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Student Life

New year, new you

by Alaana Kumar on

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Whether they promise to make it to those 8:30 a.m. lectures, spend less money on Starbucks cappuccinos, or visit the gym more often, students make New Year’s resolutions like everyone else. However, as they settle back into classes, it can be difficult to prioritize their new goals. Understanding the best methods of breaking or making a habit may be the key to successfully completing a New Year’s resolution.

The most common New Year’s resolutions, such as cutting down on screen time or saving money, often entail replacing negative behaviours with new, positive ones. Despite this yearly commitment to personal improvement, the majority of those who make these resolutions are unsuccessful: Research suggests that only eight per cent of people actually achieve their set goals. In practice, many get frustrated, forget, or simply lose interest throughout the year.

Due to this low success rate, many disregard the effectiveness of setting resolutions. Meredith Charney, U2 Arts, has found that her New Year’s resolutions tend to fail when she attempts to alter a habit for personal growth without considering practical constraints. In her experience, shortly after the beginning of January, the novelty of a resolution wears off, and her motivation fades.

“New Year’s approaches and people think about what they can change. Instead of just independently deciding to change,” Charney said. “It’s a temporary motivator.”

According to experts, the frustration Charney and many other goal-setters experience is driven by the unrealistic expectations that they set for themselves. Richard Koestner, a psychology professor at McGill, specializes in goal-setting, self regulation, and internalization processes and has found that resolutions are most effective when broken down into measurable goals. Koestner’s research suggests that goals must be connected to one’s own interests and values.

Many students have found that, in their own practice, Koestner’s research holds merit. In her experience, Lily Zhang, U1 Arts, has discovered that setting realistic goals lays the foundation for making sustainable lifestyle changes. Zhang found that she was more successful when she focused on smaller, more manageable objectives—a tactic she is using to keep her 2019 resolution.  

“I decided not to be too focused on concrete numbers,” Zhang said. “For example, [instead of resolving to] hit the gym five times a week [… this year]  I choose to focus on making smaller changes in my life, like buying more vegetables and fruits [….] I’ll be able to keep these resolutions throughout the year and then look back and be proud of what I have accomplished by making little changes over time.”

To improve their chances of success, psychologists suggest that goal-setters focus their attention on establishing an achievable regimen. Studies show that daily repetition to the point that behaviour becomes second nature has proven to be a successful strategy for achieving lifestyle changes. This could mean performing the task in question at least once a day or at the same time every day for consistency. Urvashi Singh, U1 Science, has found that two weeks of repetition can make a habit become an acquired behaviour.

“I think making a habit takes 14 days for me,” Singh said. “If I do something for 14 days, I start liking it [….] I think I like the idea of determination and self-control.”

Yet, others do not experience such immediate success—an obstacle which can feel frustrating and disheartening. Depending on the difficulty of the habit one is trying to form, research suggests that it takes anywhere from two to eight months for a habit to become second nature. Though this delayed satisfaction is often discouraging, with continued support from friends and family and by visualizing success, it can be easier to persist through challenging periods and change habits.

For some, the new year is the optimal time to make these changes. For others, it is an ongoing process. Regardless, it is important to understand that no change is immediate or impossible.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

The comedy of “Vice” lies in its absurd truth

by Charlie Mascia on

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In a moment when Trump’s presidency is often perceived as a low point in American democracy, Adam McKay’s Vice shows how Trump is simply following in the footsteps of older, more tactful Republicans predecessors. Christian Bale depicts Dick Cheney with undisguised bias as a man of pure evil, even thanking Satan at the Golden Globes for his help in mastering the part.

