Latest News

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’ demonstrates surprising wisdom

by Tess Buckley on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

Following in the footsteps of shows like Big Mouth and Chewing Gum, Sex Education explores sex and the lack of knowledge that so many young people have on the subject. The series’ protagonist, Otis (Asa Butterfield), is a sexually-repressed teenager whose sex therapist single mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) doesn’t shy from embarrassing conversations. Otis grew up surrounded by manuals, videos and inappropriately-open conversations about sex, creating a home environment that no doubt contributed to his fear of intimacy. Now a reluctant expert on the subject—despite being a virgin—Otis teams up with the school’s resident bad girl, Maeve (Emma Mackey), and the two go into business together, setting up an underground sex therapy clinic to help their equally-inexperienced classmates.

Unlike Otis, Maeve lacks parental guidance, and her complicated home life means that she is constantly working to keep her world from falling apart. As Maeve, Mackey is a pink-haired, leather jacket-wearing young woman who does as she pleases. Unlike so many of her peers, Maeve isn’t preoccupied with social pressure or academic expectations. Instead, she struggles to make rent and takes the fall for her brother’s drug deals gone awry—secrets she keeps to herself for most of the season. Otis’ sheltered life breeds an entirely different set of hardships, and his complicated relationship with his overbearing mother inflicts sexual neuroses and an insatiable desire for perfection.

Despite their respective imperfections, when the two join forces, their combined strengths lead to successful business endeavours. What begins as a professional relationship quickly blossoms into an unlikely friendship. Maeve and Otis challenge one another and encourage growth, and the result is a heartwarming friendship and a charming storyline.

While the show is powerful in its honest portrayal of sexual confusion, it lacks authenticity in other regards. Like many most shows set in high school, Sex Education’s teens are played by adult actors. Butterfeld and Mackey, in addition to many of their cast-mates, are all in their 20s, but were cast to play 16-18 year olds. The show contributes to the long-standing tradition of using adult actors to portray teenagers. In addition to visually misrepresenting young people, Sex Education ascribes age-inappropriate behaviour to young teens more likely to be seen in a college environment, such as casual sex and drug use. The result is a dramatized depiction of high school that misconstrues the lived experiences of actual high schoolers.   

Despite its faults, the show navigates its complicated subject matter with humour and sensitivity. The characters are flawed but sympathetic, the storylines familiar but clever, both elements working together to depict the trials and tribulations of growing up in an age of hyper-sexualization.

Sex Education is an easily-digestible yet worthwhile dramedy, and the show is surprisingly substantial for a Netflix original comedy. The series explores themes of self-confidence and empathy all crammed into an eight-episode lark. While the storyline has the potential to fall victim to cliché high school show plots, Sex Education surprises with refreshing twists.

 

Out on the Town, Student Life

Knocking on the Yellow Door

by Janine Xu on

More in Out on the Town:

Tucked away on the corner of Aylmer and des Pins lies a townhouse with a bright, eye-catching yellow door. Behind that door is an organization that has served McGill students and the Milton-Parc community for nearly a century, aptly named The Yellow Door. Through programs aimed at combatting social isolation, The Yellow Door is a neighbourhood staple, providing a collective space to meet the community’s needs.

The Yellow Door’s long history began in 1887 when the Young Christian Men’s Association (YMCA) of McGill was originally founded to promote Christian values in the McGill community. During the Quiet Revolution, however, the space became secularized, and its mandate focused on offering an inclusive space for members of the neighbourhood to gather. Since then, The Yellow Door has adapted its programing to accommodate the community’s changing demographic.

“[The Yellow Door is] an interesting place because it has changed many times over the years, and always in response to what the community needs,” Kaitlin Fahey, the current executive director at The Yellow Door, said. “[In the ‘60s], the community did not need a place for young Christian men. It needed a place for draft dodgers and for music and spoken word, so it became a folk scene. So, we [became] a coffeehouse, and that’s been going on for 52 years.”

