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Ask Ainsley, Student Life

Ask Ainsley: How can I move on after being ghosted?

by Ainsley on

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Dear Ainsley,

I was seeing a new potential partner and was really excited about him, but he recently ghosted me. I am not sure if I should check in by sending another message or if I did something wrong. I am trying to stay positive, but I can’t help but take this the wrong way. Do you have any insight into why he may have ghosted me or any suggestions on how to get over it?

Sincerely,

Getting Over Ghosting  (GOG)

 

Dear GOG,

Unfortunately, ghosting is quite common, particularly because technology makes it so easy to ignore and avoid someone. This person probably saw the relationship going in a certain, and, instead confronting that reality with you, figured it would hurt less to ghost you. However, ghosters do not understand that this form of break-up is ambiguous and leaves the other party feeling more insulted than a clean break. The silent treatment can amplify the pain of rejection, and it can feel like a form of emotional cruelty.  

As the recipient, you should try not to jump to the conclusion that you did anything wrong. Ghosting negatively reflects on the ghoster—not on you. It shows that they are unable to confront their feelings, and that is not a person worthy of your time and attention. The worst thing to do after being ghosted is to wallow. At first, it may seem cathartic to get in touch with your feelings, but, after a while, it can begin to negatively impact your self-esteem. Try to remember that many people feel this way every day, and there is no reason to feel alone and isolated.

Instead of giving in to the impulsive reflex of secluding yourself, try to reach out to friends and family. Talking about how much it hurt you to be ghosted can allow those closest to you to support you, which can be therapeutic, as it may lend additional insight and help you talk to those who have had similar experiences.

If it helps, you can even think about what your ghoster may be doing—is he overthinking his decision to not respond to your messages? Probably not: He has likely moved on and has no idea about how his actions have affected you. I can assure you that he did not mean to hurt you, but, regardless, you should take your pain and channel that into bettering your own life.

You need to continue going about your daily life—it will provide a necessary distraction from any self-deprecating thoughts. Focus on your own mental health and wellbeing: Eat well, get enough sleep, exercise, and pick up new a hobby. These activities can preoccupy those lingering parts of your mind and help you stop thinking about that person. Pretty soon, you will gain a newfound confidence and remember that one person’s mediocrity should not determine your mood.

There is absolutely no shame in being ghosted. Countless individuals have been ghosted, and plenty of people encounter this inconvenience. So, GOG, put this annoyance behind you. Go out and focus on yourself and becoming your best self.

Sending you love and support,

Ainsley

Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Tuesday Night Café Theatre’s annual 24-hour play festival spotlights up-and-coming actors

by Kevin Vogel on

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In the 24 hours from Jan. 25 to 26, six student playwrights, directors, and actors met for the first time to write, produce, rehearse, and perform original student-written play as a part of the Tuesday Night Café Theatre (TNC)’s annual festival. Each play had to incorporate certain elements, including the line “and that’s why I never left my house again,” Kanye West’s “Lift Yourself,” a shovel, a phone, and a pair of boxing gloves. With plots ranging from a gossip session about after-school rumours to a dramatic tale of a workers’ union struggle on a remote space station, the festival’s diverse arrangement of plays proved exceptional, especially given the limited time constraint.

The festival aimed to introduce new actors into McGill’s theatre community. For Laine Berry (U1 Science), a TNC director who co-organized the festival with Sarah Mitchell (U1 Engineering), seeing so many new faces come out for the festival was a clear sign of a successful event. Although several of the participants had been previously involved in theatre in some capacity, the sheer number of actors performing for the first time at McGill establishes TNC as a valuable gateway into the performing arts.

Once the plays came to an end, three judges in the crowd briefly convened and declared “Where We Were,” written by Megan Hunt and directed by Alex Cruz, both Concordia theatre students, the best of the festival. The piece opened as a conversation between a group of friends reminiscing over where they were when they heard the news that their friend’s overweight 14-year-old shih tzu passed away. The script detailed the characters’ comedic flashbacks to past romances and social gatherings of suburban wine moms attempting to recruit people into a dubious Tupperware sales business.

