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The Canada Emergency Student Benefit aids many students while leaving others behind

by Neel Hasan on

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The federal government’s Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) program, which provides a monthly deposit of $1,250 or $2,000 aiming to alleviate financial insecurity caused by COVID-19, has left a group of students scrambling to pay bills. The benefit is available until August 2020 but is only accessible to domestic students, leaving the 30 per cent of McGill’s international students with little to no financial support. 

The CESB was designed as an alternative to the broader Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) targeted at students. Daniel Béland, Political Science professor and director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, detailed why the CESB was developed. 

“The idea was that a lot of students won’t be able to find work this summer because unemployment is skyrocketing, and many students rely on [summer] jobs to pay the tuition to save for the forthcoming academic year,” Béland said.

As only permanent residents and Canadian citizens are eligible to apply for the CESB, international students, who pay far higher tuition than their domestic counterparts, are ineligible. Béland attributed the decision to only cater to domestic students to Canada’s federal system of government.

“Tuition money goes to universities, which are provincial in nature, and CESB is paid by federal taxpayers,” Béland said. “So the two are not related directly in the sense that tuition money from international students doesn’t end up in Ottawa.”

Heela Achakzai, U3 Arts, is from Pakistan. She saw many of her fellow international students rushing to return home, especially as borders began to close.

“In March, there was only one week when people could decide whether to fly back home or not, maybe even a couple days,” Achakzai said. “If somebody was unable to fly, that means you’re just stuck here […] with your lease and stuck with paying so much money. So many of my friends were [initially] very glad this rolled out, then we found out we couldn’t apply. That [$1,250/month] would cover my rent.”

On the other hand, Catherine Shi, U2 Arts, said that she felt the CESB provided her enough financial support to meet her needs, but acknowledged that the requirement stating applicants must be seeking work was not fair to everyone. 

“I think [the CESB] is a good idea because [for the] over 50 internships I [applied to], out of all of them, I got one interview,” Shi said. “[But] you shouldn’t have to risk your life, especially for someone who is immunocompromised, it’s not fair to argue that they should be seeking employment.”

Students must be unemployed because of COVID-19 or actively seeking a job this summer to be eligible for benefits. However, students with jobs can earn up to $1,000 before taxes from their work per eligibility period and concurrently be eligible for the CESB. While students do not have to issue proof while applying, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) officials have stated that they will check income statements during tax season next year to validate applicants actively sought or were employed. 

Cara Piperni, Director of Scholarships and Student Aid at McGill, empathized with the difficulties that numerous students have been facing due to COVID-19, and explained that her office had made efforts to compensate for some of the financial burden. According to Piperni, 97 per cent of the university’s financial aid had already been delegated out by May.

“We immediately had a COVID-related student emergency bursary fund available thanks to the Provost [and Vice Principal (Academic)] contributing a significant amount of money and a fundraiser where generous donors and alumni also contributed,” Piperni said. “So we had more than [one] million dollars in bursaries to offer students around these immediate and urgent concerns in addition to our normal bursary and loan programs and the normal government student financial assistance programs that exist.”

Science research
Science & Technology

Sun & Science returns with stars, cells, and faults

by Zoe Karkossa on

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On June 6, the Faculty of Science held their second session of Sun and Science, the online rendition of the classic Soup and Science presentation series. The McGill Tribune presents the highlights from the event: 

Making the largest 3D maps of the universe

Adrian Liu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, described an ambitious project to map the universe using 21 cm intensity mapping, an observational technique that surveys large structures in space using the density of hydrogen ions. 

The first generation of stars and galaxies formed released an immense amount of UV radiation that spread through the universe. This radiation broke down hydrogen molecules by removing an electron in a process called ionization. Physicists can map the distribution and relative density of these ions in order to create a more detailed picture of the universe.   

“These are really exciting times,” Liu said. “We’re building big radio telescopes to measure light from when the first stars were forming, and a lot of this work really is driven by undergraduates.”

