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a, Features

The history of eugenics in Quebec and at McGill

by Hailey MacKinnon on

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McGill University is known for its cutting-edge scientific research. Many may not know, however, that during the early 20th century, McGill was a communication hub between eugenicists in Britain and Canada.
Eugenics has its roots in England—the term was first coined by British scholar Francis Galton in 1883. Galton took eugenics to be “the science of improving stock—not only by judicious mating, but whatever tends to give the more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing over the less suitable than they otherwise would have.”
Caption: Francis Galton.
Eugenics aimed for an enhanced human population by encouraging the reproduction and marriage of those with high moral character and physical attributes, who were considered ‘fit’ (positive eugenics), and halting reproduction of the ‘unfit’ (negative eugenics). This evolved in a time of rapid increase in birth rates among the lower class, which incited fear in middle to upper classes that the human race was facing national degeneration.
Eugenics grew out of two realities: The desire to avoid the degradation of the human race in the wake of racialized fears about illness and poverty, and an era of faith in scientific positivism and empiricism. It became a scientific way to assure the prosperity of the human race in the face of urban social ills like disease, alcoholism, and divorce.
Within a Quebec context, eugenics theories were largely disseminated among the anglophone community in Montreal—particularly within McGill’s academic circles. McGill was the most prominent university in Canada at the turn of the 20th century, and attracted professionals from England to research and teach at the school.
Sebastian Normandin is a professor of history and the philosophy of science at Ashoka University who has studied the eugenics movement within Quebec. According to Normandin, McGill was the centre for dissemination of eugenic ideas and theories between Britain and France at the turn of the 20th century.
“The idea [of eugenics] was brewing in the community of Fabian socialists, and also in a lot of the progressive movements in the [United States],” Normandin said. “The only place where you saw that going on [in Canada] on any scale was at McGill.”
Dr. Alexander Peter Reid is regarded as the first person to have brought forward the ideas of eugenics within a Canadian context. Reid, an English scholar, received his early education in London, yet moved to McGill—then known as McGill College—where he received his M.D. in 1858.
Reid introduced the concept of eugenics in 1890 in a talk before the N

a, Student Life

Five alternative nap spots on campus

by Morgan Alexander on

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When the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) closed the doors to the lounge in the Shatner University Centre, they took away more than a faculty-free place to study—they took away the prime napping location on campus. While students involved in clubs with offices can sneak in a mid-day snooze on their private couch spaces, the rest of the student body is now even more hard-pressed to find a spot to get in the extra z’s needed to fulfill the doctor-recommended seven to nine hours of sleep. During the summer it was easy to curl up on Lower Field and double dose on sleep and vitamin D, but given the extreme weather warnings, other options are needed for sleep-deprived students. Read on for five alternative places to grab a quick nap on campus.

1. Arts Lounge

The Arts Lounge, located in the basement of Leacock, is a well-known spot for studying during the week and, more importantly, for Bar des Arts (BDA) on Thursday evenings. It’s a perfect place to hang out, work, and nap because it’s generally quiet and provides relatively clean couches. The highlight of this nap space is that it’s not usually crammed with students, so you should be able to find a free couch on which to curl up. The con, of course, is that you need to be an Arts student to get into the lounge, but students from other faculties can always knock on the door and hope someone lets them in.

2. First floor of Birks

A little-known treasure to those outside the department of religious studies, the first floor of the Birks Building features a study area equipped with 8 couches and two comfy chairs. Because students are required to remove their footwear during the winter so as not to damage the marble floors of the building, you’re automatically assured the freedom of a shoe-free nap experience. During peak hours however, the couches fill up fast, and some students won’t take very kindly to you taking up a couch that could fit three people, so make sure you plan out your nap schedule accordingly.

3. Third floor of Morrice Hall

Despite being one of the most beautiful buildings on campus, Morrice Hall is an often-overlooked treasure-trove on campus. Aside from being home to Tuesday Night Café Theatre and the Islamic Studies Library, which is arguably the quietest and most visually appealing library on campus, it also features a prime nap space on the third floor. Space is limited, and the room can get overly warm during the winter, but because of the relative anonymity of this area you’re almost always assured a spot to snooze. 

4. McLennan HSSL – RM-07D

For those who don’t know, HSSL – RM-07D is the official name for the room in McLennan filled with bean bag chairs and no actual seats or desks. As a group study spot, it’s completely ridiculous and unhelpful, but as a nap room, it’s brilliant. Like all group study areas in McLennan, the bean bag room can be booked for 30-minute intervals throughout the day. This means you can schedule in a slot for a power nap at your convenience with the complete assurance that no one will bother you until the next appointment starts. Because the room has a door, you can also trust that none of your things will get stolen while you sleep. In terms of maximum efficiency and security, it’s really the only on-campus option.

