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a, Science & Technology

The study drug debate takes a new turn

by Clare Fogarty on

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The use of psychostimulant drugs like Adderall, Ritalin, and Vyvanse has become increasingly routine for some university students striving for success. In fact, some studies report up to 34 per cent of U.S. college-level students use non-medical psychostimulants for increased academic performance. Use also seems to vary by social group. For a cohort of fraternity members, this number was found to be as high as 55 per cent.

Pyschostimulants include a broad class of drugs normally prescribed to treat symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity common in patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Some of the most commonly used stimulants are derivatives of amphetamines. For example, Adderall is a mixture of two mirror-image organic molecules—called enantiomers—dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine. 

Amphetamines work by binding to trace amine associated receptors (TAARs) in the brain, triggering the release of natural neurotransmitters like epinephrine (adrenaline) and dopamine from specialized neuronal compartments, called synaptic vesicles. These neurotransmitters increase signalling between neurons, and consequently enhance cognitive activity. This results in increased focus and attention.

For patients with ADHD, regular use of stimulants generally shows a low rate of negative side effects. Thus, prescribing stimulants to those with ADHD seems like a clear solution to treating symptoms. The issue of nonprescription use of stimulants, however, is much less black and white.

Interestingly, stimulants are generally found to have very little effect on healthy individuals, with results comparable to other study techniques like physical activity or meditation. A 2013 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that students merely perceived the drug as strongly enhancing their cognitive ability. Discussing the ethics behind stimulant misuse, consequently, might be a moot point, as they may not actually provide an unfair advantage over other students. Still, others disagree. Biomedical ethicist Dr. Cynthia Forlini from the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical research, explained that while the overall effects of stimulants on students is generally low, the results may vary drastically between individuals.

“There’s a phenomenon [called] the enhancement ceiling,” Forlini said. “You can only be enhanced so far. A higher performing individual will not get a big benefit from these drugs; however, if your baseline performance is lower, these drugs might help you much more. It’s an interesting idea to frame the debate around—an optimizing or normalizing of performance, bringing people to a certain level that cannot be surpassed.”

The issue to be addressed then, is how to frame the debate behind stimulant misuse. 

“If you’re tackling something like prescription abuse, the connotation is very different than if it’s [an] enhancement or a lifestyle choice,” Forlini explained. “You’re not going to talk about fairness—it’s whether or not this is cheating. If you frame it as a lifestyle choice, then maybe—although you’re not supposed to be doing it—this is a choice that you have to help attain your goals.”

Discussing the topic in a neutral light appears to be key to reasonable debate. This avoids the implied connotation behind the different terminologies.

“‘Non-medical prescription use of stimulants’ is a mouthful, but it doesn’t have that ethical connotation of implied benefit, which I think is a problem because the effects just aren’t there for everybody,” explained Forlini. “You’ll find very different effects across individuals, so the idea of enhancement doesn’t always stick. It might not make sense to talk about enhancement if you’re not seeing those effects.”

Ongoing research in bioethics seeks to find the causes behind stimulant misuse in order to resolve this issue. It remains unclear whether it is up to students to seek academic help, physicians to use more caution in prescription, or institutions to consider the question: Why are our students using stimulants in the first place?

The Three Bares
a, Art, Arts & Entertainment

A walk through the wallflowers: Exploring McGill’s visual arts collection

by Chloe Nevitt on

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The art scattered around McGill’s campus is a result of efforts by hundreds of artists over the past two centuries. Though publicly displaying these artworks can result in damage or vandalism, it’s a risk the the Visual Arts Collection is willing to take, according to Visual Arts Collection Assistant Daisy Charles.

“The idea of the collection is for it be public and enjoyed by the community,” Charles said. “What’s the point of artwork you can’t see?”

McGill’s Visual Arts Collection is as old as the university itself; today it includes over 2,300 pieces. Unfortunately, many of McGill’s students don’t realize that such a collection even exists.

“I studied art history [at McGill] and I didn’t even know there was a collection,” Charles said. “I was here for three years writing about art—walking by these pieces—[without knowing] this was a collection that was managed.”
The visual arts collection is actually responsible for decorating the many halls, offices, and spaces on McGill’s campus. The collection isn’t placed in a traditional museum setting, however, where one would anticipate art.

Consequently, a person with a busy schedule and a busy mind won’t notice their surroundings, and as a result, the art on campus often becomes background noise. The rich history of the art and the artists, put on display to ease the eyes of students, deserves attention. McGill, effectively, is the museum.

The Portraits

The Portrait of James McGill

The collection began with the acquisition of the portrait of James McGill in Redpath Hall, which is the oldest piece in McGill’s Visual Arts Collection.

“[This portrait] was done by a really famous Canadian portrait painter [named] Louis Dulongpré,” Charles said. “We [actually] don’t know the exact date of [when] the painting [was completed] but it was donated [to McGill] in the 1830s by one of his friends.”

For the last 200 years, McGill has commissioned artists to paint portraits of people who have worked for the school, like deans, chancellors, and professors—a tradition which is upheld to this day.

“Every principal still, when they leave, has a portrait of them done that is then hung in Redpath Hall,” explained Charles. “Heather Munroe-Blum’s portrait is being finished now [and will be] installed soon.”

