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McGill, News, SSMU

Open letter demands external investigation on faculty sexual misconduct

by Cherry Wu on

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On April 5, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held a press conference to discuss an open letter addressed to the McGill administration regarding sexual violence on campus. The letter, which was sent on April 4, accused at least five professors of sexual misconduct within the Departments of History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and World Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.

Additionally, the letter demanded the launch of an external investigation into the way the Office of the Dean of Arts responds to complaints against faculty members. Currently, the letter has signatures from more than 2,000 students and over 70 student organizations, including faculty associations such as the Social Work Students’ Association (SWSA), the Department of English Students Association (DESA), and the Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA).

At the press conference, three students delivered speeches, followed by a question period moderated by SSMU Vice-President (VP) Internal Maya Koparkar. VP External Connor Spencer delivered the first speech, stressing the urgency of addressing the culture of sexual violence that exists on campus.

“A few weeks ago, we brought to the attention of the administration our concerns of the safety and well-being of a student who was being targeted by a professor who thought they were behind a guerrilla sticker campaign calling him out for violence,” Spencer said. “We presented a dossier of evidence and no action was taken.”

Spencer emphasized that this incident is far from isolated: Acts of professor-on-student sexual violence occur frequently, and worse, the administration is aware of many of them.

“Common things that are reoccurring are [the] open secret of faculty members sleeping with undergraduate students, or having abusive relationship with graduate students, and inappropriate behaviour during office hours,” Spencer said. “[There are also] folks [who feel] like they are obliged to do extra, outside classroom work that are not related to the content of the class, because they feel like it would affect their academic careers [if they refused to do so].”

Additionally, Spencer cited a warning that she received in her first year at McGill as an example of widespread sexual violence on campus.

“The culture at McGill is one that led […] some older woman in the program I was entering [to give me] a list of professors and [teaching assistants] to avoid, and to never go to their office hours,” Spencer said.

The second speaker, Maeve Botham, student representative from the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS), echoed Spencer’s sentiments. In particular, Botham denounced the administration’s silence in response to sexual misconduct allegations against  professors.

“The University knows who these professors are,” Botham said. “By not taking any action, McGill is failing its students. Students have the right to be safe on campus [….] without the fear of experiencing sexual violence. For students to be truly supported, the structure that is used to protect these professors must be torn down.”

Although handling issues regarding the sexual violence policy does not fall strictly under her mandate, Spencer expressed her frustration with procedures for reporting sexual violence.

“We are no longer accepting that the reason for administration inaction in addressing problems they are aware of stems from the students’ inability to file complaints,” Spencer said. “Instead, we wish to focus on the complaint process itself as the problem, as contributing to a culture of folks not wanting to come forward.”

Spencer elaborated that the current process in place to file complaints against faculty members is overly complicated, thereby dissuading victims from coming forward.

“One of the things that McGill likes to fall back on is the policy against sexual violence passed by the Senate on Dec. 1 2016,” Spencer said. “However, the policy against sexual violence actually [points to the procedures within] the Code of Student Conduct, which you can only pursue complaints against students under.”

Spencer also said that the policy on sexual violence has no procedures outlined for complaints against faculty members, creating a huge obstacle for survivors.

“One of the things that I’ve heard very often from folks is that, ‘I didn’t come forward because I didn’t think they would believe me, I didn’t think they would do anything,’” Spencer said. “Another reoccurring thing that I have heard [….] is that the [negligence victims] experienced from dealing with the University afterwards [only] perpetuated that violence even further.”

The open letter accuses the Office of the Dean of Arts of being ineffective in handling complaints. In order to catalyze policy change, the open letter demanded the launch of an external investigation into the Office of the Dean of Arts. The investigation is partly inspired by a similar case that took place at Concordia University in January, where faculty members in the creative writing program were accused of sexual misconduct. Within days, the Concordia administration responded with the promise of an external investigation.

“We have been having the same discussions here at McGill since September [2017,]” Spencer said. “When we looked over to our neighbour and saw that [changes] are taking place there, we just cannot accept [inaction] anymore.”

Beyond an external investigation, SSMU will also produce a report by the end of June 2018, outlining appropriate steps  to improve the current reporting channel in the Faculty of Arts.

“We need to make sure that everything is documented, [including] exactly what’s going [on], exactly what our demands are, exactly what we want to change, and exactly McGill’s response to these things, [in order to] move forward next year as well.”

Responding to the spotlight the letter places on the Faculty of Arts, Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) VP Internal Rebecca Scarra expressed her Society’s support for the letter.

“We also want more action, more transparency, and more effective communication with our administration,” Scarra said. “When the system that has been in place for so long does not work, we need to change the system. We can no longer work within [a] system that has been built against us.”

With the help of the SSMU report, incoming executives will be able to continue pushing for policy changes next year. VP University Affairs-Elect Jacob Shapiro expressed his commitment to work with members of the community on this next year.

“I have already spoken briefly with [Spencer,]” Shapiro said. “I am going to seek out as many opportunities as possible to listen to and learn from those leading this work and anyone who wants to share their experience, insight, and opinion on this. Additionally, I know that we have a skilled group of incoming Senators, some of whom know a lot more about this than I do. I am looking forward to working with them.”

As of April 9, McGill University has not responded to interview requests regarding the letter. Meanwhile, McGill and Concordia student communities are coming together to stage a public walkout on April 11, in front of the James Administration Building at McGill University.