5. Lobby of New Residence Hall

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and if sleeping in the lobby of a residence isn’t desperate, it’s hard to say what is. That being said, there are immense pros that come with sneaking in some shut-eye here. Because sleeping on the incredibly comfortable couches located in the lobby isn’t something most people would have ever considered, you’re always assured a couch. Moreover, because the lobby is a low-traffic area during the day given that most people are on campus or in their rooms, you’re less likely to be disturbed by someone than you would be if you were napping on the floor of McLennan. Win-win.

 

a, Science & Technology

The decline of the Canadian dollar

by Uzair Khan on

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On Jan. 20, the Canadian dollar (CAD) fell to a new record low: It was the weakest the CAD had been since April 2003. On that day, every Canadian dollar was worth only 68.5 American cents, part of a larger and ongoing decline experienced by the loonie. Since then it has bounced back to equal about 72 American cents.

The origins of this steady downfall can be traced back to 2011, when the Canadian dollar was stronger than its American counterpart. In his commentary in The Globe and Mail, Chris Ragan, an associate professor of economics at McGill, outlined the two main factors involved: The decrease in global commodity prices and the difference between Canadian and US interest rates set by central banks. 

Canada is a country blessed with abundant natural resources, ranging from oil and uranium to timber, fresh water, wild life, minerals, and arable land. These products, although a small fraction of the Canadian economy, represent a large portion of its exports, and this is what affects the exchange rate. Canada is one of the few developed countries along with Russia and Australia that is a net exporter of energy and natural commodities. Recent turmoil on the global economic and political scene, from slow economic growth in China to continued unnecessary overproduction of oil, has led to a decline in the price of natural commodities, the main one being oil.

When the world’s economic growth or an increase in a country’s capacity to produce goods and services slows down, the demand for natural resources goes down, dragging with it their prices.  At the peak strength of the Canadian dollar, oil was selling at over a $100 USD a barrel. Now it is hovering at around $30 USD. The low price of oil causes the Canadian dollar to depreciate: Since less money is being earned per barrel sold, less money is being put back into the Canadian economy for the same amount of oil or other natural resources that are being exported.

“[As long as Canada remains] a large net exporter of resource-based products, lower commodity prices are bad for the overall Canadian economy,” Ragan explained. “But by the same logic, lower commodity prices strengthen the US dollar because the United States is a net importer of energy.”

The difference between the interest rate set by the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada is the second major factor contributing to the depreciation of the Canadian dollar. This rate is known as an ‘overnight rate,’ and is defined by the Bank of Canada as ‘the interest rate at which major financial institutions borrow and lend one-day funds among themselves,’ depending on its available funds at the end of each business day. Changes in this rate influence other interest rates such as those of bank loans and mortgages. This interest rate is the essence of monetary policy and the central bank is setting these interest rates as part of its overall policy in targeting inflation.

Variations in these rates reflect the strength of an economy. Higher rates correspond with a well-performing economy and lower rates correspond with a struggling economy. In recent years the US economy has outperformed the Canadian economy, leading to a higher interest rate set by its central bank. Financial capital has consequently flown out of Canada in the hopes of reaping higher returns in the US, resulting in the depreciation of the Canadian dollar.

Though it may seem odd that the fiscal strength of one other country has such a major effect on the value of Canadian currency, ties between the US and Canada run very deep. The US is on the other side of a $700 billion trade pipeline with Canada, making it Canada’s biggest trade partner. According to CBC, in 2009, 73 per cent of Canada’s exports went to the US, and 63 per cent of Canada’s imports were from the US. With its sheer size and important geographic location, the US economy will continue to have a major impact on the strength of the Canadian economy and currency. 

“It’s rich, it’s big, and it’s right beside us,” Ragan said.

A weak dollar is bad for Canadians importing or spending money on foreign goods and services. For example, a Canadian consumer who wants to purchase a product that costs $100 USD now will have to pay over a $140 CAD. On the other hand, an American consumer will pay less for the same Canadian goods as he or she did when the two currencies were equal. Thus a weak Canadian dollar, as it turns out, helps Canadian exporters because in the eyes of foreign buyers, the prices of Canadian goods have fallen.

