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Comfort Women Japan
a, Features

Trappings of the past: Should Japan formally apologize for its past war sex crimes?

by Natalie Wong on

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At first glance, the comfort women seem just like any ordinary, elderly citizen. They have wrinkled lines framing their faces, and are slightly hunched over, exuding an air of grace and patience. Many of these women are warmly referred to as “grandmother,” a term attributing to both their gentle appearance and their active role in their children and grandchildren’s lives. Unbeknownst to many who encounter these women, behind this seemingly ordinary facade is a wounded history of deep, immeasurable pain. At a time during their youth when they were supposed to go through the transformational experience from child to teenager, and teenager to womanhood, they were suddenly swept up in the reverberating nightmare of the Second World War. In fact, these grandmothers are commonly referred to as “comfort women”: They were captured at a young age, held captive for many years, and suffered inhumane treatment and sexual violence at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army over 70 years ago. 

Comfort women is the euphemistic name provided by Japan to over 80,000 to 200,000 women who were captured and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army from 1932-1945. By the end of the war, Japan had conducted one of the largest systematic organizations of sexual slavery in the form of comfort stations to provide constant sex for soldiers, in order to improve their morale and their performance on the battlefield. Japanese nationalists often contest the nature of comfort stations—arguing that the government was not involved in setting up the army brothels, and comfort women were willful prostitutes, not sex slaves. 

While comfort women were originally recruited from Japanese brothels, the expansion of the Asia-Pacific War led to a growing demand for women. Following this, many were brought in through corrupt means, where private recruiters working with the Japanese government lured girls  from other regions in Asia to comfort stations with promises of factory employment. The girls were held against their will once they realized the  true nature of their jobs.  For occupied countries in the war, thousands of local girls and women were outright kidnapped. 

Comfort women came from various occupied countries, the largest numbers coming from South Korea, China, and the Philippines, although many also came from countries such as Thailand and Indonesia (a Dutch colony at the time of the war), and more. Some of them were as young as 11 years old at the time of capture. In True Stories of the Korean Comfort Women, former comfort woman, Kim Tokchin, said that each woman had to serve an average of 30 to 40 soldiers per day. They suffered daily beatings, rapes, mutilation, and were on the brink of starvation. Many women were killed, and those who survived contracted diseases. Often ostracized from their families and communities, they lived under severe stigma, physical illnesses, and lack of community support. 

“The existing cultural norms labelled the returned women as immoral and unmarriageable instead of seeing them as victims,” said Professor Kazue Takamura, from the Centre of East Asian Studies at McGill University. “Furthermore, the victims themselves internalized the social stigma.”

In the post-war era, global reparation for war crimes included the Nuremberg trials, Germany’s official apology for the Holocaust, and U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s public apology to the internment camps holding Japanese-Americans in the Second World War. Publicly issued charges against individuals guilty of sexual violence were also held at the International Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

However, the international post-war justice process has excluded the transitional justice of comfort women. The United Nations War Crimes Commission—an agency operating from 1943 to 1948 that identified and assisted governments for trials of war crimes in Europe and East Asia—classified rape and imposed prostitution as deserving of criminal punishment. The Tokyo War Crimes Trial (1946 to 1948), did not include crimes against comfort women. 

“The Tokyo Trial was highly criticized because of the selective process of collecting memory and voices,” said Takamura. “[Its] failure of not recognizing the institutional sexual enslavement made the comfort women “forgotten war victims,” [….] The voices of the comfort women were collectively silenced by the Japanese military, by the international justice system, and by society.”

Ironically, in Japan, perpetrators of war crimes were not only free of punishment—they were able to take up prominent political roles. In fact,  lieutenant Yasuhiro Nakasone’s 1978 memoir /Commander of 3,000 Men at Age 23/, detailed his involvement in organizing comfort stations. His high-profile accounts did not hinder his political career by any means—he became Japan’s prime minister from 1982 to 1987.

“The central issue here is collective silence by the perpetrator, by the international justice system, and by society,” argued Takamura. “The Japanese army brutally picked the most vulnerable populations who did not have voice and power in society.” 

There was an ongoing debate between historical researchers and the Japanese government throughout the ’70s to ’90s, until 1991, when Kim Hak-Sun, a former Korean comfort woman, publicly stepped forward in a press conference.  At that time, the official stance of Japan was to place the blame of comfort women and comfort stations on private civilian recruiters and contractors. Hak-Sun’s testimony globally broke the silence of thousands of women and revealed the harrowing and personal details of their wartime pasts. Her courage inspired other survivors to speak out, and later that year, several women filed lawsuits against the Japanese government demanding a direct apology on behalf of the nation and reparations for their terror . 

Despite Japanese perpetrators’ lack of reparation for war crimes including sexual violence, human experimentation, and massacres, there were initially incremental steps taken towards reconciliation. In 1993, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono  issued the Kono Statement, which acknowledged Japan’s participation in wartime sex crimes. 

“The then-Japanese military was, directly or indirectly, involved in the establishment and management of the comfort states,” Kono said in the statement.  “The recruitment of the comfort women was conducted mainly by private recruiters who acted in response to the request of the military.” 

Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama also formally apologized to victims of Japanese terror during the Second World War, including comfort women, in the 1995 Murayama Statement.

