Latest News

a, Opinion

Why Demilitarize McGill should embrace Remembrance Day

by Albert Park on

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As Remembrance Day approaches, Demilitarize McGill has once again been causing controversy on campus. This year, the group announced a campaign called #RememberThis, which calls for McGill students to physically disrupt or deface sites on campus that memorialize war. Their announcement has sparked both debate and outrage on social media, reminiscent of the backlash that emerged after the group’s silent protest at McGill’s Remembrance Day ceremony last year.

While the group’s controversial actions have helped it to garner more attention, the radical steps that Demilitarize McGill has undertaken in the past has discredited its movement by making its message less clear, and this has harmed the group’s relationship with the student body. However, in order to better engage the McGill community to support its cause of ending the university’s involvement with the military, Demilitarize McGill should take a cooperative rather than combative stance towards Remembrance Day.

Remembrance Day is when students are most likely to think about Canada’s role in global conflicts, as the nation takes the time to reflect on the horrors of war. Unfortunately, Demilitarize McGill holds a firm belief that the commemorations serve to glorify warfare; however, the fundamental purpose of the day is to solemnly honour fallen soldiers and reflect on the sacrifices that they made. If anything, there is a strong link between this message and the movement’s overarching mission of encouraging peace and pacifism. If Demilitarize McGill feels that Remembrance Day at McGill is wrongly focused on celebrating Canada’s military, the group should make a cooperative attempt to shift the conversation towards memorializing the victims of war, and remembering the lives that were lost to ultimately end conflicts.

There is an important distinction to be made between joining a dialogue and attempting to dismantle it.

Discussions about the atrocities and horrors of war­—such as the loss of Canadians' lives in the Battle of Passchendaele during the First World War—can set up a valuable emotional foundation for Demilitarize McGill to share its stance about current world conflicts and why it believes the university should not be complicit in the development of military research.

While it could be argued that the group is already contributing to the conversation through protests and conferences, there is an important distinction to be made between joining a dialogue and attempting to dismantle it. The difference was best seen in the wake of its protest of the 2014 Remembrance Day ceremony. While the group raised valid points about some of the negative aspects of Canada’s military history, mainly by presenting facts about the rate of sexual assaults and torture committed in the army, these were not presented in a constructive manner because the context in which they were acting overshadowed their message. It was clear that the group intended to disrupt an inherently peaceful event; therefore, the resulting polarization of the conversation made it nearly impossible for McGill students to take part in the group’s message and naturally integrate it into a constructive conversation about war and Remembrance Day. Instead, Demilitarize McGill’s social media pages were flooded by hate comments and kneejerk responses.

Remembrance Day has a place for a wide spectrum of voices and sentiments. This is perhaps best illustrated by the usage of the white poppy, which is worn by some pacifists as an alternative to the traditional red poppy. The white poppy is a poignant yet respectful way for individuals who are strongly against warfare to display their condolences for the human sacrifices while expressing an alternative perspective on Remembrance Day. Demilitarize McGill should take approaches such as this to creatively express their stance alongside the tradition of Remembrance Day.

Regardless of the organization’s actions and the image it has built on campus in the past, there is potential to generate empathy and even support for Demilitarize McGill’s mission and overarching mindset. Moving forward, the group must find ways to engage students in a way that does not take away from the traditions of Remembrance Day, but instead builds on them.

 

 

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

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

a, Features

Student/Soldier: The Experience of Students in the Military

by Elie Waitzer on

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At McGill, Remembrance Day creates a tense atmosphere. Social media wars are waged on whether disrespect is justified in combating revisionism and oppression. We discuss the glorification of war, selective memory, profiteering, and imperialism. It’s a politicized holiday on campus: There is a group of decorated old men on Lower Field with their hands clasped behind their backs, there’s a helicopter or two chopping above, and there’s a silent Demilitarize McGill protest crowded around the Redpath Museum steps. It’s a controversial time for a reason. The Canadian Armed Forces have a well-documented track record of colonialist violence, sexual assault, and xenophobia. Demilitarize McGill touched on this in a statement issued in advance of last year’s ceremony: “Remembrance Day […] is an exercise in selective memory, organized to enforce the forgetting of any element of war that conflicts with the story the Canadian state wants to tell about itself,” the statement reads. But while it is human nature to reduce debates down to ideals—and to view an issue as the sum of its parts—it gets dicey when the concept at the core becomes divorced from reality. And that’s exactly what has happened over the past few years. The military is seen as an amorphous entity that diminishes the individuality of soldiers within it. In some ways, it’s like pointing fingers at Goldman Sachs employees for the Great Recession—the fundamental outrage is often so great that it can obscure the fact that at its base, a corporation is made of up thousands of complex people to whom the pitfalls of deregulation and Western capitalist

society only make up a tiny sliver what they think about every day. 

