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Out on the Town, Student Life

Make the most of The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: This season’s popular exhibits

by Ana Mayne on

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Less than a kilometre away from McGill's Downtown Campus, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) makes for the perfect study break or weekend adventure. With more than a million visitors per year, and over 40,000 works in total, across five buildings, the MMFA is one of the most prominent art museums in Canada. The world-class museum is full of modern and diverse exhibitions, but its huge collection of works can seem daunting. The McGill Tribune narrowed the list down to some of this season’s most popular exhibitions worth a visit or two. From museum rookie to seasoned art lover, there is something for everyone at the MMFA.

La Balade pour la Paix: An Open-Air Museum

As part of Montreal’s 375th anniversary, the MMFA—in collaboration with McGill University—created a public art exhibition comprised of sculpture, photographs, and 200 different national flags. The open-air project is on rue Sherbrooke, running from Boulevard Robert-Bourassa to Rue Bishop. It also celebrates the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 and the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. The exhibition marks these three important milestones in Montreal’s history, and all the works relate to values of peace, openness, and tolerance.  

(Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune)

‘Love is Love’ exhibition

A current highlight within the museum is the “Love is Love” exhibition by Jean-Paul Gaultier. The final stop of “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier”’s five-year tour—as seen by two million visitors around North America—this exhibition of haute-couture bridal gowns is wonderfully eccentric and radically inclusive. Gaultier celebrates LGBTQ, intercultural, and interracial unions of all kinds by displaying modern, nuanced takes on wedding garb. The message is overwhelmingly one of peace and inclusion. The exhibition celebrates progress made through the ages, from the early 20th century up until the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.

(Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune)

Pavilion for Peace

This permanent installation is part of the MMFA’s “Year of Peace.” Upon entering, visitors are met by a “je suis Charlie” wall hanging before being welcomed into a peaceful walk through a comprehensive consortium of artists including Monet, Picasso, and Cézanne. Though the pavilion is full of older pieces, there are contemporary touches throughout: A gallery of Early Classical works comes alive with projections and audio of a forest on the ceiling. Another feature, also part of the Year of Peace, is the “Tree of Peace,” where visitors can complete the sentence, “peace is the art of…” on a museum-sponsored website, which later posts the responses on social media platforms.

(Jasmine Archarya / The McGill Tribune)

“Mnemosyne: When Contemporary Art and the Art of the Past Meet”

Though renowned for its international collection, the MMFA also showcases the work of 14 Canadian artists in this exhibition. Among its various visual spectacles, an attention-grabbing piece features a toppling breakfast table and spilled milk suspended in time among a series of holographic images and sculptures. The striking pieces draw attention to the fundamental complexity behind all craft, aiming to showcase the history of art.

(Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune)

“In-Between Worlds”

The Meryl McMaster exhibition, “In-Between Worlds,” is also closer to home, showcasing the Ottawa-born artist’s work as an Indigenous artist. Her photographs depict her dual heritage: Plains Cree and Euro-Canadian. She photographs herself in natural settings surrounded by cultural artifacts and accessories, creating a stark, beautiful, contrast of colors. The exhibition itself engages with the modern question of First Nations identity within the contemporary world. Using images filled with such contrast, McMaster quite literally depicts the reconciliation of contradicting identities that many Indigenous people face when embracing both their heritage and modern society.

(Jasmine Acharya / The McGill Tribune)
gallery

ABCs of Science, Science & Technology

How peppers both produce and prevent pain

by Karl Neumann on

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Scorching heat, exasperated breathing, and trickles of sweat aren’t necessarily the result of a lengthy stay in a sauna or running on a hot day. They can instead result from a bite of spicy food. The chemical capsaicin causes the spicy sensation that some hate and others love. This compound is primarily found in the white membrane of peppers—not the seeds—and is responsible for a chili’s characteristically punchy flavour.

While the domestication and consumption of chilies traces back 6,000 years to the Caribbean, recent discoveries have been able to transform this pain-inducing compound into a pain-reliever.

To understand the healing properties of this strange fruit, it’s essential to know how and why it evolved its ‘heat.’ The spiciness of the outer flesh provides a defence against predators and fungi, which would otherwise prevent chili growth and reproduction, while the non-spicy taste of its seeds allow birds to feast on and disperse them, unharmed.

