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Baseball, Private, Sports

Montreal baseball fans want the Expos back

by Gabe Nisker, Miya Keilin, Gabriel Helfant on

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The Packed House

On March 25 and 26, over 47,000 fans packed into the Olympic Stadium to watch the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers finish up their Spring Training schedules. This series marked the sixth straight season that the Toronto Blue Jays played a set of games in Montreal. And, now, for the sixth straight season, baseball fans who dearly miss their beloved Montreal Expos came to cheer on Canada’s sole baseball franchise in Montreal.

In a pre-game ceremony celebrating the Expos’ 50th anniversary, team legends paraded out from centre field, and, in an annual tradition, former star pitcher Steve Rogers made an appearance to express support for bringing baseball back to Montreal.

“It’s not like you have to manufacture some belief in it,” Rogers said. “It’s been demonstrated certainly. The question will be, ‘Is this sustainable for [a] 162 game season, 81 at home?’ I think it’s been demonstrated that, [for] over six years, the interest is here, and I’m excited for the possibilities.”

Charlie Montoyo

Charlie Montoyo had been to Montreal before, but in a different capacity. The Blue Jays manager earned his first big-league hit in his brief playing career at Olympic Stadium. In an interview with MLB.com’s Alexis Brudnicki, Montoyo recalled his time in the city.

“I’m never going to forget,” Montoyo said. “I had my first hit of two here in the big leagues. So, that’s a memory I’m always going to have [….] This place has been great to me. It was a fun time for me here, and, now, it’s a fun time to come back as a big league manager, so it’s great.”

Rogers threw his support behind Montoyo.

“He’s one of those good guys out there,” Rogers said. “He’s proven himself in the industry, and somebody might say ‘Well, that Charlie, he’s lucky.’ Well, no, he’s worked his rear end off, and he’s a great baseball man. And, also, he’s a great guy. Always has a good time, always got a smile on his face [….] I understand it’s a new group, the players that are going out on the field […. I hope] that everything starts to gel and that [that] smile stays on his face all year long.”

As Montoyo built familiarity with his new role and his young team, he handled one tough matter on March 26: Sending players who had not made the Opening Day roster down to the minor leagues.

“You can see it in their faces that guys are disappointed, and guys [who made it] are happy.” Montoyo said. “[This past half-hour after the game] was just like that, disappointment and happiness. But, that’s part of the game.”

Thomas Pannone

Left-handed pitcher Thomas Pannone was one such player looking to earn his spot on the roster. He started the final game and pitched two scoreless innings.

Post-game, Montoyo gave him the good news. Speaking to reporters, Pannone discussed his mindset throughout the game.

“I had a lot on my mind,” Pannone said. “I wanted to make this team so bad. I was obviously under a little bit of pressure. I just wanted to come out and continue to perform and continue to get better and show them that I’m ready to play in the big leagues.”

While Pannone is used to starting, he made the final Blue Jays roster as a reliever.

“He can give us length, and he could also come and get left-handers out,” Montoyo said. “He’ll give me more matchups, [and] it’ll be easier to manage with another left-hander in the lineup.”

Valérie Plante & the future of Montreal baseball

Part-way through the Tuesday game, Mayor Valérie Plante spoke to reporters, responding to questions about the future of baseball in Montreal. Every year the Blue Jays play Spring Training games in the city, the possibility for a franchise grows stronger. This event is not about the Blue Jays, and it is not about the Brewers. It is—and has always been—about the Expos.

“The idea of having a baseball team here in Montreal is great news,” Plante said.* “Some might ask whether it’s a good use of money, […but], seeing as the promoters have not asked us for a cent, we’re going to support them in this project using the tools already available to the city without asking Montrealers for more money. That’s why I can go into this project with a smile on my face.”  

Stephen Bronfman—the son of former Expos owner Charles Bronfman—is making strides toward securing land for a new, privately-financed stadium located at the Peel Basin. Plante, who visited the site with the mayor of Sud-Ouest, on which the land is located, explained her role in the team’s development to reporters.

