Eating disorders (EDs) are serious and prevalent conditions that can impact all aspects of one’s life. However, treatment remains difficult to access as a result of high costs, long waitlists, and geographic limitations. But what if just one encounter could significantly improve cost-effectiveness and long-term outcomes for individuals living with EDs?
Single-session interventions (SSIs)—programs designed to involve only one visit with a clinic, provider, or program—are emerging as a promising approach to better support individuals with EDs who may otherwise be unable to access care.
In a recent publication in the Journal of Eating Disorders, Laura Lapadat, a fourth-year PhD student in McGill’s Clinical Psychology program, investigated the effectiveness of a personalized feedback SSI for individuals with EDs. Lapadat explained that her motivation stems from a desire to make research more collaborative and patient-involved, ensuring that the voices of those directly affected are heard in the development of new interventions.
“When it comes to creating interventions, it’s great to talk to the people who live with the condition and know what it would be like to have to use this [intervention] day to day,” Lapadat said in an interview with The Tribune.
“There’s a movement in the field right now towards more personalized approaches to EDs, as there is a lot of variation in how an ED can present and persist,” Lapadat said. “[Personalized interventions] capture different elements of eating disorders, such as levels of symptoms like restrictive eating or emotion regulation problems.”
Using a qualitative approach, the study interviewed 16 individuals with EDs to explore whether they would be interested in a personalized SSI. Lapadat hoped to incorporate their feedback regarding their ED symptoms and behaviours to better understand their experience during recovery.
Participants indicated that they valued the detailed personal information, appreciated actionable recommendations for their health, and hoped for feedback which could be shared with their extended healthcare team to allow for better support.
“People with EDs are interested in seeing their own data and appreciate the personalized element of it as compared to a one size fits all approach,” Lapadat said.
However, some participants reported concerns that personalized feedback may bring up feelings of shame. Lapadat highlighted the emotional complexity patients face when receiving such feedback, describing a participant who experienced strain between their ED and recovery goals. The participant explained that if the feedback indicated she was “doing well,” it could reinforce and trigger her ED habits. This finding illustrates the need for sensitive delivery in making SSIs safe and effective for people who may be at different stages of ED recovery.
“In terms of how it’s delivered, we wanted it to be engaging, to not have too much long text, and to be formatted in ways that respect the autonomy of people with EDs, ideally giving them options about how they view and receive their feedback,” Lapadat said.
Lapadat also acknowledged the study’s limitations caused by its narrow demographic representation. Most participants were white, educated, cisgender women, with many individuals in stable states of their illness.
“Interviewing individuals in more severe states of their illness may have yielded different findings,” Lapadat said.
Looking ahead, the lab’s next step involves recruiting ten individuals with EDs to conduct a pilot study, where participants receive two weeks of five daily phone surveys, to better capture the interventions’ efficacy in real-world settings. Because EDs have the highest mortality rate of any other mental illness, implementing effective interventions to overcome barriers to treatment is urgent. Personalized SSIs show an encouraging new avenue for ED care by offering treatment tailored to a patients’ unique needs, cutting costs, and reaching individuals who may otherwise not have access to traditional care.
Surrounded by Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) officers in riot gear—approximately 40 of whom were stationed in lines barricading access to the temporarily-closed Hall Building—attendees cried out chants for Palestine and for divestment. Contingents of students from different universities and CEGEPs, including McGill, Concordia, Cégep de Saint-Laurent, Université de Montréal, and Université du Québec à Montréal, continued arriving to the intersection of rue Mackay and boul. De Maisonneuve Ouest.
“A lot of people ask me how I, as a Jew, can make this sort of speech on October 7,” he stated. “And I say to them, as so many of you have said, that this genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians did not start on October 7. I say to them that any day of the year is a good day to commemorate the Palestinian struggle.”
Schwartz continued his speech by applauding the Montreal student collective’s solidarity with Palestine.
“I am proud to stand here with students representing all the universities and CEGEPS in Montreal, [and] to be joined by a growing number of professors […] who refuse to sit on the fence,” Schwartz said. “I’m proud of the moral conscience of our students, of their patience and their steadfastness, despite all the opposition and threats they’ve received from administrators, politicians and the police.”
In an interview with The Tribune, Irene, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Canada, commented on the importance of solidarity between worker and student movements.
