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Editorial, Opinion

PGSS Winter 2020 Referendum Endorsements

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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The McGill Tribune presents its endorsements for the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Winter 2020 Referendum period.

1) PGSS Keep.meSafe Fee: Yes

The Keep.meSafe Fee proposes to establish a non–opt-outable $2.75 semesterly fee from Fall 2020 to Winter 2024. This fee will provide all PGSS students, at no additional cost, with access to Keep.meSafe, a mental health service that includes access to in-person counselling, secure clinical mobile communication, and  telephone and video chat. Keep.meSafe’s highlights include minimal wait times, a diverse assortment of counsellors who can be matched with students’ unique lived experiences, and services in over 60 languages. With extensive concerns over long wait times and breaches of personal privacy at the Wellness Hub, Keep.meSafe promises to meet the needs of graduate students by providing 24/7 access to mental healthcare. Given this need, and the fact that a vote against the fee would result in the program’s termination, The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote to the Keep.meSafe Fee. 

2) PGSS Health and Dental Insurance Plan: Yes

The PGSS Health and Dental Insurance referendum question proposes the creation of a two-tiered model with basic and enhanced plans. Members will automatically be enrolled in the new enhanced plans for both health and dental. The health plan will increase vaccination coverage to $300, health practitioner coverage to $40/visit, and mental health coverage to 50 per cent per visit up to $1000. The dental plan will increase overall coverage to a maximum of $800. Members can also opt out of the enhanced plans and into the basic plans.

The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote, yo the comprehensive nature of the plan and the ability for PGSS members to choose their desired options at two levels. 

3) PGSS Daycare Fee: Yes

The SSMU Daycare was created in 1999 to support students, staff, faculty and other members of the McGill community who are parents/guardians. A nursery was opened in 2009 for children aged 4 – 18 months. Partially funded by the government, the SSMU Daycare costs $7 per child per day for parents and has an accessible location in the Brown building. The PGSS hopes to establish a non–opt-outable PGSS Daycare Fee of $3 per student per semester to guarantee 8 of the 32 daycare spots and 2 of the 8 Nursery spots for PGSS students. The fee will start in the Fall 2020 semester and end after the Winter 2025 semester. The Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote to provide the daycare with more support, as it is an indispensable resource on campus. 

4) PGSS Library Improvement Fund Fee: Yes

Prior to Winter 2017, PGSS collected a $3 Library Improvement Fund (LIF) fee, with McGill matching PGSS’s contribution each semester. However, this led to an excess of available funds, which proved problematic for PGSS’s non-profit status. Now that PGSS’s LIF funds have been depleted, the organization is proposing to renew the fee, which has not been collected in recent years, at a lower rate of $2 per semester. Maintaining high quality study spaces on campus is an essential undertaking for any student organization, and the Tribune endorses a ‘Yes’ vote on reinstating the LIF fee.

McGill, News

Holocaust survivor condemns McGill’s handling of anti-Semitism allegations

by Kevin Vogel on

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During her visit to promote her memoir, Holocaust to Resistance: My Journey, Suzanne Berliner Weiss led a rally on Feb. 17 condemning Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning Fabrice Labeau’s handling of anti-Semitism allegations regarding last semester’s controversial Face to Face trip. Weiss, a lifelong activist and Holocaust survivor, heard about these allegations from media coverage last December. Co-organized by Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill, the rally outside of the James Administration Building featured Weiss delivering a letter to Deputy Provost Labeau detailing her perspective on the issue. Weiss read the letter aloud before delivering it to Labeau’s office.

“I am a Jewish Holocaust survivor and I have engaged throughout my life in combatting hatred of Jewish people,” Weiss read. “For me, such reports [of anti-Semitism] are very alarming [….] I have reviewed relevant reports on controversies at McGill this school year [and] I find no evidence of anti-Semitism here. What I see is a passionate debate on the politics of [Israel and Palestine].”

During World War II, French resistance networks hid Weiss in the countryside. As her family was killed by Nazis, Weiss spent her childhood years after the war in orphanages and eventually was adopted by a family in New York City. During her adult life, Weiss became involved in student activism, the Cuban Revolution, the Black Power movement, Indigenous rights, anti-Vietnam War activism, women’s liberation, and Palestinian freedom movements. Weiss, now 79 years old, hopes that the lessons she has learned throughout her life can help advocate for social justice around the world today.

“These irresponsible charges serve to put Jewish people at risk by weakening our ability to focus on genuine acts of anti-Semitism, that is, ‘hatred of Jews because they are Jews.’” Weiss said. “As for the Palestinians, their very attempt to voice grievances is now branded anti-Semitic. The Palestinians, who have suffered so much from Israeli rule, now face an implacable attempt to silence them entirely.”