“As students, it really shouldn’t be our responsibility to make sure that we are protecting each other,” Koparkar said in her closing remarks at the conference. “But if this is the kind of work that we need to do [to get change], then so be it.”

Editorial, Opinion

Open secrets and closed doors: McGill must do better in handling abusive professors

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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“After Concordia, McGill faces its own #metoo moment,” an April 4 CBC headline reads.

McGill is failing in its response to allegations of sexual abuse. The Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) April 4 open letter on sexual violence and harassment allegations against McGill faculty names five specific Arts departments in which complaints have repeatedly come up, and calls on the university to launch a third-party investigation into how the Office of the Dean of Arts is handling complaints against faculty members.

The public letter makes the “open secret”—of certain professors who have a history of complaints against them—explicit. Signed at press time by 2,059 students and 73 student groups, it is a specific, thoroughly elaborated demand on behalf of student safety and well-being. Although McGill provided a statement on the letter to major news outlets, it did not respond directly to the McGill community until April 10, via an email sent on behalf of Provost and Vice-Principal Academic Christopher Manfredi.

The email reiterates that the administration duly investigates every formal complaint against a faculty member, and that McGill “does not tolerate sexual misconduct in any form.” The specific demands of the open letter are not mentioned at all. As a response to public outcry of this scope and magnitude, it is stunningly dismissive.

The fact remains, McGill has yet to convincingly demonstrate that the administration hears and understands students’ concerns about the ongoing issue of abusive professors. When students are being harmed, the continual litany responses, all pointing students to existing procedures or claiming bureaucratic constraints as excuses in lieu of tangible action, are simply not good enough. Moreover, deference to formal complaint mechanisms ignores the fact that there are many reasons why a student may choose not to officially disclose an instance of abuse, and fails to tackle the systemic nature of the problem.

Student dissatisfaction with McGill’s sexual violence and harassment policy framework is not new. However, the 2017-18 school year has seen student groups and SSMU focus specifically on the handling of complaints against faculty members: As part of its C- grade for McGill’s sexual violence policy, SSMU’s Oct. 11 Our Turn report condemned the fact that complaints against faculty and staff are processed under a separate policy than complaints against students. In the same month, the Zero Tolerance student group’s sticker campaign explicitly called for a particular Islamic Studies professor’s tenure application to be denied due to allegations of sexual misconduct.

That McGill students come and go every year, while professors can stay for decades, makes it harder to see tangible outcomes of an investigation—and easier for alleged perpetrators to continue teaching.

 

It’s not surprising that members of the administration are aware of the problem, as the letter states, because many McGill students know of the professors with complaints against them, too. Through Reddit threads, blog posts, and word of mouth, McGill students and alumni inform and keep each other safe when the school has failed to. These informal networks arise out of necessity, but there are significant limits to their reach. Students may enroll in courses, or pursue research positions; under predatory professors without knowing these “open secrets” about them. This has the potential not only to jeopardize students’ academic experiences, but their safety. Alarmingly, for many first years, this letter is perhaps their first introduction to the problem.

In his statement to off-campus media, Vice-Principal (Communication and External Relations) Louis Arseneault said that every complaint or report against a faculty member is thoroughly investigated, echoing the administration’s persistent referrals to existing channels and processes. However, relying on formal complaint procedures misunderstands the barriers to reporting instances of sexual violence and harassment, particularly when a perpetrator has power over a student’s academic career. Moreover, formal complaints must be filed within a certain time period, making them difficult to see through for students who graduate. That McGill students come and go every year, while professors can stay for decades, makes it harder to see tangible outcomes of an investigation—and easier for alleged perpetrators to continue teaching.

All that said, the more likely reason that students have turned to open-letter writing and guerrilla sticker campaigns is that the current processes simply don’t work. Even if they do, students don’t know it: Because of Quebec confidentiality laws, the university cannot disclose current investigations or the results of an investigation. All students see are professors who they’ve been warned about continuing to escape the consequences.

This lack of communication erodes student trust in the University. Skirting the need for a response by citing confidentiality laws is not good enough. The letter does not request any specific information about current or past cases. It simply demands an independent investigation into current procedures being used, following specific criteria. McGill should follow in Concordia’s footsteps, as Concordia recently announced an investigation and campus-wide survey in response to allegations against its creative writing department, under the same provincial laws.

After the 2017 Fall General Assembly, McGill demonstrated that it is willing to act clearly and swiftly on alleged threats to student safety. It must do the same now, and be crystal clear about the course of action it plans to take. Doing nothing new sends as clear a message as the letter does: It tells students that McGill does not care about their safety from sexual violence and abuse.

 

This article has been updated since the April 10 email to all students sent on behalf of Provost and Vice-Principal Academic Christopher Manfredi. The print version of this article (Volume 37, Issue 25) was printed on April 10, prior to students receiving the email.

Commentary, Opinion

Am I (too) #EmotionallyUnavailable?

by Nicholas Raffoul on

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Living in the small Middle Eastern country of Kuwait for my entire life, teenagers often romanticized the easy-going university hook-up culture that we watched in Western movies and Netflix rom-coms. Much like many other first-year students, when I came to university I was thrilled to be away from a place where I knew everyone I went to school with, leaving serious dating and heartache behind. I was captivated by the thought of meaningless fun with strangers and throwing emotional baggage out the window.