Vice employs the same style as McKay’s last success, The Big Short (2015), an absurd and comic depiction of the decidedly unfunny 2008 financial crisis. Vice covers similarly dark subject matter, following former vice president Dick Cheney’s ascent as the man responsible for fomenting mass-hysteria, the invasion of Iraq, and a dystopian surveillance state under the Bush administration. To be sure, Vice is less comedic when compared to The Big Short, perhaps because of its focus on Cheney as a singular evil, in contrast to the faceless financial system. In any case, Bale mastered Cheney’s threatening inhalations, hard stares, and pained grimaces to produce a protagonist who disgusts viewers.

In Vice, McKay defends his prowess in explaining a complex issue’s ongoing significance. McKay employs  intentionally fast-paced and humorous editing as well as clever metaphorical devices. McKay has honed a particular manner of storytelling which relies on absurdity to make otherwise difficult and boring subjects intelligible and entertaining. In The Big Short for instance, Selena Gomez aids Richard Thaler in explaining collateralized debt obligations with blackjack. In Vice, this satire abounds to a degree which some may find grotesque or trivializing. In one scene, Cheney and other policy-makers of the Bush administration sit down in an opulent restaurant as a waiter lists legally-dubious specials: Employing the concept of the unitary executive, the invasion of Iraq, and bypassing the Geneva Convention. As the men grin, McKay splices in footage of illegal torture and visceral combat in Iraq. This could be read as trivializing, but it highlights how America’s most powerful so flippantly killed more than half a million Iraqis. McKay, who is famous for funny films like Anchorman, uses comedy to expose the stunning stupidity he believes guides global politics.

Bale’s Cheney is a power-obsessed neoconservative determined to cement an American empire and affirm the near-absolutist power of the executive. McKay argues that the decay of government transparency materialized under George W. Bush and was guided by Cheney and his cohorts, including then-counselor and chief-of-staff David Addington. McKay is, perhaps, warning us that the unruly and immoral executive figurehead is less worrying than the invisible actors who work behind him.

McKay caps the film with a simplistic but startling contemporization of Cheney’s rule. He traces the rise of ISIS, the power of conservative television, and even the average American’s confusion about who the enemy is back to Cheney. Vice has stunted pacing and is not quite as fun as The Big Short, which develops likeable though conflicted characters. Still, it is timely and sizzles with the same heat as the current political climate; it is both a history of a pattern and a prophecy of an approaching boiling point.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Oh, What a Show: Kacey Musgraves radiates at Mtelus

by Solomon Friedman on

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“Born in a hurry, always late, haven’t been early since ’88,” is one of the best and most endearing opening lines for an album. It is infinitely more compelling when sung by a shimmering silhouette emerging from a shroud of fog. From those opening words to the last glimmering chords of “High Horse,” Kacey Musgraves’ show at Mtelus on Jan. 12 was a radiant celebration of music, love, and the power of ‘yeehaw.’

The Grammy-nominated country singer’s first-ever Montreal show drew an eager and enthusiastic crowd—an audience so excited that, at one point, they cheered for three-straight minutes for no apparent reason, prompting Musgraves to muse that they were just proud she didn’t trip in her mile-high gold heels. Occasionally, she would pull the microphone away from her face and let the crowd carry the song for a few seconds, or, in one instance, for the full chorus of “Merry Go ‘Round.”

Over the course of the show, Musgraves and her band played the entirety of her latest album, 2018’s Golden Hour. The vocoder-centred “Oh, What a World” tour received the full country-acoustic treatment, complete with a banjo, cello, steel-pedal guitar, and double bass, while “Velvet Elvis” and “Wonder Woman” glittered with pop-sensibility. Musgraves sang “Space Cowboy” amidst deep blue lights, giving her the appearance of standing alone in a limitless, cobalt void. The show also featured tracks from Musgraves’ previous two records, including “High Time” and “Die Fun” from Pageant Material, and “Follow Your Arrow” from Same Trailer Different Park. A multi-talented and dedicated band, dressed in powder blue suits and sporting impressive facial hair, supported Musgraves’ vocals. The band members rotated instruments, while Musgraves spent most of the night playing the guitar.

