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Campus Spotlight, Student Life

Campus Spotlight: McGill Recreational Dance Company

by Maya Mau on

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Finding the time to stay active under regular circumstances is difficult, but finding ways to exercise in the middle of a global pandemic poses an entirely new, and more daunting, set of problems. That’s why the McGill Recreational Dance Company (RDC) is offering free, virtually accessible dance classes to the McGill community. In non-pandemic times, the McGill RDC is committed to bringing a variety of dance styles to McGill students at a minimal cost and without the commitment of a full semester of classes. The club is managed by a dedicated executive team. Among them is co-president Amy Kulle, U2 Science.

“Our executive team is made up of McGill students who come from a variety of different dance backgrounds to teach a choreography class in a different style each week,” Kulle said. “Since there is something new each week [and] there is no requirement to attend every class, our club works well with students’ [and instructors’] workloads.” 

Now that courses are remote, the McGill RDC has been providing dance classes for free, as hosting sessions on Zoom is significantly cheaper than renting rehearsal spaces. The club plans on continuing to offer free classes for as long as McGill classes stay remote. Since all of the executive board members teach classes, the RDC exposes students to a large variety of styles, with a few recent classes including contemporary, tap, and musical theatre. The variety of classes make attending accessible to a wide range of students. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic halted campus life in March, all clubs were faced with uncertainty. However, the McGill RDC did not allow the obstacles that came with lockdown to prevent them from sharing their love of dance. 

“Offering online classes was a simple decision,” Kulle said. “We knew we couldn’t just cancel all our classes, since dancing can have a big positive impact on mental health, and we wanted to continue to provide this resource for our members, especially considering the times.” 

Classes begin with around 10 minutes of warm-up that includes cardio and stretching. The rest of the time is used to teach a dance number that is choreographed by the teacher. By the end of the class, attendees will have learned approximately one minute of choreography.

In addition to Zoom classes, the club offers exclusive programming on their social media platforms. Beyond promoting their events on Facebook and Instagram, McGill RDC uses these platforms to engage daily with their members and the broader McGill community. On “Move Mondays,” they post simple at-home and apartment-friendly workouts. “Why Dance? Wednesday” posts provide information about the history of different styles of dance, such as the history of hip hop. On “Technique Fridays,” an executive will share tips on how to strengthen a particular technical skill, such as balance.

Though McGill RDC has established a regular weekly programming schedule, they are constantly looking for new ways to bring dance to students virtually. One upcoming event is a Virtual Dance-A-Thon, which McGill RDC will be hosting on Nov. 8 in collaboration with Alegria Contemporary Ballet Company, K-Rave, and Mosaica Dance Company, three other dance clubs at McGill. For $10, students will have access to unlimited classes on a wide variety of dance styles offered by executive members of all four clubs. Half of the event’s proceeds will be donated to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Montreal, a non-profit organization that creates and supports mentorships for youths.

“Although these are definitely not traditional ways of sharing our love of dance, we believe it is important to stay active and move both for physical and mental health,” Kulles said. 

McGill RDC has put a lot of work towards finding innovative ways to continue sharing their love of dance during tumultuous times. Their commitment to bringing dance to their classmates stuck at home speaks volumes about the resilience and optimism of the McGill student body to not let COVID-19 get in the way of their passions.

Student Life

Redefining the Witch

by Wendy Zhao on

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Beyond the obligatory appearances on TV, the witch is a pervasive figure, taking on different forms throughout history. Her classic imagery—black pointed hat, broomstick, old haggard face, and unsavory wart—is a staple of Halloween festivities. In contemporary popular culture, witches have appeared as archetypal fairytale villains, teenagers in coming of age stories, and even as violent matrons overseeing a dance school. As modern witchcraft is on the rise, she might even be a friend or classmate. To understand the witch’s complex evolution, however, we must return to her origins.  

One of the first historical accounts of witches is in the biblical story “The Witch of Endor,” where a witch summons a dead prophet’s spirit to help King Saul achieve victory in battle. In ancient Greece and Rome, authorities of magic used sorcery to prevent unwanted storms, bring rain for agriculture, or increase wealth. Before the 14th century, witches were not seen as inherently demonic, but as merely possessing a special relationship with divine forces that allowed them to concoct spells and connect with the supernatural. 

In the middle ages, however, the popular European perception of witchcraft was transformed into dangerous anti-religion, threatening patriarchal Christian societies and traditional female roles. Witches were believed to conspire on the Sabbath to have orgies, worship unholy images of various animals, and feast on the roasted flesh of unbaptized babies. Beliefs of women flying in the night, their minds held captive by the devil, instilled fear in medieval peoples. The stereotypical image of witches riding broomsticks reflects anxiety surrounding those trespassing the barriers of domesticity. 

