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Out on the Town, Student Life

Montreal’s best spots for soup when you’re feeling under the weather

by Sophie Panzer on

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It’s the most stressful time of year—midterms and deadlines are rearing their ugly heads, and to make matters worse, flu season is in full swing. Comfort food helps, but knowing where to find it amid Montreal’s many restaurants is a challenge. To help students battle the last of the winter blues, The McGill Tribune compiled a list of Montreal restaurants to turn to when searching for the ultimate comfort food: Soup.

Pho Rachel – 14 Rachel Street East

Price rating: $
Veggie/vegan friendly? Yes

A 25-minute walk from campus, this Vietnamese restaurant is a great go-to for those feeling under the weather. The staff are friendly, the portions are generous, and the soup is so rich and flavourful that it’s sure to revive the part of your soul that died somewhere on the third floor of McLennan last week. Try the chicken pho with homemade noodles, or the vegetable pho if you don’t eat animal products, and be sure to pair your order with the salted lemonade, a Pho Rachel specialty.  

Hof Kelsten – 4524 St. Laurent Boulevard

Price rating: $$
Veggie/vegan friendly? No

Although this Jewish bakery is best known for its brunch fare and desserts, there’s nothing better than their classic matzo ball soup if you’re feeling sick. Since this savoury, satisfying dish is made with chicken and bone broth, it’s not suitable for vegetarians. However, if you’re OK with eating meat and can’t convince your grandmother to come cook for you, Hof Kelsten’s matzo ball soup is the next best thing. For an extra touch of comfort, be sure to try one of their famous pastries—the chocolate babka never disappoints.


 Yokato Yokabai – 4185 Rue Drolet

Price rating: $$
Veggie/vegan friendly? Yes

Located on the corner of Rachel and Drolet Streets, this Japanese restaurant is easy to pass without noticing due to its plain exterior and tucked away door. Upon entering, you’ll find an elegant space with a streamlined ticket-based ordering process serving only one thing: Ramen. On their tickets, patrons are asked to customize their ramen dish, first by choosing between tonkotsu bone broth and vegetable-based broth. While many vegetarian broths are watery and less flavourful than their meat-based counterparts, Yokato Yokabai’s has a rich, salty, umami flavour. Customers can top off their soup with extras including tofu, chicken teriyaki, and seaweed before garnishing the ramen noodles with pickled ginger and chili oil. After you’ve finished your soup, be sure to indulge in some green tea ice cream for dessert—a sweet treat despite the bitter cold.

Kantapia – 364 Sherbrooke Street West

Price rating: $
Veggie/vegan friendly? Yes

Just a few blocks from campus on the corner of Parc and Sherbrooke, Kantapia is popular among McGill students for its uniquely colourful decor and unbeatable Korean comfort food. If you’re feeling sick, skip the bibimbap (rice bowl) and order some of their spicy ramen or soondubu jjigae (tofu stew) instead—your sinuses will thank you. The red chili paste in the broth will leave you feeling warm and cozy, but be sure to bring tissues or consider ordering takeout to avoid offending fellow diners with your runny nose.

 

Science & Technology

Awe-inspiring Canadian whales

by Emma Gillies on

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Marine biology fans celebrated World Whale Day on Feb. 18, commemorating the curious creatures and raising awareness for their protection. Whales play a vital role in the oceans’ functioning and carbon storage. Unfortunately, these mighty ecosystem engineers are threatened by whaling, habitat loss, and pollution.

Canada’s coastlines are home to more than 30 species of whales, from the scarce North Atlantic right whale to the gnarly narwhal. In belated celebration of World Whale Day, here are five of the more iconic species that inhabit Canadian waters.

Blue whale

The largest animal alive, the blue whale can grow up to 30 metres long and weigh over 150 tons. Its tongue alone is roughly the weight of an elephant, and its heart is the size of a small car. Blue whales are baleen whales, cetaceans that have keratin plates instead of teeth to capture prey via filter feeding. Consuming up to 40 million krill per day, these animals are found in every ocean on Earth and migrate thousands of miles each year.