IJV and SPHR organizers also stated that, especially given the current presence of Royal Canadian Mounted Police forces on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory, advocacy for Palestinian rights should be linked to movements for Indigenous sovereignty. 

“We recognize that Palestine and Canada are both occupied territories and that, in order to resist [colonialism] abroad, we must first address how we are complicit in the continual colonial process in Montreal, specifically at McGill University,” Mo Rajji, U2 Arts, said. 

Rajji urged rally attendees to help hold space in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders held later on the same day. Abigail Drach, U3 Arts, echoed the need for people to recognize the links between Indigenous and Palestinian struggles.

“[It] is not a coinicidence that, [on Feb. 13], the Palestinian Boycott, Divest, Sanction National Committee released a statement in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en land protectors,” Drach said. “These struggles do not exist in isolation, but are rather part of the vibrant fights against settler-colonialism that have been going on since the European conquest.”

The demonstration concluded with organizers giving Weiss a black and white keffiyeh, a cotton garment and symbol of Palestinian solidarity. While the rally planned for Weiss to deliver her letter to Labeau in person, staff informed rally attendees upon entering the James Administration building that they had been instructed only to collect the letter in order to forward it to the Deputy Provost. After commanding protestors to vacate the building, arrangements were made for Labeau’s communication director to come down and receive the letter from Weiss.

“What we need at McGill and elsewhere is a firm defense of the right of political advocacy, even if directed against Israel’s policies,” Weiss said. “This is a precondition for effective resistance [against] genuine anti-Semitism.”

Editorial, Opinion

PGSS 2020–2021 Executive Endorsements

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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The McGill Tribune presents its endorsements for the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) 2020/2021 executive team. 

Internal Affairs Officer:  Yes 

Gustina Giordano is a masters student in Educational Psychology running for the position of Internal Affairs Officer. During her undergraduate years, also completed at McGill, she worked with several campus organizations, including Jam for Justice and the McGill Undergraduate Fine Arts Council. As Internal Affairs Officer, Giordano hopes to provide a variety of events that cater to PGSS’ diverse membership, including the introduction of Wellness-centric activities, such as mindfulness workshops. Giordano intends to prioritize sustainability and accessibility for all PGSS events. Giordano’s priorities reflect the values of the graduate community and The Tribune believes that she is qualified for the position of Internal Affairs Officer.

Academic Affairs Officer: Yes

Eric Wilkinson is the incumbent for the position of Academic Affairs Officer, his term beginning on Jan. 23. Before coming to McGill, Wilkinson worked with student advocacy at the University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto, and York University; he hopes to import this experience in order to fill all vacant PGSS appointments and by promoting institutional memory. Wilkinson also hopes to expand the PGSS’ ability to communicate in French, as well as ensuring that graduate students on Macdonald Campus are equally represented on McGill’s governing bodies. The Tribune holds that Wilkinson is fully capable of continuing this role for the 2020–21 year.

Financial Affairs Officer: Yes

Connie Shen is rerunning for the position of Financial Affairs Officer and looks forward to seeing the full implementation of the initiatives that the PGSS executives have taken on this year. As most graduate students are international, one of her main projects is to identify ways to improve the accessibility, affordability and cost of the International Health Insurance plan. Additionally, Shen hopes to raise funds for the PGSS’s needs-based bursary, the only bursary available to graduate students on the basis of financial need. Further, Shen would like to continue the travel awards grant program, a fund covering the travel fees for students attending conferences and competitions out of town. 

Member Services Officer: Yes

Current PGSS Secretary-General Dakota Rogers is running for the Member Services Officer position with the hopes of engaging members with the services that PGSS offers such as healthcare, leisure classes, and family care. Rogers wants to establish a good communication framework for students by having accessible, in-person consultations. In addition to improving avenues for feedback, Rogers will be responsible for integrating the new referendum questions into the McGill community by educating members of PGSS and the university administration about their existence. With experience as Secretary-General, along with the McGill Board of Governors and Senate, Rogers is qualified to advocate for members’ student services and fulfill the position’s mandate.

Process:

In order to present the most informed endorsement decisions possible, our editors conducted in-person interviews with all of the candidates, and examined each platform in detail. The endorsements are the product of an Editorial Board meeting in which we addressed every position, debated, and voted. In order to earn the Tribune’s endorsement, a candidate had to receive a majority vote. Reservations could also be appended to any “Yes” endorsement with the approval of a majority of editors. Questions or concerns should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at [email protected].

McGill, News

Dean of Arts office announces the proposed cancellation of Graduate Options

by Deisha Paliwal on

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McGill’s Office of the Dean of Arts announced the planned suspension of the Graduate Option in Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) and Development Studies on Feb. 10. The cancellation of the options would eliminate feminist studies graduate programs, as of the Fall 2021 semester. 

