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Arts & Entertainment, Music

Music streaming party could #SaveNelly

by Morgan Davis on

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Tragedy has struck one of the most prominent musicians featured on middle-school dance playlists. Nelly—proud wearer of Air Force Ones and Band-Aids—reportedly owes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)  over $2.4 million USD in unpaid taxes since 2013 and an additional $150,000 to the state of Missouri, according to a leak from TMZ. Brian Josephs, writer for Spin, calculated that to help clear Nelly’s debt, fans would have to collectively stream “Hot in Herre” a total of 287,176,547 times. Through social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, the #HotinHerreStreamingParty had thousands of loyal fans express their concern for Nelly by streaming the song. 

It’s important to support the arts and up-and-coming artists in the music industry; however, it’s also vital for artists to prepare themselves for the changing methods of music sharing. Over the past few years, streaming websites such as Spotify have been criticized for the payout received by artists. For each song played, the musician earns only a fraction of a cent, specifically between $0.006 and $0.0084. Comparing inexpensive monthly subscriptions to individually purchasing a song for $1.29, the choice seems obvious for many music-listeners. Thus, a majority of millennials choose to subscribe to a streaming service. The #HotinHerreStreamingParty  is an interesting byproduct of the battle between musicians and music streaming platforms. Some artists insist that streaming services can damage their careers, yet others insist that adapting to changing methods of music sharing is vital to achieve success.

 For instance, Chance the Rapper, an American musician taking the industry by storm, is climbing higher and higher up the charts despite not charging for his music. The artist behind Coloring Book releases his mix tapes for free on social media platforms, preferring to make his money through touring instead of album sales.  Chance the Rapper recognizes that his audience is a part of the generation raised on torrenting their music from sites such as LimeWire or Video-to-MP3. In a Rolling Stone interview, he described signing to a label as “a dead industry.” Rather than desperately holding on to that old system, he looks to the future. 

On the other side of the controversy stands ten-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift. She has publicly taken a stance against Spotify, arguing that she doesn’t agree with their method, as the model threatens struggling artists that depend on music purchases for a living wage. While some artists, including herself, have had enough success to not be significantly impacted by this sharing system, many musicians barely receive payout for their work played on streaming services. 

This debate brings us back to the #HotinHerreStreamingParty movement. The aging artist struggles to pay off his debts, one can’t help but notice the prodigious amount of song plays needed to reach the fundraising goal.  For someone like Nelly, who has been producing and releasing music for almost two decades, it seems almost unfair that consumers get unlimited streaming of his songs while he receives such a miniscule payout. As a budgeting college student, however, the idea of paying for each song individually rather than paying only $10 a month for limitless music is less than ideal. 

Until the debate over streaming sites is resolved, all that can be done for the cause is to jump on board with Nelly’s streaming party. Streaming rather than purchasing individual songs has become the dominant form of music sharing. Understanding this, an individual playing Nelly’s  biggest hits may have little effect, but if enough fans band together, streaming may actually be an avenue for salvation. So, get out your speakers, log on to Spotify, and get ready to listen to “Hot in Herre,” one of the most musically advanced songs of the century. It’s time to #SaveNelly.

News, SSMU

SSMU copes with reality of failed base fee increase

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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The current Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executives have been forced to adjust operations to fit the new budget constraints caused by a failed Winter 2016 referendum motion. The motion proposed a $5.50 increase to the SSMU base fee but failed by 0.3 per cent. The current SSMU executives have adjusted operations to fit the new budget constraints caused by the failed referendum motion. SSMU President Ben Ger assured that the majority of these adjustments consist of reorganizing services and expanding avenues of revenue.

    “Sacha, the new Vice-President (VP) Operations, is working […] on the Student Run Cafeteria (SRC) to make sure this coming year we see major reductions to its costs, improvements and alterations to its menu, and additions to its structure and space,” Ger said. “Niall, our VP Finance, is working on a number of budget scenarios that we will be further exploring in the months to come.”

Temporary student club restrictions

    SSMU is currently not accepting applications for new student clubs, although Ger emphasized that clubs currently holding interim status can still apply for full status and that full status clubs have nothing to fear.

“There are no plans for these temporary restrictions on the ability to receive interim club status to become permanent,” said Ger. “As of now, the entire executive is committed to making sure that this isn't the situation for very long.”

SSMU VP Finance Niall Carolan explained that without the approval of the SSMU fee increase, the creation of new clubs is difficult to accommodate due to a lack of available resources and funds.

“When you create a new club, they need a new bank account [and] they need to have their signing offices approved by the accounting department and myself,” Carolan said. “Not only does it put a strain on our internal resource process, but we also have a great deal of technology that we use in conjunction with club administration.”

Gerts and Student Run Cafeteria operations

SSMU’s largest operations are the SRC and Gerts Bar. Both suffered from a lack of profits last year, and a drop in revenue is expected due to the McTavish Street construction. SSMU VP Operations Sacha Magder hopes that restructuring will improve the profitability of SSMU businesses.

“We realized that staff need to have more training, and most importantly they need to be able to train each other,” Magder said. “Moving forward, we'll be tracking the sales of all meal options to make sure we cut anything that isn't selling; this results in reduced waste and allows us to replace stock with more popular options.”