Today, The Yellow Door’s main purpose is to function as a site of social discourse and combat urban isolation by bringing students and seniors together. A unique mandate—to serve the community by constantly evolving in offerings allows The Yellow Door to have such a wide range of activities. For example, in the 1970s, volunteers noticed how drug use across the city was affecting the community and founded a drop-in psychiatric clinic where Douglas Hospital doctors counselled young addicts. Similarly, The Yellow Door Elderly Project, now called the Generations project, was implemented to integrate Milton-Parc’s seniors with its younger generations.

“In the ‘70s, [our purpose] changed again in response to the community’s needs,” Fahey said. “Students [did] a survey of the seniors to see what they needed. The Yellow Door responded and developed the Generations program. It’s still going on today, and it tries to help the seniors in the community.”

Today, The Yellow Door runs four main programs: the Coffeehouse, the Generations project, the Intergenerational Wellness activities, and the Rabbit Hole Café. The Coffeehouse, the oldest folk music coffeehouse still operational in Canada, provides a space for music and spoken word performances every Friday. According to Fahey, the coffeehouse is an alternative venue where any performer can take the stage.

“The Coffeehouse is our open stage, [which we use] to serve the community,” Fahey said. “It’s nonalcoholic, all ages, and any performer can put their name in the hat and perform [anything from poetry to music]. So it really opens up a space for artists and musicians who may not be able to perform anywhere else.”

Similarly, the Generations program connects members of the Milton-Parc community by pairing younger volunteers, mainly McGill students, with seniors living in the area. Currently, there are roughly 250 volunteers, working with 300 seniors. Originally, the program aimed to prevent seniors from feeling isolated by dispatching volunteers to help with various day-to-day tasks including providing technological assistance and accompanying them to medical appointments.

“Seniors may not necessarily interact with students on a regular basis [and vice versa], so the program is very interesting [in that] when we partner them up, [they] get a different perspective on things,” Fahey said. “I remember being in university and everything feels so intense and dramatic. When you meet someone who’s 80 years old, you realize [that] there’s more to life beyond this year, that there’s other things you will experience in life.”

Intergenerational Wellness groups, which also bring seniors and students together, are held weekly at The Yellow Door. Offering activities that range from knitting and reading to meditation and woodcarving, these programs are free to all ages and aim to encourage neighbours to socialize with one another.

“The activities started organically,” Fahey said. “ Someone [would say], ‘I’d like to [share my skills with the community], and we would share our space with them, which is how [the wood-carving class] got started. This is what evolved into our current activities schedule.”

Many campus groups have developed programs at The Yellow Door in collaboration with members of the Intergenerational Wellness team. Sophia Seward, U3 Arts, is an executive director at the Fridge Door Gallery, a student-run art gallery with close ties to the Art Hive program at The Yellow Door. The Art Hive, part of the Intergenerational Wellness group, is a community art studio that provides free art materials, such as paints, pastels, and fabric, to interested members of the community. Seward emphasizes that The Yellow Door’s welcoming setting creates an inclusive space for a diverse group of people to come together and learn a craft.

“[Before joining the Art Hive], I’d never painted anything in my life, but I find that the environment at The Yellow Door really makes you feel safe,” Seward said. “And, it’s free, so you can really take a chance on something new [without worrying about financial constraints].”

Additional McGill groups, such as the McGill Coffee Co-op, have set up shop at The Yellow Door and added to the organization’s legacy of service and community building. Working in tandem with the Rabbit Hole Café, a bi-weekly vegan lunch service hosted by The Yellow Door, the Coffee Co-op provides low-cost beverages to students. Owen Dunkley, U3 Science and an executive at the Coffee Co-op, explained that the co-op was born out of a demand for sustainable, affordable options for Milton-Parc residents.

“Our coffee [and tea] are all free trade,” Dunkley said. “We share a space with the Rabbit Hole Café, and it’s a relaxing environment [….] If you look at the mandates for the Coffee Co-op and the Rabbit Hole Café, and The Yellow Door, they really do line up.”

With Première Moisson’s lease up for renewal in Redpath, Dunkley stresses the importance of providing the student population with affordable and sustainable options.

“So many people complain about how expensive Première Moisson is,” Dunkley said. “McGill can do better [to provide affordable coffee and food to students], and I think [that just] means opening up more spaces [like the Coffee Co-op and the Rabbit Hole Café].”

Accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity are all standards that The Yellow Door strives to accomplish in addition to giving back to the neighbourhood. The Yellow Door finds its mission even more important given its placement in Milton-Parc, where McGill students and older residents often form separate communities.

“[We live] in a funny neighbourhood, right?” Fahey said. “It’s mixed. You have a lot of senior residents [who’ve lived here for a long time] and a lot of students who come and go. I think it’s important to recognize that, even if you’re here for a short amount of time, this is your community, and if you’re interested in it, you can become a part of it either through joining activities […] or volunteering your time.”

Commentary, Opinion

People should be able to self-manage their abortions

by Meyra Çoban on

More in Commentary:

Popular depictions of abortion, as featured in the likes of Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, and Netflix’s Sex Education, depict them as invasive surgical procedures taking place in sterile doctors’ offices. While it’s a sign of progress that the topic of abortion is entering the mainstream, pop culture often neglects that abortions can be self-managed. Although medical self-managed abortion is safe and effective, it remains inaccessible to many seeking to terminate a pregnancy because it challenges misogynistic norms of bodily autonomy that society has yet to relinquish.

Self-managed medical abortion requires taking a Mifepristone tablet followed by four Misoprostol tablets. Together, they are known as the ‘abortion pill’ and have been available for purchase in Canada under the name Mifegymiso since 2017. This abortion pill has been in use for 30 years in countries like China and France, and it is the World Health Organisation’s recommended method of early-term medical abortion: It is a safe and effective means of ending a pregnancy within the first nine weeks.

Despite being safe, effective, and legal, access to Mifegymiso in Canada remains inadequate. While less expensive than surgical abortion, the cost of Mifegymiso still ranges between $300 and $450, and insurance coverage varies among provinces. In Oct. 2018, the Yukon government announced that they would begin covering Mifegymiso. In Quebec, health professionals have to undergo special training before they can prescribe it, limiting patients’ access to the drug.

If it were not subject to these restrictions, Mifegymiso could transform abortion access in Canada. It does not require the medical training or equipment necessary for surgical abortions, meaning that it can be administered by prescribing health professionals like pharmacists and nurse-practitioners. Greater access to Mifegymiso could benefit pregnant people in rural or remote areas who would have to travel hundreds of kilometres to the closest abortion clinic.

Mifegymiso can be taken at home or in another environment where the patient feels most comfortable. This benefits those who commonly experience discrimination and prejudice in medical settings, including indigenous, racialized, fat, neurodivergent, and young patients.

Even though the Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized abortion more than 30 years ago, pregnant people still lack bodily autonomy with regard to their healthcare. Limited access to abortions is only one product of outdated sexual mores. For example, in Ontario, young people are denied comprehensive sex education; and, in other provinces, insurance coverage of contraceptives is limited. As with abortion, these regulations restrict the rights of women, trans, and non-binary people and expose ugly misogynistic structures in a society that likes to think of itself as championing gender equality.

Mifegymiso’s launch in Canada is not only a medical milestone, but a social one as well, challenging the unnecessary regulation of women and trans people’s bodies. But this social development is not optional—medical realities depend on it. The uneven roll-out of Mifegymiso has demonstrated how closely linked medical access can be to social norms. Medical advancements have outpaced social progress. Pregnant people could already be self-managing their abortions—we just need to let them.

fangirl
Off the Board, Opinion

Confessions of a fangirl

by Luya Ding on

More in Off the Board:

When I first arrived at McGill, I was eager to make friends and answer all perfunctory introductory questions—what I study, where I come from, and what residence I live in. However, there was one fact I was always afraid to confess: I was a huge fan of TFBoys, the most popular idol group in China, for two years.

In Asian culture, the term ‘idol’ has evolved beyond the Western understanding of the word. Trained by talent agencies, idols are young celebrities who sing, dance, or act but don’t necessarily have any natural talent in any of these areas. Rather, they are commonly reduced to ‘fresh meat’ with pretty faces.

