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Campus Spotlight, Private, Student Life

Campus food initiatives find solutions to reduce their food waste

by Grace Hébert on

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Wasting food is often unavoidable, whether producing extra scraps from cooking or throwing out moldy and expired food. For many student-led food-based initiatives on campus, food waste is an ever-present issue that requires  large-scale efforts to combat it. 

Reducing food waste can begin with the early stages of production. According to Students’ Society of McGill University Vice-President (VP) Operations Sacha Magder, the Student Run Cafeteria (SRC) has been very successful at limiting food waste by cutting out food loss in their supply chain.

“[The SRC] started using a local producer who pre-chops the vegetables. [Normally,] we would have thrown out the ends, [but now] they can reuse the ends for fertilizer or for animals,” Magder said. “We’ve seen it make a difference on our bottom line. We’re wasting less food since the sales are higher. Everything is being used and sold, and the portion sizes are accurate for students.”

However, prioritizing environmental sustainability can often entail financial sacrifice, as eco-friendly food production strategies like pre-chopping vegetables tend to come with higher costs. It has been harder to improve revenue at the SRC for this reason; however, even so, the cafeteria strives to serve cheap food despite using potentially more expensive locally-sourced produce, all the while maintaining sustainable projects and paying fair wages.

“Margins are lower, so there is a higher cost of food,” Magder explained. “We are willing to sacrifice profit in order to run our operation in a sustainable and fair way. The SRC is working towards breaking even as it currently runs on a deficit.” 

While the SRC is working to reduce food waste in the early stages of food production, other initiatives on campus still struggle with this. According to Monica Allaby, U2 Arts and a coordinator for the McGill Farmer’s Market, food waste is still a problem in their Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA), which works with Macdonald Student-run Ecological Gardens (MSEG). In the student-led CSA program, students pay for produce in advance from local farmers to fund their start-up costs during the winter, and, in exchange, they receive weekly baskets of produce during the summer harvest season. Over this past summer, however, many baskets were not picked up by those who had ordered them. As an alternative to throwing out these baskets, the Farmer’s Market donated this produce to a local restaurant. In addition, MSEG is looking to work with a local non-profit this fall to help reduce food waste.  

 “There were enough leftovers [from produce baskets] that they couldn’t be distributed among the volunteers,” Allaby said. “Luckily, the extra food was given to Robin des Bois, a non-profit restaurant in the Plateau. During the fall, McGill Farmer’s Market hopes to pair up with the Yellow Door, [located] in the [Milton-Parc Community], to help donate to their student food bank during the school year. Students can also contribute [to the Yellow Door] and donate their leftover food items.”

While eliminating the amount of food wasted in the pre- and post- stages of food production has proven effective for many campus groups, some find putting food waste back into the earth to be an equally feasible option. The Midnight Kitchen (MK)—a non-profit, student volunteer-run collective dedicated to providing accessible, affordable, and healthy meals outside of the mainstream capitalist food system—has also faced their fair share of issues with excess food after their daily soup kitchen. To assuage this, MK composts their leftover food through an external service, according to Anastasia Dudley, U3 Arts and staff member at MK . 

“Given that most of our food comes to us at or past its expiry date, we throw a ton of food out for being moldy and inedible. We often fill a compost bin a day,” Dudley said. “We use Compost Montreal. We pay for the service out of our fee and have a relationship with them independent of McGill.”

While many on-campus initiatives work to reduce their food waste on a larger scale, the members of the student population may also address their own levels of food waste in order to contribute to a culture of sustainability on campus. According to Magder, food waste should be addressed through larger societal changes.

“Food waste needs to be tackled through an educational and [cultural] change,” Magder said. “But it’s hard in a community where the number of people are changing every year to instill [food waste] standards across campus. Each year, we lose 25 per cent of students and we have to re-educate 25 per cent again.” 

While it is clear that many groups at McGill work to reduce food waste, students’ roles in lowering their personal food waste doesn’t need to start on campus. For Magder, reducing  food waste in his personal life was a matter of learning to plan his grocery shopping.

“After my first year at McGill, I learned that planning was key as well as the importance of portioning correctly, buying the right amount of groceries, planning meals carefully, and composting,” Magder said. 

What campus initiatives such as the SRC, MK, and MSEG all have in common are students with values like Magder’s. Limiting one’s carbon footprint more often than not entails partaking in larger-scale campus food systems. The environmental principles upon which students operate in their everyday  lives are just as important for making change in public settings, like school or at work.

Basketball, Sports

In Conversation with NBA Analyst Doris Burke

by Joe Khammar on

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Passion has never been in short supply for NCAA and NBA analyst Doris Burke. Her talents and her demeanour have earned her the respect of basketball players, coaches, and fans worldwide.