“We’re [hoping people] see the connection between what’s happening in Gaza and the broader crisis of capitalism […] to [realize that] oppression in Gaza is tied to oppression here. [….] So we all are vested in freeing Palestine, because it means our freedom too,” they stated. “What’s needed is these students, with their palpable energy, to combine with the workers’ movement, [and] unite together. And this unity [means] we’re unbeatable.”
Around 2:00 p.m., the protest began to travel from rue Mackay onto rue St.-Catherine Ouest. It threaded through nearby streets lined with SPVM officers before moving north on rue Peel. The demonstrators then entered McGill’s campus via a service driveway behind the Bronfman Building, despite the main entrances to campus being closed. At the driveway’s entrance, faculty members held a sign that read, “Profs pour la Palestine.”
At 2:00 p.m., student protestors from all Montreal universities gather at McGill’s Y-intersection, where youth speak out against their universities’ complicity in the genocide in Palestine.
On McGill campus, Associate Professor of the university’s Department of SociologyBarry Eidlin discussed the importance of professors supporting the student movement for divestment in an interview with The Tribune.
“It’s particularly important because the university has taken a really hard line on trying to […] stifle student protest and just campus protests in general,” he stated. “[Professors] get pressure from our administration to just conduct business as usual. [But] the students are here because this is something that they’ve been fighting for, for years now, and it’s fallen on deaf ears.”
The demonstrators moved past the McLennan-Redpath library complex to reach McGill’s Y-intersection, where another protest contingent joined the larger group using the campus road alongside the Macdonald-Harrington Building. As the demonstration unfolded on campus, an individual smashed a window at McLennan-Redpath.
Once the marchers assembled, organizers began releasing smoke bombs and small fireworks in the colours of the Palestinian flag as they unfurled banners to form a protected circle in the centre of the Y. A student speaker in the circle began to detail how academic institutions in Montreal have recently “revealed the lengths that they will go to [to] maintain their genocidal complicity.”
“We have demanded arms embargoes, we have demanded sanctions, and we have demanded divestment, only to be redirected to the so-called diplomatic and civilized channels,” the speaker stated. “And after two years of genocide, we have learned that these channels are anything but diplomatic or civilized.”
Eidlin echoed these sentiments.
“The type of protest often matches the response that protesters received from the powerful, and we have been in a context now where the administration has basically been burying its head in the sand […] [and] the only response [to student demands has been] to lock down campus and try to stifle the ability to engage in free speech and association on campus,” he said.
Amidst chants of “shame” from the assembled crowd, the speaker continued to decry universities’ attempts to “divide [students’] collective might” in pro-Palestinian activist movements.
“Our administrations are motivated by greed and profit amid donor pressure, but do not mistake this self interest for ignorance,” they said. “In their hearts, they know that they’re standing against the tides of history, and history will not wash Deep Saini [and] our [Board of Governors] of their blood-soaked hands.”
In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) maintained that the university will not divest.
“McGill remains firmly committed to freedom of expression and peaceful protest,” the MRO wrote.
Organizers at the rally then burned an Israeli flag covered in red handprints, before traveling past the Leacock Building beside the Redpath Museum. “We keep us safe!” the demonstrators chanted, as they approached approximately 20 riot officers preventing access to Leacock. Diverted by the police presence, the collective moved onto rue McTavish, before re-entering the streets of the Golden Square Mile around 3:00 p.m., once more accompanied by police. Onlookers showed support, raising peace signs and honking car horns during stretches of the demonstration that occurred on roads. One attendee was shoved by an SPVM officer as they walked near a Société de transport de Montréal bus.
When the protestors returned to the Hall Building, they were once more met by police officers guarding the doors. Though the group of demonstrators edged close to the doors, there was no escalation, and the protest eventually travelled south from the building to reach Square Victoria, where it joined another demonstration for Palestine at around 4:00 p.m.
Thousands of students and Montreal community members gather at Place des Arts for a final march down René-Lévesque Street.
Upon joining the second protest at Square Victoria, demonstrators listened to speeches, including by Mohawk activist and artist Ellen Gabriel, and shared free refreshments provided by organizers. Participants also displayed a mock MK-84 guided bomb, which has been deployed by Israel amidst safe zones in Gaza designated for displaced Palestinians. The demonstration concluded at around 6:30 p.m., with the SPVM reporting no protest-related arrests. Many attendees then moved to Place des Arts to attend a second event for Palestine.