Magder said that a key issue was a lack of consistent branding, noting that ‘The Nest,’ ‘Grill,’ and simply ‘Second Floor Cafeteria’ have all been used to refer to the SRC.    

“I’ve been working with our marketing team over the summer to define our brand identity and to develop a marketing plan,” Magder said. “We’ve proposed some new ideas–which are confidential for now, but will be released soon–that were validated by working groups in the last week of August.”

Magder hopes to run Gerts activities that will appeal to students. He listed themes, trivia, and open mic nights as potential regular events. B-week was one such an event, providing discounts on various drinks at Gerts from Sept. 12 to 16.

“We’ve already [completed]  B-week […] to keep the momentum rolling from Frosh, and we’ll be having many more fun events throughout the year to make Gerts more than just another bar,” Magder said. “Most importantly, we’re looking to work much more closely with the faculties. We’d like to collaborate for more events and to use Gerts as a basecamp for various events across campus.”

Monetizing the Shatner Building

    Carolan pointed to the member base fee, Gerts, the SRC, special operations (such as SSMU Minicourses), and rental space as the primary sources of income for the Society. He stressed that SSMU is mandated to not repeatedly run on deficits, and believes that student operations alone cannot generate the necessary profits.

“We’ll never be able to rely solely on operational revenues to sustain the Society because it’s a multi-million dollar non-for-profit, and those aren’t the kind of profits you can expect from that scale of student-run initiatives,” Carolan said. “So with that in mind and the failed base fee of last year, there are only so many different avenues of funding that we can pursue.”

Carolan explained that renting space to corporate sponsors is a reliable source of income, and saves costs for the student body as well.

“Before utilizing corporate sponsors, I wanted to make sure that our internal operations were running as effectively as possible so that I would have an idea of our shortfall,” Carolan said. “The only time we’d use corporate sponsors is to save passing that cost to students.”

Rather than charge students or clubs for running events–such as Activities Night–corporate sponsors carry the costs in order to advertise on campus. Carolan believes that this is an effective way to cover costs, provided that the focus remains on students.

“I do agree that we need [to] keep an eye on [sponsors’] impact on the events and make sure it doesn’t detract from the entire experience,” Carolan said. “That’s really the point of it, if we have to use sponsors, we want to use sponsors who are relevant to students and hopefully provide a benefit to students at the same time.”

Yearbook mementos

After several years of running a deficit, McGill’s yearbook has been discontinued. The SSMU executive team has expressed a desire to see it continue in some form, but details remain unspecified.

“It was just an unfortunate cost-benefit analysis where we thought, if there are these hundred students who are actually buying it, is it worth incurring this many thousands in deficit to make that happens,” Carolan said. “I’m not sure […] whether it will be discontinued indefinitely. I hope not, and I think that we’ll be doing everything we can to bring it back.”

Opinion

Campus Conversation: How effective is Frosh as an introduction to life at McGill?

by Erin O'Neill, Neha Rahman, Riddhi Sukhia, Aidan Kearney-Fick, Julia Davis on

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Editor's note: The following answers are based on each contributor’s own personal experiences with the particular Frosh each participated in. Our writers took part in Arts, Rad, Outdoor, and Fish Frosh. Each explores the value of Frosh in terms of building relationships, foundations for life at McGill, and discovering the broader Montreal community.

Content

No Frosh Rad Frosh Fish Frosh Arts Frosh Outdoor Frosh

No Frosh

Erin O'Neill

Every entering McGill student has heard that frosh is the greatest week of university. With this, there comes a lot of pressure to fulfill such high expectations: Frosh can seem like an essential way to make friends in first-year and to explore the city. Feeling this pressure myself, I signed up for Fish Frosh and gave it a shot; however, I quickly realized that participating in Frosh wasn’t something I could force myself into. I only attended frosh for one day—at no fault of the Frosh itself—and instead decided to spend the rest of the week exploring Montreal with a few friends who felt similarly ambivalent towards the lack of freedom that Frosh offers.

The next day, some friends and I took the Metro to the end of the Green line, stopping at restaurants and shops along the way. During Faculty Froshes, a lot of time is spent going on pub crawls and partying at clubs which while fun for many is not the most effective way to discover the city of Montreal. With no set events, we had the freedom to hike to the top of Mount Royal, and then went on to buy poutine and ice cream in the Old Port. We still stayed out until 3 a.m., but it was on our own terms. As a result, we saw parts of the city and had experiences we otherwise would have yet to discover.

In terms of making friends, not doing Frosh acted as its own bond. I met people who shared the similar interests to mine; in a large Frosh group, there is no such guarantee. My friends and I recognized the value of venturing into the city without a plan, as opposed to following the structure and organization of mainstream Frosh. Doing so with such a small group made all of our adventures much more intimate: Instead of spending little time with many people we got to know each other on a deeper level.

It may seem intimidating to take on Orientation Week alone, but Frosh isn’t necessarily for everyone. Deviating from the typical Frosh experience can still offer opportunities for those seeking freedom, meaningful friendships, and personalized adventures.

 

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Rad Frosh

Neha Rahman

Senses of community, identity, and belonging are crucial in a big school like McGill. The central idea of Frosh is to bring new students together under events that help them to get to know one another. Ideally, it should introduce terrified first-years to a community they need and can identify with. I came into Orientation Week knowing that I was not prepared for the amount of drinking that appeared to be the Faculty Frosh prerogative. Indeed, many of my friends in residence complained that being drunk all the time actually hindered the process of making friends. Thus, Rad Frosh, organized and funded through McGill’s Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG)—whose aim is to provide a ‘radical’ alternative to regular orientation activities by means of social-justice based programming—was a great alternative.