The Portrait of Dr. W.H. Drummond

A lot of the older portraits in the Collection have been done by artists who would later play influential roles in the development of the Canadian art scene. In 1907, the landscape artist F.S. Coburn was commissioned to paint a portrait of the late Quebecois poet Dr. William Henry Drummond.

“It’s a really interesting picture [because Coburn] painted Drummond’s wife on one side and then Drummond on the other side,” Charles said. “It’s been flipped [back and forth] over time. For 10 years we’ll do one side, and then [for] 10 years, the other side.”

As a result, past inventories will describe the painting as being of a different person, depending on which side was shown. Today, the painting—with Drummond displayed—hangs in the Faculty Club.

The Sculptures

The Caryatid Fountain

Perhaps most prominent of the sculptures is the large fountain that acts as a chair, meeting spot, and beacon during McGill’s annual Open Air Pub (OAP).

“It’s called the Caryatid Fountain, said Charles. “Caryatid is a classical architectural term for a human used as a pillar to hold something up. The [statue figures] are holding up the bowl, which is then being used as a water fountain.”
The sculpture found at the centre of the fountain is known as the The Three Bares, and was designed separately from the rest of the fountain. Its history is as rich as the life of its creator, American sculptor and collector, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.

In the early ‘20s Whitney was commissioned to make the sculpture for the New Arlington Hotel lobby in Washington, D.C. But when the Great Depression hit, and the Hotel was never built. Bares suddenly had no home.

“[Whitney] was very good friends with a woman named Ellen Ballon who was a famous pianist who went to school at McGill,” Charles said. “Ballon moved to New York in the ’20s, and went to [Whitney’s] studio, […] saw this sculpture, and suggested that [Whitney] give it to McGill.”

For many, the gift was seen as a gesture of goodwill between Canada and the U.S., and consequently it picked up nicknames like, ‘The Friendship Fountain,’ and the ‘Goodwill Fountain.’ For others, the gift was seen as being hugely inappropriate for a campus environment.

“I deplore the erection of three naked male figures in prominent position of the Campus and this statue is a menace to our pure-thinking girls and boys,” wrote one critic to McGill.

Despite the critics, McGill continued its plans to build the fountain, but the process continued to be met with delays, as McGill was also being affected by the economic crisis that was plaguing the U.S.

“It was the beginning of the Depression, and the University had no money,” said Charles. “[So the sculpture] sat in a box for years because no one could afford to build a fountain and set it up.”

In the end, Whitney donated the necessary funds for the installation, and on May 31, 1931, the sculpture and the fountain were officially unveiled. Today, to avoid these kinds of delays, the University will not accept gifts if the donor will pay for the installation.

Lantern

East of the Redpath Museum, not 20 feet from Caryatid Fountain, stands Lantern. Donated to McGill in 1968, Lantern was created by Austrian artist Ernestine Tahedl, the wife of a professor at the university.

“[The piece was] called Lantern because it was originally lit up [by] spot lights inside of it,” Charles explained. “So at night, you can imagine how nice it would look all lit up.”

The university had wanted a piece that would be seen during the winter months.

“It was supposed to be lit, and it was lit for two years,” explained Tahedl. “Access to the lamp was difficult [however], so it hasn’t been lit for years.”

Lantern was a controversial piece when it was first introduced.

“[It] wasn’t supposed to be permanent,” said Tahedl. “It was only supposed to be up for six months. [But] they decided they wanted to keep it.”

Tahedl first made a maquette—a scale model—of the piece in clay. It was then cast in concrete, and pieces of thick glass, called dalles, were set into the stone. The final product is striking and intense—typical of the Brutalist movement that had gripped construction methods during the same era.

“There was a lot of disagreement about it and whether or not the University wanted to accept it and so it was kind of a controversial piece,” explained Charles. “Some people didn’t like it.”

The Visual Arts Committee—which is responsible for advising on the acquisition of artworks—ultimately ended up deciding to accept Lantern.

The Bronze Statue of James McGill & Transition Muette

Not all of the sculptures found around McGill have experienced such tumultuous changes. The bronze statue of James McGill, found near the entrance of Roddick Gates, was done as late as 1996 by David Roper-Curzon. The large sculpture found in front of the Wong Building was done by Montreal-based artist Jacek Jarnus Zkiwicz, as part of a Quebec Policy called the “politique d’intégration des arts à l’architecture” (in English: “Percent for Art”). It requires publicly-funded construction budgets to fall above a certain amount need to allocate about one per cent of their funds to commissioning a new piece of art. The government will then choose from a list of ‘Percent for Art’ artists to do the piece.

Thus, in 1997, when the Wong Building was finally constructed, as part of the policy, so was Transition Muette.

“It’s made of the [four] metals that are being tested on [inside] the building—copper, steel, zinc, and stainless steel,” Charles said. “The idea was that [Zkiwicz] was reflecting what goes on inside, outside.”

A number of factors has made tracing the origins and the locations of all of the pieces in the collection difficult. This is due primarily to the nature of the collection; not only is it big in size, but it’s spread over a large amount of space. According to Charltes, this is compounded by the fact that until recently, the University didn’t have a team dedicated specifically to maintaining the Visual Arts Collection.

“At first, it was someone who worked at the McCord [Museum], who’s job-on-the-side was also caring for the Visuals Arts Collection,” Charles explained.

