Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University
Keep on Commuting
April 5, 2022
Gino McTuff’s journey to the library
March 29, 2022
How can I show you I’m doing better if there’s nothing good for me to do?
April 13, 2026
Your health, your problem
April 8, 2026
On becoming Chinese
March 30, 2026
The streets of Montreal are notoriously difficult to navigate. What might begin as a simple walk down a few blocks can spiral into an Odyssey through a dystopic landscape of potholes, puddles, and decades-old construction sites. One-way streets abruptly end at public parks, only to reappear ten blocks north. The steep slopes that crawl up the craggly face of Mont-Royal are made all the more treacherous by ice, proving to be a headache for pedestrians and drivers. From an outsider’s perspective, donning ski goggles and long johns to bike 25 km per hour up these unplowed boulevards seems like the last thing anyone would ever want to do. For the bike messengers who operate in Montreal, every shift involves another jostle through traffic, rain, snow, or shine. Yet, couriers have formed a warm kinship, founded upon mutual desires for improved working conditions and the world of alleycats—non-sanctioned courier races —that foster a sense of community.
A final note from the Editor-in-Chief of Volume 45, for the record
May 14, 2026
Oh, the places I’ll go (but not stay)!
April 7, 2026
Great pitch, terrible news
March 31, 2026
Born in Queens, my mom was raised in Westchester county, New York, a predominantly-Jewish area surrounded by fellow first and second-generation Ashkenazi relatives. Meanwhile, my Arkansas-born father was growing up with Methodist parents who have deep southern roots and distant Scottish ancestry. So, when they married in 1992, a strange mixture of culture, custom, and religion was born. Part of my identity today is this jumbled—sometimes confusing—combination of that heritage.
Every September, my parents packed my brother and me, clad in cotton pyjamas, into the station wagon along with our stuffed animals. We would arrive at my maternal grandparents’ house late on Friday night and drive along the Long Island Expressway on Sunday morning to arrive at the family reunion. There, we were greeted by relatives with heavy New York accents offering bagels shmeared with cream cheese and topped with lox, capers, and red onion. My brother and I failed to escape the suffocating embraces of vaguely-familiar relatives, and, inevitably, we were forced to endure several stories that began with the phrase “Before we left Europe…” We drank sparkling apple cider and, sometimes, a sip or two of cloyingly-sweet red wine.
Family reunions in Arkansas, however, unfolded quite differently. Upon landing in Little Rock, we were met with the thick August air and the scent of dogwood blossoms. From there, we travelled to my paternal grandparents’ home in Pine Bluff and then to Hot Springs, known for its geothermal springs and tourist appeal. Much of my dad’s family does not drink alcohol for religious reasons, so we guzzled Dr. Pepper, an iconically-Southern soda. I sat at the kids’ table, occupied by many small blonde children with names like ‘Carter’ and ‘Tobin,’ and ate ham and my grandfather’s famous cornbread—which, importantly, is far less sweet than the abomination that is ‘Yankee’ cornbread—made in the whisk-scarred bowl passed down from his grandmother.
Back home in the suburbs of Boston, we lit the Shabbat candles in the dining room on Friday nights, decorated the Christmas tree, attended Hebrew school, and dropped neon-coloured tablets into vinegar and water to prepare for Easter egg-dyeing. Mezuzahs hung on door frames throughout the house, and I helped my mom grate onions and potatoes for latkes only a few weeks before attending Christmas Eve Mass and preparing a traditionally-southern New Year’s meal of collard greens and black-eyed peas.
When friends asked about my religion, I used to say that I was Jewish and Christian. Sometimes, they told me that wasn’t possible, or that I “wasn’t really Jewish.” I never knew how to respond. Judgments of my Jewishness come largely from Jews who consider themselves to be more observant than I am; however, non-Jews, too, have told me that I’m not Jewish because I no longer regularly attend synagogue. I’ve rarely seen or been a part of a community that reflects the interfaith niche in which I grew up.
