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News, SSMU

SSMU supports motion for gun control in Canada

by Helen Wu on

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The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council convened on Nov. 29 for their last meeting of 2018. They debated a new motion to support Bill C-71, which was introduced by Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to reduce gun violence across Canada. Chip Smith, a member of the Accountability Committee, also presented evaluations of the SSMU Executives and Councillors’ performances for the Fall 2018 semester.

Motion Regarding SSMU’s Position on Gun Control in Canada

The Liberal party of Canada is poised to pass Bill C-71, which is currently under review at the Canadian Senate. The bill will tighten laws on firearms by improving background checks and implementing mandatory record-keeping by firearms retailers. SSMU Vice-President (VP) Student Life Cody Esterle had drafted a motion to endorse the bill and lobby Canadian Senators, Members of Parliament, and the Minister of Public Safety of Canada for better gun control. As Esterle was not present, however, Arts Representative Ana Paula Sánchez explained the motion to council.

“Essentially, what the motion is trying to do is have SSMU endorse [Bill C-71] and help in a letter-writing campaign to advocate for a national ban on civilian ownership of handguns,” Sánchez said.

Arts Representative Andrew Figueiredo argued during the debate period that banning handguns will not be the solution to gun violence.

“First of all, hand guns can be used for hunting […and], moreover, for self-protection,” Figueiredo said. “In rural areas, it takes up to 45 minutes for RCMP to actually get to your door [….] In the city of Toronto, 50 per cent of guns used illegally […] are imported from the United States. Maybe invest in border security, because, clearly, banning guns is not the solution in this case.”

Management Representative Brooke Callaghan was critical of Figueiredo’s argument.

“Any measures should […] be taken to prevent the use of guns in in any way, shape, or form in this country and in all countries,” Callaghan said. “Guns are used for violence, period. They are a killing machine […] Whether you are killing an animal or person, [guns are] meant to cause harm [to] another being.”

The motion was passed with 26 in favour, 2 opposed, and no abstentions.

Fall 2018 Accountability Committee Report

The Accountability Committee is mandated to ensure that Officers, Senators, Directors, and Councillors fulfill their obligations and responsibilities. In this semester’s assessment, the SSMU Executives collectively received a grade of ‘A’ or ‘A-’ on each criteria. Each executive also received a specific evaluation to which they had the opportunity to respond. Among the most heavily criticized for delays in their work were VP Finance Jun Wang and VP Internal Matthew McLaughlin.

Wang admitted that the effort of transitioning club banking has taken a toll on his mental health.

“My predecessors never had to deal with this many constituents at once,” Wang said. “And it [becomes] a mental pressure point when I have to deal with not just departmental executives […] but also SSMU club members as well [….The club bank transition is] probably [my] biggest project, and it [has] been very difficult to keep [under control] without impacting the other executives.”

McLaughlin explained that the two-and-a-half-month delay in hiring a Francophone Affairs Commissioner was due to its impromptu addition to his portfolio as a result of VP External Marina Cupido’s resignation. He reported to council that a commissioner was found on Nov. 29.

“This was under the External portfolio until Marina’s resignation, and then it was under my portfolio,” McLaughlin said. “As soon as I got this part of my portfolio [assigned], I launched the job application for the Francophone Affairs Commissioner and the application for the Francophone Affairs Committee. We [have found a commissioner but] only received one application to the committee so far, so I reopened that today to get more applicants.”

Legislative Council will reconvene on Jan. 10.

News

Clintons praise Canada’s diversity and economy at Bell Centre

by Caitlin Kindig on

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42nd U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at the Bell Centre on Nov. 28 as part of their “An Evening with the Clintons” tour, casually discussing topics such as their upbringings, role models, and the future of global politics. They also commented on Canadian affairs, recommending that Americans look to Canada as a model for inclusion. Before the talk began, Tanya Taylor, a McGill alumnus and event moderator, presented the couple with customized Montreal Canadiens jerseys, proclaiming that they were sitting on centre ice of the team’s home rink.