In April 2013, Wendy Owens became the first full-time director of the Visual Arts Collection. Under her direction, multiple surveys of McGill’s art collection have been taken to determine the history, whereabouts, and value of all of McGill’s art. Today, the team oversees the acquisition of artworks, and their subsequent distribution within the university. It is this flow of art to, and then within, the university is where the unique nature of the collection really shines.

“Things move because people borrow our works,” Charles said. “If you work at McGill, you can borrow an artwork to hang in your office.”

Faculty members can choose from pieces that aren’t already claimed for other areas to decorate their spaces, and if someone no longer wants a piece, it can re-enter the circulation. Before this, the art donated to the university must be approved by the acquisition committee, comprised of professors, administrators, art historians, and architects. They decide whether or not artworks received by the university are appropriate for their audience.

“They try to pick things that pertain to Canada, Quebec, Montreal, or are decorative pieces that would […] enhance the campus,” Charles said. “[They] can’t accept things that aren’t appropriate for public display. [For example], a couple of years ago, an artist offered us a gigantic male nude which was not delicate, [so they couldn’t] accept.”

The process of selecting artwork for a campus is very different than the process required for a museum. Pieces often need to be able to withstand vandalism, be inoffensive, and require little or no background in the form of descriptive plaques.

The art scattered around McGill’s campus is a result of the efforts of hundreds of artists over the past two centuries.

Though publicly displaying these artworks can result in damage or vandalism, it’s a risk the the Visual Arts Collection is willing to take.

“The idea of the collection is for it be public and enjoyed by the community,” Charles said. “What’s the point of artwork you can’t see?”

a, Science & Technology

Chill out—sea levels aren’t rising as quickly as predicted

by Daniel Galef on

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Scientists have been warning for years that it may actually be too late to stop climate change despite concerted efforts by the global community. But the world may not be doomed after all. According to a new paper co-authored by McGill Professor Natalya Gomez from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, humanity might just have a bit more time than previously predicted. 

The paper, published in Nature Communications, outlined the effects of factors that had been ignored by earlier computer models used to evaluate global warming. By including these new aspects, the scientists determined that the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) will melt at half the rate previously predicted. This means there will be more time to plan for and prevent sea level rise and coastal flooding. 

Among the new phenomena examined by Gomez are the fluid properties of the earth’s mantle beneath Antarctica. These include viscosity, elasticity, and even the gravity produced by the mass of the ice itself. Previously, these had not been included because scientists believed their effect would not be significant compared to other more obvious factors, such as sunlight, ocean currents, and greenhouse gas retention.

Gravity makes the water level higher near the icecaps, due to the enormous mass of ice pulling on the sea in a similar manner to the tidal effect of the moon. As the ice sheet melts into the ocean, it loses mass, and the water level drops. Ice, however, melts more slowly when it is not in contact with water. As the AIS melts and loses its gravitational pull on the surrounding water, the surface area of contact between the ice and water decreases, and consequently, the ice melting slows down.

The other factor taken into account for the first time is the fact that Earth will ‘bounce back’ as weight is taken off of it, known as Earth’s rebound. The Earth beneath the ice sheet possesses a degree of elasticity like any other substance. As the sheet melts, and the enormous weight of the ice is taken off of it, the ground underneath the ice sheet will expand upward, and limit the contact of the remaining ice with the surrounding seawater.

The rise in sea level from melting ice mostly comes from a small handful of ‘outlet’ glaciers fed by snowfall and driven by gravity into the sea. Chief among these, as identified by Gomez in a separate article in Nature News and Views, is the Thwaites Glacier, a small but significant site of ice loss in a sheet of ice known as the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE). This relatively unpredictable process is cited by the paper as a major cause of the uncertainty related to predicting levels of destruction.

The effects of icemelt do not end with flooding. The ecosystem is complex and every unbalance has a domino chain of consequences, explained McGill Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Professor Bruno Tremblay. 

“It stratifies the ocean,” Tremblay said. “It isolates the surface water from the warmer water beneath. When you melt glacier ice, you decrease the salinity of the surface water. And freshwater is much lighter than salty water. It’s like a lens of oil sitting on top of water. It’s two different densities, and it prevents vertical exchange between the two layers.”

This has additional ecological implications. Ocean stratification prevents the vertical exchange of nutrients as well as salt. When nutrients are trapped below the photic zone where sunlight reaches, phytoplankton and other basic organisms starve, which can have severe continuing repercussions up the food chain.

Estimates over the next few centuries warn of coastal devastation and runaway ecological upheaval—both from heat expansion and the shrinking of polar ice caps. Even with this new information, it’s only a little extra time that should be used wisely to prevent further damage.

“Antarctic ice loss would add meltwater to the oceans and contribute to future sea-level rise, posing a threat to coastal communities and environments around the world,” Gomez said. 

a, News, SSMU

SSMU hosts forum on possible executive restructuring

by Laura Hanrahan on

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Students may soon have a seventh Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executive according to a forum held this past Thursday. VP Finance and Operations Zacheriah Houston, VP Clubs and Services Kimber Bialik, and VP University Affairs Chloe Rourke addressed concerns and answered questions about a potential new structure, as well as the responsibilities of SSMU executives.

 

Proposed ideas

 

Houston presented the proposed ideas for a seventh executive portfolio. The plan involved creating a new VP Operations position and renaming VP Clubs and Services to VP Student Life.

