Although the stands were not quite full Friday night at McConnell Arena, it certainly sounded as though they were by the game’s end. After a rough start, the McGill Redmen pulled out a thrilling 7-6 come-from-behind overtime win over the Nipissing Lakers in their final regular-season game in the OUA.
McGill trailed for nearly the entire game, but managed to erase a four-goal deficit with just over 11 minutes to play to send the game into overtime. The extra period saw second-year centre Mathieu Pompei seal the win with his ninth goal of the year. The victory marked the largest comeback effort in Redmen hockey history. The outcome seemed improbable as the outlook appeared grim for the majority of the game
“Not a lot went well for us tonight, and it was looking like it was going to be one of those nights,” said Redmen Coach Kelly Nobes. “If you look at almost everything, top to bottom through the first 50 minutes, it was going their way.”
Despite outshooting Nipissing 27-24 through the first two periods, McGill looked out of sync. Things were so dire that a few unlucky fans made their exit early, missing out on the exciting finish.
The late rally was sparked by a strong individual effort from alternate captain Ryan McKiernan that resulted in a shorthanded goal. The goal was one of five points on the night for McKiernan, a defenceman from White Plains, New York, who will finish the season as the OUA’s leading scorer among defencemen with 13 goals and 37 points overall.
Fellow assistant captain Patrick Delisle-Houde potted McGill’s fifth and sixth goals, bringing his season total to 14. After tapping in his first goal on the power play at 17:21 of the third period, Delisle-Houde managed to put home his second just 52 seconds later after a heated scramble in front of the Nipissing net. As important as the efforts from McKiernan and Delisle-Houde were, however, this was most certainly a team win.
“I just told the guys, credit to your character,” Nobes said. “[They] could have packed it in with eight or nine minutes to go. It was just a character win.”
Perhaps almost as impressive as the comeback itself was McGill’s ability to stay composed despite being plagued by penalty troubles the whole game. The two teams combined for 68 penalty minutes, including two 10-minute misconducts—one for each side.
The Redmen goaltending—although stellar throughout the season—was less impressive Friday night. McGill starter Jacob Gervais-Chouinard was pulled after allowing four goals on 16 shots in the first period. Karel St. Laurent managed to fare better, stopping 17 of 19 shots he faced on the way to his fourth win. Gervais-Chouinard looked uncharacteristically shaky, but will finish the season with a team-best .917 save percentage despite Friday’s effort. When asked about his playoff starter, Nobes declined to comment, but Gervais-Chouinard would seem to be the likely choice.
The win wraps up the regular season for McGill, with the team now looking ahead to the playoffs. The Redmen, who led the OUA East division for the majority of the season, now sit in third despite finishing 9-0-1 in their last 10 games. Next on the docket is a first round match up against the rival Concordia Stingers. If the Redmen hope to replicate their National Championship-winning success of 2012, they will need to show the mental toughness and resilience they did on Friday.
“Nothing was going right for us, and to pull it out like that is certainly exciting for the fans,” Nobes said. “But just to show this kind of character also gives us a bit of momentum going into the playoffs.”
McGill’s three-game series against Concordia will begin Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m. at McConnell Arena.
Recent images of unfinished hotel rooms, broken plumbing, and other flaws noticed at the Sochi Games have been the source of much online amusement. However, these @Sochiproblems, a Twitter account started by Canadian journalist Alex Broad, might be more than just silly flaws to poke fun at. In mocking these issues, we ignore that they are the result of widespread corruption. The Sochi Games cost over $50 billion, making them the most expensive Olympic games ever held. Yet, organizers can’t even build stalls to separate toilets. And while the pictures on Twitter of skiiers taking side-by-side bathroom breaks are admittedly funny, Russian taxpayers probably aren’t laughing.
The mis-allocation of funds in the construction industry is not a new phenomenon, especially in Russia, which continues to have a reputation of corruption in business dealings. The Sochi Olympics, which required many massive building projects, provided a perfect opportunity for Russian construction tycoons to capitalize off of the government’s need for new infrastructure. When such corruption is present, accountability is eliminated, working conditions deteriorate, and construction work becomes erratic. Thus, the games end up with poorly built ski-jumps, broken sewage pipes, and exorbitantly-priced stadiums.
