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Science & Technology

Five must-see science events this semester

by Leanne Cherry on

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With the add-drop period coming to an end and several more cold months lying ahead, the winter semester at McGill seems as daunting as ever. Luckily, for those who take pleasure in learning new things, there is respite to be found on campus and throughout the city of Montreal. With that, here are five science events and exhibits to attend when looking for some educational enrichment. 

TSI seminar series

The Trottier Space Institute hosts a recurring seminar nearly every Tuesday of the semester at 3:30 p.m. in the Bell Room of the Rutherford Physics Building. This week’s seminar on Jan. 14 features research from Michael L. Wong, astrobiologist and planetary scientist at Carnegie Science. 

In his talk, Wong will explore our place in the universe, describing various projects of his, from exoplanet biosignatures—evidence of life on planets outside of our solar system—to the philosophical principles guiding space exploration.

Banquet at the Montreal Science Centre

While many of the exhibits at the Montreal Science Centre target a younger audience, Banquet is guaranteed fun for all ages. This interactive culinary adventure, running until Mar. 16, 2025, has several different sections to explore.

The Kitchen section goes over a few basic cooking skills, and explains the physics and chemistry behind them. For an immersive sensory experience, head to the Multimedia Show, which combines images, sounds, and aromas in a production inspired by French chef Thierry Marx and chemist Raphaël Haumont.

Scientista symposium

The Scientista Foundation aims to support and connect pre-professional women in STEM across Canada and the United States. Women are consistently underrepresented in STEM disciplines, making up only 34 per cent of the scientific workforce. The foundation believes that creating a network of women in scientific fields will increase accessibility to resources for young scientists, and ultimately unify the voices of those who frequently go unheard. 

The McGill Students Chapter for Scientista will be hosting its third annual symposium on Mar. 18, 2025, in the SSMU Ballroom. The event runs all day, featuring a McGill professor panel, two keynote speakers, as well as poster and three-minute thesis (3MT) competitions. Register for free to attend or to participate in these competitions before Jan. 19, 2025. Enjoy complimentary food and drinks throughout the day.  

Witches: Out of the Shadows

Spending time in Old Port with $27 CAD to spare? Interested in paganism? Head to Pointe-à-Callière—Montreal’s Museum of Archaeology and History—to learn all about witches. This exhibit features over 400 objects to help recount the history of the witch, detailing everything from traditional practices in witchcraft to the tragic witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries.

It additionally delves into the evolution of witches, explaining where the figure originated and how it came to represent feminism as it does today. Running until Apr. 6, 2025, this exhibit is certainly worth checking out for those looking for an interactive journey through history.

Understanding tropical ecosystems and climate change

Because tropical forests vary so greatly with respect to species diversity and human interaction, it is difficult to predict how individual forests will respond to climate change and land-usage change.
Join Elsa Ordway, assistant professor in University of California, Los Angeles’ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, in her discussion on Mar. 28 at 12:00 p.m. in Room 426 of Burnside Hall, where she explores the use of remote sensing to predict a tropical forest’s reaction to its ever-changing environment. Remote sensing measures the radiation emitted from a given area to monitor its physical characteristics and is typically performed from an aircraft or a satellite.

Martlets, Sports

McGill Women in Sport Program changes the game for what it means to be a Martlet

by Alex Hawes Silva on

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The McGill Women in Sport (WiS) program, established in September 2018 through a transformative $3.5 million CAD donation from alumni Sheryl (BCom’67) and David Kerr (BSc’65), is dedicated to advancing gender equity in varsity sports at McGill. As one of the few initiatives in Canada focused exclusively on women athletes and coaches, McGill’s WiS program aims to increase women’s representation in coaching and empower student-athletes through services like mental performance training, career readiness workshops, and nutrition guidance. By focusing on leadership development, empowerment, and professional growth, the WiS program is helping pave a path for women in sports at McGill and beyond.     

Roxane Carrière, the current manager of the WiS program, is a driving force of its success. With seven years of experience and research in applied sports psychology, Carrière brings an abundance of knowledge and resources to the program, backed by a passion for fighting injustice and inequity. According to Carrière, this passion derives from first experiencing gender inequity when she moved to France as a teenager. 

