A bulk of the undergrads who will walk the graduation stage this year spent their entire first year of university online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Heading toward graduation myself, I can’t help but reflect upon the odd university experience that I and many other students who started in the[Read More…]
Tag: pandemic
Lecture recordings: A necessary post-pandemic learning tool
The full resumption of in-person academic activities and classes this fall is something many students have been looking forward to after two years of online classes which, in all probability, were attended from one’s childhood bedroom. There is, however, absolutely nothing more painful to a student than hearing their professor[Read More…]
The companionship and versatility of r/McGill throughout the pandemic
When the pandemic abruptly forced students into quarantine almost exactly two years ago, it brought with it the intangible consequences of physical distancing, such as increased feelings of isolation and loneliness. Unable to connect with peers in person, many turned to the internet to find connection. Though COVID-19 necessarily disconnected[Read More…]
Putting nature in the foreground
The one constant for me throughout this turbulent pandemic has been seeking refuge in the outdoors. During the headlines, elections, and political battles that constantly preoccupied everyone’s minds, nature became a source of comfort and solace. It was in April 2020 when the virus initially surged in New England, right[Read More…]
‘Don’t Look Up’ is a bad joke with no punchline
With a laughably talented cast and a whopping $75-million budget, Netflix’s original film Don’t Look Up generates lofty expectations that it ultimately fails to meet. The film follows astronomers Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and Dr. Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio)’s attempt to warn the U.S. government and general public about a comet[Read More…]
Coping by cat spotting
Picture a circus tiger. Beholden to the cruel whims of circumstance, ensnared in a system that renders its life to nothing more than spectacle, it prowls the perimeter of its cramped cage with Sisyphean contempt. Here is a tortured—though cool as hell—soul. But Jackie, you say, you’re a university student[Read More…]
Point-counterpoint: What should stay in the post-COVID-19 world?
Courtney Squires Caution should come first With restrictions being lifted and parts of the world returning to in-person routines, many are anxious to get back to their pre-pandemic normal. However, preventative measures like mask wearing and physical distancing have proven to have a multitude of non-pandemic related benefits. After the[Read More…]
Four ways McGill researchers are spearheading pandemic innovation
More than a year and a half has passed since Canada reported its first-ever COVID-19 case. From social distancing to online learning, humans have quickly adapted to these new conditions in order to contain the spread of the virus. While the pandemic has posed many challenges in academic and scientific[Read More…]
The art of companionship
As the ending of the 1994 award-winning novel //Snow Falling on Cedars// says, “accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.” While I have come to accept that life is unpredictable, I realized that at the very least, we can choose how we face[Read More…]
Embracing the uncertainties of hybrid learning
After the August heatwave, September promised to bring fall weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and the ability to wear full-length pants outside of the house. And for a while, it did: Jeans walked the campus roads; cardigans thrived. But then, the average temperature rose to around 20 degrees Celsius, bringing with[Read More…]
