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a, Student Life, Student of the Week

Student of the Week: Katie Duff

by Hailey MacKinnon on

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Katie Duff, U3 Electrical Engineering, is using her passion for her field of study to further cancer research and create new modes of early detection for aggressive forms of cancer.

Duff began her journey in the Faculty of Science, but after changing programs five times, she finally landed in the Department of Electrical Engineering, with a minor in software engineering. Duff switched to engineering in order to focus less on theory and more on solving problems, like operating with budgetary and material constraints, and work on tangible projects with finished products. 

Although she took part in interesting projects in her classes, including building robots and AM radios, Duff’s favourite project is the one she has been working on outside of class since the beginning of last summer. Duff is assisting Milica Popovich, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, in designing a bra that uses low-energy microwave radiation to detect breast cancer tumours. X-ray mammography has ionizing radiation and can actually cause breast-cancer if used too often. For this reason, it is only safe to use once or twice a year—which can be a problem for aggressive forms of cancer that can go from Stage I to Stage III in as little as six months. Low-energy radiation, however, is safe to use more frequently, and can help prevent the spread of aggressive cancers through earlier detection.

Duff first heard about the project at a banquet for the International Association of Electrical Engineers (IEEE), which she had been asked to co-host. She was keen to pursue the project because it utilizes both aspects of her degree: Signal processing, which involves electrical engineering, and computer programming, which requires knowledge in software engineering. She also cites recent family events, which convinced her this was an especially important project.

“My aunt recently had breast cancer and the problem [was] that it developed super quickly between her two mammogram scans—and that’s the exact situation that [this project] is trying to deal with,” Duff said. “If you detect [the cancer in] its first stage, there’s a 99 per cent survival rate. But when you get to the third stage, it drops down to [around] 24 per cent.”

Although Duff wasn’t initially eligible to assist with this research as she lacked the prerequisite courses, her passion for the project drove her to seek out Popovich and convince her to take her on. 

“I emailed [Popovich] and was like, ‘I know that I’m not eligible at all but meet with me anyway,’” Duff said. “I [told her] ‘I will learn anything, I’m a hard worker, [and] I really care about [the project]. You will not regret this.’”

The bra has just recently been approved by the ethics board, and will hold clinical trials throughout November, which Duff will continue to be a part of. This will allow her to work with doctors and patients, and practice communicating the details of her project in a clear and accessible manner. Duff already possesses plenty of communication skills experience conveying information thanks to her position as manager and math tutor for the Peer Tutoring Service in the Faculty of Engineering. She enjoys the opportunity to help younger students stay positive and feel confident in their abilities. 

“I think there’s a lot of pressure in engineering […] that you’re supposed to just ‘get it’ [and people think] ‘If I can’t just get it, I shouldn’t be here,’” Duff explained. “[I like] having people say ‘I get it,’ or have people email me and be like ‘You’re the reason I passed this class.’ I think that’s the most rewarding thing—to have someone [say], ‘You know what, I’m not bad at this; I can do this.’”

Duff strives to maintain a well-rounded university experience that is not confined to academic study. She is a choir singer, a former athlete on the McGill Nordic Ski Team, and a member of a mentorship group for students called Promoting Opportunities for Women in Engineering (POW) McGill. She is passionate about increasing female representation in engineering—a field whose ‘boys club’ image can be intimidating.

“The biggest thing is that [often] girls who go into engineering are girls who excel—[they] know that they can be good at it because [they] had to be really good at it in high school,” Duff explained. “But there are guys […] who are not top students—they’re doing fine, well enough to get into the program but they by no means feel they are the best or the most brilliant—and still [think] they can do [it]. My vision for […] girls in engineering is to meet a girl who’s doing badly in engineering, and to have her not feel like she should drop out.” 

Duff hopes to increase female visibility by being a role model and support system for other female engineers. With one year left to go in completing her degree, she is looking forward to spending it immersing herself in the music, sports, clubs, and academics that she thoroughly enjoys within McGill and Montreal alike, and is excited about the prospects for future research opportunities that her degree will lead to.

Dancer
a, Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

TAME: In a world of their own

by Evelyn Goessling on

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TAME, a new exhibition showcasing dance by choreographer Lara Kramer immerses its audience in a world of dreamy experimentation through unconventional movement.

The set of TAME was reminiscent of a first apartment, stuffed with the gleeful accumulation of garish, yet cohesive ‘70s and ‘80s ephemera. Crowded with clothing and magazines, the stage of TAME felt familiar—like an exaggerated version of an adolescent bedroom. According to the choreographer, the vintage set was developed over a course of two years; as the piece came together, so did the set’s theme. Most contemporary dance pieces are minimal in their costuming and stage design; presumably not to distract from the dancers’ movements, however, the busy set of TAME didn’t draw away from the dancer’s performance at all—in fact, it was much more engaging and cohesive with the concept behind the piece.

