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a, Science & Technology, Student Research

This month in student research: Safina Adatia

by Chloe Nevitt, Lydia Kaprelian on

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New mothers are already under stressful situations, and to help minimize this, Safina Adatia has been studying the effect noise has on new mothers. Adatia, a student pursuing a Master of Science degree in family medicine, conducts her research in the postpartum ward of St. Mary’s Hospital in Montreal. 

The idea for the project came from the nursing staff’s realization that the noise levels in the hospital were affecting the mothers.

“This really spoke to me because I thought this was something that could have an immediate impact on a new mom,” Adatia explained.

After giving birth, mothers and their newborns need time to rest. Often, though, rest is interrupted by nurses, doctors, and excited family members, 

Under Adatia’s observant eye, St. Mary’s, one of the largest birthing centers in Montreal, is conducting a pilot project to institute quiet time for the mothers and newborns to bond and rest peacefully.

The project is currently being run in four phases. 

“We’re in the pre-implimentation phase,” explained Adatia. “We’re evaluating the current environment and measuring the number of interruptions that people are experiencing.” 

To do this, Adatia measures decibel levels of noise activity in the postpartum ward. She also conducts interviews with patients to determine comfort levels.

“[A] lot of new moms wished they had [a quiet-time intervention after] giving birth,” Adatia said. “[Many think] it would be amazing to have this hour, hour-and-a-half period to rest.”

The next steps, Adatia explained, will be analyzing and interpreting their obtained results. From this data, the team will enter the implementation phase and conduct trials. The fourth phase will be post-implementation, when the team decides if its work has resulted in a difference in the mothers’ experiences.

“Hopefully, quiet time gives mothers the ability [to recognize that] their own mental health is important,” explained Adatia. 

Self-care and adequate resting time for mothers is essential, as there is evidence to show that acute sleep deprivation can lead to increased risk of postpartum mental disorders and vascular dysfunction.

“In terms of the moms, I hope […] that [they] appreciate the quiet time, and take the idea of self-care beyond their time at the hospital,” Adatia said.

The feedback has been positive, she explained.

“Everyone thinks it’s a good idea–it seems like common sense,” Adatia said.

While the benefits of a mandated quiet time may not be in hot debate, Adatia has encountered some obstacles in her research.

“Basically, I think the biggest difficulty is the coordination,” she admitted. “When you have doctors, nurses, [and] labs with [different] schedules, you need to work around it.”

With so many moving parts that are involved with providing postpartum care, Adatia is working hard to find time for a daily 60-to-90 minute break. 

“Despite the logistical nightmare, this is an issue that requires attention,” Adatia said.

 

a, Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

Know your coaches: Track and field, Martlet and Redmen soccer, Martlet volleyball

by Nicholas Jasinski on

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  • Dennis Barrett – Track and Field

    Dennis Barrett has had success as both an athlete and coach at McGill, and is currently in his 30th season as a coach. After transferring to McGill from the NCAA in 1981, Barrett led the Redmen to the Québec track and field title and earned All-Canadian status–the first track athlete from McGill to do so. Since then he has coached 42 more athletes to All-Canadian honours in track and an additional 20 in cross-country. In the 1981-1982 season, Barrett placed second in Nationals for the 600m and set multiple school track records including a 1:27.92 in the 4x200m relay, a record that still stands today. Barrett has received RSEQ Coach-of-the-Year 22 times in track and 32 times in cross-country. He has led the Redmen to 10 titles in cross-country and six in track and field, and the Martlets to 22 cross-country and 16 track and field titles.

     

     

  • Rachèle Béliveau – Martlet volleyball

    Rachèle Béliveau held a 500-463-2 record in 965 career contests entering the 2014-2015 season—the most wins by any coach in any sport in the history of McGill. Béliveau, a Sherbrooke, Québec native, played volleyball at the Université de Sherbrooke for five seasons between 1982 and 1989, leading the team to three consecutive RSEQ titles. In the process, she was a two-time All-Canadian and was inducted in the Vert et Or Hall of Fame in 2009. Béliveau also appeared for the Canadian national team between 1983 and 1986 and represented her country at the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles. As coach, Béliveau has earned RSEQ Coach-of-the-Year four times and led the Martlets to their first ever conference championship in volleyball in the 2001-2002 season.