While such descriptions of construction procedures at Sochi may seem like classic “only in Russia” absurdities, the truth is that corruption in the construction industry is a much broader issue. As New Yorker financial columnist James Surowiecki recently wrote, “Transparency International has long cited the construction industry as the world’s most corrupt, pointing to the prevalence of bribery, bid rigging, and bill padding.” Whenever large-scale infrastructure is built—even in liberal democracies with relatively transparent business practices, such as Canada—the risk for corruption and backdoor dealings is high.
Indeed, residents of Montreal are keenly aware of the crooked nature of the construction industry, which has been implicated in dealings with criminal elements, and is renowned for cronyism and corruption. Delays in construction, inflated prices, bribes, and kickbacks are all commonplace. This city’s own preparations for the 1976 Winter Olympics were riddled with corruption. The Olympic Stadium was unfinished at the time of the Olympics, and its roof subsequently caved in twice over the years. A piece of the tower also fell onto the field during a Montreal Expos game in 1986. To top it all off, the City of Montreal only finished paying off all of the debt from the stadium’s costs in 2006.
So the next time you come across a picture of a Sochi hotel lobby looking like a war zone, remember that the only people you’re sharing a laugh with are the Russian construction magnates who are om their way to the bank. Maybe then we will be able to sympathize with the Russian taxpayers who are the ones shouldering the costs of our amusement.
Fees regarding graduate applications, the restructuring of Rutherford Park, the Midnight Kitchen, and the Health and Dental Plan will be voted on by graduate students during the upcoming Winter Referendum period for the Post-Graduate Students Society of McGill University (PGSS).
The four referendum questions were approved in PGSS Council last Wednesday. Students will be able to vote on them between March 13 and 21.
Midnight Kitchen fee
The first referendum question approved by Council regards the introduction of an opt-outable $0.50 Midnight Kitchen fee for PGSS members.
The Midnight Kitchen is a non-profit organization that provides by-donation lunches to students during the week. It is currently listed as a Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) student service and runs off donations and fees from SSMU members only.
“Undergraduates pay a fee every semester—which is currently $3.25—which goes to support this service,” Lorenzo Daieff, political science councillor and the mover of the motion, said. “Graduates do occasionally enjoy the service, but we don’t contribute in any way.”
However, PGSS Secretary-General Jonathan Mooney said graduate students do contribute financially to the service. He argued that the current Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between PGSS and SSMU provides PGSS members access to the SSMU Building and its services for $4,152 per year.
“I’m reluctant to go forward with this given we’re already paying SSMU for access to its services and it’s not clear that there’s a pressing need amongst graduate students,” Mooney said.
According to Urooj Nizami, Finance & Administrative Coordinator at the Midnight Kitchen, the fees stipulated in the MoA do not actually go towards Midnight Kitchen.
“It seems to me there is confusion as to the fees everyone pays towards SSMU, and that is an important question that should be looked into,” she said. “But that seems to be a separate question to this referendum question.”
The motion ultimately passed.
Changes to graduate applications
(Hayley Lim / McGill Tribune)
McGill’s graduate applications process faces reforms, including updates to the uApply system and a potential application fee increase.
Graduate students will vote on an increased graduate application fee during referendum period. The proposed increase, which will raise the application fee from $102.60 to $120.00, would be implemented gradually over the course of five years beginning June 2014.
“The increase in the application fee payable by all new applicants to graduate studies is necessary to allow the University to properly maintain and support the system,” the motion reads.
The graduate uApply application procedure will also undergo technical changes for the Fall 2014 application period. Updates for the system include increased avenues for communication with the applicants such as a built-in chat system, more updates to guide applicants through the process, electronic document submission, and a general streamlining of the process.
“We revamped the entire system, not only for the graduate applicants, but also for the back office who are doing admissions,” Mark Quinsey, a member of the project management team, told Council. “We weren’t being very competitive at McGill with some of our peers. Not only do we want to help the applicants with a better experience, but it also allows us to actually get better students.”
According to Martin Kreiswirth, Associate Provost (Graduate Education), a survey of applicants who declined McGill’s offer in 2008-2009 showed that one of the main reasons was the long enrollment process, during which many applicants accepted other offers.
