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Arts & Entertainment, Books

Metatron brings emerging writers together

by April Barrett on

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Literature can be much more intimate and private than visual or performance art. But for Concordia graduate Ashley Opheim, literature is the focal point of community. Her community is self-built: An independent publishing company called Metatron, established in 2013.  

When Opheim was studying creative writing at Concordia in 2012, she wondered why the literature community hadn’t flourished in the same way as music did in Montreal. She began organizing a series of reading events called “This is Happening Whether You Like It Or Not.” After many successful readings, Opheim and a group of other students were awarded a grant from Emploi Quebec that funded youth creative ventures. Opheim then turned her focus to growing Metatron into a company that published small chapbooks—staple bound paperbacks under 48 pages—rather than just event planning. 

Over the past 3 years, Metatron has published 15 books, 12 chapbooks, and organized 33 readings. The company distributes in small bookstores in Montreal—such as The Word on rue Milton —and Toronto, as well as selling their works online. 

For Opheim, what sets Metatron apart as a publishing company is its focus on nurturing young writers and validating their experiences. 

“There are so many talented writers [in Montreal] who are young and not technically qualified enough to have a book out with a bigger press,” Opheim explained.

 Opheim reminisced about Alt Lit, a—now defunct—online community that had inspired her around the time she began organizing the reading series.

“When I discovered [Alt Lit], it was kind of just writers who were writing, and they weren’t trying to be like anyone. They weren’t trying to be like Ernest Hemingway,” Opheim said. “They were kind of just like ‘this is my life and I’m gonna write a poem about toaster strudels,’ […] it wasn’t taking itself so seriously.”

This kind of writing continues to inspire Opheim. She feels that humour and authenticity of experience are at the heart of the work Metatron publishes.

“I feel like the books that we do are all relatable in a really fun way,” she explained. “I feel like people can open the books and see themselves in [them]. And I think that’s a really beautiful thing. [In] the world we live in, being able to see yourself in someone else, regardless of gender and race, is so powerful. And I don’t think there’s many things that exist in the world where that is a possibility.”

Opheim strongly believes that the most powerful writing comes from within, when a writer is true to how they feel. She is devoted to encouraging writers to express those feelings. 

“I feel like when people are able to write an emotion that is true, it becomes universal,” Opheim said. “As human beings, as nuanced and different as we are, I still think like there are experiences that are very similar for everyone [….]. Feelings of alienation are very prevalent in contemporary writing by younger writers.” 

Inclusivity and shared experience are the founding principles of Metatron. Opheim explains that for many artists, especially ones practicing the often private and introspective art of writing, a community is an essential motivating factor.

“Being part of a community like Metatron […] gives you an incentive and inspiration to keep on working,” she said. “[…] The people we actually publish, after their book comes out, I just literally see them blossom into these writers who are taking themselves more seriously and performing better.” 

Opheim’s goal of creating a literature scene in Montreal was possible largely due to what she calls the palpable “spirit of creativity” in the city. 

“I really feel that Montreal is the place to be if you’re a young creative,” Opheim said. “It’s such a fucking radical place.” 

McGill, News

$20 million donated to the Montreal Neurological Institute

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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On Dec. 16, the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) received a donation of $20 million from Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. The MNI is the largest specialized neuroscience research centre in Canada and, as part of McGill’s Faculty of Medicine, offers students a variety of research opportunities. The $20 million will sponsor the creation of an affiliated institute: The Tanenbaum Open Science Institute.

This new institute will represent the MNI in pursuing a mandate of ‘open science,’ a recent trend of promoting innovation by making research patent-free and openly available to other researchers. In addition to its world-leading research, the MNI will now be known globally as the first academic open science institute in the world.

‟Our digital world provides for unprecedented opportunities to leverage advances in technology to the benefit of science,” Tanenbaum said during the Dec. 16 announcement of the donation. “That is what we are celebrating here today: The transformation of research, the removal of barriers, the breaking of silos, and most of all, the courage of researchers to put patients and progress ahead of all other considerations.”

Tanenbaum hopes that research will be undertaken for the sake of overall knowledge rather than profit. Eric Sun, U2 Science, agreed that scientific networks are valuable.

“Sharing research is always good, coordinated efforts between communities are the reason why dangerous diseases like smallpox have been eradicated,” Sun said. “Discoveries are driven by dedicated scholars [who] spend their lifetimes in the lab.”

