Latest News

a, Editorial, Opinion

Student innovation key to Montreal’s future

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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McGill is often portrayed as an institution that operates alongside Montreal rather than within it. While its quota system requires approximately 50 per cent of the student body to be made up of students from Quebec, most of the international and out-of-province student body decide to leave upon graduation. Given recent economic reports that detail the numbers of lost jobs and shrunken industries in Montreal, the decision to leave is not unreasonable; however, allowing a large number of students to slip through its fingers upon graduation is not in the best interest of the city.

Creativity has the opportunity to thrive at McGill. Universities in Montreal have numerous opportunities for student entrepreneurship and innovation. Initiatives such as the Quartier de l’Innovation (QI), the Dobson Cup, and Seeds of Change are opportunities for students across faculties to experiment and expand their professional horizons. But these incubators for creativity and innovation on campus have not yet been translated into opportunities in the Montreal community on a large scale.

Resources such as the Career Planning Service (CaPS) are essential to assisting students in professional development. Yet, even through services such as their mentorship program, there more of an individual focus than a community one. Those who are intensely interested in a certain field will seek out the appropriate assistance, and so there is a certain amount of required individual agency; but even with interest, there is an information mismatch. The potential for a student community of innovation is there, but it has yet to be tapped into. Opportunities abound, but awareness of those opportunities is limited by the fragmented dissemination of information. Streamlining student access to information pertaining to opportunities for entrepreneurship would solidify a culture of innovation within campus.

 

Incubators for creativity and innovation on campus have not yet been translated into opportunities in the Montreal community on a large scale.

There are the obvious barriers to students remaining in Montreal post-graduation—corruption, the language barrier for many students, and a lack of business infrastructure since the 1970s are just a few. But a significant portion of the McGill community is from Quebec or Montreal, and will stay after graduation. The expansion of opportunities for innovation and entrepreneruship in Montreal post graduation will compel more students to remain in the city while improving the opportunities available to locals.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are not easy anywhere, but succeeding in Montreal is particularly difficult. Montreal pales next to economic hubs such as Toronto, New York City, and London in terms of innovation. While it is strong in film and technology—especially as the city’s concerted effort to attract digital companies beginning in the 1990s—Montreal is still considered the worst large city in Canada to develop a business. Progress in these barriers is a long-term commitment, but perhaps the impetus need not come from above. A cohesive effort to develop programs within McGill would empower students to contribute to innovation in Montreal.

Nevertheless, McGill students have not been absent from the scene of entrepreneurship. Dispatch Coffee, the caffeine dispensary operating in the McConnell Engineering building was started by McGill alumni, as well as Heart City Apparel, a charitable organization that promotes the work of small artists in Montreal. Were McGill students given further tools to enter the Montreal private sector, it could pave the way to lowering the existing barriers and transplanting these initiatives into Montreal as long-term businesses. Improvements in corruption, infrastructure, and interest in Montreal as a hub for innovation do not need to be the first step; instead, bottom-up development from the grassroots level could assist Montreal in prioritizing such improvements. A McGill education can be applied to our immediate environment—arguably, most who start a project while at university would prefer to not relocate. It is a matter of adjusting the taboo held by international and out-of-province students, as well as providing the tools to all students. As McGill works on cultivating student interest in preparing for the realworld and exploring various avenues, it ought to focus on how students can contribute to innovation within the Montreal community.

 

 

The Rolling Stones
a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Cocksucker Blues travels from Super 8 to the Silver Screen

by Evelyn Goessling on

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It’s rare for a band like The Rolling Stones to be embarrassed or even scandalized by anything, but the footage in Robert Frank’s documentary Cocksucker Blues was evidently too much for the band to reveal to their public. Despite the liberal atmosphere of the early ‘70s, which saw the explosion of classic rock—and the hedonism that came with it—Cocksucker Blues was deemed inappropriate for public audiences. The issue was taken to court, and it was finally decided in 1977 that the film could not legally be shown until 1979, and then only four times per year, and only with director Robert Frank present at each showing. 