An estimated 95 to 99 per cent of the blue whale population was lost to whaling between the 17th and 20th centuries. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently lists the blue whale as endangered. However, its global population is slowly recovering, currently estimated to fall between 10,000 and 25,000 individuals.

Humpback whale

Another iconic baleen whale, the humpback is famous for its song. Since humpbacks don’t have vocal cords, the low noises that they make are produced by pushing air out of their blowhole. While researchers are unclear on why they make these sounds, they appear to be involved in mating rituals. Humpbacks can also propel their entire bodies out of the water, or breach, a behaviour that is associated with communication, territoriality, playfulness, and even the removal of parasites.

Also notable is their unique mode of feeding. Humpbacks herd their prey by blowing bubbles around them and capture fish by making loud vocal sounds and slapping their fins against the water to drive them to the surface and immobilize them.

Sperm whale

With its block-shaped head, the sperm whale has the largest brain of any animal and is the deepest-diving marine mammal in the world. A toothed whale, it hunts in pitch-black waters, relying on echolocation to capture its prey, which includes octopus, various fish, and even giant squid. The sperm whale’s name comes from the spermaceti organ in its large head, which produces a white waxy substance that was originally mistaken for sperm but is actually used for buoyancy and echolocation.

Beluga whale

A close relative of the narwhal, the beluga whale undergoes a Gandalf-like transformation throughout its life: Born a dark gray color, it later turns white.

Though the beluga is toothed, it swallows its prey whole. Also known as the “sea canary,” it’s highly vocal and can live in pods of up to 100 whales.

Belugas are relatively small and have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm in freezing Arctic waters. Unfortunately, they are particularly susceptible to the effects of pollution. The contaminant levels in the bodies of St. Lawrence belugas were once so high that the carcasses were considered to be hazardous toxic waste. They remain one of the most contaminated marine mammals.

Orca

The orca, or killer whale, is not actually a whale, but a dolphin. Nevertheless, it deserves recognition on this list.

This distinct black and white whale is an apex predator, meaning that it has no known threats in the animal kingdom. With an extremely powerful jaw, it feeds on a variety of prey such as fish, squid, seals, birds, whales, and sharks. Reptiles, polar bears, and moose have even been found in the stomach of orcas.

Orcas are extremely intelligent with complex social structures that have been compared to the cultures of humans and elephants. Though ferocious hunters, they do not pose a threat to humans. While the reasons behind their lack of appetite for humans are not entirely known, some theories suggest that we don’t resemble their typical food source. Or, maybe, we just don’t taste very good.

Know Your Athlete, Sports

Know Your Athlete: Lisa Nakajima

by Jordan Foy on

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When Lisa Nakajima, U3 Anatomy and Cell Biology, watched Canadian skaters Jamie Salé and David Pelletier perform at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, she knew she wanted to participate in the sport. Now, Nakajima is co-captain of the McGill figure skating club—a competitive club consisting of 17 skaters.

“I just watched them skate, and I [said] ‘Mom that’s what I want to do,’” Nakajima said.

Growing up in skiing- and snowboarding-obsessed Whistler, British Columbia, figure skating was not a popular sport. However, after participating in public skates at local arenas, a coach recruited her and she began her career in competitive figure skating.

“During high school, I trained around 25 to 30 hours a week,” Nakajima said. “That’s not all on the ice, that also includes gym and stuff like that, but it was a lot of time. I trained a lot, and I was competing at the provincial level.”

Nakajima spent a year after high school skating professionally on cruise ships primarily sailing in the Caribbean. While on the ships, Nakajima was paid to perform in regular ice shows, as well as help entertain guests on the ship.

“It was a huge learning curve for me,” Nakajima said. “I was used to a set schedule [of] school and skating [….The] people were so much fun. I also got to meet people from all over the world […] from Olympic athletes to […] skaters who went on Disney on Ice.”

At McGill, the team practices four times per week and regularly participates in competitions. This season, the team competed in three events: The OUA Fall Invitational, Invitation Laval Synchro, and the OUA Winter Invitational, placing second, third, and fourth respectively.