Humans have also taken a liking to the fruit—with 463 million pounds of hot peppers grown per year in the United States alone. North Americans’ appetite for spice has skyrocketed in the past two decades, with the consumption of chilies doubling and hot sauce dethroning ketchup as the top-selling condiment of 2016.

The chili craze can be attributed to capsaicin, which literally causes pain in the mouths of millions.

Capsaicin creates a burning sensation by activating the body’s pain receptors, or nociceptors. The nociceptors send a signal to the brain and cue the experience of pain in response to a variety of different stimuli, such as extreme cold, heat, or pressure. Each one of these intense sensory activators prompts the same neuron to send pain signals to the brain. Although they stimulate the same neuron, each sensation activates a different specialized pathway on the neuron.    

Discovered in the last 20 years, TRPV1 is the receptor specifically set off by high levels of heat. While it is mainly activated by temperatures above 40°C, capsaicin also activates TRPV1.

The activation of TRPV1 by capsaicin, while also providing the gift of spice, serves a medicinal use.

There are many receptors similar to TRPV1 on nociceptors. Any one of these specialized pathways can cause the feeling of pain, and blocking one pathway still allows for many other mechanisms to activate a neuron signal. Initially, researchers attempted to block or “antagonize” the TRPV1 receptor from firing in order to reduce inflammation and pain sensitivity, but they recently discovered an even more effective treatment.

Instead of blocking TRPV1, scientists continually activate TRPV1 by applying low amounts of capsaicin to the skin for a long period of time. As a result, the nociceptor becomes temporarily deactivated, which eliminates all kinds of pain. Reza Sharif-Naeini, an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology at McGill, explained how this seemingly paradoxical technique works.  

“The first time you apply it, it will be painful […] but eventually, the nociceptors [become desensitized],” Sharif-Naeini said. “[So] now, even if they get excited, nothing will be released.”

Therefore, no feeling of pain can penetrate the targeted area.

Sharif-Naeini went on to explain that the full desensitization process can take up to a week, but that it can be very effective for people with arthritis or psoriasis. In regards to the duration of the treatment, Sharif-Naeini said that a capsaicin patch allows for eight to 12 weeks of pain relief.

Capsaicin patches and topical ointments are now available both over-the-counter and by prescription, providing a location-specific and affordable treatment.

The humble chili’s key ingredient has once again transcended its origins as an irritating pest repellant. While this compound’s initial discovery brought pungent flavour into the masochistic mouths of adventurous eaters, recent applications are repurposing it from inducing pain to relieving it. Peppers’ capacities for pain and pleasure—like Yin and Yang—seem to be opposites, but are, in fact, inseparable.

Art, Arts & Entertainment

‘Once Upon a Time… The Western’ is a gorgeous trip into a false history

by Keira Seidenberg on

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Once Upon a Time… The Western is a multi-media exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in collaboration with the Denver Art Museum, that opened on Oct. 14 and will last until Feb. 4. The exhibition explores the Western genre—more specifically, the ways in which media has historically engaged viewers in a dialogue about Westerns, and how that dialogue has continued to shape our perception of the North American West today. According to the principal curators and organizers of the show, Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Thomas Brent Smith, and Nathalie Bondil, the exhibition seeks to bring together two seemingly unrelated cities, through Montreal’s extensive cultural emphasis on film and Denver’s presence at the heart of the American West.

Once Upon a Time features work from prominent artists such as Franz Kline and Paul McCarthy, as well as film clips featuring beloved Western characters like Jesse James, Geronimo, and Billy the Kid. Through cinematography, paintings, statues, and artifacts, the exhibition takes the traditional image of the West, complete with gun toting, horse-riding cowboys, and forces contemporary viewers to look beyond culturally instilled stereotypes. Museum-goers are confronted with a series of film clips and artistic visuals that push them to understand their conceptions of western life and to build upon them within the framework conveyed by the exhibition.

As Desmarais describes, within the context of an increasingly violent modern life, the exhibit is also indicative of the power of images, which present a new form of honest and artistically-rendered reality compared to that portrayed by contemporary media. Once Upon a Time also tackles North American historical identity, drawing on themes of liberty, justice, and valour and mapping these attributes across the United States and into Canada and Quebec.

