clothing store experiences high rates of shoplifting. Instead of having the store call the police every time something is stolen, Whitney tells the store manager to charge her credit card, hoping to keep the neighbourhood’s crime rates artificially low in an attempt to entice future home-buyers to the community. Similarly, when trying to justify the gentrification, the Siegals hire a “Native American consultant” to work on their show to avoid their seeming too out of touch. 

Overall, the show misses the mark on almost all of the issues it tries to address. The other premise of the show, aside from the couple’s HGTV episode, is the curse that a little girl puts on Asher in the first episode. After pretending to give her money in the parking lot as a photo op for the show, the girl places a “curse” on him. Afterward, Asher becomes superstitious and paranoid. While the plot was most likely supposed to focus on the consequences of gentrification, it later evolves into Asher becoming the stereotypical white saviour of this family. However, like most plotlines on this show, it doesn’t explore either potential aspect of the plot to its fruition. Instead, it cuts the narrative in a way that leaves its viewers confused—especially in regard to whether the curse is real, or if it’s just a joke that the girl decided to pull. 

As the season progresses, the show attempts to explore more and more plotlines without tying them all together. While that can work in some cases, the result here is quite messy and disjointed. I expected better from Showtime, A24, and especially Fielder, in terms of both the comedic element and in terms of the quality of the storylines that they could’ve pulled off with a little more effort. If some of these extraneous storylines were scrapped, there could have been more room to explore the issues with gentrification. The show then could have been a fantastic satire condemning home-improvement networks over the concept of “flipping” homes in low-income communities with a slight supernatural twist.

Montreal, News

Trans health clinic strives to address gaps in mainstream health care

by Fabienne de Cartier on

More in Montreal:

Dozens gathered at the Concordia McConnell Building on Jan. 23 to support the launch of three specialized pop-up clinics that seek to address unmet needs in the public health care system. Delivered by Community Healing Days, a collective of alternative and traditional therapists, they will focus on providing trans, menstrual, reproductive, and perinatal health care.

The clinics will operate approximately once a month, offering low sliding scale rates to make their services more accessible to low-income patients. The clinics are funded by SHIFT Concordia’s Deep Investment Fund and will be run out of Studio 414 in downtown Montreal. The project includes a research component coordinated by McGill assistant professor Suparna Choudhury. This research aims to identify gaps in mainstream healthcare and the demographics most underserved. Organizers at Community Healing Days hope that their pilot project will serve as a model that can be replicated elsewhere in the city and beyond. 

The new trans health care clinic will support patients as they prepare for and heal from gender-related surgeries. This support is offered through workshops and bodywork provided by trans and allied practitioners.

At the launch event, organizers stressed the need for more accessible care, especially amid the current health care crisis in Quebec. Kota Rook, a coordinator for the new trans health clinic, emphasized the difficulties that marginalized communities face when accessing care. 

“We really particularly want to center people with very low income, and people who are racialized, Black, Indigenous, people of colour,” said Rook. “Because the more layers of things we’re experiencing in the world, the more barriers there are to health care.”

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) adopted a Gender Affirmation Care Plan last year, which expanded the Health and Dental Plan to cover more gender-affirming care procedures. However, Jacob Williams, a representative from McGill’s Trans Patient Union, highlights that the plan has some serious limitations. Currently, the plan requires students to obtain a gender dysphoria diagnosis before undergoing a procedure—despite the fact that this is not a legal requirement for receiving gender- affirming surgeries in Quebec. Furthermore, it does not cover certain procedures such as fertility preservation, nor the supplies needed for recovery after surgery. Additionally, the Plan’s maximum coverage is $5,000 for any one procedure with a lifetime maximum of $10,000. 

“It’s a drop in the bucket,” said Williams. “The coverage amount is so low [that] it’s only really useful for a very small amount of things.” 

Amina Kudrati-Plummer, SSMU’s VP Finance, told The Tribune that although they do not yet have any statistics on the success of the Gender Affirmation Care Plan, they are aware of students’ concerns and are hoping to increase coverage in the future. 

“At SSMU, we are working towards expanding the overall coverage to meet the needs of the students more comprehensively,” said Kudrati-Plummer said.

Some members of the McGill community hope that projects like Community Healing Days’ new clinics can help address the unmet health care needs of students. Choudhury said that there is a disparity between the health care that is needed and what is available. 