In this informal environment, the three dancers experimented with concepts of physical, mental, and personal space. This aforementioned space was created and manipulated through interaction and movement between props and bodies, often in bizarre or comical ways. Kramer excellently utilized props such as rope, marshmallows, popcorn, and paper towels to raise questions about the space within humans and the space that they occupy on a daily basis.

An eerie silence was interrupted by the soft sound, akin to the crackling of paper, as one dancer sat in a wheelchair covered in medical paper, before the loud music and screaming was reduced once again to silence. One of the best moments of the piece was when a wild dance party deteriorated into a screaming tantrum, which eventually subsided to reveal an orchestral cover of “Hotel California” playing softly from an onstage stereo.

However, the set wasn’t the only theatrical element of the piece. The three dancers developed their characters distinctly through small solo sections that utilized different props. There were sections with interaction between the dancers, but often, the three performers separately experimented the space around them. But whilst the theatrical elements were organic and the dialogue between the characters dramatic, it ultimately felt out of place with the rest if the piece. The final product contained dialogue between the dancers, but it was mostly background noise—softly spoken and improvised.

The beginning of the piece was hardly recognizable as a dance production, and instead felt more like the opening scene of a play, whilst the dancers’ movements were subtle yet affected. The simple act of walking across a room, feeling one’s feet on the floor, or turning the pages of a magazine were elegant and careful—a reminder that every movement can be a part of a larger dance routine.

The nature of the choreography as well as the props provided room for improvisation. Instead of a strict choreography where the audience could often anticipate dancers’ next movements, like in music, this choreography was constantly surprising and changing, which made the show all the more engaging and comedic. Spontaneous moments such as a glass full of juice spilling onto the floor made the scene feel more immersive and real.

At some points, the sexual nature of the piece wasn’t explicitly obvious. The characters in the show are all presented as sexual beings in an entirely natural way. For example, the causal femininity of their costumes—one wore a crop top and tights, another shuffled around in slippers, underwear, and a quintessential ‘80s windbreaker—revealed the natural, languid, and comfortable femininity that many women wear while not in the male gaze. Other moments were more obvious, such as when one dancer used a rope hanging from the ceiling in an amateur quasi-pole dance, or when another pretended to be a male masturbating to the TV.

TAME was exciting in the way characterization and media such as props and music were used to discover different experiences of individuals and the space they inhabit. Subtle movements and sounds were juxtaposed with dazzling and bizarre displays of energy to create an enchanting and provocative experience.

a, Student Life

A universal approach to accessibility on McGill campus

by Julie Vanderperre on

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McGill is seeking to incorporate universal design—an approach towards the establishment of an environment that adapts to everyone’s needs—to the physical layout of its buildings and accessibility of the university as a whole. The thinking behind universal design is that disabling situations within people’s environments are what affect individuals with impairments; disability stems thus from the environment, attitudes, and systems, instead of from the individual.  It is this approach that is guiding the administration in adapting the design of McGill’s Downtown and Macdonald Campuses to create an accessible environment for all students. 

 Due to the age and layout of many McGill buildings, the promotion of physical accessibility is challenging; however, under Article 15 of McGill’s University Policy Concerning the Rights of Students with Disabilities, there is an ongoing effort to remove all architectural barriers that limit students with disabilities from full participation in university life.

 The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides a collection of campus access guides, which are downloadable as PDFs, and detail the accessibility of all buildings through maps that highlight wheelchair accessible entrances, elevators, wheelchair accessible washrooms, and accessible parking.

The campus access guides also list drop-off locations for Paratransit, Montreal’s adapted public transport system. In addition, McGill campus has its own adapted mobility bus, which is a free service available to all individuals with impairments and injuries that compromise mobility.

 The adoption of universal design at McGill applies to more than physical barriers, and includes the modification services such as OSD’s note-taking service to make it more accessible to all McGill students. 

“We have dozens and dozens of diagnoses, whether they be physical or related to mental health—so it becomes literally impossible for disabilities service providers to be targeting specific knowledge to specific situations,” said Frederic Fovet, the former director of the OSD, in a video interview about universal design. 

It is therefore far more sustainable to provide these services to all McGill students who request them. The universalization of services and buildings on campus stands to benefit all students and move McGill towards a more sustainable system of promoting accessibility.

 There is still much work to be done, however, in making the campus accessible to all students. Specifically, there is room for improvement with regards to student housing at McGill and the creation of more wheelchair-accessible dorms. Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) and OSD have collaborated to make more equitable and accessible spaces in residence. They have created the Accessibility Hub, a centralized resource on accessibility and housing at McGill, for this purpose.  SSHS and OSD have also compiled a residence comparison chart, which allows students to view which residences include universally accessible rooms.