The McGill Chapter of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) Motion Regarding Global Access to Medicines Policy recently passed at the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) council meeting on Nov. 17, 2016. The motion called for SSMU to support global access to medicines and lobby McGill to adopt a policy in favour of this. The purpose of the motion was to influence the university to adopt a patent-free policy so that drugs could be accessible in developing areas of the world. UAEM was pleased with how the donation will be used to encourage openness.

“The initiative will allow patents to not need to be made through universities anymore, which will make the process run more smoothly,” UAEM Co-Vice-President Media and Outreach Chloe Hogg said. “It is set up as an experiment to attract resources to McGill and to Montreal, while speeding up [much] needed innovation in basic research.”

Hogg said that there is still progress to be made, as facilitating developments in research does not necessarily mean that the final product will be globally accessible.

“Whether the innovation remains affordable and accessible for the greater public remains unclear,” Hogg said. “This is because [the initiative] only looks at basic research, which doesn’t go all the way to the final product that reaches the patient.”

Hogg also said that profits remain to be an important consideration when creating intellectual policies that mandate access.

Combat Sports, Sports

Ronda Rousey and the challenge of getting back up after a fall

by Nicole Spadotto on

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Ronda Rousey’s long-anticipated comeback to UFC fighting came to a rapid halt in a 48-second technical knockout at the hands of defending UFC champion Amanda Nunes. The Dec. 30 fight marked another major setback in Rousey’s tumultuous career. After a meteoric rise to UFC and global stardom, Rousey lost her undefeated record and UFC Women’s Bantamweight title at the hands of Holly Holm in Nov. 2015. Rousey subsequently took 18 months off from UFC competition to recover and train before returning to the octagon last month. 

The mental strength to stay at the top of one’s game and rebound from defeat is an essential skill in any successful athlete’s repertoire. Rousey’s fall from UFC Bantamweight favourite and Hollywood darling to consecutive defeats mirrors the tumultuous journey many athletes face over their careers. These internationally lauded athletes can get overconfident in their matches or neglect to make adjustments and tweak their styles to keep opponents and newcomers off guard. Rousey’s questionable coaching has been widely criticized for both its legitimacy and strike heavy strategy; in particular, it makes her attacks more predictable and easier to prepare for. Additionally,  by taking advantage of technology for increased scouting, preparation, and film review of incredible sophistication, other athletes seem to have cracked the code of what made Rousey unbeatable.

For all athletes, the art of the comeback is incredibly tough to master. Watching Rousey fail in her initial attempt was relatable for athletes across the world. Whether being cut by a team, trying to overcome an injury, or facing mental roadblocks, athletes of all ages must constantly fight to remain competitive in their respective sports. Even for legends Michael Jordan and Muhammed Ali, comebacks can end in unfortunate failure.

Keeping confident with a winning record is much easier. In Rousey’s case, her wins became self-perpetuating–she believed she was incapable of losing. This confidence was only encouraged by the accolades and honours she received both inside and outside of the sports world. However, the true mental fortitude of an athlete is tested when they start losing. Serena Williams in particular has come to dominate women’s tennis because she remains poised even when she falls behind. Her 33 Grand Slam match victories [in which she was trailing by a set] show the importance of mental preparation for world-class athletes.

Whether or not there is a specific psychological formula to a successful comeback is up for debate. Intensity and consistency are two assets athletes must have, but maintaining these skills across matches is no guarantee–especially when faced with athletes perceived to be stronger or weaker in skillset. Some psychologists even believe that falling behind or losing a match can reignite the intensity and competitive spirit essential for a winning record. With this theory, losing can actually be a good thing if it jerks an athlete out of complacency.

With the mentality of a comeback in mind, Rousey is at a crossroads in her career. Perhaps other fighters have unlocked the secret to her style and have temporarily found ways to beat her until she can adapt and dominate them once more. Or, perhaps the “myth” of Rousey’s inability to be defeated has been crushed, giving other fighters confidence when they step into the octagon. Either way, Rousey can either lean into her losses and derive intensity from them or she can let her defeats define her. Many athletes have faced a similar choice, but for Rousey, the stakes are higher because of her celebrity status. Her response will either mark the end of her career or will solidify her as one of the greatest female athletes of all time.

McGill, News

McGill launches Summer Academy for high school students

by Micaela Wiseman on

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For the first time, McGill Enrolment Services will run a program for high school students in Grades 10 and 11 called the “McGill Summer Academy.” The program will run for two weeks starting July 9, 2017. The Academy will allow students to stay in McGill residences, take courses with graduate students, and participate in organized extracurricular activities aimed at introducing students to the City of Montreal.

