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Science & Technology

SciLearn: Learning how to learn

by Antoine Larocque on

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Starting a science degree at McGill can feel overwhelming. Between heavy course loads, fast-paced lectures, and the pressure to perform, many students struggle to find study strategies that work for them. SciLearn, a program run by McGill’s Office of Science Education (OSE), aims to change this.

Grounded in neuroscience, SciLearn supports the growth, well-being, and academic success of undergraduate students by helping them study more effectively.  

“We try to provide [first-year undergraduates] with some skills that can enable them to feel well and to be successful in their first year,” Cyrille Mvomo, a PhD student and Science Education fellow at OSE, said in an interview with The Tribune.

The program’s innovative approach has gained international recognition, earning a bronze QS Reimagine Education Award for its application of neuroscience learning.

One of SciLearn’s central initiatives, SciLearn Peer Collaboration, operates a collaborative learning space on weekdays from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Burnside Hall basement, room 1B23. There, teaching assistants and undergraduate peer mentors assist students as they study together. The workspace hosts course-specific study sessions for a selection of 100 and 200-level science courses. Students can work on assignments, prepare for exams, ask questions, or simply take a break in between study sessions. Although SciLearn is housed within the Faculty of Science, students from other faculties enrolled in first-year science courses are also welcome.

“We want everyone to come,” Kira Smith, Student Engagement and Learning manager at OSE, told The Tribune. “Part of the network that we establish between students means that the students who […] understand the concept can support their fellow peers in developing that same understanding and learn as they are teaching their peers [….] It is [a program] that builds on everyone’s strengths.”

According to a survey conducted by OSE researchers, between 85 and 90 per cent of students reported that SciLearn Peer Collaboration prepared them for their assessments, improved their understanding of class material, and provided a centralized space to study multiple courses.

Beyond SciLearn Peer Collaboration, SciLearn organizes events, such as workshops that explore the neuroscience of learning, memory, attention, and motivation. Through a combination of guest lectures, study groups and other events, SciLearn helps students understand how the brain retains information and applies the knowledge to improve their study practices.

SciLearn also collaborates with instructors in select science courses to deliver guest lectures which introduce students to neuroscience-informed learning strategies.

“In our events, we realized that some of the students had some misconceptions about the neuroscience of learning that could prevent them from optimizing their learning performance,” Mvomo said. “For example, [people think] they are a visual learner, they are an auditory learner, and they cannot learn in any other way [….] After attending our events, these kinds of misconceptions are decreasing.”

As advice to first-year students, Mvomo cautions against cramming before exams, noting that it does not support long-term retention of information. He also encourages students to remain open-minded about academic support programs and workshops, even those that may initially seem unnecessary.

Smith echoed this message and also emphasized the importance of self-compassion.

“Remember that you are a person first, then you are a student, and then you are a club member or executive, etc.,” Smith said. “[Be] gentle with yourself and [lean] on the supports that exist for you [.…] Once you have identified these community members who […] want to help, lean on them, because it makes us feel good to help you, too.”

The SciLearn program will continue to evolve, with upcoming initiatives including discussions on artificial intelligence in learning, an expansion of guest lectures, independent study group sessions, and plans to secure a larger space to broaden services.

Altogether, SciLearn aims to provide science students with practical tools, evidence-based learning strategies, and supportive spaces designed to help them thrive at McGill and beyond.

“It is a program that just wants students to succeed, and we are doing everything that we can to do that, including giving them free snacks,” Smith said.

Behind the Bench, Sports

NHL players are back at the Olympics after a 12-year ban

by Ivanna Zhang on

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The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games are just under a month away. Featuring approximately 2,900 athletes across 116 events, the Winter Games is one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Despite its importance and popularity, the National Hockey League (NHL) has denied its players the opportunity to participate in the tournament for over a decade. The Milano Cortina Games will end a 12-year hiatus of NHL players’ participation in the Olympics, the last involvement having been in Sochi 2014. 