 While there is still much work to be done, McGill’s adoption of the Standards for Barrier-Free Campus, a list of goals to remove access barriers, means that the university is working towards eliminating disabling situations on campus. The standards include efforts such as adopting universal design for all building entrances so that people with disabilities may enter and exit through the same places as the general university population. Other initiatives include: Providing barrier-free washrooms at the main entrance level of every McGill building when feasible, creating spaces for wheelchairs in auditoriums, theatres, lecture halls, and classrooms, and providing at least one exterior accessible parking space outside of every major building complex.  

 The promotion of equity and the removal of access barriers on campus, in terms of architecture, availability, and visibility, will gradually allow for more people to have access to a McGill education and reap all of its benefits

This article was corrected on Nov. 4, 2015. The Tribune regrets these errors. 

a, McGill, Montreal, News, SSMU

WUSC event sparks campus debate

by Kyle Dolph on

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A campus event which intended to raise awareness for Canada’s Student Refugee Program (SRP) erupted into controversy this past week after the Facebook page for the event was titled “Mock refugee camp at the Y-Intersection.”

The McGill chapter of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) sought to construct a “refugee tent” at the Y-Intersection on Oct. 27. According to event organizer Daniel Kent, the construction of the tent was intended as a symbol of the refugee experience that would increase awareness of the SRP on campus. “When we try to raise awareness about [refugee] issues, we try to talk about [the SRP],” Kent said. “We’ve been having a lot of events, but at [our last event, only] around six people showed up.”

The SRP’s mock refugee tent sparked public backlash, however, and a heated online argument almost immediately ensued on the event’s Facebook page. In a response to heavy criticism, the name of the event’s organizers changed its name from “Mock Refugee Camp” to “Info Station.” 

Anne-Sophie Tzeunot, U3 Political Science and vice-president (VP) of the McGill African Students Association (MASS), explained why she was concerned by the event’s use of a mock tent. 

“We think that having a refugee camp would not look authentic,” Tzeunot said. “Any kind of visual embodiment would not look respectful. We don’t think a simple tent can represent [the experiences of refugees].” 

According to Kent, however, who arrived to McGill in 2011 from Kenya with the assistance of the SRP, the refugee experience is familiar to many of the WUSC event’s organizers. Kent hoped the event would allow him to share his own experiences as a refugee. 

“Our SRP committee has eight refugee students and six who are active day to day,” Kent said. “[I thought] if I was able to show how I lived in a refugee camp, if I was able to recreate how I ate, slept, studied, and lived, people would be interested and would want to hear my story.” 

MASS in turn acknowledged that many of the event’s organizers had past experiences as refugees, but still objected to the construction of a refugee tent. 

“We’re not undermining the experience of the refugees themselves […], we just don’t think that the experience of a refugee can be reduced to a tent,” Tzeuton said. “There’s so many experiences and perspectives.” 

WUSC released a statement on the event’s Facebook page, emphasizing a misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the event. 

“The event’s original description and title were poorly worded, and many well-meaning community members misinterpreted them as implying that we were attempting to romanticize or simulate what it means to be a refugee,” the statement read. “This was far from our intention, and we apologize for the distress we may have caused any member of the McGill community through the description of our event.”

Event-related discussions

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) VP (Clubs and Services) Kimber Bialik acknowledged that the situation is complex. 

“This is difficult for both parties involved because there are students on both sides [of the argument] who were refugees, or have close family and friends who were refugees,” she said.  

The controversy was first brought to Bialik’s attention after complaints and a petition—started by student activists—began to circulate over Facebook, demanding that WUSC organizers refrain from using tents or other objects to erect a “mock refugee camp.” The petition has since been removed. Bialik referred the matter to the VP University Affairs, Chloe Rourke, and SSMU equity commissioners.

“Our equity commissioners try to be proactive and ensure that all students are comfortable with what happens on campus,” Bialik said. “The Equity Commission and the VP University Affairs helped WUSC write the statement that appeared on [the event’s Facebook page].”

Kent noted, however, that one such Equity Commissioner, Marilyn Verghis, also serves as VP Education on MASS’s executive board, a potential conflict of interest. 

“[Verghis] made [her role in MASS] clear.  She just told us that she had to put on a ‘MASS hat’ when she had to talk as an exec of MASS and that she would put on an ‘equity commissioner’s hat’ when she had to talk about that,” Kent said. “[Verghis], as the equity commissioner, told us the best thing would be to get rid of the tents.”

According to Rourke, Verghis’ involvement in both MASS and as an equity commissioner allowed her input to be even more valuable.

“I disclosed in my initial email that Marilyn was involved with MASS as an executive, and suggested that her perspective would be valuable in understanding the different views held by the student body on this matter,” she said. “WUSC agreed and myself, Marilyn, and four members of WUSC met to discuss the sequence of events that occurred over social media including the open letter.”

