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Commentary, Opinion

Consultation in name only at the joint Board-Senate meeting

by Madeline Wilson on

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On Nov. 14, McGill University held its annual Senate and Board of Governors joint meeting, bringing together the university’s highest academic and financial administrative bodies, respectively. Each year, the two bodies convene to discuss a topic that relates to the university’s mission; I attended as an undergraduate senator from the Faculty of Arts. This year’s topic: How McGill could transform itself for a world of lifelong learning. If these sound like buzzwords, that’s because they are. As a concept, lifelong learning is broad, however, during the Joint Board-Senate meeting, it was often interpreted as the development of critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence that students carry with them for the rest of their lives. As noted by the many attendees, the world is changing rapidly, and its future depends on individuals’ ability to challenge norms and predict innovative solutions to unpredictable problems. The consensus of the meeting was that McGill needs to work harder to help students develop these lifelong skills.

As a student and member of the McGill Senate, I find it hypocritical that the university is apparently so eager to help students challenge societal norms through innovative ideas, yet the minute these students’ ideas challenge the university’s norms, they are met with skepticism or aggressively avoided. Student-led movements like #ChangeTheName and divestment are progressive ideas that question McGill’s current mode of operation and its governing procedures, but the administration’s responses to both have been lacking.

Despite the Senate’s Sept. 12 endorsement of divestment, the Board of Governors declined to call  a conference committee with the Senate as required by the University Statutes. Instead, they chose not to vote on the matter of divestment, pointing to a semantic distinction in the motion that passed at Senate to indicate that there was no technical ‘disagreement.’ Climate change will not wait for the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR) to finish deliberating. Similarly, when the Call to Action 21 of the 2017 Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education advised McGill to begin the process of changing their men’s varsity team name, the university postponed a decision until the report of the Working Group on the Principles of Commemoration and Renaming comes out at the end of 2018. A true commitment to lifelong learning should involve recognizing the innovation behind these movements and effective engagement with student activism and concerns.

As I was walking out of the meeting, I overheard an attendee say that they were disappointed with the roundtable groups’ lack of suggestions for immediate action to transform McGill for a world of lifelong learning. Admittedly, I found this amusing. Attendees suggested plenty of immediate actions, but they never made it past the brainstorming phase. I even articulated to my discussion table that there is no a lack of student innovation, but a lack of administrative action. However, I was dismissed.

If McGill continues to consistently ignore students’ efforts to engage in critical thinking and innovation, students will be discouraged from using these skills to affect change outside the university. Adapting to a world of lifelong learning does not just mean increasing external partnerships, such as exchange programs and job training, as suggested by attendees of the Joint Board-Senate meeting. To prove their commitment to lifelong learning, McGill must listen to its community. True progress doesn’t happen in roundtable meetings at the Faculty Club. It happens through sit-ins, open letters, and student consultations. So far, the university administration has shown that it is ready to change others, but it is evident that they are not yet prepared to change themselves.

McGill, News

TEDx McGill brings in experts to talk development

by Jacqueline Yao, Nina Russell, Kyle Dewsnap, & Helen Wu on

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On Nov. 24, TEDx McGill hosted a conference entitled Climbing Ladders, which featured 10 presentations and performances by scholars, journalists, and students.

 

Emilie Nicolas

Emilie Nicolas, a board member of the socially progressive Broadbent Institute think tank and co-founder of Quebéc inclusif, a non-profit organization that advocates for inclusivity for minorities in Quebec, disputed the myth that racism rarely occurs in Canada. Nicolas recalled how members of her predominantly-white neighbourhood showed prejudice against her and discussed how black women are misrepresented in media.

“The moment I started school, I started hearing the n-word on the schoolyard,” Nicolas said. “By the time I was a teenager, I straightened my hair. I thought that, perhaps, if my hair was natural, it would make people laugh and stare.”

