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Hockey, Sports

ICYMI: NHL summer trades and signings

by Wasif Husain on

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After the Stanley Cup wraps up every June, fans must endure four months without any on-ice NHL action. Luckily, the summer months are often full of big signings and trades. Though this summer’s transactions were overshadowed by the Las Vegas Knights expansion draft, they did make for some compelling storylines heading into the 2017-2018 season.

The Montreal Canadiens are always under pressure to make moves, and General Manager (GM) Marc Bergevin didn't disappoint. The transactions started as the Habs finally acquired the young, coveted Jonathan Drouin. In return, they gave up standout rookie Mikhail Sergachev, a small cost to maximize their cup window with goaltender Carey Price. Price signed the richest goaltending contract in NHL history with an eight-year, $84 million deal, keeping him in Montreal for the long haul. Soon after, they added free agent Karl Alzner to their blue line. However, during the shuffle, they lost Russian sniper Alex Radulov to the Dallas Stars.

Along with Radulov, the Stars also signed shutdown centre Martin Hanzal and solved their goaltending issue by trading for goalie Ben Bishop from the Los Angeles Kings. With a high-powered offence, they are now primed for a productive season. 

The Edmonton Oilers parted with yet another core player, sending Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders in exchange for Ryan Strome, a younger forward with a smaller cap hit. Strome is projected to play with generational-talent Connor McDavid. In July, McDavid signed the largest contract in Oilers history, a $100 million, eight-year deal. The 20 year-old could have inked an even more lucrative contract, but took a slight pay cut to ensure the Oilers could sign teammate Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year, $68 million contract. These moves signify that the Oilers are ready to make consistent runs at the Stanley Cup.

A few hours drive south, their Alberta rivals made deals, too. The Calgary Flames added steady defenceman Travis Hamonic and goalies Mike Smith and Eddie Lack, solidifying a position that has been weak in recent years.

The Chicago Blackhawks shook up their core, trading talented winger Artemi Panarin for ex-Hawk Brandon Saad. To manage cap restrictions, they also traded defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson for Connor Murphy. The Hawks also brought back a familiar face in Patrick Sharp on a one-year deal. Their constant reshuffling is the small price of winning three Stanley Cups in the last eight years.

The New York Rangers also worked to stay atop the standings. They traded top-six centre Derek Stepan and goalie Antti Raanta for a first-round pick and defenceman Anthony DeAngelo. The Rangers also added prized free agent Kevin Shattenkirk, who gave them a hometown discount and signed a $26.6 million, four-year deal.

On July 1, the San Jose Sharks signed Marc-Edouard Vlasic to an eight-year, $56 million extension. Adding goaltender Martin Jones on a six-year, $34.5 million extension, the Sharks locked up two important pieces of their core roster. They also signed star Joe Thornton to a one-year deal worth $8 million. However, San Jose couldn’t keep everyone in town, losing team-legend Patrick Marleau to the rising Toronto Maple Leafs.

In a very busy offseason, there were many other notable re-signings: Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson returned to the Predators, Evgeny Kuznetsov signed on long-term with the Capitals, and Alex Wennberg got a six-year deal with the Blue Jackets. Plenty of GMs locked their young talent in cap-friendly deals, including Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin in Carolina, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat in Tampa Bay, and Bo Horvat in Vancouver.

The 2017 offseason was focused less on blockbuster trades and more on teams retaining their players. Many teams have locked up young stars, indicative of the league’s shift to a younger, faster game. The upcoming season reflects a new age for the NHL, with new teams entering their cup windows as the past decade’s perennial contenders start to cycle out.

Ask Ainsley, Student Life

Ask Ainsley: Should I go to therapy?

by Ainsley on

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Dear Ainsley,

Since classes started this year, I have started experiencing a lot of anxiety for the first time in my life. I am considering going to see a therapist, but I’m really nervous about it because I’ve never seen one before, and as far as I know, none of my friends or family have either. I also feel guilty going to one because most of my anxiety is school-related, and hasn’t persisted my whole life. I know a lot of people have diagnosed illnesses, so I don’t feel as though I’ve struggled as much as other people and worry that I don’t have a ‘real’ reason to see a therapist. Is there a way I can work through this on my own, or is it worth trying to see a professional? 

Sincerely, 

Thinking About Therapy (TAT)

Dear TAT,

You’re super brave for writing in—I know what it is like to feel lost among anxious thoughts, and coming to terms with the idea of seeing a therapist can be difficult.

