Latest News

Science & Technology

MUHC to begin trial of ciclesonide for alleviating COVID-19 symptoms

by Margaret Wdowiak on

More in Science & Technology:

While the race for a COVID-19 vaccine continues, scientists around the world are exploring the possibility of repurposing existing drugs to effectively treat COVID-19 patients. Recently, researchers have seen a number of breakthroughs. One of these successes is dexamethasone, a corticosteroid hormone with anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. 

The conclusions of one research group, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggested that orally or intravenously administered dexamethasone was effective in treating severe cases of COVID-19, particularly improving survival in very ill patients requiring supplemental oxygen. 

Following the success of dexamethasone, in mid September, a team of researchers from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) began to examine whether other drugs within the corticosteroid family could treat milder cases of COVID-19. 

Nicole Ezer, assistant professor in McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and lead investigator of the new MUHC study, drew inspiration from previous dexamethasone trials. She wrote to The McGill Tribune about the promises of ciclesonide in COVID-19 treatment.

“Ciclesonide is a type of inhaled steroid and nasal steroid, and it is currently used for asthma and allergic rhinitis,” Ezer wrote.

Typically, steroids like dexamethasone and ciclesonide are used to treat inflammatory conditions such as allergic disorders, skin conditions, and other illnesses that affect the respiratory tract. COVID-19 shares some of the adverse effects of other inflammatory diseases, making these steroids a viable option for treating respiratory symptoms that arise from the virus. 

There are multiple advantages to using ciclesonide as a treatment for COVID-19. The side effects of ciclesonide are relatively rare and mild: The most common side adverse effect is oral thrush, also known as candidiasis, which only occurs in one per cent of patients. Candidiasis occurs when candida, a mouth fungus, grows and causes white blotches on the tongue and throat as a result of corticosteroid exposure. 

Another advantage of ciclesonide is that there is already evidence of its efficacy. Studies have shown that the drug decreases damage to lung tissue by inhibiting the replication of SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Even in moderate cases of COVID-19, lung  damage can cause breathing difficulty and lead to inflammation in the respiratory tract. Inhaled drugs like ciclesonide act directly on the nose, airways, and lungs, the primary sites for the viral replication of SARS-Cov-2. 

Ezer and her colleagues are keen to further explore the treatment possibilities of ciclesonide through a randomized trial. So far, the trial has been unusual in that its design is both remote and “touchless.”

“This is a very pragmatic randomized control trial,” Ezer wrote. “[It is pragmatic] in that patients are at home, have medications sent to their home by courier, and answer questions online without visiting the hospital.” 

Participants must register on an online platform where doctors can then follow up with them. Eligible participants are randomly assigned to a control or experimental group. As in any randomized trial, only a select number of participants will receive ciclesonide, while the rest receives a placebo.  

The study is currently in the recruitment stage. Participants need to be over the age of 18 and must have been recently diagnosed with COVID-19. They must also exhibit symptoms such as fever and shortness of breath within five days of enrolment. 

For now, the study is geographically limited to Quebec. However, the team hopes to expand the study.

“We’re working with [officials in] Alberta and British Columbia to offer [ciclesonide] to other provinces as well,” Ezer said in an interview with the Tribune.

The work of Ezer and her colleagues is crucial to treating COVID-19 cases in the immediate future, as widespread vaccines might not be available until mid-2021.  

“Vaccines will not be the only solution for COVID-19,” Ezer wrote. “Vaccines may not have 100 [per cent] efficacy, so we will still need treatment options for those who do get COVID. At a population level, we need inexpensive treatments for mild patients that are well-tolerated.”

More information regarding the study, eligibility criteria, and registration information can be found on the study’s official website.

Off the Board, Opinion

I love ‘Shrek 2,’ hear me out

by Kaja Surborg on

More in Off the Board:

I love Shrek 2. It is one of my favourite movies of all time. Most people who have met me know this about me because I manage to work it into every conversation that lasts five minutes or longer. 