Burke’s basketball journey began at an early age while growing up in blue-collar Manasquan, New Jersey. Basketball provided her with opporunties that would have been otherwise unavailble.

“I have been playing, coaching, or now covering the game since I was seven-years-old,” Burke said. “It has literally been one of the driving forces of my life. I [would not have completed] a college degree without it. I am the last of eight kids. Financially, with that many kids, I don’t care how much money you are making, it was a little bit of a stretch for my parents. So affording a college tuition would have been hard.”

Recruited by Providence College as a point guard, Burke was an All-Big East selection and graduated from Providence as the all-time leader in assists. Burke seemed like a surefire professional player in the making. Unfortunately, an injury complicated matters.

“The very last game of my career, [in] the final ten minutes of the game, I went to catch an outlet pass around half-court […] and turned at the same moment and I blew out my knee,” Burke said.

The knee injury changed her life. After tests revealed that she had torn both her ACL and MCL, Burke had two options: Undergo reconstructive knee surgery or give up on basketball. In 1987, surgery would not guarantee a return to pre-injury levels of fitness.

“I decided at that moment that I could move on,” Burke said.

She wouldn’t be away from basketball for long, however. A year after graduating, her former coach, Bob Foley, offered her a position on his staff at Providence. She accepted, but in her second year with the team she got engaged and wanted to start a family.

“There are some who I think could have probably pulled that off easily, being a mom and being a Division One coach,” Burke said. “But, my days were starting at 7 a.m. with individual workouts, and ending about 9:30 p.m. at night with recruiting calls.”

Thus, Burke decided to hang up coaching. However, Providence wasn’t ready to let her go easily.

“The year I left coaching, they put Providence College women’s basketball on radio,” Burke said. “Because I played and coached at Providence, they asked, ‘can you give this a try?’ That was 1990, and I probably did 10 to 12 games and that was my entry into the field.”

The 1990s were an exciting decade for women’s basketball in the United States as games started to receive regular coverage across the country.

“It was starting to feel the effects of Title IX and providing equal opportunities for women’s basketball to be on TV,” Burke said. “Then in 1997, when the WNBA was formed, that was […] the first time a woman could make a living being a colour analyst.”

Her work as an analyst did not go unnoticed. When Mike Gorman, Big East TV’s colour analyst for men’s basketball, was absent for a Saturday game between Pittsburgh and Providence, Burke was his replacement.

“My first men’s game actually happened by accident,” Burke said. “Through some miscommunication, Mike Gorman did not show up at this game [….] We are now pushing close to an hour before the game, and I get home from the hospital, as my son had fallen off the weight bench […] and there is a message, ‘Can you come do the game at the Providence Civic Centre?’ […] After spending from probably 8 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. at the emergency room getting my son stitched up from his fall, […] I raced to the civic centre.”

Without any preparation, she put on her headset and turned on the mic. For most broadcasters, this would have been a near impossible feat, but as a die-hard Big East fan, Burke was ready.

“I would have been at the game or watching the game on TV, so it wasn’t a stretch for me to cover it,” Burke said. 

The following year, Burke began broadcasting men’s games on a regular basis. She was the first American female college basketball analyst, and soon found herself covering Knicks’ games at Madison Square Garden. In 2003, ESPN hired her to be on Dick Vitale’s NBA coverage team as both an analyst and sideline reporter, making her the first woman to be given such a prominent role in NBA coverage.  NBA players and coaches have embraced Burke’s presence on the sideline.

“I have always said this: […] Have I experienced some skepticism when I sit in the analyst’s chair in the NBA, or even on men’s college basketball? Of course,” Burke said. “I would say it is far less so now than it used to be. And I would tell you that in all honesty, I have never had a bad experience with a player or a coach in terms of my acceptance as a basketball person. They in fact have always been my soft landing spot. It has been their acknowledgement, their recognition, their willingness to open their arms and welcome me into the games I happen to be covering, which has made my job incredibly easy.”

One player Burke particularly enjoys speaking with is four-time MVP and three-time NBA champion Lebron James. He puts a tremendous amount of effort into his responses to Burke’s questions, and their chemistry during interviews has always been excellent. 

“It has to do with the fact that [James] will listen to the questions I ask, take a second to process [them], and try to give me a heartfelt answer or at least an honest answer,” Burke said.

Burke also admires James’ candidness in speaking out about social injustice in America—now many NBA players are following suit: James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade have all described America as “broken” at the ESPY’s and called for athletes to help fix the system. For Burke, this candidness is one of the traits necessary for success as an athlete. 

“I think the most important things these athletes can do is to be genuine, to be heartfelt, to really believe in what it is they might be speaking about,” Burke said. “I am thankful that a dialogue has been spurred and that professional athletes recognise that they have a great opportunity to influence young people.”