In my mind, celebrating Chanukah and Christmas made me ‘both.’ While I now identify much more strongly with cultural Judaism, my experiences have always lied somewhere in the middle. I have no knowledge of the New Testament, and I can’t read Hebrew fast enough to keep up with prayers that I don’t already know. But, I also crave the crispy fried okra of the south and the tender brisket that I eat on Passover. On the morning of my brother’s Bar Mitzvah, my dad prepared a plate full of BLT sandwiches for breakfast so that we could grab something to eat as we got ready. While I wish that those around me would refrain from making their own assessments of my upbringing, and though I often feel stranded between two cultures, religions, locations, and ways of being, I have come to accept that it is okay to be both. It’s okay to eat pork before going to synagogue.
Critics must balance linguistic priorities with human impact when discussing Air Canada’s faux pas
April 7, 2026
The pattern behind Hassan’s denial of entry
April 7, 2026
“I’m just going to use it to get through finals, but during Christmas break I’m going to quit.”
This is how I explained my foolproof plan to abandon my Juul to my housemate at the end of last year. I do this with almost all the promises I make to myself; reaffirming a plan by relaying it to someone else feels like adding a layer of accountability. Pledges made in isolation feel worthless, and I end up motivating myself by setting iPhone alarms with labels that are both aggressive and self-deprecating. These are rarely effective, and most often I succeed only in wallowing in guilt and debauchery. The new year feels like a clean slate: An opportunity to commit oneself to reaching success with a flaring but fleeting determination. As we find ourselves at the beginning of the semester, it’s worth asking why resolutions are so difficult to maintain. Simply put, most of us struggle because we have have trouble understanding our own identity.
This explanation requires a brief interlude into the existential philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre—bear with me—who began crafting his 683 page magnum opus Being and Nothingness after agonizing over how to motivate himself to go to the gym more. According to Sartre, consciousness is not something ‘in itself’; in other words, it is not a tangible thing that has definite characteristics. Human minds are constantly changing. There are quite literally infinite possibilities and choices that could shape your life, and we have an absolute freedom in commanding them. This alone is evidence of the indefinable character of consciousness. If we understand this, we understand that absolutism is incompatible with identity: Our conscious is too fluid for this kind of determination.
Mistakenly equating identity with the sum of our behaviours might explain why so many of us struggle in maintaining our resolutions. In behaving differently, we aspire to become someone else. As a result, we tend to recognize anything short of absolute success as failure. I struggle with this often. When I muff an attempt to improve my habits or my behaviour, it’s hard for me not to feel like I’ve been a bad person or failed myself. This is a common problem in resolution adherence. Sartre reminds us that these failures do not define us. While this notion should be comforting, accepting failure can be an assuaging prospect. Definitive failure is both disheartening and oddly relieving. When I accept my missteps as failures, I let myself forget some of the guilt and self-imposed pressure of a resolution. It’s easier to let our present actions define ourselves than to reaffirm our determination and remain on a path to betterment.
Inevitably, in my pursuit of an existence free of nicotine dependency, I have faltered and taken solace in a drunk cigarette or a piece of Nicorette. However, these errors remind me that my decision to try to quit does not determine my worth. I must decide to quit again and again to make it my reality. Many people who make resolutions view themselves as taking a stride across a spectrum from vice to virtue when what we should really be trying to do is achieve balance. This year, one of my resolutions is about resolutions themselves. I’m trying to think about my attempts at self-betterment as long-term, progressive projects that will, no doubt, include mistakes made along the way. Hopefully, letting go of the guilt and pressure associated with these endeavours will let me be more successful and content. So in 2019, be kinder to yourself. Recognize your missteps as obstacles to overcome, not immovable failures. Remain firm, resolute, and remember: The human consciousness is forever a work in progress.
Fall 2018 marked the 25th anniversary of Lynn Hill’s historic first all-free ascent of the ‘Nose,’ an iconic climb in the Yosemite Valley. Since then, much has changed in the climbing world, but her massive achievement still stands tall.