My first semester did not disappoint. I nosedived into McGill’s pool of careless hookups, feeling both very excited, and very overwhelmed. Orientation and Frosh events encouraged only surface level bonding with the people around me, since I encountered hundreds of new strangers at each party. The anonymity of it all brought life to the same culture that existed in the movies: A steamy hookup without consequence.

Yet, the instant gratification of a match or a date wore off fast and hard, and my fragile ego needed to be constantly fed. It was unsustainable. I started to connect my self-worth to how many people were attracted to me. I began losing friends and dismissing people who truly cared about me because the ego-boost of a hook-up felt more satisfying than long-term friendship. It was destructive—both for my self-confidence and the relationships that should have mattered to me the most.

With Frosh comes enormous social pressure for first-years to hook-up with other froshies. As a result, orientation events can alienate those who aren’t comfortable with a one-night stand, and it sets the tone for one’s entire university experience. Beyond romantic connection, the shallow Frosh environment makes it difficult to foster worthwhile friendships through its impersonal gatherings. The McGill community hook-up culture in and of itself isn’t the problem, however. To be healthy and happy, students should be mindful of how that culture affects them personally.  For me, that meant suppressing deep emotional issues and neglecting my own emotional awareness.

In my experience, acknowledging that hook-up culture wasn’t always for me made me realize that I might need to consider my emotions more, and ask myself why my actions felt so hollow.

I have an on-going joke with my friend that she’s attracted to emotional unavailability because she doesn’t want to handle anyone else’s emotional baggage or to have deep romantic commitments. Like many of us on campus, she finds temporary relief from the instantly-gratifying Tinder match or one night stand. These types of transient romantic connections can provide an ego boost, but the confidence never seems to stick. For me, it started with a few Tinder swipes a day, to constantly swiping through class, to eventually making it a ritual before going to sleep. I grew less emotionally available in the process, clinging to hookups rather than real commitment. I thought I was protecting myself from the hurt that could come with the loss of a relationship by avoiding sensitive emotions.

Hookup culture is definitely not a bad thing. Exploration is important, especially for people such as myself who come from sheltered backgrounds. Furthermore, some people don’t always want to engage in a more serious relationship, or don’t have the time or energy to sustain one. Different relationships work for different people.

At the end of the day, no matter how great the hook-up is, too many people go back to their empty apartments and the gratification has already worn off. In my experience, acknowledging that hook-up culture wasn’t always for me made me realize that I might need to consider my emotions more, and ask myself why my actions felt so hollow. I threw myself into hookups thinking they were going to solve my confidence issues and my fear of rejection. I found myself yearning for a deep emotional connection, even if that meant accepting the risk of feeling the not-so-great emotions, too. It is easier said than done, but acknowledging my emotional unavailability when hook-ups weren’t working was a step in regaining my emotional connections with those around me, and better understanding what my psyche needed.

News, PGSS, SSMU

What record voter turnout means for the McGill community

by Andras Nemeth on

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Voting for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) 2018 Winter Election and Referendum closed on March 21 with a voter turnout of 32.8 per cent. Despite less than a third of all eligible SSMU members voting, this figure represents the highest voter turnout in the past 14 years.

7,100 of 21,636 eligible electors cast online ballots in the election—a far greater proportion than the 21.8 per cent turnout in Winter 2017, or the 17.5 per cent turnout in Winter 2016 ballots. The referendum questions, which students voted on alongside six SSMU executive positions, included one concerning SSMU’s policy on the implementation of a Fall reading week.

According to Matthew He, Chief Electoral Officer at Elections SSMU, this year’s relatively high voter turnout is likely due to the presence of the Fall reading week question. In an interview with The McGill Tribune, He interpreted a high level of ‘abstain’ votes on questions unrelated to the Fall reading week as evidence that many student voters were interested in only one question.

“While acknowledging [that this year’s election had] the highest turnout we’ve had in the last 15-plus years, we do have to realize that there are a substantial number of people who abstained in every single vote except the Fall reading week referendum,” He said. “I understand that what tends to happen when you combine the referendum with the candidates ballots [is that] people will go vote for the one issue that they are passionate about and abstain from all others because they are not informed enough.”

He also described the new strategies that Elections SSMU used to encourage people to vote, like distributing promotional material, tabling to answer questions concerning the voting process, and collecting feedback from SSMU members who did not vote.

“I sent out an email to those who had not voted by the [final] day of the elections,” He said. “The most common feedback I got was that they simply did not have enough information on the candidates or referendum. They didn’t know what they were voting for. A lot of the feedback was expressing disinterest in the elections.”

Most questions in the Winter Election, including the SSMU presidential ballot, had over 2,000 abstentions. Taking abstentions into account, the underlying voter turnout for executive positions was an average of 19.6 per cent, which is consistent with last year’s low turnout.

This apparent lack of student engagement is mirrored at the graduate level, where voter turnout and candidate nominations have consistently been even lower. In the last McGill Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) General Election, which closed on Apr. 1, only 755 members, or 9.8 per cent of the electorate, cast ballots. Moreover, three of the executive positions—Financial Affairs Officer, Internal Affairs Officer, and Membership Services Officer—featured no candidates, and will be voted on in a by-election opening on Apr. 28.

Tre Mansdoerfer, U2 Engineering and SSMU president-elect, identifies a culture of institutional disconnect as one of the potential reasons for voter apathy at McGill.