“The VP Student Life would […] basically be the VP Clubs and Services, minus the building aspect of that portfolio,” Houston said. “[The] VP Student Life [could then] take on some of the workload from the VP University Affairs. The VP Finance and Operations portfolio would be split into a VP Finance, doing all the finance-related aspects of my current portfolio, and VP Operations doing the student run operations […] as well as our building operations […] and environmental sustainability.”

Bialik stated that for a seventh executive to be added for the following academic year, a referendum would need to be held early next semester.

“Over the next two months or so, we would do more [consultation…] and then run a referendum to amend the constitution in January if that’s what students […] wanted,” said Bialik.

Houston addressed questions regarding the allocation of funding for the salary of the seventh executive. He stated that a specific source is yet to be determined, given current budget constraints from last year’s addition of a permanent staff position, and the loss of commercial tenants in the SSMU building.

“Right now [there] is not a lot of room in the general administration budget,” he said. “You would have to restructure permanent staff positions and different student staff positions to shift the salaries around, or there is no money [….] I actually don’t think that adding an [executive] would necessarily make [the total amount of the collective salaries] increase above what they are now […] but in the short run I don’t really see an easy way to pay for it.”

Houston additionally addressed the possibility of raising the SSMU base fee to garner extra funding.

“You can always increase the base fee, but that’s not something I would do for an exec,” he said. “But that’s something that needs to happen at some point any way. [The base fee] hasn’t been increased [for] quite a long time.”

 

The need for restructuring

 

According to Rourke, one of the driving factors behind the addition of a seventh executive, as opposed to student or permanent staff, is the lowered salary that executives receive.

“The reason we’re in favour of a seventh exec is that we’re the cheapest way to get an increased amount of work done,” she said. “Every other student staff gets paid minimum wage, permanent staff get benefits, and we work way more than full-time hours. So from that perspective of money for labour, we are the cheapest option.”

Houston explained that the discussion of whether or not to add a seventh executive has been ongoing since the summer.

“We started talking about how working upwards of 70 hours a week is possibly not the most sustainable thing – once school hits, that number goes up to 80 on a good year,” he said. “This year, we have many executives working 90 to 100, or 100 or more hours a week.”

Rourke echoed Houston’s sentiments, citing sustainability and mental health issues as a major problem with the executives’ current workload.

“Eighty hours a week is not accessible, it’s not equitable, and it’s not sustainable,” Rourke said. “It’s not fair to expect that out of someone and not everyone is capable of working 80 hours a week. I know I’m not [….] I get burnt out, my mental health takes a huge toll and I’m less of use to the people around me […]  and the ones that really suffer at the end of the day are students.”

Houston also noted the absence of a general manager (GM) and VP Internal as factors that made this year’s hours worked per week by the executives particularly high. When the floor opened to questions, Alexei Simakov, U4 International Development Studies, asked whether this year’s excessive work hours should be considered an isolated incident due to these absences.

“Concerns from previous years of execs being overworked have never been as prevalent as this, so would it not resolve itself if there were a full-time [General Manager (GM) and] a VP Internal?” Simakov asked.

In response, Rourke stated that past years have also seen serious cases of executives being overworked.

“I’ve raised [concerns] in the past that this is unsustainable, and this is not cool from a mental health perspective,” Rourke said. “This isn’t the only year that executives have been overworked […] and that’s evident from every single exit report that you read. VP Clubs and Services, more than any other position, has reported [things] like alcohol problems as ways to deal with the work load, extreme burnout, [as well as] rage and anger towards club executives because they can’t handle any more people coming to their door.”

Houston noted that while the addition of another executive member will not necessarily fix the problem, it will alleviate some of the work that current executives do.

“We definitely realize that adding a seventh executive isn’t the answer to everything,” Houston said. “However, we are here because we believe that the portfolios are too loaded and one of the things that can happen in order to, in the long run, create a sustainable structure is to add an executive. The last time this was done was about 10 years ago, when they added the VP Clubs and Services and SSMU has grown immensely since then.”

a, Sports

Behind the Scenes at McGill Athletics

by Morgan Alexander, Mayaz Alam, Elie Waitzer on

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(Photo courtesy of Dr. Gordon Bloom)

Dr. Gordon Bloom

Director, Sports Psychology Research Laboratory

Dr. Gordon Bloom directs the Sports Psychology Research Laboratory and oversees the university’s graduate program in sport and exercise psychology. He played a lot of sports growing up, and says that his interest in the interpersonal aspect of team dynamic turned him onto the field of sports psychology. 

“I was interested in why people behaved a certain way in that environment,” Bloom said. “Two of the people who really inspired me were Phil Jackson at the professional level, and John Wooden at the university level.”

The lab was founded in 2000, and since then, almost every varsity team has benefited from it in some way. Coaches reach out to Bloom as a resource to help struggling players or to talk to the team. Furthermore, many of the graduate students working at the lab do their internships with Redmen and Martlet teams. 

Sports psychology isn’t the first thing you think of when it comes to optimizing athletic performance, but according to Bloom, it’s an aspect of development that’s dangerous to overlook—especially at McGill. 

“[We] make sure that [the athletes are] in a good place where they’re able to balance their sports, academics, and personal lives,” Bloom said. “It’s not easy to do—McGill’s a very demanding school. If you have all three areas under control and in sync, usually your performance will improve; [but] if you let one slip it will carry over into your sports life.”

The basic theory behind sports psychology is simple, and similar to the concept of ‘self-care.’ If you put people in a good place and help them achieve a healthy mindset, they’re going to unlock their potential—whether that’s in the classroom or on the field.