The duo commended Canada’s ability to celebrate cultural diversity, embrace immigrants, and elevate the middle class. Hillary Clinton reflected on how, in her various government positions, she has often cited Canada for its dynamic economy.

“In addition to really admiring the culture [of Canada], I also really applaud the economic model,” Clinton said. “We’re looking at how we can get some of that dynamism back into [the U.S.] economy as well as more opportunity for more people. Canada was always a good example because of the way that the economy has lifted people up here, especially in your healthcare system [as a] a basic level of support that everybody should have [….Healthcare] should be a right, not a privilege.”

Although never mentioning the incumbent U.S. President by name, Hillary Clinton expressed resentment for the ‘authoritarian model’ overwhelming the U.S. government and praised Canada for its leadership in these divisive times.

“There are the same tendencies [in Canada] toward partisanship and ‘resentment politics’ that you get in many other places, but to continue to fight against that and keep trying to bring the country together around common goals while maintaining your separate identities […] within an integrated whole seems to be the model that people will wake up and look for again,” Hillary Clinton said. “So, I’m looking to you, Canada, to bring us back to our senses.”

Bill Clinton echoed Hillary’s sentiments, sharing memorable experiences from his diplomatic work with Canada as president and praising the country’s optimism.

“I will always love this place, and I think you really [have to] think about how you can be Canada and still embrace the winds that are blowing in this world in a positive way,” Bill Clinton said. “The United States must return to that if it expects to play a positive role in the future. We should do more of what you’ve been doing.”

The Clintons, now grandparents, spoke about future generations, how their family has expanded, and the importance of helping those in need.

“I don’t know if we give enough kids today the chance to [volunteer],” Hillary Clinton said. “Kids are highly scheduled, [and] they spend a lot of time staring at a screen, so where’s that time to actually go out and interact with other people? When you’re not out in a community and not trying to be part of that, trying to make it better, then you lose track of people who are not like you.”

Bill Clinton also cited the importance of diversity when solving problems, specifically when trying to fight climate change.

“Complex problems are best solved by diverse groups […with] different experiences and different knowledge,” Bill Clinton said. “If you want humanity to be around for another two or three hundred thousand years, we have to work together to moderate climate change [and] we have to adapt to that which we cannot prevent.”

Taylor directed the discussion toward personal anecdotes and lighter topics. The couple talked about their first date at Yale, how Bill proposed to Hillary, and the best gifts they have given each other.

“The part that stood out the most [to me was] when Bill and Hillary talked about their mothers,” Carleton University student Hannah Vatour said. “I think they captured the audience’s attention the most with those stories.”

Arts & Entertainment, Pop Rhetoric

Aladdin remake returns to disappointing tropes

by Nicholas Raffoul on

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In the wake of widespread excitement for a live-action version of Lion King, Disney has been teasing the release of Guy Ritchie’s remake of Aladdin throughout the fall. Set to be released in May 2019, the film will bring to life the world of Agrabah, a faraway land of childhood dreams. As a child, the animated version of Aladdin (1992) was my first glimpse at cartoon characters who looked something like me and my family. At the time, I was overwhelmed to see a movie that depicted an Arab story, not yet aware of the movie’s many historical and cultural inaccuracies.

Aladdin constructed images of what my culture should have looked like. I wished more of my life as an Arab was filled with the mysticism of Agrabah and that my mother’s Arabic music on the radio sounded more like “A Whole New World.” I constantly questioned why I looked more like Jafar, the evil sorcerer, than any other character in the movie. I was more enchanted by the orientalized, European conception of Arab culture that a few white producers had crafted.

Today, the excitement for the live-action movie bears a sinister reality: The Arab experience can’t escape the stereotype that the film perpetuates. As of 2014, the animated movie was still the third highest-grossing traditionally-animated feature worldwide. The film is full of ethnic stereotypes of Arabs and their physical features, showing exaggerated hooked noses, thick eyebrows, and outrageous facial hair, predominantly evident among the movie’s villains. In contrast to the movie’s protagonists, Aladdin and Jasmine, both of whom bear the Eurocentric markings of lighter skin, thinner lips, and cute button noses, Jafar’s explicitly Arab features are central to his malevolence.

