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Campus Spotlight, Private, Student Life

Women who draw at McGill

by Avleen Mokha on

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Although visual arts have historically been gendered as a feminine pursuit, making them more socially acceptable for girls to explore their creativity than boys, a clear gender imbalance exists among the top figures of the industry, with male artists receiving more representation than women. To counter this inequality, Julia Rothman, co-founder of Women Who Draw, created an online directory of female* professional artists. After enlisting the help of co-founder Wendy MacNaughton, the pair developed the platform in order to increase the visibility of female illustrators, emphasizing female illustrators of colour, LBTQ+, and other minority groups of female illustrators. Inspiration from the site came after noticing a disparity of female representation in mainstream media sources.

“We counted a certain magazine that often has illustrated covers, and noticed that in the past 55 covers, only four were by women,” Rothman said, in an interview with the BBC.  

While McGill is globally known for its contributions to science and medical research, there exists a cozy but thriving community for visual artists on campus. The McGill Tribune spoke with three female artists from this community to discuss how their creative journeys have informed their lives.

Kelly Luo

(Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune)
(Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune)

Kelly Luo, U3 Arts, can trace her initial fascination with drawing back to her childhood, when she would scribble with crayons and markers at the age of three. Luo began working with ink and pen around the age of 13, which is when her style began to develop. Over time, Luo has observed the patterns in her style and now feels motivated to consciously develop them. 

“I think […] my style has gotten more consistent,” Luo said. “For example, I’m very detail-oriented. I like realism. But I’m making an active effort to be more surrealist.”

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Because of her inclination toward geometry and symmetry, a lot of Luo’s work involves cityscapes. At the same time, Luo has discovered that many of her works also convey a distinct mood.  

“I really like the melancholy, intimate kind of drawing. I love to draw the same theme of someone looking, an onlooker [to capture] the feeling of taking part in life, but also being away from it,” Luo said.

Luo advises young artists to not shy away from learning by imitation. In fact, she believes imitation helps emerging artists understand why and how someone produced the work they did, which can be crucial to refining one’s own style.

“I think a lot of people when they start to draw, especially when they are older or don’t have much creative experience, are apprehensive of mimicry,” Luo said. “They don’t want to copy someone because they think it’s wrong, […] but the best artists in the last hundreds of years learned by imitation. There’s no shame in admiring someone else's work and trying to recreate it.”

Pauline Chi

(Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune)
(Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune)

While she had an interest in art as a child, taking high school art and design classes allowed Pauline Chi, U2 Science, to extensively experiment with her style. One component of her design class was to depict the same object through multiple mediums to see which one allows the most freedom of expression.

“[The course requirement] helped me figure out which medium to use and in which configuration [depending on the work I’m creating],” Chi said. “I mostly […] use acrylic or pencil because they’re the most convenient. Oil painting takes more time, but it gives more details. So it really depends on what the purpose of my painting is. If I’m trying to depict an abstract idea, I go for acrylic. But […] I use oil for portraits.”

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Creating art is mostly a solitary process for Chi. She finds it to be a fulfilling experience as it serves as an emotional outlet. 

“I need a very quiet environment [to work in],” Chi said. “[Painting] is my way of putting my emotions into paint and lines. For me, it’s actually something really private. While I post some of my work on social media, I have paintings that are more narrative, almost like a personal diary.”

When Chi was about to begin university, she considered studying fine arts, but ultimately decided against it. 

“I’m not doing fine arts because the biggest challenge would be that when you treat it as a job, you can’t wait for ideas to come to you. You have to push yourself. It feels less like a creative process.”

Chi’s biggest takeaway from her artistic journey is to have faith in her own course of artistic development, especially when it looks different from someone else’s.

“Don’t try to compare your progress with others because art means different things for different people and because each person has their [way] own of learning,” Chi said. “The feeling that other creative people are living the life you want is a very toxic one. Don’t focus on them, and just keep painting.” 

Sinthusha Kandiah 

(Sinthusha Vandiah)
(Lauren Benson-Armer / The McGill Tribune)

In CEGEP, Sinthusha Kandiah, U3 Science, had her teacher encourage her to make her passion more than a hobby. Now, while she is not pursuing visual arts at McGill, she is paving her own path with her artwork. 

“As a first-generation immigrant and a woman of colour [from the Tamil community], I face a lot of difficulties,” Kandiah said. “[….] But my dream is to fuse my passion of art with science. I really want to become a medical illustrator.” 

At the age of 17, Kandiah’s passion for art led her to envision and start the Divinart Foundation. The organization raises money by providing henna services and custom art to assist communities in need in Sri Lanka, her country of origin.

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“Starting to apply [henna] on paper, then on skin, gave me a way to stay connected to my culture, as well as help me improve the lives of struggling children back home in Sri Lanka,” she said.

