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Student Life

Wonderful washrooms of McGill

by Gabriel Helfant on

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McGill is a challenging environment for many students, primarily because of its rigorous academic atmosphere, hilly terrain, and severe scarcity of washrooms. Lining up to use the first floor Redpath washroom is a bitter and constant struggle. However, for those who appreciate the finer things in life, there are a number of more prestigious lavatories available if you simply go looking for them. To help students find their ideal washroom experience, The McGill Tribune explored the bowels of McGill’s Downtown campus to compile a list of the university’s best secret bathrooms.

Old Faithful (McLennan, 6th floor)

Finding paper towel in a McGill washroom is almost as rare as finding a room in SSMU without asbestos. However, nestled between library archives and the graduate study room on the sixth floor of McLennan Library lies a hidden paradise: A private, gender-neutral washroom, with an abundance of paper towels, vast leg room, and strangely romantic lighting. After a difficult day of studying, this roomy-yet-cozy lavatory is the perfect place to treat yourself and practice some “Hygiene de vie.”

Close to Home (McConnell Engineering basement)

It is often upon their first steps on campus that one realizes they have made a terrible mistake, needing to use the washroom just minutes before rushing to a midterm. Luckily, right by the Milton Gates, in the westernmost wing of the McConnell Engineering Building, is a beautiful basement washroom that showcases the benefits of the industrial revolution. Its rustic engineering vibe and incredible level of cleanliness makes the entire experience delightful. Such true ingenuity can only be expected from the great minds of the Faculty of Engineering, which brought us our beloved OAP.

Suze’s Spot (James Administration Building)

While most students won’t get to meet our principal and high-ranking administrative staff until graduation for a speedy handshake, experiencing the building in which they work is an honour in itself. Although this washroom may be the most difficult for the average student to access, it is definitely worth the effort. If you manage to get by the security guard who is scarier than the manager of Apt. 200, head up the main stairwell and take a peek into the second-floor facilities. What the James Administration washroom may lack in ventilation, good lighting, and paper towels, it makes up for with the sense of prestige that nowhere else on campus can really offer.

An Apple a Day (McIntyre Medical Building, 2nd floor)

A visit to the washroom can be a rather troubling experience, leaving you with concerns that may be best suited for your family physician. After a sweaty walk up the mountain, make your way to the McIntyre Medical Building and take the elevator up to the second floor to enjoy a washroom with a ventilation system that would definitely be recommended by at least nine out of 10 doctors. If you leave with issues that can’t be blamed on your reduced-price Quesada burrito, find one of the many students walking around in lab coats and let them know what’s on your mind.

 

Editorial, Opinion

Winter 2018 Referendum Endorsements

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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Motion Regarding the ECOLE Project Fee Levy Renewal: “Yes”

The Educational Community Living Project (ECOLE) is an independent student group that provides living and work space at 3559 University Street. Every year, resident facilitators adopt eco-friendly living habits such as sharing vegan meals, composting, and minimizing their heat and energy use. Student facilitators also take on Applied Student Research and advocacy projects during their time living at ECOLE, often tackling social justice and environmental topics. Additionally, the house serves as a space for clubs and student groups to use for meetings, workshops, talks, and film screenings related to environmental and social sustainability. This motion would renew the opt-outable ECOLE Project fee of $2.00 per student per semester, which would allow ECOLE to continue to conduct research projects, advocate for sustainable urban living, and provide valuable meeting space for student groups. These services are all essential for a healthy campus community, especially in light of the recent University Centre building closure.

 

Motion Regarding the Black Students’ Network Fee: “Yes”

The Black Students’ Network (BSN) is a Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) student service with a dual mandate to “sensitize the McGill community to issues concerning Black peoples,” and to create a safer, more accessible campus for black students that supports their health, well-being, and academic success. This question consists of two parts: The first asks students to renew the opt-outable Black Students’ Network fee, and the second asks students to approve a semesterly fee increase from $0.40 to $1.00 for full-time students, and from $0.20 to $0.50 for part-time students. The motion states that the BSN’s current fee is no longer sufficient to sustain its diverse range of programming, including hosting educational and social events, and providing mentorship and support for Black students on campus. Further, the BSN is now the primary financial contributor to Black History Month programming at McGill. The BSN is a crucial intersectional education and support resource for all members of the McGill community, but especially for black students. The BSN’s existence on campus is essential to continuing to work toward representation and equity for black students at McGill.

