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Arts & Entertainment, Music, Pop Rhetoric

Taylor Swift will never ever be silenced, like ever

by Michelle Siegel on

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When news broke in summer 2019 that Taylor Swift’s former label, Big Machine Records, was sold to Scooter Braun, Swift and her legions of fans publicly expressed their outrage over the distribution of her work. For approximately $300 million USD, Braun had bought the master recordings of her first six albums without giving Swift the chance to retain her own music.

In a lengthy Tumblr post, Swift stated that the only opportunity she had been given to buy back her masters was by releasing six additional albums with Big Machine, effectively keeping her stuck under the label she had been signed to since she was 14 years old. Knowing that Scott Borchetta, the former owner of Big Machine, was likely to sell the label, including the ownership of her masters, Swift signed with Republic Records rather than renewing her contract with Big Machine. Braun being the buyer added salt to the wound because of his alleged bullying of Swift over the course of several years.

The concept of artists not owning their master recordings seems odd and counterintuitive, but it is common in the music industry. Whoever owns the master recordings has control over their use and will gain profits from sales, streaming, or other use of the music in the future. Although the artist is rarely the only person involved in the production and recording of a song, it still remains fundamentally odd that artists usually do not have the majority of the rights over the music that they create. For young artists, it is even harder to recognize the future implications of not owning your own intellectual property. 

In a public statement on her Twitter, Swift revealed that her team had tried to enter negotiations with Braun previously to purchase her masters, but were informed that he would only start negotiating if Swift signed a strict non-disclosure agreement to never publicly say anything negative about Braun again. This condition, albeit bizarre and unnecessary, is part of a larger malpractice in the music industry, with artists like Swift needing to bring the issue to the court of public opinion in order to call out the tremendous greed of the owners.

On the surface, Swift’s lack of ownership over her masters is not a unique position—other recording artists like Drake, Katy Perry, and Ariana Grande do not own their masters, while independent artists such as Chance the Rapper and Frank Ocean, who create and release music without signing to major record labels, own all of their work. But for Swift, she can only own her masters if she is locked into an unfavourable contract or silenced by a man with whom she has bad blood. 

Swift’s story speaks to the larger cloud of sexism that hangs over the entire music industry. Male producers and record label owners are perfectly content to profit off of female artists’ hard work, as long as they maintain the upper hand in terms of control, power, and money. While Swift has the option of negotiating with the owners of her masters, it comes at the cost of her being silenced and obedient to men who have never treated her as an equal. This would be degrading for any female artist, but is especially shocking given Swift’s widespread success and stature as a musician. 

Swift revealed that she has started the process of rerecording her first five albums, which will allow her to gain back the rights to her work. This development is not often carried out by artists who do not own their master recordings, but given the irregularities of Swift’s ordeal, it seems only fitting for the situation to conclude this way. Although it’s a potentially happy ending for Swift, the overall implications of the situation are troubling—if Taylor Swift is unable to gain ownership of her masters as a 10-time Grammy Award winner, pop culture icon, and leader of a worldwide legion of fans, then who can?

 

Arts & Entertainment, Music

‘Approximately Close’ evokes the magic of in-person performances

by Erika MacKenzie on

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On Nov. 19, Ballets Jazz Montreal dance company performed Approximately Close—Quand le temps n’est presque plus, choreographed by Ermanno Sbezzo. The performance allowed dancers to express themselves safely during a disappointing season. In the midst of the pandemic, online performances have struggled to recreate the magic of set designs, costuming, lighting, and other important elements of live performance. Approximately Close was an exception to this shortcoming, as it was a fully produced performance filmed on stage, making it reminiscent of the live experiences that audiences remember so vividly. 

Ballets Jazz Montréal is known for precision, technique, and effortless execution in their performances. Though the company focusses on contemporary dance, all their dancers receive professional ballet training, and guest choreographers are given creative freedom to develop their artistic skills with some of the most talented dancers in the country. 

