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SciTech Reviews: ‘Superior: The Return of Race Science’

by Atticus O’Rourke Rusin on

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Science has helped society make sense of the natural world and all of its intricacies. Advancements in medicine, technology, and mathematics have all led to improvements in human welfare. At the same time, science can be applied unequally, benefiting those of a specific race or class, in ways that distort the field and legitimize racist ideas. One such example is making an unfortunate comeback: Biologically-based race science, or the study of racial difference, has reemerged after decades on the fringes. As Angela Saini explains in the 2019 book Superior: The Return of Race Science, race science has been rebranded and is now gaining ground in several academic circles. 

To lay the groundwork for her argument, Saini opens by deftly explaining and demonstrating that race is not an identifier of intelligence, temperament, or any other complex characteristic. Saini makes clear that, in the scientific community, race is considered a social construct. Race realists, those who subscribe to the idea that race determines human variation, fight against those who they feel are ignoring real science in favour of political correctness. 

Saini explains the first wave of race science in the middle of the 19th century asserted European racial superiority to justify slavery and colonialism. European scientists measured skulls to determine brain size and assessed development based on the model of European cities, culture, and lifestyle. This eurocentric method of measuring advancement was obviously flawed, Saini argues, defining science by the views of the scientist. Race science further developed into the field of eugenics in the late 19th and early 20th century, taking off in the United State. The American eugenics movement included the forced sterilization of around 100,000 poor and minority women and was one of the models for Nazi Germany’s own horrific project of eugenics. Eugenics was “fashionable,” partly due to its association with science and scientific objectivity, Saini writes. The terrors of the Holocaust pushed eugenics out of the mainstream in the latter half of the 20th century, but a small circle of academics, who were invested in race research and had already made a name for themselves in the field, held on to the problematic idea that race determined a person’s inherent qualities.

In the 20th century, Saini writes, the misinterpretation of genetic data paved the way for a resurgence of race science, this time under the banner of race realism, which in turn conferred an increased sense of respectability upon it. By studying genomes of different population groups, scientists maintaining this ideology believe that they can find some inherent differences between races. Saini notes there is no evidence to support those claims. At the same time, enough mystery remains surrounding genetic determinants of intelligence and temperament, that this has been used to support the possibility. It is thought that thousands of different genes may contribute to what we think of as intelligence, each potentially controlling a different brain pathway; however, only a small percentage of these genes has been discovered. Critics of welfare and equal opportunity in education use the perceived racial differences asserted by race scientists as evidence of the inevitable failure of such programs. They assert that discrimination and colonialism are not the causes of inequality but rather the result of genetic differences. The absence of definitive genetic evidence neither confirming nor denying “inferiority” is thus used as a shield for bigotry, in spite of the general consensus among scientists that race is a social construction. 

Archaic humans, such as Neanderthals, were considered to be lower in intelligence than modern humans, or Homo sapiens. Europeans made the leap that Neanderthals were, in turn, closely related to so-called “inferior races.” When researchers discovered that white Europeans share more DNA with Neanderthals than many of those they deemed inferior, Neanderthals experienced a sudden makeover. No longer were they our lowly ancestors, but our brilliant cousins. The scientist makes the science, spinning stories out of data, often in line with their biases. 

Science & Technology

Behind closed doors: How family physicians struggle against social inequities

by Jenna Durante on

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At their best, family physicians in Canada stand as critical frontline defenders for vulnerable patient populations. In a recent study titled, “You are the only other person in the world that knows that about me: Family physician stories of proximity to patients experiencing social inequity,” 20 Ontario-based family physicians shared their experiences and relationships with patients who were struggling with issues such as inadequate housing, lack of education, low income, and substance abuse. 

Monica Molinaro, a professor at the Institute of Health Sciences at McGill, investigated in this paper how family physicians navigate the challenges associated with providing care to patients facing social inequities. She also examined how sharing narratives from physicians may act as a form of support and resistance for other healthcare workers. Molinaro’s research specifically focuses on the implications of moral distress resulting from provincial policies, which have numerous effects on the healthcare system and the well-being of staff. 