Though McGill figure skating is not a varsity team, many of the club’s competitors have varsity status, meaning that they receive funding and have access to more training time and coaching. Although they are trying to obtain varsity status as a team, the figure skating club is currently entirely student-run. As co-captains, Nakajima and her counterpart, Danika Kapeikis, must be leaders on the ice while simultaneously working behind the scenes with other members of the club’s executive team. They’re also responsible for organizing events, from fundraisers to the team’s holiday shows.

“We are leaders of the team, we’re role models, [and we try] to make a more cohesive team to get everyone involved and really raise team morale,” Nakajima said. “But we have to do a lot of stuff like answering emails. We hired the coaches in the summer, we planned the tryouts, a lot of the nitpicky details.”

When Nakajima began her studies at McGill, she didn’t expect to continue skating until learning that McGill had a competitive figure skating club.

“I didn’t come to university to skate,” Nakajima said. “I thought I was going to quit, so when I came here, I was super excited to find the team.”

At McGill, Nakajima continued to skate primarily to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle, but now, her favourite part of skating on the team is the community.

“Moving away from home across the country was really difficult, so having those people that are there for you all the time, at any time in the day is incredible,” Nakajima said. “[Practices are] so early in the morning, we’re all not in a great mood, but the fact that we enjoy each other’s company at 6:30 a.m. says a lot.”

After she finishes her undergraduate degree, Nakajima is considering taking some time away from figure skating to focus on her studies when she moves on to medical school.

“[Skating on the cruise ship] was my way of transitioning from the really competitive side to the more fun professional career, and then I decided I was on to academics [at McGill],” Nakajima said. “When I came here and did four more years of skating, it wasn’t expected. So I think after this I’m going to take a break, [but] I honestly probably won’t.”

Whether or not Nakajima is ready to hang up her skates, this season marks the end of her career at McGill. Nakajima and the rest of the figure skating club will perform their year-end show on Mar. 18 at McConnell Arena.

McGill, News

AUS Council discusses bringing debit and credit payment options to SNAX

by Nina Russell on

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The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Legislative Council met on Feb. 21 to discuss amendments to its financial by-laws, the introduction of debit and credit card payment at SNAX, and institutional changes to the position of Equity Committee chair.

 

Motion to Replace the Financial By-Laws

AUS President Erik Partridge presented a motion to amend the Society’s financial by-laws to include the creation of a publicly available budget to be updated throughout the year, deadlines for AUS departments to establish their annual budgets, and an increase in the majority required to pass a deficit budget. The motion also recommended expanding the clause providing minimum wage pay to Executive Committee members in the Work Study Program, an initiative that finds employment at Mcgill for students with financial needs.

“[Clause 10.1] does not explicitly allow [compensation for non-Work Study students],” Partridge said. “It does allow it at Council’s discretion, or if another McGill entity wishes to fund [the compensation].”

Council voted to table the motion until its next meeting on March 14 to allow councillors more time to review the changes.

 

Motion to Bring Credit/Debit Payments to SNAX

SNAX, a student-run cafe located on the first floor of the Leacock Building, sells sandwiches, treats, and coffee at affordable prices, many of which are organic, fair trade, or vegan. The store currently only accepts cash payments, but to make it more widely accessible, Vice-President (VP) External Alice Yue, VP Internal Rebecca Scarra, and VP Academic Madeline Wilson introduced a motion to implement credit and debit payments.

“[Accepting only cash payments] is really inaccessible for a large amount of students,” Yue said. “In [the most recent AUS survey], we received overwhelming feedback to have another payment method, which is why we’re bringing this motion today.”

To cover the costs of implementing a debit and credit card system, AUS is currently looking into setting a minimum payment amount for card use, or a discount for those who pay with cash.

VP Communications Maria Thomas spoke in favour of the motion, predicting that different payment methods will help boost the appeal of SNAX.

“I think that [allowing credit and debit payments] is putting AUS a little more into the future,” Thomas said. “If it’s financially feasible, I think this will really make [SNAX] a little more accessible to the modern age.”

The motion passed unanimously, and the AUS hopes to implement the new card payment system at SNAX at some in the near future.