This telescope, known as the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA), is currently being constructed by a group of physicists from around the world.

“[HERA] will consist of 350, 14 meter telescopes that act in concert as a giant super telescope to help us detect faint signals from hydrogen around the time the first stars were forming,” Liu said. 

If successful, Liu’s group will be one of the first cohorts of cosmologists to comprehensively visualize the dramatic transformation of the early universe. 

Ancient and future earthquakes

Christie Rowe, Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, is a trained field geologist and earthquake aficionado. Her lab studies a wide range of geological phenomena in locations across Quebec, and as far afield as the Pacific Ocean and Southern Africa. Their current work includes drilling for rock samples in underwater trenches in Japan and studying fossilized evidence of earthquakes in South Africa. 

“Earthquakes aren’t the only thing that’s happening when faults are chugging along,” Rowe said. “There’s actually a lot of things happening in between [silent] earthquakes that the rocks are doing that we don’t necessarily think or know about.” 

In Quebec, her lab maps the occurrence of earthquakes over the last 150 years. Although this may seem like a long time ago, Rowe noted that 150 years is a relatively short period on the geological scale, a fact that presents its own set of challenges while conducting research. 

 “Nobody knows which of these faults have been recently active, if any, so there’s a lot of work [to be done] right under the city, right now,” Rowe said. 

Tracking cell metabolism and communication

Janine Mauzeroll, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, conducts research on electrochemistry, the study of electron transfer reactions. Her lab focuses on electrochemistry at the microscopic level, using small electric conductors a quarter of the diameter of a human hair to quantify the speed of electrochemical reactions in human cells. 

“The whole premise behind the work is that we’re trying to use these small microelectrodes to track cell metabolism or communication,” Mauzeroll said.

These tiny devices can be used to study the characteristics of cancer cells, determining, for example, how resistant a certain type of cancer may be to treatment. 

One molecule of interest in Mauzeroll’s lab is D-Serine. D-Serine is thought to affect synaptic plasticity, the neurochemical process by which specific patterns of brain activity result in changes in neural connections. Other associations between D-Serine and the brain include pathological processes, such as aging and neurodegeneration. 

Currently, Mauzeroll’s lab is applying specialized enzymes and microelectrodes to track the release of D-Serine from different types of neurons. Such tools could be of significant benefit to medicine, since the molecule is involved in the progression of many neurological diseases, like schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Science & Technology

Up to bat: The persistence of coronaviruses in bats

by Bridget O’Brien on

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Scientists predict that many coronaviruses similar to the strain responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), have their origins in bats. While several coronavirus strains can infect and sicken humans, bats appear to remain unaffected while carrying the virus.

In a recent study, two researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) demonstrated that the MERS coronavirus can persist in the kidney cells of a species of brown bat for months at a time. The unique ability of bat cells to carry viral particles is due to adaptations both in their immune system and within the virus itself. 

“Very quickly after we put the virus in bat cells, the virus adapts, or there is selection or mutations in one particular gene,” Vikram Misra, co-author of the study, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “We don’t know much about that protein, but what seems to be is that that particular protein is responsible for regulating antiviral responses and cell death.”

The study added more knowledge to what scientists already understand about how viruses interact with a bat’s immune system. Previous studies have suggested that physiological stress can cause an imbalance in the replication of viral RNA, leading to increased viral shedding, the process in which viruses exit the body and are released into the environment. This mechanism, as proposed by recent studies, provides a possible explanation for how coronaviruses can infect human populations. 

Since researchers do not observe the symptoms of coronavirus in bats, they instead compare a bat’s immune response to the virus to that of a human. 

When the human body encounters a virus, there is both an antiviral and inflammatory response. With most viral diseases, the virus blocks the body’s natural antiviral response and instead causes a strong inflammatory response, which can damage surrounding organs, such as the lungs in the case of respiratory viruses. Arinjay Banerjee, co-author of the USask study, highlights that bats can somehow suppress the inflammatory response induced by viruses.