However,  the current Japanese government, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is reversing this step towards reconciliation by contesting the role of the Japanese military in comfort stations. As a right-wing, neo-nationalist, and revisionist government, the Abe Administration has launched a campaign  to remove dishonour to its nationalistic history and restore Japanese imperial wartime pride. This includes full denial of the Japanese government’s direct involvement in human trafficking system during the war and in coerced prostitution. Abe attempted to reinterpet the Kono statement by implying that comfort women were simply licensed prostitutes, recruited by private-sector operators. 

According to Takamura, this contradicts Abe’s position in denying the military’s direct involvement. 

“The Japanese military established a highly institutionalized human trafficking system by integrating non-state sectors in the process,” she said. “Unfortunately, Abe’s position deeply mirrors what the mainstream Japanese politicians and elites stand for concerning the mass atrocities committed by the military in the past. The 1993 Kono Statement becomes merely a friendly mask for the conservative leaders in order to avoid international criticisms.”

Abe ignited the criticism of many East Asian neighbours’ as well as Western countries in his high-profile visit to the Yasukuni Shrine. This monument memorializes Japanese individuals who died during the war, including war criminals. Furthermore, just last week, the Abe administration demanded that the comfort women statue placed outside of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul be removed to improve diplomatic relations.  

According to Takamura, Japan’s post-war discourse was also developed by self-victimization rhetoric among politicians and governments. 

“By emphasizing Japan as a victim of ‘Hiroshima and Nagasaki,’ another mass atrocity committed by the U.S., […] such self-victimization of history and the popular revisionist position made the Japanese leaders even more dismissive toward the comfort women,” she said. 

The Abe regime recently pushed an educational reform bill, removing anything related to comfort women from middle school and high school textbooks in Japan. 

“The key purpose of the educational reform bill is to impose patriotic values in public schools and to control political behaviour and attitudes of educators concerning historical and political understanding, including the war memory,” Takamura said. “The ultimate goal of the […] bill was part of the larger push toward constitutional reform, especially concerning the amendment of Article 9—[using] the renouncement of war as a means to settle international disputes. It has a crucial role to play in terms of constraining Japan’s capacity for militarization.”

Notwithstanding this attack on history within Japan’s educational curriculum, there remains a large gap in global education, too. Many secondary school history curriculums in North America are primarily Western-oriented and do not teach anything about the comfort women. Nonetheless, earlier this year, representatives of the Abe administration asked New-York based McGraw Hill Education publishing company to change the text in their textbook regarding “comfort women.” The textbook only contained two paragraphs on the issue to begin with.  

“These revisionists are trying to achieve this by distorting the past and denying mass crimes including comfort women,” Takamura said. “Today, the conservative position condemns any textbook which portrays the Japanese army in Korea and in the Sino-Japan War as ‘anti-Japanese,’ hannich kyokasho. [….] [These] are seen as the major obstacle for the neo-patriotism promoted by the Abe regime in Japan.”

Education is essential in acknowledging the victims who suffered immeasurable pain at the hands of military leaders. These are individuals who continue to live in the shadow of their torment from the war and received no official apologies from a nation that participated in their anguish. Many victims have passed away without ever receiving an official apology for the pain inflicted upon them, and a large portion of these victims are comfort women— the remaining ones are at least over the age of 80, still awaiting justice. 

Multiple groups have emerged fighting for recognition of these atrocities. Various international organizations have participated in pressuring Japan to properly acknowledge and accept victims’ demands. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Economic and Social Council, Commission on the Status of Women, and Legislatures in Canada, the United States, and the European Union have also passed similar resolutions.

In 2000, Tokyo hosted the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal for the Trial of Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery. According to Takamura, that was an important step in making a comprehensive and accurate historical record for including voices of victims; however, the current geopolitical situation in East Asia is further exacerbating the patriotic and revisionist position in Japan.

“Under such a political environment, I believe that the role of the international transitional justice framework is particularly crucial in terms of collectively pressuring the Japanese government for a formal apology and recognition,” Takamura said. “The major dilemma is that because of the prolonged transitional justice process, we have lost most of the victims and perpetrators. Collecting available living testimonies is an urgent task.”

Since 1997, The Association for Learning and Preserving the History of WWII in Asia (ALPHA), a Toronto-based, non-profit organization, has worked to promote education and critical understanding of the Second World War in Asia so younger generations can learn more about social justice values and humanity from this contest.

“Even today, this historical conflict is still unresolved [and] there are a lot of misunderstandings among young peoples of different ethnic groups,” Flora Chong, ALPHA’s executive director, said. “Our goal is to educate our younger generations in this context […] We have to learn from this and how to prevent this in the future.”

In 2007, ALPHA pushed forward a campaign asking the Canadian government to pass a motion demanding that Japan apologize to all victims of the comfort women issue. Four comfort women survivors were brought in from China, South Korea, the Philippines, and the Netherlands to testify in parliament. The motion was passed unanimously in the House of Commons.

Chong recalls a scenario with a survivor, Liu Mianhuan, who spoke at the first public testimonial in the University of Toronto’s convocation hall. Liu was barely a few sentences into her witness statement, when she broke down in tears. The room was silent; coordinators were unsure of how to react. Should they wait a bit longer? Should they remove her from the witness stand?

“I went to her and [told her she could stop if it was too difficult],” Chong said. “She told me, ‘I [won’t]  stop, I want to tell my story and I want people to believe in what I say.’” 

Not all former survivors carry the same level of courage to come forward with testimonies. Chong said that many comfort women carried this pain after the war, discriminated by families and communities, and filled with shame. 

