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McGill, News, SSMU

Panel addresses what it means to be an indigenous ally

by Zoé Rochat on

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On March 22, members of the McGill community attended a panel on indigenous allyship as part of the Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Indigeneity and Allyship 2016 event series.  

The panel, co-hosted by SSMU Indigenous Affairs and the Education Undergraduate Society (EdUS), aimed to define what it means to be an ally and how students can become involved in the issues affecting indigenous communities. It answered questions on how to best support members of Indigenous communities and how to collaborate successfully with them. Three speakers shared their views on the topic: Paige Isaac, a member of the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nations and the coordinator of the First People’s House at McGill; Tayla Lalonde, president of the Aboriginal Peoples Commission for the Liberal Party of Canada-Quebec and board member for Indigenous Access McGill; and Patrick Brennan, executive director of McGill’s Institute for the Study of International Development. 

The panel opened with the question, “What is the most important part of being an ally?” Isaac began by stating that being an ally is a process rather than a label.

 “It’s something that you’re constantly striving to be or do,” Isaac said. “Your actions are speaking more than words, you’re standing with whoever you’re being an ally with, not speaking for them [….] It’s learning, educating yourself on different issues, hearing from diverse perspectives, listening to the news, [and] talking to resource people at universities [and] businesses.” 

 Lalonde stressed the importance of mutual collaboration, through the acts of both listening and understanding rather than always asking questions.

 “A lot of times, people think that they are being an ally when they are constantly asking the marginalized person to tell them their story,” Lalonde said. “[This] approach is a little misguided because it’s exhausting to be that person who always has to answer those questions over and over again [….] By asking those questions you are also triggering deep-seated issues for people because a lot of people [… have] been marginalized.”

For Brennan, being an ally is about supporting people, not forcing your own viewpoint on marginalized groups.

“You can be there to support, or what I like to say ‘lead from the side,’ but you need to be careful not to confuse the destiny of a marginalized people with a solution that you have come up with,” Brennan said. 

Lalonde went on to explain the benefits that can arise from an ally’s privileged social position—particularly among university students.

 “If you have access to student government or decision-makers because of your place of privilege […using] that to push issues for [the] indigenous community, [is] a really effective way of being an ally,” said Lalonde.

Lalonde also shared her personal experience as an indigenous student at McGill and how she felt the lack of indigenous content from the moment she arrived.

 “When I think back to when I started [at] McGill in 2008, what I always remember is how invisible I felt,” Lalonde said. “I was sometimes one of the only indigenous people in my classes [….] I didn’t see myself reflected in the course content anywhere [….] There wasn’t any dedicated time in discussing the indigenous viewpoint.”

Lalonde specifically described an instance when she felt erased as a member of her Cree society.

“I remember sitting in an anthropology class and I remember learning about Indigenous people from this white male professor,” she said. “No insult to white male professors, but it was strange to hear this person talking about our people, Cree, from his anthropological perspective, which kind of made it feel like we didn’t still exist.”

 Going forward, Isaac emphasized the necessity of having more indigenous faculty members and offering more indigenous-focused classes. 

“[Provide] more opportunities for people to engage in Indigenous pedagogies,” Isaac said. “I’m hoping if your voices are loud enough to say ‘we want this,’ [the school] would listen.”

This article has been corrected. The panel is a part of SSMU's Indigeneity and Allyship 2016 event and not as part of SSMU  and EdUS' Indigenous Awareness week, as previously reported. The Tribune regrets this error. 

Science & Technology

Islamic art inspires metamaterial

by Andy Wang on

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On March 21, McGill University’s Facebook page shared a video that demonstrated a unique type of material called an auxetic, expanding while being stretched. The metamaterial, designed Dr. Ahmad Rafsanjani, a member of the Pasini lab in McGill University’s Faculty of Engineering, is unique because when it is stretched, it becomes wider and longer. Conventional materials such as metals or plastics, on the other hand, contract in the direction lateral to the force exerted upon them. That is, they get longer in the direction they are pulled in, and shorter in the opposite direction—longer and thinner.

Due to this unique property—defined in mathematics as exhibiting a negative Poisson’s ratio—engineers categorize auxetics as a class of metamaterials that possess mechanical properties above and beyond that of conventional objects.

