This Halloween Weekend, The Diving Bell Social Club was packed for Coven, a monthly show hosted by local drag family House of Laureen. Despite the large crowd, there was a captivating intimacy to the night; queens frequently shared inside jokes with returning audience members. While not everyone was familiar with this rapport, the audience was united by a sense of community and purpose: To celebrate queer performers and bring about change through radical art.
Throughout the night, drag and burlesque artists performed lip-syncs to songs that challenged gender norms. The queens defied divisions between femininity and masculinity: Some performed songs with male vocals in stereotypically-feminine attire, while others, such as Anaconda LaSabrosa, who sported both a beard and a heavily-padded female form, chose to visually blur the gender binary.
Unconventional, spooky drag is having a moment. With its supernaturally-inspired numbers and gory special effects, Coven celebrated drag aesthetics of horror, filth, and glamour, as popularized by shows like Dragula. Indeed, the television show, hosted by the Boulet Brothers and now on its third season, was referenced frequently over the course of the night—a nod to the spike in popularity the trend of horror-inspired drag has seen over the past year or so. Other performers frequently compared 18-year-old performer Demone LaSlave to the popular Dragula queen James Majesty, and perhaps most notably, Anaconda LaSabrosa, one of the performers, is rumoured to be a contender for the third season of Dragula.
An alternative to the more mainstream aesthetics of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Dragula places more emphasis on creativity and artistic expression, and less on the grotesque displays of emotional trauma that more popular shows like Drag Race have embraced. While mainstream drag often judges queens based on femininity and polish, this subculture values artistry, performance, and shock value differently; its repertoire includes aliens, demonic nuns, and monsters. The emphasis is on creativity rather than gender performance, proving that gender is just as performative as any other product of the imagination.
Coven compellingly borrowed from the spooky drag trend. Host of the night Selma Gahd’s debut performance consisted of her pretending to eat a disturbingly-realistic bloody heart. It was a visceral, haunting performance, equal parts revolting and intriguing. Pythia, one of the first performers, was burned at the stake in pure white witch’s attire. Uma Gahd performed a delightfully-campy number where she feigned being stabbed to death in the shower.
Despite the graphic gore, House of Laureen kept an eye to the audience’s emotional well-being. Instead of maintaining the edgy aesthetic at all costs, the queens masterfully approached themes of consent, without bringing the mood down. At the end of the show, the queens invited audience members to privately disclose anything that made them feel uncomfortable or unsafe about any aspect of the show.
This fresh and exciting perspective on drag, a monthly event at The Diving Bell, was a joy to experience. House of Laureen’s newest show is, without a doubt, a welcome addition to the Montreal queer scene with this thrilling yet thoughtful production.
Montreal’s historic cemeteries inter the area’s most famous figures. This week, The McGill Tribune reviews the historic personas laid to rest around the city.
John Redpath(1796 – Mar. 5, 1869)
Redpath was a businessman and philanthropist who helped industrialize Montreal in the early 19th century. He was also involved in major city projects including the the construction of the Lachine Canal in 1825 and the Notre Dame Church in 1829. These contributions made Montreal a central commercial trading hub and popularized Redpath’s success among city dwellers. After his death in 1869, he was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery.
Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead (25 Nov. 1895 – July 5, 1954)
Buried in the Hawthorn-Dale Cemetery, Whitehead gained infamy for delivering a sucker-punch that led to magician Harry Houdini’s death. He was a McGill student and an amateur boxer in the early 20th century. According to witnesses, on October 22, 1926, Whitehead visited Houdini in his dressing room before a Montreal performance and asked the magician if it was true that he could withstand punches to the abdomen. He then delivered several blows to the magician’s stomach as he was laying down. Over a week later, Houdini died on October 31, 1926 of severe appendicitis. Whitehead was never charged with a crime, but he did have to sign an affidavit for Houdini’s widow, Bess Houdini, recounting the events of that night.
David Ross McCord (18 Mar., 1844 – Apr. 12, 1930)
McCord was not only a Montreal native, but also a McGill law graduate and eventual magistrate. McCord, who is interred in Mount Royal Cemetery, gained national praise and fame by advocating for the rights of indigenous peoples in Canada. He later lobbied for the creation of a national museum dedicated to Canadian history in 1878. On Oct. 13, 1921 he got his wish when the McCord Museum opened its doors with a collection of 15,000 artifacts from McCord’s personal collection.