While many consider the western story composed of simply the quintessential “cowboys vs Indians” narrative, rife with dusty bar fights and duels at daybreak, the exhibition also sheds light on thematic elements that are overlooked, yet remain highly relevant to the western time period. In the wake of World War I and the culturally pervasive reaches of the Vietnam War, western films and art were mobilized to express distaste against growing levels of institutionally-accepted violence. The exhibition also addresses the issues of female portrayal in the western and artistic world, ‘blaxploitation,’ whereby black characters are cast, typically in film, with heavy emphasis on cultural stereotypes, and the complex relationship between white society and Native Americans or First Nations Peoples.  

Wandering through the exhibition, it is evident that the curatorial team not only carefully considered the content for the show, but also the means of presenting the work. With the dim lighting and gunshots emanating from the various screens scattered throughout the interconnected rooms, viewers are confronted with an ominous and somewhat reverent atmosphere before even examining the content of the work. The pieces in the exhibition deviate from the more traditional understanding of western art, usually characterized by seemingly interminable portraits of desert landscapes, and instead provide portraits, scenes from iconic western films, and even a room of stuffed and melancholy skinned bison. The tumult of interracial conflict and struggle for survival is captured in the brush strokes and camera lenses of the numerous artists and directors. For Montrealers finding themselves with nothing to on a weekend afternoon, Once Upon a Time… The Western is a transcendent gallery experience that leaves viewers questioning the thematic intricacies of their favourite John Wayne films and the historic influences that led to them running naked through the house as children with nothing but cowboy boots on.

Off the Board, Opinion

The world is larger than English

by Izze Siemann on

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Like many others at McGill, I come from a background of multiple languages. My father grew up in Wolfsburg, Germany—a relatively small country town, about an hour away from Berlin. After 20 years of living in a rainy climate, he decided to venture south in search of sun and a happier version of himself. He landed in Padua, northern Italy, where, 15 years later, he met my mother and they had my brother. My mother grew up in Berkeley, CA, and moved to Italy after receiving her Master’s degree in French. As a result, language has been a ruling component of my upbringing.

Prioritizing language education, whether in school or independently, has a significant impact on traveling and living experiences, as well as development. Learning multiple languages shows the complementary, rather than conflictual, nature of different countries, languages, and cultures. This helps deconstruct barriers to both political and cultural engagement.

Montreal’s own bilingual nature supports the values of multilingualism and multiculturalism, as it maintains both anglophone and francophone cultures. Being able to communicate effectively in more than one language opens the mind and allows people to access new cultures, transcending language barriers that often prevent us from seeing beyond what we know. Often, no direct translations exist between one language and another as a result of differing sentence structures, idiomatic expressions, and the vocabulary words themselves. A scholar studying two works in their original languages has deeper insights than others studying translations. Politicians working on international policy—or domestic policy in a bilingual country such as Canada, for that matter—can show cultural respect and create better policies speaking in the native language of those they represent.

Multilingualism has value above and beyond its services to culture. For example, according to speech-language pathologist Lauren Lowry, children who grow up bilingually have proven to be more creative, better at planning, and more capable of solving complex problems than monolinguals. The effects of aging are even diminished in bilinguals. By supporting a bilingual culture, Montreal’s future citizens reap these benefits.

 

Learning multiple languages shows the complementary, rather than conflictual, nature of different countries, languages, and cultures.

Growing up, I’ve heard numerous people tell me that they don’t need to learn any more languages, because English is one of the most popular and can be used around the globe. However, this limits the places where anglophones can travel in a meaningful way, and leads to the colonialist notion that English, and English-speaking European and North American countries, are superior to other countries and their ways of life. In most American states, there are no language requirements in high school, according to their respective graduation requirements, whereas all schools in Germany and Canada require taking at least one language other than their mother tongue, and many require two.

Although I was lucky to understand the importance of language from a young age, with English, German, French, and Italian swirling around my house, that doesn’t mean that those who were not given the same opportunity shouldn’t try. My favourite YouTubers, Damon and Jo, have a travel blog all about traveling as young adults—how to travel when you’re broke, what the life of a traveler is like, why becoming involved in language and culture is vital to traveling, and, of course, how to learn languages without paying for expensive classes and books.

