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Emerging Trends, Private, Student Life

Smol puppers and fluffy doggos: A history of dogspotting

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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Taking pictures of dogs in public has been nothing but a casual activity for years; however, when humanity’s fascination with our canine companions merged with the reach of social media, the Facebook group Dogspotting was born.

Dogspotting is the act of ‘spotting’ dogs in public, taking a picture, and posting it online for other members to score it. Historically, there has been some debate over the rigidity of the points system. Today, there is an official rubric for scoring, but members can still spontaneously award non-official points.

John Savoia coined the term “Dogspotting” in 2006 on the Something Awful Forums, an online space for sharing hobbies and activities, usually with a comedic twist. Savoia then went on to create the Dogspotting Facebook Group in 2008. It continued as a small community of roughly twenty friends sharing pictures, until several Australian college students found it in June of 2014. Soon after, the social influence of Dogspotting increased exponentially and its membership exploded. Currently there are 350,000 members with about 7,000 joining each week.

Nobody is more surprised by the surge in Dogspotting’s popularity than the founder John Savoia himself. Savoia credits the embrace of social media and technology for enabling what began as a simple idea to become a global phenomenon.

“The original vision for dogspotting was to gamify the act of seeing dogs,” Savoia said. “Simple as that. No community, no concept of cuteness, just a 20-year-old who had played too many RPGs as a kid and wanted to make numbers [add] up. It’s obviously changed in very fundamental ways since then, going from hash marks on a piece of paper in my wallet to a multimedia-based community across the globe.”

Dogspotting has since adjusted to its larger membership base, and aims to continue organically supplementing what was originally a simple idea. The Facebook group has recently expanded its activities through different avenues, including a merchandise store, raising donations for animal rescue shelters, and the release of the Dogspotting app, which allows members to post pictures and receive scores on their mobile devices. 

Savoia hopes that Dogspotting will continue to grow. The administrators intend to use the app to raise donations, but Savoia makes no concrete predictions about the logistics of this idea or the cause toward which funds would be sent.

“The future is not aimless, but more nebulous in a good way for me,” Savoia said. “There are goals and specifics, but generally speaking I want Dogspotting to go it’s own path, with myself and the other admins as guiding forces.”

The community appears to have a thriving sense of identity. Though members enjoy other dog-centric groups and popular memes, they take unique pride in Dogspotting’s original and structured content. Dogspotting President Jeff Wallen suggested that the group contributes to the creation of memes, but that what makes it unique from other online groups and forums is its sense of community.

“[Members] make friends in comments, the more active users recognize one another,” Wallen said. “It is a very interactive place. Our members are loyal Spotters. It’s more than just belonging to a Facebook group. It’s being part of something bigger, something special.”

Coco Thorpe, an administrator of Dogspotting, claimed that some members have over 100 friends in Dogspotting, and many of these connections are international. Although she is proud of social media contributing to a global sense of community, she also addressed the importance of the unique nature of dogs in bringing people together.

“It never fails to amaze me, what a love humanity has for dogs,” Thorpe said. “Seeing pictures of dogs from all around the world has fostered communication and friendships between people of many countries. I also have heard more times than I can count that this group is an antidote to depression for many people, and gets them through hard and sad times.”

Many members come to Dogspotting for the positive environment. Dogs foster sentiments of positivity, and this is echoed in the group’s activities.

“My experience […] is that dog owners bond much more quickly and socially with other dog owners,” Savoia said. “A sort of ad-hoc club, if you will. I think that’s primarily [in real life], but translates to the net just fine.”

 

McGill Tribune: What’s your favourite thing about dogs?

Jeff Wallen: “No person will ever love you like your dog loves you. Their loyalty and love is unconditional.” 

Coco Thorpe: “My favourite thing about dogs is of course their loyalty and unconditional love; and also I really like big furry ones.”

John Savoia: “My favourite thing about dogs would honestly be the points they have accumulated for me over the past 10 years. Being that I have played dogspotting longer than anyone else, I am the unofficial all time points leader.”

News, SSMU

SSMU passes global access to medicines, cost-free birth control

by Julia Metraux on

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At its Nov. 17 meeting, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council voted to pass the Motion Regarding Global Access to Medicines Policy and the Motion Regarding SSMU Support for Cost-Free Birth Control Coverage. According to SSMU President Ben Ger, Council voted on motions that were originally supposed to be voted on by students at the General Assembly (GA),  but could not be because it did not meet quorum.


“As some people might know, [the] GA did not meet quorum, so we’re running an online ratification for [the] two motions [Regarding Nomination of the SSMU Board of Directors and Regarding the Nomination of the Auditor for the Fiscal Year of 2017],” Ger said.


