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McGill, News

Forgotten Freshman forgotten again

by Lauren Mayes on

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After a brief fix in June 2018, first years have reported that they are unable to join McGill community groups. The McGill Facebook community is open to any user with an email linked to a McGill domain—meaning that it ends in ‘mcgill.ca’ or ‘mail.mcgill.ca’—but the resurging glitch blocks some users from joining the community despite linking their McGill emails to their accounts. New students at Bishop’s University, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, McMaster University, and Concordia University have also voiced the same complaint.

In Oct. 2017, Keating Reid, U1 Arts, made a Facebook group to help new students with the fallout: McGill’s Forgotten Freshmen, was an online community space for those who could not join McGill’s online groups.

Reid was surprised that the glitch had resurfaced again but also felt that the failure to fix it was typical behaviour on the part of Facebook, particularly given that Canadian university students are not the largest cohort of the platform’s users.

“It might have to do with the fact that McGill email addresses don’t end in ‘.edu’ like most American universities’ do,” Reid said. “It comes down to these kinds of bugs being a low priority for Facebook.”

The Forgotten Freshmen group eventually became a catch-all group where students could post events, advertisements for sublets, course-specific questions, and theories about the source of the problem. Some students reported the malfunction to McGill’s IT Services, who were unable to resolve the problem. Students who had reported the issue to Facebook received no assistance aside from a generic thank you message

Paul Estephan, a student on exchange from Australia, orchestrated the previous fix through a friend who worked for Facebook in June 2018. Estephan had his contact allow ‘@mail.mcgill.ca’ as a valid domain name to join the McGill community, which temporarily fixed the problem.

As students were gradually let into McGill’s official Facebook groups, activity in Forgotten Freshman heavily dropped off. Although Reid enjoys the “Free & For Sale” group, he realized he wasn’t actually missing out on that much.

“I was totally surprised at first, and happy, of course,” Reid said. “Then I realized that being in the McGill groups isn’t that great after all […it’s] one of those ‘grass is greener’ situations.”

Now that the glitch has resurfaced, this year’s freshmen have been unable to join McGill community groups such as Free & For Sale and Housing. This year’s new crop of disconnected students affects undergraduate first years and those acquiring more advanced degrees. Larissa Parker, first-year law student and honorary forgotten freshman, feels isolated from the McGill community at large.

“I feel like I can never hear about events or sports-related stuff, or get into my TA groups,” Parker said. IT Services have stated that they were aware of the problem, after receiving approximately 25 phones calls from students at the beginning of Fall 2018 and Winter 2019. Ryan Ortiz, director of IT Services, reiterated that IT has no control over the glitch and therefore cannot fix the problem.

“Facebook is not using McGill systems for authentication purposes,” Ortiz wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “It simply sends a verification email to the ‘@mail.mcgill.ca’ address entered by the user, and then waits for the user to click on the link in the email to prove that [they] are the owner of that address. If users are receiving those emails, clicking on the verification link, and still aren’t being given access, there isn’t much McGill can do about this.”

Students like Parker will have to wait for Facebook to solve the issue.

“It’s annoying to hear I’ve missed something,” Parker said. “It feels like I’m not in the know.”

Arts
Commentary, Opinion

Post-POLI 339: Reflections on Calls for Resignation

by Arts Representatives Garima Karia and Ana Paula Sanchez on

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Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article identified the authors as ‘second-generation students.’ Sanchez is a first-generation student. The authors regret this error.

Last March, we ran for and successfully secured the opportunity to serve as arts representatives to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). In this role, we are tasked with representing arts students at the SSMU level, sitting on Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) and SSMU committees, and liaising between SSMU and the AUS Executive.

At AUS Legislative Council on Jan. 30, a motion was brought forward to approve ancillary course fees that would total $1000, including flights and accommodation, for a topics course (POLI 339) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Under Quebec law, student unions approve additional course fees to ensure that universities do not overcharge students. The motion was voted down by one vote at the Legislative Council.

Following the results of the vote at Legislative Council, we were approached by a number of Arts students who were disappointed with the outcome of the vote; Jewish students were notably disappointed because of the historical and contemporary climate of anti-Semitism on campus. Former councillor Figueiredo also notified us of a petition signed by students who supported passing the course fee. In light of this response, the Executive team discussed re-vote options.

