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Science & Technology

A potential cure for HIV: Right under our belly buttons?

by Niamh Stafford on

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At the 2022 Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Yvonne Bryson, an infectious disease researcher and professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, announced that a woman of mixed race had been cured of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After undergoing an umbilical cord stem cell transplant to treat her leukemia, the patient exhibited signs of HIV remission. Scientists are hopeful that this research on umbilical cord stem cells could shed light on a potential cure for HIV.

HIV attacks the body’s immune system and, when left untreated, often leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). There is currently no cure for HIV. The available antiretroviral therapy (ART) is, however, very effective at preventing the development of AIDS. This form of treatment stops the virus from multiplying in the body and reduces the viral load to very low amounts, making the virus virtually undetectable and impossible to transmit. 

“ART does not cure the person, since the virus remains archived in the body and will re-emerge if treatment is discontinued or interrupted or if drug resistance develops,” Dr. Bluma Brenner, an assistant professor in McGill’s Faculty of Surgery and an affiliated member of the McGill AIDS Centre, wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. 

Although effective, ART has its flaws—according to the WHO, 27 per cent of those diagnosed with HIV could not access the treatment in 2020 Ideally, ART would be made more accessible and affordable until there is a surefire cure and roadmap to solving the HIV crisis.

The eye-catching term “cured” has been used extensively in the media coverage of this recent story, garnering widespread attention. In this case, to be cured of HIV meant that the patient stopped ART and remained in remission. Disease remission is characterized by a decrease or disappearance of symptoms. This woman is the third person reported to be cured of HIV, but remains under the watchful eye of physicians as remission relapse is possible.  

“The only [other] cases of HIV cure were the Berlin and London cases, [which] were isolated cases where individuals with cancer received whole body irradiation and who received stem cell transplants,” Brenner wrote.

These two individuals were both recipients of bone marrow transplants containing genetic mutations capable of stopping HIV’s viral entry into the body. However, this type of treatment is invasive and can have terrible side effects such as graft versus host disease, where the recipient’s body is attacked by donor cells. Umbilical stem cell transplants, in comparison, are less intrusive and therefore less likely to cause lasting damage. After the collection of donor cells, the recipient receives an intravenous injection containing the stem cells. Umbilical stem cells work similarly to bone marrow ones by blocking HIV’s entry into the host’s cells, which stops the disease from progressing. Why these umbilical stem cells work so well is still unclear. 

The patient’s recovery was remarkably smooth after the stem cell transplant, making her a novelty amongst those cured of HIV and rendering umbilical stem cells that much more of an attractive option to researchers looking for cures. In addition to her health rebound, she is also the only woman and person of mixed race to be cured of HIV with stem cells—two firsts that could be significant for researchers when investigating a cure.

Her biological sex and race are important because there are very few HIV trials that include women at all, let alone women of mixed race. Fifty-three per cent of HIV patients worldwide are women, and of these women, most are non-white. The disease is especially prevalent in developing countries due to systemic factors such as poverty, lack of access to health-care services, and lack of information on the prevention of spread. Many of these HIV patients are also at a much higher risk of developing AIDS because of compromised immune systems from prior infections. To understand how the disease could be treated universally, it is vital that people of diverse backgrounds are included in cure trials. 

A cure must work for everyone, regardless of race or biological sex, to bring an end to the HIV/AIDS crisis. That being said, it is unlikely that umbilical cord stem cells will be the be-all, end-all cure: Several unavoidable factors complicate the cure, such as ethical issues regarding the acquisition of umbilical cord blood, the overall cost of stem cell transplants, and the complex task of finding the right donor. 

So, while this case is indeed important scientifically, it is perhaps too specific to a particular set of conditions to inspire a universal umbilical stem-cell cure. But as always, more research needs to be done. 

“One needs to have a cautionary note,” Brenner wrote. “There was a Boston patient and a Minnesota patient who had [a] similar treatment, underwent remission, and experienced viral rebound.” 