Sir John Abbott (Mar. 12, 1821 – Oct. 30, 1893)
Abbott was the third prime minister of Canada, serving from 1891 to 1892. Another McGill law alumnus buried at Mount Royal Cemetery, Abbott began his career as an attorney, and soon became one of Montreal’s most prominent lawyers to date. He later returned to the university as a professor of law and earned a doctorate in civil law. Before his prime ministership, Abbott rose to national attention for successfully defending the perpetrators of the St. Albans Raid and for advocating for greater language diversity in Quebec by promoting the interests of Anglophone Quebecers.
Charles Meredith (Dec. 17, 1854 – Jan. 7, 1928)
Meredith, who is now buried at Mount Royal Cemetery, was a banker and president of both the Montreal Stock Exchange and the then-prominent Canadian brokerage firm, C. Meredith & Co. In 1910, he became the president of Hillcress Collieries Ltd. and was director of the British & Colonial Press Service while sitting on the Montreal Board of Trade. Additionally, Meredith co-founded the Mount Royal Club and once owned the land on which the Ritz-Carlton Hotel was built. The Charles Meredith House, Meredith’s home located in the Golden Square Mile, is now used by McGill’s Faculty of Medicine, which houses the Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health.
Sometimes, a lovable mascot does not turn out the way a team’s management had imagined. With Halloween just around the corner, The McGill Tribune ranks the top-10 most terrifying mascots in the world of sports.
10. Buster Bronco (Western Michigan University)
Western Michigan University introduced Buster Bronco in 1988 but came out with a new look for him last fall. The new Buster is a slim, athletic creature with the most intimidating glare that a giant, fuzzy horse head can give. The change is a sharp contrast from the old, goofy Buster: His eyes were half open, he had a confused grin, and the colour contrast between his head and his snout was comically unnatural. Many students found him endearing and it took less than two weeks for 1,600 people to sign a petition to bring back the old mascot. Unfortunately, the university kept the updated, scary Buster regardless.
9. Wenlock and Mandeville (London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games)
The tall, pale cyclopes known as Wenlock and Mandeville look more like what would happen if Kang and Kodos from “The Simpsons” got left out in the sun for too long. Their eyes are the problem: Wenlock appears to have their brow scrunched to look determined and competitive, but it comes across as angry and menacing. Meanwhile, Mandeville’s wide eye gives the impression that they are afraid of the children who come to take photos with it. Whether angry or scared, it doesn’t matter—they are both very, very eerie.
8. Mr. Redlegs and Rosie Red (Cincinnati Reds)
At first glance, Cincinnati Reds mascots Mr. Redlegs and Rosie Red look like smaller, knock-off versions of New York Mets mascot Mr. Met. However, upon closer examination, Mr. Redlegs’ strange eyes and creepy stare become obvious while his disingenuous smile is hidden behind an oversized Stalin-esque mustache. Rosie Red, often at Mr. Redlegs’ side, is harder to pin down. If Flo from the Progressive Insurance commercials had her head enlarged to three times its size and then turned into a baseball, Rosie Red would be the end product. Simply put, Mr. Redlegs and Rosie Red are not the family-friendly couple to watch a ballgame with.
7. The Stanford Tree (Stanford University)
As the official mascot of the Stanford University marching band, the Stanford Tree goes wherever the band goes. In 1981, the school declared that all sports teams would be represented by the colour of cardinal in place of the Tree, but the band kept the tree due to its popularity, which persisted despite its distinctly off-putting appearance. The misshapen tree is a sight to behold. Its large buck teeth and eyes that look in opposite directions are very weird, and they bring to mind childhood nightmares of monsters under the bed.
6. WuShock (Wichita State University)
The Wichita State University sports teams are called the Shockers because students used to earn money in the summer ‘shocking’—or harvesting—wheat in the fields of Kansas. Naturally, the school wanted a mascot that both honoured their harvesting history and depicted them as tough competitors. Thus, WuShock was born. WuShock was intended to be a muscular, intimidating bundle of wheat. Unfortunately for the Shockers, there is no way to put a face on a bundle of wheat without it being strange. WuShock’s menacing scowl brings to mind the nightmare in which murderous scarecrows chase you down in a cornfield.