“[When first given the writing prompts] I saw the phone and thought, ‘What were some of the worst times for a phone to ring?’” Hunt said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “I’m from southern Ontario, and pyramid scheme parties are so prominent there [.…They would] be a terrible place to find out bad news.”

Cruz, who received the completed script only an hour before the actors, quickly set out to get the play ready for performance. Cruz had to cast the actors, figure out how to incorporate “Lift Yourself” into the piece, and work with the technical crew to perfect lighting in just a few hours.

“[You] need a kind of creative spark to do this sort of thing in a time crunch,” Cruz said. “They say necessity is the mother of invention, and you have to put your nose to the grindstone for this. You make decisions, [and] don’t know if they’ll work but you have to believe in what you’re doing right away.”

As the curtains closed on the festival, each production showcased a diverse array of genres, styles, and methods. From comedies to tragedies, this year’s 24-hour play fest featured the best of the newest generation of McGill’s theatre community.  

Tuesday Night Café Theatre is a student-run experimental theatre company based in Morrice Hall dedicated to giving opportunities for students to grow and learn through theatre. TNC’s next production, The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women, written by Carolyn Gage and directed by Charlotte Giraudet, will run from Feb. 7-9 and Feb. 14-16.

Science & Technology

Males more sensitive to painful memories than females

by Margaret Wdowiak on

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Stereotypes may lead many to assume that women are more sensitive than men. However, recent findings on pain challenge conventional assumptions regarding the way men and women experience pain.

A recent study conducted by researchers from McGill and the University of Toronto exploring the role of memory in the transition from acute to chronic pain suggests that environments associated with previous trauma trigger increased sensitivity to pain. Moreover, the researchers found that men and women experience pain differently, which could have major implications for chronic pain management and treatment of chronic pain.

The study measured pain hypersensitivity in humans and mice to gain new insights into how they remember pain. Researchers administered heat to the forearms of human subjects who then rated the level of pain they were experiencing. Mouse subjects underwent a similar test to determine their sensitivity to heat.

“We used a test [on the mice] that’s very common called the ‘radiant heat paw withdrawal test,’” Jeffrey Mogil, professor in the Department of Psychology, said. “It’s basically a heat lamp that’s aimed [through glass] at an animal’s hind paw [….] At first, it’s just warm, but, at some point, that warmth changes to [greater heat]. As soon as the animal realizes that, it simply hops away, and we measure the amount of time it takes for them to do that.”

The results of the experiments show that men and male mice experienced noticeably higher levels of pain when they returned to the same environment for further tests. Conversely, when placed in new environments, neither humans nor mice of either sex showed greater sensitivity to pain.

Male hypersensitivity to pain may be a result of men remembering earlier pain more clearly than females. The differences in sensitivity are not inherent but, rather, a consequence of increased stress when recalling memories of pain.

To see whether the correlation between pain and location was a function of memory, the researchers injected male mice with a memory-blocking drug. They then conducted the experiment again and found that the injected mice did not exhibit increased sensitivity to pain when returning to the same environment. This apparent link between pain and memory could help to understand chronic pain in the future, supporting existing research suggesting that memories of pain have a significant impact on later perceptions of pain.

“In the future, and it’s even already started in [some] research, […] instead of trying to attack the pain directly, you would try to treat the memory of the pain […] either pharmacologically or psychologically,” Mogil said.

Chronic pain, lasting months or years, can be debilitating and force those who endure it to rely on careful pain management in their daily lives.

“At any one time, somewhere between 20 and 25 per cent, […] almost a quarter of the population, is experiencing chronic pain,” Mogil said.

Despite the many insights provided by this new study, including the importance of gendered treatment, many further discoveries lie ahead to fully understand the link between pain and memory. In particular, how people form memories of pain remains a source of further questions than answers.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Awards season villains

by Olivia Church on

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In 2017, Damien Chazelle’s La La Land received a record 14 Oscar nominations. The film, which met with critical acclaim as well as enormous box office earnings, was an ode to the lush Hollywood musicals of the 1950s. But by the time that the Oscars race began, critics were tiring of La La Land’s tone-deaf optimism and white-washing of jazz music, prompting an  inevitable backlash. Popular favour shifted to Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight for Best Picture: A gentle, luminous film about a black gay man that stood in opposition to La La Land in every way. For many, Moonlight’s eventual Best Picture win over La La Land represented the triumph of the Oscar underdog over the awards season ‘villain.’