“Growing up in Canada, every young girl I knew played soccer, so it was quite a shock to see how [few] soccer teams there were for girls and how difficult it was to find a team to play for in France,” Carrière shared. “That was probably the first time I’d experienced gender inequity in that way.” 

This experience helped to instill a passion for creating more opportunities for women athletes and bleeds into the work Carrière does at McGill. 

A huge testament to Carrière’s work is the WiS student-athlete council she created. Comprised of 10 members, the council serves as a collaborative platform to address the challenges faced by women varsity athletes. The council ensures that WiS services and initiatives align with the needs of women student-athletes. By generating ideas from the students and acting as a liaison between athletes and the program management team, the council plays a pivotal role in shaping a more inclusive and supportive sports environment at McGill. 

Gordon Bloom also plays a crucial role in the formation of mental performance support within the WiS. As the director of the McGill Sport Psychology Research Laboratory, Bloom uses his 25 years of experience in the field to work with the WiS to allocate mental performance support where it is needed within the varsity teams at McGill. 

“We have assigned each Martlet team with a Mental Performance Consultant, who aids the athletes with mental health support, performance strategies, and really just helps them elevate their mental game,” Bloom said. 

Another notable achievement of the WiS program is the increased proportion of women coaches at McGill, which has more than doubled from 16.7 per cent when it was first created to 38.1 per cent by 2022. 

Additionally, WiS fosters a sense of community among women varsity athletes through events like Women in Sport Day, where all McGill Martlets teams come together to watch a sporting event at McGill. The next upcoming Women in Sport Day is Jan. 26 at Place Bell; young student-athletes from the greater Montreal area will be invited to watch a Martlets hockey game and meet the team afterward. Events like this bring together the woman athlete community and help to inspire younger players by giving them role models to look up to as they keep pursuing their athletic aspirations. 

The McGill Women in Sport Program is a significant example of how targeted initiatives can create meaningful change in the world of varsity athletics. By prioritizing gender equity, increasing women’s representation in coaching, and providing support to student-athletes, the program has had a transformative impact on the lives of women athletes not only within McGill but across Montreal and Canada.

“Going forward, we hope that the program continues to elevate the female athlete experience here at McGill, but also that they use these skills they have learned here as a tool to grow as people after their time here,” Carrière stated.

As it continues to expand, the Women in Sport Program not only empowers women athletes and coaches; it also inspires future generations of women and other universities to fight for equality and inclusion in sports.  

News, SSMU

SSMU President Taylor hopes to improve transparency after facing impeachment vote

by Eliza Lee on

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On the evening of Dec. 16, polls for the referendum on the impeachment of President of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Dymetri Taylor closed. The referendum failed, with 58.6 per cent of voting students voting “No,” 41.4 per cent voting “Yes,” and 8.4 per cent abstaining. With an overall 16.9 per cent voter turnout, Taylor remains in the position. 

The referendum came after the approval of the Motion Regarding the Removal of President Taylor at a Dec. 5 SSMU General Assembly (GA) meeting. The motion called for Taylor’s removal on the grounds of “impropriety” and “delinquency of duties” as per SSMU’s constitution. 

At the GA, students claimed that Taylor had unduly denied a motion—brought forth by Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) at McGill—which sought to have students vote on whether SSMU would participate in a student strike for Palestine. Taylor claimed the wording of the strike motion was nearly identical to that of the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine and would therefore violate the injunction suspending this policy. Taylor also told SPHR that there was no way to maintain the strike motion’s support of Palestine without breaching the injunction. 

Students argued that through this communication, Taylor had inflated the extent to which legal orders hindered the union from showing support for Palestine. They cited as evidence a document containing SSMU’s legal advice, which an anonymous source claiming to be a former member of SSMU’s Board of Governors shared with student groups, including The Tribune, on Nov. 27.

Taylor told The Tribune that he misunderstood the legal constraints SSMU faced and acknowledged that he misrepresented these constraints to students. Taylor went on to emphasize that he will seek to improve transparency by sharing more information with students around what actions SSMU can take with regard to supporting social movements.