5. Purdue Pete (Purdue University)
Pete is not the official mascot of Purdue University, but he is honoured as such for how he hypes up the crowd at sporting events. His caricatured image dates back to 1940, but the costume has since undergone several major modifications. None of these changes got rid of his creepy features. In 2011, the university considered a makeover to downsize Pete’s head so as not to scare children. The proposition was met with backlash, though, and, so, his bizarre human face and large, ghoulish eyes still haunt sports fans today.
(Ashley Huss / WMU)
(bbc.co.uk)
(reds.com)
(Robert Siegel / Stanford University)
(goshockers.com)
(theblacksheeponline.com)
4. Friar Don (Providence Friars)
It’s incredibly difficult for any team to pull off a successful human mascot. Providence College’s Friar Don is no exception. Given their team name, Providence opted for the obvious mascot choice: A friar. Ultimately, that led to the monstrosity that is Friar Don. He is haunting and ghoulish with his “The Scream”-like face. The proportions of his facial features and costume elements are completely off-base; they definitely don’t match anything approaching reality.
3. Gritty (Philadelphia Flyers)
Gritty was introduced to Flyers fans in September 2018, but the fuzzy creature claims to have been hiding in the stands at the Wells Fargo Center for much longer. He’s gained many fans from the publicity that came following his introduction, but the reality is that he is a terrible mascot. No one is all that sure what he is supposed to look like; what is sure is that Gritty is absolutely terrifying. His giant googly eyes and wiry, unkempt hair give him an air of derangement while his orange-and-black colouring scheme gives off a distinct Halloween vibe.
2. Pierre the Pelican (New Orleans Pelicans)
The Pelicans brought Pierre to life in 2013, and his design was immediately met with criticism for his horrifying non-pelican-like features. His creepy, clownish face and giant, chicken-like body were a better fit for a low-budget horror movie than courtside at a professional basketball game. The Pelicans came out with a new design later that season, citing a broken beak as the reason for his reconstructive surgery. The lack of clown makeup in the new costume did wonders for his appearance, although he still looks more like a chicken than a pelican.
1. King Cake Baby (New Orleans Pelicans)
Somehow, Pierre wasn’t bad enough for the Pelicans. New Orleans has two spooky off-court talents: Pierre the Pelican ranked number two on our list, and King Cake Baby now takes the number one spot. The inspiration for the team mascot is the traditional king cake, a Mardi Gras custom in which people hide a small baby figurine inside of a ring-shaped cake. King Cake Baby is easily the most terrifying child found outside of horror films like The Shining. The team’s main mascot, Pierre the Pelican, was already scary enough, but the terrifying King Cake Baby made him look as friendly as Big Bird from Sesame Street.
It was a mild morning in London, England when the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its groundbreaking report in May 1990. By proclaiming that the Earth’s gradual warming is unquestionably man-made, it became the first international body to state so.
The report was concise: “Unless emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases [are] immediately cut by more than 60 per cent, global temperatures [will] rise sharply over the next century, with unforeseeable consequences for humanity.”
Despite these dire warnings, the world has remained relatively indifferent, continuing to back competitive oil markets, build more factories, and ignore the pleas of the overwhelmingly unified scientific community.
An International Dilemma
Earlier this month, the IPCC released its special climate change assessment report, reiterating many of the same proposals it had asked world leaders to consider almost three decades ago. Titled “Global Warming of 1.5˚C,” the report states that the earth’s temperature increases must be kept below 1.5˚C of pre-industrial levels, or else risk disastrous consequences to our social and ecological systems. Irreversible changes to world climate are expected as soon as 2030, by which time the world is expected to have exceeded its carbon budget.
“A lot of the focus prior to the Paris Agreement had been on 2.0˚C of warming,” Kirsten Zickfeld, a lead author on the IPCC special report, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “However, many vulnerable nations, such as small island states and nations in the developing world, are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.”
Their desperate call for action prompted the IPCC to reevaluate their recommendations, leading to the publication of this most recent report. After over a year of research, the IPCC concluded that 2.0˚C of warming was too generous an estimate for island nations and countries with coastal infrastructure.
“Two degrees is something that many of these countries could not adapt to,” Zickfeld said. “The effects would be too serious.”
The 1.5˚C threshold is an aggregated measure based on the findings of various studies. It represents the IPCC’s best estimate for the point at which there will be devastating natural phenomena beyond human control. Unfortunately, according to Nigel Roulet, professor of geography and director of the Global Environmental and Climate Change Research Centre at McGill, many places, such as Afghanistan and Kuwait, are either nearing or have already surpassed this threshold.