Shrek 2 follows Shrek and Fiona, two ogres fresh from their honeymoon, as they visit Fiona’s still-human parents and negotiate a myriad of obstacles in their marriage. The film is classic Shrek: It has fairytale characters, family drama, sensational rescue scenes, and amidst all of that, a layer of social commentary. But, the beauty of Shrek 2 lies in the fact that the audience can take in as much or as little of that social commentary as they like. 

Most digital media today is divided into two categories: Serious and obviously trying to address a current and pervasive societal ill, or completely and absurdly detached from anything serious at all. Teen dramas and reality television offer escape to worlds where systemic injustice does not exist and 16-year-olds do not have acne, while gritty documentaries, biopics, and political dramas try to shed light on the reality of current affairs. Not only is there no middle ground in the movies and shows being produced, but there is also no nuance in popular perception of these categories. Reality TV and teen dramas are trashy, while biopics and documentaries are high-brow and intellectual. 

I thoroughly enjoy movies and shows that fall into the “trashy” category. They may not be intellectually stimulating or well-made, but they are entertaining. In my mind, if a show or movie succeeds in entertaining the audience, it holds value. Of course, this comes with the caveat that if it perpetuates or encourages bigotry or systemic inequity, it is no longer acceptable as a piece of entertainment. Despite my firm belief in the inherent value of the media I consume, I find myself feeling the need to justify my choices to watch low-brow content. I tell people that I like it as a joke or think the incredibly low-quality scripts and acting are actually funny. While these are not always outright lies, I do also just genuinely enjoy what I am watching, and that is fine.

Shrek 2 bridges the gap between cheap laughs and social commentary almost perfectly. Corruption at the highest level of politics, individual self-esteem issues, and police brutality are all present, but anyone watching could also ignore these points quite easily. How someone chooses to perceive and watch Shrek 2 is entirely up to the viewer and their own level of social awareness. 

There is no right or wrong way to enjoy Shrek 2, though. If someone wants to watch it and unpack the discussion of toxic masculinity and men’s self-esteem issues, they can do that and find value in doing so. If someone just wants to watch a giant, sentient gingerbread man have hot milk dumped on him as he dissolves into a moat, that is equally valid.  The pressure to explain or justify enjoying preferences to appear smarter or more ‘woke’ can be deeply ingrained, especially for young women. For decades, products and media marketed to women have been dismissed as frivolous and low-quality. Now, more than ever, it is important to let people enjoy things that make them happy. Shrek 2 does lend itself brilliantly to more in-depth analysis, but I should not have to explain that every time I tell someone that it is my favourite movie because my love of the dumb jokes is just as justifiable and rational a reason as any other for me to love it.

Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Players’ Theatre proves that the show must go on

by Erika MacKenzie on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

Theatre-lovers everywhere are mourning the days of live performances with sold-out venues, elaborate production designs, and most importantly, a sense of collective belonging. COVID-19 has caused major disruptions for McGill’s theatre community, especially since Montreal moved into its Red Zone earlier this month. 

Understandably, theatre clubs at McGill have struggled to adapt to the new restrictions. The Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society (AUTS) announced on Facebook on Sept. 22 that this year’s intended production of A Chorus Line would be cancelled. While many clubs initially planned to rehearse and perform in person, these plans have since been derailed. Despite the setbacks, some clubs at McGill are taking innovative approaches to reimaging theatre during a pandemic.

Basile Guichard, U2 Arts and production manager at Players’ Theatre McGill, spoke with The McGill Tribune about how the club has altered their plans as restrictions have intensified throughout the semester. 

“[Originally] we were thinking of having an outdoor show on the McGill campus, because events were allowed before the red zone,” Guichard said. “Then we thought that filming it would be a better idea, but obviously that’s not possible anymore with the very strict restrictions.”

Guichard explained that despite the various obstacles, the club’s directors and cast members have been willing to adapt to the ever evolving changes in order to put on a show. Even though the executive team prefaced every audition by telling the applicants that there was a chance that the show could be cancelled at any moment, many applicants still wanted to start the production process. 

Since the province announced the new restrictions in place for Red Zone, Players’ Theatre has taken a new approach to producing its October shows This is a Play and Life is a Dream. One show will be a live play on Zoom and the other will be a radio play with visual imagery. 

Despite the altered formats of their upcoming programming, Guichard said that the resolve of club executives and members is strong and that students are still eager to produce shows.