“Bats have evolved to do absolutely the opposite,” Banerjee said in an interview with the Tribune. “When bat cells are infected, we see a good antiviral response, but we do not see the strong overdrive of inflammation in bats.” 

This “alternative response” on the part of the bat immune system is thought to contribute to the virus’ ability to persist within members of the bat family.

Selena Sagan, Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at McGill, further explained why bats are a common reservoir for viruses.

“Bats account for about 25 per cent of all mammalian species […] and they have a long evolutionary history, [meaning that] they have a long period of potential virus coevolution,” Sagan said in an interview with the Tribune. “[Bats] also have worldwide distribution […] and, in fact, their migratory patterns actually match the geographic distribution of several viruses.” 

Sagan also noted that bats can live anywhere from 10 to 40 years, allowing them ample time to cohabitate and transmit viruses to other species. The plethora of new research into how the coronavirus made its way into humans is further shedding light on how diseases can jump from one species to another.

Scientists are just beginning to understand how a bat’s unique immune response allows viruses to persist within bat cells. However, with over 1400 known species of bats, it is unlikely that all will respond in the same way to different viruses. 

“If we can figure out why bat cells respond to viruses by turning off their inflammatory responses, we may be able to figure out how certain chemicals or drugs might be able to do the same in [human] immune cells,” Misra said. 

Commentary, Opinion

McGill must reinstate Shanon Fitzpatrick

by Charlotte Scott-Frater on

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In May of this year, Assistant Professor Shanon Fitzpatrick of McGill’s Department of History was denied tenure by the administration. This move was highly unusual—Associate Vice-Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) Angela Campbell said in a presentation to student leaders earlier in the year that candidates who are endorsed by their departments for tenure, as Professor Fitzpatrick was, seldom do not receive it. The administration has not been forthcoming on the reasons behind their decision; when questioned by incoming History Students’ Association President Dalton Liggett, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi cited links to the tenure regulations and stated that students could “rest assured” that they are being followed. Given the absence of a reason for Professor Fitzpatrick’s tenure denial, students are left to reckon with two possibilities: First, that the university does not value her tremendous skill and service record, and second, that Professor Fitzpatrick’s outspokenness about student rights was likely a major factor in the rejection.

The competition for seats in Professor Fitzpatrick’s classes is always fierce, and for good reason: There are few professors who inspire the same engagement and enthusiasm in their students as she does. Undergraduate history students voted to present her with the Robert Vogel Award, which is given annually to a professor in the Department of History who has shown exemplary care for and mentorship to students, in 2019. For many students who have taken Professor Fitzpatrick’s introductory classes in history, it was she who first inspired them to engage with history and to incorporate it into their degrees. For students who have taken her upper–level seminars, on topics such as Queer America and American imperialism, Professor Fitzpatrick’s cultivation of vital and challenging learning communities, as well as her support and belief in their skill as researchers and writers, pushed them to deliver their best work. 

Professor Fitzpatrick’s students trust her to challenge their biases, to give them thoughtful and generative criticism, and to support their intellectual development inside and outside of the classroom. That trust is rooted in her actions to support students beyond the pedagogical context: Professor Fitzpatrick is an outspoken supporter of student advocacy. While she has served as an important resource for students on a wide variety of issues, her public support of students advocating against sexual violence and professorial misconduct on campus is likely the most relevant to her tenure denial. In 2018, during student protests against the Faculty of Arts’ mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations against professors, she openly criticized McGill in a CBC article. Within the history department, she has also been supportive of students’ calls for protection from predatory professors. She did all of this without the protection of tenure.