“It’s trying to continue to walk the steady line that comes with all our rules, regulations, and everything that binds the SSMU, to work within the bounds of what we’re faced with […] and to ensure that—so long as nothing is against what the law, our rules, and McGill’s rules—to keep it open as to what people can do,” Taylor said. 

“If we can’t do anything, for instance, then perhaps there [are] other avenues that you can take that we can offer you to reach the end goal,” he continued.

Taylor also spoke to the importance of the SSMU Accountability Commissioner in ensuring that the union’s employees, including its executive team, act in accordance with SSMU’s constitution, policies, and internal regulations. Students can raise concerns about the performance of a SSMU employee to the Accountability Commissioner, who investigates these claims and makes recommendations to the relevant governance body on how to address infractions.

A representative from SPHR, who wished to remain unnamed, highlighted the success of the GA and explained that the group does not see the referendum’s ultimate outcome as a failure. 

“This GA shook things up [….] It really opened people’s eyes to the fact that SSMU does need to change,” they said. “Obviously, there were issues with the strike motion being purposefully delayed. This is a pattern for SSMU […] waving their hand and using legal jargon as an excuse or [using] bureaucratic constraints as an excuse. I think the student body, and even people within SSMU, are realizing things do need to change.”

The representative was hopeful that the impeachment would signal a new precedent to future candidates in the upcoming SSMU executive elections in the Winter 2025 semester. They noted that SPHR will continue to encourage students to use their democratic rights to demand accountability from student leadership.

In interviews with The Tribune, some students echoed the value of the impeachment referendum as a way to hold Taylor responsible for his errors, regardless of whether his actions were intentional or not.

“I think that when you’re in a position of leadership, you have the responsibility to make sure that you’re not making careless mistakes that are harming the student population and the world beyond,” Chloe Wei, U1 Science, told The Tribune. 

Kennedy McDiarmid, U3 Arts, expressed frustration at how Taylor handled the strike motion and spoke to a feeling that SSMU is “constantly band-aiding” its problems.

“It would just be nice to have a student union that’s effectively run and represents the voices of the people in a factual, […] and effective manner,” McDiarmid said.

Science & Technology

Take The Tribune’s Science and Technology quiz

by Ella Paulin on

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Which McGill campus building has an observatory on its roof?

a) McIntyre Medical Building
b) McCall MacBain Arts Building
c) Burnside Hall
d) Ernest Rutherford Physics Building

What causes the glowing green light in the sky over Montreal?

a) The aurora borealis / northern lights
b) The Desjardins Complex
c) Global warming
d) Aliens

Barbara Althea Jones was a Trinidadian professor at McGill in the 1960s who had what combination of vocations?

a) Physicist and painter
b) Neuroscientist and historian
c) Geneticist and poet
d) Mathematician and philosopher

How many watts are the light bulbs in the spinning beacon on top of the Royal Bank of Canada building in downtown Montreal?

a) 800
b) 1,800
c) 2,500
d) 6,000

Which of the following is a real degree at McGill?

a) Environment, Ecology, and Ethics
b) Sustainability, Science, and Society
c) Climate Change, Culture, and Criticism
d) Global Warming, Geopolitics, and Governance

What unusual material are the wheels of the Montreal Metro made out of?

a) Plastic
b) Carbon fibre
c) Steel
d) Rubber

Which Canadian institution did Maude Abbott, for whom the Maude Abbott Medical Museum is named, receive her medical degree from, after being refused entry to McGill on the basis of her gender?

a) Bishop’s University
b) University of Toronto
c) Queen’s University
d) Royal Victoria College

Which two McGill buildings burned down in unrelated incidents in 1907?

a) The original Burnside Hall and the Redpath Museum
b) Royal Victoria Hospital and Royal Victoria College
c) MacDonald Engineering and the Old Medical Building
d) The Arts Building and MacDonald-Harris

Answers:

d) Ernest Rutherford Physics Building
b) The Desjardins Complex
c) Geneticist and poet
c) 2,500
b) Sustainability, Science, and Society
d) Rubber
a) Bishop’s University
c) MacDonald Engineering and the Old Medical Building