For me, Rad Frosh was an extremely effective start to life at McGill because it introduced me to precisely the parts of McGill where I would like to belong. Be it a persons of colour (POC)-only space, or an Anarchist bookstore, Rad Frosh gave me access to resources that suit my needs. The parts of McGill and Montreal I saw through Rad Frosh were parts that the school doesn’t necessarily advertise: We visited the workers’ unions, and learned about both the Divest McGill and Demilitarize McGill groups. We learned about guerilla gardening and gentrification in the Milton-Parc and St Henri communities.

There were both drinking and non-drinking events, but the latter were especially effective because they were carefully organized and engaging. They were primarily workshops in which participants sat with fellow socially-conscious students and discussed politically charged topics. In this way, we got to know each other on deeper levels, which helps in fostering lasting friendships. At events like the Open Mic, we were given a platform to share our creative talents and personal stories through music and poetry, and thus connect with others. Finally, we went to our fair share of bars and had amazing dance parties to boot.

On top of being an introduction to McGill and its surroundings, Rad Frosh introduced me to like-minded individuals who I believe will become lasting friends. It was never about the Anarchist bookstore—which I will definitely be revisiting—but the people I’ll visit it with.

 

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Fish Frosh

Riddhi Sukhia

I had no idea what a Frosh was until I saw it on the McGill orientation website. As an exchange student from Hong Kong, I’d never been to a Frosh in my first year, and did not want to miss out on this traditional welcoming event at McGill. After considerable deliberation over the many options, I went with Fish Frosh, a dry Frosh hosted by four McGill Christian groups. The reason I chose Fish Frosh was not only because I wanted to make new friends, but because I wanted to explore the city of Montreal and not be exhausted after five days of partying. As an added bonus, it was also the cheapest Frosh. It didn’t bother me too much that I wasn’t Christian myself, as Fish Frosh is open to all beliefs. Now that Frosh Week is done with, it’s safe to say that I enjoyed every bit of it, and have no regrets regarding my decision.

Through Frosh, I was able to visit several iconic parts of Montreal with a bunch of friends, guided by our leaders. The Biodome, Mont-Royal lookout, Old Port, and Saint-Joseph’s Oratory were some of the many locations we spent time at. We also had some amazing food throughout—some traditional Quebecois dishes, and some homemade—all of which eased me into the amazing cultural and culinary diversity of the city. Fish Frosh was also a great opportunity for Christian freshmen at McGill to get to know what the McGill Christian community had to offer. That being said, I was openly welcomed and respected as a non-Christian, and never felt out of place.

Spending five days with my Fish Frosh group and leaders meant one thing: I met new friends, regardless of cultural backgrounds, beliefs, or interests. Breaking into the social life of a university as big as McGill—especially as an exchange student—can be challenging. Through Frosh, I made friendships and memories that will not be soon forgotten. I wouldn’t have started my time here at McGill any other way.

 

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Arts Frosh

Aidan Kearney-Fick

Faculty froshes are a melting pot—a way of attempting to blend first-years together over vague commonalities, such as their faculty and whether they are 18 years old or not. Yet despite the superficiality of these categories, many people manage to find those of a like mind and spirit. In my experience in Arts Frosh, I was able to break the confines of the group and meet interesting people that were not limited to my faculty, residence, or interests. Conversations that started through passing comments spiralled into ones of politics, music, and much more. Even at the mass events—the Ty Dolla $ign concert, Boat Cruise, and various clubs—people bonded over wanting to have fun and meet new people.

While there was plenty of alcohol consumed at Arts Frosh, not every event was exclusively intended for drinking. I did not witness any of the horror stories that are common popular conceptions of Frosh, such as people getting their stomachs pumped or being robbed late at night. With their watchful and responsible eyes everywhere, my Frosh leaders made sure that things had an element of restraint and that substance use was at a moderate level.

The safe and calm atmosphere surprised me due to my prior perceptions of what Frosh would be like. I had formerly seen it as just a cycle of bland events with incessant drinking and vapid partying, yet I realized it was much more. For many, Frosh is the first break from the oversight of parents, as well as a true experience of responsibility and adulthood. It is absent from any authoritarian figures, there are no binding social norms to follow, and ease of access to alcohol  is a first for most—including myself. Yet even with these temptations, Frosh was still a fun, safe experience that felt inclusive, enjoyable, and social.

 

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Outdoor Frosh

Julia Davis

Canoe Frosh, one of the six Outdoor Frosh options run by the McGill Outdoors Club, was an amazing bonding experience because of our shared time in the wilderness: We survived very long portages, cooked meals, washed dishes in the lake, pitched tents, played strange bonding games, jumped off cliffs, climbed waterfalls, and looked up at a sky full of stars. All of these added to the sense of trust and companionship that developed during my time in Frosh.

Early Saturday morning, we loaded the bus on our way to Lac Wapizagonke, where we began our life at McGill. On the second day, we paddled to the Lac Wapizagonke Waterfall, where we got to help each other cross the rushing water and then share in the spectacular view from the top. Crossing the waterfall was an intense bonding and trust exercise, as we had to trust in ourselves and in our new friends.

