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Two McGill libraries face closure and restructuring

Library collections previously located in the Life Sciences Library and the Education Library & Curriculum Resources Centre are in the process of being relocated, with the intention of redesigning the empty libraries into new student study spaces. The relocation project is the result of a $1.8 million cut to the McGill Library’s budget, following the Quebec Government’s announcement last December that McGill’s operating budget would be reduced by $38.3 million.

Despite ethereal visuals, Gravity is full of narrative antimatter

For a space film, Gravity is fairly un-spacey. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star as astronauts who must struggle to survive when a space mission goes horribly wrong. Gravity doesn’t disappoint visually—director Alfonso Cuarón’s famous long takes seem particularly amiable to outer space—but the film repudiates much of the intellectual legwork done by previous sci-fi masterpieces. Insofar as Gravity’s message is being reduced to humanity finding itself in adversity, the film is as thematically sophisticated as a made-for-TV space horror. But such a criticism may mean little to some. As a straightforward action flick, Gravity is certainly meritorious, with some flashy technical bells and whistles thrown in.

Residents seek to save Parc Oxygène from development

On Sept. 3, residents of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough expressed their concerns for preserving of green space in the neighbourhood at a conference and question and answer session with the borough’s mayor, Luc Ferrandez. Debate on the topic centered around the preservation of Parc Oxygène, a privately -owned alleyway that has been serving as a park for over 20 years.

Fortier begins term as principal

On Sept. 5, Dr. Suzanne Fortier began her five-year term as McGill’s principal and vice chancellor, succeeding Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, whose term ended on June 30. Fortier is the 17th person—and the second woman— to fill the position.

New Deputy Provost outlines his objectives for five-year term

On Sept. 1, Ollivier Dyens officially began his five-year term as McGill’s second Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) (DP (SLL)). Created in 2005, the DP (SLL) position aims to improve student life at McGill and to act as a liaison between the senior administration and students. Last week, the Tribune sat down with Dyens to discuss his goals for the year and his approach to the portfolio.

6Party documentary examines the morning after

Shutting down university parties is something that police officers are well accustomed to, but the 6Party occupation brought them face-to-face with an unorthodox gathering that only some could describe as festive. In 6Party and The After Party, an hour-long radio documentary written, produced, and co-narrated by fourth-year arts student Davide Mastracci, that exact group takes the spotlight in this revisiting of the event.

Interview with Alex Gershanov

Often, research requires a lot of precision and patience, which is exactly what Alex Gershanov, a U2 chemical engineering student, discovered this summer while working at Associate Professor and Chemical Research Chair Nathalie Tufenkji’s  lab, the Biocolliods and Surfaces Laboratory, in ground water remediation. “My research surrounds zero valent iron nanoparticles,[Read More…]

Interview with Blair Jia

Getting published as an undergraduate student is a honourable achievement—one of which U3 quantitative biology student Blair Jia received this August. This summer Jia designed a fabrication protocol to improve the imaging chamber used in Convex LensInduced Confinement (CLIC) microscopy under the supervision of Assistant Professor Sabrina Leslie from the Department of Physics.

Earl Sweatshirt: Doris

The last time Earl Sweatshirt was in the spotlight—for his much-hyped mixtape Earl—he dropped everything and disappeared to Samoa. Soon, rumours, mainly fueled by colleague and collaborator Tyler the Creator’s more-than-half-serious “Free Earl” campaign, circulated that he was forced into a boarding school by his mother. Now he is again a product and a victim of hype; on his latest album, Doris, he airs his grievances and talent in equal measure.

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