“There’s definitely a drive still present,” Guichard said. “I know from talking to other execs from other theatre clubs at McGill […] that every single team has some people who are still interested in creating and collaborating and growing together.” 

Players’ Theatre hopes to keep the momentum going for next semester as they plan for the annual McGill Drama Festival (MDF) which features student-written, produced, and performed one-act plays. Though Players’ is uncertain as to what shape MDF will take during the Winter 2021 semester, Guichard feels hopeful that the greater community will still support student theatre on campus.

“People are definitely willing to show up and put in the work despite everything,” Guichard said. “People are still showing a lot of interest [.…] It’s a good break for living in the pandemic world or going to school online.” 

Life is a Dream and This is a Play will be premiering on October 29th, 30th, and 31st.

Art, Arts & Entertainment

‘A Harlem Nocturne’ showcases triumphs of Black Canadian art and history

by Matthew Molinaro on

More in Art:

On Oct. 15, OBORO art centre hosted a virtual conversation between two esteemed members of the Canadian art community, Deanna Bowen, a Governor-General award-winning artist, and Kimberly Phillips, director of Simon Fraser University Galleries. The discussion delved into Bowen’s exhibit, A Harlem Nocturne, which focussed on Black Canadian history and its representation in art.

Bowen, a Vancouver-raised, interdisciplinary Black artist, traces Black migration across North America through her work. As a descendant of Black pioneers in Alabama and Kentucky, A Harlem Nocturne is Bowen’s effort to document her own family history. Bowen noted how conversations about Black settlers and city builders in North America have rarely factored into our contemporary notions of Black history and urban history at large. 

Both the exhibit and the history for which it is named are a marvel. A Harlem Nocturne is inspired by the famed Harlem Nocturne, Vancouver’s only Black nightclub during the 1950s and ‘60s. To this day, the Nocturne’s influence spans generations of performers, from famous trumpeter Charles Ellison, to Eleanor Collins, the first Black North American artist to host a weekly national television series, The Eleanor Show. Bowen’s exhibit is an excavation; her forensic investigation of the histories of Black performers transforms her art pieces into a curated display of archival evidence. 

Bowen’s pieces include postcards of the Stratford Hotel in Vancouver’s Eastside, a gathering place for Black Vancouverites, and a poster of a play starring her great-uncle Herman Risby and dance legend Len Gibson. A striking point of the exhibit is a black print of the title card of the musical episode, “The Promised Land” starring Gibson and his family on the subject of formerly enslaved, Black American settlers in Canada. The exhibit maps Black presence in Canada, in public and in private, showcasing the tension between the nation’s idealized progressivism and the oppressive anti-Black racism innate to the country.

To find her place in the context of her art, Bowen explained how she needed to listen to the silence of the past. 

“It’s difficult for prior generations to articulate their history, especially when they come from viewpoints that other people are seeking to destroy,” Bowen said.  

Whether through focussing on her family or the media, Bowen strives to create art that accurately reflects her worldview. 

“Being a descendant of a body of people that experienced trauma, one has to be a witness out of necessity,” Bowen said. 

Phillips, the curator of A Harlem Nocturne, is interested in the visibility and the perseverance of women artists, particularly those from marginalized communities.

“The complexity and rich histories of Black performers are only visible in shadow ways […] in the very specific granular elements like teeny editorials,” Phillips said. 

Bowen expressed her desire to illuminate the “dark matter,” or the figures, events, and histories that remain largely ignored by the white majority in the midst of systemic racism.

“I’m interested in the less-than-important documents, [the] messages in shoe boxes […] the documents that are rich, full, outside the white, Western archive,” Bowen said.

Due to the inaccessibility of Black Canadian history, the exhibit required restoring, translating, and magnifying original materials in order to showcase the work of this community. For example, one piece features a series of light boxes with Gibson’s original choreography in dance notation intending to transcribe the movement of Black dancers. In consulting the Canadian Broadcasting Corporations’ (CBC) archives, Bowen further realized the importance of the work she was doing.

