Latest News

McGill, News

McGill seeking a public relations agency for rebranding support

by Devdas Hind on

More in McGill:

McGill is expected to select a public relations agency this September to help it carry out a rebranding campaign, attempting to reposition how the Quebec government and McGill’s students and donors perceive the university. The potential rebranding deal could cost McGill up to $6.7 million CAD. 

Student protests, tuition hikes, disputes with Indigenous communities, labour strikes, and conflicts with the Québec government have greatly impacted McGill’s reputation in recent years.

In a written statement to The Tribune, Co-President of the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) Emma McKay commented on the public backlash McGill is facing from its responses to conflicts on campus. 

“McGill believes its reputation has been damaged by widespread pro-Palestine activism (ironically worsened by their own security response), the Quebec government’s moves against anglophone universities, and labour strikes,” McKay wrote. “We believe the more serious issues are their funding of genocide, overwhelming and alarming use of private security, poor responses to reasonable asks from workers, and their immense turn toward austerity.”

From hunger strikes to solidarity encampments, McGill’s downtown campus has been the site of years of student activism for Palestine. The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) ratified a three-day student strike in April 2025 to pressure the university to divest from companies complicit in the genocide of Palestinians. During this strike, protesters blocked classrooms and demonstrated across campus. In response, McGill temporarily severed ties with SSMU for “[supporting] a three-day strike that further divided a campus community already deeply cleaved and hurting,” according to Interim Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Angela Campbell.

Critics of the termination called McGill’s decision an attack on freedom of speech and assembly, which damaged the university’s brand in the public’s eye.

McGill has also recently been the site of multiple contentious labour struggles. In March 2024, the AGSEM went on a three-week long strike to demand better pay conditions for teaching assistants. In August 2024, the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) also decided to strike in response to McGill’s failure to meet their demands regarding faculty governance and pay conditions. The AMPL accused McGill of implementing a strategy of delaying their collective agreement negotiations, and thus denying employees their right to unionize. 

McKay said that McGill is prioritizing its administrative executives’ paychecks over students and staff. 

“[McGill cares] more about lining pockets of upper admin and maintaining the interest of wealthy donors than the education they offer,” McKay wrote. “[McGill’s] response to budget constraints from the government has been to hand them down to workers through the 60 layoffs this past spring and cuts to hours and functions across the university.”

In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) asserted that the university is reviewing its marketing strategy to make sure it is productive.

“We are engaging in a competitive process to help ensure that the resources dedicated to [marketing] initiatives are used as effectively as possible,” the office wrote. 

The MRO also specified that McGill is undertaking its public relations efforts to bolster enrolment. 

“[Marketing efforts are] particularly to support student recruitment,” the MRO wrote.

McGill’s enrolment has been impacted by the Quebec government’s announcement of a $3,000 CAD tuition hike for out-of-province students at English-speaking universities in Fall 2023. Although a Quebec judge ruled that the rationale behind the tuition increases was faulty, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry announced that the government would move forward with the financial decision. McGill is planning to cut its 2025-2026 budget by $45 million CAD as a result of the Quebec government’s actions. 

In light of tuition hikes targeting English universities, Ernan Haruvy, a professor of marketing in the Faculty of Management, emphasized in an interview with The Tribune that McGill has already shifted to being more bilingual, but has not communicated this effectively.

“The issue [was] messaging. [McGill] did not control it, [while] the government did,” Haruvy said. 

Off the Board, Opinion

Sleep to dream: In defense of napping

by Ella Bachrach on

More in Off the Board:

If you know me, you are aware that I suffer from a serious problem—one that strains friendships, disrupts schedules, and even alters the very fabric of reality. 

I am too often caught with indented lines strewn across my cheek like battle scars, my hair a knotted mess, and drool crusted near my mouth, when I should be hard at work in the library. I lose hours every week, entire days each month, to sweet, blissful unconsciousness. 

I can’t help it—I love napping.

Allow me to set the scene. My feet drag as I forge through Milton-Parc, the blocks lengthening until my apartment appears like a flickering mirage in the distance. When I finally arrive, I manage to haul my aching body up the stairs, kick off my boots, and collapse onto my bed. I really should open a book and get to reading: Jacob’s Room requires my attention, as do 20 chapters of an 18th-century bildungsroman to be discussed in detail tomorrow morning. 

Instead, I close my eyes. My muscles relax, from the crease between my eyebrows and the tension just above my shoulder blades, down to the knot in my stomach. I am like one of those mattresses you order online that comes vacuum sealed, the kind you have to throw in a corner and let expand for a couple of days. I let out a final exhale and drift into a limitless escape.

Napping is not thought of as a productive pastime. Instead, it is seen as lazy—the act of a slacker who lacks motivation or a procrastinator aiming to avoid afternoon obligations. However, while the body rests during sleep, the brain remains active.

As an English major, I spend considerable time pondering literature’s role in escapism. Reading permits the mind to wander outside the confines of the reader’s physical reality; they journey to new spaces and lives by accessing the depths of their imagination.

Is napping any different? It allows the mind to explore, unrestrained by consciousness.

