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Three-factor model predicts psychiatric illnesses with 90 per cent accuracy

by Madhura Lotlikar on

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Remember the butterflies in your stomach and the tingling sensation that gives you shivers when you are just about to pitch an exciting project idea to your professor? Or when you finally deliver your handmade gift that you spent countless hours perfecting? Last summer, Marco Leyton, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill, experienced a similar feeling. He and his research team spent months trying to find errors in their three-factor model that can predict a lifetime history of multiple mental illnesses by tapping into just three factors: Biology, behaviour, and childhood trauma.

“Not only did the three factors predict who had a psychiatric problem, but the strength of the effect was extraordinary,” Leyton wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “We then spent the next few months searching for an error but couldn’t find one. It was an exciting summer.”

Fortunately, the model was accurate and could predict the participants’ lifetime history of psychiatric illnesses with 90 per cent accuracy based on incidences of childhood trauma, temperamental traits, and midbrain dopamine regulation. 


The 52 participants, who were followed since birth, showed various psychiatric illnesses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood and anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, eating disorders, and more. The fact that the three-factor model could predict a wide variety of psychiatric illnesses, Leyton argued, bolsters the notion that they may have common origins.   

“Comorbidity is a norm: People who meet criteria for one disorder are also likely to meet criteria for other disorders either at the same time or in succession,” said Leyton, whose research focusses on finding causes of addiction-related psychiatric illnesses. 

The striking strength of this model comes from the team’s ability to assess all three factors together for the first time. 

“Childhood trauma is the most quintessential, unanimously known risk factor for every psychiatric disorder, unfortunately,” said Maisha Iqbal, the first author of the paper and a neuroscience master’s student at McGill.”

The team assessed childhood trauma from a self-report questionnaire that included questions about emotional and physical neglect and abuse. However, due to many contributing factors, including genetic predisposition, family history, resilient brains, and flexible coping skills, some people were able to live their adult lives relatively unscathed. Thus, individual factors alone cannot accurately predict the onset of psychiatric illnesses.  

Researchers combined this with scores obtained from another questionnaire assessing participants’ externalizing traits between the ages of 11 to 16. These included their temperamental traits, aggression, and impulsivity.   

Adding positron emission tomography scan data to the model revealed that poorly regulated dopamine increased the prediction accuracy of the model even further. Dopamine is a chemical produced in the brain that influences mood, and triggers feelings of reward, pleasure and motivation. It is the same chemical that makes people feel rewarded when someone likes their post on Instagram, or makes them feel punished when they get scolded. It is also involved in pathways regulating drug addiction and movement disorders. When misregulated, it affects one’s motivation, attention, emotional and behavioral responses to situations, posing a biological risk for various attention and mood disorders.  

Administering early diagnosis and intervention protocols for psychiatric illnesses has the potential to greatly improve patient well-being at various levels. Studies like this one may help convince policymakers to encourage the use of predictive algorithms, like the three-factor model, in clinics—which are often discredited due to the inaccuracy of the ones currently available.

Further complications arise if models include neuroimaging or biological analyses, because of their logistical limitations as well as a need for higher levels of expertise to run them. But with the emergence of new technologies aiming to make portable and cost-effective neuroimaging devices, this research still holds promise. 

Note that this study establishes only a predictive, rather than a causal link between these factors and psychiatric illnesses. The team’s next steps are to replicate this effect in a larger and more diverse cohort of participants.  

 Seek access to mental health resources and assistance when needed. 

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Pop Dialectic: The duality of dark teen dramas

by Paulina Kasak, Signy Harnad on

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Content Warning: Mentions of drug addiction and sexual violence.

Even for university students, TV shows that centre teenage characters in and around high school have widespread appeal. Skins, which premiered in 2007, and Euphoria, which premiered in 2019, stand apart from other shows for their brutal depictions of partying, drug use, sex, and mental illness. Although only the latter is still airing, The McGill Tribune weighs how each show marks the dark teen drama genre. 

Skins: E4’s drama that transformed teen TV for good — Signy Harnad

In 2007, audiences were introduced to a group of teenagers from Bristol who got high on drugs, had promiscuous sex, and swore like sailors. The world would never be the same.

