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McGill Senate confronts the rise of AI and undergraduate enrolment pressures

by Jenna Durante, Features Editor on

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On Feb. 11, the McGill Senate convened for its sixth meeting of the academic year. The senators discussed the Accountability and Implementation of the Policy of Assessment of Student Learning, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a broad university context, the proposed strategic plan on undergraduate enrolment and engagement, and the annual report on the Charter of Students’ Rights and Student Life and Learning. 

The meeting commenced with three memorial tributes to late Associate Professor David Shannon of the Faculty of Medicine, Associate Professor Richard Hovey of the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Science, and Professor Rachelle Keyserlingk of the Faculty of Education. 

McGill’s President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini went on to share brief updates regarding international partnerships and university accomplishments. He noted that the Quebec National Assembly has resumed session, drawing attention to Bill 1, which aims to strengthen parliamentary sovereignty and could constrain certain legal challenges to provincial laws. He emphasized that academic freedom at the university level must remain protected. Saini also referenced Bill 9, which concerns secularism, expressing concern about its implications for teaching and campus life. He stressed that any legislative changes must preserve student autonomy and agency.

Turning to international initiatives, Saini highlighted McGill’s expanding global ties. During the 2026 World Governments Summit in Dubai, McGill signed a memorandum of understanding with the Khalifa Foundation to establish the United Arab Emirates-Indonesia Future Major Leaders program, with a donation from the foundation amounting to $17.5 million CAD. The initiative is built on more than 50 years of McGill’s collaboration with Indonesian education sectors and will focus on giving meaningful benefits to Indonesian students, educators, and institutions, while simultaneously providing support in areas of sustainability, engineering, and health care. 

Saini concluded by celebrating McGill’s recent accomplishments. The university ranked in the global top three in 10 of 11 subject areas in the latest Times Higher Education subject rankings, with particularly strong performances in medical and health sciences, law, psychology, social sciences, and arts and humanities. Saini thanked the university community for their contributions to this achievement. He also wished luck to McGill athletes, coaches, and staff participating in the ongoing Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics. 

The Senate moved to discuss the Accountability and Implementation of the Policy of Assessment of Student Learning, with senators reflecting on its rollout and areas for improvement. The policy is intended to provide a framework for assessment practices at McGill, aiming to advance student learning and well-being, support course instructors, and promote equity. 

Senator Meghan Lai opened the discussion by expressing gratitude for the work completed thus far. She then posed questions about next steps for resource engagement and stakeholder consultation. 

In response, Senator Jérôme Fortier pointed to the early successes of the policy’s implementation.

“I think the success of the implementation was the willingness and openness to look at assessments a little bit differently,” Fortier said. “Through that principle-based approach […] there were many practices done very well over the years, but the policy actually didn’t reflect the pedagogical value of some of those practices.” 

He further acknowledged ongoing challenges, particularly in developing effective rubrics and area-specific assessment frameworks. 

“I think the biggest [challenge] was this question of rubrics, or how to support instructors in providing clear expectations for every assessment,” Fortier explained. “That’s not the practice of many parts of the university, and for some disciplines, it actually can be quite challenging to create a rubric that would really reflect the right way to assess on a certain task.” 

Fortier concluded by highlighting the value of individual consultation and faculty drop-in sessions. He emphasized their focus on supporting instructors in developing courses using various pedagogical practices, and warned of potential difficulties in monitoring the policy going forward. 

“It’s difficult to encourage change months or even a year ahead of when a course is delivered. So, in many cases, in an ideal world, all [learning] policies, when they’re adopted, they’re implemented right away. This was unique in having this long window of implementation, but it is difficult to plan that far ahead in many cases.”

Next, the Senate turned to an open discussion on the use of AI at McGill. 

Framing the conversation, Associate Professor Christopher Buddle of the Department of Natural Resource Sciences emphasized that while he is not an expert in AI, the unprecedented speed of advancement in generative AI is a cause for concern. He described generative AI as a tool capable of producing text, code, and other outputs in response to prompts, noting that debates surrounding AI sit within a broader academic, governmental, and ethical ecosystem. 

“Artificial Intelligence is not new to universities. AI [has] been used for decades, but what’s new is its visibility, accessibility, and the speed of the tools,” Buddle stated. 

Senators then broke into 10 discussion groups before reconvening to share key points. 

Across groups, senators identified potential academic benefits of AI, including its ability to aid research, support students with learning differences, assist with coding and industry workflows, and help students develop skills in evaluating AI-generated outputs. Several noted that familiarity with generative AI will likely soon be expected in many professions.

Concerns about academic integrity and authorship were also prominent. Senators raised questions about how to assess originality, how to recognize AI-assisted work, and how grading practices may need to adapt. Some emphasized transparency and traceability as guiding principles, while others suggested developing a values-driven policy rather than rigid rules, given the rapidly evolving nature of the technology. Senators also raised environmental concerns, noting the high energy and water demands associated with AI systems.

“AI can support tutoring, drafting notes for studying, language support, accessibility, inclusion, research acceleration, and administrative efficiency,” Buddle stated. “Some of the challenges [concern] academic integrity. Who is the author? It’s the classic kind of question that could be important in high ed[ucation]. It’s been an important question for a long time, but again, that question has been accelerated.” 