     

     

  • Marc Mounicot – Redmen soccer

    Marc Mounicot has been coach of the Redmen soccer team since January 2013 after serving as head coach of the Martlet soccer team for the previous 15 seasons. He led the Redmen to a 6-2-4 record and a third-place finish in the RSEQ this past season. As Martlet coach, Mounicot held a .815 regular season winning percentage in 203 games. He was selected the RSEQ Coach-of-the-Year four times and won CIS Coach-of-the-Year in 2009. He guided the Martlets to eight Quebec titles and four medals at the CIS National Championships. Mounicot ranks fifth on McGill’s all-time scoring list, having played on the team for three seasons from 1994 to 1997 as a striker, scoring 26 goals in 54 career games. A two-time All-Canadian, Mounicot led the RSEQ in scoring in his final season and was voted conference player of the year. That same season, Mounicot won the Bill Searles Trophy as team MVP and co-captained McGill to the 1997 National Championship title.

     

     

  • Jose-Luis Valdes – Martlet soccer

    Jose-Luis Valdes became the coach for Martlet soccer following former coach Marc Mounicot’s departure to coach the Redmen soccer team in January 2013. In his first season as coach, Valdes led the Martlets to an 8-3-3 RSEQ record, good for a third-place finish in the conference. Valdes had previously served 11 seasons as an assistant coach for the Martlet soccer team from 2001 to 2011 under Mounicot, helping win five conference titles during that period. Valdes played goalkeeper for the Redmen from 2001 to 2004, graduating in 2005 with a degree in physical and health education. He has been appointed to the coaching staff for the CIS women’s soccer squad that will be competing at the FISU World University Summer Games in South Korea in July 2015.

    All photos courtesy of McGill Athletics

     

     

a, McGill, News

Floor fellow contract negotions resume following training boycott

by Julia Dick on

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Negotiations between the floor fellow bargaining unit of the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) and the McGill administration continued on Jan. 30, following the floor fellow’s collective decision to boycott a training session on Jan. 24 and 25.

AMUSE and the administration have been in the process of negotiating a collective agreement since October. This collective agreement would be the result of a negotiating process between McGill and the floor fellow unit of AMUSE to alter the conditions of the current floor fellow contract. Recently, this process has been hindered by contention surrounding the inclusion of what the floor fellows have defined as core values, predominantly those of anti-oppression and harm reduction, into their contract.

The Director of Labour and Employee Relations at McGill Robert Comeau cited disagreements over what could be included in a collective agreement as the main cause for this roadblock. 

“Normally, a collective agreement only defines the working conditions of the union members, so the attempt to include the ‘values associated with the role of floor fellows’ in the collective agreement is a significant departure from the norm,” he said.

Vice President floor fellow for AMUSE Christina Clemente commented on why the floor fellows want to institutionalize core values into their collective agreement.

“Part of it is writing down something about the way that residence works and functions, that’s why we’re pushing to have our approaches and philosophies written down,” Clemente explained. “A big part of it is having concrete things that will give security that residences will operate in the way we think it should. Another big thing is that the floor fellows should have some say in the decision making in what happens in residence, our jobs, and student life. We’re still working on that.”

The bargaining unit has agreed to hear a proposal from the McGill administration at the next negotiating session, which is scheduled for March. According to Amber Gross, AMUSE President, the administration appeared to be more responsive to the floor fellows’ requests since the boycott took place. 

“We are happy to see that they are changing attitude and willing to work on strategies of including these values,” Gross said.

Comeau also expressed the administration’s satisfaction with the progress made during Friday’s session. 

“While there is still a lot of work to do, we feel we may have found a way to address the union’s expectation that the ‘values’ that help govern the floor fellows roles will be included in the contract.” he stated. 

However, Comeau did express disappointment at the floor fellows’ decision to boycott the training.

“Since the beginning of the negotiations, our negotiation committee has shown openness in addressing the floor fellows’ preoccupations,” he explained. “We would have appreciated it if the floor fellows had carried on business as usual; unfortunately the Floor Fellows who [chose] not to participate will be the ones who lose out, because this training was to provide them with more tools to do their job.” 

The bargaining unit and AMUSE contend that the boycott effectively demonstrated their position to the administration without negatively impacting their students. 

“It is one of the only pressure tactics that we can use on the McGill administration that wouldn’t affect any of our students,” said Evan McIlroy, an elected bargaining representative for the floor fellow unit of AMUSE. 

Going forward, the floor fellows hope that the McGill community will take a stance on the negotiations, according to Gross. 

“We want to put information out there but don’t want [the administration] to feel that we’re pressuring our students,” Clemente said.

“We will be looking to the SSMU [Students’ Society of McGill University] Council and other student associations to take a stance and support us,” added Gross.

The floor fellows emphasized that this support is based on making the facts of the situation available without compromising the floor fellows’ position as a student support system. McIlroy stated that the floor fellows are being cautious in terms of informing their own students about the negotiation process. 