Nicolas argued that Canada’s history of discriminatory policies is not sufficiently represented in school curricula. According to her, the false belief that everyone has equal opportunities hurts marginalized children by making them feel inadequate.

Charles Mann

Science journalist Charles C. Mann explained how the global population reaching 10 billion people might influence humanity’s survival. He separated the common concerns over the future of our species into two categories: ‘Wizards’ and ‘prophets.’ While wizards emphasize the promise of technology in ensuring access to necessary resources, prophets regard changing global habits as the best solution to climate change.

“Wizards and prophets have been butting their heads together for decades, but they believe that technology is key to a successful future,” Mann said. “The trouble is [that] they envision different types of technology and different types of futures.”

Though he admits that this is a simplification of a complex debate, Mann described cooperation between both camps as fundamental.

“One [solution] might be [that] each side agrees to accept the fundamental premises of the other,” Mann said. “Wizards and prophets working together have many paths to success. And success would mean much more than mere survival, important though that is.”

 

Oren Hodes

McGill student Oren Hodes delivered his talk on the importance of mental resilience—the ability to bounce back from difficult experiences. After returning from his semester abroad in Barcelona, Hodes was faced with a series of demanding circumstances that took a toll on his mental well-being.

“I was riding a high, […] but the second I stepped back in Montreal, everything started to crash down on me,” Hodes said. “My father was diagnosed with cancer; his father—my grandfather—found a tumour in his body; and, I was asked to step in to my parents’ divorce as power of attorney.”

Hodes gave the audience advice that helped him through his difficulties: Finding a creative outlet, maintaining one’s mental health, and working toward personal goals.

“These three things are something that can be done everyday,” Hodes said. “And I genuinely believe that every person in this room can achieve their wildest dreams.”

 

Susanna Zaraysky

Susanna Zaraysky, author of Language is Music and One-eyed Princess, spoke to her audience about being born with strabismus, a disorder causing misalignment of the eyes. At the age of 29, she read an article by British neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks explaining that those with her visual disability are ‘stereo-blind’; unable to see with both eyes at the same time and, thus, have no depth perception.

“There’s this phrase [that] ignorance is bliss” Zaraysky said. “When it comes to your health, medial ignorance is not bliss. I was absolutely devastated. How could I have lived this long without knowing I was partially blind?”

With corrective lenses and vision therapy, Zaraysky was able to train her eyes to work together and her brain to process vision from both eyes. In her presentation, she urged medical schools to further educate physicians about visual disabilities to avoid misdiagnosis in children.

Science & Technology

Seemingly-redundant organ discovered to influence development

by Krithika Ragupathi on

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Scientists have long wondered about the function of rudimentary structures which have no apparent use, such as organs like the appendix and tonsils. In On The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin hypothesized that these vestigial structures are remnants of our evolutionary past and explained their presence using his widely-accepted theory of natural selection.

A team of McGill biologists recently published a paper in Nature suggesting a need to re-examine this idea. Their lab discovered that a seemingly-useless structure in ants—specifically, the rudimentary wing discs—determines the social caste that an ant develops into, such as a soldier or worker ant. Hence, the wing discs determine body size, lifespan, and other characteristics that correspond to the ant’s role.

They also found that the discs can regulate the balance of social groups based on an environment’s demands. In response to environmental stressors, ants release pheromones that influence the signals produced by rudimentary wing discs of ants in the colony. Consequently, the colony can increase its worker-to-soldier ratio on demand.

Ehab Abouheif, professor in the Department of Biology and co-author of the paper, explained that the scientific community has left this area of evolutionary biology largely untouched.

“We have to cast a different eye on this whole class of biology that has been sitting dormant for 100 years,” Abouheif said.

Scientists have yet to find similar unassuming organs influencing growth and development in the human species. Abouheif believes that observing such a phenomenon would be particularly difficult, crediting the examinability of ants for his sizeable discovery.

“Different organisms make different biological phenomena obvious,” Abouheif said.