Authenticity has always characterized Burke’s work—be it as a record-setting or trail-blazing player, coach, colour analyst, or sideline reporter. She has given everything to basketball. This is why she is one of the most respected figures in broadcasting and will continue be one of the best in the business over the coming years.

Favourite Player: LeBron James

Who’s going to win the NBA Championship in 2016-17: Golden State Warriors

Do the Raptors have a chance?: [I] think it is probably going to take another piece if they are going to be NBA champions, [but with] Masai Ujiri at the helm, […] it would not shock me if he was able to pull it off.

Science & Technology

Invasive species found moving into Canadian ports

by Izze Siemann on

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Species in one continent can move to and thrive in another in a matter of days. In McGill’s backyard, mussels that have never been seen in Canada were discovered at the Old Port. With humans as their vessels, invasive species are continent-hopping at an alarming rate according to Associate Professor in McGill’s School of Environment, Anthony Ricciardi.

A study published recently in A Journal of Conservation Biogeography led by McGill University biology post-doc Emily Brown has identified non-native species across ports in Canada through sampling and DNA analysis. A soft-shelled clam never spotted in the arctic was found at Hudson Bay in Churchill and a barnacle that hasn’t been seen north of San Francisco popped up in Nanaimo, British Columbia. However, discovery of these non-native individual organisms does not mean that they are “invasive species.”

“Invasion refers to an organism arriving in a region where it has no evolutionary history, and establishing a self-sustaining, reproducing population,” Ricciardi said.

The species discovered in Canadian ports are in fact non-native, but not all have established reproducing populations—this means that many can’t be classified as invasive species at this point.

According to Ricciardi, it is unlikely that the non-native mussel species discovered so far away from its natural environment will be able to establish a reproducing population. This particular mussel is generally found in salty-waters, so Montreal’s freshwater port will most likely not provide the sustainable environment the mollusk needs to thrive. Regardless, the introduction of this mussel represents only a small drop in the ocean of global invasions since humans evolved. Without humans, this scope of global invasion events would be impossible.

In terms of the scale of damage they cause to the environment, the impact of invasive species has been compared to climate change.

“[In Canada] annual costs of invasive plants to the agricultural community are estimated at $2.2 billion,” the Invasive Alien Plants in Canada Summary Report wrote. “Forty-four speces at risk have been identified for which invasive plants appear to be factors in their at-risk [….] Infectious diseases, such as West Nile virus, affect both human and wildlife health, and invasive plants can provide breeding habitat for mosquitos, which carry the disease.”

Ricciardi discussed a 1973 study by Thomas M. Zaret and R. T. Paine of the University of Washington, who set out to observe the impact on native species after a large, carnivorous fish was introduced to a tropical lake ecosystem near the Panama canal. After the carnivorous fish was introduced, it ate most of the previously dominant, mosquito-eating fish that had never been prey—almost driving the native species to extinction. As a result, the population of mosquitos skyrocketed—as did the number of locals with malaria, when the nearly-extinct smaller fish no longer ate as many mosquitos.

The findings of the 1973 study showed how significantly the introduction of a single invasive organism can produce population changes on a range of trophic levels. Organisms in an ecosystem are generally linked in many ways and the introduction or extinction of just a single species can disturb the balance of an entire ecosystem.

A more recent example involves Antarctica, where over 200 documented invasive species have been discovered. Antarctica has seen a dramatic rise in human activity as a result of increasing research, eco-tourism, and other travel to the continent. Emperor penguins have been affected by salmonella as a result of humans bringing infected poultry to the continent. This boom in the number of invasive species prompted scientists to begin sampling visitors. The researchers found people were entering the Antarctic with insect eggs and plant seeds in the seams of their clothing and the mud in their boots.

The movement of humans has created an undeniable pattern of species invasions. Brown’s latest study can perhaps be used as a tool for the prevention and control of invasive populations.

 

A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to the publication year of the study "Species Introduction in a Tropical Lake" as 2006. In fact, the study was published in 1973.

Ask Ainsley, Private, Student Life

Ask Ainsley: How do I cope with my best friend and my ex dating?

by Ask Ainsley on

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Dear Ainsley,

A friend of mine from back home recently told me she’s been dating my ex for four months and lying about it. I’m not so much mad that they’re dating, more so that they lied for four months. Also, when she told me, she was incredibly insensitive and condescending and invalidated my feelings about it. Is it worth trying to save the friendship if she’s going to treat me like this? If not, how do I deal with losing two of my closest friends?

Sincerely, 

Lost in a Love Triangle (LILT)

Dear LILT,

I can imagine what a difficult situation this must be for you. Maneuvering around a relationship with an ex can be incredibly difficult, and it becomes even harder when friends are involved. First off, kudos to you for being accepting of their relationship. There are plenty of people who wouldn’t be able to fathom a friend dating an ex. Second, you should know that your feelings are completely valid. Don’t let someone tell you that you’re overreacting when they’ve seriously hurt your feelings.