The men’s hockey event was featured in the first-ever Winter Olympics in 1924. According to Olympics founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the Olympics were intended for amateurs; therefore,  NHL players’ professional status prohibited them from competition. In 1992, however, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) abolished the amateur rule. Still, it was not until the 1998 Nagano Games that NHL players were allowed to compete. 

After sending their players to five straight Olympics, from 1998 to 2014, the NHL banned its players again in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games. The NHL and IOC struggled to reach an agreement due to cost coverage issues and the timing of the games. In 2017, the IOC announced it would no longer cover NHL players’ accommodations, insurance, or travel expenses, citing that it does not provide similar funding for athletes from other major professional leagues, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) offered $20 million USD to cover the costs; nevertheless, the efforts to convince the NHL were unsuccessful. 

146 players from the league will compete in Milan this year, with at least one player from each of the 32 NHL teams. Widely considered the largest hockey league in the world, the ban negatively impacted the viewership and entertainment value of the Winter Games, as some of the world’s best hockey players are unable to compete. For example, the Team USA roster for Milan is made up solely of 25 NHL players. For Beijing 2022, the ban from the NHL forced the U.S. to resort to a team of mostly college students from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), mounting a short run to the quarterfinals.

This 12-year ban fueled growing frustration among NHL players eager to represent their respective countries. In July 2025, an agreement was reached among the IOC, IIHF, NHL, and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), allowing players to compete in 2026 and 2030. However, controversies remain due to the delayed construction schedule and the size of Milan’s Olympic ice rink.

Despite being less than a month away from the first puck drop, the rinks are scheduled to be ready on Feb. 2, just three days before the women’s tournament and nine days before the men’s. The primary issue, however, is the dimension of the rink. The initial agreement between the four parties was that the ice rink would be built to NHL specifications: 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. However, the Olympic rink has been constructed as 196.85 feet long and 85.3 feet wide, more than three feet shorter and a few inches wider than promised. 

A shorter ice rink means a shorter neutral zone, hindering players’ ability to gain speed in offence, which can increase physicality and encourage aggressive defensive strategies. NHL Commissioner Bill Daly said in an interview with The Athletic  that the players will not participate if the conditions are deemed unsafe. Daly’s comments also highlight the significant power the NHL holds within Olympic hockey. Because the league controls access to the world’s top players, it can negotiate or withhold participation based on safety conditions. This leverage allows the NHL to advocate for safer playing environments, benefiting not only NHL athletes but all players participating in the event. 

Despite this, there have been no official reports of safety concerns, and the stadium is set to finish on time. Although players expressed that the smaller rink size would change the game, reactions about NHL players’ participation have been overwhelmingly positive. After more than a decade away from Olympic competition, many athletes are eager for the opportunity to represent their countries on the world’s biggest stage.

McGill, News, Recap

Recap: Students and professors adjust to a new semester with dwindling TAships 

by Kaitlyn Schramm on

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With the commencement of the Winter term, students and professors alike have attempted to adjust to an education with a lack of teaching assistant (TA) positions. Many courses in the Faculty of Arts that previously had at least one TA now have none, and professors have adapted to leading in-class conferences with anywhere from 40 to 80 students. Following the Quebec government’s changes to tuition policy, McGill has had to restructure its budgeting drastically throughout the 2025-2026 school year. 

In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) emphasized the university’s continued commitment to providing excellence in education despite growing budget constraints. 

“As is the case for many postsecondary institutions, McGill has had to make difficult decisions to balance its budget this year,” the MRO wrote. “McGill is working closely with its faculties to ensure it continues to meet its high standards of excellence while preserving the long-term financial stability of the University.”

The university itself does not set a budget for TAs; rather, each faculty decides the number of TAships based on its individual budget. The Faculty of Arts, McGill’s largest faculty, has committed to reducing TAships by 17 per cent, moving TAs to other positions or cutting their hours. 