The Nose is the route that snakes up between the two main faces of the monolithic El Capitan. The total elevation gain is 880 metres—twice the height of the Empire State Building.
Yosemite was a hotbed for American climbing culture in the mid-20th century, so athletes had already climbed El Capitan, one of the valley’s crown jewels, before Hill arrived on the scene. On the first ascent of the Nose in 1958, Warren Harding used climbing aids, allowing him to fix anchors to the rock and pull himself upward. In contrast, Hill climbed free: Although she used rope for protection, Hill relied only on her hands, feet, and the natural features of the rock to drive herself toward the summit.
The route is composed of 31 sections—or pitches, and each presents a unique set of challenges to climbers of differing sizes, styles, and strengths. Still, some pitches, including the Great Roof, Changing Corners, and the Bolt Ladder, are universally demanding, making the Nose a formidable foe even for elite climbers.
When Hill began her first free attempt, previous climbers had already conquered most pitches. A few others, like the Great Roof and Changing Corners, were still unconquered when Hill and her climbing partner, Simon Nadin, set off in 1993. After a routine ascent of the first 21 pitches, Hill and Nadin arrived at the Great Roof.
“My foot slipped at one key point underneath the Great Roof,” Hill said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “[But] my head was so close to the roof that it stabilized me, so I didn’t fall [….] I was able to continue and make that first free ascent of the Great Roof.”
Despite successfully completing one of the most challenging sections of the climb, Hill could not finish it that day.
“Of course, later on, on that same ascent, we ran out of food, and we were really tired, and we didn’t find a way to climb up the Changing Corners pitch,” Hill said.
Though she had free-climbed the majority of the route and performed the first free-ascent of the Great Roof, the Bolt Ladder and Changing Corners remained elusive. Together, they comprised the most difficult section, or the ‘crux’, of the route. Hill left the Yosemite Valley unsuccessful, but the Nose stayed in the back of her mind.
“I wasn’t sure that [Changing Corners] was possible to even climb,” Hill said. “Because when you look at that section of rock, it looks completely blank. And it’s not obvious how to get up something so smooth. But I […] started thinking [that] maybe it [was] possible because it’s a corner. And if it’s a corner, there’s a way to get opposition. So I just thought, theoretically, there should be a way.”
Hill returned to El Capitan with Brooke Sandahl, who had spent years figuring out the most difficult sections of the Nose. Between the two of them, they had climbed most of the difficult sections: Sandahl had mastered the Bolt Ladder, and Hill had unlocked the Great Roof—leaving only the crux to conquer.
“The real difficulty was the Changing Corners pitch, and that involved a unique blend of backstepping and arm barring and a weird move […we called] the ‘Houdini move,’” Hill said. “It’s basically one arm bar with my right arm and then another arm bar right on top with my left so that I can […] spin 180 degrees around in the corner.”
And, with that, Hill had freed the Nose.
Hill’s historic free ascent has only been repeated a handful of times since, evidence of the sheer magnitude of her accomplishment. For most non-climbers, if a climb has never been done before, then it is impossible. But for Hill, it means the next logical step.
“It was a natural evolution of my upbringing in a sport that was hardly known,” Hill said. “I was already somebody who was doing things that other people didn’t even understand [….] And once you’re involved in a sport like that and you’re on the cutting edge, you’re doing that stuff all the time. You know that nobody’s done it before. But nobody [had] come to the climb with the experience and the [mindset] that I had.”
The Nose is just one of many first ascents attributed to Hill. For her, the motivation was never competitive—instead, it came from a desire to push the limits of possibility.
“I think it comes from just the curiosity of exploring and finding out what you can do,” Hill said. “It’s very open-minded to me. Just, ‘let’s see what we can do, and put our skills together [to] find a solution.’”
Hill is always pushing people to re-evaluate what’s possible. She stands just 5’2”—and she is a woman. In the 70s, when Hill was first introduced to the sport, there were only a handful of female role models for her to look up to.