I think a variety of factors are at play in this situation, one of which is the quality of your relationship with your friend. If this incident is part of a pattern in your friendship, you may consider letting her go. Just because you get along with someone some of the time doesn’t mean they’re a great friend to you. In a conflict, some people will try to turn the blame on the other person when they know they’ve done something wrong. It can be hard to let go of a friend, especially one you’ve known for a long time, but someone who tears you down more than they build you up is not worth your time in the long run. 

If you do end up deciding that you don’t want to be friends with this person anymore, you don’t have to cut them off all at once. You can gradually phase them out, while putting more energy and focus into your other friends and schoolwork at McGill. If it makes it easier for you, unfollow your friend on social media. It can be hard to get someone off your mind when you’re constantly seeing them on your newsfeeds. 

As upsetting as it can be, sometimes losing friends is a natural part of life. However, if this is a friend that you want to keep, you need to have a discussion with them about the situation. Explain to them why your feelings are hurt. As hard as it can be to not get aggressive when someone has wronged you, aim for a higher ground. Calmly tell her what your feelings are about the situation. Your emotional reactions are inherently valid and not up for debate. Once you express exactly how her words and actions made you feel, if she really cares, she won’t tell you that you’re being too sensitive. After your chat, allow her to reach out to you, so you know that she is truly apologetic and wants to maintain your friendship. 

In a perfect world, people would be able to stay friends with their exes after a break up. Not that it’s impossible, but in your situation it gets even harder. I understand that you probably feel betrayed—not only by your friend, but also by your ex, someone who you may have loved at one point. Even though it might be painful, you need to have a conversation with your ex and get his side of the story. If he treats you the same way your friend did, it may be better for you to try to move on without him. If you do want to keep both of them in your life, as your friends they should be able to acknowledge how difficult the situation must be for you,  and make an effort to earn back your trust.

While your first instinct may be to seek out social contact, having been hurt by two people close to you, it’s important to take some time for yourself. Focus on your personal health—exercise, eat well, get enough sleep—and your mental health—meditate, journal your thoughts and feelings, give yourself daily affirmations, or talk to a counsellor—whatever it is that will make you feel the best. In an emotional time like this, it’s not selfish to put your own personal needs above someone else’s. You seem to be focusing deeply on the social repercussions of this situation, but it is equally, if not more, important to look inward and focus on healing. No matter how your relationships with your friend and ex turn out, remember that your worth is not measured by those who do not treat you well. In caring for yourself, you will be reminded of your inherent worth, regularly. 

All the best,

Ainsley

Commentary, Opinion

A deadly high: Universities must take measures to educate and protect against fentanyl overdoses

by Alexandra Harvey on

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Amelia and Hardy Leighton were, by all appearances, a young, happy, stable married couple from North Vancouver. They decided to celebrate the purchase of their first home—fit with a yard for their two-year-old son—by getting a little high. On July 20, they were found dead in their home. The cause of their deaths—and a record high of other Canadians this year—was fentanyl: An opioid painkiller 100 times more powerful than morphine that is often found laced in street drugs.

The Leightons, along with many of the faces of fentanyl overdoses, were not drug addicts. They used drugs recreationally and infrequently. They had no idea they were ingesting the fatal opioid. Fentanyl is infecting communities across Canada as it creeps its way into party drugs.

This epidemic affects everyone. University students are especially vulnerable given that young adults are more likely to use drugs than any other age group. As such, Canadian universities have a responsibility to educate students about drug safety and protect them against overdosing on fentanyl.

Traces of fentanyl have been found in counterfeit OxyContin, Percocet, and Xanax pills, as well as in other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and MDMA. Fentanyl is cheap, so it's cut into drugs like cocaine to buff them up for buyers. What makes fentanyl so dangerous is how potent it is: One microgram of fentanyl—the size of one grain of salt—can mean the difference between a euphoric high and death.

Though intended as a prescription pain-reliever, the presence of illicit fentanyl in Canada is growing at a rapid rate. In BC and Alberta—the two provinces most affected by the drug—fentanyl-linked fatalities spiked from 42 in 2012 to 418 in 2015. There were 508 illicit drug deaths in BC from January to September 2016, 60 per cent of which were linked to fentanyl. Two people die from opioid overdoses in Ontario every single day. This national epidemic is projected to reach new heights before it slows down. No community is immune.

Post-secondary institutions play a key role in influencing and raising awareness about the risks of drug culture.