The witch craze was stimulated by the publication of Malleus Maleficarum in 1486, a guide that taught inquisitors and judges how to identify, interrogate, and condemn witches. The book asserted that an inherent lack of intelligence in women made them defenseless against the devil’s seduction. Apart from the Bible, the book sold more copies in Europe than any other continent until 1678. 

Since the beginnings of English literature, writers have been fascinated by the character of the witch. Tropes of devilish, mysterious women trace back to antiquity, such as in the tale of Hecate, the Greek goddess associated with magic, witchcraft, the moon, and necromancy. In Macbeth, a trio of devilish witches deliver dual prophecies that incite the play’s conflict, while in Morgan le Fay, Geoffrey Monmouth’s witch is portrayed as a healer, seductress, and royal enemy. 

Despite her various forms and shapes, the witch epitomizes female independence, yielding insuppressible power, her madness never submitting to those who fear it. The witch is a powerful icon of rebellion and autonomy—not only women, but also people of colour and individuals in the queer community have turned to modern witchcraft, disempowered and frustrated by dominating systems of governance. 

“Being of mixed heritage, I find myself trying to incorporate elements from my various ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” Devon Ellis-Durity B.A. ‘20 (Concordia University) wrote in a message to The McGill Tribune. “What got me interested in witchcraft was the ability to work with the elements and further my connection with nature. Witchcraft has allowed me to further align with my morals.” 

Modern witchcraft is multifaceted, its inherent openness welcoming to everyone regardless of background. Ultimately, being a witch in the 21st century is to engage in a hallowed practice that connects the individual with the earth and their community.

“When I first started learning about witchcraft, it was introduced to me as something which has no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way, that everyone practices, values, and relates to it differently,” Mitzi Ellemers, U2 Arts, wrote in a message to the Tribune. “It is very forgiving in this sense. Personally, my relation to witchcraft is about solidarity, oneness, and reverence for the earth and all natural elements and a sisterhood with the people who I practice with.”

Editorial, Opinion

SSMU representatives deserve compensation

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President University Affairs Brooklyn Frizzle recently submitted a motion that would have placed a proposed non–opt-outable SSMU Representatives fee to pay SSMU representatives on the Fall 2020 Referendum ballot. SSMU tabled the motion until Winter 2021, and some elements of the fee are still being refined. Still, it is already clear that, to meet SSMU’s pay equity scale requirements, the fee will likely have to be substantial. 

Considering that McGill students have historically rejected many proposed fees and base fee increases, the Representatives Fee may be dead on arrival. Moreover, students are notoriously apathetic about SSMU elections, and student government is prohibitively unpopular because many students find it elitist and controversial. In this context, asking for a significant fee increase—let alone one to pay SSMU leaders—may invite a torrent of backlash from students. Nevertheless, student disinterest in SSMU must be overcome. SSMU works tirelessly to provide essential services to students—services which many students not only take for granted, but, in many cases, are necessary because the McGill administration fails to provide them. It is incumbent upon SSMU to make a good case for paying its representatives, but it is equally imperative that students support a fee to compensate student leaders.

By not paying councillors, SSMU may be violating its own labour policies. In 2017, it adopted a policy against unpaid student labour, and executives, remunerated staff, commissioners, and coordinators are salaried. Yet student senators and faculty representatives are not paid, even though these positions are often as demanding as some salaried positions. Officially, they are expected to work between four to seven hours a week, though this is rarely the reality. After all, this figure assumes that meetings do not go overtime, whereas they almost always do, and it does not factor in additional hours spent preparing documents, debating policies, participating in student activism, and tending to other aspects of the job. As a result, some attest to working exorbitant hours while also balancing full course loads and other commitments. This pressure, which often takes a toll on their mental health, is only exacerbated by the financial sacrifice some students make to volunteer to serve.

Although some may argue that the skills and experience obtained on the job are worth more than a paycheck, the lack of compensation presents an insurmountable financial barrier for many students. This barrier deprives SSMU of a vast reservoir of talent, diversity, and perspectives, limiting student government to the few who can afford to work part-time without pay. Compensation, then, is not just fair, but a prerequisite for a more accessible, equitable, and representative student union. 

If SSMU moves to pay student representatives, it must be transparent about the source of the funds, and it must not divert funds from vital services, such as its mental health resources. It must also proceed cautiously, as proposing an additional fee may obstruct the SSMUnion’s collective bargaining efforts. Representative positions are not unionizable, and SSMUnion is already asking to raise the base SSMU fee. As a result, the Representatives Fee would require a separate question, increasing the likelihood that students would reject them both. This would be completely counterintuitive to fostering a more egalitarian labour environment.