Although the news of this cured woman is boosting morale amongst the HIV-affected community, a universal cure still seems far out of reach. According to Brenner, it is not possible to use umbilical stem cells to treat all HIV patients. 

“The mass media loves the magic bullet, the instant cure,” Brenner wrote. “There is no HIV vaccine in the foreseeable future.”

Research Briefs, Science & Technology

Predicting coma outcomes with a high level of accuracy

by Cyril Kazan on

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Treating unconscious patients is a real challenge for physicians. For example, when treating patients with brain injuries, doctors and family are often faced with the decision of either pursuing aggressive treatment or switching to an end-of-life care approach. However, because patients are often unable to communicate, making such decisions is extremely challenging. 

Being able to accurately predict whether a patient will regain consciousness would therefore be an invaluable tool for clinicians. Dr. Stefanie Blain-Moraes, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill, and a member of the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, is developing a test that can predict whether a patient is likely to recover within the following three months.

The test uses propofol, a drug used by anesthesiologists in the operating room to sedate patients. When conscious patients receive propofol before a surgery, their brain networks are reconfigured, marking the transition between conscious and unconscious states. The reconfiguration can be observed with an electroencephalogram (EEG), a recording of the brain’s electrical activity which anesthesiologists can then use to monitor their patients’ brain activity after they administer propofol. According to Blain-Moraes, this is done to prevent intra-operative awareness, an often traumatic experience where a patient regains consciousness during a procedure or later recalls what happened during anesthesia. 

Blain-Moraes and her team built their test around this phenomenon of brain network reconfiguration in response to propofol. They administered the drug to patients with disorders of consciousness, including coma patients, and looked at their brain’s responses. They hypothesized that patients who undergo a reconfiguration similar to awake patients, such as those receiving propofol for a surgery, would recover consciousness within three months. Indeed, it would mean that their brain is responding to propofol in the same way that a conscious patient’s brain would—a sign that means that they will likely regain consciousness soon. However, patients who do not undergo this reconfiguration would likely remain unconscious.  

Astonishingly, preliminary results have shown that their predictions were correct. They developed an algorithm that calculates the amount of reconfiguration that appears in the EEG after administering propofol, resulting in a number called the Adaptive Reconfiguration Index. There was a linear separation between the indices of the patients who regained consciousness after three months, and those who remained unconscious. In other words, three months after performing this test, patients with an index greater than zero had regained consciousness, and those with an index smaller than zero had not. 

This study, however, is only based on a small patient pool. Blain-Moraes, who has been named among the world’s top scientists under the age of 40 by the World Economic Forum, is currently co-leading a much larger study to confirm these results. The study’s goal is to recruit 300 participants to confirm the accuracy of the Adaptive Reconfiguration Index in this larger sample. But even if larger studies support their findings, the system still needs to be refined before it can be used in hospitals. The study used advanced, laboratory-grade EEG devices, but many hospitals do not yet have access to this technology. The index should thus be adapted to make sure it is still accurate when using hospital-grade EEG devices. 

“It is still a laboratory technology, not something that can be used in the clinic,” Blain-Moraes said. “The software should be so easy to use that you just drop the EEG into it, and it automatically gives you the index.” 

If the Adaptive Reconfiguration Index is adapted for use in a hospital setting, it could greatly improve the care of patients with disorders of consciousness. The index could be an important tool for physicians, and has the potential to help inform better clinical decision-making, and ultimately, better patient outcomes. 

Student Life

From 1968-2022: Accessing birth control as a student

by El Bush on

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For many McGill students, university is a time of exploration. And yet, many students struggle to find adequate resources to help them navigate their sexual lives. Unfortunately, barriers to accessing comprehensive resources is nothing new. Since the 1960s, McGill students have been actively working to fill the gaps, creating sexual health resources for their peers. 

It all began in 1968 when McGill’s Student Council passed a motion to form a Birth Control Committee in order to address the lack of sexual health resources available to the McGill community. From this committee, Donna Cherniak and Allan Feingold created the Birth Control Handbook—a comprehensive guide to sexual health, contraception, and anatomy for university students. Its first edition began circulating in 1968, prior to the Omnibus Bill of 1969 which legalized birth control and decriminalized abortion across Canada. Cherniak and Feingold laid the groundwork for activists who came after, with substantial change eventually taking hold not only at McGill, but at countless universities across North America.  

