Latest News

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

‘Beach Rats’’ queer drama juxtaposes emotional intimacy with dubstep

by Leina Gabra on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

With a hypnotizing mix of neon lights and electronic music, Eliza Hittman’s Beach Rats presents viewers with the gritty, day-to-day life of her hometown Brooklyn. Cinematographer Hélène Louvart’s muted cinematography and Hittman’s artistic direction–which earned her the Best Director prize at Sundance 2017–make Beach Rats a stunning visual experience, but fail to deliver an engaging storyline, or any particularly likable characters, either.

The film focuses on Frankie (Harris Dickinson), a closeted teenager who spends his summer struggling with his grief-stricken family and an exhausting double life. To his family, he’s a straight, miscreant dude-bro who spends most of his time on drugs with his equally delinquent friends.  Yet, in secret, he’s an insecure boy who seeks out older men online in hopes of better understanding his sexuality. Although this premise has the potential for a moving depiction of a boy navigating the taboo of homosexuality in a bleak neighbourhood, instead, the plot twists and turns without anything significant ever really happening.

Despite the story's lack of direction, newcomer Dickinson’s standout performance is remarkably genuine, and demonstrates the character’s quiet inner conflict with his identity. As Frankie reluctantly pursues local girl Simone (Madeline Weinstein) to maintain his heterosexual facade, Dickinson skillfully portrays Frankie’s frustration in his inability to be “normal.” However, Frankie never really grows or changes, and by the last scene of the movie, viewers are left unsatisfied by his lack of character development. The principal issue does not lie with Dickinson’s acting at all, but rather with Hittman’s writing of Frankie as a static, passive character.

The sombre, raw quality of the film’s cinematography aptly portrays the stifling tedium of Frankie’s daily life. The close-up shots of Frankie’s face express the character’s inner turmoil and add to Dickinson’s on-screen presence, while the mixture of atmospheric, panning views of the beach and the Coney Island Boardwalk’s neon lights draw viewers into the film’s scenic backdrop. Hittman alternates between Nicholas Leone’s occasionally headache-inducing electronic music and complete silence in Frankie’s moments of vulnerability and intensity, which also tended to be the most potent scenes.

Unfortunately, the colourless character writing, combined with a repetitive and ultimately disappointing plot, leaves Beach Rats’ message unsatisfyingly vague. However, the subject of the film is as relevant as ever; heteronormativity, the difficulty of coming out, and the double standard of lesbians being ‘hot’ while gay men are “just gay, ”as Simone puts it–just some of the issues which LGBTQ+ teens deal with every day. Beach Rats is a coming-of-age film in which the protagonist never actually comes of age, so to speak, and in a grim sense, maybe this makes the film more realistic. While Hittman attempts to hit all these marks, because of Frankie’s lack of character arc and the absence of any other characters that viewers could feel remotely sympathetic towards, her meandering approach registers as shallow and incomplete. Hittman’s second feature film is the epitome of an aesthetically pleasing indie flick, but falls short with an unfulfilling script and a winding, anticlimactic storyline.

 

 

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

‘How to Talk to Girls at Parties’ genre mashup loses the plot

by Omar Arafeh on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

The hunt for a wild party is a timeless, often fruitless adventure many teenagers embark on, but when well-meaning gawky teen punk Enn (Alex Sharp) stumbles on a house party hosted by aliens in latex, a surreal mess ensues. There, he meets his delicately awkward love interest Zan (Elle Fanning), an otherworldly being eager to stray away from her overbearing alien cult and explore the streets of Croydon’s 1977 punk scene with Enn as her guide.

Directed by John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), Shortbus (2006), How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017) is loosely based on Neil Gaiman’s 2006 short story of the same name. The film offers a creatively erratic variety of genres ranging from shock value sci-fi to over-the-top musical teen romance. However, the plot meanders whimsically, ultimately failing to tie its loose ends together.