People forget that for those in the military, being a soldier is just one aspect of their identity. The label is filled with assumptions and stereotypes, all of which overpower other essential aspects that make up an individual’s identity. 

Master Corporal Jonathan Carson graduated from McGill in 2014 with a B.A. in History and Political Science, and is currently attached to the third battalion of the Canadian Royal 22e Regiment while he waits to be deployed on a tour to the Ukraine to advise the Ukrainian Armed Forces on combined arms. He joined the reserves on a whim after his first year at McGill. 

“I just kind of decided it was something I might be interested [in],” Carson said. “I was overwhelmed with how much [of university] was theoretical—none of it struck me as being particularly grounded. I […] wanted to do something that I thought was real and concrete.”

According to Carson, one of the biggest myths surrounding the military is that every soldier joins the forces out of some sense of patriotic duty. A big factor for Carson’s decision to join the military was simply that he needed a job. When he first signed on, he thought of it as a better alternative to working at the bookstore or in some café. 

“A lot of people seemed shocked that I got paid to be in the army,” he said. “We all get a salary.”

On the other hand, Adam Templer, U3 Political Science, remembers wanting to be in the military since high school. The Hamilton, Ontario native tried for four years to apply through the Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP), which pays for tuition and living costs in exchange for service time. 

“Coming from a single-parent home, and not being very well off economically […] I didn’t think I had that many options so I decided that the military would be a good way to do something with my life with limited prospects,” Templer said. 

After facing several roadblocks in his ROTP application, Templer ended up joining as a reserve following third year through the Black Watch Regiment on Rue de Bleury just south of Rue Sherbrooke. As a reservist, he trains every Tuesday night from 7 to 10 p.m., and boot camps are typically held in the summer, which leaves him plenty of time for his studies and other commitments. In his time at McGill, Templer has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Political Bouillon, a university commentary journal on international politics, and he is currently an Arts Representative to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). 

Templer wants to pursue law school at McGill after he graduates, and plans on remaining in the military with the hopes of becoming an officer in his regiment. While he has never been uncomfortable walking to his regiment in uniform, and all his friends know that he is on the reserves, he has at times felt hesitant to open up about that part of his identity. 

“I don’t really tell students that I’m in the military, partly because of the politics on campus,” Templer said. “In my capacity as an Arts representative, it’s always kind of been on my mind that if […] it was more widely known, […] would [I] still be as welcome in some of the circles that I have been?”

When Carson was a student at McGill, he also struggled with the assumptions people would make about his identity when they found out he was in the military. 

“I was in [a] Canadian foreign policy [class] one year and I brought up that I was in the army, and I found that any time anything military came up, I was the go-to person,” he said. “I didn’t want to be pigeonholed as ‘the military guy’ in classes or on campus.”

Master Corporal Eric Washburn stopped attending Vanier College in 2008 to join the Royal Canadian Regiment as an infantryman, and was deployed overseas in Afghanistan two years later as a machine gunner. After four years of service, having to revert to being a student to finish up his CEGEP degree was an unsettling experience. 

“As a 24-year-old veteran of the combat in Afghanistan sitting in a classroom full of 17-year-olds—it was quite intense to say the least,” Washburn said. “I was not ready for that.”

Washburn, who joined the Canadian Grenadier Guards—located in Montreal—as a reservist after returning from Afghanistan, is now in his second year 

a, Science & Technology

Toying with our brains: How are optical illusions interpreted?

by Esha Kaul on

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The human brain is an extremely complex organ that is the integrating and processing centre of the body. It helps people recognize faces, remember complex formulae, and produce emotions. Many of these reactions rely on the brain’s ability to correctly process information through its visual system. As intelligent as the brain may be, under the right conditions, it can still be tricked.