Sleep offers the mind freedom it cannot experience while awake: Freedom from laws of rationality and physics. Time warps and stretches during sleep, growing thin and sticky like taffy. Two hours pass like two minutes—or two years. I have dreamt of giving birth and raising a child into adulthood, only to wake and find that I have been resting for a mere segment of the day. 

Of course, I am not the first to consider the nature of dreams. 

Sigmund Freud called the interpretation of dreams “the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.” 

In one of many diaries, Virginia Woolf wrote, “I will dream today; for I must unscrew my head somehow.” 

Woolf cannot be called mentally well, and Freud was on his fair share of powdered stimulants. Still, these famous thinkers nonetheless concurred that dreaming provides an escape from daily life and allows access to paths otherwise untrodden. 

Shakespeare, who crafted an entire play about the mysterious happenings of dreams, would surely agree. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, fairy trickster Puck even tells the audience to reflect on the performance as a dream if they struggled to comprehend the extraordinary events that occurred: “Think but this and all is mended, / That you have but slumber’d here / While these visions did appear.” Like literature, sleep breaks down boundaries and enables cognitive exploration.

Overnight sleep serves a function: To rest and rejuvenate the mind and body for the coming day. It is a part of daily order, a logical ritual. 

Napping, however, is not a basic need. Instead, this form of sleep is an intellectual pursuit; it demonstrates a belief in the expansive, generative power of the unconscious. 

Next time you make the endless odyssey home from class, pause before pulling up your endless list of readings and allow yourself the freedom to relax. Flop onto your bed. Kick off your shoes. Close your eyes and let your mind wander. I hereby grant you permission to do the unthinkable, the slothful, the temporizing: Take a nap. 

Only when napping can your mind break free from inhibition and explore the depths of consciousness, perception, and imagination. Sleep, not to rest, but to dream. 

Arts & Entertainment, Books

 ‘One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This’ shatters the Western liberal ethos

by Mairin Burke on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

This is going to be a poor book review. It is impossible to adequately editorialize upon Omar El Akkad’s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. Every line demands that its readers confront the Western liberal enterprise’s absolute apathy towards human suffering. If I had not expected to lend the book to everyone I know, my copy would be almost completely highlighted. Each of its incisive, revolutionary sentences speaks to our urgent obligation to walk away from systems of privilege that will always disregard humanity in favour of self-interest.

El Akkad began his career as a journalist for The Globe and Mail, which deeply informs both his acclaimed novels and One Day. Much of the latter is explicitly dedicated to condemning Western journalism’s repeated failures to indict neo-colonial and imperial perpetrators of violence until after they have already devastated entire populations. It is, moreover, a personal reckoning with authorial responsibility, as El Akkad grapples with how to balance the financial precariousness of a creative career with the core artistic need to fight injustice—even if its doers sponsor the awards and grants these artists earn, making them complicit.

One Day is also, as El Akkad posits in the book’s first chapter, “an account of an ending.” As an Egyptian and Qatari immigrant to Canada and now the United States, he describes the fable of the tolerant, the just West he was promised, and now sees for what it is: An empty shell. El Akkad argues that liberal politicians simply provide a less bad alternative for marginalized groups than the right, who are at least honest about their discriminatory natures. This dynamic exposes the deep hypocrisy at the heart of Western liberalism.

“The system […] was never intended to work for you, but as an act of magnanimity on our part, you may choose the degree to which it works against you,” El Akkad writes, describing the United States Democratic Party.

One Day’s argumentative power against Western liberalism’s performativity does not overshadow its literary elegance. Written as a series of vignettes, the work is overflowing with novelistic prowess. It is also bitingly funny: El Akkad recounts how, when living in Montreal, a university-aged peer informed him that Naked Lunch was “the finest novel ever written” (a very McGill-esque exchange). This familiarity enforces readers’ connections to the modes of action and resistance El Akkad argues we must assume to combat the malice of empire.

Moreover, El Akkad’s gorgeous prose deeply strengthens One Day’s calls for a journalistic reckoning. Rather than the “linguistic malpractice” Western legacy outlets engage in when they describe atrocities as happening without cause—in vague and lukewarm language that eschews blame—El Akkad’s prose asks us why we only feel “safe enough to venerate resistance in hindsight.” It reveals how the polite language Western society endlessly litigates is only possible when alienated from violence and suffering. While The New York Times avoids use of the words ‘Palestine’ and ‘genocide’ for fear of hurting those in a world “not reduced to rubble,” Israel wields literal weapons to destroy Palestinian lives.

Through its deeply personal, unflinching commitment to truth and compassion, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This challenges tidy narratives about Palestine that make the dead “pay the moral debt born of their killing” to protect the Western world from the discomfort of acknowledging Palestinian humanity. El Akkad’s ultimate call is to walk away from a liberal system that cannot fathom the true love for the ‘Others’ he depicts—in the Palestinians who mourn their families while continuing to document atrocities, in the Jewish activists who condemn Israel, in the artists who reject clout to reject genocide—is an antidote to the insanity El Akkad, too, feels while watching genocide unfold in silence.

“You are being asked to kill off a part of you that would otherwise scream in opposition to injustice,” El Akkad writes. “[….] Forget pity, forget even the dead if you must, but at least fight against the theft of your soul.”