Toward the end of the night, Musgraves donned a blue faux-fur coat over her shimmering, rainbow jumpsuit and was joined on stage by tour opener Natalie Prass for a country cover of Gloria Gaynor’s disco classic “I Will Survive.” As one of the most prominent female voices in a typically male-dominated genre, Musgraves’ rendition of the female-empowerment anthem felt particularly relevant. The two performers hopped around the stage, trading verses and dancing as if they were alone in the theatre. In her own set, Prass danced through the funk-leaning tracks off her latest album, The Future and The Past. Her light, honey-coated voice floated over the yacht-rock instrumentation of “Never Too Late” and captivated the audience with the heartbreaking “My Baby Don’t Understand Me.” The message of her Women’s March anthem “Sisters” was all the more powerful when she joined Musgraves on stage and the two of them came together to celebrate each other’s talents.

In addition to a performance that managed to sound even better than the recordings, Musgraves indulged the audience in Kacey-isms including a Mean Girls reference, “Your mom’s a sexy bitch,” “making it rain some memes,” and many a “yaaaassss queen.” If an appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars didn’t cement Musgraves’ status as a gay country icon, her ability to lead a crowd full of hip, Montreal gays in a ‘yee haw’ call and response certainly did.

Musgraves’ demonstration of allyship wasn’t just limited to funny banter, however. At the end of the show, she dedicated Golden Hour’s closing track, the optimistic “Rainbow,” to a man who told her during the meet-and-greet that he had just come out to his parents and had not been met with a great deal of support. While she was talking directly to him, it felt as though she was speaking to everyone who had ever faced hardship and self-doubt. As she sang the final chorus, rainbow lights flooded the stage, and even though, as Musgraves pointed out, “the world is fucking crazy,” if only for that night, “it’ll all be alright.”

 

Student Life

MHAUS connects students with mental health resources

by Tali Zuckerman on

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With the winter semester underway and deadlines looming on the not-so-distant horizon, students may find themselves needing to access the mental health resources available on campus. Despite the existing counselling services, peer support networks, and medical mental health services available at McGill, many undergraduates don’t take advantage of all the resources available to them. Mental Health at the Arts Undergraduate Society (MHAUS) is working to address the under utilization of resources through community outreach.

Led by mental health commissioners Melody Gao and Olivia Frank, U1 and U3 psychology, respectively, and their team of four other undergraduate students, the committee falls under the portfolio of AUS Vice-President External Rebecca Scarra and meets with the mental health committees of other faculties.

Gao and Frank coordinate outreach programs that strive to better connect students in need of additional support with already existing campus services. Through this work, the commissioners hope to establish an environment in which all students, including those not suffering from mental illness, view mental well-being as a priority.

“[Mental health] is something that needs to be worked on constantly,” Frank said. “It’s not just something that is acknowledged in times of difficulty, but something that is always important and should always be recognized on campus.”

Though other McGill faculties and student organizations have similar mental health committees, such as the SSMU Mental Health Committee, MHAUS is the first to service McGill’s largest undergraduate faculty. Still, both commissioners stressed the importance of collaborating with student-run mental health committees from other faculties to pool their resources and expand overall reach within the McGill community. Through collaboration, MHAUS hopes to bring more attention to the overall importance of mental health. According to Frank, the committee aims to integrate the successes of other mental health groups on campus to foster acceptance of mental health struggles on campus.

“It’s not about competing with their success, but rather creating awareness in any way possible,” Frank said. “I think everybody on campus is beginning to see that change toward how crucial mental health and overall wellness is. The decrease in stigma [surrounding mental illness has] been a massive change, and I think [that having] more people at the table is just going to create a more diverse and more accepting environment and a better conversation.”

For members of MHAUS, success means meeting student needs. Hosting tabling events and publishing surveys on its Facebook page are a few of the ways the committee hopes to gather student feedback and provide information on services that students need.