In her work, proximity emerged as an important factor in family medicine when extending care beyond the conventional boundaries of medical practice. 

“The notion of proximity was originally conceptualized by nursing scholar Ruth Malone,” Molinaro explained in an interview with The Tribune. “Proximity comprises physical, narrative, and moral elements. Physical proximity involves being close to the patient and addressing their bodily needs. Narrative proximity entails understanding the patient as a human being. Over time, nurses transition to moral proximity, where they feel compelled to care for the patient based on shared values and beliefs about providing good care.” 

In Molinaro’s study, physicians encountered challenges related to physical proximity, which involved assisting patients in reconnecting with their bodies, especially those who had undergone medical trauma. Assistance included activities such as taking their blood pressure and temperature, helping patients to re-engage with their physical well-being through guidance and support. 

Proximity in all forms, including narrative and moral proximity, serves as a form of resistance within family medicine. Physicians often find themselves motivated by moral proximity to go “above and beyond” their traditional roles. 

Family physicians sometimes care for patients their entire lives, developing a high level of narrative proximity in particular. Through this care, they build trust over time and often feel compelled to take various actions, such as extending appointment times, to provide additional care to meet their needs. 

The research emphasizes the moral distress experienced by physicians when they recognize the broader social systems that prevent them from fulfilling their patients’ needs. 

“What is so morally distressing, is that they know what their patients need, but they can’t provide the care,” Molinaro said. “If a patient has issues with insomnia, due to chronic stress of racism, or colonialism, or sleeping rough in a shelter, there’s only so much a family physician can do within the scope of that in order to help.” 

Addressing the chronic underfunding of clinics in Ontario and across Canada is essential for improving healthcare access for patients and alleviating the moral distress that healthcare workers experience. Family medicine and primary care are among the few freely available resources to many Canadians. This means that for many patients experiencing different forms of social inequity their family doctor could be the only professional who might be able to get them access to potential healthcare services. 

“It is important to critique the structures because there are direct links between the way physicians are functioning and the way things are funded or the way policies are written or the way things are conceptualized,” Molinaro explained.

Molinaro’s research highlights the connection between moral distress and these broader systems and structures, along with the chronic underfunding of social welfare systems in Ontario. By examining these systems, Molinaro shows the need to develop new policies and practices, improving the future of healthcare in Ontario.

Science & Technology

Upping the ante: The latest research on communication in ant societies

by Ella Paulin on

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On Feb. 29, McGill’s Department of Biology hosted a lecture on ant societies, led by Daniel Kronauer, an associate professor at Rockefeller University and a leading researcher in the field of ant evolution, genetics, and neuroscience.

“In my lab […] we try to understand how ant societies have evolved, how they are organized, and how they function,” Kronauer said in his lecture. 

To study ant societies, Kronauer’s lab breaks their research down into three major components: How the ants differentiate into different classes, such as workers and queens; how they communicate with each other; and how that communication leads to collective behavior, such as evacuating a dangerous area or exploiting a food source. 

Kronauer focused on communication in his lecture, discussing how ants use insulin controls, fluid exchange, and pheromone sensing to send signals and coordinate their actions effectively. 

First, he discussed insulin signaling, which is used in ants and other animals, including humans, to regulate chemical processes. The researchers knew that when an ant colony had young larvae, the adult worker ants had lower insulin levels than when they were in the egg-laying process, called the reproductive stage. The insulin levels in turn controlled worker behavior, such as foraging for food or laying more eggs. 

But how exactly the insulin levels were controlled was a mystery. To investigate this, Kronauer’s lab removed larvae from one colony and inserted them into another. 

“When you do that, what happens is quite dramatic,” Kronauer explained. “The larvae really regulate the insulin levels of the adults, so when you take the larvae out, insulin levels increased pretty rapidly, and if you add larvae to a colony in the reproductive phase that really suppresses it.”