According to Ger, the Motion Regarding Global Access to Medicines Policy and the Motion Regarding SSMU Support for Cost-Free Birth Control were heard at SSMU Council by the request of the movers. However, the motions regarding the composition of the Board of Directors and the nomination of the auditor were ratified online by the student body on Nov. 18 by 86.7 per cent and 89.9 per cent, respectively. These motions were required to be passed by the student body, according to the SSMU Constitution


“Both [the Board of Directors and the auditor] are required to allow a company to function,” said Ger. “The Companies Act [of Quebec] states that in cases when the company must continue to function, legal reasoning must prevail over internal procedure. Thus, even though the GA didn't meet quorum, due to Quebec Law those two motions still went to ratification.”


Roughly a third of SSMU Legislative Council was absent from this meeting due to previously scheduled events outside of Montreal, and therefore did not participate in voting for motions.


Motion Regarding SSMU Support for Cost-Free Birth Control


Council also voted to pass the Motion Regarding SSMU Support for Cost-Free Birth Control Coverage, which proposes that SSMU works to expand cost-free birth control for non-Quebec resident students.  This motion is intended to make changes to the SSMU Student Health and Dental Plan and McGill International Health Insurance Plan.


According to McGill Students for the New Democratic Party (NDP McGill) Policy Director Julian Benollo-Stauch, NDP McGill moved this motion because birth control is currently completely covered for Quebec residents, but out-of-province and international students must pay to fill their prescriptions.


“Other countries, for example Australia, have birth control covered in health plans,” Benollo-Stauch said. “Unfortunately, Canada has not yet covered it. It is covered for Quebec residents, we want to expand that to non-Quebec Canadian residents. We also ask that McGill seek to do the same for international students.”


Senate Caucus Representative Joshua Chin asked if NDP McGill explored other areas that might be presenting problems.


“It seems that here in Quebec, the overwhelming barrier to access is not cost but the lack of access to a family physician in order to get a prescription for birth control,” Chin said. “Have you explored this route to look at the access?”


Representatives from NDP McGill responded that they are currently looking into this option.


Motion Regarding Global Access to Medicines Policy


Council voted to pass the Motion Regarding Global Access to Medicines Policy, which proposes that SSMU calls for McGill—a leading university for biotechnology patents—to help lower drug costs to increase accessibility for people around the world. The motion was moved by the McGill Chapter of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM).


UAEM Co-President Sonia Labri-Aissa said that universities have leverage when working with pharmaceutical companies over prices and distribution. This allows the university to negotiate on terms of accessibility to medications in the event of a crisis.


“This motion is specifically dealing with patents that go through the university,” Labri-Aissa said. “Universities then send the patents to pharmaceuticals, who don’t really ask anything. We want to add a global accessibility framework [to McGill] that would say that in the event that this drug or this innovation is ever [needed] in an humanitarian crisis, it wouldn’t charge anything over the cost of using the drug. So if that’s a pill, that will usually be five to ten cents. If it is a vaccine, it is usually around $2.”


Council decided to only vote on the second part of the motion instead of voting to pass or reject it in its entirety. Arts Representative Igor Sadikov clarified that the second part of the motion contained the point of the mandate, whereas the first part was more on policy. This leaves SSMU with a mandate to begin advocating for the implementation of a global access licensing framework for health-related technology transfers to the private sector through the McGill Senate, even though the policy has not been passed yet.


“The first part of the motion on global access to medicines is a policy, and there had been no notice of motion, so we realized that it would violate the regulations to approve it right away […],” Sadikov said. “However, the second part of the motion is not part of the policy, so there is no need for a notice for that part, which is why we were able to divide the question and vote on the second part.”


At their next meeting on Dec. 1, Council will vote on the first section of the motion, which calls for SSMU to support increased access to medicines throughout the world as a public good and a human right.

 

 

A previous version of this article incorrectly spelled UAEM Co-President Sonia Labri-Aissa's last name. The Tribune regrets this error.

Features

Drowning in addiction: The social aspects of alcohol abuse

by Audrey Carleton on

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'We are we are we are we are we are the engineers! We can we can we can we can demolish 40 beers!' can be heard echoing through the streets of Montreal during early September every year. This chant, along with others like it, serves as an introduction for many first-year students to McGill. This experience is a prologue for the social environment in which a large portion of students will participate during university.  

 

On university campuses, where alcohol and substance use become integral to social life for many, students are placed at high risk of addiction, abuse, and overdose. Despite welcoming most students to campus with a week of binge-drinking in the form of Frosh, topics of substance abuse and alcoholism are largely left out of the conversation surrounding drinking on campus by the McGill administration and student body.