The 1968 birth control handbook and its three subsequent editions were integral to keeping students safe. However, over 50 years later, adequate sexual health and contraception resources is still lacking. To honour the incredible work of Cherniak and Feingold, the Tribune has compiled some sexual health resources students can use in 2022.

  1. The Wellness Hub

For those looking to get started with contraception or even renew a pre-existing birth control prescription, the Wellness Hub can help. The hub is home to a variety of resources, offering wellness programming to all students and consultations with nurses or doctors and referrals to off-campus specialists. However, appointments fill up quickly, so we recommend calling at 8:30 a.m. on Mondays to snag a spot. 

Services: Consultations for STD and cervical cancer screening, IUD and Nexplanon insertion and removal, as well as access to sexologists—mental health professionals who offer sexual health support in a safe and judgement-free space. The hub’s sexologists can offer support for concerns related to coping with an sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis and communicating diagnoses with partners, BDSM practices, sex work, pregnancy, contraception, and abortion. 

  1. Dialogue and Maple

Both international and out-of-province students also have access to several online telehealth resources that connect students to appropriate health-care professionals who can offer medical advice from the comfort of students’ own homes. Dialogue is covered by the SSMU Health Plan for in- or out-of-province students, whereas Maple is covered for international students under the International Health Insurance Plan. 

Services: Nurse or doctor consultations for contraception, prescriptions, STD screening, access to sexologists, and referral to in-person resources. 

  1. Head and Hands 

Head and Heads is an organization located in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood that offers physical and mental health resources to youth ages 12-25. Their mission is to provide youth with the resources they need to make informed decisions about their bodies. 

Services: STI testing for young adults aged 12-25, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, or insurance status.

  1. Montreal Sexual Assault Centre 

The Montreal Sexual Assault Centre is a safe, judgement-free organization that offers services to survivors of sexual violence. Any survivor over 18 years of age can go to one of their four locations across Montreal, even without an appointment. 

Services: Medical examination, STI testing, forensic samples, medical treatment and follow-up, psychosocial support, and information on police and legal procedures. 

Whether in 1968 or 2022, sexual health is an important part of wellness. If you’re looking for other resources or somewhere to go off-campus, you can visit www.mcgill.ca/wellness-hub/campus-care/ for more targeted services and locations. 

Out on the Town, Student Life

Stitching together Montreal’s handmade clothing scene

by Abby McCormick on

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Since the beginning of the COVD-19 pandemic, the rise of knitting and crocheting has quickly propelled handcrafted clothing to the status of a fashion staple. This ethical alternative to fast fashion allows consumers to express themselves through unique fashion choices while helping to keep garments out of the landfill. 

McGillians looking to get in on the new trend this spring are in luck; Montreal is home to a small, but incredibly versatile, community of handmade creators.

1. Left_____overs 

Inspired by her mother’s knitting practice, Emma Harris launched her own handmade clothing store in early 2021. While opening her own online store was something Harris wanted to do prior to the pandemic, it was the time spent in lockdown that allowed her vision to finally come to fruition.

“My shop definitely wouldn’t be as big if it weren’t for COVID-19,” Harris said. “I think [I was] looking for a side-hustle and a way to take a break from being on screens all the time.”

Harris employs a loose, pattern-free approach in creating her avant-garde looks. Primarily sourcing her leather and textile scraps from factories, Harris aims to maintain the structural integrity of the materials in her finished product.

“It helps to give the garments a lifeline of history [and] create a closer relationship with the garment,” Harris said. 

Harris is encouraged by the recent public interest in handmade clothing, and is confident that this trend will only continue to gain traction. 

“I think it will definitely find a strong footing as the climate crisis ramps up,” Harris said. “Eventually, the current fast-fashion industry will no longer be able to keep producing as they are today.”