Kandiah remarks that, at first, her loved ones were ambivalent about her ambitions. 

“[People close to me] would say, ‘You’re a woman, how are you going to do this alone?’ However, through my journey, I’ve [learned] to not let the pressure of setting the path for my future generations get in the way,” she said. “I’ve convinced my loved ones that following your passion is right. That opportunities will open up if you put your heart and soul into it.”

Kandiah advises her Tamil community and other immigrants  to be fearless with their goals. 

“Go ahead with what you want to do in life,” Kandiah said. “You don’t want to wake up not wanting to go to work. You want to wake up because what you work in motivates you and makes you happy.”

*Women Who Draw is trans-inclusive and includes women, trans, and gender non-conforming illustrators.

Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Private, Sports

Lack of players dissappoints Team Canada

by Selwynne Hawkins on

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For Canadian hockey players, wearing the Maple Leaf is one of the highest honours in sports. For the chosen men and women, it signifies that he or she is among the world’s best. Unlike league play, representing one’s country is a patriotic duty, demonstrating pride in unparalleled ways.

While hockey is still quintessentially Canadian, multiculturalism has brought other sports into the Canadian athletic picture. The recent successes of Toronto’s pro sports teams and their growth in popularity across the country—including the notable “We The North” Toronto Raptors campaign—have made it abundantly clear: Canadians love other sports, too. However, while the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey team never struggle to get their top athletes to suit up, the nations other teams unfortunately struggle to bring top-talent and inspire the next generation of players.

 Most recently, the Canadian national baseball team competed in the quadrennial World Baseball Classic (WBC), in a prime example of this struggle. Though Canada has produced all-star calibre baseball players, the country’s WBC roster certainly has not shown it. 

“For us to compete at this level, we have to have all of our professional players,” Team Canada Manager Ernie Whitt said after the team was eliminated from the WBC on March 19. “We can’t put our roster up against teams like the Dominican and the United States if we don’t have all of our big league players.”

Admittedly, Canada was placed in a tough group—with games against the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Colombia—but their relatively weak roster and lack of quality pitching didn’t give them much of a chance to advance. Canada lost 9-2, 4-1, and 8-0 in their three first round games.

 While the United States also struggles to put its best athletes forward, it’s the Caribbean and Latin American countries that have really taken to the WBC, putting together powerhouse rosters with their nations’ stars. Unlike the United States who can still compete with second-tier athletes, Canada needs their top athletes to be a threat. The absence of MLB All-Star Joey Votto and Phillies’ outfielder Michael Saunders, who chose to stay home to prepare for the upcoming MLB season, hamstrung Canadian baseball. Although these players’ priorities have certainly disappointed Canadian baseball fans, their decisions aren’t unprecedented in Canadian sports. 

On the Canadian men’s basketball team, 2015 NBA rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins cited similar reasons for withdrawing from Team Canada’s FIBA Olympic qualifiers. The Cavaliers’ big man Tristan Thompson, too, was unable to attend the tournament as he and his agent worked through lengthy contract negotiations last summer. While it’s certainly important for Canadians to compete in professional sports at the highest level, international sports have a unique role in inspiring the next generation of Canadian talent—just ask members of the Canadian Women’s Soccer Team. Though most of these women have impressive careers in the National Women’s Soccer League, it was their Olympic Games performances in 2012 and 2016 that turned players like Christine Sinclair into household names. 

If Canada wants to become a sports powerhouse, its top athletes need to play a part and compete on the pitch, hardwood, or diamond. As long as players like Votto and Wiggins choose to stay home, Canadian teams–aside from hockey, rugby and lacrosse–will never be able to establish themselves as serious competitors on the world stage. Canada has proven its hockey dominance—now it’s time to show that it isn’t a one trick pony.

Baseball, Martlets, Sports

Martlet Basketball wins National Championship

by Gabriel Rincon on

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The McGill Martlets women’s basketball team capped off a historic 2016-2017 season with a national championship win–the first in Martlet basketball history. Despite a dismal 2-5 start to the season, the coaching staff never lost faith in the team.

“[Coach Thorne’s] confidence is just beyond belief and you just feed off of it,” junior guard Frederique Potvin said. “Our coaches were confident from the start that we could win this whole thing and just needed us to be confident as well.”

The Martlets’ trainer—Danielle Dobney—was unphased by the slow start to the season. Trusting themselves to bounce back was key to McGill’s success in the second half of hte season.

“At times, I felt we didn’t believe we were as good as we were,” Dobney said. “Our confidence was low after some hard losses and it took a lot of work collectively from all of the players and staff to remind us of our abilities. It’s really hard to win a national championship, [but] you’ll never do it if you don’t believe you can.”