Broadly put, a ‘villainous’ film teeters on the brink of offensiveness by featuring only straight, able-bodied actors, privileging white narratives, and going against the grain of youthful, online critical consensus. In the #MeToo era, this definition extends to films produced or directed by predatory figures. If the endless online cultural critiques on platforms such as Twitter and Letterboxd are any indication, it seems that no one wants these films to succeed, yet they rack up nominations and win.

After the outcry brought about by the overwhelming whiteness of the 2015 Academy Awards, the Oscars implemented a higher standard for representation. The runaway critical and financial success of Black Panther, Girls Night, and Crazy Rich Asians proved that films featuring non-white protagonists are just as profitable. Diversity and profit margins are compatible, but the Academy chose to respond to this industry trend with the short-lived and maligned addition of a ‘popular film’ category—the implication being that as commercial films with diverse casts began succeeding, the Academy designated a category of lesser prestige to account for those movies.

Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book have taken up the mantle of this year’s villain narrative, and while previous villains’ faults were largely subtextual, this year’s villains have more egregious issues in their production in addition to their woefully-homogenous casting choices. Bryan Singer, director of Bohemian Rhapsody has been accused of sexual assault and while he left production before completion, the film’s credits still bear his name. Bohemian Rhapsody tells the story of Queen’s meteoric rise while cleaning up (read: straightening up) Freddie Mercury’s personal life. Green Book, directed by Dumb and Dumber helmsman Peter Farrelly, tells the true story of the friendship between a black, gay piano player, Dr. Don Shirley, and his white chauffeur. However, Green Book, in typical villainous form, has been diagnosed with a case of ‘white saviour complex.’ While the film overflows with saccharine nods to ‘how far we’ve come,’ Dr. Shirley’s family has accused the filmmakers of misrepresenting their relative and exaggerating the friendship for the sake of ‘multiculturalism.’ Even more upsetting was director, Peter Farrelly’s admission to having exposed himself on set. Add in the public use of a racist slur by the white star, and pro-Trump tweets from one of the film’s writers, and, if the subsequent internet outrage is an accurate barometer, Green Book should kiss its Oscar dreams goodbye.

However, on Jan. 22, the Academy announced that both Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody received Best Picture nods. Despite swirling bad press, a myriad of think pieces, and plenty of rightful criticism, 6000 members of the Academy thought that these films’ positive qualities outweighed their overwhelming negatives. The Academy is oft thought of as a singularly-minded force, when, in reality, it is fractious and increasingly diverse. Whether these villains will come home with hardware on Feb. 24 will depend on which faction of the Academy proves influential. Villain narratives provide invaluable clicks that sustain the thinkpiece economy and will therefore likely remain a mainstay of awards season. Nevertheless, the Academy should focus not on drumming up excitement for a Green Book or Bohemian Rhapsody flameout, but instead on honouring films that are radical, diverse, and reflective of this politically-turbulent era.

 

Basketball, Sports

Surf and sweet victory for McGill basketball

by Owen Gibbs on

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On the evening of Jan. 24, first-year guard Quarry Whyne scored 21 points to help McGill men’s basketball (5-4) come back from a 15-point deficit and defeat the Bishop’s Gaiters (3-9) 84-80. The crowd, decked out in Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops for McGill Athletics’ annual Beach Night, fostered an exciting atmosphere throughout the game. The two teams delivered an exciting contest but, it was McGill players who came out on top to earn a second win over Bishop’s following the Martlets’ earlier 57-39 victory.

The McGill men’s team started slowly. Bishop’s scored three quick three-pointers in the opening minutes to go ahead by a score of 9-1. However, a layup by McGill fifth-year forward Noah Daoust and a dunk from fellow fifth-year guard Avery Cadogan gave the team—and the crowd—new life, and they caught up to the Gaiters to enter the second frame behind by only one point. Throughout the night, McGill continued to lose ground, only to regain momentum and cut into the Gaiters’ advantage again.