I became a fan of TFBoys during my final year of high school. With my university entrance exams approaching, I was stressed out and spending countless hours studying. One day, I decided to relax and logged onto Weibo, the largest Chinese social media platform, where I often wasted my time. I noticed a video with thousands of comments: It was a self-produced web series starring Karry Wang and Roy Wang from TFBoys, and I was intrigued.

I didn’t fall for TFBoys immediately. At first, I saw no difference between them and the other idols, who I considered shallow and talentless. That was until I found ‘Karroy,’ a portmanteau created by fans that ship the duo, in the top trending list. Driven by curiosity, I clicked on the link, and a whole new world opened up to me. I started to follow everything about the idol group, who had just made their debut. I was captivated by the songs they covered even though their music wasn’t even that good. Their interactions in blooper reels made my heart flutter and believe that their ‘bromance’ was real. Their unvarnished performances and everyday clothes gave me the false impression that they were not distant stars but my close friends. They were ‘fostered idols,’ meaning that their fans witnessed and engaged heavily in their growth and success. Obsessed with the sense of achievement that fans often feel in helping their idols ascend to fame, I felt increasingly dissatisfied with the limited content on their official accounts and joined the fandom.

Fandoms on Weibo are the most developed, sophisticated, and, yet, eccentric online communities that I have ever encountered. The TFBoys’s fandom was similar to a disciplined army—hierarchical, with proper divisions of labour. The Weibo fandom comprised an entire marketing and production team; some voted for them in various choice awards, others compulsively replayed the group’s songs in hopes of increasing their rankings on major record charts, and many produced fan art. Some of them went as far as creating alternate accounts to up-vote positive comments on TFBoys’s videos, while others kept retweeting their posts to boost their popularity. Fans devoted themselves to supporting their idols like it was their full-time job—without pay. Although I enjoyed the sense of belonging, I did not devote myself to any of these activities, as I was afraid that they would quickly wear down my passion. Still, I read fan-fiction, watched fan-made video clips, and ‘wasted’ my time on my seemingly-useless affection instead of studying.

After my exams were finally over, I got a chance to meet TFBoys before leaving for my undergraduate studies in Canada. I was seated in the front row of a variety show, certainly the climax of my fangirl career. Surprisingly, over the course of my time at university, I found that the magic surrounding them faded away. Perhaps, it was because the idols had offered an escape from reality, whereas my daily life in university was fulfilling. But, their numerous followers on social media are clear evidence that they remain mesmerizing for many. Thanks to TFBoys, I learned video-editing skills and formed lifelong friendships that continue even now that our admiration worn away. And I’m not ashamed to admit my past identity as their fangirl anymore.

McGill sexual violence policy
Editorial, Opinion

Revised sexual violence policy needs more revision

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

More in Editorial:

After missing the Quebec government’s Jan. 1 deadline to update their existing sexual violence policy, McGill’s Senate has entered the final stages of approving its newly-revised Policy Against Sexual Violence (SVP), presenting the document at their Feb. 20 meeting. Last amended in 2016, Senate is updating the policy so that it complies with Quebec’s Bill 151, a 2017 law that established legal criteria for post-secondary institutions’ sexual violence policies. While McGill has made some positive improvements to the policy, including the addition of an external Special Investigator, it does not properly address student concerns as raised in the walkout last April. Moreover, the policy is confusing and lacks comprehensive clarification. In order to take a truly pro-survivor stance, the policy must clearly outline disclosure and disciplinary procedures.

The policy is still lacking in many regards. For example, while it protects complainants from university disciplinary proceedings should they admit to using alcohol or cannabis, it does not promise that same protection for other drug use. According to Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) Angela Campbell, doing so might condone an illegal activity. However, other universities have instituted similar policies without issue: York University does not isolate alcohol or cannabis as the only drugs that are exempt from disciplinary action in the case of disclosure.  A narrowly-defined exception clause risks discouraging survivors from disclosing out of fear of retribution for drug use. Moreover, the rationale behind McGill’s more specific clause requires a much better explanation.