CBC’s decision to digitize its archives of Canadian history but to trash original copies of Black content only spurred Bowen’s efforts in A Harlem Nocturne. Through her exhibit, Bowen situates Black history into the public consciousness, repositioning and rearranging it for accuracy and access.

“An exhibition is the most publicly accessible way to put forward what people need to know,” Bowen said.

Bowen’s work and the stories—famous and erased—that it depicts take no specific locale. A Harlem Nocturne is a triumphant call to expand the common, oversimplified narratives of Black Canadians and their complex and vibrant stories.

Arts & Entertainment, Internet, Pop Rhetoric

Let meme explain: Christian Girl Autumn

by Kaja Surborg on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

In August 2019, Twitter user @bimbofication, real name Natasha, tweeted a now-iconic photo that garnered nearly 50,000 likes and a combined 20,000 retweets and quote tweets. The photo features two young white women wearing coordinated blue skinny jeans, brown ankle boots, and leather handbags. It is the kind of photo that immediately makes viewers assume that the two subjects just left their weekly brunch and are on their way to get pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks. 

“Hot Girl Summer is coming to an end, get ready for Christan Girl Autumn,” Natasha wrote in the caption. 

As far as viral tweets go, Natasha’s is not particularly noteworthy; its engagement numbers are on the lower end of the viral tweet spectrum and there are plenty of similar jokes poking fun at harmless stereotypes on Twitter. However, Natasha’s tweet presents a fascinating snapshot of an online cultural moment wherein social discourse, pervasive misogyny, and meme culture all intersect.

The women in Natasha’s tweet are Caitlin Covington and Emily Gemma, two lifestyle bloggers from North Carolina and Oklahoma, respectively. While the viral tweet did boost engagement on Covington and Gemma’s social media accounts, it also triggered a landslide of replies on Twitter in which users expressed their assumptions about the bloggers’ stances on a variety of social issues, particularly 2SLGBTQIA+ rights. 

“The first girl[’s] face says ‘conversion therapy[’ and] it scares me,” Twitter user @NFRnSEXORCISM wrote in a reply. 

This reply is just one of many that encapsulates the cultural crossroads that Natasha’s tweet occupies. Things typically enjoyed by women and femmes, especially young girls, have long been mocked and used as punchlines. From Twilight to One Direction to Starbucks, trending media enjoyed primarily by young women are often immediately derided as being lowbrow trash. This is not to say that there are no problems with any of these things; Starbucks is a massive corporation that has been linked to gentrification, and Twilight is a case study in romanticizing unhealthy relationships. Yet, the criticism around them is often instead targeted towards the audience of young girls, rather than the nuanced structural issues of these topics at hand. 

The replies to Natasha’s tweet highlight this nuance in criticizing traits that have been coded feminine, especially online. Many of the replies poke fun at Covington and Gemma’s supposed stances on legitimate current social issues as white women, including racism and homophobia. 

Recently, the ignorance of many cisgender white women has also become a common joke on the internet, with terms like “Karen” being brought into the mainstream. The subjects being mocked in these jokes are usually bigotry, ignorance, and unacknowledged privilege, rather than femininity. Being mean to someone because they are racist is obviously not the same as being outwardly misogynistic to women enjoying innocuous things. The replies to Natasha’s tweet, however, have revealed a bizarre conflation between a “basic” aesthetic, and how systems of oppression become internalized in our everyday interactions. The premise of many jokes in the replies was that racism or homophobia share an aesthetic with the women in the photo, and it is difficult to tell whether the punchline is Covington and Gemma’s ankle boots, or the beliefs that Twitter users assumed they hold. 

It can be difficult to dissect all of the cultural subtleties that exist in a 280-character tweet. Covington and Gemma have both responded to Natasha’s tweet with good humour and have since been in contact with her. Covington shared and donated to Natasha’s GoFundMe for her gender affirming surgery and replied to tweets to confirm that she does support 2SLGBTQIA+ rights as well as the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Social media platforms simultaneously offer current news and fuel for escapism through humour and memes, so every joke or throwaway comment becomes multi-layered and meta-referential. In this online era, it has become increasingly important to be conscious of unintentional biases, while also not taking everything too seriously and remembering to appreciate the joy of a fall colour palette.