It’s hard to predict how the value of the Canadian dollar will change. A good place to start, however, would be understanding the global prices of natural commodities like oil. As the prices of oil buoy, so does the loonie’s value.

a, Science & Technology

A look into the bioethics of commercialized surrogacy

by Clare Fogarty on

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On Feb. 6, the McGill Journal of Law and Health held its eighth-annual Colloquium, with this year focusing on legal and policy issues concerning assisted reproduction in Canada. The discussion was held by well-known professors, lawyers, and physicians—all meeting to debate and discuss hot topics in Canadian bioethics surrounding reproductive rights. This year’s panel was titled Assisted Reproduction: Navigating the Criminalization of Commercial Surrogacy, and focused on Canada’s decision to make it illegal for surrogates to be paid to carry someone else’s child, eliciting much debate among Canadian scholars and practitioners of bioethics.

 The discussions centred on the federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA), which criminalizes the payment of surrogate mothers, setting penalties between $500,000 or a 10-year prison sentence if violated. Surrogates agreeing to carry another couple’s child are to do so entirely altruistically. Since its passing in 2004, the AHRA has exposed rather polar views amongst leaders in Canadian public health ethics.

One of the speakers, Canadian fertility law lawyer and Founder of Fertility Law Canada, Sara Cohen, argued that the act of commercial surrogacy should be regulated rather than criminalized. 

“[This law was created to] protect marginalized women from engaging in surrogacy because they felt they had no choice,” Cohen said. “But most women acting as surrogates are altruistic, self-sufficient, [and] independent thinkers.” 

Instead of protecting women, Cohen explained, these laws are ‘paternalistic and offensive.’ 

The AHRA also prohibits the selling of sperm and ova for reproduction—instead, donors must voluntarily make their contribution to banks, and often do so anonymously. As a result, few individuals donate sperm or gametes, often creating banks with tissues of redundant genotypes (identical DNA). Some birth-mothers therefore receive identical gametes as those received by others, unknowingly giving birth to biological half-siblings. The anonymous nature of many of the donations also makes family lineage nearly impossible to trace, leaving the child’s family health history unknown. According to Cohen, decriminalizing the selling of reproductive tissues would give patients more information, enabling them to make safer decisions.

Arguments challenging this opinion take the exact opposite stance; Professor Margaret Somerville from the McGill Faculties of Law and Medicine and founding director of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics, and Law, argued that not all surrogates are able to give informed consent. 

“Most cases of surrogacy in other countries are based on exploitation of poor, vulnerable women,” Somerville said. “Surrogates are often described as altruistic in the advertisements seeking to recruit them.” 

According to Somerville, commercial surrogacy is a violation of women’s rights, opening the door to the creation of a breeder class of underprivileged women using their reproduction organs for profit.

While this argument ventures close to the arguments used by proponents against legalizing prostitution, Somerville further reasoned that ethical issues should always focus on the most vulnerable party involved—the child. Commercial surrogacy can also be dehumanizing by creating reification and commodification of a child and therefore, of human life. Somerville compared the issue to organ trafficking by using human beings as means to an end.

“The human life is precious and must never be made a commodity,” Somerville said.

The consequences of the AHRA do pose issues for intending parents unable to conceive, yet also paint an eerie image of commodifying human life. The juxtaposition of ethical views at the colloquium posed an interesting discussion, but left many uncertain of their opinion on the topics deliberated. Still, discussion among contrasting views on public health policy must continue to take place, as the field of bioethics takes on an increasingly important role in our modern biomedical society. 

a, Student Life, Student of the Week

Student of the Week: Emma Solome

by Emma Whitehall on

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When transitioning from first year to second year, Emma Solome knew she was looking for something more from her university experience. Her focus this year is incorporating extra-curricular ventures that she is passionate about while balancing a challenging degree in chemical engineering.

“In first year, I wasn’t really involved in anything,” Solome said. “I didn’t do any extra-curricular [clubs or volunteer work] for me, or to help other people, which I found left me feeling very stagnant. I wasn’t super satisfied at the end of last year.”

Solome decided to volunteer with Organic Campus and the Fair Trade Corner. She chose them for their environmentally conscious nature, providing students with options for local, organic food and fair-trade coffee, respectively.

“It's a low cost way for students be more environmentally conscious in their day-to-day routine,” Solome said. “I think these two organizations are worth investing time into since they make McGill more sustainable.”

Solome is also a member of the youth engagement venture of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), a group on campus that works to make incremental and sustainable changes to the education system in order to foster the growth of a more diverse group of young people. 