However, on Feb. 19, Associate Dean, Professor Michael Fronda, clarified to chairs and directors that the Faculty of Arts has not instituted an official suspension or cancellation. 

“The Faculty of Arts is in the preliminary stages of a consultation about the options, following the usual practices relating to any proposed changes to university programs and curricula,” Fronda wrote. 

In response to the proposed suspensions, the Gender, Sexuality, Feminist and Social Justice Student Association (GSFSSA) posted an open letter to be signed by graduate and undergraduate students. The letter voiced disapproval of the proposed cancellation and the request of its retraction. 

“By suspending the Graduate Option, the course of our education is being significantly altered without our prior knowledge or the vital input of those faculty who are entrusted with its implementation,” the letter states. 

The GWS is offered in 15 Master degree programs and 11 PhD programs, while the Development Studies Option is available in six Masters programs. 

The letter also emphasized that the cancellation of the programs would threaten inclusivity.

“Not only does the university’s actions significantly narrow the pool of exceptional students that would benefit from a graduate program concentration, but it also suspends what has long been considered an asset for the University’s attempt at inclusivity.”  

Kiersten van Vliet, third-year PhD student in Musicology with the option in Gender and Women’s Studies, emphasized that the proposed suspension would eliminate a program that is both viable and valued within the McGill community. 

“I was gutted to hear that the Graduate Option in Gender and Women’s Studies was being suspended,” Van Vliet said. “The GWS Option fosters the type of scholarly community-building that, at least in my experience, has been rarely found elsewhere at McGill. It has provided me with an interdisciplinary cohort of scholars.” 

In an official statement, Dr. Alexandra Ketchum, Faculty Lecturer of the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, echoed similar sentiments. 

“The university should be expanding its support and providing more financial resources towards the program at this time, rather than trying to end it,” Ketchum said. “I want to underline that the community created by the Graduate Option is not tangential. By creating a research environment in which graduate students feel supported, they are able to do better research and be better scholars.” 

Van Vliet, who also serves as President of the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM), speculated that the inclusion of a wider range of stakeholders in the discussions leading up to the decision would have changed the outcome. 

“The decision appears to have been made by administrators currently or previously affiliated with Arts, without consulting with administrators within the Faculty of Education or the Schulich School of Music, which challenges the autonomy of other Faculties at McGill,” Van Vliet said. “By bypassing any consultation, the decision was also made without following McGill’s own policies for modifying existing graduate teaching programs.” 

The lack of communication with graduate students concerned  Van Vliet. 

“The silence throughout this process is deafening, and speaks to larger issues concerning how McGill does not act in the interest of its graduate students, its graduate student employees, and its faculty lecturers, who are the institution’s most precarious faculty members,” Van Vliet said. 

Maha Cherid, a masters student in Education and Society who is pursuing the GWS option, expressed her disappointment about the university’s priorities.  

“In my opinion, the fact that the administration even considered taking away this option, without consultation and without already having a different program in place for MA students, shows a lack of foresight and a serious lack of understanding of the role that gender and women studies play in university,” Cherid wrote in an email to the Tribune.

As of press time, the decision to cancel the GSW option has been suspended. There will be a faculty meeting to discuss the new criteria for graduate options on Feb. 25. 

Emerging Trends, Student Life

Finding meaning in found object Instagram accounts

by Kate Addison on

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In the past year, through countless hours of diligent procrastination, I’ve begun to observe a curious trend overtaking my Instagram Explore page. It began with the occasional random picture of an old sofa or a shot of a peculiar pink porcelain toilet on the side of the road, but has now become an avalanche of snapshots bearing similarity to National Geographic or Planet Earth except the subjects aren’t animals: They are random street crap. 

‘Found object’ Instagram pages are a genre of curatorial street photography dedicated to the documentation of certain inanimate, and sometimes even animate, objects. While not a brand-new phenomenon, with many accounts being over two years old, their growing popularity has resulted in the birth of accounts archiving increasingly obscure subjects from campus-dwelling squirrels to security cameras.

Since it is not bound by rigid criteria, found object Instagrams can serve a variety of functions for those who run the pages as well as those who follow them. Emma Harris, U1 Arts, is the owner of @leschairs, an account dedicated to “the appreciation of the unexpected chaise. She explained how this form of photo curation can take on many purposes. 

“I think of [found object Instagram accounts] as a sort of curation of different things you found on the street,” Harris said. “It should be spontaneous. I find that there are a ton of different genres and approaches to [these accounts], but design is definitely one of the main approaches that I’ve seen.” 