“These kinds of modalities have lots to offer and are sorely missing from what’s freely available [and] accessible to students,” Choudhury stated. 

Others, including Keith Bellec-Warrick, finance coordinator of Union for Gender Empowerment at McGill, maintain that larger-scale change is needed to address the health care needs of trans people. 

“It’s a question of a large-scale funding and organizational failure,” Bellec-Warrick said in an interview with The Tribune. “We welcome more changes in the future, but they’re not a favour, they’re not a gift. They are some attempt at addressing long- standing failures,”

Williams echoed Bellec-Warrick’s sentiment on welcoming change while emphasizing the need for wider structural changes to health care. 

“I’m very grateful that projects like these exist [but] this shouldn’t be their job,” Williams said. “And it saddens me that like, basically, community organizers have to be the ones to step in to provide health care when [public] clinics can’t afford to.”

In the Jan. 30 print issue, The Tribune republished the piece “Dozens protest against CAQ’s anti-trans policies” under the title “Trans health clinic strives to address gaps in mainstream health care.” The Tribune apologizes for this layout oversight, to our contributors, and to the members of the queer and trans community who organized these separate events and gave us their time and words in interviews. 

In next week’s issue, the intended article will be reprinted with this correction. We appreciate the opportunity to cover these events, and promise not to make this same mistake again.

McGill, Montreal, News

Discovery of asbestos in Arts building disrupts ‘Legally Blonde’ production, worries students who frequent the space

by Lily Cason on

More in McGill:

On Sunday, Jan. 21, students in the Department of English received an email from their chair, Professor Erin Hurley, who shared a Jan. 19 announcement from Facilities Management and Ancillary Services (FMAS). The announcement explained that plaster debris found at the back of the stage in Moyse Hall had tested positive for asbestos, a carcinogenic material used in construction between 1930 and 1990. The message specified that several spaces in the McCall MacBain Arts Building—including the stage (room 165A), room 165, room 165C, room 100, and part of the basement—are off limits as testing continues and FMAS does “remediation work.” This announcement comes after McGill closed three buildings at the Macdonald Campus early last year due to the discovery of asbestos, prompting McGill’s Internal Audit unit to look into the handling of the situation. The investigation culminated in a report, 25 recommendations, and the creation of a task force. 

Unlike last year’s asbestos-related closures, no university-wide message has been sent about the Moyse Hall closure. According to McGill Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle, “Communications may be expanded to the wider community depending on the information gathered through the assessments currently underway.  ” As of Jan. 29, the webpage for Moyse Hall contained a notice that the theatre and nearby rooms were temporarily closed, but did not state a reason. 

Asbestos is a health risk when the lightweight fibres become airborne, which often happens during demolition and construction projects, or when there is damage to a building. If materials containing asbestos are left undisturbed or sealed, they are not thought to be a health risk. Air samples were taken in the Arts Building on Jan. 19; according to Mazerolle, the results “indicate that air in Moyse Hall is within the regulatory thresholds set by the Government of Quebec and as well as our more stringent McGill thresholds.” Quebec’s cut-off for office and classroom settings to be considered safe is 0.1 asbestos fibres per cubic centimetre, and McGill’s is 0.01.

Sarah Pattloch, U3 Arts and the lighting designer for the Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society’s (AUTS) Legally Blonde production—which was slated to take place in Moyse Hall before the asbestos was discovered—found out about the closure of Moyse Hall days before an official email went out.

“We were in the theatre in Moyse for the first day of tech on Jan. 15th, on the Monday, and then the theatre was closed and we weren’t allowed in on the 16th and on the 17th,” Pattloch said. “We had a group Zoom meeting for cast and crew on the 17th, where we found out why we weren’t allowed in. Our production manager and director and maybe a couple of people had been having meetings with Erin Hurley […]  and stuff, where they found out this information, on Wednesday the 17th.”

The Legally Blonde production ultimately had to change venues last minute, as the show started on Jan. 26, proving stressful for those involved. 

“We had to really tone down what we were doing for set, for sound, for lighting, for all of the technical aspects, because at that point we’d already lost a week of tech, so we didn’t really have time to add all that we wanted to if we would have been in Moyse,” Pattloch said. “And also the new venue doesn’t really allow for the same level of production that we were going to be doing.”