We have all the resources we need to find the value of linguistic diversity—we just need to use them.

 

 

Izze Siemann is the Science and Technology Editor at the McGill Tribune. She likes to chuckle and chortle.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 

Arts & Entertainment, Music

A very ‘Strange Peace’: An evening with Metz

by Kevin Reynolds on

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On Oct. 8, La Sala Rossa hosted a trifecta of blisteringly loud acts. After spending an evening with METZ and other deafeningly-loud performances concert goers were left with one question—will my ears ever stop ringing?  

The first band to take the stage was called DEAF, which should have been an indicator of the noise level to be expected. Their set was tight, fast, and energetic, a perfect opening act. Hardly taking a moment’s pause, DEAF ripped through a short set of hypnotic, feedback-based rockers before deferring the stage to Sigil, the night’s second performance. Playing a slightly longer yet equally ferocious set, they continued to build momentum.   

It was clear that most audience members came to see the night’s headliners: Toronto-based noise rock trio, METZ. Crowds began to stream in towards the end of Sigil’s set, and by the time METZ took the stage, the venue was mostly filled. The cramped conditions could be attributed to the large mosh pit that formed tightly against the stage, pushing people together around the perimeter of the room. It’s understandable that most people would come for the top-billed act, but those who skipped out on the night’s first two bands missed a great hour of music.  

METZ started their set with several songs off their new album, Strange Peace. METZ’s first two albums were built around tight, driving synchronicity between the band’s three members. Guitar, bass, and drums thrashed together in songs that frequently oscillated between excitement and aggression. While Strange Peace certainly does not lack either of the aforementioned characteristics, things seem a little less frantic this time around. The songs have longer segments, working rapid-fire punk music into extensive pieces.   

When heard live, their new songs are spectacular. METZ have a certain energy that is best experienced from three feet in front of the stage rather than through a pair of headphones. Taking the stage with no introduction, they played several songs before singer Alex Edkins even addressed the crowd. Even then, whatever he said was often lost behind an incessant reverb. The focus was always on the music and the atmosphere it created: Minimal lighting, little interaction with the crowd, and a constant barrage of noise. It was a disorienting experience; songs often seemed to have neither a beginning nor an end, bleeding into each other in a long form thrash jam.  

Despite the comparable levels of intensity across the night’s three acts, METZ elicited far and away the strongest response from the crowd. Whereas most of the audience stood almost uncomfortably still during the first hour or so of the night, the environment completely changed once the headliners arrived onstage. Renowned for the rowdiness of their shows, METZ has seen itself and its audiences injured due to the physical nature of their live sets. Although this was both a very lively and intense concert, it certainly wasn’t friendly. However, there was a sense of commonality that bound the experience. As soon as someone was pushed to the ground—about once every 30 seconds—there were five people there to help them up. Although this was an unrelenting show, it was not in any way an intimidating one. It was everything a punk show should be: Fast, fun, and a bonding experience of violent catharsis for everyone involved.

 

Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune
Commentary, Opinion

Sorry, Justin, there’s a new kid in town

by Keating Reid on

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Oh, the impermanence of young love. Not long ago, Canada’s youth naively fawned over Justin Trudeau. But, as flings meet their bitter ends, so too do they begin anew. Canadians have moved on to a new flame—newly-elected, uber-chic New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh. Compared to Trudeau, his suits are sharper, his hair longer and more luscious, and—most importantly—he hasn’t had the chance to disappoint Canadians yet.

The first sparks flew when Singh's compassionate handling of a heckler at a campaign rally in Brampton, Ontario received international attention. The incident came at the perfect time, just weeks before the NDP leadership vote on Oct. 1. Furthermore, Singh is the first non-white leader of a major Canadian political party. However, the celebration of this ‘first’—although a step forward—made little distinction between the positivity of the event and Singh himself. In aggregate, the starry-eyed coverage that followed no doubt contributed to his landslide victory.