Following Enn and Zan on their adventure, the audience is thrown into a muddled world of dynamic alien politics and tradition. Rather than focusing on the charmingly nervous relationship between Enn and Zan—the alien nature of Enn’s communicating with the opposite sex literalized in Zan’s extraterrestrial form—Mitchell chooses to explore a much broader theme: A defiant punk culture versus conservative tradition. Yet, the plot never adopts this as the driving theme, rather, it vaguely occurs in the background. Gaiman’s short story on the other hand is limited to the initial interaction between Enn and Zan, only a piece of Mitchell’s much larger plot.

A tone of active rebellion underlies the film’s atmosphere throughout. Zan giddily runs away with Enn to escape her traditional elders–“tradition” for the aliens entails eating their young. But she flees not because of the horrifying cannibalism, rather, her elders are suffocatingly autocratic, apparently an inter-galactic sentiment shared by many a rebellious alien youth. Her struggle with obedience culminates in a showdown back at the alien hive, a fine suburban home. There Mitchell’s two opposing concepts of punk and tradition clash, depicted in an actual altercation with the punks led by the anarchic Boadicea (Nicole Kidman) and the aliens.

Despite the conceptual creativity of the film, the characters are presented one-dimensionally and granted limited development over the course of the film, save for Zan who breaks from the world emerging from her journey charged with defiance. Opposite her, however, Enn is simply a teenager in love whose ordinary behavior serves as a foil for Zan’s alien persona.

Visually, warm colours painted most scenes to create an intimate setting juxtaposed against the vibrant costumes the characters wear. The soft, almost candle-lit undertones beautifully capture Enn and Zan’s romance as well as softening the raw punk hedonism depicted at many parties throughout the film. Although the expressive and colourful costumes artfully contrast with the mellow hues of the background, it does not make up for the tragic visual effects included in the film. Sporadically interrupted with half-hearted graphics meant to depict Enn’s dreams, the special effects are more fitting for a B movie. These particularly jarring tangents disrupted the flow of the cinematography.

Mitchell’s choice to focus on alien politics and the complications they create eclipses that which makes the film endearing–Enn and Zan’s awkward relationship and the alien youths’ freedom to explore an aspect of the world they have been restricted from. How to Talk to Girls at Parties is a theatrical and colorful tale, but is missing the dense and rich layer of coherent narrative that would give the film substance.

Men's Varsity, Sports

McGill Redmen rugby tackles UdeM Carabins late in season closer

by Patrick Beacham on

More in Men's Varsity:

 

McGill Redmen
31

 

 

UdeM Carabins
21

 

On Oct. 20, spectators at Molson Stadium saw the McGill Redmen (3-4) get off to a slow start against the Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins (3-4) in the first half of the season’s closing game. Refusing to end on a low note, McGill’s near-impenetrable defence prevailed in the second half, and they took the game 31-21.

“It was a good win,” Redmen Assistant Coach Greg Gallant said. “We were a little bit sloppy, we didn’t take control of our ball, [but] we proved that we’re a superior team but [only] when we want to work.”

The Redmen and Carabins were on equal footing for an entire first half rife with picks and scrums as the ball constantly changed hands. For every rush McGill made, a penalty or broken ruck set them back. UdeM had similar problems with making it to the goal line, and the game was tied 14-14 when the dust settled at halftime.

“Whenever they scored, it was because we gave them the ball off a penalty,” McGill lock Ryan Robb said. “It’s us playing badly, not them playing well, so if we continue doing our job and doing what we do, everything will be okay.”

Renewed after the halftime break, McGill swiftly took the upper-hand. The Redmen scored two tries and a drop goal in the second half, while a strong defence didn’t allow any opportunities for a comeback until the Carabins managed a try in the game’s closing minutes. That effort was eventually in vain, as McGill’s ruck-breaking ability eviscerated UdeM’s offensive momentum during that last breath of life.

“We had to bring a lot of energy out on the field,” Redmen scrum-half Jessen Gibbs said. “We came off two strong wins. The team’s finally coming together really strong. We had a lot of rookies this year [.…] We just need to be more critical on the field now.”

McGill will go on to face the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) Piranhas in the RSEQ quarterfinals on Oct. 28. Despite losing narrowly to ETS early in the season, the Redmen are confident going into the postseason.

“We’ve just got to keep our work rate up, make sure we’re working hard all the time” Gallant said. “Good things happen when you work hard.”