“For whatever reason, at McGill, there’s a disengagement with the school and a disdain between students and McGill University,” Mansdoerfer said. “I think it has to do with [the administration] and how they interact with students, [and] I think it has to do with the culture they created. For whatever reason, McGill has been founded upon a lack of pride in the school. A good chunk of people aren’t happy being at this school. They’re here for the prestige and not their own happiness.”

Voter apathy and low voter turnout are not problems unique to McGill. Other large research universities in Canada continue to struggle to get students to vote in elections and referenda. The general elections of the University of British Columbia’s student union, the Alma Mater Society (AMS), have voter turnout percentages similar to those at McGill University, with a 20.7 per cent turnout in 2017, and 12.5 per cent in 2016. In 2016, the University of Toronto held a referendum for a fee levy for the campus radio station, with a proposed fee increase from $4.85 to $12.85. The levy of nearly 200 per cent, which represented an increase of over 100,000 dollars in funding for the radio station carried with only 59 members voting.

Zak Vescera and Ryan Jones, student journalists at UBC, investigated the low voter turnout rates for The Ubyssey and found that politically apathetic students tended to fall into one of two categories. They explained the results of their surveys in an email statement to the Tribune.

“In our reporting, I’d say we found two primary types of ‘apathetic’ students,” Vescera and Jones wrote to the  Tribune. “The first group simply didn’t know what the AMS does or how it benefits them [….] Others knew what the AMS does, but didn’t feel like the result of an election would impact them in any concrete way. These students were often part of demographics that they felt the AMS doesn’t advocate for enough [….] Students directly involved in ‘campus life’ almost always vote, but [students who are less involved] told us they felt left out of the whole thing.”

These shared difficulties in engaging large student bodies may also stem from characteristics unique to Canadian student unions. According to Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, Canadian universities tend to be more complex and more concerned with running on-campus businesses like bars and restaurants than their counterparts in the United Kingdom, which are smaller and tend to focus on advocacy and academic affairs.

“In the UK [and other countries], the student unions are very focused on being a part of the quality assurance process,  [….] and somehow that’s never caught on [in Canada,]” Usher said. “Although we have lots of students who are interested in political issues, we tend to define the political issues as being dollars and cents issues, and not [questions pertaining to academic quality and relevance].”

However, metrics like election turnout may not necessarily be the best way to measure a student society’s impact, according to Usher.

“Voting is one measure of engagement, but another measure is simply how many people are involved in the governance structure,” Usher said. “If the central student union is engaging everyone in the faculties and department and [making suggestions and offering support in academic affairs,] I think doing that stuff increases the quality of the engagement rather than the quantity [….] At the end of the day, you’re doing something that matters more to students.”

A number of changes have been proposed by incoming SSMU executives to increase member engagement with the organization. Outlining his plans for next year, Mansdoerfer discussed his intention to refocus SSMU’s efforts on projects that matter to students.

“It really feels like people involved in SSMU are dissociated from what students really want to see,” Mansdoerfer said. “It’s really easy to get focused on your personal projects, and it’s easy to miss out on what really matters [.…] I really hope that I can bring the structural and institutional change that has to happen for good leadership.”

Sports

SwimAbility Montreal helps children with disabilities feel safe in the water

by Miya Keilin on

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SwimAbility Canada is a nation-wide organization that provides swimming and water safety instruction to children with mental and physical disabilities. University students run each of their 16 chapters, distributed across eight provinces, as not-for-profit organizations.

Drowning is a leading cause of injury-related child deaths, and children with disabilities are at an even greater risk. SwimAbility recognizes that traditional group swimming lessons are ill-suited for many children with disabilities, and has made it part of their mission to accommodate these children’s needs with specially designed programs.

The second half of SwimAbility’s mission is affordability. Each session consists of nine 30-minute lessons. One nine-week session costs only $20 which, compared to typical private lesson rates of about $30 per lesson, is a considerable discount. Josh Schiff, BSc ‘14 and  member of SwimAbility Montreal’s executive team, spoke to the importance of SwimAbility’s discounted prices.

“Usually these types of services are much too expensive for many of these families, so to provide them at a low cost makes them so much more accessible,” Schiff wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

SwimAbility Montreal is run by McGill student volunteers, and all of its instructors and executives are members of the McGill community. They reach out to the Montreal community in an effort to assist as many children and families as they can, specifically targeting schools for children with special needs.

“Sadly, many of these children don’t feel comfortable in many social situations,” Schiff wrote. “They get bullied and treated unfairly, and are made to feel like their differences are something they should be ashamed of. With SwimAbility, they all feel included, happy, and surrounded by friends and people who love them.”

One of the most important factors in working with children with disabilities is consistency. SwimAbility pairs instructors with students at the beginning of a session, and the students work with the same instructor every Sunday morning for the next nine weeks. This helps create a bond between the students and the instructors, where the students feel more comfortable in the water.

Sanya Dalal, U1 Science, is a volunteer instructor for SwimAbility. After only one year with the club, she already feels a profound sense of purpose from working with her students. She loves the hands-on opportunity that allows her to give back to the Montreal community.

“I think the greatest part of what I’m doing is actually feeling like I’m making a change doing something worthwhile and actually seeing results,” Dalal wrote in a message to the Tribune. “A lot of volunteering organizations depend on indirect involvement, like raising funds and while those are very helpful, I feel like here, I’m making an actual difference as an individual.”