Kreiswirth said the new system would also provide economic benefits to applicants who now only have to fill out one form.
“One financial advantage is applicants now don’t have to pay two application fees to apply to two separate programs,” he said.
Restructuring Rutherford Park
A non-opt-outable fee of $3 per semester for the Athletics Building Improvement Fund was the subject of another referendum question that passed in Council.
The fee would affect every full- and part-time PGSS member from Fall 2014 to the Winter 2019 semester, going towards the development of Rutherford Park, currently an undesignated grassy area north of campus.
“For the past two and a half years, McGill Athletics has been working with Ville Marie and Montreal, negotiating about what they can do to restructure that space [in the park],” PGSS Academic Affairs Officer Adam Bouchard said. “What they’ve proposed is an artificial turf, with a soccer and softball setup.”
In the event that the project on the Rutherford Park does not go through due to citizen concerns about the lighting on the mountain, the fund would go towards improving buildings on the recreation side of McGill Athletics, as a greater proportion of PGSS members utilize those services compared to their participation in varsity sports.
Renewing the Health and Dental Plan
The renewal of the current PGSS Health and Dental Insurance Plan was the final referendum question approved by Council.
If passed in the referendum, the plan will be renewed for a period of three years—a change from previous one-year renewal referendum questions. According to PGSS Member Services Officer Elizabeth Cawley, having a three-year term gives ASEQ (Alliance pour la santé étudiante au Québec) more time to collect claims information and therefore provide a better estimate of the insurance price.
“This gives us more negotiating power in terms of setting a better premium, because we have a better understanding of the claims that are being made in the current year,” she said.
Fans accustomed to John Butler Trio’s (JBT) organic, funky, and sometimes folky sound might find themselves a bit taken aback after listening to the Australian roots band’s newest album, Flesh and Blood. JBT’s previous albums have packed musical variety, ranging from sassy, upbeat songs like “Used to Get High” (Grand National), to instrumental delicacies such as “Ocean” (John Butler), all the way to potently emotional ballads like “Peaches and Cream” (Sunrise Over Sea). The trio, which formed in 1998, have mastered the art of diversity in their sound as they have evolved—however, this journey of steady versatility seems to have been interrupted.
Flesh and Blood, while in no way an ear-sore of an album, lacks the entertaining assortment of sound JBT is known for. The name of the album denotes a sense of raw simplicity; maybe this was what John and the crew were going for when recording, as songs like “Only One” and “Young and Wild” are extremely simple not only instrumentally, but also lyrically. There are certain moments while listening where one could simply read the name of the song in order to know the majority of the lyrics and general ‘point’ of the song. A lot of the tracks run into each other and lack the liveliness JBT is known for.
This being said, the album is still packed with John Butler’s buttery voice and simple but skillful instrumental accompaniment—there were only two main guitar solos throughout the 11 tracks. JBT is known for making passionate music, and this isn’t fully lost, as demonstrated through the provocative story lines of “Bullet Girl” and “Wings Are Wide.”
Given that it has taken the group four years to release a new album, the work obviously merits a listen. However, approach with no sort of high expectation: find the one or two tracks you connect with, and re-shelf Flesh and Blood behind JBT’s much more impressive compilations.
Every now and again, an artist—or band—crops up out of nowhere and absolutely stuns with one listen of their debut album. Following a string of EP’s released between 2009 and 2010, this alternative rock band from Sydney, Australia, released their first full-length effort, Prisoner, in 2011 to much critical acclaim, cementing their place in both Australian and international music industries. Since then, The Jezabels have performed at countless music festivals around the world and enjoyed international success.
So it was surprising, really, when their second album, The Brink, was released rather quietly, with no major promotion or chart-topper hit that reached the audiences like its predecessors did. It was equally surprising that, upon first listen, the band has somewhat muted their outrageously loud and gushing sound that had critics falling head-over-heels for on their debut, and have made a more tightly-knit album; the band had refined their work.
However, in the case of The Jezabels, who possess Hayley McGlone—a lead singer capable of powering her way through songs with a vocal range comparable to even Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine—refinement hasn’t translated very well, and has left her with little musical support behind her massive vocals.