In the Pheidole genus of ants, minor workers and soldiers have two distinct morphologies, which prompted Abouheif’s investigation into the developmental switchpoint that leads to their differentiation.

Barbara McClintock, an American scientist and geneticist, was, similarly, able to discover transposable elements in DNA sequences thanks to traits within the species of corn she was studying, making the phenomenon salient to observe.

Although most research on human vestiges has been inconclusive, there have been reports of the human appendix sending out signals during development. The function of these signals is still unknown.

If the seemingly-redundant organs in humans work like an ant’s wing discs, Abouheif believes it would have huge implications for medicine. He postulates that, by understanding the signalling function of rudimentary structures, scientists could develop interventions for developmental processes that have gone awry, such as in the case of premature births.

While potential implications of their findings are vast, Abouheif expects that garnering medical interest and investigation in this area will be gradual.

“Medical research is extremely conservative,” Abouheif said. “It’s not like tomorrow doctors [will say] ‘[We’ve] got to look [at rudiments].’”

On Oct. 9, Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan announced a $558 million investment from the federal government in discovery science. This investment supports the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grants program, which provides funding to researchers, like Abouheif, who work on projects with long-term goals.  

Abouheif, however, believes this investment is insufficient and strongly advocates for the importance of discovery-based research in producing medical developments. He points out that, like his discovery in Pheidole ants, many pivotal findings in science are often stumbled upon in unexpected territories of research.

“Sometimes, when we’re looking for something, we’re looking under the light,” Abouheif said. “We’re looking in obvious places, but that’s not always where the answer will be.”

Beyond the bubble, Commentary, Opinion

New urbanist schemes for transit-oriented teens

by Jessie Ye on

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On Nov. 19, Montreal mayor Valérie Plante announced, to the outrage of downtown business owners, that the city council has decided to pursue her plan to redesign St. Catherine Street by widening sidewalks to 6.5 metres and reducing traffic to a single lane. This transportation proposal accompanied a host of other initiatives proposed by Plante, such as building a new metro line and banning car traffic on Mount Royal. For Montrealers, especially students, these proposed changes will promote increased accessibility, affordability, and safety in the city. Designing a city that suits the needs of students and youth is designing a city fit for the future.

Despite their clear advantages, Plante’s actions have been met with intense pushback. Opponents of the metro and St. Catherine renovations, including Ensemble Montréal, a municipal political party, and Destination centre-ville, an association representing 8,000 downtown businesses, warn of high costs and reductions in economic activity. However, their fears are unfounded. Numerous cities such as New York, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong have already proven the vast environmental and health benefits of building public infrastructure that favours pedestrians and reduces the need for personal automobiles. What these cities share, and what Montreal is reluctantly moving toward, is a willingness to put people first by focusing on public transit systems and alternative commuting methods. Contrary to what Ensemble Montréal and other opposition groups may claim about the economic dangers of removing parking, research has proven that cities that encourage foot traffic actually see an increase in consumer activity as well as more community interaction.

Designing walkways and bike lanes increases pedestrian and cyclist traffic, lowers obesity rates, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Cities like Barcelona, which turned 40-acre grid sections into pedestrian-first neighbourhoods by limiting truck access and speed limits, saw reduced environmental impacts as well as increased economic activity in each section. Looking at cities around the world proves that Montreal still has a long way to go before it can become a leader in innovative city design.

University students are reliant on public transport: 90 per cent of McGill students cite using public transit instead of cars, and many choose to walk or bike to school. For most students, owning a car is infeasible in both cost and convenience. Without reliable transit infrastructure, it becomes impossible for students to get around efficiently and safely. Even after graduating, many students continue to work in major cities and therefore continue to rely on public transit. Millennials’ affinity for public transit has even entered the sphere of popular culture and memes. The Facebook meme group called ‘New Urbanist Memes for Transit-Oriented Teens’  boasts over 127,000 current members. NUMTOTs, the nickname for its members, gather on the Facebook group to share memes and to fantasize about new transportation developments and cities with efficient transit systems. Students, millennials, and even NUMTOTs are examples of how youth are moving toward an efficient future, and city planners should follow suit.