 

Motion to Amend VP External Role via Referendum

VP External Alice Yue proposed a motion to abolish the International Student Affairs Commission (ISAC) and transfer its responsibilities to the Arts Community Engagement Committee (ACE), which would gain two additional International Student representatives to compensate.

ACE is responsible for doing outreach to the local community and leading philanthropic ventures and activities in Montreal. ISAC, which was established two years ago to provide services and host events for international students, has historically suffered from poor attendance at its events. Yue hopes that combining ISAC’s mandate with ACE, a committee that has already proven to be successful, will ensure that the committee represents the interests of international students.

Council will vote on the motion in a referendum in the spring.

 

Motion to Change Chair of Equity Committee via Referendum

Partridge and SSMU Arts Representative Jennifer Chan moved a motion to add a question to the spring referendum on whether an Arts Representative should chair the Equity Committee. While historically the AUS President has held this position ex-officio, Chan chaired the committee this year as part of a pilot project, and both Patridge and Chan agree that giving the role to an Arts representative would be more fair.

“[The motion] makes Equity a little bit more independent, helps increase Equity’s role in terms of being able to hold the executives accountable, and also with three arts representatives, it increases the chances that you’ll have someone who’s more well-versed in equity compared to the AUS president, which can vary substantially from year-to-year,” Partridge said.

AUS Legislative Council will next meet on March 14 in Leacock 232.

Commentary, Opinion

Montreal needs to improve public transit accessibility

by Abeer Almahdi on

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Fifty-two years since the Société de transport de Montréal (STM)—then called the Commission de transport de Montréal—unveiled the Montreal metro, the system still excludes wheelchair users. The STM is a public corporation that runs Montreal’s public bus and metro systems. However, two thirds of commuters in the Greater Montreal community still travel by car. The issue is not that Montrealers are somehow more inclined toward cars—it’s that a lot of Montrealers have no choice, due to public transit’s lack of accessibility.

The STM has some dedicated services for accessibility, such as elevators, ramps, and paratransit, which is door-to-door public transit for handicapped citizens. However, the system falls extremely short from adequately serving the one in 10 Quebecers with a disability. According to the STM website, only 12 out of 68 metro stations are wheelchair-accessible, and they are all on the Orange Line. The remaining three lines—blue, green, and yellow—are completely inaccessible to wheelchair users. The STM plans to have 31 accessible stations by 2022, but that is still only 31 out of 68 stations—meaning that much of Montreal will still be out of reach for wheelchair users. Montreal mayor Valérie Plante’s proposal for an entirely new metro line emphasizes that all 29 new stations will be wheelchair accessible, but that does little for the handicapped Quebecers trying to navigate the STM system today.

Freedom of mobility is a huge element of the right to individual autonomy. By rendering much of the transit system inaccessible to those in wheelchairs and compromising these individuals’ autonomy, STM is violating the rights of people with reduced mobility, making it inherently ableist.

Above ground is not much better. In addition to the lack of elevators to access the metro, many wheelchair users report that the bus ramps are often out of order. Even if the ramps work properly, poor snow removal in the winter leaves them useless if the ramp cannot lie flat. According to official reports by the STM, ramps are supposed to be inspected once a month, but a Montreal Gazette feature on transit accessibility reports maintenance work happening once every four months, or less. Paratransit also proves to be extremely limiting: According to the Gazette, services must be booked a day in advance, leaving wheelchair users without the privilege of making spontaneous or last-minute travel.

By rendering much of the transit system inaccessible to those in wheelchairs and compromising these individuals’ autonomy, STM is violating the rights of people with reduced mobility, making it inherently ableist.

Having to plan every single move or activity days in advance is not a burden that most citizens of Montreal have to deal with. Most Montrealers do not have to think twice whether their local metro stop has an elevator. McGill station currently does not have an elevator, leaving many students with reduced mobility limited choice in lodging, since they cannot rely on the metro. The city has been designed in a way that alienates an entire community of people.