First of all, know that the only person who can  determine what merits going to see a therapist is you. Trust yourself and try to prioritize your needs without worrying about what other people may find valid. If you need a measurable sign that you’d benefit from seeing a therapist, consider whether you feel your anxiety is negatively impacting your daily life and ability to achieve your goals. If so, it’s definitely worth seeking professional help if you can afford it. You don’t have to reach a certain threshold of anxiety or depression before seeing a therapist; they are there to help with any situation.

I know the process of finding the right therapist can be very overwhelming, but I think the first step you can take is to think about what kind of support you would benefit from the most. What type of person would you be most comfortable opening up to? Consider age, gender, and personality while searching for your match. Additionally, there are a few different styles and approaches to therapy, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, a directive approach that focuses on identifying and ending detrimental behaviours, and Humanistic therapy, a more discussion-based approach that focuses on working toward personal growth. I would recommend doing some research on the differences between these methods to choose the one from which you would benefit the most. If you try out a therapy session and don’t feel comfortable with your therapist, they might just not be the right match for you. The good news is, there are plenty of other skilled professionals in Montreal who you can go to instead; please don’t give up on therapy if you don’t like it after just one visit. 

With regards to whether you should approach your friends and family about how you’re feeling, know that friends who are worthwhile will not judge you for prioritizing your mental health. While you certainly don’t have to share this part of your life with any of your friends if you don’t want to, it can be really beneficial to have a sturdy support system outside of your therapist, and confiding in your friends will only strengthen these bonds. 

However, there are many different types of friendships, and it’s okay to have friends that you don’t feel quite comfortable enough with to have these discussions. In the event that you do share your feelings with a friend and only receive judgmental comments in return, it may not be because they are a bad friend per se. The reality of our society is that mental illnesses are still relatively stigmatized and often go undiscussed. Your friend has probably just internalized the stigma around going to therapy, and would only benefit from talking about it more with you. Ultimately, no matter what your friends or family say, do what you feel is best for you, even if it is nerve-wracking. 

Though taking the first few steps toward seeing a therapist can be daunting, remember that there is tremendous strength in asking for help. No matter what type of support you choose to seek, know that you will be able to get through this and that there are many resources available to you to help along the way. 

In solidarity, 

Ainsley

Psychology Today is a great resource to research different therapists that are available near you. If you’re looking for a therapist on campus, The McGill Mental Health Hub is an excellent way to discover the many different resources available. Please don’t forget that if you feel that you are in immediate danger, make sure to call 9-1-1 or, if you’re on campus, Campus Security at 514-398-3000. The McGill Nightline is another option in less urgent cases and can be reached at 514-398-6246. Outside of McGill, the Quebec Suicide Hotline also offers 24-hour support to those in crisis situations.  

 

Student Life

Tea Tuesday: A closer look at the timeless drink

by Lauren Jelinek on

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Over the past few years, out-of-home tea consumption has risen, according to tea company Tetley’s 2016 annual report. Younger generations are turning to tea at growing rates, and the drink has had an increasingly strong presence in cafes and shops on and around McGill’s campus. With the rise of the ‘natural’ and health-conscious trend, this newfound popular preference for tea isn’t all that surprising. Tea is having its moment, and it’s time to take notice of the cozy drink. Drinking tea not only makes a brisk fall day extra snug, but most teas also have a variety of health benefits, making the drink ideal for students–especially those for whom health takes a backseat to studying once midterms hit.

While adamant coffee drinkers–or any student cramming last-minute–may turn their nose up at tea, many varieties of tea provide comparable amounts of caffeine to coffee, while skipping out on the negative side effects, such as restlessness and irritability. Just two cups of tea can supply the same quantity of caffeine as one cup of coffee, and most teas give the drinker a calmer boost of energy. This is in part due to the presence of the chemical theanine in teas; the anti-stimulant helps with focus and relaxation, unlike coffee’s classic crash-and-burn game.

Many teas also have healing benefits. Ginger teas and peppermint teas can help fight off the flu, while echinacea tea and black teas are valued for their medicinal properties in some parts of the world—though many companies in North America and Europe may overstate this as a marketing tactic. Some teas, however, come with obvious benefits: Green tea has been dubbed ‘‘the healthiest drink in the world,’’ because of its ability to lower the risk of cancer and kill bacteria—the Chinese knew of herbal tea’s benefits as early as 3000 BC.

