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Arts & Entertainment, Internet, Pop Rhetoric

Where do I begin: 5-Minute Crafts

by Vanessa Barron on

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No contemporary filmmaker has captured the absurdity and fragmentation of our postmodern condition better than 5-Minute Crafts (5MC). The YouTube channel and Facebook page are best known for producing short video compilations of “life hacks,” typically named something along the lines of “Brilliant hacks and crafts for your home that you’ll want to try right away!” 

Although this description may sound innocuous, viewers will quickly find that these hacks are, at best, an inspiration for better DIY projects, and at worst, simply unhinged. For example, in the aforementioned video, 5MC recommends tucking in bedsheets with a spatula, turning a plant pot into a fully functioning sink, and using a drill to clean glassware. But as bizarre and impractical as these videos are, I can’t help but watch them in their entirety every time. Like their 90 million Facebook followers and 69 million Youtube subscribers, I am completely and utterly engrossed by the absurdity of 5MC’s DIY transformations. 

The channel

Believe it or not, 5MC videos are not made by aliens who are poorly attempting to replicate human activities and hobbies. The channel is owned by TheSoul Publishing, a studio based in Cyprus, and the company produces over 500 original videos each month. The strategy of quantity over quality works well with social media algorithms, making 5MC currently the fifth most-subscribed channel on YouTube. With this in mind, it’s no wonder the team at TheSoul continues to churn out increasingly crazier DIY ideas—all of their feasible ideas were used up long ago. 

The name of the channel itself is mysterious—I have no idea where the “5-Minute” part comes from. The length of the videos range from three to 15 minutes, and crafts like making an epoxy table or an edible coffee mug take much longer than five minutes to make. Much like the breakneck speed at which the crafts are presented, the “5-minute” idea rejects realism and the idea of linear time in favour of simplicity and productivity. 

The videos

Most 5MC videos use a point-of-view shot from the perspective of the anonymous life-hacker. This format is commonly associated with cooking channels like Tasty and beauty channels like MetDaan. I’d venture to guess that this format’s popularity on social media lies in the feeling of personal productivity that is evoked by merely watching the video. You might be goofing off during a lecture and scrolling on Facebook, but at least you’re learning how to make a lamp out of ping pong balls in the meantime!

My favorite part of the 5MC video is the short skits that come before the crafts, particularly common in their “sewing” videos. They usually play out something like this: A girl spills wine all over her shirt, so she makes a face, wags her finger at the camera, then proceeds to cut up the shirt—while she’s wearing it!—to create a hideous off-the-shoulder crop top. As much as I love seeing the final result of these crimes against clothing, I appreciate 5MC’s attention to plot and character. 

The experience

Oddly enough, I have never actively sought out to watch a 5MC video. I don’t subscribe to their YouTube channel, and I haven’t liked them on Facebook, yet these videos constantly appear on my timeline. This is probably due to the algorithms of social media websites, but then again, I actually watch the full videos every time. They appeal to my short attention span, seeking instant gratification through endless scrolling, but the content itself resonates on a larger scale of our culture of productivity and efficiency. 5MC could be read as a covert parody of the neo-liberal idea of maximizing productivity and capital, wasting no materials or time in an attempt to be endlessly thrifty and useful. The videos show you supposedly practical ways to recycle and save money, but making a chair out of egg cartons rather than simply buying a new chair is an awe-inspiring level of insanity. The resulting feeling of disgust and wonder at this absurd spectacle is well worth the watch.

Commentary, Opinion

Gyms are not a COVID-19 risk

by Ellie Wand on

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On Oct. 26, Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced that Montreal’s red zone restrictions would be extended until Nov. 23. This, among other things, means that gyms and fitness centres in the Montreal region are to remain closed. 

A group called Centres d’activités physiques du Québec, composed of some 200 fitness professionals, stated that they planned to resume operations despite this directive, defying the government restriction. Due to the threat of large fines, however, many have since backed down. 