University Registrar and Executive Director of Enrolment Services Kathleen Massey said that the main goals of the program are for it to serve as a student recruitment initiative while offering an enriching academic, social, and cultural summer experience for young students.

“Having a lived experience at McGill will help the students decide whether McGill might be a good fit for them down the road,” Massey said. “We’ll also provide them with admission advising and information about the many academic and student life opportunities at McGill while they are here, giving them solid information they can use to develop longer-term academic plans.”

Massey said that the creation of the Academy was prompted by a high demand from prospective students.

“Our student recruiters have been asked by international students and their parents for many years whether McGill has a summer program […],” Massey said. “Many younger students would love the chance to come to McGill during the summer to experience the academic and cultural life of the university and Montreal.”

Interest in the program are prompted by fears students have provided about the unfamiliar experiences that university life presents. According to Grade 10 student Alisa Bressler, one of her main worries about entering university is handling the pressure to feel at home in a new environment.

“I think that a program that offers the experiences that will be presented to us in university early on would be very helpful,” Bressler said. “Particularly, I think spending time in residence would help a lot [with transitioning into university life].”

Enrolment Services began plans for the Academy in  2015. According to Massey, Desautels Master of Business Administration (MBA) student consultants performed market research and developed a sustainable revenue model for the program. The $3,565 cost of enrolment for the summer program covers housing, food, academic instruction, extracurricular programming, supervision, and health insurance.

Representatives from the Department of Political Science and the Integrated Program in Neuroscience (IPN) were enlisted to create the program’s two non-credit courses.

Dr. Joseph Rochford, director of the IPN, was contacted by Enrolment Services after research indicated that neuroscience was a primary topic of interest for potential students. Rochford and a team of graduate students began creating a syllabus, incorporating  a variety of topics in the field aimed at providing an introduction to McGill academics.

“The objective here is to sort of treat these high school students as if they were in university,” Rochford said. “It’s going to give them access and experience in terms of what to expect at the university level, how and the kind of content that’s being delivered, and give them the experience exactly of what it’s like to be an undergraduate student at McGill.”

Rochford said that McGill’s standing as one of the leading institutes in neuroscience research provides Summer Academy participants with a unique academic opportunity that will improve enrolment.

“If high school students are interested in pursuing a degree in neuroscience, [the Summer Academy] will really give them the idea that if they come and study here at McGill, they will be getting a world-class education,” Rochford said.

The cultural and social activities will be led by the Academy’s Team Leaders–current McGill students who will also provide supervision and mentorship.
The program will launch in July 2017 and registration will open Feb. 2017.

McGill, News

McGill semester start and end dates decided in accordance with Senate calendar guidelines

by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry on

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McGill’s Winter 2017 semester began on Jan. 4, before other Montreal universities including Concordia and Université de Montréal. This start date was initially set by the Committee on Enrolment and Student Affairs (CESA) and sent to the Senate for approval in May 2013. In their proposed calendar for this academic year, CESA made the winter break one day shorter so that the term could accommodate an exam prep day.

This was done in consideration of the 2011 Senate calendar guidelines, which recommend a break between Fall and Winter terms, a prep day or weekend prior to exams, and a 10-day exam schedule on top of McGill’s 13-week term–one of the longest among Canadian universities.

University Registrar and Executive Director Kathleen Massey said start and end dates are also intended to reduce housing costs for students, to allow students to begin summer jobs or internships at the beginning of May.

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Erin Sobat said that the start date is understandable given the constraints of term guidelines.

“While I think it would definitely be preferable for most students and professors to begin classes next week, McGill's start date is consistent with many other universities in Canada,” Sobat wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “In addition, December final exams ended slightly earlier this year to give everyone at least a two-week break. Since it's the Add/Drop Period until Jan. 17, many students won't come back until [the weekend of Jan. 7] anyway.”

Sobat said that the university guidelines do not allot a time for a Fall break.

“There's a clear inconsistency between the Fall and Winter terms when it comes to time off,” Sobat wrote. “Part of this is due to tighter timelines in the Fall with the December holiday break. However, it's also a historical difference. Most courses used to operate on a full-year schedule and so assessments were more spread out. Since that's changed, I think the Fall term has become more intense for many students, particularly first-years, and the mid-term and November periods, when the days get shorter, can be particularly challenging.”