SwimAbility’s volunteers share Dalal’s sentiments and are inspired by their students’ progress every week. Schiff has been with SwimAbility Montreal for six years, yet he is still impressed every week by the work of his students and fellow instructors.

“I love getting up on Sunday mornings to teach my lessons, see all the kids and the proud parents, and watch what a tremendous difference all of our amazing instructors make in the lives of these families,” Schiff wrote. “Seeing how much the kids progress throughout the year, both in terms of their swimming and their comfort around the instructors and other children is the best part of what we do [….] To see this week in and week out is so heartwarming, and it’s an honour to be a part of such an amazing organization.”

McGill, News

Facebook remains integral to student success despite controversy, survey shows

by Kyle Dewsnap on

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Amid an international movement to delete Facebook and outcry from McGill first years who have not been able to join the McGill Facebook community, recent survey data found that students rely on the site for their academic success. According to a survey The McGill Tribune distributed from April 2 to 4, students use Facebook for academic purposes more frequently than dedicated messaging apps like SMS, iMessage, and Skype.

The survey found that 100 per cent of its 41 respondents  use Facebook; 98 per cent of students use Instagram, which Facebook owns; 85 per cent of students use Snapchat, and 44 per cent of students use Twitter. Students’ preference for Facebook messenger over iMessage supports the worldwide trend away from dedicated messaging apps to more holistic chat-over-data services that provide direct messaging in addition to other features, such as stories and post-creation.

Although respondents ranked Facebook equally as important as email to their professional success, students expressed continued frustration with McGill’s lack of action over managing its Facebook community. A widespread glitch has prevented some new students from using their McGill emails to become members of the community, meaning that they are unable to join Facebook groups such as “Free-And-For-Sale,” in which students offer to buy and sell their used goods, groups organized for each of McGill’s graduating and entering classes, and groups that serve extracurricular clubs and student organizations on campus.

As a result, over 800 disgruntled freshmen joined a Facebook group dedicated to forging an alternate space to network and raising awareness of first years’ inability to access McGill’s Facebook community.

“It would be nice if groups didn’t require a ‘valid McGill email,’” Dezso Lovicsek, U1 Arts, said. “I’m part of the large group of forgotten freshmen, so I am excluded from most groups, from frosh groups to class pages.”

While Facebook provides Groups for Schools to help universities organize their online communities, the social networking service is not responsible for managing the groups, meaning that the onus is on McGill to determine who is admitted. In the survey, respondents expressed frustration at McGill for failing to address the Facebook glitch. Khaled Bucheeri, an engineering student, suggested that McGill should consider using an alternative platform for its groups.

“[An] alternative to [the] McGill Facebook community wouldn’t lock out people who need important services such as the Housing and Free & For Sale groups,” Bucheeri wrote in the survey.

Despite receiving multiple complaints and suggestions from students, McGill IT has denied any responsibility for managing the McGill Facebook group.

“We are unable to comment on this issue as this does not involve McGill IT services,” McGill IT wrote to the Tribune. “Facebook’s McGill community is not affiliated with nor endorsed by McGill.”

McGill, News

The good, the bad, and the weird: Top headlines from the past 30 years

by Laura Oprescu on

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December 1984

The Quebec Court of Appeals ruled that the French-only provision of Bill 101, which mandated that French be the sole official language of Quebec, ran contrary to Quebec’s Bill of Rights. Pro-independence activists responded with graffiti and violence, including several bomb threats and fire bombings around downtown Montreal.

 

September 1989

SSMU spent $30,000 renovating Gertrude’s, renaming it Gert’s Pub.

 

March 1995

The SSMU presidential debate plunged into absurdity. One candidate suggested that professors’ grants [should] be used for providing jobs to students and that all the staff in the McGill administration [should] be fired and replaced. His opponent argued that faculties should be responsible for deciding budget cuts. The final candidate wanted to rename the SSMU building the “Kurt Cobain Youth Drop-out Centre,” and spend half of SSMU’s budget before resigning, with the third item on his platform being his resignation.

 

November 1996

The SSMU General Assembly voted in favour of a one-day strike in reaction to the Quebec government’s plan to cut $770 million from provincial education funding.

 

September 1999

McGill considered entering a controversial 11-year partnership deal with The Coca-Cola company, ditching PepsiCo. However, concerned about becoming reliant on corporate financing and being associated with the company’s less than favourable reputation, McGill students voted against the deal in a referendum.

 

January 2000

The SSMU building was robbed. Thieves made off with $74 in cash and $2,000 worth of bus passes.

 

September 2000

In the year prior, SSMU asked The McGill Daily to give up 230 square feet of its office space in order to create an accessible entrance on the ground floor of the SSMU building. The Daily claimed that SSMU was trying to evict them as part of a campaign to suppress the free press and refused to move. Over the summer, SSMU changed the locks on the Daily’s offices, and legal battle ensued.

 

January 2001

Two McGill professors testified against gay marriage before the federal court. Students responded by demonstrating for LGBTQ+ rights.

 

March 2003

The Daily published an open letter calling SSMU presidential candidate Saeed Fotuhi a “schmuck.” Believing this jeopardized his candidacy, Fotuhi printed stickers reading “slanderous and biased” and put them on Daily newsstands around campus, some of which were in full view of polling stations. He was subsequently disqualified from the race.