Still, this pushback is necessary for the government to be held accountable for the restrictions it is implementing—specifically, on what basis it is implementing them. There is very little data to support the idea that gyms are unsafe: There have been no recorded COVID-19 outbreaks linked to gyms or fitness centres in Montreal. In fact, a Europe-wide study, commissioned by EuropeActive and conducted by Sheffield Hallam University and Kin Juan Carlos University, found that of the 62 million visits to the gym, there were only 487 reported positive cases, making the average infection rate only 0.78 per cent per 100,000 visits. Another study conducted in the U.S. by the IHRSA and MXM collected data from fitness clubs that opened during the beginning of May, and found that of 49.4 million check-ins, the incidence of COVID-19 cases was 0.002 per cent. According to these studies, the risk of COVID-19 spreading at gyms appears statistically insignificant. The Quebec government’s decision to close gyms, therefore, seems misguided—and ought to be challenged.  

As the winter months approach, opportunities for outdoor exercise will dwindle. Days will get darker and colder, and the few outdoor fitness activities people have been able to do will quickly become more difficult. In order to help fight the virus, it is imperative for people’s physical and mental health that they are able to exercise. Many Montrealers are already facing increasing isolation due to red zone restrictions. Many work or study at home, live alone, or are unable to see their friends and family. If they are also not able to exercise, their overall health and well-being will undoubtedly suffer.

Students in particular will suffer if gyms remain closed. McGill students are facing a primarily online fall and winter semester. This means most students spend much of their time sitting at home on their computer, rarely—if ever—on campus or interacting with their peers and professors. Some students live alone, and due to restrictions, do not often leave their homes. If the government is asking them to sacrifice their ability to exercise as well, it must provide sufficient evidence to support that decision.

Aspects of the government’s current strategy, which has Montreal constantly in and out of lockdown, are ineffective, as was pointed out in a leaked report from Montreal’s health authority. Some restrictions, such as those in place for gyms, are implemented without proper evidence to support them and without considering the other effects they may have. This reactionary strategy seems only to take into account overall case numbers. This results in enforced restrictions and closures, some of which, like those on gyms, are not based on evidence and can potentially be detrimental to people’s health and well-being. The government needs to devise a consistent long-term strategy that factors in more than simply the overall number of COVID-19 cases, and consider the effect their restrictions will have on not just case numbers, but also on people’s well-being. 

Some of the government’s policies in response to COVID-19 are haphazard at best. Gyms do not appear to pose a significant threat for COVID-19 transmission. People need to try to get back to some semblance of a normal life, as the current approach to tackling the virus strains our overall well-being. In the coming months, gyms are not going to be detrimental to health, but rather essential for it.

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment, Music

‘Positions’ never reaches its climax

by Jonathan Giammaria on

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Over the lightly plucked strings of Positions’s opening track, “shut up,” Ariana Grande sings, “All them demons help me see shit differently / So don’t be sad for me.” The self-assured lyrics swiftly address the emotional core of her two previous LPs, Sweetener and thank u, next, with a nonchalance meant to herald a new, more carefree era in the pop superstar’s music. For the most part, Positions is just that: A continuous slew of understated R&B beats paired with the bravura of Grande’s vocals, escaping track after track into the simple joys of vibing with someone you may not love, and having lots of sex with them, too.  

Positions’s sonic cohesion, though, is its biggest weakness. Without the producing genius of Sweetener‘s Pharrell Williams—who made what could have been repetitive tracks into endlessly loopable listens—Grande too often breathily croons her lyrics over indistinguishable low-tempo riffs. “nasty” and “six-thirty” lack the sparse string arrangements that liven the album’s highlights, and are as forgettable in their sound as the one-night-stands that Grande sings about. In “34+35,” Grande coyly asks, “Can you stay up all night? / Fuck me ’til the daylight,” without the vocal acrobatics needed to keep the chorus’ unabashed sexuality exciting for the entire song. Sex is hardly new in Grande’s discography, but without the euphemistic playfulness and catchy hooks of past hits like “Side to Side” and “Into You,” too much of Positions overstates its horniness to the point of boredom.

The album’s best moments, then, are featured when Grande explores the more personal sentiments underlying Positions’s flirtations. On “off the table,” a more cautious Grande sings about the uncertainties of finding love again until she rushes to the end of her chorus with, “Just want to know, is love completely off the table?” framing the line more like a desire than a question. In these brief moments, songs like “pov” and “safety net” feature the same earnest lyricism that cast doubt on Positions’s easygoing attitude, though the sincerity of Grande’s singing can equally be found in the album’s lighter tracks. Like a breath of fresh air to the LP’s dull assembly, “my hair” is a jazzy, tongue-in-cheek bop where Grande flexes her vocal range as she sings about letting her hair down for a lover. The song’s subject matter is a clever and intimate reversal of the singer’s most publicized feature—and unlike so much of Positions, Grande finally seems to be embracing her album’s concept, letting loose and just having fun with it.  