Over 25 years later, it appears as though the live-action movie will perpetuate the trope of a villainous Arab man battling against the whiter, morally-superior couple. In the upcoming remake, Naomi Scott, a light-skinned British-Indian actress with no connection to the Middle East, is cast as Princess Jasmine. The producers made an intentional decision to veer away from the everyday Arab woman, alienating a new generation of girls. This is made especially dangerous when ‘whiteness’ is the ideal standard of beauty among women in the Arab world: The skin whitening industry brought in almost $18 billion in Asia and the Middle East in 2017. Once again, darker-skinned and hooked-nosed men are cast to play more sinister characters including Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) and Hakim (Numan Acar), perpetuating conceptions of Arab men as menacing and untrustworthy.

Retrospectively, Aladdin is a portal to my culture that was more mystical than real. The movie carefully deconstructed and reconstructed aspects of my culture including dress, history, and language as a form of ethnic dominance, making me doubt my own rich culture and ancestry.

Popular culture uses my home as a trope for barbarism and as an object of fascination, which translates from the movie screen to my everyday interactions: I have been ‘randomly’ checked at airports and have had dates ask me to speak Arabic to them because of how ‘exotic’ it is. As an Arab man, I embody Aladdin’s palatable and exotic oriental flavour, but simultaneously, the ugly threat that the Middle East so often represents. While Aladdin is sure to bring back childhood nostalgia to its older audience, it is imperative that we recognize the falsehood of the image perpetuated by the film and its impending remake.

 

One-tweet
Off the Board, Opinion

One-tweet wonder

by Arshaaq Jiffry on

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The thought of achieving any form of popularity had always seemed light-years away for someone like myself who is accustomed to mediocrity. I had never found the prospect of widespread admiration particularly attractive to begin with. As cliché as it sounds, external validation has always seemed a little shallow to me. However, I would be lying if I said that I had never stargazed at an empty ceiling wondering how sweet internet stardom might taste. Who would have guessed that 41 characters and 125,000 likes later, I would encounter Twitter fame. An immediate surge of electronic ecstasy followed the rapid attention, but the aftermath showed me that social media ‘fame’ only attracts empty connections.

The tweet was not the child of my self-proclaimed quick wit or any spur-of-the-moment genius. Rather, it was a planned endeavour: I sat down and analyzed the most popular topics on Twitter that week and thought about what people my age would relate to. At the time, the kids from the Netflix original series Stranger Things were trending—a cast who, I happened to notice, bore a striking resemblance to that of the 2004 hit series Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. Millennials like me feel most special when we’re indulging in nostalgia, and my carefully-crafted tweet embodied the perfect mix of relevance and reminiscence.

The likes and retweets brought my phone to life: Strangers were mentioning their friends and relating to shows that aired generations apart. It was a surreal experience at first, but the more my phone danced in my pocket, the faster my initial social media high dissipated into a need to dissociate myself from the tweet entirely. Turning notifications off required a valiant effort, and it still didn’t stop countless high school peers, whom I had been purposefully avoiding for the past two years, from popping into my private messages, commenting on my newfound fame.

They welcomed themselves back into my life as if I were their comedic benefactor, bringing with them memories I had long forgotten, to bask with me in the success of my Coconut Head–Will Byers mashup. I wanted to say, “Please, Sally—I’d rather you go back to tweeting about how your ex-wife left you for a jar of mayonnaise.” Luckily, they all eventually got the message, but it left me dumbfounded as to how these aliens from my past invaded my current world, only to move on after my 15 minutes were up. I had become a one-tweet wonder.

During this tumultuous Twitter experience, I found the tweet seeping into all of my daily conversations. It’s not everyday that you hit the big time with 125,000 likes. The conversations sent a shot of dopamine mixed with unreasonable confidence pulsing through my veins. However, this high was quickly followed by a crash when the faves stopped rolling in, leaving me with nothing more than a bitter aftertaste. I realized when my retweet record became my go-to pick-up line at bars that I had a problem.