Cliff jumping was also very exciting, especially for those of us who had never done it before. Once again, this was a massive trust exercise, as we were essentially jumping off of a 20 foot cliff and free falling into the water.

Canoe frosh was a very exciting, yet relaxing trip, in which I made strong friendships with some wickedly cool people, rather than just going clubbing every night. This made my first week at McGill so incredibly special.

 

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Art, Arts & Entertainment

Marketing overshadows innovation at New York Fashion Week

by Saif Cheval on

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New York Fashion Week (NYFW) came to a close last night, relieving its captive audience of Snapchat users from the endless onslaught of coverage. NYFW features mostly American designers and is considered one of the Big 4 Fashion Weeks—the others being held in London, Paris, and Milan. 

Though there was much buzz about the week-long event, the actual fashion on display was disappointing. The added confusion of the experimental ‘see-now-buy-now’ system, wherein spectators could purchase a look they saw via cellphone app, had some designers displaying Fall/Winter clothing during what should be a Spring/Summer event (typically NYFW showcases Spring/Summer collections, named for the season in which clothes will comes to retail). 

There were some achievements for diversity in fashion, as well as surprisingly humouros moments. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen of /Portlandia/ hosted retailer Opening Ceremony’s “Pageant of the People” show, turning it into a running commentary on a variety of current issues: Feminism, immigration, and the upcoming American presidential election. An Indonesian designer, Anniesa Hasibuan, presented the first collection in Western fashion to feature a hijab in every outfit. Rapper Young Thug/Jeffery, anointed style mentor at the V-FILES show, stopped a model in the middle of the runway to fix up his outfit, causing a social media firestorm. Opening Ceremony and the non-traditional fashion collective V-FILES showcased some of the better looks of NYFW, despite not being fully recognized as labels. DKNY, with their ode to New York fashion, managed to have the best show of the big American names.

Kanye West’s now infamous fashion line, YEEZY, was one of the first shows of the week. YEEZY’s first season served as a blatant love letter to West’s influences—(Lang, Margiela, Nakamura, Ackermann)—and could be played off as a first-time designer finding their place in the industry. However, now in its fourth season, with very little commercial success to show for itself, YEEZY is more of a spectacle than an innovative clothing line. Besides a slight tweaking in fabric colour, the line has not evolved past being a reflection of high fashion, and hasn’t earned the seriousness that West believes it should be treated with.

Controversy bookended the week: West’s show called for “Multiracial Women Only,” which sparked social media debate surrounding the scrutiny of black features in fashion. Despite that, he managed to once again display the most diverse set of models in the week. Marc Jacobs came under fire for creating dreadlock wigs for his models to wear. He defended (and later apologized for) this choice by asking why no one complains about black women straightening their hair—an incredibly weak defense for the highly controversial gimmick.

Raf Simons’ buzzed-about appointment as chief creative officer at Calvin Klein unfortunately had no effect on this NYFW, with the brand choosing to wait until next season to show Simons’ first collection. Tom Ford displayed his clothes in New York for the first time in six years to a bunch of celebrities that were probably dressed more interestingly than the models. Tommy Hilfiger unveiled a wholly uninspired collaboration with Gigi Hadid, Alexander Wang combined lingerie with beachwear, and Ralph Lauren presented clothes on the sidewalk.

NYFW was, on the whole, disappointing, and the changing purchasing system might have something to do with that. Instead of showcasing future looks, brands are attempting to use the week as an instantaneous marketing campaign. Unfortunately, that makes for a dull series of shows. With Berlin Fashion Week on the rise as a force in the industry, and a growing interest in fashion beyond household American names, NYFW is due for an overhaul. 

Science & Technology

Girls rule, boys sleep more soundly: McGill professor finds hormonal differences affect sleep quality

by Izze Siemann on

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Men and women are constantly compared—whether in sports, academics, or income levels. A new study by Diane Boivin, McGill Medicine and Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, highlights how sex can also impact quality of sleep.

Many scientists have researched the discrepancy of sleep disorders between men and women. An article by CBS News stated that while twice as many women experience insomnia than men, women are less likely than men to have sleeping disorders that involve breathing, such as sleep apnea. Anatomical and hormonal differences between the two sexes are responsible for this disparity. As a result of higher estrogen levels, women can often experience restless sleep during certain intervals of menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. These intervals are known to shift women's internal clocks, causing them to wake up and feel tired earlier than men. On the other hand, men are more prone to experience shortness or lack of break during sleep as a result of sex-specific fat deposits surrounding the neck. However, does someone’s sex impact his or her quality of sleep if they do not have a sleeping disorder?

Dr. Boivin, Director of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute’s Centre for Study and Treatment of Circadian Rhythms, has delved more deeply into this issue. In a recent study, published in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Science, Dr. Boivin highlights a clear connection between biological sex and the biological sleep clock. The study consisted of 26 participants—15 men and 11 women with natural menstrual cycles. Due to the drastic impact of menstruation on biological rhythms of body temperature and sleep, women in two different stages of their cycle were studied. Core body temperature, saliva hormones, alertness, and polysomnographically recorded sleep—a type of sleep test that records biophysiological changes—were measured throughout the experiment. The variation of these measures throughout experimentation suggests that a woman’s vulnerability to sleep disturbances is greater than a man’s. Core body temperature and melatonin levels are both relative to regular sleep patterns, which fluctuated during experimentation. Higher levels of estrogen causes women to have earlier waking and sleeping times than men.