To get any fee passed, SSMU must not only campaign relentlessly, but also show students why they should be investing their money in the union at all. Years of controversy have absconded its actual purpose: From academic advocacy to the SSMU Daycare, mental health resources, the Midnight Kitchen, and other services, SSMU supports the study body where the administration fails to do so. And when McGill’s governing is unjust, SSMU is there to advocate for students. SSMU’s shortcomings ultimately stem from the administration’s reluctance to support students, which strains SSMU’s resources and simultaneously increases the need for them. 

SSMU is important, and it must effectively show students why. It is profoundly unjust that student representatives are not paid for their labour, but if SSMU wants students to foot the bill, they must show students why compensating their representatives will make their union more fair and accessible.

Sports

The seven spookiest curses in sports

by Reza Ali, Zoe Babad-Palmer, Adam Burton, Sarah Farnand on

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Superstition and sports go together like tricking and treating. Over the years, various fan bases and players have had luck bad enough to make them look beyond the grave in search of the source of their sports woes. With Halloween right around the corner, The McGill Tribune lists seven of the spookiest curses to ever plague the sports world.

 

The Curse of William Penn

In 1985, construction began on a skyscraper currently known as One Liberty Place in downtown Philadelphia. By 1987, it was the tallest building in the city. This, however, broke a long-held tradition of no building rising above the statue of the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, that was attached to City Hall, beginning the curse of William Penn.

No major Philadelphia sports team would win a championship for 20 years. In 2007, a beam was added to City Hall, making the William Penn statue the tallest structure in the city once again. A little over a year later, the Phillies won the 2008 World Series in five games. Philadelphians learned their lesson, and remain appropriately vigilant of William Penn.

 

The Madden Curse

Since its inception in 1999, Madden NFL has carried with it a dark scourge on the athletes that graced its front cover. The curse made itself known in 1999 when the first athlete to be featured on the cover, Garrison Hearst, led the San Francisco 49ers to the playoffs, only to suffer a horrifying ankle injury that kept him from playing for the next two years. The very next year, one of the greatest running backs of all time, Barry Sanders, suddenly announced his retirement from the league immediately following his Madden 2000 cover announcement. The curse has continued to this day, afflicting players as successful as Drew Brees, Michael Vick, and Adrian Peterson. Headed into the 2020-2021 season, we’ll see if the curse continues with Lamar Jackson, this year’s Madden cover athlete. 

 

The Curse of the Colonel

The Curse of the Colonel has affected the Japanese Central League’s Hanshin Tigers baseball team since 1985. Hanshin fans were celebrating a Japan Championship Series victory by pulling lookalikes of the Tigers’ players from the crowd of supporters and having them jump into the Dōtonbori River. However, as there was no lookalike of American MVP Randy Bass available, the Tigers’ devotees decided that a nearby statue of KFC mascot Colonel Sanders would do, and launched it into the river. The Colonel cursed the Tigers from his watery grave, which affects the team to this day. Although the statue was later recovered, his left hand and glasses remain missing, dooming the Tigers to 10 last-place finishes in 18 seasons and defeat in the 2003, 2005, and 2014 Japan Series.

 

The Curse of The Bambino

Perhaps the most famed sports curse, the Curse of The Bambino, began in 1918 when the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000. The curse continued 86 years until the Red Sox came back from a 0-3 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 World Series. Boston sports fans were so desperate to break the losing streak that they put a baseball cap on top of Mount Everest, pushed a piano formerly owned by Babe Ruth into a pond, wrote books, and renamed streets. While it’s unclear what broke the curse, it clearly worked. Since 2004, the Red Sox have won three more championships, while the Patriots have won five NFL titles, the Celtics have claimed one NBA title, and the Bruins brought home one NHL title. 

 

The New York Knicks

Valued at  $4.6 billion, the New York Knicks have been the most valuable franchise in the NBA for the past five years due to their huge fan base and storied past. Despite this, the Knicks haven’t managed to win an NBA championship since 1973. In the nearly five decades that have followed, the Knicks have been astonishingly abysmal, only flirting with success in the Patrick Ewing era of the 1990s. James Dolan took ownership of the Knicks in 1999, and since then, Knicks fans everywhere have cringed and despaired at a seemingly never-ending series of bad decisions. 

For Knicks fans, there seems to be no end in sight. Despite boycotts, and chants for Dolan to “sell the team,” ownership seems steadfast in their never-ending quest to drive the franchise into the ground. 

 

The 40-Year Olympic Curse

Starting in 1940, the Olympics seem to have a curse that reappears every 40 years. The 1940 Olympics, set to take place in Tokyo, had to be cancelled due to World War II. Forty years later, many countries boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow in response to Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. Now, in 2020, 40 years after that Cold War incident, the Tokyo Olympics were deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This pattern has many people, including Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, convinced that the world’s biggest multi-sport event is cursed.

