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Governance 101

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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  STUDENTS' SOCIETY OF MCGILL UNIVERSITY

Who They Are

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) is the representative and governing body for all students pursuing undergraduate and professional degrees at McGill. Its base of operations is the University Centre—also known as the Shatner Building, named after a particularly famous graduate. From there, it organizes student events, oversees close to 300 clubs, and negotiates with other governance bodies—like the Senate and Board of Governors—on behalf of its constituents. 

What They Do

SSMU is led by seven student executives who are elected at the end of each academic year. The SSMU Executive mandate includes supervising undergraduate clubs and extracurricular activities, managing and ensuring the sustainability of Gerts and other long-term operations, advocating for student interests in the Senate, and planning social events, including Frosh. SSMU’s policies are decided at the Legislative Council, where the executives sit with 30 councillors who represent both faculties and extracurricular clubs. Any councillor can propose a motion, which is then voted on at Council and may become law. Additionally, several councillors deliberate McGill policies at the McGill Senate. The Judicial Board, which ensures that SSMU adheres to its constitution, is comprised of seven students, predominantly from the Faculty of Law. Undergraduate students can directly influence SSMU by attending its General Assemblies and Referendums, both of which are held once every semester. 

Recent Events

Last academic year, SSMU enacted policies to provide cost-free birth control coverage and menstrual products for students. It also supported Floor Fellows in successfully bargaining with McGill for a wage, in addition to the room and board they had received previously. At the end of the Winter 2017 semester there were a number of resignations within SSMU. In April, SSMU announced the permanent closure of its student-run cafeteria, Sadie’s, for financial reasons. Currently, SSMU is drafting a Gendered and Sexualized Violence Policy. 

  POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS' SOCIETY

Who They Are

The Postgraduate Students’ Society (PGSS) is an association that represents graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at McGill. The Society is led by six executive officers, six supporting administrative staff members, and five commissioners who assist officers with coordinating activities and implementing policies. PGSS Council is the Society’s highest governing body, and consists of elected students from each postgraduate student association (PGSA). Each PGSA has a number of seats on Council proportional to the size of its student population. To reach quorum, one third of the councillors must be present at Council. PGSS Council is responsible for ensuring that policies reflect the values of constituents, approving and amending the PGSS budget, and holding officers accountable for their actions. 

What They Do

PGSS representatives speak on behalf of postgraduates, meeting once a month to debate and vote on policies related to the Society’s long-term vision. Additionally, it liaisons with other governance bodies at McGill and beyond. Part of PGSS’ mandate is to provide an accessible social environment and improve the quality of student life for postgraduate students. In doing so, the executive plans events for students, including cocktails, meditation hours, and workshops, most of which take place at its headquarters, the Thomson House. 

Recent Events

In an April 2017 referendum, PGSS renewed its Health and Dental Plan to increase the services available for students such as dental preventative services and physiotherapy coverage. Over the past few years, PGSS has prioritized the development of an Orientation Week for its students. This year, the third annual PGSS Orientation will conclude on Sept. 13, the programming for which includes pub and food crawls, a movie night, a barbecue, a Macdonald Campus Activity Day, and a bike tour. 

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Who They Are

The McGill Board of Governors (BoG) is the university’s governing body, comprised of 25 voting members and two non-voting student observers. The voting members include two administrative staff—Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier and Chancellor Michael Meighen—two professors, two Senate representatives, three Alumni Association representatives, two professors, and two administrative and support staff representatives. Two students are voting members of the BoG: SSMU President Muna Tojiboeva and PGSS President Jacob Lavigne. Student observers from the McGill Association of Continuing Education Students (MACES) and the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS) sit on the BoG as non-voting members. 

What They Do

The BoG serves as the final authority over all of the university’s academic, business, and financial affairs, and is responsible for the maintenance and administration of daily activities at McGill. The BoG is comprised of eight standing committees, including the Building and Property committee, the Finance committee, and the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility. The BoG is scheduled to meet five times over this upcoming school year.