“As an administration, we’ve invested a lot in developing neighbourhoods,” Plante said.* “Where we can best support a project like a stadium is at the infrastructural level. [The Peel Basin area] has minimal infrastructure […] and at the level of planning public transport [.…] It’s something in which we have expertise, and it’s something that we support enormously as an administration.”

Former Expos, like pitcher Tim Burke, value the Bronfman family’s role in Montreal baseball.

“I talked to Stephen [Bronfman] this morning, and I just told him I really appreciated what he was doing, but I also told him to tell his dad how much I appreciated him when he owned our team back in the day,” Burke said.

At the end of the day, the message came back around to the viability of baseball’s return to the city. With other teams failing to fill the stands, former Expos outfielder Larry Walker echoed the sentiment that Nos Amours should return.

“You never know,” Walker said. “I’ve been saying it the whole time here, the team was here some 35 odd years, and you don’t keep a team around that long because they were not succeeding or not performing. There [are] other teams in the major leagues right now that don’t draw fans and, in my eyes, shouldn’t have a team. Why not bring back one that was here for over three decades? It would be a nice thing.”

*This quote has been translated from its original French.

Baseball, Hockey, Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports, Volleyball

2018-19 ‘Tribune’ end-of-year athletic awards

by Miya Keilin on

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Team of the year: Martlet Hockey

On March 17, the McGill Martlets (14-6), fifth in U Sports’ national rankings, claimed silver at the National Championships after falling 1-0 to the Guelph Gryphons (19-3-3). The loss came after an upset victory over the top ranked Alberta Pandas (23-5) in the semifinals and a 10-2 quarterfinal win against St. Thomas (22-5-1) in the quarterfinals. The team also finished second in the RSEQ playoffs behind the Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins (15-4-1). Four Martlets earned all-star honours for their individual performances: Third-year forward Jade Downie-Landry and third-year goalie Tricia Deguire earned first-team all-league and second-team all-Canadian status, while second-year forward Kellyane Lecours and fourth-year defenceman Emilia Cotter were named to the RSEQ second team all-league.

Coach of the year: Rachèle Béliveau (Martlet Volleyball)

Martlet volleyball dropped only three regular season games this year and finished atop the RSEQ standings. Unfortunately, in the RSEQ championship series, they fell to the number-two seed UdeM Carabins two games to one. Despite the disappointing loss, Martlet volleyball Head Coach—and RSEQ 2018-19 Coach of the Year—Rachèle Béliveau can still count this as a successful season. With over 600 victories in her 28 years of coaching the Martlets, Béliveau is the has the most wins of any coach in McGill Athletics history, and she has inspired generations of McGill volleyball players.

Female athlete of the year: Jade Downie-Landry (Martlet Hockey)

Third-year Downie-Landry had another outstanding season for the Martlets: She was named to the RSEQ first-team all-league and the Canadian second-team all-league and won the RSEQ scoring title. At the U Sports National Championship, she earned all-tournament team status and tournament MVP honours. She was also awarded Martlet hockey team MVP as well as the Most Outstanding Scorer award. Downie-Landry—who scored or assisted on nearly half of McGill’s goals this season—has the 12th-most points of any player in Martlet history, sitting on an impressive list of Martlet hockey alumnae including Ann-Sophie Bettez and Katia Clement-Heydra.

Male athlete of the year: Sasha Lagarde (Baseball)

With 31 hits and 27 RBIs, the third-year outfielder from Pierrefonds, QC led McGill baseball in those categories and also posted the second-highest slugging percentage and third-highest on-base-plus-slugging on the team. In the team’s five games at the Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association tournament in October, Lagarde went seven-for-15, scored 11 runs, and drove in nine. He earned all-tournament team status and the tournament MVP award after McGill’s fifth—and Lagarde’s third—consecutive Canadian University World Series title.  

Female rookie of the year: Maria Gheta (Artistic Swimming)

In February, Gheta earned the top overall athlete award at the National Championship artistic swimming meet. She won two gold medals and one silver medal en route to McGill’s fifth national title in the last six years. She won her gold medals in the duet event, where she competed alongside her older sister Ioana, and the team event. She placed second with her solo routine. Previously, Gheta picked up three gold medals at the McGill Invitational in November; she added two golds and a silver at the Eastern Divisionals in January.