 

Moment of the Game

In their last scoring chance of the first half, UdeM dropped the ball just shy of the goal line in the face of McGill’s behemoth defencemen, where the Redmen took possession and squandered the Carabins’ last shot at victory.

 

Quotable

“We’re gonna hit on Wednesdays, run on Mondays, and on Fridays we’re gonna come together as a team.” – Second-year hooker Alex Pantis on the week ahead.

 

Stat Corner

The Redmen hope to continue their streak of reaching every RSEQ final since 2000.

Hockey, Men's Varsity, Sports

McGill Redmen hockey downs Guelph Gryphons

by Jordan Foy on

More in Hockey:

 

McGill Redmen
7

 

 

Guelph Gryphons
4

 

On Oct. 20, the McGill Redmen (5-1-0) took on the Guelph Gryphons (1-2-1) at McConnell Arena. Both offences capitalized on opportunities during the high-scoring affair, but ultimately McGill took the game 7-4.

In the first frame, the Redmen dominated the shot clock, but finished the stretch at a deficit due to defensive breakdowns. The Gryphons were the first to score when they took advantage of a discombobulated Redmen defence after a scramble in front of the net. Later in the period, an unsuccessful Redmen penalty kill resulted in another goal for Guelph. McGill was able to respond on the rush when third-year defenceman Dominic Talbot-Tassi scored after firing a shot that trickled in after the Guelph goaltender deflected it. Heading into the second, the shot totals were 15-8 in favour of the Redmen although they trailed 2-1 on the scoreboard.

The Redmen attack exploded in the second period, using speed on the forecheck and in the offensive zone to create juicy opportunities and drive the puck to the net, for a total of four goals.

“We had a tough start […but] we have a fast team this year, so […] we had an advantage,” Talbot-Tassi said. “Our speed made a huge difference.”

However, McGill suffered from ongoing sloppy defensive play and gave up a number of scoring opportunities to Guelph, conceding two more goals.

During the final period, McGill ran into penalty trouble and had to survive a barrage of Guelph shots. Early on, the Gryphons capitalized on a power play, narrowing the gap to just one goal. Despite their defensive ineptitudes and a quintet of minor penalties, the Redmen hung on to the lead—helped by an aggressive penalty kill that resulted in two shorthanded tallies. First year forward Quinn Syrydiuk scored his career-first Redmen goal after a misplay by the Guelph goalie saw him alone in front of an empty net. Later, second-year centre Alexandre Sills completed a hat trick after a beautiful saucer pass from third-year forward Julien Verrier on the penalty kill.

Despite earning a victory, the Redmen acknowledged that their defence needs to tighten up.

“We weren’t sharp tonight defensively,” Head Coach Kelly Nobes said. “We need to be better.”

Sills, who was the first star of the game, agreed with his coach.

“We were lacking […] focus at some points, [and] we made some mistakes that [are] easy to correct,” Sills said. “[We] definitely need to get more focused on our game, and get back to the system.”

The following night on Oct. 21, McGill defeated the Brock Badgers 3-2. Next, the Redmen will travel to take on the Queen’s Gaels on Oct. 27. They return to home ice on Nov. 3 for a rematch against the Royal Military College Paladins after a blowout victory in their OUA season opener.

 

Moment of the Game

On a power play late in the second period, Alexandre Sills scored his second goal of the night on a beautiful passing play off the draw. Defenceman and captain Nathan Chiarlitti set up Sills in the paint with a gorgeous pass from the half wall.

 

Quotable

“It was fun [….] I was seven years old when I scored [my] last hatty, [and] two of my buddies were here from my hometown [tonight, so] it was good.” – Forward Alexandre Sills on how it felt to score a hat trick.

 

Stat corner

McGill outshot the Gryphons by a margin of 21 shots at a final count of 53-32.