According to Kimberly Hönig, U4 Arts, AUTS President, and Production Manager of Legally Blonde, the production was also forced to abandon their live band, as it did not work in the new space. She also pointed out that the closure of Moyse Hall has resulted in an immense financial burden for AUTS. Materials, such as musical instruments which they rented, are now locked inside Moyse Hall.

Hönig shared that many members of the Legally Blonde team are uneasy in light of the news that they were exposed to asbestos. She believes that McGill has not done enough to keep students informed or alleviate concerns. 

“In terms of the health repercussions of the asbestos exposure, I mean, a lot of us on the team have been in and around Moyse Hall for a few years, since we’ve been at McGill, so that’s definitely a concern,” Hönig said. “Especially because we don’t really have any information coming from McGill, about what the health repercussions are [….] We were in that space and moving around that space for an entire day before we knew anything.”

Hönig pointed out that there has been little to no communication from university administrators over the issue, but instead, the English dDepartment and Moyse Hall technicians played a key role in relaying information.

“I want to stress that the communication that I’ve received about the closure of Moyse Hall and the asbestos and the warnings and all of that has not come from McGill specifically, or the health and safety team,” Hönig added. “I have been getting that information, and all my communication, through Professor Erin Hurley, the chair of the English dDepartment, and the technicians at Moyse Hall [….] The only message that we’ve gotten from McGill or from the health and services team is that official message that kind of went out to all the English undergraduate students.”

Pattloch, similarly, feels the university has not been maintaining an open dialogue with students.

“I haven’t been in contact with anyone directly from the department. I saw that they sent out like one email, at least a few days after we found out the news, so […] the email didn’t tell us anything else,” Pattloch said. “All the other information that I’ve been getting—about what’s closing, what they’re trying to do, if they’re trying to open at any point—has kind of come from different people that I know in classes, or in other departments, or with some other kinds of connections.”

The Tribune reached out to Hurley, who stated that McGill’s communications team was fielding all questions about the situation. 

In response to a question about how the university plans to address students’ and staff members’ concerns and anxiety about potentially being exposed to asbestos, Mazerolle stressed that the risk is low.

“Government health authorities state that ‘health problems associated with asbestos are in the general population’; they are more common in people who work in areas where there is high exposure for a prolonged amount of time, such as in an asbestos mine and factories that manufacture parts containing asbestos,” Mazerolle wrote. “However, people with concerns may wish to consult a health care professional.”

Although Mazerolle claims that “Students and staff associated with the Department of English received an email about the situation on Jan. 19, as well as a more recent update [on Jan. 25] that included the fact [that] air tests undertaken in Moyse Hall were within regulatory thresholds,” students in the English department have told The Tribune that they were only formally notified of the asbestos on Jan. 21, and did not recieve a follow-up with results of the air quality tests.

According to Mazerolle, there is not yet a set date for when Moyse Hall will be deemed safe and reopened.

McGill, News

McGill reduces students’ OneDrive storage from 1 TB to 20 GB

by Eliza Lee on

More in McGill:

On Jan. 15, McGill announced it would reduce the amount of Microsoft OneDrive cloud file storage space for each student from one terabyte (TB) of general storage—or 1,000 gigabytes (GB)—to 20 GB of general storage and 20 GB of Outlook email storage. The storage limit will come into effect on May 31, at which point students with over 20 GB of files or Outlook storage will be unable to store new files or send and receive emails, respectively, until their storage is reduced. The new limit will apply only to personal storage and will not affect collaborative storage spaces such as Sharepoint sites. 

In their announcement of the reduction, McGill claimed that Microsoft changed storage limits in their licensing structure due to cybersecurity risks that come with storing large amounts of unused data in forgotten files. The university also stated that Microsoft implemented the changes to curb environmental concerns associated with the electricity usage of maintaining unnecessary files. 

Steven Ding, assistant professor in McGill’s School of Information Studies, explained in an email to The Tribune that limiting “per-user space allowance” is a common industrial practice to prevent against cybersecurity threats.

“The provision of excessive storage space to users often creates a deceptive sense of security—leading to user neglect in properly inspecting, organizing, backing up, and managing the stored files, with a reliance instead on syncing everything quietly through the cloud,” Ding wrote. “Particularly for universities, which are common targets for cyber attacks, this unmonitored large storage capacity significantly expands their vulnerability.”