Outside of the Hall Building, Professor at McGill’s Institute of Islamic StudiesMichelle Hartman expressed how meaningful inter-university solidarity is in the fight for Palestine in an interview with The Tribune.
“I didn’t recognize one student,” she commented. “Often, when I’m at a protest, I recognize students I’ve taught, and I realized everyone around me [today] was a student from a French university, and that’s the kind of solidarity I think that we need in order to make a difference, and that’s what we’re seeing being created right here, right now.”
Hartman also specifically discussed what the Oct. 7 Montreal student strikes represent, and the importance of faculty support for these student movements.
“We are the majority of the world. We’re the people who are on the right side, and we’re the people who are all over the streets,” Hartman stated. “The students voted for the strike, so professors should respect that, if not stand in total solidarity with the students. [….] I feel like increasing numbers of professors at McGill agree with me. As professors are unionizing across all the faculties now, people are becoming more and more aware of the importance of that kind of solidarity.”
What makes the performative male distinctive as a phenomenon is its self-conscious, nonthreatening nature. Originating in feminist criticism of men who appropriate aesthetics of political sensitivity for women’s validation, the label has since been embraced, blurred and reinterpreted as a kind of satire—part parody, part reclamation, culminating in a cultural onslaught of competitions to see who can most embody the archetype.
This spirit materialized on Sept. 26, when Sam Rudin, U2 Arts, in collaboration with Spotted McGill, hosted McGill’s first Performative Male Contest on campus, just hours after the university’s annual Lettuce Club competition. Among the wilted green remains of the Lower Field, competitors advanced through rounds of runway, dance-offs, and mock interview questions in a bracket format by ‘cheer-meter’—scaled to the music of audience uproar and applause.
Recounting the organizational process, Rudin admits that he hadn’t initially planned to organize anything at all. He initially floated the idea of a performative male competition in a Spotted McGill confession—more of a suggestion than an intention, but when it garnered traction online, it became clear that what started out as a passing joke among his friends had become a serendipitous call to action. “At some point, I realized if I don’t do it, no one will,” he said in an interview with The Tribune
For Rudin, the competition was not so much a matter of political statement as it was an inclusive community-bonding exercise. When asked about the role of gender in this phenomenon, he told The Tribune, “Someone commented on the post asking if girls were allowed to perform and another person replied, ‘performative male is a mindset.’ Anyone can be a performative male.”
Runner-up Anthanasios Wees, U1 Arts, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing in an interview with The Tribune that “gender and sexuality have no place as a discriminatory feature.” Wees highlighted that it’s the intent that defines a performative man, not the semantics of how ‘he’ acts.
“It’s about the intention of illusion, pretending to be a safe space for women to gain an advantage in social circles opens you up to rightful criticism […] that’s when you start entering the world of being a performative male.”
Shahzaib Sultan, local social media influencer, winner of the Montreal performative male contest, and self-identifying performative male, believes the city’s cultural landscape is particularly conducive to self expression. Between the fashion-forward Plateau, and Mile End’s melting pot of subcultures, Montreal naturally fosters performative expression where the line between personal style and deliberate performance often blends sincerity with self-aware Gen-Z irony.
Though ultimately victorious, Sultan found himself at odds with the contest’s expectations, and at times, considered quitting. “Being queer in the contest, I questioned my place in that too,” he said. Navigating a space where crowds caricaturize the forms of self-expression he feels natural in, Sultan noted the environment’s inherent hostility in an interview with The Tribune: “It’s not authentic—straight men have appropriated queer culture in many ways and this is just one of them. We applaud men for being performative.”
Despite the underlying tension, Sultan embraced the experience, choosing to reclaim the space on his own terms. The contest, built on exaggerated heteronormative clowning, prompted him to consider how his identity fit within the broader digital landscape. Getting ready for the contest felt ordinary—another familiar morning routine. In an ironic twist, it was perhaps the most genuine participant who triumphed in a contest defined by performative masculinity, revealing heart beneath a seemingly cynical spectacle.
“I think the performative male trend has done a lot of good. People base their identity in significantly more ridiculous things than being a performative man. Good for them, it’s hard to figure out what we are,” said Wees.