Recent Events

Over the course of 2016, the BoG held several open forums during which students were invited to voice their concerns over administrative decisions. Most notably, the Open Forum on Sustainability was held in September 2016 to address student concerns over the campus’ carbon footprint after the BoG’s vote against divesting from fossil fuel companies. The BoG also held a closed session on May 25 of this year, during which they voted to reappoint Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier for a second five-year term, set to begin July 1, 2018.

SENATE

Who They Are

The Senate governs all academic policy at McGill, and includes representatives from all of McGill’s constituent groups, including students, faculty, staff, administrators, members of the Board of Governors, and alumni. Members of the Senate, called “Fellows,” are either elected, appointed, or given membership based on their office. Of the 21 student senators, 13 are elected by SSMU, including the SSMU President and Vice-President University Affairs. The remaining eight include two members of MACES, one member of MCSS, and five members of the PGSS, including a single postdoctoral scholar. 

What They Do

The Senate is mandated to govern academic policies, such as the development of curricula, regulations for admissions, and requirements for degrees, diplomas, and certificates. It additionally takes on a much broader role at McGill, including managing the university's libraries, developing its infrastructure, and administering Student Services. The Senate is comprised of nine standing committees, which include the Senate Steering Committee, the Committee on Libraries, and the Honorary Degrees and Convocations Committee. The Senate meets on a monthly basis, with its first session in September and its last in May. During Senate meetings, standing committees deliver reports, senators hold Question and Response sessions, and senators vote on policies and nominations.

Recent Events

On Nov 23, 2016, the Senate unanimously approved a Policy Against Sexual Violence, the first policy of its kind in McGill’s history. The policy defines sexual violence and creates university infrastructure for disclosing, reporting, and responding to such incidents at McGill. In May 2017, the Senate delivered a number of revisions and expansions to the Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law and approved appointments to many staffed positions created by the Policy, most notably eight Assessors tasked with the intake and management of reports of sexual harassment.

Out on the Town, Student Life

Montreal’s Italian Week recognizes cannoli’s place in Italian culture

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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From Aug. 4 to 13, Montreal’s Little Italy bustled with a variety of Italian cultural activities as the city celebrated the annual Italian Week. Along Saint-Laurent Boulevard, stretching from Rue Saint Zotique to Rue Jean-Talon East, the streets were dotted with stands from local eateries, many of which were giving out free samples and recipe tips.

Food is well-known to be an important part of Italian culture. Italian cuisine is internationally favoured for its simplicity while simultaneously being indulgent. Pasta and bread, for example, are two staples of the Italian cuisine, and are both easy-to-make comfort foods. Yet, many Italian recipes, especially those made from scratch, require a painstaking amount of work.

Arguably, Italy also has one of the oldest examples of a respect for food culture, with Marcus Apicius’s Roman cookbook, The Art of Cooking, dating back to the first century A.D. Italian food has only continued to diversify; individual regions of Italy have unique culinary methods, and there is heated debate over technique, like whether to include eggs when making pasta, or whether to use butter or olive oil when cooking. This is part of the beauty of Italian cooking, where the exact steps do not matter so much as the fresh ingredients, taste, and lively discussions that come with every meal.

Most Italians would say that their ‘nonna’—the Italian word for grandmother—makes the best food. Matteo Agostinelli, a recent Concordia graduate, felt as much when he collaborated with his close friend to make his double best-seller cookbook, From Nonna With Love. He was selling autographed copies of his cookbook during Italian Week and was preparing to travel to Toronto after it was nominated for a prestigious cooking award, Taste Canada. Inspired by his own grandmother’s cooking, Agostinelli emphasized that the heart of his work comes from his bond with his family, something he feels other Italians can relate to.

“When it comes to the Italian community, everything happens around the dinner table,” Agostinelli said. “Arguments, positive things, nice family experiences, all of my memories are related to a certain dish or something we’d prepare for a particular holiday [.…] It’s also because we’re generally large families that stay in contact, whether we’re forced to or not, but it still happens and it always happens over a plate of food.”

One of the most significant plates in Italian cuisine is the cannoli. Cannolo—plural for cannoli—are fried pastries with cylindrical shells of dough that have a sweet filling—often made from ricotta or custard—and include additions such as chocolate chips or cherries. They make for light, tasty snacks, and the skills of Italian bakers are often judged based on their ability to craft this traditional treat. The origins of cannolo can be traced back to the Arab occupation of Italy’s region of Sicily.