The British E4 network commissioned this television series, Skins, as their flagship show. Penned by father-and-son writing duo Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, it was set to be a “show about teenagers, but one that actually means something.” The series zeroes in on a group of mates in Bristol who sleep with each other, attend raucous house parties, and drink to excess. More than 10 years later, it remains an authentic, wickedly funny, and indulgently offensive slice of late 2000s British teenage life.

For six seasons—and one final run we will not speak of—Skins veered from nightclub escapades to existential reflections on mortality, mental health issues, and smoking more “spliffs” than you know you ought to. It treated viewers to a gold rush of generation-defining characters, ranging from the rebellious to the quirky—I remember having a soft spot for Mike Bailey’s endearing Sid. 

And then there was the way the show was able to overhaul its image every two years by culling the entire cast across three generations of characters. This not only enabled viewers to meet a brand new group of teens every two seasons, but also served as a glaring reminder that no matter how immutable this time in our lives may seem, it does end—we grow up.

Perhaps what was most groundbreaking about Skins, though, was that the personal struggles of the characters were not simply the glossy dramas of adults transplanted onto teenagers—programming that dominated TV schedules in the early 2000s (think Gossip Girl, The O.C., and One Tree Hill). The stories were more raw, honest, and relatable.

Despite all its ups and downs and occasional missteps, Skins became symptomatic of a pre-Instagram, post-indie era, providing an intimate snapshot of teen life in all its idealistic glory. Granted, during certain over-the-top moments, such as when fan-favourite Freddie is clubbed to death by a rogue psychiatrist, Skins really takes the I don’t remember that happening at my high school cake. Nevertheless, the show was never meant to depict anything but a state of sustained mayhem, much like adolescence itself.

Euphoria: HBO’s teen noir that 2022 needs — Paulina Kasak

HBO’s Euphoria first premiered in June 2019. The series is an adaptation of an Israeli show of the same name, which first aired in 2012. This epic series continues to make a mark on teen pop culture, simultaneously mesmerizing and utterly shocking the viewer through scenes of drug abuse, sex, drinking, bullying, and more. It is this alluring taboo content that paints the perfect picture of chaotic and misguided teenhood.  

The series’ title best encapsulates the internal goals of the show, which portrays the darkest moments, thoughts, and actions of a group of high school teens as they try to find joy by any means possible. Euphoria’s teenagers go to extreme lengths in search of what they hope will make them feel alive. The second season, which premiered on Jan. 9, focusses on Rue (Zendaya), who continues to struggle with drug addiction, while other beloved characters such as Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) deal with the vicious repercussions of being constantly objectified by almost everyone around them. Though only two episodes have been released, season two seems to surpass the shock value of its predecessor in the best way possible.   

There is something daring about placing teens at the centre of darkness and violence. Although it isn’t the first show to do this, Euphoria captures dark teen drama in a way that others do not—it inspires empathy for its characters, despite each of their fatal flaws. The viewer is often caught between the desire to watch on and feelings of overwhelming discomfort in watching teens experience such hardship. As appalling as Euphoria’s characters and their actions can get, the series provides realistic commentary on the realities of contemporary American teenagers. It is the undeniable plausibility of these violent mental and physical experiences that make the series what it is.

The series also offers a captivating take on the rather melancholic lives of this group of teens, destigmatizing topics such as mental illness and abusive relationships, rather than romanticizing them as other TV predecessors have done. It is the series’ inclusivity and bravery, in all respects, that marks it as a must-watch unique to contemporary culture.     

McGill, News

Federal government requires international students to be doubly vaccinated to enter

by Henry Olsen on

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The rapid rise in cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has spurred the Canadian government to implement a restriction requiring all international students entering the country to be fully vaccinated, as of Jan. 15. The Quebec College of Physicians has also called on the government to enforce stricter vaccination requirements, such as mandating three doses of an accepted vaccine in order to hold a vaccine passport. 

The Canadian government considers a person to be fully vaccinated if they have received two doses of an approved vaccine and it has been 14 days past their second dose. Booster shots—a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine—became available in Canada on Jan. 4 and became available to those aged 18 and over in Quebec on Jan. 14. However, Dr.Theresa Tam informed Canadians that the government would not change the definition of a fully vaccinated person. 