Dobney’s hard work both on and off the court preparing the team for every game was crucial to the Martlets’ championship run. 

“I feel like I have to give a little shout out to [Dobney],” senior guard Frederique Potvin said. “From the beginning to the end, she was truly the one person that believed in us. She had a huge impact on the way our team got together in the end.”

Not having senior forward Jennifer Silver in the starting lineup due to a hand injury added to the shaky start to the season. In the 2015-16 season, she averaged 5.4 rebounds and 8 points per game. Withour Silver, Coach Thorne and company were forced to make changes on the fly, trying to build chemistry into their new lineups.

“It definitely took some time to adjust [after Silver’s injury],” senior centre Alex Kiss-Rusk said. “Silver gives that spark on the court, she really hustles every rebound. She’s more of a quiet leader, you follow her more by example than what she says because she works so hard.”

Silver’s energy on the court earned the respect of her fellow teammates, who look to her to push them to hustle.

“[She] is a fighter, she always goes [and] gets some boards, she’ll never give up,” Potvin said. “It just makes the team feel like everyone should do the same thing.”

Silver embraces her role on the court and looks to inspire her teammates to work harder.

“I’m definitely a lead-by-example type of player and I try to leave everything out there on the court,” Silver said. “I give my full energy to everything I do so as to never look back and wish I had.”

With Silver out, senior wing-player Marie-Love Michel was moved from playing out on the perimeter to playing inside the key. Despite standing only 5’9’’ tall, Michel relished her new role logging significant minutes matching up against significantly taller competition.

“She really embraced that role and really played it well. I think it was a huge positive that came out of it, as much as losing [Silver] hurt,” Kiss-Rusk said.

If anything, the slow start gave the Martlets underdog status, helping them to sneak through the RSEQ and into the U Sports playoffs as fourth-seed. Last year, they went into the CIS tournament—now called U Sports—the top-ranked team in the country, but were upset in the second round by the Ryerson Rams. 

“A lot of [this year’s success] had to do with the pressure that wasn’t there that’s been there in the past,” Kiss-Rusk said. “Last year, we were ranked number one. There was ton of media coverage, we were the first [Martlets] team to be ranked number one in the history of McGill  going into the tournament. There were a lot of expectations and I think that also affected the way our coaches were dealing with us. This year, [the reduced pressure] helped them be a lot more calm and be a lot more relaxed, and that really helped us stay relaxed.”

Laval was the first seed going into the playoffs and had only lost twice all year–both times against McGill. The teams split their season series and the stage was set for a grudge match in the finals. The Martlets had a tough third quarter where they were outscored 17-11 and clung to a slim one-point lead at the end.

 “By the time we got to the fourth quarter, we knew that it was our game and we just had a bit of a tough run in the third,” Kiss-Rusk said.

Confidence remained high and the team stayed fixated on their goal of winning the national championship. 

 “In the fourth quarter, we literally all looked at each other and said; ‘What are we doing?’” Potvin said. “‘Let’s go, let’s get this,’ [and] we got the [win]!””

McGill’s swarming defence was another key to their 66-55 victory over Laval. The Martlets held the Rouge et Or to only 30.3 per cent shooting from the field and 27.6 per cent from beyond the arc. After playing Laval four times during the season, McGill knew they had to neutralize their shooters.

 “We played [Laval] like four times during the season, so we know what they do best,” Potvin said. “Pretty much Laval-type basketball is they shoot the ball really well, so we had to contain them one-on-one so they wouldn’t beat us and create open threes.”

 The McGill offence was led by hot three-point shooting, 40 per cent from deep. Their barrage from outside the arc was led by Guerin, the RSEQ’s best three-point shooter. In her last game as a Martlet, Guerin hit a team-high three triples to round off her 14 points. 

 “All season we worked on [our three-point shot],” Guerin said. “Sometimes you have games where even if you [practice] four times during the week […] you’re not going to make your shots. I think we felt comfortable in that gym—the whole weekend we were comfortable—and you could see it in the way we were scoring.”

 However, it was Kiss-Rusk’s huge 15 points and 20 board stat line that really secured their victory. 

“We felt we have a huge advantage inside with Alex and we have great shooters on the outside. Alex is a great player and really sees the court,” Silver said. “We played great inside-out basketball where Alex was the centre, scoring herself and setting up our teammates.”

With Kiss-Rusk dialled in in the first quarter, there was no looking back.

“Towards the beginning of the game, I got a board and then [had it] stripped, and [Coach Thorne] kind of pulled me aside and he [said], ‘If we’re gonna win this you’ve got to get them all,’” Kiss-Rusk said. “That kind of stuck with me for the rest of the game. My teammates did a good job of boxing-out and letting me go get some easy ones.”