Letter to the Editor: No, there is no “quest for monolingual domination” in Québec
Letters to the Editor, Opinion

Letter to the Editor: I work for SSMU. I’m giving the record some context.

by Alison Gu on

More in Letters to the Editor:

As one of the Sustainability Commissioners for the 2017-2018 year, I’ve worked with almost all of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Executives. When my contract began in May, I worked under the Vice-President (VP) Operations and Sustainability. When she resigned, my portfolio was reassigned to the SSMU President, Muna Tojiboeva. About two months after this, my portfolio was again reassigned, with various aspects of my role now falling under the VP Internal, VP External, VP University Affairs, and VP Finance. I’ve had experience working with six of the seven Executives (or five of the remaining six), so I believe I have a relatively good grasp on the competency, efficiency, and, most importantly, integrity of the Executive team. Tojiboeva’s letter to The Bull and Bear, “I’m the SSMU President. I’m Setting the Record Straight.” concerns me because I’ve seen first-hand how readily she communicates half-truths. The version of reality she tells is one that is partly based in fact, but with key points warped to benefit her reputation.

In my experience, working under the supervision of Tojiboeva required a lot of patience. Emails went unanswered; meetings got cancelled. While part of this stemmed from the President’s heavy workload, other Executives have a similar, if not equal, workload—just of a different type—yet they still fulfill their duties. Tojiboeva never treated me poorly or unfairly; in fact, she was often very nice and understanding. My concern is that it takes very little to be nice. A good SSMU President needs to be more.

What bothered me most during my time spent working with Tojiboeva was the lack of accurate and informed communication. For instance, when I requested information about the 2017-2018 budget for sustainability initiatives, Tojiboeva promised to follow up. Three weeks later, I had still received no answers—even after repeatedly asking her in person. Frustrated, I sent her a personal message, and she then quickly responded that SSMU Environment Commissioners had no budget for sustainability events or initiatives, and that sustainability-related funds could only cover the Sustainability Commissioners’ salaries. I’ve been involved with the SSMU Environment Committee for three years, and this seemed unlikely. I verified the information with past Environment Commissioners, who immediately rejected this claim. When I communicated this to Tojiboeva, she said that it was a “good thing [I] told [her].” She then passed the work on to me to communicate and figure out the sustainability budget with the VP Finance directly.

It was alarming and confusing that Tojiboeva relayed false information, especially about something as important as our budget for the entire year. The possible explanations are either she misunderstood the information communicated to her about the sustainability budget, or she never actually followed up to obtain it and didn’t want to seem as if she hadn’t done the work. If the latter is true, it would suggest that Tojiboeva is more concerned with optics than with communicating accurate information. Ironically, the way she handled this situation contradicted one of her main campaign platforms: Transparency.

It’s difficult, and maybe impossible, to ever hear an unbiased account of both sides of an argument, especially in SSMU politics. However, the end-game of Tojiboeva’s letter is concerning. If the goal of the article was to have the rest of the SSMU Executives resign, the work of seven Executives would fall on one, benefitting nobody and actively harming the SSMU student body. If the goal of the tell-all-style piece was to gain popularity, I’m puzzled as to what motivated this desire. If Tojiboeva went into politics for the reasons she stated—purely to fix SSMU’s reputation and create real change—then “setting the record straight” in terms of her public image shouldn’t matter.

It seems to all come back to who has power on campus, and how that power is often used to suppress and invalidate the voices of others. Her characterization of her critics as an “extreme vocal minority” worries me, because of how frequently that phrase is used to dismiss those who have the courage to challenge the status quo.

Alison Gu
SSMU Sustainability Commissioner, 2017-2018
U3, Kinesiology

News, SSMU

SSMU Legislative Council deliberates AVEQ affiliation and President Tojiboeva

by Caitlyn Atkinson & Domenic Casciato on

More in News:

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council convened on Oct. 19 amid debate over a lack of transparency, questions about breaches of confidentiality, and allegations of underhanded politics. Structural projects such as the building closure, the libraries improvement project, and the proposed bike facility were discussed, but the most divisive and lengthy topics addressed were the statement expressing no confidence in SSMU President Muna Tojiboeva, and the motion calling for a student vote on whether SSMU should affiliate with the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ) at the upcoming Fall 2017 referendum.