Frédérique Mazerolle, a McGill media relations officer, told The McGill Tribune in an email that the administration will respect the Quebec government’s evolving directives regarding the vaccine passport. 

“At McGill, vaccination passports are required to access a wide range of non-essential activities on- and off-campus,” Mazerolle wrote. “[The] university intends to apply the passport to the fullest extent possible under law to provide strong incentives for members of the McGill community to get vaccinated.”

Some international students, however, do not think McGill is doing enough to guide students through the changing safety measures. Anna Tripier, U1 Math and Biology, who is returning to Montreal from the United States, feels that the administration has shown a lack of concern for the wellbeing of its students.

“Though McGill has put a lot of effort into handling vaccination by following the Quebec laws,  I’m actually disappointed with the lack of resources and effort McGill has shown toward helping its students and faculty feel safe,” Tripier told the Tribune.

To help rectify this, Tripier suggests that more testing sites should be made available, along with higher quality tests. More importantly, she believes a university-wide vaccine mandate would be an effective tool in combating COVID-19. 

“I strongly support [a] decision to mandate vaccines,” Tripier said. “I think it’s the fastest way to slow the spread of COVID and reduce the amount of people heavily impacted by it.” 

Lucille Applegate, a U1 Arts student from France, too, is in support of a campus-wide vaccine mandate. The ethics and legality of requiring vaccines has, however, been hotly debated at McGill, with professors from the faculty of Law warning the university  of the liability risk of not imposing a vaccine mandate. Applegate believes that those hesitant about getting vaccinated should “trust science,” even if “it’s new and can be scary.”

Students’ discontent with McGill’s vaccination policies also extends to the federal government’s regulations. Tripier, for instance, has mixed feelings about the Canadian government’s new travel restriction because she worries some international students may not have access to vaccines. Applegate, on the other hand, feels this new rule is a natural progression in Canada’s regulations.

“I think this guideline is the only logical sequence of what Canada’s policy has been for the last few months, especially with the vaccine passport that has been in place,” Applegate remarked. 
As of Jan. 13, the McGill COVID-19 Situation Dashboard reported that 96.3 per cent of students were “adequately vaccinated.” Statistics regarding faculty and staff were last updated on Dec. 9. At the time, McGill reported that 92.2 per cent of McGill faculty and staff were adequately vaccinated. The Quebec government considers “adequately vaccinated” people to be those who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, who caught COVID-19 in the last six months, or who caught COVID-19 more than six months ago and have received one dose of a COVID vaccine. 

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

‘The Lost Daughter’ dares to grant nuance to mothers in film

by Maya Abuali on

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Warning: spoilers ahead

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter, released on Netflix on Dec. 31, contains all the familiar ingredients of a substantial horror film: Dark omens, riveting tension, and a score that has the audience constantly bracing for impact. Despite the film’s mundane activity and warm setting, its chilling subtext leaves viewers clawing into their seats with anticipation. When it comes to evoking unsettling emotions, Gyllenhaal doesn’t settle for child’s play—pun intended. In lieu of demonic jumpscares or tales of twisted abuse, the film tackles a forbidden subversion of what is perceived as innate human nature: The begrudging mother.

Said mother, Leda Caruso (the brilliant Olivia Colman) is a 48-year-old professor of Italian literature on summer vacation on a fictional Greek island. Almost as soon as she arrives, dark bodements encroach, including a bowl of rotting fruit, a piercing cicada, and an obnoxiously loud Italian-American family who interfere with the quiet ambiance of the beach. Although these phenomena may seem like normal disruptions one would expect on vacation, the shuddering tension imbued in the cinematography warns of something much more sinister.

Nina (Dakota Johnson), the enchanting and languid young mother of the American family, and her three-year-old daughter, immediately capture Leda’s attention. When Leda notices the child go briefly missing, spurring Nina into a maternal panic, she is flooded with memories. The audience then meets twenty-something Leda (now portrayed by Jessie Buckley) fraught and splashing about in search of her own daughter Bianca at that same beach. Alarm colours her voice enough to prepare the viewer for imminent tragedy—but it doesn’t come until far later in the film.