Science & Technology

Edward Snowden discusses how technological advances have changed the way governments spy

by Andy Wang on

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Edward Snowden, former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), spoke remotely via Google Hangouts at McGill University on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

Snowden’s notoriety has not waned since his leak of some 10,000 classified NSA files in 2013.

Snowden began with a few words about surveillance issues in Montreal. In a recent scandal, Patrick Lagacé, a columnist for Montreal’s French language newspaper La Presse, uncovered that police had issued “at least 24 surveillance warrants” on his iPhone this year.

The pace of government surveillance has increased dramatically worldwide thanks to technological advancements that have helped governments spy on their citizens. Highly trained teams of intelligence personnel have been outmatched and replaced in the modern era of mass information.

In traditional, James Bond-esque surveillance, spies could physically follow a target, but could never be within earshot for fear of exposure. They jotted down the dates and times when an individual left their home, whom they met with, and their locations during the day. But traditional spying methods were incredibly expensive and labourious. In order to access an individual’s metadata—that is, information surrounding a message or phone call, including dates, times, and locations—governments had to spend an incredible amount of money on a team of intelligence personnel.  

Without the historical limitations of time and money, government surveillance has become a question of, ‘why not?’

Snowden highlighted the paradigm shift where government officials are no longer held accountable by the citizens they serve.

“Private citizens and public officials have morphed into this brave new world of public citizens and private officials,” Snowden said.

The checks and balances that have traditionally kept democracies free and private have now been outpaced.

In his talk, Snowden also discussed practical applications of the surveillance state.

“First of all, we have to begin to encrypt our data,” Snowden said.

There are a number of companies that offer encryption services. Microsoft Outlook, the platform that McGill uses, has a built-in tool to encrypt all outgoing emails. There are also ciphers that encrypt a message using a “key” that can be a phrase from books, movies, or just random strings of letters.  

But merely protecting the raw data is not enough. According to Snowden, the metadata must also be protected. To prevent the government from accessing this kind of data is much more difficult than protecting the raw content. Metadata is not owned by the sender of a message, but rather by the company that provides the service, such as Google or Facebook—a detail that the NSA’s PRISM program exploited.

Part of the reason Snowden came forward was to expose the American government’s surveillance programs, such as PRISM, and to protect the privacy of U.S. citizens.

The PRISM program was a clandestine protocol of the NSA to collect and store internet communications and metadata from U.S. internet and telecommunications companies. Snowden’s document leak exposed the extent of the PRISM program’s access to private citizens’ metadata.

In Canada, the U.K., and the U.S., there are laws that prevent the government from accessing the private information of their citizens. The PRISM program utilizes a loophole where the information of ordinary citizens can be collected from company databases that are based offshore.

Even if correspondents are in the same country, their data could jump to another continent and back without their knowledge. The U.S. government can then collect this information and store it in their database.

Snowden also leaked documents describing programs targeted at U.S. allies in Europe, including tapping into German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s personal line, as well as bugging the European Union’s office in New York, and spying on European non-governmental organizations.

The U.S. government addressed the consequences of Snowden’s leaks in several internal reports. In 2015, Vice News obtained some 100 pages of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) internal reports about the ramifications of the Snowden files. According to Vice, the reason that the that they were aware of the report in the first place was due to clandestine government dealings to smear Snowden’s image.

“The DIA's report had been unknown until the White House secretly authorized the declassification of select portions of it so two Republican lawmakers could undercut the media narrative painting Snowden as a heroic whistleblower," Jason Leopold wrote for Vice News in 2015.

Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Vice sued the government for access to the reports.

The files were eventually handed over, though nearly every page of the report was redacted to the point where the only writing on the pages were the titles and some subheadings.

With respect to his own personal fallout, Snowden said that, thanks to previous whistleblowers, he knew what could happen to him.

Snowden said he learned from former U.S. whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning and Thomas Drake. Because of their actions, he knew more of what to expect in terms of persecution and criminal convictions.

“I knew that if I got caught the government would use the Espionage Act against me,” Snowden said. “It’s one of the few laws that silences your story in court, it is designed that way.”

When asked why he came forward, Snowden gave his usual wry smile.

“We have a right to know,” he replied.

Recently, there have been campaigns petitioning the American government to allow Snowden to return to the U.S. without facing prosecution, but this outcome does not look likely.

“I can’t pardon somebody who hasn’t gone before a court and presented themselves, so that’s not something I would comment on at this point,” U.S. President Barack Obama told the German newspaper Der Spiegel on Nov. 18.