Political Science Professor Narendra Subramanian reported that his courses have undergone significant changes since McGill readjusted TA hiring. Two of Subramanian’s 400-level courses, previously capped at 80 students, were reduced to a cap of 50 students. These courses also had one TA each but now do not. Subramanian has thus had to reorganize the way he conducts his lectures in order to optimize student learning without the assistance of graduate employees. 

Subramanian further explained how the cut to TA positions has affected lecture time. 

“[It has] crucially [affected class]. [T]here are no conferences with about 20 students each where it is easier for students to speak,” Subramanian wrote. “I have to conduct these classes as an uneasy mix of lecture and discussion, which gives many shier students little effective room to speak/raise questions.” 

Additionally, Subramanian mentioned the shift in assignment structure due to the loss of grading support, with many professors inclined to assign less time-consuming exercises or digital assignments rather than handwritten ones.

Arts & Entertainment, Music, Pop Rhetoric

2026: The Year of Olivia Dean

by Alexandra Lasser on

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When looking at the upcoming year of music, one name comes to mind in terms of dominating the charts: British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean. Dean has been steadily producing music and growing her following since her 2018 debut; however, it wasn’t until 2025 that she was welcomed into the mainstream. She broke into the Billboard 200 albums chart with The Art of Loving, released in September 2025. Her single, “Man I Need,” gained traction on TikTok, with over 1.6 million videos having been posted to the sound, propelling the song to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. 

The song’s virality introduced many new listeners to her unique style.“Man I Need” incorporates elements of soul and gospel chords over a swinging rhythm, putting a spin on traditional pop melodies. Her smooth, inviting voice sings romantic verses that speak of crushes and the desperate hope that comes with them. Her ability to blend a diverse array of genres is perhaps what elevated her to the top of a scene oversaturated with repetitive harmonies and chords. The silky quality of her voice lends an intimacy to this breezy pop hit, setting the song apart from other, often shallow, hits. 

In an age where trendy stars burn brightly only to be forgotten in a week, Olivia Dean has only strengthened her foothold in the industry since blowing up. She performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in November, which helped promote her album beyond the hit single. She sang “Let Alone The One You Love,” which not only displayed the depth and power in her voice belied by the playful verses of “Man I Need” but also expressed more vulnerability through her discussion of shame and heartbreak, demonstrating the breadth of her artistry. Dressed in a long pink gown with her hair styled in classic Hollywood waves, she created a visual connection to an older era of pop that often resonates in her music. 

Dean’s ability to maintain relevance past virality is no accident. Although she has only recently reached such a large audience, she was named Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2021. Her incremental rise to fame over the past few years set the stage for the staggering success of The Art of Loving. Her ongoing success is a natural result of years of working and developing as an artist rather than a simple stroke of good luck. 

This year, Dean will embark on an international tour, with several dates already sold out. In the midst of tickets dropping, she spoke out in defence of her fans against ticketing companies that allowed resale tickets to exceed $700 CAD. She set herself apart from profit-seeking artists who have done nothing to prevent unreasonable ticket prices by fighting to keep her concerts affordable for average fans. 
The first week of January saw her album ascend to number four on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and “Man I Need” reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart. She currently has over 58 million monthly listeners on Spotify and is sure to amass more, as her upcoming tour will reach global audiences. The continued popularity of her music past her short-lived virality and months after the album’s release demonstrates how incremental growth prepares artists to take advantage of their moment and display their years of gruelling work, thus ensuring long-lasting success, not just in 2026, but in the years to come as well.

McGill, News

Students and faculty discuss academic calendar and winter break duration

by Asher Kui on

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McGill’s Winter 2026 Semester officially started on Jan. 5, giving McGill students a two-week-long winter break. Compared to other Montreal universities such as Concordia University and Université de Montréal, McGill students receive one week fewer of winter holidays. Other Canadian universities, such as the University of Ottawa, also resume classes a week after McGill, leaving some McGill students to question the reason for this discrepancy between McGill and other schools.