McGill, News

MISC talk describes Marshall McLuhan’s role in the Quiet Revolution

by Chloe Merritt on

More in McGill:

The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) invited Jonathan Slater, a professor of public relations at State University of New York Plattsburgh (SUNY) on Oct. 14 to give a lecture exploring the influence of Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan on the role of mass media in Quebec’s Quiet Revolution and the October Crisis. The webinar was part of a formal partnership between McGill University, Bridgewater State University, and SUNY Plattsburgh.

Slater’s talk drew on research for his upcoming book on the role of mass media in Quebec’s Quiet Revolution, a period of socio-cultural change in the province. The October Crisis culminated in the Front de libération du Quebec’s (FLQ) kidnappings and attacks of two diplomats in the fall of 1970. 

Slater lectured about Canadian philosopher and professor of literature Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), who is often heralded as the father of communication and media studies. During the Quiet Revolution and October Crisis in Quebec, McLuhan observed and commented on the cultural changes in Quebec from his home in Toronto, where he was director of the Centre for Culture and Technology. In her introduction of Slater, Blair Elliot, MISC Communications and Events Associate, highlighted how some of McLuhan’s contemporaries saw his role in the crisis.

“Two of McLuhan’s contemporaries, his Toronto colleague Northrop Frye and Montreal author Hugh MacLennan, accused McLuhan of stirring up trouble in Quebec,” Elliot said. “McLuhan’s open friendship with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ostensibly was behind Frye’s assertion that McLuhan was interfering in Quebec’s affairs. MacLennan believed McLuhan’s contentions about mediated environments were abetting French nationalist sentiment in the province.”

Following World War II, Quebec rapidly industrialized and many rural francophones migrated towards Montreal’s urban center. Despite a growing intellectual class, Quebec francophones were prevented from seeing the full benefits of economic development due to English language requirements while at work. 

“The Quiet Revolution of 1960 reversed years of stagnation,” Slater said. “French Canadians, by and large tolerated their subordinate relationship [to anglophones] and accommodated their own oppression. The chasm separating French and English in Quebec, therefore, emerges as a drama of colonization and defeat.”

Slater described how McLuhan was in tune with the political climate and the impact of new media. Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson launched the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in 1963 to address growing tensions between French Canada and English Canadians.

“In that same year, Marshall McLuhan sent [a paper] to the Royal Commission drawing attention to the extent to which [English and French Canadians] already appeared to be polarized,” Slater said. “He also reflected on the way the fairly new electronic medium of television would further abet the deterioration of relations between them.”

McLuhan’s observations on the role of media proved to be popular in the aftermath of the Quiet Revolution. Slater describes how McLuhan’s translator, Jean Paré, reflected on McLuhan in hindsight. 

“There was a commonly held belief in the decade following the Quiet Revolution that television permitted Quebec francophones to take stock of their majority standing in their own province and appreciate their role as a distinct people within Canada as a whole,” Slater said. “[They were] not merely an ethnic minority stuck in a one-down position in greater English speaking Canada.”

McLuhan’s insights into the period were not only related to media studies. Daniel Béland, Director of MISC and host of the event’s Q&A session, discussed the relevance of Marshall McLuhan’s observations to wider discussions about nationalism. 

“McLuhan influenced the study of nationalism in a big way,” Béland said. “Benedict Anderson [an influential Irish political scientist], for example, who wrote Imagined Communities, based his work largely on McLuhan’s insight.”

For those interested and who were unable to attend, the full lecture and Q&A will be available on the MISC McGill Youtube channel next week.

Campus Spotlight, Student Life

Queer History Month highlights BIPOC advocacy

by Magdalena Nitchi on

More in Campus Spotlight:

Despite Red Zone restrictions in Montreal, McGill’s Queer History Month is still in full swing. Created in 2018 by the Associate Provost’s Equity and Academics office, this year will mark its third edition, centred around the theme of “Love stories of solidarity and resilience.” For the first time, all of the events are taking place online.

Meryem Benslimane, coordinator for Queer History Month and Equity Education Advisor, has worked to make the best of this year’s limitations. However, Benslimane believes that going fully online has broadened the impact of Queer History Month’s events. 