Approximately Close skillfully used a variety of props, costume changes, and lighting effects to emulate the changing mood of each number. Some numbers were whimsical and playful while others had a more intense and urgent feeling to them. The show opened on an eerie dimly lit stage with one man skipping rope, another riding a small tricycle, and a woman dressed as a clown. In the background, a lone swing swayed in the breeze while a couple kissed under strobe lights. This strange and creepy introduction successfully grasped the audience’s attention by evoking a scene from a circus of a bygone era. 

As the dancers moved in sync, their energy and attention to detail was undeniable: The dancers articulated each movement of intricate choreography with controlled precision. Powder was used as a prop throughout the show which, in combination with the bright spotlights, created an ethereal echo of the dancer’s movements. Many numbers also featured flashlights, forming dynamic light beams on the stage.

The use of props and lighting effects can sometimes distract from the performers, but //Approximately Close//’s production effectively enhanced the focus on the dancers. The dancers’ simple costumes, composed of black slacks and neutral add-ons, invited the audience to decipher the feeling of the piece based mostly on the choreography and effects. One group number used music with a heavy bass line and red lighting to create a sense of urgency, matching the expressive and energetic choreography.

The emotional final duet depicted the experience of caring for a loved one who is physically or mentally unwell. In one moment, the woman dancer carries the male dancer to depict the burden that many feel they place on their loved ones when they are suffering. The dancers moved as one unit with impressive synchrony. The piece ended tragically as the woman picked up the man’s limp body that could no longer bear his suffering as the stage, which was covered in snowflakes, faded to black. 

Approximately Close was a much-needed spectacle that evoked the in-person mysticism that audiences have missed from live performances. Props, lighting, and music successfully accented the dancers’ technical precision and energy. The show provided a sense of comfort for many struggling through the isolation of the pandemic. Approximately Close was a beautiful moment of unity between creatives, keeping the arts alive. 

The full performance of Approximately Close is archived on YouTube free of charge.

Out on the Town, Student Life

Fortunes for Solidarity forsees a brighter future

by Lucy Keller on

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Content Warning: Anti-Asian racism.

Since the onset of the novel coronavirus, there has been a spike in acts of racism toward East Asian communities across the world. Anti-Asian racism has greatly affected Montreal’s Chinatown and has stressed the community, which was already struggling due to the loss of tourists from the pandemic. Whether this stigmatization is sparked by Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric in referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” or the constant circulation of misinformation, Chinatowns around the world have experienced a significant drop in visitors and an increase in acts of hate. 

To combat the decrease in customers and the uptick in racial profiling, Bill Wong, treasurer of the Montreal Chinatown Development Council, created Fortunes for Solidarity. The initiative was launched only a month after the Chinese Association of Montreal, the Montreal Chinatown Development Council, and The Center for Research-Action on Race Relations called for a $1 million relief fund due to the significant drop in business in the neighborhood. 

The goal of Fortunes for Solidarity is to assuage the racism plaguing the neighborhood with sweet treats. A dozen restaurants, bakeries, and bubble tea spots in Chinatown will be handing out 5,000 fortune cookies with positive messages and a discount code until the winter solstice on Dec. 21. Edmond Ku, co-owner of Restaurant Dobe & Andy, believes that this initiative will help to bring tourists and visitors back to the neighborhood. 

“We wanted to join this [Fortunes for Solidarity] to try to send a positive message about the situation we are in,” Ku said in an interview with the Tribune. 

Anti-Asian racism in Montreal has risen this past year, as some Asian students at McGill have noticed. Stephanie Zhou, U3 Science, told the Tribune that she has experienced rising levels of discrimination. 

“On the way home from the grocery a couple of weeks ago I was just crossing the street with a mask on and a woman on a bike yelled at me that I had taken away her freedoms,” Zhou said. 

During the early months of the virus, the historic gates that mark the entry to Chinatown were vandalized. In more incidences of vandalism in recent weeks, many store fronts have been broken into, and the community continues to be unjustly blamed for the virus. Sherry Ao, president of the Montreal Chinatown Development Council, told The McGill Tribune in an interview that Montreal’s Asian communities feel attacked. 

“I have personally not dealt with any racism because I have started driving to my office in the morning, but I know many people who have been told to go back to their country,” Ao said. “I know of a young girl who is only 13 who was walking on Sherbrooke [Street] in front of McGill and was hit by a French Canadian. He called her names, hit her, and she even fell to the ground.”