Several groups stressed the importance of faculty training and institutional clarity, such as creating an endorsed list of AI tools, integrating guidance into course syllabi, and providing education on safe and responsible AI use. Others emphasized that norms will emerge through practice and that flexibility will be necessary.

The discussion concluded with broad agreement that AI will shape the future of teaching and learning at McGill, though senators differed on what university policy will consist of and how it will be implemented. 

The Senate then turned to discuss the proposed 2026-2030 Strategic Plan for Undergraduate Student Enrolment, led by Senator Angela Campbell. 

The plan outlines four major priorities for guiding the university’s requirement mission: Transform, expand globally, anchor locally, and unite. The aim is to move beyond admissions numbers to consider access, engagement, and long-term student outcomes. Campbell emphasized coordinated efforts between central admissions and faculties, aiming to create an ‘end-to-end’—from recruitment to graduation—student experience while carefully shaping the composition of the student body. 

“It’s not just the number of students that we’re thinking about when we recruit and admit students, but we’re thinking about the composition of our student demography, where we’re recruiting from, and how we are admitting our students,” Campbell said. 

But enrollment is also tied to budgeting. Engineering and Commerce have seen significant growth, yet course capacity is strained. Senator Jan Kopyscinski warned that Engineering admissions may be too high, citing limited lab space. Senator Chloé Muñoz described overcrowded lecture halls, with students sitting on floors, and raised concerns about housing shortages and retention. Campbell acknowledged that other departments face similar pressures, especially during the add-drop period.

Timing also matters. If admissions offers go out too late—as Senator Elham Emami noted—McGill risks losing students to faster-moving universities. Ultimately, Campbell stressed that the goal is to “get the target right” by encouraging redistribution, relieving pressure on oversubscribed programs, and planning growth sustainably.

Lastly, the Senate briefly reviewed the Annual Report of the Advisory Council on the Charter of Students’ Rights, presented by Associate Professor and Interim Dean of the Faculty of Law Tina Piper for information, before moving to the Annual Report on Student Life and Learning. 

Professor Anthony Mittermaier, who assumed the role of Interim Deputy Provost (Student Life & Learning) just last week, highlighted key achievements from 2024-2025, including the expanded use of preferred names and pronouns, an orientation welcoming over 7000 students, upgraded digital systems, and the administration of a revised Student Code of Conduct. The Student Wellness Hub also served more than 5,000 students, with expanded support for Jewish, Muslim, 2SLGBTQIA+, Black, and Indigenous students.

Moment of the Meeting:

Saini remarked that the flag would be lowered for the lives lost in a recent mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, and shared his condolences in response to the senseless act of violence.  

Soundbite: 

“AI does not simply change how work is done. It also raises questions about what institutions value, how learning is assessed, and how responsibility and accountability are distributed. So, it matters at McGill a great deal.”— Christopher Buddle.  

A previous version of this article stated that McGill’s 2024-2025 orientation welcomed over 700 students. In fact, the orientation welcomed over 7000. The Tribune regrets this error.

Behind the Bench, Sports

The Harlem Globetrotters: A complicated piece of basketball’s history

by Will Kennedy on

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In 1950, Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the league’s first Black athletes. Cooper was the first to be drafted, Clifton was the first to sign an NBA contract, and Lloyd became the first Black player to enter an NBA game when he appeared on the court for the Washington Capitols in October of that year.

Prior to entering the NBA, Lloyd and Cooper had both played for the Harlem Globetrotters. While today the Globetrotters are seen more as a circus act than a basketball team, their role in the landscape of professional basketball is historically important.

The Harlem Globetrotters were originally founded in Illinois in the 1920s as the “Savoy Big Five,” a team that showcased Black talent at a time when segregation stopped Black players from playing in the professional league. They did not just happen to have Black players—they leaned into Black culture and identity. Later, the second iteration of the team branded itself as the “Harlem Globetrotters,” in reference to the Harlem Renaissance movement.

The team operated similarly to modern boxing, booking opponents and travelling around the globe to play in one-off games. Despite not being part of a formal basketball league, the Globetrotters dominated everywhere they went, with their most famous win taking place against Hall of Fame inductee George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers, who later became the Los Angeles Lakers. The Globetrotters were so dominant that they were forced to incorporate elements of the circus act we know them for today, as crowds were starting to become bored of how easily they would win games.

The team’s dominance and popularity meant the NBA simply could no longer ignore Black talent knocking at its door. In 1950, the NBA began signing players from the Globetrotters and continued to do so for years afterwards. NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain played one season with the Globetrotters in 1958-59, during which he took part in a sold-out tour in the Soviet Union. The following season, Chamberlain became a member of the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors, where he won league Most Valuable Player (MVP), All-Star Game MVP, and Rookie of the Year in his first season. Chamberlain went on to rewrite virtually every NBA record in existence, forever changing the game of basketball.

While the Globetrotters provided a platform for Black players, the team has its own complicated history with race. Team owner Abe Saperstein was a known racist who saw Black players solely as financial assets rather than as marginalized people whom he could be an ally to. The team used Harlem branding in an effort to profit from the cultural renaissance in Harlem, New York City, while enriching a team owner who was a racist. 