In 2015, a working group was established by Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens in response to a SSMU request to adopt a Fall reading break. In its June 2015 report on its findings, the working group  proposed a break of two days that would be added to Canadian Thanksgiving. To incorporate the proposal, the report noted that trade-offs, such as commencing classes before Labour Day, were necessary to maintain the 13-week term.

The working group also reasoned that the Fall term is particularly difficult for students, evidenced by  McGill Health Services’ reported increase in demand over the last five years in October and November.  Further, students have overwhelmingly supported a Fall break. In a 2015 survey conducted by Enrolment Services, 71.5 per cent of respondents supported the initiative. The proposal was also supported by major student associations, such as the SSMU and the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS).

Julia Thome, U2 Arts, said that the start date had interrupted her experience of the holidays.
“The early return wasn't altogether awful,” Thome said. “But it did complicate my family's travel plans and the short break made the holiday season more stressful than relaxing.”

Student Life, Student of the Week

Student of the Week: Alex Goldman’s tales from the Hillary Clinton campaign trail

by Janine Xu on

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“You don’t have to study politics in order to get involved with politics,” said Alex Goldman, U2 Arts. “It’s all about being diverse and coming from many different backgrounds.”

True to his word, Goldman—a former Management student, now switching into History—has already dedicated much of his life to politics. He was raised in Vienna, Austria, where his father worked for the State Department and the United Nations (UN).

“Government and policy [were] always around me, and always interested me,” Goldman said. “But it wasn’t until I took an AP Government class in high school [that] I really decided [politics] was something I […] wanted to do.”

Though he had a passion for government, Goldman decided not to study Political Science at McGill, hoping to diversify his knowledge before starting his career. 

He has used work and internship opportunities outside of school to delve into the field. Perhaps his most notable political experience to date, Goldman worked on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, starting in 2015. Before working with Secretary Clinton, he got his feet wet in American politics by interning for several distinguished politicians, such as Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Senator Ed Markey, and Congressman John Delaney. 

“The person who gave me my start in any type of politics was Congresswoman Katherine Clark [of Massachusetts],” Goldman noted. “She is, to put it bluntly, my hero. She [taught] me how to be civically engaged and [to govern] with honour.”

Goldman joined the Clinton campaign in August 2015 as an unpaid fellow. Most of his job involved  direct voter contact, such as making phone calls and knocking on doors to solicit potential votes. Even though it was unpaid, the experience was extremely enriching. 

“I’ve never been happier about any job,” Goldman said. “Being an unpaid intern was great. I literally walked into the office and the governor of Connecticut was just talking to, like, 20 volunteers [….] That was a good start.”

After his three-month stint as an intern, Goldman decided to keep working for the campaign. He moved to Henderson, Nevada to work as an organizer and volunteer recruiter for the caucus. Clinton had won the precinct caucus by one delegate, making her the elected representative for the state. 

“After that, I was an organizer in Idaho,” Goldman said. “[Later,] I was a regional organizing director in Minnesota, where I managed a staff of six organizers [and] twenty fellows. I [did] political advocacy, strategy, event-building, stuff [like that]. I worked up until the [actual] election.”

For Goldman, the defining moment of his work was the precinct caucus in Nevada. A caucus, which is a meeting between members of a political party to select candidates or decide policy, requires a lot of volunteers. Many of these volunteers were recruited from off the streets. The complex system involves caucus math, which calculates how many delegates are awarded to either Clinton or Senator Bernie Sanders.

“This [Nevada] job was the single most challenging experience [ever],” Goldman said. “12-hour days were just normal [….] But caucus day was the greatest day of my life [because] we won by five points.”

Goldman also described the surreal moment during the Nevada caucus in which Hillary Clinton made a surprise showing. 

“I had to control the crowd around her, and [dictate] where she’d go,” he explained. “So here I am, […] standing next to Hillary Clinton, dictating ‘No, Secretary, come this way,’ or ‘Secretary, take a picture here.’ It was just so [surreal].”

 The campaign was a lot of stress and hard work, but for Goldman, the Nevada caucus victory was worth the struggle. 

“The campaign was long and [hard],” Goldman recalled. “And some days, it was awful. There were so many tears, so much stress, many late-night fast food runs, and a lot of loneliness. But it was the most incredible experience of my life. I just have absolutely nothing to compare it to."