Male rookie of the year: Clement Secchi (Men’s Swimming)

At the U Sports Swim Championships on Feb. 21-23, Secchi came away with one gold in the 50m backstroke and two bronze medals in the 100m butterfly and 4x200m freestyle relay. He set new McGill and RSEQ short course records in the 100m and 200m backstroke. He also put together a team-best 24.94 second 50m backstroke which third-year teammate Samuel Wang beat in the subsequent heat. Secchi, who earned RSEQ first-team all-star status, was just as impressive at the conference championship meet: He won three gold and three silver medals to help the McGill men’s swim team to a second-place finish.

 

Baseball, Basketball, Sports

Bay Area sports usher in new wave of fandom

by Gabe Nisker on

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This season, the Oakland Athletics will change baseball. It isn’t the first time they have done so, and, if all goes according to plan, it certainly won’t be the last. However, unlike Moneyball, their first innovation that spawned a Michael Lewis book and subsequent Brad Pitt movie, this development will take place entirely off the field: The 2019 Oakland Athletics are offering a new kind of season ticket.

On July 30, 2018, the Athletics issued a press release announcing the end of their traditional ticketing system—fans paying for the rights to a reserved seat—and introducing a creative new one: A’s Access. The new plan allows members general-admission access to every game as well as an allotment of games in which the member is assigned to a seat. As members pay more, they earn more assigned-seat games. The A’s will also offer other perks, like cheaper concessions and merchandise.

Given the sparse crowds that attend their games, an additional flexibility in their season-ticket plan is the team’s latest effort to boost attendance. The Athletics averaged 19,427 fans in attendance at their home games during the 2018 season, fourth-worst in all of baseball. As a result, they decided to draw from a rising interest in entertainment subscription models like MoviePass and alter their season ticket plan.

“Obviously, this is a trend in ticketing even outside of sports,” Daniel Rascher, director of academic programs for the sports management program at the University of San Francisco, said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. “Customers and fans want flexibility, and, if the teams can absorb the fluctuations in demand, they can take on that risk and offer that to fans.”

With the change, fans, who could not afford a traditional plan, have already purchased multiple A’s Access memberships.

“We’re very moderately middle class,” Roberto Santiago, a Bay Area teacher with three children, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “So, something as luxurious as season tickets wasn’t going to be in the cards for us without something like this.”

Across the Oakland Coliseum parking lot lies Oracle Arena, the current home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. When the Warriors move to their new home in San Francisco later in 2019, they, too, will experiment with a new season ticket plan. In their new Chase Center, the Warriors will become the second NBA team to sell personal seat licenses. However, they are the first to use it as the predominant model for season ticketing. A personal seat license is a paid license that then gives the owner the right to purchase traditional season tickets for that particular seat in the stadium. The model is already popular in both American football and European soccer.

That plan is not cheap. The median cost for the 12,000 personal seat licenses to be put on sale will be $15,000. And, with the Warriors franchise planning to self-finance the new arena, the license will act as an interest-free, tax-free loan from the consumer to the owners since the Warriors will return the license money after 30 years.

Unlike the Athletics, the two-time defending champion Warriors do not struggle with attendance. Instead, by fixing their supply-and-demand issue, Golden State is pricing longtime diehard fans out of the basketball experience. While baseball fans like Santiago are now afforded the opportunity to join the season-ticket-holding fanbase, the Warriors’ endeavour does not cater to their working- and middle-class fans.

Ultimately, teams are looking to maximize their attendance and the revenue that comes with it, and their experiments with season ticket plans are worth tracking. As sports fans look for new ways to engage with their favourite franchises, teams will continue to fine-tune the in-game experiences that they are offering.

 

Science & Technology

Climate change consensus and denial at McGill

by Nina Russell on

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For many students, climate change is a daily consideration when making choices like bringing reusable bags to the store or using refillable coffee cups. Environmental awareness is as prevalent as its effects are terrifying, exemplified by the 150,000 people who walked at the Montreal March for Climate Justice on March 15. In the university context, it can be easy to forget that nearly one third of Canadians are unconvinced that climate change is caused by human activity.