Besides the unclear clause regarding drug use, other aspects of the policy also cause reasonable confusion. The question of a total ban on teacher-student relationships has caused considerable controversy: The first draft of the new SVP, released on Dec. 5, did not include a blanket ban on teacher-student relationships.  While the Ad Hoc Senate Committee concluded that an outright ban is unnecessary, the committee’s three student representatives contend that it is. In response, Campbell has said that a ban would violate Quebec law, citing the findings of Concordia’s Sexual Assault Policy Review Working Group.

However, shortly before Bill 151 passed, Quebec’s then-minister responsible for higher education Hélène David stated that, while the government could not ban student-teacher relationships, universities and CEGEPs had the authority to do so. For students and the administration to engage in a healthy dialogue, the ambiguity around a ban’s legality must be resolved. In the interim, McGill’s complex and lengthy intimate relationship-disclosure process will only discourage students and staff from coming forward with their disclosures.

McGill’s revised policy does not adequately protect people in predatory relationships. Simplistic definitions of ‘conflict of interest’ leave out complex examples: For instance, undergraduate teaching assistants, non-tenured academic staff, and other atypical examples are not adequately protected under this policy. The specific situation of graduate students layers this already complicated issue because they are simultaneously in a position of power when they work as teaching assistants or course lecturers, and extremely vulnerable due to spending extended periods of time with staff supervisors. Predatory relationships and power imbalances in academia go beyond the large undergraduate student cohort.

The policy cannot be enforced if it is not understood. While university policies are inherently complex and fraught with legal jargon, the challenge they pose is surmountable. In the case of sexual violence, accessibility is essential to encourage ease in disclosing. When the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) passed its Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy in 2018, it released a streamlined implementation guide to educate its members. Similarly, SSMU has a Know Your Rights campaign for students to make McGill policies more accessible, and they should expand this guide to include the new policy. Creating similarly-accessible documents for the SVP is a necessary part of creating a more transparent disclosure process.

In compliance with Bill 151, the new policy also introduces mandatory, online training modules for all students and staff, effective Fall 2019. However, survivors cannot access these resources unless they know about them. Raising awareness about sexual violence on campus, including prevention and resources is an essential goal to protect survivors. University campuses are no exception to rape culture—and it’s time McGill adequately addresses this fact by drafting a policy that is actually pro-survivor.

McGill, News

Senate discusses revisions to the Sexual Violence Policy

by Kate Lord on

More in McGill:

Senators discussed the proposed revisions to the McGill Sexual Violence Policy (SVP) at the latest McGill Senate meeting on Feb. 20. The University first adopted a sexual violence policy in 2016, but new provincial legislation, specifically Bill 151, mandates that all Quebec universities implement sexual violence policies in accordance with its specifications. Recent allegations of inappropriate student-professor relationships on campus also motivated the revisions. In addressing these concerns, the new policy implements education on sexual violence for all members of McGill’s community, outlines a centralized reporting procedure for all allegations of sexual violence, and specifies time constraints for procedures initiated by disclosures. In Oct. 2018, McGill has hired an independent, specialized investigator to respond to reports of sexual violence.

 Despite student protests at the Senate meeting in December, the new policy does not implement a blanket ban on intimate student-staff relationships, instead restricting romantic or sexual relationships between teaching staff and students under their direct authority or supervision. Additionally, any relationship between a professor and a student in the same faculty must be disclosed to an administrative officer.

“The revised policy […] is informed by a review of applicable law in Quebec, by the views expressed by diverse campus stakeholders on this topic, and by an examination of how other institutions […] have grappled with this complex issue,” Angela Campbell, associate provost (Equity and Academic Policies) said. “Ultimately, we must strike a balance between preventing and addressing  […abuses] of power on the one hand, and, on the other, recognizing the rights of our community members to make private and intimate decisions without unjustified intrusions by the University.”

Other members of the Senate added that a ban on all teaching staff-student relationships might not be the most effective policy against sexual violence.

“[Members of the McGill Association for University Teachers] questioned whether such a ban would be manageable and expressed concern that such a ban would push unacceptable behaviour underground,” Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology Professor Alenoush Saroyan said. “A blanket ban of all intimate relations between any student and any faculty [member] is not a guarantee to [quash] behaviour that has no place in our academic community.”