Rourke also noted that the decision for WUSC to release a public statement addressing the issues that had arisen amongst the McGill community.

“I believe the meeting helped to clear up a number of misconceptions on both sides, and it was agreed a public statement should be released on behalf of WUSC to address the community’s concerns,” Rourke said. “The event was always meant to provide a platform for individual members of WUSC to share their experiences and not meant to represent the diverse experiences of millions of refugees and displaced people [….] I believe a large amount of this conflict was spurred by miscommunication and a misinterpretation of WUSC McGill’s intentions and the actions they took in response to concerns.”

The event’s outcome

Without the presence of a tent, the event ultimately went ahead on Wednesday. Kent deemed it a success that allowed students to gain a better understanding of WUSC. 

“I think that a lot of people got their misconceptions [of WUSC] cleared when they visited us,” Kent said. “A lot of people reached out saying that they had signed the petition, but didn’t really understand what was going on.” 

Dean of Students André Costopoulos discussed the beneficial outcomes of the event. 

“I think that it was a positive event and it went well,” Costopoulos said. “It was interesting to me that we had students who were refugees who wanted to tell their story.”

Costopoulos went on to praise those involved in the planning of the event for their attempts at resolving the dispute. 

“[The organizers] were respectful of viewpoints that were expressed to them,” Costopoulos said. “Universities are about discussion, they’re about negotiations and expressing opinions—and we accomplished that.” 

Going forward, Kent expressed his desire for good relations amongst everyone involved. 

“I don’t think that there was any conflict,” he said. “We think that it was a misunderstanding and tried to clear things up. It was unfortunate that [MASS] released a statement without consulting us. We have many members who are also members of MASS. I’m hoping they will come together and work with us.”

Tzeuton struck a similar chord, also acknowledging the success of WUSC’s event. 

“We think that WUSC did an amazing job,” Tzeuton said. “We don’t want an environment of conflict. There are WUSC members who are MASS members. MASS also has events upcoming to benefit refugees.” 

WUSC funding

The SRP, a nationwide initiative first introduced to McGill in 1986, and funded with a $0.50 student fee each semester, supports two international refugee students studying at the university each year. Though the fees are collected by the university, much of the administrative work is handled by WUSC’s volunteer SRP committee, which also helps those selected by the program with immigration paperwork in securing a spot in residence, and coordinating travel. Four refugee students will be accepted this year, as part of McGill’s response to the crisis in Syria.

Costopoulos also mentioned financial challenges currently facing the SRP program. 

“It’s an expensive program, and they’re going to have to do something a little different [in the future],” Costopoulos said. 

It was originally intended that the current fee, levied in 1986, would be adjusted for inflation over time. This has never been done, and 30 years later, it is proving insufficient to fund the SRP.

“One of the ideas that they’re considering is raising the fee,” explained Costopoulos. 

Bialik explained that whether or not to raise the fee, and how to do so if deemed necessary, was currently being considered by McGill’s fee advisory committee. 

“[The SRP fee] isn’t actually a student fee,” she said. “The money doesn’t go to WUSC, but to McGill, and WUSC never touches any of the money. They just help to settle the refugees.” 

Scary face
a, Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

The Viewpoint: SIN – halloween haunted house

by Ian Rodgers on

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SIN: Halloween Haunted House at the Theatre Sainte-Catherine was an intense and disturbing experience, unlike any other haunted house. The theatre’s small space was transformed into a formless nightmare that played with the audience’s vulnerability. The experience began with the participants being attached to a rope by the wrist, while standing outside the theatre—with no explanation as to why—then the order in which we were lined up was switched around. I was left separated from the friend I came with, a clever way to immediately make us all feel alienated and uncomfortable. Out of the gloom, a hooded figure appeared, taking the rope and dragging us around through an alley to a back entrance.

This alternate entrance was the least of a series of surprises, but like the best horror movies, SIN did not rely on jump scares. Instead, it used close quarters and interaction with its audience to make the space feel ominous and foreboding. The constraint of the rope took away any sense of control and forced you to look at the scenes playing out. A woman in white sang an aria, always remaining slightly ahead of the group. The space was divided using cloth and garbage bags into countless rooms, each of which showcased a twisted vignette. These scenes made it obvious why advertisements for the program warned that “NO CHILDREN OR TEENS WILL BE ADMITTED.” One of the earliest, and tamest, scenes was of a woman being dressed by a stylist before her wedding, until the stylist suffocated the to-be bride with a plastic bag and stole her ring.