While City Hall’s Deputy opposition leader Francesco Miele and councillor Marvin Rotrand have both made statements denouncing these acts of hate, they still continue to happen.

The fortune cookies contain messages to combat discimination, reminders to respect and follow the government’s COVID-19 guidelines, and quotes nudging customers to visit Chinatown. Some examples included: “The wise practice social distancing, not racial discrimination,” and “Discrimination hurts; solidarity cures.” Additionally, the fortune cookies have a 10 per cent discount code towards participating businesses on the back of the fortune. 

“It is important to not be afraid of us,” Ao said. “If people get to know us, the fear of getting the virus from us will go away because we are all afraid of the unknown. The virus is [infectious and frightening], but we didn’t create it. We have to […] follow the guidelines given by the government, and wear masks.” 

Montreal’s Chinatown is rich with community, culture, and delicious food for students to enjoy. A trip to Chinatown could serve as a great study break and a way to support locally owned Montreal businesses during these difficult times.

As detailed on The Center for Research-Action on Race Relations website, restaurants participating in Fortune for Solidarity include: Chatime Chinatown, Ding Xiang Dumplings, Restaurant Beijing Inc., Pâtisserie Harmonie, Restaurant Cuisine Cantonaise, Pâtisserie Coco, Restaurant Chez Maxim Oriental, Restaurant Le Vent Doux, Restaurant Fung Shing, Restaurant Dobe & Andy, and Fleurs et Cadeaux.

McGill, SSMU

Chinese students allege marginalization after SSMU statement on Hong Kong

by Maya Abuali on

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On Nov. 16, following the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s Nov. 7 email condemning the detainment of 12 Hong Kong nationals by the Chinese government, an anonymous group of students started a petition calling on SSMU to retract its statements on social media pledging support for Hong Kong student protestors.

The initial email was a joint statement between McGill Stands with Hong Kong (MSHK), a student organization that supports the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, and SSMU, which urges the Canadian government to demand that the 12 detained pro-democracy nationals be released immediately to Hong Kong to stand trial. In addition, SSMU and MSHK implored students and community members at McGill to demand that the rule of law and freedom of speech be maintained in Hong Kong and attached resources to take action for the cause. 

The petition was posted on change.org nine days after the email statement was sent to the McGill community and directly addresses the SSMU Board of Directors and executives. The anonymous authors of the petition expressed their concern that the email sent out by SSMU was discriminatory towards mainland Chinese students at McGill. 

“We feel that, as a minority group, mainland Chinese students’ voices are unheard and that the Chinese students are under-represented and marginalized in student affairs,” the petition reads. “It is extremely inappropriate for SSMU to make a biased statement like this in the wake of the 2nd wave of COVID-19 [….] It is an attempt to shift people’s attention from the ongoing pandemic and student benefits to another country’s domestic affairs, which indirectly put the Chinese community in a dangerous position for people to blame.”

Joey Li, U3 Engineering, was one of the authors of the petition, which he states was written by a group of volunteers. Li told The McGill Tribune how the petition came about.

“A lot of Chinese kids spontaneously took to WeChat to discuss this issue,” Li said. “I could feel they were deeply upset and wanted their voices heard. Eventually, a group of us decided to create this petition so that others would have a channel to express their frustration.”

MSHK affirmed their respect for the right to use petitions to express dissent as a form of civic discussion, just as they hope that students respect their organization’s right to respond to the petition.

“The distress experienced by those who signed the petition is not unshared by Hong Kongers who have long felt their voices have not been represented, both in the lower relative number of students, as well as the absence of outspoken student associations,” MSHK wrote to The McGill Tribune. “In the end, we hope this will start a long-overdue conversation about China-HK relations on campus as long as all sides respect the principles of evidence-backed civil discussion.”

In an email to the Tribune, SSMU Vice-President University Affairs Brooklyn Frizzle responded to the petition on behalf of SSMU’s Executive Committee. Frizzle explained the responsibility the executives feel to speak out against injustice in solidarity with their members, as outlined in the leadership pillar of the SSMU constitution. 