 

The Billy Goat Curse

In 1945, Chicago Cubs fan William Sianis snuck his pet goat Murphy into the stands of Wrigley Field. After seven innings of successfully hiding his livestock, Sianis and Murphy were discovered and security guards removed them from the stadium. As he was dragged from the stands, Sianis shouted that the Cubs would never win a World Series. Sianis’s words carried weight, apparently, as the Cubs failed to win a world series until 2016, a full 108 years after their last title in 1908. Attempts to lift the curse included the delivery of a goat head, the enlistment of help from a Greek-Orthodox priest to douse the field in holy water, and a local restaurant encouraging Chicagoans to go vegetarian in an effort to appease Murphy the goat.

News, SSMU

SSMU’s Special Referendum unsuccessful after 15 per cent quorum not met

by Ella Milloy on

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The Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) 2020 Special Referendum failed to reach the required 15 per cent quorum needed to ratify proposed changes to the SSMU constitution. The referendum’s polling period ended on Oct. 16 with a voter turnout of 12.8 per cent, marking the lowest turnout since 10.6 per cent during the 2015 Winter Special Referendum. As a result, the Society will re-examine the methods used to increase student engagement.

On Sept. 5, SSMU’s Judicial Board (J-Board) responded to the Board of Directors’ appeal regarding the suspension of their judgement of the SSMU 2020 Constitution. The J-Board ruled that the ratification of the amended Constitution in the Winter 2020 referendum was invalid because the French version of the document was not made available during the polling period. The Judicial Board gave SSMU until Nov. 1 to hold a special referendum to ratify the 2020 Constitution and its supporting documents but because it failed to meet the 15 per cent quorum, the proposed version was not adopted.

SSMU will reinstate the 2017 Constitution as of Nov. 1, as ruled by the Judicial Board. After restoring the constitution, SSMU will be forced to restructure the Board of Directors and the Legislative Council and remove representatives from Theology, the Francophone Affairs Committee, the Indigenous Affairs Committee, the Equity Committee, and the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS). During the Legislative Council meeting on Oct. 22, SSMU President Jemark Earle discussed further changes.

“One representative from the inter-residence council, one senate caucus representative, and one environment representative [will be added to Council],” Earle said. “Additionally, the Executive Committee will be voting members of council. [This will] remove the joint Board-Council session.”

In contrast, the 2018 Winter Referendum saw the highest percentage of voter turnout in almost 14 years, largely due to student interest in voting for a Fall reading week. However, since then, student engagement in SSMU Elections and Referenda has been on a steady decline every semester since Winter 2018. Many students, including Arts Councillor Chip Smith, are  concerned about the low voter turnout.

“This is a referendum,” Smith said. “It’s a campaign [….] I know that [voting] is the most important thing [during a referendum]. Frankly, there was no real get-out-to-vote in this campaign, so my question is, what did the executive do to get turnout? What deals were made to students? What was used? Were there Facebook posts? What was the role of the executive in that?” 

The Student Engagement Plan, approved by SSMU in April 2020, outlines ways in which certain communication practices could improve participation in student government. The plan suggests tabling, flyering, and classroom announcements as the best methods to engage students. The Student Engagement Plan finds that emails and social media posts do not allow for direct engagement with the student body. With the Fall 2020 semester entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively reaching students has been challenging.

“[SSMU’s communication practices] were probably one of the reasons [why the referendum failed],” Earle said. “Maybe our communications were not as strong as they were in the past. I know there were several ads put out on [SSMU’s] Instagram and on Facebook. I don’t know how far those [ads] reached.”

Tasked with reviewing SSMU’s governance bodies, the Comprehensive Governance Review Committee (CGRC) will continue to work on creating a more accessible SSMU. As a committee of the Legislative Council, the CGRC meets biweekly. Chair of the CGRC Lauren Hill met with the committee for the second time on Oct. 23 and will be making recommendations to improve SSMU’s practices and broaden general engagement with student governance at McGill.

“I can’t guarantee that [the Constitution] will be brought up again [in the same way], but it will definitely be a discussion point moving forward,” Hill said. “What I suspect will occur is that we are going to go through all of the changes that were originally brought forward to be changed [for] further consultations to see if that’s still the desire of the student body.” 

McGill, News

Unresolved issues with Workday HR system leave hundreds of TAs unpaid

by Sequoia Kim on

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A variety of issues have persisted since McGill’s Human Resources (HR) system transitioned from Banner to Workday in August 2020. Eight weeks into the Fall 2020 semester, hundreds of McGill employees—teaching assistants (TAs) in particular—experienced delays in payment, and some have still not been paid at all. McGill staff have brought the Workday HR system under scrutiny after numerous allegations of payroll issues, technical glitches, information transfer difficulties, and stalled hiring processes have endured into October.