“Even if we completely stopped carbon emissions now, we would expect more warming to occur,” Dáithí Stone, a researcher at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, said.
Meanwhile, it takes time for the effects of climate change to play out, meaning that the highest risk areas will likely get worse despite their best efforts.
Canadian Catastrophe
Many of the impacts of climate change can already be observed right at Canada’s doorstep. In 2018, British Columbia experienced not only one of the hottest wildfire seasons by average temperature on record, but also saw a massive number of active wildfires burning at a single time, second only to 2017.
In an interview with the CBC,Chilliwack fire ecologist Robert Gray stated that the
“What we thought was going to be an average condition in 2050, we’re starting to see those conditions coming a lot sooner,” Gray said.
Gray’s concerns are echoed in the IPCC report. The committee warns that changes in climate, which were thought to occur gradually over the next century, are happening at an exceedingly amplified, if not alarming, rate. Increases in the number and ferocity of B.C.’s wildfires are directly related to the climate conditions in the region; as average temperature rises in the summer and spring months, so does the probability of emergent wildfires.In Alberta, some climate models predict a 20 per cent increase in the frequency of extreme river flow events over the next century. These models are a stark reminder of the catastrophic flooding which submerged large parts of the province in 2013.
The number of large-scale extreme weather events in the country is on the rise, driven largely by climate change, which is only expected to worsen over the next century.
“If we do not do anything, we’ll assume massive costs caused by the damages of sea levels rising, longer and hotter heat waves, and increased flooding,” Zickfield said.
The Alberta flooding epidemic was, at one time, the costliest disaster in Canadian history, with insurable damages amounting to $6 billion. This record was only surpassed in the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfires, which displaced almost 100,000 people and cost $9.5 billion in damages.
Keeping the Great North Green
Rising water levels pose a particularly significant risk to Canada, which has the longest coastline of any country in the world. With 6.5 million residents living along the ocean as well as the country’s proximity to the Arctic, coastal disturbances caused by melting ice present a looming risk for Canadians.
“Sea ice changes affect the energy balance of the Arctic Ocean,” Roulet said. “[Changes in sea ice distribution] have consequences on weather conditions throughout the Northern hemisphere.”
Flooding aside, a 2016 report on the marine conditions of Canada’s changing climate found that climate disturbances in the Arctic region could significantly affect the distributions of key speciessuch as salmon and seals. These changes pose an immediate problem for northern communities that rely on marine wildlife as a primary food source. Indigenous communities, in particular, which disproportionately lie within potentially-affected coastal regions, could see the most substantial consequences emerge from ecological disturbances.
The Trudeau government has made significant improvements to Canada’s policy on curbing human-induced climate change. The guiding document on these changes, “The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change,” published in 2016, is a broad plan to reduce Canada’s ecological footprint. To help offset the financial burden of shaping the Canadian economy to a more-climate friendly model, the government has allotted $1.4 billion to provinces and territories that have adopted the Framework. However, while comprehensive, the Framework is made obsolete by the most recent climate models and international guidelines, such as those in the IPCC’s October report.
“The Liberal government, and all governments we’ve had in Canada, have been very good at talking the talk about greenhouse gas emissions,” Roulet said. “But when it comes to substance in reducing [greenhouse emissions, their response] has been weak.”
Roulet believes the Liberal carbon tax, announced on Oct. 23, to be a good baseline for how the country should proceed in addressing our carbon emissions. The carbon tax is a federal policy which, if implemented nationally, would place additional tariffs on the sale of fossil fuels. As of 2018, provinces are responsible for legislating carbon taxation.
“The bigger challenge is to not only enact short-term measures like using renewables for new power generation capacity,” Stone said. “The challenge is also to shift long-term measures, like decommissioning existing coal power plants.”
While Canadians must face the implications of climate change at home, they also have a responsibility to set an example for the rest of the world. With their notably-high carbon emissions per capita, Canadians have a moral obligation to reduce their ecological footprint and provide relief to the many countries, mostly in the developing world, on the verge of climate disaster.
Quebecers headed to the polls for the provincial election in October, which resulted in the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) forming a majority government. The election sparked noticeable resistance on McGill’s campus, prompting the former vice-president external of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), Marina Cupido, to condemn the party as ‘racist’ and ‘xenophobic.’