Saperstein attempted to sign Boston Celtics legend and 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell in 1956. Russell notably refused to play for the Globetrotters after Saperstein declined to speak with him directly during contract negotiations, instead speaking with Russell’s white college coach. While this may have worked with other players, Russell was one of the first professional athletes to use their platform to speak about racial injustice in America and to become a champion of civil rights. He was never going to stand for how the Globetrotters treated Black players just for a few extra dollars.
The Harlem Globetrotters’ role in basketball history is significant, but equally as complicated. The Globetrotters provided a platform for Black players and became so dominant that the NBA could no longer keep its doors closed. On the flipside, they had an owner who clearly lacked respect for the Black players he employed while also profiting off the Harlem Renaissance. They were an organization deemed racially unjust by Bill Russell, one of the sport’s most significant players. Despite their prominence, they have been relegated to the status of basketball’s World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in recent years, when really they ought to be seen for what they are: An important piece of history.

Editorial, Opinion

Canada’s AI strategy risks further propagating anti-Black racism

by The Tribune Editorial Board on

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In September 2025, Minister of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon created the federal AI Strategy Task Force to provide recommendations on the role of AI in Canadian economic and social life. The Task Force conducted an extensive consultation of over 11,300 industry leaders, academic researchers, and civil society stakeholders to inform the government’s AI strategy, with particular emphasis on ethical research, transparent regulation, sovereign infrastructure, AI literacy, and security safeguards.

Yet, its composition and policy vision contain a critical failure: By excluding meaningful Black representation and refusing to directly confront how AI systems reproduce anti-Black racism, the Task Force has condoned and enabled racial harm across the infrastructures that AI is being built to govern.

On paper, the Task Force presented itself as a conglomerate of expert opinion and guidance, a time-limited advisory body assembled to generate ‘actionable’ recommendations on Canada’s AI development, governance, and usage. Beneath this consultative framing, however, is a structural absence of racial equity. 60 Black Canadian scholars have publicly cited underrepresentation on the Task Force. No sector is dedicated to equity in AI, and when the issue of equity does appear, it typically refers to equity of access rather than ensuring that these AI tools function equitably. In an open letter to Minister Solomon, over 40 groups and more than 100 individuals expressed concern regarding the AI strategy’s potential to automate anti-Black racism into decision-making tools used by the government, public sector, and private industry alike. By downplaying regulatory safeguards, the strategy prioritizes commercialization and global competitiveness, reflecting a preference for economic advancement over harm prevention.

AI systems already produce racial disparities in policing, immigration, facial recognition, hiring, loan rates, and health care allocation. These outcomes reflect the absence of marginalized voices within the designs of these systems and their strategies. Workforce exclusion intensifies this as Black workers remain overrepresented in sectors most vulnerable to automation whilst underrepresented in the industries designing these systems, further widening racial wealth and labour gaps.

AI’s capacity to reinforce systemic discrimination is a product of its design; bound by the data it is trained on, AI replicates the discriminatory nature of its inputs and is unable to self-correct. An MIT study on facial recognition found near-perfect accuracy for light-skinned men but error rates exceeding 34 per cent for dark-skinned women, reflecting the lack of diversity and representation within the training datasets for such software.

Studies on large language models reveal similar dynamics: Prompts such as “Black people are ___” generate disproportionately negative traits and associations. Though overtly racist outputs have declined through corporate filtering, covert bias persists, with software assigning lower-paying jobs, harsher criminal outcomes, and deficit-based characterizations to Black individuals. Without representative development teams, transparent datasets, and continuous auditing, AI systems risk formalizing anti-Black racism within the infrastructures governing social and institutional life.

Generative AI also has significant environmental implications. Data centres require immense energy consumption, water extraction for cooling, and the mining of minerals that drive ecosystem degradation and produce major carbon emissions. As these facilities proliferate, their environmental burdens are unevenly distributed. Environmental racism scholarship has long documented how polluting infrastructure is disproportionately placed in marginalized communities.

This pattern is visible on a global scale, from contaminated water crises in predominantly Black municipalities to the concentration of industrial and digital infrastructure in racialized neighbourhoods. In Africville, a historic Black community in Halifax, residents were denied sewage and water services while landfills, slaughterhouses, and infectious disease facilities were built nearby, posing severe health risks to community members. As AI is increasingly integrated into urban planning and infrastructure modelling, such systems risk reproducing these same spatial inequalities, recommending the placement of high-emission facilities in the very communities that already bear disproportionate environmental risk.

AI bias extends into education as well. Automated admissions, grading systems, and classroom tools are often deployed without critical oversight. Yet universities remain fundamentally underprepared. At McGill, AI governance is still framed primarily in terms of academic integrity rather than structural equity. While existing AI policies have acknowledged bias, they lack tangible enforcement mechanisms, shifting responsibility to individual students and instructors.

Canada’s AI strategy cannot be equitable without Black representation embedded at every level of design, regulation, and deployment. As AI infrastructure expands, Canada must now determine whether technological advancement will mitigate historical injustice or continue mechanizing it. 