SSMU Executive board announces position of no confidence in President

During the announcement period, SSMU Vice-President (VP) Student Life Jemark Earle read a statement on behalf of himself and VP Finance Arisha Khan, VP Internal Affairs Maya Koparkar, VP University Affairs Isabelle Oke, and VP External Affairs Connor Spencer describing what they perceived as Tojiboeva’s lack of transparency. While stating their position of no confidence, they recommended that Tojiboeva step down as SSMU’s official spokesperson.

“There has been a serious issue regarding a lack of transparency and communication on the part of the President, which is particularly troubling when decisions being made concern some or all of the executives,” Earle said. “It is for this reason that we wish at this time to state our position of non-confidence in the president and her ability to fulfill her mandate.”

Earle explained that the executives were acting on behalf of the student body in announcing their no confidence position, and reiterated student criticisms of Tojiboeva.

“It has also come to our attention that there are student-led campaigns revolving around the idea of a constitutional reform,” Earle said. “We understand that the current structure that we have has many flaws and many of the proposals put forth in these campaigns are justified.”

Tojiboeva refuted the Executives’ position, citing flaws in its constitutionality, misinformation about the alleged lack of transparency, and workplace hostility she’s faced. She alleged a lack of professionalism and animosity toward her within the Executive Committee.

“I was repeatedly bullied for being different, and having different political opinions from the executives,” Tojiboeva said. “I was not only body shamed, but also my qualifications were called into question only because my opinions did not match those of the executives.”

Further calling into question the motivations of the rest of the executives, Tojiboeva addressed her intentions as a spokesperson.

“Every single time I met with members of the media, I was [later] met with comments from the executives that I did not represent their viewpoints,” Tojiboeva said. “I would like to point this out as a problem. I am not here to represent the viewpoint of the executives. I am here to represent all of the members of the undergraduates at McGill.”

Debate regarding the criticisms of Tojiboeva heavily dominated the question period, with many members of the gallery present at the meeting defending Tojiboeva. Andrew Figueiredo, U2 Arts, expressed his distaste for the actions of the executive council.

“Our president was democratically elected by, we, the students, […] now this executive body is trying to unilaterally override and undermine our democracy,” Figueiredo said. “I’m sick and tired of SSMU being unaccountable and we finally voted for change, yet the VPs are trying to undermine that.”

Many questioned the democraticness of the statement and attested to Tojiboeva’s qualifications, prompting the executives to clarify that their primary intent was to bring their position of no confidence in Tojiboeva to the Council, not to unilaterally remove her as President. Spencer readdressed the executives’ statement, concluding the question period.

“[The five executives] didn’t mobilize [because of] political differences, that was something that was mobilized by the President,” Spencer said, “[It’s] not the constitutionality of actions, but the ethics of actions, that was something that was concerning to the executives and why we’ve been working towards this for so long and why it’s finally come to this channel.”

Motion to Bring the Question of AVEQ Affiliation to Referendum

Council postponed voting on whether to join AVEQ—a provincial federation of student unions that lobbies for student interests at the municipal, provincial, and federal level—should be asked in the Fall Referendum until there are further faculty consultations. Tabling the motion has effectively excluded the question of AVEQ affiliation from the upcoming referendum, with the Oct. 25 deadline for submitting referenda falling before the next SSMU Council meeting on Nov. 2. Tabling the motion has effectively excluded the question of AVEQ affiliation from the Fall Referendum, with the Oct. 25 deadline for submitting referenda falling before the next SSMU Council meeting on Nov. 2.

Spencer first introduced the motion at Council’s Oct. 12 meeting, but due to intense debate and councillor complaints about insufficient knowledge of AVEQ, Council agreed to postpone voting on it. Additionally, Tojiboeva argued that further consultations with faculty associations are necessary before Council is ready to put AVEQ affiliation to a referendum.

“I think it would be useful to bring back this question to be discussed at the faculty level, and then bring it back again for us to actually put [AVEQ or Union Étudiant du Québec (UÉQ)] on ballot,” Tojiboeva said.

In order to gather and report more information to Council about AVEQ and UÉQ, Athletics Representative Yué Jiao suggested creating an ad-hoc committee to observe both student federations. A Councillor will introduce the motion to create such a committee at the next Council meeting on Nov. 2.