During Italian Week, the cannoli was the center of attention dessert-wise. The festival concluded with a cannoli-making competition in which seven Montreal-based bakeries submitted their cannolo. After tasting and deliberating, the four judges—including the famous puppet, Nonna Maria—eventually agreed that Patisserie Saint Martin makes the best cannoli in town. They felt that it had the perfect texture and taste.

“Every aspect and ingredient of our cannoli come from a homemade recipe,” A Patisserie Saint Martin representative wrote to The McGill Tribune. “From the ingredients in the shell to the fluff of our ricotta cream, our cannoli are 100% homemade. This recipe, apart from its freshness and homemade process, has a deep Sicilian background, which surely adds to its overall splendour. The true secret to an amazing cannolo is that it must be fresh of the day, otherwise the texture and consequently the taste, will be compromised.”

To learn how to make cannoli yourself, visit The McGill Tribune’s demonstration here.

Sports

10 Things: The best ways to enjoy athletics and recreation at McGill

by Emma Avery on

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1. McGill might not be your traditional sports school, but it does have its own set of customs and traditions. The homecoming football game, one of the year’s first major sporting events, takes place on Oct. 14 against the Concordia Stingers and is worth attending at least once in your McGill career.

2. Ever wanted to thump pots and pans while cheering on McGill? On Nov. 24, Pots and Pans Basketball will see the Martlets and Redmen face off against local rivals Concordia in what are sure to be a couple of bangers. In case you need another reason to go, both McGill teams were RSEQ champions last year, with the Martlets crowned national champions as well.

3. If you’re looking for more McGill pride and eccentrics, you can celebrate the new year on Jan. 19 at the annual Carnival hockey game along with hundreds of fully-grown students dressed in furry onesies. The Carleton Ravens are the unfortunate visitors that day—probably the worst day all year to be a visiting team at McGill.

4. For those looking to enhance their experience during regular season games, Red Thunder is a SSMU club formed in 2009 “with the goal of creating passion towards varsity sports and increasing the level of school spirit on campus.” Members enjoy perks such as a T-shirt and tickets for all varsity games, as well as tailgates, fan buses to local games, and much more.

5. If you’re more into playing sports than watching sports, take advantage of the McGill Sports Complex. Several facilities are accessible to all full-time students via a fee paid with tuition, including the swimming pool, gymnasium, squash courts, and indoor and outdoor tracks. Students can purchase access to the fitness centre at a discounted rate ($40 per semester for undergraduate students, $50 per semester for graduate students).

6. Take the shuttle bus to MacDonald Campus to take advantage of the brand new Mac Paddle Shack, where you can rent kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards as long as the weather stays tolerable.

7. Take one or more of the many weekly exercise classes available at the McGill gym, including everything from swimming, kickboxing, yoga, and zumba to “Abs, back, and bootie.” If you can’t commit to a weekly class, pay-as-you-go classes cost as low as $3.48 each. Try out classes like “Body design,” hot yoga, or high intensity training without committing to a full semester.

8. If you prefer team sports, create an intramural team with friends or sign up as a free agent. McGill offers all the classics, such as soccer, basketball, and ultimate, but it also boasts some sports that you might not have tried before—take a shot at inner-tube water polo in the Winter semester for some real entertainment and surprisingly gritty competition.

9. On Jan. 27, make the trek out to Mac campus to support the Woodsmen. They will be hosting the 58th annual Woodsmen Competition—one of four yearly competitions held by the Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association. Events include “Underhand Chop," “Water Boil,” and “Pulp Throwing.”

10. Adopt the Québecois way of life and rent cross-country skis or snowshoes in the winter from the McGill Sports Complex. Take them up Mount Royal or on a road trip if you’re feeling ambitious.

Off the Board, Opinion

The allegory of Trump in Canada

by Domenic Casciato on

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As an American student at McGill, many of the things I’ve heard some Canadians say about the United States—particularly its politics—have been false, absurd, and, on occasion, hypocritical. More concerning, however, is the apparent failure of many Canadians to understand American politics and learn from our mistakes. In my experience, Canadians distance themselves from the wave of populism that swept the U.S. during the 2016 election, but this isn’t indicative of Canada’s moral superiority—it's suggestive of unpreparedness. To understand the challenges they might face in this era of post-truth politics, Canadians need to step outside of their ivory tower and treat Trump as a lesson, not a punchline.