Historically, tea has served many purposes, including acting as a catalyst for social activity. In the 1800s, elites in England gathered regularly to chat over tea and light bites, a practice they called high tea. This concept is still popular in current cafe culture around the world, including in Montreal, where third wave cafes are a central part of the local culture and economy. A favourite pastime of many McGill students is meeting up at one of Montreal’s many cafes. Cramming sessions at coffee shops reflect the continuation of the antiquated tradition in which tea is at the centre of a social activity–it’s common to see McGill students get together and nurse a cup of tea as they pour over their notes and absorb complimentary WiFi. 

To satisfy tea cravings between lectures, McGill offers multiple spots for a fix of tea around campus, with several cafeterias and cafes to choose from, such as those of Royal Victoria College and Bishop Mountain Hall. To explore tea beyond the cafeterias, check out one of the alternative tea vendors on campus; try the mint tea–or even a chai tea latte—at Dispatch Cafe in the McConnell Engineering Building or the Second Cup in Stewart Biology.

In terms of off-campus options, CHAÏ tea lounge on Avenue du Parc is at the top of the list. With over 20 varieties of black tea to choose from, CHAÏ offers almost every type of tea in the book. For a more serene and gadget-free cafe, Camellia Sinesis Tea House in Montreal’s Latin Quarter makes for a great choice. It’s a quiet escape from the laptop life of McGill, and the tea choices are expansive. To buy tea and take it home, try David’s Tea. The famous tea chain started in Montreal, and the choices are limitless. 

Whether students prefer a cafe setting or a comfy blanket and couch, tea provides an experience of familiarity and warmth on those long fall days. As Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky once said, “let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.”

Commentary, Opinion

Echo chambers on autoplay: How social media news videos hurt political dialogue

by Andras Nemeth on

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Flashing through countless newsfeeds with bold lettering and eye-catching, often shocking imagery, online news videos have become intrinsic to users’ experience on social media. Painstakingly engineered for maximum impact on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, these brief videos are just one embodiment of social and news media’s increased reliance on one another. As social media’s importance in journalism grows—a study published in 2015 by the Pew Research Centre showed that 63 per cent of Facebook users use the platform as their primary news source—the video formats that inhabit it may change the way news is consumed on social media for the worse. The information we see in online news videos may make us feel informed, but if the information comes solely in the form of politically streamlined, easily digestible chunks, we risk shutting out the potential for genuinely new information that challenges our views.

Two media companies, NowThis News and Al Jazeera’s AJ+, founded in 2012 and 2013 respectively, are the primary producers of news videos on Facebook, according to Variety magazine. The videos, covering a wide range of subjects, are short—frequently under three minutes long—directed at a younger audience, and feature recognizable, bold text, all for the purposes of optimization for a mobile platform. Media companies must strategically adapt to the changes in social network platforms. Such was the case when Twitter and Facebook rolled out an autoplay feature for videos in 2016. As AJ+ Engagement Leader Jigar Mehta explained in an interview with Nieman Lab, “If you look at our videos when we first launched, they weren’t optimized for autoplay. But then Facebook, and now Twitter, have rolled out autoplay. So you have three to five seconds, as someone is flipping through a feed, to grab their attention.”

Online media companies invest immensely in those three to five seconds, employing text, visuals and strong subject matter to boost the appeal of their videos. Engagement rate—the number of people who interact with a piece of content per the number who see it—is frequently used as a measure of success in the world of online journalism. By these standards, online news video producers have certainly been successful. In August 2015, AJ+ reported that six times as many people interacted with their videos as had liked their page, and as of today, NowThis has a Facebook following of over 12 million.

The information we see in online news videos may make us feel informed, but if the information comes solely in the form of politically streamlined, easily digestible chunks, we risk shutting out the potential for genuinely new information that challenges our views.

Central to the appeal of these videos is viewers’ belief that they are informative. With information delivered in byte-sized chunks directly to users’ newsfeeds, staying in the loop seems easier than ever. Yet, the informational “echo chambers” that plague social media news content are a well-documented phenomenon. When viewers have total control over what they see, as is the case on platforms with self-reinforcing content algorithms like Facebook’s, it creates an environment of political self-reinforcement. The advent of autoplay informer videos, more quickly and immediately available than even a listicle headline, only furthers this trend.