Engineering Senator Tre Mansdoerfer also presented a report titled ‘Summary of Experiences Observing the Quebec Student Union (QSU) and Association For The Voice For Education in Quebec (AVEQ) Over The 2016-2017 Term, to Date.’ The report describes the 2016-2017 Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) External Affairs Officer Jacob Lavigne's experiences as an observer at the assemblies of both AVEQ and the QSU, the predecessor of UÉQ. In the report, Lavigne detailed his criticisms of AVEQ.

“AVEQ’s plans were bare and only consisted of a rubric with a timetable showing when they would be working on each item,” Lavigne wrote. “While my objective at the start of my term was to have a referendum for an affiliation to a federation during my term as [external affairs officer], I have realized over the past few months that this was not favourable.”

Lavigne recommended that the PGSS only pursue membership in the QSU in the 2017-18 year. However, PGSS has remained independent from both student federations since Fall 2017.

Spencer, who was mandated to sit as an observer of AVEQ by the 2016-2017 SSMU Legislative Council, described her experiences as an observer as positive overall.

“Since the beginning of my mandate, I have worked very closely with AVEQ,” Spencer said. “They really have done a great job [of] constantly checking in […] through my office [about] the priorities we are working on, and how [SSMU can] make sure they are addressed while also navigating [AVEQ].”

News

Director of Facebook AI Research on its disruption in the workplace

by Andras Nemeth on

More in News:

On Oct. 11, Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) Director Yann Lecun, in collaboration with McGill’s Integrated Management Symposium Series, gave a talk on how artificial intelligence (AI) impacts the modern workplace at Centre Mont-Royal. Lecun discussed the development of artificial intelligence in the 21st century.

Lecun began with a description of deep learning, a procedure in which machines are taught to perform tasks through trial-and-error rather than task-specific programming. For example, to teach a machine to identify airplanes in an image, the program is fed thousands of images with labels describing whether the image contains an airplane. The machine will then—over thousands of repetitions—sets its own parameters for performing the task and eventually be able to distinguish whether an image contains an airplane or not without any labelling.

“When you think about processes that we do very fast, like identifying objects in our field of vision […] many of these processes happen subconsciously,” Lecun said. “They are things we can’t necessarily explain. So it’s easier to teach by providing data, and allowing the program to figure it out on its own.”

Deep learning technology is becoming integrated into today’s business, medicine, and data analysis sectors at an exponential rate. Much of the talk was focused on the potentially negative impacts AI could have on the workplace and employment. Matissa Hollister, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management, considered the conflicts that may arise as AI becomes more widely implemented.

“I’m concerned that artificial intelligence startups are not consulting directly with the employees in the fields they are affecting, but [are instead] saying ‘Oh, we can do that!’ and designing the technology,” Hollister said.

Hollister elaborated concerns that in certain cases, AI may internalize errors or biases present in the data being used to condition the program.

“If you have a company that is using artificial intelligence for hiring, and it is using past hiring data, the AI may reflect the biases in the data,” Hollister said. “So AI will reflect the best and the worst of reality.”

Lecun, by contrast, noted the positive aspects he saw in the culture of AI research, and said he especially likes open research, whereby major AI players like Facebook and Google make their findings and code available to the rest of the research community. However, he acknowledged the need for large-scale solutions to the problems posed by machine learning in the workplace.

“Technological advancement like this will lead to wealth and income inequality, which makes AI a political issue,” Lecun said. “How do we deal with the losers [from AI]? How do we deal with those who lose their jobs at age 50? These are serious questions governments must be prepared to answer.”

Lecun declined to give a specific estimate for when so-called “general AI,” machines with the intellectual capabilities of humans would appear, citing a trend of underestimation of how long AI-based technologies take to develop.

“In the ‘60s, researchers were saying that fully intelligent machines could appear within 10 years, that they’d give the problem of vision to students as a summer project,” Lecun said. “These are problems we are only now beginning to solve.”

When prompted by the audience, Lecun offered career advice for the AI age as well. To Lecun, the burgeoning AI industry will require contributions from individuals with backgrounds in numerous fields in order to develop.

“The important thing today is learning basic knowledge that has a long shelf life, things that need to be learned while you are young,” Lecun said. “Things like math, physics, critical thinking and even philosophy, basic methods that teach you how to think. These things will continue to increase in value.”