The city of Montreal and the STM must consult and include disabled people and groups in policy creation and design of public space in order to achieve inclusivity. The people who know best how to make the city more accessible are those who it actually need it. The number of accessible metro stations will not be sufficient until all of them are wheelchair-friendly from street level.

Improving accessible transport is a challenge for every modern city, but Montreal can look to other cities for best practices. Washington, D.C. is a leading example: All 91 of the city’s subway stations are fully accessible, as well as all of its buses and rail cars.

From the outdoor staircases that render some apartments unreachable, to the city’s public transit system, Montreal has a long way to go in improving access for those with reduced mobility throughout the city. If Montreal wants to report greater usage of and satisfaction with its public transit, it must thoroughly address issues of accessibility with the pressing priority that they deserve.

McGill, News

McGill to offer workshops on cannabis production and quality control

by Laura Oprescu on

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In anticipation of the Canadian federal government’s plan to vote on Bill C-45, which would  legalize the sale and recreational use of cannabis, the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the School of Continuing Studies will offer two full-day workshops on medical cannabis production on May 1 and 2. The workshops will take place at McGill’s MacDonald Campus, and will focus on extraction technologies, separation and identification techniques, and the environmental factors that impact the cannabis growth cycle.

According to Varoujan Yaylayan, Chair of the Departmental of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, the workshops are essential for students hoping to work in the expanding medical cannabis industry.

“The information will be useful as a general background for those who already have practical know-how in the field of natural product chemistry,” Yaylayan said. “There are no plans for workshops on social, legal or recreational aspects of cannabis.”

Many other Canadian post-secondary institutions intend to adopt cannabis-related curricular programs, including Durham College, New Brunswick Community College, Niagara College, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. While McGill will be focusing on the technical aspects of industrial cannabis growth, other schools will focus on training participants to apply their prior education to the cannabis industry and to destigmatize the use of the drug.

Debbie Johnston, dean of the School of Continuing Education at Durham College, has seen firsthand how applicable the college’s workshops are for students going into the cannabis industry.

“There is currently a particularly strong demand for quality assurance and quality control experts [in the cannabis industry], as well as for horticulturalists,” Johnston said. “[Licensed producers] are looking for individuals who not only have a core area of expertise, such as accounting, but who also have at least a basic understanding of the cannabis industry. This is what Durham’s two-day course is designed to provide.”

According to Johnston, education plays a pivotal role in normalizing cannabis use.

“Social stigmas often arise from misunderstanding or lack of information,” Johnston said. “To overcome the stigma that surrounds cannabis, education based on accurate facts is key. Legal limitations to date have restricted how much research could be conducted. As more and more research becomes available, education will expand.”

Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas Taylor estimates that if the bill passes, provinces may need up to 12 weeks to prepare for retail sales. The legalization of cannabis could be finalized in August at the very earliest, though some estimate that it could take until October.

McGill has not yet released an official cannabis policy, but according to Doug Sweet, director of Internal Communications, McGill’s new smoking policy, which includes plans to enforce a smoking ban on McGill campuses, will extend to cannabis use.

“The government’s proposed legislation, introduced last November, would ban smoking marijuana on all university and school campuses across Quebec,” Sweet said. “McGill is waiting to see if the final version of the Quebec government’s legislation will require any tweaking of our present policy, or whether the campus bans will remain in that final version.”

McGill’s smoking ban will go into effect on May 1, with the goal of making campus entirely smoke-free by 2023.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Fokus Film Festival showcases its 12th year of student filmmaking

by Kevin Vogel on

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For the past 12 years, the Fokus Film Festival has served as a showcase for student filmmaking in the Montreal community. On Feb. 23, Student TV at McGill (TVM) presented the annual film festival at Cinema du Parc before a panel of professors and film connoisseurs alike. Despite technical difficulties, which set the starting time back by roughly a half-hour, the festival effectively spotlighted some of the incredible filmmaking talent present on McGill campus.

“This festival serves as one of the few opportunities available to students who are interested in practical filmmaking,” Dorsai Ranjbari, executive coordinator for the festival and VP External for TVM, told The McGill Tribune. In the absence of a fully-fledged program for students who want to study film production or other visual arts, she believes that extracurriculars like Fokus are vital in giving people the chance “to experience this whole process of bringing something to life and then screening it on the big screen to receive feedback from the judges and audience.”

