Provost Masi’s letter in the last issue of the Tribune was a response to The Daily’s editorial “Demanding student voices at the top” (Oct. 29, 2012). The Daily editorial criticized the lack of student involvement in the selection of a new Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning).
Our administration can play politics with competing student papers, which can even be healthy, but shouldn’t do so without mentioning the source of the letter. The Provost used many big words about democracy in his ‘letter,’ but his submission is little more than a strong assault on those with differing opinions about the role and achievements of his Deputy Provost and the procedures currently in use to select his new successor.
The Daily piece noted, “the advisory committee is just that: advisory.” This summarizes the disappointment of fee-paying students who are not recognized as true partners with this educational institution.
Also troubling is the committee’s over-representation of McGill-elected working academics and staff members. It reminds me of the famous Communist public relations notion of “social consultations,” when party members (who represented five to 10 per cent of the total population) were asked at special meetings to approve some key decisions that the Politburo had already agreed upon. Nobody was allowed to criticize top policies that were then officially recognized as the ‘will of the majority.’
Manipulative methods used by power-hungry functionaries have analogous patterns—no matter if these techniques are applied in former Libya or Iraq, Communist Russia, or here today. We have learned by chance about the questionable McGill techniques disclosed by a former student leader, Andrew Doyle. In an online comment on the editorial in question, he revealed that all previously democratically-selected delegates of one such advisory committee “were made to sign confidentiality agreements several times, and the Provost stressed the secrecy of the process over and over again.” In his letter, Masi describes McGill as “a student-centred University that puts student considerations at the forefront” after quoting various Task Forces that supposedly solve the university’s problems. Those two quotes are quite consistent and reflect the true treatment of our community by McGill’s governing bodies.
Until today, we were uninformed about the ‘intimidation sessions’ that convert isolated representatives into puppets of the administration. It is deplorable that strongly-supported delegates of academics, staff members, and students were denied the right to oppose such questionable requirements of confidentiality.
Clearly, more transparency is needed in decisions concerning the selection or evaluation of administrative leaders. It is also depressing to hear that Doyle, instead of feeling humiliated by this experience, now advises new members of such committees: “Just try not to do any damage but make the most informed recommendations as possible.” This reaction resonates with my personal impression after dealing with colleagues afraid to utter even one sentence about their work on such a commission for fear of retribution.
Taking these events into perspective, we should not be astonished by the total silence of the latest committee mandated to search for a new principal, which was formed months ago. How can we be assured what documents, statements, or declarations they were expected to sign or not? It is clear, now they are scared and so remain quiet, that it will be more effective to ask previous members of such committees. This may work, as some of them are now retired. The first steps toward demanding more transparency and respect for democracy in our universities are the most important, and thus, the most difficult. However, change is never easy.
Last Friday, students gathered in James Square to hear a series of presentations on the historic and present challenges faced by McGill. Student and faculty speakers presented on topics including unions, disciplinary charges from last spring’s student demonstrations, and the question of the democratic nature of the university’s structure.
The Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University (PGSS) and the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) organized the event as a commemoration of International Students’ Day, which falls on Nov. 17. According to PGSS Vice-President External Errol Salamon, the event also allowed students to reflect on the events of Nov. 10, 2011, when an occupation of the James Administration Building ended with riot police dispersing students on campus.
“There are still long-standing issues from the 2011-2012 academic year that haven’t been resolved,” PGSS Vice-President External Errol Salamon said. “This event ties into International Students’ Day because it enables not only students, but also other members of the McGill community to share … their local struggles and issues, many of which are common struggles.”
As examples of these ongoing struggles, Salamon pointed to the Quebec debate on tuition, as well as the academic disciplinary charges that some McGill students still face for participating in non-violent protests during the Winter 2012 semester.
Former SSMU Vice-President External Joël Pedneault gave a presentation that emphasized the importance of continuing to raise awareness about those who face ongoing disciplinary action or criminal charges for their participation in student protests. He received a ticket for participating in a demonstration last year.
“It’s important not just to ask for a general amnesty,” Pedneault said. “That seems like the most obvious thing … but the danger of formulating demands in that broad, sweeping way is that they could easily be taken halfway by those who have the power to decide who gets criminalized and who doesn’t.”
Pedneault said it is more important to spread information about those who have been banned from the island of Montreal, or who face jail time for cumulative charges.
Another presenter, Justin Marleau, stressed the importance of unions on campus. As the vice-president Teaching Assistants for the Association for Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM), Marleau said unions help to address the problems caused by the high student turnover rate at universities, which results in a lack of institutional memory among student organizations.