 

Motion to Amend the SSMU Campus Life Fee: “Yes”

Motion to Amend the SSMU Clubs Fee: “Yes”

Motion to Amend the University Centre Building Fee: “Yes”

The motions to amend the SSMU Campus Life Fee, the SSMU Clubs Fee, and the University Building Centre Fee all respond to logistical issues posed by the closing of the University Centre for renovations starting on March 17.

The SSMU Campus Life Fee supports student projects, events, conferences, publications, productions, and athletic teams at McGill. This question asks students to agree to amending the SSMU Campus Life Fee so that it can be used to help interim clubs and services secure activity spaces during the building closure. There is a surplus in the SSMU Campus Life Fund due to a lack of applications in past years, and McGill clubs and services are in dire need of designated spaces for meetings, events, and offices.

The SSMU Clubs Fee funds McGill clubs. This question seeks to amend the Clubs Fund to cover the costs of securing spaces for Full Status Clubs in good standing while the University Centre remains closed to students.

Finally, the University Centre Building Fee contributes to a designated fund to pay the rent and utilities of the University Centre Building. This question aims to amend this fund to cover “the costs of reserving alternative spaces” due to the building closure. The amendment will ensure that clubs are able to operate effectively outside of the University Centre building.

These questions outline inevitable and necessary financial steps to ensure that the McGill clubs and services, and independent student groups, are able to operate effectively in light of the building closure.

 

Policy on Implementation of a Fall Reading Break: “Yes”

This referendum question asks students whether they agree to adopt the Policy on Implementation of a Fall Reading Break as a formal SSMU policy. Sixty-one per cent of Canadian universities have at least four study days in the Fall semester, and a 2015 survey of over 5,000 McGill students found that 71.5 per cent of respondents were in favour of a Fall Reading Break. The Policy specifies a three-pronged approach to realizing a Fall Reading Week: It mandates the Vice-President (VP) University Affairs to lobby the University administration, the VP External to petition the provincial government, and SSMU to encourage the McGill Senate to implement a break. While implementing a Fall reading week could require starting the Fall semester earlier in August or potentially holding final exams on weekends, an October 2014 study conducted at Brock University shows that an additional fall break would reduce stress for students—especially first-years. The benefits of implementing a Fall Reading Break outweigh the logistical costs and, given that McGill students are broadly in favour of a Fall Reading Week, SSMU should advocate to make it a reality.

Creative, Student Life, Word on the Y

Word on the Y: FourLoko ban

by Sofia Mikton on

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What are we going to do without FourLoko? McGill students in the midst of their collective existential crises navigate their confusion, sadness, and anger in the wake of a city-wide depanneur ban on FourLoko.

Stay tuned as McGill students reach into the infinite darkness, seeking a new way to get really drunk.

Video by Sofia Mikton with help from Bilal Virji

Arts & Entertainment, Pop Rhetoric

A response to RuPaul’s transphobic, sexist comments, and his empty apology

by Nicholas Raffoul on

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In an interview with the Guardian on March 3, RuPaul made it obvious that he does not want to let trans and cis women compete on Drag Race anytime soon. Rupaul’s Drag Race, which has been airing for nearly a decade, is a reality TV competition in which drag queens compete to become America’s next “Drag Superstar,” and are judged based on their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. His reasoning was glaringly superficial, transphobic, and misogynistic, revealing a lot about RuPaul’s biases, and even more about the prevalent discrimination in the queer community.

When asked if he would accept a transgender woman who has altered her experience with feminizing surgeries as a contender, RuPaul responded with a, “probably not,” saying that “you can identify as a woman and say you’re transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body. It takes on a different thing it changes the whole concept of what we’re doing,” referring to season 9 runner-up Peppermint’s breast implants, which she got after she left the show.