When the climactic reveal unearths itself in Leda’s dialogue with Nina, it is not at all as harrowing as the viewer expects. The film sets viewers up for a stomach-churning revelation. But instead, we learn that Leda, battered inside and in great need of respite, renounced her role as a mother and left her daughters with her husband (Jack Farthing) for three years. The plot reveal is still incredibly unnerving because of how transgressive Leda’s aversion to motherhood seems. It is often said that motherhood is a crucially enlightening stage in a woman’s self-actualization; that it gives women a key purpose. Whether in film or in life, mothers are expected to willingly forgo their identities and submit to their duties. Like the Virgin Mary, they are to be selfless child-bearers devoid of sensuality. And above all, they are to relish  in these sacrifices.

Leda’s rejection of motherhood—however temporary—is deeply unsettling. Rarely is maternal defiance explored on screen, despite the much deeper sins that television has dared to portray. Of course, there have certainly been representations of anti-mother characters, as seen in Hereditary, Carrie, Cinderella. But almost always, if a mother character shows the slightest bit of resentment or dissatisfaction toward her role, she is immediately painted as a villain. 

It is immensely refreshing to see a character like Leda, one with such rich complexity that the audience simply cannot hate her, despite her selfish actions. Though the responsibilities of young parenthood seemed to weigh on her like a crushing burden, the film depicts Leda as anything but uncaring. In one scene, for instance, Leda takes a hairpin and combs it through the young mother Nina’s hair, securing it in her hat. Nina melts under Leda’s nurturing touch, closing her eyes to savour being looked after for once. Leda also often calls her now-grown children, smiling and at peace, and inquires about their lives, suggesting that her maternal relationship with them has become easier. In her flashbacks throughout the film, younger Leda can indeed be harsh and vengeful toward her children. But she can also be radiant, inquisitive, and at times even ardent with her daughters. Colman and Buckley’s stirring performances make it all the more impossible to condemn the character.

Leda’s absence, though undeniably selfish, was a desperate move for self-preservation. Women of her stock—who feel plundered by motherhood, not bolstered by it—do not only exist in fiction. Gyllenhaal does an excellent job introducing this insanely human posture to film. One can only hope that women continue to be portrayed as truly autonomous individuals rather than one-dimensional caregivers. 

McGill, News

Omicron wave disrupts athletics programs and sports clubs at McGill

by Eric Birzneck on

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All Athletics and Recreation programming at McGill came to a halt on Jan. 6, when the university suspended athletic activities—including both recreational and varsity sports—due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. In a Jan. 11 update, the university announced that a limited amount of individual athletics programming, such as running, would return on Jan. 17. Intramurals and sports clubs are to remain suspended. 

In an email to The McGill Tribune, Zachary McRae, Athletics and Recreation’s communications officer, explained that the closure of the fitness centres and cancellation of sporting activities was in adherence to Quebec’s public health mandate. On Jan. 13, the government stipulated that the 10 p.m. curfew would be lifted on Jan. 17, but that gyms and indoor recreation facilities would remain closed.

“Athletics and Recreation [now] has permission to resume offering jogging, singles tennis, singles badminton, recreational skating and lap swimming,” McRae said. “Advanced bookings will be required to participate.”

Assistant Manager of Intramurals Ryne Bondy informed the Tribune in an email that there is no date planned for team intramurals to resume, as government restrictions continue to prohibit team sports. When the government eases these restrictions, Athletics and Recreation is considering implementing a shortened season, similar in format to Fall 2021, that would consist of only four games, rather than the typical six. Bondy explained that a plan is in place in the event that team intramurals are allowed to continue.

“We have everything ready to go and just need the green light to safely resume from public health,” Bondy wrote. “We had numerous protocols in place in the fall, increased buffer between matches, roster limits, no fans, increased sanitation. These can easily be transferred to the winter season and won’t be new for our participants.”

The suspension of activities has also affected the operations of McGill’s many sports clubs. Mei Yang, an executive of McGill’s Naginata Club, explained in an email that the suspension of in-person activities has complicated the training process for members as partner drills like sparring are not possible.