2. Hannah Isolde

Coming from a self-described “family of makers,” Nova Scotia native Hannah Goodman has been knitting and sewing for as long as she can remember. 

“I taught myself to sew on a 1970s sewing machine and just went ‘Wow this is incredible! I can create my own clothing,’” Goodman said. 

After graduating from high school, Goodman realized that she wanted to pursue design. She then moved to Montreal, where she opened her own handmade clothing business, self-titled Hannah Isolde, in 2018. 

Goodman’s shop primarily sells clothing that is typically seen as romantic and feminine. However, she tries not to see clothing as defined by the gender binary. Through her brand, she aims to encapsulate a leisurely, vacation lifestyle.

3. Boutique Lustre—4068 St. Laurent Boulevard 

Yasmine Wasfy, owner of Boutique Lustre, has had a strong passion for ethical and sustainable fashion since her teen years. Her time spent studying costume design at LaSalle College equipped her with the tools to start her own fashion brand post-graduation. 

A business that began in Wasfy’s living room and ran out of pop-up shops quickly became a well-known spot for eye-catching designs. Boutique Lustre first opened its doors to the Montreal community in 2006 and has since established an unwavering consumer base. 

“The word client feels too transactional to describe what we’ve built,” Wasfy said. “I refer to my clients as my community [….] I’ve grown with them, and their lifestyles help to inspire my designs.”

Wasfy prides herself on her unique creative process. As the boutique’s sole designer, Wasfy begins her pieces with a collection of textiles from Canadian-run companies and creates monthly capsules with various themes and colour palettes. She then organizes the textiles into a mood board of fabrics and begins patterning. The final patterns are handed over to the boutique’s small team of sewers who sew the garments by hand. 

Wasfy feels that the widespread move to online shopping has allowed the handmade clothing scene to reach a larger audience, all while opening up the space for important conversations. 

“The online marketplace has pushed people further into sustainability and opened the door for greater size acceptance,” Wasfy explained. “I think this conversation was much needed and [is one that] will continue to be had.” 

McGill, News

Students split over McGill’s ‘return to full in-person activities’ for Fall 2022 semester

by Lily Cason on

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After two years of pandemic-related closures and restrictions, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi and Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) Yves Beauchamp announced on Feb. 22 that the Fall 2022 semester will be held entirely in person. The statement came as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Quebec continue to decline and the provincial government gradually eases many of its pandemic restrictions—such as the vaccine passport, limits on private gathering, and work-from-home orders.

All classes, regardless of size, will take place on campus in the Fall 2022 semester. This is a marked change from the Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 semesters, which had in-person courses capped at 150 and 200 people, respectively. Other activities, such as research and extracurriculars, will also return to routine pre-pandemic operations. 

Manfredi and Beauchamp clarified in their announcement that students should still expect some COVID-19 measures to continue into the coming semester. Frédérique Mazerolle, a McGill media relations officer, said that the university will provide further information as the fall semester approaches.

“Appropriate measures will still be in place to ensure that our campuses continue to be safe and we will remain vigilant as the pandemic continues to evolve,” Mazerolle wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “As usual, we will provide regular updates as we continue to return to more in-person activities over the coming months.”

Student reactions to McGill’s announcement have been mixed. Some, like Herman Korsunov, U2 Management, believe that it is time to lift pandemic restrictions. Korsunov noted that many core, introductory-level classes in his program often exceed the capacity limits that were set for in-person delivery over the last two years—resulting in some students experiencing university almost solely online. These students, Korsunov argued, have been put at a serious disadvantage by their lack of in-person schooling, particularly because they have missed out on networking opportunities.

“A major part of business, and the whole Desautels Faculty of Management, is that you need to communicate with people, you need to make some friends, you need to network,” Korsunov said. “That’s how, for example, […] I found my internship, I met some people, I’ve done some extracurriculars. They’re all thanks to communication and talking to people [….] We need to have all classes to be in person mainly for the social and meeting-the-people part. I think the education technique can be online, but it’s not as efficient from what I saw.”