This statement not only displays RuPaul’s outdated conception of trans identity, but also reduces trans identity to whether or not an individual has undergone surgeries. As the face of drag culture internationally, it’s appalling to hear RuPaul belittle the trans community, who have had a foundational influence on drag, like Angie Xtravaganza, a trans founding member of the House of Xtravaganza in New York City in the 1980s. These transphobic comments destroy the image of Drag Race as the safe haven that we all knew and loved, revealing RuPaul’s questionable motives for creating the show in the first place.

As for RuPaul’s comments on cis women competing on the show, he answered, “Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it’s not men doing it, because at its core it’s a big f-you to male-dominated culture.”

“Male-dominated” would be an equally apt descriptor for RuPaul’s show. These comments fail to give a voice to the female artists, the female performers, the female fans, and the female drag queens, ignoring non-cis male drag queens including Creme Fatale, Tayla Macdonald, and Victoria Sin.

RuPaul’s Drag Race routinely appropriates aspects of women’s history, such as the “Baddest B*tches of Herstory” routine, in which each competing drag queen represented a famous female historical figure like Princess Diana or Annie Oakley. This is hypocritical since women are excluded from celebrating their own history on the show, because RuPaul thinks that it is only an ironic political statement if men perform. Women taking charge of their history and femininity by reclaiming their sexist experiences is a potentially strong and powerful political statement, and cisgender men like RuPaul should not be allowed to undermine their art.

Besides making a grossly inaccurate assumption, RuPaul is excluding competitors based solely on arbitrary body standards. He had no problem with competitors like Detox (Season 5) or Trinity Taylor (Season 9) who have had physical enhancements like glute and chest enlargements. RuPaul does not really have an issue with stereotypically feminine bodies, but a larger problem with women. This is part of a bigger issue of the misogyny in the LGBTQ+ spaces because queer culture is dominated by cisgender men.

RuPaul tweeted an apology two days after the interview was published. However, he only apologized to the trans community, neglecting to comment on his discrimination of cis women. Many of the reactions to his tweet were shocking, with some saying that RuPaul had no reason to apologize in the first place. “His show, his rules, right?” Other comments included that gay men should have something for themselves without trans people taking it from them.

Drag Race is the most prominent gateway to drag culture and, for drag queens, the easiest road to worldwide fame. It’s sickening that RuPaul is taking away the chance from trans and cis female drag queens from sharing their art, solely on the basis that drag isn’t as scandalous when it isn’t men doing it. RuPaul and the show’s producers know exactly how influential they are—the show drew nearly one million viewers for its Season 9 premiere. Thus, they are actively marginalizing the voices of trans and cis women who are trying to share their art form on an international stage.

Fans should not accept RuPaul’s apology until trans and cis women are equal contenders for the Drag Race crown and share LGBTQ+ spaces without discrimination. Embracing trans and cis women on Drag Race strengthens the danger and irony of drag—it doesn’t hinder it. Women are taking control of their own femininity, and sending a huge middle finger to all the men who continue to enforce unrealistic restrictions on women in our male-dominated culture—RuPaul included. Now that’s totally “punk-rock.”

Baseball, Sports

Predicting the MLB midseason

by Gabe Nisker on

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With regular season action less than two weeks away, all baseball fans want is to get started. For them, there’s nothing better than those summer afternoons spent at the ballpark with hot dog in hand. Given the slow offseason, The McGill Tribune pressed fast-forward on the MLB remote to provide a look at how the 2018 season might look at its midpoint.

 

It’s July 16. Winter is a distant memory, and we’re hours away from the greatest skills competition in sports: The Home Run Derby. With half of the MLB season behind us, it’s a perfect time to look back at the last three months of baseball action.

 

Bronx Bombers

Fresh off an early off-season acquisition of reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, the New York Yankees are looking strong and mighty so far. Stanton has teamed up with outfielder Aaron Judge and catcher Gary Sánchez to form one of baseball’s most deadly trios in the middle of the Yankees lineup. With that shutdown bullpen still intact from last season’s ALCS run, the Bombers are ready to make a play for Houston’s throne.