“We need to fight this administration every single day, for every single right that we should have,” Marleau said. “Every time we negotiate a new collective agreement they cut our hours, and they like to justify it with budget cuts. … But it has nothing to do with money. It has to do with what they care about—nice buildings, fancy facilities, HD TVs all throughout campus, with nothing about the quality of education for undergraduate and graduate students at McGill.”
Although the event was held in part to commemorate International Students’ Day, some speakers pointed out that struggles at McGill are not confined to students. Thomas Lamarre, a professor in East Asian studies, said the way McGill is run affects faculty as well as students.
“At McGill, we’re given an image that the form that our struggles should take is democracy—that we are supposed to go and sit in meetings, deliberate, pass bills, and vote on things,” Lamarre said. “But the truth is, a university is not structured like a democracy. So when we’re told that if we behave, it will become democratic, it’s simply a lie. It simply misdirects all of our energy from the actual struggle.”
Lamarre concluded by calling on students and faculty to stop “pretending” the university is a democracy.
McGill Dean of Students Andre Costopoulos attended the event, and said he thought the speakers made relevant points about the university’s history and community.
“Unfortunately, sometimes the way those important points are expressed doesn’t favour dialogue,” he said. “For example, some of the speeches started with [personal] attacks instead of focusing on the issues at hand. But the issues and the points themselves are important and should be considered.”
Throughout the presentations, students frequently expressed their support by cheering. Isaac Stethem, U3 arts, said he appreciated the presenters’ comments, and emphasized the importance of encouraging dialogue about challenges at McGill.
“I thought it was really important to remember what happened on campus last year … but also to remember that it’s not just about one thing that happened a year ago,” Stethem said. “It’s about … continuing the struggle to make the university more democratic [and] to make it more responsive to the needs of students and faculty.”
On Nov. 14, the McGill Senate met to discuss student disciplinary cases during the 2011-2012 academic year. Interim Dean of Students Linda Starkey presented the Committee on Student Discipline’s (CDS) annual report.
The Senate also heard a presentation by Vice-Principal Research and International Relations Rose Goldstein on how McGill could expand its funding for research.
The Report
The CSD report notes that the total number of allegations was slightly higher this past academic year—427 compared to 408 in 2010-2011. The non-academic allegations made against students increased by 48 per cent, from 193 to 286.
“This increase can be attributed to improved reporting of e-mail harassment or inappropriate use of McGill posting sites, the growing number of residence spaces, and the campus atmosphere last year,” the report said.
Last year, several students faced disciplinary allegations after McGill Security Services videotaped students at protests on campus, including an occupation of the James Administration Building’s sixth floor. Science Senator Moe Nasr questioned the role of McGill Security Service within the disciplinary procedure at McGill, specifically with regards to cases where students express political opinions on campus.
According to Starkey, the mandate of Security Services is not to accuse a student of violating a specific protocol, but to report alleged violations to a disciplinary officer.
“I’m not aware that the notion of student politics is a factor [in what Security Services reports to a disciplinary officer],” she said, noting that the only time that someone from Security Services would mention political leanings in a case is when describing words on signs used by students on campus.
Catherine Lu, an associate professor of political science, expressed concern over whether there was equity in CSD’s punishments.
“There were different penalties that came out of similar offenses,” Lu said. “What needs to be done institutionally to correct this for the future?”
In response, Starkey explained that CSD does not issue standard sanctions, and that every case is heard and assessed individually.
Several students attended the Senate meeting to observe Starkey’s presentation. Some held a large red sign that read ‘McGill’s Committee on Squashing Dissent.’
“We are here because the University’s rules and procedures related to student discipline are interpreted and applied inconsistently and with bias against known student activists,” read a flyer that the students distributed at Senate.
Research Funding
Senators also voted to endorse McGill’s new Strategic Research Plan (SRP) for 2013-2017. The plan is intended to improve McGill’s research capabilities. An SRP is required for many external funding programs, such as the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The previous plan was adopted in 2006.
Almost 75 per cent of McGill’s current research funding comes from both the federal and Quebec governments. Presently, McGill is the second-ranked university in research intensity, according to the Tri-Council Agencies, the federal agencies which provide a majority of research funding in Canada. Goldstein said the new plan aims to diversify research funding, and should help McGill surpass the University of Toronto as the top-ranked University for research intensity.
“We need to reorganize funds if we are going to be competitive in the next few years,” Goldstein said. “Provincial and federal pools are not growing … we need to diversify.”