“There is a power-imbalance [between floor fellows and students] in certain ways, and we’re very aware of that,” he said.

a, Opinion

Commentary: The exaggerated plight of Canada’s middle class

by Justin Hatherly on

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There is an old saying that goes, “God must love the poor: He made so many of them.” Unfortunately for the poor, in Canadian political discourse, the ‘middle class’ captures all the attention of politicians. From Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair on the centre-left, to Stephen Harper on the centre-right, politicians of all ideological stripes have various plans to help the middle class. Ostensibly beleaguered by stagnant wages and reduced economic prospects, the middle class is allegedly under strain. Given the overblown interest in those whose earnings put them in the middle of the income distribution, it is useful to ask ourselves how the middle class is actually faring. In reality, middle-income earners in Canada, though not without their problems, are faring reasonably well.

According to research, those around the middle of the income distribution, say those in the 60th percentile of income earners, have only seen a 15 per cent real rise in income since 1980, while in the same time period, the total size of the Canadian economy has doubled. Though this statistic is not false, it lacks context.

Canada experienced two particularly severe recessions in the early 1980s and 1990s. As a result of those two recessions, Statistics Canada data shows that the income of the average earner bottomed out in 1995 at approximately $40,000. Since then, the income of those people in the middle of the Canadian income distribution has risen steadily to just over $50,000 in the years preceding the 2008 financial crisis—a nearly 20 per cent increase. This income growth is true when looking at both market income (wages and salaries) and post tax and transfer income. Thus, while the 15 per cent wage gain figure is not incorrect, it is deceptive. The story of the Canadian middle class is not one of persistent stagnation, but one of initial hardship, followed by steady recovery and rising living standards. Since Canada’s economic nadir in the mid 1990s, the Canadian middle class has seen consistent rises in income.

The story of the Canadian middle class is not one of persistent stagnation, but one of initial hardship, followed by steady recovery and rising living standards.

Pundits also often sound the alarm about rising household debt. While it is true that the average amount of Canadian household debt has risen to 162 per cent of household disposable income, this does not mean that middle income Canadians are living paycheck to paycheck, crushed by an unsustainable debt burden. This is because debt only matters in relation to assets, wealth, and ability to service it. According to Statistics Canada, as of 2012, the median net worth of Canadian households hit a record high of $243,800. This means that after accounting for its debts, the average household is still wealthier than it ever has been. If Canadians were becoming poorer and faced rising debts, this would be an important public policy problem. However, the rising debt faced by Canadians is offset by rising wealth. Since middle-income families have increasing resources and wealth to service their debt obligations, it becomes hard to argue that they are drowning in debt.

This is not to suggest that middle-income earners in Canada face no challenges. It is true that income growth has not been as fast as it once was. Goods and services that are consumed heavily by middle class Canadians, such as university educations, have gotten more and more expensive. But it is unhelpful for the plight of the middle class to be exaggerated as it can lead to unsound policy where our efforts to improve the state of the middle class in Canada could be better spent elsewhere. For example, approximately nine per cent of Canadians live below the poverty line. While the proportion of Canadians living under the poverty line is much lower than those in many developing countries, the Canadian poor still have difficulties affording a decent standard of living. Within Canada, Aboriginals often face dismal economic prospects and suffer from a multitude of social problems, including higher suicide rates. In comparison, the plight of the middle class is not nearly as pressing.

The Canadian middle class, though not without challenges, is far from stagnation. Since the end of the volatile economic situation of the 1980s and 1990s, middle income Canadians have seen rising incomes and rising wealth. As a nation, Canada would be better placed trying to alleviate the far more prevalent and severe examples of human suffering that still persist in Canada, such as poverty. However, given its importance to many politicians’ electoral prospects, the middle class is likely to remain the at the centre of Canadian political discourse.

a, Basketball, Sports

Changing the game: NBA Conferences

by Joe Khammar, Wyatt Fine-Gagné, Elie Waitzer, Mayaz Alam on

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Although the NBA has a lot of things going right for it at the moment, years of disparity between the Western and Eastern Conference have caused many to wonder if some change in conference structure is needed. This gap has been especially clear this season, with Western Conference teams winning .677 per cent of games against Eastern Conference opponents. This week, Changing The Game explores how best to deal with this inequality.

The best of the best

  • The NBA should keep its current conference structure, but only for determining the schedule. The playoffs would then consist of the top 16 teams in the NBA, regardless of their ranking within their respective divisions or conferences. The immediate result of the changed playoff structure would be more competitive playoff games, as the best overall teams in any given season would automatically be given a ticket to the post-season. This proposed structure would also result in a more logical methodology for playoff seeding. Regular season rivalries would remain intact, and travel distances would not be altered. Each team would still play their four divisional opponents four times a year and would have to plan accordingly, but the simple fix of redoing the playoff seeding would endorse a more competitive and fair post-season for the NBA’s teams and fans.