Moreover, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Kansas Representative Mike Pompeo, said that he would like to see Snowden executed.

Despite the international attention and media frenzy, Snowden insisted that people should look at the critical issues he brought to light instead of focusing on him as an individual.

“I am the least important part of the story,” he said.

Nevertheless, his actions and his message have continued to reverberate around the world. Snowden’s disclosures gave citizens a glimpse into the inner workings of their governments. His revelations have made many realize that Big Brother is not merely a construct of English prose, but is very, very real.

As a rhetorical target of American officials, Snowden, exiled by the U.S. and living under temporary asylum in Moscow, Russia, closed on an optimistic note.

“Hopefully next year I’ll be able to see you in person,” Snowden said amidst a standing ovation.

Private, Student Life

TedxMontreal 2016 defines, inspires, and changes perspectives

by Ella Benedetti and Rebecca Zhuang on

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TEDxMontreal, which had Perspectives as its theme in 2016, aims to stimulate curiosity by showcasing a diversity of viewpoints from the Montreal community. It is among the TEDx program of self-organized events, designed to bring a TED-like experience to local cities. This year, the conference was held on Nov. 12 at Espace DCMTL, located in Parc-Extension. This neighbourhood is away from the spotlight of downtown, and was chosen to represent the uncovering of underground ideas and culture in Montreal. 

Created in 2008, TEDx is a global event in which communities worldwide self-organize day-long TED conferences, all with a common mission to foster innovation and spread ideas. The format is simple and effective: Experts in many different spheres–from artists to entrepreneurs–give 10- to 20-minute speeches that engender thoughtful conversation among the speakers and attendees.

Katy Yam, coordinator for the conference, shares TEDxMontreal’s goal to enlighten and strengthen the Montreal community by shedding light upon all of the innovation and creativity happening within the city. 

 “We’re all about discovering and showcasing, and finding those hidden pearls of what’s happening in Montreal,” Yam said. “We want people to change [their] perspectives.”  

Half of the 12 total speakers conducted their talks in French, while the other half spoke in English. All of the presentations were focused on either ideas originating from Montreal or inspiring feats and works by Montrealers. 

One of these innovators was Doctor Yoshua Bengio. Bengio is the head of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms and a professor in Computer Science at the University of Montreal. Bengio is best known for his contributions to biologically-inspired machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). During his speech, Bengio spoke about the steady integration of AI into everyday life. 

“This new revolution, this second machine age, is going to expand our cognitive abilities, our mental power,” Bengio said. “Computers are not just going to replace manual labour, but also mental labour.” 

On top of a research grant of $213 million given to various Montreal universities to push the boundaries of the AI industry and data science innovation, Montreal has become home to the largest concentration of academic researchers of deep learning in the world. This project is just one among a multitude of remarkable projects occurring in Montreal of which many people may not be aware. 

While more than half of the speakers were scientists, there were also presenters from the arts and social sciences. Speaker Alexis Charpentier, is a music archaeologist; he is among the small community of individuals who dedicate their lives and careers to discovering and refurbishing lost vinyl records. By searching the world for unique records—what he calls his “holy grail”—he gives forgotten music a second chance to thrive. 

 “Beautiful art deserves to be cherished, shared, and rediscovered,” Charpentier  said. “Embrace curators, we are alternative voices to the mainstream music channels.”

In addition to speeches about scientific advancements and creative passions, there were speakers who told stories about their personal experiences. Susan Wener was a crowd favourite, earning a standing ovation at the end of her talk. Wener is not only the author of a national bestseller, Resilience, she is also a therapist with a teaching degree from McGill, as well asa two-time survivor of cancer. Wener told her tale of recovery, and discussed the power of using stories to change perspectives. Wener hoped that people would take away the central messages of strength and finding hope in difficult times.

“It’s not about the things that happen to you […] it’s what you do with what happens to you […] that determines your quality of life,” Wener  said. “The word ‘impossible’ simply means that it hasn’t been done yet.”

The attendees of TEDxMontreal came from a broad variety of backgrounds, professions, nationalities, ages, and talents, showcasing Montreal’s diversity. This speaks to the event’s role as a platform to bring people together expose them to a multitude of unique Montreal-born ideas, all while encouraging creativity and innovation. 

“It’s great for the community, for people to connect, […] and for innovation,” Matthieu Favre, a guest of TEDxMontreal, said.

Yam believed that TEDxMontreal accomplished its goal of showcasing the success and talent from around the Montreal community, along with reinforcing the general importance of diversity. 