At an executive meeting on Feb. 6, Figueiredo also informed us of of by-law 2.2 which, along with the time constraint established by a professor in the department of Political Science, pushed our executive to make a decision ourselves. We were not aware of other additional clauses relating to our decision, such as Frais institutionnels obligatoires (FIO) 2.3, that would necessitate contacting the Political Science Student Association. Karia expressed her disagreement with the second vote taking place solely among the Executive and over Facebook as the procedure was undemocratic, and the medium not conducive to consultation with councillors. Sanchez suggested that abstentions not be allowed in order to ensure that all voices were represented.

During this process, debate arose regarding arts representatives’ ability to vote, and our suggestion to contact the Secretary General about the matter was ignored (p. 56), though other Executive members echoed our advocacy for a statement for transparency.

When the statement about the re-vote was released, both of us were on predetermined leave. Sanchez was away for health reasons, and Karia was away at a United Nations Commission. Both of our absences, which include online engagement, were deemed acceptable before the POLI 339 issue arose. In spite of this, Sanchez received a flurry of accusatory messages and notifications on her personal social media accounts and Karia was pressured into disclosing whether her health concerns were ‘valid.’ The morning following the vote’s release, Representative Sanchez was called a bitch by an individual unknown to her in the McLennan Library, and she had to to watch as someone stared at her with contempt while collecting signatures for our impeachment. We were both accosted and made to listen to accusations that we were whitewashed and selfish made by the same individuals claiming to care about executives receiving pressure or harassment.

We did not intend for our votes to serve as any given stance on the matter of Israel-Palestine relations. Accusations of racism are particularly harmful to the both of us on a personal level, as we are no more racist than the critics of POLI 339 are anti-semitic. As women of colour, we are not saying that we are impervious to making mistakes. What we are saying, is that we do not deserve to be personally targeted and harassed for participating in a vote that we not only contested, but share the responsibility for with the rest of our Executive. The only difference between ourselves and our team is our answer to the question “Do you approve of the course fee of $1000 for POLI 339 as referenced in the motion?”. Our votes were not, and should not be, mobilized in the context of debate outside of the particular context of an ancillary fee approval.

In our past and current involvements at McGill the both of us have worked tirelessly to uphold the rights of minority groups on campus. Representative Sanchez worked as Equity Commissioner in 2017, and her current work has improved family support and advocacy, health insurance for women and gender non-conforming individuals and a campus-wide survey on health care. Representative Karia is a Director on the Student Society’s Board and sits on its finance committee, being one of three women of colour to do so currently. She also works with the Francophone Affairs committee, supported the creation of the People of Colour Commissioner position, and has spearheaded an ongoing TVM project about representation in student government.

We sincerely hope that we may be able to continue in our positions, as throughout this all, we have in good faith dedicated ourselves to the best interests of AUS and its constituents. We are deeply sorry to those whom we have disappointed, whose oppression often works in tandem with other structural inequalities. Resigning would hinder our current efforts to prevent the occurrence of similar issues in the future, which include expanding travel and legal insurance at SSMU, ensuring that students on exchange receive adequate financial support, and proposing amendments to the FIO bylaws. If this issue is really about transparency, accountability, and intent, more of our critics would have taken us up on our offers for dialogue and immediate action, instead of silencing us and pressuring us to resign from our positions.

At the beginning of our term, people kept on telling us we were breaking a glass ceiling in student politics as first-generation (Sanchez), minority, female students. Now, it feels like we have been pushed off of a cliff instead.

Features

“There’s a level of trust that isn’t there”

by Claire Hurley on

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When I walked out of a meeting with a professor to hyperventilate in the privacy of an empty Arts building bathroom, I knew my situation had become precarious. But it was late March of my third year, the busiest time of my busiest semester, and I had to return to his office. I walked back in and sat down. My professor discretely pushed a box of Kleenex across the desk. I hadn’t realized that I was still crying. We agreed that I would get the first 25 pages of my honours thesis to him by Friday.

Drug-testing
Commentary, Opinion

The case for legalizing all drugs

by Johanna Cline on

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Canadian medical law recognizes an individual’s right to bodily autonomy: They can choose their own birth control options, select treatment options based on personal views, and even refuse treatment entirely. Given this principle of bodily autonomy, it seems reasonable that patients should also have the right to access drugs of their choice—whether their doctor recommends their use or not. This is the argument that University of Richmond associate professor Jessica Flanigan presented to an audience of McGill students on Feb. 18 at her talk, “The Moral Case for Legalizing all Drugs.” While liberal university students may be particularly interested in the boundary-pushing topic, the argument in favour of legalization surpasses the appeal of raves and festivals; ultimately, the debate rests on a moral right to bodily autonomy.