     

    –Joe Khammar

     

  • Time to get wild

    While the most attractive option for fans may be to reduce the number of games in a season, it seems unlikely that owners and players would be willing to take the pay cut that would come along with it. If the 82-game season is going to remain, the league should explore the possibility of several wild card spots, with a fewer number of guaranteed slots for each conference. For example, each conference could be allotted six guaranteed playoff spots, with four wild cards pulled from either conference, and awarded based on best overall record. While this would not solve issues related to disparity in strength-of-schedule between Western and Eastern Conference teams, it would mostly eliminate the possibility of below-.500 teams sneaking into the playoffs as a low seed in a weak conference. A system like this would mean that this year, the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder would land in the playoffs and the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets would stay home in the post-season. Hardly anyone would argue that the Heat or Hornets are more deserving. Perhaps the best part about this system would be that it is easy to implement and would require no negotiations–the same cannot be said about shortening the length of the season.

     

  • Fewer games, more meaning

    The current disparity between the quality of the Eastern and Western Conferences is glaring. But as anyone who has taken an introductory economics class can tell you, markets are never fully in equilibrium—the level of talent in the NBA naturally fluctuates over time. From 1980 to 1989, teams from the East won over 50 per cent of games played. Inequalities take time to correct, and will often overcorrect if the market is interfered with. Instead of quick-fix radical realignment proposals, the solution to the NBA’s parity woes should aim to shorten the duration of these deviations from the equilibrium. This could be accomplished by shortening the regular season schedule from 83 games to 56. In addition to giving each game more meaning, a shorter regular season would add a dimension of unpredictability that would stifle the effect of a talent glut in either conference. Over an 82-game slate, the force of regression inevitably erodes away at the winning percentages of less talented teams. With fewer games, there would be more surprises, less injuries, and more excitement. While this proposal would reduce equilibrium on a season-by-season basis, it would eliminate long eras of dominance by either conference. Yes, a shorter season would mean less revenue for players and owners, but it would also contribute towards the long-term viability of a league that is already swimming in money.

     

    -–Elie Waitzer

     

  • Stay closer to home

    Although the disparity between the horrid Eastern Conference and the grueling Western Conference has been a major talking point in recent seasons, trying to create parity between the conferences is a short-sighted solution. Relative strength between the East and the West is continuously on a pendulum, it’s just that in recent years, that pendulum has swung in favour of the Western Conference. Surely, given enough time, the balance of power within the NBA will shift back. The greater problem at hand, however, is that of the geographic discrepancies within the divisions as they are currently constructed. The Northwest Division includes teams from Oregon, Minnesota, Utah, Colorado, and Oklahoma. Only one of those states is in the ‘Northwest.’ Additionally, both the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans are improperly placed in the Southwest Division when they would more aptly be placed in the Southeast.

    The solution should be to scrap the notion of conferences altogether and institute divisions of six teams each that are geographically compact. The Minnesota Timberwolves would join the Central Division and the Grizzlies and Pelicans would move to the Southeast, while the remaining Western Conference teams would be split up into new Pacific and Southwest Divisions. The top 16 teams would make the playoffs and would be seeded according to regular season record, making the first 82 games worth something.

     

    -–Mayaz Alam

     

a, Opinion

Commentary: Pope Francis forays into controversy

by Cecile Richetta on

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On Jan. 21, when asked about birth control and family planning for Catholic families, Pope Francis’ answer proved to greatly disappoint many people, both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. While it is understandable that it is impossible to cater to the varied interests of more than one billion Catholic followers, two weeks ago Pope Francis deliberately and surprisingly decided to please the orthodox side. The disappointment was probably heightened by the fact that his election in March 2013, as a successor to the much more conservative Pope Benedict XVI, created great hope among liberals that there would be a shift in ideology. There was a general sense of hope that Pope Francis would undertake radical reforms of the Catholic Church that would tackle controversial issues such as gay rights and recognition of divorce, and would foster a more open and sensible discussion regarding contraception.

What actually happened recently was a harsh return to doctrinal purity. Pope Francis made clear that the Catholic Church was still against birth control, claiming that there are “church-approved” ways to be a responsible parent, and that Catholics therefore had no excuse to “breed like rabbits,” as he put it. While little attention should be given to the perhaps crude expression used, what should be addressed is the apparent conservatism and orthodoxy behind this message.

Perhaps the wind of reform and liberalism that Pope Francis seemed to bring with him carried people away, and expectations were too high. Already, in October 2014, the reformists were disappointed by the failure of the bishop gathering. While Pope Francis pushed for family reforms, including marriage for the divorced and greater acceptance of homosexuality, the final document drafted at the gathering was watered down, and eventually completely rejected. There seemed to be a growing division among Church ranks between the doctrinal purity supporters and the reformists—for whom things did not go “far enough.”