“We have so much to be proud of in this city,” Yam said. “I want more success, more Montrealers and Quebecers on the worldwide stage, and TED is a great platform for that."

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

“Moonlight” lights up festival screens

by Natasha Michaeloff on

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Moonlight, the long-awaited second feature from American director Barry Jenkins, is an adaptation of a play-cum-memoir by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The film has already been playing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox theatre in Toronto, but on November 18, the auditorium was full. Perhaps it’s to be expected—after all, it was 6 o’clock on a Friday—but the crowd likely amassed due to the special nature of this particular screening: Following the film, Jenkins was slated to answer questions from the audience via Skype. Already a hit with critics from its time spent on the festival circuit— the film first premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in early September and then made its way to the Toronto International Film Festival shortly afterwards—it was clear from the throngs of people gathered at the theatre, Moonlight has gained early traction with moviegoers as well; as the opening scene flickers to life, it becomes easy to see why.

The story is divided into three chapters, each providing a glimpse into the life of a young black man named Chiron who is growing up in a crime-ridden neighbourhood of Miami. Chiron is played at different ages by three actors (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes). He is bullied at school and often left to his own devices by his drug-addicted mother, played with gut-wrenching honesty by Naomie Harris of Skyfall and Spectre. He finds himself drawn to a benevolent drug dealer played by Mahershala Ali, of Marvel’s Luke Cage. Chiron grapples with his sexuality during tender exchanges of affection with his best and only friend Kevin, also played by three separate actors. Ultimately, he is torn between embodying everyone’s expectations of him and becoming the person he desperately yearns to be. 

The film is gorgeously shot and masterfully scored, taking care not to rush with its depictions of Chiron’s warring selves. From boyhood to adolescence and adulthood, Chiron is dramatically transformed in innumerable, irreparable ways, and yet remarkably, a sense of hope–always simmering beneath the surface–is never lost. Fittingly, the movie ends on an ambiguous note, leaving it up to the viewer to decide if Chiron is fated to become a casualty of his environment.

For Jenkins, although the film was challenging to make, it was more “manifest destiny” than anything else. 

“I grew up in the neighbourhood that you see depicted in this film […], it seemed like this massive place growing up […], it was our whole world, you know, in a certain way,” Jenkins fondly explained. “Despite the limitations, there was so much possibility of experience and expression there.” 

When an audience member inquired about the public reactions to Moonlight, especially in the wake of the recent U.S. presidential election, Jenkins became resolute. 

“I’m not so much worried about the backlash,” he said after a slight pause. “I got a message today. I was tagged alongside Lee Daniels…about my attempt at the ‘faggotization’ of America. I’m used to it at this point and the only thing I think of is […], I don’t walk down the street holding my partner’s hand, I can’t imagine the horror and the aggression people who identify as LGBTQ just living their lives, how much they endure every day. So I can shoulder whatever backlash I get.”

In an America full of citizens made recently more aware of the state of their identities, Moonlight will resonate deeply with audiences. 

Commentary, Opinion

The social hangover of McGill’s drinking culture

by Jackie Houston on

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I  was at a café the other week, trying to decide between one croissant or two croissants, when I found myself confronted with an all-too-frequent crisis—I was faced with a familiar face, but no name to put to it. Luckily, she seemed to be in the same dilemma. We locked eyes, and without any immediately accessible fire exits or open windows, I smiled and waved tentatively. In the requisite two minutes of small talk that followed, we concluded that yeah, we'd totally met at so-and-so's party last month. At that point, I had to bite the bullet and say those five special words that have been salvaging burnt bridges since the dawn of time: "Sorry, what's your name again?"

Unsurprisingly, at so-and-so's party last month, we had both been drunk.

It's a surreal experience to soberly encounter the people that you ‘met’ while you were drunk. You may very well know their aunt’s middle name, or have an in-depth understanding about their recent break up, and yet still waver as to whether you should say “Hi” when you see them on campus. The dissonance between drunk and sober worlds is awkward at best and alienating at worst.

At McGill, this scenario is commonplace because much of social life revolves around drinking: This includes three faculty-run bars, Gerts, Open Air Pub, faculty Froshes, and a competitive drinking event for every possible charitable cause. Beyond its well-documented health and safety risks, McGill's binge drinking culture has a more subtle—but significant—social effect on the ways students interact with each other, both during and after parties. In the long run, conflating the idea of being close to people with just being drunk with people hinders the establishment of meaningful relationships.

When alcohol is as central to social events as it is at McGill, being drunk can start to feel like a necessity to form meaningful connections—which aren’t so meaningful once everyone has sobered up.