But, all young relationships have potentially ugly sides. Singh’s swift rise and the accompanying fanfare prove yet again that support is increasingly won by personality, more so than policy. This imbalance corrodes democracy. Image-focused campaigns benefit party leaders at the expense of every other political actor—including the voter. Image campaigns like Trudeau’s and Singh’s have had particular success with young people, who are the most plugged-in to social media and its ability to amplify public personas. The trend towards image campaigning and corresponding personality politics shows no sign of slowing down as millennials born between 1981 and 2000 become the largest segment of the electorate. If young people don’t demand to be campaigned to in a more substantial, policy-focused way, we risk lowering the quality of our political discourse.

While personal image has always been important in political campaigns, Trudeau took it to new heights in the 2015 election. The guiding principle? Sunny ways—a blend of forward-looking optimism and ambitious reforms to tackle social injustice. This brand paid off, well, handsomely. For months, newly-elected Trudeau bathed in fawning coverage that focused more on his sex appeal than his politics. Canadian political scientist Donald J. Savoie presciently observes this effect in his 2010 book, Power: Where is it?.

“Increasingly, the objective of all parties at election time is to sell their leaders to the media, rather than their ideas, policies, or party,” Savoie writes.

 

These aren’t your parents’ politicians—they look more like the cute guy at the gym or the debate union champ than the slack-suited legislators of yore.

This is as true of Singh as it is of Trudeau. Both source their popularity, especially with youth, from personal appeal and mastery of media moments, be they Singh’s appeals for “love and courage” in Brampton, or Trudeau’s feats of athleticism. These aren’t your parents’ politicians—they look more like the cute guy at the gym or the debate union champ than the slack-suited legislators of yore. While media moments are an old concept, they’ve redoubled in importance with the rise of social media. Short, context-free clips are shared repeatedly.

Still, society cannot blame the media entirely for softball coverage of politicians. Outlets produce content they think consumers want to read; therefore, when the media treats politicians like celebrities, citizens ask for fluff. This creates a cycle in which Canadians sell themselves short of the issues-driven coverage they deserve.

Personality politics also have consequences within parties. When elections are won and lost on leaders’ images, party caucuses are hard-pressed to cross their chiefs. Most voters see the exercise as picking a prime minister rather than a favourite local candidate. Consequently, local MPs depend on their party leader for their own re-election. For any given Member of Parliament, publically criticizing their leader is a lose-lose situation: Either their criticisms fail to move the public and anger their boss, or they succeed in moving public opinion against their party leader—which, given how voters make decisions, threatens the MP’s own job security. In times of majority government, this means that there are virtually no parliamentary checks on the prime minister’s power.

Just like the bad boy your mother warned you about, engaging in personality politics is tempting. We would all like to be led by someone we identify with, or that we’d simply like to share a drink with. But, if citizens base their votes on these feelings, they incentivize politicians and media coverage to focus on image over policy. This moves political discussions away from solutions and toward distractions. Given the younger generation’s pitiful voter-turnout rates, some might consider any political engagement a cause for celebration. But, Canadians must think critically about the way they engage with politics. Making politicians into celebrities gives them inappropriate influence in government and puts our democratic health at risk.

 

 

 

Keating is a U0 in the Faculty of Arts planning to study political science. He’s often found reading the news and grumbling in his bathrobe.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 
News, SSMU

Our Turn Action Plan gives McGill’s sexual violence policy a C- grade

by Caitlin Kindig on

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On Oct. 11, The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held a press conference following the official release of Our Turn, a national student-led action plan to end campus sexual violence. The action plan evaluated 14 Canadian universities’ sexual assault policies, and gave McGill’s a C- (61 per cent) grade.

The National Our Turn Action Plan is a student-written commitment to eliminating sexual violence and rape culture on campuses, supporting survivors, creating a culture of survivor-centrism at institutions, and promoting policy reform on both provincial and national levels. Action Plan is composed of five steps that serve as a guide for student unions seeking reform to campus sexual violence policies. So far, 14 student unions from universities across eight provinces have signed on to the plan, including SSMU.

Our Turn is spearheaded by Caitlin Salvino, Carleton University class of 2017, along with Kelsey Gilchrist and Jade Cooligan Pang. It was first initiated at the Carleton University Students Association in October 2016 when the university released its Sexual Violence Policy. Our Turn members drafted a letter suggesting reforms to the Policy regarding the protection of survivors of sexual violence who wished to pursue a formal complaint process through the university. Salvino shared the current goals of the action plan at the press conference.