This positioning makes one wonder if a reform of the Church is possible at all without threatening its core values, and hence without endangering its very existence.

Pope Francis’ comments on birth control may have been a way of reassuring the more orthodox segments of his followers, showing that he is still committed to the core values of the Catholic Church. It also reminds us that Pope Francis is an egalitarian who initially clamoured for more social equity and promised to fight poverty. This is a clear example of how the public may have been naïve and confused Pope Francis’ apparent egalitarianism with a strong will for general reforms, including a new stance on contraception.

However, this positioning makes one wonder if a reform of the Church is possible at all without threatening its core values, and hence without endangering its very existence. Pope Francis holds that the Church needs “to find a new balance.” But not “breeding like rabbits” proves to be both a very dissatisfying balance and a very small step towards individual sexual responsibility. Actually, this “new balance” between no contraception and sexual restraint puts greater pressure on Catholics, who are left with no choice but to have a restricted approach to sexuality. It is indeed insensitive to blame people for being “irresponsible,” as Pope Francis did during an interview, when the Church-approved methods of family planning only include abstinence, or at least abstinence when women are most “fertile.” Finally, Pope Francis consciously ignores the issue that contraception is not only about family planning, but also about general health and avoiding sexually transmitted infections. As Emily Rahaula stated in a TIME Magazine article, it is a matter of both public health and human rights. One can wonder if drawing a line between contraception and responsibility is itself the responsible thing to do.

a, Student Life, Student of the Week

Student of the Week: Rabab Wali

by Keah Hansen on

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Rabab Wali has a down-to-earth attitude as well as an impressive track record of academic and extracurricular success, complemented by the visionary goals she has for her future. Wali is a full-time U3 student majoring in Environment and minoring in International Development Studies. Along with her commitment to school, she has been engaged in research in her field, is a committee member of the SUS Environment Committee, and volunteers regularly with the Muslim Student Association. 

Interested in the crossroads of sustainability and social justice, Wali investigated structural racism in the food system in Montreal, specifically in Park Extension borough, for her ENVR 401 research project during the Fall semester. 

“My research involved investigating ways in which people of colour or low income groups may be denied access to resources through unintentional institutional structures,” said Wali. “It was a lot of fun because we could do interviews with the residents [….] Park [Extension] is one of the most diverse communities in North America.” 

Wali and her team have applied to present their findings to the Quebec Public Integrative Research Council (QPIRC) in late March, as it is a Montreal-based community study.   Wali also engaged in research this past summer, spending three months working as a research assistant for a PhD candidate studying plant pathology in Kashmir. 

In addition to her involvement in environmental research at McGill and abroad, Wali is a committee member of the SUS Environment Committee. She attributes her involvement to her dedication to environmental issues outside the classroom. 

“Environment is my major, but I want to see what people in my major are doing around me, to be immersed in what I’m studying,” Wali said. 

The committee’s mandate explains that it “strives to foster a culture of sustainability within SUS by maintaining purchasing policies that favour environmentally benign and socially responsible products and services.” Green Week is among one of several projects she has helped organize.     

“Green week is a week of sustainable-focused events occurring [in] the third week of March to raise awareness of environmental issues,” Wali said. One of the highlights of the event is Eco-Couture. 

“During Eco-Couture, we promote sustainable fashion.” According to Wali, the Eco-Couture event is used to break the traditional boundaries of sustainability to enter cultural modes. 

Wali hails from many different global regions and cultures. She was born in Ireland, raised in the United Arab Emirates, and is Pakistani.  She attributes her interest in global sustainability to this unique upbringing.  

“I think exposure to different cultures is the best way to develop new ideas and ways of thinking,” she said. “Every place has something to offer and opens up perspectives.”

Her cultural roots and history have also encouraged her to volunteer with the Muslim Student Association.  She has contributed time to the association by organizing ski trips for the members and fundraising for events through ticket sales.  

Wali reflected on what has contributed to making her time at McGill excellent, noting the innovative research as a highlight of the institution. 

“I love it because you constantly hear of professors conducting amazing research,” she said. “It’s a great place to meet people doing amazing things [….] The campus is also incredibly diverse.”

Wali has exciting and ambitious professional goals for herself in the future.

“I hope to work in humanitarian assistance in relief organizations, particularly in the Middle East [in Yemen and Palestine],” she said.

 

McGill Tribune: What is your favourite spot in Montreal?

Rabab Wali: The Jacque Cartier Clock Tower.

 

MT: What is your favourite winter activity?

RW: In the United Arab Emirates it is hot all the time, so I was super excited about snow. I love skating. Snowmen are super hard though.

 

MT: Coffee or tea?

RW: I love tea, but I drink coffee for the caffeine.