Ultimately, MHAUS is an organization for all students; both Frank and Gao believe that mental well-being is crucial to every student’s success—both inside and outside of the classroom. In executing this goal, both commissioners stressed the need for making mental health support more available.

“It’s not about creating accessibility for those who need it, because everyone needs it,” Frank said. “Everyone needs to address their mental health just as much as they address their physical health. An image of health that doesn’t include [mental health] is ignoring a massive component of what health looks like for students and for everybody.”

McGill, News

McGill Book Fair opens a new chapter

by Kyle Dewsnap on

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In a sudden resurgence, the McGill Alumni Association’s annual book fair will return in Oct. 2019. The 2018 fair was originally planned to be the final iteration due to future renovations planned for the book fair’s space in Redpath Hall. However, organizers of the event have since made new arrangements. Anne Johnston Williams, co-book fair coordinator, is optimistic about the event’s future.

“The day after the sale finished, we began to get feedback from people in various positions at McGill,” Williams said. “After a number of meetings and consultations, we received confirmation in November that the work on Redpath Hall would be finished in September. Although we may not always have access to the lower level where we work, there seems to be a spirit of cooperation between the departments involved.”

This is not the book fair’s first near-death experience. In 2011, organizers unanimously voted to cancel the event for 2012 after low volunteer turnout. However, it soon regained momentum after two graduate students stepped in as coordinators. The fair was cancelled again in 2013 due to renovations to the Redpath terrace. After the repeated cancellations, low interest plagued the event’s new launch in 2014—both students and book retailers failed to show up.

All proceeds from the fair go toward the McGill Book Fair Bursary. Last year, the book fair raised over $50,000 for three different funds for students in financial need: The McGill Book Fair Bursary for all undergraduate students, the McGill Book Fair Bursary in Music for students in the Schulich School of Music, and the Jane B. Hood Bursary in English Literature, named after the fair’s longest-serving coordinator. Gabrielle Korn, managing director for Alumni Relations, estimates that the book fair has raised over $1.8 million over the past four decades.

“The Book Fair was initially started by the McGill Women’s Alumnae Association and the Women’s Associates of McGill (Wives of Professors) over 45 years ago,”  Korn said. “From the beginning, proceeds from sales were divided between the two groups and returned to the University. The Alumnae Association supported scholarships and bursaries, and the Associates funded a lecture series [….] When the Women’s Associates disbanded, the Alumnae Association carried on solo and all proceeds from the fair went toward supporting their scholarships and bursaries.”

The McGill community can donate books, vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, and sheet music. Books are sold at an average price of three dollars, and unused material is donated to Renaissance, a Quebec non-profit dedicated to providing training to people experiencing difficulty entering the workforce.

“It’s great news that they’re reopening [in 2019],” Owen Lewis, U2 Arts, said. “There were a lot of people there when I went. I was able to find stuff that you wouldn’t be able to get from a normal book store, and at a bargain. It was nice to give to a good cause as well.”

The book fair’s continued success depends on donations from the McGill community; starting on April 9, McGill community members can donate material in good condition every Tuesday and Thursday to Redpath Hall. Williams also said that there is an ever-present need for drop-off supervisors.

“One of the areas where we need assistance is in finding new depots, places where people who can’t otherwise get to McGill can drop off their donations,” Williams said. “The depot people then bring the books to us at their convenience. Students can always drop by on Tuesdays and Thursdays to say hello, check out the free boxes, and ask if any help is needed. Once October comes, we need all the word-of-mouth advertising possible.”

The 2019 book fair will take place Oct. 22-24. Students interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact one of the coordinators.

Private, Science & Technology

Uncovering the molecule behind synaptic plasticity

by Farida Rahman on

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Our brains function according to the “use it or lose it” phenomenon: If a skill or piece of information is underused, it becomes harder, if not impossible, to recall it. Conversely, reviewing new knowledge or practicing an action is one of the best ways to strengthen the memory and prevent it from easily degrading.