“I joined […] knowing that in high school I was really unmotivated to learn in class,” Solome said. “I had a couple really good teachers […] but on a whole, there is a problem with the education system in the sense that it caters to a certain type of person [….] What we’re doing this semester is going to an elementary school here in Montreal and actually giving them workshops on problem solving and resolving local issues.”

Having previously trained for 10 years in classical ballet, this year Solome was also excited to return to dance. She joined a jazz dance class at the McGill Athletics centre, run by a passionate instructor with a heavy focus on dancing for the joy of it—something she found to be missing in the world of classical ballet. 

“I’ve met all these different people who I would have never met otherwise,” Solome said. “Meeting like-minded people is key. That was the turning point so far.”

Another factor that has led Solome to becoming involved in an array of clubs this year has been her attempt to find balance outside of her school work.

“I enjoy hiking, travelling, being outside, [and] I sometimes find it funny that I’m in chemical engineering,” Solome said. “I feel like I should be in geography or something that would really get me out into the field.”

Looking to the future, travel is at the forefront of her plans, but Solome mentions an interest in urban planning as a possible career option.

“Growing up in Vancouver with the housing prices being so expensive all the time, trying to find unique ways to fit people into a city that has become so unaffordable seems interesting to me,” Solome explained.

For now, which city (or cities) she would find that career evolving in is up for debate

“The hardest thing about picturing myself somewhere in a distant future is that every time I go somewhere, I always wish I was there for longer,” Solome said.

Reflecting on her time at McGill thus far, and whether or not she feels it has changed her in any way, Solome points to noticeable shifts in her personality and outlook.

“I feel different,” she said. “I feel like I’m more open-minded, and more content with where I am, regardless of where I am.”

 

Q&A

McGill Tribune (MT): Chocolate or candy?

Emma Solome (ES): Oh my! Right now I’d say chocolate.

MT:  If you had to live with one famous person for the rest of your life, whom would you choose?

ES: Maybe Ellen DeGeneres, she’s so funny

MT: Best movie you saw recently?

ES: The new Star Wars.

MT: Number one ‘must see’ city in the world?

ES:  Palermo, Italy.

a, McGill, News

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discusses necessity of youth empowerment

by Laura Hanrahan on

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McGill University welcomed the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Ban Ki-moon on Feb. 12 as part of his three-day visit to Montreal and Ottawa. Ban spoke to a group of law, political science, and international development students from McGill and other Montreal universities on topics ranging from youth empowerment to addressing nuclear weapons testing in North Korea.

McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier introduced Ban, and spoke to the importance of the United Nations as a whole for students in university. 

“The United Nations is an important arena for crucial dialogues about subjects such as education, health, human rights, the environment—all areas of great importance to universities,” Fortier said.

Throughout his speech, Ban addressed the importance of empowering today’s youth and involving them in political considerations.

“We have to put young people in influential positions,” Ban said. “Humanitarian action must address the concerns of young people and we need to mobilize young people in our humanitarian discourse.”

Ban reminded McGill students to be aware of their potential for global change. 

“You are not here at McGill University just for yourselves,” Ban said. “You are given highest learning just to become a global citizen, [and] have a global vision [….] You have immense potential, your future is wide open, [and] therefore it’s up to you to choose how you can contribute to this world.”

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Ban additionally spoke to issues that today’s youth will need to address in the immediate future—particularly, climate change. 

“Climate change represents an intergenerational injustice,” Ban said. “The older generation has not taken care of the planet that young people inherit. You will be continuously affected and influenced by this lack of what our generation and our previous generation have neglected.”

Following the speech there was a question and answer period moderated by McGill Political Science Professor Krzysztof Pelc. Pelc raised concerns over the UN’s inability to prevent North Korea from testing nuclear weapons.

“Last week North Korea tested another rocket launch,” Pelc said. “Is it time to say that the UN’s strategy towards North Korea has failed?”

In response, Ban expressed his frustrations with the lack of effective action that has been seen in regards to North Korea.

“It is really agonizing, very frustrating, not only as secretary-general, but more as one of the Korean citizens who have been working for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” Ban said. “Sometimes I feel ashamed. How come I have not been able to make any meaningful contribution to [the] current situation?”

In terms of future plans, Ban recommended the resumption of six-party talks as a possible step in the right direction. 

“I think we should […] try to negotiate if necessary,” Ban said. “There is an interesting format, known as six-party talks. Six parties should sit down together [to discuss] how to realize denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. That is, I think, the most proper way.”