“I met some grandmas in China, and they told me, [that] every time they talk about [their experiences], their families would treat them badly, one of them even getting beaten by [her] husband,” Chong said. “Of course, there’s a lot to do with gender discrimination and [the] cultural patriarchy phenomenon in Asia, and also lots of survivors and victims [feeling] shameful so that’s why they keep silent for a long time.”

Liu died in 2012 without ever receiving the apology she fought for. In a similar fashion, the last living Chinese comfort woman to sue the Japanese government, Zhang Xiantu, 89, died earlier this month. In 2007, Japan’s supreme court’s final answer was acknowledging the historical fact that Japanese soldiers harmed comfort women. However, they did not compensate Zhang, because the limitation of action for such a lawsuit had passed, and individuals cannot sue the government according to Japanese law. Like Liu, she passed without an apology—one that she had formally sought for 15 years. 

Since 1992, the comfort women and supporters in South Korea have congregated at the Wednesday Protests, peacefully demanding apologies for their captivity from the Japanese government.  Today, the majority are over the age of 80. They sit in wheelchairs, raising posters (if they are physically capable to do so), and ask for acknowledgement of their pains. Just like Xiantu, Mianhuan, and thousands of other women who were victims of the the Japanese imperial soldiers, they have yet to receive one. Approximately 55 comfort women remain alive. For many, it is their last remaining wish. 

Stephanie Wong, a McGill alumnus, joined the Wednesday Protests during a visit  to Seoul in 2012. 

“As I stood alongside them, I was overwhelmed by their resilience and their strength,” she said. “I thought about how at my age, these women had suffered the unimaginable, with their dignity stripped and their youthful spirits shattered.” 

Nothing could ever undo the innocence robbed of them or the years of trauma that followed. Yet, despite this injustice the comfort women suffered and endured, decade after decade, several of them continue to persevere in their fight for justice. 

In all of Wong’s encounters with the comfort women, she saw that all the survivors desperately wanted was for their stories to be heard, recognized, and remembered in future generations. 

“These women are more than war victims or survivors in my mind,” Wong said. “They are heroes, inspiring each of us to persevere for justice. They are willing to relive their pain to tell their stories, in hope that no one would ever have to suffer through what they have experienced.

 

Full disclosure: Stephanie Wong is the older sibling of the author. 

Shaving
a, Art, Arts & Entertainment

Nudism & Cubism: Dana Schutz exhibit sheds new light on Cubist painting

by Ian Rodgers on

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Painter Dana Schutz’ exhibit mixes the experimental vigour of modernism with a personal and approachable style. The work has a clear relationship to cubism, representing figures in an atypically, fragmented manner, but it does not share the clinical eye that is representative of the movement for which Picasso is known. Rather than inviting the male gaze to dissect the female form, Schutz uses the cubist style to explore multiple aspects of her own persona. Works such as “Shaking, Cooking, Peeing” do an excellent job of representing the small but intense moments in life.

These pieces seem to burst with overwhelming movement, reminding viewers of the possibly traumatic nature of the everyday. Schutz’ paintings are extremely tactile, with paint clumped and protruding from the canvas. This emphasis on texture recalls another important modernist movement, abstract expressionism—paintings such as "God 6" allude to that movement, with the physical actions used in the process of painting foregrounded in the work. This technique contributes to the overall visceral sense of Schutz’ work; everything about these paintings is immanent, protruding outwards to shake the viewer. The exhibit makes an excellent use of nudity, using it less for its erotic potential than for its representation of raw humanity. Pieces such as “Shaving,” (pictured above), connect the relaxing setting of the beach with the private ritual of shaving pubic hair. This collision defamiliarizes both settings, bringing the personal into the public in a way that transcends any social norms.

Schutz’ exhibit has a certain youthfulness to it, featuring many figures who seem to be approximations of the human form. As opposed to cubism’s sharp edges, Schutz’ work is made mostly of rounded forms and ellipses. There is a cartoonish element to the works which contrasts with the grotesque subject matter. Works such as “Face Eater” are the most unnerving of the collection: They are undeniably childish, but the cannibalistic themes turn innocence into menace. Along with “Self Eater 3”, these works seem to point at difficulties of defining an identity, reminding the viewer that creation of something new often requires digestion of the old.

This tension between new and old is especially relevant in an exhibition that recalls early 20th century modernism. Schutz does an excellent job of pulling these movements into the 21st century, both through the more personal nature of her paintings and through the inclusion of computers and other signifiers of the information age. It also deals with aspects of female subjectivity that were often pushed to the sideline in the narrative of ‘high modernism.’
The works feel current and relevant; many of the pieces appear to be from within the last decade. Images online can’t convey the effect of caked-up oils protruding from the canvas—the images are worth seeing with their full bodies rather than flattened on a screen. Taking time with individual pieces in the collection is valuable; Dana Schutz emphasizes the relevance of painting as an artistic medium, showing a twisted and fragmented identity prevalent in modern art.

Dana Schutz is being shown between 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (185, Rue Ste-Catherine Ouest). Admission is $5 for students.

a, Student Life

McGill students set up pop-up sushi shop for Restaurant Day

by Amber Hord on

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This past Saturday Nov. 21, thousands of people across the world set up their own restaurant, café, or bar for one day only. “Restaurant Day” is a worldwide event where anyone can set up their own restaurant in their home, office, on a street corner, or even in a park.  It is the world’s largest food carnival and takes place four times a year. Since its beginning in 2011, the festival has seen 23,000 one-day restaurants in 73 different countries, serving a total of over 2.7 million customers.  