In an email to The Tribune, McGill Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle explained that McGill chose to reduce OneDrive storage due to changes in Microsoft’s licensing structure, which limited the available storage at each licensing level. She explained that if the university had kept the same amount of storage, costs would have significantly increased, having a “financial impact” on the university.

Connor O’Keefe, U1 Science, is among the students with over 20 GB of files in OneDrive general storage. O’Keefe uses OneDrive to store lecture recordings as well as data for a McGill research group he is part of, and he questioned the financial motivation behind McGill’s decision.

“I think that citing environmental reasons and stuff doesn’t make a lot of sense. I mean, sure, but […] it’s clearly some measure to cut costs,” O’Keefe said in an interview with The Tribune. “[McGill] says it’s some change that OneDrive is using for their plan. But I have friends in other schools, and it doesn’t seem to be mirrored.”

In an interview with The Tribune, Inan Upadhyay, a second year master’s student in electrical engineering, explained that using OneDrive grants him greater flexibility because it allows him to access files across different devices, including the desktop computer that McGill issued him for research. He expressed disappointment with McGill’s decision and called the storage reduction “impractical.”

“Since I work in a lab environment, I store a lot of manuals, a lot of instructions,” Upadhyay said. “I’m pretty surprised to learn McGill is making this decision. Twenty GB of files is really nothing, as many software take that much amount of storage [to run].”

Mazerolle claimed that McGill’s decision reflects the administration’s research on OneDrive usage in the student population, that found that a 20 GB limit was adequate for 90 per cent of students. Mazerolle also wrote that McGill will provide additional storage for those who require it for academic activities by submitting a form, which will be available on the IT Support site. 

“We acknowledge that some students will require more storage to accomplish their academic tasks, for example, those conducting academic research,” Mazerolle wrote. “Exceptions can be requested and will be considered/evaluated for students who justify the need for additional storage.”

For Oliver Fernie, a second-year master’s student in engineering, while the storage reduction may not impact a large percentage of students, it is still another financial burden.
“Cloud storage doesn’t cost much so it’s not […] a massive hit for students to replace it but it’s still annoying to have the convenience taken away for those who get good use out of it,” Fernie wrote to The Tribune. “We pay enough in tuition already and McGill certainly isn’t skint.”

Commentary, Opinion

Blanchet’s tale of “two Quebecs” embodies the Bloc Québécois’s hypocrisy

by Charlotte Theofanous on

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Montreal is a city characterized by its liveliness and natural beauty. The numerous events that take place on the island, such as the Nuits d’Afrique and Jazz Fest music festivals highlight the city’s diversity and boast its reputation as a tourist hotspot. Most enticing, however, is that Montreal is composed of a mixture of people from various backgrounds. But despite increasingly inflammatory rhetoric from the Bloc Québécois and attempts to distance the province from Montreal’s diversity and to characterize Quebec as monocultural––there is not one type of Quebecois identity. 

Yves-François Blanchet, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, worries that Montreal is becoming disconnected from the rest of Quebec. He even goes as far as to claim that there are “two Quebecs,” where Montreal is an undesirable multilingual city, and the rest of Quebec is its “generous host society.” This rhetoric attacks not only English speakers, but speakers of the hundreds of other languages found on the island. From Inuktitut to Tagalog to Tamil, Montreal hosts a vast array of written and spoken languages. This multiplicity makes the city so appealing to both tourists and immigrants. 

Blanchet believes that the history, language, values, and culture of Quebec are becoming marginalized––a severely misguided view. Though Montreal is part of Quebec, it does not represent Quebec as a whole—nor should it. Most non-French speakers are concentrated within Montreal, while the rest of the province remains predominantly French-speaking. As for Blanchet’s concerns about the loss of Quebec’s culture, a question arises: Who defines Quebec’s culture? 

Blanchet makes a shockingly contradictory statement when he insists that Quebec should be “one culture […] with all its diversity.” How would it be possible for the province to consist of one culture and simultaneously be diverse? Quebec’s culture should not be a single entity, but rather a compilation of all the cultures that are present within it. Newcomers would stand more comfortably and proudly within their Quebecois identity if it honoured who they are. 