The combination of cocaine, a stimulant, and fentanyl, a depressant, is especially deadly. Because cocaine is a social drug often used at parties, its marriage to fentanyl opens up the painkiller’s devastating effects to a much larger audience. This summer, nine people overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine in the span of 20 minutes in Delta, BC. Just a few weeks ago, five partiers in Barrie, ON, met the same fate. There’s no such thing as doing a harmless line at a party anymore.

University is a pivotal, formative chapter in an individual’s life, and university students are prone to going out and experimenting. Post-secondary institutions play a key role in influencing and raising awareness about the risks of drug culture. Universities must inform students about drug safety and foster open, judgment-free spaces where students can access overdose prevention tools and seek help and information.

There’s no chemical remedy for addiction, but naloxone, an antidote drug, can save lives in cases of fentanyl overdoses. Naloxone counteracts the effects of opioids such as heroin, fentanyl, and morphine. In response to the rising fentanyl epidemic, the University of British Columbia is now administering free take-home naloxone kits and training students on how to use them. At the University of Calgary, naloxone is available to students with a history of opioid use and a prescription from a registered nurse; however, keeping naloxone behind-the-counter is not productive. If an overdose occurs, it's the friends or family of the opioid user who need the counterdrug to save a loved one. In a literal life-or-death situation, universities must be as proactive as possible.

Fentanyl has yet to have as deadly an impact in Quebec as it has had out West; still, the epidemic is spreading across the country—and it’s way too close for comfort. While individuals have a responsibility to inform themselves about safe drug use and exercise judgment, universities must take the initiative now to protect students from this nationwide crisis. Universal access to naloxone kits is a significant step that should be implemented immediately. Given students’ proximity to party drugs, they are especially vulnerable. Fentanyl is strong, relentless, and all-consuming—and its next victim could be someone you know.

 

 


Alexandra is a columnist and a U2 student studying Political Science and International Development. She is a proud Torontonian, passionate traveler, and knows all the lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
News, SSMU, The Tribune Explains

Tribune Explains: GA and Referenda

by Julia Metraux on

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What is the General Assembly?

The General Assembly (GA) is a method of direct decision-making that takes place once a semester for members of Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). The Fall GA will take place on Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. in the Shatner Building.

All SSMU members, which includes all undergraduate students at the Downtown Campus, are able to participate in the GA. Students can submit, directly vote on, and directly amend motions. SSMU has created a guide to help students draft their GA motions, which can be found on their website. The GA is an opportunity for direct democracy, according to SSMU President Ben Ger.

“It’s a place for political change,” Ger said. “You can bring forward motions [and] policies. It’s a great place for debate. Over the past few years, people have talked about what the point of the GA [is]. It provides a large forum for students to come together [and] for students to be part of the discussion, not just the decision.”

According to SSMU Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Cameron McKeich, motions have to pass two rounds of voting in order to be ratified at the GA.

“For the GA, there is an in-person meeting in which students vote by raising their hands [or] sometimes by a secret ballot,” McKeich said. “Motions that are approved by more than 50 per cent of voters [50 members], those questions will be put through an online ratification […] to ensure that a greater number of students have the ability to participate in the GA process that were not able to attend in person.”

Ger believes administrative support would help the attendance and success of the GA, as some students are forced to miss the GA due to academic commitments. The University of Ottawa, for example, has adopted different academic initiatives, such as permitting students to miss class on the day of the GA.

“I think our institution [the administration] hasn’t in the past recognized the importance of student-led initiatives, student debates, [and] student democracy,” Ger said. “Some people in the [administration] are very disconnected from the campus and don’t see how central SSMU governance is. Students in the past have been graded during times of the [GA], while at other universities that is not the case.”

What is the referendum?

The other form of direct democracy for SSMU members is the referendum. Similar to the GA, referenda periods are held once a semester. This semester, the referendum campaigning period starts on Nov. 7, the same day as the General Assembly, and ends on Nov. 8. Voting itself lasts a week, and will take place from Nov. 11 to Nov. 18.

All SSMU members are able to place a question on the ballot, according to McKeich. First, the wording of the question needs to be approved by the CEO. Next, the author of the referendum goes through a signature collecting process. SSMU has created a guide to help students prepare questions, which can be found on their website.

“To get a question on the referenda someone needs to collect 100 signatures from SSMU members from a minimum of four faculties, and a maximum of 30 per cent of signatures can be from one faculty,” McKeich said. “[For] questions that are asking for a fee levy or a specific allocation of money, the CEO will consult with the [Vice-President] of Finance.”

The period for students to submit questions for review and collect signatures was from Oct. 14 to 31 this semester.

Ger said that the Referenda is important because it allows members of SSMU to have a voice in their funding.

“Students want to use student money for student services, like menstrual products, but the university redirects the money,” Ger said. “[A pro of] the Referenda is that it’s a […] place for a direct democracy and a great place to influence change.”