Learning and memory is made possible by synaptic plasticity, the brain’s malleable ability to form, alter, or lose physical connections, known as synapses, in response to environmental input.

In the past, scientists believed that synapses were only able to undergo structural changes in the developing brains of children and infants, but they now know that the adult brain is also capable of similarly flexible changes. Researchers are still investigating the mechanisms underlying these changes. A recent study from McGill researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute suggests that netrin proteins may be the key.

“We’ve identified a key molecular mechanism of the synapse that underlies [the memory’s] ‘use it or lose’ it phenomenon,” Timothy Kennedy, associate professor in McGill’s Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, said in an interview with //The McGill Tribune//. “If you use the synapse, that then makes it stronger. It is like you’re enhancing a pathway. And if you believe changes in neural circuits are what underlie memories, which there is pretty good evidence for, then what we’re doing is we’re changing the function of that neural circuit, and we’re changing the memory.”

When our brains learn new information, it is relayed across synapses using chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. This process can be improved by releasing more neurotransmitters or by increasing the number of receptors in receiving synapses. Kennedy identified netrins, a class of proteins, as aiding the latter.

Although netrin’s role in neuron cell guidance and brain circuitry in infants is well documented, studies show that netrin plays an important role in the adult brain as well. When a signal is ready for transmission, the synapse releases netrin, increasing the number of receptors on the receiving neuron and allowing for a greater intake of the relayed chemical signal.

“The relatively subtle changes that happen in your brain when you’re learning things and […] having everyday experiences […] are changing how netrin is presented to neurons,” Kennedy said.“Neurons are secreting netrin and changing the strength of connections between cells and neural networks.”

Many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s, have been linked to impairments in the synaptic plasticity mechanism. Specifically, an understanding of netrin shows that dysfunctional synapses can result from reduced levels of netrin, similarly to the way in which muscles would atrophy if the mechanisms involved in muscle formation are damaged. The Kennedy Lab is examining aging as one such factor, since most neurodegenerative diseases have onsets in later life. Determining the details of the netrin mechanism may open new doors for treatment.

“You can flip [reduced levels of netrin] on its head,” Kennedy said. “If you promote the netrin mechanism, you might actually rescue some of those deficits [in neurodegenerative disease]. We’re trying to understand that.”

McGill, News

Senate divided over ban on student-staff relationships

by Kyle Dewsnap on

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Having missed the Jan. 1 deadline set by the Quebec government to revise its sexual violence policy, McGill’s revisions, which are scheduled to be introduced to the Senate on Feb. 20, have become a point of contention between students and staff since last month’s meeting. When the Ad-Hoc Senate Committee on Teaching Staff-Student Intimate Relationships presented their findings at the Dec. 5 Senate meeting, around 25 students attended to protest the report for not suggesting that the Senate enact a full ban on consensual sexual relationships between students and their instructors. After the report’s presentation and a heated question period between student senators and Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) Angela Campbell, students began chanting “We want a ban!” The Senate’s chairwoman, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier, asked the students to stop.

“I think we’ve all heard you,” Fortier said. “You don’t have to repeat that twenty times. At this time, I will ask you to respect our work and the need for us to continue in our proceedings.

Teaching staff-student relationships constitute any consensual romantic or sexual relationship between a student and a staff member with teaching, supervisory, or grading authority over any student. Convened last semester, the committee was made up of three students and three academic staff members, or two alternate student members if others were not present. The committee’s report recommends that staff-student relationships be prohibited between members of the same academic unit. However, staff may ask for an exemption if they would have no supervisory authority over the student, and the student is not perceived as having any advantage over their peers.

The three student members of the committee wrote a commentary in The McGill Tribune in December 2018, stating that the report ignored student demands for a ban on all staff-student relationships. Bee Khaleeli, a committee member who also contributed to SSMU’s Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy, said that the report is yet another example of McGill ignoring its students.