Cocksucker Blues was exhibited in Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma on October 16, the first official screening of the film since the Museum of Modern Art screened it at The Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Film exhibition in 2012. Montreal was one of the places Frank first illegally showed the film.

It’s safe to assume that the majority of those attending the screening arrived with a basic background on the Rolling Stones as a seminal cultural phenomenon and a wild caricature of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. Whether most of the audience was there to bask in the heyday of classic rock hedonism, or scoff at the very same thing, it required real grit to sit through the raw, often-humourless footage of their 1972 Exile on Main St tour.   

The film was shot in a cinéma vérité style, which contributed to its disjointed nature. Cinéma vérité is a rather broad genre of documentary film, conducted in this case by providing several cameras for band members, groupies, and sound engineers alike to record what they saw on tour. The result—compiled in the editing  room by Frank to lend some semblance of story—is a shaky, often random, and even cringe-inducing record of The Rolling Stones’ lifestyle. The film failed to reveal the glamour of life on the road with the Stones and the excitement of cultural revolution that comes with many rock documentaries (see The Last Waltz or Monterey Pop). Instead, the film’s unflinching lens casts a pall over the orgies, injections, lines, and parties. While some interviewees are gregarious and giddy from drug use, their words have little more consequence than the stoned musings of the average person. 

There are moments of joy that break through the dizzying close-ups of naked girls and heroin users. The longer concert scenes showcase the band at their best: In a haze of glitter, velvet, smoke machines, and screaming riffs to go along with Keith Richards’ mad guitar solos. Other innocent scenes remind the audience of the Stones’ humanity, such as when Mick Jagger goes through a painstaking process to order a bowl of strawberries and blueberries to his room in a middle-of-nowhere hotel. 

Ultimately, Cocksucker Blues succeeds in that it is not a glamourization of debauchery but an honest look at it. The film exhibits an unedited view of the Stones in all their hedonist glory, and that includes many moments of vulnerability and some of dazzling invincibility. 

a, McGill, News, SSMU

AMUSE addresses floor fellow negotiations in open letter to Fortier

by Sara Cullen on

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On Oct. 15, an open letter directed to McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier was published by the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE). The letter addressed grievances that arose during floor fellow unionization, and the way in which McGill University is interacting with floor fellows during collective agreement bargaining processes, which began in October 2014 and are still ongoing. The letter states that the university refuses to respect the floor fellows’ values, namely anti-oppression and harm-reduction, and is violating Quebec labour law by refusing to pay floor fellows a wage.

“Roughly 100 floor fellows who have worked in the past two years have filed cases for backpay with the Commission des Normes du Travail (CNT), requesting that they be paid for the hours they performed while on the job,” AMUSE wrote. “Cases filed in 2013 have already been reviewed by the CNT, which ruled in floor fellows’ favour, yet McGill refuses to pay floor fellows and has appealed the ruling.”

Sadie McInnes, Vice-President (VP) Floor Fellow at AMUSE, noted that McGill continues to be unwilling in remuneration negotiations despite the cases filed with the CNT.

“We […] have repeatedly come to the bargaining table with extensive calculations and testimonies to back up our requests, and it doesn’t seem to be significant to McGill that the CNT has ruled in favour of floor fellows being paid [for] a certain number of hours, or that our [wage] calculations are rooted in averages pulled from people on the ground doing the job,” said McInnes “It’s really hard to know where the figures [McGill presents] to us are coming from.”

Another portion of the open letter addressed changes that have been made to the Residence Life Manager (RLM) role. These changes include non-compensation for overtime hours and a shift in responsibilities from floor fellows to RLMs. Tasks such as taking a student to the hospital, which was the responsibility of floor fellows in the past, are now the responsibility of the RLM. AMUSE stated in their letter that such changes negatively impact both floor fellows and students.  