As the guarantee of long-term job security and institutional protection, tenure is the key labour demarcation of academic institutions. Without tenure, professors and other academic workers occupy precarious spaces within the university community, as evidenced by the administration’s denial of Professor Fitzpatrick’s application for tenure. In the absence of a clear answer from the university on why her application has been denied, her students are left to assume the only obvious reason why a professor with such an exceptional and exemplary record of teaching and service would not be tenured: That her courage in speaking against the university has resulted in a final punitive action. In an age of rising censorship and suppression of dissent across the globe, transparency and good faith action in our public institutions is critical. If McGill wants to prove itself to be a true 21st-century university, Professor Fitzpatrick must be reinstated. 

Take action by signing on to the HSA open letter, removing yourself from alumni giving lists, or email the Provost ([email protected]) and request that Prof. Fitzpatrick be reinstated.

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment, Music

Pop as healing in Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’

by Jonathan Giammaria on

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Lady Gaga has always been beset by her public image. Whether it’s the bombastic music videos and otherworldly costumes of her debut, or the earnest, style-shifted music of Joanne and A Star is Born, critics have always questioned the authenticity of Gaga’s persona. The long awaited Chromatica, released May 29, with its alien-punk aesthetics and house-inspired tracks, is an unabashed return to the theatricality of Gaga’s early music, though nevertheless sincere, with its lyricism that explores the personal tribulations of fame and artistry. 

Using house beats as a springboard for her vocals, Chromatica most often finds Gaga belting out her lyrics. Foregoing the polished acoustics of her recent cinematic ballads, Gaga instead embraces any imperfections—rasps, cracks, and screeches—that her raw vocals invite. Her voice comes across as an anthemic battle cry or, at times, a plea for help, heightening the emotion behind her words. In “Alice,” as Gaga works up to a falsetto with the lyric, “My name isn’t Alice / But I’ll keep looking, I’ll keep looking for Wonderland,” Chromatica’s mission, through solemn lyrics amidst loud and uptempo melodies, makes itself known: To heal through music.

The album’s metaphors never regress into the maudlin, but its deepest cuts come when Gaga ditches the figurative and confronts her mental health head-on. In “911,” verses of fast-paced robotic spoken word build up to its chorus, making it one of the album’s most danceable tracks. With lyrics like “Keep repeating self-hating phrases … My mood’s shifting to manic places” and “My biggest enemy is me, pop a 911” (with 911 as reference to her antipsychotic medication), it’s also Gaga at her most personal and vulnerable. Yet, the album retains sonic cohesion even when it becomes thematically muddled. Set to a piano and saxophone riff that’s unmistakably reminiscent of Madonna’s “Vogue,” “Babylon” is Chromatica’s lighthearted closing track about the gossip that fame invites, though it’s just as lively as the album’s preceding songs of much darker topics. 

Chromatica is an ardent evolution of the original type of pop that put Lady Gaga on the map. It is loud and boisterous, and simultaneously an honest exploration of the psyche behind the persona. As a healing tool meant for her fans as much as it is for Gaga, it is an unrelenting, upbeat escape from our worldly woes. 

Rating: ★★★★☆

McGill, News

Thousands protest against anti-Black racism and police brutality in downtown Montreal

by Katia Lo Innes and Kevin Vogel on

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Thousands of Montrealers gathered on May 31 in front of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal’s (SPVM) downtown headquarters to protest police brutality and anti-Black racism in Canada and the United States. The demonstrations were organized by Justice for Victims of Police Killings, Hoodstock, and Tout Le Hood En Parle, as an act of solidarity with victims of racialized police violence. The recent death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto and murders of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and George Floyd in Minneapolis have sparked demonstrations around the world in support of the Black Lives Matter movement that aims to eradicate white supremacy and advocate against violence facing Black communities. 

Speakers at the demonstration stressed the need for continued resistance against systemic racism that discriminates Black and Indigenous peoples, and expressed hope that the current protests will enact systemic change. McGill social work graduate Vincent Mousseau (BSW ‘20) exhibited dismay at the Canadian government’s inaction and urged attendees to reflect on Canada’s legacy of colonialism and racial injustice.  