There’s a reason that drinking and social life are so easily intertwined: In the face of a packed house party where you only know four people, a red solo cup can feel like a lifeline. For many of us, alcohol is that extra nudge needed to get out of our comfort zones and strike up a conversation with someone new.

The problem is when conversation doesn’t carry over—as it often doesn’t—to the next time you see that person while sober. Your drunk self was wearing a suit of armour when they jumped in on that chat with a friend-of-a-friend. Faced with the same situation, sober you feels sheepish and exposed. It’s hard to follow up on beer-fueled interactions when it feels like someone else—someone bolder, funnier, and probably better-looking—was the one making them. When you have a 45 minute discussion with a new acquaintance about the finer points of beer pong strategy but avoid eye contact the next time you see them, it’s as though you didn't really meet that person at all.

In the short term, this isn’t such a big deal. Feeling awkward around people now and again is a prerequisite of any undergraduate degree. But, over time, when alcohol is as central to social events as it is at McGill, being drunk can start to feel like a necessity to form meaningful connections—which aren’t so meaningful once everyone has sobered up. Rather than bringing people together, the net effect can be distancing and alienating. This has even more troubling implications if students are looking to build life-long relationships at university. In the post-secondary context, individual self-esteem and capacity for intimacy are often still crystallizing.

There’s no simple solution. So long as college students—and people beyond university, for that matter—use alcohol as a social lubricant, a social hangover is an inevitable result. But, seeing the correlation between the two is helpful: If you’re feeling disconnected from that person you were drunken best friends with three nights ago, you can then recognize that you’re not alone. Breaking the silence on that painfully awkward elevator ride or perfecting the passing-smile-and-wave on campus can feel like a Herculean task. It’s useful to remember that the other person probably feels the same way. If you make that leap of faith between drunk and sober interaction, maybe you two can talk about it.

And if you can’t remember their name, it’s okay to just ask.

 

 

Jackie Houston is a U2 Political Science and Psychology student and columnist for The McGill Tribune. She dreams of a world where she can pet any stranger’s dog with no questions asked.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
McGill, News

Motion to support Notice of Seizure permanently struck from GA Agenda

by Jasmin Nicole Widmer on

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At the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) 2016 Winter General Assembly (GA) on Feb. 22, a motion moved by petition was brought forward titled, “Support for the Kahtihon’tia:kwenio (Women Titleholders of the Land).” The motion called for SSMU to stand in support of the Notice of Seizure delivered by a member of the Kahnawake Mohawk community.

The Notice of Seizure asked for McGill University to immediately cease military research on campus and to pay debts owed to the Mohawk Nation. The motion in support of the seizure was first postponed from the Winter 2016 to the Fall 2016 GA, where it was then struck from the agenda by the Executive Committee–made up of the seven SSMU executives–according to SSMU Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Erin Sobat.

“Typically, the motion would have automatically appeared again on the agenda, but in light of the circumstances, the Executive Committee proposed that it be struck when the [Fall 2016] agenda was adopted,” Sobat said. “Christian [Quequish], [SSMU] Indigenous Affairs Commissioner, spoke to the reasoning behind this and members in attendance had the opportunity to ask questions or make comments. For example, if they wanted to argue that it should remain.”

Quequish consulted with members of the Kahnawake community before recommending the motion be removed from the agenda.

“In anticipation of this issue, I did consult with several community members of Kahnawake and was able to determine that the indigenous activist [who delivered the notice] is and continues to act in isolation of the governance systems within Kahnawake,” Quequish said. “After further consultation with indigenous stakeholders in the McGill community, I made the recommendation to the SSMU executives that we act on this. The SSMU executives put forward the suggestion that we strike the motion from the agenda and release a statement explaining why.”

Quequish was critical of the lack of consultation with indigenous students and the indigenous nation when preparing the motion.

“It was found that the movers in question did not consult with indigenous students on campus, or anyone from Kahnawake, before putting the motion forward,” Quequish said. “This is especially problematic considering the tone and scope of the indigenous activists’ claim.”

A statement released by SSMU to members over email says the ‘Women Titleholders’ cited in the motion do not represent Kahnawake in any official capacity.

“The motion presented at the Winter General Assembly is misrepresentative of local indigenous perspectives and stems from selective consultation with activists operating in isolation from traditional governance systems,”  read the statement. “In particular, the ‘Women Titleholders’ are not official representatives of Kahnawake, nor do they have the support of the Kahnawake Longhouses or many indigenous students on-campus.”

Quequish was further concerned over events that followed the presentation of the motion at the 2016 Winter GA.