A study using the Horne and Östberg Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire showed that women who have gone through menopause cease to have a different biological clock than men. Estrogen levels increase when women go through menopause causing sleep disturbances;  but once menopause ends, hormone levels drop, making women’s body clocks more similar to men’s. This research reaffirms that hormones have a powerful impact on sleep patterns and quality of sleep.

“The observed difference between the sexes is essential for understanding why women are more prone to disturbed sleep than men,” Boivin said in a McGill press release.

This difference has significant repercussions, as men and women usually go to bed and wake up fairly simultaneously—even though men’s biological clocks are better suited to fit this schedule.

Waking up and still feeling tired after a long night’s sleep? Thank your inner body clock, ladies, because it wants you to establish a rhythm of going to bed early and getting up early—until menopause, of course. This research suggests that women are perhaps not as suited for late night jobs and might fair better at the early-bird specials. Furthermore, Dr. Boivin’s study may allow for more in-depth research of serious sleeping disorders. In the future, doctors may be able to prescribe sex-specific medications in response to sleeping disorders.

            Although common mentalities towards sleep in college include “YOLO,” “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” or “Let’s go out tonight,” it is important to remember how significantly sleep impacts mental health, learning ability, heart and blood vessel health, and obesity. No matter when your biological clock activates, a recommended seven to nine hours of sleep is required to stay healthy and bright.

Science & Technology

Fighting to end AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria: A discussion of global health professionals

by Kate Lord on

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A third of the world is currently infected with tuberculosis (TB). Last year, over a million people died as a result of AIDS-related illnesses and half a million from malaria. Mortalities from these epidemics are staggering, despite improved knowledge of effective prevention and treatment methods.

The solutions for eradicating the world’s most devastating epidemics are by no means neat or clearly defined. This was made clear on Sept. 15th, when McGill hosted a panel of global health professionals, including Canada’s Minister of Health Dr. Jane Philpott, who addressed Canada’s role in ending AIDS, TB, and malaria. On the eve of The Global Fund’s Fifth Replenishment Conference to fight AIDS, TB, and malaria, the panel of speakers discussed the pervasive and devastating effect that these diseases continue to have in both the developing and developed worlds.

“[What] we haven’t quite figured out how to do [is how] to make Canadians, to make our neighbors, to make people around the world realize that the pandemics of AIDS, the reality of malaria […], and tuberculosis in our world [are] outrageous; but, more than outrageous, [they are] solvable,” Philpott said.

The panel emphasized the need for Canada to focus its efforts on targeting populations disproportionately affected by these diseases: Indigenous peoples, homosexual men, sex workers, prisoners, and drug users. In Canada, TB rates for indigenous peoples are 35 times higher, while in Inuit communities they are 375 times higher than the rest of the Canadian population.

“We need to become better human beings, and […] face the fact that until each and every person is treated with dignity and respect we won’t be able to treat the diseases,” Philpott said.

“[We] have to become a more inclusive human family,” said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of The Global Fund.

A key question at the conference was posed by Philippe Gros, Vice-Dean of Life Sciences in McGill’s Faculty of Medicine.

“How do you take […] this enormous amount of scientific data and actually translate it into outcomes for the populations that are affected?” asked Gros.

“[The answer is] to stop looking at things as global or even national, and […] actually to go community by community, use the data that we have, use [it] to drive decision-making,” said Dybul.

Throughout the panel discussion, focus was on the importance of keeping a human perspective.

“People are not numbers, infections are not simply statistics, [and] death is much more than just data,” said Philpott.

This candid lens particularly struck Sophie Huddart, a McGill PhD candidate in the Department of Epidemiology.

“Even [these] people, who are at the highest levels of organizing global health, still have a focus on the individuals who are affected,” Huddart said.

For a more individualistic approach to find effective solutions for these epidemics, Peter Singer, Chief Executive Officer for Grand Challenges Canada, stressed the importance of further innovation. Singer went on to give examples of innovations in patient self-management including the use of text messaging to increase the frequency of HIV testing among Kenyan school-girls. In addition, HIVSmart, a mobile-based app developed at McGill and the McGill University Health Centre, aims to improve rates of testing and treatment for HIV.

Perhaps the strongest and most frequently repeated messages from the speakers were their expressions of excitement towards the large number of students they saw sitting in the audience, surrounded by other members of the academic community.

“Current students are the generation that will or will not end these epidemics,” Dybul said.

“It will be [up to] you to make the difference,” Lucica Ditiu, Executive Director for the Stop TB Partnership said.

McGill, News

McGill hosts 15th annual Pow Wow

by Julia Metraux on

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On Sept. 16, members of the McGill community and public gathered to watch the 15th Annual Pow Wow, an event on Lower Field celebrating indigenous traditions and cultures.

According to Paige Isaac, Coordinator of the McGill First People’s House (FPH), the purpose of the Pow Wow is to engage members of the McGill community with various indigenous communities. Events like these have also started to increase the visibility of indigenous peoples on campus.