Bistable auxetics are desirable in any industry that requires smaller packaging. They may have applications in medical stents, which are used to treat narrow or weak arteries. Traditionally, a metal or plastic tube inserted into a blood vessel is used keep open previously blocked passages. Having a flexible material will enable smaller arteries to be treated with greater precision. Additional applications include satellite panels, where smaller packaging is essential in delivering the payload into space.

Scientists and mechanical engineers have studied auxetics extensively. As a result, the conventional square auxetic, a ‘base’ model for this class of metamaterials, has been very well described. In order to stay in an expanded form, conventional auxetics require a constant and continuous force to be exerted upon it, and this unfortunately makes the material difficult to commercialize.

DesignDaily: Material that can grow when stretched is inspired…

Inspired by Islamic art; a group of researchers at Canada’s McGill university have engineered a new kind of stretchable material that can grow when stretched.A ‘metamaterial’ that when pulled in one direction, expands also in a lateral direction. In other words, when stretched, the material becomes wider, rather than just longer and thinner.Video via: New Scientist Credits: A Rafsanjani/McGill University

Posted by DesignDaily on Monday, March 21, 2016

On the other hand, the auxetics designed by the McGill team is bistable. Bistable auxetics require no such additional force to stay in an expanded conformation, and consequently possess myriad of applications ranging from aerospace to biomedicine.

“Before [my design], the only bistable auxetic that has been described were complex origami patterns,” Rafsanjani said. “They were hard to make. Graduate students sometimes spent days just folding the patterns.”

Researchers first discovered the bistability of origami structures in a paper published in Advanced Materials in March 2015. And the design developed by Rafsanjani can be created using a laser cutter in less than an hour.

 

“The beauty of purely mechanical systems is that they are scale-free,” Rafsanjani explained. “Essentially, a model developed in a lab can be changed into any size for any practical application.”

Born and raised in Iran, Rafsanjani attributed his geometric designs to Islamic art, specifically the patterns found on panels of a 1,000-year-old Iranian tomb; however, Rafsanjani cites all forms of art as sources of scientific inspiration.

Similar patterns inspired Rafsanjani in his bistable auxetic design. (Elli Slavitch / McGill Tribune)
Similar patterns inspired Rafsanjani in his bistable auxetic design. (The McGill Tribune)

“Throughout my life I attempt to find elements that inspire me” he explained. “Artists are not bound by [the same] practical and physical constraints as scientists.”

It appears that art, as an element of inspiration, is a recurring motif in Rafsanjani’s works. In a paper about metamaterials published in 2015, Rafsanjani cited artist Ron Resch in his introduction.

However, Rafsanjani’s description of his materials as being inspired from Islamic art has been met with criticism. Some have argued that Islamic art is not an all-encompassing term and that science and art should not be mixed.

“I could very well have said ‘Persian Art,’ or ‘Iranian Art,’” Rafsanjani said. “Of course this would have been a lot less controversial. But the geometric patterns that I used are part of an artistic theme synonymous with Islam. To use another name would simply be not true.”

Regardless of where he draws his inspiration from, Rafsanjani plans to continue his scientific work.

“I am dedicating my life to the pursuit of scientific achievement,” he said.

Joke

Varsity LARP team wins regional championship

by Jack Mackland on

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Spirits were high this past weekend at Parc Mont-Royal, where the McGill Redmasters claimed victory at the Provincial Varsity Live Action Roleplay Championship (the PLARP). In a riveting final battle against reigning LARP champions the Concordia Orcs, Redmaster co-captain Dave Stipinski and his high elven broadsword, Deathslayer, dealt the winning blow to the last of the Orc forces.

“We’re really just thrilled to be here,” said an exhilarated Stipinski at the trophy ceremony, which was unfortunately cut short by scheduled park maintenance.  “It’s an honour to compete against the Orcs, and league heavyweights like Frollo Boulderspine and Khan the Nightbringer.”

It’s been a long journey for Stipinsk—or the “Roddick Assassin,” as he is known around the league—and his teammates. Although familiar to many students as an endearing if odd staple of Tam Tams, competitive LARPing has received far less public attention. The Redmasters were only given varsity status this Fall, after co-captain Erica Cowell placed a curse of eternal damnation upon McGill Athletics and Recreation. 

“Throw demonic runes into the mix, and suddenly the admin’s not so keen to play hardball,” Cowell, level 12 druid and potions major, joked.

Per the stipulations of the curse, funds were reallocated from the McGill Quidditch team, and the Redmasters made their debut into the varsity community. 