Moreover, with the increasing importance of Facebook as a news source, video creators face intense competition with the multitudes of attention-savvy media outlets that populate it, and must work hard to keep up. When news outlets rely on the same attention-grabbing video techniques as entertainment networks or advertising agencies, the political content of these videos serves as a tool to boost engagement. Both AJ+ and NowThis are openly left-leaning, and often use strong political messages to attract viewership. Their viewers, who often share similar political views, see the things they already agree with. The snappily cut and oft-replayed content further cements existing political feedback loops on social media.

A study published by Yale professor Dan Kahan in 2013 found that the more scientifically literate subjects were, the more politically biased they were likely to be when interpreting data results. The study seems to suggest that more information is not the silver bullet to political disagreement, but that political views remain entrenched no matter how many facts they are hit with.

The 2017 Cision State of the Media report called online video news “nascent,” and suggested that the format may take on an even greater role in future journalism. Being in-the-know is important, and online video has huge potential to inform. However, when scrolling from soundbite to soundbite, social media users ought to remember that dialogue and disagreement are essential to healthy politics.

 

Andras is a U1 student in Economics and Computer Science. His parents didn't let him study philosophy.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 
Ask a Scientist, Science & Technology

From mutation to malformation: Developmental syndromes

by Jade Prévost-Manuel on

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On Sept. 12, Soup and Science featured some of the cutting-edge developmental biology research going on at McGill.

Over an egg salad sandwich and a bowl of chicken soup, The McGill Tribune met Loydie Jerome-Majewska, pediatrics professor and medical scientist, to hear about her research regarding developmental syndromes.

Between two and three per cent of children worldwide are born with congenital malformations. While substantial evidence exists that environmental factors like tobacco and alcohol are causal agents, genetic mutations also play an important role in developmental disorders.

The medical scientist has unparalleled enthusiasm for her field.

“I was always excited about development. It really started with the question of how you can get a complex human from just an egg and a sperm.”

Jerome-Majewska’s research aims to identify these mutated genes and observe their onset during development. She wants to better understand congenital malformations like DiGeorge syndrome—a disorder present from birth causing mouth and heart malformations—to see how significant changes in environment or genetic pathways can reduce the risk of developing these syndromes.

Jerome-Majewska studies these changes in development by using model mice. When the expression of a gene is thought to contribute to a syndrome, the lab can mutate said gene to discover its consequences in an organism. From here they can understand when the first event occurs and what cells are disrupted.

To do so, the researchers perform forward genetic screens to understand which genes are causing malformations. They then follow up by employing reverse genetics: Determining the gene’s function by seeing whether or not it is expressed. From here, the gene can be manipulated and the consequences of its expression observed.

In typical undergraduate fashion, we asked Jerome-Majewska if she had any advice for students pursuing research.

“Above all, you have to love it,” she said. “There are days where nothing happens, and that’s a reality of the job. But there are also days where you see something that no one has ever seen."

Ask a Scientist, Science & Technology

Curing cancer with 1’s and 0’s

by Ronny Litvack-Katzman on

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Rapid chemical analysis that takes days to complete in a lab can now be done with the click of a button.

A self-proclaimed “Beast in Science,” associate professor in the McGill Department of Chemistry, Nicolas Moitessier, worked with his team of computer engineers and biochemists at the Moitessier Research Group in Montréal to develop new software. This software allows for the rapid chemical analysis of molecules of all shapes and sizes in as short as three minutes, when the same process spans days in a lab.

When Moitessier came to McGill 14 years ago, he immediately noticed a problem: Efficient research on pharmaceutical design is impossible when it takes weeks to run drug testing.

“When you don’t have access to something what do you do? You create it,” Moitessier said. “We created a software that predicts drug activities virtually, through running synthetic schemes of molecules.”

The program, known as FORECASTER, has revolutionized the landscape of molecular pharmacology. Drug samples that once took months to design can now be virtually produced in a matter of minutes.

“My personal computer, not even one of the larger ones in the lab, can run a molecule in three minutes, maybe less,” Moitessier explained. “By simple math that amounts to 20 molecules an hour, I can leave the programming running overnight and by the next morning, depending on the molecule, I can have tested one thousand copies.”

In traditional lab settings, this procedure takes significantly longer to conduct.