It’s been a year or so since my moment of Twitter fame, and I can honestly say I don’t miss the star treatment. Nowadays, I get the odd retweet here and there, and I will periodically explain to my international peers why the gang from Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide was ever relevant on the twittersphere. In fact, right this moment, I could probably feel the rush of thousands of likes and retweets once again by tweeting some nonsense about how, if you haven’t seen the movie Coraline, you need to seriously reevaluate your life. Instead, I’m just excited for the day that I am old and telling my grandchildren about the time their old Grandpapa Shaaq based his self-worth on a tweet.

Commentary, Opinion

Grassroots, lawsuits, and the future of climate activism

by Lucas Bird on

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A group of Quebec youth are stoking a freshly-lit fire in the fight against global climate change. Montreal climate justice organization ENvironment JEUnesse (ENJEU) is pursuing a class-action lawsuit against the federal government for climate negligence on behalf of all Quebec youth under the age of 35. They argue that young people will disproportionately suffer the harsh consequences of climate change over the century to come. While Canada is a signatory to the Paris Agreement and has set reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions, ENJEU argues that, not only are these targets not ambitious enough, but that the government is failing to meet even these meagre standards. Their lawsuit takes concerns about the climate that seem too big to tackle, and finds specific and substantive measures to effect meaningful progress toward sustainability. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report in October warning that only 12 years remain to prevent catastrophic climate change. If we fail to make substantial reductions in emissions and consumption, hundreds of millions of people will face dire consequences, including extreme heat, drought, flooding, and poverty. Despite increasingly-urgent scholarly literature on climate change, global superpowers have remained stagnant in their environmental policies. With the exception of the Paris Agreement, many major countries’ legislative repertoires are void of the determined, large-scale efforts necessary for addressing climate change. Their inaction means that the only path to adequate solutions is through grassroots activism as opposed to self-motivating federal policy.

The lawsuit is the first of its kind in Canada, but not in the world: In 2015, the Urgenda foundation won a landmark climate justice case against the Dutch government. Since then, Juliana v. US, a case awaiting a hearing at the Supreme Court, has argued that the U.S. government is depriving children of a climate capable of sustaining human life. Earlier this year, 12 citizens in the UK brought a similar lawsuit to their country’s high court. Several cities in California have sued monolith oil companies like Shell and BP. In January, New York City revealed a plan to do the same, as well as to divest $5 billion from fossil fuels. Even McGill has modelled citizen-driven divestment policy: Earlier this year, the Senate showed support for divestment from fossil fuels. Their endorsement was driven in large part by public pressure and deliberation from Divest McGill, a campus environmentalist group.

Grassroots climate litigation is precisely the sort of activism that can save our planet. In many ways, this ground level advocacy succeeds where federal and local governments fail. Climate change policy is still extremely difficult to introduce, let alone adhere to. It requires that countries divert from global capitalism, which has spent decades entrenching itself on the false promise of unlimited resources. Environmental policy also lacks immediacy, which is problematic for federal governments. Enacting legislation that may hinder a country’s industrial and economic development in the short-term, and whose benefits might not be seen for a generation, is unappealing to even the most progressive administrations. Finally, the private sector, which ravenously profits from fossil fuels, has extensive influence over powerful governments. Renewable energy is predicted to become cheaper than fossil fuels by 2020; however, its long-term investment is not a reality so long as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and others have their say. It is reasonable to wonder why the Canadian government has exhibited the sort of negligence ENJEU is alleging in light of their pledge to sustainability and its economic incentives. Not surprisingly, the government’s persistently-growing interests in the global oil market and the influence of oil-company lobbyists have something to do with it.

With so many obstacles to legislative movement toward sustainability, young people must take climate justice into their own hands. Lawsuits like ENJEU’s should be a prototype for communal efforts at environmental activism. They allow rational individuals who recognize the realities and magnitude of climate change to hold both the public and the private sector accountable. We are facing a massive anthropogenic issue which begs an equally large, cohesive, and consistent solution.