“McGill has unilaterally made major changes to the working conditions of RLMs that have directly and negatively impacted floor fellows’ capacity to rely on them at all,” AMUSE wrote in the open letter. “RLMs have been told that they will not be compensated for overtime hours performed this year, when last year hundreds of these hours were required per RLM in order to adequately perform the job.”

Mathieu Laperle, senior director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services, said that McGill sees nothing wrong with the current RLM model.

“Our students are getting more support and more appropriate support in their transition to university life, especially during periods of crisis,” Laperle said. “This does not take away from the important work floor fellows do, but is an overall improvement in our delivery of services to students in residence.”

McInnes stressed the importance of incorporating floor fellows’ values into the agreement, but noted that McGill has not demonstrated willingness to include the values system in the collective agreement.

“Our biggest difficulty has of course been getting our values entrenched in a meaningful way in the agreement, which McGill has proven really resistant to,” McInnes said. “Pretty much the only thing that has gone off without a hitch has been agreeing over really basic definitions, which is the first step in the process in order to be clear about the language being used throughout the agreement. Other than that, I would say we have faced a lot of difficulty with McGill and most of the process has been really challenging and draining.”

Bargaining will resume in early November. McInnes stated that she hopes to see a change in the general attitude of the administration.

“I hope that McGill will stop disrespecting us with the suggestions they make at the bargaining table and will come forward with suggestions that demonstrate to floor fellows that they recognize the amount of work we do and that our work is valued,” McInnes said. “I would like to see McGill pay its employees fairly, not to mention within the law. I would also like to see McGill stop paying lip service to our values while refusing to institutionalize them.”

In a reply to AMUSE’s open letter, McGill Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance), Michael Di Grappa, addressed the complexity of bargaining procedures and said that an agreement would not be reached in the near future.

“Collective bargaining and the establishment of a first collective agreement are complex and lengthy processes,” Di Grappa wrote in his reply. “Normally, a first collective agreement for an employee group in a commonly understood role can take a year or two. As […] noted in [AMUSE’s] letters and through other channels, the floor fellow role at McGill is a special one. There are not too many other roles at the university to which we could compare it. Therefore, it will take time and extra effort to structure and define an agreement.”

a, Off the Board, Opinion

Off the board: Political critique without personal criticism

by Hailey MacKinnon on

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Topics dealing with race, sex, and gender are inherently politically and personally charged issues. Critiques based on these issues are bound to one’s own experience and identity; when these issues are raised, the discussion can quickly become emotionally-charged. These conversations are crucial in order to highlight and dismantle oppressive structures and ideas within an academic setting, such as in course conferences. At the same time, the way the conversations are being conducted may be more harmful than helpful due to the creation of an “us versus them mentality” which reduces the willingness to engage in constructive conversations.

When students begin to explore these topics, there is a tendency for those who are more informed about anti-oppressive terminology and measures to respond with criticism rather than feedback. According to Psychology Today, criticism focuses on one’s personality, implies blame, devalues an opinion, and assumes the worst. Feedback focuses on the future, respects autonomy, encourages, and focuses on behaviour rather than personality. It is a confusion between these two forms of communication that fuels negativity and resentment regarding politicized conversations on campus. For example, responding to a comment that one may deem offensive, often follows with, “You are inconsiderate,” or “You are racist,” rather than, “That sentence is insensitive because….It would be better to use this terminology instead” or, “This terminology is racist due to […]”

Using criticism rather than feedback engenders a hostile atmosphere. A misuse of terminology deems the user one of ‘them’—the misogynists, the racists, the homophobes.

An example of this is the frequent use and accompanying tone of the expression “check your privilege.” What once began as an insightful way for people to reconsider their point of views based on the privileges they hold and the ones that other people may not have, has been ironically transformed into one that drips condescension and denotes “your views are invalid.” “Check your privilege” has become enveloped in patronization, targeting others for their seemingly intentional inconsideration; this either shuts down conversation, or makes one conclusion acceptable—any other perspective is a product of privileged bias and should be deplored. The tone and overuse of the phrase has been subject to backlash, and has generally been reduced to a joke: It is used to mock what should be an important and genuine way to highlight and dismantle oppressive structures.