The performance featured a large amount of nudity, both male and female, and this manipulation of sexuality was where the event really shined. For a good amount of time, the rope was pulled by a mute, fully nude man, and the apprehension between not wanting to follow too close to him and not wanting to be left behind in a room created an uneasy dynamic. The most memorable scenes were the ones which took advantage of my apprehensiveness about nudity and sexuality. Particularly memorable was a room which mainly featured a man in a wheelchair masturbating and speaking in Spanish. I found myself unable to watch but also unable to completely look away. Another scene showed a woman seducing a man praying in front of a candle, stripping and taunting him. The dynamic between the two almost acted as a mirror of my experience as an audience member, again unsure where to look or how to respond to the experience. The conclusion of this scene resulted in the man self-mutilating his genitals with candle wax. Even though I knew this couldn’t be real, I was stunned.

Other scenes blurred the line between performer and audience, with cast members latching onto my legs. There was an excellent segment in which we were brought to the rooftop and warned to stay low as we travelled through a boardwalk, then were told to run to a door. This culminated in me shouting at my friend to close the door behind us. I was immersed in the experience.

Overall, I was extremely impressed by the cast members’ ability to stay in character and control the experience. The performance kept me constantly uncomfortable and off-balance. It used its theme of sin extremely well, and scared me through the use of my discomfort with the human body. Overall, this was a uniquely disturbing experience, and I can’t wait to return next year and travel through hell once more.

a, Editorial, Opinion

Balancing representation and competence in the VP Finance position

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) is currently undertaking a revision of the election process for the Vice-President (VP) Finance position. Given the society’s recent record of high turnover in the position and financial turmoil, the outcome of this revision will be key to defining the sustainability of the VP Finance position—a lesson that may be transferable to other executive positions. The issue of under-qualified executives is not unique to the AUS; all faculty associations must consider adding a screening process to the selection of executives prior to elections.

As student-run associations, improving the sustainability of executive positions is in the interest of all students. In paying fees to faculty associations, students have a financial stake in the success of the various undergraduate societies. In theory, democracy is the best method for representation; however, the past few years of turmoil demonstrate that student executive candidates should be screened for their ability to fulfill the responsibilities of their portfolio before being put on a ballot. A hybrid system, wherein a committee vets candidates to make sure that they have the necessary skills for the position, would fulfill the democratic and practical ideals of all faculty associations. Students will thus have a choice of candidates that are not only willing, but also able to fulfill their duties.

Student leadership positions are tasking and time-consuming. Add these demands on top of the regular full-time student trials and tribulations and the roles seem even more challenging, especially when the burden falls on a student without adequate training or experience. Recent events showed that a combination of these factors can be disastrous—the first round of internal audits had to be redone, costing the AUS $20,000, and revealed significant accounting errors to the tune of a $65,000 AUS deficit. The VP Finance position was left in tatters; no candidate ran for the position, and so the current VP Finance was appointed by the AUS Council. While such an issue is not common to all faculty associations, it proved the risk involved with relying on popularly-elected yet incompetent executives.

 

A hybrid system, wherein a committee vets candidates to make sure that they have the necessary skills for the position, would fulfill the democratic and practical ideals of all faculty associations.

Reforming the process of selecting candidates would mitigate the risk of electing an inexperienced VP Finance. Faculty associations such as the AUS and the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) can look to the Management Undergraduate Society (MUS) and the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) as examples of an alternative election process. The president of the MUS is the only executive elected by MUS members—all other positions are appointed by the  MUS' Board of Directors—while the EUS VP Finance is appointed by a selection committee, and is supported by a part-time professional accountant. By requiring candidates to first submit an application that is reviewed by a committee of experts­—like MUS and EUS—anyone running for a position will fulfill at least the minimum requisites of a portfolio.

AUS has proposed two options for the application process: Either AUS Council will act as the committee that reviews applications, or it will be a committee formed of experts. The latter option will go further to mitigate any implicit biases within the committee by expanding the selection process beyond the AUS Council. It would also represent the diversity of groups that has a stake in the success of a specific executive portfolio. But so far, the proposal is vague. Before the referendum, the AUS must clearly outline the tasks of the committee; in so doing, it must define the requirements for each candidate while making the deliberations as transparent as possible.

Measures to elect a qualified candidate cannot be the only shield against financial trouble. If recent years have seen an increase in the responsibility for taxes and accounting, then AUS should consider more ways to reduce the burden of these duties on the VP Finance. One method would be to look into hiring a part-time professional accountant who could work alongside the VP Finance, similar to the EUS. While this would incur a cost, it would be another safety net; even if a qualified candidate is elected, there must be a sustainable and permanent position that will help mitigate the effect of any unforeseen circumstances, such as resignations, that arise. All options for paying for an additional employee must be considered so that the burden does not necessarily fall on students in the form of a fee levy. As more student faculty associations look to hiring professional staff, their executives should consider collaborating so as to share the services of such an employee as familiarity with McGill and the corporate structure of student societies is a necessary component on the job.

In voting on a referendum question within AUS, Arts students should bear in mind that changing the application process and hiring an accountant are not mutually exclusive; indeed, the two changes would complement one another in protecting the financial viability of the society.