Yet the question remained: How were the larvae regulating the insulin levels of the adults?

One possible answer lies in another communication method used by ants, fluid exchange. 

This insight came from another experiment conducted by Kronauer’s lab, which involved separating the ants by developmental stage, so the pupae, larvae, and adult workers were all placed in separate enclosures. This allowed them to study each developmental state closely and in isolation.

“People have been regarding pupae as a more boring, passive state,” Kronauer explained. “But when [another researcher at the lab] started to isolate the pupae, she found that in the last week of metamorphosis, they started to secrete copious amounts of this clear liquid.”

Getting curious about this process, the researcher injected food dye into some pupae and placed them in an enclosure with adult ants. They found that the dye soon transferred to the adult ants, meaning that the ants must have been eating the liquid secreted by the pupae. Further, the adult worker ants would place young larvae on the pupae so that they could eat the liquid as well, providing a source of sustenance. 

While this appears to be an important food source for the larvae and adults, it also seems to play a social role. 

“The secretion is a pretty complex fluid. So there’s a lot of interactive substances in there, there’s a lot of hormones in there,” Kronauer said. “So we think that it probably has a lot of important effects on both larvae development and also adult behavior.”

Finally, Kronauer looked at ants’ remarkable olfactory system, which has developed to perceive a wide variety of pheromones. 

“When you look at ants, you’ll see that they are really just small walking chemical factories,” Kronauer noted. “So every worker species has about a dozen or so exocrine glands, which produce different types of pheromones.”

This impressive production of pheromones requires a large array of odorant receptors, about an order of magnitude larger than those found in fruit flies. Studying the neurobiology of this system is incredibly difficult and requires precise genetic testing. Kronauer’s lab made headlines by using CRISPR to create the first genetically altered ants. 

What they found was striking: In ants where pheromone sensing had been interrupted, their behavior became completely asocial, failing to participate in collective behaviors and struggling to survive in the colony. 

McGill, News

Queer McGill Deadnaming Dashboard highlights deadnaming and misgendering in McGill IT systems

by Esther Forbes on

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Queer McGill—a service run by queer students for queer students, non-students in the Montreal area, and allies—started a Deadnaming Dashboard “to end automated deadnaming and misgendering […] last fall,” within IT systems such as Minerva, MyCourses, UPrint, and the Student Wellness Hub (SWH).

The Dashboard displays all McGill IT services that are currently misgendering and deadnaming students, as well as status updates regarding specific ways in which these online services are failing trans students—all of which currently read “not fixed.” Queer McGill invites students dealing with these issues to contact them for support when being misgendered by McGill IT systems.

The group explained that the university has long deadnamed and misgendered trans students, though McGill claims to have made progress. 

“Trans students continue to be dead-named and misgendered by automated IT systems from attendance sheets to departmental mailing lists. McGill’s Wellness Hub and housing department are aware of these problems but resist calls for change [….] These systems give staff unnecessary access to trans students’ deadnames, and some—like the Student Wellness Hub—have no documented process to make a change at all,” Queer McGill wrote to The Tribune.

In an email to The Tribune, McGill Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle reaffirmed McGill’s “efforts to challenge transphobia, biphobia, and homophobia and to foster a robust sense of belonging for all within our campus community, regardless of gender or sexual identity.” Mazerolle also noted that the Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning Fabrice Labeau launched an Ad Hoc Committee on Preferred Names in February 2024, to address IT-specific deadnaming and misgendering issues.

“The goal of this committee is to investigate current areas where McGill IT systems are falling short compared to those outlined in the 2021 SSMU Report Preferred Name and Pronoun Use at McGill University, and track progress. Committee members include representatives from Enrolment Services, Student Services, IT Services, the Equity Office, Human Resources, and the SSMU,” Mazerolle wrote.

A McGill student who wished to be unnamed said that their efforts to have deadnaming issues fixed by McGill staff have gone unaddressed, leading to anxiety and apprehension about what in-class deadnaming could lead to. 