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Goldman began working with the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2014, when in fact he began work there in 2015. The Tribune regrets this errors.

Science & Technology

Stories for Humanities launches new magazine issue on Quebec health care

by Chelsea Chen on

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Health is the backbone that supports all work and activities. The importance of health is even greater under a demanding student life that easily becomes taxing to the mind and body. Stories for Humanities (SFH)—an international participatory media organization—focused on health for their latest magazine issue.

On Nov. 25, an event held at the McCord Museum celebrated the launch of the new issue of SFH STORIES magazine on the theme of Quebec health care. Over five months, submissions from individuals, organizations, businesses, and elected officials on their perspectives and experiences in Quebec health care were collected and published in the magazine. The launch event engaged the public as participants in an expert-led panel discussion.

Among the many topics discussed was the subject of prevention and sustainable health. Dr. Alain Poirier, former national director of public health for Quebec, vice-president at the Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ) and a panelist at the event, believes that most solutions to health problems do not lie exclusively within the health care system, but extend into all other sectors.

“When we think about health, we think about the health [care] system […,] the doctors, the nurses, the surgeons, the medication, and all that stuff,” Dr. Poirier said. “That’s important. I’m not saying it’s not, […,] but globally, when you take a step back, and you look at the system, the improvement in the past and those that will come are coming from other sectors [.…] All these things, you can put globally into the term ‘prevention.’”

During the panel discussion, Dr. Poirier gave an example of the increase in Canadian life expectancy from 50 years at the beginning of the 20th century to 80 years by the end. While the 30 year gain in life expectancy over 100 years is significant, only eight years of those 30 years came from improvements in the accessibility or quality of health services. In other words, the increased life expectancy came mainly due to improvements in other environmental factors, such as poverty reduction, better education, and improvements in water and air quality.

“The way we translate this situation is to say that health is in all policies,” Dr. Poirier said. “[…] When you start analyzing health care problems, you [must] go upstream to see what is the cause and what is the solution.”

In Dr. Poirier’s holistic view of health, health care is everyone’s business and responsibility.

“Sustainable health is prevention, not cure,” Dr. Poirier said. “Cure is important […,] but […] most of the solution will come from [other sectors and specialists] who will transform our way of improving our GDP with sustainable jobs […] and ecological way of thinking about our society, not only […] growth for growth or jobs for jobs.”

Health is closely tied to surrounding environmental factors such that human health is most often a reflection of the lifestyle choices presented by one’s environment.

“Our environment facilitates our choice,” Dr. Poirier said.  “[…] We are asking more of the planet than the planet can deliver. We [must] focus on an ecological viewpoint of health, so [that] the planet is our health system and the doctors are not.”

Sports

Right back to work for Lou Marsh Award winner Penny Oleksiak

by Aaron Rose on

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“I  don’t have a lot of time. I have a test tomorrow I need to study for,” Olympic gold medalist Penny Oleksiak said after winning the Lou Marsh Award for Canada’s top athlete on Tuesday afternoon.

The 16-year-old high school student took home four medals at the Rio Olympics in August including a gold medal in the 100-metre Freestyle. She has now become the youngest recipient of Canada’s highest athletic honour, finishing ahead of two-time award winner Sidney Crosby and Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse in voting. Past winners of the award include Steve Nash, Wayne Gretzky, and Mike Weir, and Maurice Richard.

“I’ve always looked up to Sidney Crosby [….] I remember at book fairs I used to buy posters of him,” Oleksiak said. “I was just excited to be on the list, let alone win.”

She was sitting in law class when she heard the exciting news.

“The first thing I told my teacher when I walked into the class was that I would be on my phone and that I was just watching out for something,” Oleksiak said. “She called me out a few times […] but it was pretty exciting when I found out.”

Despite her remarkable achievements, Oleksiak says she isn’t paying attention to scholarships or sponsorships opportunities.

“I’m just focused on being in high school and swimming,” she said.

Trying to balance work and swim competitions is hard enough for the young swimmer. Her daily routine is rigorous, starting with early morning swims at 6 a.m. before school, which starts at 10:30 a.m. After school, she heads back to the pool where she trains until around 7 p.m.

“Then I do homework, sometimes, depending [on] if I’m tired or not,” Oleksiak joked.

Although she might miss an assignment or two, Oleksiak continues to amaze in the pool. She helped lead the Canadian women to a pair of relay golds at the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships in Windsor this month. Though she is now a household name in Canada, when she first arrived at Rio, she was just there to enjoy the moment.