The eyes can be thought of as a satellite that receives visual information from the environment and transmits this data to the brain, like a television receiver. To do this, the eye processes in visual data through specialized light-sensitive cells called rods and cones which are located on the back of the eye—the retina. This information is then sent to the brain through a mass of cells that form the optic nerve. Most of the cells of the optic nerve transmit information to a structure in the brain known as the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN), which then relays information to the visual cortex at the back of the brain, known as the occipital lobe. This is where the brain processes the information that had been taken in from the eyes. 

Despite this, the visual cortex can be tricked into ‘seeing’ something different from what the eyes actually ‘see,’ explained McGill Associate Professor Erik Cook from the Department of Neuroscience, whose research focuses on how neural activity underlies conscious visual perception.

“Over millions of years, our visual system evolved in an environment that was pretty stable,” Cook explained. “So it sort of cheats, takes advantage of the prior knowledge of the system, and takes shortcuts. What a visual illusion [really] is, is an image that the visual system was not designed to see; when it tries to take shortcuts, it fails. [This] reveals the algorithms the brain is trying to use.”

In photo one, it seems that the wheels are rotating, even though they actually are not. This geometric illusion—known as the Rotating Snakes Illusion—was developed by Kitaoka Akiyoshi. 

Illusions like this one work because the visual cortex is fooled into believing something that isn’t actually happening—like the wheels moving—is happening. 

“The first thing to notice about ‘Rotating Snakes’ is that the motion grinds to a halt if you stare at just one part of the image,” explained vision scientist and SUNY College of Optometry Professor Ben Backus in an interview with NPR. “On the other hand, it keeps going if you keep looking around.” 

This can be explained by how the eye moves under special conditions. Small and quick changes in the eye’s position, known as saccades, causes neurons to start rapidly firing. This overwhelms the visual cortex, making the wheels appear to be in motion. 

“As your eye moves, it is the particular pattern on the page that stimulates motion sensitive detector cells in your brain [which] are in the cortex,” explained Professor Frederick Kingdom from the Department of Ophthalmology. “It tricks those cells into thinking that this is movement. The cell doesn’t care where it’s activation comes from. When it’s activated, [it thinks] that there’s movement.”

Photo 2 (thebrain.mcgill.ca)
Photo 2 (thebrain.mcgill.ca)

In photo two, the brain interprets the circles as spheres coming out of the page or going into the page. This is because the visual system uses light to interpret the position and space of objects. The brain is conditioned to expect light from a single source, shining down from above (like the sun). This leads it to believe that these shading patterns could only have been caused by light shining down on the sloping sides of a dome—coming out—or the bottom of a hole—going in. Though the shape is drawn on a flat piece of paper, the brain automatically interprets it as a 3-D object, because of the shading.

Moreover, cells within the visual system can fill in the breaks in lines or shapes—without any other input—using the assumption that an object belongs there.

Photo 3: Optical illusions have been designed to trick the brain’s visual system. (wikimedia.org)
Photo 3: Optical illusions have been designed to trick the brain’s visual system. (wikimedia.org)
For example, in photo three, a person will perceive two triangles, though only one is drawn—an illusion known as the Kanizsa triangle.  

“There are different ideas about the Kanizsa triangle,” Kingdom explained. “One is that the ‘pac-men’ [shapes] stimulate a triangle detector in your brain.”

Essentially, there are specialized cells in the brain that selectively detect shapes. These cells are found in the infra-temporal cortex, which is also in the recognition of familiar things like faces, objects. 

“Some of these cells might be being stimulated by the Kanizsa Triangle [to create that illusion],” Kingdom said.

However, other theories have been presented.

“[When] your brain sees something with corners, it tries to fill in what would be there to produce such a pattern,” Cook explained. “You see corners all the time and corners correspond to edges. [The brain thinks] since there’s corners here, there must be some kind of object. ”

To survive, humans have been hard-wired to trust their instincts. But in the modern world, there can be more than meets the eye, and an understanding of the brain’s circuits can lead to the manipulation of these inate responses. 