 Kiss-Rusk’s dominance was also appreciated by her teammates.

“You can give [Kiss-Rusk] some credit, nobody could guard her in there,” Potvin said.

 Looking towards next season, two starters—Guerin and Silver—are graduating, so Thorne will need to make some adjustments. But compared to last season—when the Martlets lost four players—the core of the team will remain relatively intact. The future looks bright with young players who now have finals experience. Kiss-Rusk, for one, is sure McGill will continue to contend for championships.

 “Every season the goal is to win a national championship,” Kiss-Rusk said. “We got it done this year and it’s gonna be the same goal next year. We’re gonna have to face the same challenges, people are gonna have to step up and fill different roles. But I think we’re certainly capable of [a repeat].”

News, SSMU

SSMU motion against ancillary fee increases invalidated by legal contract

by Becca Zhuang on

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On Feb. 20 at the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Winter 2017 General Assembly (GA), the Motion Regarding Policy Against Ancillary Fee Increases was introduced by Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Erin Sobat.

The motion was approved at the GA and scheduled for online ratification until, according to Sobat, the SSMU executives were informed of a pre-existing and contradictory contract with the McGill administration.

Had it been enacted, motion would have had SSMU not approving referenda questions for increasing ancillary fees, also known as frais institutionnels obligatoires (FIOs) or mandatory institutional fees, until the university met certain conditions. Some of these conditions include implementing a moratorium on increasing overhead charges, developing a transparent formula for overhead fees, and McGill providing yearly financial information to the Executive Committee about the distribution of all ancillary fees by SSMU members.

The motion was moved due to concerns about overhead fees that are charged to fee-funded units, such as Student Services, Student Housing and Hospitality Services, and Athletics and Recreation. Yearly budgets of the above units would each need to be approved by a university committee with at least parity student representation.

Currently, both graduate and undergraduate McGill students are required to pay annual non-opt-outable FIOs that support fee-funded units. These fees vary from approximately $1,500 to $3,000, depending on the student’s residency status and program of study.

“The fees that you would have to pay […] that are not part of the tuition […] would be the student services fees,” Kyana Alexandre, student services secretary, said. “You would have to pay fees for [services, such as] the student society, the transcripts and diploma, and the McGill writing centre […] a lot of them are not expensive, but it’s just that they accumulate.”

According to the motion, required university overhead charges for fee-funded units have risen significantly since 2010. Overhead fees are not regulated and are exempt from ministerial control in Quebec, meaning that universities are able to change overhead fees through a referendum process, but without provincial restriction. These overhead fees fund resources such as legal, accounting, and maintenance services—which are not provided through the central university operating budget.

Governmental regulation of ancillary and overhead fees is difficult, as fees can be numerous and vary greatly between different institutions, while power over these fees are usually distributed among different administrative services.

The Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Secretary-General Victor Frankel said that PGSS does not have a contract similar to SSMU’s.

“The requirement for PGSS to run a referendum on [FIOs] specifies that [the Legislative Council] initiates the process, but [the university] can’t compel us to run a referendum if, [after we] initiate it, Council votes to not put the question out,” Frankel said.

PGSS’ ability to vote on fee increases before they are put to referendum was demonstrated on Feb. 15, when the PGSS Legislative Council vetoed a request for an ancillary fee increase from McGill Athletics and Recreation.

“The university […] said that PGSS has to put the motion up for referendum, but PGSS responded that if they were compelled to initiate the process […they] complied with the mandate by putting the question up to Council,” Frankel said.

According to Sobat, services that are funded by [FIOs] are charged overhead fees because they are not considered to be part of the university’s main operating budget.

“The issue is that there is no formula for determining how those charges are levied and they have been increasing exponentially the past few years, alongside overall budget cuts to the university,” Sobat said.

Sobat wrote in an article for The McGill Daily in September 2016 that overhead charges on Student Services have increased from $30,679 in 2009 to $651,385 in 2016. According to Sobat, SSMU cannot legally renegotiate their contract with the university.

“It’s indefinite, so there’s no end date on this agreement,” Sobat said. “[….] I’m not sure that the current Executive is in a position to look into the full legal scope of this contract. I would certainly encourage the next Executive to do so […] to ensure that [SSMU’s] rights [as] a student association are being respected.”

Frankel also believes that students should have more control over fees.

“A lot of […] services that should be provided [to students] by the university are being pushed on to students through all these extra fees,” Frankel said. “[….] If we’re paying for these services, there needs to be a specific effort to provide as much transparency as possible.”