Darlene Hnatchuk, director of McGill’s Career Planning Service, also attended the event. She found the talk to be encouraging and believes that AI will integrate positively with the job market.

“By automating certain narrow tasks and processes and activities, [AI] will allow for the development of new roles, jobs, and opportunities that harness the complex thinking that people do (that cannot yet be done by AI, and not likely anytime soon),” Hnatchuk wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Most of us will be using AI to support our work [and] employers will rely more on AI/applications to support their recruitment and selection.”

McGill, News

AUS Legislative Council votes to suspend MESS executive council president

by Holly Cabrera on

More in McGill:

On Oct. 11, the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Legislative Council held its third meeting of the Fall semester, during which councillors spent most of the session debating removing two departmental executives for missing mandatory consent training. Council also approved a new speaker, Husayn Jamal, and passed motions to approve the AUS Financial Management Committee (FMC) members-at-large, hold a fall referendum period, and amend the AUS equity policy.

MESS Executive Council co-president temporarily suspended

The most contentious topic of the evening was the motion to suspend Anthropology Students’ Association (ASA) President Sandrine Philie and McGill Environmental Students’ Society (MESS) Executive Council Co-President Peter Garber. Both Philie and Garber were absent from AUS consent training sessions, which occurred on Sept. 25, 28, and 29. The departmental executives failed to submit a valid reason for missing the mandatory trainings by Oct. 1 to AUS President Erik Partridge. As a consequence, Partridge and Vice-President (VP) Internal Rebecca Scarra put forth a motion to remove them from Council.

Despite Philie and Garber’s willingness to attend alternative training externally, Partridge explained that other courses are not equivalent to those that AUS department executives undergo.

“[Our] training is very much tailored to the AUS departmental executives,” Partridge said. “I know that [departmental executives who are] floor fellows were excused given the comprehensiveness of their consent training. Otherwise, there were some requests for excusal based on [AUS] departmental executives attending other consent trainings. For the most part, after reviewing those materials, [they were] deemed not sufficient to cover the training provided to the AUS departmental executives."

Philie cited former ASA co-president Pascale Gerdun‘s resignation to explain why she mistakenly submitted her reason for absence to Scarra instead of Partridge. Due to Gerdun’s absence, Philie claims that she was preoccupied with hiring new ASA executives.

“During the week of the mandatory consent training, I was reviewing all of the applications I received and trying to find the fairest way to give everyone a position they would be happy about,” Philie said. “A week [after the deadline], I learned that I did not email the right person [….] I never intended to skip this training and I do think it should be mandatory.”

Councillors questioned whether Garber considered consent education a priority. While Garber did not provide a valid reason for missing training on time, he acknowledged the significance of the mandatory sessions.

“First of all, I just wanted to recognize the importance of consent,” Garber said. “I didn’t attend [AUS consent training.] It was a slip of my mind but I would love to.”

Ultimately, with 29 votes in favour and 12 abstentions, Council carried a new motion to suspend Garber until he attends AUS makeup consent training sessions. Philie’s reason for absence was deemed valid and as a result, she will remain in her position, provided that she also attend a makeup training session.

Motion to approve FMC members carries

Council unanimously passed a motion to approve Max Knifton, Mia Trana, Daniella Mutuc, and Shannon Timmins as members-at-large for the FMC, the AUS body responsible for reviewing departmental budgets and funding requests from campus groups.

Timmins will serve as co-chair of the FMC alongside AUS VP Finance Noah Lew.

“[Timmins] is one of our AUS assistants,” Lew said. “She’s excellent.”

Motion to amend the Equity Policy

Council voted to amend the AUS Equity Policy so that all Council members can receive training on equity and inclusivity from any resource pre-approved by the Equity Commissioners. Previously, AUS executives and Senators were not allowed to receive training from external groups such as the Social Equity and Diversity Office (SEDE). Partridge explained that the amendment would provide more flexibility for executives and Senators to receive thorough training in the future.