Notably, the new policy does not distinguish between teaching staff relationships with undergraduate students and those with graduate students, which, according to Campbell, was done in recognition of the unique vulnerabilities that graduate students can face.

“An undergraduate student ban […] would be neglecting the graduate students, who are often more likely to be international, not have strong support networks, [and are] very dependent for things like funding, lab space, equipment et cetera,” Campbell said. “We decided to ensure that students were treated the same way to avoid the [implication] that, just because someone is three years ahead in their academic trajectory, does not suddenly empower them in some phenomenal way.”

Some senators raised concerns over the policy’s stance on disclosing substance use during an instance of sexual violence. While the revisions specify that no disciplinary action will be taken if alcohol or cannabis use is revealed in a complaint, no such specifications exist with regard to illegal substances.

“I can think of a situation [when someone] may possess an illegal substance and, in the course of an incident of sexual violence happening, that they would feel a barrier to [disclosing],” Bryan Buraga, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Arts and Science Senator, said.

Campbell was cautious about the SVP elaborating on illegal substance use within the context of sexual violence, as guaranteeing that no disciplinary action will be taken in the event of illegal substance disclosure could be interpreted as condoning their use.

“It’s actually a legal question [as to] whether or not a policy can signal condonation for an illegal activity,” Campbell said. “The university doesn’t have any interest in putting inauthentic obstacles in the way of disclosure […], but, at the same time, we’re not clear [on…] whether or not a policy at the university can take a preemptive stance against illegal […] conduct.”

The Senate will vote on the revised SVP at its next meeting on March 27.

 

McGill, News

Divest McGill hosts weekly protests in solidarity with global divestment movement

by Kate Addison on

More in McGill:

This past month, Divest McGill has protested outside of the Arts Building every Friday as part of its new ‘Fossil-free Friday’ initiative. The target of their demonstrations is McGill’s ongoing investments in fossil fuel companies.

“Bringing [Fossil-Free Fridays] back up again is a strategy [that will] engage the community and have a lot of visibility, especially with what is happening worldwide right now,” Divest McGill member Morgen Bertheussen said.

The weekly protests are inspired by Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg’s strikes for climate action. Thunberg skips school every Friday to perform sit-ins at the Swedish parliament, a demonstration which has garnered significant international attention. Divest McGill has previously participated in Fossil-Free Fridays through social media campaigns, although they eventually abandoned this strategy and turned their attention was turned toward addressing McGill’s administration more directly.

According to Bertheussen, the club’s latest protests are an act of solidarity with a global movement of university students protesting their school and nation’s climate change policies. 35,000 students from Belgium held walk-outs and rallies over the past month, and Vermont’s Middlebury College has recently joined the schools divesting from fossil fuels.

Divest McGill hopes to influence the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR), which is responsible for advising McGill on its investments.

“[We want] to put pressure on the university so that they divest their endowment fund from the fossil fuel industry,” Divest McGill member Marie-Claude Carignan said.  “We’ve been working on that for six years now by putting pressure on the CAMSR committee of the Board of Governors.”

CAMSR, which reports to the McGill Board of Governors (BoG), is currently considering a proposal for divestment for the third time in six years. According to Bertheussen, two previous requests were rejected for non-scientific reasons.

“[CAMSR] stated that fossil fuel companies do not create grave social injury,” Bertheussen said. “CAMSR has until the end of 2019 before they [need to] publish their report in response to the calls for divestment. Until then, it is the aim of Fossil-free Fridays to keep the topic fresh in the minds of the student body.”

Bertheussen argues that funds should instead be redirected toward more sustainable investments.

“The main goal of the organization is to put pressure on CAMSR to redirect their investments into companies that are known to be socially and environmentally responsible,” Bertheussen said.  

Fossil-Free Friday protests have drawn small groups of protesters with handmade signs, eager to speak to anyone who passes by.  The protesters believe strongly in the seriousness of their cause.

“[Climate change] is the moral crisis of our time,” Divest McGill member James Flanagan said. “It’s kind of hard to comprehend the scale. I think that’s why society has been so slow [to understand] how gravely wrong our society has been in destroying life on Earth.”