The event is set up by a team of volunteers based in Finland, who oversee the event and make sure everything runs smoothly. Restaurant Day has greatly impacted the food culture in Helsinki, and this new culture is  spreading across the world as participation in the carnival increases.  

“Restaurant Day is exactly the sort of project that will define our future,” wrote Jussi Pajunen, the Mayor of Helsinki, on the Restaurant Day website. “[It] has inspired the city’s population to question how things are run and to experiment and put forward new ideas of how daily life might be improved in the future.”

The festival creates its own community for a day, as fellow citizens are welcomed in to each other’s homes to share a meal. This has inspired the citizens of Helsinki to question how things are run, and imagine how they could change in the future.

“Restaurant Day is a prime example of how food can give birth to a new type of communality,” wrote Johanna Mäkelä, professor of Food Culture at the University of Helsinki, on the festival’s website. 

In Montreal, over 200 pop-up restaurants set up shop around the city. A range of creative food and drink spots appeared, from cupcake shops, and vegan pizza to mulled wine. Some restaurants specialized in a specific food or beverages, while others offered a range different eats, including desserts and drinks.

To set up a restaurant, applicants had to register on an interactive map. The map was able to be accessed by restaurant creators and goers online, or on the “Restaurantday” App. It  showed the location and information of every participating restaurant, and when users clicked on specific restaurants, the name, address, opening hours, menu, and a brief description appeared. The app allowed users to search restaurants by name, distance, and opening hours, and then favorite them to make a customized list of places to visit.   

Two McGill students, Michelle Shi and Rachel Siu, set up their own sushi shop in their apartment on Rue Alymer, called “Siu & Shi Make Sushi in the (McGill) Ghetto.” Their menu featured spicy and regular california rolls and a vegetable roll, all $5 for eight pieces. It was their first time participating in the festival.

“At first we wanted to go to restaurants, but then I thought why don’t we just do our own,” Shi said. “When we realized our names Siu and Shi put together sound like sushi, we thought, how could we not open our own sushi place? We really did it for the experience and to meet new people, not so much for profit.” 

Siu and Shi never expected their pop up to be as successful and popular as it was, but were pleasantly surprised with the amount of people their temporary store served.

“We expected just our friends and maybe a few other people to come, but we had everyone from students to older Montrealers stop by, ” Shi said.

Though they prepped for a few hours before opening, Shi said that they did not anticipate the amount of patrons they ended up getting.

“It ended up being so busy we kept running out of rice had to go back and forth to the store to get more,” Shi said. 

While Shi enjoyed the experience of running a restaurant for a day, she has decided to forgo the experience come Restaurant Day next year. 

“I’m really glad we did it this year […] It’s definitely something I would recommend doing once,” Shi said. “Everyone was really friendly and it was a great experience overall, but I think next year, we want to go check out other restaurants, and be on the other side [….] It was so fun, but also a lot of work.”

What makes this festival unique is how it allows anyone to become a chef and restaurant owner for a day. The style of interaction is also more informal than at a typical restaurant, allowing for a fun and casual dining experience. 

“People were really friendly, and everyone was talking to each other,” Shi said. “We met some really interesting people.” 

The culture surrounding Restaurant Day introduced a new way to interact as it encourages strangers to come together for a day to share a meal, and to get to know each other. Restaurant Day is creating a new, more inclusive culture surrounding food and the restaurant industry around the world. Montrealers eager to either set up their own restaurant, or to taste what their community has to offer, will be able to participate in Restaurant Day’s next event next February.

a, Opinion

Why McGill needs to be proactive about race

by Ashley Bach on

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Racial tension at universities in the United States has finally turned into discussion and action. Students of colour at institutions like Dartmouth College and Yale University are speaking out about injustices and racism they have experienced on campus. Exclusion from events, racial slurs and stereotypes, culturally appropriative halloween costumes, mascot controversies, and underrepresentation of minority faculty are just a few of the important topics being brought to light by the campus protests. Indigenous students have added their voices to the protests in Ivy League universities this year, organizing peaceful marches, drum circles, and demonstrations. But this conversation is not happening at McGill.

Very little conversation on race—and, specifically, indigenous issues—has taken place across the broader campus during my time here, perhaps because all seems well. But McGill and its student body are not immune to racial issues; these problems need to be talked about. Though there will always be exceptions, it appears that McGill has swung to the other side of racial problems—lack of representation, lack of conversation with minority students, and misguided allies leads to silence about racial issues on campus. McGill’s student body may be reflecting the wider Canadian context which ignores or forgets about racial and indigenous issues. In my experience, the low amount of discussion about racism is taken as an indication that ‘racism is over.’ In response to this, minority students need to come together to facilitate discussion about race and take action towards making the campus more inclusive.

The university itself lacks representation of indigenous peoples. According to the First Peoples’ House, only around 200 indigenous students are enrolled as full-time undergraduates, comprising less than one per cent of the student population. There is one full-time, tenure-track, indigenous faculty member, Professor Allan Downey, and one part-time Academic associate, Michael Loft. While many Indigenous students are involved with Indigenous groups on campus, there simply are not enough of us to have a major political and academic impact. I am often the only indigenous student in my classes, and my voice is not enough to counter a professor’s or students’ ignorant comments. Social Equity and Diversity Education’s (SEDE) Indigenous Education Advisor, Allan Vicaire, is often someone indigenous students must turn to to get assistance countering racism in class.