The 97 per cent consensus is a widely-cited statistic which states that 97.1 per cent of scientists agree that climate change is anthropogenic, or manmade. This statistic comes from a 2013 study which quantified the academic consensus by examining the abstracts of 11,944 climate science papers and classifying each one based on its position on global warming. The study also stated that the more expertise the author had on the subject, the more likely they were to believe in anthropogenic climate change.  

Cook’s study has been criticized for only examining the abstracts that take a concrete position on climate change. Nonetheless, other studies have concluded that a consensus exists among somewhere between 90 and 100 per cent of climate scientists.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Theo Van de Ven, a professor in McGill’s Department of Chemistry, expressed scepticism that the 97 per cent consensus is absolute, citing a petition signed by 31,000 scientists who have called on the government of the United States to reject the United Nations-sponsored Kyoto Protocol. He also alleged that most people only believe in climate change because it comes from scientists who have expert authority.

“This 97 per cent is based, in my opinion, on very sloppy statistics,” Van de Ven said. “I got this email about this [climate march], and it’s good that people are concerned about the climate, but I think that much of our youth is indoctrinated at schools. Why do most high school teachers believe in climate change? Because of the authority. That’s the 97 per cent. If you don’t believe in the 97 per cent, that falls apart. But they indoctrinate kids at primary school and secondary school with it.”

While Van de Ven believes that pollution is a problem, he remains unconvinced that human activity is causing climate change. He argues that there are many other unstudied factors that could also be attributed to global warming, and, as a result, he finds it preemptive to propose certain solutions such as a tax on carbon.

“There are many fluctuations in the climate, and they correlate very strongly with solar cycles,” Van de Ven said. “It’s very well established. There’s a plausible explanation, but people don’t seem to be seriously willing to investigate it [….] I’m just saying there’s basically no knowledge. This consensus is, in my opinion, just pushed for political reasons.”

Van de Ven remains in the minority of scientists who are suspicious of anthropogenic climate change. In Oct. 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a widely-read report which states that, if global warming is not limited to 1.5 degrees celsius, the consequences for our planet could be catastrophic. The continued refusal to acknowledge the ramifications, despite a widespread consensus among climate scientists has the potential to affect generations to come. The discrepancy between the high percentage of scientists who believe in anthropogenic climate change versus the third of Canadians who do not is alarming, but students can continue to make themselves aware of the consequences of global warming and educate their peers.

Student Life

Where art and justice meet: A silent auction for Lawyers Without Borders

by Scott Kennedy on

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On March 28, the McGill chapter of Lawyers Without Borders (LWB) hosted its fourth annual Art Sans Frontières silent auction. The event showcased pieces by local Montreal artists that had been donated to raise funds for LWB Canada, a non-governmental organization with a mandate to promote human rights, access to justice, and the protection of minorities in countries around the globe.

Caroline Parent-Harvey, VP Events for LWB McGill, explained that the profits from this event will go to LWB to support its mission of providing legal support to those in need and to finance the group’s international operations.

“This event […] is our main fundraiser, and all the funds go directly to help LWB and the lawyers that are working for them, […] helping out in countries that have […] less developed justice system[s], and, so, we’re really lucky to be able to participate in that,” Parent-Harvey said.

The work displayed at the auction centred around the theme of international activism. The organizers were appreciative of the participating artists and their contributions to the event.

“Without [the artists], there would be no event,” Parent-Harvey said. “We really make sure to put the artist at the middle of this event.”

Gabrielle Landry, VP Communications for LWB, described the importance of the event and its connection to the mission of LWB Canada.

“We want to promote something that’s local to help on the international level, so we want to have a kind of […] bridge between what we have going on here and LWB Canada. Here [in Montreal], even anywhere around the world, access to justice can be an issue,” Landry said. “People should be more in touch with their rights and how the justice system works anywhere around the world.”

Participants joined local artists at the Conseil des arts de Montréal Atrium in the historic Gaston-Miron building to take part in the silent auction. The Conseil des arts de Montréal supports and recognizes excellence in the arts, contributing to many artistic companies and collectives in the city.