Clayton Ma, a Master’s student at Concordia University who researches voting preferences among visible minorities in Canada, is concerned about several platform promises made by the CAQ. A law proposed by the CAQ during its campaign would bar public servants from wearing religious symbols, while another hopes to expel immigrants who fail a government-administered ‘values test.’
“If I had to implore them to not do certain things, I would implore them to not touch the religious items for public servants and to not implement that really ridiculous values test that they are suggesting,” Ma said. “It shapes the narrative [regarding immigrants] in a very poor way. Minorities are continuously stigmatized because of who they are and are continuously viewed as a possible threat.”
Research suggests that younger voters, including university students, are less inclined to vote. SSMU Deputy Electoral OfficerIsaac Levy, who implemented a mock poll to gauge students’ political preferences, is inclined to agree.
“In general, the younger cohort of voters are typically on the lower end of the turnout,” Levy said. “In particular, students are very busy. There’s a lot on their minds, so there is a dip of engagement with respect to that, and a lot of students just don’t become engaged. And if some students do [become involved in politics], they are probably specializing in that.”
According to Levy, the poll demonstrated that McGill students are generally left-leaning in their politics.
“Quebec Solidaire got about a quarter of the votes in our poll, but, at the same time, the riding that we are in is extremely liberal, so the Liberals came [out] on top,” Levy said.
This phenomenon of left-leaning engaged youth is not unique for urban places like Montreal. Éric Bélanger, a professor of political science at McGill who specializes in Quebec politics, thinks that the relatively-liberal mindset of the youth electorate has to do with the disparity between students’ progressive politics and a perennial conservative nationalist constituency in the province. He characterizes the CAQ as the party of a generation ago, built on constitutional disputes that no longer exist.
“To understand what happened, I think the national question [of Quebec sovereignty] is still quite useful,” Bélanger said. “Environment and diversity are the concerns of the new generation. In a changing context where issues of diversity and immigrant integration are fertile ground, I think there’s still this conservative, nationalist constituency that [has] finally found itself a new vehicle to get the sovereignty debate [on the table].”
Bélanger believes that overcoming apathy among young voters may be possible by reframing the national project in terms that are more in line with young people’s values.
“If you start showing that Quebec can be sovereign [while still addressing modern problems], that Quebec can leave this oil-producing country that Canada has become, then you start offering a different way to see sovereignty and to see the relevance of the sovereignty project that may be more appealing to younger voters,” Bélanger said.
Following the resignation of its Vice-President (VP) External Michelle Guo, the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) went over the details for its upcoming by-election. Councillors also discussed future events, the possibility of new study spaces during the final exam period, and equitable selections of executives between student departmental associations.
VP External by-election
Guo reportedly left her position for personal reasons, with her resignation taking effect on Sept. 26. The SUS approved dates for a by-election to fill her position and SUS President Reem Mandil has delegated the VP External’s responsibilities to other councillors in the meantime. Mandil encouraged students to run for the vacant VP External position and participate in the democratic process.
“[Running for VP External] is a great opportunity for students who are looking to get involved in SUS,” Mandil said. “If there is only one or fewer candidates running [for VP External] by the Oct. 29 nomination deadline, the whole election process has to be extended.”
Plans to increase available space for studying
Mandil will be meeting with the Dean of Science, Bruce Lennox, on Nov. 1 and hopes to discuss study space and scholarships. She is currently looking into opening additional study spaces on campus during final exams and encouraged departmental representatives to poll their constituents on the subject. Mandil also plans to convince the Faculty of Science to offer financial support for the SUS Scholarship Fund. The scholarship recognizes McGill Science and Arts & Science students who demonstrate leadership in their community.
“Everyone has had the experience of not finding seats [in the library…] so I’ll be compiling a small report [for Lennox] so that we can have more study spaces,” Mandil said. “[And], when [the SUS Scholarship Fund] is implemented, we can hopefully draft a formal application.”
Evaluation of SUS finances proposed
SUS VP Finance Dylan Wong suggested hiring an accountant to evaluate the society’s financial status and account information, like the Arts Undergraduate Society already does. Wong will assess the costs of accounting services before finalizing his proposal.
“For an organization of [SUS’s] size, it is very important to do financial accounting,” Wong said. “[Proper accounting] is something that a science student without official CPA [Chartered Professional Accountant] training can’t really do.”