Campus Spotlight, Student Life

Dead languages live on campus

by Ella Paulin on

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Nobody tell the Office québécois de la langue française, but if you keep a careful eye out, there are a handful of improperly-francized signs hiding around the McGill campus. For once, though, they’re not in English—and no, it’s not the Italian “pasta” advertised at the Royal Victoria College Dining Hall either. This time, the culprits are older than Quebec itself—or French, for that matter: This time it’s Latin and Greek quotes. Although including Latin and Greek inscriptions in modern construction is rare, if you look closely at some of the older buildings on campus, you can still spot several ancient phrases on building stones and above archways.

Grandescunt aucta labore

This is likely the most common Latin phrase you can spot on campus, as it is McGill’s official motto and part of the university’s coat of arms. Translating to “By work, all things increase and grow,” the quote compliments McGill’s official mascot: The martlet, a mythical bird that has no feet and can never stop flying, symbolizing industry and studiousness. Taken together, the motto and mascot paint quite a picture of the ideal McGill student’s work-life balance. You can see this inscription inside the Arts Building, over the door to the James Administration Building, and in the lobby of Sherbrooke 680. 

αριστον μεν υδωρ

One of the few Greek inscriptions on campus, this is a historically-attested phrase meaning “Water is the best of all things,” and suitably appearing over the drinking fountain on the first floor of the Birks Building. It is attributed to the Ancient Greek poet Pindar and can also be found in the town of Bath, England, inside its 18th-century pump room supplying a Roman-style bath. 

Concordia salus

While technically on campus, this phrase is actually part of Montreal’s official coat of arms. It appears above an archway of the McTavish Reservoir & Pumping Station, visible from Ave. du Dr-Penfield. The Latin phrase translates roughly to “Salvation through harmony,” and was also the inspiration for choosing the name “Concordia University” when Sir George Williams University and Loyola College merged in 1974. 

καλλιστον εφοδιον τωι γηραι η παιδεια

This Greek inscription actually appears twice on campus, once above the fireplace in the Birks lounge, and once over the inside of the main entrance to the Arts Building. It translates to “The finest provision for old age is education,” and is attributed to Aristotle, as quoted by Diogenes Laertius in his Lives of Eminent Philosophers. 

Nosce te ipsum

Unlike most of the other phrases on this list, Nosce te ipsum is a fairly recent addition to the McGill campus. Located in the Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building as part of an exhibition by the Maude Abbott Medical Museum, the quote can be found in several old fire-extinguisher boxes in the stairwells and hallways. The expression means “Know thyself” and was popular in both Latin and Ancient Greek philosophical texts. During the Renaissance, it became common to use this quote in medical texts, with the mantra symbolizing the quest to understand the human body more deeply. 

Hic est locus ubi mors resurgens rediviva est

If you look up at the Duff Medical Building from Ave. des Pins, you’ll find this bold assertion over the top of an archway. Proudly declaring, “Here is the place where death arises to new life,” this statement reflects the optimistic, but often arrogant, tone of the medical profession in the early twentieth century. The inscription dates back to the original construction of the building in the 1920s.

Editorial, Opinion

McGill does not contest the latest faculty union certification: A shift or merely an exception?

by The Tribune Editorial Board on

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On Dec. 31, the Tribunal administratif du travail certified the Association of McGill Academic Staff of the School of Continuing Studies (AMASCS) as McGill’s fourth faculty union. AMASCS is the first instance of faculty unionization that McGill did not contest in court—a pivotal moment for the unions, who have faced protracted, embattled paths toward certification over the past few years. 

In April of last year, the Association of the McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) went on an indefinite strike to protest stalled negotiations over a collective agreement (CA) with McGill that would protect faculty governance, pay, and work conditions. McGill maintained an anti-union stance throughout its legal battle with AMPL and the subsequent strike, delaying the Fall semester, before finally reaching a settlement with the union in October. 

The Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) faced similar hostility when negotiating with the university for higher wages and a new CA. McGill refused to meet AGSEM’s demands for a wage increase, and its counter-proposal only addressed one of several main demands—allowing one Union Delegate per Hiring Unit to attend their annual meetings—leading to a strike in March that delayed coursework grading and put overwhelming pressure on McGill professors. 