“Our Turn exists because our institution failed us, because the schools and the government that have all the power are not supporting survivors on campuses,” Salvino said. “[Our Turn is] student-run, underfunded, but [is] still doing everything we can to make these changes happen.”

During the press conference, SSMU Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer explained that the movement to end sexual violence on campus started with students.

“At McGill specifically, the conversation has always resided at the student level,” Spencer said. “It was the students who pushed for the creation of a policy, and ultimately it was a working group of students who were told by administration ‘If you want a policy then show us one.’ Just because we have a sexual violence policy […] does not mean we are at the end of this conversation about the sexual violence that happens every day on this campus.”

The release of the action plan follows a long history of student-led sexual assault activism on McGill’s campus. Among groups that advocate for survivors in the Community Disclosure Network (CDN), a grassroots, confidential network of organizers who support sexual violence survivors seeking non-traditional methods of justice. The CDN employs anonymous third-party reporting mechanisms, direct action, guerilla tactics, and confrontational strategies. Committed to self-education, internal accountability, and intersectional politics, the CDN aims to fill gaps where they see them.

One survivor of sexual assault present at the conference, Alex*, spoke to The McGill Tribune about their experience with sexual violence on campus. Because of their lack of faith in McGill’s sexual assault survivor support system, they left Montreal for over a month after the assault. Eventually, they sought help from the CDN, which helped ensure their safety and comfort on campus.

“I hope that McGill and campuses across Canada commit to improving their mechanisms of justice and accountability,” Alex said. “It will take more than a policy to combat sexualized and gendered violence on university campuses, make no mistake. But to our minds at the CDN, without a policy that supports survivors who seek out institutional processes, there can be no justice.”

*Name changed to protect the anonymity of the source.

Editorial, Opinion

On sexual violence policy reform, it’s McGill’s turn

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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In the 2018 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, McGill was the second best school in Canada. Maclean’s just named the university the number one medical and doctoral school in Canada, for the 13th year in a row.

In contrast, last week the inter-university student group Our Turn gave McGill’s Policy Against Sexual Violence—passed in November 2016—a C-.

The group’s report, distributed by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) on Oct. 11, provides a comparative, quantitative analysis of the sexual violence policies at 14 universities across Canada, out of which McGill placed eighth.

The report provides a set of concrete recommendations for improvement, developed through consultations with sexual assault survivors, existing comprehensive policies, and experts in best practices in preventing and responding to sexual violence. It provides a standardized, central resource on what an ideal campus sexual assault policy should—and should not—look like. It is survivor-focused, emphasizing the need for multiple avenues of support for survivors of sexual violence, while also attempting to take on the prior causes of sexual assault on campus, such as a lack of education and the pervasiveness of rape culture. It’s an entirely student-driven initiative, and miles ahead of lagging and bare-bones provincial legislation on this issue.

More crucially, however, the report is a vital reminder of the real and unacceptable prevalence of sexual assault on university campuses. A comprehensive policy framework to combat campus sexual assault, which includes preventative, educational, and survivor support measures, is essential, and must be treated as such. That means, chiefly, that just having a policy in place isn’t enough. Students, SSMU, and the McGill administration also need to work to ensure that McGill’s policy actually works, by bringing it closer to the ambitious national threshold that Our Turn sets. By extension, it must be able to evolve to better meet the needs of the students affected by sexual violence and sexual assault on campus.

 

 

As the necessity and existence of Our Turn shows, progress on preventing campus sexual violence falls primarily on affected campus communities themselves.

Our Turn originated with the experience of Carleton University students. The group of students that would go on to form Our Turn advocated for reform of the school’s sexual violence policy, through a widely supported open letter. The policy’s final draft failed to reflect these student concerns. This led to an ongoing campaign from students to a deaf administration, geared at reopening the policy for revamp. 

The experience of Carleton students matches the story at many universities. When McGill’s sexual violence policy was drafted and subsequently approved by Senate, it was widely criticized. Many flagged concerns about its clarity on concrete reforms, as well as transparency in the student consultation and amendment process. Those concerns were well-placed, as later confirmed by Our Turn’s abysmal review.