Emerging Trends, Student Life

How the absence of nightlife has affected McGill student culture

by ET Wu on

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Going out to clubs and bars is a huge part of social life at university, especially at McGill. Due to public health restrictions introduced amidst the pandemic, it could be a while before students will be able to have a night out again. Beyond the current negative impacts on students’ social lives, the loss of nightlife may change the way students blow off steam in the coming months. 

Zenya Hendricks, U0 Arts, is currently living in Carrefour Sherbrooke. Hendricks expressed her disappointment regarding the first year experience amidst a pandemic. 

“I wasn’t particularly interested in partying [before university] because I don’t drink, but I was hopeful that I could make friends with people who wouldn’t mind if I didn’t drink and I would still be able to experience the Montreal nightlife with them,” Hendricks wrote in a message to the Tribune. 

 Nightlife acts as an outlet for student connection outside the academic context. Previously, for many first-year students, going to pubs and clubs was a quick way to get to know people, as well as explore Montreal. 

“I wanted to come to Montreal instead of staying home this semester because I wanted to meet lots of like-minded people, but since there are so few ways to do that now, I have very few friends, with whom I can’t even meet,”  Hendricks wrote. “We’re cooped up inside our dorms most of the time, unable to meet with friends very often, with ridiculous workloads that often don’t take into account the fact that many of us are feeling depressed and/or anxious.”

However, some students are handling the circumstances by exploring different hobbies with the new-found alone time. In a Reddit poll of McGill students surrounding the topic, 53 out of 262 student participants said they were trying a new hobby, while 112 said they were playing video games to pass time, and the rest were either on virtual hangouts or learning new skills. It seems that students are finding new ways to unwind, attempting to fill the void that nightclubs have left. 

For Gabriel Richard-Gaudet, U1 Arts, the absence of the city’s nightlife has allowed him to develop a new hobby. Richard-Gaudet has used the newfound time to develop his music production skills, an interest developed while reminiscing about club music. 

“I really miss some aspects of going clubbing, like the music, so I thought instead I could try and recreate some of the sounds I hear myself,” Richard-Gaudet wrote. “I’ve been producing beats with my roommates and we’ve been having a great time just playing with sounds. My other friends like to make beats and sing as well and we just recently got signed into a student record label, [called Green House Effect].”

For students like Richard-Gaudet, the loss of nightlife can also lead to a potential gain: More time for other activities or to connect with our peers in novel ways. However, this may not be possible for all students, especially those living in residence by themselves or those residing outside of Montreal. For these students, it is important to be reminded that these are unique circumstances and these difficulties will not be permanent. The days of dancing the night away in a club will return soon.

Student Life

Global Health Night fosters discussions for a better future

by Josephine Wang on

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The McGill Global Health Program’s (GHP) 12th annual Global Health Night, held on Nov. 2, brought together students and faculty members for an evening celebration, recognizing McGill’s involvement in international health-related fields. The night’s programming highlighted student research and featured keynote speaker professor Senait Fisseha, the Director of Global Programs at the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation as well as the Chief Advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization. 

As with previous years, the night began with a poster fair. Since this year’s event was moved to an online platform, attendees were able to join virtual breakout rooms where McGill students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows presented their research. There were over 50 simultaneous breakout poster sessions that covered a variety of global health topics such as COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, and malnutrition. The poster session illustrated the interdisciplinary nature of the global health field, as presenters tied together a variety of topics, such as medicine, public health, economics, and political science.

After the poster fair, Fisseha gave a relevant and timely lecture addressing the vast asymmetry of power and privilege that permeates every aspect of global health. In her speech, Fisseha emphasized how the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with worldwide racial injustice, has sharpened the focus on the intersectional disparities in global health. Key issues included racial inequalities and exclusion based on citizenship, gender, and other identities. Fisseha addressed McGill students, urging them to find ways to use their positions of power and privilege to change the oppressive structures that currently shape the field.

“We are at a pivotal and urgent moment of uprising and reckoning,” Fisseha said. “How will you use your power to call out single stories, dismantle harmful norms, and reconcile the colonial history in global health? [Right] now, we have a very unique and historic opportunity to accelerate transformation [….] I urge you to seize this moment and to challenge the system in which you live and work.”