In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) explained that the academic calendar must follow the Guidelines Regarding the Setting of the University Calendar of Academic Dates.

“McGill’s academic calendars, which are approved at least two years in advance, are reviewed judiciously and respect several key priorities,” the MRO wrote. “These include, among others, ensuring student well-being, two full 13-week terms, minimum examination periods, and the provision of a Reading Break in both the Fall and Winter terms.”

The guidelines also mandate that McGill’s academic calendar include a one-day or weekend study break, separating the end of classes and the first day of exams. Overall, there must be at least 130 teaching days over the combined Fall and Winter terms.

In an email exchange with The Tribune, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice President of University Affairs Susan Aloudat reaffirmed that McGill’s current academic calendar reflects a set of accommodations that students have advocated for, including an earlier winter exam season and a week-long Reading Break.

“McGill’s academic calendar starts earlier than other universities in the province to allow for an earlier exam season,” Aloudat said. “[This] also gives [professors] almost the entire month of May to prepare grades for May graduation, as well as to accommodate the spring break.”

Fall 2021 saw McGill University implement a two-day extension to Thanksgiving weekend for the first time. Fall 2024 was the first semester to see a week-long Reading Break. Such changes, in addition to McGill’s mandate for full 13-week terms, often create complications for scheduling academic calendars as well as student engagement activities. Nonetheless, the MRO assured that maintaining a student democracy remains a top priority in McGill’s decision-making.

“[McGill’s decision] was done in close collaboration with students and student leadership,” the MRO wrote. “[It follows] a careful assessment of the impact on the academic year, with student well-being being a key factor [….] McGill welcomes student feedback on its academic calendar.”

While some students expressed dissatisfaction with the comparatively short duration of winter break, Aloudat underscored that many other students prioritize mid-semester breaks over a lengthy winter break.

“Students are the ones who advocated for Reading Break to be the entire week instead of the initial couple of days,” she wrote. “I imagine this demonstrated that having an entire week of break in the middle of each semester is important to the students, which is why the academic calendar is distributed the way it is by McGill.”

In an email to The Tribune, Chloé Muñoz, Arts and Science senator, expressed that although McGill has a comparatively shorter winter break than other universities, the calendar allows her to stay focused in the winter semester.

“As a student, […] I quite enjoy the length of the break we have,” she wrote. “I know this is not an opinion shared by the majority of students but I find that after an approximately [two-week] break, I come back rested but not fully detached from school.”

She also mentioned that McGill’s academic calendar allows for a longer summer break, which may be beneficial to many students wanting to explore opportunities outside of the university.

“Starting earlier [allows us to] have a longer overall ‘summer time,’” she explained. “This time ends up being [the] length of a typical semester, allowing students to have more time in internships, taking classes, and exploring things outside of the direct boundaries of our academic lives.”

Off the Board, Opinion

When we dance, we make the world a little lighter

by Jenna Durante on

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The room is already breathing before you are. Bass thunders through your ribs as neon lights beam across moving bodies. By the second song, you are no longer dancing in a crowd so much as being embraced by it. Sweat soaks through your shirt. Hair sticks to your face. Strangers grab your hands as the surge pushes everyone forward, laughing when you almost lose your footing together. You smile at people whose names you’ll never know, and move in unison to a rhythm that belongs to everyone all at once. 

It feels reckless, surrendering yourself to the beat of the music; letting dance take the lead in a culture where any misstep can be filmed and archived on our screens. But it feels beautiful, too. For the first time in years, movement is shaping how pop culture feels, and it’s restoring a kind of connection we forgot we needed. 

Across generations, dance has proved to be one of the most resilient art forms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our connections were limited to virtual hangouts and meetups. Turning to our phones for entertainment, TikTok made choreography accessible in the most intimate way possible. You could learn simple routines in your kitchen in a matter of seconds. Thousands of people practiced the same counts in isolation, connected online when physical proximity was impossible. 