Commentary, Opinion

Quebec fines LaSalle College $29.9 million CAD over anglophone student quota

by Julie Raout on

More in Commentary:

LaSalle College overenrolled 716 and 1066 students in its English-speaking programs in 2023 and 2024 respectively. In response, the Quebec Government imposed a $30 million CAD penalty on the college, forcing the institution to postpone the school year kickoff, initially scheduled for Aug. 25.

The cost of such substantial defunding calls into question the Quebec government’s strategy in preserving the French language. LaSalle’s disregard for the quota has been treated as an attack against the Charter of the French Language. The province has defended this legislation vehemently within the last couple of years, aiming to preserve French as the sole official language of the province.

By the time Quebec introduced these quotas, LaSalle had already accepted students for the 2023 school year. The school was unwilling to break contracts with students in 2023 and 2024, to avoid letting down students who had enrolled before the announcement of caps on English-speaking programs.

LaSalle stressed the damage caused by the cut, noting that subsidies cover about 40 per cent of each Quebecois student’s tuition bill. This penalty impedes the provision of quality resources to college, threatens staff jobs, and compromises the education of all its students.

While Quebec’s penalty on a law violation is legitimate, refusing to give the college a grace period for quotas and punishing non-profit institutions in ways that jeopardize their viability is not. Targeting LaSalle College over the school-wide language of instruction speaks more broadly to an inflexible and destructive aggressiveness in this endeavour of cultural preservation. 

Quebec’s ambition to preserve francophone heritage is understandable in an increasingly globalized world. Linguistic conservation is vital as the province anchors its identity and culture in French, using the language to differentiate itself from the surrounding English-speaking provinces. However, Quebec’s sanctioning of LaSalle fuels resentment against the government’s goal. Quebec’s coercive measures cultivate a hostile environment that is counterproductive to the promotion of francophone culture. 

The Quebec government updated the Charter of the French Language through Bill 96 in 2022. These updates incorporated policies encouraging French over English—for example, through quotas on anglophone students in collegiate institutions—but also implemented austere policies against non-French-speaking foreigners. For example, immigrants are now given only six months to learn French, after which they must use it exclusively in official government communications. Measures that pressure immigrants to learn French so quickly make Quebec appear less attractive for immigration, although the province largely relies on it.

English-speaking universities are impacted because international students represent a significant share of their student body—for instance, 30 per cent of McGill’s students come from abroad. In 2023, Quebec started to cut subsidies for English-speaking institutions like McGill, forcing a tuition increase for out-of-province and international students in its effort to preserve French linguistic dominance. As a result, prospective students are financially discouraged from moving to Quebec, and made to feel unwelcome by the fervent pushing of a French agenda.

Policies to enforce the Charter create downsizing by diminishing Quebec’s capacity to attract international talent. Provincial funding cuts forced McGill to announce approximately 99 layoffs for the 2025-2026 school year. The administration’s strategy to defund educational and research entities proves to be harmful to the province in the long run, as it hinders the province’s ability to provide resources and curbs development—especially considering that the higher education sector grew research and development from +$715.0 million CAD to $16.6 billion CAD in 2021. 

This subsidy-cut strategy affects immigrants, workers, and students, while disheartening people from learning French instead of promoting the language. The harsh implementation of the Charter for the French Language undermines the province’s strengths—particularly its multiculturalism, which has long been a source of social, economic, and cultural vitality. Instead of using public services to pressure individuals into francophone culture, Quebec should aim to foster a community invested in preserving French out of cultural curiosity and gratitude for the province’s openness. 

In its heartfelt intention to protect its heritage, Quebec lost sight of what it sacrifices by antagonistically enforcing French, forgetting that the true goal is to promote French as means of furthering, not suppressing, linguistic diversity.

McGill, News

McGill discusses potential consequences of drop in international student enrolment

by Ryan M. Taylor on

More in McGill:

Universities across Quebec and Montreal have experienced a significant drop in international student applications for the Fall 2025 semester. Concordia University and Université de Montréal have seen a 37 per cent decrease in international student applications, while McGill University has seen a 22 per cent drop. 

McGill’s student body is made up of a diverse range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. According to the Fall 2024 Admissions Profile, 2,023, or 28.04 per cent, of new enrolments McGill accepted were international students, a figure consistent with previous years. 

In 2024, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada announced a target cap of 485,000 on new international study permits. This measure alone is reported to have decreased the number of international students by 40 per cent across Canada. In 2025, the federal government sought to decrease the number of new permits issued by another 10 per cent, bringing the figure down to 437,000 permits. 

Moreover, in December 2024, the Quebec government passed Bill 74, which sought to give education ministers and higher education ministers more control over international student regulations. Quebec Premier François Legault, using the newly adopted bill, announced in February that Quebec universities would not be permitted to receive more international students in 2025 than they did in 2024. Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration Jean-François Roberge defended Legault’s decision, claiming Bill 74 would contribute to better consultation processes across Quebec’s higher education network.