“A further reason for the tabling of the motion is that an indigenous student in attendance protested the motion,” Quequish said. “It was found that following the tabling of the motion, the indigenous student was harassed by the indigenous activist, but only because the movers had given [the indigenous activist] the student’s contact information.”

The 2016 Fall GA was held on Nov. 7 and the motion was not on the agenda.

“Notably, the GA also did not meet quorum, so if it had not been struck the motion would have been deferred to the Legislative Council,” Sobat said. “At this stage, however, the motion has been removed and is not up for future discussion.”

According to Quequish, in the aftermath of this motion, SSMU is looking to implement and better institutionalize consultative processes with indigenous students and communities for motions that will affect them.

“SSMU adopted a policy […] on Indigenous Solidarity last semester [that was put forward by the previous Indigenous Affairs Commissioner],” Quequish said. “We will be using that framework to address gaps in consultation between indigenous individuals, groups, and communities and the larger SSMU community. Also, per the statement, we will be distributing more resources and contacts to students and student groups where appropriate.”

According to SSMU President Ben Ger, the Executive Committee is now looking to update the Solidarity Policy to avoid similar situations.

“The Committee will be looking into ways to amend the Indigenous Solidarity Policy to add in some of those protocols. However, they have not yet been finalized,” Ger said. “The process of developing consultative protocols would primarily be handled by the Indigenous Affairs Commissioner and the Indigenous Affairs Committee, with support from [the VP External David Aird, the VP University Affairs Erin Sobat], and myself.”

Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

McGill Sailing rules the waves in Canada and the United States

by Nicole Spadotto on

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While most students are just trying to stay afloat academically, members of the McGill Sailing team must balance school with practices, competitions across the East Coast, and fundraising initiatives to finance their season.

“The McGill sailors on the team are the most dedicated group of athletes I’ve ever met,” McGill Sailing Vice-President Renee Torrie said.

The sailing schedule is intense, with practices held four afternoons a week and competitions every weekend. The team’s first-place finish in three regattas this season has sustained their spirits as well as their rankings.

“In Canada, we are first right now,” Torrie said. “We just won the National Championship. And in the U.S., […] we’re ranked 16th, which is right in the middle for New England.”

Their efforts paid off in the Canadian National Championship, taking home the first-place finish. McGill sailing’s high ranking in New England is especially admirable considering the high level of competition from American schools. American teams have varsity designation and are fully-funded by their schools. McGill’s sailing team only has club status, meaning that while it is supported by the university, it relies on team fees and fundraising to finance its season.

“We recently have been purchasing new boats and that was a big logistical thing,” Torrie said. “The people at [McGill Athletics] have been really helpful [logistically] in helping us import the boats, buy the boats, [and] all of that.”

The purchase of 12 second hand from St. George’s School in Rhode Island has made all the difference for the sailing team. Formerly, the team had to borrow boats from the Royal St-Lawrence Yacht Club in Dorval, where the team practices. The club has been very gracious in accommodating the team, but their boats were uneven, meaning that some were capable of faster times than others, which made inter-team competitions during practice difficult. Though perhaps not the epitome of luxury, the new boats represent an improvement over the old fleet as they are even, which has lent to the sailing team’s remarkable success this season.

“These boats have significantly improved our practices,” President Amanda Ivey explained. “Having an even fleet is extremely useful because it allows you to better compare your boat speed […] while eliminating variables significant to the specific boat.”

The fleet of boats are expensive, costing over $40,000 to purchase and transport to Montreal. Without subsidies from McGill, the sailing team is forced to embark on fundraising campaigns themselves to acquire the new equipment they need to remain competitive. The team has fundraised successfully through “Seeds of Change” campaigns and by mobilizing members of the wider McGill and Montreal community. Seeds of Change is a not-for-profit crowdfunding network where McGill alumni, friends, and family are able to make donations to help organizations reach their goals.

“We had no idea what our community could do for us until we launched our campaign,” Fundraising Coordinator Isaiah Riesman-Tremonte said. “I had the distinct feeling that we had started something really special.”

Indeed, the sailing team surpassed their initial fundraising goal with donations from friends and family culminating in $40,000 raised over two years. This process has brought the team and the Montreal community closer together.

“It’s a family,” Torrie said. “It’s the most supportive, loving group of people ever. I think being a club team makes us more cohesive, gives us something to strive towards. We always want to be improving together, trying to prove ourselves, […] it’s really more than just a sailing team.”

The McGill Sailing team  has overcome a lack of funding from McGill by connecting with a wider community. Perhaps that is why they train so hard—they have a sense of responsibility beyond their own team.