In the second quarter, the Gaiters took several sizable leads, and McGill responded with successful offensive drives of their own to bring the lead back within a few points each time. As the quarter wore on, a series of baskets gave Bishop’s a 45-35 lead that they carried into halftime.

Bishop’s built on their lead early in the third quarter. Consecutive three-pointers in the opening minutes put the Gaiters ahead by a comfortable 15 points. However, this moment was the turning point in McGill’s favour; the home team scored basket after basket in the following minutes. With 53 seconds remaining in the quarter, Whyne hit a pair of free throws to even the match at 64 points apiece heading into the final frame.

The last 10 minutes played out much like the rest of the game had: Bishop’s built a lead, only for McGill to come back and draw even or take the lead. With the score sitting at 80-74 for the Gaiters and a minute left on the clock, a three-point shot and a technical free throw from Cadogan brought McGill within two points. Finally, Whyne sunk a three-point shot with 27 seconds remaining, giving McGill a one-point lead that they would hold onto for their fourth win of the season.

Head Coach David DeAveiro spoke to his team’s resiliency.

“This is a young, young group,” DeAveiro said. “They’ve shown that they don’t quit, that they play right to the end, regardless of time or score.”

McGill has a relatively youthful squad, with all but four players playing in their first or second year. Whyne, who is already emerging as a star, is one of those first-year athletes.

“It was a good game,” Whyne said. “We need these wins so that [Bishop’s] cannot be in the playoffs, so it was a big game for them and us.”

Cadogan, a team veteran, is satisfied with the younger players’ performance thus far in the season and is sure that they will continue to be successful after he graduates.

“I have the utmost confidence in the future of our young guys,” Cadogan said. “They all have plenty of potential. They’re just getting the experience right now, which I’m sure will be valuable for their future.”

In the rematch at Bishop’s on Jan. 26, McGill won by a score of 66-58. They will host the Laval Rouge et Or (4-5) on Jan. 31.

Moment of the Game

The crowd erupted when Whyne sunk his game-winning basket with 27 seconds to play.

Quotable

“The playoffs are a long way away. When we get there, we want to make sure that we’re playing the best that we can.” – Head Coach David DeAveiro on McGill’s plans as the postseason approaches.

Stat Corner

Quarry Whyne scored a season-high 21 points, nearly tripling his previous record at McGill of eight points.

Student Life

The best online resources for apartment hunting

by Nicholas Raffoul on

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With the winter semester underway, May leases are quickly coming to an end. For first-year students, the beginning of the winter term is a crucial time to figure out their living situations for the upcoming fall semester, find roommates, and select which neighbourhood in Montreal is their best fit. Finding the right apartment is difficult enough without McGill’s academic workload, but online resources can help make the search much more convenient. The McGill Tribune has compiled a list of online rental resources, rated based on their user-friendliness, selection of apartments, and the specificity of their search filters.

Louer.com — 2/5

Louer.com has poor search filtering options, and the website can be a headache to maneuver. The website does, however, do a good job of consolidating the multiple rental sites’ resources, producing an uncluttered list of results. Also, renters can contact property owners directly from the platform. Unfortunately, with a quick search, prospective renters will find that most listings fail to give considerable details or clear images of the apartments, ultimately making the apartment hunting process more difficult.

Kijiji — 4/5

Although Kijiji isn’t exclusively dedicated to real estate, the website lists a diverse selection of apartments and other living spaces around Montreal. With the right keywords, potential renters can find hundreds of listings in their preferred neighbourhood. Additionally, most listings are fairly detailed and provide sufficient information about the apartment. However, Kijiji filters don’t allow house-hunters to narrow their search by apartment features such as heating and appliances. After making an account, users can message the hosts directly from the platform.

Kangalou — 3/5

With a sleek website and comprehensive search filters for heating, accessibility, and appliance availability options, Kangalou is the most user-friendly option on this list. The biggest disadvantage of this website, however, is that does not have many listings; ads for popular areas like the Plateau can have as few as 15 options, leaving almost no room for proper browsing. As a result, the listings are often over-priced, making the site, overall,  inaccessible to the student community.