The team faced an uphill road to the championship, however. Scheduling field time at Molson Stadium between Redmen and Martlets practices proved difficult – training sessions are held primarily in Stipinski’s basement. The team also struggled to gain adequate storage space for its equipment in the McGill Sports Complex. 

“Standard issue lockers just aren’t built for full-body 12th century armor and chainmail,” Cowell explained. “And a decent longsword? Forget it.”

 Logistical difficulties were only the beginning. Disaster struck halfway through the regular season, when star player Harry Presley was suspended after pummeling a 10-year-old recreational LARPer with his fire mace. The victim, now recovered, reportedly “thought they were just playing a game” when he unknowingly wandered into a cutthroat team practice at Parc Mont-Royal. Presley allegedly mistook the minor for a particularly well-costumed dwarf, but was nonetheless suspended from the league for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

The players have also struggled with marginalization in the McGill sports community. 

“It’s not always obvious, you know, but it’s the little things,” Stipinski said somberly while sharpening his broadsword. “We didn’t get a table at the Varsity Gala, our gameshave pretty low turnout, professors still won’t accept battles as reason for assignment extensions. People don’t take us seriously as athletes. But I think our win today is really going to change the conversation.”

When reached for comment, McGill varsity football quarterback Charlie Laval wasn’t familiar with LARP as a sport, but did know Stipinski personally as “that dude that was always playing Settlers of Catan in residence”. Laval didn’t address Stipinski’s recommendation of traditional goblin battle strategy to improve the Redmen Football team’s performance. 

Up next, the underdog team hopes to continue their winning streak at the National LARP Championships in Kingston, Ontario this May. With increased funding, they’re also looking to get matching letterman chainmail.  

*This article is a work of satire and a part of our joke issue*

McGill Gym
Hockey, Martlets, Men's Varsity, Podcasts, Sports, The Sport Authority

The Sport Authority EP. 5: Life as a club athlete at McGill

by Mayaz Alam and Nicole Spadotto on

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[audiotrack title=”The Sport Authority Ep. 5: Life as a club athlete at McGill” songwriter=”Mayaz Alam and Nicole Spadotto” date=”March 26, 2016″ width=”700″ height=”200″ src=”https://24f2041bb5b609d25f1a97039f71682cc9154421.googledrive.com/host/0B9rQxTeDv2duM0FmSjBSYkZFS1k/mcgill%20athletics.mp3″ autoplay=”on”]

There are many athletes at McGill. Some are varsity athletes that represent the university, others are recreational athletes who play a sport to stay in shape or to keep their mind off of school In the middle are club athletes who play on teams such as Ultimate Frisbee, Equestrian, and Women's Lacrosse. In the fifth epidsode of the Sport Authority, Editor-in-Chief Mayaz Alam talks to staff writer Nicole Spadotto about her experiences as a varsity athlete with the Martlet hockey team and as a club athlete with the Women's Lacrosse team.

McGill, News

McGill Senate reacts to BoG decision to not divest

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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Following the McGill University Board of Governors’ (BoG) vote against adopting Divest McGill’s proposed actions, the Mar. 23 Senate meeting had members discussing transparency in McGill’s finances and actions. Maintaining ethical research behaviour was another topic of deliberation, as well as ensuring that no student final evaluations weighted higher than 75 per cent.

Fossil fuel divestment

The BoG announced on Wednesday that McGill will not divest from its holdings in fossil fuel industries.

Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Medicine Representative David Benrimoh raised concerns over the secrecy surrounding the BoG vote, blaming both the abrupt scheduling of the meeting and the increased security presence.

“[Divest McGill] is such a huge issue on this campus, it has raised so many concerns, that to think it was an oversight that led to such an important decision being made public immediately before the [the Senate meeting], where most likely students will come to voice their dissent is very concerning,” Benrimoh said. “I must say that the appearance of this is unfortunately in line with past appearances that led students to criticize with respect to openness and transparency.”

Provincial budget

Following the tabling of provincial budget on Mar. 17, Principal Suzanne Fortier emphasized the increased stability of McGill’s previously uncertain finances.

“This is the first time in quite a number of years that the university sector will not be asked to absorb a cut to reach a balanced budget,” Fortier said. “We are now moving to a different place and a different regime where we will see investments.”