 

a, Know Your Athlete, Men's Varsity

Know your athlete: Redmen Swimmer Kade Wist

by Nicole Spadotto on

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Kade Wist is 17-years-old but, contrary to Ray Bradbury’s quote, he is not “17 and crazy.” In fact, Wist exudes maturity beyond the levels of most upper-year university students. A freshman for the Redmen swimming team, Wist competes in both the butterfly and free-style. Between the two strokes, he’s already won seven gold medals in his first three RSEQ meets. He just started racing free-style about a year ago and is quick to explain that picking up the free is easy if you already swim the fly. 

Wist, a Calgary native, is the youngest swimmer in the RSEQ. He doesn’t turn 18 until June—he skipped second grade—but being so far from home at a big school in a big city doesn’t faze him in the slightest.

“I have an apartment with a guy on the team,” Wist explained. “He’s a first year, but he’s from Quebec, so he’s 20. So [with me being 17], it balances it out.” 

Apartment living isn’t without challenges though. 

“We didn’t have bagged milk in Calgary!” Wist exclaimed. “I hate it so much. I always pour [milk] into my cereal and the bag just falls out!”

Albeit 17, Wist shrugs off his age as a minor issue. He’s too young to legally go to bars in Montreal, but the vibrancy of the city is part of what drew him to McGill. He says that spending time with his team is his favourite way to relax.

“The team is really good [about my age],” he said. “We joke about it and do things that I can be included in as well. There’s another 17-year-old on the team […] we get along so well. We just all hang out in the library.”

Wist credits the laid-back and inclusive nature of McGill’s swim team as what largely edged out UBC and the University of Calgary during his recruiting process. He also cites his mom, McGill Sports Hall of Famer and Canadian Olympian Andrea Nugent, as a huge influence in his life—especially when he first started swimming.

“Starting up, she had a really big influence,” Wist described. “In grade nine I decided to swim year-round and she was really supportive, but at the same time she doesn’t try to coach me at all.”

Even though Nugent was a McGill swimmer, she did not pressure Wist into picking McGill for his post-secondary career. Wist and his mother discussed gap years, the merits of different schools, and different swim programs. Ultimately, Wist explained, his mom took on the role of a conscientious mother in his decision process, as opposed to pressuring him to go to her alma mater. He smiled fondly when he remembers how his mom expected him to give a list of reasons why McGill was the right school and swimming program for him before she gave her blessing.

As for future plans, Wist is still fairly unsure. He remembers first seeing his mom’s Olympic medal.

“I want one of those one day,” he thought.

Wist enjoys his economics classes, so he thinks he’ll major in that. He might not know what he wants to do after McGill, but he has the next four years to think it through. Besides, Wist gives the impression that he’s firmly rooted in the present—enjoying his studies, Montreal, and just being one of the guys on the team.

 

McGill Tribune (MT): If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

Kade Wist (KW): Probably Greece. I remember watching the movie Mamma Mia (laughs), and it’s just so beautiful.

 

MT: What was the last movie you saw?

KW: The Wolf of Wall Street. I loved it.

 

MT: Do you have any pets?

KW: I have a cat and a dog. The dog’s named Misty and the cat’s Coebo.

MT: Do you have a favourite?

KW: Definitely the cat. He’s just solid black so I always just thought that was really lucky.

 

MT: What’s the worst nickname someone’s given you?

KW: Probably “Baby Kade.” It started on my recruiting trip when [the swim team] figured out I was only 16 at the time, and they were like, “God, you’re so young!” And it stuck.

 

MT: What’s the most embarrassing song on your iPod?

KW: Probably my favourite song, actually. It’s “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus. 

Authors
a, Arts & Entertainment, Books

From the Viewpoint: Authors in Their Undies

by Alissa Zilberchteine on

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Performers are often told to imagine the audience in their underwear to help themselves calm their nerves. Christopher DiRaddo—a queer Montreal author—joked that he “must have gotten it wrong” when organizing Authors In Their Undies. The event featured three other queer Canadian authors who walked onto Stock Bar’s stripper stage, and read excerpts from their new books in their underwear. Daniel Allen Cox, Matthew Fox, and Andy Sinclair nervously approached the spotlight in their boxers or briefs before partaking in a truly vulnerable performance. 