Facebook groups — 3/5

While Facebook is not a real estate platform, there are many local groups which advertise great living options for student accomodations. McGill-specific groups, such as Housing, and Montreal rental groups, like Apartments for Rent, offer plenty of options and rental steals for students and those looking for short-term living situations. These groups have little-to-no search filters, so keywords are renters’ only mechanism to filter their results for the apartment size or location they are looking for. Facebook housing groups are particularly useful for those who can’t find roommates and do not want to live alone, as many advertisements are for single-bedroom sublets. Facebook groups are also well-suited for renters in search of atypical arrangements such as sub-leases or leases starting mid-summer.

 

McGill, News

SUS proposes raising fees to accommodate growing organization

by Kate Addison on

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McGill’s Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) held a General Council meeting on Jan 23 to discuss upcoming elections, consider the aftermath of the recent Science Games, and propose an increase in the society’s membership fees.

 

Referendum to raise SUS membership

SUS president Reem Mandil introduced a notice of motion to add three referendum questions to the ballot for the upcoming SUS elections: The renewal of the Lab Improvement Fund—which has been in place since the 1980s—changes to the SUS constitution related to executive portfolios, and a hike in the SUS membership fee from $12.30 to $15.30 per semester.

This three dollar increase of the membership fee is expected to generate a profit of $27,285, most of which would be used to hire an accountant to manage the SUS budget. While it may be unwelcome news to some, Vice-President (VP) Finance Dylan Wong compared SUS’s fee to the fees of other societies’ pricier membership fees.

“The Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) […] charge[s] $28 per semester, and the Management Undergraduate Society (MUS) charges $30 [per] semester,” Wong said. “We’ve not necessarily been as financially sound as we could be.”

Several other faculties are able to raise funds through their student bars, such as Bar-des-Arts and Blues Pub, but the Faculty of Science does not. The last time SUS raised its membership fee was five years ago, however, neither McGill nor SUS put into effect adjustments to match inflation. Had this been the case, the membership fee would currently be $13.56.

 

SUS elections fast approaching

SUS elections will occur throughout February. The council voted 27-1 to ratify Chip Smith as the new Chief Returning Officer (CRO), who will be responsible for facilitating SUS elections. Polling will begin after Feb. 19, and results will be in by Feb 25. In the lead-up to voting, a “Meet the Candidates” event will be hosted on Feb. 15 as an opportunity for McGill students to meet the students running for positions.

There are seven SUS positions up for election, including the position of Science Representative to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). Former representative Moses Milchberg has recently resigned; given the timing, the SUS has decided not to host a by-election and substitutes will attend to his duties until a replacement is elected.

 

Science Games an overall success

VP Internal Zlata Plotnikova considered SUS’s recent Science Games a success.

“Science Games are over, nobody died,” Plotnikova said.

With the drinking and festivities, the safety of the participants was a serious concern for the SUS council. Plotnikova manually cross-checked that the 913 participants had completed their waivers prior to participating. She reported that measures to educate students on the risks of the event such as the waiver meant that the 2019 Science Games caused no liability for SUS.

“[SUS] should have made around two to three thousand dollars, if not more, from this year [from science games],” Plotnikova said.

While this profit is good news for SUS Council, the money will be going straight to the start-up fund for Frosh.

SUS council will reconvene on Feb. 6 at 7:00 pm in Leacock 232.

 

A previous version of this article stated that the Jan. 23 meeting was a General Assembly. In fact it was a General  Council meeting. A previous version of this article stated that Reem Mandil introduced a motion. In fact he introduced a notice of motion. 

Editorial, Opinion

Students can’t afford Doug Ford

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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On Jan. 17, the Ontario government announced multiple financial changes for university students, including the cutting of the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). For many students, this means that they might not be pursue or complete a degree, as financial changes will be applied this September. The cost of cutting OSAP is hardly remote to our campus: University documents indicate that six per cent of McGill students receive funding from the program.

Beginning in 2017, Ontario students whose families earned less than $50,000 per year had their tuition fully subsidized by OSAP in the form of non-repayable grants. As family income increased above this threshold, so did the ratio of loans to grants. This program was particularly successful in assisting indigenous students, whose enrolment numbers jumped by 36 per cent after the introduction of OSAP. Premier Doug Ford’s government plans to scrap this program entirely, instead offering a 10 per cent tuition cut for all students. This is not an equal trade-off: The cut will save those pursuing a Bachelor of Arts about $660 per year, while preventing other students from attending university altogether. Enacting a decrease at the cost of impeding many from pursuing their education is unjust.