Off the Board, Opinion

The slow science of personal and professional development

by Selin Altuntur on

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As undergraduate students, it’s easy to get caught up in thinking we need to have our professional trajectory entirely figured out before graduating. It doesn’t help that we’re encouraged to scramble for internships in order to beef up our resumes, or that some girl from your high school already has a TED Talk. McGill’s environment places a strong emphasis on the importance of preparing ourselves for the “adult” world—yet, so many of us end up with even less of an idea of what to do with our lives after experiencing a diverse roster of classes and experiences while at university.

The good news is that most people have no idea what they’ll be doing in the future. When I was young, I found out my pediatrician was an anthropologist before deciding he preferred working with sick children. It’s only human to need time to figure things out before discovering what path you want to take. In fact, adopting a slow and deliberate approach may actually be beneficial in the long run.

The Slow Science movement, for instance, was born out of frustration with the accelerated pace at which peer-reviewed journal publications are pumped out. The Slow Science Manifesto insists, “Science needs time to think. Science needs time to read, and time to fail. Science does not always know what it might be at right now.”

 

University culture won’t necessarily encourage us to become more slow and deliberate, but we can certainly make that choice for ourselves.

A similar philosophy can and should be applied to the professional development of university students. For many of us, especially in the Faculty of Arts, university marks the beginning of our exposure to a vast number of disciplines—and a mere three or four years of study is sometimes not enough to gauge whether one would actually enjoy pursuing a certain professional path for the rest of his or her live. The emphasis that our campus culture places on choosing a meaningful and lucrative career can exacerbate the feeling of uncertainty that we already grapple with.

As students, we need time to think. We need time to get incredibly invested in one academic discipline—only to find out that actually working in said field would probably not be all that enjoyable. Additionally, we need to accept that although we are constantly bothered about whether we know what direction we’re heading in, we do not need to have it figured out right off the bat.

The Slow Science movement holds that the most important scientific discoveries about our world were not made under time constraints and deadlines. Similarly, students are unlikely to discover what they’re really passionate about while juggling internship applications and a full-time course load. Sometimes taking time off during the summer to pursue hobbies and skills—like learning to code, drawing, or volunteering—can teach you more about yourself and your priorities than being overworked.

The Slow Science Manifesto addresses the issue of societal pressure—“Society should give scientists the time they need, but more importantly, scientists must take their time.” University culture won’t necessarily encourage us to become more slow and deliberate, but we can certainly make that choice for ourselves. It is also important to understand the difference between taking one’s time and procrastinating. Avoiding an important task that needs to get done can be considered procrastination—therefore, many students are inclined to believe that, by not dedicating all their time off school to professional development, they are stalling.

Taking a break, clearing one’s mind, and exploring a variety of different options in order to better focus one’s effort can translate into valuable personal growth. Our post-graduation trajectories need not be clear-cut—but adopting a calm approach in the face of an uncertain future may be our best approach in finding our calling.

 

 

 

Selin Altuntur is a U3 Anthropology major and Psychology minor. She dreams of studying Computer Science at Concordia.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 
Arts & Entertainment, Music

Where do I begin?: K-pop

by Areni Nicoghosian on

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Ever heard of K-pop? How about a singer named PSY? There is much more to the Korean pop phenomenon than the famous “Gangnam Style” singer. There are a plethora of girl and boy groups, all of which have different styles. Each group and every performance has a different aesthetic, as K-pop groups include a blend of singers, dancers, and rappers. 

If you’ve never had a friend that introduced you to K-pop, here is a list of groups you should check out. Once you get into it, you can join the K-pop fandom, an online community that makes each new album release and piece of celebrity gossip all the more exciting. 

The big three

The big three companies are S.M. Entertainment (SM), YG Entertainment (YG), and JYP Entertainment (JYP). Most people start with groups from these companies because they often dominate the music charts. I would recommend branching out and listening to groups from smaller, lesser—known companies—there is talent everywhere.

Multi-talented groups

What I love most about K-pop is the aesthetic combination of dancing, singing, and rapping. There is no need to worry about the language barrier, as the music goes beyond language. The songs are not only catchy, but the music videos are visually entertaining. Each has dances to go along with them, and the clothing is fun and colourful, showcasing a broad range of styles depending on the concept of the music video and song. 

Boy groups

Bangtan Boys (BTS) is a seven-member group formed by Big Hit Entertainment in 2013. The group’s popularity began to rise quickly after the release of their single, “I Need You” in 2015. 

BTS is my favourite group because of the beautiful production design and the universal themes behind their songs and music videos—addressing issues such as  the importance of camaraderie and individuality. Check out their music video (MV) “Blood Sweat & Tears.” Their MVs strive for perfection–the intricate storytelling, costuming, and set design still keep blowing me away. 