The creation of public sports infrastructure often sparks excitement, as many view these projects as symbols of progress and cultural pride. Yet few consider how such developments impact marginalized populations, notably Indigenous communities. A study in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research examining Rogers Place—Edmonton’s $613.7 million CAD publicly financed hockey arena—challenges the belief that sport-related urban development projects offer community-wide benefits.
Before opening in 2016 on Treaty 6 territory, the site was home to a significant Indigenous urban street community and several non-profit social service agencies. Following the arena’s creation, residents were evicted as subsidized apartment complexes and community hubs were replaced with upmarket housing. Thus, between 2016 and 2018, Jordan Koch—associate professor in McGill’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education—worked alongside researchers Jay Scherer and Rylan Kafara from the University of Alberta to conduct community-based research documenting the arena’s impact on Indigenous and unhoused residents.
Koch told The Tribune in an interview that the project began after he and his colleagues witnessed residents being displaced and losing access to local social services, including the harm reduction facility known as The Hub.
“The three of us had this longstanding relationship in this community, and we just witnessed firsthand what was happening,” he said. “This sort of thriving community being displaced, […] often aggressively, violently, and we were kind of at a loss for what to do, so we started doing what researchers do, research it […], [and] trumpet stories that we thought were underrepresented.”
The researchers interviewed 34 city centre residents, 20 frontline staff at The Hub, and 8 managers from several non-profit agencies. They also spoke with 30 city centre residents via Homeless Connect events and unhoused individuals at three facilities outside the urban core, and conducted ethnographic observations during 40 National Hockey League (NHL) game nights.
Throughout their interviews, the researchers identified three recurring themes. The first is that the increase of racialized policing and carceral redlining—systemic social control through discriminatory policing and incarceration practices specifically targeting racialized communities—increased stress and anxiety among participants. Police and private security increased surveillance, issued fines, and used other aggressive policing measures to displace Indigenous and unhoused residents to create a “comfortable” environment for hockey fans on event nights.
Koch recalls witnessing this directly during his ethnographic observations.
“An hour before the game, […] police were sort of clearing the corridors [and] that would lead the traffic to and from the arena. [There was] this physical cleansing of the space to kind of make it a more enjoyable experience for the fans.”
Koch also shared that a South Edmonton police officer explained to him how individuals displaced from downtown relocated south. However, limited services forced police to return them downtown and then bring them back to the south on game nights, adding to this nauseating feeling of continuous displacement.
The second common theme among residents was anger and sadness over the loss of safe community spaces. Developers destroyed dead zones in the city, such as parking lots, which often served as shared homeplaces.
The last theme the study found was that city centre residents desired to remain on Indigenous land and retain access to The Hub, viewing it as a sacred space amid ongoing colonial violence against Indigenous Peoples.
“The community has been widely displaced. Yet there was still this hope and sense of home that I thought was really important. So that, to me, was what was kind of the most surprising,” Koch said. “People’s connectedness to that space, to that land, and to each other.”
The study notes that in 2021, the Katz Group purchased The Hub, and the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation allocated $10 million CAD to relocate it two blocks away from Rogers Place. On Sept. 30, 2023, The Hub closed, and at least 120 city centre residents have since died amid ongoing housing and drug crises.
Ultimately, this study shows that sport-driven development often fails to provide community-wide benefits and instead reflects settler colonialism in its displacement of racialized communities for the benefit of urban elites. Indigenous resilience and connection to land emphasize that urban spaces are home to many communities, which is why ethical and inclusive planning is vital when constructing sport arenas in Edmonton, Montreal, and beyond.
You’ve arrived once again, although you’ve made me wait an awfully long time this year. You seem content to torture me with thirty-degree weather in October. But the leaves have finally turned a crisp ochre, and with this comes the breaths of cozy inspiration. All around, artists and audiences alike snuggle up with their blankets to descend into the crackling fireplace of imagination and creativity.
A classic fall pastime for coffee lovers involves sipping from warm mugs while rewatching their favourite 2000s sitcoms. The familiar bond between those in their twenties and their 40-minute episode, seven-season TV show is unmistakable. Gilmore Girls is my personal favourite, combining slice-of-life realness with a tinge of whimsy and the wittiest dialogue. Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) is a sparkling character who epitomizes fall vibes. Watching Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) consistently make poor decisions throughout her early life crisis makes me want to rip out my hair—or hers. But there’s a certain comfort in knowing that no matter how off-kilter my day is going, Rory’s is going worse. This frustration and endearment alongside a steaming teacup is quintessentially autumn.