“We have an [extremely] committed community that cares about us,” Riesman-Tremonte said. “We have them to thank for our success this year.”

Arts & Entertainment, Music, Theatre

Opera McGill’s “Alcina”: A dubious experiment in orientalism

by Julia Loach on

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From the cultural stereotypes in Madame Butterfly to the racism in Otello, the intersection of race and culture with opera has a dark and problematic history. Given this legacy, the East Asian setting and the specific Chinese cultural influences of Opera McGill’s production of Alcina is confusing, especially given the European libretto. 

The production of Alcina, was, without a doubt, impressive and meticulous. The vocalists were mesmerizing, the orchestra colourful, and the dedication and preparation were evident throughout. The director, professor Patrick Hensen, reflected that Alcina is a lengthy and demanding opera.   

“The difficulties are the length of these Handel operas—for both the students and today’s modern audience, and the vocal demands of a few roles.” The difficulties were evidently overcome in this seamless and engaging performance. The design elements of production, however, are where the East Asian influences are clear.

Hensen’s unusual setting of the opera was inspired by the Italian poem, “Orlando Furioso” by Ariosto, which inspired a 16th century Opera by Brochi, which later influenced Handel’s Alcina. 

“In the Ariosto, there is a subplot concerning the saracen Ruggiero and his Christian girlfriend Bradamante. He is flown away by Hippogriff to Alcina’s island “east of India” where he’s enchanted by the sorceress Alcina,” Hensen explained. It was this location that provided the inspiration for the setting. 

“So, it is from within this context that Vincent [Lefèvre, the set designer] and I sought to find a contextual setting in which to both experiment with marrying the flow and movement of Tai Chi with Handel’s music, as well as find what “east of India” might mean,” Hensen elaborated.

Many visual aspects of the production were influenced by Chinese culture. The set included a large Chinese coin representing a compass, designed by a professional Chinese acupuncturist, as well as sky lanterns in the shapes of  planets and stars. The cast performed in traditional Chinese dress and makeup, and props, such as swords and parasols. The movement in the Opera was inspired by Tai Chi, and the cast trained in the ancient art for the production. Quick and short stepped motions by female characters, especially Alcina, appeared to evoke the ancient tradition of foot binding. 

The setting and art direction of the production, however, has been the subject of controversy. Many students, including some involved in the production, feel uncomfortable about the risk of perpetuating orientalism in art—where depictions of Asia are stereotyped in a way that risk fetishizing a particular culture. When asked about the issue of cultural appropriation surrounding the opera, Hensen acknowledges that appropriation is an issue, but explains that he does not see it as relevant to the production. He sees the spread of culture as a vital component of opera. 

“All opera, like all art, lives through a series of cultural exchanges that produce new art,” Hensen said.  “For instance, Opera McGill’s production here in Montreal in 2016 is a remount of the original production in 2007 by a German composer’s Italian opera written for a 1735 English audience at Covent Garden that was based on a 16th century epic poem by the Italian Ariosto. This is just one example of how cultural exchange over centuries helped to create just one opera performance here at McGill, and how complicated art is when looking at source material and/or influences.” 

In the specific context of Alcina, Hensen views the production as an amalgamation of several cultural influences. 

 “If we look right at these sources, Alcina’s characters are not Chinese, they are—if I was pressed to describe—a combination of backgrounds,” Hensen said. “Saracen [Ruggiero], Christian Europeans [Bradamante, Oberto], Sorceresses who live on a magical and mystical island somewhere east of India [Alcina and her sister Morgana], a wizard probably from Libya [Melisso], and Alcina’s general Oronte [probably a hired mercenary].”

Rebecca Jacobson, a violinist in the orchestra of Alcina, has opposing views on the setting of the opera. 

 “I guess I’m just trying to understand why,” she explains. “Handel did not write the opera for that setting, and there are so many other options for the production, and people were upset, so I just don’t understand.” 

Jacobson also describes issues of difficult relationships within the cast and production members. 

“There’s a difficult power dynamic, and it’s hard to explain. But no one wants to risk going to someone in authority. There’s really no way to talk about it,” Jacobson said.

When asked about resisting  the opera’s artistic liberties, Jacobson emphasizes the integrity of the music.

“Many of my friends who weren’t involved in the production asked me why I wasn’t protesting,” Jacobson said. “But there are so many artists, especially the singers, who have been rehearsing for months, that it wasn’t fair to let the music suffer. They deserve for their music to be recognized.” 

Regardless of the questionable setting, Jacobson is correct: The success of the music in Alcina was readily apparent. Race and culture in the production, however, was presented in an ethically dubious way, surrounded by conflicting discourses.

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