Our Turn is an invaluable resource. In the absence of any national legislation or inquiry on campus sexual assault, by taking the issue beyond the scope of McGill—or any one campus, for that matter—the inter-school group has made it a national concern. Moreover, it solidifies and amplifies the message coming from students to their university administrations and governments: Sexual violence on campus is a pervasive threat to student safety and wellbeing, and needs to be addressed.

The nature of sexual violence presents unique challenges from an administrative standpoint, but it can also present dire harm to survivors and affected students. As a survivor-centered, independent, and dedicated body, Our Turn sets the bar above and beyond that of any one single university attending to other institutional concerns. While exact criteria may be up for debate, the value of having any substantive, national standard of support for sexual assault survivors cannot be overstated.

McGill must respond to the recommendations of the report, and set a timeline on how it will update its policy accordingly. The existing Policy Against Sexual Violence is subject to triennial review. Given that it is sitting at a C-, that time frame is insufficient.

SSMU, meanwhile, needs to follow through on its pledge to the organization, by implementing its campus advocacy task force and setting in motion the suggested reforms at the McGill Senate level.

For their part, students ought to take the time to read the report, conduct further research on best practices across campuses, and critically consider where McGill's Policy Against Sexual Violence is at right now, and where it needs to be. As the necessity and existence of Our Turn shows, progress on preventing campus sexual violence falls primarily on affected campus communities themselves. Provincial and federal government actors need to address the gaps in existing provincial campus sexual assault legislation. But, until they do, university administrations, student unions, and students themselves need to continue to lead the push for education and awareness on campus, and due resources and support for sexual violence survivors. To borrow a phrase, it’s our turn.

A previous version of this article incorrectly said that Our Turn originated at Ryerson—it in fact originated at Carleton. The McGill Tribune regrets this error. 

 

 

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 
McGill, News

Philosopher Charles Taylor delivers 2017 Beatty Memorial Lecture

by Elijah Wenzel on

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On Oct. 12, philosopher Professor Emeritus Charles Taylor delivered the 2017 Beatty Memorial Lecture “The Challenge of Regressive Democracy,” at Pollack Hall. Taylor discussed recent nativist and populist waves in Western politics and their impact on major events such as Brexit and the 2016 general election in the United States. A McGill alumnus,Taylor’s career has spanned over 50 years, during which he has published over a dozen books and essays, including the influential works of philosophy Sources of the Self and A Secular Age.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune prior to his lecture, Taylor discussed the causes of the wave of nativism sweeping Western democracies. While nativism explicitly signifies preferential treatment of those native-born in a country, Taylor explained what he considers a trend similar to nativism that accompanies these movements, narrowing the definition of who is really a member of the society.

“[Nativism is] the idea that some of us are the real Americans, some of us are the real French, and the other ones are really a danger to us,” Taylor said.

Taylor also acknowledged that nativism could hold influence in Canada.

“Well, perhaps not Canada, and perhaps not even Quebec, is totally succumbing [to nativism],” Taylor said. “But let’s say there could be some gains in Quebec on the part of Parti Québécois and  [the Coalition Avenir Québec] CAQ who have both been leaning in this direction. That is they are trying to surf on certain deep fears and prejudices against a segment of the population.”

Taylor began his lecture by noting that the idea of democracy representing constant progress toward a more just society is a misconception. Yet, in his time as a scholar, he’s grown to view this reality with optimism.

“Democracy is not an escalator going up,” Taylor said. “Democracy is a progressive struggle. If you believe in the [progressive] escalator, it sounds devastating. If you cease believing in the escalator, it could even be exhilarating.”

According to Taylor, the word democracy has two meanings. One can lead to power sliding from the common people to the elites.

“Democracy is actually going to be understood as the interpretation of two concepts with the same word,” Taylor said. “The concept of the people as a whole, all embracing, and the concept of the people as those who are disadvantaged, because they are not part of the elite [….] Among the countries that we think of as democracies in that sense, big issues arise as to the degree of elite control [….] And this is something that can never be resolved once and for all.”

Taylor’s words left a strong mark on those who watched him. In a message to the Tribune, Jing Ming Yuan, U2 Engineering student who attended the lecture, expressed his agreement with Taylor’s points about democracy as an escalator.