AUS Council will next meet on Oct. 25.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Trib Mix – October Trip Hop Bops

by Josh Marchesini on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

As the weather gets colder, that summer ‘17 playlist you made just doesn’t feel the same anymore. With midterms, presentations, and essays bombarding students, it’s essential to have a playlist to help you keep focused. Look no further, ‘cause we got you covered. Feast your ears on these trip-hop beats, layered with jazz samples, off-beat drums, and vinyl hiss. Originating in the United Kingdom in the early ‘90s, trip hop emerged as a heavily experimental genre, combining jazz, hip hop, and electronic sounds. In recent years, beatmakers have used samples from foreign films and even anime references to establish a sense of nostalgia. Whether you’re studying, relaxing, playing video games, or falling asleep, these beats are perfect for concentrating without compromising catchiness.

 

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Bleak, Bizarre, and Riveting—Bojack Horseman returns to Netflix for Season 4

by Avleen K Mokha on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

The saddest satire of celebrity culture currently available on streaming platforms, Bojack Horseman returned to Netflix with its newest season last month. Known for its unique take on celebrity culture and unromanticized portrayal of mental illness, the animated show follows alcoholic horse-man Bojack Horseman (Will Arnett), the aged star of a ‘90s sitcom, and his life in anthropomorphic Los Angeles.

Bojack Horseman continues to employ cartoonist Lisa Hanawalt’s  designs in its signature style: Visual jokes and animal puns add another clever layer to the show. The show has a reputation for unusual settings—consider the awards show episode in season three that took place completely under water—but in this season, the settings became even more abstract. The visuals compellingly depict flashbacks to the ‘20s, as well as inner monologues and hallucinations when the script demanded them, making for complex visual storytelling.

In characteristically witty and absurdist form, the show takes a darker turn in season four. While the first three seasons had their brutally emotional moments, each episode maintained a fair balance between humour and bleakness. By contrast, each episode in season four is significantly more harrowing. This imbalance gives the viewer less time to process dramatic scenes, which made the show difficult to watch at times.

Season four very topically addresses the political scandals of this year. As Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins) runs for the position of governor of California–a role he is decidedly under-qualified for–the nepotistic and performative aspects of modern politics become evident. His views on divisive subjects such as fracking are entirely dependent on circumstance. In ‘Hollywoo,’ admitting to your dislike of avocado can make you lose voter support. The show develops an allegory for Trump’s rise to power, echoing  the pettiness of many recent political scandals. Bojack Horseman shows how garnering support in politics unfortunately has less to do with merit and more to do with knowing the right people.

This most recent installment of the melancholic, alcoholic horse’s saga raises the stakes in terms of character development. Individuals once sequestered to mere secondary status are  devoted full episodes, emotionally investing viewers in unexpected storylines. The episode “Hooray! Todd Episode!” follows Todd (Aaron Paul)—Bojack’s human best friend and primary enabler—as he questions his sexuality and interacts with other main characters. This focused perspective helps the story progress through multiple character plots at once, but also brings novel insight into the characters’ inner worlds.

Plotlines in creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s universe do not parallel each other. Convoluted, clashing arcs forego the convenience of simple storytelling. For instance, as the season draws to a close, Bojack’s manager and cat Princess Carolyn is determined to accomplish a personal goal which requires Bojack’s involvement. But our perpetually self-defeating hero harshly dismisses her pleas, bringing Princess Carolyn’s story to a frustrating anticlimax. Upon once again switching perspectives, however, we learn that Bojack had just made a harrowing discovery about his family. Bojack’s subsequent horror causes us to re-evaluate our original judgement of his knee-jerk response to Princess Carolyn, entering the particular episode’s climax into a heartbreaking, morally perplexing territory. As jarring as it is when arcs clash, Bojack Horseman shows that every individual story is more complicated than you'd think. Although not exactly an uplifting, moralistic lesson, the show posits—in its signature hungover haze—that there is always a life more miserable than yours right around the corner.

Although the heavier subject material was a little hard to stomach, the multiple perspectives, along with the amusing and relevant commentary on politics and show business, ensure that Bojack Horseman will maintains its entirely unique status among 21st century comedies.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf12qwPWDVI

 

 

1 … 629 630 631 632 633 … 1,364

Read the latest issue

Read the latest issue