The festival’s lineup ranged in categories from drama and comedy to a unique 72-hour film competition, where participants worked within a three-day period to make the best short possible based on the theme “On Second Thought.”

The festival featured an amalgamation of exceptional works. Intro to Home Accounting (winner of the People’s Choice and Best Comedy awards), by Callum Sheedy, Ryan Hammond, and Mei Lin Harrison, tells the charming tale of a stay-at-home husband trying to make ends meet so that he can treat his wife to the nice bottle of red wine she deserves. Everyone’s a Robot in 2049 (winner of the Best Animation award) by Abi Quinlan (U3 Cultural Studies) takes a quirky bunch of friends on an animated adventure full of twists, futuristic cars, and, of course, robots. In the experimental category, “The Last Take” by Lyna Khellef (U2 History) draws its inspiration from Japanese classics to take its viewers through the irony-filled experience of filmmakers trying to get the last shot of their movie just right.

“It was an awesome opportunity to work with such an amazing cast and crew,” Khellef said. “I’ll always cherish the memory [of making this film].”

Khellef cited McGill’s own Yuriko Furuhata, associate professor in the Department of East Asian Studies,  and her Japanese cinema class as motivation for creating and submitting the film to Fokus.

Planning the event each year begins with the coordinators calling for submissions. Any student or young filmmaker in Montreal is eligible to submit their work provided it has a run time under 15 minutes. According to Ranjbari, eight coordinators work together to select the final set of films and ensure that any chosen video meets appropriate requirements on quality, equity guidelines, and time restrictions. From there, the rest of the organizing process goes into compiling the films into a viewable format for festival day.

Just like in years past, the Fokus Film Festival’s 2018 iteration proved to be an exciting venue for a diverse array of talents, highlighting the passion brought to the table by McGill’s local content creators.

“We encourage everyone to reach out to TVM if they are interested in filmmaking,” Ranjbari said. “If they are looking for more experience, if they want to have hands-on practice, we have a lot of different resources.”

Science & Technology

Too stressed to study? Head to the Gym

by Domenica Cirone on

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With the pressure of multiple midterms and impending deadlines, it’s not uncommon for university students to neglect parts of their routine—whether that means putting off laundry, doing groceries, or exercising, especially during high-stress periods of the year. In our increasingly technological world, people are becoming more sedentary. Coupled with our busy lives, it can be difficult to make the time—but finding opportunities to get moving is crucial to experiencing the many benefits of exercising, especially for students.

Physical activity has been proven to help manage stress and anxiety. Physical activity releases endorphins, hormones that can noticeably enhance mood, augment academic performance, sharpen memory, and improve sleep quality—it can also work wonders for the waistline. Studies from the National Cancer Institute also showed that engaging in regular physical activity can prolong life by increasing one’s resistance to many infectious diseases by strengthening the immune system.

Exercise also lowers the risks of many avoidable chronic diseases caused by lifestyle choices, such as diabetes. As university students strive for academic excellence, stress can be a major hindrance to productivity. Furthermore, the ability to manage stress is critical to success in all aspects of life, even beyond academics.

Dr. Ross Andersen, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education who runs the Health and Fitness Promotion Laboratory, said that the benefits from exercise are linked to self-care.

“Part of the benefit, for students in particular, is from carving out time for yourself,” Andersen said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “When you start to say ‘no’ to other people, and ‘yes’ to yourself, you start feeling better.”

Andersen’s lab focuses on helping overweight and obese patients of all ages develop exercise programs in order to minimize health risks. Typically, Andersen assesses a patient for various areas of fitness. Based on these measurements, he will prescribe a training program for the patient to follow for several weeks. After this time period, Andersen then reassesses the patient in the same areas to check for improvement.

“Regular physical activity improves mental health and well-being, among other things, in various patient populations such as overweight individuals, patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and relatively healthy students,” Andersen said in reference to his research. “It may not make all the stress or anxiety go away, but it can help [….] Regular exercise is often the first step to take before taking medication for many illnesses.”