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, GHP’s Senior Administrative Coordinator Stéphanie Laroche-Pierre, Interim Director Dr. Charles Larson, and Global Health Program Manager Kevin O’Neill explained how Global Health Night has evolved throughout the years by becoming more inclusive to the entire McGill community.

“[In the beginning], Global Health Night was an opportunity to reach out to students, [and it] was an event focussed on curriculum, development, and educating medical students and health personnel students,” Larson said. “Now, it is much more than that. It’s a campus wide event where we want to reach out and create a sense of community at McGill among those who are interested in global health.”

With the event being held virtually this year, the coordinators had to adapt their strategies to create an engaging online experience, which has informed a new vision for future Global Health Nights.

“The aim [of Global Health Night] is to create awareness of the fantastic work that students are doing […] and display it to the rest of the McGill community,” Larson said. “[In the future], we are planning on a hybrid event, both in-person and virtual.”

With over 450 participants from around the world, Global Health Night successfully highlighted the important work of McGill’s students and staff. Additionally, it allowed for a moment of reckoning, calling on both students and faculty to acknowledge the sensitive issues permeating the field of global health. 

A recording of Global Health Night is now available online here. It will be available up until the end of this week. If you are interested in future Global Health events, you can sign up for their newsletter here.

McGill, News

McGill plans on enhancing in-person teaching activities for the Winter 2021 semester

by Dante Ventulieri on

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In an email sent on Nov. 4, McGill’s Associate Provost (Teaching & Academic Programs) Christopher Buddle and Deputy Provost (Student Life & Learning) Fabrice Lebeau announced plans to increase in-person teaching activities for the Winter 2021 semester. As stated in September, remote learning will still remain the primary delivery method for courses. 

McGill’s administration outlined the two tiers of academic activities for Winter 2021. The first tier, for which in-person attendance will be mandatory, includes courses and learning activities that are difficult to deliver remotely, such as critical laboratories, clinical activities, and project courses. Second-tier classes will provide students with the option to be on campus or use remote alternatives, and include seminar courses, tutorials, conferences, laboratories, and some lectures.

Prior to the Nov. 4 announcement, McGill emailed department chairs and professors on Oct. 30 explaining their plans. Those internal emails requested that department chairs compile a list of courses that can potentially be taught in person. 

These plans to hold some in-person classes have received backlash from members of the McGill community. At a Town Hall on Oct. 30, members of McGill’s Biology Graduate Students’ Association discussed various concerns about the safety and feasibility of the transition to in-person learning. In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Travis Chen, a chief delegate for the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM), explained how many teaching assistants (TA) were caught off guard by McGill’s announcement.

“The safety of TAs is a main concern,” Chen said. “The ventilation [of classrooms] would not be up to standard […], McGill is not requiring students to wear masks, [and] TAs and professors are not allowed to enforce masks [usage] themselves [….] McGill’s plans do not line up with the scientific consensus on how to limit [the spread of COVID-19].”

Beyond safety concerns, Chen is concerned that in-person teaching will place additional strain and extra work hours on TAs. 

“There is no other way to look at this, [as] it is going to hurt the quality of teaching,” Chen said. “[TAs] will be more stressed, they will have more work to do, and they’re not going to be paid more even though they’re working more hours and working harder.”

Shannon Dunphy, president of the Biology Graduate Student Association (BGSA), said that the McGill administration has been unresponsive to the BGSA’s complaints. Dunphy is concerned that the university’s plans might create an unlevel playing field for students.

“I imagine students will feel pressured [to attend the on-campus activities],” Dunphy said. “McGill will essentially be creating two ‘tiers’ or ‘classes’ of students, but with both groups expected to perform at the same calibre.”

In an email to the Tribune, Provost and Vice-Principal Christopher Manfredi stated that student feedback helped inform the decision to provide the option for in-person classes.

“We have heard from students that they are seeking connection to McGill,” Manfredi wrote. “[Many] instructors and administrative and support staff are also missing opportunities to connect with students in person.”

On Oct. 30, the same day the email went out, La Presse published an article signed by Suzanne Fortier, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill, and seven other university administrators across Montreal. In it, they explained how Montreal’s revival is dependent on the thousands of students, both domestic and international, who attend the city’s universities.

Chen recognizes that many TAs and students may enjoy in-person teaching more than online delivery, but does not believe that it was the main reason McGill has made its new plans. Chen believes a probable drop in enrollment is at the root of the issue.