After so long without these connections, dance has become one of the most human ways to find ourselves and each other again.

As our world reopened, that muscle memory carried back into public life, building on a lineage from long before social media’s takeoff. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Michael Jackson transformed movement into spectacle, bending expectation and gravity with every beat. In the early 2000s, Lady Gaga made choreography pop’s central language, teaching a generation to rehearse confidence in bedroom mirrors. Today, artists like Tate McRae carry that energy forward, blending pop and dance into songs meant to make you move. Tyler, the Creator took it further with Don’t Tap the Glass, a dance record built for movement, where he explicitly tells listeners not to sit still. 

The resurgence of this fearlessness extends further, reviving the spirit of the MTV era. Jungle’s vibrant music videos—especially the now iconic Back on 74—put dancers into larger-than-life hip-hop and jazz funk numbers, releasing raw, expressive energy onto the screen. Their choreography spills outward, arms flung wide, strangers pulled into motion until their joy feels contagious. Even recent dance-forward films such as La La Land and West Side Story (2021) remind audiences that movement can carry narrative just as powerfully as dialogue.

Dance offers so much more than entertainment. It’s the heat rising behind your sternum, the moment your lungs burn and your mind goes quiet. It’s embarrassment dissolving mid-pirouette, replaced by laughter you cannot control. When you dance, you stop protecting your ego. You loosen. You synchronize with music and let everything go, and for a moment, nothing else matters. 

Our appetite for dance is driven by its strength to create bonds across genres and cultures. Disco served as a refuge for Black and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities when they were refused the space to live proudly. Punk offered its own edgy style, where headbanging and mosh pits became collective acts of love and DIY spirit. Even ballet, for all its discipline, shares a sense of connection—bodies learning to move count by count, beat by beat, through the same story together.

Yet dance becomes most powerful when it breaks free from form. Beyond choreography and technique, it is imagination that makes movement so special. In a world that so often teaches us to shrink—to curate, to monitor, to disappear behind screens—choosing to dance becomes an act of radical self-expression. And when we dance together, we become part of a body larger than our own. Dance is not just expressing who you are; it reminds you that you are not alone.

So dance while you’re getting ready in the morning, on your walk to class, in the shower, or even while brushing your teeth. Move because it feels good, because it lifts your chest and loosens your shoulders. Move because your body needs to. Because when we dance, we make the world a little lighter.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Stranger Things: Legendary, or a let down? 

by Lia James on

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Warning: This piece contains spoilers.

The widely beloved show Stranger Things released its series finale on New Year’s Eve 2025, concluding almost 10 years of storytelling. It premiered in three parts: The first, the day before American Thanksgiving, the second on Christmas Day, and the third on New Year’s Eve. Splitting the season across the holidays kept fans engaged and helped the show amass 105.7 million total views, making it one of the most-watched TV shows today. But despite the vast number of views, did the content of this final chapter help or hurt the esteemed show’s legacy?

The variety of opinions on this season has spurred much discourse on the internet. While some are satisfied with the ending, many are left wanting more. Unanswered questions regarding the Mind Flayer’s true desire, the origin of Henry Creel’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) mysterious stone, and how Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) recognized Will (Noah Schnapp) in the first season made the ending unsatisfying for many viewers.  

Don’t get me wrong, some TV shows benefit from unanswered questions, which can enrich the narrative, but this is not the case for Stranger Things. The key issue lies in the Duffer Brothers consistently introducing new plotlines as the show went on without clear plans to resolve them. Of course, they could not tie up every loose end, as there were far too many and too little time, but the constant addition of storylines left many viewers frustrated. 

Stranger Things was initially pitched as an anthology series, with each season featuring a new storyline and different characters. The first season’s tremendous and unexpected success, earning 18 Emmy nominations and 5 awards, likely led to the shift to film a continuous story. However, this change of plans necessitated expanding a plot that was only intended to last one season, perhaps explaining why the story seems unresolved at times.   