Andersen also explained that to reap the maximum benefits of physical activity, sticking to a schedule is of paramount importance. Not letting other things encroach on this commitment is critical in order to increase accountability and minimize the chances of neglecting the gym. Most people won’t miss a doctor’s appointment without good reason; exercise should be given the same treatment.

While it’s not fully understood exactly how physical activity reduces stress and anxiety, exercise taxes the Central Nervous System (CNS), which learns to adapt to stress. This stress exposure makes the CNS better at handling future stresses, such as anxiety toward a looming examination.

According to the World Health Organization, to experience the functional benefits of physical activity, adults should perform a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more each week. The benefits increase the more you exercise. Cleaning the apartment, walking the dog, walking to class, group exercise classes, gym workouts, and intramurals are a few ways students can squeeze in that extra hour.

Andersen said that the key thing is to find enjoyable ways of exercising, so that physical activity becomes something to look forward to rather than a chore. Moderation is also important in helping one stick to their regime.

“Anything done to the extreme is bad,” Andersen said. “If it becomes an obsession then it’s not healthy.”

Balance is important in all aspects of life, but especially in one’s health routine. Being a star athlete or an experienced gym-rat isn’t necessary to implement a healthy lifestyle. To put everything in perspective, according to the Physician and Sports Medicine Journal, although not all your workouts may be ‘good’ ones, you will never finish a workout feeling worse than when you started.

Arts & Entertainment, Gaming

Combating negative representation of Muslims in video games

by Selin Altuntur on

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On Feb. 13, Game Dev McGill, a student-run club for individuals interested in game development, held an open lecture called “The ‘Slims: A how-to guide for Muslim representation in video games,” presented by Osama Dorias. Dorias is a game designer at Warner Brothers Games Montreal,  as well as the co-founder of the Montreal Independent Games Festival and a hobbyist company called Magic Pants. Dorias has also worked at Minority Media, Ubisoft, and Gameloft in Montreal, and has shipped over 30 games of varying sizes throughout his career.

Dorias’ talk explored Muslim representation in media at large and debunked some common misconceptions about Islam. He then provided a how-to guide with actionable advice on incorporating positive and appropriate depictions of Muslim characters and settings in video games.

Dorias started by exploring how the media we consume has an impact on our perceptions of Muslim people. He emphasized that although creators are often well-intentioned, they frequently miss the mark on positive representation by relying heavily on stereotypes. Dorias emphasized that while the majority of Muslim media representation focuses on portraying Arab Muslims, that group only accounts for a small portion of the Muslim world overall.

“You have a much wider pool of people to pick from when it comes to Christians and Atheists, so it’s harder to narrow it down to one look,” Dorias said. “But Arab Muslims account for less than 15 per cent of Muslims worldwide [….] In countries that have large populations of Muslims and Buddhists, you can’t tell them apart. Muslims are diverse; not unlike non-Muslims.”

In order to combat negative and inaccurate media representation, Dorias stressed that creators should allow Muslim individuals to tell their own stories, and to consult these individuals as much as possible during the development process. In addition, developers should employ authentic voice actors to portray Muslim characters. Following these steps would result in fewer tokenized representations of Muslim characters.

“Don’t stack tokens,” Dorias said. “What I mean is that if you have a game with a lot of different characters, don’t make one the paraplegic black Muslim woman and […] have everyone else in your game be a white guy. I’d love to hear the story of a black paraplegic Muslim woman, there’s nothing wrong with that […she] sounds like an interesting character, but you’re not going to get bonus points for it. That’s not how representation works. And if you do have a character that has a lot of different tokens stacked together, then try your best to find someone whose life is as close to that character as possible as a consultant.”

In addition, developers should strive for accuracy when depicting rituals and religious practices in the games they create. Dorias cited Azeem (Morgan Freeman) in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) as a positive representation of a Muslim character that, unfortunately, depicted religious ritual inaccurately to the detriment of the film itself.