Others, like Anthony Georgaros, U2 Arts, say the university’s decision is premature, given the pandemic’s past unpredictability.

“In my opinion, it’s a little early to make such a bold call,” Georgaros wrote in a message to the Tribune. “[The] administration should probably wait until the summer to confirm if they should return to fully in-person classes because chances are they will have to go back on that if the trend from the last couple years continues.”

The university did not answer the Tribune’s questions on what accommodations will be available for the coming semester, how the rollback of the vaccine passport will transpire at McGill, and under what circumstances, if any, the decision to resume full activities may be modified.

Creative, Video

McGill Minute – February 21, 2022

by Sabrina Nelson on

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Contributor Sabrina Nelson brings you the top news stories in the Tribune’s weekly news segment, “McGill Minute”.

Hockey, Sports

Martlets hockey returns with a bang, winning first game back against Carleton Ravens

by Sophia Gorbounov on

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On a chilly evening at McConnell Arena, the McGill Martlets hockey team (10–3–0) played their first game of the semester after over two months of hiatus due to recurring pandemic restrictions. The McGill team returned on Feb. 18 with style and determination, beating out the Carleton Ravens 3-0 (4–9–0).

From the get-go, the game seemed promising, with McGill taking first possession of the puck and team captain Jade Downie-Landry taking the first shot on goal. However, both the action and the enthusiasm died down for the rest of the first period.

Martlets forward Makenzie McCallum explained that the prolonged hiatus resulted in the team needing some time to find their footing on the ice once again. 

“It took a period for us to get back into the swing of things,” McCallum wrote to The McGill Tribune. “But once we found our rhythm, we were flying.”

Indeed, toward the end of the first period, a new-found energy made its way through the Martlets, and their shots on goal increased. But the Ravens’ defence remained strong, proving difficult to penetrate for the McGill attackers. Though the puck spent more time on the Ravens’ side of the ice, the Martlets were busy solidifying their strategy.

The second period saw a shift in the Martlets’ spirit. Netminder Tricia Deguire made several incredible saves, keeping the score at zero through her agile goaltending. Finally, after relentlessly pressuring the Ravens’ defence, first-year defenceman Jaime Kastelic scored the first goal of the game, assisted by forward Katie Rankin. The second period ended at 1-0, with every McGillian in the audience rejuvenated and at the edge of their seats. 

Both teams eased slowly into the third period, with McGill remaining cautious to keep the game in their favour. Several players, including Downie-Landry and centre Marika Labrecque, attempted shots on goal to no avail. 

Energies on both teams were high, yet the first half of the last period began to suggest a 1-0 finish. Then, with a burst of adrenaline, Downie-Landry scored with an assist by forward Stephanie Desjardins and defenceman Elizabeth Mura, bringing the game to 2-0 for the Martlets. 

Celebrations had barely ceased before Downie-Landry scored an unassisted third goal. Cheers soared through the crowd and players alike. With the score now at 3-0, and only 12 minutes left in the game, it was a sure win for the Martlets. With another game in hand, Downie-Landry is currently first in the nation for points among women’s U Sports hockey. 

Looking ahead to future games, Downie-Landry explained that the key to maintaining the streak is for the team to constantly adapt and adjust after every game. 

“As the game progressed, we started getting back into our good habits which we had worked [on] towards the first half of the season,” Downie-Landry wrote to the Tribune. “What will be important for our upcoming games is to build off of the positive, yet learn from what we could have done better. Our growth has been tremendous up until now.”

Moment of the game: Early in the second period, the Ravens were able to get the puck to the Martlets’ side. In a whirlwind of back and forths, goaltender Tricia Deguire was alone defending the net, with the puck fast approaching. The crowd sat in suspense, as a goal against McGill seemed inevitable. Yet, Deguire beat the odds, blocking the shot, saving the puck, and retaining a score of 1-0 for the team.