Divest McGill’s weekly protests are a prelude to a worldwide walkout for climate change taking place on Mar. 15. Students at McGill University are planning a contingent to join the wider Montreal protest, alongside other universities including Concordia and Université de Montréal.

“McGill divesting as an institution is not an end-all solution to the whole climate crisis,” Bertheussen said. “However, this action of divesting is a moral stance that has political implications. If large institutions […] start taking a stance on divestment, [it] will send a message to the governments.”

 

Divest McGill’s Fossil-Free Fridays will take place every Friday this semester from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. outside of the Arts Building.

Martlets, Sports, Volleyball

Martlets conquer Citadins in first game of RSEQ playoffs

by Zoe Babad-Palmer on

More in Martlets:

On Feb. 22, the McGill Martlets volleyball team (17-3) defeated the Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins (10-10) in three sets. Before the game, several Martlet players and coaches received RSEQ awards: Third-year power-hitter Claire Vercheval, the RSEQ Player of the Year, was named to the first All-Star Team along with fifth-year power hitter Émilie Matte de Grasse; first-year middle blocker Charlène Robitaille received second All-Star Team honours; Head Coach Rachèle Béliveau won Coach of the Year; and third-year right-side hitter Rowan Fletcher took home the Leadership and Citizenship Award.

The Martlets dominated the start, demonstrating the skills that had earned the team so many awards. They took the first five points of the opening set with clean serves, passes, and kills that left the Citadins helpless.

“All week I’ve been thinking about this moment,” Vercheval said. “I was prepared for it, I was confident, I got there ready.”

UQAM began to chip away at the McGill lead, scoring five consecutive points halfways through the first set to cut their deficit to six. However, their efforts were insufficient in erasing the deficit, and the Martlets won the set 25-19.

The second set got off to a rocky start, with the two teams trading leads four times before UQAM took its first time-out. The Citadins then played a tighter game, and the Martlets’ three attack and two service errors nearly cost them the set. Fortunately, the Citadins’ defence faltered, and McGill took a 25-22 second set victory to go up 2-0 in the match. Béliveau was disappointed with McGill’s scattered play in the second set compared to their dominance in the first.

“We played the game plan really well up to a certain point, and then somehow we got away from it,” Béliveau said.

Despite some stellar digs to start the third set, it took time for the Martlets to find their rhythm. After the Citadins tied the game up at 4-4, McGill regrouped and began to pull away.

The Martlets executed skillful plays, including blocks that took UQAM by surprise and jump serves that sent the visitors scrambling to the floor. With the score at 23-15 in McGill’s favour, the Citadins were mistakenly awarded a point, leading to angered shouts from Martlet fans. With the error fixed, and McGill now one point from victory, a kill from Matte De Grasse ended the set 25-15 and the game 3-0.

Fletcher praised the crowd’s enthusiastic support throughout the night.

“The crowd energy really helps us out, and we’ve been having such great support all season,” Fletcher said. “I really thought it set the mood of the playoffs.”

Unfortunately, the Martlets were unable to carry their momentum into Game 2 at UQAM the next day, losing in straight sets. They picked it up again back home on Sunday and won in three sets to advance to the RSEQ finals for the first time in three years, and will play against Université de Montréal.

 

Moment of the Game

Midway through the third set, a volley showcased each team’s best skills: UQAM delivered a solid block, McGill responded with stellar effort to keep the ball in the air and won the point after an unsuccessful diving attempt from UQAM.

Quotable

“They had some really good moments, but we didn’t go down. We stayed at the level we were, and then when they went down, we raised it up.” –Head Coach Rachèle Béliveau on the key to overcoming UQAM’s resurgence in the second and third sets.

Stat Corner

Although the Citadins had the Martlets beat in digs (45-42), McGill’s defensive game won out, as they recorded six blocks to UQAM’s two.