“[Organizing online] had the positive impact of making our events more accessible. Anyone in the world can actually register and attend our events, [and] we are not limited in space or capacity,” Benslimane said. “We have a maximum of 500 attendees on Zoom. In the past in-person editions, we could only hold events for 100-120 people at a time.”

Events this year include collaborations with McGill’s Black Students Network, McGill’s Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, and the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia on a panel specifically dedicated to Black queer and trans activism, which will take place on Oct. 20. This year, Queer History Month will feature keynote speaker Dr. Chamindra Weerawardhana, a transfeminine scholar and international 2SLGBTQIA+ rights activist from Sri Lanka. Tickets are still available for several events on the Equity McGill Website.

Around 40 people, including volunteers, organizers, and speakers, are involved in planning this year’s Queer History Month. Angela Campbell, Associate Provost (Equity & Academic Policies), looks forward to contributing to this year’s events.

“I am delighted to be part of McGill’s annual Queer History Month celebrations this October,” Campbell said. “While equity work is necessarily forward-looking with a view to ongoing advancement, we cannot lose sight of the importance of knowing our histories. This knowledge of the past will equip us to move forward in our efforts centring on the goals of equity, inclusion, and justice.”

Another emphasis of Queer History Month is intersectional solidarity, or solidarity between individuals with distinct experiences of oppression, especially when it comes to the specific issues that 2SLGBTQIA+ BIPOC individuals face. Benslimane also reiterated the integral and extraordinary work of Black queer and trans activists in advocating for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights.

“[Everyone involved in Queer History Month] wants to create online spaces of connection and community, of support and solidarity, especially in the global context of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism,” Benslimane said. “It is very important to remember that Black queer and trans activists, especially Black trans women, have always been and still are at the forefront of advancing 2SLGBTQ+ rights throughout history.”

During her keynote presentation on Oct. 7, Dr. Weerawardhana also emphasized the importance of intersectional activism in light of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the role of non-Black members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in addressing anti-Black racism in Canada and across the world.

“In our own lives, many of us have fought or are fighting tougher battles than the ongoing pandemic,” Dr. Weerawardhana stated. “Those of us who are non-Black simply cannot afford to water down our activism as the news cycle moves on. We need a strong focus on intersectional feminist advocacy. In Canada, this means a commitment to challenge all forms of intersecting racial, gender-based, and other injustices, with a special focus on Indigenous Peoples’ struggles for justice and dignity.”

Ultimately, Queer History Month is not only about history, but about the future of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Especially this year, when many people are facing social isolation, it is imperative to maintain and foster connections so that these communities may continue to thrive. Benslimane emphasized the importance of belonging and fundamentally, the freedom to love, that lies at the heart of Queer History Month.

“While we cannot be together in person this year, we hope people do find that sense of belonging, love, and resilience through our events and beyond Queer History Month,” Benslimane said. “The goal of Queer History Month [has always been] to raise awareness, advance education, and increase visibility of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities by recognizing their history and contributions, building bridges, and bringing together McGill students, staff, faculty, and alumni and Montreal community members, and that is what we hope to do this year again.”

Science & Technology

In ‘The Invisible Man,’ not seeing is believing

by Ronny Litvack-Katzman on

More in Science & Technology:

Leigh Whannel’s film The Invisible Man, based on H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel of the same name, tells the story of a young woman, played by Elizabeth Moss, who escapes an abusive relationship with a tech-savvy millionaire. After faking his own death, Adrian, Moss’s on-screen ex-boyfriend, devises a bodysuit using optical technology that allows him to become invisible and continue his reign of psychological torment over her. 

In Wells’ day, the notion that science could render a person invisible was absurd. Now, over 100 years and innumerable advancements later, Whannell’s recent adaptation with a feminist spin makes technology-assisted invisibility feel achievable.

Today, scientists have already had some success in making objects appear invisible. In a YouTube video, John Howell, a physics professor at the University of Rochester, explained that achieving “invisibility” requires the precise manipulation of light at different angles.

“‘Cloaking’ is essentially just an optical illusion, and people have been doing that for hundreds of years,” Howell said. “There have been many high-tech approaches to try and achieve cloaking. The basic idea […] is to take light and have it pass around something as if it isn’t there.” 