“It is with that commitment in mind that the Executive Committee decided to share a message of solidarity, drafted with McGill Stands with Hong Kong,” Frizzle wrote. “This statement falls in line with a long history of taking political stances that align with SSMU’s core values. As such, we maintain our support for students and protestors in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan alike.”

Frizzle emphasized that executives at SSMU will continue to support the Hong Kong democratic movement and Chinese students at McGill.

“We respect the right of our members to speak out against actions or statements they disagree with—provided these dialogues are mutually respectful and inclusive,” Frizzle wrote. “Regardless of any petitions, letters, or messages denouncing the actions of the SSMU, we will continue to advocate for Chinese students and condemn the rising anti-Asian racism associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Both the Hong Kong Student Network and the McGill Chinese Students’ Society declined to comment.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

‘Dash & Lily’ is a blooming love story with a splash of Christmas spirit

by Noma Mirny on

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Imagine you’re in New York City during Christmas. The streets are streaked with bright lights, festive carolers, buzzing street markets, and fluffy, white snow. You enter the Strand Bookstore to escape the winter chill, and inside, you spot a red leather notebook, tucked away near J.D. Salinger’s works. Do you open it?

If you’re anything like one of the protagonists of Dash & Lily, you do. Released on Netflix on Nov. 8, this eight-episode miniseries follows two young people—cynical, brooding Dash (Austin Abrams) and bubbly, bright Lily (Midori Francis)—who develop a romantic relationship without ever meeting but solely through passing a red notebook between one another. As the days count down to Christmas, Dash and Lily dare one another to explore new places and try new things, placing the notebook in a new location each time. In a Sherlockian game, the two run through New York City, from an abandoned Grand Central Station to Jewish punk concerts, pushing each other out of their comfort zones, changing each other for the better. 

Both characters are as multidimensional as they are engaging and relatable, largely due to the skillful acting of the leads and an adept writing team. Francis particularly impresses with her outstanding range, making a character that could have easily appeared saccharine and overbearing a sweet, intelligent firecracker. 

One of the particular strengths of Dash & Lily is that it places a great emphasis on courage, and prioritizes a sense of adventure above any cliché-laden ideas of surface-level attraction prevalent in the rom-com genre. By doing so, Dash & Lily reveals the importance of being open to new experiences when entering a relationship and trusting the magic of a deep, emotional connection.

Two outstanding episodes are those directed by Pamela Romanowsky, “Hanukkah” and “Cinderella,” which pay homage to the fairy tales Alice In Wonderland and Cinderella. Romanowsky’s fantastical nightmare sequence of Lily descending the proverbial rabbit hole into an underground punk concert is particularly striking in its grotesque artistic vision and ingenious manifestation of social anxiety. Other episodes are visually clean, impressively switching between the festive grandiosity of Manhattan streets and the quiet intimacy of the students’ interactions.

Despite its heart of gold, the show is spotted with pitfalls. Certain plot points do not make much sense at all, such as a scene where Dash scrolls through Instagram hashtags to find his friend—leading the viewer to wonder whether the writers had ever been on Instagram. Other examples include a scene in which Lily’s brother breaks up with his boyfriend for going on a two-week vacation and one where Nick Jonas randomly pops up to give advice to Dash. Most offensive of all, however, is when Dash’s ex-girlfriend rents out a museum to use as a saucy hookup spot, and it is implied they have sex on a priceless museum artifact.

While the show’s cast represents a diverse array of identities, some of the supporting figures are overlooked by the writers. A glaring example of this is the “Black Best Friend” trope, filled by Dash’s bizarrely-named best friend Boomer, who seems to have no purpose outside of helping Dash. While Boomer is shown to have a family, he lacks any romantic interests or genuine friends other than Dash. He works as a tool to further the plot, always being on hand to spot Lily, consult Dash, and literally drop everything he’s doing in the middle of a work shift (at a Pizzeria, with a line waiting) to run 45 minutes to pass a hint along to Dash. 

Still, despite the naïveté and the suspension of disbelief that the watcher must have in order to buy into the show, even the most cynical of viewers will be charmed into holiday-magic believers after eight episodes. Full of cinematic shots of New York City in the winter, a refreshing cast, and a clever insight into young love, Dash & Lily is both an escapist and thought-provoking treat.