 

March 2010

As per SSMU’s electoral by-laws, which stated that students cannot hold an editorial position while campaigning for a motion, 10 editors at The McGill Tribune resigned in order to help run a fee levy campaign. The Tribune became independent from SSMU following the Winter semester referendum.

 

January 2013

A water pipe burst on a Docteur-Penfield Avenue construction site, sending mass floods down McTavish Street. Flood Girl became famous following a campus-viral YouTube video.

 

October 2017

Someone posing as a Cafe Santropol employee robbed the Arts Undergraduate Society’s student-run convenience store, SNAX, of $1,000.

 

December 2017

Former McGill student Conrad Gaysford was sentenced to 12 months of house arrest after assaulting fellow McGill student Kathryn Leci, who was an undergraduate student in engineering at the time. In 2015, Gaysford physically assaulted Leci, causing permanent brain damage and her withdrawal from McGill for a year. Following several delays in the legal procedure and lack of a response from McGill administration, Leci filed a civil lawsuit against Gaysford in May 2017.

 

January 2018

Canadian police raided McGill Associate Professor Ishiang Shih’s house as part of an investigation into his alleged theft of military technology from the United States. His brother Yi-Chi Shih, adjunct professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, was also arrested in the FBI’s 10-year investigation.

 

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the SNAX robbery was done by someone posing as a milkman. In fact, the thief was pretending to be a Cafe Santropol employee delivering coffee. The _Tribune_ regrets this error.

Sports

Intramurals at McGill: The social side of sports

by Jordan Foy on

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Given that over 40,000 students attend McGill every year, it’s not surprising that many were athletes before coming to McGill. For some, sports were not only a passion growing up, but a way to connect with peers. While McGill has a variety of varsity and club teams, not every student has the skill or time to play at such a competitive level. Fortunately, the intramural program offers an accessible option for McGill students to remain involved in sports.

“[Intramurals are] an opportunity for McGill students, [staff, and alumni] to participate in organized sport [in a] recreational setting,” Perry Karnofsky, Manager of Campus Recreation, explained to The McGill Tribune.

The McGill intramural program features an average of 10 sports every semester, with leagues ranging from basketball to ultimate frisbee. Every semester, approximately 3,500 members of the McGill community participate on over 300 teams. Seasons generally start at the beginning of the semester, and teams register for different divisions based on experience level and competitiveness.

For many students, the intramural program becomes an integral social component of their time at McGill: It’s an outlet for them to meet other McGill students outside of their classes, as well as strengthen the friendships they already have.

U3 Engineering student Athar Ejaz highlights intramural sports as a unique opportunity to expand his social circle. Ejaz is the league coordinator for inner tube water polo and ultimate frisbee and a member of multiple teams.

“[Intramurals bring] together thousands of players,” Ejaz said. “These are people [who] you would see in your classes, or see on the street, but never say ‘hi’ to. But then after a couple times seeing them [at intramural games…] outside of the intramural context you might [reach out to them].”

For Kirk Wright, U3 Arts, playing intramural sports proved to be an invaluable method to strengthen relationships with existing friends. Wright—who has played ultimate frisbee, ice hockey, and inner tube water polo—began his intramural career on a basketball team that formed in his first-year residence. The team has maintained the same nucleus of players throughout Wright’s four years. He cites his time with the team as one of his most valuable intramural experiences

“[We went] from losing a game by 100 points in our first year to now, [where] we just made the playoffs this season,” Wright said. “It’s definitely been a journey [….] We’re not necessarily varsity athletes who get to compete at a high level, but it is fun to still have that experience and grow with people and develop.”

There are other benefits to participating in an intramural sport beyond the social aspect. The heavy course load at McGill can make it difficult to live an active lifestyle, but intramurals give students a reason to move from the library to the court, field, or pool.

“[Students] tend to get tunnel vision [and think] academics are the only thing that matters,” Ejaz said. “It is the thing that matters most, but a lot of people don’t realize that if they have a more balanced lifestyle, they’d have a better time.”

Intramural sports provide a fun release for overworked McGill students. Natalya Dreszer, U3 Environment, relied on intramurals throughout her undergraduate degree to elevate her mood, particularly during the dreary winter months.

“[Intramurals helped me] to get out of the house, [and it was nice] going and having a laugh, especially with inner tube water polo,” Dreszer said. “I can’t say enough good things about [it]. When else are you getting into your swimsuit in winter and jumping in the water?”

As the intramural program is open to alumni, some students continue to involve themselves after they graduate. Ali Sobhi, BComm ‘09, played on a variety of intramural teams throughout his undergraduate degree, although soccer was his main sport. Sobhi remains involved with intramurals at McGill, because of the community they foster.

“[Your teammates] become your [friends], and then you get to know them, so you just keep playing [with them],” Sobhi said. “It’s [more fun] to play with people you know.”

Many intramural competitors get their introduction to McGill’s program via word of mouth, generally through friends who are already involved. This informal promotion system can exclude students who might not have the right connections. As a partial solution, there are free agent meetings and Facebook groups organized for most sports at the beginning of each semester, offering an alternative avenue to find a team. Still, despite the program’s best efforts, Karnofsky acknowledges that outreach is an area that needs work.