Doctors are the gatekeepers of medicine, and they prescribe drugs based on their presumptions about the course of treatment that best promotes the patient’s overall wellbeing. Under this system, a student looking to access Adderall to help them study, for example, may be denied the drug if the doctor deems its use suboptimal for the student’s health. The issue with this assessment is that wellbeing comprises more than just physical health—it also encompasses a person’s mental state, which can be impacted by a variety of lifestyle factors such as a stressful schedule. In her talk, Flanigan emphasized that, in most cases, the person most qualified to judge a patient’s well-being needs is the patient themself. Mentally-sound persons have the insight to best evaluate how they are feeling and what they need, and allowing people to choose which drugs they use honours this fact.

While the government and medical institutions currently have authority over the substances people put into their bodies, Flanigan considers this approach paternalistic. She contends that, in a case where someone became extremely frustrated with their laptop, or any of their belongings, they would have the right to smash or otherwise wreck it. If people are allowed to ruin their property, there is no reason why they have any less right to harm themselves, as bodies are more fundamentally personal than property.

While bodily autonomy alone gives the argument drug legalization legitimacy, legalization gains even more moral merit because of the advantageous impact it would have for racialized and marginalized communities. Currently, the War on Drugs targets racialized groups. Incarceration rates for possession and distribution reveal that a black person is twice as likely as a white person to face minimum sentencing for the same crime. Legalizing drugs would prevent racial discrimination from furthering and prevent the incarcerations of millions of people of colour.

Skeptics of legalization may raise the concern that addicts would not be able to make a legitimately-autonomous decision when choosing to access drugs. But, Flanigan argues that addicts are more self-governing than many assume. Studies reveal that addicts undergoing withdrawal would forgo a fix given an incentive such as money. However, Flanigan’s argument seems to undermine the reality of mental and physical constraints addicts have on their self-control. One possible solution to this concern is implementing better systems of support for addicts, including a ‘blacklist’ that would allow them to consensually forego their right to access certain drugs.

The debate surrounding drug legalization has a specific pertinence for university students who find themselves experiencing the freedoms of adulthood for the first time and wanting to experiment. Drug use usually begins in a person’s late teenage years and early 20s. If drug use was legalized, university students may be among the demographic of highest use. Therefore, the legalization may seem especially appealing to students looking to experiment with substances. With that said, the debate over drug legalization has more important implications than just satiating youthful curiosity. Prohibiting access to drugs denies people their right to bodily autonomy, and legalization is necessary to honour humans’ right to choose what they do with their bodies.

Campus Spotlight, Student Life

Beanbark: The next big thing in healthy snacking

by Gabriela McGuinty on

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Although still an up-and-coming brand, reMIXed is attempting to change the healthy snack market. After setting out to enter the food industry, recent alumni Jamie Lee (BSc‘18) and Isabelle Lam (BSc‘18) ultimately founded ReMIXed and concocted their first product BEANBARK, a dark chocolate bark comprised of dehydrated beans and apples.  

Lee and Lam began developing their product in response to the demand that they observed around them. They began developing BEANBARK in a campus kitchen and first sold the product at the annual MacDonald Campus Christmas market.

“We had a Christmas market at the MacDonald campus, and we [made] a cookie jar mix,” Lee said. “[We] thought it was pretty cool […], so, when the Dobson Cup rolled around, we thought this was something we would be interested in. We had a dehydrator at home, so our first idea was to dehydrate fruits and veggies [like] beets, pears, [and] plums and sell it like that.”

However, the final product took time to refine. The pair participated in the 2018 Dobson Cup, a competition in which McGill entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and solicit funding from the National Bank. Leading up to the event, Lee and Lam struggled to present their  product as unique .

“People said that there was nothing special about [our product and that] you see pear and apple chips at the supermarket all the time,” Lee said. “We needed to think of something to [upstage] the market. In our dietetics degree, we learn a lot about how important a plant-based diet is, so we thought of dehydrating beans, [which led to] dehydrated beans and apples in a sort of trail mix clump [as] our first snack product.”

With a more concrete idea in mind, Lee and Lam moved past conceptual stage and proceeded to perfect BEANBARK’s taste.

“Originally, we started giving them out to friends to get a feel for what people thought,” Lam said. “[We got] feedback like, ‘the texture was kind of bland and really hard,’ so we did a lot more [research and development], and that’s where the chocolate came in.”