Campus Spotlight, Student Life

Dispatch Café reopens in McConnell Engineering building

by Leyla Moy and Alaana Kumar on

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For students still frequenting campus, former food haunts have stood conspicuously empty over the remote semester. Among them was Dispatch Café. Located in the McConnell Engineering building, Dispatch opened in 2014 as the brand’s first brick-and-mortar location. On Nov. 11, Dispatch Café welcomed students and faculty for the first time since the suspension of on-campus activity in late March.

“We launched [without] toast in week [one] in order to run lean and curb our waste while we observed what new traffic patterns will be,” founder Chrissy Durcak wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Thanks to the support of [the] McGill community that came out in our first week [we brought back toast in the second week.]”

For many first year students, the café is not only close to residences but also serves as a great option for coffee and meals on the residence meal plan: The McConnell Engineering location is the only Dispatch Café in Montreal to take OneCard as a payment method. This feature, along with its prime location, makes the café a beloved spot for students. 

Dispatch is also an example of the city’s vibrant local coffee roasting scene, located right on campus. Montreal is home to many micro and nano coffee roasters that purchase beans at the source and roast locally. Durcak identifies Dispatch within the third wave of the coffee movement. The term “third wave coffee” was coined by Trish Rothgeb in 2003, and defines waves of coffee over time, with each wave marking an innovation on the last. The first wave came in the early ‘60s, as coffee became widely accessible and mass-produced by brands like Folger’s and Maxwell House. Large specialty coffee companies like Starbucks were emblematic of the second wave, which elevated coffee from utility to luxury through a focus on the beans’ origins and novel espresso preparations. The third wave defines modern coffee shops like Dispatch, that seek to create artisan, aesthetically beautiful, and traceable coffee experiences. 

“Dispatch was Montreal’s first cold-brew delivery service (by bicycle), and then its first coffee truck,” Durcak wrote. “Since then, Dispatch has opened three cafés across Montreal.”

Like most third wave roasters, Dispatch is committed to lessening its environmental impacts through their sourcing and business practices. 

“At Dispatch, we prioritize buying coffee from regions and farmers that lack the most infrastructure[,] resources, and access to market to encourage the sustainable development of their businesses,” Durcak wrote. “Many of the coffees we serve on campus are from repeat relationships—for example, we are about to launch one coffee from a farm in Ethiopia called Kossa Geshe that we have purchased for four years now.”

To reduce its environmental impact, Dispatch Café uses biodegradable packing for retail coffee bags, composts coffee grinds and food waste, incentivises customers to bring and buy reusable mugs, and roasts its coffee with an afterburner to emit less pollution into the air. 

In the interest of transparency, all Dispatch coffee is traceable online and, as of September 2020, through a QR code attached to each bag. 

For those who are not spending time on campus, brewing coffee at home can help to replicate the comfort of a warm cup at a favourite café. Dispatch explains many common brew methods step-by-step on its website, though Durcak advises students to tweak the ratios of coffee and water to their liking. 

“It doesn’t take much to make great coffee at home,” Durcak wrote. “Great beans from good sources that are freshly harvested are paramount to a good cup, as is grinding fresh (if you can).”

Dispatch is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the McConnell Engineering lobby. The building is currently open to students and faculty.

Men's Varsity, Sports

Redbird name fails to bring unity to McGill Athletics

by Adam Burton, Sarah Farnand, Kaja Surborg on

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On Nov. 17 McGill announced a new name for the men’s varsity teams: Redbirds. The long-overdue announcement came more than a year after an initial email from the office of Principal Suzanne Fortier, sent in April 2019, which stated that McGill would be dropping the slur formerly used as the name for the men’s varsity teams. The message stated that the teams would be known as “McGill teams” for the 2019-2020 athletic season, during which time a committee would decide on a new name.

A summary of proceedings of the naming committee accompanied the announcement of the new team name, offering members of the McGill community a bare minimum level of insight into the decision making process. One notable section explained the reason behind the choice to maintain separate names for the men’s and women’s teams. 