Furthermore, Decree 155-2025, which Bill 74 permitted to be put forward, specifies that the Quebec government did not outright cap international student permits. Instead, each university listed by the decree, including McGill, has been individually assigned a maximum quota of permits for study purposes, based on the different academic programs they offer.

McGill’s Annual Report on Enrolment and Strategic Enrolment Management details how McGill is seeking to “maintain international student enrolment at 25 to 30 per cent of the total undergraduate population.” 

University leaders have emphasized the loss of international talent in the province occurring with Quebec’s diminishing international standing as study permit access decreases. As these leaders have argued, a decrease in talented students also marks a decrease in their ability to attract high-calibre staff and researchers to their faculties.

In a written statement to The Tribune, Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice President University Affairs Susan Aloudat maintained that McGill’s drop in international students’ enrolment does not affect SSMU’s administration or financing. 

“Day to day operations of SSMU have no changes from previous years,” Aloudat wrote. “Operating fees are charged and services are provided homogeneously across the membership and are unaffected by student status enrolment [whether] they are international or domestic.” 

In a statement to The Tribune, the McGill Media Relations Office (MRO) explained that the Quebec and federal governments’ lack of transparency regarding study permit quotas will pose a challenge to McGill’s administration.

“Introduced without consultation or coordination with the academic sector, these changes have created persistent instability in the management of student immigration,” the MRO wrote.

Wyatt Hogan, U1 Engineering, highlighted in an interview with The Tribune that uncertainty around the French language requirement at universities in Quebec is a factor which may deter international students from choosing to enroll at McGill.

“The French language requirement can be difficult to build around,” Hogan said. “French is an extremely useful skill to learn, but when students compare universities and see [that] they have to take a full additional class, it can be worrying.”

Hogan also emphasized his appreciation for the vibrant international student community at McGill.

 “It’s very welcoming, with many events for students and international students to get to know and relate to each other,” he said.

Behind the Bench, Soccer, Sports

Alexander Isak’s choice: The controversy swirling around one of football’s brightest lights

by Merce Kellner on

More in Behind the Bench:

Amid a summer transfer window like no other, football’s biggest stars made even bigger moves. But one story especially captivated football fans this year. Alexander Isak, a 25-year-old Swedish footballer, had 27 goals in all competitions last season for his former club, Newcastle United. His time with the team came to an end early, despite having a contract that ran through 2027, with his shocking move to the Premier League champions Liverpool Football Club.   

Isak’s refusal to attend pre-season team sessions and entrance into Newcastle coach Eddie Howe’s squad at the beginning of the 2025-2026 English Premier League season created a saga that not only tarnished Isak’s reputation amongst Newcastle supporters, but also raised questions about the power star players have. Newcastle, which was without another striker at Isak’s level, relied heavily on his goalscoring to achieve significant wins last season. Without him this year, the team has struggled, starting with one loss and two draws in their opening three games. 

For Newcastle fans, the situation is frustrating. Recently, following the team’s acquisition by the Saudi Arabian-based Public Investment Fund in October 2021, the club has experienced significant success, led by Isak. His goalscoring reflected traits similar to club legend and all-time leading Premier League goal scorer Alan Shearer, who played for the club from 1996-2006. Last season, Newcastle defeated Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup final, with Isak scoring the game’s pivotal goal to make it 2-0 in the match. Furthermore, Isak’s 23 Premier League goals were significant in Newcastle’s qualification for this season’s Champions League.   

Hence, the question looms. Why did Isak force his way out of the club? Why did he choose Liverpool?   

Throughout the 2024-2025 season, Isak was linked heavily to Liverpool head coach Arne Slot’s Premier League-winning team. During a busy transfer window for Liverpool, the ‘Reds’ spent over $600 million CAD before signing Isak, including major attacking signings such as Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike. It was questionable whether Liverpool could afford Isak or still considered him a desired attacking target.   

Nonetheless, adding to the record-breaking window for the Reds, they spent an additional $217 million CAD to make Isak’s move official. His addition to their revamped attack gives the team a massive leg-up in their title-defending campaign.   

While Isak did get his move away from Newcastle, he violated the responsibilities he had to his former team. When a player signs a contract, it is their obligation to contribute to team efforts until their contract expires, or until the club transfers the player. Despite informing the club at the end of last season of his desire to leave, Newcastle’s refusal to accept opening bids from Liverpool was not a reason for Isak to withhold from participating in club outings.  

For Newcastle, the move created an exceedingly tricky situation. Their star player was refusing to participate while they still had not received a bid they deemed commensurate with Isak’s value. 

Judging by the recent prominence and success of Newcastle, they are on the trajectory to be a potential elite club in the Premier League’s future. If they want to join this top-tier group, they cannot let go of players like Isak, despite pressure from the player or financial incentives. 

Isak would arguably be in a better position if he stayed at Newcastle, being the team’s sole striker. The quality of competition at Newcastle is no different from what he will have at Liverpool: Both teams are competing in the same domestic competitions, and both teams are in this season’s Champions League. 

At Liverpool this season, Isak will be competing for his striker spot with Ekitike, who has already had a hot start with the Reds in the opening games of this Premier League season. 