You, autumn, encourage everyone to slow down. Books are suddenly magical again, and a windy bite at one’s nose incites a desire to hide under the covers with a silly little fantasy novel. My personal recommendation this season is Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals. It is not often that I find a story with a plot that feels entirely new, but Ross achieves this, weaving together a perplexing and animated world that I couldn’t escape from. She charts the story of two young journalists competing for the role of columnist. Both share a fiery determination and darkened pasts, kept close and secret. As war rages on, the question emerges: What should we really be commenting on? Connected through magic typewriters, the two form an unlikely bond under precious aliases, becoming each others’ dearest confidants. Ross creates a whirl of warm love, sweet misgivings, and moral conundrum all in one. It’s perfectly paired with the pumpkin spice treat of choice, and the soft patter of rain.
Autumn, despite the wonderful inspiration you are for writers, artists, creators, in addition to the atmosphere you create for art-lovers to immerse themselves in their passions, you are art in and of yourself. Stepping outside on an autumn day holds nearly inexplicable magic, but I shall do my best. It is a sensory exhibit of wonder: The crunch of bright leaves under my soles, the symphony of rustling above me, the slightly sweet, nutty smell in the air. It is art created by no one at all, but shared by everyone. Every leaf is a painting that changes from moment to moment: Sage, to copper, to bursts of sunset and teddy brown. Innocent kids, barely two feet tall, collect them, press them into books; they notice the art, even if growing up will make them forget. The clouds dance with the sun in autumn, light rays slanting through the cottony fluff and painting the world in vivid colours.
Spring and summer may always hold the popular vote. But I will always love the slight inconvenience of a chill seeping through the knit of sweaters, of the wind tousling perfectly placed hair. There is dramatic art in the playful flair of autumn. Autumn flirts with everyone, like they’re the audience of an interactive play. You demand their attention, grasping them out of whatever self-centred haze they may be trapped in. We become a shared audience for autumn, united in the common experience of red-tipped ears and runny noses.
Art and autumn go hand in hand. These months will pass by so quickly with the blur of midterms and travels home. But for a moment, even just a breath, try to find a piece of art this fall, in the blur of your train ride window or the stray leaf dancing across your textbook.
Take a moment and notice it. We’ve worked very hard.
Guilmette signed with the Tides in March 2025 and plays goalkeeper for the team. In an interview with The Tribune, she expressed her excitement about playing against her former teammates.
“It’s just joy, honestly. Mara and Steph are [some] of my closest friends,” she said. “And at the end of the day, win or lose, those are my people.”
Bouchard, who is a midfielder for the Roses, explained the uncertainty that comes with playing in a new league in an interview with The Tribune.
“I guess the first thought is, I don’t know what to expect,” she said. “Everyone is just jumping in the league where no one has any idea of how [it’s] gonna turn out.”
Guilmette discussed how part of the NSL’s importance lies in its novelty.
“Up until this year, it was not possible to play [professional women’s soccer] in Canada,” she emphasized. “I’m super privileged to be able to do that at home in front of my family and friends [now].”
Although still in its early stages, the league has already drawn significant attention from Canadian fans, attracting over 14,000 spectators to its opening matches in Vancouver and Toronto. The NSL has also secured multiple broadcasting agreements with major streaming platforms, including CBC, TSN, and the francophone Réseau des sports.
The Tides-Roses match came just two weeks before the NSL playoffs, for which the top four seeds have already been determined. Still, it was an important match, as the Roses aimed to surpass the Rapid to become the second playoff seed, while the Tides looked to end their winless streak dating back to July 12.
“We already qualified for playoffs, so for us, [we treated] this match like a playoff game,” Bouchard explained. “We’ve always had a tough time playing against Halifax this season.”
Despite numerous scoring attempts from both sides in the opening half, a breakthrough did not come until the 36th minute, when Tides midfielder Saorla Miller capitalized on a free kick. Montreal responded in the 68th, with Lorie Thibault threading a pass to fellow midfielder Charlotte Bilbault, who chipped the ball past Tides goalkeeper Anika Tóth to bring the Roses level.
Just two minutes later, Miller restored Halifax’s lead, scoring her second goal. But the advantage was short-lived—only four minutes later, Montreal’s Chaerim Kang tipped the ball past Tóth to secure a draw.