In the case of many accounts, such as @subwayhands and @someone_dropped, running an account of this nature is an opportunity for collaborative creative expression centred on a common interest with a certain object. Similar to contemporary ready-made artworks such as My Bed by Tracey Emin, a member of the Young British Artists group and Fountain by conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp, found object accounts allow for the creation of art simply through a shift in the way we view the objects around us. 

For Harris, Instagram serves as an accessible method for fostering a deeper connection with one’s surroundings and encouraging greater appreciation for aspects of life that may otherwise go unnoticed. 

“I think that people are trying to find ways of connecting with others in public spaces, and animating objects is one way of feeling an attachment to [an] urban landscape,” Harris said. “It’s nice to attach more than a [utilitarian] value to an object and [create] more of an emotional [form] of connection to your objects as a way of preserving them.” 

Yet another function of the found object Instagram account is the sense of community they are able to cultivate by catering to particular interests and social groups. In the McGill context, an account like @tinyhatsmcgill, a page with over 600 followers, is dedicated to capturing the headwear trend of wearing an impossibly small toque. 

The account run by two McGill students, who wish to remain anonymous to maintain the mystique, employs its small army of followers for the majority of submissions. As a result, the content is comprised largely by its audience who are motivated to participate by both a mutual fascination of tiny hats and of getting their Plateau friends featured on the page.

“In the beginning, I was always looking around trying to get pictures of people but now people send stuff in and I can kind of look and see what I think is funny,” one of the account operators said. “Honestly, I don’t really get […] why it’s so popular because it’s a pretty simple idea [and] not really anything special. I think it’s just funny.” 

Whether as a means of creative output or cultivating community, the rise of found object Instagram accounts is an accessible way of expanding how one sees the world. The simple act of forming a collection on one unifying topic, allows people to stop and appreciate the little things in life that they would otherwise miss. 

 

Opinion

SSMU Executive Endorsements 2020—2021

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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The McGill Tribune presents its endorsements for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) 2020—2021 Executive team. To form our judgment, our editors interviewed each candidate, asking them questions regarding their experience, portfolio, and goals for next year.

President

Jemark Earle

Jemark Earle, 2L Law, has been at McGill for the last six years. In 2016, Earle campaigned and won the position of SSMU Vice-President (VP) Student Life, and has since held executive positions for the Black Law Students’ Association at McGill and the Law Students’ Association. If elected, Earle hopes to prepare for the reopening of the University Centre, focus on building a sustainable, long-term plan for SSMU initiatives, completing the 3501 Peel Wellness project, and ensuring marginalized voices factor into university decision-making.

 

Ruth Silcoff

Ruth Silcoff, President of the McGill Debating Union, has focussed her campaign on making SSMU more accessible. She emphasizes academic issues at SSMU, including her plans to increase awareness for various majors within each department to combat under- and over-enrollment in different programs. If elected, Silcoff also plans to increase accountability by mandating that the administration produce more detailed reports to be shared with students. Silcoff also hopes to work with the VP Student Life and VP Finance to ensure clubs are aware of SSMU regulations. 

 

Yes to Jemark Earle

Earle has distinguished himself from his fellow candidates by the sheer volume of experience he has to offer. As the former VP Student Life, he remains the only candidate running with any SSMU executive experience. Both candidates maintained that SSMU has a responsibility to connect with the student body; however, Earle’s plans to promote engagement were the most feasible. While Silcoff’s ambition to hold her fellow executives accountable was unique, her platform’s proposed solutions remain unfocussed and, in some respects, ill-conceived. Earle’s previous success within SSMU and other governing bodies, as well as the formal goals he has set out for himself, has made him uniquely capable to execute the President’s role.

VP University Affairs

Brooklyn Frizzle

Brooklyn Frizzle, U2 Science, is campaigning on a platform that emphasizes the VP University Affairs’ (UA) role as an equity advocate to the administration. Frizzle’s main experience stems from their role as Resource Coordinator at Queer McGill, and equity work with the Office for the Vice Provost, citing advocacy as central to their academic experience. Frizzle prioritizes library improvement, institutionalizing gender inclusivity in administrative practices, and a SSMU-led independent research into accessibility of campus. If elected, they further plan on continuing current projects led by the UA portfolio, including the “Know Your Rights” campaign. 

 

Griffin Scott

Griffin Scott, U3 Arts, is a student researcher, campaigning on providing a stronger voice for mental health and equity on campus. Scott has experience working with policy studies as a data analyst for the State of Maine, and cites that this experience has enriched his understanding of administrative processes. If elected, Scott plans on working with the administration to remove the requirement for medical notes for exam deferrals, university-wide use of preferred names, accessible contraceptives on campus, Fall Reading Week, and to reform the Wellness Hub.