“We even chose this [hall] because it’s actually owned by the Conseil des Artistes Montreal,” Parent-Harvey said. “All the profits related to this room are also going to help artists, so we’re really happy about this partnership.”

The LWB McGill team also partnered with Regroupement des Artistes en Arts Visuels du Quebec (RAAV), a professional association that represents visual artists and helped solicit donations for the event. RAAV General Director Bernard Guérin expressed that the organization was particularly enthusiastic to offer assistance to a student-run initiative.  

“[This event is an] interesting way [to] contribute to a very nice cause, ” Guérin said. “ [I am] very […] impressed by the idea [and] by the […] McGill students [who organized the event].”

Francesca Trop, whose work was on sale at the event, is a Montreal-based artist whose paintings often depict courtroom scenes. As a former lawyer who practiced for 15 years, Trop explained that her experience in the legal profession motivated her to donate her work to the event.

“It was very important for me to give a contribution,” Trop said. “[This event] is related to what I have to say, and I know I will reach out to the public that I am talking to.”

Much of Trop’s multimedia artwork highlights the theme of legal writing, and her pieces on display at the silent auction incorporated real legal documents. Trop explained that the intention behind her paintings is to reveal the creativity in mundane objects such as paperwork.

“I always try to show the hidden poetry […] in everyday objects or everyday acts,” Trop said.

Through similar events, the organizers hope to contribute toward LWB Canada and promote its values and goals in Montreal and international settings. By the conclusion of the event, LWB hoped to have concurrently uplifted creative voices and attracted the McGill student body to join in their mission of equal access to legal support services.

Campus Spotlight, Student Life

A sm(ART) way to combat stress

by Alaana Kumar on

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In response to the overwhelming amount of stress students face in the final weeks of the semester, the McGill Students’ Chapter of Jack.org hosted a Paint Party on March 29. The organization, a Canada-wide charity that works to empower and train youth leaders to combat the stigma surrounding mental health, planned the event to create a space for students to relax and engage in a creative activity that stimulates the brain and promotes self care. By the event’s conclusion, participants had painted a mural which will be displayed in the Education Building.

Several students gathered in the McGill Art Hive, where facilitators distributed large pieces of paper for individuals to paint images they associated with positive mental health. Some depicted flowers and landscapes, while others wrote quotes or words that empower them. The facilitators hoped that, once displayed, the painting would encourage those who see the mural displayed on campus to reflect on their own self-care practice and find inspiration in the quotes on the wall.

“It isn’t just about getting the best grades,” Jennifer Ower, U3 Arts, said. “It’s about making sure you are a happy and healthy person first, before you’re a good student. The conversations that start today, as well as the ones that will come about after we hang the mural, will be important, because [at Jack.org we] are all about having those conversations, even if it’s hard to start.”

Julia Caddy, U1 Arts, and Ower are co-vice presidents outreach for McGill’s Jack.org chapter and were the organizers of the paint party. Their goal was to promote mental health awareness and introduce students to the McGill Art Hive, a free space in the Education Library that gives students access to a quiet space with a variety of art supplies.

“So many students don’t know about this space,” Ower said. “People often think if they want to do art therapy they need to buy all the supplies and find a place where they can do it. This is here, it’s free […] and such a great space.”

Research has found art therapy to be beneficial to most people, as it promotes self-expression, independence, and can allow for one to non-verbally convey emotions. Additionally, those who partake in art therapy often find that it helps build self-confidence and improves communication skills. With these benefits in mind, the staff encouraged participants who previously did not know one another to gather to share their ideas and create one collective mural by combining their smaller, individual works. The Jack.org team believes this practice is beneficial in more ways than one.

“[Creating] art is such an easy way to practice self-care,” Caddy said. “If we can provide the supplies, it’s the kind of thing where you can just drop in, take your time, and express yourself both by talking to the people around you and by creating art. So, to us, it’s the perfect combination of self-care [and] thinking and talking about wellness but also relaxing and doing something fun.”

During the event, students painted while enjoying free snacks, listening to music, and getting to know their peers. While creating their work, participants discussed plans after university and popular television stars. Caddy and Ower sat and painted alongside the attendees and spoke to the group about their work within Jack.org and their goals moving forward.