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Concordia University allows its students to miss class in order to attend General Assemblies. The Tribune regrets this error. 

Legal Information Column, Student Life

Legal Information Column: What does plagiarism actually mean at McGill?

by Legal Information Clinic at McGill on

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It’s a scary time of year here on campus, and not just because many are feeling the effects of Halloween libations this past weekend. Students are also on edge because the season of midterms and final papers has arrived. Whether cramming for morning midterms or brewing a pot of midnight coffee while rushing to finish–or start–a paper that’s due the next day, it’s worth reviewing the following quick points on what McGill considers to be plagiarism.

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is passing off someone else’s words or ideas as one’s own. Whether another’s work is published or unpublished, a student risks being accused of plagiarism if they use another’s work without properly attributing it to the source where they found it.

What if a student accidentally plagiarized?

At McGill, plagiarism does not need to be intentional to be a disciplinary offence. The simple fact of using someone else’s work without proper attribution counts as plagiarism under article 16(a) of the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. This is true even if the student didn’t realize they plagiarized..

What about sharing papers with friends?

 Helping one’s friends is admirable. That said, lending assistance can be risky. Under article 16(b) of the Code of Student Conduct, it is a disciplinary offence for a student to share their work with another student if they know that the other student could use parts of that work within their own assignment. Pay close attention to the course syllabus and assignment instructions. In some cases, collaboration is explicitly prohibited—as is the case with many take-home exams, for example—while in other cases, collaboration with other students is encouraged, as long as the work each student submits is their own.

Are students allowed to reuse parts of an assignment they wrote for a previous course?

Not without the permission of the instructor to whom the present assignment will be submitted. According to article 17(c) of the Code of Student Conduct, it is a disciplinary offence to submit work for a current course if that work has already been submitted or given credit elsewhere—even if that wasn’t at McGill. The only exception to this rule is if the instructor has explicitly given a student permission to use something that was submitted in a previous course.

What happens if a student is accused of plagiarism?

Under article 37 of the Code of Student Conduct, instructors are not permitted to impose their own penalties on students for plagiarism; instead, all allegations of plagiarism are required to go through McGill’s formal disciplinary process. Most likely, a student would first learn that their assignment was being reviewed for plagiarism upon receiving a formal letter by email from a Disciplinary Officer—often the Associate Dean of the Faculty—inviting them to an interview. This letter would typically also indicate which article of the Code of Student Conduct the student has been accused of violating and would inform the student that they have a right to an advisor (e.g., from Student Advocacy at the Legal Information Clinic at McGill). Prior to the interview, the student can view the evidence in support of the allegation that they plagiarized. The interview is an opportunity for the student to explain the situation and for the Disciplinary Officer to then decide whether or not they committed plagiarism, and, if so, what the appropriate sanction should be.

If a student is accused of plagiarism, there is no need to panic. Students can seek help from Student Advocacy, a service provided by the Legal Information Clinic at McGill. Within the university context, Student Advocacy can advise students on their rights and how to navigate McGill’s network of policies and procedures, facilitate negotiation and discussion with university officials to informally resolve disputes, and represent students in formal university hearings.

How does a student avoid plagiarism?

Avoiding plagiarism starts with good study habits. When doing research for a paper or lab report, students should keep track in their notes of where they found each piece of information. Additionally, they should develop a system for recording when they have quoted directly from a source, as well as when they have paraphrased. Keeping such notes helps avoid the risk of later including something in the final product that was an unattributed direct quotation from another source.

Good writing habits are also key to avoiding plagiarism. When using someone else’s words, these words should always have quotation marks at their start and end. Bear in mind that changing a couple words of someone else’s sentence often isn’t enough to make it one’s own. Even small strings of words may need to be in quotation marks if a student read it somewhere else. If, instead, a student chooses to paraphrase what they read, they should make sure that they are expressing the idea completely in their own words. Regardless of whether a student is quoting or paraphrasing, every idea they find elsewhere must be attributed using the appropriate citation method for their assignment.

 

Student Advocacy is a service offered to McGill students by the Legal Information Clinic at McGill. Student Advocacy advises and represents students in their internal disputes with the university and its policies. If you need help from a Student Advocate, contact Student Advocacy with the directions found here. To learn more about your rights as a student more generally, visit McGill’s Student Rights and Responsibilities webpage or SSMU’s Know Your Student Rights resource.

Science & Technology

DDoS cyberattack brings down popular sites like Netflix and Spotify

by Charlotte Hings on

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On the morning of Oct. 21, many of the world’s most trafficked websites—including Twitter, Netflix, Reddit, Paypal, and Spotify—were unreachable for users on the East Coast of the U.S. due to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) cyberattack on the domain name system (DNS) provider Dyn DNS. DDoS attacks are among the most common types of cyberattacks, but last week’s was one of the largest attempts ever.