Yes, with Reservations, to Brooklyn Frizzle

Of the two candidates, Frizzle possesses a greater understanding of the scope and inner workings of the VP UA portfolio. In a position that requires constant co-operation with the McGill administration itself, Frizzle has more relevant experience to the position. Scott’s lack of direct experience with the administration may be a detriment, and the scale of his platform, which includes tenure reform, is unrealistic given the time and resource constraints of the VP UA. Both candidates praised the work of current VP UA Madeline Wilson, and both borrow heavily from her existing projects, specifically the Wellness Hub advocacy. It is unfortunate that credit to Wilson is absent in both of their written platforms and promotional material. Thus, the Tribune endorses Frizzle, with reservations. 

VP External

Ayo Ogunremi

Ayo Ogunremi, U3 Arts, currently serves as the SSMU Mobilisation Coordinator. Having also co-founded Climate Justice Action McGill and worked as the VP Political of the Black Students’ Network, Ogunremi brings an extensive background in community organizing and activism to the role. Ogunremi plans to support grassroots campaigns on campus, particularly concerning climate justice, Bill 21 opposition, and housing security, while working with senators and executives to provide external resources for mental health advocacy. Ogunremi also supports reviewing the SSMU Indigenous Solidarity Policy, and hopes to communicate developments in his portfolio to students through monthly tabling and in collaboration with VP Internal communications.

 

Noah Merali

Noah Merali is currently the SSMU Services Representative to the Legislative Council, sits on the Affordable Student Housing Committee, and is a member of the McGill Student Emergency Response Team. As VP External, Merali plans to continue their work advocating for affordable housing, particularly through collaboration with Concordia’s Housing and Job Resource Centre, running Know Your Rights campaigns, and offering resources relevant to students in residences. They also intend to collaborate with other student unions, and combat food insecurity issues on campus through meal prep workshops and demanding better food options from McGill.

 

Yes to Ayo Ogunremi

Both Ogunremi and Merali have exceptional experience within the VP External portfolio and advocate for commendable causes such as anti-Bill 21 activism, fighting for affordable housing, and supporting Francophone students. However, Ogunremi’s experience in coalition building both on-and-off campus sets him apart. As SSMU’s Mobilization Coordinator, he worked directly with the current VP External, Adam Gwiazda-Amsel, to get McGill students involved with the September Climate Strike and anti-Bill 21 activism. As such, Ogunremi has a robust understanding of what SSMU needs to do to improve on this past year’s work, and his experience and passion for organizing movements will prove invaluable resources for student campaigns.

 

 

VP Student Life

Maheen Akter

Maheen Akter, U3 Political Science and Psychology, is the current VP Internal for the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS), as well as a Floor Fellow at La Citadelle. If elected, Akter promises that clubs and services will deal with fewer bureaucratic processes and have more accessible support from SSMU. In terms of student mental health, she hopes to increase student involvement with the newly-formed Wellness Hub, as well as increase the variety of mental healthcare resources that students can access. For students with children, she plans to make improvements to the Daycare through better communication with its users. Other promises include increasing the availability of scholarship opportunities, and making jobs at SSMU eligible for the Work Study program.

 

Belle Sullivan

Belle Sullivan, U2 Arts, has been involved with a multitude of campus initiatives, such as the SSMU Eating Disorder Campaign and the Student-run service members union (SSMUnion). She plans to reform many events for SSMU Clubs and Services such as the club workshop and the services summit. Sullivan also plans to create a more inclusive environment at SSMU through ensuring that all employees are trained on how to use correct names and pronouns, as well as implement initiatives for mature undergraduate students. Other plans include the revival of the SSMU Mini-Courses series and getting more executive and volunteer positions in a students’ Co-Curricular Record. 

 

Yes to Maheen Akter

Both candidates are equally experienced and competent for the position of VP Student Life. Sullivan’s previous involvement experience with SSMU shows great knowledge of the organization, especially her work with the SSMUnion. Nevertheless, despite Akter having less experience with SSMU, her work with other major organizations on campus such as AUS, as well as her work as a Floor Fellow compensates for this lack of training within SSMU. Furthermore, Akter has beneficial ideas that are actionable such as forming semesterly budget reports for Clubs and Services and communicating health resources for mental health outside McGill. While ideas such as the elimination of the samosa fee are a little dubious, Akter shows promise in this position for the following year. 

VP Finance

Gifford Marpole 

Gifford Marpole, U2 Arts, has financial experience working as a VP Finance for an off-campus fraternity and as a finance coordinator for a media production company in Ontario. Although he does not have many concrete goals for the finance portfolio, Marpole has a clear understanding of the primarily organizational and supporting role of VP Finance. However, he does not have financial experience in a large organization such as SSMU, which is a point of concern considering the multimillion dollar budget of the organization. The Tribune endorses a Yes vote, with reservations: Marpole will have to adjust to balancing the budget of a large non-profit such as SSMU in order to properly handle the portfolio. 