“I knew that it was unusual [for women to climb at a high level], and yet I still felt very strongly about promoting the idea of equality when prize money was different or when people would say things like, ‘Gee, I can’t even do that,’” Hill said. “Because they’re a man, they figure they should be better than me. And it was really important to me to remind people of the truth. We’re able to do amazing things as women. We can do far more than […] previous generations believed.”
Hill has inspired an entire generation of female climbers, but the benefits reach far beyond the climbing success of athletes like Margo Hayes or Ashima Shiraishi. Indeed, large-scale wall climbing can generate off-wall inspiration as well—small people armed with the pluck and determination to take on a massive sheet of granite make people feel as though their day-to-day objectives are within reach.
“I think that climbing is very positive for people,” Hill said. “I think it’s very empowering. I’ve seen how kids have gotten into climbing, and […] I think it helps them in their lives in so many other ways.”
Hill hopes that climbing’s positive influence will encourage people to be better, especially in the way that we treat the precious, colossal planet that invites curious climbers into its peaks.
“I like the idea that people, they get exposed to climbing, and […] they end up exploring places in the world that are beautiful,” Hill said. “And if we love nature, we have a better chance of saving it from destruction […] that is changing these places in ways that are irreversible.”
After all, wall climbing is a partnership. The public eye is ensnared by audacious climbers, but cliffs, crags, and boulders play an essential role, too. The rock acts as an incubator for the sport, driving innovation and creativity—and providing boundaries that are meant to be crossed.
With the 2018-19 NBA season at its halfway point, The McGill Tribune presents its midseason awards, recognizing individual players and overall team performance.
The 30-year-old guard has suffered multiple serious injuries throughout his career, including a torn ACL in 2012 and a torn meniscus in 2013. Rose’s performance since then has declined, but, this season, he has bounced back, playing like he did in his prime. His numbers across the board have improved immensely: He’s coming off the bench to average 18.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Rose has played well enough to enter the conversation for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Raking in $31 million this season, the 28-year-old forward Gordon Hayward ranks as the sixth highest-paid player in the NBA. Hayward suffered a dislocated ankle and fractured tibia five minutes into his debut with the Boston Celtics last season, and the team was expected to be even more successful with his return this year. Playing alongside five-time All-Star Kyrie Irving, Hayward has yet to meet these expectations. He is averaging just 11.1 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game, and the Celtics will need more offensive output from him if they plan to be championship contenders.
With a 29-13 record, the Nuggets currently sit atop the Western Conference, an incredible feat given the conference’s strength and their history of unsuccessful playoff runs. This season, however, could be their first playoff appearance since the 2012-13 season. Nuggets centre Nikola Jokić has played a key role in his team’s success, leading the team in points (19.7), rebounds (10.2), and assists (7.5) per game. Other key players, such as guard Jamal Murray and shooting guard Will Barton, have made similar contributions, averaging 18.5 and 11.5 points per game, respectively. The Nuggets have established themselves as a dominant team in the league and as clear competitors for the 2018-19 finals.
With two straight playoff appearances and the acquisition of Dwight Howard, the Washington Wizards were easy picks to qualify for the playoffs this year. However, the Wizards have struggled throughout the first half of the season with an 18-26 record—11th in the Eastern Conference—due to poor defence and tension among players and the coaching staff. Wizards stars John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter have also shown little-to-no improvement since the past season. With Wall undergoing surgery on his heel this past Tuesday, thus putting an early end to his season, the Wizards’ chance at clawing their way back to qualify for the 2018-19 playoffs is slim.
Nicknamed the ‘Greek Freak’ for his incredible size and athleticism, Giannis Antetokounmpo has cemented his status as a dominating force in the league. His aggressive style of play and ability to manoeuvre gracefully on the court has lifted the Milwaukee Bucks to second place in the Eastern Conference with a 30-12 record. The 6’11” power forward bullies his way into the paint, scoring at will and creating opportunities for his teammates. He leads his team in points (26.7), rebounds (12.6), and assists (5.9) per game and has established himself as a superstar with the potential to carry his team to the finals.