“When [students are] coming to Montreal in August [they] get bombarded with information, and registering for an intramural sport is probably somewhere on the back-burner,” Karnofsky said. “We have some work to do, to kind of just plant the seed, whether it’s with the floor fellows, or with some of the student leaders to present [to new students] that this option exists.”

And, despite its widespread success, many students wish that intramurals were able to offer more: Dreszer expressed frustration with its capacity, caused by what she felt was a lack of resources.

“I wish that there was more time for intramural sports, [and] that there was more space for it,” Dreszer said. “I know people haven’t been able to get on teams because there’s not enough room. And I wish that there [were] more drop-in times, and more support for teams.”

While some are frustrated by perceived limitations, the intramural program is forced to compete with clubs, teams, and even departments for access to facilities. Karnofsky stressed that the shared facilities place boundaries on what sports and game times are available for selection.

“One of the challenges [we face is that] we share the facility with the Department of Physical Education, and the varsity program,” Karnofsky said. “In terms of priority, it’s education first, [then] varsity with all their games and practices, and we get what’s left over.”

Despite these challenging conditions, intramurals have become a regular weekly activity for many students. While sports may not be for everyone, the intramural community has the potential to broaden McGill students’ social horizons. In discussing his overall experience at McGill, Wright explained that the program was an integral part of his time at university.

“The McGill experience is a nebulous concept, because at such a big university there’s something for everyone,” Wright said. “Intramurals provide a really safe, fun, affordable way to get involved in sports [.…] It’s an underutilized outlet that people don’t really think of when they talk about their McGill experience, and how to build a good social circle, and stay active.”

News, SSMU

SSMU building closure disrupts campus clubs

by Lucas Bird on

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Student clubs and services previously housed within the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) building encountered logistical burdens in their search for alternative work spaces after the building closed on March 17. The closure was the the first step in a long-term schedule of renovations and repairs which are planned to continue into Winter 2019. While the move has left some student groups scrambling, both the clubs and SSMU have made efforts to maintain a cohesive community.

Nineteen clubs, which normally occupy the SSMU building, have relocated to other workspaces in buildings on Robert-Bourassa Boulevard and Peel Street. The Plate Club, a service that lends out dishware for student groups holding events, faced countless difficulties securing a new office before eventually relocating to 3471 Peel Street.

“At first, we weren’t given a new space because [SSMU General Manager] Ryan [Hughes] didn’t know what we do with our office space,” Plate Club Internal Coordinator Doug Lebo wrote in a message to The McGill Tribune. “We told him we didn’t need to move our dishwasher and his very next email essentially indicated that we didn’t have a space because we ‘would need dishwashing capacity.’”

However, after pushing SSMU for accomodation, Lebo has been pleased with the new arrangements.

“Overall […] the physical move was really easy,” Lebo wrote. “[SSMU Building Director] Wallace [Sealy] was kind enough to install a realtor box to keep our keys in since we now operate with locked cabinets in a public space.”

Some displaced groups such as Midnight Kitchen (MK), a non-profit collective known for serving vegan lunches on campus for donations, perform services which need specialized equipment to continue operating. MK employee Wade Walker found the relocation a struggle given the group’s need for a kitchen.

“At one point, SSMU thought they found us a space but it fell through because it wasn’t a commercial kitchen,” Walker said. “The only kitchen we could find is actually in Saint-Henri, so now we aren’t doing lunch servings.”

He also lamented that the relocation planning lacked cohesiveness.

“I really wish [SSMU had] had a complete plan in place before they came to us about the building closure,” Walker said. “They’ve been trying to communicate effectively, but there aren’t enough people working on the project, so they miss and forget things we’ve told them.”

Players’ Theatre, a student theatre company formerly housed in SSMU, was evicted from their office without warning on Feb. 12. Its new office is now on Peel Street and SSMU has given them funding to rent out MainLine Theatre on boulevard Saint Laurent for their productions. Events Coordinator Cheyenne Cranston said that, while the move has been challenging, it has reminded her of the strength of the campus community.

“It has been truly amazing to see the student body be so willing to help us when we need it, and support us through the move!” Cranston wrote in an email to the Tribune.

Jemark Earle, SSMU Vice President Student Life, hoped to prioritize the community of clubs. SSMU often didn’t have solutions to the challenges faced in organizing such a massive undertaking, leaving the clubs in limbo.

“We tried to make sure that even if we didn’t have much information, the clubs and services within the SSMU building knew everything we knew as soon as possible” Earle said. “The building [on Peel Street] was offered to us originally in August. We had been meeting with groups saying we could house them there, we had set down floor plans by the end of September, and then the administration said, ‘never mind this is off the table.’”

The building is scheduled to reopen in stages: Gerts will likely be back by the start of the fall semester, the first and second floors by the middle of October, and the rest of the building by December.

Out on the Town, Student Life

Dance your heart out: McGill dance parties that cater to often un-included communities

by Miguel Principe on

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Montreal’s party scene can be hard to navigate. For many McGill students, it often feels as though the only places to dance and have fun lie along a four-block strip of Saint-Laurent Boulevard. And while Tokyo and Apt. 200 have their merits, these spaces aren’t everyone’s cup of tea—nor are they particularly inclusive of a range of identities, demographics, and communities. Fortunately, beneath the pulse of the city’s mainstream nightlife lies a faction of underground dance parties that aim to offer something different.