 

MT: Most memorable children’s book?

RW: Everything by Enid Blyton, a British author who wrote short stories.

a, Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

The week that was for McGill Athletics: February 3rd

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Athletes of the week

François Bourque

Bourque, a 6’6” sophomore from Terrebonne, Quebec, was once again instrumental for the Redmen as an interior presence in their two games against the UQAM Citadins over the weekend, averaging 15.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Bourque was efficient from the field as well, shooting a shade under 50 per cent. A now two-time Tribune Athlete-of-the-Week, Bourque has made enormous strides in his second season with the Redmen and has a promising career ahead of him.

Gabrielle Davidson

Following a breakout sophomore season, Davidson has shown further dominance of the RSEQ. In her junior year, she has tallied 15 goals in just 16 games so far, notching a hat trick in a weekend rout of the Carleton Ravens. Although she was held scoreless in Friday’s contest against the Montreal Carabins, Davidson has been a force on the wing for the Martlets this season. The native of Pointe-Claire, Quebec is currently fourth in the CIS in points and fifth in goals, and will surely be vying for post-season honours if the Martlets are able to repeat their successes from last year. 

Beyond the box score

Redmen Hockey 

The Redmen (19-5-0) remain in sole possession of first place in the OUA East standings, beating the UOIT Ridgebacks 4-1 on Saturday to stay ahead of Carleton and UQTR. Senior centre Marc-Olivier Vachon was the star for McGill, scoring two goals on five shots. McGill never trailed in the game, finishing with a commanding 51-31 edge in shots. Additionally, second-year goalie Jacob Gervais-Chouinard came six seconds away from adding yet another shutout to his impressive resume. Gervais-Chouinard now leads all CIS goalies with a .946 save percentage, and is tied for first with a goals against average of 1.67. Last week’s Tribune Athlete-of-the-Week Samuel Labrecque stayed red-hot, tallying a goal in the contest for his 10th of the season. He leads all CIS defencemen in points with 20. With two games left before the end of the regular season, the Redmen are looking poised to make a deep run in the playoffs. They will face Concordia in the annual Corey Cup next Friday at 7:30 p.m at Ed Meagher Arena.

Martlet Basketball 

After being handed their first loss of the season by the second-place UQÀM Citadins (7-3) on Thursday night, the Martlets (9-1) came into Saturday’s rematch looking to set the record straight and maintain their hold on first place in the RSEQ standings. In a defensive showdown that came right down to the wire, Alex Kiss-Rusk drained a buzzer-beating jumper from the elbow to win it 57-55 for McGill. Kiss-Rusk, the team’s starting centre, led the Martlets with 15 points on 58 per cent shooting. She filled out the rest of the box score with nine rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Down 27-22 at halftime, the Martlets went on a run in the third quarter led by Kiss-Rusk and sophomore forward Jenn Silver to retake the lead heading into the fourth. After committing seven turnovers through the first three quarters, starting point guard Diana Ros settled down in the final frame, distributing the ball to Kiss-Rusk, Silver, and Mariam Sylla in the paint. Ros finished with five points, six assists, and two steals. The Martlets will meet the Citadins once more before the regular season ends, in what should be a tantalizing matchup of conference titans. They host Concordia next Thursday at 6 p.m. in Love Competition Hall.

Redmen Basketball

The last-place UQÀM Citadins (2-7) had the RSEQ-leading Redmen (7-2) basketball squad sweating this past weekend, splitting a two game series to register their first win against McGill in their past eight tries. After going up 66-40 after three quarters on Thursday at home, the Redmen lost their focus, weathering a 25-15 run by UQÀM in the final frame to escape with a 71-65 win. Sophomore forward François Bourque was phenomenal for the Redmen once again, recording his league-leading fourth double-double on 13 points and 14 boards. Freshmen Jeremie Cassavant-Dubois and Noah Daoust were pleasant surprises for the Redmen off the bench, each contributing double figures. Despite getting the win, the Redmen looked shaky all game, shooting just 20 per cent from beyond the arc and turning the ball over 21 times. 

The shooting woes, which have plagued McGill all season, continued in the second game of the series on Saturday night. After leading 33-27 at halftime, the Redmen crumbled down the stretch, falling to the Citadins 65-59 to break their six game winning streak. Despite another double-double from Bourque, who posted a game-high 18 points in the contest, McGill’s shooters couldn’t find the bottom of the net all night, shooting 35 per cent from the floor, 29 per cent from three, and 56 per cent from the charity stripe. Even the Redmen can’t expect to stroll to a win against a cellar-dweller while giving away points at the line. It wasn’t all bad news though: Captain Vincent Dufort came back from an undisclosed illness looking healthy and in form, scoring 10 points in his usual starting role. With six games left in the season, the Redmen have a comfortable two-game lead on second-place Laval, but certainly can’t afford to be losing games against UQÀM down the stretch. They face Concordia next Thursday at 8 p.m. in Love Competition Hall.