Hill, one of the Roses’ starting defenders, sat down with The Tribune to reflect on the team’s performance.
“We were having a hard time scoring and keeping the momentum,” she said. “We were perhaps making them look quite good at some moments, and that’s on us to step it up.”
For Hill, the intensity of the game highlighted the changes between playing professionally and collegiate competition. While both seasons end in late October, McGill’s preseason starts in early August, whereas the NSL preseason begins in February, extending players’ calendars significantly.
“It’s just so different,” she explained. “I’m getting paid to do this. It’s my full-time job. We train every day from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. With McGill, academics always came first. So it was school all day, and then practice [at] 6:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m.”
Despite these challenges and adjustments, all three former Martlets spoke with gratitude about their journey to the NSL.
“I want to remove the negative connotation that comes with the word ‘challenge’ because I think it’s something that’s to be embraced,” Hill said. “Work hard, and let’s see what kind of magic can happen.”
The McGill chapter of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), a grassroots, anti-Zionist, Jewish organization, held an event on Oct. 6 on McGill’s Lower Field to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and show their solidarity with Palestinians enduring Israel’s ongoing genocide. Sukkot is a seven-day festival of thanksgiving for the fall harvest, where observers build makeshift huts, known as ‘sukkah.’ The holiday also commemorates the 40 years that the Jewish people spent wandering after their Exodus from Egypt, during which they lived in huts. The IJV event was quickly met with heavy presence from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
At 4:00 p.m., members of McGill’s and Montreal’s Jewish communities began building the sukkah on the Lower Field using a pop-up tent. Nearly 50 individuals gathered and made speeches, said prayers, sang, and waved four species of plants—citron, myrtle, palm, and willow—as well as banners reading, “Jews against Genocide/Free Palestine,” “Liberate Judaism from Zionism,” and “L’chaim Intifada”.
In an interview with The Tribune, an attendee who wished to remain anonymous described the significance of the sukkah-building as a demonstration of support for Palestine.
“[A sukkah is] a temporary structure […] [that] you share […] community experiences in,” they said. “We wanted to bring that here today, to be in solidarity with Palestine, [and] to show that we can make the choice to build a temporary structure like this. [….] The people of Gaza, whose homes have been destroyed, they have to live in structures like this. [….] They don’t have the choice.”
Another attendee who wished to remain unnamed explained why they felt it was important to differentiate Judaism from Zionism in times of Palestinian oppression.
“It’s very clear to me that if there is this injustice, it must be addressed, not just because it is a Jewish thing to do, but because it is the human thing,” they stated in an interview with The Tribune. “And […] in that process, we are actually addressing antisemitism, because we are showing a positive version of what Judaism can look like when people have only been exposed to Zionism.”
“[The policy] cites […] historical precedent, […] [and] legal summaries endorsed by a lot of law professors [internationally],” the attendee explained. “I really think that this narrative of the Jewish community [being] so divided, [is] disingenuous and […] misleading. Partially because they’re like every community, […] in a state of trying to figure itself out. We’re doing everything we can to engage in this conversation.”
“I [grew up in] a Zionist perspective,” the attendee continued. “Change is possible. [….] I do think that it is also kind of a mitzvah, a kind of important obligation to try to help people on their journey to having a more open mind.”
Meanwhile, between 4:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., approximately 25 SPVM officers arrived at the sukkah. Around ten SPVM Specialized Support and Intervention Section police, or riot police, stood 20 meters away from the gathering.
In an interview with The Tribune, a community member who interacted with the SPVM described how one of the police officers was “mocking” the religious ceremony.
“One police officer explicitly said that he didn’t think this was a religious tent. He was like, ‘It’s just a gazebo,’” the attendee, who wished to remain unnamed, recounted. “[His comments were] pretty demeaning, derogatory, […] borderline antisemitic. [….] [He was] insisting that we don’t have a right to mark this religious service in the way that our faith requires that we do.”
According to the community member, around 5:30 p.m., the SPVM officers threatened to physically intervene in the gathering, claiming the structure had been illegally erected on McGill’s private property.
Though attendees took down the pop-up tent, they gathered to form the sukkah once more using their banners as walls, their bodies as pillars, and the branches in their stretched-out arms as the roof.
Breast cancer is far more common than many people realize; in 2024, breast cancer accounted for 25 per cent of the new cancer cases in Canadian women. While breast cancer survival rates have improved drastically over time, researchers continue to study the disease to improve patient outcomes.