Co-ed group

K.A.R.D. is a four-member group, with two girls and two boys, and is currently the only active co-ed group. They were formed under DBS Media in 2016. They released their first song at the end of the year and fans anxiously waited for their next song, which finally came out February 2017. Co-ed groups are rare in K-pop and do not tend to last long. So far, K.A.R.D. has been exceptional—blending catchy rap and an edgy spirit into one. Check out their videos for “Oh NaNa” and “Don’t Recall.” 

Girl groups

BLACKPINK is a four-member girl group under YG, formed in 2016. They are my favourite girl group because of their bad-girl persona. A lot of girl groups are often very feminine and cutesy, yet BLACKPINK diverges from this typical style. Thus, for a beginner to K-pop, I recommend this group because they are different from the more common types of girl groups. Their debut songs—“Boombayah” and “Whistle”—were hits, showcasing the typically edgy persona that YG groups are known for. Their most recent songs ,“Playing with Fire”—which has a great MV—and “Stay” display a softer side to their music. If you prefer romantic ballads, check out “Stay.”

These groups are few among many talented groups that you should check out. K-pop helps me get through the hard days, boosts my energy, and makes me happy. 

McGill, News

Innocence McGill hosts annual conference on wrongful criminal convictions

by Samuel Lottes on

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Innocence McGill is a legal clinic at the Faculty of Law that investigates wrongful convictions in Quebec. On March 15, it hosted its annual Bad Science Brought to Justice Conference, a panel series started in 2006 that provides a spotlight for wrongful convictions stemming from negligent forensic analysis and bad science.

Moderated by Assistant Law Professor Alana Klein, this year’s panel consisted of Lianne Thibeault, an Ontario woman wrongfully convicted of murdering her child, the Honourable Stephen Goudge, commissioner of the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology, and Caroline Tanguay, an expert at the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale in Quebec.

On Nov. 30, 1995, Thibeault’s 10-month-old son Nicholas accidentally fell and hit his head on a sewing machine in their Sudbury, Ontario home. Nicholas was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead. It was soon revealed to Thibeault, however, that the former head of the Ontario Pediatric Forensic Pathology Unit, Dr. Charles Smith, had accused Thibeault of murdering her son.

“What soon followed was a never-ending series of cruelty, lies, and sheer incompetence,” Thibeault said. “[Dr. Smith] was 99.9 per cent certain that I had caused Nicholas’ death and that I would do it again.”

Goudge established the 2007 Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario, also known as the Goudge Inquiry. The inquiry was a response to concerns that arose regarding criminally suspicious deaths of children handled by the Province of Ontario, many of which directly involved Dr. Smith directly. After the inquiry was completed, a report was published in 2008.

“During the 1990s, there were red flags about the work of [Dr.] Smith,” Goudge said. “He was adamant his failings were never intentional, but it was discovered [that Dr.] Smith lacked basic knowledge about forensic pathology.”

Goudge’s inquiry prompted the reinvestigation of more than 40 cases that Dr. Smith was involved in.

“It was quickly determined that in 20 [cases], the evidence didn’t sustain [Dr. Smith’s] opinion and in 12 cases there had been wrongful convictions,” Goudge said.

Goudge concluded that the legal system had failed the Thibeault family and at least twenty others wrongfully accused by Dr. Smith.

“It wasn’t just the failings of one individual,” Goudge said. “It was the failings of the set of participants in the system, […] the police and the scientists. In many of the cases, the lawyers failed to understand the weakness of the science.”

Klein then directed the conversation toward the question of why a respected doctor, like Dr. Smith, would work to persecute so many grieving families on evidence that was often ambiguous or misleading. Tanguay said that Dr. Smith’s actions accelerated Ontario’s standards for pathology training

“Once people became pathologists, [they] jumped into performing autopsies without any training, without any notion of differentiating post-mortem changes,” Tanguay said. “They wouldn’t recognize the limits, […they] would start to testify in court and because they testified, they would be recognized as expert witnesses and would build their credibility on personal experience, which they developed themselves without any formal training.”

Months after her son had been re-examined in a second autopsy, Thibeault’s case was independently investigated by the provincial coroner’s office, which unequivocally determined that there was no evidence of foul play. Thibeault was acquitted of all charges and Dr. Smith was banned from performing further autopsies. Dr. Smith was reprimanded for his actions but it was not until 2011 that he was stripped of his license to practice medicine. Many of the families affected, including Thibeault’s, have been entitled to financial compensation.

Commentary, Opinion, Private

In its Charter review, McGill should revise grading policies

by Gabriel Rincon on

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On March 6, McGill announced that its Senate would be consulting students on how the McGill Charter of Students’ Rights should be revised. The Charter is a document that outlines the rights and freedoms that each student at McGill is guaranteed, including academic rights. This revision is an apt opportunity for the university to review its grading policies.

