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Commentary, Opinion

Redressing the history of medical injustice at McGill

by Valentina de la Borbolla on

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Content warning: Enslavement, medical abuse, racial and colonial violence 

McGill’s troubled history of abuse and complicity in violence toward Black, Indigenous, and disabled people is nothing new. James McGill enslaved at least three Black people and two Indigenous children, an increasingly recognized and discussed reality within the community, especially following professor Charmaine Nelson’s work, Slavery and McGill University: Bicentenary Recommendations, and the Black Students’ Network and the Indigenous Students’ Alliance’s 2021 video essay on McGill’s history of enslavement. 

McGill, as an institution, has also committed atrocities in the Allan Memorial Institute under the MK ULTRA experiments. Dr. Ewen Cameron worked in a team with the CIA at the Allan Memorial Institute in the 1950s and 60s to conduct brainwashing experiments and psychological torture on patients admitted for mental illnesses. Eyewitness accounts suggest Indigenous children were also subjected to Cameron’s abuse, and Indigenous groups such as the Mohawk Mothers suspect there may be unmarked graves under the Royal Victoria hospital. 

Survivors of these abuses have since filed lawsuits against McGill, the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Canadian government, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Until now, though, the Canadian Supreme Court has refused the government and hospitals’ motions to dismiss the case, forcing McGill to confront its legal and moral liability. Given its involvement in this kind of abuse, McGill must acknowledge its wrongdoing and implement reparative measures for survivors and the larger McGill community, such as providing monetary reparations and committing to addressing current issues of medical abuse. 

Cameron’s aim was to “de-pattern” brains to create a blank mind canvas susceptible to ideological influence and malleable to different objectives. Considering that McGill prides itself as a global leading institution with a history of “expanding minds,” the university should confront its history of psychological torture and forced ideological indoctrination. McGill can no longer ignore the experiences of survivors of the abuse who recall being comatose for weeks at a time, drugged with LSD, put in sensory deprivation rooms, and forced to listen to the same recordings on endless loops. 

During the Korean War, the CIA funnel-funded Canadian researchers like Cameron to lead these psychological experiments at McGill. As the first chair of McGill’s psychiatry department, Cameron had the authority to legitimize his practices to psychiatry students he worked with, who would later become professionals in the health-care system. In this way, his structural and institutional impact would trickle down to harm racialized and disabled people. Indeed, Quebec’s systemically racist healthcare endangers Black, Indigenous and other racialized individuals—proof of the longstanding effects that colonial violence has on institutions like hospitals, which will need to implement radical measures to enact long-overdue change.

The MK ULTRA experiments are not the first time McGill has come under scrutiny over its harmful past, and it certainly will not be the last. McGill’s colonial legacies were first forged as part of the university’s founding and this history continues to shape the institution today. In 2020, McGill finally changed the racist name of its sports teams following persistent advocacy by Indigenous students. McGill is also built on the stolen and unceded land that is part of the Treaty Land of The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, of which the Kanien’kéha Nation, the Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples are a part. As Kahentinetha, a member of the Mohawk Mothers, said, “The entire McGill University is a crime scene.” 

If the university hopes to show any accountability and work to regain the trust of the community, McGill has a responsibility to publicly acknowledge the numerous atrocities it has been a part of and apologize to survivors. At the very least, the university must go forth with legal processes without posing any obstacles to the families of survivors. McGill must be willing to be held accountable, and should develop plans to ensure decolonial and anti-oppressive approaches are embedded into the university’s own health system. Further, it must take steps to halt all abusive measures within the health-care system at large. Any effort at reconciliation by McGill is insufficient as long as the university neglects their responsibility in redressing the pattern of medical injustice.

Arts & Entertainment, Books, Pop Rhetoric

Albert Camus: A visionary of pandemic-era life?

by Henry Olsen on

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Albert Camus’ 1947 novel The Plague masterfully portrays the death and suffering that a fictional bubonic plague brings to the people of Oran, an Algerian city under French colonial rule. The events take place over many months, with protagonist Dr. Rieux working to both physically and psychologically help others suffering from the plague. The novel has undergone a resurgence in popularity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps as it appropriately captures much of the public’s response to the pandemic over the past two years. Indeed, the novel’s emphasis on human resilience and the value of life are especially relevant in today’s social climate. 

Since the pandemic began, the global death toll has surpassed 6 million.