“In the conversations [the committee] had, both in private and during public forums, it was clear that students wanted a ban,” Khaleeli said. “I personally don’t feel that this was something that was addressed in good faith. I think that [the proceedings] pointed not only to McGill’s failure to [address] this specific issue, but also to a wider pattern of students’ needs not being taken seriously.”

The committee was tasked with holding its meetings on a consensus basis, meaning that the recommendations within the report had to be agreed upon by all committee members. After the report was presented to the Senate, Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) senators questioned why students’ request for a ban was omitted. Arts Senator Madeline Wilson denied the existence of a consensus, sparking a debate between herself and Campbell.

“The three students on that committee clearly stated that they were in favour of a ban on staff-student relationships, and that wasn’t represented anywhere in the report,” Wilson said. “[The claim] that the goal of consensus-based decision making is compromise is not [realistic]. [Compromise] is not something that should be considered with regards to an issue of this sensitivity or with an issue that relates to student safety.”

Campbell cited the findings of Concordia’s Sexual Assault Policy Review Working Group, which found that banning any relationship between consenting adults would be illegal. Campbell also adamantly stated that McGill’s administration is trying its best to incorporate student opinions into the discussion about sexual violence at McGill.

“Having the outcome that you would like to see not appear in the result of a report doesn’t mean that you weren’t heard,” Campbell said. “I think there’s a difference between being consulted and having your opinion carry the day […], otherwise, [the report] would be a single-person show [….] I think there’s a disconnect between the perception of how much interest the university has taken toward this issue versus how many resources are actually being poured into both addressing these issues as well as preventing them.”

Hockey, Men's Varsity, Sports

McGill men’s hockey falls to Concordia in overtime

by Ender McDuff on

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On Jan. 11, an overtime thriller ended in dismay for the McGill faithful and their men’s hockey team (12-5-4). The Carnival hockey showcase against the cross-town rival Concordia Stingers (12-7-1) ended in a 5-4 loss after a wrap-around shot cemented the Stingers’ three-goal comeback.

This year’s Carnival game was the first in McGill history to sell out before the opening face-off. With 1,029 people in attendance, there was only standing room available for many of the boisterous fans.

Concordia struck first just one minute and 20 seconds into the game, but McGill was quick to respond: Second-year forward Keanu Yamamoto sniped a slap shot just 20 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1. McGill excelled in transition all night, as their next goal also came on a two-on-one. Fourth-year centre Jerome Verrier’s attempted cross found the back of the net when the Concordia goalie accidentally redirected the puck on goal.

McGill ended the period up 3-1 after third-year left wing Guillaume Gauthier came off the bench and immediately collected the puck to snipe a goal over the outstretched body of a Concordia defender.

McGill started the second period well; they controlled the puck and managed to limit much of the play to Concordia’s end of the rink. A sudden lapse in defence, however, allowed Concordia to tip in a goal off of a rebound to bring the game within one goal, 3-2.

Concordia seized the momentum, forcing third-year goaltender Louis-Philip Guindon to make a consecutive series of spectacular saves—38 in total—to maintain McGill’s narrow lead.

With four minutes left in the period, fourth-year centre Frederic Gamelin scored McGill’s final goal of the night despite being short-handed. However, a second penalty left McGill playing three-on-five, and Concordia took advantage to end the second period down 4-3.

The third period started with several shots on net for both teams, but neither goaltender would give way. With six minutes left to play, a skirmish at the Concordia net left the Stingers goalie winded and helmetless and the puck across the goal line—but the referees waved off the would-be McGill score. Only 10 seconds later, a rebounded slapshot by Concordia tied the game 4-4 and sent the match to a 3-on-3 overtime.

McGill started sudden-death play with two electrifying, breakaway opportunities, but neither shot succeeded. Controlling the puck, Concordia finished the game in heartbreaking fashion with a wrap-around effort, winning 5-4.