Allies have an important place in activism and race relations, but some misguided allies advocate for Indigenous peoples without consulting with them. Other student groups host radical Indigenous speakers—like Kahentinetha Horn, who wrote the notice of seizure to McGill Univeristy in September—speak with false authority and claim to represent entire peoples to further their political agendas. While I appreciate these student groups’ efforts to include indigenous voices, sometimes it leads to tokenization and perpetuation of negative stereotypes, as well as the homogenization of indigenous peoples and their concerns. When indigenous students and the Indigenous Student Alliance attempt to address these issues, we are met with cognitive dissonance and dismissal.

A place to start would be a speaker-series on race relations in the university context and an on-campus campaign, led by minority students, breaking down common microaggressions experienced in class. But as the Ivy League universities have shown, prestigious institutions and their student bodies often do not like to acknowledge institutionalized racism. Greater action may be necessary to have our voices heard.

As a First Nation student, microaggressions, misguided allies, and not being heard by the institution are standard parts of my post-secondary experience. I am certain other minority students experience institutional and subtle racism at McGill as well. By coming together to talk about our experiences, we can facilitate understanding and support each other. It may not be through solidarity protests or peaceful sit-ins (or die-ins) but together we can raise awareness of these issues and initiate action on racial issues. We need to start a conversation about racial injustices, issues, and racism on McGill’s campus. Then we can work towards taking action to make McGill an inclusive place for minority students.

Do you have thoughts on the conversation about race and indigenous issues on campus? Send a message to [email protected].

Ashley is a U3 student in environmental science and a member of Mishkeegogamang Ojibway First Nation. She is the coordinator of the Indigenous Student Alliance, is a University Representative and Communications and Outreach co-chair for the Ivy Native Council. She is also a co-founder and member of the McGill Students Chapter of AISES. She frequents the First Peoples’ House and is thankful for the incredible friends she has met there. Her academic interests include indigenous health, environmental health, and chronic diseases.

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

 

a, Opinion

Delineating safe spaces key to protecting free speech on university campuses

by David Watson on

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The campus free speech debate was back in the media spotlight these past few weeks after an incident at Yale University. Controversy followed a mass email sent by Yale Professor Erika Christakis, in which she questioned the school’s policy on culturally appropriative Halloween costumes. The response was fast and furious; students called on her to resign, and her husband, a fellow Yale professor, was publicly insulted by an angry student in a viral video that has come to encapsulate the absurdity of the whole situation. Aside from Yale, maybe it’s time to start rethinking the approach to safe space at McGill. In order to ensure the credibility of safe spaces while protecting freedom of expression, safe spaces must be clearly defined.

Media outlets across the internet were quick to condemn the Yale students’ reaction as censorship, and rightfully so. Regardless of whether or not one agrees with Professor Christakis’ view on Halloween costumes, calling for her resignation because she voiced her opinion is a clear violation of her right to free speech. Instead of focusing on who is to blame every time an incident like this occurs, people should instead be thinking about how to resolve the core issue at play in most of these campus free speech cases. Universities can’t protect free expression and “safe spaces,” where students are protected from any speech that might make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

 

In liberal democratic societies like the United States and Canada, free speech is curtailed only for the most morally reprehensible types of expression: Hate speech, child pornography, Holocaust denial, and so on. But by insisting on an environment in which everyone feels comfortable and safe, safe spaces greatly expand this speech ‘naughty list’ by lumping in anything that could make one feel uncomfortable. The encroachment of the safe space on the right to free speech is undeniable.

McGill, for one, should pay attention. Every year, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms compiles a Campus Freedom Report, examining the state of free expression at 52 different universities across Canada. In the 2014 report, McGill was ranked third on the list of the top 10 worst universities for protecting free speech. The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) also ranked third to worst on the equivalent list of Canadian student unions. Even though the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is known for its right-leaning bias, these marks are so poor that McGill and SSMU could probably get free ice cream at Frostbite.

For example, In October 2013, the Vice-President (VP) Internal of SSMU joked about midterms with an Obama GIF in a mass email, and was forced to apologize and participate in racial sensitivity training. Out of the email’s 22,000 recipients, only one complained of a microaggression. Incidents like this make it clear that when it comes to safe space, we have the wrong approach.

Safe spaces do serve a valuable purpose on university campuses. Students have a right to an inclusive and protected space where they feel comfortable. Any university that values openness and inclusion needs to provide this. But it is possible to reconcile the need for safe spaces with the protection of free speech: The solution is to better define which spaces are safe, and which are free.

The problem with safe space on campus is that it’s not clearly delimited. For students, the principle of safe space on campus seems to be defined in much the same way Obi-wan Kenobi defines the Force: It binds the campus together (although it unfortunately can’t help people move objects with their minds). If students want to overcome the tensions between safe space and free speech, they need to limit each one to the areas in which they are most appropriate. Residences, student lounges, and cafeterias are places where students go to feel accepted and at home: These must remain safe. But lectures, conferences, classrooms, debates, as well as the internet, are where students, faculty members and guest speakers go to express themselves, to challenge their views and the views of others—these are places where free speech needs to be protected. If McGill wants to preserve free speech, it must decide which parts of campus are safe and which are not. Safe space is supposed to refer to a physical space, not a way of life. It needs to stay that way.

Do you have thoughts on freedom of speech and safe spaces? Send a message to [email protected].

David Watson is a second year political science student and (very) minor league hockey player. He enjoys music, dogs, and eating entire boxes of Kraft Dinner in a single sitting.