Isak’s first return against his old side could come on Jan. 31, 2026, at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium—that is, of course, if he earns his place as his new team’s starting striker this season. 

The Alexander Isak transfer saga represents the power exceptional players have in creating their own destiny, despite contractual obligations. Now, it is up to Isak to perform in an exciting season ahead.  

Commentary, Opinion

Quebec’s threshold of grace: Suffering, solace and the right to die with dignity

by Jamie Xie on

More in Commentary:

There is quiet strength in the decisions made at life’s edge—a reality Quebec has been able to realize through its approach to end-of-life care. 

Quebec has long been at the vanguard of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)—a medical protocol which allows an eligible individual to receive assistance from a medical practitioner in ending their life. In 2014, through the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care, the province became the first jurisdiction in North America to legalize MAiD—reframing MAiD not as a criminal issue but as part of a continuum of healthcare rights owed to patients. By fostering more open and routine conversations about death, we begin to see MAiD not just as a medical procedure but as a moral act of compassion from bodily betrayal—a willful act of reclaiming one’s own dignity.

Quebec’s most recent Bill 11 is the most controversial and ambitious expansion to MAiD yet. This bill marks Quebec as the first province in Canada to authorize binding advance MAiD requests for those with serious and incurable neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, before these patients lose the cognitive capacity to give consent. 

Concerns about advance request MAiD primarily centre on questions of informed consent. Since MAiD is typically offered, accepted, and administered within a short timeframe, requests made years in advance are not considered legally consensual given the unpredictability of how a person’s mental clarity might diminish. The guiding principle of Bill 11, however, is that autonomy in the present trumps autonomy in the past, meaning MAiD can be refused at any time until capacity is lost. At that point, it is up to the guiding physicians’ judgement. 

Beyond the ethics of the procedure itself, rising rates of MAiD also raise questions about Canada’s limited available care facilities and government resources for its aging population demographic. Some individuals may be implicitly pushed towards MAiD as a result of systemic pressures such as housing shortages or high insurance premiums. In such contexts, the decision to choose MAiD may be less reflective of personal choice and more indicative of a system strained in its ability to provide adequate care. 

Critics argue that rather than prioritizing the expansion of MAiD protocols, the government should focus instead on making life more feasible—that through lowering living and medical costs and expanding access to treatments and therapy, individuals can choose life rather than death by systematic constraints. Physicians and policymakers may also be incentivized to promote MAiD to address fiscal issues within the healthcare system. A 2017 research paper predicted that further expansion of MAiD protocols could save Canada anywhere between 34.7 million to 138.8 million CAD in annual healthcare spending. However, it is crucial that financial incentives are made distinct from legal decisions to expand MAiD access, as budgetary struggles within hospitals and governments must not influence personal end-of-life decisions.

It is understandable to be skeptical of a system like MAiD, as it intertwines government authority with the deeply personal matter of autonomy. While legislative provisions should still exist to ensure extended palliative care is accessible, there should be a governmentally-endorsed place in healthcare and in society for MAiD. 

Society often casts MAiD as tragic, rather than a valid medical option.This framing is used to ethically justify MAiD in lieu of arguments that centre patient autonomy and personal choice. Too often we assume that prolonging life at any cost is inherently virtuous; we are fixated on achieving more time on earth rather than quality of existence. 

In any humane nation, the value MAiD has should be self-evident. MAiD is a performance of self-sovereignty, and the ultimate assertion of autonomy. It is not our place as lawmakers and moral arbiters to play God—to decide who may live or die. Too often we assume that prolonging life at any cost is inherently virtuous; we are fixated on achieving more time on earth rather than quality of existence. We do a profound disservice to our sense of humanity when we pretend to know what mercy people require. We rob people of their dignity when we say whether or not they deserve to suffer. There is no metric for the unbearable; pain is not ours to prescribe. We need not live in fear of death, for it is not always a losing battle. It does not need to be the enemy. In fact, it can be a final act of compassion. 

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment

‘Essex Honey’ is a perfected orchestra of love, loss, and grief 

by Kaitlyn Schramm on

More in Album Reviews:

Devonté Hynes, under the alias Blood Orange, entered the mainstream several years ago when his 2011 song, “Champagne Coast,” gained viral popularity on TikTok. After a six-year hiatus, he released a new album on Aug. 29, Essex Honey in which he contemplates grief, loss, and growing up. Within each song is a series of ellipses tying itself together, as though he is intertwining several different sounds—fragmented, yet harmonious. The songs are free from the imprisonment of iconic sound and catchiness, acting rather as a surrender to a sense of measured choppiness. The lyricism reads like poetry, balanced amongst sounds of conversation and bursts of instrumental ad libs. Exhibiting a symphony of reality, Essex Honey is a phenomenal album that travels through the journey of grief with grace. 

“Look at You,” the first track of the album, is a touching song about grief that sets the tone for the songs that follow, representing Hynes’ fear of the inevitability of change and death. The ebbs and flows of the song represent the ebbs and flows of loss: The feeling of staring at your ceiling trying to sleep when all you can think about is the sound of their laugh or the crinkle of their eyes. The rest of the tracks don’t explicitly confront human death, but rather the death of the hometown, the death of childhood. Hynes’ uncertainty surrounding these losses is palpable beyond the words he sings. In each track lie multiple songs, with abrupt shifts from solemn collaborations of flute and piano to harsh, staccato cello notes. He conveys the anxiety that at any moment, your loved ones could die, your hometown could become unrecognizable, and without realizing it, you stop being a kid. 