“Honestly, it’s devastating. I’ve spoken to multiple people, multiple times to sort out this issue and nothing has ever changed [….] One of my professors has offered to contact people on my behalf within McGill about this issue and has received no response. Each time it’s the first week of classes I’m terrified that my legal name will be called out instead of my preferred name. I also have to see my legal name every time I use teams, which is daily,” they said. 

Queer McGill Resource Coordinator Arwyn Regimbald also spoke to McGill residence staff, who continuously misgendered them whilst they were living in residence, describing this as “pervasive attacks on [their] dignity, self-worth, and ability to function.” 

“When I lived in student residence, the staff systematically deadnamed and misgendered me in nearly every interaction I had,” Regimbald said. “I repeatedly cautioned them; I asked them to stop; I involved McGill admin. There was one time where they started crossing off my (then) preferred name on parcels, and writing my deadname. One residence worker even told me I was committing a criminal offence by using a name that wasn’t legally mine.”

Queer McGill Administrative Coordinator Abe Berglas reported that McGill departmental heads often refuse to believe students when they report deadnaming, leading to students being unwillingly outed.

“When we come up with proof, they explain why the system works the way it does. But knowing that the transphobia is impersonal doesn’t protect us from being outed. I’ve never seen a group of people more defensive about being able to continue their transphobia. When potential new students ask me if McGill is accepting to queer students, I can’t say yes in good conscience,” Berglas said. Despite ongoing efforts made by Queer McGill, they wrote that “trans students continue to be dead-named and misgendered by automated IT systems from attendance sheets to departmental mailing lists,” and although “McGill’s Wellness Hub and housing department are aware of these problems, [they] resist calls for change.”

McGill, News

AGSEM plans to hold strike vote during week of March 11 

by Caroline Sun on

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After months of bargaining meetings with McGill to negotiate a new Collective Agreement (CA), the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) is holding a strike vote during the week of Mar. 11. This decision comes after teaching assistants (TAs) gathered at an assembly on Jan. 30, during which members voted unanimously on a motion mandating AGSEM’s Mobilization, TA bargaining, and Executive Committees to organize an assembly and hold a vote for a strike mandate. If the vote passes, all teaching assistants (TAs) currently working at McGill will go on strike. 

The union submitted its monetary proposal on Dec. 18, 2023, demanding a wage raise from $33.03 per hour to $46.36 per hour—which AGSEM claims is the average amount TAs make at other Canadian universities, such as the University of Toronto. It also seeks a cost-of-living adjustment, meaning that wages will follow a change in inflation if the latter is more than three per cent. Furthermore, the group wants the university to adjust TAs’ working hours to the number of students in the class that they are TAing. Lastly, AGSEM is asking that McGill provide healthcare benefits for TAs and that care be divided into three types: Care for domestic students, care for international students, and gender-affirming care.

According to AGSEM, McGill submitted its monetary proposal on Feb. 2, proposing a 1.25 per cent wage raise—which equates to an increase of 41 cents per hour—with a 1 per cent increase for each subsequent year. This stood in stark contrast to the 40 per cent AGSEM demanded. McGill’s proposal did not include sections concerning indexing working hours to class sizes, cost-of-living adjustments, or healthcare. 

Following their first monetary proposal, McGill proposed a 2.25 per cent wage increase on Feb. 26, raising the hourly rate to $33.77 with a 1.25 per cent increase for each following year. AGSEM wrote in its newsletter that this increase does not address inflation, which totalled 4.45 in 2023 in Quebec.

In their newsletter, AGSEM wrote that McGill framed its offer in the context of the decreasing funding from the Quebec government. History Delegate to the union, member of the bargaining support committee, and TA Donnie Morard acknowledged McGill’s tight financial situation but noted that expenses related to TAs—around 13 million per year according to AGSEM’s estimates—amount to a very small portion of the institution’s operating budget.