 

VP Internal

Declan McCool brings his experience as VP fundraising for the McGill Varsity Rowing Team, and sitting on the Science Games Committee in his campaign for VP Internal. McCool is bilingual, and his platform pushes for inclusivity as he works to put together a comprehensive survivor-centric Involvement Restriction Policy for faculty. However, McCool should put more effort into plans for the SSMU listserv and social media, as his role as VP Internal will entail acting as the outward face of SSMU communications. As such, the Tribune endorses a Yes vote, with reservations.

 

 

Process:

In order to present the most informed endorsement decisions possible, our editors conducted in-person interviews with all of the candidates, and examined each platform in detail. The endorsements are the product of an Editorial Board meeting in which we addressed every position, debated, and voted. In order to earn the Tribune’s endorsement, a candidate had to receive a majority vote. Reservations could also be appended to any “Yes” endorsement with the approval of a majority of editors. Any questions or concerns about our editorial process or its outcomes should be directed at [email protected]. 

The Features Editor, Gabe Nisker, has a personal relationship with VP UA candidate Griffin Scott. As such, Nisker refrained from voting on that executive position. 

 

Sports

Impactful female athletes you may not know

by Zoe Babad-Palmer on

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Allyson Felix

You may be familiar with American world-class sprinter Allyson Felix, but she remains incredibly underrated. At 34 years old, Felix holds 18 IAAF World Championships medals and nine Olympic medals, and is tied for first place in IAAF career medals in any discipline and the leader in Olympic medals for women’s track and field. She is also at the top of her sport in records: Her 47.72 split in the 4 x 400-meter relay at the 2015 World Championships is the fastest split ever by an American woman and the third fastest split among all women; she also ranks fourth overall in the women’s 150-meter sprint.

Felix broke with tradition when she signed a contract with Adidas in 2003, making her ineligible to compete under NCAA regulations. This contract paid her entire University of Southern California tuition. While she studied, Felix continued training and competing. She went on to win a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics and two gold World Championships medals.

In addition to her athletic talents, Felix has been outspoken about athletes’ maternity rights. In an op-ed published in The New York Times less than a year after her daughter was born via an emergency C-section, she discussed the risks that pregnancy carries for athletes. Her criticism of Nike’s maternity policy highlighted the pay insecurity that athletes face when having children and resulted in a congressional inquiry and maternity protections from Nike and three other athletic apparel companies.

Whether or not Felix will be at the 2020 Olympics—and she certainly hopes to be—her career and activism make her name one that every sports fan should know.

 

Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones has been at the top of the curling world for 15 years. The 45-year-old Canadian won gold at the 2014 Olympics in an undefeated run as skip; she is the second person and first woman to have done so. She has also won 12 medals at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women’s curling championship, earning her a tie for most Scotties championships. 

Jones, a senior legal advisor educated at the University of Manitoba, is best-known for “The Shot,” a near-impossible play executed in the 2005 Scotties. “The Shot” won the game against Team Ontario, qualified her team for the 2005 World Women’s Curling Championship, and sent shock waves across the Canadian curling community. Jones was voted the top Canadian female curler of all-time in a 2019 TSN poll.

Jones most recently competed in the 2020 Scotties, clinching a wild-card spot but falling to Ontario in the semifinals. It was her 15th time competing.

 

Madison Packer

Women’s hockey has its fair share of stars, but forward Madison Packer’s name is not as big as it deserves to be. Packer, 28, grew up in Michigan and now plays for the Metropolitan Riveters in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL). Although she was not selected for Team USA at the 2014 Olympics, Packer refused to let her hockey career end in university. After she graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2014, she took a chance and signed with the Riveters for the NWHL’s inaugural season, rather than moving to Canada to play in the already-established Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL).

That move has since brought heaps of success for Packer, who was selected to play in the NWHL All-Star Game in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020, acting as one of two team captains in the most recent iteration. She  announced her retirement at the tail end of the 2017 season amid arguments between the league and players over salary cuts, health insurance, and the league’s future, but chose to return the next season, winning the Isobel Cup with her team. 

Packer has been one of the most outspoken advocates for the NWHL during its expansion. She is also an advocate for LGBTQ rights and suicide prevention awareness.