I first noticed the trend of condescension toward Americans during my orientation week in 2014. A girl I had met at Frosh complained to me about how she wanted to visit Vermont, but was seriously concerned about the risk of being shot in the United States. She was worried about Vermont, the state that has consistently scored the lowest per capita violent crime rate in the entire country.

It only became worse as classes began. As an aspiring political science major, I enrolled in a number of introductory courses, excited to learn about Canadian government and politics. Yet it seemed not a day went by without my professors disparaging, satirizing, or criticizing the United States. Quips about climate change denial, American jingoism, and worsening race relations in the United States became regular. It wasn’t that I hadn’t heard these criticisms before, nor that I disagreed with most of them. But, they were recycled and uninsightful, and hearing them from Canadians forced me into a defensive position.

Then, along came Trump.

 

I was asked on numerous occasions by Canadian peers to “explain Trump,” as if Canada were a stranger to populism and xenophobia.

It felt as if my political science courses had been moved into an actual echo chamber. I heard the same stale remarks about Trump’s spray tan, hair, unusual cadence and speaking style, and Twitter infatuation on a daily basis. The aspiring comedians of the department were everywhere. Sometimes they were funny. More often, they were aggravating and condescending. I was asked on numerous occasions by Canadian peers to “explain Trump,” as if Canada were a stranger to populism and xenophobia.

It’s easy to mock something, but it’s much harder to actually explain it. It’s important to note that only approximately 27 per cent of eligible American voters voted for Trump. If you include the entire U.S. population, that number drops to less than 20 per cent. Although talking heads and political columnists alike have offered their theories, none have stuck. Several months later, the majority of Americans are still grasping at straws to explain Trump’s election.

This isn’t a #NotAllAmericanVoters plea, nor is this a call to stop criticizing Trump. Trump is beyond worthy of criticism. But, while Canada’s politics haven’t become quite as vitriolic, symptoms of the same kind of populism that elected Trump are present north of the border.

A June 2017 poll of 5,568 Canadians by The Canadian Press found that 71 per cent believed that populist ideology was on the rise in Canada. The nationalist, anti-immigration tones of Kellie Leitch’s short-lived Conservative leadership candidacy are a case in point. Moreover, 20 per cent of the poll respondents saw this trend as a good thing; that’s the same portion as the fraction of Americans who voted for Donald Trump.

The smug condescension I’ve experienced while discussing U.S. politics with many of my McGill peers is reminiscent of the tone journalists took in the early days of Trump’s bid for president. Trump was almost welcomed with open arms to the race by liberals, if for no other reason than the comic fodder he provided. Envisioning a Trump presidency, many Americans thought, “That could never happen here.” Then he started moving closer to the centre of the platform in the Republican debates. Then he won the nomination. Then he won the election.

I’ve found that many Canadians view U.S. politics as a similar kind of comic fodder: Alarming, but distant and absurd. The only difference is that Americans are no longer laughing. Canadians ought to take note.

 

 

 

Domenic is a U3 Political Science Major and a News Editor at the Tribune. He is very excited as he can now drive.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 
Commentary, Opinion

Rethinking the “Harvard of Canada:” McGill must be appreciated on its own terms

by Anthony Kuan on

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Amid the throngs of Frosh shirts and the oceans of newly-purchased McGill merchandise that mark Orientation Week, there is another sight that stands out on campus during the last week of August: A white T-shirt emblazoned with the Harvard University crest and captioned, “Harvard: America’s McGill.” Virtually every McGill student by now has heard its various nicknames, such as the “Harvard of Canada,” the “Harvard of the North,” and “Canada’s Ivy League.” Regardless of when these terms were born, they risk creating a gratifying air of prestige for McGill students and alumni. Equating McGill with Harvard, an elite American college, can hardly be substantiated in facts. This comparison is not merely misleading, but it bases McGill’s reputation on the fame of another university. Praising McGill in terms of anything but itself undermines its independent merits, and how they are appreciated.