Quotable: “Our coaches have really helped our team develop to the group we have today and I think it showed last night. The young group of defence have done a great job stepping up, which helps our overall success.” – Forward Makenzie McCallum


Stat corner: With 196 points to her name, Martlets captain Jade Downie-Landry is close to becoming the seventh player in team history to break the 200-point mark.

Editorial, Opinion

McGill’s commitments to Black History Month require sustained action

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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On Feb. 1, an opening ceremony with keynote speaker Dr. James Jones marked the lineup of events for McGill’s fifth annual celebration of Black History Month. In an email to students, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier and Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi acknowledged that the work of McGill’s Anti-Black Racism plan builds upon ongoing advocacy by the Black Students’ Network, the McGill African Students’ Society, and the Dr. Kenneth Melville Black Faculty Caucus, and that celebrating Black excellence should be a year-round commitment. These words are an important, yet minimal, first step in reversing the documented apathy toward the sustained, storied, and long-standing realities of anti-Blackness at McGill. Committing to promises of anti-racism and truly honouring Black History Month requires bolder, multilateral solutions that fundamentally reimagine the core structure of the university—which disproportionately impacts Black community members’ abilities to flourish.

McGill’s commitment to year-round care for Black history has yet to be realized. This, in part, stems from the university’s initial reluctance to officially recognize Black History Month—21 years after the House of Commons’ official recognition and years of grassroots Black student advocacy. McGill’s involvement fails to extend beyond surface-level engagement. For example, the university often pigeon-holes Black academics’ events into February, rather than offering them prime speaking opportunities at more “prestigious” events, like the Beatty Lecture. Although McGill has finally admitted that its namesake, James McGill, enslaved at least three Black people and two Indigenous people, it took repeated instances of vandalism before his statue was taken down—for “repair and restoration.” Year-round support for Black lives means well-intentioned engagement, beyond funding, that challenges McGill’s tendency to exclude and ignore Black presence on campus.

McGill’s hesitancy to engage could be perceived as giving Black student groups autonomy to organize, but it is critical to remember that the administration ultimately holds power over the university’s direction. Consider the underrepresentation of Black faculty––who made up just 0.8 per cent of the over 1,700 tenure-track or stream academics in September 2020––especially in, but not limited to, disciplines like science and engineering. The focus on Black excellence, already concerning in its validation of Black humanity only within spheres of neoliberal achievement, has not translated to representation on the syllabus or in the classroom. 

At the faculty level, departments must question why race-critical approaches sit on the periphery of curricula. Professors have a responsibility to understand that teaching one Black thinker on their Eurocentric syllabus is hollow without meaningful engagement. Courses centred on race are often offered solely at the 400 and 500 levels, rather than being seriously integrated into introductory courses across the sciences and humanities. In turn, programs continue to value a white status quo over the experiences of Black and racialized people often affected by the radical, white supremacist misinterpretations of these disciplines. McGill students can currently graduate without understanding how colonialism and systemic racism subsist and survive as all-consuming forces—all of which affect what courses are taught, who gets to teach them and how, and how Black students connect lived experience in the world with those in the classroom. 

McGill students are not exempt from these changes. To lazily criticize McGill without taking action or changing one’s own attitude is to allow systemic anti-Black racism to propagate for personal, performative benefit. In spite of their limited diversity, McGill student organizations need to go beyond rhetorical shows of support—and in the Students’ Society of McGill University’s case, need to go beyond utter radio silence—they can further share calls to action and concretize constitutional commitments to equity. Unburdening Black students involves fairly compensating them for their labour and sharing power, rather than consulting them in symbolic “safe spaces.”

McGill needs to hold itself accountable for its commitments to Black people. These actions are neither all-inclusive, nor easy for students, faculty, or the administration—and they should not be either. McGill needs long-term changes across all levels and must raise the bar to which it holds itself. McGill should communicate progress updates on their Anti-Black Racism plan more clearly and consistently, as should SSMU with the Black Affairs Committee. The tiered, multi-layered process of breaking barriers and making space for McGill’s Black community is necessary in the pursuit of an equitable, just, and anti-racist future.