As the seasons progressed, the show became increasingly action-packed, leaving less time for viewers to connect with the characters themselves. In the first season, viewers learned a lot about Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) as a character, but in the final season, they barely hear his thoughts, with many describing him as “oblivious.” The first season also carried a nostalgic 1980s tone, heavily inspired by The Goonies, but that charm faded over time as the story grew darker, moving away from the nostalgia that watchers knew and loved. 

So, will the disappointment of fans across the world stain the reputation of Stranger Things? Unlikely. The series has been extremely iconic for the past decade, with many viewers growing up alongside it. By representing the developmental changes of adolescence, the series deeply connected with its young audience, allowing it to stay relevant. 

Even the most subpar of endings cannot tarnish a beloved show’s reputation forever. Take Game of Thrones, for example: Fans were extremely disappointed with the show’s ending, yet it remains widely loved and watched. Its prequel series, House of the Dragon, has also been a major success, with more spinoffs in the works.

So, while I didn’t love the ending of Stranger Things, I love the series because of the nostalgia it brings me and the characters I have connected with over the past decade. The show’s final episode was two hours and five minutes, which is relatively short compared to the time spent watching the entirety of the show. Many times in storytelling, the ending isn’t the most important part; it is the journey to reach that point. Stranger Things will no doubt continue to be seen as successful despite its ending, because ultimately, does the ending really matter in the grand scheme of the show’s impact?

Fact or Fiction, Science & Technology

Fact or Fiction: Can artificial intelligence use reduce users’ cognitive skills over time?

by Malika Logossou on

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools now shape how many students tackle tasks such as essay writing, problem-solving, and even brainstorming ideas. Across online platforms, users claim that their reliance on AI has compromised their vocabulary, writing abilities, and creativity, raising concerns about a weakening of cognitive skills overall. However, from a scientific perspective, does sustained use of external cognitive tools truly alter how these abilities are exercised or maintained? 

In a written exchange with The Tribune,  Nandini Asavari Bharadwaj, a PhD candidate in McGill’s Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, explained how these external tools change people’s engagement with and maintenance of their cognitive skills.

“Generative AI tools are relatively new, and more research is needed to understand their long-term impacts on human cognition; however, current research in the area suggests generative AI use may have various impacts on learning and cognitive processes like memory and attention,” Bharadwaj wrote. 

Bharadwaj also emphasized that any tool we use will shape how we think and process information.

“Generally speaking, the use of any external tool during cognitive processes can impact how we think and perform cognitively, from using a simple pen and notepad to computers, and now to generative AI,” she explained. “Moreover, tools are not entirely neutral by themselves. Our use of these tools is driven by what the tools can offer as functionalities, what are known as real affordances of tools and our perceptions of what they can do as well, known as perceived affordances.”

Bharadwaj added that researchers have found how AI tools can both limit and enhance cognitive skills, depending on their use.

“On the one hand, researchers have raised serious concerns that these tools, if used excessively, especially by novices, could reduce opportunities to develop and practice skills or ‘productively struggle,’” Bhardawaj wrote. “On the other hand, research has shown that generative AI can offer exciting new ways to engage with educational content, augment existing knowledge, and boost students’ reasoning and analytical skills.”

As such, one may wonder whether to use AI tools at the start, middle, or end of a task, or perhaps only for a portion of the task, to mitigate a potential weakening of their cognitive skills; however, researchers remain unsure. 

“Some researchers have recommended using AI systems for brainstorming, review, or editing activities that still place the onus of creation on the student. Others recommend it to be used as a tutor or guide, rather than a full teacher, to promote mastery in learners,” Bharadwaj wrote. “Ultimately, in education, we want students to develop thinking and writing skills, not just hand in assignments. Hence, applications of any technology for learning, including AI, should always be guided by pedagogical and learning goals.”  