Many New Year’s resolutions are set with the assumption that healthy habits and better grades are somehow distinct. However, there are many healthy energy boosting foods like nuts, salmon, eggs, mushrooms, and spinach that can help students lead both healthier lives and achieve greater academic success.
Nuts
Nuts require no preparation and can increase one’s energy. Filled with nutrients like protein and carbohydrates, raw nuts can be made into an even more powerful snack by soaking them in a simple warm water-and-salt solution overnight. Soaking nuts activates their germination process, making them easier for the body to digest and process their nutrients and increasing their value as a brain food. Studies have linked a regular intake of walnuts, in particular, to higher cognitive functioning, due to their high concentration of antioxidants.
Salmon
Salmon is often touted for its many health benefits. It contains omega-3 fatty acids which have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease. However, its main benefit for tired and stressed university students is its energy-enhancing properties. This pink fish is high in protein, vitamin B6, niacin, and riboflavin, all of which help transform food into energy. Salmon is also filled with docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, which boosts neuronal function in the brain and can be useful to students looking for a cognitive boost.
Eggs
Eggs also have immense potential to help students power through post-break inertia. Eggs are an inexpensive source of high-quality protein and, if eaten regularly, can contribute greatly to daily protein requirements. Protein has many roles including hormone regulation, muscle building, and maintaining immune system health. In combination with protein, the B vitamins, like B6 and riboflavin, found in eggs, are a crucial source of sustained energy.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are a healthy option with a substantial capacity for boosting energy. Just one cup of mushrooms can provide up to 50 per cent of a person’s daily serving of iron, with iron playing a key role in the transportation of oxygen through the bloodstream. The effective and efficient transport of oxygen is extremely important for the human body because, without an adequate supply of oxygen to the major organs, they won’t function at their optimal level, resulting in intense fatigue along with other health impairments like diminished cognitive functioning.
Spinach
Spinach contains many essential minerals, making it a great concentration-enhancing food. In particular, it contains extremely high amounts of iron, magnesium, and potassium. Alongside the oxygen-carrying and energy boosting properties of iron, magnesium is also crucial to the body’s production of energy. Additionally, when paired with magnesium, potassium plays a role in digestion as well as in nerve and muscle regulation. It also helps to improve brain function by sending more oxygen to the brain and reduces stress by lowering blood pressure and relaxing muscles. Finally, spinach is easy to incorporate into a variety of recipes, boosting the healthiness of whatever you happen to be munching on.
All of these foods are healthy and good for your brain. Yet, while they can help you keep your strength up, they are not a substitute for adequate rest and sleep, which are vital for retaining information as it moves from short-term memory to long-term memory during the deep sleep stage of sleep. Therefore, the keys to succeeding in the new year are a diet of healthy foods, sleep, and studying.
Igloofest: A first-timer’s guide to Montreal’s most iconic festival
January 13, 2026
Fall festivities flop: A reflection on pumpkin & autumn spice drinks
November 12, 2024
Halloween costumes on a budget
October 29, 2024
The sun has set on finals season and students are free from the stifling shackles of stress. It’s time to bundle up, gather some friends, and venture outside the McGill bubble this weekend. With the bitter cold of the January snow, there is no better way to explore new neighbourhoods of Montreal than via the conveniently-underground and warm metro system. Grab an STM day pass and enjoy a day filled with delicious food and incredible sights, and discover all that the orange line has to offer.
Start the day in the heart of Little Italy: Jean-Talon market, a local mainstay features a rich array of local produce and artisanal products. Once there, grab a coffee from Café Saint-Henri for a locally-roasted blend to keep warm while strolling the aisles and exploring all that the vendors have to offer. Students can stock up on all their local grocery needs: Find an array of charcuterie at Les Cochons Tout Ronds, mouth-watering confections at Kingsley Desserts, or regional Quebec cheese at La Fromagerie Hamel.