Editorial, Opinion

Feminist graduate options are indispensable to McGill

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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McGill’s graduate studies option in Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) provides feminist-focussed seminars and thesis options to 16 masters programs and 11 PhD programs at McGill. On Feb. 9, the office of the Dean of Arts suspended graduate studies options in GWS without consulting staff or students. In response, students in the GWS program, as well as similarly suspended programs incorporating the Development Studies option, issued an open letter condemning the decision. While the university has since retracted their decision, the fact that the administration viewed cutting the program as acceptable in the first place is problematic. McGill’s decision to cut the GWS program demonstrates a massive oversight of the value of feminist knowledge in academia, as well as an ignorance of the importance of gender studies programs in increasing representation and discussion of issues relevant to women and 2SLGBTQIA+ students at McGill.

The graduate studies option in GWS was initially developed in response to needs expressed by the Graduate Group for Feminist Scholarship, as well as prospective student interest in graduate-level studies with a feminist focus at McGill. The option is unique from other courses at McGill, since it prioritzes feminist perspectives in a variety of disciplines. Even if GWS courses are only used to supplement other degrees, the inclusion of gender-focused perspectives is beneficial to any field and profession. Removing this option from the programs of so many current graduate students reveals a lack of respect for feminist pedagogies by the McGill administration. Suspending the GWS program obstructs the innovation of knowledge about gender and feminist topics, and impedes the potential for improved understandings and research of gender across fields. 

The Dean of Arts has effectively made a unilateral decision, limiting which topics they believe students and faculty can care about. This decision disregards the many students who see GWS as one of McGill’s only options to gain knowledge about their identities and experience. Evidently, many students care deeply about this issue; the open letter already has over 550 signatures. Further, studying GWS can help students understand their personal experiences in the context of more political and systematic forms of oppression, including a multiplicity of identities and thought. This understanding can be empowering and not having access to it limits students’ abilities to discuss and understand their experiences in an academic setting.  

At McGill, initiatives to support women and 2SLGBTQIA+ people are mostly student-led. Clubs and publications such as Queer McGill, the F-Word, and the Union for Gender Empowerment work to raise awareness about feminist and 2SLGBTQiA+ issues despite a lack of administrative support. One of McGill’s main contributions to support 2SLGBTQIA+ students is Equity Education Advisor Meryem Benslimane, who works extensively to make 2SLGBTQIA+ students feel safe and heard at the university, including planning graduation ceremonies, Queer History Month, and closed events for Black, Indigenous and students of colour. However, placing the onus of student support on one individual is unfortunate. The graduate studies option in GWS is one of McGill’s only efforts at recognizing the historic oppression of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and increasing representation of those identities in an institutional capacity; maintaining the GWS program is the very least McGill can do to specifically support 2SLGBTQIA+ students as an academic institution. 

In the future, the Dean of Arts and other McGill offices need to approach program suspensions with substantial care and consultation, especially those which disproportionately affect marginalized students. The Dean of Arts should release a binding confirmation that the program will not be suspended, and acknowledge the valuable role that the program plays in creating an inclusive pedagogy at McGill.

Straight, cis-gendered students can support members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community by educating themselves, examining their biases, and re-considering their language use. Taking the time to ask others for their pronouns and consciously noting them, is a small step that all students should take. Professors can also make efforts to support women and 2SLGBTQIA+ students by incorporating feminist perspectives into their syllabi. Discussions about gender, histories, and realities can and needs to be incorporated across departments.

The graduate studies option in GWS was ultimately not suspended. 

Opinion

Point-Counterpoint: Old literature or new literature?

by Sequoia Kim & Jonah Fried on

More in Opinion:

The McGill Tribune contributors Sequoia Kim and Jonah Fried present their opinions on old versus new literature.

 

The case for contemporary literature

Sequoia Kim

Literature has been foundational to the ebb and flow of ideas in the world: Words and stories inform, persuade, and inspire us. However, bookshelves are overflowing with books written by old, white, and often deceased men of privilege. There is truth in the idea that history is written by the victors. If it is true that ‘history is written by the victors’, then only now are we getting the privilege of hearing from the ‘losers’ of history; characters, stories, livelihoods that were posited as simple features of the landscape in classic literature become the exhilarating central narrative in contemporary books. New books—books written just before and after the turn of the century—contain within them a treasure trove of unheard perspectives. They are refreshing.

Whether or not we are better or worse off with the imbuement of the internet into our lives and culture, surely no one living before the 19th century could bring themselves to even fathom the way we live today. Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction, such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake critically reflect the recent past and deliver a dire warning for our collective future. Reading them as we live through these tumultuous decades could not be more relevant.

Over winter break, I read On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Vietnamese-American poet and author Ocean Vuong, published June 2019. Through seemingly effortless poetry and prose and spanning a mere 256 pages, Vuong touches on masculinity, the state of America, a boy’s coming of age, addiction, sexuality, first love, immigration, the Vietnam War, beauty, family, and self, among countless other themes. The best writers are those who reduce the gap between the limits of language and the human experience: Vuong vividly steeps readers in his journeys, pains, lessons, vulnerabilities. Gaining this insight into diverse life experiences through these contemporary novels reduces animosity in an increasingly polarized world through empathy and storytelling.