Research Briefs, Science & Technology

‘Not enough:’ How racial invalidation impacts the mental health of multiracial individuals

by Michelle Yankovsky on

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Despite facing unique forms of discrimination, multiracial people remain largely overlooked in research on the intersection of racism and mental health. Multiracial people not only experience racism from strangers, but also from within their own families—a phenomenon known as intrafamilial racism. This, in turn, is a risk factor for poorer mental health outcomes.

In a recent study published in Race and Social Problems, N. Keita Christophe, assistant professor in McGill’s Department of Psychology and principal investigator of the Cultural Developmental Science Lab, examined how biracial individuals experience racial identity invalidation—the experience of having one’s racial identity denied. While previous research has focused on racial invalidation in public settings, this study looked inward to examine how these dynamics unfold in family circles. 

“Multiracial people are the fastest growing ethnic group in North America, and they’re already making up 10 to 15 per cent of the under 18 population,” Christophe said in an interview with The Tribune. “But at least in the type of stuff that I do, they make up one to three per cent of research, so I think there is a big gap.”

Christophe found that racial identity invalidation within families was not necessarily more or less common in certain types of families; rather, the difference lies in how discrimination between family members presents itself.

“For multiracial folks interacting with people of colour (POC), I think there’s kind of those invalidation comments around them not being X enough, like ‘you’re not Black enough’ or ‘you’re not Asian enough,’ and denying membership into that [POC] identity,” Christophe said. “Whereas from white family members, it tends to be more around being a [POC]. So because of skin tone, you already feel like you won’t be accepted or you’re not similar to white people, even though you have some of that heritage.”

The study found that nearly half of the 383 biracial adults surveyed reported experiencing racial identity invalidation from at least one family member. Those who experienced invalidation reported lower self-esteem and higher social anxiety, highlighting how experiences of discrimination can lead to increased mental health risks.

Christophe emphasized that although multiracial individuals share similarities with other racialized individuals in their experiences of discrimination, they differ in who they endure discrimination from.

“The difference is that they might also be more likely to experience discrimination from the groups to which they belong, such as from those POC groups to which they belong.”

Chrisptophe also highlighted how intersectional oppression plays into this phenomenon, where different axes of identity—race, gender, socioeconomic status, and sexuality—interact to create unique social positionalities for different people.

“Multiracial people also have intersectionality [within the element] of race,” Christophe said. “This kind of violates some longstanding notions of race as a binary [principle] and mutually exclusive category.”

Multiracial individuals often feel a stronger sense of connectedness or belonging to one group over another, and Christophe points out how these varying factors are worth investigating. 

“[Some multiracial individuals] really identify a lot more strongly with one group over the other just because of how they look. They may be white or Black presenting, [cases in which] people wouldn’t clock them as being multiracial,” Christophe explained. “However, some multiracial people feel very comfortable with all of the different backgrounds that they are [a part of].”

Overall, Christophe aims to highlight multiracial individuals’ resilience in their experiences and how their identity can bring many unique and positive experiences.

“Just because there’s more complexity in the multiracial experience living in our racially charged society, doesn’t mean that being multiracial is bad. A lot of people have really positive senses of self and feel a lot of pride in their identity and experience really good mental health,” Christophe noted.

As the gap between the rapidly growing population of multiracial individuals and their underrepresentation in research grows, studies such as Christophe’s call attention to the importance of addressing the unique experiences multiracial communities face.

Montreal, News

Montreal protests GardaWorld’s complicity in ICE immigration crackdown

by Armen Erzingatzian, Asher Kui, Eliot Loose on

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On Feb. 13, around 1,000 people gathered outside Place Vertu to protest the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdown on illegal immigration and their aggressive treatment of migrants and citizens alike. The protestors decried the involvement of GardaWorld, a Canadian, Montreal-based private security firm whose U.S. subsidiary, GardaWorld Federal Services, provides armed security, logistics, and emergency services to ICE. Additionally, McGill University currently holds contracts with GardaWorld for campus security. 

At 3:30 p.m., a group of around 50 people joined the crowd, holding up banners that read “Garda Off Our Campus.” Shortly after this group arrived, Celeste Trianon, one of the organizers of the protest, introduced Alejandra Zaga Mendez, the Québec Solidaire member for Verdun. Zaga Mendez began her speech by mentioning the South Florida Detention Facility—colloquially known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’—where many have reported inhumane and callous treatment of detainees.

“It’s GardaWorld with this international subsidiary that created the new ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida, which tortures people,” Zaga Mendez said. “It’s GardaWorld who is complicit in deadly practices, practices that terrorize communities in the United States. As Quebecers, the reason we must protest is because there should not be one dollar, not even one cent of our money and our taxes, that has to go to a company like GardaWorld.”

Zaga Mendez continued by touching on a petition she launched in l’Assemblée Nationale du Québec, which was blocked by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ). She stated that civil demonstration must continue to denounce the government’s silence on the issue.

“The CAQ decided to block the motion. That’s not courageous, and extremely shameful at a time when communities continue to be terrorized,” she said. “We must not stop [protesting] until we [divest], and there is not one cent of our public funds involved [in ICE’s politics] [….] This is what we will continue to do.”