“I believe our wages amount to something close to [one] per cent, likely less, of McGill’s budget,” Morard said. “This is despite the invaluable work we do running labs, teaching conferences, and grading assignments. Giving TAs a big raise is a good investment in improving the quality of education at the university, especially since it won’t seriously undermine McGill’s bottom line.”

As the union did not accept McGill’s proposals, the university filed for conciliation. According to Harlan Hutt, president of the Association of McGill University Support Employees, conciliation consists of the process where “the union and employer bring in an independent arbitrator to help negotiate a collective agreement when they reach an impasse in collective bargaining.”

“Conciliation is normal within the process of negotiating a Collective Agreement, and is a standard part of collective bargaining. AMUSE has utilized conciliation before, notably during our 2017 Collective Agreement negotiation with McGill.”

AGSEM will hold two of its assemblies for the strike vote at Centre Mont-Royal, near the downtown campus, one on Wednesday, Mar. 13 at 6 p.m. and the other on Saturday, Mar. 16 at 2 p.m. It will also organize a meeting at 2 p.m. on Mar. 14 at McGill’s MacDonald Campus. Members only need to go to one of the assemblies to vote.

Negotiations will continue in the meantime, as both parties are planning to meet on Mar. 14, a day after assemblies for the strike vote start. Fanny Teissandier, a TA and AGSEM Anthropology Delegate, stated that the union seeks to avoid a strike in an email to The Tribune.

“The AGSEM bargaining team has told McGill and the conciliators that the union is willing to negotiate every single day ahead of our strike vote assemblies,” Teissandier stated. “On March 14 and 19, McGill may still avert a strike by reaching a tentative agreement with AGSEM’s bargaining team, which will be presented to the union’s membership for ratification.” 

McGill declined to comment for this piece.

Ask Ainsley, Student Life

Ask Ainsley: Finding the perfect roommate

by Ainsley on

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Dear Ainsley,

We are already halfway through the semester and I will soon need to pack up my room in res to go home for the summer, but I still don’t know where I’ll be coming back to in September. Time has gone by so fast and I now realize that before even starting to look for apartments, I need to find my future roommate. But where do I start? Please help.

Sincerely,

Panicking Over Flatmate (POF)

Dear POF,

Don’t worry, I have been in your shoes and so have thousands of other students. You still have time. Finding a roommate is not something that you should rush. Here are a few tips to help you figure out who you’re going to live with.

Living with a friend?

It’s true that for some, living with a friend is the best way to find the perfect roommate. But for others, it breaks the friendship: You can be really close friends with someone and still not be made to live together, and that is okay—it doesn’t mean that you love the person any less. Sometimes, it’s better to live with someone you don’t know. That way, there are no expectations involved and no room for disappointment. It’s also a great way to meet new people. Remember to set boundaries and communicate and everything will work out fine.

I would suggest living with a friend of yours only if their living style is compatible with yours. Otherwise, my biggest advice is to go to McGill Residences events. They organize a talk called Life Beyond Residences and you can be sure to find other people looking for roommates there, and they give great guidance as well. Apart from this, don’t hesitate to mention that you’re looking for a roommate to people around you—in your classes and to friends of friends for instance—and to check out some McGill Facebook groups as well.

Cleanliness 

Who in this world actually wants to live with someone dirty? I know I definitely don’t. It is crucial that you and your future roommate agree on the cleaning processes and boundaries. My roommate and I agreed when we moved in together that the dishes should be done immediately after eating if possible, or should not stay more than 24 hours in the sink. This is what works for us. Find what criteria work for you and make sure your future flatmate agrees. It can be really irritating to live with someone who doesn’t care as much about cleaning, or who cares far more about it, than you. 

Social battery levels

If you lived in residence with a roommate during your first year you know how important having a compatible schedule is. As someone who likes staying at home with a book and a cup of tea on Thursday night, you might not want to live with a party animal—and vice versa. I recommend finding someone who matches the way your social battery level fluctuates. It’s fine if you do not always want to do the same things but trust my word on this: It’s not nice coming home after a long day of school wanting to go to bed early to find your roommate partying in the living room. 