Much in the same way that we have watched the steadily rising figures released by the government, many people in Camus’ novel attach great significance to their government’s weekly release of health statistics. Though many newspapers have struggled to raise revenue, especially those that still print paper copies, general trust in the news has increased since 2020. Reports and information have clearly taken on a heightened importance, which reflects not only the pertinence of the time period, but also the significance we attach to the subject of the news itself—tragedy.

Outside of exploring the value of life, The Plague also focusses on Dr. Rieux, who grapples with the chaos of his situation. It is the human condition—namely, the desire for meaning in a meaningless world—that drives the oft-ineffectual fight against that which we cannot make sense of. For example, Rieux works day-in and day-out at quarantine facilities providing care, but most of the time his work is futile. Most people die from the sickness. Rieux, in sum, finds that “Weariness is a kind of madness. And there are times when the only feeling that I have is one of mad revolt.” Rieux’s exhaustion from fighting against the seemingly inexplicable is apt when reflecting upon both the pandemic’s early days, characterized by confusion and a global lack of knowledge, as well as its tiring, two-years-this-month perpetuation. As a beacon of hope, Camus’ plague eventually recedes after mass vaccination campaigns, however. 

Recently, Camus’ call to action and firm adherence to moral principles have been observed in contemporary movements. Though one fifth of health-care workers in the U.S. have left their jobs due to unsafe working conditions, many more stayed and tried to provide care to those who need it. To rectify these conditions, some nurses and workers have gone on strike and demanded more resources and staff necessary to properly handle cases. Across Europe, including places like France, health-care workers have done the same. The challenges of the pandemic have brought notice and resistance to the seemingly absurd conditions people have been living in, and Camus’ rebel has, in a sense, resembled aspects of those essential workers who, like Rieux, try to do the best they can with what they have been given.

Art often reflects reality, but for Camus’ novel, life almost seems to be imitating the book. In particular, Camus’ concludes that “in time[s] of pestilence […] there are more things to admire in men than to despise” and that humans should “go forward, groping our way through the darkness […] and try to do what good lay[s] in our power.” Society has responded in a similar way to Camus’s predictions: With the media’s continuous despondency, the resilience of essential workers, and most importantly everyday citizens’ searches for meaning in a hostile world. 

Rieux remarks that he shall “refuse to love a scheme of things in which children are put to torture,” and it is against the world that Rieux tries to realize his purpose as a doctor. Likewise, when we have been confronted with the suffering brought on by the pandemic, we have tried to fight against it to preserve the things we love. In Camus’ fiction, the plague slowly ends thanks to the diligence and realism of those who oppose its violence. Perhaps leaning into the same message, in addition to greater support for our health-care system and vaccine outreach, can help get us through COVID-19.

Science & Technology

Tribune Tries: Visiting Montreal’s Biodome

by Kennedy McKee-Braide on

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Montreal’s Biodome is part of the Space for Life complex, a network that includes four other museums––the Biosphere, the Botanical Garden, the Insectarium, and the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. The network aims to provide educational and research opportunities that prioritize sustainability and biodiversity protection. 

Researchers at the Biodome have access to a living laboratory, which acts as a hub for projects related to ecology, habitat protection, urban wildlife, and animal ethics. With five ecosystems under one roof, the centre boasts a collection of over 130 different animal and plant species. After paying a visit to the centre on a rainy day, The McGill Tribune has compiled a list of our favourite animals found in each ecosystem. 

Tropical rainforest – Capybara

Often found hanging around the rainforest’s bodies of water, the capybara spends its days munching on leaves, rolling in the dirt, or cooling off in the water. Capybaras can grow as large as 1.3 metres long and can weigh up to 68 kilograms, making them the largest rodents alive today. To communicate, these overgrown guinea pigs bark, whistle, and click, and can typically be found in groups of 20 with a large male at their helm. 

Fun fact: In the wild, capybara’s backs are prime real estate for birds hoping to hitch a ride or catch some rays. 

Laurentian maple forest – Canada lynx

One of Canada’s largest felines, the Canada lynx can be identified by its disproportionately large paws and black tufts of hair on its ears. As excellent climbers and jumpers, the lynx is often on the hunt for hares, of which they consume as many as 200 per year. Mostly found in Canada, Alaska, and the northern United States, they tend to spend most of their time alone, roaming four to 20 kilometres a day. 

Fun fact: The Canada lynx can jump as far as seven metres. 