While a necessary first step, McGill’s lack of contestation of AMASCS does not make up for the university’s long-standing “bad faith” in union negotiations, its reluctance to adequately meet demands, or, more broadly, its institutional stance towards unions on campus. The acceptance of AMASCS is an important step forward, but it may have more to do with the nature of the faculty itself than a fundamental change in McGill’s attitude. While the academic staff of the School of Continuing Studies are critical workers at McGill, the faculty is relatively small, and its unionization empowers a smaller number of members in relation to the McGill administration compared to larger faculties. 

If McGill remains committed to recognizing and respecting faculty unionization, the certification of AMASCS will mark a monumental step toward fostering a true workers-first environment. Continuing to support unionization efforts in other faculties would demonstrate McGill’s dedication to equity, solidarity, and the empowerment of all workers, laying the foundation for a more just and collaborative campus community.  However, if McGill chooses to sustain historic hostility towards unionization and union demands, the AMASCS certification will be little more than a token example to which McGill can point when criticized for its anti-union attitude. 

Unions are a vital artery in any institution, but especially an educational one. They bring individuals together to act as a collective bargaining unit to protect rights, wages, work conditions, and a salient voice in the administration and its decisions. Unions are a benefit to faculty and students alike; when professors are better paid and better treated, they are able to offer a higher-quality education to their students, thus maintaining the academic prestige McGill proudly advertises. 

As unionized workers have gone on strike for their rights at McGill, students and administrators have wrongly misplaced the blame, criticizing striking TAs or Law professors for the inconvenience of overdue grades or delayed semesters, respectively. McGill’s historically anti-union stance has exacerbated this animosity towards strikers—a resentment which should be directed at the administration whose mistreatment made the strike necessary in the first place. Such misdirected anger only adds to the exploitation and disrespect strikers have already endured as victims of administrative mistreatment. 

Despite McGill’s institutional attitude towards unions, the aggregated progress of AMPL, AGSEM, and now AMASCS has paved a smoother road for future collectives. In the same way unity within a faculty births political power larger than the sum of its parts, unity between faculties does the same. It proves to both McGill and its non-unionized faculties that unionization is possible and can be won, even against an administration that opposes it. 

Where this animosity threatens to pit members of the McGill community against one another, students and faculty alike must remember their solidarity, and strength in numbers. We must acknowledge that unions are a universal good, and remind ourselves that we are all fighting for the same future community. Faculty rights become students’ gains, and students’ gains are McGill’s gains, both as a world-renowned university and as a community of people who have come together to teach, learn, and support one another.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Something wicked this way comes!

by Jamie Xie on

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It’s good to see me, isn’t it? I’m a certified sentimental fan and infamously famous son of a witch. If you were to ask me my favourite musical, I’d answer like a mother would if asked her favourite child: I love them all equally but differently. Of course, I would be lying. In a film where no good deed goes unpunished, and the gold standard is a bygone dream, Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked stands out as a musical that not only defies gravity but expectations themselves. Upon hearing about the adaptification of Wicked to the silver screen, I was so happy I could’ve melted. 

A tale of change which is as tragically beautiful as it is beautifully tragical, Wicked centres the untold story of the not-so-friendly friend of Dorothy’s: Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba Thropp, and her relationship with Good Witch of the North G(a)linda Upland. Cleverly named after the author of The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, Elphaba endures the trials and tribulations of Oz all while acting, dancing, and singing—oh my! Through subversion and references, the adaptation expands on the preexisting world of Oz to remind us that there are two sides to every story. Wicked is representative of a New Age fascination with antiheroes and their origins, a genre of story that seems to be here for good. It is an invitation to return to a popular classic with new infinity glasses and reexamine our own perspectives.