“It’s [a] welcoming event,” Isaac said. “These Pow Wows also serve as an introduction to those who do not know a lot about indigenous culture.”

Isaac noted that the FPH, which has funded the Pow Wow since its inception in 2002, organized this event by inviting community members to perform and artisans to sell their ware. 

“Ellen Gabriel [former coordinator of the FPH] invited members of the Mohawk nation to perform to raise awareness. It wasn’t a full Pow Wow that year,” Isaac said. “[Today] we are happy to have representation of Inuit, Métis, and First Nation performers.”

U1 Arts student Kevin Telford Jutrus, who attended the Pow Wow, said events like these make him feel more in touch with his own heritage.

“My favourite part of the Pow Wow [was] the dances,” Jutrus said. “I love seeing people dance tribal style. It brings back the side of my family who’s Abenaki. And it’s always cool to feel cool about part of your ancestry.”

Jessie Bellanger, a political science major from Bishop’s University, said that it was her first time at a Pow Wow.

“I came to Montreal because this event looked very interesting [….] I am taking a class on First Nations culture at my school, so I wanted to see a First Nations cultural event,” said Bellanger.

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Allan Vicaire, the Indigenous Education Advisor for the Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office, who is a member of the Mi’gmaq nation, said this event provided an educational opportunity for students who attended.

“There [was] a moment when they invited the spectators [to] join the performance and dance,” Vicaire said. “The most important aspect of going to a Pow Wow is respecting and learning.”

Artisans and organizations supporting indigenous causes also set up booths around the event. When asked about cultural appropriation of non-indigenous people buying traditional clothing, Vicaire said that this is an important issue that he discusses in presentations.

“We talk about when it is okay to wear a motif, like moccasins,” Vicaire said. “If you like the fashion, go to indigenous artisans and buy it from them. Buying from indigenous artisans supports First Nation communities, going to H&M doesn’t.”

One of the organizations present was the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project from Kahnawake, an indigenous community located across the St Lawrence river just outside of Montreal. Dr. Alex McComber, a member of the Mohawk nation who works for the project, said the organization aims to promote healthy lifestyles for children.

“We work to fight diabetes, so we also promote exercise and healthy living. We’ve helped create paths for walking,” McComber said. “Our organization also works with schools to create a strong health curriculum.”

Vicaire said that in his 15 years attending the event, he hasn’t seen any negative interactions between students and dancers.

“The students who go to these events want to engage in the indigenous culture,” Vicaire said. “They are spectating, soaking up, and seeing all the culture.”

 

Basketball, Know Your Athlete, Men's Varsity, Sports

Where are they now? In conversation with Simon Bibeau Redmen Basketball 2011-2015

by Arman Bery on

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In his sophomore year at McGill, everything changed for Simon Bibeau.

“I tore my ACL in a practice and so I redshirted my second year at McGill,” Bibeau, 2015 McGill commerce graduate and four-year point guard on the McGill Redmen basketball team, said. “That was a complete shock because I had been playing basketball from age six to age twenty basically non-stop [….] That kind of shifted my mindset and I started to think, ‘Listen okay, basketball will only take me so far. I want to develop in more than one way [….] What should I do, what could I do?'”

He has certainly figured it out. Bibeau now holds a position as an investment banking analyst with Goldman Sachs; however, he was not initially drawn to the world of finance.

“I knew nothing about finance before university,” Bibeau said. “I was all ball, that’s all I thought about. I thought McGill offered the best balance of athletics and academics, but I’d say, […] I was really focused on the basketball part of it.” 

His path to Wall Street was neither easy nor straightforward. It took hard work and some luck as well as leveraging his connections. After working as a teller at the Bank of Montreal (BMO) during the summer between his freshman and sophomore season, Bibeau landed consecutive internships at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto and Montreal, respectively.  

“After these internships and getting some work under my belt and some traction, I realized working in a big metropolis like New York was not out of reach,” Bibeau explained.

Through the McGill alumni network, he secured an internship at Goldman Sachs.

“It was a bit of a luck […] but it required a lot of hard work,” Bibeau said. “I got a ten-week internship–it was basically a ten-week interview at the bank–and was [I] fortunate enough to put myself into a position which led to my full time job here.”

Bibeau knows what it’s like to perform under pressure. He was the captain of Redmen Basketball, a two-time RSEQ Champion, and an All-Star. His current analyst job requires the same strong interpersonal skills, problem solving skills, and flexibility that characterized his role as a successful point guard.

“Essentially, each analyst is assigned a set of clients, and you handle that specific group,” Bibeau explained. “However, if you are really close to a transaction with a certain [client], then sometimes your other teams will know that you are busy, and that they might have to accommodate [you]. So there’s a lot of live management going on. Also, some clients are more demanding in their requirements in terms of time-commitment, and so we may be more active with some clients.”  

Sometimes the parallels between the pressures of shooting a basketball and his current employment are more stark.

“As analysts we are there to execute and expectations are binary, you either get it right or you get it wrong,” Bibeau said. “It’s very similar to making a jump shot—it either goes in or not. You can set your form and your arc to how you want it to be, but the ball either goes in the hoop or it doesn’t.”

For Bibeau, coming up big when the odds are against him has always been part of life. After tearing his ACL the season prior, he returned in 2013 to help lead the Redmen to their first RSEQ title in over two decades. Even when the championship game looked out of hand, Bibeau came off the bench to sink twelve points on four of six shots to clinch the title over the Bishop’s Gaiters.