In 2018, Lee and Lam won both the Food and Agribusiness Convergent Innovation Prize and the Macdonald Innovation & Entrepreneurship Prize, which financed ReMIXed’s growth—specifically the company’s move to a communal kitchen. The founders believe that the combination of healthy benefits, natural ingredients, and satisfying, chocolatey sweetness make the product unique and led to their success.

“[We want to make] nutrition simple, so we don’t want to [include] any preservatives,” Lee said. “It’s literally just three ingredients. People want to […] indulge in chocolate, and with something like this, you’re getting the added nutrients and the savoury taste”

Though there is a strong demand for healthy snack alternatives, Lee and Lam have faced challenges in marketing their product. They feel that their lack of business experience made the research and development process harder, as they had to start from scratch and learn along the way. In time, however, they have grown and learned how to create business plans, pitch their ideas effectively, and network with financers. They even presented their product on a recent episode of Dragons’ Den.

“At the end, what you saw on TV was very simple and clean, and it was [the result of] a lot of practicing,” Lam said. “Prior to that experience we had never really watched Dragons’ Den, so we took notes of all the questions that could possibly be asked and practiced in front of our friends and families and got their feedback.”

Lee and Lam are optimistic about the future of their fledgling company. ReMIXed has enjoyed some major successes already, both within the McGill community and in Montreal. Those interested in tasting ReMIXed’s acclaimed product can find BEANBARK at 12 locations in Quebec and Ontario and are sold on-campus at SNAX and some McGill dining halls.

Now that their products have hit the shelves in two provinces, the founders have turned their attention to new aspirations: Expanding their snack menu to satisfy different tastes and extending their reach across the country.

“We’re thinking of developing new flavours later in the fall when other fruits come in,” Lee said. “Once this is established, we’ll move onto making a savoury line [….] We’re trying to get the Canadian market first before seeking anywhere else.”

Basketball, Men's Varsity, Sports

McGill men’s basketball rough up Rouge et Or

by Hussain Awan on

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On Feb. 23, the McGill men’s basketball team (9-7) defeated the visiting Laval Rouge et Or (5-11) by a comfortable margin of 91-73. The game marked the end of the regular season, as well as a celebration of Black History Month and Senior Night. The evening began with a pre-game ceremony for its four graduating players: Fifth-year transfer point guard Alex Paquin, fourth-year point guard Isaiah Cummins, fifth-year forward Noah Daoust, and fifth-year guard Avery Cadogan. While Daoust and Cadogan suited up, Paquin and Cummins were sidelined by injuries.

McGill drew first blood with a quick three from first-year guard Quarry Whyne. However, the momentum quickly shifted, and Laval jumped ahead with an early 18-11 lead with some strong three-point shooting of their own.

McGill came out strong in the second quarter, but again, Laval was quick to respond as the teams traded runs throughout the frame. The Rouge et Or, who shot a remarkable 61.1 per cent from three, then went on a 9-2 run, scoring three times from three-point range in quick succession. Still, McGill managed to counter Laval’s hot shooting and ended the second quarter ahead by a score of 43-41.

The second half started just as the first had, with Whyne sinking a three to get McGill’s wheels rolling. The freshman shot 3-6 from three on the night, putting up a 17-point performance.

“I’m a good shooter, you know, so I like to shoot threes,” Whyne said. “First semester, I had a bad start, [but] now I’m getting adjusted, [and] I’m getting in the groove.”

While the rookie’s successful shooting gave McGill fans a hint of the team’s future, the two active seniors showed what talent the team will miss next season. In the third quarter, Daoust, who finished with a game-high 23 points, added a deep three, before Cadogan garnered cheers from the crowd in the packed Love Competition Hall with an emphatic block at the other end of the court. A steal by Whyne and a subsequent layup capped off the third quarter with McGill up by seven.

The fourth quarter played out much like the third with a dominant 17-4 stretch that gave McGill a comfortable lead. Daoust hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds of his final regular-season game, quickly extinguishing Laval’s comeback attempt to give McGill its ninth win of the season.

McGill must now prepare for its first game of the RSEQ playoffs: A Feb. 27 semi-final against the crosstown rival Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins.

“We’re playing a whole different team against UQAM on Wednesday, and they’re a tough team […] because they’re very aggressive,” McGill Head Coach David DeAveiro said. “Sometimes, we struggle with those kinds of teams, but we’ll get two days of preparation, and we’ll be ready to play.”

 

Moment of the game

Early in the second quarter, second-year point guard JJ Hamel-Carey made a well-executed no-look pass to set up a Daoust layup, bringing the fans to their feet.