Several senators expressed concerns over the SRP’s logistics, including the source of the potential new funds. According to Goldstein, McGill plans to launch a Business Engagement Centre to reach out to new businesses for funding.
Brendan Gillon, associate professor of linguistics, expressed concern that dependency on external organizations like private businesses for funding might affect the topics chosen for research, and that McGill may consequently see less curiosity-driven research.
Senate also passed a motion to broadcast their sessions on the internet for a one-year trial period, starting in January 2013. These broadcasts will only be available to members of the McGill community, and will be accessible through a password-protected login.
The Ad Hoc Committee on the Recording and Transmission of Senate Meetings brought this motion forward with the intention of making Senate meetings more accessible to the McGill community.
“We want to have engagement from the broad university community,” Chandra Madramootoo, chair of the committee and dean of agricultural and environmental sciences, said.
Last Tuesday, McGill announced its decision to pursue legal action against Dr. Arthur Porter, the former director general and chief executive officer of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). McGill seeks the reimbursement of $317,153.89—a total that includes a $285,000 loan granted to Porter in 2008, and $30,131.63 in salary overpayment following his resignation in December 2011.
According to the Montreal Gazette, McGill originally lent Porter $500,000 at one per cent annual interest in 2008. When Porter resigned from his position at MUHC, he had paid back $214,409 of the loan.
“Despite the fact that [Porter] had promised to reimburse the university, the amount owing remains outstanding,” McGill’s press release read. “The university has therefore decided to take action to ensure the prompt repayment of these sums.”
McGill has not disclosed the reason for the loan, nor any information regarding the university’s loan policy to date.
According to the Gazette, evidence suggests that the loan is related to Porter’s real-estate investments. Porter allegedly purchased a penthouse apartment in downtown Montreal for over $500,000 in September 2004, and his wife bought a penthouse condominium for over $1 million in December 2007.
In March 2008, Porter received the $500,000 loan from McGill, and signed a promissory note acknowledging it. The loan was signed again three months later in the presence of a notary, at which point it became a “housing loan agreement.”
Further investigation by the Gazette has revealed that, in addition to his nearly $350,000 salary as the head of the MUHC, Porter earned a second salary at McGill for teaching as a professor of oncology in the faculty of medicine. However, when the Gazette inquired into Porter’s position as a professor, none of 12 professors in the department of oncology who responded could admit to ever having seen Porter teach.
“I was surprised to learn … that Dr. Porter was receiving a salary as a professor of oncology,” Dr. Vincent Giguère, professor in oncology and biochemistry, told the Gazette. “He is not listed as a professor of oncology on our department website … and I have never seen him at departmental functions.”
McGill has refused to disclose Porter’s professorial salary to the public, saying that information about professors’ salaries is “private.”
Quebec’s anti-corruption squad is also seeking to question Porter about MUHC’s procurement of the $1.3 billion superhospital contract. However, Porter’s current whereabouts are unknown. Porter’s most recent communication with McGill was an email dated Oct. 23, in which he promised to pay back the loan.
McGill has stated that it will make no further comment on the lawsuit, as the case is currently under review by the Quebec Superior Court.
Two weeks ago, the Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Legislative Council approved a trial run of the Student Advocacy Resource Committee (SARC). The new committee aims to guide students through McGill’s bureaucracy and to help make students’ voices heard within the administration and SSMU, according to David Benrimoh, who presented his vision of SARC to Council on Nov. 1. The trial run will end March 15, 2013.
SARC is Benrimoh’s creation. He is a first-year medical school student who has previously worked with SSMU and First Year Council. He said he saw the need for a service to help students navigate McGill’s institutional infrastructure.
“We felt that a lot of students at McGill have a lot of ideas, questions, and things they want to see changed, but they don’t necessarily know how to go about doing it,” Benrimoh said.
The group began this year as an interim club. Now that Council has passed the motion to create SARC, the club has achieved SSMU Committee status, in order to increase its credibility and make it more accountable to SSMU Council.
“[Now], we’re directly accountable to Council, and people know that we have the support and backing of [SSMU],” Benrimoh said.
Benrimoh is SARC’s head steward, which means he is responsible for supervising the committee and establishing its long-term vision. He said he hopes SARC can act as a liaison between students and those who can help address an individual student’s needs on campus, like SSMU’s elected representatives and administrators.
The Committee works on a case-by-case basis. Cases are divided under the categories of services, student government, and campus issues, and are dealt with accordingly by SARC.
“We [will] develop a campaign plan based off of [each] case,” Benrimoh said. “Some cases might have a need for events or setting up meetings with campus administrators. There’s all sorts of different venues we can help students take advantage of.”