Glitter Bomb is one such event. Hosted and organized once a month by Jeffrey Torgerson—known on stage as DJ Jeffany—and Kristopher Allnutt—known as DJ Awwful—the event was originally created as a small queer hangout at the popular bowling-alley bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles. It has since grown into a popular queer pop dance party featuring drag performances at Mile End’s Bar Le “Ritz.”

(Google Images)

“Having a space for drag that’s not in the Gay Village is important,” Torgerson said. “There’s not a lot of places for drag [outside the Village]. A lot of the queens expressed that it’s important to have this queer spot that’s inclusive also to bio queens, queens who were assigned female at birth and identify as “biological women,” [….] Also, there’s a lot of disappointing transphobic ideas about drag and we want to make sure that our space is open to having performances from all backgrounds.”

Torgerson added that Glitter bomb aims to be an inclusive space where people can express themselves without putting their security at risk.

“It’s a queer dance party so it creates a space for queer people to come together, mingle, dance, and have fun,” Torgerson said. “But also, a space to dress up and be creative with your looks. “We just want you to come as yourself, have fun, and not be worried that you’re not safe in any way.”

Starting as a simple way to experience the nostalgia for the emo music of the 2000s, Emo Night Montreal, which takes place every fourth Friday, is another community-oriented event hidden in the city’s nightlife. Produced and hosted by Thierry Martineau—also known as DJ Sticks and Stones—the event started in Los Angeles in 2014 and—as it catered to a community that often couldn’t go out to enjoy their favourite music in clubs—became so popular that it was adapted in many other cities in North America, including Montreal. Martineau’s connections and personal interest in emo and pop punk along with his own thrilling experience in Toronto’s Emo Night, Homesick, led him to bring Emo Night to Montreal.

(facebook.com/emonightmontreal)

“I was in a pop punk band […] and Vendetta Productions had booked [our band] at TRH-Bar [in November 2016,]” Martineau said. “They had the venue until three and I [suggested] Emo Night in Montreal [….] We ended up selling out TRH-Bar, around 250 [people came]. So, we decided to do it again.”

As it became more popular, Emo Night eventually outgrew its original location of TRH-Bar. The organizers decided to move to Quartier-des-Spectacles’ Foufounes Electriques due to its reputation as a venue for alternative music, having hosted acts such as Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails.

Emo Night MTL strives to create space for those who seldom hear their music tastes played at clubs, and have become alienated from the mainstream club scene for this reason.

“[Emo Night is] a place to listen to songs that you sang in your bedroom […] and now can do with hundreds of people [who] know all of the lyrics,” Martineau said. “In general, people want a low-pressure, fun, kind-of cringy [event] where every song is [one] that [you’re] embarrassed to like […] Emo Night is a bit like that [where] you come in and you’re proud.”

In addition to catering to those hoping to reflect indulge in their favourite songs of the 2000s, Emo Night also welcomes lovers of today’s emo hits.

“There’s two brackets [of the emo subculture], the nostalgia ‘kids’ who are now adults, and there’s younger people who are in their [mid-20s] since pop-punk and emo [has had] a resurgence with newer bands such as State Champs and Neck Deep,” Martineau said. “[Emo Night] is meeting the needs of [both] types of people. Music-wise, we play more of the new stuff earlier in the night for the hardcores. Later on, we’ll play the [emo] hits of the 2000s that appeal to everybody.”

While many francophones in Montreal can argue that much of the Saint-Laurent club scene caters to anglophone culture, C’est Extra strives to provide them with a community. The dance party is hosted every Sunday before a holiday—such as Easter or Thanksgiving—and showcases the best francophone songs of the ‘60s and ‘70s. This celebration of retro French music was established in May 1996 by Marie-Christine Champagne, known as MC Champagne, and a few friends, and first took place at the Cabaret du Musée Juste pour Rire, which has since closed.

(Frederique Menard Aubin)

“I really like old vinyls and their songs,” Champagne said in an interview with La Presse. “We wanted to make an event where people came to listen [to French music]. We didn’t really think of dancing at the time, we were thinking of listening to French music […] of ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s really loudly in the speakers […. at] the first event, 500 people came [….Everyone asked] ‘When’s the next one?.’ With much hype and by popular demand, we did it [again.]”*

This extraordinary event was held in the Cabaret Just For Laughs until 2006, when it moved to La Tulipe, a cabaret theatre situated in an 105-year-old building at Papineau and Mont-Royal. It has even led to a special edition every New Year’s Eve, which is hosted at the Place Ville Marie Observatory and broadcast for the whole city to dance to on radio station Ici Musique 100.7 FM. Still, the event has maintained its original purpose of playing classic and often-forgotten French songs.

C’est Extra works to bring together people with a common interest in French music. The event’s longevity has allowed organizers to build a community among attendees over several generations.

“Around one million people have come to dance at our nights in the [past] 22 years,” Champagne said. “First of all, we have people who have been following us for 22 years, [which] is already extraordinary. There’s those that have become parents who bring their children.”*

The approximately one million people all contribute to the event’s sense of unity.

“It’s always a pleasure to have this night […] with the people dancing and a lot of singing,” Champagne said. “We’re all together to create that moment […] a bunch of crazy beautiful people having so much fun. It’s a fusion of energy and craziness.”*

For Montrealers who don’t particularly enjoy or feel comfortable in a traditional club setting but still want to go out and dance their hearts out, keep in mind that there are plenty of dance party options to explore.

*Quote translated from French.

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