Favourite part of the job: “When people come back to me and say that the guidance that I’ve given them has worked and made them happier and healthier.”

Favourite sport as a kid: “Ice hockey. I always wanted to play in the NHL, but my parents knew I was more skilled at school [….] I didn’t end up playing in the NHL, but I did end up working with players in the NHL."

(Photo courtesy of Geoffrey Phillips)

Geoffrey Phillips

Assistant Director, Sport Programs, Athletics & Recreation

Geoffrey Phillips has been part of McGill for nearly 30 years: First as a student—he got his M.A. in Sports Psychology in 1992—and now as the assistant director of the Sports Programs, Athletics & Recreation.

“I’m definitely more of a programming person,” Phillips said. “I’ve been involved in sports at all levels; I’ve been involved in coaching for many many years. I think it gives me a good understanding of where the coaches are coming from.”

Phillips, a long-time hockey player who considers Wayne Gretzky his sports idol, is a central part of the inner workings of McGill Athletics. Working directly under the executive director of Athletics & Recreation, Phillips is the link between coaches and their programs with the university at large.

“I like to wander around every morning and talk to all the coaches,” Phillips said. “I try to go around and talk to as many people [as possible] about what’s on their mind. I don’t think that’s in my job description […] but I think [that it’s important] so that we can deal with tough issues. In an environment of trust, you have to have that relationship.”

Following the retirement of former executive director of Drew Love, McGill Athletics is going through a period of transition as it searches for a new director. Phillips has taken on a larger role by assisting Interim Director, Philip Quintal, while also introducing new programs, such as the burgeoning Nutrition and Wellness Program, and working more closely with the university administration than ever before.

“I think that we’re on the road to the right place now,” Phillips said. “I sense that we’re going to have a better understanding of what the senior administration is looking for from us, and vice versa and through that avenue we can all benefit.”

Favourite part of the job: “Seeing the student athletes achieve their goals and develop as people.”

Best memory: “The first national championship I was in attendance for—[Redmen Hockey, 2011 …]—I was there in a capacity of administrator on site when they won; and that was an experience I won’t forget [….] Although you’ve played a minor role in the background, just bringing chocolate milk to the players every morning […] you do feel part of it.”

(Photo courtesy of Lisen Moore)

Lisen Moore

Manager, Varsity Sports

With nearly 30 varsity teams, McGill Athletics is a massive operation. Lisen Moore, manager of Varsity Sports at McGill Athletics, is responsible for the technical components and business needs of varsity teams, as well as eligibility registration for athletes, amongst other things. 

“I’ve been very lucky because I have a job that allows me to work with senior administration in the university [and…] also have the opportunity to work directly with students,” Moore said. “As far as I’m concerned, I have the best job at McGill.”

With the cyclical nature that comes with working at a university, Moore’s average day varies considerably from month to month. Additionally, given the increased support for university athletics in Canada, operations at McGill Athletics have changed considerably over the years.

“We used to think that our business calendar was one that had a bit of quiet time in the summer but that’s not the case anymore,” she explained. “We’re really busy in July in preparation for August [….] We have to take in all of the new motions, amend our policies and registration packages to reflect new business […] and roll it out. The quieter periods are December, and it’s  a good time for people to recharge their batteries and reflect on what went well in the Fall [and] what didn’t.”

As an employee of McGill for around 20 years—starting out as the head coach of the Martlet Basketball team—Moore has worn many hats for McGill Athletics.

“I’ve mopped floors here, just because it had to get done,” Moore said. “I’ve served concessions in the past [….] It’s not necessarily in my job description but you’re not going to not do it. I’ve sometimes represented the university or the [CIS] at national meetings or national championships.”

Sport growing up: “I grew up playing soccer, it was the only sport that allowed women to play when I was growing up. I used to try playing hockey in the winter, but I wasn’t allowed to play on the big ice […] so I used to dress up in my brother’s helmet and shoulder pads.”

Best memory: “Bronze medal-winning game for [Martlet Basketball in 1996] at Laval University [….] just how hard that team battled for the win. We lost a very tough semifinal to [University of Toronto] and we had to bounce back the very next day and they were battered and bruised [but] they came out and fought.”

James Davis
a, Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Heartfelt, Funny, and Politically Incorrect: James Davis is everything stand-up should be

by Ariella Garmaise on

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Nestled atop a bar on Rue Bishop, Comedy Works is a small and intimate venue reminiscent of old-timey comedy clubs, complete with dim lighting and an exposed brick wall. On Saturday night, the usually low-key club was abuzz, as stand-up veteran and cast member of Kevin Hart’s TV Show Real Housewives of Hollywood, James Davis, was scheduled to headline. Local comic Eddie King and Washington D.C.-based Martin Amini opened for Davis, each bringing their distinct geographical perspectives to an evening of racially-charged comedy.

“I love all the beautiful white faces in the room—it makes me feel good about my career progression,” Davis cracked as he peered out at his audience, encapsulating the night’s tone. King and Amini had each tried to approach this dialogue as well, yet failed to deliver it in a way that was as clever or insightful as Davis’ routine. 