Blanchet further stated that there are two Montreals divided between the East and the West of the island. Linguistic and cultural variation is undeniable among the inhabitants of Montreal, and an incredibly enriching aspect of the city. Blanchet’s assertion is yet another attempt to pit Montrealers against each other. This irony comes from Blanchet being disturbed by a perceived separation between two parts of Montreal and between Montreal and the rest of Quebec, yet he is content with the notion of Quebec being separate from the rest of Canada. 

In Blanchet’s mind, it is catastrophic for Montreal to be distinct from the rest of the province, but it is perfectly acceptable for Quebec to be distinct from Canada. The separatist movement in Quebec often has exclusionary undertones. This way of advocating for a culture composed of similar people with similar ideologies ultimately scares away those who choose not to assimilate. Blanchet continues to fabricate this narrative as a means to perpetuate his ulterior motive: Conformity to a poorly defined “Quebecois culture” and the erasure of cultural diversity on the island of Montreal—and in the province of Quebec in its entirety.

Promoting multilingualism will allow Montreal’s vibrancy to carry on and will strengthen acceptance within the city. We cannot allow political leaders to interfere with this goal and we, as Montrealers, must continue to promote and fight for not only diversity but also inclusion in a society where political discourse fosters a culture of exclusion and separation. It is our responsibility to push back against the cultural and linguistic hierarchy that our leaders establish and to bring forth a new model where all individuals with their respective languages and cultures are recognized and valued as Quebecers in their own right.

Out on the Town, Student Life

Looking for an icy escape? Take to the rink!

by Dante Ventulieri on

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Montreal winters, for all their downsides, do make the city a great place for skating. It may be negative 10 and cloudy, but that shouldn’t stop you from heading outside. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, there are plenty of options throughout the city that’ll offer you a great break from studying.

If skating in Old Port is your desired vibe, The Tribune recently created the perfect winter itinerary for spending a day in the historic district, including some time on the ice. For the rest of the city, keep reading for a list of skating rinks near campus.

McGill Lower Field Skating Rink

Distance from campus: Zero-minute walk 

Cost: Free entry, no skate rentals available

If you’re hoping to fit in a quick skate on the way to your 8:30 a.m. class, look no further than the lower field skating rink. Conveniently located on the west field, this not-so-hidden gem offers beautiful views of downtown and campus. As an added bonus, using McGill’s services always makes the cost of tuition (at least the pre-Legault rates) feel more worthwhile.

McGill McConnell Arena

Distance from campus: Five-minute walk

Cost: $3 for members, $5 for non-members, no skate rental available 

If you’re craving a nice warm-up before you get on the ice, an uphill walk on University Street is sure to scratch that itch. Skating at the arena requires booking your slot in advance through their website, which might ruin your dream of spontaneously skating when your heart desires. But at least it guarantees a nice amount of open space.

Beaver Lake

Distance from campus: 30-minute walk, 30-minute bus ride

Cost: Free entry, skate rentals available for $12.75

If the thought of walking to the McConnell Arena wasn’t too enticing, walking up to Beaver Lake probably isn’t your vibe. Luckily, the 11, 165, 166, and 465 bus lines can take you there. Though the real Beaver Lake has been closed for years due to concerns about ice quality, the adjacent refrigerated rink is a beautiful substitute, with its lights and music providing a great ambiance. But, be careful, it can get quite busy on weekends.

Esplanade Tranquille

Distance from campus: 15-minute walk, five-minute metro ride

Cost: Free entry, rentals available for $13.05

The newest entrant to the list sits at the heart of Quartier-des-Spectacles, with a lovely panoramic view of the area. This refrigerated rink is sometimes a victim of its own success as long lines can form on the weekends, especially for rentals. When your legs get tired, head inside to the lounge, sit by the fireplace, and take out a book or borrow a board game.

Atrium 1000

Distance from campus: 15-minute walk

Cost: $10 entry, rentals available for $9

Located on the main floor of one of Quebec’s tallest buildings, this indoor rink offers an option for those days when spending time outside isn’t too appealing. The large skylight means you don’t feel too removed from the outdoors though, making it ideal for those who get caught off-guard by walking outside to the early sunsets of Montreal winters.