Looking ahead, these elements underscore the need for thoughtful interaction with AI tools, which requires understanding how they work and why they are being used. 

“Students should reflect on what skills they are trying to develop, where they might need more or less teacher intervention, and what their overarching learning goals are. This will encourage more thoughtful use of AI tools for skill development in the long term as well,” Bharadwaj wrote.

Bharadwaj also stressed the importance of developing AI literacy skills.

“Students must understand AI systems and their capabilities, i.e., develop their AI literacy skills, before any extensive use of them. By doing so, students can ensure they understand how these tools work and are informed on issues like system hallucinations, safety, privacy, alignment, and transparency. This can also promote best practices for working with AI systems.”

So, fact or fiction: Can AI reduce cognitive skills over time? Limited research offers mixed findings, but the answer ultimately depends on how individuals choose to use AI tools.

“It is not just a simple question of whether AI tools are good or bad for cognition. Rather, we need to get into the details of how they are being used and how the learner is engaged in the learning process,” Bharadwaj wrote.

All Things Academic, Student Life

Bird (course) watching

by Parisa Rasul on

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Ancient Reddit thread scrolls whisper the lies of students past: “Math 133 is nothing, easiest class I’ve ever taken,” “Yo, you don’t even have to show up for ‘CATH 325: Mystery and the Imagination.’” You heed their advice, only to be later victimized by the thought that you could pass the class by daydreaming.

We’ve all heard of the elusive ‘bird course,’ an elective that boosts your GPA with minimal effort. However, some McGillians seem to have conflicting responses to these bird courses. Are these courses consistent in their low rigour, or are they professor-dependent? Are they student-dependent? All of these nuances contribute to whether or not a given course is truly an ‘easy A’ or a perpetuated myth. 

The Tribune interviewed students in the midst of add/drop season to gauge the reality of the bird course.

Nicole No, U4 Management, believes that they do in fact exist, having taken them herself. 

“There’s definitely some courses that are easier and that require less work than others. And I’ll be honest, […] I think I did most of all of them [….] It really does help in the sense that I can actually focus on the harder courses […] it gives me more time.”

Marijke Oosterhuis, U4 Arts, believes bird courses depend on a student’s degree requirements. 

“I’ve found that bird courses are more so ones that are required for your major, and the professor doesn’t really care too much [….] They just give you an automatic A.”

Whereas Harantxa Jean, U3 Arts, finds them to be student-specific,

“In general, when people want to have easy A’s, they are going towards classes that they have prior knowledge in because it’s going to be easier,” she explained. “But I don’t necessarily think classes in general are easy.”

Evidently, the defining characteristics of a bird course are quite fluid. What defines a class as ‘easy’ is not a dependable metric of whether or not these courses actually exist. However, No’s experience with bird courses is proof that they have, in some cases at least, lived up to their expectations as a crutch for students to boost their GPA.

In this perpetual search for the ‘easy A,’ is it possible that students have subordinated the pursuit of genuine curiosity when selecting their electives?

Chloe Styres, U0 Science, finds that this is a common practice among McGill students. 

“I hear some people [saying], ‘I need an easy course for this upcoming semester.’ And they’ll just take anything. They don’t even necessarily have to be interested in it, which I think is kind of sad,” Styles said. “I think that one of the advantages of having electives, especially with the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading systems, [is that] you can take anything that you’re genuinely interested in learning.”

Oosterhuis speaks to the slight absurdity of students choosing courses that don’t interest them in hopes of attaining high marks. 

“I find [it] so crazy because you’re paying so much money […] just to, what? Take an easy A class? Don’t you want to learn anything?”

Elaborating on the possible cause of this student tendency, Jean explained her own hypothesis for why the ‘bird course’ has gained so much popularity. 

“Especially with AI now, people are more lazy [….] They just want easy A’s so that they can have good grades and just move up in their lives.”