Constitutional changes proposed
At the most recent SUS Constitutional Affairs Committee (CAC) meeting, SUS VP Communications Ianna Folkes assigned two committee members to meet with each of the 19 SUS departmental associations, including the McGill Environment Students’ Society (MESS) and the Freshman Undergraduate Students’ Society (FUSS). The CAC, which reviews constitutional changes for departmental councils, hopes to synchronize which executive roles are paid, elected, and appointed between departments to ensure equitable council member selections.
“I know that it’s uncomfortable to make changes [to departmental constitutions] but the changes [have been] suggested for a good reason,” Folkes said. “We are trying to get departments as [to be as equally-represented] as possible.”
Science Games to implement increased regulations
Council deliberated regulations for Hype Night, a social event held in anticipation of Science Games with historically minimal registration restrictions. This year, SUS VP Internal Zlata Plotnikova informed Council that registration for Hype Night is limited to only McGill students for increased safety and accountability.
Plotnikova also oversees Science Games itself, a four-day social event that features drinking competitions between Science Departments. She held a meeting on Oct. 22 for the 119 students interested in being Science Games captains and finalized the 16 Science Games teams on Oct 26. To ensure a safer Science Games, the Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support, and Education (OSVRSE) will train Science Games captains on how to respond to disclosures of sexual harassment.
The next SUS Council meeting will take place on Nov. 1.
Over the past year, McGill students have engaged in a necessary conversation about consent on campus: On Oct. 11, 2017, SSMU signed off on the Our Turn Action Plan, an initiative aimed to combat rape culture on campus. The McGill Tribune spoke to Chloe Garcia, Faculty of Education graduate student and volunteer at IMPACTS, a multidisciplinary effort to address sexual violence on university campuses, to discuss the importance of fostering a healthy consent culture on campus.
McGill Tribune (MT): What is consent culture?
Chloe Garcia (CG): “I view it as a culture where asking for consent is normalized as an essential part of [both] sexual relationships [and] non-romantic relationships. Consent culture [refers to…] everyday media and popular culture [….] Media shapes how we think about sexuality and also impacts how we behave. Media is a great tool to raise awareness about what consent is, why it is important to have a consent culture, and provide steps to improve our current society.”
MT: What are barriers to consent culture?
CG: “There are many barriers to consent culture caused by harmful perceptions and stereotypes about women and marginalized communities […. This includes] patriarchal ideologies where women are devalued, but they can also refer to rape myth[s], such as, ‘she was asking for it’ or ‘men don’t get raped’ [….] Another barrier […] is current misconceptions of feminism.”
MT: How can the McGill community work to overcome those barriers?
CG: “We need to work together to overcome these barriers through [administrative channels] like [the] McGill administration, faculty, and student leaders […. By] opening dialogue, listening to each other, modeling respectful behaviour, [and…] intervening [when we witness abusive behaviour], we can take better […] responsibility for the wellbeing of our community.”
CG: “I do research in the Faculty of Education on teaching about consent and sexual violence with YouTube vlogs, [and I …] run workshops on vlogging to promote consent culture. This specific workshop featured conversations about what consent and consent culture [are and…] what we perceive to be barriers. We looked at interventions focused on social change, particularly how YouTube vloggers […] promote dialogue, raise awareness about consent and sexual violence, and show support to survivors. We practiced making our own videos [to…] share our vision of the type of change we would like to see, [which] will eventually […] be made available to the McGill community within the next few months.”
MT: Has McGill done enough to promote consent culture?
CG: “McGill has taken great strides to improve the community, such as working with IMPACTS and student organizations [….] There is always room to grow [….] [McGill needs to address] unresolved issues on campus with professors accused of sexual misconduct [….] I always think there is room for improvement, but it will not be that easy to change a culture.”
MT: How should students talk with their peers about consent culture?
CG: “I think that any language is appropriate when talking about sexual violence, sexual consent, and consent culture. It’s very important that we do not dwell on formal versus informal terms [….] There have been recent complaints about students using colloquial […] language to talk about their experiences with sexual violence, [but…] this use of language is not always well-received [….] It’s important not to dismiss allegations on the basis that formal language wasn’t used. Not everyone knows legal terms or can concretely express [their experiences].”