Gulf of St. Lawrence – Moon jellyfish 

Made up of 98 per cent water, moon jellyfish are basically the celery of the sea. Much like anemone and coral, moon jellyfish use their tentacles (all 1,200 of them) to capture their prey. The nematocysts covering each tentacle release a stinger that injects a paralyzing agent into the plankton and larvae that make up their diet. 

Fun fact: Contrary to popular belief, peeing on a jellyfish sting will not actually make it feel better. 

Subantarctic Islands – Macaroni penguin 

These medium-sized, flightless arctic birds are recognizable by their yellow head tufts, similar to those of the rockhopper penguin, which you can also find at the Biodome. The most ecologically vulnerable species on this list, macaroni penguins have experienced a population decline ranging between 30 to 65 per cent over the past 30 years, depending on the study conducted. They only come onto land to moult and reproduce, spending most of their time in the sea, where they find their diet of krill, fish, and cephalopods. 

Fun fact: When colonizers first saw these penguins, they called them “macaronis” after the 18th century fashion trend referenced in the song “Yankee Doodle.” 

Labrador coast – Atlantic puffin

Atlantic puffins are easily identified by their matching orange beaks and feet. The small birds tend to nest around cliff sides when they aren’t looking for fish to eat. While they may have the macaroni penguin beat when it comes to their flying abilities, Atlantic puffins are hardly experts––to keep themselves in the air, they must flap their wings 300 to 400 times per minute. 
Fun fact: The Atlantic puffin can catch up to 60 fish in one dive.

Arts & Entertainment

Soundtracks, Chinese queer culture, and Swedish news algorithms: McGill graduate students present their research

by Anna Berglas on

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The Spring Student Speaker Series wrapped up with its recent March Session on March 17. Three graduate students in the Department of Art History & Communication Studies (AHCS) presented brief summaries of their research in Arts 260 as well as on Zoom. The hybrid event included a half-hour talk from each researcher, followed by a quick question and answer period after each presentation. 

Allyson Rogers, a doctoral candidate in communication studies, kicked off the event with a critical examination of the National Film Board (NFB) soundscapes in the post-WWII period. The NFB’s primary focus is slice-of-life Canadian documentaries, the soundtracks of which have a homogeneous nature that Rogers characterizes as a distinct “NFB Sound.” Rogers presented clips exemplifying this sonic trend, pointing to several key elements like small ensembles of woodwind instruments, multiple independent melodies, and an overarching tone of optimism. Such distinct sounds also correspond to Canadian political motivations, such as promoting Canadian pride and patriotism. The later half of the postwar period, specifically the 1950s and 1960s, saw a rise in stylistic changes and more adventurous musical interpretations. The different examples of the NFB sound teem with nostalgia for those who watched these documentaries during Canadian history education. 

Next up was Reina Yuan, a first-year master’s student in AHCS. Yuan’s research is centred on the queer counterpublic and the rise of alternative nightclubs in her hometown of Chengdu, China. Yuan aims to create a theoretical city map of queer spaces, focussing on several key locations and their connections through a framework inspired by Di Wang’s The Teahouse, which examines cultural changes throughout the city in 1900-1950 through the lens of teahouses. Yuan’s research seeks to use physical spaces in order to explore the political and youth culture of the city. In her presentation, Yuan discussed the Poly Center, a skyscraper with different nightclubs at almost every level. Yuan elaborated that she has seen the Poly Center in person in her visits to Chengdu every summer. 

“The thesis is a very personal project to me,” said Yuan during the discussion section following her presentation. “It’s part of the microhistory of my hometown.”

Torbjörn Rolandsson closed the event with a dive into the “News Value Project” in Sweden. He completed his PhD at Stockholm University and is now a graduate research trainee in ACHS. Rolandsson’s presentation explored the impacts of the Svergies Radio News Value System, a recent technological addition to the Swedish public service radio that helps categorize different news stories for output. The project rates stories through a three-tiered algorithm of importance, lifespan, and accordance with journalistic values, which strive for authentic and personal programming that includes unique voices. To make narration authentic and personal, an effect that can sometimes be aided by incorporating natural soundscapes, radio journalists often go beyond the studio into real environments to capture the unique ambience of the world. Although elements of theatricality still remain—Rolandsson shares an example of reporters hitting nearby water to record a splash—the radio soundscape attempts to foster a more connected engagement with the real world.

The speakers’ admirable ability to condense months or years of research into a half-hour presentation displayed their serious dedication to their studies. While each presentation was enlightening, the slideshows they had prepared only scratched the surface of the depths of their knowledge.