Full disclosure: Zikomo Smith is a sports editor at the Tribune as well as External Affairs Coordinator for the Philosophy Students’ Association and a member of AUS Council. He was not involved in the editorial discussion

a, Science & Technology, Student Research

This month in student research: Yarden Arane

by Chloe Nevitt on

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Most engineering students  take on a year-long project during their final year at McGill, where students must work with a professor or in an industry position. When Yarden Arane, U3 Software Engineering, had to pick his, he chose Professor Jeremy Cooperstock, the director of the Shared Reality Lab at McGill. 

“[I] approached Professor Cooperstock and he gave [me] a proposal,” Arane said. “[Because] the Shared Reality Lab is a giant AI [Artificial Intelligence] research machine, [the project] would involve using AI to build augmented realities—similar to Oculus Rift.” 

Arane has been working on this project with fellow U3 Software Engineer students Daniel Macario and Brett Leighton. For the past year, they’ve been tackling quite a complex issue.

“We’re tying to do a proof of concept for a crowd-sourced, machine-learning, event detection [robot],” Arane explained.

A proof of concept is the first step towards deciding whether or not a specific method is feasible; it’s the theory before the application. Their idea—machine-learning event detection—involves building a robot that is able to determine the events in real time.

“There are already a lot of [robots] out there that can [recognize] an event,” Arane said. “[However], they’re all very catered for a specific event—it’s not generalized.”

Machine-learning robots, like the one they’re hoping to develop, have a variety of applications, but require huge amounts of data to work. This is because the computer must essentially be ‘taught’ what an event is—for example, a kiss—by showing it the event a thousand times.

“To get all this data, we want to crowd-source YouTube videos to the general public, [so] they can start labelling events in the video,” Arane said. “[For example], they can mark an event where three people meet up in an intersection, [or] when a fire is moving in a certain direction.”

These labels will then get fed into their data system, which can be used to develop algorithms that will allow a computer to detect in real time when these events are occurring.

“The applications [for something like this] are wide,” Arane  said. “[It can be used in] surveillance, safety, [and particularly] in the medical field.”

In theory, a computer program like this could allow surgeons to use a robot instead of another nurse or physician to detect an aneurysm, heart failure, or a collapsing lung. Using a machine could mean faster, more accurate, and reproducible results. 

Since starting this project, Arane has encountered a number of programs and languages that he’s never worked with before—but which are necessary to develop these algorithms. This has caused some unpredicted setbacks.

“This was definitely an extremely daunting project to take on,” Arane explained. “[Macario, Leighton, and I] knew nothing going into the project—the first month and a half was just pure research—going into the field, contacting people, and reading papers.”

They first had to deal with getting dependencies—the programs and languages needed to run the project—on their computers. They expected the task to take around 30 minutes, but it ultimately ended up taking a week and a half.

“A lot of libraries are poorly documented or maintained,” Arane said. “[We were] jumping from language to language, and it was definitely a frustration, but [we] got past it.”

Arane and his partners just finished their first prototype last week. The prototype is a collection of concepts and tools that could be later combined to build their computer program. Their next challenge is to come up with a full, cohesive system design which they’ll be able to use to begin their data collection.

“Big-data machine learning is something the world [and I] are very interested in at the moment,” Arane said.

He hopes to continue in the field of machine-learning, and is currently looking for jobs in this field. 

Without the exposure and experience he had gained from his time in Cooperstock’s lab, Arane would not have known whether or not machine-learning was a good fit for him, thus, he encourages young engineers to do the same.

“Don’t do something you’re familiar with,” said Arane. “Try to go deep and try to learn something [….] I’m so grateful I did that.”

a, From the BrainSTEM, Science & Technology

From the BrainSTEM: The leaky pipe

by Clare Lyle on

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Today, women make up less than 20 per cent of software engineers in the workforce (the precise numbers range depends on who is collecting the statistics and how the observer defines ‘software engineer’). Even in universities, where women outnumber men almost 3:2, only 12 per cent of computer science degrees are awarded to women. It’s up to industry leaders and academic institutions like McGill to recognize this and take action, or else risk missing out on capitalizing on the problem-solving power of half the world’s population.

“Out in Silicon Valley, companies are struggling to hire software engineers—even top companies like Google and Facebook,” Gayle Laakmann McDowell, author of Cracking the Coding Interview, explained in response to a question on Quora. “This is hurting the U.S.’s ability to grow [good tech] companies. If as many women went into engineering as men, this would be a huge win for the U.S. and for the world.”

McGill has not been immune to this trend. According to an analysis of the School of Computer Science enrolment data by U3 Computer Science student Pascale Gourdeau, women comprise less than 30 per cent of students enroled in computer science-related majors. In the honours stream, this number drops below 20 per cent.