Dorias added that positive representations of Arab countries are hard to come by. He frequently used Overwatch, an online co-op first-person shooter developed by Blizzard Entertainment, as an example of a game that successfully navigated positive Muslim and Arab representation. Overwatch features characters like Egyptian women Ana and Pharah, and a map called ‘Oasis’ that is set in a futuristic, bustling Iraq.

“Positive representation of these countries Muslims come from […] barely exists,” Dorias said. “To my shame, I’ve never projected a positive prediction for the future of my country of birth. [….] So of course when someone shows me a positive representation, I’m going to get emotional. And that’s what Overwatch did. I’m using this as proof that representation matters and is actually important.”

During the question and answer period, Dorias argued that a lack of representation in the gaming industry influences how stories about Muslim characters are told. Combatting the corporate culture in the industry and hiring a greater diversity of developers would make a significant positive difference.

Game Dev McGill hosts lectures about different topics relating to the game development industry. Follow them on their Facebook page (@gamedevmcgill) for information about upcoming events.

McGill, News

SUS discusses student trip to active volcano and other extracurricular events

by Julie Demet on

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On Feb. 14, the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) Council appointed Haoyi Qiu as the new Science Representative to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). Qiu will replace Mana Moshkforoush, who resigned earlier this month. Council also discussed progress in planning events such as the Psychology Case Competition and the Science Gala, and established goals for getting more students involved in SUS department activities this semester.

Representatives present updates on upcoming workshops and events

Councillors from various science departments reported on their work this semester, praising the success of the 25th Anniversary Gala on Feb. 10, the popularity of recurring Hypnosis sessions, and the high attendance at a lecture by the popular YouTube channel AsapSCIENCE. They also shared updates on a variety of upcoming events and extracurricular activities. 

Following the positive reception of their first kombucha how-to workshop, the Microbiology and Immunology Student Association (MISA) will be hosting a second class on March 15 at 6 p.m.. MISA also intends to host multiple career panels this semester. MISA Representative Caroline Chu encouraged collaboration among SUS departments to promote science students’ exploration of alternate career paths.

“We really think that it’s a great opportunity for students to think about what they could do outside of academia and medical school,” Chu said.

Meanwhile, the McGill Psychology Students’ Association (MPSA) is planning a Psychology Case Competition on Apr. 1 in collaboration with student associations at Queen’s University, Concordia University, Université du Québec à Montréal, Université de Montréal, and Université de Laval.

“We have been organizing [the Psychology Case Competition] all year and it will include topics from neuroscience to developmental and clinical psychology,” MPSA Representative Leora Pear-Dowler said. “It should be a really big event.”

MPSA will also host a mental health first-aid certification workshop on the weekend of March 24 to prepare students for handling mental health emergencies. The event will take 24 participants to achieve certification by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It promptly sold out.

The McGill Monteregian Society (Monty) promoted the Earth and Planetary Science Department’s annual geological field expedition to Guatemala, known as the “Willy Trip.” Students involved in Monty have organized these trips for the past 35 years, with this year raising the most funds. The 15 students participating raised nearly $10,000 to fund the excursion, which begins on Feb. 24. 

“The Willy Trip really represents a unique learning opportunity for students who are eager to see how the concepts introduced in the classroom apply to the real world, and it is a great way for everyone interested to get together and fundraise,” Monty Representative Maggie Whelan said.

During this year’s Willy Trip, undergraduate geology students will have the chance to see rare geological phenomena that cannot be found in Canada, such as coral reefs and active volcanoes. In years past, the Monty’s trips have brought students to Colombia and South Africa. 

 

Councillors discuss SSMU policy on gender-neutral language

In accordance with SSMU’s recent policy mandating the use of gender-neutral language in its legislation and communications, MISA announced that it replaced instances of “him” or “her” in its documents with gender-neutral pronouns. SSMU Science Representative Marjan Ghazi praised these changes as indicative of a campus-wide shift toward gender awareness.

“I find this motion very important,” Ghazi said. “We want to make sure that, at SSMU, we are using the correct pronouns when addressing speakers and Council members to ensure [that] everyone is being respected at all times.”

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