“I think [Taylor] made a very good point when he stated that democracy is not a one-way escalator always going forward,” Yuan wrote. “There is no natural law stating that political institutions would invariably evolve to become, say, more tolerant […] although we tend to think that the present is better than the past, we should acknowledge the possibility that even the most democratic governments in the world can, at times, slide backward and become more unequal and intolerant.”

McGill Philosophy Professor Sarah Stroud also found both Taylor’s presence and insight to be valuable.

“Charles Taylor is a towering philosopher and public intellectual,” Stroud wrote in a message to the Tribune. “His inspiring vision of the democracy we could have will help us right the ship, currently listing dangerously.”

Student Life, The Tribune Tries

The Tribune Tries: Buying groceries on a $40 budget

by Mary Keith on

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One of the many necessities of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood is learning how to budget. This is something that I’ve always struggled with: Most recently, for three consecutive weeks, I bought lunch on campus every day despite having food at home that I’d simply forgotten to pack. Now that I’m in my fourth year of university—and will soon be entering the wild world of post-grad financial independence—I’m attempting to adopt a thriftier lifestyle; cutting these frequent take-out foods is a step in this direction. So, this September, I set a goal for myself: Spend $40 on groceries, and make the food last for two weeks.

I’m privileged to admit that I’ve never had trouble getting food on the table. Plenty of people are limited to strict grocery budgets like this one on a regular basis—I’m fortunate that this was a unique experience for me, and one that I chose to embark on, rather than having to out of economic necessity. Ultimately, I walked away from the experience with more than groceries; I learned a lot about budgeting that I plan to take with me after graduation.

I found that the key to cutting costs during market visits was to purchase non-perishables; these items can last for weeks on end and are relatively cheap compared to fresh foods. My non-perishables took up a lot of space in my shopping cart: I bought rice, a 12-pack box of oatmeal, peanut butter, frozen vegetables, and black beans. The remaining space in my cart was left for a dozen eggs, frozen spinach, three apples, five bananas, a pack of English muffins, and the cheapest chicken I could find. It was difficult to purchase any fresh vegetables because they certainly would not survive two weeks worth of rationing, and unfortunately, my Häagan Daaz addiction took a full stop because of their extremely high pint prices. Limiting my normal grocery expenditure would not have been feasible without pre-planning what to buy—and sticking to it—at the store. All in all, my grocery bill came to a total of $35.24, which gave me room to buy a second pack of English muffins and three more apples in the second week. The grand total amounted to $41.19—only slightly over budget.

Once I bought all of my groceries, the next step was to meal plan and prep. For the duration of the two weeks, I planned to eat either eggs or oatmeal for breakfast every day, a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and fruit for lunch, and some variation of rice, beans, vegetables, and chicken for dinner. In order to save time and energy in the evenings, I pre-cooked all of my rice, chicken, and beans. This way, I was able to ration out my food over the course of a week, while also saving myself from eating a jar of peanut butter if I got too lazy to cook.

To be honest, there was not much variation in my meals, but I knew I couldn’t be too picky when it came to breakfast and lunch. However, eating basically the same dinner each night definitely got boring, so I tried to create different meals from the same ingredients: Fried rice for one night, baked chicken for another, and rice and beans for the remaining evenings. Yes, my dinner options were limited, but I learned that eating while on a tight budget was not going to give me much creative cooking freedom.

I managed to get through these two weeks with relative success, so I tried another two weeks after that, and this time, my roommate tried it with me. We decided to share groceries, and this was a game-changer. Splitting groceries—and costs—allowed for plenty more options. We split the bill for non-perishable foods and were then able to add hummus, crackers, carrots, peas, butternut squash, and sour cream to the mix. Now, we had mid-day snacks, and even got to make vegetable soups with dollops of sour cream; it was practically heaven after the bland first two weeks, yet still within our budgets.

Though it was tough to get used to at first, buying groceries on a $40 bi-weekly budget became easier with time. If there are three lessons to take from this, it’s that non-perishables are crucial for reducing costs, meal prepping helps you get through the week, and sharing groceries and meals allows for a larger variety of food options. Whether big or small, accomplishing a goal takes discipline, commitment, and in my case, a bag of rice.

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