Science & Technology

The gendered accessibility problem with HPV vaccines

by Raymond Tu on

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While COVID-19 vaccination continues to dominate public consciousness, the rate of vaccination for other diseases has decreased. In Canada, recent estimates show that up-to-date routine vaccine coverage was five per cent lower in children compared to the pre-pandemic rate. 

The fear of contracting COVID-19 at the doctor’s office is one likely cause for the decline of routine vaccination rates in Canada. Citizens in high-income countries, and those with universal health care such as Canada, enjoy the privilege of a government that has the means to vaccinate its people. But what happens when countries cannot afford to purchase enough vaccines for everyone? 

This is a question commonly asked in the context of human papillomavirus (HPV), the world’s most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Eduardo Franco, chair of the Department of Oncology and professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill, explained that not all types of HPV are equally worrisome. 

“Some HPV types are commensal and don’t cause any disease or clinical manifestation,” Franco said. But: “There is a sub-genus that includes types that cause cancer.” 

He noted that one type, HPV 16, is responsible for almost half of all cervical cancers, while HPV 16 and HPV 18 cause nearly all anal cancers and also contribute to penile, vaginal, and oropharyngeal cancers. Although all HPV vaccines provide immunity against HPV 16 and HPV 18, some such as Gardasil 9 can help protect against nine types of HPV. However, the vaccine is only effective if the patient has not already contracted HPV.

“Once HPV is in the body, it wreaks havoc in the process of cell growth, and in turn causes cancer,” Franco said. “The vaccine will not eliminate [an] existing infection.”

In an effort to reduce the rates of cervical cancer, the World Health Organization called for a halt to gender-neutral vaccination in favour of female-only vaccination in 2019. The idea was that if low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) cannot afford to vaccinate all of their citizens against an STI, vaccinating only women should suffice. But this assumes heterosexual activity. Additionally, women in LMICs have a heavier HPV-associated disease burden compared to men, making them the more persuasive candidates for vaccination. 

To better understand the implications of gender-neutral vaccination versus female-only vaccination, Franco worked with lead authors Margaret Logel and Cassandra Laurie, as well as other collaborators, to conduct a literature review on the legal and ethical aspects of this debate.

“In general, women in low- and middle-income countries would benefit most from HPV vaccinations,” Laurie, an epidemiologist and alumna of McGill’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology, said. “In these countries, cervical cancer is one of the two most likely causes of death for women, the other being breast cancer.”

Unfortunately, female-only vaccination inherently excludes identities that are still vulnerable to HPV infection, as noted in the review. Men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as some transgender women, do not share any of the benefits of a female-only HPV vaccination policy, yet are still at risk for anal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers.

This problem is not exclusive to LMICs either. While data is scarce, some estimates say only 13 per cent of MSM in the United States have received any doses of the HPV vaccine. 

Other benefits of gender-neutral vaccination include the shared social responsibility of HPV prevention among all genders, as well as increased awareness of HPV for everyone at risk. Laurie explains that a lack of awareness could contribute to MSM and transgender women being at higher risk of contracting HPV and developing HPV-associated cancers and lesions. 

“I think it’s important to note that whether governments implement female-only or gender-neutral vaccination, both have meritorious arguments,” Logel, a master’s student in McGill’s epidemiology program, said in an interview with the Tribune.

“I want to underscore that we wanted to capture the essence of the debate without capturing our own views on this,” Franco added. “We wanted to be as unbiased as we possibly could.” 

One glimmer of hope that could change the conversation entirely is emerging evidence that one dose of Cervarix, a vaccine already on the market, could be as effective as two or three doses, the standard for HPV vaccination. A one-dose schedule would relieve the pressure on LMICs to procure vaccines, as well as relieve policymakers from having to choose between female-only or gender-neutral vaccines. 


To get your HPV vaccine, visit your local CLSC, contact your family physician, or book an appointment with McGill’s Student Wellness Hub. Eligibility requirements for free-of-charge HPV vaccinations can be found here.

A previous version of this article incorrectly wrote the “Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.” In fact, the full name of the Department is the “Department of the Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health.” The Tribune regrets the error.

McGill, News, SSMU

Risann Wright elected as 2022-2023 SSMU President

by Juliet Morrison on

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The 2022-2023 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executive team was announced on March 18 after a five-day voting period that saw the lowest voter turnout of the past decade. Only 12.9 per cent of the undergraduates cast their ballots this year. Risann Wright, U3 Arts, clinched the SSMU presidency with 51.9 per cent of the vote, beating opponents Bryan Buraga, U4 Arts and Science, and Julian Guidote, 1L. 