“In the past, we have run online practices and other social activities, but the scope of techniques that we can teach beginners online is drastically reduced,” Yang wrote. “Anything beyond the very basics is near impossible to properly teach without adequate space and in-person advising, so beginners tend to suffer the most during online practices.”

Akiko Nakagawa, another Naginata Club executive, agreed that the suspension has been difficult for athletics clubs because online training is not as effective in maintaining one’s physical fitness. 

“Naginata is a very technical practice, so we can all definitely feel our skills getting rusty after not practicing for a few months,” Nakagawa wrote. “It’s also pretty decent aerobic exercise, so I’m definitely more out of shape now than I was when we were practicing in person.”

Yang explained that club activities serve as an important opportunity for social interaction. In lieu of in-person activities, the club plans to organize game nights, movie screenings, and online viewings of tournament videos.

“Normally we socialize during or after our in-person practices, but since that’s no longer possible under the suspension we plan to move our socialization online through platforms like Discord,” Yang wrote. “The Naginata Club is the one of the few places where I can consistently talk to people who I consider to be friends, and taking this opportunity away deprives all club members of much-needed human contact.”

Commentary, Opinion

Blood in the stadium

by Hongkongers at McGill on

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When the Olympic flag rises in Beijing’s National Stadium this February, it will not be a moment of prestige or celebration. It will be a painful reminder that, in the eyes of the world, the horrors and abuses of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can be swept aside to make way for a flashy spectacle. To us Hongkongers fortunate enough to speak from the relative safety of Canada, the event symbolizes how the CCP has jailed or exiled an entire generation of young Hongkongers in its quest to crush dissent and manufacture a sanitized image of China for the world. McGill students must push their Members of Parliament to support a full boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

The human rights abuses of the Chinese state are more serious than ever before. In East Turkestan, the CCP’s ongoing genocide of Uyghur Muslims has resulted in at least one million people locked up in concentration camps, where many suffer torture and forced sterilization. In Tibet, forced relocation, arbitrary arrest, and torture in police detention are all common tactics to prevent Tibetans from speaking up like they did against the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And in Hong Kong, over 10,000 protesters—many of whom are teenagers—have been arrested as a government crackdown on university unions and student activism charges on. 

Despite the ever-worsening human rights situation in China, preparations are going ahead as planned for what some activists are now calling the “Genocide Games.” The world must not make the same mistake that it did in 1936: Despite a global “boycott” campaign against the Berlin “Nazi” Olympics, many countries ultimately still sent their athletes to the Games, which Hitler used to promote the Nazi regime. Consequently, an opportunity to censure his regime was lost. However, Olympic boycotts have been effective in the past: In 1976, 22 African countries boycotted the Montreal Olympics in protest of the International Olympic Commitee’s indifference toward apartheid in South Africa, and as a result, Canada lost one million dollars—equivalent to nearly five million dollars today––in hotel and ticket sales. A boycott of the Genocide Games would deny the CCP a chance to use media coverage of the Games to distract worldwide viewers from their various human rights atrocities.

Some counter that a boycott is detrimental to the well-being of the athletes—the Olympics only happen once every four years; a boycott would mean that athletes lose their chance at competing at one of the highest levels of sport. While this is true, it is important to keep in mind who pays the price for these Olympic dreams. For every young Canadian who receives a medal on the winner’s podium in Beijing, there are thousands of young Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Hongkongers who remain locked behind bars. Long after the medal-winners and foreign journalists have departed, the targets of the CCP’s ire, left behind in China, pay the price. 

Politics and sports are inseparable; nowhere is this truer than in China, where political freedom is severely repressed. The recent case of Peng Shuai, a tennis star who vanished after daring to accuse a former senior Communist Party official of sexual assault, shows that even Olympians enjoy no special exemption in the eyes of the regime. In support of Peng, the Women’s Tennis Association has rightly pulled out of China entirely—the equivalent of a full boycott of the country’s actions. 