Five rounds of six-party talks initially took place from 2003 to 2007 following North Korea’s withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. North Korea, however, pulled out of the talks in 2009, citing the UN Security Council’s Presidential Statement condemning a failed North Korean satellite launch.

Ban emphasized the necessity of responding quickly to any weapons testing undertaken by North Korea. 

“My message to Security Council members is that they should take action as soon as possible,” Ban said. “It has been more than a month [….] The longer it takes, it may just give the wrong impression […] to North Korea that they may just keep on going with another test, another launch, so that is not a good message.”

a, Opinion

Campus Conversation: McGill libraries

by C. Colleen Cook, Chloe Forgie-Williams, Zachary Carson on

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Two McGill students and the Dean of Libraries consider what defines a modern library, and how the library contributes to university life.

Zachary Carson, columnist

Libraries are integral to university life. They are where the vast majority of students work and study, and are the main repository of knowledge. Some might argue that this is no longer the case with students being able to access online books and journals, but most of students’ abilities to do so are due to the online resources of the library itself. Although many people would define a library simply as a building that houses physical texts, it is important to distinguish between the role of a public library and a university library. The role of a university library should be to provide students with knowledge, and a modern library should use all means available to provide knowledge in the most accessible way to as many students as possible—even if that means shifting the focus from physical volumes.

I love reading real books. I am the guy who has to print off every reading if the class doesn’t have a course pack because I cannot read off of a screen. But I am also a pragmatist. When I go on a vacation, as much as it pains me to do so, I bring my Kindle because being able to bring 10,000 books while only carrying the weight of 1/10 of a book is a hard deal to beat. Fifty years ago, the most efficient way to provide students with knowledge would have been to prioritize physical collections in an accessible way. But that is no longer the case. Today, electronic books and articles provide benefits that physical collections never could. An infinite number of students can access the same book simultaneously, and they can never be lost or stolen. And this is not to say that physical collections will not be available, but that prime library real-estate should not be given to resources that students are using less and less. I cannot deny the feeling of awe that comes from walking through the aisles of McLennan, looking for that one book you need for a paper, and feeling like a part of all the accumulated knowledge that surrounds you.

But one has to look at the facts. According to the assessment study sponsored by the Friends of the Library, 51 per cent of physical space across McGill’s library system is taken up by physical copies, while only 7 per cent of students who visit the library do so to consult physical collections. On the other hand, students intending to work make up 81 per cent of those visiting the library, while only 32 per cent of physical library space is being used for students. The implication is apparent—too much library space is taken up by books.

The purpose of a modern university library should be to provide students with knowledge. Ensuring that there is space for students to work together and individually would fulfill that mandate. This is not to say that the library should be transformed into one giant workspace, and that there is no place for physical volumes. Physical books will always be a part of the library, but realities have changed. McGill is one of the few major Canadian universities that holds all of its collections on site, unlike the Universities of Toronto, British Columbia, Montreal, and Alberta, which all hold some amount of their physical collections off site. I think it’s fair to say that if a student has not used a book in 20 years, then it might be safe to store it elsewhere. This does not mean the book becomes permanently inaccessible—it will just take time for it to be transferred from another space or a matter of minutes to be retrieved by the Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS). With the issue of continued accessibility to physical collections solved, the only argument left is that libraries need to house physical collections so that everyone can see them in order to satisfy an outdated, static definition of what a library is—a place that holds books.

The classic conception of a library, with aisles and aisles of dusty old books, is a romantic one; however, that ideal no longer represents what students need in order to access knowledge today. Just like when I look at my carry-on suitcase, filled with books that I want to bring but know I do not have room for, the answer here is simple, although it might be hard to accept.

 

Chloe Forgie-Williams, contributor

A modern library has a diverse collection of print books in all manners of subjects and a vast online collection of e-books. A modern library has row after row of neat, well-lit desks with endless databases and resources, all with the purpose of maximizing productivity and efficiency. The books are stacked high on their motorized shelves, expanding when we want them, then quickly retreating to their compact state when we don’t. On the quiet floors, the clicking of keyboards and the low hum of computer monitors have replaced the sound of turning pages. This is almost the ideal space for studying, but one essential element that defines a library—print books—are slowly being replaced by e-books and databases.