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

a, McGill, News

McGill Innovation Week highlights projects on and off campus

by Eric Tweel on

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McGill’s annual Innovation Week (MIW) showcased developments in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Packed with more than 20 events between Nov. 15 and Nov. 20, MIW explored a wide range of issues, including intellectual property, the future of education, social innovation, and food security.

The main organizer of MIW, and Director of Innovation in Practice at McGill’s Office of Innovation and Partnerships, Isabelle Péan, spoke to the new initiatives of this year’s MIW. 

“This year, the major initiative of Innovation Week was probably Salon 1861,” she said.

Salon 1861 is the new face of the transformed St-Joseph’s church in Montreal’s Little Burgundy neighbourhood.

“[Salon 1861 will be] a wellspring for social and cultural innovation, as well as social entrepreneurship,” the MIW’s website reads.

 After a careful renovation that preserved the architectural heritage of the church, Salon 1861 opened its doors for the first time to kick off McGill Innovation Week.  

According to Péan, MIW ran smoothly. Going forward, she explained the importance of raising awareness about MIW amongst McGill students. 

 “Most people are really happy to work together during this week,” she said. “And it is really interesting to bring students, staffs, external partners all together […. However,] my main challenge is the promotion of MIW. Next year, we will have to improve it.”

One event that attracted a lot of students was a tour of innovative organizations and start-ups, such as  BioFuelNet, échoFab, and UBER, in Quartier de l’innovation, an area in Montreal’s Griffintown neighbourhood that was created as a hub for small businesses. Samuel Bellini, U2 Science, attended the tour and explained that he attended MIW because he wanted to explore opportunities in entrepreneurship. 

“I came to see what kind of resources Montreal has to offer young ambitious people who are interested in startups,” Bellini said.

Jeffrey Riley, a local Montreal resident, explained that he was interested in MIW because of the diversity of issues it covered.

“It’s a quick way [to] see a lot of great organizations that are working on social innovation,” Riley said.

Riley also emphasized how the week’s events brought together people from different walks of life. 

“It’s also a great way to bridge the French and English communities,” he said. “These are [mostly] organizations run by francophones, but are also really accessible to anglophone students.”

MIW also highlighted the innovation of researchers at McGill. At a speaking event entitled What about innovation at McGill? held at the McGill Faculty Club, Dr. Robert Hess, professor and director of the research department of ophthalmology, discussed his research into a potential cure for amblyopia, or lazy eye. Hess and his team have discovered what he describes as the first software drug, which has been shown to correct lazy eye through a regimented schedule of playing the video game Tetris.

Although MIW is now over, Péan explained that her office continues to engage McGill students in innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the year. 

“We also have a Student Working Group at McGill and two interns working with us this Fall,” she said. 

The Student Working Group (SWG) at McGill aims to provide an opportunity for students to explore these issues further. It is currently working towards the establishment of a fund which will support McGill students who want to create startup businesses.

a, Montreal, News

Anti-protest law ruled unconstitutional

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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Article 500.1 of Quebec’s Highway Safety Code, previously used to disperse and ticket protesters, has been repealed. Quebec Superior Justice Guy Cournoyer issued a ruling on Nov. 12, declaring the article unconstitutional. Quebec will have six months to amend the code.

 

The article in question

 

The Highway Safety Code is a provincial set of laws outlining legal procedure on Quebec’s highways. Article 500.1 prohibits vehicles or obstacles obstructing the highway unless previously authorized by the law. 

“No person may […] place a vehicle or obstacle thereon so as to obstruct vehicular traffic,” Article 500.1 reads. “This section does not apply during parades or other popular events previously authorized.”

Cournoyer stated that the article was used to break up protests, violating the Quebec and Canadian Charters of Rights and Freedoms. He argued that the law was intended to prevent people from blocking roads with vehicles, not to discourage protests.

Article  500.1 was first used against demonstrations during the 15th annual anti-police brutality protest on March 15, 2011. Altogether, 239 people were arrested during the protest, with most charged under the Highway Safety Code and fined $500. 

 

Usage of Article 500.1

 

Along with municipal bylaw P-6, which requires protesters to provide the police with an itinerary and prohibits the wearing of masks during protests, article 500.1 has been heavily criticized by protesters for infringing on individuals’ freedoms. Paul Ayotte, an organizer of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN) demonstration that took place on Nov. 16 on McGill campus, is firmly against the use of article 500.1.

“I think it’s wrong,” Ayotte said. “Absolutely wrong. We have a right to free assembly and having to ask permission to have that right shouldn’t exist, we should just be able to have the right.”

Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) External Emily Boytinck administrates all SSMU contingents of protests. She voiced similar concerns over the use of Article 500.1 to disband protests.

“I firmly believe that everyone has the right to take to the streets and demonstrate, and I’m grateful to see that one of the avenues used to ticket activists is no longer viable,” Boytinck said.

Protesters charged with a P-6 violation are fined $637, while an Article 500.1 violation costs $500. Boytinck expressed sympathy for students faced with these potential expenses, and felt that the existence of such fees, in addition to students’ generally unstable finances, discourages them from demonstrating.

“I believe that these laws have created a culture of fear for student activists,” Boytinck said. “Add the risk of getting ticketed to the risks that you will be exposed to tear gas or even pepper spray, and the likelihood that people will feel safe and comfortable going to a demonstration will be decreased.”