Wicked is the musical on everyone’s mind, and as the story has worked its way into the hearts of so many, it has inevitably managed to get on some nerves. In a wonderfully weird interview between journalist Tracy Gilchrist and Wicked costars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the phrase “holding space” took flight, igniting public discourse from internet cynics who point out the over-the-top saccharine sentimentality of theatre kids. The interview drew fame from Gilchrist’s tenderly “cringe” questions and Erivo’s emotionally-charged response to hearing that queer people are finding strength in “Defying Gravity,” a renowned song from Wicked about rejecting social convention and embracing otherness. Grande reaching out to comfort Erivo by clasping her index finger and gently tapping has since become its own viral image, recalling the Sistine Chapel’s Creation of Adam. Grande and Erivo have since discussed the hand-holding in a Variety interview. 

“I didn’t know what any part of it meant, I didn’t understand the first sentence and then I definitely didn’t understand how you responded. And I just wanted to be there. Because I knew something big was happening and I didn’t know how to be there,” Grande recounted. 

“After a while, I didn’t know how to be there,” Erivo said. 

In many ways, Wicked has become the poster child for the modern pop musical. By interpreting  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Wicked cleverly works within the confines of a world audiences are already familiar with, while also delivering its own story with unique moral takeaways. It thus escapes the pitfalls of being a regressive screen-to-stage-to-screen adaptation. With Wicked available to stream on digital video-on-demand services, we can rejoycify and say there’s truly no place like home.

Though Gregory Maguire’s book tackles dark, uncomfortable political issues, including fascism, terrorism, and a newly introduced Ozian apartheid state, the adaptation fixates primarily on worldbuilding. The musical does a lot to sanitize the original story and make it more palatable to audiences by removing themes of sexuality and violence, erasing allusions to religious extremism, and focusing instead on forbidden romance. The movie adaptation strikes a masterful balance between Maguire’s macabre world and Schwartz’s family-friendly matinee. Wicked is able to fully engage with the more radical themes of its predecessors to feel more relevant than ever as we arrive on the precipice of great political change.

But remember, my sentimental friend—a musical is not judged by how much it is loved by others, but by how much you love it.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

A Complete Unknown’ is a love letter to Bob Dylan’s anachronistic genius

by Lulu Calame on

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My expectations were high when I sat down to watch A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic directed by James Mangold and starring Timothée Chalamet. Dylan’s career is one of the most monumental in music history, and Dylan himself—with his nasally voice, stoic affect, and famous dexterity on the guitar—is singular in every regard. But by the time I left the theatre, Chalamet, along with his co-stars Monica Barbaro, Edward Norton, and Elle Fanning, had exceeded every expectation.

The film follows Dylan (Chalamet) from his arrival in New York City in 1961 to his controversial performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. It portrays his first small gigs at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village from which his fame quickly sprung. Woven through his rise to stardom are his romances with Sylvie Russo—a stand-in name for the real-life Suze Rotolo (Elle Fanning)—and musician Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), his friendship with fellow folk musician Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), and his explosive fame in the folk world—and eventually beyond it. 

If the saying “show, don’t tell” applies to films as well as writing, then Mangold’s interpretation of Dylan’s early career should be the textbook case. Each actor so wholly embodies their character that they could have spent the entire film drinking a cup of coffee and one still could have seen clearly into Dylan, Baez, or Seeger’s souls. While Chalamet’s performance embodied Dylan’s genius, it also brought to light his human flaws and pretension. “You know,” Baez says to Dylan in his bedroom one morning, “you’re kind of an asshole.” Dylan only chuckles.

Mangold synthesized Dylan’s rise to stardom, his brooding frustration with the folk scene, and his reluctance towards emotional vulnerability in a tight, seamless narrative fuelled by the characters themselves, and illustrated through moments whose beauty is in their simplicity. One evening, Dylan runs into a man named Bob Neuwirth (Will Harrison) who invites him to his band’s gig downtown. Watching the energetic Neuwirth play electric guitar from the corner of the Irish bar, Dylan begins to crack a rare smile—a moment cut short when the blonde woman in front of him turns and screams, “IT’S BOB DYLAN,” and chases him out of the bar. That night would spark Dylan’s signature rebellion against folk music and inclination towards electric guitar, culminating in the film’s climactic Newport Folk Festival performance.