As someone who has experienced grief and loss, the album is incredibly touching. And as a musician, it is a commanding work of art. Hynes places each instrument, including the various features—namely Caroline Polachek and Tirzah—in conversation with one another. As he voices his lyrics, a flute chimes in with agreement. A bass line delivers some harsh news, and a crowd of seagulls offers condolences. In a way that feels incredibly tangible, the sounds are woven together in communication like a lively debate at the dinner table. Essex Honey is the kind of album that leaves a lingering desire to watch the music in action, to watch the instruments bounce off one another. 

The concluding track, “I Can Go,” pulls the album together such that the listener themselves feels Hynes’ journey with grief. He does not leave the listener hanging: It is not open to interpretation. Following the thirteenth track, “I Listened (Every Night),”—a liberating love letter to music as therapy—“I Can Go” settles into everyday grief. It is the light at the end of the tunnel, the acceptance that the only way forward is through. Hynes sings, “Now, what you know / Is nothing I can hold / I can go.” Whereas earlier in the album, he is clearly distraught, hanging on to what no longer exists, the final track is a surrender, an acceptance. 

Rejecting the instant but fleeting gratification of TikTok virality, Hynes has created a beautiful and encapsulating album, free from overused and stereotypical fifteen-second sound bites that have become all-too familiar amongst popular artists. Essex Honey is not clippable nor catchy—it is raw, a breath of fresh air. It is jazz, classical, and R&B. It is the experience of eavesdropping on the metro with one earbud in, studying in a cafe comforted by the clinking of silverware and overlapped conversations, walking on a busy street surrounded by your own contemplative thoughts of love and loss. A gleaner of everyday noise, Hynes has yet again proved himself to be a master of the medium, finding freedom and solace in the vicissitudes of life. 

Features

Learning to live regeneratively

by Jenna Durante on

More in Features:

A history of protecting, reconnecting, and restoring wildlife at McGill

In 1958, a soldier’s gift reshaped the future of a mountain. First World War veteran Andrew Hamilton Gault entrusted Mont-St.-Hilaire to McGill with a clear instruction: Protect this land so generations of Canadians can learn from it. Today, that vision extends across McGill University’s living laboratories of conservation, where community, science, and accessibility show us what regenerative living can look like. 

Every forest, wetland, and waterway is part of a living network, its fate bound with our own. To live regeneratively is to engage with this network of care through small acts of repair or renewal, aligning our actions with the rhythms and needs of the environment. At the Gault Nature Reserve, the McGill Bird Observatory, and the Morgan Arboretum, the narrative surrounding conservation is examined in a new light. Together, these three places reveal how much can be nurtured and protected when we engage thoughtfully with the land. 

Now more than ever, we must pay attention to the world around us and act to protect these ecosystems—their survival depends on us. 

For students like Madison Laird, a U3 major in Wildlife Biology, this vision of conservation—using nature sustainably while actively working to protect it—is a hopeful one. Throughout her academic journey, she realized that her care for nature can be more than just a passion.

“When I was younger, I didn’t even know you could do this as a job,” she said. “It wasn’t until I started learning about the environment that I realized I could actually do this.”

Laird carries her passion and enthusiasm for the environment into all that she does, discovering new ways to contribute to the future of conservation. And at McGill, this spirit of regeneration is carried forward. 

Upon returning to school this fall, I invite you to explore these wonderful places and the natural spaces that surround you. Each site bears a layered history and serves as a living classroom, where students, researchers, and nature-lovers alike learn what it means to build resilience through a time of ecological change.

//(1)   Science meets accessibility// 

Mont St.-Hilaire’s Gault Nature Reserve uniquely blends protected wilderness and a hands-on learning space. With the land entrusted to McGill University, Gault envisioned the mountain as a living classroom where people could explore and engage with the mountain directly.

Frédérique Truchon, Gault’s communications associate, sees her work as bridging science and community together to make research accessible.

“I’m in charge of connecting the science that happens here at Gault with the public because we have a lot of visitors. I do a lot of science outreach and kind of like translation, if you will, of these sometimes complex topics into something that is very tangible for the public,” Truchon shared.

That blend of education and accessibility has been part of Gault’s mission since its inception. In the 1970s, McGill commissioned the Audubon Society to protect the mountain, marking one of their first steps into conservation. The plan resulted in a balance between protection and accessibility. 

The eastern portion of the mountain remains largely off limits, reserved for research, while the western side welcomes the public. Gault Nature Reserve maintains 25 kilometres of hiking trails year-round, welcoming over 300,000 visitors annually. For generations, it has offered individuals the opportunity to experience both recreation and research firsthand. 

Behind the scenes, sustainability shapes even the smallest details of Gault’s operations.