McGill employees encountered issues with Workday almost immediately after its implementation on Aug. 4. After receiving multiple complaints about Workday in early September, the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) launched a survey to track potential violations of McGill and AGSEM’s collective agreement (CA).

Interim Grievance Officer at AGSEM Jessica Rose explained that AGSEM identified payroll issues because a number of TAs were missing from the union “dues list” in September. McGill’s dues list functions as a monthly payroll report for AGSEM.

“There are 400 unique individuals missing from our dues list [from September 2020], accounting for 415 TA positions,” Rose wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “That’s at least 400 TAs who have not been paid. Based on hiring numbers in previous years, I would estimate that there are at least 450 TAs who are not being paid currently.”

Rose explained that certain faculties and departments experienced a higher number of payroll and hiring issues.

“There are at least 16 departments in which more than half of the TAs have not been paid,” Rose wrote. “In 10 of those, 100 per cent of the TAs have not been paid.” 

Of the 10 departments that did not receive payment in September, two were in the Faculty of Engineering and eight were in the Faculty of Medicine.

Article 17.03 of the CA states that all TAs must receive their first payment by direct deposit within 30 days of starting their contract, but many TAs, for unknown reasons, are being issued physical cheques from McGill’s HR department. Kiersten van Vliet, President of AGSEM, explained how this violation has impacted TAs not currently living in Montreal.

“There are some people who are being issued cheques […] but they are located somewhere else in the world, and their cheque is going to their Montreal address,” van Vliet said. “For people who weren’t able to access the Workday system and update their address, [the cheques] just get returned to [the HR office]. So they are paid according to Workday, but the cheque is locked in a building.”

When either party—AGSEM or McGill—violates the collective agreement, a grievance may be filed to either the TA’s respective department chair, or the entire HR department to resolve the issue. Rose explained that AGSEM is currently filing several grievances. 

“We currently have four collective and individual grievances related to various issues stemming from this, including late pay […], payment by cheque […], unpaid work from the summer semester, and lack of access to Zoom Pro,” Rose wrote to the Tribune.

While McGill has not yet responded to any of the grievances, AGSEM hopes to claim compensation consistent with McGill’s own late fee structure for tuition.

“When you are late paying your tuition, you have to pay a late fee and interest,” van Vliet said. “So what we are trying to claim is a late fee and interest for every employee who has not been paid.” 

One TA in the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill, who wishes to remain anonymous, described his experiences with a Workday technical issue: Despite being hired, Workday registered his position as being ‘terminated’.

“Communicating with [the Human Resources] department is highly inefficient,” the TA wrote. “I contacted [the] HR of my faculty/department first, [then] the McGill HR on Sept. 8 [….] Then, after another two weeks, on Sept. 22, they told me ‘we realised that many employees cannot log in and our Workday team is working on fixing this issue’ [….] After that, I heard nothing from them.”

The TA’s technical issue was resolved on Sept. 25, yet the paycheck issues persisted. 

“I missed my first paycheck, which should [have been] paid on Sept. 15 [….] The paycheck is still missing, and I am still [in contact] with McGill HR department to deal with this issue,” the TA wrote.

The problems with Workday have also impacted other McGill employees beyond those protected by AGSEM’s union, like casual teaching support workers, tutors, and remote learning assistants. A graduate student, who also wishes to remain anonymous, described their experience as a tutor.

“It’s been three weeks […] and I still haven’t gotten into the [Workday] system,” they wrote to the Tribune. “So, in this time duration, I could have worked. I lost that opportunity.”

The inefficient Workday system has also retroactively affected workers who were employed throughout summer 2020. One undergraduate student, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that they have not yet been compensated for a research position they held over the summer.

“The fundamental reason [why I wasn’t paid] was because I wasn’t in the system before Workday [was implemented], nor during the switch,” the student said. “There was no record of my time cards [or employment].”  

The undergraduate student said that they had been in correspondence with McGill’s HR department since early September, exchanging over 10 emails to obtain their compensation. 

Earlier in October, 132 professors, TAs, and course lecturers signed an open letter expressing their frustration over the persisting complications with Workday, urging McGill to find solutions promptly. On Oct. 20, Yves Beauchamp, Vice-Principal (VP) Administration and Finance and Christopher Manfredi, Provost and VP Academic sent an email to all McGill staff, writing that 1,450 TAs, 1,000 course lecturers, 300 casual and student research assistants, and close to 800 casual employees had been successfully hired and paid through Workday.

Rose believes that the number of Fall 2020 TAs McGill listed in the email is incorrect. 

“According to our data, there are 1,569 unique individuals working as TAs, and at least 1,625 TA positions,” Rose wrote to the Tribune. “Factoring in missing data, it is likely that we have over 1700 TA positions and over 1600 unique TAs.” 