Referring to McGill as the “Harvard of Canada” is fundamentally disingenuous for the simple reason that it is untrue. While a distinguished and reputable research university, McGill is simply not on par financially with private, elite American universities. McGill only received C$477.8 million in research funding in 2013-2014—the fourth highest among all Canadian universities. In contrast, Harvard had over US$800 million for research in the same year. Additionally, McGill does not possess the same admissions selectivity that identifies schools like Harvard. McGill’s undergraduate admissions acceptance rate was 46.3 per cent for Fall 2016, which is almost eight times the numbers estimated for Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia for the same year. Furthermore, McGill has fallen in international university rankings for three years consecutively to number 32, according to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), whereas Harvard and similar schools have comfortably remained in the top 10 in virtually every notable ranking. What is more tragic, though, is that McGill does its own reputation a disservice by framing it solely in comparison to elite American schools.

Representing McGill’s strengths only by international rankings or comparing it to another elite school suggests that it is either not recognizable, or not capable of being appreciated on its own. Yale University has never claimed the seat of the “Oxford of America,” and I have never heard a Stanford student boast about attending the “Harvard of the West.” The prestige of such universities, in areas like recognition, wealth, and research, is so enormously self-evident that analogies are totally unnecessary; these schools exist and are renowned for themselves.

Students must realize that a university’s reputation is based on more than shallow analogies and pretenses of prestige.

McGill has extensive merits that qualify it for its own deserved reputation. To name a few achievements, McGill has produced the most Nobel laureates and Rhodes Scholars out of any Canadian school, it has hosted academics who have made seminal discoveries in the medical sciences, and it currently has the highest admissions grade averages out of any Canadian university. It has renowned researchers engaged in partnerships all over the world, and it is home to an exceedingly intelligent, driven, and diverse student body. McGill is an exceptionally accomplished university, and its students should acknowledge this in and of itself, rather than using Harvard’s name to prove this point.

Moreover, there are advantages in McGill’s not being a Harvard or Princeton. As Stephen Gordon wrote for the National Post, the absence of elite institutions in Canada allows universities like McGill to provide good, accessible education to many capable students, while avoiding the rigid sense of hierarchy prevalent among many American colleges. It also doesn’t hurt that McGill’s tuition is a 10th of Harvard’s.

The sincerest way to appreciate and promote McGill is to accept the university for what it really is—not as Harvard, but as McGill. Learning what makes McGill a great university in itself will not only allow McGill students to foster more pride for their own school, but it naturally leads them to appreciate their place in its community.

McGill University is a first-class research university with the faculty, students, connections, and accomplishments to strongly distinguish it in Canada and on the global stage. Students must realize that a university’s reputation is based on more than shallow analogies and pretenses of prestige. Evaluating McGill on its own terms, with all its strengths and shortcomings considered, is the most meaningful tribute that can be given to the university’s legacy and its unflagging dedication to greatness. So, forget Harvard.

 

 

Anthony is a U1 Political Science student. He only reads dead authors.

 

@mcgilltribop |

 

 
McGill, News

Higher Education Minister announces $23 million investment in “zero-tolerance” campus sexual assault policies

by Ryan Canon on

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At a press conference on Aug. 21, Higher Education Minister Helene David announced that Quebec will invest $23 million into a new five-year sexual assault prevention strategy for university campuses across the province. In the announcement, David also expressed her plans to draft provincial legislation  pushing universities that currently lack sexual violence policies to create them.

How this legislation will affect McGill, which passed its Policy against Sexual Violence less than one year ago, remains unclear. Dean of Students Christopher Buddle and Associate Provost Angela Campbell provided a joint statement on the announcement in an email to The McGill Tribune.

“Minister David’s announcement of a new Intervention Strategy for Preventing and Countering Sexual Violence in Higher Education is an important and welcome step forward for all universities in the province as we strive to address the significant challenge of campus sexual violence,” Buddle and Campbell wrote. “McGill’s Policy against Sexual Violence, as well as our Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education, both established in 2016, have been critical to McGill’s own developments on this front.” 

Buddle and Campbell confirmed that the current McGill policy will be subject to further review by the Committee for the Implementation of the Policy against Sexual Violence. The Committee will hold an open panel to elicit feedback on the policy from the McGill community this fall. 