With 61.1 per cent of the vote, Hassanatou Koulibaly, U2 Arts and Science, was elected vice-president (VP) Student Life against Olivia Bornyi, U1 Arts. After five rounds of preferential voting, Catherine Williams, U3 Arts, won the VP Internal position over Jaz Kaur, U2 Arts, and Ananya Seth, U1 Arts. 

The rest of the executive team, all of whom ran uncontested, comprises Kerry Yang, U3 Science, as VP University Affairs (UA), Val Mansy, U3 Science, as VP External, and Marco Pizarro, U3 Science, as VP Finance. 

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Wright affirmed that her priorities as SSMU president are to push for “systemic change” in the society, which would include reforming Human Resources and creating an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee.

“The environment that I hope to create at the SSMU is one that is first and foremost professional, that is collaborative, and one that, should conflicts arise, [has] a very clear process to swiftly and effectively deal with them,” Wright said. “I can’t tell you that no conflict is ever going to happen or there are going to be no disagreements, but I can tell you that I can make every effort to have a safe environment and a structured process to deal with it so that it does not go to the sizes we have seen or overshadow work.” 

Wright plans to work with the rest of the executive team to improve student engagement in the SSMU, emphasizing the importance of getting immediate resources to students, such as stipends for wifi modems and access to COVID-19 rapid tests. 

“Students have every reason at this point to be disenchanted with the SSMU,” Wright said. “The way that we can improve engagement and improve voter turnout is by showing students that it is important, that [the SSMU] does impact you [….] We can improve confidence in the SSMU by genuinely and directly helping students, by allowing them to see that there are leaders, there are executive teams that are transparent, that are going to be held accountable, and that will own up to what they say they are going to do, which I have every intention of doing.”

VP Internal Williams referred to her status as a newcomer to the society, and discussed her focus on having better communication with students. 

“I understand being a student and feeling left in the dark, you see all these things happening, but no one is telling you anything about it,” Williams said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “I completely get the frustration of a lack of transparency. My aim is to be as transparent as possible.”

In an interview with the Tribune, Yang cited the importance of centring students for a democratic student society. 

“This is going to be my fifth year at McGill and I have seen four SSMU exec teams all from varying levels, and I understand what a good SSMU team looks like and what a bad one looks like,” Yang said. “It is being humble and being people-centric and student-centric, because at the end of the day [being a SSMU executive] is about making every student’s experience the best it can be.”

The SSMU Winter 2022 Referendum results were released later on March 21 to account for an extended voting period after the Palestinian Solidarity Policy was removed from the ballot following an order from the SSMU Judicial Board. The Referendum ballot was rerun and the Policy passed with 71.1 per cent of the vote in favour. 

Other motions that passed included the creation of Dialogue telemedicine service fee, the creation of the MUSTBUS fee, the creation of the Student Support fee, and the creation of a Black Affairs fee levy. The proposals to increase the SSMU membership fee and to create aFrench Accessibility Fee did not pass.

Science & Technology

AI will train the new generation of expert surgeons

by Sara Chiarotto O’Brien on

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How do we quantify the skill of a surgeon? Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, McGill’s William Feindel professor emeritus in neuro-oncology and director of the Neurosurgical Simulation Research Centre at The Neuro, has been asking himself this question for much of his career. 

After nearly two decades of research into surgical instruction, Maestro found a way to quantify a surgeon’s competence. With funding and support from the Franco di Giovanni Foundation, Del Maestro’s team has developed a brain surgery simulator powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that allows surgical students to practice removing tumours without any risk to real patients. 

The simulator’s Virtual Operative Assistant (VOA) offers real-time feedback to students, relieving the need for an expert to be present. In a recent study conducted by Del Maestro and his team, students taught and guided by the simulator performed surgeries 2.6 times faster and 36 per cent more accurately than students taught and guided by experts over Zoom.

Training a surgeon is a lengthy process that has traditionally required constant supervision from experienced surgeons while students operate on real patients—and sometimes even intervention when the task becomes too technically challenging. Del Maestro’s surgical simulator is the first of its kind in brain surgery training, and is one of the most complex medical simulators ever built.