The result of using criticism rather than feedback engenders a hostile atmosphere. A misuse of terminology deems the user one of ‘them’—the misogynists, the racists, the homophobes. Calling out mistakes by means of shaming and ridicule is especially common in introductory-level classes where new terminology is only being introduced and mistakes are common. These tactics only deter students—who may not have been trying to be offensive in the first place—from participating in and contributing to the discussion, and may in fact polarize views instead. People will be more likely to discard inappropriate terminology if they are brought to understand why it is deemed so, which cannot occur through condescension and attack.

As stated by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, two writers who have extensively covered anti-oppressive measures on campus for Atlantic Magazine, “When the ideas, values, and speech of the other side are seen not just as wrong but as wilfully aggressive toward innocent victims, it is hard to imagine the kind of mutual respect, negotiation, and compromise that are needed to make politics a positive-sum game.” Using feedback rather than attack is more likely to lead to productive discussions, rather than the polarization of views and feelings.

While it is true that not all opinions are equally deserving of respect or attention, an effective way to strip the power of views deemed offensive is to dismantle them through rational discussion and understanding—which means they must be allowed to be discussed in the first place. Progress and education are achieved through the free flow of diverse opinions and ideas in a constructive manner. In order for this to happen, students must feel comfortable to share their thoughts without fear of personal attack. Students who find themselves on the receiving end of critiques must also do more to acknowledge the bias they may hold in order to understand where a peer is coming from. It is not the content of conversation that generally needs to be altered. It is the way the conversation is being conducted on campus that may be driving students to reject and resent the anti-oppressive discussion that takes place on campus. A middleground must be struck where all students can consciously, respectfully, and productively debate such conversations.

 

 

a, Science & Technology

Evaluating postpartum depression in men

by Wanlin Song on

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The birth of a child is typically considered to be a joyful experience; however, it can also be a stressful and difficult time in parents’ lives. Sometimes this stress can lead to conditions like antenatal depression or postpartum depression (PPD), which occur during and after pregnancy, respectively. In the past decade, research on antenatal depression and PPD has mainly focused on women. Recently, scientists from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) closely tracked the depression symptoms of expectant fathers during their partner’s pregnancy and found strong correlation between the men’s depression, sleep quality, social support, their relationships with their partners, and financial strain.

Although earlier studies have shown evidence of PPD in men, its association with antenatal depression had not been examined closely. In the present study, lead researcher, Dr. Deborah Da Costa, focused on the prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-time fathers in late pregnancy, as they are strong predictors of PPD.

To conduct the research, online questionnaires were distributed to couples, in which they were asked to report their mood, sleep quality, and distress in partner relationship. Their mental states and the stress factors were carefully measured by specific and well-validated assessments, such as the Edinburgh Depression Scale, which screens for symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The data collected from the research shows that older age, unemployment, and the lack of sleep accounted significantly for antenatal depression in men. Psychosocial variables such as lower social support and financial stress, also played a key role in causing depressed moods. Additionally, elevated depressive symptoms experienced by women during third trimester of their pregnancy negatively affected the mental states of their partners.

 Based on these findings, Da Costa emphasized the need to give expectant fathers more emotional support.

“Men tend to close themselves off […] while women are much more expressive, which is why people are unaware of the depression in men,” she explained. “[But] men and women share the same symptoms—sadness, loss of hope, not enjoying life—they just express [that] differently.”

Da Costa also recommended prenatal classes and online resources as a recourse of information for men who need help with managing their stress.  

“Unlike women, who tend to express their emotions, men are less likely to go to consultations of mental health because they feel the stigma associated with it,” she said. “In this case, internet might be a useful tool to offer help.”