“The student survey said that students missed in-class teaching, but that ignores the idea that students [might not] want to go to class during a pandemic, [and that] they just miss the in-class aspect,” Chen said. “They’re worried about funding and their source of income. The implication at the town hall is that this must be done to keep the undergraduate experience.” 

For more information on online and in person courses, visit McGill’s FAQ page for the Winter 2021 semester.

Football, Sports

Ninety-nine years ago this week: The first forward pass in Canada

by Sarah Farnand on

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On Nov. 5, 1921, a Syracuse football player completed the first forward pass in Canada at McGill’s Percival Molson Memorial field. The forward pass was a monumental step in the development of modern-day North American football, which originally resembled rugby. 

Many fans are unaware of the origins of American football: It was first developed in Canada, specifically at McGill University. In 1874, almost 40 years prior to the historic forward pass, McGill competed against Harvard University in a two-game series that comprised the first intercollegiate football games. The games drew around 500 spectators, mostly students, who each paid a $0.50 USD admittance fee, equivalent to roughly $13 CAD in 2020. While Princeton and Rutgers University had already faced off in 1869 in what some may consider the first collegiate football game, that match was more similar to soccer, as only kicking the ball was allowed. The McGill-Harvard games, which had comparable rules to English rugby, allowed both carrying and kicking in what was the start of the now multi-billion dollar industry of North American football. Harvard had different rules, known as “Boston rules,” where players could only kick the ball, which was round. In their first game of the two-game series, the teams played with Boston rules, and Harvard won 3–0. In the second game, they played with McGill’s rugby-style rules, and the game ended in a scoreless tie. Harvard liked the rugby style of play much better, and in their next meeting a few months later, Harvard decided to permanently adopt McGill’s rules. While McGill proceeded to score no points that season, the mark they made in history has lasted for almost 150 years.

As the game increased in popularity, more and more schools formed teams. While many of them started playing the soccer-like style popularized by Princeton and Rutgers, all universities eventually shifted towards McGill’s rules. The game continued to evolve in Montreal, and teams from the United States loved playing the new version. Schools from the U.S. would come to Montreal with their own spin to the rules that included features like blocking and the forward pass. In a 1921 game against McGill, Syracuse University completed the first forward pass in Canada, a key stepping stone in the transition from traditional rugby rules to those of the new American version. 

At the time, many Canadians did not appreciate the American transformation of their game. They believed the English rugby version of the game was better than this new American form. The Montreal Gazette expressed their disdain for these American innovations in an article published in November 1921.

“Recent rule changes had made backfield play in Canadian football much more sparkling,” the article read. “[But] if the Canadian game was still not good enough, better to retreat toward the rules of English rugby than to go for the American version.” 

While Canadians may not have appreciated the style at the time, its popularity grew, especially in the United States. Today, football is one of the most popular sports in North America, with events like the NFL Superbowl drawing tens of millions of viewers every year. 

The development of the forward pass was a step in the creation of the modern game of football, and its completion in Montreal was a testament to the role McGill played in the development of the game.

News, PGSS

PGSS Council discusses McGill’s plans for in-person learning in Winter 2021

by Ella Fitzhugh on

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At the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Council virtual council meeting on Nov. 4, councillors approved a motion to oppose new changes to the Graduate Mobility Award (GMA) and discussed McGill’s recently announced plans to move some classes in the Faculty of Science to in person for the Winter 2021 semester.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the provincial government has restricted university-related travel, narrowing the GMA eligibility requirements. Before the pandemic, the GMA students who received the award would pursue research abroad, often allowing international students to do research in their home countries. The recent GMA limitations have suspended international travel for research, leaving some international students with setbacks in pursuit of their studies.

University Affairs Commissioner and Ph.D student in Communication Studies Kristi Kouchakji pointed to the miscommunications between McGill and the Quebec government and explained that the new motion will attempt to provide more clarity. 

“This motion for me really is about making sure that going forward, for students who won’t be able to travel before April 2022, that McGill is using its platform and using the position that it has with the Quebec government to advocate for a more inclusive understanding of what it is to do graduate research in Quebec,” Kouchakji said.

After some discussion, the councillors unanimously approved the motion.