“It’s time to let this anger and unquenchable thirst for justice nourish our struggle and our movements,” Mousseau said. “Let it remind us of the necessity to always stand up against anti-Black racism, colonialism, and neocolonialism that [is] inherent to the Canadian and Quebecois nation-building project.” 

After several speeches at the Parterre du Quartier des Spectacles, protestors marched in separate groups through the city. One group went up Boulevard Saint-Laurent and through the Plateau while another proceeded west towards Dorchester Square. After chanting and marching throughout downtown Montreal, the crowds reconvened near the SPVM headquarters on Saint-Urbain street.

The Montreal demonstration remained peaceful from 5 p.m. to just after 8 p.m. when the SPVM deemed the protest illegal, citing property damage and vandalism. Law enforcement officers began firing tear gas and rubber bullets into crowds and the SPVM made 11 arrests over the course of the night. Mayor Valerie Plante denounced the violent acts by “looters,” and has yet to make a statement on the SPVM’s actions. 

At around 8:15 p.m., police began pepper-spraying protestors in the area around Place-des-Arts, and later used tear gas and rubber bullets on the crowds. While law enforcement officers forced demonstrators to disperse, the SPVM simultaneously prevented trains from stopping at the nearby Saint Laurent and Place des Arts metro stations. Protestors claimed that the actions of the SPVM contributed to tension and confusion at the scene. 

“I don’t understand why if [the SPVM] just wanted us to disperse […] they went out of their way to trap and chase people,” a protestor* told The McGill Tribune.

Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President External Ayo Ogunremi condemned the law enforcement’s use of force against the protesters. 

“[It] has been documented that the SPVM, of its own accord, escalated the May 31 demonstration into one of grave danger for all civilians present, and that it is well known that this kind of repressive response is typical of demonstrations against police brutality in Montreal,” Ogunremi wrote in an email to the Tribune. “At one moment […], a projectile was thrown towards fully armoured police, who responded by tear gassing an entire crowd of non-violent civilian protesters.”

Ogunremi criticized the actions of some white protesters at the march that can ultimately harm the Black community.

“Video evidence [online] documented white protesters spraying graffiti in Creole to feign vandalism from Black protesters,” Ogunremi wrote. “This kind of activity reinforces the false notion of Black criminality and sharpens the focus of Black peoples as the target of police violence.”

In a collective statement to the Tribune, McGill’s Black Students’ Network (BSN) emphasized the need for continued action against racism in Canada.

“We must not cease our efforts to call attention to these acts of discrimination and brutality,” the BSN wrote in an email to the Tribune. “We must continue to demand that the politicians who represent us make it a point to take seriously issues of systemic racism which have subjugated people of Black and Indigenous descent for centuries.”

*Source was given anonymity for reasons of personal security.

The Rossy student wellness hub.
McGill, News

McGill mental health services aim to meet student needs virtually

by Michelle Marcus on

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Following McGill’s May 11 announcement that the Fall 2020 semester will be offered online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health services across campus are preparing to accommodate increased student needs while adapting to a virtual environment. The exact steps that will be taken to ensure this support, however, are still being discussed. 

Rahul Suresh, U4 Science, is the incoming Chair of Operations at McGill’s Peer Support Centre (PSC), a student-run service that provides non-judgemental peer support and resource referral. He explained that McGill is in the process of finding solutions to the barriers posed by remote learning. The goal is to ensure that all students have access to sufficient mental health support.

“[McGill mental health services] want to make sure that despite […] social distancing, […] no one is isolated,” Suresh said. “It’s important that we have a service that is receptive to […] different students who want to […] obtain support [and] referrals to other resources, [or] just to have a safe and non-judgemental space to talk.” 