News, SSMU

‘I never went on any leave of absence’: SSMU President Daryanani makes first appearance at Legislative Council since Sept. 23

by Michelle Siegel on

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On Feb. 17, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council convened for a long 5.5 hours, with SSMU president Darshan Daryanani’s return dominating the meeting and discussions about concerns of racism and harassment within SSMU. Councillors voted on several motions, including one regarding a moratorium on ancillary fees, and heard presentations from several student groups, including Student Support, Athletics and Recreation, and Divest McGill, about the different fees and services up for referendum at the SSMU General Assembly. 

Providing long-awaited transparency, Daryanani addressed the council directly during the meeting, revealing that he was not on a leave of absence, but that he had been suspended by the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) since Sept. 23, 2021. The suspension was set to end on Nov. 5, 2021, but the BoD extended it several times and did not give Daryanani a definitive end date.

“Only on Sunday, February 13, was I informed by the SSMU Board of Directors that all reasons to justify the suspension were unfounded and declared inadmissible,” Daryanani said. “I can assure you that at every step, I fully collaborated with the process, despite the fact that the board frequently violated my rights as a SSMU officer and employee. To be clear, I never went on any leave of absence.”

In the question period that followed, Daryanani said that he was never told the reason behind his suspension, but responded to several inquiries about his time out of office. 

Several student representatives and members of the gallery raised concerns about the lack of transparency on the part of other SSMU members regarding Daryanani’s suspension. Although all of the SSMU executives were present at the meeting, only Daryanani responded to questions regarding his suspension, with the others stating that such information was confidential. 

Engineering representative Hiraku Murakami questioned vice-president (VP) Finance Éric Sader about executives refusing to acknowledge Daryanani’s suspension due to confidentiality. Several other councillors also brought up the topic, with management representative Nathaniel Saad later adding, “There is a fine line between confidentiality and withholding information that students deserve to know.”

As attention turned toward the actions and responses of the SSMU executives, many attendees became emotional when discussing questions about the “toxic” workplace culture for women and gender minorities at the SSMU. After member of the gallery and former SSMU president Bryan Buraga questioned why executives were acting “glib” about such a serious matter, VP Student Life Karla Heisele Cubilla quickly responded, claiming that executives were also “victims of the structure” and calling the question “insulting, almost.”

While all the executives agreed that there are major issues in SSMU’s working culture that need to be addressed, tensions were high and the responses of executives differed greatly in manner. VP University Affairs Claire Downie spoke out broadly about the actions of male employees at SSMU. 

“Men who work at SSMU, men who are in these circles, please consider that you may be part of the problem,” Downie said. “You may not have these egregious examples that some people talk about, but many many men are part of the problem and I want people to be mindful.””

Councillors then addressed five motions concerning the Feb. 21 General Assembly before the session was adjourned: The Motion Regarding Amendment on the Moratorium Ancillaries Fees was not approved; the Motion Regarding the French Accessibility Fee Referendum Question and the Motion Regarding Referendum Question on the Increase of the 2022 SSMU Membership Fee were both approved; and the Motion Regarding Reintroduction of the Facility Improvement Fee Referendum Question and the Motion Regarding Ratification to the Society’s Board Of Directors were both postponed. The remaining motions, including the Motion Regarding Referendum Question on the Creation of a Black Affairs Fee Levy, were postponed to email approval.

Moment of the meeting:

During the announcement period, VP internal Sarah Paulin interrupted president Daryanani with a point of order, claiming that the revelation that he was absent because of suspension was confidential information. Members of the Dias—which includes the Speaker, Speaker On Call, the Parliamentarian, and the Governance Manager—met in a breakout room for 15 minutes to decide on whether to sustain the VP Internal’s point of order, before allowing Daryanani to continue.

Soundbite:

“I just want to bring up one thing: That this is not a clash of McGill Athletics and Divest McGill. McGill Athletics is with the climate movement [….] However, this is a chance for the Student Union to actually stand up and protect the students […] from the administration [….] This is a chance for […] the thousands of students that use McGill Athletics to have a better experience and to be better able to control that experience out of the hands of administration.” —Gallery Member James Mulvaney, on how amending the SSMU moratorium of ancillary fees uplifts McGill Athletics without devaluing Divest McGill’s efforts.