Although I have never attended Stock Bar before, I gathered that the setting appeared unchanged from its usual strip club decorum. At centre stage, the stripper pole was lit with flashing lights that changed from pink to orange, while neighbouring walls were covered in posters of half-naked men, and waiters came around taking drink orders; however, as each author performed his piece the stripper pole and flashing lights were overshadowed by the intimacy of the venue fostered by their vulnerable performances

While Sinclair, Fox, and Cox read passages from their new novels or manuscripts—most of which deal with serious content including ostracization, the search for identity, and death—DiRaddo debuted some of his teenage short stories and poetry. His work ranged from personal poetry dealing with loneliness, a comedic seduction story involving Barbie, and an absurdist poem about his dog. He chuckled here and there as he once again embodied his voice as younger writer, occasionally adding comments about his creative process. I laughed along, thinking back to my own cringeworthy writing from years before. As the evening progressed, he and the other authors became more comfortable on stage as the audience attentively observed their performances and cheered on the brave authors. 

DiRaddo explained that his intentions behind this event were “to shake things up a bit” by combining Montreal’s queer and literary communities and create a happening that he would have wanted to come to. Despite not being a member of his immediate target audience—neither a gay man, nor a reader of queer literature, nor a regular Stock Bar attendee—I greatly enjoyed the performance. I was one of only five females in the audience, and didn’t particularly identify with any of the literary content, but this didn’t hinder the emotional appeal for me. Authors In Their Undies was publicized as an event for its immediate queer niche, but I felt their performances proved to be engaging for a larger audience due to their universal, humanizing aspects.   

Authors In Their Undies turned out to be a unique kind of performance, combining literature and a revealing choice of costume. Although it was branded as an event for Montreal’s queer community, it wasn’t hard to break down the specific target labels and enjoy the event in a way that resonated with me. Real people were on stage, in their underwear, sharing their inner thoughts and creative expression. This surpassed any sexual, gender, or age boundary, and I found it both endearing and relatable.

a, Recipes, Student Life

Three foods you hated as a kid—which may not be so bad now

by Liz Willcock on

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Scientists have found that taste buds evolve—as people grow older, foods that children may have stealthily discarded, become appetizing and intriguing in adulthood. For many children, Brussels sprouts, spinach, and smelly cheese, were on the ‘run-and-hide’ list, and it’s likely that most parents have tried without luck to get their 10 year olds to consume these foods at one point or another. Don't fret, however, these three easy and tasty recipes call for a second look at the foods that used to make you cringe, and can hopefully convince a more mature palate that they might not be so bad after all.

 

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts, the vegetable universally loathed by children, generally have a bad reputation. But these cheap and seasonal vegetables are easy to throw in the oven, roast as a side, and can actually be an unexpected treat. This recipe will make crisp, garlicky, and delicious sprouts that are equally appetizing thrown in a salad or served along with dinner—making it apparent why they may in fact be worth giving a second chance.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Brussels sprouts (halved with ends chopped off)

Drizzle of olive oil

1 clove of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° degrees Celsius.

2. Cut off ends of Brussels sprouts, halve them, and toss them in a bowl with the other ingredients.

3. Roast for 30 minutes or until until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

 

Wilted garlic spinach

Second among the childhood dreaded vegetables list is spinach. Even though this ingredient can be used as a base for just about every salad, spinach should be given the special attention it deserves after all those years of childhood disdain. This wilted spinach recipe can work as a side, or tossed into a bowl with brown rice and sweet potato—an affordable and healthy meal that can be made in under five minutes.

Ingredients:

1 large shallot, diced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tbs of olive oil

4 cups of spinach

Coarse salt and pepper to taste

A squeeze of lemon juice

Directions:

1. Place the shallot, garlic, and olive oil in a pan, and cook for two minutes until shallots are golden.

2. Add spinach and sauté until wilted. 

3. Top with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

 

Goat cheese and fig toast

Although many students’ taste buds may not have been won over by blue cheese or Brie just yet, branching out in little ways from childhood favourites like cheddar grilled-cheese is a good start. This open-faced toast with goat cheese is an easy snack to make, and may just be the perfect way to tiptoe into maturity.