Other ways to help first-time fathers include screening for sleep problems, addressing sleeping problems during transition to parenthood, more social support, and shifting marital strategies to reduce stress in a couple’s relationship. 

A new baby puts stress on both partners—not just new moms. As traditional gender roles change and evolve, issues like men’s mental health are getting the attention they need and deserve.

“[Studies on men] are necessary because good mental health is important to [everyone’s] life,” explained Da Costa. “When men feel depressed, they tend to engage in unhealthy behaviour such as drinking, [and], it can also bring negative effects [to] the relationship between the couples […] and affect the development of the child.” 

Jennifer Lawrence
a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Embracing feminism in Hollywood: Jennifer Lawrence and the A-list wage gap don’t have to be unrelateable

by Morgan Alexander on

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When Jennifer Lawrence wrote her open letter against the wage gap, she added in one particular clarification about her position as a “working women” in the hollywood paygrade. “I can safely say my problems aren’t exactly relatable [….] I didn’t want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don’t need. (I told you it wasn’t relatable, don’t hate me).” Laurence immediately  worked to dissuade any claims that she was trying to usurp the feminist movement from ‘normal’ people. It was a necessary line; when Patricia Arquette dedicated her Supporting Actress Oscar speech to decrying the sexism in the Hollywood pay grade, Meryl Streep gave it a standing ovation, but columnists and internet commenters rolled their eyes as yet another multi-millionaire tried to make their problems seem meaningful. How dare they complain about unequal wages— working-class American would never complain about that type of salary—they should shut up and be grateful.

The above line of thinking is facetious of course, but it exposes a flawed frame of thinking that conflates the person with the cause, and in doing so, unfairly dismisses the overarching goal: Wage equality. It’s a noble cause, and one that supporters of gender equality have been fighting for since the movement began in the ’20s. There are a myriad of smaller issues behind the big picture: Pre-conceived notions of a woman’s worth, minority disenfranchisement, the repercussions of tone policing, and gender dynamics in the workplace, just to name a few. Inequalities are experienced by blue-collar workers and celebrities alike, so why, when Jennifer Lawrence speaks out about these issues, does she feel that she needs to to qualify her experience as ‘other,’ or else risk getting insulted for her arrogance?

Hollywood stars have been agents of change for a long time. When they aren’t running for office and winning the presidency, they’re speaking at the United Nations and organizing fundraisers for candidacies and federal causes. The Oscar stage has been used as a platform for social action on a multitude of occasions, and stars have played active and visible roles in campaigns for political reform, most recently for the legalization of gay marriage. Any time a celebrity speaks out on popular issues, they will face direct criticisms from all walks of life—something that is a given when one is in a continuous spotlight—but it seems that Hollywood feminism has become particularly difficult to accept.

There are issues of inherent sexism that plague society as a whole. A person who denies feminist issues in their personal life will of course be appalled if the notion arises in the Hollywood sphere, and misogynists are typically permitted to be harsher in their criticism of celebrities. The refusal of A-listers to use the term ‘feminist’ to define themselves could also be perceived as an issue, but demanding that women label themselves in certain ways ultimately counters the overall goal of independence and personal agency. Ultimately, it seems that people just can’t distance themselves from the idea of celebrity privilege and therefore disconnect these women from the rest of society. However, establishing female celebrities as ‘others’ demeans the feminist cause, and as a result, ultimately prohibits progress.