Montreal’s outdoor rinks

Distance from campus: Varies

Cost: Free entry, rentals available at some rinks

As a city home to a long winter, Montreal has an established network of outdoor rinks across the island, including Jeanne-Mance Park and Cabot Square. Most rinks are not refrigerated, making them very dependent on the weather conditions. Luckily, Montreal’s city portal does track the quality of ice rinks so you can better prepare. The portal is only available in French so remember, “anneau” refers to ice rings and “avec bandes” refers to rinks with boards, which are typically good for playing hockey. 

Off the Board, Opinion

Meryl Streep a god, Roger Ebert her faithful follower

by Arian Kamel on

More in Off the Board:

There are a few moments in every person’s life that define who they become, the legacy that they leave behind. For me, this moment came when I stumbled upon a line with such RAW power that even recalling it makes me shake in my metaphorical boots.

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Tuesday… oh actually, maybe a Thursday. The air was so humid, the sky so empty, the night so sticky I could drown. I just knew that me and the boys (Scooter and Tugboat) were gonna tear through the town.

Right before heading out, my bag full of White Claws and Fireball, I decided to scroll through a random Roger Ebert film review covering the Taiwanese film Three Times. Slowly, I reached a line—the line: “Meryl Streep once said that every good actor knows that the statement ‘I love you’ is a question.”

Now, to my incredibly well-developed and finely polished mind, this sounded pretty deep. So I decided to insert it into every conversation I could. A friend of mine is having romantic troubles: “Well, you know that ‘I love you’ is more of a question than a statement.” Accidently bumping into a stranger at a park: “Hey, watch it! Wait actually, hold on a second, friend! No, come back! Did you know that the statement ‘I love you’ is actually a question?” The barista gets my order wrong: “Every good actor knows that the statement ‘I love you’ is a question,” I chuckle to myself and nod my head vigorously. She does not respond. 

Slowly but surely, this very quote began to change my life. Gone were the days when I would stare into crowds during my childhood piano recitals, scouring for my parent’s smiles of approval. I was now a wise man—an entity. 

I had a new outlook on life. I would run for Student Treasurer and attempt to live my dream, to fund a fully student-run, student-acted remake of the 2008 Liam Neeson action classic Taken, all while dedicating it to my newfound hero: Meryl Streep. 

I was already setting my ambitions into motion … until I found out the truth. There is no source for this quote outside of Roger Ebert’s article. Was my life a lie?

Now, I’m not saying Roger Ebert misquoted Meryl Streep. After all, I’ve been taking his opinions as my own ever since my passion for film criticism began many years ago, in one of those weird children’s stables you can find in an IKEA.

Still, how could I confirm those precious words were real? What does “real” even mean? Am I real? 

I tried calling and emailing Meryl Streep, but she never responded. I began to doubt the validity of the contact info I found online. I was spiralling. 

It was in those moments, at my very lowest, that I thought back to the quote—“Every good actor knows that the statement ‘I love you’ is a question”—and it gave me the strength that I needed to continue. I realized it doesn’t matter where the line originates; the words themselves contain profound meaning. And as long as they made me sound smart in my Anthropology seminar, everything was gonna be okay.

Science & Technology

Cracking into the mysteries of avian eggshells

by Ella Paulin on

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Bird eggs, with their delicate embryos encased in protective shells, have been fine-tuned by millions of years of evolution. In a fertilized egg, each component is optimized to help the chicken embryo grow, protect it from bacterial invasion and predators, and ultimately allow it to break out of the shell and enter the world as a young chick. While the yolk and the egg white are often the stars of this show, especially for lovers of a sunny-side-up fried egg, the thin membrane just inside the eggshell plays an equally important role. It fulfills the dual purpose of providing an additional layer of protection against bacterial invasion and acting as an intermediary between the egg white and the shell.

Marc McKee, professor in the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Science and the Faculty of Medicine, recently co-authored a paper with his doctoral student Daniel Buss and Natalie Reznikov, professor in the Department of Bioengineering, zooming in on this membrane, and specifically examining how the wet, organic fibres that make it up attach to the mineral in the eggshell.

“I work in the mineralized tissue field, also known as biomineralization, ” McKee explained in an interview with The Tribune. “It’s a joy for me to work in a field that lies at the intersection of biology, geology, and mineralogy.”

This attachment is intriguing because it binds together a hard inorganic material—the calcium-containing mineral of the shell—and a soft organic material—the fibrous network of the membrane.