After roughly three weeks of existence, SARC is currently dealing with a total of seven actual and potential cases.
“Potential cases [are those] where we have identified an issue or met with a requestor and where we have not yet signed the case but we are confident that we will in the very near future,” Benrimoh said. “We are very new and we haven’t yet had time to do the kind of outreach that is necessary to accrue a large number of cases … until now, we have been focused on actually getting set up.. . and training our stewards.”
SSMU Vice-President University Affairs Haley Dinel helps supervise SARC on behalf of SSMU, and will also sit on the Committee. Dinel said Benrimoh reports to both her and Council, and explained how committee members were chosen this year.
“The [current] stewards were chosen, and they went through their own internal application process,” she said. “[If SARC becomes a permanent committee], the names will be given to the SSMU nominating committee, and they’d be screened and interviewed.”
According to the motion presented to Council, stewards are committee members responsible for dealing with and writing reports on individual cases. In addition to the head steward, there are individual triage, services, campus issues, and student government stewards. The Committee also includes three councillors from SSMU.
At the Nov. 1 Council meeting, some SSMU councillors expressed concern over the creation of SARC as a permanent SSMU Committee. Arts Senator Max Zidel questioned the sustainability of the Committee.
“This proposal requires a lot of man power and a lot of interest and time, and although it’s wonderful that right now we have a group of students who are really fond of this idea, what happens when they graduate?” Zidel said. “I see trouble … finding enough students every year to fill the necessary positions.”
Despite his reservations, Zidel said he hopes the Committee will succeed.
“I think good things will come out of it,” he said. “The idea itself is good, which is that you want to make it easier for students to understand the way that the university works. I’m pleased that people want to fill this gap.”
Last week, McGill’s Scholarships and Student Aid Office launched the Frugal Scholar Money Management Program—a service that helps students create a financial plan by using online tools to track expenses and deal with student and government loans. The launch was part of Financial Wellness Week, which featured workshops and student-run activities covering topics such as student loans, taxes, and affordable living.
Evelina Balut, associate director of scholarships and student aid and one of the organizers of the week, emphasized the Frugal Scholar Program’s open-door policy, stating that students are always welcome to confidentially discuss their finances with advisors.
“Part of my job is to be here for students [and] let them grasp control over their finances so we can teach kids to become smart consumers now, and for later in life,” Balut said.
The program also features an anonymous live chat system, which allows students to chat confidentially with peer advisors. Since this service is partially run by peers, Balut said it is more approachable for students who may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed by their current financial situation.
The Scholarships and Student Aid Office offered a workshop on the program as part of Financial Wellness Week. Other workshops included last Thursday’s “Living Thrifty” workshop, run by Shelby Levesque, a student ambassador for the Frugal Scholar Program. Levesque gave tips on how to spend less money, and encouraged students to spread awareness of the financial services McGill offers.
As a student paying her way through school, Levesque shared her outlook on money and how to maintain a healthy relationship with it. She emphasized the importance of keeping track of finances—short-term as well as long term—and keeping receipts to maintain a budget.
Levesque outlined many basic ways to save, in areas such as grocery shopping, gym memberships, and traveling. Some tips for groceries included collecting coupons and buying in bulk. While students may think it is convenient to go to grocery stores close to McGill, Levesque suggested taking the extra time to go to thriftier places such as Segal’s Market could help save a lot of money in the long-term. For travelling, she suggested couch surfing or staying with friends instead of paying for a hotel room.
Levesque emphasized that the Frugal Scholar Program can serve as an outreach to students, who remain unaware that McGill provides financial services.
“As a freshman, I wish I knew that McGill offered entrance bursaries,” Levesque said.
She said it is important for students to know that entrance bursaries are provided on the basis of need—they are not exclusive to students with high marks.
Anne Marie Trickey, U0 arts, said that it is difficult to deal with money matters while having a student’s social life.
“Going out is expensive,” Trickey said. “I can’t squander away money like all my friends, so most of the time I find it easier to stay home and watch movies instead.”
Levesque, however, discouraged students from feeling guilty about spending money.
Levesque said that every now and then, a small reward—like buying coffee instead of making it at home—can be satisfying, and can reduce chances of extravagant spending in the future. She also emphasized that living thrifty becomes easier over time.
“There are many ways to save,” Levesque said. “Once you start, it becomes a habit, then, a way of life.”
James Ford, head of the Climate Change Adaptation Research Group, and McGill geography professor, gave a presentation last Friday on climate change’s impact on the Inuit communities of the Arctic, as well as the various adaptation strategies the communities have developed.