Those looking forward to the sights and spectacle of the Beijing Olympics should consider how many lives they would be okay sacrificing for the sake of a sporting event and its associated advertising revenue. Consider how many people will be silenced to appease a repressive dictatorship. While moral questions are rarely easy to answer, hopefully in this case, the human cost of business as usual with the Genocide Games is clear.

McGill, News

Students report loss of income and stressful working conditions amidst Omicron wave

by Juliet Morrison on

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McGill students with on-campus jobs are facing new struggles since the latest COVID-19 case surge driven by the Omicron variant. The provincial lockdown closed many non-essential sites of employment on campus, from Gerts Student Bar to the Athletics and Recreation facility, leaving some student employees without income. For students with essential jobs, on the other hand, the surge in cases has meant pressures to work over-time amid staffing shortages. 

Student jobs deemed essential include research employees working in Tier 1 activities and select student service positions offering in-person support, such as the Peer Health Ambassadors at the Student Wellness Hub. Students with jobs in McGill’s residences are also still working in person. 

Non-essential campus jobs have moved to a virtual setting or closed altogether, a move that has impacted students like Sabrina Ahmed, U2 Arts, who works as an office assistant at the currently closed Athletics and Recreations facility. Ahmed’s shifts scheduled throughout January were cancelled following the lockdown, impacting her ability to support herself financially. 

“All the income from my on-campus job went towards paying my rent,” wrote Ahmed. “Since I am an international student, the tuition fees I am required to pay are quite high, so my job was a way for me to contribute to my living expenses and reduce the burden on my parents. Now with no income of my own, it has definitely put more pressure on my parents to pay for my living costs on top of already high tuition fees.”

In an email to the Tribune, McGill media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle listed some of McGill’s channels of financial support, including one specifically created for those dealing with a loss of income stemming from lockdown—the In-Course Financial Aid program. 

“Since the pandemic began, the Scholarships & Student Aid Office has received tremendous support from the University, donors and the provincial government to assist students with unexpected financial barriers,” wrote Mazerolle. “Nearly $6-million in one-time funding has been used to provide student bursaries for COVID-related situations—including remote learning tools, quarantine and lost or interrupted employment.” 

For some students in permitted on-campus positions, the spike in COVID-19 cases has made their jobs more strenuous. According to Beatrice Robert, U2 Arts and a floor fellow in multiple residences, there have been pressing staff shortages due to coworkers getting sick, resulting in frequent overtime work.

“I worked 50 plus hours [and] had to be called within 12 hours of a shift, because [another employee] was down for 10 days,” Robert said. “It’s just really tiring. But at the same time you try to be really flexible, because you know, it’s hard for everyone. And if you are available, you do not want to say no.”


The lack of adequate personal protective equipment on campus is another issue facing essential student employees. Though McGill offers free procedural masks, there is no widespread access to N95s or KN95s, which are now deemed essential for proper protection against the Omicron variant.

Student Life

Dance in the time of COVID-19

by Brontë Grimmer on

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McGill’s dance community is labouring under a lack of recognition and support in the COVID-19 era. After fully online Zoom practices during the 2020-2021 school year, McGill dance troupes continued to struggle with restrictions on their practices and performances throughout the Fall 2021 semester. 

Some members of the dance community, including United Groove member Sophia Monahan, U1 History, said they felt unsupported and undervalued by the university, in comparison to intramural and varsity athletic teams.

“In the Fall 2021 semester, for some reason, we still weren’t allowed all 30+ of us in the room and we had to split up our rehearsals while sports and intramurals were allowed to gather to practice,” said Monahan. “Our typical McGill facility access was denied or extremely challenging to get.”

Isabel Heard, U3 Urban Studies and coordinator of multi-genre dance group Mosaica, shared similar sentiments. 

“One unfortunate reality that the dance community at McGill has faced is the experience of being seen as subordinate to sports teams. Dance sits right on the border between arts and sports, and we are proud of occupying that space,” Heard said. “Throughout COVID, we sat back and witnessed intramural and varsity sports teams practice maskless and hold games while we were unable to rehearse together.”

As COVID-19 restrictions tightened over the winter break, and as McGill transitioned back to online learning for the beginning of the Winter 2022 semester, dance groups were forced to bring their practices back to Zoom, much like the 2020-21 school year. 