Financial prospects were  increased investments into the university sector. The federal government allocated $2 billion to infrastructure and $95 million to the Granting Council, a government council that assigns grants to university research projects.

“As you can imagine, with the no cuts coupled with investment, it means we’re in a much better situation than we’ve been in previous years,” Fortier said. “It’s now our time and our turn to show that we’re going to be there as a strong research and academic community to be important key players in making good of these great investments.”

Revision to examination policies

Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens spoke of his ongoing intention to revise the student assessment policy, introducing a motion to prohibit  professors from giving final exams weighing over 75 per cent of the grade without providing alternatives.

“This is the first step in a series of revisions we’re going to bring to the student assessment policy,” Dyens said. “The current student assessment policy does not allow for more than seventy-five percent for final exams but there were too many loopholes in that policy and we wanted to close these loopholes.”

The Faculty of Law is exempt from this policy. Dyens’ future revisions are expected to be complete by December 2017.

Ethical research

Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) Michael Di Grappa reaffirmed Senate’s stance against unethical suppliers of research materials. In particular, the focus was on responsible animal use in health and biomedical research, with Santa Cruz Biotechnology being a recent offender.

“We wrote to [Santa Cruz Biotechnology] some time ago after this issue was brought to our attention in terms of practices with respect to animal welfare,” Di Grappa said. “We are working on a supplier code of conduct that we will include in every contract going further.”

Senate also passed a motion to establish a statement on academic freedom.

“The scholarly members of the university have the freedom to pursue research and artistic creation and to disseminate their results, without being constrained by political or disciplinary orthodoxies, monetary incentives, or punitive measures as a result of their academic pursuits,” the statement reads.

Faculty of Arts Senator John Galaty clarified the reasons for creating this statement.

“Of course [there] is no intention to diminish the importance of accuracy and referral to findings in the field that we would expect any teacher or instructor to follow,” Galaty said. “[But] does this belong as part of an assertion or a statement of academic freedom? I think not.”

Creating a healthy community

The meeting closed with Benrimoh’s presentation on the Quebec Health Professional Students’ Roundtable—a newly formed group that it intends to hold an open public summit discussing Quebec health policies.

“We’re looking to hold the first true consultation on the future of Quebec health policy that this province has seen, to our knowledge,” Benrimoh said. “So if you care about health care, if you’ve ever been a patient yourself, or have families that have, or if it’s something you are peripherally interested in, please come, we’d love to see you there.”

Football, Sports

A Super Bowl cover-up: How Baylor hid its sexual assault scandal

by Joe Khammar on

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It’s official: Baylor University is the master of subterfuge. At a time when sports media is ever more scrutinous of allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by high-profile players, Baylor managed to keep its case of sexual assault away from the headlines. One of the best college football programs in the United States, Baylor managed to bury not only the sexual assault, but also hid the subsequent cover up, despite media inquiries. In October of 2013, a Baylor Bears football player—Sam Ukwuachu—allegedly raped an unnamed female student.

Despite the substantial amount of evidence against him, Ukwuachu was found innocent by the university. The school, according to the New York Times, never asked for the rape kit, which showed evidence of bleeding, redness, and violent friction. Unfortunately for the survivor, the school did not give her any recourse measures or justice. Publicly, Baylor said nothing about the incident. In June 2015, the Baylor defensive coordinator simply said that Ukwuachu had some “issues” but would play the season. It wasn’t until a week before the trial that anyone outside of the affected parties and the University even knew about the sexual assault case. Ukwuachu ultimately lost the case and was sentenced to jail for sexual assault.

Baylor only issued a response to the sentencing in the form of a letter released Feb. 7, 2016, the day of Super Bowl 50. The letter, written by Baylor President Ken Starr, states: “Last fall, Baylor University’s Board of Regents initiated a comprehensive external review of the University’s response to previous reports of sexual violence. Pepper Hamilton, one of the nation’s most experienced law firms with expertise in the institutional response to all aspects of sexual misconduct, is conducting this review.”  Starr, at least on the surface, wanted to show that he rectified the issue by improving the process by which the school handles reports of sexual assault. The problem with the letter was that Starr released it on a day when any news not concerning the Super Bowl fell into a vacuum. Starr almost certainly knew this, given his previous experience with sexual assault cases and the media coverage they receive as an investigator for the Monica Lewinsky case against former US president Bill Clinton. It is entirely plausible that he wanted to keep any acknowledgment of wrongdoing under wraps. Ultimately, it was not the university’s failure to protect its students that Starr attempted to cover up, but his own ineptitude in handling a sexual assault by one of Baylor’s athletes.  