The hardest part, Moitessier explained, was designing a system that is user-friendly enough to be used by chemists, while maintaining the computational complexity necessary to run an advanced software.

“We allow the virtual to guide the experimental, and the experimental to improve the virtual,” Moitessier said.

Moitessier hopes that his invention will one day provide the vital chemical analysis needed for the production of drugs in the treatment of cancer and other debilitating diseases.

McGill, Montreal, News

Facebook and McGill connect over AI

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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Facebook announced that it would be basing its first Canadian research laboratory in Montreal at a press conference at McGill’s Faculty Club on Friday Sept. 15.  The city is home to the offices of many tech companies—including Google and Ubisoft—and the city’s burgeoning tech industry has received millions in investments from the government. Various stakeholders—including chief scientists, Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—met to discuss the creation of a thriving ecosystem for artificial intelligence (AI) research at McGill, Montreal, and in Canada as a whole.

The Facebook AI Research (FAIR) department, which strives to advance all aspects of AI, will lead the endeavor. Yann LeCun, the director of FAIR’s New York location, sees potential for successful AI research in Montreal. Specifically, LeCun praised McGill’s ‘Open Science’ policy of making research data publicly available. He emphasized the need for a unified effort between scientists across the globe to further AI innovation.

“Many of us, including me, have [one] foot in industry research and one in academia,” LeCun said in a speech at the press conference. “We publish everything we do, we release all code in open source, and that means we can collaborate with universities without second thoughts to intellectual property.”

McGill Associate Professor of Computer Science Joëlle Pineau will serve as director of FAIR’s Montreal lab while splitting her time at the university. In her talk at the conference, she echoed LeCun’s sentiments about the value of Open Science and anticipated the implications that the partnership will have for her students, many of whom leave Canada after graduation.

“I hope some of the students that are here today will find an opportunity that matches their interests and their talent, and have a reason to stay in Montreal,” Pineau said. “They’re going to contribute to our economy, they’re going to contribute to our communities, they’re such a fantastic group of young people, and it’s really exciting for me to think that some of them will stay with us in the longer term.”

FAIR’s investment is part of a national trend contributing to AI research, most recently marked with the March announcement of a $125 million investment in a Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy. The funding will go toward improving computer science education, establishing networks between AI research initiatives, and explaining the implications of AI for society. Trudeau shared his vision for how the strategy will integrate AI technologies into the daily life of Canadians in his talk at the press conference.

“With a strong research community and well-educated workforce, Canada is the right place to shape the future,” Trudeau said. “A future where things like artificial intelligence and deep learning help create jobs, improve our quality of life, and generate new opportunities for the middle class and those working hard to join it.”

Although the focus of the conference was the future growth of AI, Trudeau reminded audience members that the technology is already used for a variety of purposes.

“As much as AI is about the future, it is already shaping the world we live in today,” Trudeau said. “From funny filters on social media, to systems that can identify the most deadly forms of skin cancer, AI is already part of our lives, even if we don’t realize it. That’s just how broad its applications can be.”

Despite conference speakers’ positive tone, the event sparked criticism among some members of the student body. Several hours after Trudeau’s arrival on campus, a group of student activists, including Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President External Connor Spencer, gathered outside the Faculty Club in protest. Chanting ‘[the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] UNDRIP over AI,’ the students condemned Trudeau’s failed promises to Indigenous communities in Canada and his neglect of the presence of the 16th Annual Pow Wow occurring on lower field concurrently with the press conference.

“Literally 100 feet away from where he was meeting today, the 16th annual Pow Wow was happening,” Spencer said. “We want to make sure […he] understands that the youth priorities are not what he is showing to be youth priorities. It’s not social media, it’s Indigenous rights.”

McGill, News

McGill Student Services announces new approach toward psychiatric care and fentanyl crisis

by Fionn Adamian on

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In a press conference on Sept. 14, Hashana Perera, director of Student Health Services, took the floor to present updates on the office’s strategy for addressing the emerging threat of fentanyl in Montreal. The deadly synthetic opioid is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and has been found laced into powdered drugs at growing rates across Canada. Following recent discussion over students’ growing risk of mistakenly ingesting fentanyl-laced drugs, Perera explained that Student Health Services’ goal was to provide naloxone and drug-testing kits for students, as soon as Quebec legislation permits.