Monahan expressed the frustrations and challenges of practicing online. 

“I danced all throughout high school and never once felt that I didn’t want to go to dance,” Monahan said. “After doing dance online for several months, I found myself exhausted and almost annoyed to have to turn on Zoom again.” 

In order to keep morale up and prevent dancers from abandoning their craft, many McGill dance groups significantly reduced their practice hours over Zoom. Alegria, McGill’s contemporary ballet company, cut its practices from six hours in person to two hours over Zoom per week.

Heard said Mosaica was also hit with the same frustrations that many dancers felt.

“A few members of Mosaica decided to pull out of the company once we went virtual, as virtual rehearsals can be unfulfilling and frustrating,” Heard said. “The barriers of learning original choreography without the company being in the same room is a huge hurdle for us. [It] has really limited our creative freedom, our opportunity to connect within our own community and provide the kind of support network we want to offer to our dancers.”

Not only were in-person practices cancelled for the Winter 2022 semester, but groups had to cancel performances they had been preparing all Fall 2021 semester for. In compliance with COVID-19 restrictions, Urban Groove, McGill’s hip-hop dance troupe, cancelled its showcase planned for February. 

“We had to readjust completely,” said Urban Groove coordinators Maya Baylis, U3 Social Work, and Lucie Russell-Kearns, U3 Arts and Science. “It was heartbreaking as we were really excited to finally perform together for an audience again.”

Alegria Contemporary Ballet Company’s co-presidents Hannah Dmowski, U2 Arts and Science, and Lillian Yoffe, U2 Science, shared similar disappointment as their guest performance at Urban Groove’s showcase was cancelled.

“For many of us, dancing is a huge part of our lives and our identities and serves as an important de-stressor,” Heard said. “I personally felt like my life lost a lot of meaning.”

Arts & Entertainment, Internet

Where do I begin: ‘Hot Ones’

by Charlotte Hayes on

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In the Internet’s depthless sea of celebrity interviews, YouTube series Hot Ones offers a refreshingly authentic look into the lives of celebrities. The secret? Feeding guests unbearably hot chicken wings.

Hosted by Sean Evans and produced by First We Feast, the show draws audiences in with promises of, as Evans puts it, “hot questions and even hotter wings.” In each episode, Evans sits down with a famous guest to eat 10 chicken wings, each one topped with a hot sauce that gets increasingly spicier than the last. As if doing it once isn’t enough of a challenge, Evans manages to finish all 10 wings in every episode. With hot sauces ranging in spiciness from 1,800 to over 2,000,000 Scoville units, it is not uncommon for guests to react with statements similar to Joey Diaz’s during Season 3: “That is fuckin’ hot, Jack.” 

In between each wing, Evans asks guests questions about their personal life, public personas, and creative processes. With such a simple concept, it’s miraculous that the show is so popular. But after finishing its 16th season, the Hot Ones YouTube channel has garnered over 715 million views. On a platform flooded with content, the show manages to hold viewers’ attention by doing what no other show dares to do: Torture its guests. 

The show’s brilliance lies in how it puts its guests in vulnerable positions, encouraging them to open up. As the wings get progressively spicier, the questions become deeper and more personal. Although Evans’ interview style is seemingly laidback and casual, he lets the wings do the talking. As guests suffer and toil in the heat that lies on their own tongues, they tend to give honest, and often insightful answers. Sometimes they even lose bowel control.

Currently, the most-watched Hot Ones episode features Evans’ interview with Gordon Ramsay, from the eighth season. This episode gives us a private peek of a more soft-spoken Ramsay that directly conflicts with his belligerent TV persona. With a glimpse into his training as a chef, personal reflections on past contestants of his hit reality show Master Chef Jr., and the recipe for the perfect burger, Ramsay’s appearance is a perfect example of what the show does best; it allows—or at times forces—celebrities to turn off the act and really connect with the host. 

Possibly the most viral clip from the show is from “Paul Rudd Does a Historic Dab While Eating Spicy Wings.” Rudd reflects on the inauthentic nature of late-night talk shows and press junkets while offering insight on succeeding in show business for over 25 years. After finishing off the final wing, Rudd remarks to Evans, “Hey, look at us…who would have thought?” Rudd’s statement has been clipped into a six-second audio clip dubbed the ‘#paulruddchallenge’ which has been viewed just under a million times on TikTok. 