Editorial, Opinion

PGSS executive midterm reviews

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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Helena Zakrzewski, Secretary-General

Zakrzewski ran on a platform of improving mental health services for graduate students, increasing support for international students, and re-engaging society members. Over the past semester, she has overseen and supported the initiatives of other PGSS councillors while undertaking an extensive evaluation of PGSS governance bodies. Zakrzewski initiated and secured funding for a comprehensive third-party audit of PGSS governance structures to be conducted in the new year, and worked to overhaul the PGSS Appointments Board and International Student Caucus administrative processes. She has also initiated projects for PGSS member engagement and mental health services. As Secretary-General, Zakrzewski has refocused her efforts into enacting governance reforms that have the potential to leave a lasting positive impact on PGSS.

 

Sibat Anam, Financial Affairs Officer

Anam has navigated PGSS’s financial systems to respond to post-graduate students’ needs for funding and services. Most significantly, he has worked with the Committee on Monetary Affairs to improve the Grants Program, raising the maximum amount of funding available by 50 per cent and providing applicants with more information on the process. Non-unionized post-doctorate students will also benefit; previously, their Student Life Fund student fees were left unused because they were not represented by a Post-Graduate Student Association (PGSA). Anam allocated these funds to the Experimental Medicine Graduate Student Society, which will in turn hold more inclusive events for all post-doctorate students. Moving forwards, Anam intends to propose amendments to the Society Activities Manual later this month, fulfilling his campaign promise to increase funding for student travel. He is also preparing for the upcoming Health and Dental Fee referendum to be held during Winter 2019.

 

Hocine Slimani, External Affairs Officer

In his second term as External Affairs Officer (EAO), Slimani has focused on advocating for graduate students’ interests at the provincial and federal level. Slimani attended Quebec Student Union (QSU) caucuses in June and August 2018 and felt that the Society’s desire to make public data more available for research purposes was fairly represented. However, PGSS’s lack of membership to a provincial student union has posed a significant barrier to completing Slimani’s key campaign promises. At the onset of both of his terms, Slimani pointed to the benefits of considering postdoctoral students as employees but has been unable to make progress in lobbying the provincial government on the issue. Moreover, Slimani has failed to put affiliation to a student union like QSU to referendum this semester as he had promised to do during his campaign. Slimani’s partnership with the Students’ Union of McGill University (SSMU) and the Milton-Parc community to investigate affordable housing options near campus has completed its first phase, however, the project’s progress is slow and inconclusive.

 

Konstantina Chalastara, Internal Affairs Officer

Having previously held the position of PGSS Environment Commissioner, making events more environmentally friendly was a priority for Chalastara. Chalastra has been steadily working toward this goal since the beginning of the semester: PGSS Orientation Week received a gold certification from the McGill Office of Sustainability. In the first month of the semester Chalastra organized an impressive 26 events on top of Orientation Week, all of which were well-attended. In November, Chalastara planned Eco-Week, which ran Nov. 12-25 and featured a variety of panels and workshops. Chalastara has also been working to make social events more accessible by implementing family friendly events and improving social media engagement. For Winter 2019 she hopes to improve the Winter Orientation for students starting at McGill in January.

 

Maria Tippler, Academic Affairs Officer

Tipler organized her platform around the theme of synergistic projects and initiatives that increase involvement with other PGSS executives, commissioners, and stakeholders. She has achieved her goal of improved communication, and, among other accomplishments, has provided students with guidance on working with professors in an Oct. 26 panel, strengthened PGSS transparency by documenting a paper trail for the Library Improvement Fund, and clarified committee application procedures. Currently, Tippler is working on creating a streamlined document to promote funding opportunities for students, updating the PGSS website, and planning for the Ottawa Networking Trip in January. Given Tippler’s commitment to transparency and her history of both fulfilling and exceeding campaign plans, her ability to continue to deliver on ongoing projects is promising.