The e-book satisfies student demand for accessibility and convenience—but then what is the point of print books? Why bother calling the McLennan-Redpath Library a library if we intend to slowly move the books underground and out of sight? Why not ‘McLennan-Redpath Study Space?’ A library should be more than just a mass collection of information. The Internet already serves that purpose; why waste the land and the space to have books and shelves when you can have everything on your laptop at the tip of your fingers? The answer to all of these questions is the atmosphere. The atmosphere should act as a portal for people to transport themselves as they read all sorts of books set in a variety of times and places. The chairs should be soft and the only noise should be the flutter of a turning page. While a good portion of the library needs be devoted to studying space, students would benefit from having a comfortable space devoted to reading and quiet contemplation. Therefore, as people continue to streamline our researching and information storage, universities must be careful not to lose the legacy and tradition that make libraries so special. If a modern library is to be successful, it should incorporate the useful technological advancements such as databases and e-books but it should never do so in place of traditional reading space and print books.

The library is the heart of the university—a place for students and academics to gather and share knowledge. The library is a place where students can be alone with their thoughts in peace and quiet, yet be surrounded by other people. The peaceful and scholarly atmosphere provides a refuge from the packed lecture halls and the pages of a book are the perfect place to rest tired eyes. Sitting amongst shelves filled with the research and knowledge of scholars and students before us motivates us. Libraries help students focus; they draw minds away from the dirty dishes left in the apartment, a bad grade on a midterm, or missing home. By creating a calm peaceful environment, libraries help students get through what begins as an overwhelming amount of readings and assignments to something manageable. Students leave the library with a little less weight on our shoulders.

 

C. Colleen Cook, Trenholme Dean of Libraries and Archives

If I ever have any doubts about just how important the library is to McGill’s students, all I need to do is take a stroll through any of our branches during midterm or final exam season. Seat after seat, room after room, and floor after floor, the library buildings are full to the brim with hard-at-work students who have chosen to make the library their home away from home.

During stressful times, these young women and men, some of the best and brightest minds in the scholarly world, turn to the library to be their intellectual safe haven—the place they know will provide them with the academic, informational, and technological support to achieve their goals. On average, the library welcomes 2.3 million visitors per year, an average of 60 visits per enrolled student every year.

Much has been made of the supposed decline of libraries. Nobody takes out books anymore, they say. It’s true that a significant portion of our physical collection rarely circulates. Technology has radically altered the very mandate of libraries. While the book will always be a part of the library landscape, information now comes in many forms and the library must deliver materials whenever, wherever, and however students need them. The demise of the library, like the death of Mark Twain, has been greatly exaggerated.

Today, libraries are incubators for innovation, the great forums of modern times, where great minds congregate to learn and discover. But rather than poring over tomes in flickering candlelight as did scholars in the first libraries, today’s minds crave technology and innovative spaces to meet their deep drive and determination.

Our students’ needs are changing. We’re ready to evolve with them.

The preponderance of feedback we constantly receive from students is clear: We need more user space in buildings open 24 hours a day. Currently, we are facing a significant seating shortage; students want to use the library but just can’t find the room to study effectively. Last Fall during exam time, groups of students resorted to kneeling on the ground using benches in the Humanities and Social Sciences Library hallway as makeshift study tables.

It’s that type of student feedback that led us to embark on the Fiat Lux Feasibility Study to reimagine the library to meet the needs of our 21st century students. The ambitious but prudent vision, designed with input from representative stakeholders across campus, would rebuild the McLennan-Redpath Library Complex as the vital center of the campus. An automated storage facility under the Lower Field would allow millions of physical books to be transferred from the library, freeing valuable floor space to double effective user seating and services space. Innovative study and research environments would be created in the Humanities and Social Science Library, with books still being retrievable at need within a few minutes.

We librarians can be a nostalgic bunch, enamored with tales of monks in ancient scriptoriums and the grandeur of the Great Library of Alexandria. Since the dawn of libraries, all librarians have shared a common raison d’être on behalf of humankind: To acquire, organize, preserve, and make accessible our recorded knowledge. That mission hasn’t changed over the centuries, but the manner in which we fulfill it is constantly evolving.

The library remains the heart of this university. While libraries have always existed so that no one had to re-discover, re-learn or re-teach what came before, the university library of the 21st century is also where great minds meet physically and virtually, our time’s forum for discovery, learning and teaching.

 

 

a, Science & Technology

Rewriting the history of the moon

by Daniel Galef on

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A research team out of UCLA, when testing the compositions of moon rocks, determined that they possessed a striking similarity to rocks found here on Earth. This has led the scientists to believe that the Earth and the moon have the same origin. 

McGill Earth and Planetary Sciences professor William Minarik, who has taught and published on the origin of the moon, is well acquainted with the varying theories popular throughout history. 