Preventing female celebrities from speaking candidly on sexism and racism in the workplace erases a global platform where these issues can be discussed. Hollywood actresses have millions of followers on social media, and speak at events that are broadcasted all over the world. Whenever they speak multiple newspapers reprint their stories to be read by young children who are often more influenced by their words than those of their parents. By virtue of the job, female celebrties exist as global microphones. Claiming that their words on feminist issues don’t matter  strips away their intellectual agency and stifles meaningful discussion. Acknowledging sexism in Hollywood and enabling celebrities to speak on feminist issues should be encouraged by the populace, because misogyny—no matter who it affects—should be fought against.

a, Science & Technology

McGill researchers examine global increase in placebo effectiveness

by Stephanie Fehertoi on

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Placebo, latin for “I will please,” refers to the psychological effect in which a fake treatment, such as an inactive sugar pill, receives positive results from patients simply because they believe it is helping them. In order for a drug to be first approved for the market, it must pass a clinical trial in which its often tested against a placebo to observe its effectiveness. 

A recent study from McGill University has confirmed what many researchers have been speculating—that the placebo response in clinical trials has been increasing over the years, but the effectiveness of the drugs has remained relatively stable; however, this seems to be a rather American phenomenon, as the trend was only observed in the U.S.  This “massive interaction with geography” was something no one had looked into before, according to Dr. Jeffrey Mogil, professor in the Department of Psychology at McGill, and one of the authors of the study. 

“It wasn’t a surprise that the placebo response was increasing—everyone thinks it’s increasing,” Mogil said. “The surprise was that this was only happening in the U.S.” 

The study, published in the Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain, was the first to analyze all of the data from previous studies that had looked into placebo response for neuropathic pain treatment. The team of researchers studied 84 individual clinical trials in neuropathic pain patients, in which 92 different drugs were compared to a placebo. They analyzed data only from randomized double-blind controlled trials, published from 1990 to 2013. While drug responses have remained stable, the placebo responses increased steadily, making the drug appear less effective than it actually might be. 

Placebo response ends up being the most significant factor affecting trial outcome, and many of these clinical drug trials fail as a result. Indeed, the study showed that by 2013, drugs produced only 8.9 per cent more analgesia (the loss of the ability to feel pain) than the placebo, compared to 27.3 per cent in 1996. Considering that pharmaceutical companies can spend up to $1 billion dollars in research and development, failing a clinical trial simply due to increased placebo response is troubling. 

Researchers also found that sample size and study length are positively correlated with placebo responses in the U.S., more so than personal characteristics of participants, such as age or sex. Essentially, the larger and longer the trial, the larger the placebo response. Indeed, U.S. clinical trials have increased in size and length over the years, significantly more than their Asian and European counterparts.

Longer trials may feature more “nonspecific therapeutic effects,” such as social support, education, and friendlier behaviour and attention from the staff, which can impact patients’ expectations about the drug treatment. Larger trials may also have relaxed eligibility criteria, so the type of people available or able to get into trials in the U.S. may differ from those elsewhere, resulting in different patient characteristics and interactions. This includes potential bias from patients paid or chosen to participate in the study, which can also result in higher expectations about the effect of the drug treatment.

U.S. pharmaceutical companies may be more likely to use for-profit companies to run and oversee their clinical trials. Despite disagreement from his co-workers, Mogil believes that because contract-research organizations (CROs) want more business from pharmaceutical companies for future studies, it is in their best interest to have the patients be as content as possible during the trials. 

“I personally believe it’s about non-specific factors,” Mogil argued. “[That] there’s something different about the patient experience in a clinical trial run at a CRO than the patient experience in a clinical trial run the way they used to be done, in hospitals and academic labs.”

If this is the case, then perhaps stricter eligibility criteria, patient regulation, or different trial methods altogether should be considered in order to reduce the effect of placebo response. 

“I think the simple thing is that, if this is true, then we need to have a little conversation about whether the trial process is still working or whether it might be broken,” Mogil said.

a, McGill, Montreal, News

Roxane Gay discusses identity, criticism, and feminism

by Catherine Wang on

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Roxane Gay, professor, editor, and author of Bad Feminist, spoke this Thursday in a public conversation with McGill PhD candidate Rachel Zellars. The two engaged in dialogue on subjects such as Gay’s Haitian-American identity, her responses to criticism, and how they have impacted her experience and viewpoints as a feminist writer. 