Buddle and Campbell also expressed their plans to review the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures, the set of rules and punitive processes that apply to McGill students who commit academic offences, such as plagiarism and cheating, and non-academic offences, such as theft of university property and assault. The reviewal process could lead to amendments to the Code of Conduct that ensure that it best serves students’ needs.

SSMU President Muna Tojiboeva and SSMU VP External Connor Spencer also shared a joint statement with the Tribune about the Quebec government’s new initiative. While Tojiboeva and Spencer welcomed the action, they also made it clear that they take issue with the process that led to this investment. 

“Our reservations stem from the consultation process that lacked accountability, intersectionality, and the centralization of voices of persons who have experienced sexual assault (PWESA) within the consultation processes,” Tojiboeva and Spencer wrote. “We want to acknowledge that the policy is well-intentioned, but that until we see the promised bill, we are wary of the efficacy of the provincial strategy.”

The issue of sexual and gendered violence at McGill became prominent in Winter 2017 after the resignations of the then SSMU VP External David Aird and President Ben Ger in response to allegations of sexual and gendered violence. Additionally, the off-campus assault of former McGill student Kathryn Leci raised question about the limitations of existing McGill policies for handling cases of gendered violence within the student body.  

The Community Disclosure Network (CDN), an anonymous group of survivors and allies that provides a space for disclosures about acts of sexual violence, has been a vocal advocate for reform of McGill’s Sexual Violence Policy, and were the first to call for former SSMU VP external David Aird’s resignation. In an interview with the Tribune, an anonymous representative of the CDN echoed Tojiboeva’s and Spencer’s concerns about the lack of inclusivity in the consultation process.

 “Until we see what the actual bill is, we don’t actually know what they’re going to release, and until that time we remain very wary,” the CDN representative said. “[Included in consultation] was mostly mid-level educators and ministers deciding what to do about [the sexual violence policy]. The same thing happened with McGill’s policy, which was very well intentioned, but the voices who were making the decisions were not those who are affected by sexual violence on campus.”

Arts & Entertainment, Pop Rhetoric

Pop Rhetoric: Taylor Swift is her own hot take

by Virginia Shram on

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As soon as Taylor Swift deleted her Instagram account, her fans (known as “Swifties”) predictably anticipated a new album, which recently was revealed to be entitled Reputation, scheduled for release Nov. 10. Using social media stunts as teasers is commonplace among pop stars and cultural icons, but Swift’s release of clips featuring slithering snakes drew ire over its subtly hostile intentions. As Swifties begun gossiping over this new dark and vengeful Taylor, critics collectively sighed, wondering who spurned T-Swift this time around. The promise of a snake’s metaphorical venom may have tantalized gossip magazines, but the cultural consensus is that Swift is pop enough to create certified bangers, yet too bland to produce anything of real musical noteworthiness or critical attention.

Vanity Fair’s Yohana Desta recently sarcastically wrote that this new shade of Swift “will be just a few shades light of Hot Topic.” Vulture wrote in turn that her new single “Look What You Made Me Do” sounded less like a bold anthem and more like “Disney-villain karaoke.” Amid all these accusations of inauthenticity, one has to wonder if Swift ever deliberately changed her image, or if she has merely been constantly manipulating the persona that has grown out of her most iconic moment—Kanye West awkwardly interrupting her at the VMAs in 2009.

In reality, Swift’s new release is not indicative of a significant turning point at all. Unlike figures such as Miley Cyrus, her artistic progression isn’t an angst-driven burst of individualist resistance. Rather, Taylor’s intangibility is itself the dominating feature of her fame. She has elbowed out her niche until it grew from country-pop American sweetheart to iconic superstar spouting hollow bursts of feminism. While it is true that she markets her own white victimhood, it is also true that her feminism is evolving at a slow yet admirable pace, most recently with her successful court case against a groping DJ, where she decried victim-blaming and tackled the shameful stigma around sexual assault.