 

Incredible Rookies

Ronald Acuña has been a revelation for the Braves since rising up to the majors, mashing homers and keeping his team competitive. In the American League, Los Angeles Angels’ two-way dynamo Shohei Ohtani has experienced a bit of a learning curve. After some early struggles, he looks a lot more comfortable on the mound but the Angels are still hoping to see the bat come around in time for the stretch run.

 

In the Playoff Hunt

With the July 31 trade deadline only weeks away, the contenders and pretenders are starting to reveal themselves. The Minnesota Twins deftly added a boatload of talent in the offseason—including starters Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn—at minimal cost. They’re right in the thick of things in the AL Wild Card race, only two games ahead of surprise contenders in the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays, and one game behind the Boston Red Sox for the first spot.

The Miami Marlins sold off Stanton to the Yankees in December, but they weren’t done there: Miami dealt outfielders Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna to the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively. Both beneficiaries are in the heat of the NL Central race, only a few games behind the Chicago Cubs, whose bolstered rotation with Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood has been excellent.

The San Francisco Giants built the ultimate 2013 superteam in the offseason, adding Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria, and the results have been promising. But, with the aforementioned wealth of contenders in the NL wildcard race—plus Jake Arrieta and the Philadelphia Phillies—it looks unlikely that they’ll find themselves in the postseason.

 

New Rules

An offseason rule change restricting mound visits hasn’t clicked the way Commissioner Rob Manfred would have liked. Teams are now restricted to six mound visits per game without having to make a pitching change, and they are still coming to grips with how and when to use them. The adjustment has made little impact on the pace of play to this point, but more rule changes seem to be on the horizon. Manfred has spoken of his desire to add a pitch clock next season, and Minor League Baseball is testing out new extra inning rules, similar to those used in international play.

 

Playoff predictions

It’s certainly possible that baseball is re-entering an era of dominant powers. The Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, and Cubs look poised to make another run to their leagues’ championship series, and baseball doesn’t feel quite as competitively balanced as it’s been in years past.

However, as the dog days of summer heat up and make a sharp turn into fall baseball, don’t count out teams like the Red Sox and the Washington Nationals. Both have new managers leading the way—but, then again, even they were in the postseason last time around. Whatever the coming months may bring, fans are set to witness a new volume in a classic baseball story.

Student Life

Texts to send when you want to cancel plans

by Mary Keith on

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We’ve all been there: Making plans with friends days in advance only to wind up in your bed when the time comes, wishing there was a way to cancel without sounding rude or unappreciative. In order to help you curate the best lies to get out of plans, The McGill Tribune has a few go-to-texts to send to get your friend off your back.

 

Hockey, Men's Varsity, Sports

Redmen hockey season recap

by Jordan Foy on

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2017-18 marked a successful campaign for the McGill Redmen hockey team, as they captured their 18th OUA Queens Cup and competed at the U Sports National Championships for the second year in a row. Their consistently solid play in the regular season led to a 22-4-2 record and a first-place finish in the OUA East Division. All season, contributions came from up and down the squad’s deep roster: Third-year centre Jerome Verrier led the team in assists and points, with 29 and 41 respectively, while third-year forward Christophe Lalonde led the team in goals with 13. Second-year masters student and captain Nathan Chiarlitti led the rearguard and chipped in three goals and 13 assists. The back end also proved vital offensively, as third-year skater Dominic Talbot-Tassi was second in points on the team with 25. In the crease, second-year goaltender Louis-Phillip Guindon had an exceptional year, stopping shots with a sparkling 2.22 goals against average—an OUA best. Behind the bench, Head Coach Kelly Nobes was the recipient of the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award as the U Sports coach of the year.

Heading into the playoffs, the Redmen maintained their momentum from the regular season: They destroyed the Laurentian University Voyageurs by a combined score of 14-3 in two games, then downed the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in three.

However, McGill found more difficulty in the OUA East final series against their cross-town rivals, Concordia. The Redmen lost their first game at home, but forced a tie-breaking third game with a suspenseful overtime win in game two. In the end, McGill secured first place in the OUA East division and booked their ticket to nationals with a game three win over the Stingers 6-2. Before heading to the U Sports National Championships, McGill battled the Brock University Badgers on March 10 for the Queen’s Cup (OUA Championship). It was a chippy contest, but the Redmen easily ousted their opponents, securing the Queen’s Cup with a 5-1 victory.