There are many things in my life that I’ve accepted as inevitable: Breaking a bone, teenage heartbreak, and failing a final exam, for example, I have a strange sense that those events are predetermined. This may be symptomatic of a childhood spent in front of a television—each event in my life seems to fit an episodic narrative. When my parents announced that they were getting divorced, my first thought as a six-year-old was that I was going to be like Buster in Arthur. Growing up, I’ve always had a preoccupation with how the narrative arc of my own life will end. I have an unsettling feeling, clearer each day, that it might end like those of my other family members: With a chronic, hereditary neurological disease called Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s has always been a part of my life: A sinister, underlying antagonist. The first funeral I attended was my great grandmother’s at the age of seven; she passed away from dementia. I have no memories of interacting with her where I don’t have to be reintroduced as ‘Wendy’s daughter.’ While she always greeted me with her trademark elderly-Chinese-woman enthusiasm, we never established an especially meaningful relationship.
Alzheimer’s followed me into my adolescence with the death of my paternal grandfather when I was 10 and then my paternal grandmother this past spring. While my great-grandmother had lived blocks away from me as a child, I had not seen my paternal grandparents since the age of eight. They remain murky, greying figures in my imagination: I can recall my grandfather’s pipe and their foyer filled with my grandmother’s paintings. One of the reasons I had not seen them in so long is that my father simply did not want to go through the motions that accompany visiting a loved one with Alzheimer’s: The reintroductions, lapses of memory, and inability to complete simple tasks. There’s a haunting aspect to caring for a relative for a hereditary disease that, you too, might someday contract. I rarely thought of my paternal grandparents, who were peripheral characters in my life—besides, we lived in different provinces. The loss was softened by distance. What I do know is that, upon seeing a photograph of me, shortly before she passed, my grandmother made a stomach-dropping remark:
“Wendy looks so lovely here.”
Besides being mistaken for my own mother, this comment has always perturbed me: I wondered what else I might inherit from my mother if not her eyes and cheekbones.
I still have relatives on both sides with the diagnosis. The disease is still in its early stages, so I have allowed myself to keep a comfortable distance from the reality of the diagnosis and the outcome itself. Alzheimer’s seems like an invention of a Shonda Rhimes medical procedural drama until you are looking at its face in a hospital bed. Through all of this, I have become acutely aware of any symptoms my parents might display, such as minor lapses of memory. While this might be entirely paranoid, there’s always something that irks me every time my father forgets where he put his phone, or when my mother trips up on the names of one of my cousins. It could be nothing, but there’s an underlying fear that these small mishaps are indicative of something more sinister. Darkly, my mother will often joke that it’s “the early onset Alzheimer’s kicking in.” Premature though these comments may be, denying the fact that my parents, and by extension myself, have a high likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s would be to deny medical fact. To fool myself into thinking that I am an anomaly, exempt from a hereditary disease, would be laughably self-aggrandizing. Ultimately, there isn’t much I can do to prevent or predict my future besides a humble acceptance of whatever final moment lies ahead.
On Oct. 27, McGill hosted the second RSEQ swimming meet of the season. The men’s team took home a first place finish, while the women came in second. Since Saturday was the only meet that McGill will host this season, these impressive finishes were that much more special for the swimmers.
“It was a lot of fun,” first-year Grace Polkosnik said. “It’s a lot easier to swim when everyone is cheering you on, and there were lots of positive vibes from [the team].”
This meet comes just two weeks after the season opener at Université de Sherbrooke where both the men and women’s teams placed second.
“[We’ve seen] massive improvement,” Head Coach Peter Carpenter said. “Fitness is taking hold, […] and it’s looking great.”
First-year Claire Shewchuk echoed her coach’s sentiment.
“It always gets better later in the season,” she said.“This still isn’t [a meet] we’re resting for, but there’s definitely been improvement.”
Eighteen McGill swimmers have already qualified for the USports National Championships in eight events, including first-year Clement Secchi, who took home three gold medals from Sherbrooke and placed third in the 200m backstroke this weekend. Third-year Sam Wang also qualified for nationals at Sherbrooke. He picked up 579 points for McGill on Saturday and is currently second on the RSEQ points table. On the women’s side, first-year Erin Miller qualified for nationals in the 200m butterfly in Sherbrooke. Coach Carpenter doesn’t want to stop there, though.
“If we can get ten more qualifiers [in the next three weeks], I will be ecstatic,” Carpenter said. “It might seem a little unrealistic to set the goal that high, but that’s what we’re shooting for.”