Van Vliet is concerned that those 150 to 250 TA positions are still unaccounted for in McGill’s number of paid employees, because their hiring status is still suspended on the Workday system.

In an email to the Tribune, Beauchamp and Manfredi said that McGill’s HR team is aware of the various Workday concerns and is working to resolve the issues. 

“Approximately 150 of these new hires are still pending in Workday,” Beauchamp and Manfredi wrote to the Tribune. “Resolution of these cases is the team’s highest priority. A further 700 of these new hires experienced an initial delay in pay, which has since been corrected. Investigation of the cases indicates that about half of them are attributable to isolated technical problems and/or to patterns of misunderstanding or repetition of certain errors by users.” 

Van Vliet noted the Workday complications have also burdened local administrators tasked with resolving the various technical issues.

“There is all this added pressure [for administrators] to learn a new system […] and there are so many issues that have to be solved case by case, [so] it’s just a very slow and agonizing process,” van Vliet said.

Rose remains unsatisfied with Provost Christopher Manfredi, Provost Yves Beauchamp, and Assistant VP Diana Dutton’s implementation and handling of the Workday system.

“When an institution makes standing up for your rights this exhausting, it’s a sign of bad faith,” Rose wrote. “I don’t want to downplay how much this affects other employee groups as well, but […] this is not just how McGill treats its employees—this is how McGill treats its students, and then they turn around and ask us to pay them [tuition and fees].”

Science & Technology

Exoplanets provide clues to extraterrestrial life and Earth’s history

by Namrata Rana on

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Earth-like planets beyond this solar system, also known as exoplanets, are a popular target of research in the search for extraterrestrial life forms. However, the evolutionary processes that give rise to life depend heavily on the physical and chemical characteristics of habitable environments. 

The role of climate in shaping the evolution of life on Earth, and potentially on exoplanets with similar environments, was the theme of a live panel discussion hosted by McGill’s Space Institute (MSI) and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences on Oct. 15. The event, titled “Climate and Habitability of Terrestrial Exoplanets,” included panelists such as Raymond Pierrehumbert, Professor of Physics at Oxford University; Sarah Hörst, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University; Nikole Lewis, Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University; and Michael Way, a researcher at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Science.

A planet’s climate is defined by how the components of its atmosphere––an envelope of gaseous and other small molecules that surround a planet––interact to regulate the light, temperature, and air on the surface.

“Light interactions, temperature, humidity, pressure, and the conversion of gases into different types of particles are all variables that affect how a [planet’s] atmosphere functions,” said Hörst. 

Pierrehumbert added that fundamental physics plays a substantial role in shaping the interactions of particulate matter as they transition from solids to liquid and gases. 

“Climate physics comes from putting together the basic building blocks [of physics, including] light interactions, thermodynamics, and the Newtonian motion for atmospheric fluid,” Pierrehumbert said.

The atmospheres of exoplanets are also known for hosting biosignature gases at detectable levels, implying the possibility of life. These are gases whose origins require biological agents, such as oxygen gas, which is a byproduct of photosynthesis, a quintessential indication of plant life.

 Most of what is known about climate was determined using simulation models based on Earth’s climate.

“We have a good handle on how climate changes over time and the broad range of climates we can expect to see in other places,” said Lewis. 

However, while Earth can act as a standard measure against which scientists can compare atmospheric observations from other planets, Lewis warned that relying on Earth-based data can create biases. Such inherent assumptions can be limiting for astro-climatologists when attempting to distinguish whether an exoplanetary climate condition is conducive to life.

“We have to use this world that we have around us as a kind of benchmark to decide what to look for in our early stage of astrobiological object hunting,” Way said. 

Liquid water, which is considered a requirement for life, is also presumed to be a strong indicator of extraterrestrial life. Way explained that the presence of water on other planets is likely, but the limitation to life could be a matter of whether the amount of water is too little or too much. The latter case poses a potential constraint on evolution.

“Some people think life exists near the sea-floors on Earth [….] Maybe life gets there, but it would be hard for it to evolve into more complex forms later on,” Way said.

The challenges of finding life on exoplanets are multifaceted, even if they have the right atmosphere, moderate climate conditions, and other characteristics of habitability. It is possible that some exoplanets are at different stages of development, eventually evolving to host life. Tracking climate trajectories and other properties that affect the habitability of exoplanets can not only predict the existence of extraterrestrial life, but also give researchers a chance to preview the past and potential future of Earth.

“There is a lot we can learn from Earth’s sweeping climate history,” Pierrehumbert said. “We can [also] look at exoplanet climates and think about something that could be happening on earth in the next century.”

Way echoed his excitement toward the potential of other planets to answer questions about the early history of Earth.

“We’d really like to know how this planet became habitable, and it’s not clear that we really fully understand that [yet],” Way said.