Quotable

“My body’s sore, and I’m feeling old. Basketball’s been great to me […], and it’s been an incredible five years, but I think everything eventually runs its course, and I’m happy with the way things have gone.” – Noah Daoust, post-game, on his five years playing McGill basketball.

Stat Corner

First-year guard Anthony Fisiru had a quietly-productive night, recording a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Hockey, Martlets, Sports

Comeback win sends Martlet hockey to RSEQ final

by Owen Gibbs on

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On Feb. 23, the McGill Martlets (14-6) qualified for the RSEQ finals after completing their two-game sweep over the Concordia Stingers (13-4-3). The Martlets scored five unanswered goals, two of which were potted by second-year forward Kellyane Lecours, en route to a 5-3 win over Concordia. This victory sends them to the championship round following their prior 6-2 win over the Stingers in the first game of the series on Feb. 21.

“We’ve been playing some really good hockey,” Head Coach Peter Smith said. “We had some periods tonight where we weren’t quite the same we have been, but, overall, we’ve been playing very well in the last half dozen games. We’re looking forward to [the finals].”

The match was off to a rocky start for the Martlets. Concordia controlled the play for most of the first period, outshooting McGill and hemming them into their own zone. The Stingers opened the scoring approximately 10 minutes into the period and carried a 1-0 lead into the intermission.

The Martlets were no more successful in the beginning of the second period. Early in the period, Concordia received a pair of lucky bounces to set up two goals and a lead of 3-0. Smith then pulled starting goaltender Tricia Deguire from the action, replacing her with backup Amanda Hadwen, and the Martlets started to turn the game around. With five minutes remaining in the second period, second-year forward Stephanie Desjardins put the Martlets on the scoreboard, setting the stage for a masterful comeback.

In the third period, Hadwen accumulated a series of stellar saves to keep the Martlets in the game. Lecours scored her first goal just under five minutes into the final period, bringing the score to 3-2 Concordia, and followed it up 10 minutes later to tie the game at three. Third-year centre Jade Downie-Landry assisted on both goals.

With three minutes remaining, third-year forward Lea Dumais scored the winning goal. An empty-netter from fourth-year defenceman Emilia Cotter clinched the win for the Martlets, securing their spot in the RSEQ championship.

“We showed a lot of character coming back and scoring five unanswered goals after being down 3-0,” Smith said. “We didn’t need to score three goals at once. We needed to score one at a time and beat them on every shift, and I thought we showed a tremendous amount of character in that third period.”

Fourth-year centre Shana Walker was proud of the fight her team put up to earn the win.

“I feel like, in the third period, we really came together as a team, and the energy on the bench was really what pushed us through,” Walker said. “I have been on this team for four years now, and that was one of the best comebacks that I have ever been a part of, so I’m really proud of us.”

This series held special meaning for the Martlets, who were eliminated in the semi-finals last season in a three-game series against the Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins. No Martlet wanted a repeat, especially after a strong season in which McGill finished third in the RSEQ standings. The Martlets will get a chance at redemption in the championship round when they face UdeM in a rematch of last year’s semi-finals.

“We’re excited,” fourth-year centre Nicole Howlett said. “We know we have to play together and go shift by shift. We [will] do whatever it takes.”

 

Moment of the Game

The crowd and McGill bench went wild after Lea Dumais shot the puck into the top shelf for the winning goal.

Quotable

“This was so much fun. The energy we had and the fire within the team [was great]. We just stuck together until the end. [This was] one hundred percent the best game of the season.” – Nicole Howlett on the Martlets’ spirit in the comeback.

Stat Corner

McGill has only two wins this season in games in which they trailed heading into the third period.

Student Life

How to make the most out of reading week

by Sophia White on

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Reading week comes as a much-needed break for students in the midst of a whirlwind of midterms and deadlines. Many students use the break as an opportunity to catch up on readings and assignments, while others strive to use the brief respite from classes to unwind. The McGill Tribune has compiled a list of suggestions for balancing productivity with relaxation and fun during the highly-anticipated week off.

Work on job applications

For the typical procrastinator, applications for summer jobs or internships tend to get pushed to the backburner during midterm season. Throughout the week, students can work on polishing resumes, researching potential job opportunities, or scheduling interviews. For those seeking personalized career advice, McGill Career Planning Service (CaPS) offers advice online to help students find jobs, get headshots, and build their portfolios. Additionally, for those interested in speaking to an advisor, CaPS will remain open during the break.