Both the financial investment in a university education and the stresses of academic achievement can overshadow learning for its own sake. Ultimately, the pursuit of the ‘easy A’ demonstrates the woes of successfully navigating the rough terrain of McGill’s academic environment. In the high-pressure atmosphere of an elite institution, it is difficult to ask students to jeopardize high grades for something as amorphous and intangible as ‘passion.’ However, passion is something we can learn to live for, no matter the initial difficulty in prioritizing it. 

Commentary, Opinion

Sexual assault survivors should not have to ask for safety

by Julie Raout on

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On Dec. 29, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) banned convicted Catholic priest Brian Boucher from several parts of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG) and the Town of Mount Royal, after he repeatedly crossed paths with an individual he had sexually assaulted. 

The individual said that encountering Boucher caused discomfort. They noted that they had already sought additional safeguards in October by requesting the former priest not only be banned from the CDN-NDG region, but from the island of Montreal itself. The PBC’s failure to adopt preventative measures to ensure the safety of survivors—instead acting only after further harm was caused—shows that the system has failed yet again in its duty to protect survivors of sexual assault.

In Jan. 2019, Boucher was convicted and sentenced to eight years for assaulting one boy between 1995 and 1999, and another between 2008 and 2011. He began serving the remainder of his sentence in a halfway house in July 2024, as Canadian law allows the statutory release of federal offenders after they have completed two-thirds of their sentence. 

The Archdiocese of Montreal, the church network through which Boucher served as a priest, chose to protect Boucher rather than act on warnings from survivors and their families. Multiple families raised concerns about Boucher’s suspicious behaviours toward boys in the 1980s, when he was not yet a priest and instead taught catechism classes. These complaints were ignored, and Boucher was ordained in 1996. Several parishioners raised further concerns about Boucher’s relationship with a ten-year-old boy in his new parish, but the Church again dismissed them. 

Quebec Superior Court Justice Pepita Capriolo disclosed the Archdiocese’s culture of inaction and secrecy in a report published in 2020. The report found that Boucher may have had concerning relationships with a boy and a young adult during his tenure as a chaplain at the Newman Centre at McGill University between 2000 and 2002. Capriolo concluded that senior members of the Archdiocese knew of his abuse but continuously deflected responsibility. 

Boucher’s violations of statutory release conditions and multiple encounters with his survivor align with his patterns of callousness and disregard towards the law. In the statement banning Boucher from parts of Montreal, the PBC explained that he continues to lack empathy, deny his actions, and violate boundaries. The summary of the decision also notes that Boucher is at risk of inflicting further trauma on survivors. 

The Church failed to protect survivors by allowing Boucher to continue practicing as a priest for more than 20 years. The PBC cannot become another institution that falls short of safeguarding survivors by underestimating the risks posed by an unrepentant predator, even when that individual is subject to geographical restrictions. 

Boucher has made it abundantly clear that he will not change. Even before Boucher violated the terms of his statutory release, he was charged with additional sex crimes allegedly committed behind bars in 2023. 

Mere geographical restrictions are not sufficient. Letting Boucher roam free tells sexual abuse survivors that living in fear is a sacrifice they must make for the offender’s comfort and reintegration. When the PBC, the very tribunal responsible for ensuring survivor safety, fails to prioritize the well-being and safety of individuals who have repeatedly expressed concerns about Boucher’s freedom of movement under statutory release, it becomes clear that survivors cannot rely on any institution to keep them safe. 

55 per cent of provincially sentenced offenders re-offend after prison: Although reintegration is critical for the rehabilitation of sentenced individuals, data shows that the justice system must consider the recommendations and needs of survivors to ensure public safety. 

While the PBC needs to help offenders reintegrate into society, it is equally responsible for keeping citizens safe—especially individuals that other institutions like the Catholic Church previously failed to protect. The justice system must rethink rehabilitation as a process that not only reintegrates offenders into society, but at the same time ensures the safety and well-being of survivors and citizens. 

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