Know Your Athlete, Sports

Know your athlete: Nick Kleban

by Zoe Babad-Palmer on

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Anyone looking for an expert on Montreal’s cycling paths needs to look no further than Nick Kleban, U3 Science and the president of McGill Cycling. Kleban has been making the most of lockdown, riding his bike as frequently as he can while rocking out to 2000s music.

“I’ve been fortunate enough that [with] biking, you can still train outside,” Kleban said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “I pretty much rode my bike all summer.”

As he keeps up with his own training, Kleban is also ensuring that McGill Cycling remains a place for its members to connect, if only digitally. Members keep in touch through the club’s forum, update their activity on Strava, a running and cycling app, and coordinate via Zwift, a virtual running and cycling training program. The opportunity to ride together is one of Kleban’s favourite things about the team, even if they are meeting online for the time being. While many of its members are experienced cyclists, the club is open to all levels.

“There’s always been an amazing sense of community,” Kleban said. “[There are] a lot of the advanced riders on the team [and] they’re not opposed to riding with the beginners. So we do have a lot of big group rides, slow pace [rides], and we stop and just have a good time.”

Kleban’s own cycling journey started when he moved to Squamish, British Columbia, at five years old.

“The town is basically shaped around mountain biking,” Kleban said. “The locals live, breathe, and sweat it.”

Kleban’s father taught him how to ride a bike when he was five years old, and he began mountain bike lessons soon after. He began racing in his early teens, and is now undoubtedly skilled—but he still had plenty of cycling misadventures as a child.

“I was six years old, [and] it was one of my first times on a black [diamond] run for mountain bikes,” Kleban said. “I was going down the trail, and the guy who was coaching me was just saying, ‘Okay, come slowly, come slowly.’ But of course, I let go of the brakes and went as fast as I could and flipped like Superman in the air, and he caught me Lion King-style like I was Simba [and] my bike went hurtling down the hill.”

Kleban switched from mountain biking to road riding when he came to McGill, but he still loves the trails in his hometown.

“Here, I’m all about road [biking], and then I go back home and I want to be on my mountain bike,” Kleban said. “In the city, I favour going on the mountain. Outside of the city, I like to ride down on the South Shore. It’s got an actual climb, which is a rarity around here.”

Kleban has certainly found success with road riding. During the 2019 Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) Championships, he finished fifth in the Men’s A Mt. Philo Road Race, third in the Milton Circuit Race, and was the runner-up in the series overall. His consistent results have attracted attention in the cycling world. He recently signed with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Continental Team Skyline for the 2021 season.

“The hope is that we could go over to Europe and race on a six-week Italian project and then do some of the bigger races in North America,” Kleban said. “Of course, this is all barring [COVID-19]. But best case, that happens.”

His ultimate dream is to represent Canada at the U23 World Championships and eventually the Grand-Prix Montreal World Tour.

“It would be amazing to compete in a race that big on roads I’ve spent so much time training [on], in front of my friends and family,” Kleban said.

Even while looking ahead to those goals for himself, Kleban encourages beginners not to be intimidated by advanced cyclists.  

“Have fun,” Kleban said. “We’re all just riding bikes at the end of the day.”

Science & Technology

Going Supernova: The swan song of a dying star

by Shafaq Nami on

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For centuries, astronomers have studied space phenomena in an attempt to address the fundamental question of our existence and place in the Universe. One astronomical event that is often considered is known as a supernova. It is a powerful stellar explosion that, for a short time, is often brighter than a whole galaxy of stars. 

Scientists divide supernovae into two main types based on their origin. A “type Ia” supernova is believed to occur when a white dwarf star––left over when a star that is not big enough to go supernova exhausts its nuclear fuel––undergoes a runaway nuclear reaction. This reaction results from the star reaching its critical mass due to the accumulation of matter from nearby stars. A “type II” supernova, on the other hand, takes place before the death of a massive star, when it has run out of nuclear fuel.

In the initial 10 seconds of a supernova, the imploding star releases a burst of neutrinos, subatomic particles similar to an electrons but with no electric charge. The neutrinos can be tracked by scientists using an early warning system. The most commonly used alert system, the SuperNova Early Warning System (SNEWS), is a network of neutrino detectors located around the world. 

The remnants of supernovae are often appreciated by scientists for their beauty and are widely studied by astrophysicists like Dr. Victoria Kaspi, Director of the McGill Space Institute. 

“A lot of my research has been on what happens after a supernova. For example, a type II supernova can leave behind either a neutron star or a black hole,” Kaspi wrote in an email to  The McGill Tribune. 

Kaspi has spent the last 25 years studying neutron stars, the collapsed cores of massive stars left after a supernova occurs. 