Certainly, in that moment at the VMAs, Swift swore to herself that she would never be caught unaware again—at least, not without a suitably infamous “surprised face” for the occasion. If anything, the “new” Taylor Swift is an even more relentless curator of her own image, calculating each outfit, remark, and public appearance. Taylor Swift is her own hot take—she hyperbolizes the awkward aspects of her public image, anticipating our hyperactive scrutiny and adapting her persona to preemptively respond. Her songs’ revenge fantasies are just a mass of generalized angst against that omnipresent, ultimately relatable evil: Other people’s opinions.

Her 2014 single “Bad Blood” boasted the same outward-flying blame when she sang: “Take a look at what you’ve done/ Did you have to do this?/ You know it used to be mad love.” The intent is identical in “Look What You Made Me Do”: Responding in vague ways to particular insults that both address the conflict in order to sustain it, and avoiding details that would make one appear too invested. It’s brilliant doublespeak.

Even when she is not overtly mentioning her West-inflicted victimhood, her discography centres ideas of self-approbation in response to jilted lovers,  invasive paparazzi, or even the cloying public that unfairly interrupts Swift’s life to demand more-yet, in doing so, funds the relevance and success of Swift herself. Taylor Swift is untouchable because she has already heard your criticisms and adopted them as her next “edgy” persona—complete with uniform backup dancers and a pseudo-rap chorus for that “effortless” cool-girl vibe. She will oscillate between “Shak[ing] It Off” and being out for blood so fast that the two extremes coexist, rendering any outside “hot takes” useless, unable to cling to new ground.

Too many critics are distracted by the exactness of her lyrics, trying to tie them to the Kanye-Kim feud, or the Katy Perry feud, or some new theory involving Tom Hiddleston wearing that “I <3 Taylor” T-shirt back in the summer. Swift has spread the shade beyond the traditional scope of the spurned lover to cover everyone: from jerk ex-boyfriends and ungrateful colleagues, to the judgmental public and the journalists that keep analyzing her every move and claiming things as “honest” or “feminist” or “milquetoast”—or often a perpetual rotation of all three.

For all the bland inauthenticity Swift is accused of creating, she’s doing a pretty great job of making profit into its own revenge. The fact that it’s an unsatisfying conclusion to the pettiness of her many feuds is exactly the point: She can draw the conflicts out for all they’re worth, and then some. And the Swifties will keep on buying it, because revenge can sound so goddamn catchy.

 

McGill, News

SUS Council recaps Frosh, plans semester events

by Koji Shiromoto on

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The General Council of the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) held its first meeting of the semester on Sept. 6. During the meeting, SUS executives reported on their initiatives for first-year students and announced upcoming events, including an Executive Orientation, Grad Fair, and SUS Charity Month. Representatives from science departmental associations were also present; members of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Arts and Science, and Biochemistry associations made brief statements reporting beginning-of-year updates.

Initiatives for first-years

SUS executive members began the meeting with presentations on several initiatives and resources for first-year Science students, including the First-Year Handbook designed by the SUS. The sixty-page booklet is a comprehensive guide to all parts of life for science students at McGill, with sections on resources and student services at McGill, picking U0 courses, and Montreal. The Handbook is now available for students to pick up for free in the SUS office, located in the basement of Burnside Hall.

“If you have first-year constituents, you can direct them to [the Handbook],” SUS Vice-President (VP) Communications Reem Mandil said. “It has a lot of good information about SUS, the councils, Montreal, and courses.”

Council members also remarked on the success of Science Frosh, which had concluded just two days prior to the meeting.

“The city, the police, and the Dean of Students were really pleased with us, and they emailed us to thank us on our work,” SUS VP Internal Soud Kharusi said. “[It was the] first year that we sold out Science Frosh, so that was really big for us.”

The surplus from Frosh will be added back to the Society’s budget, so it will be capable of organizing more events than expected over the course of this year. ECOuture, a sustainable fashion show run by the Society’s Environment Committee (SUSEC) that was held annually as part of Green Week until its discontinuation after 2016, will be restored.

“We’re projected to make a significant surplus, which we’re planning on investing back into SUS infrastructure, resources, as well as bringing back old events, such as ECOuture,” SUS VP Finance Susan Ding said. 

Grad school initiatives

Other initiatives on the agenda were intended to help graduating students prepare for applying to graduate school. For example, Ellie Joung, SUS VP Academic, announced the completion and release of Redbooks, a website that compiles application requirements for science graduate programs within and outside of Canada.