“What we would have wanted to do is have [naloxone] available to you,” Perera said. “Public Health said no. Right now, the only people who can administer it are doctors, nurses, and ambulance [technicians….] We do have it in health services [….] That being said, the best bet is to call 911 right away [in the case of an overdose].”

McGill Student Services addressed other policy changes, announcing the completion of the integration of Counselling and Mental Health Services into a single unit called Counselling Services—a process which began in Fall 2016. As part of this integration process, all psychiatrists have been moved into the new Psychiatric Services unit at the Brown Student Services Building, Suite 5500. Psychiatric Services is working to resolve confusion regarding the appropriate resources for students facing psychological challenges, and to reduce wait times.

“Something that students had said is really confusing [was] ‘we don’t know if we’re supposed to go to Mental Health Services,’” Student Services Executive Director Martine Gauthier, who spearheaded the reform, said at the press conference. “I decided […] to do away with what is called a ‘mental health unit,’ but we're actually expanding mental health services.”

The integration is the latest of many efforts to streamline mental health support at McGill. Before last September, students had to figure out on their own whether to book an appointment at Counselling Services or at Mental Health Services, the latter of which offered both psychiatric care and therapy, while the former offered therapy and advising. Last year, Student Services unified the two departments’ procedures for scheduling and intake. Under that system, known as the Stepped Care model, Client Care Clinicians work as caseworkers for individual students, referring them to the option most suited for them. With the integration of the two departments completed, SSMU Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Isabelle Oke echoed the hopes of Student Services to lessen students’ confusion regarding scheduling and intake.

“It's hopefully going to prevent any bouncing around between services that do similar things,” Oke said. “If you're going to psychiatric services, you'll still have that support from counselling, but it'll be for a very specific reason you'll be going out of counselling. It'll be harder for people to fall through the cracks if they're doing different things.”

The final phase of the integration, which has now been completed, was to bring all clinicians together into adjacent offices on the third floor of the Brown Building. As Gauthier explained, Psychiatric Services will only support students who have a note from a family general practitioner or from a McGill counselor indicating that they require medical assistance.

Last March, an open letter by the McGill Students’ Health Working Group criticized the lack of student and staff consultation over mental health policy, the opacity of Student Services’ overhead funding, and the mismatch between many students’ needs and caseworkers’ skillsets.

In response to these criticisms, Student Services aims to integrate feedback from clients in McGill’s counselling system, establishing positions for students on hiring committees, and adding students to advisory committees on mental health. Gauthier noted that the McGill Community Health and Wellness Strategy includes 22 students on its committee. Gauthier's research indicated that the integration of Counselling Services will reduce wait times.

Baseball, Basketball, Football, Sports

Buckets of cash: Comparing wages in the NFL, NBA, and MLB

by Sam Wendel on

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As the NBA continues to raise its wage cap, players’ salaries have exploded. Just last summer, Stephen Curry, arguably the most valuable player in the league, signed a contract promising him US$40 million a year. This gargantuan sum shocked the sports world, and further emphasized the wage gap between NBA players and their peers in other American sports leagues, most notably the NFL and the MLB.

But, when evaluating the salary difference between the three, it is important to consider the wide range in revenue, roster size, and season length among the leagues. During the NFL season, each team plays only 16 games. Conversely, the NBA season spans 82, coupled with longer playoffs. It’s no surprise that NBA players make more money, as their longer season allows teams to generate more revenue. The MLB, however, has the longest season of all three with 162 games, which is almost double the length of the NBA season. As a result, the league enjoys the second-highest set of television ratings and revenue—nearly $10 billion per year—of all American major sports leagues.

Given the gaping disparity in volume of games between each sport, it is more informative to examine how much the average player for each league is paid per game. The NFL leads the three leagues with ease, as the average player makes $131,000 per game, easily more than the NBA’s $76,000 and the MLB’s $27,000. It makes sense that NFL players make the most per game, when considering both the number of games on each league’s schedule and the NFL’s stellar television viewership numbers—a fundamental element in a professional sport’s profitability. This difference helps to explain why the NFL earns a revenue of about $14 billion a year, dwarfing the NBA’s $5.87 billion, and sitting comfortably ahead of the MLB’s $10 billion.