Apart from leaving behind remnants, a supernova explosion emits a significant amount of energy—equivalent to the total amount of energy that the Sun will radiate in its lifetime. The radiation released is so powerful that if a supernova occurs near the Earth, it would strip the ozone layer, leading to mass destruction. The chance of a supernova engulfing the Earth anytime soon, however, remains unlikely. 

“There are very few stars that close by, much less any that will undergo a supernova [explosion] any time soon,” Kaspi wrote. 

Stellar nucleosynthesis is a regularly occurring process by which elements are created within stars via the combination of protons and neutrons. However, the creation of heavier elements requires much more heat and energy. Many common elements found on Earth, including carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen—the essential building blocks of life—originate within supernovae. Iron samples found in the ocean are also believed to be remnants of a nearby 2.2 million-year-old supernova. 

According to information published by NASA, the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A released an abundance of oxygen at its implosion. This also means that Cassiopeia A, a near-earth remnant, contains all the elements needed to make up DNA. 

Apart from issuing clues as to the origin of life, the study of supernovae provides insight on other aspects of the universe. Due to their fixed luminosity, astronomers use type Ia supernovae as “standard candles” to measure cosmic distances when mapping the universe. Scientists can also measure the “redshift,” the increase in wavelength of a supernova’s light as it moves away from Earth. Comparing the redshift with the distances of supernovae allows scientists to infer changes in the rate of the universe’s expansion.

For all the information they provide to astronomers, supernovae remain exceptionally delicate and beautifully sublime. According to Kaspi, the death of a star is lamentable, despite the multitude of galactic processes their demise reveals. 

“One thing that I find amazing about […] supernovae is that they destroy what is a lovely onion-layer type structure inside the massive star,” Kaspi wrote. “That star works for millions of years, through nuclear reactions, to build a delicate, symmetric and beautiful inner structure. That is a bit sad.”

Commentary, Opinion

Online discussion forums are the future of conferences

by Michael Dickinson on

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In light of McGill’s announcement that instruction will continue primarily online during the Winter 2021 semester, students in the Faculty of Arts must prepare for the possibility that most of their conferences will remain remote. This new reality will disappoint those who miss direct face-to-face interaction with their peers. However, students should not dismiss the strengths of discussion forums, which make them a viable alternative to the flawed in-person conference system. Discussion posts are more inclusive and easier to grade, and they create more well-thought-out discourse than in-person meetings. Arts students would benefit from their continued use alongside traditional conferences. 

Even in a casual setting like a weekly conference, public speaking can be daunting for many students. Those who have social anxiety may feel too intimidated to openly voice their thoughts, especially when meetings delve into controversial topics that sometimes provoke strong responses from fellow students. Discussions on myCourses reduce fears of public speaking, making the virtual conference a more inclusive place to share one’s ideas. 

MyCourses discussions also give students more time to think about their answers than they would have in a standard conference. Although some professors and teaching assistants release questions in advance, meetings can become highly spontaneous when discussion leaders pose new questions and when classmates react to each other’s perspectives. This format benefits students who can think quickly and improvise answers, but a textual forum enables more thorough consideration of different arguments. Thus, discussion posts produce higher-quality conversations than face-to-face conferences can. 

Online discussion boards also solve one of the most significant problems with in-person conferences: They are challenging to grade fairly. When conferences are evaluated by participation, some students try to speak as much as they can to obtain the highest possible mark. This comes at the expense of those who are not called upon, since they are afforded less speaking time and therefore receive lower participation grades. Some conferences are assessed by attendance alone, with no incentive for students to speak. In this format, students are not motivated to prepare in advance, leading to periods of awkward silence broken only by a small number of individuals who have done the necessary work beforehand and feel obliged to contribute. On the other hand, discussion forums require a minimum level of participation from each group member, such as making one original post and commenting on a classmate’s post. They also allow those who are more interested in the conversation to continue it without preventing their classmates from contributing and earning a good grade. While in-person conferences can cause students to speak either too much or too little, an online platform provides a more equitable grading scheme that suits more students’ learning styles.

Detractors would argue that discussion boards are a poor replacement for conferences because they inhibit the natural flow of intellectual debate. Many feel that interpersonal communication is integral to the university experience and that discussion posts amount to little more than additional essays. Although instructors should work to carry the relaxed atmosphere of a conference into a virtual format, creating a truly equivalent experience would be impossible. Those who miss the organic connections fostered by conferences should feel welcome to return to them once the public health situation permits doing so, and video calls can continue to be used as a substitute in the meantime. However, professors should adapt syllabi going forward to allow discussion posts as an alternative for those who find conferences more challenging. 

Although online discussion boards may not be the best choice for everyone, they can mitigate many problems that currently exist with conferences. They help students who find public speaking challenging, foster more intelligent discourse, and level the playing field by providing equal opportunities to contribute. McGill should allow students who prefer myCourses threads to continue using them, even after in-person conferences resume.

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