Next on the agenda was an announcement from the Biology Graduate Student Association (BGSA) concerning McGill’s plans to roll out some in-person, on-campus teaching activities starting in January 2021. An email sent on Oct. 30 to the Department of Biology asked the department chairs to submit a list of teachables by the first week of November. Shannon Dunphy, president of the BGSA, explained her opposition to McGill’s proposed plans regarding in-person classes for the Winter 2021 semester. 

“We’ve recently written a statement in opposition to increase presence of in-person classes for January 2021,” Dunphy said. “[The statement is] primarily focussing on Faculty of Science BGSAs [….] TAs and grad students have not been consulted on this issue, and so we’ve written a statement and we’d like to invite other BGSAs to co-sign it.”

Dunphy expressed that McGill’s failure to consult TAs and graduate students was a significant issue, because TAs will be susceptible to all the health risks associated with being present on campus. 

“They’re also not requiring undergraduate students to wear masks on campus in classrooms either,” Dunphy said.

During the discussion period, Ana Moga, Ph.D candidate in the School of Physical & Occupational Therapy and member of the Graduate Rehabilitation Science Society, questioned whether students are able to reap the same educational outcomes from remote learning.

Dunphy explained that although certain courses benefit from having an in-person format, McGill’s statement for in-person classes should be reconsidered because it includes in-person classes for courses that can remain in an online format. 

Moment of the meeting: 

At the beginning of the meeting, Council Speaker Adrienne Tessier noted that there was a palpable sense of stress in the air. Despite this, Tessier still found a moment to laugh at the end of the meeting, entertaining a motion for adjournment that was met with silence. She amicably joked, “I was about to say I’m flattered that no one wants to leave.”

Sound bite: 

“Dialogue is very similar to Keep.meSAFE that we have except for instead of mental health services, which is what Keep.meSAFE is for, Dialogue is for physical health [….] The cost of the plan is $4.25 per student per month […] which obviously if you compare it to how much a student would pay if they go to a clinic it’s still cheaper than a single visit [….] It can be fully opt-outable.”

—Dakota Rogers, Member Services Officer, outlining the initial stages of potentially implementing a new service called “Dialogue.”

News, SSMU

SSMU President reveals five-year plan to support future growth of student services

by Ella Milloy on

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The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held its fifth Legislative Council meeting of the Fall 2020 semester on Nov. 5, where SSMU representatives discussed President Jemark Earle’s five-year plan which aims to further improve the student union. The council also passed two new motions: The first concerned the implementation of an equity triage within SSMU’s Equity Policy, and the second amended the standing rules for the 2020-2021 Legislative Council.

SSMU President Jemark Earle, who campaigned on creating a long-term plan which would allow for the Society to expand their services, introduced his five-year plan to Council for consultation. The proposal hopes to make SSMU’s staff, operations, clubs, services, finance, and advocacy departments more robust and to support their continual growth in the coming years. Earle suggested several ways that SSMU can improve the quality of its services in order to maintain their development over the next few years.

“Executive turnover is extremely high […] and executive teams [act] on impulsive one-year decisions,” Earle said. “[This is] the bane of [the] student union and results in ineffectiveness [….] This plan will create a subcommittee of the Legislative Council, which will include members at large, councillors, directors, executives, and full-time staff, to ensure that it gets carried through from year to year.”

Notable recommendations in the five-year plan include renovations to the SSMU building’s second-floor cafeteria and student bar, strategies to better integrate clubs into campus life, and calls to increase SSMU staffing support by 2026. Earle explained that the goal of the plan was to prioritize services, clubs, and operations and to make the Society’s building a more welcoming hub for student life. 

“In three years time, I think we would be able to renovate the [cafeteria] because there is a lot of under-utilized space which could be turned into quite a nice student lounge,” Earle said. “In my opinion, we could also look at getting some food options there, but I think there is a general need for a hangout space on campus.”

After Earle’s presentation, the council moved to approve two motions. Only the motion regarding the implementation of an equity triage process to the Society’s Equity Policy generated debate during the meeting. Moved by Vice-President Student Life Maheen Akter, the motion addresses the long-standing pattern of equity groups facing delays in many of SSMU’s operations. Akter explained that the equity triage process would prioritize marginalized groups when dealing with the society’s operations, communications, IT, human resources, and accounting departments.

“It is absolutely our priority to […] put processes [like this] in place to prioritize equity-seeking groups and to [also] serve all student groups,” Akter said. “As we put these [motions] forward, we are also constantly thinking of ways that we can improve all these systems and […] about why there are backlogs in some areas of our services, and figuring out ways to fix them.”