“Redbooks is a website that has information about grad schools, so you can search grad schools by area or location, or topics and departments,” Joung said.

In addition, Joung announced that school registration for the upcoming Grad Fair has hit its cap of 65 universities. The event, to be held on Nov 2nd in the SSMU Ballroom, is now in the process of recruiting student coordinators.

 

Upcoming events

SUS President Jasmine Leung announced that the SUS Fall General Assembly (GA) will be incorporated into the Society’s first annual Executive Orientation on Sept. 16. All Science undergraduates are eligible to attend the GA to propose and vote on motions. However, the results of these votes are only binding if the quorum of 100 members present is met.

“Hopefully the GA […] hits quorum, and we can bring to the fore exciting things, and also make it a precedent that GAs hit quorum, because we’ve never had one hit quorum in the past,” Leung said.

In addition, the SUS will hold its annual SUS Charity Month in November, with proceeds going to the Children’s Wish Foundation. VP External Michelle Guo announced that the month will include bi-weekly samosa sales, a Halloween party, an apartment crawl, and a concert. Medals will be awarded to the departments that raise the most money.

SUS Council next meets on Sept. 20.

 

 

McGill, News

McGill University stays at 42nd in World University Ranking

by Julia Métraux on

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On Sept. 5, the Times Higher Education (THE) released its 2018 World University Ranking, with McGill University ranked 42nd of 1000 universities globally, the same as its THE 2017 ranking.

THE World University Ranking, like Maclean’s and QS’, uses multiple variables in its methodology to determine its annual ranking. Quality of teaching, research, and citations account for 90 per cent of the ranking’s weight, while international outlook and industry income are worth ten per cent combined. THE collects this information through an independent audit administered by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Christopher Manfredi expressed his satisfaction with the ranking but pointed out that it has little real impact on McGill’s priorities like improving the university’s financial situation. In the released budget book for the Fiscal Year 2018, the report states that McGill University has a long term debt of $985.2 million.

“We’re pleased to hold our position despite financial difficulties,” Manfredi said. “The ranking does not affect [grants and other forms of funding] directly. The province does not consider the rankings [when determining funding].”

McGill ranked behind two other major Canadian universities: University of British Columbia (UBC) and University of Toronto (UoT). UBC improved their ranking by six spots from 40th in 2017 to 34th in 2018, while UoT’s ranking moved up slightly from the 24th to the 22nd spot.

In an email to The McGill Tribune, THE reporter Ellie Bothwell wrote about how UBC was able to improve its position.

“[UBC had] an improved score for its industry income, [because UBC] received more industry income per academic staff, a higher proportion of doctorates awarded compared to bachelors awarded, a greater amount of research income and a stronger research influence, [and] more citations,” Bothwell wrote.

Though rankings may have little effect on McGill’s provincial funding, they do affect admissions. Prospective students and their families frequently consider rankings in deciding which universities to apply for, according to McGill Interim Executive Director of Enrolment Services Jocelyne Younan. In an email to theTribune, Younan explained how a higher ranking leads to more students applying, thus lowering the ratio of admitted students.

“When it comes to accepting an offer of admission, many other factors influence [students’] decisions and these will vary greatly,” Younan wrote. “Cost of education and cost of living, location, safety, internships, and exchange opportunities are common factors we hear from students.”

Younan said she finds McGill’s placement on the THE 2018 World University Ranking acceptable.

“Different rankings measure different things, and we are always happy to be ranked highly,” Younan wrote. “The data [is] probably as objective as [it] can be, so, from that standpoint, plus the fact that universities rarely make large moves up or down the scale suggest that the portraits of the different universities are reasonably accurate.”

Though a plethora of factors are calculated in any university ranking system, it’s difficult for any ranking to accurately measure the lived experiences of students. SSMU Vice-President University Affairs Isabelle Oke noted that rankings like THE's encompass solely an outsider’s perspective on the institution.

“I think there is a limit about what you can understand about any given campus, unless you spend a lot of time in the environment,” Oke said. “So when I see these rankings that are quantifiable, but I feel [that] there is a lot about McGill culture that isn’t necessarily represented in that way.”

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