A previous version of this article stated that the Speaker of Council and a couple non-voting members of the council convened in the breakout room. For clarification, it was the members of the Dias (which includes he Speaker, Speaker On Call, the Parliamentarian, and the Governance Manager) who met in the breakout room to decide on a governance question—whether to sustain the VP internal’s point of order.

Science & Technology

Anger, crime, and punishment: Can we control our own emotions?

by Mikaela Shadick on

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A team of scientists from McGill, the National Institute of Scientific Research (IRNS), and the University of Ottawa have identified anger as being an intuitive, near-instantaneous reaction to crime in a recent study published in Psychology, Crime & Law. Their research shows that emotion, alongside factual evidence, can play a significant role in determining punishments for criminalized individuals.  

Led by Carolyn Côté-Lussier, professor of urban studies at the INRS and assistant professor in the University of Ottawa’s criminology department, the experiment asked participants to make snap decisions about the degree of punishment 52 males should receive based on their photo. Participants were told that the men had previously been convicted of a crime, but their actual crimes were not listed. 

By measuring both the participants’ electrical impulses that control facial expressions and their punitive decisions, Côté-Lussier’s team concluded that anger could manifest itself physiologically within only 500 milliseconds. Participants had decided on a punishment for a criminalized person after only 1.3 seconds, on average.

The researchers used facial electromyography (fEMG), a technology that records minute movements in facial muscles down to the millisecond, to quantify the physiological manifestation of emotion. The movements of corrugator muscles, those directly responsible for frowning, were specifically recorded to isolate instances of anger. 

“We respond to other people’s facial expressions and emotions, and we also have our own facial expressions that express our emotions,” Côté-Lussier said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “I’m very interested in these micro expressions, in how we feel intuitively. You might not be aware of where an emotion is coming from, but it [manifests] itself on your face.” 

The team observed that participants felt varying levels of anger toward the individuals they were shown, and that there was a correlation between how “warm”—or friendly—the individual was perceived to be and the degree of punishment the participants said they should receive. 

“When I was creating the groups of pictures, I was focussed on how they differed on the dimension of warmth,” Côté-Lussier said. “Because this […] is the thing we pay attention to the most [in this experiment] and will really orient our emotions to a particular social emotional group.” 

Côté-Lussier noted that this intuitive manifestation often stems from biases founded upon demographic characteristics like race, age, perceived social status, or attractiveness.

“These kinds of biases […] are infusing our reasoning, they are tinting the way that […] we see people, and we can work actively to try and dismantle that. But when we look at the data, we tend to see the same kind of biases being manifested,” Côté-Lussier said. “So there is a link here between the intuition and the outcome that we end up seeing.”

Côté-Lussier says that other characteristics that provoke such biases pose possible areas of future study, now that the link between the intuitive nature of anger and punitiveness has been quantified. 

“For instance, I haven’t considered the race dimension in the analyses themselves, partly because I made an effort to control for that by having the same kind of composition across the two groups,” Côté-Lussier said. “But that doesn’t mean that that stops us from looking at those dimensions [in the] future.”

And according to Côté-Lussier, it is these internalized biases and tendencies to make snap judgments that proliferate and fester in our criminal justice system, even if we make efforts to check them at the door of the courthouse.

While Côté-Lussier recognizes that this research does not directly emulate what occurs in the courtroom, specifically because judges and jury members are expected to make decisions based on evidence, not just a photo, she reminds us that our innate tendencies can lead us to make emotionally-guided judgements. 

“I think it would be incorrect to expect that a judge or a jury member could do away with the emotional intuitive reactions,” Côté-Lussier said. “For me, the important thing is less about how I hope people will pay attention to [this research] in the criminal justice system, and more about how I want it to tackle social, structural inequities. If we reduce those inequalities, we’ll see less crime and less anger about crime.” 

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