The current grading policy is composed of a patchwork of faculty specific policies broadly governed by the Student Assessment Policy (SAP), which outlines the school’s policies on all forms of student assessment, as well as some rights delineated in the Charter. While these documents are comprehensive in guaranteeing generally fair assessment practices, faculties retain the discretion to define their own grading schemes and grade reassessment policies. This leeway can compromise the rights that the SAP and the Charter afford students, especially when it comes to consistent grading across faculties.

In the SAP, there is nothing to ensure a uniform grading scheme across courses, or even across different sections of the same course. The result is that some faculties, such as Management, pursue a very rigid curving scheme whereas others, such as Arts, leave it to the professors to determine how they wish to grade. Hence, students face very different outcomes depending on their major and their professor. This disparity translates to a significant injustice when students are competing for jobs, scholarships and academic accolades. A grade is only useful insofar as it communicates a uniform standard of quality; without some objective sense of what a B+ means and how it differs from a B-, grades become arbitrary. Thus, McGill should ensure that its assessment policies yield university-wide standards of grading. However, this reform would be moot if it is not paired with clear grading criteria across faculties.

 

The current grading policy is composed of a patchwork of faculty specific policies broadly governed by the Student Assessment Policy (SAP), which outlines the school’s policies on all forms of student assessment, as well as some rights delineated in the Charter.

As students, we are no strangers to poorly-defined assignments. Oftentimes, there are no detailed grading rubrics given for assignments, or point values are not assigned to questions. When the assignment is handed back, it is discouraging when the only comments are a few pen marks and a grade. Inevitably, growing class sizes, substantial workloads, and prioritization of research projects limit professor’s and teaching assistants’ (TAs)’ ability to provide comprehensive feedback to students. However, if the university is committed to a “quality education” for each student, as the Charter promises, provisions should exist that emphasize the role of TAs and professors as not merely evaluators, but as educators. As stated in the Charter and in the SAP, students do have the right to an explanation of their grade–however, assessment reviews and explanations are available only upon student request. This provision should go further, by stipulating that students be provided assignment rubrics where possible. Additionally, the SAP should include reasonable comments on positive areas and where improvement is needed. Feedback is essential to students learning from their mistakes and improving, and to any definition of a “quality education”.

Moreover, when students feel their grade is simply unjust, they may find little avail in the regrading policy. There is no university-wide regrading policy—it varies by faculty. Moreover, regrading is usually a tacit threat of a lower grade. Consequently, students are forced to weigh the possibility of a lower grade against the benefit of challenging one they believe to be unfair. Thus, in practice, the right to regrading is more a formality than a meaningful avenue of recourse. As such, McGill should devise a uniform double-blind regrading procedure in which all students are guaranteed a fair reassessment.

If the administration is truly looking to improve students’ well-being with Charter reforms, it would be an oversight to not review grading policies. There are three clear gaps in the current SAP that have perverse effects on students: Inconsistent grading schemes, poorly defined assignments and the regrading policy. Fair evaluations are an issue of justice where students are at significant power disadvantage. The current policies do not go far enough to address this.

 

 

 

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 
Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment, Music

Album Review: Jay Som – ‘Everybody Works’

by Eric Noble-Marks on

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It’s hard to make an indie-rock record in 2017. With rock’s virtually non-existent commercial clout  and alternative music’s critical supremacy all but sapped, the genre has been bogged down in a midlife crisis for the past few years. Those who have managed to hang around—Mitski, Car Seat Headrest—have done so through a combination of lyrical dexterity and an ability to pluck freely from past tropes without being defined by them. Add to this list 22-year-old Melina Duterte, aka Jay Som, whose sophomore album, Everybody Works, is the most competent rock release of this year so far—if not the most boundary-pushing.

Opener “Lipstick Stains” begins with gorgeous swells of piano, guitar drones and the calming coo of Duterte’s voice. Easily the most effusive song on the record, it is a bit of a red herring on an album that will run the gamut of modern rock and pop niches, but is nevertheless a breathtaking first track. 

Starting things off proper is lead single, “The Bus Song,” which sounds like a faithful copy of late 90s emo, right down to the American Football-style trumpet at the end. Nevertheless, in the first instance of what will be a recurring theme on Everybody Works, Duterte manages to find her voice within the conventions of genre, swapping emo heartbreak for cool-headed devotion. The chorus—“Take time to figure it out/I’ll be the one who sticks around”—exudes a quiet confidence. Som’s low-key ferocity elevates her above her contemporaries.

It’s perhaps the deep resonance of tracks like “The Bus Song” that makes the album’s more upbeat and immediate tracks feel a bit jarring. Tracks like “1 Billion Dogs” and “Take It” draw heavily from artists such as the Pixies, displaying an urgency that doesn’t feel earnest when paired with Duterte’s slow delivery.