The device they built, aptly named the “Rochester Cloak,” consists of four lenses positioned at just the right angles to make an object placed between them appear invisible. Together, the lenses create a focal point—the point where light rays from a source converge after being reflected from the object. In the case of the Rochester Cloak, the normal movement of light is changed around the object, bending light around whatever object is placed at the focal point.

“The rays focus and diverge out, so it actually bends the light around the object,” Joseph Choi, a then-Ph.D. student at Rochester’s Institute of Optics, said. “We have slightly more complicated designs where an object can be cloaked entirely, but we’ve tried to simplify our design.”

Choi and Howell’s set-up allows an object to appear invisible as the viewer moves several degrees away from the optimal viewing position. The illusion remains constrained, however, by the ability of angles to mask the object. Move too close, too far away, or look at the object from outside the lens, and it will no longer appear “cloaked.”  

More recently, researchers have been able to apply these basic principles to larger subjects, like humans. This further confirms the theory that it is possible to use cloaks to perfectly hide an object at specific wavelengths. Hiding an object in an area containing different wavelengths of light, however, becomes more challenging as the size of the object increases. 

The medium in which the object exists will also have an effect on the ability of cloaking technology to mask it. In The Invisible Man, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who plays Adrian, fights Moss while remaining mostly invisible through a climactic shootout in the rain. Light slows down when it travels from air to water, causing it to change direction slightly in a process known as refraction. Soaking wet, it is unlikely that the visual properties of the optical suit used by Adrian to stay invisible would persist. 

Scientists have been able to effectively cloak objects from detection by physical waves other than light. Using a skin-like device that looks eerily similar to the one Jackson-Cohen wears in the film, engineers at Iowa State University have created a wearable device that makes objects invisible on radar. It works through the use of metamaterials, which can absorb radio frequencies rather than reflect them back to sensors.

In the world of science fiction and fantasy, invisibility has become a mainstay—an iconographic symbol of technology currently beyond human means of production. The Invisible Man joins other famous depictions of cloaking, from The Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter—all but proving that CGI remains the best tool for rendering humans invisible.

McGill, News, SSMU

SSMU VP University Affairs proposes motion to pay SSMU Councillors

by Maya Abuali on

More in McGill:

Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Brooklyn Frizzle submitted a motion to pay Legislative Council members for their work to the SSMU Steering Committee for the Oct. 8 Legislative Council meeting. While councillors and senators are expected to attend Council meetings, hold office hours, and work on motions for submission, which often require up to four hours per week, executives work full-time, and are already paid. The Steering Committee, which sets the agenda for Legislative Council meetings, determined that more consultation was necessary and subsequently delayed it to Winter 2021.

As the VP University Affairs, Frizzle is responsible for overseeing equity initiatives and complaints. Frizzle attributes their focus on employment equity to their experience doing unpaid work for Queer McGill.

“One of the biggest problems we faced [working at Queer McGill] was a lack of contract hours,” Frizzle said. “[We often had to] work unpaid just to keep the organization running. At the end of the day, SSMU wouldn’t exist without […] student labour, and that’s equally true for councillors and senators.”

Frizzle plans to put forward this motion to the Winter 2021 referendum that, if ratified, would salary SSMU councillors and senators. The fee amount would be determined using SSMU’s pay equity scale, a system based on job responsibilities outlined in the organization’s governing documents. The exact budget for the new “Representative Fees” has not yet been confirmed.

Frizzle worked with SSMU VP Finance Gifford Marpole to determine the financial feasibility of the motion. Marpole stressed the need to compensate councillors and senators, especially given SSMU’s stance against unpaid labour as articulated in its governing policies.

“I believe that not paying councillors and senators makes those positions somewhat inaccessible, especially for individuals who have to work throughout their undergrad,” Marpole said. “Providing pay will hopefully open the door for more students to run for these positions.”

According to Frizzle, this is not the first time that a motion to compensate Legislative Council representatives has been introduced. Although many individuals within SSMU have proposed ways to compensate senators and councillors, Frizzle noted that the recurring issue of needing a supervisor to prevent conflicts of interest has prevented each attempt from being successful. 