Many students worry that additional stress caused by virtual learning will put strain on their mental health. The lack of face-to-face interaction, prospective unemployment, and difficult home environments may cause an increase in the demand for mental health services. Incoming PSC Chair of Support Services, Chloe Holmquist, U3 Arts, recognizes that online learning and social isolation make it difficult to predict the type of support students will seek. 

“People are in isolation,” Holmquist said. “People are going to be experiencing new waves of emotion and different feelings that we’re going to [have to] start catering [to].” 

In previous years, McGill has appealed to widespread student needs by offering stress-relieving activities and workshops organized by faculties or on-campus groups, such as Student Life and Learning. Incoming Arts Senator Darshan Daryanani, U3 Arts, believes that it is important to find new ways to offer stress-relieving events while also fostering a sense of community off campus. 

“Frosh, mentoring events [and] career workshops […] are meant to […] to address the anxieties that students have about making friends on campus, meeting new people, or planning for […] future careers,” Daryanani said. “The AUS will have to move with the times […] by having virtual […] positive wellbeing events. It can also look at having an online essay centre, […] online francophone committee meetings, or community care by engaging [in] online workshops.” 

Differences in time zones present challenges for international students’ abilities to access virtual counseling. Fabrice Labeau, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), emphasized that McGill’s International Student Services is continuing to support students from a distance while actively working on new supports for the coming semester. 

“We recognize that international students will face distinct challenges as we continue with remote instruction in the Fall, and we have begun exploring how we can best support student success in this new reality,” Labeau said. “Despite the campus closure, students […] can still always connect with an International Student Advisor via email to discuss their case and receive support.” 

In the meantime, both the Wellness Hub and PSC have promoted Keep.meSAFE, a virtual 24/7 mental health service offered in over 60 languages that links students to licensed counsellors through a variety of platforms. 

Considering the uncertainty of future provincial regulations and McGill’s administrative decisions, the possibility of virtual platforms and in-person support for students returning to Montreal remain in question. Going forward, there will be a heavy reliance on student feedback in order to improve the support that is offered by McGill’s mental health services. 

“In a lot of ways, this pandemic has proven how strong the McGill community is when it comes to solidarity and support,” Daryanani said. “At the same time, it shows the weaknesses that we have in terms of providing mental health and emotional support.” 

 

Arts & Entertainment, Books, Private

McGill hosts Montreal International Poetry Prize

by Isabella Lyons on

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The biennial Montreal International Poetry Prize is happening now, with submissions open until June 10, and this year, McGill’s Department of English is hosting. Known colloquially as the “Prize,” this competition was founded in 2010 as an initiative by Montreal poet and literary critic Asa Boxer. The Prize awards $20,000 for the best poem of 40 lines or fewer and will include its top 50 poems in an anthology published by Montreal’s Véhicule Press.

This year marks the first time that McGill’s Department of English will oversee the Prize. Professor Miranda Hickman notes that this is an important opportunity for the department.

“We’ve been working on this transfer of the prize to McGill English for quite some time,” Hickman said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for the department.” 

The spirit of the Prize is founded in Montreal’s rich literary history, with many distinguished poets— A.J.M. Smith, Irving Layton, P.K. Page, and Leonard Cohen, to name a few—having called the city home. McGill holds a special place in that history: Many prominent writers have also served as faculty members, such as Sir Andrew Macphail and Louis Dudek, who also mentored and nurtured many aspiring poets. 

Led by Hickman, her fellow McGill professors Eli MacLaren and Michael Nicholson, and graduate students, the Prize strives to be accessible to everyone. The Prize’s digital application process distributes each applicant’s poem anonymously to one of 10 international jurors. Each juror picks their top five poems, then Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa selects the winning poem anonymously. A new feature brought forth by this year’s Prize team is the option of sponsorship. As Professor Michael Nicholson of the Department of English notes, sponsorship builds an international poetry community by supporting new poetic styles and creative expression.