“Everything from the way we design our buildings, to the way we manage, the lights we choose to light up our roads, and all the little decisions that we make every day are always guided by conservation’s best practices,” Truchon told //The Tribune//.

This commitment also extends to hands-on conservation work, from monitoring Peregrine falcons and bats to protecting turtle nests. Each summer, undergraduate field assistants join the team to carry out these tasks, gaining direct experience in the complexities of ecological stewardship. 

The team at Gault hopes to strengthen its connection with the McGill community to give students the chance to actively engage with the environment around them. 

“What we would really like is for more McGill students to know that we exist and this place is available for them to come,” Truchon said. “We would love it if every McGill student had a chance to come at least once during their time at McGill, and for us to continue to grow in the community.”

//(2)   Building community through conservation//

The McGill Bird Observatory (MBO) was born from a gap in Quebec’s bird research. In 2005, while completing her graduate studies at McGill, Barbara Frei helped found the observatory alongside her fellow students. At the time, no other station in the province monitored spring and fall migrations, which are both key for understanding bird movements. With climate change, habitat loss, and industrial pressures reshaping Quebec’s boreal forest, Frei saw a need to track how bird populations responded. 

Today, the MBO continues that mission, with Frei now serving as a research advisor and scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada. Tucked into Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, the MBO offers a flourishing pocket of wilderness surrounded by Montreal’s city life. Situated on 22 hectares of Stoneycroft Wildlife Area, its location makes it the perfect place of discovery for students and local birders.

What sets the MBO apart is its community. Undergraduate and graduate students from McGill, Concordia, Université de Montreal, and UQÀM work side by side with seasoned birders, many of them retirees who dedicate early mornings to the field.

“I always found that a really unique experience, and something I appreciated when I was a student,” Frei said. “I see other students appreciating it, going out and having this intergenerational mix of people coming together for a love of birds and a love of science and a love of conservation.”

The spirit of mentorship continues in the fieldwork for students like Laird, a volunteer at the MBO, who spent her summer assisting her TA researching birds along the St. Lawrence. Her work often began in the early hours of the morning, attaching GPS trackers to Kittiwakes or measuring Puffin chicks while balancing the responsibility of minimizing the stress on the birds. 

“I think the biggest thing with these birds is just how sensitive they are to people and disruption. It’s hard to balance getting your work done, but also disturbing the birds as little as possible. Otherwise, they’ll abandon their nests and their chicks,” she explained. 

The observatory itself runs primarily on volunteer power, with more than 250 people strong, while relying on partnerships, including its vital support from Bird Protection Quebec. Financial sustainability, Frei admitted, is always precarious, especially as student volunteers eventually move on and retirees gradually scale back their involvement. Yet the passion of the community allows for the project to thrive. 

Frei’s goal is to keep conservation grounded in science and participation. She points to student-led projects at McGill tackling window collisions, a leading cause of bird deaths in North America, and encourages using tools like eBird, where everyday sightings feed into real research.

“I always say birds are one of nature’s most beautiful ambassadors, where we can see them, even in sometimes quite dense areas of the city,” Frei explained. “You can go to a local park and you can hear a bird song or see the flash of colour of a bird. And it’s a really impressive way to directly connect to nature.”

// (3)   Four pillars of growth //

The Morgan Arboretum, a 245-hectare forest reserve in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, has been part of McGill since 1945. Donated by the Morgan family, the land started as a patchwork of farmland and private estates owned by some of Montreal’s wealthiest families. 

“These wealthy families decided we want to sell our land, we want to divest our assets, but we realized the value in what we have,” Operations Manager Scott Pemberton explained. “We realized that protecting nature is important, and we want this to be part of our legacy.”

From 1945 to 1965, McGill University undertook a massive re-naturalization project. 

“The university hired a number of people, including the directors of Macdonald College at the time, and the Watson family, to re-naturalize all of the areas that had either been livestock or had been crop agriculture or Christmas farms or firewood production,” Pemberton said. “They re-planted natural species of plants and trees to create what would emulate a St. Lawrence Valley ecosystem before colonization and before industrialization.”

By 1965, these efforts had culminated in a climax forest, a living snapshot of what the region might have looked like decades before. Turning to today, the land stands as one of the largest green spaces on the island of Montreal.

The Arboretum is guided by four pillars: Education, research, conservation, and recreation, which shape everything that happens on site. 

“All of those separate pillars also intertwine and uphold one another,” Pemberton told //The Tribune//. “I don’t believe we’re going to look to a preservative world where humans don’t pursue recreational activities in nature…and I don’t think we’re going to go to a world where learning about nature is only done in the classroom. But these things are all going to blend together.”

Pemberton’s perspective is reflected in how the Arboretum operates today. Visitors can explore the abundance of trails for walking, skiing, and wildlife observation. Seasonal workshops and community events also help to connect people of all ages to the site’s beauty. At the same time, students and researchers study everything from climate patterns and invasive species to urban wildlife and species diversity. Ongoing habitat restoration, tree planting, and species monitoring ensure that the wildlife continues to thrive in this urban green space.