The lecture was one in a series of speaker events organized and sponsored by the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies (CIPSS). Vincent Pouliot, CIPSS Director and an associate professor of political science, explained that Ford’s work addresses the mission and increasingly interdisciplinary approach of the CIPSS.
“While we intend to maintain our proven expertise in more traditional security studies, we also want to develop new, interdisciplinary research programs that take seriously the multifaceted challenges of peace and security in the 21st century,” Pouliot said.
Ford began the lecture by explaining the aim of his research.
“My research focuses on the human dimension of climate change,” Ford said. “I am interested in the intersection between climate and society; how societies experience climate change and how they respond.”
Ford explained that, as a result of rising temperatures and rapidly melting sea ice, the Arctic has been the region most dramatically affected by climate change. According to Ford, some of the new problems Inuit communities face include decreased access to hunting areas, damage to infrastructure and cultural sites, and changes in animal populations.
Ford said that Inuit communities have already begun to adapt to these new realities, which have become increasingly important for them.
“[They] are not passive in the face of environmental change,” Ford said.
Ford specifically pointed to hunting as one area in which Inuit communities have altered their practices. Communities have devised new transportation routes, used hazard maps for given areas, and increased their use of motorized transportation, such as boats and all-terrain vehicles.
“People are taking more precaution when they are going hunting, expecting to encounter more dangers because of the changes that been observed already,” he said.
In response to the food security problem, some communities have developed food-sharing networks, where they pool and share food resources to alleviate the pressure on individual families. They have also shifted from hunting to relying more on store-bought goods. Ford noted that this particular adaption, however, can come at a high economic cost—for example, the high costs of shipping food to northern areas. They are not always easy to implement because of limited economic resources.
According to Ford, government hunting quotas also provide a challenge to adaptation. He explained that bans on polar bear hunting from 2009 have restricted communities’ ability to respond to the increase or decrease of various Arctic animal populations.
Ford also said there is concern among Inuit communities that the younger generations lack basic knowledge and practical skills for hunting, which further complicates adaptation to environmental change.
However, Ford believes successful adaptation to climate change is still possible. He explained that the process is already underway, and can be strengthened by outside intervention—especially work that takes a more holistic approach to climate change and recognizes how characteristics of Inuit societies shape their responses to adaptation.
Alice Chesse, a PhD student in political science specializing in Canadian Arctic foreign policy, attended the talk. She said the Canadian government’s “broader strategic interests” are related to adaptation of Inuit communities in the North.
“Canadian Arctic policy’s main objective is the recognition of its sovereignty over contested areas of the Arctic,” Chesse said. “In that perspective, the enhancement of the socio-economic conditions of Inuit communities in the North [is] also important for the Canadian government. Developing and improving human livelihood in the Arctic empowers the government’s claims for the recognition of its de facto sovereignty over the region.”
On Nov. 15, three experts spoke to students at a panel that focused on new approaches to foreign aid, and the merits and drawback for each approach. Organized by the Student Network for Economic Development, Engineers Without Borders (EWB) McGill, and Youth Action International, the event was entitled “A New Foreign Aid Toolkit: Fresh Perspectives.”
“Our goal with this [event] was to get a perspective from the ground,” Adam Hasham, vice-president advocacy for EWB McGill, said.
The panel included Audra Rényi, executive director of World Wide Hearing; Hélène Laverdière, vice chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in Canada’s House of Commons; and Paola Perez-Aleman, an associate professor of strategy and organization in the Desautels faculty of management.
Panelists discussed new approaches to foreign aid, such as Cash on Delivery Aid, a model of aid that requires that recipient country reaches a certain level of development before money and resources are offered. According to CBC Ottawa, Cash on Delivery is a program built by EWB, and representatives of the organization met with Canadian members of parliament last June, urging them to create a pilot government program based on the model.
All panelists expressed reservations about the Cash on Delivery Aid model. Rényi said one risk of the program is that it can push developing countries to focus more on target numbers—such as the number of students enrolled in school—rather than the quality of new development projects.
The debate opened with a question from Hasham.
“If you could change one thing about [Canada’s] current foreign aid system, what would it be and why?” Hasham asked the panelists.
According to Laverdière, Canada needs to work more closely with aid recipients. She said stronger communication with these countries will help Canadian foreign aid programs better address their particular needs.
“[Foreign aid] is a joint venture, and the donor countries should work by the needs and the systems of the countries they are helping,” Laverdière said.
Laverdière also responded positively to a question posed to the panelists by an audience member about their feelings on the increasing involvement of the private sector when it comes to government foreign aid.