Ingredients:

2 slices of rye toast

2 tbs of goat cheese

2 large figs

1 tsp of rosemary

Drizzle of honey

Directions:

1. Toast rye bread. 

2. Spread goat cheese. 

3. Wash figs, remove stems, slice thinly, and arrange on toast

4. Sprinkle with rosemary and drizzle with honey

Influence
a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Flashback: A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

by Nico Wada on

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A Woman Under the Influence (1974) is an impressive study of madness and conformity, serving as one of the benchmark films of American independent cinema. The film’s maverick director, John Cassavetes­—best known for Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Dirty Dozen (1967)—often shot his films in a hand-held style known as cinema verité, in which the camera functions like a fly on the wall in order to mimic a real-life viewing experience. Due to its rawness and emotional power, the film is often assumed to be improvisational or unscripted, yet Cassavetes always carefully wrote and directed his own projects. To mirror a convincing reality and provide his work with a sense of authenticity, Cassavetes enjoyed scripting the familiar—in this case, the abrasions of daily living, and casting close friends and family members to play the roles.  

Just as Woody Allen favoured actress Mia Farrow, Cassavetes demonstrates a particular fondness for Gena Rowlands, whose portrayal of Mabel Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence resulted in an Oscar nomination. Mabel is a housewife who behaves in odd ways; her temperament is mercurial as she floats from moments of singing and humming in a little-girl manner to growwing annoyed, pantomiming and throwing indignant punches into open air. Her husband, Nick Longhetti, played by Cassavetes’ close friend Peter Falk, is initially the rational counter to Mabel’s antics, yet is subtly revealed to be just as crazy and volatile as his wife, existing at a seemingly perpetual bursting point. Cassavetes uses Nick as an archetypal male figure, leading to feminist interpretations that Nick embodies the repressive societal patriarchy suffocating the gentleness of the female spirit. Nick works in construction and enjoys yelling at people with his thick New York accent to maintain his macho self-assurance. Eventually, Nick sends Mabel away to a mental institution, and then welcomes her back six months later with a party that can only be described as unnervingly tense.  

The film devotes much time to exploring the Longhetti family dynamic. Cassavetes is undoubtedly sympathetic to the rootless state of the middle class American housewife. Mabel’s social awkwardness and desire to fit in is embarrassing and difficult to watch, yet she is oddly charming. The couple’s three children run away from Nick and gravitate toward Mabel, perhaps due to her childlike nature and gentle femininity. When Nick is left to care for the kids while Mabel is away at the institution, he takes them out of school and loads them into his truck for a fun morning at the beach. Observing a gloomy mood, Nick yells unpleasantly: “We’re here to have a good time, let’s have a good time. Otherwise we go home!” The day ends with the kids rolling out of Nick’s truck drunk after guzzling beers that were left out for them to find, demonstrating that Nick is no better a parent than Mabel.

One particular attribute that is often overlooked, is the setup of the couple’s home. It is arranged like a soundstage, with guests flowing in and out like shuffling actors and the dining room transitioning into Nick and Mabel’s bedroom in the evening. The film itself can be seen as Cassavetes’ commentary on the theatrical nature of banal daily life. Mabel behaves in ways that embarrass Nick in front of guests.  As she returns from the institution and still struggles to act according to social norms, Nick shouts: “Be yourself! Be yourself!” 

In translation, Nick wishes for Mabel to participate in the rituals of small-talk. The irony of his demand is that, in reality, Mabel doesn’t have an inner selfhood. She is defined by her odd jumble of mannerisms and gestures that compose her failed public persona. The film wraps on an everyday scene of Nick and Mabel bringing dishes to the kitchen put to a harmonica-themed tune, almost as if a curtain was just briefly lifted on a play in progress.

a, McGill, News

QPIRG Culture Shock event series promotes anti-racism, indigenous solidarity

by Aislinn Kalob on

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From Nov. 5 to Nov. 8, the Quebec Public Interest Research Group McGill (QPIRG) and the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) co-presented an annual event series entitled, Culture Shock: Envisioning alternative futures, with panels, writing workshops, and speakers discussing issues of racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and radical organizing.  

“The theme, ‘envisioning alternative futures’ was inspired by the keynote address entitled Seers, Time-Travellers, and Intergalactic Trouble-Makers: A Keynote on Radical Organizing as Science Fiction given by Walida Imarisha, co-editor of Octavia's Brood, a science fiction anthology authored by activists and visionaries,” said Arabella Colombier, Culture Shock coordinator.