“[The Co-Accretion Theory] was the idea that the Earth-moon system formed together, just like the sun and the planets formed together from the same nebula,” Minarik explained. “Another theory was the Capture Theory: The moon formed somewhere else, and then just because of orbital dynamics managed to somehow get captured by the Earth.” 

But since the Apollo missions, the dominant theory has been what is dubbed the Giant Impact Theory, or the Big Splash. The Earth-moon system was formed when some planetary body—called Theia, after a titaness of Greek mythology—collided with a proto-Earth, and the molten debris fell into orbit to become our moon.

This theory is nothing new, but the UCLA team’s results give it a new spin: For decades, the prevalent model was a a small, Mars-sized Theia hitting the proto-Earth off-centre. Using computer modelling programs adapted from military code used in nuclear weapons testing, this was the scenario that best accounted for the orbital dynamics we see in the Earth-moon system, including angular momentum and the moon’s lack of an iron core. However, the model resulted in a moon made up mostly of the remains of Theia and an Earth made up mostly of Earth.

This conception was strengthened by the findings of a German team two years ago that used similar techniques to determine moon rocks and Earth rocks had different isotopic ratios. Because the teams used similar methods and both findings were statistically significant, scientists can not yet fully account for the discrepancy. Only one moon rock was tested by both groups, and the measurements on that one sample agree to within the experiments’ margins of error.

Before the present results, the idea that Theia hit the proto-Earth off-centre was still feasible. The precision and accuracy of the measurements done by the researchers at  UCLA are so good, however, that the group is confident the only explanation can be very thorough mixing in the impact.

The new findings cast this theory (a blob of Mars-sized Theia spinning off to become the moon) into doubt. What now seems likelier is a young proto-Earth that was only 80 per cent as big as the current Earth taking a head-on collision with a Theia of about the same size. This also means that the blob of molten planet that escaped from the crash wasn’t mostly Theia at all—the collision thoroughly mixed the two masses to the extent that both the moon and Earth, afterwards, were about half proto-Earth and half Theia. Essentially, the moon and Earth are made of the same stuff.

To come to this conclusion, the group measured levels of rare oxygen isotopes in the samples. The isotope levels are measured using a mass spectrometer, which accelerates particles down a long tube before bending their paths with a magnet. Lighter particles, like ones with fewer neutrons, bend more, and so end up in a different spot on the detector.

“The mass spectrometers are just getting better,” Minarik stated. “They’re getting bigger, the magnets are getting more precise, the flight paths are longer, the electronics are lower noise.”

And, luckily for the researchers, their forebears had the foresight to predict this. 

“The Apollo samples—and this is one of the benefits to long-term funding—when Apollo brought back our samples, they were split in half,” Minarik said. “Half of each sample was put into storage and never touched, and the other half was sent out to be studied. So now, as instrumentation gets better, as the techniques get more precise, we still have pristine samples still in our repository that have never been touched: They’ve never seen Earth atmosphere, they’ve never been messed with.”

 

 

World's Strongest Man
a, Sports

10 Things: World’s Strongest Man

by Nicholas Jasinski on

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  1.  World’s Strongest Man is an annual competition that tests competitors’ physical strength, endurance, and training. Held every year since 1977, the competition includes 16 separate events designed to push the Strongmen to the limits of their ability, with the eventual winner chosen based on his performances in all of the events combined.

  2.  The current title-holder is 33-year-old American, Brian Shaw, who won his third career title at the 2015 World’s Strongest Man competition in Malaysia. Shaw towers 2.04 m high, weighs almost 200 kg and reportedly eats 10,000 calories a day over eight separate meals. Just for comparison, a 450 kg horse has to eat 15,000 calories each day. That’s only 50 per cent more calories than Shaw eats.

  3.  Mariusz Pudzianowski has the most titles of any Strongman, with five victories from 2002 to 2008. His personal bests include a 290 kg bench press, 380 kg squat and a 415 kg deadlift. Since retiring as a Strongman in 2009, Pudzianowski has begun a second career as an MMA fighter, competing mostly in his native Poland.

  4. Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, better known for his role as Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane in the HBO series Game of Thrones, has finished in the top three at each of the last four WSM competitions. The 2.05 m, 175 kg Icelander only began training for Strongman competitions at age 20 after suffering an injury to his knee that ended his professional basketball career after only one season on the Icelandic Division 1 basketball team FSu Selfoss. 

  5. The Atlas Stones are typically the final and signature event of each WSM competition. Five heavy, spherical stones are placed in front of five platforms along the length of a 10 m long course. The Strongmen must successively lift each stone–increasing in weight from 100 to 160 kg–onto waist or chest high platforms in as little time as possible.