Marking a surgeon as “competent” is subjective, as standards vary across countries and institutions. For example, schools may lack the tools to measure critical performance markers, such as a surgeon’s hand pressure when manipulating tools, or quantity of blood loss in a patient. Del Maestro started recognizing these discrepancies when he visited medical schools in China, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait to teach neurosurgery techniques. 

According to Del Maestro, even more problematic than the non-standardized training was the lack of objectivity in expert assessments and a focus on “competency training.” Medical schools operating on strict schedules with limited resources aim to train students to be competent at surgeries, but do not require them to meet the same standards as their expert teachers, instead expecting these skills to develop on the job.

“I’ve always had a problem with that, because what is competence?” Del Maestro said in an interview with the Tribune. “Would you like the airplane pilot to be competent, or would you like the airplane pilot to be expert?”

Del Maestro’s simulator also solves the problem of how to measure student performance. It analyzes more than 6,000 metrics and distills that information into four key indicators so that students learn to perform surgeries first safely, then efficiently. The skills measured include hand pressure and acceleration on instruments, movement accuracy, and the ability to control blood loss. Using deep learning, a subtype of machine learning related to predictive analysis, users are classified into categories ranging from novice to expert on a scale of -1 to 1, with 0 being competent.

As for the future of this technology, Del Maestro explained that this type of simulator can be adapted to any procedure that requires the surgeon to use both hands. He predicts that over the next 20 years, AI will be increasingly integrated into the field of surgery. Indeed, he anticipates a rise in human-machine cooperation, where AI analyzes student performance and instructors use that information to better guide students. 

“The effect will be to elevate the standards of surgical skill to something similar to the Olympics,” Del Maestro said, referencing the lengths coaches go to to improve their athlete’s performance. “I think patient safety will be substantially improved.” 

For now, Del Maestro is focussed on the next step of this project. He wants to test the performance of the simulator against in-person teaching, which has been largely put on pause due to COVID-19 restrictions. In the long run, he hopes to make virtual reality and artificial intelligence a globally accessible tool for all kinds of medical training. The ultimate goal, says Maestro, is for new doctors to not just be competent, but be the best that they can possibly be.

McGill, News

Two years after the administration falsely reported her deceased to her family, Fanta Ly speaks about systemic racism at McGill

by Shani Laskin on

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On July 30, 2020, the sister of Fanta Ly received a call from McGill falsely reporting that Fanta had passed away. In the two years since, there has been little explanation from the administration regarding how this mistake occurred. 

A Student Affairs case manager had mistakenly called Ly’s sister instead of the family of a student who had indeed passed away. In a statement to The McGill Tribune, McGill media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle wrote that changes have been made to ensure this does not happen again.

“The situation […] is the result of a most unfortunate human error, by which an employee of the University contacted Ms. Fanta Ly’s sibling, thinking she was reaching out to the family of another student, who had passed away,” Mazerolle wrote. “The employee noticed the mistake early in the call and immediately apologized profusely. The Principal of the University also sent a written apology to Ms. Ly. We have since carefully reviewed our internal processes to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.” 

According to Ly, the case manager did not realize their mistake or apologize during the initial call. Principal and Vice-chancellor Suzanne Fortier sent an apology letter to Ly, now a fourth year law student, more than six months after the incident.

Ly, a national director at the Black Law Students’ Association (BLSA) of Canada and a Black Wealth Club fellow, believes her story is more than just a one-off mistake by a confused employee.

“Some people are trying to dismiss this as a mistake from McGill, but this incident really needs to be situated within the long-standing harassment and discrimination of Black students at McGill,” Ly said in an interview with the Tribune. ”

Ly went on to describe other incidents of hostility and differential treatment from the administration, particularly regarding academic accommodations. Prior to the phone call, Ly sought medical accommodations and was met with resistance from multiple McGill employees. 

“[An Associate Dean] told me I can’t get an accommodation for the same medical reason more than once,” Ly said. “Furthermore, for white students, these issues always get resolved because at some point administrators feel the need to respond and ensure equal treatment. I wish it were the same for Black students. When it comes to Black students, there’s never any response. And it’s just so much time and energy wasted, just trying to fight with an administration that doesn’t value us and treats us like absolute garbage.”

Ly also described receiving a failing grade after speaking out against discrimination, as well as having to contest seemingly targeted changes to the requirements for her minor, such as the removal of certain credits that used to count towards her program. After addressing these issues with the Student Affairs Office (SAO) and being redirected to multiple sources, Ly felt unsatisfied with the explanations given. Feeling ignored by the administration while handling complications with her academic standing, having difficulty getting accommodations, and grappling with the phone call, all amid the COVID-19 pandemic, took a toll on her.