“We were losing by 20 and ended up winning by 18,” Bibeau said. “We really just reversed our own fate [….] It was even more special because men’s basketball at McGill hadn’t won anything in Quebec for the last 25 years.”

The following year, Redmen Head Coach David DeAveiro named Bibeau the team’s captain. The skills he learned as a leader that season, both on and off the court, have helped him immensely in his daily activities.

“I feel that learning about leadership through sports is very transferable to any walk of life,” Bibeau said. “Being able to communicate […] and motivate people becomes natural for good leaders.”

Aside from leadership, McGill taught Bibeau how to balance his life–a tough task for those breaking into the investment banking world, who have to deal with long and fluctuating hours.

“I usually arrive at work between 9 and 10 a.m., and on a good day I leave between 6 and 9 p.m.,” Bibeau said. “On a bad day it’s between midnight and 3 a.m., and on a really bad day, which has happened a few times, it’s [between] 3 and 6 a.m. […] So, it’s usually 12 [to] 15 hours a day.”

Although Bibeau only occasionally plays basketball in New York playgrounds nowadays, basketball has been a constant throughout his life. His father, a former CIS basketball player, was the one who first introduced him to the sport. In typical fashion, his father put up a Fisher-Price basketball net at the top of his door and told him to try to get the ball in the hoop. The simplicity of the game coupled with the difficulty of the task drew him in. From that moment on, he’s never been one to shy away from the toughest challenges. 

 

Favorite Club: “It might just be Tokyo. Tokyo is where it happens! I mean after our championship, the whole team went to Tokyo.”

Favorite Professor: “Ken Lester, who was a professor of finance. I mean he was not a typical professor by any means. He brought a very liberal arts approach to investment [….] He was truly a really good mentor.”

Favorite NBA Player: “Steph Curry. He is one of a kind, new form of player. I think he’s so popular because looking at him, he’s so much easier to relate to for the average person than a physical talent like Lebron.”

Raptors or Knicks: “Spurs. I was able to see them once against the Nets and once against the Knicks. It was awesome”

Montreal or New York Deli: “Montreal. When thinking about really good food, [I] still think back to Montreal. Montreal is very special in terms of food culture. Schwartz’s over Katz’s!”

Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Comedians stand up for feminism

by Ariella Garmaise on

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Successful comedy comes from a place of heartbreak, and from the ability to make what seems devoid of humour funny. The stereotype is that feminists aren’t funny, but by that token, feminism should be a breeding ground for good comedy. Comedy greats like Louis C.K. and Chris Rock base their routines around obstacle, heartache, and depression—but where are these themes more apparent than in a woman’s struggle to exist amongst her male counterparts? At the Concordia Centre for Gender Advocacy’s “Feminist Stand-Up Comedy Night,” headliner Ify Chiwetelu proved that nothing is funnier than a poignant and witty take on systemic oppression. 

The event was hosted in Concordia’s student bar, Reggie’s. With its open floor plan, dimmed orange lighting, and geometric wire seating, both the space and its inhabitants were uniformly trendy. While atypical for a comedy show, the location was actually fitting for the evening. Despite the help from talented performers and a unique venue, the Centre for Gender Advocacy was ill-prepared for a comedy show. The event featured five amateur performers for its open mic portion, followed by an experienced stand-up comedian to conclude the show. The Centre’s Action Coordinator, Stacey Gomez, acted as MC, and was proficient in carrying out her duties as an equality advocate and in creating a safe space for both performers and audience alike. However, she was not a comedian. Often overlooked, a host plays a crucial role in interacting with the audience in between acts, and the absence of a comedian as host set an uneasy tone for the evening. Similar structural flaws followed; one comedian even showed up late and performed after the headliner. The show was a learning experience for the five amateur comics performing, and the Centre for Gender Advocacy. 

Headliner Ify Chiwetelu, who Bad Dog Theatre named their Breakout Performer in 2015, expertly navigated the show back into more comfortable comedic territory. Chiwetelu, who described growing up black in a predominantly white Calgary neighborhood, recalling the microaggressions that crowded her childhood in a way that was both heartbreaking and hysterical. 

“My friends always asked me to bring them to black events,” she remembered. “I wanted to call them and bring them to the bank to talk about RSPs. Every event I do is a black event!” 

She explored more personal terrain, explaining her reluctance to reveal her sexual orientation with self—deprecating wit: “I still haven’t figured out where on the spectrum being dead inside is.” 

Chiwetelu’s retelling of her experience with blackness, womanhood, and sexuality fit the evening’s activist tone without pandering to the audience. She did not limit herself to being a token “black woman comedian.” Her act was populated with random day-to-day observations, ranging from what it is like to have large breasts (“I’m talking mid alphabet”), to being single (“PDA feels like a personal attack”). Many of her colleagues spent their time on stage describing the hardships women face. Yet unlike her counterparts, Chiwetelu did not need to explain to her audience why 'women aren’t funny'  is a ridiculously outdated sentiment—her routine was proof in and of itself. 