By the numbers

3 – Number of games in which Martlet hockey forward Gabrielle Davidson has been held pointless this season, the third of which came this past Friday in McGill’s 5-0 loss to Montreal.

4.4 – Average margin by which the Redmen hockey team has outshot its opponents this season, scoring on just over 10 per cent of those shots.

9.6 – Average number of rebounds that sophomore Redmen forward François Bourque pulls down per game, good enough to make Bourque the RSEQ leader in that category.

1435 – Total number of days it had been since the Martlet basketball last went into double-overtime prior to this past Thursday’s loss to UQÀM.

a, Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Windy City for the win in AUTS’ Chicago

by Chris Lutes on

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Part of the thrill that comes from live musical theatre is knowing that something could go wrong at any moment, but rarely does. The best theatre uses this to its advantage, radiating a sense of jubilant spontaneity that wriggles its way into the audience’s hearts and leaves them humming the songs on the walk home. The Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society’s (AUTS) production of the 1975 musical, Chicago, fits this description with a top-quality cast and production values to match.

Set almost entirely inside of a 1920s jazz bar “where the gin is cold and the piano’s hot,” Chicago tells the story of Roxie Hart—a young, resourceful singer who gets sent to prison after murdering her philandering lover. She gets introduced to an ensemble of murderous women and a media-savvy lawyer who takes a special interest in Roxie’s case. As that case becomes famous, she begins to angle for a place in the spotlight while faking her innocence in order to avoid the death penalty.

The acting is top-to-bottom great and impeccably cast. Vanessa Drunsnitzer plays Roxie with the right amount of ingenuity and malice to keep the audience constantly guessing what her true intentions are. Velma Kelly (Natalie Aspinall) serves as a mirror to Roxie, simultaneously more experienced and vulnerable, doing a spot-on version of the brassy sexuality that typifies the 1920s. Rounding out the main players are Kenny Wong as the aforementioned lawyer, who manages to shine despite being plagued with microphone problems during the entire performance; Nour Malek as the de facto mother hen to the female prisoners with just the right amount of authority; and Olivier Bishop-Mercier as Roxie’s feckless husband—nervous, and woefully unable to navigate the world that his wife has thrown him into.

The ensemble cast is—remarkably—equally well-rounded. Due to the high number of ancillary roles in the production, each member gets a chance to display his or her talents solo, and each one fully delivers—especially the women in “Cell Block Tango” and Jessica Eckstadt as Mary Sunshine, whose song “A Little Bit of Good” is the most technically impressive vocal performance in the entire production.

The choreography doesn’t stray too much from the Bob Fosse playbook, much to its benefit. Director and choreographer Debora Friedmann must have spent countless hours with the entire cast, nailing the acrobatic sexuality of Fosse’s original moves. As a result,  the cast clicks as a single unit, with each of the 17 performers seeming to know the exact placement of every other cast member and prop on the stage, working at a level of professionalism that you don’t normally see in student theatre.

The lighting might be the most impressive aspect of the entire play, adding an extra layer of nuance and dressing up the stage to alternate between a prison, law office, courtroom, and nightclub. Crisp spotlights of the jazz bar fade to striking reds and blues of the prison. Little flourishes like flashing red during a murder, and a spotlight that comically avoids a character who sings about being invisible make it stand out without taking too much focus away from the cast.

Props are largely utilitarian, mainly serving the masterful blocking outlined in original productions. Friedmann adds to the whole jazz bar aesthetic by keeping the orchestra on the stage for the entire show, which gives the non-bar scenes a feeling of dreamy musicality. The orchestra itself is also wonderful, full of brass and catchy piano that manages to shine even outside of the original songs.

Really, the only flaws that exist beyond the aforementioned microphone problems are those that come from the source material itself. The first act is a little thin on plot, which makes the second act feel rushed.  However, the plot, like that of most musicals, mainly serves as a vessel for the songs and doesn’t drag the production level down. All in all, Chicago is one hell of a ride.

Chicago will be performed from Thursday, Jan. 22 to Saturday, Jan. 24 and from Thursday, Jan. 29 to Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Moyse Hall. Visit www.autsmcgill.com for ticket information.

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SUS retroactively runs fee referendum questions following confusion over constitution

by Jenny Shen on

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The Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) is retroactively running two referendum questions regarding student fees that were collected in the January statement for all Science and Arts & Science students. The SUS Base Fee and the newly-introduced Student Space Improvement Fee (SCSS) were collected under the impression that their referendum questions had passed when students had voted in November during the mislabeled Fall 2014 referendum, which was run instead under online ratification guidelines.