The programming began with a workshop and training called Anti-Racism 101, which gave participants a background in the theoretical and historical roots of racism, non-racism and anti-racism. Practical tools to actively deconstruct oppressive thought and language, and engage with personal  identities were also taught.

"Identity frames the way we relate to one another, from how we see ourselves, to how [we] see other people," said Nate Philip, a discussion leader.  "This workshop aims to facilitate a dialogue about how our personal identities influence the access of power we have in our society."

Among the exercises intended to explore identity relationships was a “step forward, step back” exercise.

"If either of your guardians did not graduate from college, move back,” Philip said. "If you believe the police would help you in an emergency, move forward."

The series also included a cultural solidarity-building and reconciliation workshop entitled Oh Canada, Our Home on Native Land: Discussing Decolonization, a round-table discussion on women of colour in the media, and an address on radical organizing as science fiction.

One of the series’ keynote speakers, New York City-based activist and organizer, Joshua Allen, spoke on Friday evening at the Comité d'éducation aux adultes de la Petite-Bourgogne et de Saint-Henri (CÉDA) at a joint event hosted by QPIRG and the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE), as part of its two-day series called Trans/Formations.  

Allen praised the work of Demilitarize McGill, expressing the importance of resistance against the military to LGBTQ rights movements with a call to action.

"The work of trans and gender nonconforming people, the work of people who deviate from normative gender is a demilitarizing project," Allen said. "We have to realize the oppression […] is often times perpetuated by militaries all across the world. In order to end that, we must actively engage in struggles against the military."

Allen cited the recent murder of Keisha Jenkins, the 21st transgender woman killed in the United States this year, as indicative of the need for continued activism.

“I think that […] now is a state of emergency, we have different people dying every single month,” Allen said.  “The way that I would personally characterize the trans movement in Europe and also in the U.S. and other places, is that it’s responding to crises and violence.”

Other events hosted by QPIRG McGill throughout the year include Social Justice Days and Israeli Apartheid Week alongside organizations such as QPIRG-Concordia, the Center for Gender Advocacy Concordia, RadLaw McGill, Demilitarize McGill, Howl Arts, Tadamon, and Cinema Politica Concordia.

a, Science & Technology

Identifying emotions through head movements: A descent into the uncanny valley

by Ava Zwolinski on

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Human interactions are made up of complex exchanges of movements, sounds, and smells. In fact, researchers from the Sequence Production Lab at McGill University have shown that people are able to detect emotions simply by watching how people move their head. 

The work was conducted by Professor Caroline Palmer from the Department of Psychology and Steven Livingstone, a post-doctorate fellow at McMaster University.

To prove their theory, the team recruited 12 adults to speak and sing a sentence with varying degrees of emotions, including happiness, sadness, and neutrality. 

“We found […] that [the participants] used the same kind of head movements when they were singing a happy tune, [or] when they were speaking a happy sentence,” Palmer explained. “This suggests that there is something about the head movements that goes beyond the lexical content.”

In the second part of the study,  the team had subjects watch videos of the participants that had been recorded—with their faces blurred and the sound muted. But the ability to interpret these physical ‘micro’ movements by an individual was still observed.

“Viewers could identify the emotional state from videos of the head movements during speaking or singing,” explained Palmer. “This means that those head movements really are conveying something that is not just specific to the words.”

Aside from offering greater insight into the human mind, research in this field is useful for those involved in the development of artificially intelligent (AI) systems.

“[This discovery] can give us the chance to encode these cues in an intelligent machine, because those head movements seem to transcend speech,” Palmer stated.   

But according to a statement on The McGill Center for Intelligent Machines’ website, the creation of an intelligent system is not easy.

“[These systems should be] capable of adapting their behavior by sensing and interpreting their environment, making decisions and plans, and then carrying out those plans using physical actions,” the statement read. 

A hallmark of AI research is the hope of passing the Turing Test—developed by Alan Turing—where a human attempts to discern whether they are speaking to another human or a robot based on verbal cues. If the robot is thought to be human for the majority of the conversation, then the robot is said to have passed the Turing Test. In the evaluation of both verbal and non-verbal cues, however, human-robot interactions can result in the observation of new phenomena.