Besides OSAP, the Ford government announced that all ancillary fees, such as student association dues and club fees, must be made optional, which may leave some McGill students envious. While the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) has had a relatively scandal-free year, chronically low voter turnout and social media complaints show that cynicism about student government remains.

In truth, Ontario students’ new reality is hardly desirable. The change to student fees undercuts students’ ability to advocate for their interests, and it, along with a 10 per cent tuition cut, is simply a distraction from the Ford government’s gutting of OSAP.

Depending on a student’s program, they can expect to pay $500–$2,000 per year in ancillary fees to fund services such as athletics facilities, student support centres, and student groups. The government’s pledge to make ‘non-essential’ fees optional comes with a catch: It excludes fees that support general ‘health and wellness,’ mental health, and student safety, which are often the most expensive. Students at York University, for example, may only save about $120 per year. Presenting these fee cuts as a way for students to save money is far from the truth, and only serves as a diversion, enabling some students to overlook the OSAP cuts in the pursuit of frugality. 

Included in the fees which the Ford government plans to make optional are those that fund student unions and campus media, including television, radio stations, and newspapers. Jeopardizing these organizations’ futures could be a serious blow to students’ ability to lobby institutions for necessary change. Many student unions actively lobby provincial and federal governments for favourable policy changes; former SSMU Vice President (VP) External Connor Spencer was instrumental in the creation of Quebec’s Bill 151, which requires all post-secondary institutions in the province to maintain a sexual violence policy. Student media hold university administrations and student unions to account. The fees that fund these groups are approved by popular referenda and are not passed arbitrarily. Dismissing these groups as ‘non-essential’ demonstrates how out of touch the Ontario government is with students’ realities.

There are no signs that similar cuts will come to Quebec: During the election, the Coalition Avenir Québec promised a modest funding increase for post-secondary education. However, Quebec’s history of conflict and protest between students and the provincial government gives these changes particular resonance. Moreover, the six per cent of McGill students who receive OSAP funding will have their futures upended by the Ford government’s announcement.

Regardless of origin, students should speak out against Ford’s proposed changes and amplify Ontarian students’ concerns for their futures. The support student associations provide are often essential to students’ wellbeing of individual students, and the advocacy of student unions and media can directly affect students’ lives. Moreover, many students will now not be able to attend university at all, and the Ford government is jeopardizing those students’ futures in favour of a minor tuition cut. This is not something McGill students should hope to see replicated on their campus, and it is crucial that they support Ontarian students, while also engaging with their own unions and associations.

 

Student Life

Campus art for the busy student

by Lucy Keller on

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Across McGill’s three campuses, there are roughly 2,000 pieces of artwork scattered throughout hallways, grassy areas, and lecture halls. The work held in the university’s collection ranges from the iconic The Three Bares, by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, to hidden gems that students overlook. Luckily, the McGill Visual Arts Collection (MVAC) has been offering weekly tours of the art on the downtown campus since 2013.

While McGill has a world-renowned collection of art, most students have never noticed even the most acclaimed pieces on campus. The MVAC tours allow students to take breaks from their busy schedules and appreciate the settings they often overlook, such as the James Sculpture Garden outside McConnell Engineering, the Lichtenstein Tapestry in the Arts Building, and the Visual Storage Gallery on McLennan library’s fourth floor. Curator of the MVAC Vanessa Di Francesco believes the tours serve as a form of self-care.

“McGill students are unbelievably busy with hectic day-to-day and on-campus schedules, and there is often little time to visit a museum or gallery,” Di Francesco said. “By placing art all over the campus, and especially by offering weekly tours on a walk-in basis, we hope to offer students and the University community an opportunity to access and experience art more easily.”

The tour conveniently departs from Service Point every Wednesday at noon. Typically, they operate on a first-come-first-serve basis, but tours can also be organized beforehand to accommodate any specific needs, including large groups or students with disabilities.