“It’s good,” she said. “[The government is] taking private companies and seeing how they can help in developing countries, but this is not a substitute for government action.”
Perez-Aleman agreed, and also cited how consumers and NGOs have put effective pressure on private companies to act more responsibly.
“We are seeing a new generation that is growing up and … managing these companies … I think it is important to bring [private companies] into development, local and foreign,” Perez-Aleman said.
Students at the event expressed appreciation about the panelists’ diverse perspectives.
“I thought it was fantastic,” a student said after the event. “It was great to have three different perspectives. They had very different opinions.”
Last Friday, city councillors voted in Montreal’s first Anglophone mayor in 100 years. As the new interim mayor, Michael Applebaum will hold the position until the next municipal election in November 2013.
Applebaum replaced former mayor Gerald Tremblay, who resigned Nov. 5 following allegations of corruption from the Charbonneau Commission. When his party, Union Montreal, did not vote for him as their choice for the mayoral election, Applebaum quit the party to run as an independent candidate.
Applebaum has faced criticism over the quality of his French, but defends himself as capable of conducting business in both languages. Since his election, Applebaum has emphasized the need for a collaborative council to reduce tension between parties, and for increased transparency for the city’s governing bodies.
“Now is the time to re-establish our bridges, to work together and to ensure that Montrealers can be proud of what we do as elected officials,” Applebaum said.
B.C. suspends visa program
Last Friday, the British Columbia government suspended a program that fast-tracked visas for investors who had committed to establishing a business in the province. The decision came following a suspiciously high increase in the submitted number of visa applications.
The program offered business applicants speedier access to permanent residence status in exchange for a $125,000 bond. The initiative was part of a larger provincial plan to address B.C.’s demand for more skilled immigrants.
According to the Globe and Mail, a review of the fast-track program found that very few nominees were running a business as promised, and that the program’s success rate was under 20 per cent.
Government officials have suggested several explanations for the surge in applications and the program’s poor performance. One explanation is that some applicants hope to take advantage of the program’s conditions in order to secure permanent residence status.
“We require [that] people actually set up a business and actively manage it,” a senior government official, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “You cannot just put up money and collect a permanent resident’s visa.”
Chinese ambassador denies espionage allegations
During an interview on CBC Radio last Saturday, Chinese Ambassador to Canada Zhang Junsai criticized anyone who speculated about Chinese firms’ involvement in espionage without providing evidence for their allegations.
Zhang’s comments came following a report released by the U.S. Intelligence Agency in early October, which urged American companies to avoid using Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. The committee suggested that Huawei could serve as a front for Chinese espionage, and could be used to cause interference with power grids and banking systems during a time of conflict.
Huawei currently provides networks for several Canadian companies, including Bell Canada. Zhang said these speculations are unfounded, and result from a “Cold War mentality.”
These concerns come at a time when the federal government is reviewing the proposed takeover of Nexen Inc. by China National Offshore Oil Corp. Members of Parliament, including NDP and Official Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair have criticized the deal, saying it is not in Canada’s best interests. The review period ends Dec. 10.
Retail giants take Quebec gov’t to court over language law
Last Sunday, several major retailers—Best Buy, Costco, Gap, Guess, Old Navy, and Wal-mart— announced their decision to pursue legal action against the Quebec government. The dispute involves a new interpretation of language laws governing the use of French in business names.
According to the CBC, the Office Québécois de la Langue Française, the province’s language watchdog, has requested that the companies in question either create a generic French name for their business, or add a French slogan that communicates the products for sale.
Section 63 of Quebec’s French Language Charter requires that all business names in the province must be in French. Traditionally, however, this clause has not been applied to trademarked names. The six retailers have argued that this particular language law has not been formally changed, and challenge the validity of the office’s demands.
Critics of this new rule include Nathalie St-Pierre, the vice-president for the Retail Council of Canada’s Quebec branch—a not-for-profit advocacy association representing retailers across the country. St. Pierre questioned the purpose of imposing such changes on these retail giants, and said that the brands “stand on their own” and “need no description.”
Government inspects veteran’s facility following complaints
The federal government ordered an audit of Sunnybrook Veterans Centre last Thursday, following weeks of scrutiny and complaints over the quality of care at the Toronto facility.
Sunnybrook is the largest veteran’s facility in Canada, containing 500 beds. In early November, some families of Sunnybrook residents raised concerns about incidents that occurred at the hospital. Allegations included veterans left in unsanitary conditions and delays for vital services, like feeding.