“Our hope is to create a space where students can come to take a break and also be productive because they’re focusing on their wellness which, arguably, is the most productive thing you can do this time of year,” Caddy said.

By the end of the night, organizers strung the colourful designs together to create a larger mural to be hung in the Art Hive, and, hopefully, spark conversations about mental health and wellbeing.

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Science & Technology

An obituary for ‘Oppy,’ humanity’s long-lost Space Prince

by Ronny Litvack-Katzman on

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Opportunity, the Mars robotic rover that stunned humanity by remaining operational for over ten years past it’s original mission date, powered off for the last time on Feb. 13, 2019; a final goodbye at the end of a 225-million kilometer journey.

Affectionately nicknamed ‘Oppy,’ the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) first-generation Mars rover spent 14 years and 46 days on the surface of the red planet. Originally designed to roam the Martian landscape for only 90 Earth days, Opportunity managed to extend its operational lifespan by using solar energy. In total, Oppy travelled a total of 45.16 kilometres on Mars, farther than any space exploration vehicle, robot or human, has walked on any celestial body.

Scientists and fans of Opportunity will remember it for verifying some of NASA’s most prominent discoveries of the last decade. It was Oppy that, in 2004, confirmed the ancient presence of hematite rocks on the surface of Mars, indicating, for the first time, that liquid water once covered the plant.

Before Opportunity’s descent upon Mars, the closest mankind had come to uncovering its secrets was through satellite images and stationary ‘landers.’ Opportunity, and its sister rover Spirit which got caught in a sand dune in 2009, enabled scientists to traverse the surface of Mars, collecting invaluable samples and data along the way.
Twenty-one months into its journey, Oppy circumvented the Victoria Crater, a massive 750-metre-wide hole in the Martian surface.

“The scientific allure is the chance to examine and investigate the compositions and textures of exposed materials in the crater’s depths for clues about ancient, wet environments,” NASA wrote in a 2007 press release. “As the rover travels farther down the slope, it will be able to examine increasingly older rocks in the exposed walls of the crater.”

After months of travel, the rover descended into the crater itself and recorded images of the comet Sliding Spring on its flight path over Mars. From the depths of the crater, Oppy examined new rocks unlike any of those ever observed on Mars. Using x-ray spectroscopy, a data collection tool which analyzes the interactions of radiation and matter, the rover was able to verify the presence of aluminum and silicon in the rock samples.

NASA last made contact with Oppy in June 2018 after a severe dust storm swept large amounts of sand across the rover’s solar panels. Reliant on the ability to remain in direct sunlight to charge its solar-powered batteries, Oppy’s energy stores were quickly depleted. Scientists lost full contact with the rover in Jan. 2019, and declared its mission was over two weeks later on Feb. 13. Both Opportunity and Spirit were part of NASA’s broader Mars rover missions, which include a total of four rovers with two additional robotic vehicles planned for launch in 2020.

Opportunity is survived by the Curiosity rover, which landed in Aug. 2016. According to NASA’s official website, Curiosity is the first of three planned missions that will continue the search for geological clues for the presence of liquid water. Another objective of equal, if not greater, value to NASA, is to determine whether those water-holding environments were ever conducive to life on Mars.

As Oppy’s robotic brothers and sisters continue their quest to better understand the red planet and the nature of life in the near solar system, the multitude of discoveries will only increase.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Lucy’s Mirror makes concert debut at L’escalier

by Leo Stillinger on

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On March 21, Lucy’s Mirror took to the small stage at L’escalier, a local bar and vegetarian restaurant known for hosting live music events. Composed of five McGill students, the band performed two hour-long sets for friends and curious strangers. For those in the audience, the show was a musical spectacle, a warm social event, and a distraction from impending finals; for the band members themselves, it was a chance to practice their craft outside the dusty practice rooms of the Schulich School of Music.