King discussed growing up within France’s black community, describing his neighborhood as being “more like a jungle than the Paris you guys have in mind.” He referenced a white kindergarten teacher who made him self-conscious about his racial identity when she reprimanded him for drawing his mother as white, (“Who cares, my father was purple!” he joked). These sound bites were endearing, but a language barrier inhibited him. King is a popular and established French comedian making his debut in the comedy scene. His material is funny, but he is yet to fully grasp the nuances of English that would propel his act to the next level. It’s something that will surely come with practice. 

Amini’s following act was funny but less memorable, using oft-heard lines that got some laughs but ultimately didn’t have much weight behind them. The weakness of this performance only allowed Davis to shine that much brighter. Davis began by describing his childhood in an infamously gang-ridden neighbourhood in L.A., describing himself as growing up “hood adjacent.” He dove into the racism he experienced going to a mostly white high school, particularly from the white coaches on his golf team when they discovered he was talented. 

“They go from not telling me where they live to inviting me to their homes,” he recalled. “They’re like, ‘Have you seen the movie the Blind Side?’ We wanna do that to you.”

Davis recounted these memories playfully and confidently; his Californian swagger stood in stark contrast to the stereotypically neurotic New York comedian. He even bravely explored his personal family trauma, starting with his father’s abandonment. 

“Dads in the black community, something happened—they just separated,” he said. “Chasing my dad is like chasing a girl I have a crush on.” 

He continued discussing his personal connection to police brutality in the United States—his uncle was killed by a cop. In response to the Ferguson riots, he exclaimed, “I don’t like the way the U.S .media portrays black riots—like we’re some savages who can’t wait to riot.”   

From playing with the stereotypes of the quintessential black friend, to questioning the millennial obsession with political correctness, Davis’s satire was both clever, meaningful, and an important critique of society’s current trepidation in approaching race. His routine was able to make the heartbreaking funny—just what good comedy is supposed to do.

a, Opinion

The corporate implications of marijuana legalization

by Alexandra Harvey on

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On Friday, Nov. 13, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the first step towards fulfilling one of his most discussed campaign promises: Legalizing marijuana. In a letter to the Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould, Trudeau asked her to begin looking into a “process that will lead to the legalization and regulation of marijuana.” Now that the question of whether or not marijuana should be legalized has been replaced by the question of how it will be legalized, the question must be what marijuana legalization really means from an economic perspective. Canadians have to be wary of the corporatization of marijuana, and the possibility of the profit landing in the hands of a few individuals.

Activists have been protesting against prohibition for years, and have advocated for the legal distribution of the drug in what they deem to be a quest for justice. The criminalization of marijuana possession is seen as a misuse of public tax money. The cause has swept across the nation; according to a 2015 forum poll of a random sampling of Canadian voters, 60 per cent of respondents approve of marijuana legalization. Many assert that Canadians (of legal age) should have the opportunity to safely access the drug. Legalization would ultimately help to regulate underage use of marijuana, and promote awareness about the effects and consequences of the drug, treating it as a health issue rather than a criminal issue.

While the poll is by no means decisive, it indicates that the tide has turned in favour of legalization. Gone are the days of staunch moralism, but in this new context Canadians must maintain focus on the implications of legalization. They must be wary of potential problems relating to the structure of marijuana distribution. In the aforementioned poll, 18 per cent of adults admitted to using marijuana in the past year, and an additional 13 per cent who do not currently use it are now likely to use it legally. The expected market for pot is three out of every 10 adults, which suggests a consumer-base of approximately eight million Canadians. The current worth of the medical marijuana industry is between $80 and $100 million a year, and analysts estimate that the market for legal marijuana could top $5 billion, with $1 billion in government tax revenues. The tremendous size of this emerging industry begs various questions about how marijuana will be regulated, and who will profit from its sales.

 

Ohioans supported the idea of legalizing pot, but decided that the vast economic implications were far too divisive. It will be up to the Canadian government to decide how the industry will be structured—a decision that may have an enormous social impact.
Canada must take heed of what has taken place to the south. In Ohio, the answers to those questions led to a statewide controversy, which eventually resulted in a rejection of the legalization initiative on Nov. 3. Yet 65 per cent of those who voted “No” “rejected the idea of monopoly, not legalization.” Essentially, Ohioans supported the idea of legalizing pot, but decided that the vast economic implications were far too divisive. It will be up to the Canadian government to decide how the industry will be structured—a decision that may have an enormous social impact.
 
The Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative proposed a system in which just 10 marijuana farms that would be run by wealthy campaign donors, transforming pot into an oligopolistic industry. Legalization activists were forced to watch as the ‘corporate takeover’ of marijuana destroyed the authenticity of their cause, as new actors came into the realm that were primarily concerned with profit, and not motivated by a sense of injustice. Pro-legalization groups began to vocally oppose the legal marijuana initiative, referring to the distribution structure as “crony capitalism at its worst,” and calling it a “constitutionalized drug cartel.”
 
Ohio has shown us that the details behind how to legalize pot can lead to dispute and division; it is clear that the debate about how to structure and regulate marijuana distribution becomes larger than the discussion about whether or not it should be legal. Canadian citizens and the Liberal government need to be cautious about similar effects happening in Canada, given the extreme value of the industry that has already been projected. Before Canadians get too excited, it’s important that Canada takes note of the profit in pot, and exactly who it would go to.

 

 

Alexandra is a U1 student studying Political Science and International Development. She is a proud Torontonian, passionate traveler, and knows all the lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody."