Many McGill classes challenge students with classic literature. Of course, neither new nor old works should be read exclusively, but reading new books recreationally is something that many students should challenge themselves to do more. The accessibility of many contemporary novels doesn’t take away from their value: it makes it so readers tear through the pages passionately, relish in the story, close the book, and then pick up another.

 

A defence of old literature

Jonah Fried

Though the receding tides of time have long since left their authors in the past, old literature cannot be dismissed as the rantings of ‘old, privileged, dead white men.’ New literature may be more accessible than classical literature, but McGill students should still be encouraged to read old works because they contain powerful lessons instrumental to modern thought.

Plato is long dead, and Sun Tzu is too, but if Shakespeare saw how integral his works have become to the English language, he would roll over in his grave if we stopped reading his works, or any other classics. Walking the road to the future without understanding our past would be like walking in a confounding daze. Absent an understanding of the origins of ideas like democracy, we are unprepared to defend them, because it is impossible to truly grasp the power of new ideas without understanding the ideas that preceded them. When you dissect ancient ideas, you are getting a glimpse of the world before the internet, before transnational corporations, and before we packed the atmosphere full of enough CO2 to launch a climate genocide.

As in science, we should hardly limit ourselves to a small sample size, and should experiment with as many ideas as possible by reading diverse works and comparing them. That means reading both old works and new works, but there are more historical works than new works, because there is more history than the present. And that history is not only written by its victors: We are constantly reading the works of the downtrodden. Socrates was executed for his ideas, Thoreau was arrested for not paying taxes he believed funded the Mexican-American war, and Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was repudiated by most of his contemporaries because it contradicted longstanding Christian creationist theology. 

Reading historical writers is a form of justice, because it gives old ideas the forum they were not always given historically. It is the task of all generations to revisit ancient ideas, constantly reevaluating them, in order to recalibrate modern ideas. Although their lessons become more powerful by comparison with new works, old works provide an essential moral and informational framework for people of the present, and should be a core part of the curricula of McGill’s humanities and social sciences courses.

 

 

Sports

American eSports team Space Station Gaming wins at the annual Six Invitational in Laval

by Guilherme Martins on

More in Sports:

Rainbow Six: Siege, one of the most successful team-based action video games, celebrated the start of its fifth year with the Six Invitational 2020, running Feb. 14–16. The best 16 teams in the world competed for a $3 million USD prize pool at the Place Bell arena in Laval. Teams had to win a three-match series for the chance to play on the main stage in front of a combined audience of over 200,000 watching online and in the stadium.

Rainbow Six pits each team of five players against one another in the alternating roles of an attacker, who must defuse a bomb, and a defender, who work to prevent the bomb from being defused. 

With players from all around the world, teams qualified for the Six Invitational by winning smaller tournaments in their home countries. The top 16 teams globally then entered a group stage of the tournament. From there, the two best teams from each of the four groups proceeded to the next round. The eight winning teams competed in a double-elimination bracket, where losing back-to-back games resulted in being knocked-out. These initial rounds saw some unexpected early exits and victories, with underdogs such as Australia’s Fnatic eliminating former world champions such as G2 Esports and Team Empire.

On the main stage, Brazilian team Ninjas in Pyjamas dominated the tournament, eliminating DarkZero and Team SoloMid. These two teams with American and Canadian players, along with the French BDS Esport, were favoured to win. Entering the finals, Ninjas in Pyjamas faced a disadvantage against the American Space Station Gaming, having come from the losers bracket to now face an undefeated team. Space Station Gaming had a one-point lead in the best of five matchup; however, this deficit did not prevent Ninjas in Pyjamas from winning two of the five rounds to set up the match point. Space Station Gaming fed off the energy of their loyal fans cheering from the stands. The players, worried about their imminent defeat, paused to deliberate strategy, resulting in a brilliant comeback and a million-dollar grand prize for Space Station Gaming.

Although the event centered on the professional teams competing, there was much more to see around the venue. This was the largest gathering of the Rainbow Six community in the world, allowing fans to meet all their favourite players. Outside of the stadium, attendees could hang out with their favourite YouTube personalities and greet members of their preferred professional teams. Sponsors of the event also set up various computers, giving casual players a chance to experiment with the manufacturer’s new technology and the video game’s upcoming content.

The event was a testament to Rainbow Six’s growth. With an ever-increasing number of players globally, the event celebrated much more than the professional teams that were playing. From members of the community coming together to celebrate their favorite pastime, to developers revealing their plans for the game’s next five years, the Six Invitational 2020 was a culmination of all that makes Rainbow Six: Siege great.

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