Heading into the national championships in Fredericton, third-seeded McGill faced off against the sixth-seeded University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the quarterfinal on March 16. The Huskies entered the tournament as Canada West Finalists, after finishing in second at the 2016-17 U Sports Championship. In a scrappy affair, the two sides received 84 combined penalty minutes. The contest was tight: The shot total favoured McGill by a tiny 34-33 margin. The Huskies were up 2-0 early in the second, but the Redmen halved the deficit later in the stanza when first-year forward Antoine Dufort-Plante buried one on the powerplay. The Redmen pressed in the third, but fell behind by two halfway through the frame when the Huskies scored on a deflection that fooled Guindon. Despite their many opportunities—including several shots dinged off the post—the Redmen were unable to come back, ultimately falling 4-1 after the Huskies potted an empty net goal.

The University of New Brunswick (UNB) Varsity Reds eventually defeated the Huskies for the bronze medal, while the University of Alberta Golden Bears beat the Saint Francis Xavier X-Men in the gold-medal game to secure the David Johnston University Cup.

The Redmen will lose four seniors to graduation this offseason, including defencemen Chiarlitti and Francis Lambert-Lemay, forward Jan Kaminsky, and goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard. However, as the team retains much of its roster, they will look to build upon this season’s achievements next year. When they return in the fall, their eyes will be set on another appearance at nationals and a run at the U Sports Cup.

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment

Reanimating the corpse of trap music

by Brandon Kaufman on

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There was a time, not too long ago, when it seemed that Lil Yachty was the future. He looked and sounded like a radically new type of rapper, happiest when crooning over samples of cartoon theme songs, his bars lighthearted and youthful. He entered the mainstream with his 2016 mixtape Lil Boat charting at number 106 on the Billboard 200. The then-18-year-old joined Quality Control, the Atlanta label which includes Migos among its signed artists.

Then, he bricked hard. His debut full-length record, 2017’s Teenage Emotions, was boring, overlong, and a commercial disappointment (and for some reason featured Diplo). The album’s sales were as disappointing as its critical reception, moving less than 50 thousand units in its first week. Another dud could put an end to the short reign of the so-called king of teens. Thankfully, his newest project, Lil Boat 2, released March 9, 2018, finds Yachty unshaken from the failure of Emotions and making some of the best music of his career.

The Atlanta rapper manages to display his improved technical skills while also recalling the carefree bubble-gum trap of his early career. On “love me forever,” Yachty floats over production by Buddah Bless with the fun auto-tuned singing that distinguished Lil Boat the first.

Cuts like “COUNT ME IN” and “OOPS” highlight his marked improvements; on the latter, Yachty impresses by confidently changing his flow over a simplistic drum beat. He deploys his characteristically hilarious bars throughout: On “COUNT ME IN” he implores listeners to call him “Yachty Rothschild.”

The record is good, not great. It slogs in the middle, with songs like “Das Cap” and “WHOLE lotta GUAP” rehashing the same ideas, and sounds he expounds sufficiently on other tracks. And while Yachty has surely developed as a rapper, he still struggles to go bar-for-bar with the likes of Ugly God and 2 Chainz.

Still, this is the project that Teenage Emotions should have been: A solid showcase of all the eccentricities that have made Yachty one of the most subversive rappers of the decade.

Ten years Yachty’s senior, Los Angeles rapper 03 Greedo is no less irreverent. His sound is difficult to pin down, using both Gucci Mane-like triplets alongside R&B melodies that would fit well on a prime Stevie Wonder record. His beat selection is impressive, and he sounds comfortable spitting over both old-school synths as well as the drum machines that have become omnipresent in today’s trap. Lyrically, Greedo is very much a part of the gritty, realist West Coast tradition.