As cities like Montreal continue to grow and cater to a more socially-aware population, it becomes clear that cities will need to adapt to their younger inhabitants. A shift toward communal forms of transportation, rather than individual vehicles, will be necessary to accommodate a growing urban population. The needs of today’s students directly reflect those of tomorrow’s workforce. Only by creating infrastructure with youth in mind can cities continue to thrive in the future.

McGill, News

CAMSR reconsidering divestment

by Laura Oprescu on

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The Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR), a governance body mandated to make recommendations to the McGill Board of Governors (BoG) on socially-responsible investing, announced on Nov. 1 that it would be compiling a second investigation into divestment from fossil fuels. CAMSR decided to reconsider their stance in light of the current context and recent developments regarding climate change. The decision follows the McGill Senate endorsing divestment at their Sept. 12 meeting. Divestment would entail retracting investments from any company that profits from fossil fuels. The act of divestment has been successful against other social ills in the past, notably against companies profiting from cigarette sales and the South African apartheid.

Although the BoG has repeatedly expressed opposition to divestment, some members have spoken out in favour of it. At the Board’s Oct. 4 meeting, Ehab Lotayef, an administrative and support staff representative to the BoG, suggested that a motion for divestment should be put directly to the Board instead of waiting for CAMSR to further investigate.

“I did not see a reason for sending [this] question to CAMSR,” Lotayef wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “The Senate motion is clear, and [divestment] enjoys wide support within the McGill community. I had hoped […] that the Board would vote in support of divestment [….] It is not a question of bypassing CAMSR, but a question of urgency. Time is not [on] humanity’s side, and I feel a personal and collective responsibility toward future generations.”

Annabelle Couture-Guillet, U3 Arts and Science and member of Divest McGill, believes that students have the power to pressure their universities to change.

“We have the IPCC report that was released a month ago […and] it’s so clear that we need changes,” Couture-Guillet said. “As students, we have individual capacities for change, but, as students at McGill, we have this potential to use institutional power, to have our big, well-reputed university take a stand and send a strong political message.”

Couture-Guillet points out that CAMSR’s last report took testimonials from six individuals with expertise primarily in green chemistry and sustainability but not in ethical investing. The names of the individuals were kept private, so the BoG did not know whose testimonials CAMSR’s report was based on when voting on divestment.

“This time, the testimonials should be transparent,” Couture-Guillet said. “This time, the testimonials should be backed up by basic academic rigour. [The last report contained only] opinion claims [….] It was quite embarrassing.”

Lotayef believes that McGill should make the decision quickly to set an example for other institutions.

“I would like to see a […] fast and transparent process as CAMSR and the Board deal with this question,” Lotayef said. “I have high hopes that both the Board and CAMSR understand the importance of the issue and the advantage of McGill being at the forefront of the environmental movement [and that the university will set] an example for others.”

Couture-Guillet expressed concerns over potential conflicts of interest within CAMSR, stating that the Committee needs to rebuild trust with the McGill community.

“[CAMSR’s] new chair, Cynthia Price Verreault, has worked for Petro-Canada for 18 years,” Couture-Guillet said. “We hope […] that they will disclose any conflicts of interest and that they will come up with the best decision […] for McGill.

Associate Director of the Secretariat Kevin Dobie, speaking on behalf of the BoG’s Secretary General, asserted that CAMSR has provisions in place to ensure transparency and community input.

“The Board has developed […] practices that aim to promote transparency and accountability when it comes to Board […] business,” Dobie wrote in an email to the Tribune. “For several years, the Board has been holding annual forums with student associations.”

Students can submit their questions to the BoG at their next community consultation, which is scheduled for Feb. 14, 2019. CAMSR members expect to submit their report during the next academic year.

Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Arcadia delves into discussions of science, sexuality, and existentialism

by Nicholas Raffoul on

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Past and present overlap in playwright Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, a curious exploration of sex and love, mathematics and nature, and the pursuit of knowledge. Presented by Player’s Theatre and directed by Steven Greenwood (PhD candidate in English), Arcadia portrays the curiosity and determination of young scholars in this brilliant rendition of Stoppard’s 1993 tragicomedy.

Arcadia is set in two distinct time periods: The early 19th century and the present day. However, both eras share the same setting, a long table, the enduring presence of which represents the abstract and intangible nature of time. The table stays immobile throughout the play, and the only clear indication of a change in time period are the characters and the impeccable juxtaposition of their costumes and voices.  

Set in Sidley Park, an English country home, Arcadia’s first timeline revolves around the young and inquisitive spirit of Thomasina Coverly (Liana Brooks, U3 Science), who studies the intersection of physics and sexuality in the early 1800s with her nihilistic tutor Septimus Hodge (Thomas Fix, BA ‘18). Arcadia then flashes forward to the present day, in which academics convene in the same country house to research the home and its garden. The academics include Hannah Jarvis (Tess McNeil, U3 Arts & Science), a practical scholar frustrated by the sexism inherent to academia, and Bernard Nightingale (Huxley Anjilvel, U2 Arts), a charismatic yet stubborn young man who represents the institutional barriers that Jarvis resents.

Greenwood creates smooth and coherent transitions between the past and the present, and although the set remains static, the space is transformed by what transpires within it. The characters from the 19th century exude nobility, their aristocracy depicted by their intricate costumes and verbose dialogue. Lady Croom (Hazel Neil, U1 Arts) and Ezra Chater’s (Lucas Amato, BS ‘18) blustery personalities, both of which comedically captured the sophistication of the represented period, also underscore the signifiers of the time period. The overt gender dynamics also symbolize the past in Arcadia, as exemplified by Septimus Hodge’s condescending tone and authority over Thomasina.  

Young Thomasina and Septimus Hodge partake in hilarious conversations revolving around larger discussions of sex and math that far exceed the maturity levels of the young scholar. Their tutoring sessions quickly devolve into discussions of grandiose themes and questions, and the actors’ chemistry makes for realistic, reflective, and memorable interactions.

The present day trades the luxury of the 19th century costuming by dressing stuffy academics in drab suits and stiff attire. Bernard captures the trope of the tenured professor and the profession’s associated vanity. He personifies institutional misogyny, constantly dismissing Hannah’s research and unfairly giving her book a poor review. Though he is more concerned with undermining his subordinates than with his own research, he continues to receive public praise. McNeil successfully captures her character’s frustrations with Bernard through a fiery determination to uncover the histories of Sidley Park and prove him wrong. In its depictions of both past and present, Arcadia critiques academia’s patriarchal structure.

“I am always drawn to projects that restore lost histories, particularly stories that have been lost due to oppression and marginalization,” Greenwood said.

Stoppard displays a passion for knowledge across multiple disciplines, including poetry, science, math, philosophy, and history. Arcadia embodies the intersection of these disciplines across two different time periods, reflecting the parallels between characters and their intentions in the contrasting temporalities.

Arguably, the irreversibility of time is Arcadia’s most dominant theme. Thomasina’s tutoring sessions on thermodynamics and heat reveal the bitter truth that time only moves forward and that heat can only travel in one direction.

“Newton’s equations go forward and backward,’ Thomasina said. “They do not care which way. But, the heat equation cares very much. It only goes one way.”

Thomasina’s insightful ideas and heartwarming personality, beautifully portrayed by Brooks, leave the audience questioning time and nature long after the end of the play.