Hop back onto the metro and head south toward Mont-Royal Station. Mont-Royal Avenue is an eclectic street buzzing with energy and creativity, making it the perfect spot to grab brunch along the journey. Head to L’Avenue, a crowd-pleasing restaurant that serves up generous portions and scrumptious twists on breakfast classics. Try the famous eggs benedict with duck confit or a stack of French toast, that comes with toppings such as caramelized bananas, Nutella, coconut, and Captain Morgan’s rum. Wash the meal down with a milkshake, a mimosa, or one of L’Avenue’s signature boozy coffees.
With your belly full, ride the orange line to Places D’Armes station to explore Old Montreal. Begin walking down Saint-Sulpice Street towards the Saint-Lawrence River. Don’t forget to stop in front of Notre-Dame Basilica to admire its majestic gothic architecture. The destination is Pointe-à-Callière, the Montreal Museum of Archeology and History, a unique museum that takes visitors on a journey through the history of Quebec. Start off the visit with an immersive multimedia show of lights, visuals, and audio, all featured in the remains of the original cobble stone buildings of Montreal. Next, travel back in time, as the museum takes its guests through an original underground tunnel to explore a real-life archeological excavation. This museum offers an unparalleled experience Old Montreal through its innovative use of the architectural skeletons reminiscent of a different time.
After a few hours travelling to the past in Old Port, head to the Lionel-Groulx to relax for a bit. Once a working-class industrial area, in recent years, Little Burgundy has quickly become one of the trendiest up-and-coming neighborhoods in Montreal with some of the best restaurants in the city. Among them is the Burgundy Lion, a classic British pub with a modern Montreal flair. Diners can enjoy one of their many draft beer selections while they watch a game of English football on the television. Burgundy Lion also offers the largest whiskey collection in all of Quebec and offers over 600 choices.
The last stop on the day long metro expedition is Villa-Maria station located in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG). Filled with cultural activities and local businesses, NDG is a unique suburb that combines family-friendly small town charm with the amenities of big city life. Complete a day-well-spent at Café Mariposa, a cozy boutique designed to feel like an extension of the living room with a 60s feel. On the weekends, Montrealers can enjoy the live local music while they delve into a homestyle meal, and, on Thursday nights, the hangout features an open mic night, where guests can discover Montreal’s hidden musical talents. Mariposa effortlessly achieves a hospitable feel by way of its comforting food, intimate decor and vivacious entertainment. Before long, you will feel like you are at home among family and friends.
Know Your Artist: Theodore A. Harris
May 27, 2026
The forgotten history of the Montreal coffeehouse
April 7, 2026
Preserving childhood magic in adulthood
April 7, 2026
Arriving home for winter break in the typical post-exam fugue tends to make the inevitable holiday burnout all the more severe. Everyone knows that those few weeks between semesters are best spent binge-watching movies in sweatpants and resisting the urge to hit refresh on MyCourses—at least that’s how we in the Arts & Entertainment section like to refuel. Here’s what we watched this winter break:
On Dec. 31, Netflix released Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour, a two-hour concert film of Swift’s last performance of the tour. I’m not really a fan of Swift, and, like many, chose to start watching the film ironically. However, I was immediately enthralled by the sheer spectacle of her performance. Everything was captivating: The smoke machines, the projected lyrics and images on the screens behind her, the suspenseful pauses in between familiar chords. Despite help from her talented dancers, instrumentalists, and backup singers, Swift herself dominated the stage. Her sharp, deliberate dance moves, her playful glances, and her majestic bows reminded me of something many of us likely forgot: Underneath all the drama and pettiness that have overwhelmed Swift’s media presence over the past few years, she truly is an excellent performer.
The acclaimed show Black Mirror offers stories that explore the potential to misuse technology’s seemingly-neutral innovations. With Bandersnatch, which was released as a surprise this holiday break, the creators of Black Mirror transpose these cultural concerns into a choose-your-own-adventure format, placing the power of technological misuse in the viewer’s hands. While there is nothing new about this format, the episode’s execution is pioneering in how it tests the ethics of this power. At least, that’s what it explores in one of its branching paths. Bandersnatch, partly at the mercy of the viewer and at the expense of narrative coherence, never has to focus on a singular, overarching theme. It can veer into an absurd fight sequence between a therapist and a patient or meander into the nature of reality during a psychedelic trip, and that’s what makes it brilliant.
In Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, directors Peter Ramsay, Robert Persichetti Jr. and Rodney Rothman accomplished something ingeniously simple: They made a superhero movie feel like a comic book. The result is a breath of fresh air in the over-saturated superhero genre and a work that is at once touching and entertaining. Through the lens of Miles Morales, a teenager from Queens, we discover an interdimensional ring of Spidermen—and Spiderwomen. As Hollywood begins to take diversity in representation seriously, this clever plot device allows the filmmakers to introduce a multitude of spidery protagonists. Yet, these characters are not just cardboard cut-outs, and Miles’ story is particularly well-written.
Animated with a sense of individual craftsmanship that belies its hundred-strong animation team, Into the Spider-Verse is a joy to behold, sparkling with retro comic effects and visual jokes which disappear just as you begin to understand them. The scenes of Miles’ daily life feel realistic, yet the last scene delivers a dimension-bending fight scene which threatens to dissolve into pure anarchy.
On Dec. 6, close to 40 members of the McGill community attended a vigil in the Birks Heritage Chapel. The Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) organized the event to commemorate the École Polytechnique massacre which took place 34 years ago and in which fourteen women were killed. The shooter carried out his act to “fight feminists,” one of the deadliest mass school shootings in Canadian history.
By hosting the event, SACOMMS aimed not only to commemorate the shooting but to look to its legacy.
“We hope to provide an inclusive, non-judgemental, supportive environment for members of our community to both honour the survivors of past injustices and reflect on how we can better fight acts of gendered and sexual violence today,” the Facebook event description read.
Students and members of the Montreal community sang, played music, and recited poems to honour the 14 women who died in the massacre, and to stand in solidarity with those who have experienced gendered and sexualized violence. The participants then lit candles and remembered those lost in silence.
Remembering the Polytechnique massacre offers the opportunity to reflect on the pervasiveness of gendered and sexual violence. Peeha Luthra, U1 Arts, explained how the Polytechnique massacre has left its mark on the Montreal community.
“The Polytechnique massacre became a representation of gender-based violence in our world and conveys the idea that this problem and this pain is ongoing,” Luthra said. “I think that coming together to remember the past is very much linked to standing in solidarity for what’s going on right now.”
According to Elena Basford, a former McGill Arts student, the vigil is important for three major reasons: Commemorating the loss of the fourteen women, bringing people together, and educating them about gendered violence.
“These were 14 vibrant, brilliant young people and no matter where their lives would have taken them, it’s a loss that they aren’t here with us today,” Basford said.
Basford emphasized the vigil’s ability to strengthen the bonds of the Montreal community.
“This event is important because it offers a space where people can come together,” Basford said. “It takes something that isolates people like violence and turns that into something that builds community.”
Basford stressed the importance of universities as channels for education at commemorative events.
“It’s a great way to educate people, having this at a university,” Basford said. “[The vigil] is a very open forum, permitting people to come and go as they can. It keeps it accessible for people that are on campus and really busy studying.”
Kaitlin Wong, U1 Arts, argued that small acts are essential to fighting gendered and sexual violence.
“Just being here, believing, being a friend,” Wong said. “Asking ‘how are things going?’ ‘do you feel supported on this campus?’ [….] Many like to be more vocal and share on social media, organize rallies [….] All those things are good ideas. I think it’s also important to appreciate people who are quiet and supportive as well.”
Luthra underlined the importance of allyship in gendered and sexual based violence.
“It’s the small actions that buildup, like the vigil,” Luthra said. “When you see everything that’s going on it can seem insignificant, but when you come and you hear the experiences you realize it’s so much more than that. It’s coming together that influences individual lives.”