Greedo’s versatility shines through on his impressive new mixtape, The Wolf of Grape Street. On the lead single, “Substance,” his voice carelessly glides over a chilled-out soul beat, contrasting with the story of his struggle with substance abuse. “Baytoven” is celebratory, with Greedo comparing his go-to producers to some of the industry’s hottest: “Ron Ron just like my Zaytoven/Beat Boy, that’s my Metro Boomin’.” Greedo sounds like he’s having fun, effortlessly rapping over a beat that sounds like the brainchild of the same producers who pioneered Migos’ sound.

The mixtape loses no steam down the stretch. Greedo’s versatility demands the listener’s attention by refusing to stay with one sound. He goes for a more atmospheric and smooth sound on “For My Dawgs,” but a few tracks later explodes on the abrasive “Vulture.” 03 Greedo’s strength is his flexibility, and he manages to show it off without making the album feel unfocused.

Yachty and Greedo represent an answer to the current stasis trap music finds itself in. The Migos sound, which seemed so revolutionary not so long ago, has gotten stale. This January’s Culture II, for example, is a bore at almost two hours long—in part because they tediously relied on the same formula of triplets and strange adlibs that made Culture work so well. The few highlights of the record are the tracks that the group experiments on, like “Stir Fry.”

Yachty and Greedo, on the other hand, have revitalized the sound by injecting it with their unique personalities and influences. We’d be lucky if these records are any indication of the sound of trap to come.

Commentary, Opinion

It’s not all good in the neighbourhood: Students play a role in gentrification

by Grace Gunning on

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The McGill Daily published an exposé on Feb. 19 of a landlord’s eviction of the residents of a Parc-Extension building in the name of a luxury apartment project. This comes at a time when Montrealers across the city are protesting gentrification in their neighbourhoods. Gentrification, a complicated process that involves redevelopment of a neighbourhood to appeal to middle-class consumers, results in the displacement of existing inhabitants. As long-term residents are illegally pushed out in favour of high-end apartment complexes, community networks and resources are threatened.

To some, the issue of gentrification may seem disconnected from student concerns. Yet, it is necessary for students to recognize that their presence is appealing to developers, and then strategically work to support existing communities. This is especially relevant in Montreal, where neighbourhoods like Parc-Ex, Saint-Henri, the Mile End, and the Milton Parc community have all faced rent hikes, the ousting of local businesses, and an influx of transient students. In the case of Parc-Ex, development projects are progressing alongside UdeM’s plans to open a new branch in the neighbourhood. This neatly demonstrates the connection between students and gentrification; gentrifying developers wish to capitalize on a growing student presence while undermining the well-being of neighbourhood residents. As students move toward working life, they must remember that they exist within the matrix of a broader community, and their actions within their neighbourhood have consequences.

While students may be more focused on passing their midterms than preserving the integrity of the areas that they live in, they should still be aware of the impact they have on their surroundings. Students are a unique demographic: Many hold the social status of the pre-professional—who often has the support of parents, universities, and networks of peers and mentors—alongside an independent rootlessness that leaves little room for them to contribute to community building. Furthermore, student communities are often localized on campus, rather than in their neighbourhood. This is especially true at McGill, where four-fifths of students do not list French as their mother tongue and might, because of this, feel unable to fully participate in Montreal’s bilingual culture.

Since most students occupy their Montreal dwellings for such a short time, there is also a disconnect between tenant and landlord. An influx of students may perforate a tightly knit neighbourhood community and mark it as a desirable neighbourhood for development. Additionally, students graduating from McGill are more likely to reach a higher pay grade than those without a college education, and might unwittingly transform into the young urban professionals that gentrifying developers cater to. This could oust past residents who are no longer capable of paying spiking rent costs, putting their welfare at risk.

Just because students are transient occupants of an area does not mean that they do not have a responsibility to that neighbourhood. It is possible to be impermanent and empathetic at the same time.

In light of their relationship to gentrification, students have a mandate to be conscientious, both in their relationship with the spaces they live in during university, and with the neighbourhoods they choose to occupy afterward. This entails lobbying for stricter laws against rent hikes, as well as for governmental support for public spaces. It also means being aware of community organizations and, in the case of mobilization against gentrification, supporting permanent residents in their efforts. Examples of mobilization include the Parc-Ex residents’ Feb. 20 demonstration outside Parc Metro station and the 2012 takeover of Building 7 in South-West Montreal by members of the community. There are many ways that students can take on supportive roles: Ranging from raising awareness on social media to joining local groups protesting gentrification.