Not only are the songs somewhat underwhelming—there is not one track on the record that is an immediate, brilliant slap-in-the-face of genius—lyrically, they are rather… dated. McGlone was quoted as saying this album is more personal, and it is fairly clear as the majority of the songs deal with love and issues closer-to-home than their globally-thematic work of Prisoner.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad album; however, it’s hardly a step in the right direction for the band’s sound—possibly even a step backwards for them. The Brink represents an unquestionable sophomore slump, and although there is not one necessarily ‘bad’ song on the album, there isn’t one that grabs you immediately.
The McGill Martlets (12-2) cruised to a 72-51 victory over the Laval Rouge et Or at Love Competition Hall Thursday evening. The team’s penultimate home game was McGill’s sixth straight victory in the RSEQ, and marked the fourth time this year that the Martlets defeated the Rouge et Or.
The reigning RSEQ champs stormed the court from the starting tip with their zone defence, going on a 13-2 run in the first three minutes. Laval bounced back by attacking the Martlet zone defence with crisp ball movement, and focused on getting the ball into the paint. In the second half of the game, McGill switched up their game-plan by moving away from the zone and playing a more man-to-man defence, thus forcing Laval into poor passes and even worse shots.
On the offensive side, the Martlets relied on the interior combo of freshman Jennifer Silver and sophomore Mariam Sylla. McGill had shooters spread around the three-point arc to ensure enough spacing for the dynamic duo to operate. Although the home team had just an eight point lead at half, the Martlets ran away with the game in the third quarter by emphasizing defensive stops coupled with quick outlet passes, ultimately leading to easy transition buckets.
“That was our best four quarters we played all season,” Martlet Head Coach Ryan Thorne said. “That was the best game we have played so far.”
Silver, a reserve forward, was key for the squad Thursday, as she dominated the paint for easy lay-ups and offensive rebounds. Silver finished with a team-high 15 points. Laval had no answer for the rookie all game, as Silver racked up rebounds and easy jump-shots. Sylla used her athleticism and face-up game throughout the match, chipping in 13 points in the victory. Fifth-year forward Hélène Bibeau, and third-year guard Dianna Ros both played vital roles as well in the McGill win, dropping 10 points apiece.
“We put people in positions to be more successful,” Thorne said. “We tweaked a few things, and the girls benefited from that. Overall, everyone played well.”
McGill shot an outstanding 42.6 per cent from the field and 87.5 per cent from the charity strike, while Laval recorded a measly 28.4 per cent from the field. With the playoffs on the horizon, Thorne insists that there is still progress to be made.
“We have a couple more things to do better,” Thorne said. “It’s just about preparation for us. We have to make sure we are better than the other team in the playoffs.”
McGill’s week did not end with Thursday night’s matchup, as they traveled to Lennoxville to face the Bishop Gaiters on Friday night. The team came out on top with a 52-37 victory that saw Silver and Sylla once again leading the way with 14 and 12 points respectively. Sylla was a force to be reckoned with on the boards once more, as she tallied 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the year. The Martlets’ next game will be against UQAM on Thursday, Feb. 20 at Love Competition Hall. The match will begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be McGill’s final home game of the season before the RSEQ playoffs.
Speaking to students beyond McGill’s tight-knit environmental community, there is one question I encounter often: “Whatever happened to sustainability at McGill?” Awareness around campus of environmental initiatives comes down to three things: space, community outreach, and education—and particularly, the lack of all three. What can be done to improve this situation? Enter the Educational Community Living Environment (ECOLE)—the perfect blend of collective student living, learning, and community building—something like “the Real World: Montreal (Green Edition).”
Set in a soon-to-be converted MORE house residence that will open its doors in September, ECOLE seeks to revitalize the concept of sustainability at McGill. The house, as a student-run space, will not only provide a hub for the sustainability enthusiasts, but also be a model for sustainable change in the eyes of the greater McGill and Milton-Parc communities. It will house up to 12 residents—or “facilitators”—who will experiment with materially and socially responsible living, and undertake individual applied research projects based around their collective living experience. Facilitators will come from a diversity of academic, cultural, and social backgrounds to promote the awareness of sustainability as a universal concept applicable to all aspects of life—not merely environmentally-based ones.