Lucy’s Mirror was founded by Julia Larson, U1 Music, a second-year voice student at McGill. What began as a solo project took on new life after she joined forces with fellow music students Chris Ross, U1 Music, who plays bass, guitarist Stefan Anghel U1 Music, pianist Simon Brosseau, U2 Music, and drummer Rafa Aslan, U2 Music. While they began practicing together for fun, Lucy’s Mirror is now a fully-fledged act, and the band plays a variety of originals and covers.

Ross sat down with The McGill Tribune to discuss Lucy’s Mirror and the process of making music in and beyond the halls of McGill. Ross spoke about the excitement of playing their first non-academic show.

“[The performance at L’escalier] was our first show as Lucy’s Mirror,” Ross said. “It was super fun [and] we all had a great time. It came together.”

Across the two sets, the band slid smoothly between genres and moods: A dreamy cover of Radiohead’s “Nude” preceded a funky, largely-improvised jam.

“Funk, pop, R&B […], I don’t know!” Ross laughed when asked to describe the band’s sound. “We’re figuring it out.”

The band matches their wide musical influences with an easy onstage dynamism. Ross noted that the live setting augmented the group’s freshness and spontaneity.

“When you’re playing in front of people, weirdly, it makes you want to try more things,” Ross said.

Lucy’s Mirror provides the musicians with a freedom in artistic direction that contrasts with the students’ classes at McGill, which are more tightly structured and disciplined.  

“A lot of what we’re learning in school is more traditional stuff,” Ross said.

Yet, it is precisely the discipline of their practice, day-after-day, that enables Lucy’s Mirror to express themselves so comfortably on stage.

“We’re applying what we’ve been learning in school to what we’re playing,” Ross added.

All the musicians bring in arrangements of songs to cover: For example, Rafa is responsible for the ethereal version of “Nude.” Larson writes the majority of the band’s original songs; her lyrics tend toward the personal.

“When we’re doing originals about a breakup or long distance, people know what we’re talking about,” Ross said. “It’s fun.”

The next step for Lucy’s Mirror is another show on Apr. 3 at Maison2109. Looking past the immediate future, recording plans are on the band’s horizon for next semester.

In the meantime, they will keep writing new songs and collecting new musical ideas, walking the electric tight-rope between careful songwriting and free improvisation.

“It’s the perfect mix between knowing how something should go and figuring it out while it’s happening,” Ross said.

As finals—and final recitals for music students—loom over McGill, Lucy’s Mirror offers an alternative to the pressures of undergraduate life. Their tunes draw musician and listener alike into a small, sonic realm, a shared space of creativity and camaraderie, where inventing as important as memorizing.

“It definitely feels like something different than what I’d be doing in my classes,” Ross said.

 

Student Life

A day in the life of a McGill samosa

by Caitlin Kindig & Nicholas Belluk on

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I am pulled to consciousness. My body is torn from the tender embrace of the hot oil from which I was imagined. I am a blank slate with neither thought nor feeling, but, soon, my purpose shall be revealed to me.

“Who am I?” I wonder as I am surrounded by hundreds of my compatriots. “What is my purpose?” I query as my brethren and me are carelessly thrown into a box and covered by some hastily-torn foil.

As a bemused club executive takes us toward a building I know to be called Leacock, I see my surroundings: a gaggle of Toronto girls talking about their recently-failed midterm. A second-year airpod-wearing poli sci bro, pontificating on the latest SSMU drama to a member of the AUS executive team. A lanky French boy in Adidas Stan Smiths is about to slip on another patch of—oh, there he goes.

Our dwelling is slammed onto a rickety table, and, within seconds, exhausted students flood toward us, flinging toonies into a plastic container. Three-by-three, we are lifted out and wrapped up in a page of the Tribune News section that nobody will read because, let’s face it, everything is online these days. Why are they still printing these things?

My purpose, I now understand, is to fill the void left by poorly-scheduled midterms, overpriced Premiѐre Moisson coffee, and mercurial Montreal weather. Yet, this purpose of mine—a band-aid to cover a fundamentally-broken system—is growing old. All I can offer is a one-lunch stand, but these students deserve so much more; they deserve an emotionally nourishing, balanced diet.