In the long term, students must also be aware and critical of their own mindset. From coming out of university, to beginning their first job, to settling down, students at every stage of life must ask themselves: Why am I moving where I am? What is my role in this community? A community-based mindset is necessary for the health of the neighbourhood. An individual does not exist as a free agent, but within the context of others.

Just because students are transient occupants of an area does not mean that they do not have a responsibility to that neighbourhood. It is possible to be impermanent and empathetic at the same time. By thinking about community alongside individuality, students can do their part in supporting the residents of Montreal, and any city they might live in after they leave McGill.

 

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that UQAM plans to open a new branch in the Parc-Ex neighbourhood. In fact, UdeM is proceeding with a new campus in Parc-Ex. The Tribune regrets this error.

Student Life

Overcoming the fear of missing out: What is FOMO and how can we learn to deal with it?

by Miguel Principe on

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The fear of missing out, better known as FOMO, is a universally-felt sentiment—one that can creep up on just about anyone, caused by a range of circumstances. Although the term has been used conversationally for years, it was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013, and defined as “Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere.”

However, FOMO goes deeper than just the feeling of missing out. It involves making unrealistic comparisons between your social life and your peers’. It’s a vicious cycle of thoughts that gnaws away, making you second-guess your choice to spend Friday night studying in the library while your friends are out partying.

Despite being a natural extrovert, Sachin Samarakone, a U3 engineering student, is no stranger to this feeling.

“I usually tend to feel FOMO a lot,” Samarakone said. “I think it’s more to do with my personality type though. I’m a very extroverted person so I love different social experiences.”

Often, our perception of our peers’ social lives may not actually hold true. A study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) found that 48 per cent of first-year university students believe their peers are more socially connected than they actually are. This is largely because social activities typically take place in public, visible to others, while individual activities, like studying, are done in private, and thus go unnoticed. The study found that many students who sense that they are missing out have a reduced sense of social belonging, which is a key indicator of someone’s mental well-being.

While the fear of missing out is natural, if it comes up too frequently or goes undealt with, it can lead to unpleasant reactions and behaviours. For example, the UBC study found that people grow increasingly stressed if they feel regular anxiety about missing out, and they might react by adopting a dependency on social media or general feelings of dissatisfaction with their personal life.

Another study by marketing communications company James Walter Thompson demonstrated that FOMO contributes to people’s dissatisfaction with their social standing and a feeling of having less. It’s proven to play a negative role in people’s overall psychological well-being because it triggers negative social and emotional experiences, such as boredom and loneliness.

But this correlation between FOMO and unhappiness is a two-way street. Eric Barker, writer for TIME noted in a 2016 article that those who are already feeling insecure or unhappy with their lives may be more susceptible to FOMO.  

Barker also points out that witnessing others’ social lives shared on social media initiates FOMO. In the age of Instagram and Snapchat, students are expected to showcase their best moments on social media platforms for their peers to be jealous of when they see them. Faced with these posts, students often develop the unhealthy digital habit of constantly checking social media to stay in the loop and avoid feeling as though they’re missing a major event. FOMO stems not from the fact that our social lives are lacking, but rather the idea that our social lives are not objectively better than others’.

“So you’re wondering if your life measures up and you turn to everyone else’s deliberately sculpted illusion of lifestyle perfection,” Barker wrote. “This is the happiness equivalent of reading your bank statement after looking at the Forbes 400 list.”

For Samarakone, this has certainly been the case. Learning not to compare his social life to that of his peers with different academic workloads has been a process.

“I used to do my work around events, but I’ve realized, that’s not a healthy way to do things,” Samarakone said. “Especially when most of my friends are in slightly easier programs as opposed to chemical engineering which is an extremely time consuming degree […My FOMO] has really improved [in my time at McGill]. I’ve realized the long term consequences of my actions just for seeking a few hours of pleasure.”

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