A representative from Solidarité sans frontières spoke next. They condemned GardaWorld’s involvement with the U.S. government, reaffirming that migrants have the right to be treated lawfully.

“When a corporation chooses to support or to collaborate with politicians who encourage mass detention, the separation of families, and criminalization of migrants, that’s not [politically] neutral,” they said. “Migration is not a crime. Fleeing violence is not a crime. Crossing the borders to protect one’s kids is not a crime. What is a crime, however, is [the corporations] gaining profits off of human suffering.”

Another representative, who was holding up a banner that read “Chinga La Migra,” recounted the story of the Bath Riots. In 1917, riots broke out after Mexican workers crossing the border into the U.S. were subjected to baths with toxic disinfectants. The representative made a connection between the Bath Riots and the working conditions at ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’

“[The chemicals used in 1917] were the same products used by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and the United States were the first to use them on the Mexicans,” they said. “The job offer which was published by GardaWorld for working at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ said one must be ready to be potentially exposed to toxic chemical products or gas [….] It’s this company that the Quebec government decided to give $300 million CAD to.”

The representative continued by asking the audience how far they believe ICE will go for ‘national security.’

“We have seen what ICE is capable of doing in front of cameras to even white citizens. We have seen how they have treated Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Imagine what they do behind closed doors when there are no cameras,” they said. “I would like to emphasize, also, the courage immigrants have in changing countries and restarting from zero [….] We owe them, as citizens of a so-called ‘first-world country,’ to fight for them and provide them a place where they may flourish.”

At 4:00 p.m., protestors left Place Vertu, walking westbound on chem. de la Côte-Vertu. They then turned right at the intersection with rue Bégin. They turned right again on rue Poirier, before turning left on rue Émile-Bélanger. From there, protestors walked straight until they reached the headquarters of GardaWorld.

The crowd chanted “gauche, gauche, extrême gauche” at every left turn, and “droite, droite, fuck la droite” at every right. In addition, some protestors chanted “Fuck ICE, le projet de loi 12, le fascisme ici là-bas, ça nous concerne tous,” in reference to the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act. Protestors criticized the bill’s lack of transparency and disproportionate distribution of power to immigration ministers.

At around 5:00 p.m., protestors arrived at the GardaWorld headquarters where they were met with around 30 police officers, including riot police. Protestors threw snowballs and ice at officers across the barricade tape, and the police deployed tear gas and pepper spray to ward off the protestors. A Tribune journalist in attendance at the event was knocked over by a police officer.

In an interview with The Tribune, a representative from the Alliance des professeures et professeurs de Montréal who wished to remain anonymous, stated that fascism certainly exists in the modern world and that it is a pressing issue in Quebec.

“Fascism is clearly an abuse of our democratic institutions for the wellness and power of certain people, in particular the current elected American politicians,” the representative said. “There is always a fear that such abuse and systemic racism is present in Quebec, even more so in our schools and institutions [….] It is important for us to speak out against it.”

All quotes were translated from French.

Science & Technology, Student Research

Started vaping to stop smoking? This medication may help you quit both

by José Moro Gutiérrez on

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Electronic cigarette usage has increased rapidly in recent years, with global estimates surpassing 100 million users. As vaping continues to grow in popularity, physicians and public health researchers are facing a difficult question: How should people quit a habit for which there is virtually no medical treatment consensus? A new clinical research review suggests the answer may already exist.

Tamila Varyvoda, a first-year student in McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, found that varenicline—a medication prescribed to help people stop smoking cigarettes—may also help users quit vaping. The drug appears safe and potentially effective, though scientists emphasize that evidence is still developing.

Although vaping is often marketed as a safer alternative to smoking, it still administers nicotine, a substance that creates addiction by stimulating reward pathways in the brain. Despite growing concerns about its effects, there are no medications specifically approved to treat vaping dependency.

“Historically, teenagers were introduced to nicotine through cigarettes,” Varyvoda said in an interview with The Tribune. “Now that’s no longer the case. The first thing many young people try is vaping. When I was in CEGEP, there was literally an entrance where everyone would stand and vape. Seeing that made it clear that if we’re going to help people quit nicotine addiction, we need treatments designed for this new reality [….] If there’s a time we need treatments to help people quit, it’s now.” 

Researchers are intrigued by varenicline because, although it is typically used to help cigarette smokers quit, it is suspected that the medication could work for e-cigarette users as well. Varenicline targets the same brain receptors as nicotine, partially stimulating the receptor while blocking nicotine’s full effect, and thus maintaining a moderate dopamine release that reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms. 

To investigate this hypothesis, Varyvoda conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, combining the results of three randomized controlled trials conducted between 2023 and 2025 in Europe and the United States.

Across those trials, 178 participants received varenicline while 177 received a placebo. Participants ranged in age from roughly their early twenties to mid-fifties, and about half were male. Treatments lasted between eight and 12 weeks, and participants were followed for up to 24 weeks. In addition to medication, many participants also received behavioural support such as counselling sessions or text-based quitting programs.