“And even after the call to my family, no one ever reached out to me,” Ly said. “They only sent me that apology letter after I sent an email regarding the faulty investigation and stated that I would inform the media if they didn’t respond. This is all just too much anxiety and too much stress. I couldn’t keep up with my coursework. How am I supposed to do my classes in this type of environment?”

Hülya Miclisse-Polat, 3L and co-president of McGill’s BLSA chapter, believes that while aspects of Ly’s experience have been unique, it nevertheless reflects a larger range of systemic issues. Miclisse-Polat also believes that placing the onus on students not only to report incidents of racism, but to seek justice can create a taxing environment for Black students.

“The fact that the burden falls on the students creates a hostile environment—it a lot of times makes students feel unsafe, and it just sort of perpetuates a system of exclusion at the faculty,” Miclisse-Polat said in an interview with the Tribune. “This is what we mean when we talk about systemic discrimination. A lot of times it’s done in very insidious ways, but it continues to foster a sense of exclusion.”

Currently, Ly is seeking justice in a variety of ways, including filing a complaint to the Quebec Human Rights Commission, writing to the Minister of Higher Education, and sending documentation of students’ experiences to faculty alumni as well as her local member of Parliament.

If you are in need of resources or support relating to anti-Black racism, contact the Black Students’ Network, the Black Law Student Association at McGill, or visit this website for more.

A previous version of this article stated that Ly received multiple failing grades for speaking out against discrimination. In fact, this was a one-time incident. The Tribune regrets the error.

Hockey, Martlets, Sports

Stymied by Concordia Stingers, Martlets hockey falls short of RSEQ title

by Sophia Gorbounov on

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Delayed by a week due to COVID-19 protocols, game one for the Martlets hockey team (12-3-0) versus the Concordia Stingers (11-3-1) best-of-three playoff series took place on March 17. Throughout the season, McGill worked hard to earn their spot in the RSEQ finals. Though the team fought tooth and nail, they ultimately fell just short of the championship title, losing their first game 3-0 and their second 4-1. 

Though the Martlets couldn’t clinch this series, fifth-year forward Stephanie Desjardins emphasized that this does not hinder the girls’ end goal. 

“Obviously it was not the result we wanted,” Desjardins said. “But we still have a shot at our ultimate goal which is the national championship. The games were good [to] prepare for next week.”

McGill played Thursday night’s home game to a packed arena, with fans from both schools cheering loud and hard. Both Martlets and Stingers glided onto the ice with a powerful demeanour—ready, willing, and able to go to all lengths to secure the win. However, within the first five minutes of the period, Rosalie Begin-Cyr from the Stingers scored a swift goal to put the Stingers on the board. 

The Martlets tried to get past the Stingers’ wicked fast defence, with forward Katie Rankin attempting several shots on goal, but to no avail—the Concordia skaters were just too fast. They frequently intercepted McGill’s long passes, leaving no Martlet unguarded. Yet, goalie Tricia Deguire let no pucks through for the rest of the period, leaving the first frame of the game at 1-0 for Concordia.

During the second period, the Stingers left the Martlets’ defence scrambling. Even as their main tactic became to keep the puck away from the net, the Martlets’ offensive shots often took too long to set up, resulting in an impenetrable fortress forming around the Stingers’ goalie, Alice Philbert, and the shots inevitably being blocked. 

Things got bleaker for McGill fans when the Stingers scored another two goals, putting the Martlets at a three-point deficit. The third period saw little change in either teams’ strategies, and the first game closed off with a loss for McGill. 

Both teams returned refreshed on Friday, ready for the second game, with McGill hoping to push the series to a tie-breaker. Alas, the Martlets had a disheartening start, with the Stingers up 2-0 in the first period. Though their aggression increased in the second half of the game, McGill needed to step up and throw shots at goal, but their energy could not drive the team all the way to the net. With a goal from team captain Jade Downie-Landry, the score was briefly 2-1 for Concordia. However, with 7.8 seconds left in the second period, the Stingers scored again, followed later by a final open net goal after McGill pulled goalie Deguire off the ice, closing the series with another loss for McGill, 4-1. 

Marika Labrecque, a fifth-year centre on the team, shared Desjardins’ sentiments about the national championships, remaining proud of her team while recognizing what held them back. 