The Arboretum’s legacy is well documented, including a 1995 newspaper clipping from its 50th anniversary. The article highlighted key figures such as Bob and John Watson, Eric Thompson, and James Britton, who re-planted the land and helped shape the forest as it exists today. The piece was titled //“L’homme qui plantait des arbres”// (“The man who planted trees”) and acknowledged the Arboretum’s identity as a living monument to reforestation.

// (4)   A future rooted in reciprocity //

Living regeneratively calls for a fundamental shift in how we think about our place in the world. It asks us to design practices that sustain both ecological systems and human communities, recognizing the importance of our role through it all. With climate change and rapid urban development affecting ecosystems and species, these practices matter now more than ever. 

The smallest acts of attention can spark a connection. Enjoy a walk through Jeanne-Meance and listen to the birds, feeling the vibrancy of life around you. This upcoming school year, explore the forests, waterways, and wetlands that surround you. By engaging thoughtfully with these spaces and sharing their stories, we help ensure that conservation is a shared responsibility.  

“People need to care about this because it is our future… it’s in both the hands of the scientists and it’s in the hands of the people,” Liard said. “Read up and educate yourself, because at the end of the day, one extra person can make a big difference.” 

The most resilient ecosystems are built on cooperation. Just as species depend on mutualism to thrive, communities flourish when people in the places we inhabit support one another. The Gault Nature Reserve, the MBO, and the Morgan Arboretum all show how science, accessibility, and community care intersect to protect biodiversity. 

By embracing a regenerative lifestyle, we not only sustain wildlife but also build stronger and more equitable communities. As Gault’s gift continues to inspire, caring for our shared web of ecology reminds us that everyone can thrive when we help each other grow. 

Photo credits: Thank you Frédérique Truchon, Barbara Frei, Scott Pemberton, and Madison Laird for the photos provided. 

//All birds were captured and subsequently released under federal bird banding permits and handled by trained professionals using approved Animal Care Protocols by McGill University Animal Care Committee.//


Student Life

A frugal guide to Montreal nightlife 

by Kaitlyn Schramm on

More in Student Life:

As the school year commences, now is the perfect time for McGill students to make the most of Montreal’s nightlife before coursework ramps up. Here is The Tribune’s tried and true guide to going out in Montreal on a budget. 

Commit to the pre-game 

The largest cost of going out isn’t the club cover or transportation, but drinks at the bar. Bars and clubs alike notoriously upcharge drinks to ridiculous heights, with a single shot typically costing more than a six-pack at your local dépanneur. Heading to SAQ for a cheap bottle of vodka to pair with easy mixers like lemonade or soda water is a much more budget-friendly option. The only downfall, however, is finding the elusive sweet spot—being just buzzed enough to last the night without buying overpriced bar drinks, but not //so// drunk that you end up crying to a stranger in the club bathroom. It’s a balance you must perfect yourself throughout your four years at university. 

Bars 

Montreal is home to many of the best clubs in Canada, with a few boasting the top sound systems in North America. There is an overwhelming number to pick from on any given night out, and you may accidentally find yourself at one of the many locations that charge a hefty cover or require high-fashion dress codes. However, for every expensive, high end bar, there is a basement dancefloor with a makeshift coat check that can make for an equally exciting night out. 

A first-year classic is Pow Pow Club. In a tiny room with a long queue, pop hits reverberate amongst thick clouds of sweaty fog and bright rave lights. But if that doesn’t fit your vibe, an underrated bar lies just below: L’Esscogriffe Bar, familiarly known as Esco’s. The retro common area is more roomy than its upstairs neighbor. The music provides a stark contrast to Pow Pow’s modern repertoire, featuring classic rock hits from the 80s to early 10s. There’s no doubt that alternating between these two hot spots will lead to a memorable and varied night. 

For a relaxed evening with more seating options and beautiful cocktails, try Barbossa on Saint Laurent. With free entry and $8 CAD cocktails between 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm, Barbossa proves itself to be the perfect budget-friendly hotspot. As you enter the dimly lit, hip space, there is seating along the bar as well as spacious booths perfect for large groups. Past the seating area is a mini dancefloor, featuring local DJs later in the night. At Barbossa, your night can evolve from chatting over classy espresso martinis to losing yourself on the dancefloor. 

Post-game eats 

Following a night of drinking, dancing, and sweating, the temptation to crush the $17.50 CAD four piece chicken tenders from Chef on Call can be tempting. However, there are plenty of restaurants on Saint Laurent, a short walk from campus, that provide filling late-night eats for a great deal to complete the evening.. 

Patati Patata is the perfect Chef on Call ‘dupe.’ With its broad menu featuring items from poutine and fries to burgers and hotdogs, the restaurant has all of the classic greasy foods you could want as a nightcap. Rather than spending $20 CAD on one item, a burger and fries only cost $10 CAD pre-tax. However, take caution: The wait for these popular post-partying eats can be pretty hefty. 
If $10 CAD is still out of your budget, Chez Mein operates with pre-inflation prices that seem too good to be true. Colloquially known as Two Chow, the spot is renowned for its $2 CAD chow mein. After a hectic night of impulsive spending under the influence, all you need to finish the night out is a toonie.

1 … 60 61 62 63 64 … 1,363

Read the latest issue

Read the latest issue