Additionally, the bond between them is robust, making it a potentially valuable model for bioengineers looking to adhere other organic fibrous materials to minerals. McKee’s lab set out to investigate how the two materials attach to one another.

“Why is it that when you crack open an egg, you have to peel that membrane off the shell?” McKee said. “And if you look with high-powered electron microscopes, even if you peel it off, and you look at the shell, some fragments of the membranes are still attached.”

The team used X-ray and electron tomography, which involve capturing hundreds to thousands of images that can then be assembled into an incredibly detailed 3D model. Armed with these high-resolution images of the eggshells, they could dive into the detailed structure of the membrane-shell attachment.

First, they confirmed what scientists had already discovered: At the scale of micrometres, some fibres of the membrane actually penetrate the inner portion of the shell. However, using 3D electron microscopy, they could go a step further, zooming in to nanoscale resolution.

“When we delved very deep at the nanoscale into a single fibre using cryo-preservation techniques,” McKee explained, “we discovered that mineral ‘nanospikes’ entered the fibres themselves.”

This ‘nanospiking’ technique is critical because it adds another level of integration, which McKee explained is especially important when you have soft, wet membrane fibres trying to integrate into a hard mineral shell.

“We realized that it’s one thing to incorporate a fibre, but this fibre could still slide in and out of the rock, right? It’s wet, it’s soft, and it’s likely slippery. Within hard eggshell mineral, that attachment ‘rope’ could easily pull out. That’s not a very good attachment, and that would be disastrous for the egg,” McKee said. “We figured out that this nanospiking anchors these wet protein fibres so they can’t move in and out.” 

This remarkable mechanism, in which membrane fibres link into mineral at the microscale, and in turn, mineral penetrates into the fibres at the nanoscale, allows for a robust, secure attachment between the two different materials.

While this research is specific to the egg, there are other points of organic-inorganic contact in our bodies, such as where ligaments attach to bones. This discovery presents new insights about the eggshell membrane of bird eggs, and points the way toward further work aimed at understanding what happens when minerals meet organic material.

Student Life

You Reddit here first: January winter wonderances

by Suzanna Graham, Chloé Kichenane on

More in Student Life:

We’ve scrolled through the r/mcgill subreddit for you, McGillians, and here are the notable submissions. So sit back, relax, and guffaw at the silly (and occasionally sweet) text people post on our own little corner of the internet. 

where do ppl put their coats before class – u/Certain_Clothes_2480

It’s true—first-timers can get intimidated by both the frigid winter weather outside and the extreme heat in their classroom. There are a few solutions: 1. Put your coat on the back of your chair and pray to the gods of slush that your sleeves don’t drag in the brown puddle forming underneath your Doc Martens. 2. Don’t bring a coat. Frostbite is a social construct. You should be like those gym bros who wear shorts year-round. Show Montreal winter who’s boss! 3. As user AngelicDevil4444 rightly suggested, eat your coat—it’s always good to bring a snack. 

Ideas for a roast – u/Elkatar

Hello, Sherbrooke student (or should I say, bonjour). McGill is a perfect university with no lack of fine arts, no asbestos, and absolutely no settler-colonial history. Personally, I love existing permanently in the McGill bubble, never having to speak français (and therefore, never improving), and swiping left whenever I see a Concordia student on Hinge. McGill is a place of shiny happy students who would hug the school’s administration if they got the chance. So I’m sorry to say, Sherbrooke étudiant, but there’s nothing here to roast. 

Hustler GF needed – u/XRobJuliannepierX

I’m a little concerned with the parameters of your request, Plateau man. Does “single non-toxic hustler” mean something to you? I fear you are wooing the idea of a woman, rather than a real one. Relationships are a partnership, and you should be aiming to adapt to her schedule as well. Maybe if you lower your expectations you’ll find someone who will surprise you. 

Travel suggestion for a fellow McGillian – northern lights – u/guywiththemonocle

With Valentine’s Day coming up soon, all of the happy couples are panicking as they try to find the perfect date idea and show their Instagram followers that they are happier than all of the other happy couples (that’s what I assume happy couples do in their free time). If you’re one of them, pack your things and be ready to gatekeep: I’m taking you to the best spot to see the northern lights. It’s cheap, convenient, and of course, magical. Choose a snowy night and take a stroll to Jeanne-Mance, lie down and observe the shimmering green aura emanating from the Complexe Desjardins office building downtown. Isn’t it beautiful?