Researchers measured success primarily by whether participants stopped vaping. Results showed that people taking varenicline were estimated to be about twice as likely to achieve abstinence as those receiving a placebo, although the limited sample size prevented any statistical significance.

“We couldn’t say, in good conscience, that varenicline was definitively effective yet,” Varyvoda explained. “Two of the trials showed clear benefits, but a smaller pilot study was inconclusive, which widened the confidence interval. Larger studies with longer follow-ups will likely clarify the effect, but right now the evidence points in a promising direction rather than a final answer.” 

Stronger evidence appeared in secondary measures. Participants using varenicline were more than twice as likely to report not vaping within the previous week, both at the end of treatment and during follow-ups. In two of the trials, continuous abstinence rates reached roughly 40 to 51 per cent in the varenicline groups compared to about 14 to 20 per cent in placebo groups at the end of treatment and remained higher months later. 

Safety findings were reassuring as well. Serious adverse reactions occurred in zero to three per cent of participants. The most reported side effects included nausea, insomnia, and vivid dreams, which were typically mild and temporary. Overall, the drug did not produce a higher rate of serious complications compared to the placebo.

Varyvoda reiterated that evidence remains limited. With only three trials available, and one involving only 40 participants, the results are not necessarily conclusive. Differences in treatment length and how quitting was measured also reduced certainty in the findings. In any case, Varyvoda reminds us that quitting nicotine is a path worth pursuing.

“It’s never too late to take care of your health,” Varyvoda said. “Quitting nicotine is difficult, but the body can recover, and it’s always worth trying.”

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Racial representation is missing from the world’s most beloved rom-coms

by Julia Lok on

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When people think about popular, treasured romantic comedies, a few titles immediately come to mind: 10 Things I Hate About You, When Harry Met Sally, Love Actually, and 13 Going on 30. These films continue to dominate conversations about classic love stories and remain some of the most beloved in the industry. They make us laugh while giving insight into relationships, which transform into life lessons. But what do they—and most rom-coms—have in common? They primarily centre white leads and white storylines as the face of love, reinforcing the idea that they are the standard for romantic narratives. Some films completely lack diverse racial representation, and when there is representation, Black characters are confined to supporting roles, often reinforcing stereotypes.

In North America alone, over the last 31 years, the rom-com genre has brought in $11.7 billion USD. This widespread popularity emphasizes the influence of their message—who is represented and who is not—leaving a majority of viewers underrepresented. In 2024, white actors occupied 74.7 per cent of top roles in films, while Black actors only made up 10.7 per cent of these leading roles. This is even more striking considering that a study conducted in 2025 found that the majority of movie-goers are BIPOC. 

The rom-coms that do include Black representation often reduce characters to caricatures like ‘The Black Best Friend,’ an attempt for productions to seem inclusive by diversifying the cast and narrative structure while still pushing a white-centric storyline. Take Gabrielle Union’s role as Chastity Church in 10 Things I Hate About You, the best friend of co-lead Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik). At the end of the film, Chastity is villainized, whereas Bianca experiences a positive character arc. It is not a coincidence that Chastity is one of the only Black characters in the film. 

Alongside her is Daryl Mitchell’s Mr. Morgan, the film’s Black English teacher. He is depicted as the ‘sassy’ Black character—another common cliche in film. Unlike Chastity, Mr. Morgan has the authority to be adored for his actions rather than villainized.

10 Things I Hate About You also exemplifies how passive inclusion of Black characters in the cast doesn’t qualify as authentic representation. Most of the Black representation exists as harmful stereotypes or underlying negligence of the Black character. Even when films highlight Black love stories, there’s often a condition of trauma or social struggle that affects the storyline. It’s uncommon that the industry shows Black couples experiencing love without hardship. To combat this industry-wide ignorance, fully developing Black characters in narratives and casting more Black actors in film and TV will address the film industry’s representational needs. Diversity isn’t a difficult feat to achieve; it simply requires active effort.

Black-led rom-coms do exist. However, they simply aren’t as popularized. Brown Sugar, Love and Basketball, and Love Jones are all fan favourites centering Black couples. But if we look at the worldwide box office earnings, How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days made over $178 million USD,  whereas Brown Sugar, released a year before, made only a little over $28 million USD. This large difference in earnings illustrates how Black rom-coms are simply not prioritized in the film industry. White is the default of the majority of films, and it is what’s constantly advertised to consumers worldwide. Meanwhile, Black rom-coms are typically only marketed to Black people. There’s an imbalance in the distribution system that favours white narratives. 

Rom-coms are essential to modern-day pop culture. They provide comfort and hopeful love stories that shape our views on relationships. As such, these movies must go beyond telling the story of white characters and seek more racial diversity in their leads and storylines. Cast diversity is still lacking in Hollywood, and there remains a lack of care when writing non-white characters. 

BIPOC representation matters because BIPOC matter; representation isn’t simply a character on screen, it is a different outlook on life, one where individuals from marginalized communities deserve to be appreciated, seen, and loved. Seeing someone who looks like you on the silver screen validates your lived experience, which is why representation matters. 

Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

The McGill Classics Play brings a chilling new ‘Antigone’ into the modern world

by Dylan Hing on

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Sophocles is having a moment. The Ancient Greek playwright may be well over two millennia old, but his plays are seeing new life; his famed Oedipus Rex was recently adapted for an acclaimed Broadway run, and, here at McGill, his terrifying Antigone could not have been a more fitting choice for this year’s Classics Play.

Antigone, chronologically the last of Sophocles’s three Theban plays, culminates the story chronicled in Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. In a move to modernize the work, translator Adam Zanin, adapter Caroline Little and director Madelyn Mackintosh set this production in the 1930s, on the heels of European fascism.

Starring Anelia Stanek, U2 Arts, as the eponymous daughter of Oedipus, the tragedy follows the rise of Oedipus’s advisor, Creon (Nikhil Girard, U3 Arts), to the throne of the city of Thebes after a violent civil war. His first act is to honour the fallen Eteocles, brother of Antigone, who fought to protect Thebes against their rebellious brother Polynices. For his treason, however, Creon denies the latter traditional Greek burial rites. The play’s conflict surrounds Antigone’s choice to bury her brother in spite of the edict.

Antigone’s actions create a storm in Thebes: Her sister, Ismene (Neela Perceval-Maxwell, U1 Arts), disagrees with her, fearful of Creon’s wrath. It can be easy to scorn her as cowardly, but in an interview with The Tribune, Mackintosh provided a more sympathetic perspective on the character.

“Most of us, maybe, would like to be Antigone but are Ismene, and would not necessarily accept execution, even for the strongest principles,” Mackintosh said. “But I don’t think that makes Ismene or anyone else weak […] and I don’t think it’s a responsibility to all be martyrs, or to all be some unforeseen level of bravery. I think it is our responsibility to be as courageous as we can.”

Mackintosh’s direction brings out the play’s debate over what loyalty entails, humanizing the struggle of the fight for the audience. Much of it feels familiar even now; many of the play’s subjects, such as the tempting of fate and the idolization of leaders, resonate brightly.

“The show was written 2500 years ago, it’s set a hundred years ago,” Mackintosh said. “And it pulls on references from today, and I think it is demonstrative of the way that tyranny is cyclical and destructive that the same story is applicable in all of those contexts.”

In this regard, Sam Snyders, U4 Arts, takes his part as “The Bartender” seriously. His near-constant presence throughout the production, as a spectator and aide to those in need, anchors him as the man who has witnessed and endured the cycle of tyranny. As the closest figure to a narrator, Snyder’s passionate performance brings with it anticipation and a will to fight.

While staying generally true to Sophocles’s original plot, there were several notable changes. One of them is the adaptation of the traditional Greek Chorus into a more modern ensemble; another is the introduction of death scenes, which were never performed in Ancient Greece. Together, these changes heighten drama in the production, resulting in a powerfully modern show that treats its source not just as history, but as a warning of what might be coming.

Ruminating on how Antigone mirrored the current state of U.S. politics, Mackintosh shared mixed emotions regarding global politics. Still, she highlighted a silver lining—that so many are willing to help keep Antigone’s fire alive through their work.

“A very significant part of me wishes the show was not as prescient as I feel it is, but at the same time, I also think that is why it is necessary and why I’m really proud of it […] a lot of people have put a lot of heart into the production, and I’m so incredibly proud of them.”

Sports, Varsity Round UP

McGill varsity sports roundup

by Zain Ahmed on

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This past week delivered a wide array of results for McGill’s Redbirds and Martlets, with overtime heartbreak, senior celebrations, and a tough road loss setting the stage for the upcoming Winter semester regular season finales. From volleyball victory to hockey hurt, McGill teams battled across multiple venues as they prepared for their respective playoff pushes.

The Martlets Volleyball team banded together for a dramatic 3–2 victory over the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) Piranhas on Feb. 8 at Love Competition Hall. The match marked the squad’s first five-setter of the season, with McGill prevailing 25-17, 25-15, 21-25, 19-25, 15-10.

Emma Waskiewicz recorded a match-high 16 kills while Selima Guidara dished out 38 assists in what proved to be a fitting home finale for the program’s graduating players. Seniors Guidara and Emilia Grigorova were fondly celebrated in a post-game ceremony following their final match at Love Competition Hall.

The victory lifted the young and slightly rebuilt Martlets squad to 7–13 on the season and snapped a six-match losing streak. McGill then travelled to Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), suffering a 2-3 defeat on Thursday before moving forward to wrap up the regular season against Laval University on Valentine’s Day, where they unfortunately fell short 1-3 against a relentless opposition.

Redbirds Hockey persisted through a difficult week on the road, dropping both of their games by painfully narrow margins. After a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the Queen’s University  Gaels on Feb. 6, McGill unfortunately could not build and maintain its positive momentum in its subsequent matchups.

The week began with a heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss to cross-town rival, the Concordia University Stingers, in the Corey Cup showdown on Feb. 7 at the Ed Meagher Arena. After battling back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the third period on Mathieu Gagnon’s goal, the Redbirds saw Concordia equalize and eventually prevail when captain Simon Lavigne scored on a breakaway in overtime.