Moment of the meeting:

During his five-year plan presentation to the Legislative Council, President Earle discussed various initiatives that could garner more student engagement with SSMU, including finishing Gerts’ renovations, bringing back the yearbook, and opening a SSMU tax clinic. Acknowledging it as an ambitious idea, President Earle also put forward the possibility of the Society owning its own therapy dogs as a potential service by 2026 and spoke with great excitement as he described this idea to the council. 

Soundbite:

“The fact that we need a triage is not ideal [….] As the President outlined in the generative discussion on the five-year plan, we are understaffed [and] we do have a very limited capacity compared to the services we are trying to offer and the student body that we have to serve. The capacity just isn’t always there to do it in a timely manner. If anything, this amendment is trying to reduce the impact of that lack of capacity on equity-seeking groups that are already disadvantaged in a number of other ways.” – Brooklyn Fizzle, VP University Affairs.

McGill, Montreal, News

‘The Politics of Representation’ panel discusses accountability in Canadian politics

by Signy Harnad on

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McGill’s Women in House program hosted “The Politics of Representation: Fostering Accountability and Integrity in Governance” on Nov. 5 to explore the significance and value of female participation in Canadian government institutions. The panel, conducted via Zoom, featured McGill Political Science Professor Kelly Gordon, L1 Law student Chloe Kemeni, and Women in House founder Chi Nguyen. They underscored the potential challenges women embarking on careers in politics may face.

The event marks the first panel discussion of the academic year organized by Women in House, a shadowing program that aims to give female-identifying McGill students the opportunity to pair up with Members of Parliament and Senators. In an interview with //The McGill Tribune//, Iyanu Soyege, U3 Arts, the panel’s moderator and a coordinator of Women in House, explained that she sought to ground the discussion of female representation in the network of social movements burgeoning across Canada. 

“With the people of the Wet’suwet’en territory fighting for sovereignty over their land [and with] Black Lives Matter, we are trying to view government institutions as avenues for change,” Soyege said. “We’re asking what can happen when women do get into government, and what we can do to ensure that our communities are transformed.”

The panelists began their discussion of representation by distinguishing between two kinds of representation: Descriptive and substantive. The former is defined by the number of women in an institution, and the latter occurs when women-friendly policies are actually enacted. In doing so, Kemeni examined the different uses of identity politics in a liberal society.

“We need to critically assess what it means to be within our identity and intentionally understand it,” Kemeni said. “[…] We often talk about how we need more women, more racialized folks, and more folks from different backgrounds, and so they are [brought] to the table, and it’s almost as if they’re just there to […] not say anything. So when we talk about reclaiming identity politics within its feminist understanding, this means using your identity, and the teachings that come with who you are, your ancestors, […] what they taught you, and bringing that to the table.”

The panel then discussed the informal means through which women can exercise leadership and foreground local communities.

“Think about all of the parent councils, all of the activation that happens in communities by women,” Nguyen said. “Right after COVID-19, who was setting up mutual aid societies? Who was setting up these networks? It was driven by women’s leadership, and there’s an undervaluing of that care work.”

The speakers also addressed the barriers female politicians who pursue substantive change face. Professor Gordon mentioned the case of Jody Wilson-Raybould, a woman who resigned from the Trudeau cabinet in 2019 amid the SNC-Lavalin affair.

“What emerges is this pattern where although women are welcomed into the organization […], we also see people like Jody Wilson-Raybould doing […] what her community asked her to do, which is envisioning and [doing] things [in] a different way, and the party then ignores, denies, or blames [women like] her,” Gordon said.

Following a question that asked how the panelists have remained optimistic while navigating often-destabilizing political careers, the speakers imparted advice to the audience in their concluding remarks.

“For me, I’ve been able to find my tribe,” Nguyen said. “It should be feeding your soul, and if it’s not, you need to step back, reassess, and keep trying things on for size.”

Alex Byrne, U1 Arts, attended the event and praised the panelists for their candidness, while also emphasizing the need to continue engaging in nuanced conversations about representation. 

“I feel like so much of our talk about female representation is this liberal [idea] that women should be ambitious, and we need to empower women to have seats, but we rarely talk about the process it takes to get there,” Byrne said. “It was eye-opening to hear that spoken about in a way that was so blunt and open.”

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