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 
a, Opinion

Let’s Talk About Race

by Emma Avery on

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At McGill, issues surrounding sexuality, gender, and consent have come to the forefront of campus dialogue in recent years; however, the same awareness of racial equality and representation does not exist. Conversations about racial issues are so invisible that many students are not even aware that there is anything to talk about at all, despite the fact that, in my experience, racist comments are still present in day-to-day conversation.

Even though racial tensions in Canada have not yet reached the boiling point that they have in the U.S., it does not mean that they don’t exist. Every time another headline-making incident of racism is exposed, Canadians become briefly aware of localized issues—but once media coverage stops, so does the discussion. Rarely do single events translate into sustained dialogue about equity, diversity, representation, and racism as a whole. These are not singular events, but connected phenomena.

Although awareness-raising initiatives do exist at McGill and are important catalysts for change, what is really needed is change in the education structure in order to increase awareness and understanding throughout the entire student body. The lack of representation among faculty and within education curricula must be made visible so that the conversation about race can extend across campus.

 

Rarely do single events translate into sustained dialogue about equity, diversity, representation, and racism as a whole. These are not singular events, but connected phenomena.

Efforts are being made by administrative and student groups to raise awareness about racial issues on campus and in Canada. One of these is Rez Project, which is launching a mandatory workshop, Race and Colonialism, for students living in residence. Initiatives such as these are great in theory and important for bringing such topics onto McGill students’ radars, but are not solutions by themselves, and they do not reach the entire student body. Inevitably, some students don’t notice or see them as warranting attention. Furthermore, racial issues can be extremely individual and may require more discussion and context than Rez Project can provide. Although it is a good start, simply expanding these initiatives wouldn’t have the desired effects without simultaneous change in McGill’s actual education structure.

Weaving the conversation into classroom discussions is crucial to increasing awareness and understanding because it is the only way to ensure that visibility is achieved amongst the entire student body. For example, Lakehead University and the University of Winnipeg have started requiring students to take an indigenous studies course before graduating.

Another part of restructuring education involves better representation among faculty. This might also lead to a greater range of courses being taught, based on works from varying cultural perspectives that are often left out of curriculums. Compared to other Canadian universities, McGill falls short in terms of minority representation at the faculty level, with only one full-time indigenous faculty member relative to other Canadian universities. University of British Columbia employs 33 indigenous professors across faculties, and the University of Manitoba employs 22. Currently, there are no black professors in the department of history, even for classes of African history, and only one black political science professor. McGill is committed in its mission statement to “offering the best possible education” to its students; but to fulfill this, it needs to expose them to a diverse range of perspectives.

If this diversity is not visible to students, it is difficult to have thorough conversations about race, diversity and ethnocentrism. Indeed, universities are the most important places to have these conversations because racial issues, both past and present, are relevant to a wide range of disciplines and influence the way students learn, form opinions, and go on to use their knowledge in society after graduating. Visibility of such issues requires the continuation of initiatives to promote equity and fight discrimination by students, as well as a change in administrative practices. McGill must work towards greater equality through better representation of minorities among faculty and course subjects, as well as the creation of mandatory courses on minority issues. Mandating a class on indigenous studies is no less justifiable than requiring engineers to tak an arts elective (which is the current policy for McGill engineering undergraduates). Many McGill professors and students are aware of these issues, but anyone can look at the demographic of McGill’s faculty and see that it is disproportionately skewed. Greater diversity is necessary to foster greater dialogue, which is central to everything education is about.

 

Emma Avery is a second year anthropology and urban systems student at McGill. Her favourite television show is (still) The Office. She is passionate about soccer, dogs, and St-Viateur bagels.

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

 

 
a, Off the Board, Opinion

When users perish, their social media accounts live on

by Adrien Hu on

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Two weeks ago, I received a rather typical notification from Facebook. “One of your friends has a birthday this week,” prompted the note. “Wish her a happy birthday.”

To a vast number Facebook users, this notification is oftentimes annoying, yet surely innocent in its intentions. But one thing Facebook failed to take into account was that this particular friend of mine had committed suicide two years prior. What ensued was even more disturbing. Two years after her death, my friend’s profile page was full of updated links, holiday wishes, and I-miss-yous. Her social activity had continued as though she were still the person behind the screen—she even added new friends and changed her profile picture. Although all of this was done with good intentions by family and friends in an attempt to remember her, I could not help but wonder: What would she think if she saw this? Was this really what she wanted? For me, this desperate social perpetuation of the deceased is no longer authentic. It strips these individuals—who can no longer defend themselves—of their right to death and peace online. As death is the literal end of a person’s life, updating that individual’s social media post-mortem is inauthentic and disrespectful. Facebook must do more to guard against this.

Currently, the social media behemoth has over one billion users. Due to Facebook’s popularity, three out of five people who die will own active accounts. As of December 2014, over 4,329 Facebook users die each day.

Interestingly, death on Facebook was not always this prevalent. Founded in 2004, the site’s demographic initially consisted only of young college students; death here was rare. As Facebook grew in popularity, more people over the age of 65 began registering compared to any other age group. Now that the overall age of Facebook users is growing older, the problem of deceased Facebook users has, and will, continue to increase.  

Unlike a physical funeral, an online memorial of continuous messages defies the timespan of death.