Amidst the effortlessly evolving plot, the artfully chosen settings in Greenwich Village, the detailed recreation of Newport, and the beautifully unadorned cinematography, it is Chalamet’s musical talent that is the most striking. Dylan is known for his swinging, nasal voice and his clear finger-picking control of the acoustic guitar. Where many biopics would use original tracks over which the actor would lipsync, Chalamet sang every note of the film himself. But, most impressive of all, is that he performed the songs live on set. To even approach the mechanics of Dylan’s musicianship is impressive enough, but to do so, as Chalamet did, with complete control—enough to take creative liberties himself that one can easily imagine Dylan might have made—is almost incomprehensible. 

Between grasping at soon-to-be-famous lyrics on a hotel notepad in the middle of the night, or playing simultaneous guitar and harmonica in front of 10,000 people at the Newport Film Festival, Chalamet literally did not miss a beat. His co-stars didn’t either; the talent of Norton and Barbado alongside Chalamet came together in moments of palpable joy on screen—like when Barbado sings ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ for the first time with Dylan on his bed, harmonizing with the soon-to-be-famous chorus, or when Seeger joins Dylan’s acoustic guitar with his banjo amidst high-end party-goers eager to hear Dylan play. 

A Complete Unknown is a masterpiece of a love letter to Dylan’s career, to the 1960s, to political and musical revolution, and to raw genius.  

Commentary, Opinion

In the wake of Trudeau’s resignation, U.S. political polarization should serve as a cautionary tale

by Ellen Lurie on

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A widely unpopular progressive party leader, having unsuccessfully attempted to fend off a populist conservative challenger, is forced to step down for the sake of his party’s re-election prospects. Wait, who are we talking about?

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation on Jan. 6, 2025 shares eerie resemblance with former U.S. President Joe Biden’s choice to step down this past July. Both represent an attempt to distance the two parties from the poor image voters have of their soon-to-be-former leaders. Americans now know that Biden’s decision to step down from the position of Democratic Party nominee was neither sufficiently impactful nor well-timed enough to win former Vice President Kamala Harris the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. To ensure that Trudeau’s resignation will not result in a similar failure, the Canadian Liberal Party must seize the lifeline Trudeau has thrown to them. 

Looking back, perhaps the largest obstacle that stood between Harris and the U.S. presidency was her association with the Biden administration, as many Americans doubted that she would go beyond echoing Biden’s policies. A similar concern exists now among Canadian Liberals; almost all the potential replacements for Trudeau have either worked or are still working in his cabinet. If Liberals wish to compete with Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre in the upcoming election, they must clearly differentiate themselves from the Trudeau period and demonstrate their capacity to move forward.

However, the Liberals do have a crucial factor on their side: Time. Harris had come into the presidential race without the execution of an open Democratic primary, limiting the American public’s faith in her, and leaving a mere three months to mount a campaign from scratch. Trudeau’s resignation differs, as there is ample time to identify an inspiring replacement through a traditional leadership race. Trudeau’s proroguing of Parliament until Mar. 24, 2025 ensures that the Liberals will have several months to choose a party leader who could reasonably win the election before a motion of confidence is called.

In addition to their differences in electoral timeline, two additional factors exist that could win the Liberals favour: The prospect of a U.S. tariff on Canadian goods and Trump’s remarks on making Canada the ‘51st state.’ Such an international threat could generate a rally-around-the-flag effect, as Canadians, regardless of their party affiliation, would be united in their fear of threats to Canadian sovereignty by U.S. economic force. The Trump problem could thus be, if weaponized efficiently by Trudeau and his successor, a tool to attract voters to the Liberal party with effective solutions to tariff threats.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, it is necessary to recognize that Canadian politics are not nearly as polarized as U.S. politics. The election of President Donald Trump represents an undeniable threat to American democratic processes, both due to his identity as a convicted felon and perpetrator of sexual assault and rape and because of his political agenda. Trump’s Agenda47 is centred on the deportation of immigrants—who Trump refers to as ‘illegals,’ censorship of ‘radical’ educational topics, aggressive attacks on TSLGBTQIA+ rights, reversal of climate change policies, and still more. Severe ideological divides followed in the wake of these extremist proposals, meaning that bipartisan collaboration in favour of the people was almost inconceivable. By contrast, Canada has witnessed numerous instances of cross-party cooperation, such as in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, worker striking laws, trade relations with the U.S. and Mexico, and the rights of Indigenous peoples. The Liberal Party therefore must be cautious over these next few months so as not to introduce a level of polarization that makes democratic collaboration impossible. 