How are people so inconsiderate???? – u/Kuranyeet

Between those asking this desperate user to stop whining and confront loud students on the library’s quiet floor, and those whining along, this thread offers no real solution. Here are my favourite techniques for coping with students who think that the Schulich third floor is a group therapy space where they can go on a rant about their situationship. 1. Leave. I personally spend most of my time at the library looking for an excuse to leave so this would be perfect. 2. Stare. Don’t be shy, sometimes you just have to throw a little serial killer stare in there. 3. Mouth something mean in French. There’s a 70 per cent chance that these students come from the great City of Light. While all their talking might be great for the preservation of the French language in the province, we would also like to preserve the silence on this floor.

Good landlords? – u/starryspirits

Hey sorry, has anyone seen my tenant rights? No? Oh, okay… so sorry I bothered you. Yes, I’ll check the lost and found, and I’ll look for a good landlord in there as well. On a more serious note, there’s a good reason why there are absolutely no responses to this thread at the time of writing. 

Science & Technology

SciTech Reviews: ‘Emperor of All Maladies’

by Atticus O’Rourke Rusin on

More in Science & Technology:

Although the risk of cancer-related death is declining in Canada, cancer remains the leading cause of death in this country. Given this reality, scientists have dramatically ramped up their research in the past several decades. However, cancer is not a new disease—humanity has made note of its presence for millennia, with the first recorded example tracing back to a scroll dating from 2500 B.C.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of all Maladies, traces the history of cancer research, from the idea that cancer was a “suppuration of blood” to the modern debate over the causal relation between cigarettes and cancer. 

Cancer, although united under one name, is in fact many diseases, all involving an uncontrollable growth of cells often as a result of genetic mutations. As an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and an oncologist, Mukherjee’s recounting of humanity’s ongoing battle with these diseases provides a view of societies throughout history and their approaches to cancer treatment. 

Inhotep, an Ancient Egyptian physician, described cancer as “a case of bulging masses,” which, according to the physician, had no known treatment. Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian known for his Histories, described the treatment of Atossa, who underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Moving centuries into the future, Mukherjee highlights the bleeding techniques of the Roman doctor Galen. Mukherjee notes, however, the rarity of cancer stories from early history. With life expectancy remaining low enough to hide much of the dramatic effects of cancer on human populations, cancer would not become a priority of scientific research until the 20th century. 

Interspersed with these historical details is Mukherjee’s own experiences as a doctor treating cancer patients. These stories help to ground an otherwise grandiose narrative spanning centuries in the present and provide a more personal insight into the struggles of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Not every story involves recovery, and the book often unflinchingly describes patients experiencing terminal illnesses. The contrasting of those who recover with those who do not give the reader a sense, however small, of the hope and gravity constantly felt by cancer patients and their relatives and friends. Mukherjee’s powerful sense of empathy and humanity makes a book spanning a millennium feel personal. 

Rather than embracing an overly optimistic message, Murkhejee’s writing is nuanced and detailed. While highlighting the hopefulness of improving cancer treatment, he also underlines the many hurdles cancer research has faced. He carefully addresses the enduring inequities of medical treatment, the huge egos of politicians and doctors, and the lingering questions.

The frustrating prevalence of medically-unnecessary mastectomies is only one example. Megadose chemotherapy—massive doses of cytotoxic chemicals to kill cancer cells and then transplants to bring patients back from the brink of death—was touted as a revolution in cancer treatment, up until it was proven that its use had negligible impact on cancer survival. Its foremost proponent, Werner Bezwoda, was also shown to have falsified data to justify its use and to save his reputation. 

Mukherjee’s title, Emperor of All Maladies, personifies an illness. Cancer’s presence as mutations inside DNA itself, corrupting the very essence of what makes a human a human, earns this description. Although the book was published over a decade ago, its message is more important than ever before. Feelings of hopelessness and apathy have increased in the past few years, especially during the pandemic, which exposed many shortcomings of the Canadian healthcare system. Cancer, much like climate change, inequality, and political division, can become part of the white noise of living in a modern, capitalist state. Books like this, which educate and inspire through the lens of personal experience, are necessary to combat this abstraction of despair. 

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