“During the consultations and in the submissions that it received, the Committee noted that Martlets was the name that generated the highest number of negative feedback (i.e., individuals asking explicitly that the committee not choose Martlets),” the summary read. “Several men’s varsity teams expressed that they were against the idea of choosing Martlets, citing a respect for and admiration of the Martlets’ history, and a desire not to encroach on that legacy.”

The summary does not mention whether any women’s teams objected to their male counterparts using the Martlet name, which is a notable omission, considering that it is their legacy that was supposedly under threat. 

In explaining how the name Redbirds, specifically, was chosen, the summary suggests that the school’s existing links to the name were a significant factor in its selection. 

“Red birds can be seen on the McGill coat of arms (as Martlets are mythical red birds),” the summary read. 

When it came time to select a specific name, however, the committee appears to have placed their careful respect for women to the side. Per the committee’s own statement, Martlets are a subcategory of red-coloured birds, which inadvertently positions the men’s teams as the standard or default for sports, and the women as a category within that. This problem is pervasive across sports and competition levels, with one notable example being the NBA and the WNBA. While it is unlikely that this was a conscious decision on the part of the committee, it certainly calls into question the sincerity of those who opposed a unified name for the mens’ and womens’ teams out of respect. 

Immediately following the announcement of the Redbird name, students took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the new moniker, with several tweets highlighting the continued unnecessary gendering of the team names. Others pointed out that the Redbird name does not put much distance between the racial slur that the teams formerly used and the new brand that they are hoping to build.

The announcement also featured a complete lack of acknowledgement of the years of organizing and activism carried out by Indigenous students. McGill has never credited the #ChangeTheName campaign and the students who organized it, including the Students’ Society of McGill University Indigenous Affairs Committee, for their work. In 2019, when announcing that the university would no longer use the former epithet of the Redbirds, Fortier named the chairs of the Working Group on Principles of Commemoration and Renaming, and even a past McGill principal whose speech she quoted in her statement. The message never mentioned student efforts or their organizers. 

McGill University’s administration has a habit of ignoring student demands until it is no longer convenient to do so. Years of organizing by groups like Divest McGill resulted only in a decision to “decrease the carbon footprint of investments,” and the university’s handling of the renaming has followed in this tradition of doing the bare minimum. 

Consultation
McGill, News

McGill Senate approves Fall Reading Break and discusses limits of academic freedom

by Kennedy McKee-Braide on

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Following a campaign led by students since at least 2018, the McGill Senate approved a motion to establish a Fall Reading Break for the Fall 2021, 2022, and 2023 semesters during its meeting on Nov. 18. 

In Fall 2021 and 2022, the break will consist of a two-day extension to the Thanksgiving weekend, for a total of five days, including the weekend. In 2023, the extension will be for three days, with plans for a longer break in the four subsequent years. Unlike other universities and colleges, the break will not last an entire week until at least 2024.

Gillian Nycum, university registrar and executive director of Enrolment Services, recognized the work done by students in establishing the break. 

“This was an initiative that really came out of student advocacy,” Nycum said. “[It was] a collaboration between staff, faculty, and students to engage in consultations to come up with a proposal for a Fall Reading Break.”

Nycum also acknowledged why the decision took several years, citing disagreements on how to best reorganize the academic calendar. 

“This isn’t a new conversation,” Nycum said. “Earlier conversations about how to make space in the Fall calendar for the Fall break didn’t lead to agreement on how to maintain contact hours.”

The Senate also addressed a set of questions put forward prior to the meeting by student senators regarding Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier’s Oct. 26 message on Academic Freedom and Inclusiveness. The statement was inspired by recent controversy at the University of Ottawa, which sparked debate over the limits of academic freedom and the need to protect BIPOC students on university campuses. Some students and student groups, including the Black Students’ Network (BSN), took issue with Fortier’s failure to condemn the use of racial slurs in lecture halls or other academic contexts at McGill and demanded an apology for the statement. 

The questions’ preamble noted ambiguities in McGill’s policies regarding the limits of academic freedom, and the questions themselves highlighted concerns regarding lack of transparency in how exactly the university plans to maintain a respectful environment within the classroom. 

Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi argued that academic freedom cannot act as a license to engage in misconduct under any McGill policy. In response, Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President University Affairs Brooklyn Frizzle noted the limits of his answer.

“Many of the university’s policies which govern conduct come with the caveat that they cannot be applied to restrict academic freedom,” Frizzle said. “[Senator Manfredi] mentioned The Policy on Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law, which specifically states that it cannot be applied to abridge academic freedom.” 

Neither Manfredi nor Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) Angela Campbell were clear regarding how they intend to address such ambiguities to protect marginalized students. 

Arts Senator Darshan Daryanani asked Manfredi why the university would not ban the use of offensive words before a student is hurt by their use. In response, Manfredi argued that such a solution would not be productive.

“Trying to construct an a priori list of words that are banned in the classroom, even if we can identify many words whose utterance in a classroom setting would be unlikely to be justified, would be a mistake for the university,” Manfredi said. 

Soundbite 

“Something that has become clear to us, as it has become clear to all universities, is that Fall 2021 is unlikely to look like Fall 2019. The pandemic is unlikely to have left us completely. But at the same time, it cannot [look like] Fall 2020. The toll it is taking on people is too high, and it calls on us to figure out how we can achieve more interactions while keeping our community safe.” – Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier.

Moment of the meeting 

When discussing the Principal and Vice-Chancellor’s statement on Academic Freedom and Inclusiveness, SSMU Arts and Science Senator repeatedly asked Senator Manfredi whether McGill would condemn the use of racial slurs in lectures. He failed to answer the question on McGill’s behalf but acknowledged that he could not imagine a situation where such language would be appropriate. 

(Kathryn Leci / The McGill Tribune)
McGill, News

SACS host the second installment of Fall 2020 Speaker Series

by Ella Milloy on

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The Student Association of Cognitive Science (SACS) hosted an hour-long virtual panel to discuss the challenges, successes, and future opportunities that the field of artificial intelligence (AI) presents. The Nov. 19 event was the second installment of the 2020-2021 Cognitive Science Speaker Series hosted by SACS.

The speaker, Dr. Jackie Cheung, is an assistant professor at McGill University’s School of Computer Science and a core member of the MILA Research Institute. Cheung lectured on the implications of AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in settings where these technologies interact with humans. Drawing from his research on machine learning and predicting language, Cheung provided the audience with an in-depth look at the ethical questions that arise from the use of AI and NLP technologies.

Cheung emphasized the importance of avoiding stereotypical biases in common practices like searching for results online or ranking job candidates.

“[A] study looked at the representation of gendered [third-person] pronouns [in AI systems and] at how much these models think that there is an association between [a] pronoun and some words related to occupations,” Cheung said. “This is a problem [because] now, we are not just using these [AI] systems to analyze data in the abstract. We are now using them to make decisions.”

Cheung covered various other topics during his lecture, including the science behind AI technologies and the differences between AI, machine learning, and deep learning. He also described examples of successful AI technologies used in practice like IBM’s Watson and Deepmind’s AlphaGo Zero, which have defeated humans in games like Jeopardy and Japanese Go. The end of the lecture focussed more heavily on the ethical questions that surround AI, including how researchers can effectively employ AI systems for social good.

Cameron Cherif, U3 Arts and Science, elaborated on what she enjoyed the most about Cheung’s lecture.

“His talk was really informative, as he has covered not only what AI is about, but also its weaknesses and the ethical challenges it entails, while also debunking some myths that people commonly assume […] about [machine learning],” Cherif said. “He’s a phenomenal lecturer, and I enjoyed the throwback to COMP 424 [Artificial Intelligence].” 

One of SACS’s goals is to ensure that its events are accessible to the general public. Léo Tronchon, U4 Arts, shared his thoughts on the accessibility of the panel’s subject matter. 

“The talk given by Professor Cheung was, I believe, accessible for most people,” Tronchon said. “It covered the recent advances in AI and some of the [ethical] limitations encountered today [….] Since [machine learning models] are used extensively on the internet, where polarization is already problematic, I feel like [it’s] an important issue.”