Ayotte and his colleagues were against the article because of what it represents.

“I think notifying the police isn’t a problem, but you shouldn’t have to ask them permission for anything,” Ayotte said. “They shouldn’t have the right to refuse, and if they didn’t have the right to refuse, why even ask in the first place.”

 

Implications of the Ruling

 

Boytinck hopes that this ruling will inspire a similar rejection of P-6.

“The SSMU has previously condemned this bylaw by writing an open letter to the city of Montreal and encouraging our membership to go to demonstrations against P-6,” Boytinck said.

The Montreal Police Service (SPVM) declined to comment. It is currently unknown how those with 500.1 tickets will be absolved, or whether those previously ticketed will be compensated.

a, Student Life

Winter style forecast

by Sasha Huebener on

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FELT COAT

The felt coat has popped up during fall, and is likely to prevail throughout the winter season. With influential designers such as Celine, the coat can reach as long as mid-calf length, is a tad oversized, and can commonly be found in neutral colours such as grey, black, camel, and olive. Its beauty lies in the fact that it is fabulous for layering and has a sleek, minimal look—no fuss about it. This style of coat can be found at stores like Zara, Club Monaco, and Aritzia. It screams for winter to bring it on, while exuding a calm sophistication, pairing perfectly with boyfriend jeans, skinny jeans—any kind of jeans really—and the cosiest sweater possible. Add extra texture and patterns with a blanket scarf, which is also perfect for those days when four layers become necessary, but buttoning up the jacket becomes a tedious mission.

(tumblr.com)
(tumblr.com)

THE GIANT HAT/FLUFFY HEAD ACCESSORY

It may be easy to be dissuaded by the obnoxious Pom Pom, but don’t be—one might as well let their winter accessories make a statement, and these hats make a fantastic conversation piece. The chunkier the knit, the better. Topshop provides an array of fantastic colours, and they have proven themselves to be warm enough to survive winter in style. Have a fear of hat hair? Perhaps earmuffs are more suitable. They are particularly practical for days with perfectly styled hair. American Apparel sells these in a plenty of shades for colour coordinating for those who prefer to go all out.

(pinterest.com)
(pinterest.com)

CREWNECK JUMPER

Throw it back to Alex Wang’s H&M collection with this structured sweater. The myriad of layering opportunities will allow this staple to smoothly translate from fall to winter wardrobes. The style has appeared in collections of other designers such as Acne Studios and Public School. It’s a classier, sleeker take on the hoodie that is characteristic of Scandinavian minimalistic style (and similar to wearing joggers, it hardly looks like you’re sporting loungewear). Wear it plain, or throw in some preppiness with a white button down shirt underneath, but make sure the bottom of the shirt is long enough to be seen from under the sweater. For versatility purposes, invest in a neutral colour such as grey. The lighter colour will also brighten spirits during the drab winter months.

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GLITTER

Winter is festive! This is the one time a year where people above the age of 10 are exempt from dressing glitter-free; thus, it is the time to wholly embrace the glitz. Glitter really should be a year-round trend; however it seems to associate itself mainly with the holiday season. Since the Balmain for H&M came and went in a matter of minutes, the one thing that’s had a lasting impact was the shimmer on many of the clothing items. A little bit of sparkle goes a long way, and can come in the form sequins, beads, thread, metallics, etc.—it embellishes any outfit for any soiree that may arise, especially during December. 

a, Editorial, Opinion

Editorial: Contradictory policy in Quebec will enable hate, not protect from radicalization

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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Cases of xenophobia and Islamophobia have erupted across Canada. Since the terrorist attacks in Paris, a mosque in Peterborough, ON. was set on fire, two Muslim women were targeted on public transportation in Toronto, and a Quebec man has been arrested for threatening to kill an Arab every week. In this context, McGill may seem like an oasis; current and former McGill students displayed their trust and unity in public spaces. Muslims have gone on the defensive to ensure that they are not associated with the militant fundamentalists behind the terrorist attacks that have taken place around the world. Rebuilding trust within the community is more important, and more difficult than ever; the provincial government may take the first steps in creating a new paradigm of inclusivity and tolerance.

With any act of terrorism, attitudes change. But, as Canada’s Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan has stated, maintaining a free and democratic society is the best defence against violent Islamic fundamentalists. And yet this is easier said than done. One need only look back to 2013, and the debate surrounding the Charter of Values in Quebec for a glimpse into the attitudes that are held by many in this province.

 

If hindsight is 20/20, the picture is bleak; for all the talk of inclusivity and a new era of tolerance in Quebec, little is being done to ensure that the society these refugees are coming to will be welcoming. 

Currently, while some American states chose to close their borders to refugees, the Quebec government and Canada are ambitious in their humanitarian objectives. The Canadian government has pledged to bring 25,000 refugees before the end of 2015, and Quebec has said it will welcome up to 6,000 refugees this year. Most Syrian refugees have so far been supported by private sponsorship, not the government. The message that the provincial government is sending is worse than mixed; it is muddled and opaque. If hindsight is 20/20, the picture is bleak; for all the talk of inclusivity and a new era of tolerance in Quebec, little is being done to ensure that the society these refugees are coming to will be welcoming. The result is a marginalization of already marginalized groups, which is complicit to the hate that Premier Couillard says he stands against.