Unfortunately, this problem does not solely exist at Baylor. In April 2012, three McGill athletes—Ian Sheriff, Brenden Carriere, and Guillaume Tremblay—were accused of sexually assaulting a Concordia University student. It is unclear to what extent McGill looked into the case, if at all. It then allowed the students to continue playing in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The university claimed that it did not find out about the allegations until May 2013, and did not take action against the players because the case was under the jurisdiction of the Montreal police as the incident in question occurred off campus.

Once Baylor learned of the allegations against Ukwuachu, it prevented him from playing. The fact that the charges were ultimately dropped against the McGill athletes does not change the fact that the school did not conduct an investigation, or involve itself in disciplinary actions from the period of April 2012 to November 2013. Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens only began his term two months prior and was not even on the staff when the school found out about the charges, yet he was the only member of the administration to offer comment to the Tribune when the details of the case first broke. Like Baylor, McGill also showed irresponsibility and ineptitude when faced with questions surrounding its athletes.  Hopefully, in the future, issues such as these will be resolved with a greater sense of respect for the survivor and less blatant favouritism for the perpetrator.

Movies filmed at McGill
Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Spotted: McGill in the movies

by Anna St. Clair on

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When you’re trying to make it to your 8:30 a.m. lectures on a freezing cold February morning, it’s hard to imagine that McGill resembles the bowels of the Pentagon or a military base during the zombie apocalypse. Yet in the past, Hollywood has managed to transform locations around campus into exotic locations. Here are a few Hollywood films where you can spot McGill in the background. 

Brooklyn (2015) 

Brooklyn was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay at this year’s Academy Awards. While its plot and action revolve around the New York City borough of its title, the movie was actually filmed in Montreal. Producers chose Montreal because it resembles 1950s Brooklyn more than present-day Brooklyn. The film follows Eilis (Saoirse Ronan), an Irish immigrant, to New York in the 1950s. While working as a cashier, Eilis takes night classes at Brooklyn College, whose classrooms and hallways look suspiciously similar to McGill’s—becuase they are. The scenes at Brooklyn College were actually filmed in the McConnell Engineering Building. When Eilis first arrives in New York she stays at a boarding house for young women run by the cranky Mrs. Keogh (Julie Walters). Keogh enforces a conservative lifestyle on the girls, especially when it comes to bringing boys over. The interior of the boarding house was actually filmed at Alpha Delta Phi fraternity on rue Stanley. 

X Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

The seventh movie in the X-men franchise transformed the Arts Building into the 1970s Pentagon. Professor X (James McAvoy), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), and Beast (Nicholas Hoult) take a tour of the Pentagon while hatching their plan to break Magneto out from the maximum security prison cell below. 

While Magneto’s actual prison cell is a sci-fi construction of white hallways and glass, the main floors of the Pentagon are recognizable as the Arts Building’s main and basement hallway. A department of defense seal can be seen on the floor, right outside the main entrance and Moyse Hall theatre.  On his way to steal back his helmet, Magneto marches through the Arts Building’s basement hallway, where the row of seats and outlets will be recognizable, yet seems eerie when devoid of students studying and munching on Subway. 

Warm Bodies (2013)

Warm Bodies is a new take on Romeo and Juliet for the zombie-obsessed cultural era. Nicholas Hoult plays R, a zombie who yearns for emotional connection. He finds it in Julie (Teresa Palmer), a human, and daughter of the military commander leading the fight against the zombies. Military vehicles and personnel roam the Y-intersection and the façade and interior of the Redpath Museum have been transformed into a military base and human safe-zone. The scenes take place at night, and the interior of the building has been altered—digitally and physically—so it’s a little difficult to recognize McGill. Warm Bodies does provide us with one piece of useful information: In the event of zombie apocalypse, the Redpath Museum makes for an ideal shelter. 