One such researcher is Dr. Sarkis H. Meterissian, a McGill professor of surgery and oncology. As director of the Breast Centre at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Meterissian’s research is centred on breast cancer management.
“We do a combination of clinical research, meaning looking at patient outcomes and trying to determine from our databases what the optimal [treatment] approach would be [….] We also do translational research […] and then finally, we have a lot of very interesting collaborations and projects with industry,” Meterissian explained in an interview with The Tribune.
These industry collaborations help pilot new and developing technologies in clinical settings—a crucial step in tailoring medical technology to patients’ needs. One partnership is with the Montreal company Noze which is working to develop an AI model that can ‘smell’ cancer and other diseases on exhaled breath.
“[Noze] did a pilot study already, with us at the breast center, with over 140 patients, showing very promising data on sensitivity and specificity,” Meterissian said. “And now I’m leading a study which will hopefully start soon, and will include over 3000 patients.”
Another collaboration with Polytechnique Montréal involves engineers developing a medical wand to detect cancer on the margins of surgical wounds. According to Meterissian, between 20 and 25 per cent of surgically-treated breast cancer patients have cancer recurrences and require a second operation. Should this project be successful, this technology could significantly reduce reoperation rates—a huge advance in breast cancer treatment.
As diagnostic and treatment technologies evolve, breast cancer treatment results and the overall patient experience are expected to improve.
However, despite doctors’ and researchers’ continued efforts to improve patient outcomes, there are still many misconceptions about breast cancer, which Meterissian hopes to address.
First, he wanted to clarify the most at-risk populations. He explained that while breast cancer is most common among older women, cancer cases are becoming more and more common in younger patients in general. He also emphasized that breast cancer is not influenced by genetics nearly as much as many people believe.
“Only in five to ten per cent of cases is [it] genetic, so you have the other 90 to 95 per cent that are sporadic,” Meterissian said. “In other words, a woman who has no family history can get breast cancer.”
He also described how lifestyle can influence breast cancer susceptibility. Most types of breast cancer are linked to hormone levels—the higher the levels of circulating hormones one has, the higher their risk of developing breast cancer.
“A woman who is of average weight has less circulating hormones than a woman who is 50 pounds overweight, because [the latter] will make hormones from the fat as well as from her ovaries,” Meterissian explained.
“If you drink every weekend, every weekend your liver is taking a hit and your hormones are going up,” Meterissian said. “So the chances of you [getting] breast cancer will be higher if you are drinking on a regular basis than a woman who doesn’t drink.”
Another key misconception about breast cancer is that it is limited to one sex. While breast cancer is, expectedly, most common in women, it is important to remember that men can get breast cancer too—something that is forgotten all too often.
Ultimately, Meterissian shares that it comes down to noticing changes in your body.
“The number one [piece of] advice I have for women is to be aware of their bodies,” Meterissian said. “We see so many times there’s a lump, there’s redness, and women haven’t noticed. So take the time to check.”
One Battle After Another entraps the viewer right from the start. It opens with the rescue mission of detained immigrants conducted by the far-left revolutionary group, the French 75, whose members include ‘Ghetto’ Pat Calhoun (DiCaprio) and Perfidia Beverly Hills (Taylor). After an encounter with commanding officer Steven J. Lockjaw, (Sean Penn), whose performance is as wickedly haunting as Hans Landa’s (Christopher Waltz) in Inglorious Basterds, Perfidia and Pat’s daughter is born. Perfidia then enters witness protection, leaving her family behind. Forced into hiding, Pat and his newborn daughter—now assuming the identity of Bob and Willa Ferguson—abandon their revolutionary ways in favour of a simple life in exile.
16 years later, Lockjaw resurfaces to hunt Willa down. To protect herself, she runs away, forcing Bob to rejoin the revolution. Anderson depicts the struggles of a father and retired revolutionary with both humour and purpose, as he switches between Bob’s failed attempts to rescue his daughter and Willa’s determination to carry on the fight her parents abandoned to save her life.
By shooting in VistaVision—a high-resolution widescreen process created in the 1950s—Anderson gives his film a timeless feel, while designing the most enjoyable viewing experience for the big screen. He masterfully captures his characters’ undying determination to make the world a better place, and to escape those who threaten to end these aspirations for their own gain.