The SUS executives initially brought the two fee questions as motions to the General Assembly (GA) held on Nov. 5, 2014. Because the GA failed to meet quorum, the GA results were presented to the SUS General Council (GC) as a consultative body, in accordance to Article 7.1 of the SUS general assembly bylaws. The GC then approved to send the two fee questions into a referendum to be voted on by all Science and Arts & Science students.

According to Zach Houston, Science representative to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), the confusion stemmed from the fact that the fee questions were sent out as “Fall referendum questions” yet operated under online ratification guidelines, which have a lower quorum requirement than referendum questions. Houston, along with the SUS Speaker and CRO, determined that quorum had not been met for the fee questions following the Dec. 4 SSMU Council meeting when Houston was asked by Council about voter turnout at the GA. However, this occurred after SUS executives had already submitted the results to Ollivier Dyens, deputy provost (Student Life and Learning) (DPSLL).

“Although the questions went to referendum [in the Fall], the proper procedures for a referendum were not followed,” Houston’s report to the Jan. 15 SSMU Council reads. “Instead, the procedures for online ratification of GA motions were followed [….] However, the ratification was unnecessary, as the GA motions were referred to General Council and thus did not require ratification.”

According to SUS President Shannon Herrick, the questions were originally thought to have passed with a six per cent voter turnout, which was above the SUS constitution’s five per cent online ratification requirement (Article 22.1.3) but below the 10 per cent referendum requirement (Article 20.4). 

“As a CRO, I am not responsible for GA ratification questions,” SUS Chief Returning Officer (CRO) Danielle Toccalino said. “So they were not passed by me before they were posed to the entire science population for the online ratification. I am responsible for any referendum questions, and this was the step that was mistakenly missed. The ratification results were taken as referendum results.”

According to Article 22.7 of the SUS constitution, “All resolutions passed at the General Assembly must be submitted to an online vote for ratification, overseen by the Chief Returning Officer.”

However, Toccalino stated that the SUS Computer Task Force (CTF) runs the online elections software and because the GA had not met quorum, she was not involved.

“As the ratification was of the outcome of a consultative body, it was not binding, and therefore did not need my involvement to my understanding and interpretation of our constitution and by-laws,” she said.

Both the increased Base Fee and SCSS fee were charged to students’ January statements. According to SUS executives, these fees are currently being held in a closed account and will be refunded to students should the Winter 2015 referendum questions fail to pass.

The first referendum question sought to raise the SUS Base Fee from $7.50 to $12.50 for full-time science students. The second referendum question sought to levy the newly-created opt-outable SCSS fee, which would charge $7.00 per semester for full-time Science students.

VP Internal Shaun Lampen stated during the SUS Fall GA that the SCSS fee would go towards renovating Burnside Hall. 

“The renovation […] is meant for making [Burnside Hall] conducive to student space and studying,” Lampen said.

The questions were sent to students as “Fall referendum questions” and the results labeled as “Fall referendum results”, with 58.9 percent voting “Yes” to the increase in the Base Fee, and 59.3 percent voting “Yes” to the new SSCS fee.

“On Jan. 7, the SUS General Council acknowledged the error and resolved to send both questions to a Winter referendum,” Houston’s report reads. 

However, an email sent out by VP Communications May Yin-Liao on Jan. 18 still stated that “the motions to increase the SUS base fee and to introduce a Student Space Improvement Fee were passed at [the GA] and ratified online in the Fall 2014 semester.”

“I think the confusion […] lies in the fact that the motions that were passed at the GA were not directly asking to change the SUS base fee or introduce a new fee, but instead, were asking for permission to bring the fees to a referendum,” said Yin-Liao. “However, it was indeed our mistake for letting the office of the [deputy provost] go forward with adding the new fees with only the GA online ratification results provided and not the referendum results.”

SUS VP Finance Eileen Bui stated that the questions being run in the Winter are not identical to the ones from the Fall. She stated that the deputy provost’s office wanted the questions to be reworded to exclude the part on index inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) due to the market’s unpredictability. 

“Later on, if it passes, then in the financial bylaws I would change it so that every three or five years the VP Finance would submit a motion in order to index the fee to whatever the inflation [actually] is,” Bui said.

Herrick acknowledged SUS’ error and stated that the executives were making changes to prevent this type of mistake from happening again.

"I wish we could have [caught] such a little thing earlier on,” Herrick said. “We are making a bunch of revisions to our bylaws and constitution to make sure that in the future something like this won’t happen. Our fee hasn’t been changed in seven years. It’s an unfortunate situation and we’re trying to make the best of it.”

This article was corrected Monday, February 2, 2015.

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