Get Smart (2008)

Steve Carell plays Max Smart, also known as Agent 86, the bumbling spy of secret agency CONTROL in this 2008 comedy. After being accused of being a double agent for terrorist organization KAOS, Agent 86 is put in a prison cell located in the basement of the Arts Building. The location choices of X-Men and Get Smart raise an important question: Why do movie producers see McGill and immediately think “this would be great as a prison?” After breaking out of his cell, Agent 86 drives a car through the main entrance of CONTROL headquarters, played by the Arts Building’s main entrance. Perhaps this explains the recent construction? He drives them past the Three Bares fountain before his car stalls and he hails a cab at the Y-intersection. As the CONTROL headquarters is supposed to be set in a fictionalized Washington D.C., an American flag flies on the flagpole, and a US mailbox can be spotted on the corner of the Y-intersection. 

Opinion

Zooming out on Quebec’s immigration issue

by Albert Park on

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A survey conducted in 2013 revealed that only 40 per cent of McGill undergraduates remained in Quebec after graduation. These results reflect a worrying trend in regards to the province’s ability to retain newcomers, a problem which is partly responsible for its steady decline in population growth rate. In an effort to alleviate this issue, Quebec Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil recently outlined a new policy aimed at streamlining the immigration process and improving the retention of foreign talent in the province. Parallel to Weil’s plans, proposals around immigration policies have been stirring up on the federal stage as well: Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship John McCallum has stated that the Liberal government will bring in up to 305,000 permanent residents by the end of 2016, with an increased focus on family reunification and refugee settlement.

The federal government’s decision to shift their priority from economic immigrants to families and refugees has attracted criticism. Since the main reason for economic migrants to come to Canada is in search of job opportunities, they are portrayed as benefitting the nation’s economy, which in turn will bring in more immigrants. But in the case of Quebec, the issue is not so simple due to strict language requirements. But as section 95 of the Canadian Constitution states, immigration policies are a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments. As such, it is possible that the federal government’s immigration policy will complement Quebec’s policy objectives­—especially given the factors that cause new Canadians to leave Quebec.

 

 

The provincial government must look to introduce other influences to make foreigners feel like they can make a permanent home in Quebec, despite initial challenges in the work field.

In discussing the topic of immigration in Quebec, the elephant in the room must be addressed: The strict language requirements. Regardless of where one stands on the province’s voracious language debates, there is no denying that a primary cause behind the drain of new immigrants in the province are the poor career prospects offered to non-French speakers, which in turn contributes to declining economic growth. Quebec has one of the highest rates of unemployment amongst immigrants at 11.5 per cent. Bearing this in mind, it is unlikely that bringing in more economic migrants, who are by definition mainly looking for improved livelihood, will boost the province’s growth rate.

Instead, in order to reconcile the steep language requirements with the need to retain more foreigners, the provincial government must look to introduce other influences to make foreigners feel like they can make a permanent home in Quebec, despite initial challenges in the work field. Foreigners will only learn French and plan to integrate into the working world once they feel ready to fully settle down in the province. Family reunification is one effective way to facilitate this.

A good example of this can be seen through international students in Quebec. International students often come to the country without their parents or partners, and some of them eventually become permanent residents of Canada as well. These students may come to Quebec for schooling; however, without a solid foundation of family members in the province, it is difficult to view it as a home, and so they see it as a stepping stone towards graduation after which they leave to another province with better economic opportunities. If these students enjoy their lives in Quebec and could sponsor their families to live in the province as well, it would provide more incentive for them to stay and build a career, boosting the retention of foreign talent. In conjunction with Weil’s plans to smooth out the integration of immigrants into the province by providing more access to French education, increased settlements of families in Quebec can be a boon for the provincial growth rate.

The federal government’s plans to bring in more refugees can also work symbiotically with the provinces’ goal to retain more immigrants. Quebecers are already doing their part to welcome new Syrian refugees in the province and to make them feel at home. Community support and engagement with newcomers is an effective way to plant a long-term desire to become a part of the province.

 

 

 

 

 

Albert Park is a U2 student in Microbiology and Immunology. He is passionate about world issues and has been a volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross for 5 years.

 

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 
Archie's pal Jughead
Art, Arts & Entertainment, Books

Pop Rhetoric: Jughead’s coming out marks the new era of Archie 2.0

by Selin Altuntur on

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After 75 years, the Archie universe is undergoing a much-needed update. In July of last year, for the first time in the comic’s history, Archie, along with its multiple spin-off series centered around specific characters, was relaunched with an aesthetic that reflected a modernized Riverdale universe with ‘edgier’ characters and storylines. Archie and his friends now look almost unrecognizable after their creators abandoned the classic drawing style that had remained largely unchanged since the comic’s debut in the 1940s. Archie’s art is sleeker and more attractive, rendering it more appealing to audiences that may not be particularly familiar with the comics and their cast of characters.