McGill, News

Social work students protest against unpaid internships

by Abeer Almahdi on

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From Nov. 19 to 23, students in McGill’s School of Social Work went on strike against unpaid internships. The strike was organized by the Social Work Students’ Association (SWSA), with participants standing in solidarity with similar efforts by Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Université de Montréal, and 54,000 other social work students, rallying under a larger provincial-level protest led by the Comités unitaires sur le travail étudiant (CUTE).

The School of Social Work faculty voted unanimously on Nov. 14 to support the strike by cancelling classes for the duration of the week. However, an email sent by the School of Social Work Director Nico Trocmé and Dean of Arts Christopher Manfredi reminded faculty of their legal obligation to continue instruction as usual.

“Teaching faculty support the concerns of the students, but we do have a requirement to teach classes, both as part of our legal requirements and with respect to requirement [to provide instruction],” Trocmé said to The McGill Tribune. “Any student who requests class is entitled to have class.”

SWSA strikers joined CUTE strike participants at a demonstration on Nov. 21 on UQAM’s downtown campus, where students from across Montreal gathered to demand compensation for their field placements.

In an interview with the Tribune at the demonstration, Vincent Mousseau, U2 Arts in the School of Social Work and SWSA Internal Affairs coordinator, attested to a right for compensation for mandatory labour.

“We’re here protesting unpaid internships,” Mousseau said. “More specifically, the School of Social Work at McGill does 800 hours of unpaid internships without any remuneration. We think this is unfair.”

At McGill, the Bachelor of Social Work requires that students take, and, thus, pay for, 800 hours of field placement courses that are usually unpaid. Although unpaid internships are illegal in Quebec, the law makes an exception if they are part of a program approved by a university, college, or secondary school board. At McGill, Nursing and Education students are also required to complete unpaid field placements as a part of their degree.  

Matthew Savage, U3 Arts in the School of Social Work and the strike coordinator for SWSA, sees unpaid internships as a problem that all students can unite against.

“I like to know that this isn’t just a Social Work fight,” Savage said. “This is a fight for Nursing and Education, and its about time that they get involved.”

Sandy Esvina, U1 Arts in the School of Social Work, believes that unpaid field placements are more common in female-dominated professions.  She argues that students studying in male-dominated fields, such as engineering, are more likely to receive compensation for program-related work.

“Your grade depends on [unpaid internships], and people take advantage of that,” Esvina said. “Why are [social work students] not paid? This is really a feminist issue [….] We’re in 2018, women should be paid equally to men, and our work is just as valuable.”

Esvina believes that the labour of social workers as a whole, like many care-centred fields, is undervalued in popular opinion.

“I work in youth protection,” Esvina said. “So, when I’m going to go do my [internships], I’m going to be doing very vulnerable work because I’m teaching these kids to [reintegrate into] society [and] how to learn to trust again. I’m going to be helping [those people] and I think my work is valuable enough to be paid for it.”

Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge called the social work protest ‘premature.’ In an interview with the CBC on Nov. 19, Roberge stated that he is in the process of studying and evaluating solutions for the issue of unpaid internships.

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: ‘Music Inspired by Illumination and Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch EP’ by Tyler, the Creator

by Katia Innes on

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Following the critical and commercial acclaim of 2017’s Flower Boy, Tyler, the Creator—the now reformed enfant-terrible of the softboy hip-hop world—opened up a world of artistic possibilities for himself. Given his disregard for public opinion, it isn’t entirely surprising that his next artistic endeavour would be a new rendition of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” for the recent remake of the children’s classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and an accompanying EP inspired by the green man himself.  

Vaguely amusing at best, The Grinch EP teeters between irony and sincerity; its inability to commit to either camp is ultimately its greatest shortcoming. As a pseudo-children’s album, its complete lack of lewd language is its most striking feature for frequent listeners of Tyler. In comparison to the vulgarity of past releases, Tyler’s newfound commitment to censorship is a strange move. If the EP had a target audience, it would be twenty-something ex-Odd Future fans who are also new parents. Considering that Tyler once rapped “chilling with the Polar Bear / That used to work for coke, Santa’s sniffin’ coke” on a track aptly titled “Fuck Santa,” hearing the self-proclaimed “Satan’s Son” mumble rap about what type of milk he likes in his hot chocolate is certainly a change of pace. It’s two percent milk for those who are curious.