These allegations led to a government inspection of the facilities on Nov. 9. Families have since expressed concern about the inspection’s effectiveness as Sunnybrook was warned about the inspection about a day before it occurred.
Although the hospital receives money from the both the Ontario and federal governments, it reports only to the federal government. While provincial rules mandate that long-term care homes be inspected at least once a year, Sunnybrook’s last inspection by the Ministry of Health occured in 2005.
Officials say the audit will focus on how the facility uses taxpayers’ money, as well as on the quality of the care provided, and should be completed in early 2013.
After four years at McGill, Amelia McKinley*, U3 psychology, believed she had reached a relatively seasoned level of mastery in the pursuit of her undergraduate degree, guaranteeing that her final semester would be completed with ease. Much to her surprise, however, she confronted a debilitating level of stress during midterm season this October. In previous years, Amelia navigated through work without becoming too overwhelmed, but this semester she found herself at an unrecognizable crossroad, blurred by a “fog of panic” with no clear solution in sight.
She believes her unparalleled stress levels were ignited by an unforgiving midterm schedule, causing her to feel like she was “up against an impossible amount of work.” Amelia could barely recognize herself.
“Instead of just trying to tackle work like I normally would, I became paralyzed with fear and my brain shut down entirely,” she says. “I would look at a page of material I [knew] and [I would feel] like I had never read it before.”
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According to Dr. Stepanie Pantel, a psychologist at McGill Mental Health, Amelia’s stress was “the mind and body’s way of responding to a demand.” Pantel distinguishes the difference between the physiological, cognitive, and emotional reactions to stress. “Increased blood pressure and heart rate, dizziness, nausea, dry mouth, [and] headaches” are bodily reactions to stress. In addition, “negative self-talk, inability to concentrate, restlessness and difficulty making decisions” are common psychological effects.
Pantel asserts that our response to stress is often governed by the body’s protective hardwiring when it senses imminent danger, which triggers the fight-or-flight reaction, also known as the ‘stress response.’ In this case, the body responds whether the danger is real or imagined. An amalgamation of intangible, lurking, and often undiscovered stressors can elicit the same reaction as a set of life threatening or jeopardizing circumstances—like a car speeding towards you in the wrong lane.
Unlike Amelia, Violet Arsenault*, U3 biology and math, maintains a conscious awareness of the presence of stress in her life. There is a correlation between stress symptoms and clinical depression specific to her case. Last year, Violet was diagnosed with depression, and keeps track of stress symptoms as a measurement of her psychological well-being.
“I always find myself toeing the border of crippling stress,” she recalls.
At the pinnacle of her undiagnosed illness, Violet completely withdrew from expected tasks. She ignored midterms and assignments, didn’t attend lectures, and stayed in bed for up to five days at a time. She explains the double-edged sword that characterizes the connection between stress and depression.
“If you are depressed, you don’t want to do work. If you don’t do work you’re going to become stressed out about it… it’s a vicious cycle.”
Violet recalls feeling unable to climb out of the rut of inactivity she was in. “When my stress levels became too high, I opted out of life. Not only did this make me completely behind in work, I then became more stressed out because I felt completely hopeless.”
According to Pantel, stress management techniques are vital to ensure that symptoms do not evolve into more significant issues. Though Violet alleviated her symptoms after diagnoses and treatment, her stress did not disappear. Yet, identifying depression as the source of her battle with stress enabled her to achieve a level of cognitive clarity, which she describes as on par with that of her peers.
“Certainly, I think I can manage stress much better now, because the medication I take allows me to make choices that make me happy: exercise, eating better, sleeping regularly, working hard.”
Despite her new level of clarity, residual effects remain from self-taught approaches to schoolwork while battling undiscovered depression.
“I have developed really terrible study habits. I usually won’t do anything, and then at the last moment when the stress really hits me, I’ll buckle down and make it in time,” she said.
The starting-line position Violet now finds herself at—facing the impact of stress keeping her from her textbooks—highlights the prevailing paradox at the heart of many students’ tumultuous relationship with stress. A healthy level acts as a boosting mechanism to kick-start work, but once the point of nipping procrastination in the bud is surpassed, the friendly hand of stress can transform into an unsuspected enemy.
Illustration by Ben Ko
Pantel agrees that stress is not always negative, and indeed a certain degree is essential for motivation—the weight of its impact is dependent on how we perceive stress, and how we interpret the events surrounding it. Benjamin Cohn*, U3 political science and economics, shares this notion, and celebrates the beneficial element of stress.