(popcultureaddictlifeguide.blogspot.ca) (popcultureaddictlifeguide.blogspot.ca)

But this overhaul doesn’t simply stop at the surface. The comic is trying its hand at tackling relevant social issues that have been thrust to the forefront of public discourse as of late.  In a recent issue of Jughead, it is revealed that the titular character identifies as asexual. Jughead’s lack of interest in dating has been central to his character since the beginning, and regularly played out in his vocal disgust of women and preference of eating to dating. However, the character was still assumed to be straight until the recent reveal, a move that was met with lots of praise on the Internet, particularly considering the pervasive invisibility of asexuality in the media. 

This isn’t the first time an Archie character has made headlines for coming out. In 2010, Kevin Keller was introduced in an issue of Veronica and came out to Jughead as gay soon after his introduction. This was pretty big for the comic at the time, as they had never included a character who had identified as anything other than straight. Keller became so popular that the creators began an entire series centered around him. however, the move was controversial, and after Keller was introduced as an adult in a Life with Archie storyline where his marriage to another man was shown, some groups called for the removal of the comic from stands at Toys ‘R’ Us. In response, a story was written in Kevin Keller about Keller facing adversity and homophobia at school.  

(tor.com) (tor.com)

It’s great to see a well-known comic adapting to the current social climate and addressing issues in a positive and thoughtful way;  however, the best thing about the inclusivity of Archie comics is that its characters are not treated as novelties—every new thing you learn about them feels natural and has a place within the story.  Although Archie comics are obviously making an effort to be contemporary, they are not doing it in a way that objectifies their characters for token diversity. Jughead’s asexuality, although a recent revelation, is not all that hard to believe. As a character, he has only ever had one relationship with another character, Ethel, and he has generally only agreed to dates in order to get a free meal. His distaste for dating and displays of sexuality have been central to his image, and his asexuality naturally fits in to the identity fans have come to love about him.   

In fact, other than an artistic overhaul and a greater emphasis on social commentary, Archie comics have not changed all that much. The characters themselves are still familiar, as is the dynamic between them. Reading a new edition of Archie or Jughead won’t be a jarring trip into a new world, it will still feel familiar to longtime fans of the comics. Perhaps this is the most admirable aspect of the comic’s rebranding: While it has developed its characters and adapted to a society in which individual sexual identity can be accepted and celebrated, it still remains close to its relatively unassuming, happy-go-lucky roots.

a, Features

Realizing the full potential of a generation

by Joy Aguilar on

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During the recent United Nations (UN) conference on climate change (COP21) last December, youth activists successfully negotiated with member states to acknowledge the importance of intergenerational equity when taking action to address climate change in the Paris Agreement.

“This is a testament to an entirely youth-driven, multi-year lobbying effort to situate the well-being of future generations as a core principle of climate policy,” Adam Hasz, member of the SustainUS youth delegation to COP21, said.

The inclusion of intergenerational participants in the Paris Agreement is one example of effective youth engagement in a UN conference. More specifically, intergenerational equity contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

According to the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi,the role of youth as partners will help determine the success of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“We need to engage youth as partners in development […] not to support young people as if they were a charitable thing, but we need to invest in young people because it’s a smart investment,” Alhendawi said.  “We can’t achieve the SDGs if youth are considered as beneficiaries […] there are too many to cater for. They are half of the world’s population, and in some regions like in Africa, the number of young people will continue to grow over the next 40 years.”

As part of his 2015 electoral platform, prime minister Justin Trudeau included 217 promises—one of which is to create a national youth advisory council, “consisting of young Canadians aged 16 to 24 to provide non-partisan advice to the Prime Minister on issues the country is facing.”

The implementation of a national youth advisory council is one way that young people may be involved in decision-making processes on a domestic level; however, this doesn’t account for youth involvement on an international level.

In order to shift the perception of youth as beneficiaries to partners in the international sphere, young people need to play an active role in decision-making processes that affect them, alongside governments and other stakeholders. Youth can participate in decision-making processes on an international level through the United Nations Youth Delegate Programme.

The program allows young people to represent youth perspectives from their country at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and functional commissions of the UN Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) as part of their country’s official delegation.

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