None of the tracks exceed two and a half minutes, which is ultimately for the best. It’s obvious that Tyler had fun with the EP, even managing to get Santigold and Brockhampton-attaché Ryan Beatty to feature on the festive track “Lights On.” Sonically, The Grinch EP is the younger sibling to Flower Boy, both incorporating similar elements of neo-soul, while also favouring a smoother sound over punchier, jarring rap rants. Still, Tyler maintains the same bravado while rapping about stealing presents from all the Whos down in Whoville on the track “Big Bag” that he displayed when talking about crashing private jets and killing B.o.B. Sadly, The Grinch EP never reaches the level of pure fun and catharsis that it could, and instead will have to spend this holiday dinner relegated to the kids’ table.

S
Editorial, Opinion

The current S/U option is unsatisfactory

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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As the end of term nears, students start scrambling to calculate the minimum grades they need to achieve on their final exams to pass their courses. Amidst the stress, the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading option offers some respite. Vice President (VP) University Affairs (UA) Jacob Shapiro wants to incentivize students to continue studying for their S/U classes, even when they’re guaranteed to pass. Shapiro is advocating for a change to the S/U system that would allow students to convert their ‘S’ grades back to regular letter grades. While Shapiro’s proposal sounds promising, an updated S/U policy alone cannot encourage students to take a variety of courses, and McGill must continue encouraging students to take classes that fall outside of their comfort zones.

Currently, during the add-drop period, students can opt to take elective courses through a model under which final grades are represented by either an ‘S’ if the student passed with a 55 per cent or above or a ‘U’ if the student failed. Neither option is reflected in a student’s GPA.

Shapiro’s proposal would allow students to switch their ‘S’ grade to whatever letter grade they would have received in the course under the normal grading scheme for up to two weeks after the release of their final mark. By suggesting this change, Shapiro hopes to incentivize students to fully engage with their elective courses. Similar options exist at other universities: Both Columbia and Yale have alternative S/U programs that allow students to ‘uncover’ their grade after they’ve received it.

On Nov. 1, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council voted to formally recognize Shapiro’s mandate to advocate for the proposal. However, Shapiro’s plan has some critics. The president of the Computer Science Undergraduate Society (CSUS) Kyle Rubenok believes it would privilege those who have the money to retake courses until they receive a higher grade. Dubious as this claim is, Shapiro still needs to refine his proposed changes to address other concerns, like devaluation of the ‘S’ mark and grade inflation. Shapiro’s plan risks undermining the purpose of the ‘S’ grade, as students who received high numerical grades will most likely uncover their grade to boost their GPA. This then suggests that students who choose to keep their ‘S’ did not receive a good grade in the first place. Additionally, Shapiro needs to clarify whether uncovering S/U grades would allow students to apply those courses to their major or minor, if they decided they liked the course and want to pursue further study in the field.

Moreover, the S/U policy alone is not enough to encourage students to take courses beyond their major and minor areas of study. McGill’s academic culture is highly competitive, incentivizing students to take easy courses that will boost their GPAs to supplement their resumes for future job searches and graduate school applications. Encouraging students to take electives outside of their programs will make their education more holistic, provide them with interdisciplinary skills, and even introduce students to subjects they didn’t expect to enjoy.

Shapiro’s proposed changes still have a long way to go before implementation. However, this does not mean that McGill cannot continue to prioritize interdisciplinary learning in the meantime. One standout example is the Bachelor of Arts & Science (BA & Sc.), a degree that is offered jointly by the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science. McGill’s B.A.& Sc. program is relatively new, and it can look to McMaster’s BA & Sc., which offers courses unique to the program. McGill can also follow the lead of universities like Brown, New York University, and Northeastern, where students can design their own major program.