Even if the show was logistically somewhat amateur, it was still successful. As Chiwetelu explained after her performance, “I feel like some comedy audiences self-select themselves out of comedy clubs and things like that because they think they might be made fun of or attacked. By saying this is a feminist show, you’re speaking to those audiences and bringing them a comedy that aligns with their politics and their viewpoint.” The Centre for Gender Advocacy will only improve by continuing to host similar events, showcasing performances that are so important to fans of alternative comedy. 

Student Life

McGill goes green at weekly student farmer’s market

by Ella Benedetti on

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It is 9 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, and the walkway at the Roddick Gates is crammed with fresh fruit and vegetables. Monica Allaby, U3 Geography, is busy stacking boxes of squash, tomatoes, kale, eggplant, and other seasonal produce. Allaby isn’t worried about the early hour, however, because she loves working at McGill’s Farmer’s Market as a coordinator.

"I really fell in love with it as a place—a place for people to meet and discuss food,” Allaby said.

The farmer’s market team—accompanied by approximately a dozen other vendors—line McGill’s Y-intersection, illuminating the usually mundane path with the abundance of fresh produce. For the volunteers at the market, selling food is a way to mingle with community members and build important connections in the network of local food advocates.

The farmer’s market is a student-founded and student-run effort that began in 2008. Every Thursday between Sept. 8 and Oct. 27, from 12 to 5 p.m., the market brings fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, homemade preservatives, fair trade coffees and teas, honeys, maple syrups, and some of the best baked goods in the city to campus.

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Allaby became a part of the market team two years ago, joining other coordinators who are all passionate about making local food more accessible.

One integral member of this team is Amelia Peres, U4 Geography. Peres believes that farmer’s markets like McGill’s are a good first step toward making sustainable community-based food affordable for everyone, not just those in high-income brackets.

“My ideal future for the food industry would be a system that would be able to marry sustainably community-based food with food that is affordable and productive for a community, and not just relegated to the upper echelons of society,” Peres said.

The market works to make that dream a reality through their affordable weekly produce Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) baskets. CSA is a food partnership created to support local farmers and to provide seasonal, organic, and local produce to the McGill student body in  weekly produce baskets. Over the course of eight weeks, the CSA provides baskets of three different sizes sourced from three local farms in the greater Montreal area: Les Jardins Carya, MacDonald Student-run Ecological Gardens (MSEG), and Les Jardins de la Résistance. These baskets, which cost between $15 and $30 per week, give students the chance to eat organic and ecologically friendly food, fairly inexpensively.

However, for the market organizers, it isn’t just about providing sustainable produce; it’s about sharing that produce and cultivating a sense of community.

"I realized all the different facets that food has,” Peres said. “How many different ways it manifests and how many different ways it matters to people—in terms of either community, or sustainability, or social justice, all those different things.”

Erlend Bjorklund, U4 International Development Studies student and manager at MSEG—which is the MacDonald campus garden—echoed Peres’ sentiments. After a year-long, full-time apprenticeship with MSEG, growing and selling local produce across the city, Bjorklund believes that initiatives like the student market are a great first step in the process of reuniting people with their food.

"I think [buying local produce] is important to everybody. The whole notion of a food system is that with modernity, we have become more and more disassociated with that,” Bjorklund said. “We don’t know where our produce comes from, we have no relationship to the people who grow it, and we also don’t pay the people who grow it very well [….Buying locally] is way more intimate because you get to see the people who made this happen.”

Despite all of its clear benefits, running the student market and other local food initiatives does not come without challenges. Establishing a consumer network is difficult for small farms like MSEG when the agriculture industry is dominated by large companies.

"With mega-producing agricultural systems—formally known as mono-cropping—massive corporations have virtually monopolized the industry,” Bjorklund explained. “This makes affordable and accessible local planting, growing, and selling extremely difficult to sustain.”

Despite the unfortunate reality of mega-agribusiness, many grassroots initiatives are working to bring attention back to local farming. International movements such as Seed Sovereignty, and community-run initiatives like McGill’s MSEG and Organic Campus are helping local communities reclaim their food.

For Bjorklund, efforts such as MSEG are both more ethical and more community-oriented. Having access to food that is grown in an ecologically sound way, and charged for a fair price, is a privilege. Because many members of McGill’s student body have been given this privilege, Bjorklund notes that they have an even greater role to play.

“Food used to be seen as a bare necessity,” Bjorklund said. “Yes, it is a bare necessity, but it is something that we should treat with respect. It’s a privilege, not a right. We do have a right to food, but we also are privileged to have good food [….] Being a very largely privileged student body, we have this small responsibility to support our local food systems.”

Small efforts like the farmers market contribute to an even larger fight against the corporate aspect of food systems. Where large agricultural corporations may have 100 acres of one crop, MSEG has over 60 crops stretched across two and a half acres of land.

By Thursday afternoon, the McGill Farmer’s Market is crowded with students buying locally-grown produce. The market as a whole has sold a plethora of goods and distributed over 120 food baskets.

For Bjorkland, initiatives like the McGill Farmer’s Market and MSEG help to both diversify the farming industry and put farming back into the community’s backyard.

"With the right policies to help this small movement, we can level the playing field so that those big corporations aren’t so dominating and oppressive and depressive,” Bjorklund said. “You can’t colour your food with monoculture, but you can with diversity.”

To read more about the McGill Farmer’s Market, visit their website. To learn more about MacDonald Student-run Ecological Gardens, visit their website.

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