As shapers of public discourse, McGill students must commit to collaborative dialogue over partisan divides. Through forums for cross-partisan student discussion, the McGill student body can fight the drift towards polarization, shaping a better political future for generations to come. Regardless of whether history repeats itself in Canada this election cycle, the disturbingly polarized nature of U.S. politics should serve as a cautionary tale. Members of the Canadian political landscape must take deliberate steps to avoid entering a state of deep division that has already paralyzed governance and fractured communities in the United States.

Basketball, Behind the Bench, Sports

Who’s to blame for the NBA’s viewership struggles?

by Ethan Kahn on

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There are few things in sports more exciting than a professional basketball game. High-flying dunks, intense defense, and an electrifying atmosphere make for an enthralling product. However, in recent years, television ratings for NBA games have gone down across the board, and fans are disgruntled with the state of the league and lack of viewing access. 

According to Sports Media Watch, NBA viewership during the 2024-25 season on ESPN, ABC, and TNT—the league’s national television partners—was down nearly 20 per cent compared to the 2023-24 season. Additionally, from late October until early February, the NBA is competing with the NFL for the eyes of sports viewers. NFL viewership is down roughly two per cent, meaning the NBA’s decline in viewers is ten-fold compared to that of its main competitor.  

Some consideration must be given to the changing state of the game when examining this perceived dropoff in popularity. Teams are shooting more three-pointers than ever before, the culmination of changes that have been brewing since the Golden State Warriors began the three-point revolution in the mid-2010s. From 2000-2009, teams averaged 15.7 three-point attempts per game. In the 2020s, that number has increased to 34.9, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of total shot attempts. In the current season, the Boston Celtics attempt nearly 50 three-pointers per game, prompting fans to claim the team has “ruined the sport.” For many fans, this can generate disinterest in the modern game. 

This is a natural reaction to a changing sport, but it is not the players’ or league’s fault. To many, this version of the game may be the most exciting, with teams propelled by high-powered offenses. Fans of the “old” game may also feel alienated by the modern NBA superstar, a player who, while talented on the court, may make headlines off of it. The blurring of lines between sport and entertainment may dissuade a fan of the “classic” NBA.

Another quirk of the modern era railed against by fans, both young and old, is the increasing prevalence of “load management,” where star players will sit out games in order to rest and avoid injury. Fans who tune in to games expect to see the sport’s brightest stars. However, the players are increasingly unavailable in the interest of preserving their energy throughout a gruelling 82-game schedule, with additional games through the NBA Cup, created in 2023. That same year, the league introduced a new Player Participation Policy that sought to reduce load management by placing restrictions on the number of players that could rest per game and banning players from missing games televised on national TV for load management reasons. This policy has been largely successful, but teams can work around it by placing an injury designation on players that may not be injured to the extent teams say in order for the player to get rest.

The final and arguably most prevalent problem plaguing the league is the lack of access to games on television. The most common causes of this are local blackouts—where games are blacked out in certain areas due to broadcasting agreements and streaming restrictions—meaning games may only be shown on expensive streaming services. This represents a massive barrier to entry to prospective fans. The emergence of third-party pirated streams is also a growing concern, particularly with younger fans who wish to work around blackouts or streaming restrictions.
In order to avoid alienating viewers, the NBA must ensure that its games are accessible to the greatest population of fans possible. Regional blackouts and expensive streaming packages are hurting the popularity of the game and slowing its growth, taking away potential new fans because of the barriers to entry. Many of the problems fans have with the state of the on-court product are over-exaggerated, but problems with access to games are very real and hugely consequential. Commissioner Adam Silver and his Board of Directors must address this issue as soon as they can in order to limit the long-term effects of decreased viewership and ensure that the next generation of basketball fans will not be dissuaded by increased streaming costs and lack of availability.

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