Arts Senator Darshan Daryanani, who served as the Arts Undergraduate Society’s (AUS) VP of External Affairs last year, explained why he supports the motion.

“With meetings that can go up to nine hours long, [being in this position] comes at the expense of academics, physical and mental health, as well as foregoing other paid opportunities like research positions and working part-time,” Daryanani said. 

Daryanani emphasized the advantages that implementing the motion would have for SSMU.

“Not only will the Representative Fee alleviate the financial barriers for those who wish to be involved in student government, but it also will serve as an added incentive for us to prioritize their roles in serving our constituents and have a healthier lifestyle,” Daryanani said. 

The motion would have to be approved by the Council to be included in a referendum. Although the current councillors would not benefit from the funding as it would be implemented after their terms end, Frizzle, like the steering committee worried that the policy might be considered a conflict of self-interest. 

“I think input and approval from regular members are especially important for a project like this, so I decided to pursue a student-initiated question by petition, instead,” Frizzle said. “Unfortunately, that means the question has to be delayed until I’m able to put together a petition and collect enough signatures, which I might not be able to accomplish before the Fall referendum deadline.”

Frizzle hopes to present the fee for a referendum in the Winter semester in order to be available for the next set of councillors and senators in Fall 2021.

Formula One, Point-Counterpoint, Sports

Point-counterpoint: The greatest Formula 1 driver

by Shaun Lalani on

More in Formula One:

The greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time come in pairs: Schumacher and Ferrari, Hamilton and Mercedes, and Senna and McLaren. To understand the magnitude of their greatness, one has to consider not just the stats but also the context behind each driver’s success. Looking at all of Formula 1 history, there are two standouts: Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

Michael Schumacher

In Formula 1, the greatest evidence of a driver’s raw pace is often their performance against their teammates in a qualifying environment where cars are pushed to their very limits. Schumacher’s performances in this department were outright dominant compared to Hamilton’s, as Schumacher was rarely out-qualified by any teammate. If this wasn’t a testament enough to his skill behind the wheel, Schumacher is perhaps the best rain driver in F1, accumulating a record 19 victories on the wet tyres. 

However, Schumacher’s greatest asset wasn’t his pace or skill, but rather, his ability to transform any team he joined into perennial competitors for the title, something Hamilton has never had to do at McLaren and Mercedes. When Schumacher arrived at Ferrari in 1996, they had not won a title in 17 years. But by 2000, Schumacher had built the foundations of a team that would go on to win the world title for five consecutive years. In fact, such was their dominance that it required the FIA to introduce rule changes that deliberately sought to pull Ferrari back into contention with the rest of the sport. Finally, Schumacher’s ability to push seemingly average cars to title-contending spots is something Hamilton has failed to accomplish in his career thus far. 

Lewis Hamilton

When Lewis Hamilton made his Formula 1 debut in 2007, and after a second-place season finish with 12 podiums with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, fans knew that he was something special. Since then, Hamilton has won six world championships with two teams and asserted himself as the most dominant, technical, and consistent driver of the era.

Hamilton’s six titles are second only to Michael Schumacher’s seven, and based on the way things are going this season, it is likely that Hamilton will be tying that record in December. When comparing the two, it is important to remember that Hamilton’s career is ongoing, and he is likely to maintain his dominant streak for at least three or four more seasons. Hamilton’s consistency is unrivaled, especially in his years with Mercedes. Since Schumacher retired, there have been several shifts in the sport. The technical aspects of driving have changed—cars have become increasingly intricate since the era of Schumacher, and it is more difficult than ever to drive the jet-engines on wheels that F1 cars have become. Hamilton is also the most technical driver of all time, taking each turn to the maximum, only pushing the engine when it needs to, and consistently out-qualifying every other driver on the grid.

Editor’s pick:

Despite Hamilton’s dominance in recent years, it is clear that Schumacher had a better racing career. Building a team from the ground up is extremely difficult, and Hamilton, despite all his accolades, has always had the best car on the best team. Schumacher will go down in history as the best driver of all time for fighting the odds and pulling out wins.

1 … 384 385 386 387 388 … 1,364

Read the latest issue

Read the latest issue