As an accessible space, ECOLE will also be open to all members of the greater McGill student community, as well as for the residents of Milton-Parc. It will be an alternative meeting ground for various student clubs and local organizations, as well as a place to hold joint recreational activities such as film screenings or potluck dinners. Of course, all food served will be locally sourced and subsequently composted. It will also actively engage in collaborative projects with the Milton-Parc community, and attempt to mitigate the existing tension between the citizens and students who inhabit the area.
In addition to broadening community interaction, ECOLE will enlarge the academic scope of sustainability through an interdisciplinary approach. The project will foster hands-on learning that cannot be experienced in the classroom; through meetings and workshops led by the facilitators, any interested students will have the chance to experience sustainability from all different perspectives, and relate these concepts to their own lives.
Equity will also play a significant role in the education process—as not only material but also social change is vital for building a sustainable future. Facilitators will lead anti-oppression workshops in their attempt to improve the climate of social justice among the inhabitants of the McGill student environment.
From an operational viewpoint, ECOLE will be run in adherence with a concrete governance structure and an “ECOnstitution,” which will lay down the guidelines designed to enforce transparency and consensus-based decision making. While there will be other actors involved in the political processes that surround ECOLE, it will have a mandate to maintain student sovereignty in all functional matters.
Given the realities of a McGill student’s everyday life, it can be difficult to live sustainably and responsibly. Despite all good intentions, the need for efficiency often trumps environmental duties. With the introduction of ECOLE, we believe that we can work to construct a healthy alternative culminating in a material effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and a social structure that is both non-oppressive and vibrant.
As the project grows, we hope to see the ideal take shape more clearly: a diverse range of students from different academic faculties living ecologically and equitably sound lives in a community that truly serves as an example of positive human action within the ‘natural environment’ of downtown Montreal.
The Olympic opening ceremony is a moment of global attention and high expectations. This pressure came to a head during the ceremony for this year’s Sochi Winter Games with the event’s centrepiece—five flowers which blossomed into the Olympics’ iconic interlocking rings. However, the fifth ring failed to expand with the others. Viewers around the world witnessed the malfunction, but on Russian television, footage from a taped rehearsal was spliced in, creating the appearance of a flawless performance. This ‘fix’ spawned debate as to whether such an alteration was ethical, and highlighted the difficulty of distinguishing between entertainment and news.
Russia has had numerous issues with its hosting, with shocking charges of corruption and lack of preparation. It makes sense to want to avoid further embarrassment and disprove the claims of poor planning. But even if that is the case, is it really ethical to present a falsity as truth? While there is some value to this kind of symbolism, pure deception for the sake of appearances is something else.
Officials at the Russian network defended the splicing, claiming they were preserving the integrity of the Olympic rings and what they symbolized. In the network’s eyes, what they were doing was permissible since the opening ceremony is a performance for the world. They consider it to be entertainment, not news, and have no problem adjusting the content accordingly.
For the most part, the matter boils down to the value of authenticity in news and entertainment. If the opening ceremonies are considered entertainment, it should be fine to alter the showing for a more pleasurable viewing, and to better convey the artistic intent. If it is news, however, altering it is dishonest and unethical.
It is a slippery slope to make such modifications, however, as the opening ceremonies are presented as a factual event. Altering the presentation in the way that the Russian television station did is perpetrating a falsehood on the audience. Even though the opening ceremony is largely for entertainment, it is also reality; not treating it as such allows for other parts of reality to be altered. Even though the Olympic rings don’t seem like a big deal unto themselves, the willingness of a broadcaster to make such an editorial decision calls into question the integrity of any live coverage. Blurring the lines between reality and fiction may be a good narrative technique, but it does not constitute any sort of ethical journalism.
This classic French dish is savoury and sophisticated, but also simple and student-friendly. Not only is it acceptable to eat for any meal; it’s also a great way to use up whatever is left in your fridge. Baking a flaky pastry crust has never been so easy.
Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil (olive oil gives a distinct flavour, although any oil should work)
1/4 cup ice water
Filling:
4 eggs
1 & 1/2 cups milk (can substitute 1/2 cup with cream)
After finishing the last bite of an apple, it’s almost second nature to toss it into the trash can before heading off to class. But what happens then? Few people know the fate of their food waste. But for many McGill students, the matter wasn’t just a concern—it was the beginnings of a significant undertaking.
Composting on campus: a big project in the works
Under the right conditions, organic matter—such as landscaping clippings and food—decompose into nutrient rich soil that can be used as fertilizer to sustain new life. Under the wrong conditions, like in a landfill, the rotting waste contributes to critical urban environmental problems. Landfills cause groundwater pollution by leaching toxic liquid into the soil and water table. Furthermore, the oxygen-free environment within the garbage heaps leads to the production and release of the greenhouse gas methane, which ultimately lead to negative changes in climate.
For policy makers, the decrease in available landfill space is a pressing problem. Consequently, Quebec is taking action to divert this waste from landfills into a composting system. The provincial government dictates that McGill must divert 60 per cent of all organic waste away from either landfill or incineration by 2015. The long-term vision is to have a 100 per cent diversion rate.
The city of Montreal is also working to expand their compost capacity by establishing organic material treatment facilities across the city and is piloting an organic waste pick-up project where compost from residences will be collected by the city. However, McGill is not under Montreal’s jurisdiction for waste management. The university is required to comply with the policies and legislation set provincially and municipally, but must manage their waste independently otherwise.
For many students, the campus’ composting system—or lack thereof—was not something they planned on ignoring.
Kendra Pomerantz, U3 Environmental Economics and internal manager of the McGill Food Systems Project, is one of those students.
“I think it’s time to get on the bandwagon [with composting],” Pomerantz said. “At one point recycling was super controversial, and now everyone recycles. I think it’s kind of the next big thing and it seems like in 10 years, it’s going to be everywhere.”
(Alessandra Hechanova / McGill Tribune)
It started with students
Nearly nine years ago, a student organization on campus named Gorilla Composting was established with the intention of creating a waste management plan that utilized composting. Initially, when their pilot project began, food waste was not able to be composted on campus and had to be brought to Quinn Farm in Ile-Perrot instead.
But five years after its modest beginnings, Gorilla Composting purchased an industrial bioreactor—dubbed “Big Hanna”—in order to make composting more of a reality on campus.
Big Hanna—a large, stainless steel composter with a capacity of 91.25 tonnes per year—was installed in 2010 below M.H. Wong Building. It was originally thought to be a silver bullet for sustainability.
Oliver de Volpi, the executive chef at McGill, explained that the McGill Food and Dining Services (MFDS) has been heavily involved with Big Hanna from the start.
“[MFDS—and] now Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS)—had been the main partner [for Big Hanna ever] since [it] arrived on campus,” de Volpi said. “We are the biggest producer of compostable material and we set up and paid for the daily pickup service. For us, it was one more step in our sustainability initiatives, so we started [composting] pre-consumer waste from all of our residences.”
For many, such enthusiasm has turned into frustration. Over the last four years, a laundry list of problems has accumulated from issues with cold weather to a lower than expected capacity that the machine can process. As someone deeply involved with food waste in the residences, de Volpi observed these problems firsthand.
“Big Hanna has been the biggest challenge for sure,” de Volpi said. “[Everything from] temperature, volume, [to] quality of the compostable material going in. It has had at least eight weeks every year when it was “down” and that is out of a 36-week year.”
After a flood during the Winter of 2013 rendered the machines temporarily non-functional, de Volpi sought out the assistance of Compost Montreal.
Compost Montreal is a compost transport company which brought waste from McGill to a commercial composting facility run by the Montreal Department of Parks and Horticulture in St. Henri. Once Big Hanna was repaired, the pre-consumer compost from the residences was split between Big Hanna and Compost Montreal, and the limited post-consumer waste went to Compost Montreal.
Taking concrete actions
In 2013, MFDS—with the help of then Project Coordinator and Supervisor Lou-Anne Daoust-Filiatrault and a handful of other interested students—conducted a “Greenhouse Gas Audit.”
“From [the] numbers [generated from the audit], we set up a series of recommendations as to how we could improve [our carbon emissions],” Daoust-Filiatrault said. “One of the recommendations was to create a 401 project—[an environmental course for student research]— that was going to deal specifically with compost.”