Quebec society has a history of pockets of xenophobia. In 2015, Rania El-Alloul was not allowed to wear her hijab in a Quebec courtroom. The former Conservative government’s stance on the niqab issue garnered support in Quebec in the 2015 federal election. Given the current international political situation, and the violence that has already transpired against women wearing niqabs and mosques, policies that promote tolerance are more important than ever. But despite the high stakes, the Quebec legislature is passing contradictory legislation that, in its imbalance, will provide the excuse for racism. Restricting Muslim dress, such as head and face coverings for public sector employees, and pouring funding into de-radicalization programs disproportionately targets those who would seek safety and tolerance in Quebec; the irony is heavy. The policies of Quebec and Montreal do not live up to the lip-service that is paid to the image of Canada as a multicultural and inclusive society. The provincial government must set a unified, clear example in its policy towards minorities and refugees; otherwise, the province will be divided in its support for refugees at a time when it ought to be laying the groundwork for accepting more out of an increasing numbers of those in need, and promoting tolerance of minorities.

All students have a responsibility to cultivate a positive environment; such a response must not only be neutral, it must be proactive. In a world of fear, hate, and uncertainty, it is essential that McGill act as a space of mutual respect. Students must not take the general sense of safety for granted, as we are all susceptible to the message of those who would divide us. In this context, the university must recall its response to the charter in 2013; professors stood up against the proposed law, and the university itself took a united stance in dissent. While this action will not end prejudice, it is what the university must strive for.

Do you have thoughts on this issue? Send a message to [email protected].

 

 

 

 

a, McGill, News

Tuition deregulation, financial report dominate Senate discussion

by Kyle Dolph on

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At its third meeting of the year on Nov. 18, the McGill Senate expressed hope that the provincial government would allow for tuition deregulation for international, and potentially non-Quebec Canadian students across all faculties. Amendments to the university’s safe disclosure policy and the continued problem of deferred maintenance to infrastructure were also discussed.

 

Tuition deregulation

 

McGill University Principal Suzanne Fortier explained the benefits of a self-funded tuition model for the university.

“If tomorrow […] all international fees were deregulated, we at McGill would [not have an] insignificant amount of resources which we could put towards increasing the quality of our programs and giving bursaries to our students,” Fortier said.

Fortier also discussed the way that tuition money is currently redistributed across the province to other universities in Quebec.

“Each of our students who is not a Quebec resident contributes to the Quebec bursary program,” she said. “However, those students are not eligible for the Quebec bursary program themselves. If we collected those fees, rather than send them to Quebec City, we would be able to use them in our own bursary program for international, non-Quebec, and Quebec students.”

Fortier went on to discuss Quebec’s complex funding structure for universities.

“[Socioeconomic diversity and tuition deregulation] are not incompatible, but this is not obvious if you don’t know the details of a very complicated funding formula in this province,” Fortier said.

Meanwhile, Arts Senator Erin Sobat questioned the university’s model for deregulated tuition.

“It was mentioned that McGill will apply a policy of ‘market rates,’ looking at our peer institutions,” Sobat said. “Would the university consider internal targets, an alternative to the market rate model?”

Provost Christopher Manfredi responded to Sobat by explaining that such decisions would likely be made at the faculty level, should deregulation be granted. The Faculty of Management, whose tuition has been deregulated since 2008, already utilizes such a method to set prices.

Manfredi also addressed questions of how the university planned to adapt tuition policy to the diversity of international funding models for prospective students.

“We’ve been working very hard on the philanthropic front to establish specialized financing programs for those students—the Mastercard program is a good example of that,” Manfredi said.

It was later revealed in an annual financial report presented to the Senate by McGill Vice-President (VP), (Administration & Finance) Michael Di Grappa that McGill returns $72 million each year to the province from the tuition paid by international and out of province students.

 

Deferred infrastructure maintenance

 

Di Grappa presented the university’s annual financial report which cited, amongst other problems, a $1.3 billion tab in deferred infrastructure maintenance on campus. One senator suggested a fundraising campaign, similar to that held in 2013, which raised over $1 billion for the university. Di Grappa, however, largely dismissed such an idea.

“Donors don’t want to give to bricks and mortar anymore,” he said. “There certainly wasn’t much in the last campaign that gave to deferred maintenance. Donors generally tend to prefer to give money for student support, scholarships, chairs, programs—that kind of thing”.

Di Grappa did remark, however, that a fundraising campaign would most likely be instituted should the university acquire the Royal Victoria Hospital Complex.

“If we were to acquire The Royal Victoria Hospital, there could be a campaign tied around that; but that is still very preliminary,” he said.

 

Safe disclosure policy

 

The only matter that elicited much disagreement amongst senators during the session was in regards to the university’s new safe disclosure, or whistle-blowing policy, designed to facilitate the good faith reporting of improper activities, such as academic and research misconduct.

University Libraries Senator Marc Richard felt that the policy did not do enough to protect accused individuals who are found innocent.

“The first sentence assures that the discloser is afforded protection in regard to position and to reputation,” he said. “What it does not do is afford the same protection to the responded […] this is particularly important to respondents who happen to be found innocent.”

Faculty of Law Senator Angela Campbell opposed such a change.

“The policy is for individuals who often feel too vulnerable to come forward,” she said.

 Campbell also remarked that the new document clearly delineates the responsibility of the university to those found innocent.

“This policy has  a provision in it that protects the right of the respondent,” she said. “There is a procedurally fair mechanism in place to investigate complaints.”

Ultimately, a motion to make a minor edit to the policy’s statement of principles to reflect protection of those ‘respondents’ found innocent failed in a vote by a roughly three-to-one margin.

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