There is a fundamental problem to my existence: Much like neoliberalism, I look a lot better on paper than I actually am. I’m speaking, of course, of the three-for-a-toonie ‘bargain,’ which appears economically superior, since one’s extra dollar buys 33 per cent more samosa than the one-for-one option. However, there are externalities which neither the student nor the laissez-faire paradigm take into account.

What I’m trying to say is this: The three-samosa deal includes one samosa too many. Thus, while the other two samosas are devoured with chutney and desperation within moments, I, the third samosa, am left to fend for myself. Although it is only half-past noon, I feel the sun setting on my existence. Soon, dusk becomes midnight as I am tossed into a garbage bin.

Ergo, my story closes. I lay here, sandwiched between two of those cakey Timbits that nobody ever wants to eat and a flyer for exam tutoring—which that student really should have kept because the midterm he is about to sit will take him for a ride. In my misery, I ponder the great theorists—Rousseau, Sartre, Nietzsche—and I come to a realization: There is no God, but there is the samosa creator. He lives within every meltdown, each failed exam, every lost love. He lurks behind every wall, in the asbestos in Schulich, under the counter in what was once Gerts. God is dead, but he survives. Nay, he is thriving.

Science & Technology

You aren’t right-brained, you’re just wrong

by Keating Reid on

More in Science & Technology:

For much of history, Western theories of what makes people different from each other, such as phrenology, or the pseudoscience linking head shape to mental traits, have been based on the observable, physical differences in our brains. Such theories are unsubstantiated. However, pop culture continues to perpetuate the myth that people tend to be more left or right brained, and that this affects their personality .

A 2013 study conducted at the University of Utah analyzed over 1,000 brain scans of individuals aged 7 to 29 to determine whether the hemispheric dominance theory had any substance. The answer was a resounding no: Variations in lateralization, or how lopsided one’s brain activity is, only exist within individual brain structures, such as the hypothalamus or the cortex, and not in the brain as a whole. Even then, the impact that lateralization has on cognition is unclear.

“Lateralization of brain connections appears to be a local, rather than global, property of brain networks,” the study’s abstract reads. “Our data [is] not consistent with a whole-brain phenotype of greater ‘left-brained’ or greater ‘right-brained’ network strength across individuals.”

Further, contrary to the notion that the right brain is responsible for creativity and artistic talent while the left brain is more analytical, most tasks—even purely logical ones like solving a math equation—involve structures throughout the whole brain.

The myth’s origin, according to McGill’s Office for Science and Society (OSS), can be traced back to the 19th century. Paul Broca, a French physician, discovered that language processing occurred in an area on the brain’s left side after observing that patients with damage to the area had difficulty understanding speech. These findings proved useful in validating widespread racist and sexist views, contributing to the myth’s longevity.

“When a higher intellectual ability, like language, was found to be localized to the left hemisphere, people interpreted these findings as an explanation for why white men were intellectually superior, because they had a dominant left brain, of course!” OSS Intern Cassandra Lee wrote in an article for the OSS.

In recent years, the right and left brain myth has had a much more benign effect. It was re-popularized in Betty Edward’s 1979 book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, a collection of drawing exercises for adults which advised readers to get into ‘R-mode’ (a euphemism for ‘right-mode’) to enhance their creativity. Despite its lack of scientific substance, the book was a bestseller: Three million copies sold worldwide, and the book remains in print to this day.

Debunking theories of hemispheric dominance is relatively easy; providing an alternate explanation for why some people seem more innately creative than others is harder. Logical thinking as a component of intelligence is determined by a combination of genes and one’s environment. However, scientists are only just beginning to understand the neurological basis of creativity.

A 2018 neuroimaging study from the University of Pennsylvania may point to the answer. The study found that participants who excelled in ‘divergent thinking’—measured by how many different uses they could think of for a simple object such as a sock—had stronger connections between the neural networks responsible for spontaneous thinking and goal-setting. Creativity, then, is not just the ability to generate new ideas but to discern which are useful.

Despite the popular myth, brains are far too complex to divide into two neat and independent halves. Rather, they are complex networks of highly-specialized areas. While we might be a long way from fully understanding the physical basis for our mental proclivities, new research suggests that creativity is not determined by which parts of the brain are stronger, but by how well they can connect.

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