“For many, entering the Prize in itself is not only an [example of] community building and altruism in the arts, but also an endorsement of a digital poetry network collectively working to disregard the limits of status, border, and stratification so often constraining major national prizes in the arts,” Nicholson said.

These measures aim to create a welcoming, open environment for anyone who wishes to enter. McGill English Literature second year graduate student and Prize team member Zoe Shaw noted  that the Prize has an incredible incentive. 

“$20,000 for one poem might have otherwise been an impossible dream for many, but the accessibility and openness of the Montreal Prize show that everyone has a chance to win,” Shaw said. 

Shaw noted that she has been pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest. There have been over 2,600 submissions from 75 countries worldwide. 

The Prize’s communal aspect has perhaps never been more important than in the present pandemic, where in a world of isolation and silence, one can have a voice. 

“Poetry’s exploratory languages can help move past cliché for what we think and feel [and] towards new modes of expression that can feel like forms of sustenance,” Hickman said. 

Literature and art have always helped to bridge gaps between people from historically isolated societies. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, poetry can alleviate silence and loneliness. 

“In times of pandemic, poetry can be a mode of eloquence,” Hickman said. “We need extraordinary language for extraordinary times.” 

That is what the Prize seeks to do. It allows everyone the opportunity to have some agency in an increasingly chaotic world, and provides solidarity in a new type of community that breaks isolatory boundaries. McGill is proud to host the event, and hopes to expand an already rich poetic history into the present, helping to create poets and voices of the future.

More information can be found on the Montreal International Poetry Prize’s website, Facebook page, and Twitter.

Commentary, Opinion

McGill needs to rethink its mental health response to COVID-19

by Sajneet Mangat on

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Living through a pandemic is mentally demanding, if not extremely jarring. Concerns over a parallel mental health epidemic have prompted international organizations and the Government of Canada to funnel resources into virtual mental health services. On May 3, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $240 million investment to support virtual mental health and well-being facilities. While virtual replacements for mental health care have also been the alternative of choice for McGill, the distressing uncertainty looming over students calls for a revised approach to student support during this time of crisis. 

Students, who are central in Canadian mental health policies, have been impacted by the pandemic in unique ways that include financial anxieties due to cancelled internships, recalled exchange semesters, reduced access to harm reduction care, and graduate education disruptions. These distinct problems are compounded in cases of domestic abuse, and worries related to the safety of family and friends who are exposed to or battling COVID-19, among other issues. Furthermore, international students face additional precarity because they are ineligible for government emergency benefits, and many find themselves stranded in Canada without the financial means or government permissions to safely travel back to their home countries. 

McGill’s strategy of shifting health services online precludes access to certain types of mental health care, such as addiction treatment. Moreover, McGill’s dismal track record in delivering accessible in-person mental health services foreshadowed an inadequate virtual revision in the wake of the pandemic. The McGill Student Wellness Hub is providing services in the form of webinars, group counselling, and meditation sessions, as well as free and unlimited access to online counselling for all undergraduate and postgraduate students through the mobile application, Keepme.SAFE. 

While deteriorating mental health is arguably the most common experience as students live through the pandemic, mere virtual replacements of mental health services cannot sufficiently handle the great volume and variety of mental health issues that have become prevalent with the COVID-19 outbreak. The problems caused by the pandemic are neither predictable nor easy to solve. This fact renders virtual alternatives imperfect replacements, and cases where students are dealing with abuse at home, dwindling motivation, unemployment, and other hard-to-resolve situations highlight their inefficiency.

Though many of the shortcomings of virtual care are inevitable, McGill has displayed patterns of institutional inadequacy in providing accessible mental health services. Insofar that equity applies to everything from internet access and the ability to safely self-isolate, it is worthwhile to devise solutions that do not leave anyone behind. McGill should seize this opportunity to permanently expand its existing resources instead of contracting them by continuing to provide free access to Keepme.SAFE, promoting mutual and community aid programs, and setting up student-run endeavours for issues such as anti-racism support. 