“[It] has impacted my educational career positively, in that it increases my motivation to discover ways in which I can alleviate what causes me stress, which [means] doing better in school,” he states.
Benjamin finds solace in completing schoolwork, consequently relieving stress and thereby feeling satisfied. He admits, however, that the formula to embrace stress, finish schoolwork, and achieve contentment, is not successful when he faces uninspiring facets of coursework. To preserve the stamina in the ongoing battle to stay on top of work, he uses study drugs, such as Adderall or Vyvanse, as his weapons of choice. Benjamin stocks up from friends who have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and are willing to share or sell their prescriptions on the side. He is conscious of the connection between completing work and maintaining peace of mind, but is handicapped by a genuine lack of interest in a particular subject or aspect of a course.
He uses study drugs to “concentrate on work that doesn’t always have cognitive primacy, like long, drawn-out readings.” Though they enable him to sit for hours attacking tedious tasks, he affirms that the usefulness of ‘study drugs’ is limited to certain situations. These medications ignite extreme levels of concentration in those unaffected by ADD, provoking a detrimental level of attention to detail. Often, they even prompt the user to draw nonsensical or overly abstract connections.
“I couldn’t use study drugs in situations that required a lot of clear and creative thinking or linear thought,” Benjamin confirms.
Paralleling the experiences of Violet and Benjamin, and their use of medication, it is key to recognize that some students’ battle with stress is often compounded by the day-to-day struggle with other issues. Violet asserts that the treatment of her depression placed her on a leveled playing field with her classmates. Yet, the treatment of one cognitive disorder does not cure the other. In the same vein, Benjamin’s use of study drugs to maintain a consistent degree of stress-free living complicates the relationship between stress, mental illness, and maintaining control through medication—regardless of whether one is diagnosed with an illness or not.
Isaac Gielen, a U4 secondary education student and former floor fellow at McGill Residences, guided over 150 students through the challenges of their first year. Often, he maintained advisory relationships after students left residence. As a central guidance figure to newcomers from all corners of the globe, Gielen recognized a salient stressor among McGill’s fresh faces. He noticed a significant disconnect between the challenges belying the day-to-day grind of an undergrad, and how the reputation of excellence at McGill creates preconceived notions of assured success and satisfaction.
Interestingly, Gielen explains, the reputation of McGill elicits self-doubt for students who become generally dissatisfied with their respective programs. He recalls students believing that their unease was illegitimate, describing it as “this mentality that‘my program isn’t giving me much, but McGill is such a celebrated school, it must be fine and I must be the problem.’”
[pullquote]“Our battles with stress will only make us stronger, ensuring that term papers, midterms, and exams are rightfully understood as the small hurdles to jump along the long university marathon.” [/pullquote]
Gielen calls attention to the disconnect between the expectations of school versus the multifaceted struggles it ensures. Many on the margins of academia—even parents, siblings or friends—may not be aware of their loved ones’ constant exposure to stress.
On the other hand, professors’ proximity to students, by virtue of involvement in the university itself, allows an empathetic understanding of the weighty pressures caused by looming deadlines, exams, and the perpetual need to succeed. Dr. Jody Mason, professor in the department of English, tracks general levels of student stress through interpreting student behaviours in lecture.
“I try to monitor student response in class; if students are clearly not reading or keeping up with the material, I always attempt to pull back or re-organize the material in some way.”
Although being stressed does not fall under the category of a medical excuse many professors require, Mason accommodates stress symptoms with a “generous late policy, which gives students up to five days to submit late work with a very minimal penalty.” Despite the reasonable mediations Mason employs, she notes that students often simply fail to submit work.
Considering the various causes and manifestations of stress, methods of prevention must be examined. For example, students should maintain physical well-being by sleeping and eating well, as well as exercising regularly. Psychologically, identifying personal strengths and weaknesses is important; aiming for perfection will inevitably lead to dissatisfaction. Students should place reasonable demands on themselves.
Pantel also emphasizes the often forgotten, yet simplest of all preventative tools: keeping a balance between studying and recreation by not letting the pleasures of life be overthrown by schoolwork.
Stress may pop into a student’s life when they least expect it. For some, stress could be a manifestation of depression symptoms, while for others, stress perhaps serves as a motivational tool. Yet, regardless of the way it manifests, each student at the university is bound to develop a relationship with stress in some way or another. Evidently, although stress is ever-present, we have the power to mold and shape it into what we want. Our battles with stress will only make us stronger, ensuring that term papers, midterms, and exams are rightfully understood as the small hurdles to jump along the long university marathon.
*Names were fabricated to maintain the anonymity of those interviewed.