One Battle After Another does not shy away from topics such as postpartum depression, intergenerational trauma, and the never-ending need for resistance, depicted through the father-daughter relationship of Bob and Willa, who both love and despise each other, as parents and adolescents often do.
With a run-time of 162 minutes, the film succeeds in retaining its viewers’ attention, never losing focus on the desire of Bob and Willa to reunite. Penn’s physical acting encapsulates the haunting absurdity of Lockjaw, who is portrayed as both a frightening antagonist and an irrational, law-bending, manic character. His caricatured walk, flexing of muscles, and growling mouth make for a character that is both sinister and ridiculous. Anderson is unafraid to denounce the cognitive dissonance that arises when faced with an authority that works, not for the good of the people, but for its own selfish desires.
Strong acting, meticulous cinematography, warm colour grading, and the exploration of family, resistance, and revolution make One Battle After Another a movie that leaves no one indifferent. Anderson is at his best, as he reminds viewers that movies are meant to be digested and reflected on rather than consumed rapidly and in greater numbers. One Battle After Another will make you gasp, dance, scream, hope, and most importantly, think.
On Sept. 24, Quebec’s French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge introduced a bill banning the use of gender neutral pronouns such as ‘iel,’ ‘celleux,’ and ‘Mx.’ in all official communications from the Quebec government. Roberge plans on extending the bill to public education in the province, ranging from kindergarten to post-secondary institutions. It further applies to both patients and employees in the province’s healthcare system.
Roberge states that the pronoun ban is necessary to protect the clarity of the French language. He claims neologisms, or newly coined words, such as ‘froeur’ cannot be conjugated properly due to the pre-existing language structure in French, causing confusion. The bill only applies to written documents, meaning a teacher can be referred to as ‘Mx.’ by students during class, but cannot be identified as such on the record.
Although Roberge claims that the bill is not intended to alienate gender expansive communities who use the now-banned pronouns, some queer advocacy groups at McGill have expressed concerns that the ban will reduce 2SLGBTQIA+ access to government institutions and resources, while also harming the public perception of transgender and genderfluid individuals.
The Trans Patient Union (TPU) at McGill wrote to The Tribune that this bill creates further blocks to accessing gender-affirming care in Quebec, and stated that many doctors continuously misgender patients, despite corrections from the patient or an ‘X’ marker written on their file.
The TPU also wrote that the inclusion of neologisms in French would actually incentivize more people to communicate in the language, as gender expansive people would know that French recognizes their identity.
“It is at times the case that bilingual nonbinary people will avoid speaking French specifically because of how challenging it can be to speak French while being correctly gendered,” the TPU wrote. “Changes which aim to make the language better include trans and nonbinary francophones can only help encourage its use.”
A representative of The Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE) at McGill noted in an interview with The Tribune that Roberge’s decision to ban the use of gender-neutral pronouns in official communications was confusing, considering that there are no previous laws mandating the inclusion of these pronouns in government announcements.
“The fact that this [bill] covers the government and municipalities kind of strikes me as banning a problem that doesn’t exist,” the UGE representative said. “When it comes to widening this legislation to other publicly-funded institutions, my first thought is that this undermines the autonomy of different publicly-funded institutions to decide how they want to structure and address some of their publications.”
The bill also mandates that official communications must be written in the masculine form, going against the government’s past inclusion of also the feminine form within brackets in government documentation.
“The greatest effect of this decree will be to re-emphasize this type of convention as more expedient, and consistently remove the presence of women, which are, frankly, the majority of the population in Quebec, from references to the population as a whole, whether as workers, as citizens, or as patients,” the UGE representative said.
McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) stated in a written response to The Tribune that McGill plans on continuing to denounce the systematic use of the masculine pronoun, and continuing to avoid using gendered language in its announcements.
“You will see that our style guide already favours inclusivity in writing [and] that we don’t normally use the terminology targeted by the government,” the MRO wrote.
The UGE representative further questioned the purpose of the government language ban, noting that no empirical research was conducted prior to its proposal supporting its alleged benefits.
“When it comes to clarity in terms of graphic conventions, I would love to see data on the science of reading that tells me that using a parenthesis is clearer and easier to read for, say, people with dyslexia or learners of the French language,” the UGE representative said. “I don’t think it exists right now. This is merely a question of tradition, not clarity.”