A favourite episode of mine is the fourth episode of season nine: “Aubrey Plaza Snorts Milk While Eating Spicy Wings.” Like many things Plaza is known to do, this interview can only be described as unhinged. As the video title suggests, to cope with the pain of the hot sauce, Plaza decides to pour milk up her nose. When the pain of the hot only sauce gets worse, Plaza entertains the possibility that she may be hallucinating. 

On a platform oversaturated with content, Hot Ones is a strange breath of fresh air. Evans’ interview style flawlessly rounds out the show’s unique format, cultivating original and light-hearted conversations that allow audiences to gain a new perspective on the guests. With its increasing popularity, Hot Ones has even released its own line of hot sauces so that fans of the show can play—or suffer—along at home. 

Chill Thrills, Student Life

Six cures for winter workout blues

by Rosie Kaissar on

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Temperatures dipping into the negative 20s. Streets covered in ice, snow, and grey slush. Gyms closed. In Montreal, getting exercise is more challenging now than in warmer—and not to mention pre-pandemic—times. Even when considering indoor workouts, many students struggle with a lack of space and equipment, the presence of roommates, and stressful, busy schedules. Nevertheless, regular exercise is incredibly important as it improves mental and physical health, which can help with students’ academic performances and can also lead to the release of endorphins, which decrease the perception of pain.

Although exercise options may be limited because students are stuck indoors for most—if not all—of the day, it’s possible to still stay active. A survey that concluded in 2021 revealed that the start of the pandemic triggered the growth of home fitness app downloads by 46 per cent globally. From the comfort of home, or even in small shared spaces, there are always creative ways to reach your daily exercise goals.

  1. Shadow boxing

One type of workout to try is shadow boxing, a type of cardio. Specifically, it is a martial art training method and endurance workout that involves punching the air. While it may feel unnatural to some, shadow boxing is a great full-body workout, and helps improve coordination, physique, and posture. Also, there is no need for punching bags, boxing gloves or headgear!

  1. Apartment-friendly cardio

Apartment-friendly cardio is not limited to boxing. Such types of exercises are great if you need to be mindful of neighbours, roommates, or family members. There are short-but-effective online workouts, like Zumba classes, that are fun and make people happy. Cardio is a beneficial form of exercise known for improving brain and joint health, promoting REM sleep, and increasing circulation, which helps to clear skin, aid digestion, and combat depression, all without the necessity of purchasing equipment.

  1. Yoga and pilates

Other types of popular indoor workouts include yoga and pilates. Both workouts aid stress management and relaxation, which can be beneficial for university students during a difficult semester. Yoga and pilates also help improve physical coordination, balance, and flexibility. While it may be helpful to invest in a yoga or pilates mat for comfort purposes, they are not necessary for completing the exercises.

  1. Strength training

Strength training is another type of indoor workout that is a great way to keep bones strong and healthy, boost your metabolism, and reduce the risk of many diseases such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. Though strength training traditionally involves more equipment, calisthenics is one form that utilizes only your body mass; this type of workout can include exercises like jump squats, pushups, crunches, and plank. 

  1. High Intensity Interval Training

High Intensity Interval Training, also known as HIIT, is another popular indoor training to try, as there are many HIIT videos to follow that are short and sweet––perfect for university students to use in between online classes. While they don’t take much time to complete, this kind of exercise increases metabolic rate for hours even after completion.

  1. Taking a walk

Last but not least, though it may be cold, slippery, and slushy, going outside and getting fresh air is still incredibly important for mental and physical health. Some benefits of going on walks include improved cardiovascular fitness, moods, cognition, memory, and sleep, as well as increased energy levels and stronger immune systems––take that, COVID! Walks can also help to reduce stress and tension. If you prefer your outdoor venture to be a bit more intense, try running at a slow pace that feels comfortable to you; this way, you won’t begin to see the exercise as a grueling task to avoid and will more likely stick to it in your fitness routine.

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