The decline hasn’t been continuous, either. After steadily increasing from just over 10 per cent in the 1960s to 35 per cent in 1983, the percentage of female computer science majors in American universities dropped to below 20 per cent 10 years ago, and has flatlined since.

Researchers have proposed a number of reasons for women’s low enrolment rates in computer science. The emergence of the personal computer and its subsequent marketing as a toy for boys in the ’80s and ’90s is one suspect. Also frequently cited are a lack of female mentors, negative stereotypes, and toxic work environments in the tech industry that discourage women from pursuing careers in technology.

In spite of the grim statistics, there’s growing evidence from a number of universities that it’s not a lack of interest that’s keeping women from majoring in computer science. In fact, the evidence indicates quite the opposite: Stanford University recently revealed that Computer Science was the most popular major among female students. At Harvey Mudd College, 40 per cent of computer science majors are women. Their administration attributed this number to three major strategies: Practical, interesting introductory courses, research opportunities, and community-building activities, such as visiting the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, a conference dedicated to recognizing women’s achievements in the field of computer science.

“The way people interacted [was] much more [exciting] than I’ve ever felt—you could just flag down anyone and not feel awkward about it,” explained Li Xue, a U2 Economics and Computer Science student who attended the event this year. “Even extremely important people like Satya Nadella [the CEO of Microsoft] were on the floor of the convention centre, so it was a very ‘flatly’ structured conference where everyone was approachable. I think because the attendees were self-selecting, you just get the most motivated, talented, and open-minded people.”

The demographics of the Grace Hopper Celebration are the reverse of those seen all too often at tech conferences. Women made up 96 per cent of attendees, representing all corners of industry and academia. 

What Grace Hopper, Harvey Mudd, and Stanford all show is that, when presented with the right environment, women engage and excel in computer science just as much as their male counterparts.

The dearth of women in computer science represents an immense resource of untapped intellectual potential, and as technological innovation becomes increasingly critical to solving the world’s problems, that needs to change.

a, Opinion

Justin Trudeau’s gender equal cabinet quota is not “real change”

by Alexandra Harvey on

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“In Canada, better is always possible,” Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau boldly proclaimed to a room full of beaming supporters shortly after leading the Liberals to victory on Monday, Oct. 19, at the conclusion of one of the most predictable, ferocious, and drawn-out election campaigns in the country’s history. Trudeau pledges to instigate “real change,” and work towards a more progressive, dynamic, and united Canada. In a visible first step towards fulfilling said change, Trudeau announced that his cabinet, to be appointed on Nov. 4, will feature equal gender representation—a first in Canadian federal politics. While the possibility for women to have an equal voice in parliament evokes immense pride, these feelings are marred upon considering what the implementation of such a strict standard of equal gender representation will actually mean for Canada. Yes, women may be given the opportunity to have a more equal voice, but forcing it in terms of a quota cannot be the only way. Quotas have encouraged the criticism and questioning of the female voice in political bodies, thereby reducing gender equality to statistical rather than substantive progress.

A recent Status of Women Canada report ranks Canada 52nd in terms of female representation in parliament (for every female member of parliament, there are three who are male). According to the report, Canada is behind other parliamentary democracies, such as Australia and the United Kingdom, in terms of pay equity, support for childcare and parental leave, and strategies to prevent domestic violence. It is no coincidence that a lower representation of women in politics correlates with a lower level of support for women’s issues. The shortfall in these categories is felt by female politicians. Parliament must strive to reflect the authentic gender-makeup of society, in order for all concerns to be given the appropriate consideration and support. A gender quota in cabinet—Trudeau’s cabinet will be under 30 members—is not the most effective way to boost representation.

 

 

Numbers are worth striving for, but are not necessarily indicative of a true shift towards a new era of gender equality.

In politics, a quota refers to the enforcement of a minimum percentage for the representation of a certain group. Quotas are meant to help marginalized groups transcend the barriers that inhibit their involvement in the political sphere and in so doing entrench equal representation into political and cultural norms. In Canada, the 33 per cent female representation in the House of Commons look feeble in comparison to the fact that almost exactly 50 per cent of Canada’s population is female. Gender quotas can potentially inspire a new perception of the role of women in politics: By forcing higher female representation, there is the possibility to set a new norm.

Numbers are worth striving for, but are not necessarily indicative of a true shift towards a new era of gender equality. Canada’s intellectual, empowered, and dynamic women deserve a platform to exercise “real change” in parliament—a platform where achievements and qualifications will not be overshadowed by their sex. Trudeau’s promise of a gender-equal cabinet will provide ammunition to skeptics of females in politics, who will have the opportunity to attribute the women’s appointments to obligation. Criticism has already manifested in Canadian commentary, most notably with Andrew Coyne’s column that argued the “Liberals’ idea for gender quota leaves out the principle of merit.” Citizens may question Canada’s democratic system, and wonder whether the people sitting in some of the country’s most influential positions were selected based on their merit or their gender.