To remedy the social presence of the deceased, Facebook’s policies allow for users’ accounts to be reported and memorialized. To do this, a user must report the deceased’s name, approximated date of death, and proof, such as a death certificate or obituary. Once memorialized, no one can login or make changes to the profile; the account’s content as it existed before the death will remain as is, along with the privacy settings; other users will not receive birthday reminders or invitations to connect; new friend requests will no longer be accepted, but existing Facebook friends of the user can still share memories in a memorialized timeline. These innovations are all part of an attempt to honour a person’s memories respectfully on Facebook; but, while thoughtful, this strategy is too naïve.

Already, many users have been kicked out of their accounts when obituaries with identical names were submitted as proof of death. Simon Thulbourn, a German software engineer and famous victim of this phenomenon, discovered that there was, ironically, no way to submit proof of his ‘aliveness.’ Only after taking his frustration onto Twitter and going viral, did this prompt an apology from Facebook, and his account’s reactivation.

Also, once the Facebook account is memorialized, new friends cannot be added. In cases where the deceased is not yet Facebook friends with family members, the latter will be locked out from the memorialized timeline, which defeats the purpose.

To top it off, proof of death is not always easy to come by. Without an obituary, only the immediate family of the Facebook user may have access to hard proof of death. Memorializing the account is then up to the family’s discretion and technological know-how.

Facebook’s policies on memorializing users is deficient. A better procedure should be available—one that integrates automation to aid active reports. Phrase recognition algorithms detecting posts with phrases such as “RIP” can be considered. Accounts lacking a set number of posts from the user per year should be flagged for review automatically. But perhaps most importantly, a deceased person’s accounts should be memorialized in a way where no future posts by others is possible. Unlike a physical funeral, an online memorial of continuous messages defies the timespan of death. On Facebook, posts by friends and family stretching out over years after death make it seem as if a loved one is still forever suspended in a state of dying. By eliminating this, social media can preserve an authentic representation of a person’s life, and allow for a peaceful end on Facebook.

Death is a physical inevitability, and we should give it the same closure on social media that it has in real life. In the case of my friend’s suicide, this right to die must not be outweighed by our need to remember on social media.

 

Adrien Hu is a U3 double major in biology and sociology. She is an avid lover of Netflix, anime, and creating emoji. Look, a cat! ^ .. ^

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

 

 

 
a, Research Briefs, Science & Technology

Research briefs: Thanksgiving weekend

by Natasha Michaeloff on

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Pumpkin and mammoth pies

Americans who celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend have mastodons and mammoths to thank for the pumpkin pie on the table. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, researchers established a link between the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna—mastodons, mammoths, giant sloths, and others—and the existence of modern pumpkin and squash in North America. 

The researchers theorized that ancient humans did not originally eat pumpkins and squash because of their toxicity and bitter taste, which results from a compound called cucurbitacin. This acted as the plant’s built-in defence system against predators.

“Initially, humans probably ate the seeds of the wild gourds after some washing to get rid of the bitter taste,” explained archaeologist Bruce Smith to Smithsonian Science News. “[Then, over the course of thousands of years] humans selected for non-bitter forms—they would have grown them and cultivated them and then selected through the seeds, finding seeds that had less bitterness and planting them selectively.”

In order to be able to selectively breed plants, however, there must be a variety of plants to choose from—and this is where mammoths come into play. Scientists have discovered fossilized mammoth dung that suggests that the megafauna who lived 12,000 years ago consumed bitter wild gourds. Since the mammoths’ bodies were so massive, the fruit presented a comparatively small amount of cucurbitacin and posed no harm. 

The seeds would pass through the animal’s digestive tract and be deposited along with ‘fertilizer,’ which would help new plants grow, and spread pumpkins and squash across North America. This created a large pool from which farmers could choose from to domesticate.

“It’s been suggested before—and I think it’s a very reasonable hypothesis—that wild species of pumpkin and squash weren’t used for food early in the domestication process,” said Penn State University post-doctoral fellow Logan Kistler in an interview with ScienceDaily.

Pumpkins and squash have been tested and tweaked to meet the needs of mankind. Like dogs, corn, and wheat, the domestication of squash and pumpkins was a slow and deliberate process, relying on a number of large factors. Today, this has enabled it to become a staple in the diets of people around the world, especially on Thanksgiving.

Loneliness & the body

It has long been thought that social isolation is worse for people than consistent social interaction; however, how much worse and precisely in what way has not been determined—until earlier this week.

According to recent studies conducted at the University of Chicago, the inherent stress of being socially isolated causes the body to trigger sympathetic nervous system signalling. The sympathetic nervous system controls the fight or flight response, and induces changes in leukocytes, or white blood cells. More specifically, white blood cells begin activating what is known as the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA). This induces the expression of genes that contribute to inflammation, and a decrease in the expression of antiviral genes. When the CTRA pathway is activated, and the expression of genes is altered, people become more susceptible to illnesses. 

The study, which sampled 141 adults between the ages of 50 and 68, found to be a reciprocal relationship between CTRA and loneliness, with loneliness even predicting the presence of CTRA and vice versa. 

 “Much of what’s triggered by social isolation is non-conscious,” said University of Chicago psychologist Dr. John Cacioppo, one of the researchers spearheading the project, in his TEDTalk on the subject. 

When alone, the body enters self-preservation mode, which can manifest itself into feelings of paranoia.

“If [one is] looking for dangers, [one is] more likely to see dangers, whether they exist or not,” explained Cacioppo. “[This] culminates in a greater likelihood of negative social interactions, when they do occur.”

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