At the heart of this approach lies recognition that the responsibility of mental health exists beyond educational institutions. This is particularly true when the effects on individuals and communities seem palpable and more relatable. During such times of collective grief, mental health support needs to exist materially within communities, as individuals possess a greater capacity to alleviate the suffering of their community members. 

In a student context, this principle manifests in reaching out to teaching assistants and professors who have generously extended deadlines as you figured out where to live after April 30. It includes expressions of gratitude on r/mcgill and abandoning awkwardness toward bitter housemates. Likewise, it may entail offering to do groceries for neighbours who are fearful of venturing out of your apartment building, or even ordering take-out from your local Asian restaurants impacted by business closures and xenophobia. 

COVID-19 necessitates rethinking how mental health issues can be dealt with and, most importantly, who can provide mental health support. Student wellness at McGill should adapt and combine institutional and community responses to meaningfully mitigate the pressures of what are among the most mentally fatiguing times of our lives. 

Commentary, Opinion

Students deserve to choose distance learning after the pandemic ends

by Michael Dickinson on

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The recent announcement that the Fall 2020 semester will take place primarily through remote instruction was jarring news to students who have already experienced significant disruptions to their academic routines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the switch to distance learning has been challenging for some programs, there are undeniable benefits to an online education format. Even after the transition back to in-person classes, McGill should maintain distance learning as an option whenever possible. 

Giving students the choice to learn online would make McGill more accessible to those who do not live near campus. The prices of housing and transportation can be a barrier to students attending McGill since, in addition to tuition, students in Montreal pay some of the highest rent in Canada. The option to learn online can also make a difference for students who would otherwise commute. This opportunity to choose would be most important during the winter, since McGill’s administration is often reluctant to cancel classes due to extreme weather. For instance, when the city was faced with 40 centimetres of snow in February this year, McGill simply urged students to be cautious when coming to campus and requested that professors be lenient about absences. The university can be more considerate of students facing treacherous storm conditions by giving them the choice to learn remotely instead. For a university that prides itself on accessibility and inclusivity, a complete return to in-person education with no option for online learning will be a disservice to present and future students who do not live near campus.

During the pandemic, some students have found online learning to be more conducive to learning than traditional education. Students can watch lectures at their own pace and stop recordings for more time to process the information. Some have raised concerns about cheating, but cheating could be prevented if professors adapt exams to the new medium. If more essay-based exams are introduced, it would allow students to exercise critical thinking skills and applied knowledge, rather than merely memorizing facts. In this manner, remote assessments would require students to engage with the material on a deeper level.

Admittedly, some types of courses are more suited to online learning than others. Remote laboratory courses, for example, will be challenging, but McGill plans to account for this next semester through advanced simulations that better recreate the laboratory experience. Some online courses may remain imperfect alternatives, but the past few months have proven that it is possible for lecture-based courses to be available online in their entirety. Professors could record lectures and post them on myCourses, and conferences and office hours could be offered both in-person and online. There would be little change in the quality of education that students receive through online lecture courses. 

Despite the success of remote instruction, many students have questioned McGill’s decision to maintain the same tuition prices for online classes as in-person ones, since many in-person services are currently unavailable. This attitude is understandable, but it overlooks the fact that while distance learning may be easier for some students, it is also more difficult for professors and administrators to offer. The time and effort that employees spend adapting their curriculums and services to a new format requires adequate compensation, which would financially account for the services that students would not be able to use while studying remotely. If students can choose their preferred method of study, it would enable them to decide between the benefits and drawbacks of each option for their personal learning styles. With tuition remaining the same, they could use online or in-person services as needed.

COVID-19 has presented McGill with a crucial opportunity. The university can draw positivity from this negative situation by rebuilding McGill as a more equitable institution once its campuses reopen. Now that McGill has proven able to offer many of its courses remotely, students deserve a choice to study either in-person or online.

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