  6.  In the Keg Toss, competitors must throw kegs of increasing weight–from 15 to 24 kg–over a 4.42 m wall. In past variations of this event, it was the height of the wall that increased while the weight of the keg stayed constant.

  7. The Vehicle Pull involves competitors pulling vehicles such as transport trucks, trams, boxcars, buses, or planes by a rope down the length of a 30 m course as fast as possible. The vehicle pulled often pays homage to a previous winner or the host location of the competition. For example, the 2007 competition’s Vehicle Pull involved a fire truck in honour of the 2006 champion Phil Pfister, a firefighter, and the 2008 competition held in West Virginia featured a coal truck, referring to the region’s coal-mining industry.

  8. The Squat is one of the mainstays of the WSM competition, performed every year since its founding. Strongmen lift items including concrete blocks, tractor tires, cars or people as many times as they can while remaining in a fixed squat position. Another regular event is the Fridge Carry, where competitors carry two fridges weighing 415 kg on a crossbar across their shoulders along a 30m course, typically completing the event in under 20 seconds.

  9. The Husafell Stone, first introduced in 1982, involves carrying a flat, triangular rock weighing 182 kg across the chest over a set distance, with the fastest time winning. According to legend, the stone was crafted in Husafell, Iceland over 200 years ago where it is still kept between competitions.

  10. A fan-favourite of the WSM competition is the Car Carry. Strongmen stand inside a stripped-down automobile with a hole in the roof and in the floor, and carry it Flinstones-style the length of a 25 m course as fast as they can. 

a, Basketball, Hockey, Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

The away games: Martlets and Redmen at Concordia

by Nicholas Jasinski and Zikomo Smith on

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Redmen Hockey

The Redmen (21-6-1) endured a 4-2 upset defeat against the Stingers (10-12-6) last Friday at Ed Meagher Arena. The defeat ended McGill’s five-game run of victories over Concordia, and provided a preview to their three game OUA East playoff quarter-finals series next Wednesday. Concordia outplayed the Redmen for the first two periods, outscoring them 3-1—senior centre Mathieu Pompei was the only Redmen player to convert in the first two periods. Rookie winger Daniel Milne was the other Redmen to find the back of the net. McGill finished second in the OUA East with a 21-6-1 record. They will play Concordia next Wednesday at Concordia. 

Martlet Hockey

The Martlets (12-5-2) came back from two goals down in the second period to defeat the Stingers (6-8-2) three goals to two. The Martlets have now triumphed over the Stingers on the last eight occasions the teams have met. Senior forward Gabrielle Davidson was responsible for the last two of the Martlets’ goals while freshman forward Nicole Howlett put McGill on the scoreboard for the first time at the end of the second period. Captain Melodie Daoust played in her 100th career game for McGill on Saturday and scored her 200th career point on an assist for Davidson’s first goal. The Martlets are currently second to Montreal in the RSEQ standings but have already clinched their spot in the playoffs with only one game remaining.

Redmen Basketball

The Redmen (9-4) defeated the Stingers (9-5) 53-44 on Saturday for their ninth win out of the last 14 games played against their crosstown rivals. The Redmen led the Stingers 17-6 after the first quarter, but by the close of the first half, Concordia had rallied to close the deficit to only two points at 24-22. The Redmen found their groove again in third quarter and never looked back on their way to a nine point victory. The team’s standout player was fifth-year shooting guard Vincent Dufort of Smiths Falls, Ontario, who recorded a “double-double” with 14 points scored and 11 rebounds collected in 36 minutes on the court. This puts the Redmen into first place in the RSEQ standings with three games left to play this season.

Martlet Basketball

The Martlets (12-1) defeated the Stingers (5-9) 77-64 at the Concordia Gym last Saturday. McGill was brilliant from the floor, converting 54.9 per cent of their shots, and 100 per cent from beyond the arc and from the free throw line. Rookie guard Gladys Hakizimana was in dominant form, scoring 19 points on 5-7 shooting, as well as converting a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe, and 2-2 from beyond the arc. Three other Martlets reached double figures—senior forward Gabriela Herbert 17 points included a hat-trick of three pointers and 7-9 shooting from the field. On defence, McGill held Concordia to a paltry 27.4 per cent shooting performance—Alex Kiss-Rusk was formidable protecting the rim and recorded four blocks. McGill are firmly atop the RSEQ rankings and will play Laval (8-5) next Friday.

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