Better tracks are the slow burners “One More Time, Please” and “Baybee,” which pair slick, after-midnight R&B hooks with some of Duterte’s haziest vocal work. These songs feel intimate and atmospheric without coming off as dreary, a set of jams just as suitable for the bedroom as the dancefloor. They are the album’s conceptual peak. 

The title track is a solidly crafted piece of power-pop bedrock that neither seems rushed nor overstays its welcome. Though the same cannot be said for closer “For Light,” which at 7:23 seems to drag a little, but nevertheless remains a respectable closer for a respectable album. 

Not everything works on Everybody Works. Nevertheless, there is  a workman-like efficiency to this record, where Duterte samples pretty much everything going on in alternative music today and hits the mark more often than not. This is not the record that will save indie-rock, but it’s proof that the genre is alive, even if its time in the limelight continues to recede.  

Commentary, Opinion

The value of a Liberal Arts degree in a post-truth World

by Grey Gunning on

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The liberal arts is often portrayed to be a set of dying disciplines, a collection of studies with a long pedigree, but no practical applications in today’s world. Their continued existence is perennially up for debate. According to Statistics Canada, enrollment in Liberal Arts majors decreased by almost 6 per cent in 2015, and many universities are either decreasing their liberal arts offerings or combining the majors with other disciplines. While coming out of university with a Business degree might seem more economically tenable than exiting with a degree in, say, literature, a Liberal Arts degree is more than just a tenuous path to a job. It is a tool that facilitates communication and criticism. Liberal Arts degrees enable their recipients to discern fact from fiction in the world around them, a skill that is increasingly important in a ‘post-truth’ world.

“Liberal Arts” is a nebulous category that encompasses a multitude of disciplines, from the humanities to the social sciences. What these degrees all have in common is a basis in critical thinking and “cultural citizenship, through participation in the various conversations that constitute a culture.” In essence, a Liberal Arts degree facilitates cultural commentary and criticism, allowing students to step outside of cultural structures and comment on them. It provides its bearer with a way of thinking and a way of engaging with the world.

The importance of meeting the world with critical thinking skills cannot be overstated. Liberal Arts courses teach their students to question biased sources and challenge established precepts of thought. Students are taught to be sensitive to bias, and to look beyond what they are told. In an era of “fake news” and “alternative facts,” a Liberal Arts education helps its recipient to read and watch with a critical eye. According to The Economist, Americans shared 30 million false pro-Trump articles during the 2016 election cycle.

 

Liberal Arts degrees enable their recipients to discern fact from fiction in the world around them, a skill that is increasingly important in a ‘post-truth’ world.

This kind of comfort with fake news is not exclusive to America—it is a phenomenon in Western politics at large. The rhetoric of a post-truth world is visible in Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, as supporters of Brexit reject reliable data and scoff at expert opinions. While Canada has not yet experienced such an egregious example of post-truth thought, the politics of falsehood prominent in its southern neighbour have begun to sneak across the border, most notably in the pushback against a Canadian carbon tax following Trump’s anti-climate change rhetoric.

While the fake news boom may seem like a baffling anomaly of the 21st century, it may also just be an unfortunate symptom of the Internet era. In his book “The Internet of Us,” philosophy professor and writer Michael Lynch argues that the Internet “blinds” its users from truth, as they come to rely on it as a news source. As Lynch gravely suggests, the inability to critically consume internet media hamstrings objective reasoning. Moreover, the internet undeniably provides an influx of information that is unprecedented in human history. Because of this, the people of the Internet age are perched on the edge of a radical reconceptualization of truth—the Internet may be an intended as an egalitarian sphere where anyone can speak their mind, but this egalitarianism can negate legitimacy as users come to trust online sources with no credentials.

These qualities of the online era, compounded by a political culture in which people no longer feel that they can trust established authorities, causes false sources to gain undue traction in public consciousness. Consequently, per The Economist’s observations on ‘the art of the lie’, “lies that are widely shared online within a network, whose members trust each other more than they trust any mainstream-media source, can quickly take on the appearance of truth.” It is imperative, then, for people to adjust themselves to an online culture in which truth is not always easy to find. To do this, responsible citizens need critical thinking skills and cultural literacy—skills that are traditionally associated with a Liberal Arts degree.

Educators and students must not lose sight of the importance of an education that teaches its recipient to responsibly consume and create media. Liberal Arts education provides the invaluable ability to not just discern truth, but to also shape what is perceived as “truth” through commentary. This is crucial today because the nature of truth itself is in question. Beyond any economic usefulness, a Liberal Arts degree might have, it allows its bearer to take part in shaping political and cultural paradigms in a period of flux.

 

 

 

Grey Gunning is a U2 History major and occasional artist. She enjoys climbing, gardening, and cheesy 80's sci fi.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 
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