Zellars began by referencing a recent op-ed piece that Gay had written for the New York Times. The piece was a response to the death of Samuel Dubose, an unarmed African-American man shot dead by police this past summer, and Gay shared her thought process for the article.

“I feel these compulsions when these horrific crimes happen, and before I know it, I’m at my computer,” Gay said. “At the same time that Samuel Dubose was murdered, especially in the United States, everyone was talking about Cecil the Lion­—who was murdered in Zimbabwe I believe—and he was killed by a dentist. And everyone was mourning the lion, and saying ‘oh, what a tragedy,’ […] and that’s true […] but we had more cultural empathy for a lion than we did for a man.”

Gay continued to discuss the importance of nuance in many of the issues she writes about in her essays, and how she believes her multi-ethnic identity allows her to better understand these grey areas. 

“I think that one of the biggest challenges that we face in contemporary discourse is that no one’s interested in nuance,” Gay said. “I really do believe in looking at both sides of an issue, and trying to understand both sides […] and we don’t do that enough. We don’t acknowledge that people who disagree with us might, once in awhile, have merits to their arguments. I’m a Haitian-American, black woman who grew up in Nebraska. My whole life is a grey area […] I have this string of all these identities at once, and so that allowed me to see multiple sides of an issue.”

Citing Bad Feminist, Zellars asked Gay how women can nurture critical ,but not cruel relationships with other women. Gay explained the importance of taking criticism, and spoke to her own experience learning to do so as a female writer. 

“I wouldn’t even limit it to women,” Gay said. “I think human beings have a really difficult time being critical without being cruel. We have to overcome this lesser part of our nature in order to really be able to give criticism, and more importantly to be able to receive it  [….] I’m getting better at it, but I think it’s hard, because when you’re a woman who dares to write and publish opinions, you get told that you’re trash all day long. I have to counteract that nonsense with an overinflated sense of self, just to balance [that out….] So I’m working on learning to be wrong sometimes.” 

Gay concluded by stressing the importance of media literacy, another subject she claimed is not properly addressed in modern society. For Gay, enjoying problematic media is fine when readers remain critical and informed about its implications, but she believes the effect of its uninformed consumption is detrimental.

“That’s why I think we need to teach media literacy,” Gay said. “We don’t talk about that enough [….] I think we need to start teaching media literacy as early as kindergarten […] I don’t think they need to know the lyrics to ‘Salt Shaker’ at five years old, but I do think one of the keys right now, one of the stop-gap measures, is media literacy.”

The James McGill Chair in Culture and Technology, Dr. Jonathan Sterne, presented Thursday’s event, in junction with Concordia Writer’s Read, and the Montreal-based bookstore and publishing company, Drawn & Quarterly.

“I agreed to co-sponsor [the event] because Gay is an important and inspiring black feminist voice,” Sterne said. “And Bad Feminist is a great book.” 

Zoe Koch, an artist living in Montreal, praised the event.

“[Gay] has complicated viewpoints, which I really respect and admire, and I really wanted to hear what she had to say,” Koch said. “I loved it. She […] really bridged that gap between what is really deep and dark and scary for us all to talk and think about [… with] what is funny and light.”

McGill University Arts Building
a, Opinion

Commentary: McGill spirit more than homecoming

by Emma Avery on

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Last week, McGill students might have pretended not to notice the one lonely person standing at the Y-intersection flaunting a poster for McGill homecoming in front of disinterested passing faces. Unsurprisingly, having a one-man promo team accosting students didn’t work. His words fell on deaf ears; nothing he could have said in his 30-second pitch would have convinced any passerby of his cause. To conclude that McGill suffers from a lack of school pride, however, would be unjustified. At McGill, a different kind of school culture develops that doesn’t depend on gathering with the rest of the school to support a common cause. It’s not better or worse—just different.