“We certainly went into the [Olympics] just hoping for good performances as a learning experience,” Canadian swimming Coach Ben Titley said. “We knew […] Penny was very capable, but to get the first three medals probably changed the expectations.”

By the day of the 100-metre Freestyle race, Oleksiak was beginning to feel the pressure.

“She was very aware that [no Canadian] had won four medals in a single [Summer Olympic] games,” Titley said. “I think that was one of the biggest expectations she was feeling the day of the race [….] I think she knew she had what it took to be competitive and once you know that, it’s all about just executing your race on the day and that’s something she did very well.”

With the weight of a country on her shoulders, Oleksiak overcame a slow start to the race, closing the gap in the final 25 metres to capture gold. However, for Coach Titley, that wasn’t what impressed him the most about his young racer.

“For me, the most poignant thing was […] the 25 seconds after the race finished,” Titley said. “Penny doesn’t actually turn around and look at the scoreboard to see what the result is [….] That’s something I’ve never seen from any athlete [….] To touch the wall, and tell herself that […] ‘Whatever is on that scoreboard, when I turn around, I’m happy with the result and I gave my best effort,’ […] I think that that is probably one of the most telling examples of what makes Penny who she is.”

When Oleksiak did see the scoreboard, she was speechless.

“When I turn and touch the wall, I usually just catch my breath,” Oleksiak said. “I just try to tell myself that I’m happy with what I did, as long as I know I put 100 per cent into the race [….] Then, 20 seconds later, I turned around and being able to see number one on the board […] it's kind of an unreal feeling.”

Despite having an Olympic gold and a Lou Marsh Award to her name, Oleksiak has little time to celebrate. Tomorrow, she’ll be in class writing her exam and preparing for her next competition.

“If I'm lucky, I'll get some cake at dinner,” she said.

Behind the Bench, Sports

Exploitation of student athletes should not be a part of the business model

by Zahir Namane on

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In 1964, Walter Byers, the first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) commissioner, created the term “student-athlete” in order to counter attempts to make American universities compensate athletes for their contributions. Ever since, the NCAA has advertised itself as a generous non-profit organization that rewards its athletes with opportunities to get an education and to audition for a career in professional sports. 

It is impossible to be fond of this twisted charity. The NCAA is an example of unfettered capitalism that is only sustainable if athletes remain under the guise of amateurism–preventing them from being compensated at fair market value. Within this system, Division I football and basketball teams are the cash cows of the NCAA. As a matter of fact, the University of Alabama football team’s revenues last year totaled $143 million, exceeding those of all 30 NHL teams and 25 of the 30 NBA teams.

In college basketball, the NCAA just agreed to a eight-year, $8.8 billion extension to its TV deal with CBS giving the network the rights to broadcast March Madness through 2032. Now, producing nearly $1 billion in annual revenue, there is a huge dissonance between revenue stream and player compensation. A study from Drexel University reveals, “the average full athletic scholarship is worth approximately $23,204/year, the study also estimates that the average annual fair market value of big time college football and men’s basketball players to be $137,357 and $289,031 respectively.” With this in mind, it is safe to say that football and basketball players are not compensated equitably.

American student-athletes are not playing intramural sports. Rather, these young men and women practice at levels similar to professional athletes. Statistics indicate that NCAA athletes spend more than 43.3 hours per week in practice, weight rooms, and games. Add this to a full school workload, and it is not surprising to see “students” develop mental health issues .

Thanks to their gruelling schedules, many of these student-athletes are unable to complete the student half of their designation. Approximately 40 per cent of student athletes on scholarships do not graduate within six years at university.

While university scholarships cover tuition, they often do not cover other indispensable costs, such as for food. More often than not, the well-being of student-athletes is sacrificed for the sake of amateurism.

“Sometimes, there's hungry nights where I'm not able to eat, but I still have to play up to my capabilities,” former University of Connecticut basketball player Shabazz Napier said when asked about his athletic college experience. 

In spite of players’ immense contributions, it is their coaches who are awarded the most, with millions of dollars in contracts from various sources. The NCAA Manual explicitly allows coaches to sign endorsement contracts with athletics shoes, apparel, or equipment manufacturers, but prevents players from signing such deals. In fact, NCAA athletes are prohibited to use their image and status as public figures to gain any kind of income. These regulations prohibit players from receiving monetary benefits from the university brands they promote.