Beyond becoming more familiar with McGill’s campus, students may also find that taking time out of their day to interact with art will improve their mental wellbeing. Art therapy is considered to be an effective coping mechanism for students in need of a break. MVAC director Gwendolyn Owens encourages students to take advantage of this easily accessible opportunity.   

“Our tours and visits are free, and [there is] no prescription needed.” Owens said. “We like to promote the idea that, in so many places on the McGill campus, now, you can take a break and look at art.”

When faced with a busy schedule, students’ mental health is often the first thing they overlook, whether that means not getting enough sleep to forgetting to enjoy their free time. While the stereotypical practice of art therapy usually consists of creating art, many contemporary art therapists believe that simply appreciating another artist’s creative choices can be therapeutic in itself.  

“Students may often walk right past some of the art on campus and not notice it, but the tours compel us to take these works in and appreciate the work,” Di Francesco said.

After the tour, with students aware of the extraordinary art on campus, they may be more inclined to take time to observe the spectacular pieces on campus. Rosalind Sweeney-McCabe, U1 Arts and MVAC intern, explained that these tours can help students escape from their daily routine.

“By taking a tour and learning about the McGill art collection, it gives students the chance to reorient themselves in their monotonous schedule,” Sweeney-McCabe said. “I think it is important for students’ perspectives to remind ourselves that there are other things going on and [that there are] other facets of our lives at McGill and the space that we are in.”

McGill students often find themselves stuck in a continual battle between paying attention to their mental health and achieving the grades that they desire. Attending a visual arts tour can be a convenient and stimulating experience that help break students out of their daily ruts and introduce them to a new form of self-care.

News, The Tribune Explains

The Tribune Explains: Deputy Provost, Student Life and Learning

by Heather Weinreb on

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In a message to the McGill community, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi announced the selection of a new Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) by Summer 2019. The candidate, who will lead the Office for Student Life and Learning (OSLL) over a five-year mandate, will be selected by an advisory committee to the principal comprised of staff and students.

What does the Office of Student Life and Learning do?

The OSLL encompasses six departments: Student Services, the Office of the Dean of Students, Student Housing and Hospitality Services, Enrollment Services, Athletics and Recreation, and Teaching and Learning Services. Its role is to offer practical services to the McGill community to assist its members in all aspects of university life.

Recently, the OSLL developed a McGill app, which is now available for download on Apple and Android devices. The app serves as a digital organizer for everything school-related. Users can arrange and share their class schedules with friends, sign up for McGill events, use the maps function to find specific buildings, and communicate via its messaging platform.

The OSLL has also helped organize McGill’s second caiSES (Canadian collaboration with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society) conference, which will bring indigenous students and professionals together at McGill from Mar. 1-3. The conference serves to provide a platform for students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to share their success stories, network, and meet with corporations looking to hire.

 

What does the Deputy Provost do?

As leader of the OSLL, the Deputy Provost oversees 650 employees and sets the agenda for the office’s projects. In a message to The McGill Tribune, interim Deputy Provost Fabrice Labeau explained that the office of the Deputy Provost provides strategic guidance by setting the agenda for the OSLL and gives support in the form of HR, finance, and communications.

 

How will a new Deputy Provost be selected?

In the coming months, a new Deputy Provost will be selected by an advisory board consisting of members of the Senate, the Board of Governors (BoG), and the student body. The advisory committee will also refine how the role of the Deputy Provost is structured. To do so, the advisory committee encourages feedback from the McGill community and welcomes any comments that address the qualifications a new Deputy Provost should possess, the challenges faced by the McGill community, and any suggestions about how to address these challenges over a five to 10 year period.

Additionally, the advisory committee will be holding in-person sessions with the McGill community on Feb. 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the James Administration Building, room 301.

As part of McGill’s Wellness Week, students and staff are invited to chat with current Deputy Provost Fabrice Labeau on Jan. 29. Those interested can sign up for a time slot and are encouraged to share questions, concerns, and suggestions relating to life at McGill.

Due to the broad scope of the role, meetings with the larger McGill community are crucial to ensuring that this position represents the values and priorities of the students and staff.

“We as a community have the power to define what this appointment will mean for us,” Labeau said.

Comments on the Deputy Provost selection process can be sent to advisories@mcgill.ca.

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