McGill pride, in a reflection of the impersonal institutional structure of the school, is based on finding individual niches. It is not a mass-movement; instead, it is individualized. The scene at the Y-intersection was a sad metaphor for the general lack of student interest in sport-related fanfare. It’s telling that the first line of the description in the Facebook event for McGill’s Homecoming read, “OAP IS BACK!!!!!!” in a not-so-subtle nod to the fact that cheap beers, burgers, and nostalgia for summer hold significant sway on the decisions of McGill student.

At McGill, a different kind of school culture develops […] It's not better or worse—just different.

Despite ongoing attempts to expand school spirit to sports by McGill Athletics and Recreation, the administration, and student groups such as Red Thunder (which plans various events on game days and allows members to attend varsity games for free), students outside of the athletics community just aren’t interested. The general sense of McGill pride simply has very little to do with school sports and the accompanying culture of tailgates, homecomings and school-wide displays of spirit.

Attendance at McGill varsity games is notoriously low. For students, this is not an issue of cost, nor is it that sports culture doesn’t exist at Canadian schools; at some schools homecoming is arguably the biggest event all year. Many McGill students will actually bus to Ontario for homecoming at Western or Queen’s. Apparently, paying to parade around small-town Ontario sporting colours for a school one doesn’t even go to is more fun than cheering on McGill’s own varsity teams right at home.

Yet the problem does not reside in the structure of athletics. McGill pride simply manifests itself in a different form. By virtue of living in Montreal, it is inherently tied to being a part of the wider city and everything it has to offer, even if for some this only consists of the comforts of the “McGill bubble.”

At McGill, students benefit from living in the heart of Montreal. They have their choice of concerts, clubs, bars, restaurants and other events all year long, so they don’t need the school to create entertainment. Of course, sometimes they will indulge their curiosities and travel to Ontario to see what all the hype is about, to see what life is really like on the other side—but we still wouldn’t be caught dead being mistaken for anything other than a McGill student.

At other universities, school-wide events such as homecoming might create an important and unique sense of kinship and make students feel tied to the larger community. Any student would attest to the fact that McGill students have just as much pride as any Western or Queen’s student does, but it’s a pride tied more to the ways in which McGill exists uniquely within the city of Montreal. It is the misfortune of McGill Athletics to be the casualty of this unique school culture and pride.

 

 

Emma Avery is a second year anthropology and urban systems student at McGill. Her favourite television show is (still) The Office.

 

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

 

 
a, Men's Varsity, Sports

Redmen repeat as CCBA champions

by Elie Waitzer on

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McGill Redmen Baseball (23-6-1) defeated the Holland College Hurricanes 4-1 on Sunday to clinch their second consecutive Canadian Collegiate Baseball Association (CCBA) Championship. 

The victory marked McGill’s fifth overall national baseball title, having won three championships in the old Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA). This victory, however, was the first time the Redmen have defended their title. McGill entered the tournament as the team to beat—they won five straight games to close out the regular season—and lived up to their billing, capturing the banner without dropping a single game. 

After breezing through the first three games of the tournament, the Redmen dismantled the Carleton Ravens 11-1 in the semifinal to advance to the finals. Sophomore Rob Sedin, who was named tournament MVP and CCBA Northern Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year, led the way with a dazzling seven strikeout performance. Every Redmen batter recorded a hit in an offensive blowout that featured a seven-run third inning. In the championship game against Holland College, junior starter Adriano Petrangelo held the Hurricanes to just one run. It was all the Redmen would need as senior third baseman Zachary Aaron would deliver the go-ahead knock in the first on a two-run single. 

McGill outscored its opponents 35-8 over the five games, with only one game being decided by less than three runs. Senior shortstop Tyler Welence went two-for-four and scored twice. Sedin, Welence, rookie catcher Sam Groleau, and sophomore left fielder James Pavelick were all named to the all-tournament team. 

It’s easy to throw around the ‘dynasty’ label, especially in college sports, where key players are lost to graduation every season,  but this team has all the hallmarks of a true powerhouse.

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