The NCAA system is an example of exploitative gain at the expense of unpaid labour. Despite the hypocrisy, the NCAA is unlikely to abandon its present practice and recognize its athletes as integral partners to the success of college sports. Letting athletes benefit from their fame and status by allowing them to receive endorsement money outside of the NCAA jurisdiction could in fact bring balance to this unreasonable system, especially for the undrafted athletes who invested four years of blood, sweat, and tears to the profit of the NCAA monster. 

Legal Information Column, Student Life

Wrapping up the year: Gifts and the law

by Legal Information Clinic at McGill on

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Merriness might seem to be stubbornly hiding around the corner, but, believe it or not, this semester is wrapping up, and students will soon be exam-free, and many are faced with gifts aplenty as the holiday season arrives. With every joyful exclamation of “thank you” this month, one might wonder whether Quebec law has anything to say about gifts. Does the law recognize presents? If Jesse receives a new camera by stealing Alex’s heart, can Jesse lose the camera by breaking Alex’s heart? Below is a brief overview of what Quebec law has to say about presents, past and future.

What is a gift?

Perhaps rather unsentimentally, the Quebec law defines gifts as contracts. Specifically, a gift is a contract wherein a person gives up ownership of property to another person without getting anything in return.

While oral contracts are usually binding, the law requires an additional formality in order for gift contracts to count: The decision to give something as a gift needs to be recorded in writing by a notary.

However, does this mean that Alexis simply handing Regan tickets to a Habs game doesn’t carry legal weight as a gift? No, it indeed still does. This is because there is an exception to the in-writing rule for gifts of what is called “movable” property, which are essentially things that are not buildings or land. For gifts of movable property, such as hockey tickets, it is a gift if the party receiving the item accepts and immediately takes possession of the object. Regan taking the tickets from Alexis’ hands after Alexis offers them therefore makes their transaction a gift. If Alexis tells Regan that the tickets will come the following week, Regan cannot enforce the promise against Alexis unless it was written down by a notary.

Who can give gifts?

While generosity might be a virtue, the law imposes some limits on the ability to make gifts to protect certain classes of people. For example, minors can only give away property of little value—the exact amount is left to a judge to decide on a case-by-case basis. As well, a gift is null if it is given by a person currently receiving care from a health or social services establishment to an owner, director, or employee of the centre, unless the recipient is the patient’s spouse or close relative. The law declaring a gift null means that the person who wanted to give it away is still the owner.

What happens when a gift has problems?

If Avery and Drew are both students preparing for interviews, and Avery gives Drew an iron that they found one day while cleaning the basement, can Drew sue Avery if the iron suddenly turns out to be defective and burns one of Drew’s shirts? No. The person who gives a present is not responsible for the unknown defects of the item. That being said, Avery would be responsible if, for example, they knew that the iron was old and had faulty wiring, yet didn’t warn Drew and therefore Drew’s hand got burned because the iron caught on fire. This is because the person giving a gift is still responsible if they know about a problem with a gift, but do not warn the recipient and the recipient suffers bodily injury.

Can gifts be ungifted?

Surprisingly, yes. Perhaps taking a page from centuries of parenting common sense, the law says that gifts can be revoked for ingratitude. Ingratitude is defined as when the person who receives the item later acts in a reprehensible way toward the person who gave them the gift, such as hurting the person physically or emotionally. However, the person who gave the gift cannot provoke the other person to act out or cause harm in order to claim that they deserve to have their gift returned. Revoking a gift must be done within one year of the ingratitude or the day the person who gave the present became aware of the ingratitude.

In the past, courts have accepted various acts as reprehensible enough to require that a gift be returned. In one situation, an individual acted as a companion for an elderly person and promised to look after the person. However, the individual then abandoned the elderly person shortly after receiving a gift from them. In another case, one person threatened to end their romantic relationship if their partner didn’t give them their car. Finally, a present can’t be taken back if it was given in the hopes of achieving some sort of goal that later doesn’t happen. Not being wooed by a gift is not considered ingratitude, for example. Of course, ingratitude is determined by the judge on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the particularities of each situation.

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To look up court decisions about specific cases in the past, visit an online database, such as canlii.org.

To ask  your own question, contact the Legal Information Clinic at McGill with the directions found on our website. According to the Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, only lawyers and notaries can provide legal advice or counsel. The LICM, therefore, only provides legal information. For legal advice, please contact a lawyer.

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