Though the audit’s conclusions reflected a need for change, Daoust-Filiatrault explained that such change can come with challenges. Like most matters of sustainability, funding is a major impediment to the implementation of a new compost scheme.
“[With] energy and water [changes], usually you’re reducing costs, whereas [with] waste, you’re paying more to be ‘better,’ which is always the [concern…] with budgets,” Daoust-Filiatrault said.
But funding—though a formidable obstacle—is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Storage and pick up is [also] an issue,” Daoust-Filiatrault said. “Do you have a place to store it? Is there a freezer you can store it in? Who picks it up? Is there parking? How many pickups in a week?”
The 401 course sought to tackle some of these logistical challenges. Under the supervision of Environment professor George McCourt, its goal was to evaluate the current system and set up proposals for a new system.
The project’s final report, written by nine students—including Pomerantz—consists of 66 pages of research. It covers everything from current waste management legislation, to internal and external case studies, to potential solutions and proposed recommendations.
The first stage of the proposals from the 401 course has already been implemented. As of this January, Compost Montreal has increased its involvement with McGill’s compost system, and now runs Big Hanna—a responsibility that used to fall under the department of McGill’s Facilities Operations and Development.
“It’s been good; it’s been a learning curve getting to know the machine […] and how it might be applied to different institutions,” said Cameron Stiff, in charge of development, finance & commercial accounts at Compost Montreal. “We have long been excited about developing our own site and the decomposition process. We are excited about the possibilities and we are actually going to be at Mac [campus] at the end of the month. We’re hoping to use the opportunity to talk to some professors, to develop new partnerships, and [to] expand to McGill.”
Daoust-Filiatrault attributed the composting projects’ achievements thus far to student inquiry and cooperative efforts with staff, faculty, and administration.
“That’s what started it all in the first place—students researching, students talking about it, students asking to do waste audits,” Daoust-Filiatrault said. “Students looking for records, talking to companies, talking to Compost Montreal, [and] examining Big Hanna. It was students who really started it, and staff members were interested and onboard. And it was sort of the collaboration between the two that worked well.”
With the 401 course over, Pomerantz and two other students are continuing the composting initiative in an honours project and two independent studies with the McGill Food Systems Project, which uses student research and community involvement to promote food sustainability on campus.
Other initiatives and resources for interested students
The ongoing composting initiative on campus is just one fraction of the efforts to make McGill more sustainable by students on campus.
Amelia Brinkerhoff, U2 Environmental Science and Student Sustainability Coordinator for SHHS, has had ample experience with students interested in making a difference with sustainability on campus.
“Students interested and curious about environmental issues at McGill are really fortunate, because not only do you have a wonderful set of pathways within the academics [where] you can explore your interests, [but] you [can] take a project and invest your time in your campus,” Brinkerhoff said. “If you kind of research it on your own, it’s not as strong and fruitful as if you worked with a professor in a class.”
Beyond academic courses, Brinkerhoff pointed out that McGill itself has countless options for students looking to make a change. For example, the McGill Office of Sustability (MOOS) oversees research, community engagement, and even funding through its Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF), which anyone in the McGill community can apply for to fund their sustainability initiatives.
“It [can feel] like there [are] a lot of hoops to jump through sometimes,” Brinkerhoff said. “MOOS really shortens that and they make it easier for students to access issues of sustainability. It’s a good office to have. You have faculty that push[es] you to explore. Motivated students can get funding for projects they care about. It’s a good standard for the quality of work they’re doing. The SPF fund allows students to act on their passions and to be rewarded for that, and they make really considerable conclusions.”
With these resources at hand and projects like the ongoing initiative for campus composting finding success after careful research and planning, students should feel confident with taking on sustainability challenges on campus.
“Talk to your staff, talk to your administrators, maintenance people who work there, facilities,” Daoust-Filiatrault said. “Figure out what’s going on. The more research you have, the more you’re able to quantify what you want to do, [and] the easier it is to get it done.”
No matter how well planned or how motivated, a lot of projects won’t succed unless there are people willing to participate. The next challenge is making sustainability matter to the greater McGill community.