The Liberal caucus is filled with immensely qualified, powerful women, who all have the potential to provoke lasting and positive change; however, Chrystia Freeland’s impressive journalistic accomplishments, Karen McCrimmon’s commitment to the Canadian Forces, and Catherine McKenna’s work as a legal advisor for the United Nations, will all be unfairly overlooked. Reducing their experience in, for example, defense and justice, will come in second to their gender. Each female appointment will be seen as a contribution to Trudeau’s promised 50 per cent.

Trudeau has the right idea. “Real change” is a bold goal, and the promotion of higher female representation in parliament undoubtedly deserves to be on the top of his list towards attaining this goal. Although enforced gender representation is an effective way to begin shifting perceptions in favour of women in politics, Canada needs to eliminate gender discrimination and barriers—both social and physical—that prevent women from becoming involved in politics, such as limited childcare options. Women should be selected to fill influential cabinet positions because they deserve these roles, without any prior ‘announcement’ of equal representation, which only serves to further stigmatize women’s role in politics. The message that needs to be spread is one of equal ability and potential. Women deserve to be in office because of their unique skills and experiences as people, not just as women.

 

 

 

AUS McGill Lounge
a, McGill, News, SSMU

AUS considering change in appointment process of VP Finance

by Ashley kong on

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On Oct. 21, the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Council discussed a motion to hold a referendum to change the appointment process for the Vice-President (VP) Finance position.

“[Option one: The] future AUS VP Finance will be appointed solely by [the] AUS Council,” read the motion. “[Option two:] Future AUS VP Finance candidates, before being allowed to run for election, will be screened by a screening committee which shall objectively determine […] whether each candidate has met pre-set criteria of accounting qualifications [….Option three:] Hire an external bookkeeper.” 

Jacob Greenspon, AUS president explained that the changes were proposed due to problems AUS has encountered in the past from delayed tax filing and audits.

“AUS did not file taxes from 2008 to 2012, resulting in the government freezing $120,000 from the AUS bank account,” said Greenspon. “AUS also [failed] to send McGill its audited financial statements in that time period [….] As a result, McGill withheld our student fees.”

According to Greenspon, the lack of financial expertise among VP Finances has resulted in incorrect assumptions about the AUS budget.

“When our current VP Finance started his term, the AUS operated under the assumption that 2014 Frosh had ran a $10,000 deficit, and that the AUS on a whole ran a healthy surplus,” Greenspon said. “The auditors and the VP Finance were able to spot these mistakes and uncover the actual […] situation from 2014-2015 [which was] a $30,000 Frosh deficit, and [a] $65,000 overall AUS deficit.”

Traditionally, the VP Finance was democratically elected in the AUS General Elections along with rest of the executive committee. As no one ran for the position this year, AUS Council appointed Mirza Ali Shakir to the position. He previously sat on the AUS Financial Management Committee, and served in the society’s Department of Internal Audit.

Greenspon believes that a VP Finance with accounting qualifications will effectively ensure the financial safety for AUS. The composition of the proposed screening committee is still undecided but will include a variety of members including those within AUS and outside of AUS.

 “The VP Finance position is unique […] in that there are many specific, technical skills required for the job,” Greenspon said. “These include a background in accounting, knowledge of tax-filing, and experience with auditing, to name just a few.”

Greenspon also had reservations about the third option—the hiring of a bookkeeper externally—being presented in the referendum.

“While accounting remains a technical job, the accountant’s understanding of the organization is crucial to their maintaining accurate accounting records, especially given the unique stature of an accredited student association,” Greenspon said.

As outlined by the motion, the hiring of an external bookkeeper would require an increase of around $3 in the student fee paid by each AUS member,  per semester. 

AUS will not be the first student society to implement a separate hiring process for the VP Finance position. The Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) President Mariam Hachem explained that the EUS’ VP Finance is not elected. Rather, the candidate is chosen by a selection committee, whose  decision is then ratified by the EUS Council. 

“The outgoing and incoming execs sit on this selection committee, [as well as a] number of members-at-large to the EUS, as deemed by the chair [of the selection committee],” Hachem explained.

The EUS additionally employs an external bookkeeper, who is responsible for bookkeeping and auditing.

“The bookkeeper has to be a certified accountant,” said Hachem. “[Candidates for VP Finance are] not required to have any accounting qualifications, […] but if they do, then it is obviously looked favourably upon.”

Tracey Cui, U3 East Asian Studies, believes that reform is needed in order to put an end to the long history of financial mismanagement in the AUS.

“I might [go with] option two – at least there will be some criteria set up by the screening committee that covers the basic skills candidates should have,” Cui said. “Or option three, [since] we can’t trust Arts students with accounting.” 

This article was corrected on Nov. 3. The Tribune regrets these errors.

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