Dr. Elizaveta Solomonova, a postdoctoral fellow in McGill University’s Department of Psychiatry, will host the next installment of SACS’s Speaker Series, which is being held during the first week of December. In the Winter 2021 semester, SACS will be hosting a cognitive science panel with four confirmed speakers to discuss the most relevant topics within the contemporary field of cognitive science. In an email to The McGill Tribune, Vice-President Academic of SACS Héctor Leos explained the importance of the Speaker Series panels for the McGill student community.

“These lectures are a great opportunity for students in and outside the program to learn about the research that is being done at their university, and to understand why an interdisciplinary study of the brain and the mind is so important,” Leos wrote. “This lecture was initially scheduled to occur last winter, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, it had to be cancelled. We’re happy that Dr. Cheung [agreed] to deliver his talk once again this semester.”

Students interested in the Student Association of Cognitive Science can find out more about future events via the association’s website and Facebook page.

McGill, News

Tribune Explains: McGill’s New Vic Project

by Ella Fitzhugh on

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After the site was decommissioned in 2015, McGill has launched a proposal to renovate part of the Royal Victoria Hospital to create a state-of-the-art research, teaching, and learning hub dedicated to Sustainability Systems and Public Policy. The project was named the New Vic Project, and construction on the old Royal Victoria Hospital is planned to start in January of 2023. 

What is McGill looking to achieve with the New Vic project?

McGill is renovating only part of the Royal Victoria site and is working under the Societe Quebecoise des Infrastructures’ (SQI) oversight. Dean of the Faculty of Science and Academic Lead of McGill’s New Vic Project Prof. Bruce Lennox and Director of Community Relations Carole Graveline hope that the project will foster increased collaboration between students and professors, with a focus on sustainability in both the buildings’ laboratories and classrooms. 

The Royal Victoria Hospital’s history

Since its founding in 1893, the old Royal Victoria Hospital, on the corner of Pine and University Ave, has been dedicated to providing medical care. The hospital’s goal of healing extended beyond its patients; its founders wished that the site would be used to heal society and the planet through medical research and education in perpetuity. The hospital is currently being used as a COVID-19 isolation unit for those who are homeless and either infected with the virus or awaiting their test results. The hospital will operate this way until Spring 2021. In 2018, the government of Quebec announced they would cede part of the site to McGill and were also granting $37 million to help fund the renovation plans.  

Community feedback and student concerns over the project

Some students, however, are skeptical of the project’s supposed sustainability. In a Nov. 16 roundtable between the McGill administration and student media, students juxtaposed the project’s ethos of environmental consciousness with McGill’s investment in fossil fuel companies and questioned whether this presented a contradiction. Lennox believes the New Vic Project still stands in tandem with the university’s commitments to environmentalism and climate change mitigation through research. 

“I don’t see a contradiction,” Lennox said. “Many of the touch-points and eventual outcomes of research in sustainability have to do with energy use. There is a tremendous commitment in sustainability research at McGill to redirect energy use from all of its conventional sources, but those conventional sources aren’t just for energy use, they’re also for materials.”

During the roundtable discussion, students also spoke to the concern that the decision to partake in a project could potentially disadvantage Montreal’s unhoused population. Lennox said that McGill did not have jurisdiction over the parts of the hospital that are currently being used as shelters. 

“The buildings that we are currently designing for McGill occupancy, eventually ownership and then occupancy, do not include the Women’s Pavilion, the Ross Pavilion, and the Heresy,” Lennox said. “It’s my understanding that the Ross Pavilion is being used for these groups, so it’s out of our jurisdiction, and that building will remain under the control of the SQI past the completion of our project.”

Anti-privatization September 2020 protests

On Sept. 4, local residents and some McGill students demonstrated outside the old Royal Victoria Hospital out of concern that the hospital could be sold to private developers. Protesters claimed that discontinuing the hospital as a shelter for the unhoused population could present adverse impacts on the community by hiking up rent prices in the surrounding area and pricing out low-income residents.  

When will the construction on the old Royal Victoria Hospital start?

Lennox explained that details on the project are largely unknown to the community thus far. He hopes that upcoming information sessions and greater communication between the McGill community, students, professors, and members of the New Vic Project team will clear up controversies on this issue. Construction is slated to start January 2023.

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