News, SSMU

Arts Representative Andrew Figueiredo steps down

by Ariella Garmaise on

More in News:

Arts Representative to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Andrew Figueiredo announced his resignation on Feb. 20 for personal reasons following backlash over the Arts Undergraduate Society’s (AUS) Executive Council’s handling of the vote on POLI 339 ancillary fees. After the AUS Legislative Council voted not to endorse the $1,000 course fee, the Executive Council overturned this vote, claiming that new information about the course had become available. Figueiredo’s resignation comes after his admission during the Feb. 14 Legislative Council meeting that he had pressured executives to vote in favour of the fee.

The AUS apologized for their revote in an email to the McGill community on Feb. 20 and publicly released the Executive Council’s voting process, which was conducted via Slack and Facebook Messenger. In the messages, although Figueiredo said that he would be in favour of an emergency Council session on Feb. 14, he also pointed out that the professors teaching the course demanded a decision by the next day. He expressed skepticism that they would be able to convene an emergency session on such short notice and argued that an emergency vote should be conducted online solely among the executives.

“I, at times, commented in a manner that could come off as snarky or defensive, in Council and in the chat,” Figueiredo wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “I wish I [had] been more thoughtful at certain moments. Additionally, I wish that we had been able to bring the motion back to Council with the additional information we received as an Executive.”

Secretary-General Sophie Zhao and Deputy Secretary-General Nathan Mendel are currently investigating the entire Executive Council and their voting process. They will present their findings at the Feb. 27 Council meeting.

According to AUS Vice-President Communications Jamal Tarrabain, Figueiredo’s admission to pressuring executives sparked discussion of his resignation. Figueiredo himself raised the possibility of resigning at the Feb. 20 Executive Council meeting, asking fellow executives for guidance. While the executives’ responses were varied, gallery members and councillors had previously encouraged Figueiredo to resign, citing a pattern of misbehaviour.

“Figueiredo’s resignation was first suggested by a member of the gallery and was echoed by some councillors at the Feb. 14 Council [meeting],” Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) Vice-President External Jennifer Chan wrote in a message to the Tribune.

In his statement of resignation, Figueiredo expressed an interest in continuing to work with the AUS to improve transparency, a sentiment he echoed to the Tribune.

“I would like to leave behind a legacy of pushing for governance and bylaw improvements and working hard for my values and my constituents day in and day out,” Figueiredo wrote in an email to the Tribune. “I’m proud of the hard work I put into SSMU and AUS all year long. We’re currently working on making the FIO bylaws clearer and more transparent, among other improvements.”

Despite the AUS’ apology email and Figueiredo’s resignation, concerns of transparency within the AUS persist. Although arts representatives are only constitutionally obligated to represent the prevailing views of the Council during SSMU Council meetings, Chan still finds fault in all three voting against the Legislative Council’s original decision.

“Looking at the newly-released screenshots, I think seeing that all three of the arts representatives voting in the same way is concerning,” Chan said. “As someone who held the position last year, arts representatives often split the vote among the three of us so the votes are proportional [to] our constituents’ interests. The fact that […] all three of them vote[d] the same way, knowing full well the divide that was reflected in the Feb. 14 Council vote suggests a conflict of interest in at least one of their votes.”

Moving forward, the AUS intends to improve its existing processes, specifically by overturning the FIO bylaw 2.3, which allowed executives to conduct an emergency vote.

“The whole AUS is going to be motioning to strike [FIO bylaw 2.3] going forward so that it’s no longer an option,” Tarrabain wrote. “The whole AUS Executive is [also] planning on bringing forward a motion that prohibits any voting on AUS matters via any [online messaging platforms]. Also, the AUS is bringing forward a motion that the Executive cannot, in the future, vote on any decision that was already decided by the AUS Legislative Council.”

 

Figueiredo hopes to continue working with AUS to improve transparency.

Features

Artists in search of a space

by Elli Slavitch on

More in Features:

Seventy-one years ago, McGill instituted its first and only Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program. It survived only four years. In that brief period, notable alumni such as Mary Filer and Nancy Petry, among many others, graduated, and subsequently became well-known for revolutionary works that have been showcased in the Art Canada Institute and the National Gallery of Canada.

1 … 497 498 499 500 501 … 1,363

Read the latest issue

Read the latest issue