DDoS attacks work similarly to overwhelming a waiter at a restaurant with orders. If there are many people flooding a restaurant simultaneously, then many will have to wait a long time before their order is taken. In cyberspace, a server can become overloaded with connection requests to the point where it reacts with a total denial of all connection requests and the websites can no longer be accessed. Servers are designed to handle a very large amount of requests; therefore, an attack of this scale would have to be thoroughly organized and involve a large number of devices.

This kind of coordinated attack is usually done with the help of automated bots. Bots have many legitimate uses, but for cyberattacks, they are particularly powerful because they have the capacity to send out multiple connection requests at a time. Cyberattacks can become even more powerful when bots send these connection requests from many devices at once. Typically, bots are distributed by viruses that can function in the background of a running computer without the user even being aware of their presence.

Last Friday’s attack did not target the websites themselves; instead, it attacked the DNS. The DNS is what a computer uses to match a website name to an actual IP address—its precise location in cyberspace. Dyn DNS became overwhelmed with requests impeding its ability to perform and handle requests. The Dyn DNS malfunction stopped users from connecting to the proper IP addresses even though the websites themselves were fully functional.

DDoS attacks are becoming more and more common and powerful, causing a great deal of concern for the future—given that there is ever increasing reliance on online sources for everyday activities. Molly Sauter, a PhD candidate in communication studies at McGill with a focus on hacker culture, stated that protection from this type of attack is most important for Business-to-Business (B2B) connection websites. These sites pull together information scattered around the world into one spot, such as Twitter, SoundCloud, and many of the sites that were affected by last week’s attack.

Many sites—especially those with confidential or financial information—are equipped with safety features such as two-step login verification, asking the user to type in a special code or check off a box to prove that they are not a robot. Steps like these are being added more frequently to websites as an added security measure against cyberattack bots.

Sauter mentioned that the best—and possibly the only—way to control cyberattacks of this nature is to support politicians and political parties who promise to bolster internet regulation, as cyberattacks are currently illegal. Even with website safety features in place, it is impossible to completely control DDoS and other types of cyberattacks by technological means, meaning that political power over the internet will become increasingly important for the future. If illegal internet activity is not regulated by some governing body, then DDoS and other types of cyberattacks have the potential to become more frequent and powerful.

Editorial, Opinion

Unacceptable and urgent: McGill must reach agreement with AMUSE

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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After a meeting with the McGill administration on Oct. 28, the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) called a five day strike, which began on Oct. 29. AMUSE is a labour union representing approximately 1,500 casual and temporary employees in both part-time and full-time positions. It has been negotiating with McGill for a new collective agreement since April 2015, when the previous one expired. It is unacceptable that negotiations have taken this long and that AMUSE members have been forced to operate under an expired agreement during this time. McGill must recognize these demands and find a way to incorporate them into the new collective agreement as soon as possible. 

On a flyer handed out after members of the union voted in favour of strike actions in a special assembly on Oct. 20,  AMUSE highlights five priorities: Equal treatment of casual workers, accurate job descriptions and pay, seniority and benefits for casual workers, a living wage, and improvements to the Work Study job posting system. AMUSE has also asked for McGill identification cards to be administered to its non-student members, to allow them access to McGill buildings and services. In a press release, the McGill administration stated that a consensus was reached on Oct. 24 regarding “the content of a possible agreement on this matter.”

Given the fact that casual employees are relied on to fill full-time positions, it is imperative that casual workers are respected and given as much job security as possible. Rights such as recognition of seniority and priority for re-hire are not egregious requests. If casual employees are fulfilling the tasks of long-term, full-time employees, as stated in AMUSE’s bylaws, they deserve “access to the same benefits, in a manner proportionate to their work hours, as regular full-time employees at McGill.” This is especially important for the non-student workers that the union represents, who aren’t covered by student health plans at McGill. 

Furthermore, part-time positions on campus are important sources of employment for those unable to secure jobs in the city of Montreal, whether because of visa or language constraints. As such, it is imperative that these workers are treated with respect and that opportunities for these students to find stable employment with fair wages on campus are as available as possible.

 

 

 

A lack of accessibility to Work Study jobs and insufficient wages, benefits, and respect for casual workers are issues that negatively impact present workers—especially those with financial need—and must be a priority for McGill.

AMUSE supports the Fifteen and Fair movement in calling for a $15 minimum wage, but this demand is about more than just a number. It is about advocating for equal treatment of workers, respect, and paying people fairly for the work they do. Although it is likely infeasible for the administration to implement such a change overnight, McGill should take leadership by committing to raising the wages of its casual workers with a strict plan and deadlines. Presently, these are between $10.85 and $12.24 per hour, with the lowest class only ten cents higher than Quebec’s minimum wage of $10.75 per hour. Regardless of whether it accepts the $15 demand, McGill has an opportunity to take a leadership role in this movement by increasing the minimum wage of its workers—something that is increasingly becoming a nation-wide trend. 