Get organized

Tidying up might feel like an annoying chore to complete during regular school hours, but reading week is a good opportunity to organize and clean up stress-free. Sorting through junk lying around the house, reorganizing the kitchen, and arranging old papers are all proactive steps students can take to stay on top of their personal lives when classes resume. Starting the week after the break with a clean living space will set a good precedent and mindset for the rest of the semester and help to reduce added stress.

Stay in town and explore the city

Reading week is the ideal time to get outdoors and explore a new part of Montreal, and, luckily, there is never a shortage of fun activities around the city. Make the most of the remaining winter weather by going skiing, sledding, or ice skating on Mont Royal. Montréal en Lumière is also hosting its 20th lights festival until March 3 in the Quartier des spectacles. Festival-goers can visit various shows, gourmet food stands, illuminated outdoor art exhibits, a ferris wheel, a slide, and a zipline. With a variety of exciting activities to offer, Montreal is the ultimate location for taking a staycation.

Take a break

Students deserve some downtime in between busy working weeks, so they shouldn’t feel like they need to maintain a hectic schedule or camp out at the library. Research shows that taking time off ultimately leads to higher levels of productivity, boosted creativity, and improved mental health. Get plenty of sleep, read for pleasure, or catch up on a few of the 2019 Oscar winners. Alternatively, unplugging for a day and leaving electronic devices behind can help to clear the mind. Research has shown that disconnecting from technology can help to improve sleep cycles, enhance personal relationships, and promote overall mental wellbeing.

Science & Technology

Innovating the way we meditate

by Rebecca Wu on

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Stress is a bitter antagonist that affects every student at some point in their studies, some more frequently than others. While a certain degree of stress is normal, over time, chronic stress can impede the immune system, which may contribute to a sleuth of other serious health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses including mental disorders like depression and anxiety.  Even when it is not impairing immune systems, stress can still affect relationships with loved ones, work, and school.

A group of McGill Students, who dub themselves the Make Energy Your Awareness (MEYA) team, recently decided to take on the job of reducing stress by changing the way students meditate. The idea came about during a class with Mark Berlin, ISID professor of practice. Studies have found that regular aerobic exercise as well as mind-body practices of breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga, can help reduce stress. For students in particular, some benefits include improved academic achievement, better focus, and reduction in maladaptive addictions.

“MEYA is an innovative mobile app that goes beyond meditation,” wrote the MEYA student team members Sebastian Mattey, Antoine Nigond, and Christopher Samen, in an email to The McGill Tribune. “ [Our approach] comes down to the combined power of [the] teachings of modern transformational alchemy and life-coaching techniques including hypnosis and NLP [neuro-linguistic programming] [as well as] the power of music technology.”

The MEYA team noticed the positive influence of music on mental wellbeing and incorporated it into the meditation app to make it fun and easy to integrate into everyday routines

“MEYA Music Mind Journeys cover a range of music genres, from techno to deep to shamanic,” the MEYA student team wrote. “MEYA has been developed with the idea that meditation can be practiced much more easily in combination with the power of music. MEYA Music Mind Journeys are meditation [sessions] created with the goal of helping users to control their minds and unleash their full potential.”

The app was created to work in sync with music: MEYA designed the recordings’ frequencies to help bring the user into a meditative and relaxing state.

“Music is recorded in the harmonic frequency of 432Hz, including bi-neural beats to facilitate meditative states both static and dynamic,” the MEYA student team wrote. “The MEYA Music Mind Journeys are pre-recorded, guided sessions covering […] meditations, affirmations, [and] visualization combined with cutting edge music.”

These journeys are aimed at facilitating relaxation and uplifting students’ moods.

“MEYA’s student team has been driving the product development for Music Mind Journeys tailored to students’ needs,” the MEYA student team wrote. “[Its aim is] to increase concentration and ability to focus the mind, manage stress and anxiety, increase motivation, and balance emotional life. MEYA will provide a set of bespoke meditation for relaxation, concentration during exam preparation, and exam taking.”

The MEYA group held an app sampling during Wellness Week at McGill and obtained feedback from 14 attendees.

“Feedback so far suggests users are extremely happy with its effectiveness, [and] also with how easy it has been to integrate into their everyday routines,” the MEYA student team wrote. “MEYA is looking to work with McGill to evaluate the impact of MEYA […] on student performance from both the perspective of exam achievement and their personal mental health. The MEYA app and website is set to launch in March, 2019 [on the Play Store].”

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