Complementary habits 

Cooking together is a great way to bond with your roommate at the beginning of your shared journey. While it’s always nice to discover someone else’s go-to food, my advice is to find someone who has pretty similar taste as you do—especially if you are a picky eater. If you don’t like cooking then you might want to find someone who does and would be down to prepare delicious meals for the both of you. In exchange, you could offer to handle the dishes for instance. Either way, the perfect roommate should align with your preferences. 

I hope this helps. Signing a roommate agreement might also be a good idea in order to put your standards for each other into writing and avoid a mid-semester crisis. Don’t forget that the only person you are going to be living with for the rest of your life is yourself—you are your own perfect roommate—so don’t stress too much about finding the perfect roommate when your stay with them is not going to last forever.

News, The Tribune Explains

Tribune Explains: Tenants’ rights in Montreal

by Lily Cason on

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The apartment search is ramping up for many as Quebec’s July 1 moving date looms closer. The Tribune brings you a guide to understanding and invoking your rights as a tenant when renting an apartment.

What are the regulations around landlords increasing rent?

Landlords must give written notice of their intention to increase rent three to six months before the end of the lease. If they do not meet this deadline, the rent must stay the same the following year. Each year, the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) recommends a percentage by which landlords adjust rent, but does not set a hard cap on rent increases. The Tribunal suggests tenants negotiate with their landlord if they think the rent increase is too steep and allows tenants to formally contest increases with the TAL if negotiation does not work.

What other housing regulations exist?

  • Landlords cannot require a security deposit. They can, however, request the first month’s rent early when the tenant signs the lease.
  • Landlords must give 24 hours notice before entering a tenant’s apartment, except in the case of an emergency. Visits should be between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and work should be done between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Landlords must respond to unsanitary conditions—for example, a pest infestation or serious plumbing problem. If a landlord does not intervene promptly, the tenant can call 311 to have the city intervene to ensure decent living conditions.
  • Landlords must perform urgent repairs—for example, fixing a broken front door that will not lock. If a tenant cannot get in touch with their landlord over an urgent matter, they are allowed to take reasonable action and demand reimbursement from the landlord.
  • If a landlord wishes to repossess an apartment that has a lease of over six months, they must give notice at least six months before the lease ends. In the case of a six-month lease, they must give notice at least one month before the lease ends.
  • Tenants are able to break their lease if they are no longer able to live in the dwelling due to a disability, if they or their child is the victim of domestic abuse, or if they have been allocated low-rent housing.

What is Bill 31?

On Feb. 21, Quebec’s Bill 31, “an Act to amend various legislative provisions with respect to housing,” came into effect. Among other provisions, the Bill means that lease transfers—the ability to sign over one’s lease to another person, protecting the rent from hikes—can now be stopped by landlords without reason. Previously, landlords had to have “serious concerns” to deny a transfer. The Coalition of Housing Committees and Tenants Associations of Quebec and other organizations that advocate for tenants have protested the Bill, saying that limiting lease transfers will dramatically worsen the already critical housing crisis in Montreal. In 2023, the CBC reported that Quebec’s unhoused population had nearly doubled in four years. 

Where can one get legal information and advice on housing law?

The Legal Information Clinic at McGill (LICM) and the StudentCare legal care program are both valuable resources for students who believe their housing rights have been violated. The LICM is staffed by McGill law students and provides legal information and know-your-rights workshops for students and the Montreal community. The StudentCare legal care program is available to students through the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) insurance plan for an opt-outable $30 per year. The program allows students to access both legal advice and legal representation. 

The TAL can be reached by phone or email. Appointments at the Tribunal’s information offices can be booked online.

How does one file a complaint if their rights are being abused?

It is a good idea to make it clear to your landlord that you know your rights. If they still do not take corrective action to respect your rights, you can take the issue to the TAL—a process the LICM, the StudentCare legal care program, or the TAL themselves are equipped to help you navigate. An application can be filed online, in person, or by mail.

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