The struggles continued Wednesday night with a 5-4 loss at Carleton University, leaving McGill with a 16–8–2 record leading up to their regular season finale. The Redbirds hosted the Ottawa University Gee-Gees on Valentine’s Day at the McConnell Arena in a dominant 4-0 victory in what was their final regular-season tilt before the OUA playoffs begin next week.

Bouncing over to basketball, the Martlets Basketball team suffered a disappointing 56-53 loss to the Bishop’s University Gaiters on Feb. 5 at Mitchell Gym, as a dominant second quarter from the Gaiters proved decisive. After leading 16-9 following the opening frame, McGill was outscored 23-12 in the second quarter, turning a seven-point advantage into a six-point halftime deficit they could never fully erase.

Emilia Diaz-Ruiz, still recovering from injury, paced McGill with 16 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Lily Rose Chatila added 13 points and Daniella Mbengo contributed 12, but the Martlets struggled from beyond the arc, converting a faltering four of 20 three-point attempts.

The loss snapped McGill’s three-game winning streak and dropped them to 9–4, slipping into second place in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) standings behind Laval University. However, a hard-fought victory in the late stages of their home win against Concordia (57-52) shifted their momentum heading into the last two games of the season against Laval and L’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM). That being said, a comfortable first-seeded Laval team fought off the McGill momentum in Quebec City to close out another 57-52 victory, securing their spot at the top of the rankings for the season. The Martlets, currently holding third place in the league, will be determined to secure a victory in their last game of the season.

As Redbirds and Martlets compete on home ice and courts in what is shaping up to be a bitter winter, a high-stakes playoff season looms ahead, giving the regular season finales added significance across all McGill programs. Teams will look to build momentum heading into the postseason, with strong performances serving as crucial confidence boosters before the stakes rise even higher. For McGill athletics, February has delivered its fair share of drama, but the most important games have yet to come.

Research Briefs, Science & Technology

Improving Black and Latine youths’ sense of belonging in schools

by Antoine Larocque on

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Adolescence is a formative time for young people to define both who they are and who they hope to become. For Black and Latine youth, that journey often unfolds against a backdrop of historical barriers and discrimination in society as well as in educational settings, ultimately shaping how they see themselves, their future, and their place in school.

Negative stereotypes about academic ability, exposure to racism, and the lack of both role models and an institutional culture that reflects their identity are among the barriers affecting Black and Latine students’ identity and sense of belonging in school. Such barriers are not just individual shortcomings, but conditions that can affect students’ sense of belonging, confidence, and long-term engagement in school.

Régine Débrosse, an assistant professor at McGill’s School of Social Work, and her collaborators investigated whether simple, strength-based reflection activities could improve the academic persistence of Black and Latine adolescents.

In her study, participants were randomly assigned to three groups. The first group completed a community resourcefulness reflection, identifying strategies they could employ to help overcome obstacles to their ideal future. Participants in the second group completed a voice reflection, in which they were prompted to reflect on situations in which they might be underrepresented and were encouraged to view their identity and perspective as strengths. The third group served as a control group and did not complete any reflection activities.

The participants then filled out a form assessing school belonging, academic persistence, and ethnic-ideal alignment—the connections between their racial/ethnic identity and their future identity.

“Both reflections improved markers of academic persistence by transforming adolescents’ experiences,” Débrosse wrote in an email to The Tribune.

Altogether, the community resourcefulness and voice reflections both increased academic persistence of Black and Latine adolescents, but their effects depend on gender and operate through different psychological pathways.

Girls who completed the written community resourcefulness reflection reported greater alignment between their racial and ethnic identities and their ideal future self, which, in turn, predicted higher academic engagement. There was no measurable impact on the boys in this group.

However, both boys and girls who participated in the voice reflection reported greater belonging at school, which was associated with higher academic engagement.

Débrosse’s research highlights the importance of shifting away from deficit-based narratives in education and toward approaches that affirm students’ identities and lived experiences. Her results also suggest that identity development during adolescence may be especially sensitive to targeted messages. Repeated opportunities for students to see their racial or ethnic background as aligned with long-term goals can reshape how young people relate to school and their futures and help nurture developmental pathways marked by sustained motivation and persistence.

The results also underscore the importance of intersectionality: Black and Latina girls appeared to benefit differently from the community resourcefulness reflection, potentially because they face distinct social expectations or tensions when imagining their futures.

“[This research] adds to work demonstrating the potential of highlighting people’s strengths and full experiences, especially people whose community is negatively stereotyped in a certain area,” Débrosse wrote.

The study also points to practical implications. For instance, schools might consider implementing structured reflection activities that both highlight community resilience and affirm students’ unique voices, particularly during key developmental transitions. However, Débrosse cautions that further research is needed, especially given limitations such as small subgroup sample sizes and measurement constraints.

“[Future studies should examine] further the potential of strengths-based approaches, identity approaches that support expanding and connecting the different parts composing who each of us is, and of approaches that counter harmful narratives and make space for people to be their full selves,” Débrosse wrote.

Ultimately, the findings suggest that even brief, structured opportunities for reflection can meaningfully shape how adolescents see themselves in relation to school and their aspirations.

“It is powerful to go beyond common stories we hear about one another, and that incredible things happen when we focus on and lift each other’s strengths,” Débrosse wrote.

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