In the beginning of the season, the swimmers were focused on fitness, but now it’s time for them to start focusing on their individual performances and begin reaching their fastest times of the season.
“At this point, we’re able to be more specific with individual swimmers and the events that they’re going to be swimming,” Carpenter said. “Our first peak meet is in three weeks, […] so we’re excited about that, and that’s what we’re going to be gunning for next.”
Polkosnik had a similar, positive outlook on her season so far and what it means for her in the coming meets.
“I’ve been swimming pretty well recently, so I’m just trying to keep that up,” Polkosnik said. “Honestly I’m just trying to have fun for most of it.”
The rest of the season looks promising for McGill, with those 18 swimmers already qualified for nationals and time for more to join them. McGill swimming hopes to stay at the top of the rankings and will continue to work on individual performances throughout the final four RSEQ meets of the season.
Moment of the meet
During the final relay races, swimmers from each school lined up at the edge of the pool to cheer their teammates on to a strong finish.
Quotable
“If you look at the results, there are first-years winning medals, which is really exciting. This is their first year of eligibility and they’re only going to get faster.” – Head Coach Peter Carpenter on the team’s potential
Stats Corner
McGill had five of the ten top individual scores on the men’s side of the competition this weekend.
McGill University retained the top spot in Maclean’s magazine’s annual ranking of Canadian universities. The report, published on Oct. 11, evaluated 15 Canadian universities in the ‘medical-doctoral’ category, a comprehensive classification for research-focused universities with a wide range of graduate programs. This is the 14th consecutive year that McGill has been listed in first place, which it shares with the University of Toronto in the most recent report.
An Oct. 11 article published in Maclean’s describing the results cited several factors to explain McGill’s continued dominance in the ranking: The important contributions of McGill researchers to a range of medical fields, McGill’s highly international student body, and the number of McGill alumni—144, the most in Canada—to be attributed the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
In a statement to the Montreal Gazette, McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier expressed pride in the report.
“We are delighted to see McGill recognized once again as Canada’s leading university according to the Maclean’s yardstick,” Fortier said. “All members of our McGill community can take pride in this accomplishment. I salute our alumni for the solid foundation of excellence they have built in our great university and congratulate all the students, professors and staff for their commitment to the values of McGill.”
This report follows the Times Higher Education’s (THE) World University Ranking in September, which placed McGill 44th in the world. Though this is a drop from last year’s ranking, which placed McGill at 42nd, the lower rank may not necessarily be indicative of a decline in McGill’s performance as a university. According to THE Global Ranking Editor Ellie Bothwell, the drop does not reflect a negative evaluation of McGill; rather, the decline is a result of other universities growing faster.
“McGill’s performance dropped in three areas over the past year, research income, research reputation, and doctorates awarded per academic staff,” Bothwell said. “However, it is worth noting that McGill’s overall score was actually higher this year compared with last year, so increased competition in the table played a big part. Other universities simply improved at a faster rate.”
At the McGill Board of Governors meeting on Oct. 4, McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier attributed the drop in McGill’s ranking to shifts in the global education market. In particular, Fortier believes many Asian universities are receiving significantly more government funding, pushing them upward in the rankings.
“[Analysts] are predicting that we will see the Western universities lose their spots as Asian universities enter the ranks,” Fortier said.
The THE ranking is based on 13 performance indicators that evaluate the university’s global standing in terms of research and education. The most important factor, ‘citation impact,’ a measure of the university’s research contributions, constitutes 30 per cent of the overall ranking and is usually the deciding factor of a university’s rank.
Metrics assessing teaching quality and research reputation are also heavily weighted, composing 15 and 18 per cent of the ranking, respectively. Other performance indicators include numbers of grants and doctorates awarded, international outlook, and innovation. The ranking system is applied to over 1,200 universities annually and uses a cumulative probability function to calculate an overall score.
In an emailed statement to the McGill Tribune, McGill Provost Christopher Manfredi wrote that, while he was pleased by McGill’s performance in the rankings, the THE report is unlikely to have any major impacts on McGill’s decision-making.
“McGill’s overall standing in the THE rankings remains world class, and our scores in virtually all areas increased over last year,” Manfredi wrote. “We do not calibrate policy or practice to address the assessments of external rankings agencies. We remain a research-intensive, student-centred university where faculty members are world leaders in their fields and offer an exceptional education to their students.”