 

Jeremy Goh, Member Services Officer

Goh has sought to make PGSS more accessible and inclusive by creating programs that can remain in place after his term concludes. He has revamped the Study Sundays program by creating more spots and hiring a core group of paid student babysitters. In collaboration with PGSS’ equity commissioner, Goh passed a motion in support of the #ChangeTheName campaign, uniting an often-detached PGSS with the rest of McGill. He also administered a special referendum regarding the Student Services fee for non-unionized post-doctoral students. Currently, he is building a structural support system for students starting families and is also preparing for the Winter 2019 Health and Dental Fee referendum. Next semester, Goh hopes to work more closely with his constituents and set up a formal feedback platform for PGSS services.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Grimes said “We Appreciate Power,” so now we appreciate power

by Solomon Friedman on

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The rise of artificial Intelligence (AI) has been decried by the likes of many — after all, there are few things more terrifying. Not exactly so: According to Grimes’ newest track, “We Appreciate Power,” this dystopia could actually be pretty cool. The Canadian pop princess declared the AI invasion to be good, therefore, it is gospel.

Grimes is the electro-pop outfit of former McGill student Claire Boucher. On “We Appreciate Power,” the singer-songwriter’s first single in over two years, Grimes and frequent collaborator, HANA, sing from the perspective of a pro-AI Girl Group Propaganda machine. Though bizarre in concept, the song is an effective and danceable robot-bop that, with its crisp and glittering production, refrains from sounding too campy. In 2018, artists like Janelle Monáe and Robyn ditch their cyborg personas for more something more human. Grimes’ new robotic identity feels strangely refreshing. There is something endearing about being told by someone with a voice as sweet as Grimes’ to submit to our A.I. overlords.

The track opens with a scream: A tasteful and subtle way to introduce listeners to Grimes’ latest work. She scatters shrieks and scratches throughout the song, creating a sense of total chaos, juxtaposed with her and HANA’s calm voices. The track ends with the word ‘submit’ repeated over and over as if to brainwash listeners into actually giving into A.I. supremacy. With lyrics about succumbing to computer rulers and an obvious influence from the Nine Inch Nails and K-Pop on the production, “We Appreciate Power,” is the dystopian banger we have all been craving.

Internet-savvy fans will, no doubt, try to draw connections between the song’s lyrics and Grimes’ multi-billionaire boyfriend Elon Musk, founder of Tesla. The song could very well function as propaganda for Musk’s takeover of the planet, which, in all honesty, wouldn’t be awful if the national anthem were as catchy as “We Appreciate Power.” When the couple made their debut at the 2018 Met Gala, Twitter was abound with jokes that their relationship was proof that the simulation we live in is glitching. Lyrics like “simulation, give me something good,” or “simulation: it’s the future” reference public suspicion. Perhaps, this year’s most surprising reveal about Grimes is not that she’s a fake socialist, but rather that she’s self-aware.  

While 2018 has proven successful for Grimes artistically—she was featured on new albums by Janelle Monáe, Jimmy Urine, and Poppy, and composed the theme for the Netflix series Hilda—Grimes has also transitioned from Pitchfork-famous to tabloid fodder. Aside from her bizarre relationship with Musk, Grimes engaged in a feud with Azealia Banks, who accused her tech mogul boyfriend of tweeting on acid and holding her hostage. It’s no wonder that it took the artist nine months to release the track.

Despite a year of turmoil, Grimes’ production has never sounded as clean as it does on “We Appreciate Power.” The nu-metal guitars that pulse throughout build on the harder sounds previously explored on tracks like “Kill V. Maim” from 2015’s Art Angels. Shifting away from the soft sounds of her early work, Grimes is breaking out of the cloying bedroom-pop genre that made her famous. The glittery aspects of her work are still present on this track, and they can be found in the synthy coos of the bridge, paired with new, aggressive tones.

“We Appreciate Power” offers a more polished and confident Grimes. The song proves that, if anything, Grimes has come out of this nightmare of a year with a clearer sense of self and direction.

 

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