However, interdisciplinary programs at McGill, such as Liberal Arts, have limited enrollment; the North American studies program, which combined history, political science, and economics courses, was recently cut. McGill can continue to promote and refine interdisciplinary programs like Liberal Arts to increase student enrollment.

These examples demonstrate only a few of the ways in which McGill could continue to promote interdisciplinary learning. Its graduates will be better equipped for future employment or graduate studies if they are provided with a diverse array of skills. But students won’t branch out unless the accompanying incentives are realigned—and a new S/U option is an adjustment worth considering.

News, PGSS

McGill library misplaces PGSS contract

by Helen Wu on

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At the Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University (PGSS) meeting on Nov. 21, councillors discussed the McGill-PGSS Library Improvement Fund (LIF) contract and voted to endorse changing the Redmen name. Despite the setback of missing documentation, Sara Allan, PGSS Library Improvement Fund coordinator, presented on the LIF and the Council voted to support it.

 

Motion for McGill-PGSS Library Improvement Fund Contract

The PGSS Library Improvement Fund (LIF) of $3.00 per student has existed since 2009 to fund projects and proposals that improve the McGill library environment for graduate students.

Although the LIF expired last semester, PGSS currently has a total of $400,000 in funds generated by the fee, held in a bank account managed by the McGill Library services. Allan believes that the LIF should be continued, referencing the results from the recent PGSS graduate library-use survey.

“Over 100 students were surveyed and over half of them use the library weekly or daily,” Allan said. “There are [also] a substantial [number of graduate students who] use the library electronically. That was more than I expected, so that is a really good argument to continue this fund.”

Allan disclosed to the Council that the contract governing the management of the LIF and documentation of past projects, which were entrusted to the McGill Library for safekeeping, are missing.

“The major issue is that we are facing at the moment is [that] our memorandum of agreement is missing,” Allan said. “As of now, we are in the position of wondering what to do. We need to find the memorandum agreement […or], if we cannot find the document, we will write a new contract.”

Allan explained that a referendum to renew the LIF cannot take place until the contract is either found or replaced. She presented some ideas of future projects that the LIF can fund once a new contract is drawn up to prepare for a referendum.

“[Graduates have requested] lockers at individual desks so people can lock their laptops up and go to the bathroom, and a tech lending [system] of chargers, laptops, and other tech devices,” Allan said. “Library planning as of last week said that they were actually willing to support this and do the cataloging and care of these items if we do our half of the work.”

PGSS Secretary-General Helena Zakrzewski urged the adoption of the motion and claimed that a legally binding contract will avert future problems by establishing expectations for both McGill Libraries and PGSS.

“With the creation of a contract, we are able to hold both parties, ourselves included, [accountable],” Zakrzewski said. 

The motion, which called for the development of a new contract before a referendum to renew the fee in the future, passed with a majority voting in favour.

 

Motion for endorsing ‘Change the Redmen Name’

The name ‘Redmen’, used by men’s varsity teams, has recently drawn attention for its use as a racial slur against indigenous peoples. PGSS Member Services Officer Jeremy Goh and PGSS Equity Commissioner Harmehr Sekhon motioned to sign both an open letter and a petition spearheaded by varsity athlete Tomas Jirousek, calling for the immediate renaming of the men’s varsity teams. During the question period, Patricia Goerner-Potvin, Vice President communication of the Human Genetics Student Society and former athlete on the varsity rowing team, explained the origins of the Redmen name.

“‘Redmen’ originally [started] from the Redcoats and the [Scottish] history of McGill, so that was the main argument for why it was not racist,” Goerner-Potvin said. “In the ‘80s and other times, [however], various different sports teams have turned it into a racial slur by associating [the term] ‘Squaw’ with some of the women’s teams and ‘Mohawk’ to some of the men’s [teams] to reference it as being Redmen from native people.”

The motion passed by an overwhelming majority.

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