Despite the NFL’s large revenue, team roster size negatively affects individual athletes’ paychecks. After the final cuts, there are 53 players on each NFL roster. In comparison, NBA team have 15 rostered players. With fewer competitors, each NBA player gets a larger share of the salary pie, more than making up for the NBA’s smaller revenue stream. By that logic, one would expect the MLB with its 25-man rosters to pay individual players more than the NFL, so it’s surprising to see the average MLB player earn just $27,200 per game.

Each MLB team plays an astounding 162 games per season—plus the playoffs—which makes it much harder to raise per-game wages. Still, the world’s best baseball players are not hurting for money. The biggest annual contract in baseball is Clayton Kershaw’s $33 million, not much less than Curry’s $40 million in the NBA. Additionally, the average MLB player makes $4.5 million a year, which is only $1.6 million less than the average NBA player, despite the fact that MLB rosters nearly double the size of those in the NBA.

The injury risk and physically taxing nature of football keeps the league from being able to increase revenue by adding more than 16 games. Furthermore, this sum must be shared between 53 teammates. Meanwhile, in baseball, drawn-out seasons mean players aren’t getting near as much money for the time they’ve invested. Overall, pro basketball players get the best deal. Their season is neither too long nor too short, their teams are not very big, and they’re third in television views in North America. When it comes to the money-to-work ratio—something everyone tries to maximize—NBA players seem to have it all figured out.

Commentary, Opinion

Gaining a financial education early is an investment in the future

by Samantha Ling on

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In the months leading up to their first year, undergraduates will hear several not-so-glorious bits about the ‘glorious’ college years that await them. They’ll learn about the clichéd—yet inevitable—‘Freshman 15,’ they’ll be warned of the self-sabotage that is an 8:30 a.m. lecture, and likely, they’ll be introduced to a persona we all know too well: The broke college student. While it is difficult to adjust to a lifestyle of instant foods and early mornings, financial security requires more than just adjustment. Making responsible financial decisions requires long-term fiscal savviness. Educators have suggested implementing mandatory personal finance courses in undergraduate curricula, but in reality, financial education needs to start years before university does.

In a society where at least a Bachelor’s degree is required for most professional careers, one would think that there would be a greater focus on teaching youth how to manage realities like tuition payment timelines and student loans. Given that the average student debt of a Canadian graduate is over $25,000, and that, according to a 2015 U.S. Bureau and Labor Statistics study, there is a correlation between high student debt and early-adulthood mental illness, it’s time that youth are given resources to take finance into their own hands. Climbing tuition rates paired with a lack of education on how to pay them mean that students will experience the dreaded effects of this burden long into earning a salary. By gaining the skills and knowledge necessary to make financially responsible decisions sooner rather than later, students develop the essential foundations needed to adapt to the continuous challenges in managing their personal finances. 

It is not sufficient to teach today’s youth how to add together two paycheques, and then tell them to find a job and start saving.

To develop lifelong literacy in such a complex field, students must begin their financial education well before university. Every single elementary school student in Canada learns basic equations and simple phrases within the first few years of schooling, giving them the ability to build on these concepts in future years. Financial skills that can be applied to almost every individual’s situation should be treated the same way.

It is not sufficient to teach today’s youth how to add together two paycheques, and then tell them to find a job and start saving. Educators need to use these mathematical foundations to teach children the hard skills of applying their calculations to real-life situations, such as the withdrawal of student loans, along with soft skills such as negotiation and risk-analysis. Furthermore, a 2011 Statistics Canada study shows that there is a visible correlation between time devoted to financial literacy education and future annual income. The benefits of basic finance education live on for years after the teaching ends.

Even with all the benefits of an early financial education, there remain critics of teaching financial literacy at all. The reason cited most often is that economic policy, rather than the individual, makes the ultimate decision when it comes to a person’s financial state. Though these critics raise the valid point that policy shapes the overall financial health of a population, financial savviness continues to be the ultimate way to gain an edge over those subject to the same policies. Additionally, continuing to teach financial literacy in a world dominated by multiple financial institutions allows individuals to become engaged in the political economy—recognizing the institutions that work best for them while combating hidden fees.

In a rapidly advancing society, understanding personal finance is more important than ever. A comprehensive financial background will benefit Canadian university students’ fiscal and corresponding mental health, career prospects, and overall well-being. It’s time that Canada’s school boards begin to embrace and promote long-term financial literacy.

 

 

 

 

 

Samantha Ling is a U0 Arts student. She loves a good laugh and spends a lot of time on social media.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

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