“I thought we played a pretty good game, but just a couple bad bounces and they got us at the end,” fourth-year defender Redgie Bois said. “It’s really painful to lose that one, especially in front of that crowd.”

Bois was very appreciative of the raucous fans, noting the encouragement that they provided.

“I was really fortunate to play that game,” he said.

Looking ahead, second-year forward Alex Renaud spoke to what it will take for McGill to win close matches.

“It’s hard to say what we need to do differently, but we just have to stick to our game [… because] we know what it takes to win,” Renaud said. “Every game is different and we’ve just got to put it all out there.”

McGill travelled to Ottawa on Jan. 12 to play the Carleton Ravens (12-5-4) and returned home with a decisive 6-2 victory. The team’s next home game is on Jan. 18, when they will host the Laurentian Voyageurs.

Moment of the Game:

With McGill holding onto a one-goal lead, fourth-year centre Frederic Gamelin managed to break past all five of Concordia’s skaters and beat the goalkeeper to put McGill on top 4-2 despite being short-handed by a player.

Quotable:

“You know, a couple bounces go differently and we are the ones cheering and having a parade at the end of the game.” – Alex Renaud on McGill’s narrow loss

Stat Corner:

Third-year goaltender Louis-Philip Guindon played the entire 62 minutes and 30 seconds of action without rest, tallying a game-high 38 saves.

Commentary, Opinion

Prioritizing culture and colour in mental health services

by Amrita Sandhu on

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On Jan. 30, many McGill students’ social media feeds will overflow with posts tagged with #BellLetsTalk. An initiative started by the telecommunications company to increase awareness about mental health, Bell’s “Let’s Talk” event is a day when people can use their social media platforms to raise money for mental health awareness by using the designated hashtag. This campaign may resonate—positively or not—with the increasing number of McGillians turning to counselling services for support with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Accessing care can be even more difficult for students of colour at McGill, who encounter unique obstacles when seeking care. Language barriers, therapist-patient disconnects, and lack of access to ethnically-diverse counsellors all hinder students’ access to necessary care.

Students of colour living in predominately-white cities often experience difficulties finding counsellors who understand their experiences, and seeking help outside of the university’s healthcare system is not always a viable option. International students, for example, may have to pay out-of-pocket for a counsellor of the same demographic, even incurring travel costs if the counsellor is located beyond the downtown Montreal area. It is imperative that McGill offers students the option to be counselled by someone of the same background, as the patient may find it easier to discuss cultural issues if they feel that their therapist can relate to them or at least understand them.

As a South Asian woman, depression and anxiety were not words I heard often while growing up. The negative stigma surrounding mental health issues in many Asian cultures stands in stark contrast with the emphasis that the Western world places on mental well-being. Cross-cultural counselling skills are crucial considering the growing diversity not only of McGill, but of Canada as a whole. The importance of therapists’ cross-cultural knowledge for the quality of patients’ care is increasingly well-recognized: For example, the Canadian Psychological Association has established a list of resources for therapists treating recently-arrived Syrian refugees.

Language barriers may also arise between patients of colour and therapists. Canada is a diverse country, with over 200 languages spoken nationwide. Students whose first language is not English or French may struggle to communicate their precise feelings to their therapist, affecting the counselling and treatment they receive as a result. The option to receive psychotherapy in one’s native language can encourage students to actively seek mental health care, allowing for greater and more effective communication between a counsellor and their patient.  

Ensuring that every student is properly accommodated and cared for requires looking beyond treatment methods alone. Making sure that students of colour on campus feel comfortable seeking assistance in a way that also adheres to their cultural perspective can improve mental health care at McGill. Altering the approach to mental health care is at McGill’s discretion. The equitable solution to the relative inaccessibility of mental health services is to incorporate cross-culture counselling methods and a higher diversity of counsellors to abolish the unique barriers students of colour can face when seeking mental health care.

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