According to AMUSE’s negotiations update, its main aim in meeting with the administration on Oct. 28 was “to secure a commitment from the employer that the Work Study job system will be renovated according to [its] members urgent needs.” Students are only at university for a short period of time, and the university’s inaction and refusal to meet this demand has negative consequences for students on the Work Study program. In the current system, these students are not guaranteed a job on campus, despite qualifying for financial aid. Specifically, AMUSE is asking for Work Study jobs to “be posted in a transparent and standardized manner” and for the creation of a feedback system in order to “empower students to have a say in how the Work Study program affects the students as workers.” Although there is a database for job postings, it is not mandatory for Work Study jobs to be posted, making it difficult for students to find positions on campus.

A lack of accessibility to Work Study jobs and insufficient wages, benefits, and respect for casual workers negatively impact present workers—especially those with financial need—and must be a priority for McGill. The time for foot-dragging in the process of negotiations has long passed.

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that McGill currently has a freeze on hiring.

 

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

American Honey is a dizzying roadtrip through the southern U.S.

by Dylan Adamson on

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Following in the tradition of ambitious “American ________” titled films (i.e. Psycho, Graffiti, Beauty, Sniper, Hustle), American Honey seeks to encapsulate its moment in history. Thankfully, director Andrea Arnold’s vision of a romantic road trip delivers everything it promises in one of the grandest statements of the fall movie season. 

Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, American Honey is a hazy bus tour of America’s capitalist social ladder. The film follows 18-year-old Star (Sasha Lane) on her journey from dumpster-diving in Muskogee, Alabama, to selling magazines door-to-door across America’s Bible Belt. 

The film begins in small-town Alabama, where she provides for her deadbeat boyfriend’s two young children. It’s not until she encounters Jake (Shia LaBeouf), Krystal (Riley Keough), and several other friends—dancing to Rihanna’s “We Found Love” atop a K-Mart checkout counter—that the film’s premise takes off. Star promptly casts aside her figurative shackles and quickly finds herself in a packed van, drinking Smirnoff and rapping to Kevin Gates with her new surrogate family. 

American Honey’s music embodies the wild trans-American journey of its characters. It includes tracks from across the spectrum of American music, juxtaposing exuberant Atlanta trap with sentimental country, and some surprising alt-rock gems. Arnold’s choice to play Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s delicate “Careless Love” during Star’s tearful experiment with prostitution makes the scene all the more heartrending.

Star’s road trip probes the complexities of modern American society. From all-white cowboys in an all-white Cadillac, to condescending encounters with middle class mothers, to meth houses and malnourished children, the film’s door-to-door format is an ideal vehicle for Arnold’s comprehensive and personal tour of the South. As Star’s understanding of American wealth disparity broadens with each sales pitch, the experience of drunkenly rapping along to E-40 in a crowded van begins to feel more suffocating than liberating.

As Star’s disillusionment grows, one never feels as if Arnold is critiquing from an outsider’s perspective, largely due to Robbie Ryan’s brilliant cinematography. His style is shaky, but never obvious. Frequent shots of the passing landscape create a sense of realism removed from the trivialities of modern class distinctions that Star and her cohorts confront every day. The wandering gaze of Ryan’s camera is comparable to director Terrence Malick’s work, but the gritty realism of Star’s journey keeps this film tethered to Earth. The film’s brutal honesty is softened by its affinity for the South’s natural beauty. Expansive shots of oil fields, lens flares as the sunlight pokes through trees, and a fascination with wildlife offers respite from the heavy subject matter.

American Honey is rounded out with outstanding performances from its three leads. Sasha Lane’s magnetic debut will undoubtedly draw Oscar attention. Opposite her, Shia LaBeouf embodies the role he was born to play. Braided rat-tail trailing behind, Jake bounces across the screen, charming customers, stealing jewelry from homes, and tumbling across lawns making out with Star. Completing the love triangle, Riley Keough delivers an understated, authoritative performance as Krystal, ruling the sales crew with an iron fist.

One of the film’s flaws is its neglectful treatment of the crew’s other members. The rest of this tightknit band of individuals are acknowledged only as traits—one plays guitar, one is obsessed with Darth Vader, and another always whips his penis out—and serve as little more than the constantly partying background in shots of Star staring out the van window.

Through to its devastatingly ambiguous conclusion, American Honey is a dizzying tour through modern class divisions. The three-hour run time feels pleasantly spacious, allowing for thought-provoking contemplation. A film that will leave you reeling for days, American Honey is a grandiose statement that feels essential from start to finish.

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