“Our first game was a bit more difficult and we knew that we would have to do better, especially shooting more,” Labrecque said. “We gave everything we got for this game. The intensity was there, but we didn’t capitalize when we had the opportunity.”

Despite this loss, the Martlets advance to the Final 8 tournament in Prince Edward Island, set to begin March 24.

Moment of the game: Reignited after a goal from the Stingers, goalie Tricia Deguire did not let in another goal for the rest of the game, saving five shots in a row even as the opponents’ offence continued to push forward.

Quotable: “I’m proud of how far we have come this season and still more to come. I feel as though we came together as a team and played a great game. Although we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, it was a hard fought battle. Tricia had two amazing games, which really held us in there.” – Third-year forward Makenzie McCallum
Stat Corner: Martlets goalie Tricia Deguire made 39 saves during the first game, and 32 during the second, putting her total number of saves at 11th-best in the USports Association.

McGill, News

McGill floor fellows go on strike, demand new Collective Agreement

by Noa Crebassa on

More in McGill:

On March 17, by way of a town crier, the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) announced that floor fellows—upper-year students living and working in residences to provide support to first-year students—will be on strike as of March 18 at noon. The floor fellows’ last Collective Agreement (CA) with McGill expired in July 2020 and is still undergoing negotiations. Though AMUSE chose to go on strike after McGill reduced their wage offer from $13.64 to $13.50, there are other core tenets that they are pushing for, including updating the meal plan amount and implementing retroactive pay. For now, no end to the strike has been announced, with the main goals of the action being getting the McGill Administration to acknowledge AMUSE’s demands, such as $18.00 for the floor fellows’ wage, and ultimately arrive at an agreement on the terms of the new CA.

The strike began with a march from Jeanne Mance park to the Roddick Gates on March 18. AMUSE also hosted a cookout on March 19, where, according to Joanna,* a floor fellow in an upper residence, floor fellows gave out free samosas to students outside of the McLennan Library. Since July 2020, floor fellows and AMUSE have pushed for the inclusion of harm reduction and anti-oppression policies, and have also demanded that their wage and meal plans be adjusted to the rising costs of living in Canada. Floor fellows currently follow the terms of the expired CA, which means that their wages have been stagnant at the 2020 rate for 18 months now.

“De facto, we have been operating on the same collective agreement pending the signing of a new one. One consequence of this is that meal plan rates and wages have been frozen since then,” said James Newman, MA ‘20 and president of AMUSE, in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “If we sign a collective agreement that includes the retro[active] pay we insist upon, wage increases will be paid out to employees in a lump sum retroactive to the last collective agreement.” 

Newman told the Tribune that the strike’s primary action was to have floor fellows not enter residences, and perhaps stay in a hotel, from March 18 at noon until March 21—a measure funded by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, AMUSE’s parent union. In doing so, floor fellows did not cross the picket line nor did they perform their regular duties during the strike.

Because floor fellows are bound by an expired CA, they are currently receiving minimum wage for no more than 13 hours a week. According to Newman, floor fellows often work overtime, sometimes up to 30 hours a week, but will still only be paid for 13 hours. Floor fellows are often expected to respond to student crises, build a community within residences, and serve as role models to younger students. It was the lack of compensation for work, according to Newman, that primarily led to the 84 per cent vote in favour of a strike authorization on March 7. 

“[The McGill administration] have been quite clear about their disdain for the idea that floor fellows deserve anything beyond the upcoming provincial minimum wage,” Newman said. “What they have thus far failed to communicate clearly is why so many floor fellows have received net-zero pay stubs, when we can expect them to come to us with a fair deal.” 

According to Joanna, having an expired CA means that floor fellows face situations that fall beyond the scope of their mandate—like having to mitigate drug use despite receiving no training in harm reduction practices. Hazard pay, too, is a major demand AMUSE is pushing for. 

“We really hope that McGill will meet some of our demands,” Joanna said. “We believe what we are asking for is fair. We would like enough meal plan money to cover three meals per day at dining halls [….] We would also like to get hazard pay for 2020-2021 because we were working at the height of COVID.”

In an email to the Tribune, McGill media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle stated that McGill is working alongside AMUSE and floor fellows in order to find a solution, and that some agreement has already been reached.

“McGill has been in discussion with the union for several months. Both parties have come to [an] agreement on all non-monetary elements within the collective agreement,” Mazerolle wrote. “Further meetings are planned with the union in the coming days. It is our hope we will reach a fruitful agreement rapidly.”

*Joanna’s name has been changed to preserve their anonymity.

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