The uncanny valley is an emotional response to humanoid robots. (heinakroon.com)
The uncanny valley is an emotional response to humanoid robots. (heinakroon.com)

“There’s a term in computer science called [the] ‘uncanny valley,’” Livingstone said. “[When] something is close to being real, but is not real, [it can] make you feel a little uncomfortable.”

By studying and understanding head movements, androids could be given the ability to detect expression of information and emotion. This would enable them to understand people’s emotions and interact with a human more accurately, thus avoiding the uncanny valley.

While the thought of a robot acting exactly like a human may seem like something from a science fiction movie, these emotionally intelligent robots could eventually find themselves a place in society. For example, these kinds of systems could also aid in the long-distance care of patients.

“There are some lines of work developing robots to deliver standardized care to people either in hospital settings or stay-at-home individuals who don’t have the ability to get out,” Palmer stated. “This […] may include a nurse checking in on how a patient is doing at home, [after receiving information from a robot about their emotional state].”  

Palmer hopes to further investigate this phenomenon with musicians, who often use non-verbal forms of communication when performing together.

“It seems very reasonable that some people will respond better to [a] machine that conveys emotion the way [a] human [does,]” Palmer said. “[Today,] machines are not known for conveying emotions because it is a very difficult state to model.”  

As technology evolves, the materials needed to build robots improves. Consequently, the difficulty of building a robot continues to decrease. If researchers are able to emulate human emotions as well, then the future of AI robots is bright.

Xavier
a, Arts & Entertainment, Music

Around the world with Xavier Rudd

by Maxime Scraire on

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Australian surf-roots musician Xavier Rudd has been around for more than a decade, spreading his message of acceptance and love all over the world. After no less than seven solo albums—most of which went either platinum or gold in his home country—the outspoken environmentalist decided to form The United Nation, an eight-piece band who’s newest LP came out earlier this year. On it, Rudd puts aside the folk aesthetic he has been refining ever since 2002’s To Let, in favour of pursuing and exploring something completely different: Reggae.

While Nanna, Rudd’s most recent album, is an evident change of pace for him, longstanding fans can still find on the LP everything that makes the songwriter’s music so exciting: Strong messages of peace and unity; a highly recognizable, soulful and soothing voice; sumptuously crafted instrumentation; catchy pop choruses; and a definite sunny vibe. Highlights include the first single, “Come People” with its addictive horn section and its assembling chant “I believe we are one, we are sacred,” “Nanna,” which features sublime backing vocals from chorister Georgia, and opener “Flag,” featuring one of the catchiest choruses of 2015. For 54 minutes, The United Nation can transport listeners to the closest white sand beach at absolutely any time: All you have to do is close your eyes. 

Earlier this year in an interview with EARMILK, Rudd described the formation of his new band as “very organic.” He said, “it literally felt like all of our ancestors had a cup of tea and put us together.” The multi-instrumentalist, who made his reputation performing as a one-man band behind a complex setup that could include guitars, djembes, a didgeridoo, a stomp box, a harmonica, and shakers, is leading an ensemble on stage for the first time. But solely judging from the live recordings of his present tour, listeners could easily be fooled to think that he has been working with The United Nation his entire career. Ever-smiling and zen-like, dancing smoothly to the off-beat rhythm of his relaxed reggae anthems, there is no doubt he is living a dream.

Having first started his career in Whistler, British Columbia, Rudd’s Canadian fanbase has grown to be a very dedicated one. In fact, it is so considerable that half of his North American tour is on Canadian soil, including five stops in Quebec alone. This contrasts wildly from most international acts that usually only stop at three or four of the biggest Canadian venues and spend most of their time in the United States.

“[Rudd’s] smile and onstage charisma is infectious,” wrote the Brisbane Times. “If he was indeed starting a cult, there would have been thousands of followers ditching their shoes and amassing a head full of dreadlocks out of pure respect for a masterful performance.” 

Since then, the musician and his band have been averaging almost a show per day, making audiences all around North America boogie to the sound of some of the best world-music to have been written in the past years. 

As Rudd plans to go back to playing solo shows in the next years, the possibility that “The Flag” tour will be a once in a lifetime experience for fans is a very strong one, one which only a fool would deliberately choose to miss. 

“Some people have seen me 10 to 15 times and loved my solo shows,” Rudd said in an interview with the Cairns Post. “[They] have come up to me and said [The United Nations performance is] their favourite show.”

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