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Student Life

LGBTQ+ McGillians making history

by Anna Sixsmith on

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Throughout October, the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminism (IGSF) has organized a diverse spread of events, featuring famous LGBTQ+ speakers, professors, and authors, as part of McGill’s inaugural LGBTQ+ History Month. This achievement has initiated a conversation about LGBTQ+ culture and knowledge on campus, and the events have highlighted the achievements of the LGBTQ+ community. In celebration of this initiative, The McGill Tribune reflects on LGBTQ+ McGillians who have made history on campus and beyond.

Will Aitken

Originally from the United States, Will Aitken is one of Canada’s most celebrated openly-gay film critics as well as a highly-regarded novelist and journalist. He graduated with an MA in English literature in 1975. In 1973, Aitken co-founded Montreal’s first LGBTQ-oriented bookstore, Librairie L’Androgyne, located on Crescent Street before its closure in 2002. He has worked as a film critic and journalist for various news outlets including the BBC, CBC, and National Public Radio. Additionally, Aitken taught briefly at Dawson College and continues to write in the Montreal area. His most recent book, Antigone Undone, was shortlisted for the 2018 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

Charline Labonté

An alumna of McGill’s Physical Education program (BEd’12), and former Martlet, Charline Labonté enjoyed an impressively-decorated hockey career. Labonté played for the Canadian Women’s Hockey team in the 2006 Turin Olympics, and her impeccable goaltending helped Canada win the gold medal. Later, Labonté won ‘Top Goaltender’ at the IIHF Women’s World Championships in 2009. When she publicly came out as lesbian in 2014, Labonté thanked her Team Canada and Martlet teammates for their support, acceptance, and love. Labonté retired in 2017 with three Olympic gold medals, two world championships, and six world silver medals.

Suniti Namjoshi

Born in Mumbai in 1941, Namjoshi is an internationally-acclaimed author, poet, and fabulist. In 1972, her thesis on the poetry of Ezra Pound earned her a PhD in English literature from McGill. Namjoshi has produced a dynamic body of literature, publishing  novels, poetry collections, scholarly articles, and over a dozen children’s books. Her 1981 anthology, Feminist Fables, is critically acclaimed as a scintillating reframing of traditional fables that encourages female empowerment. Much of her work explores themes related to gender and sexuality  and actively challenges sexism, racism, and homophobia. Between 1995 and 2001, Namjoshi held the position of Honourable Research Fellow at Exeter University’s Centre for Women’s Studies.

Alan Emtage

One of the founding fathers of the modern internet, Alan Emtage (BS’ 87, MS’91) earned two degrees in computer science from McGill. After graduation, Emtage went on to invent Archie, the world’s first internet search engine. Emtage was also a founding member of the Internet Society, a multi-national nonprofit committed to improving internet standards, policies, and access. Previously, Emtage has stated that he felt isolated as a child, due to his LGBTQ+ identity, which encouraged him to pursue solitary interests including computer science and technology. He is currently chief technical officer at web engineering company Mediapolis, which, among other projects, operates popular LGBTQ+ internet forums.

Brian Lewis

A professor with degrees from Harvard University and Oxford University, Brian Lewis currently teaches in McGill’s History and Classical studies department, specializing in British History and sexuality studies. In his History of Sexuality survey course, Lewis often ‘comes out’ to his students. He finds this practice liberating and an effective way to create a safe space for his students. An author of multiple books in his field, Lewis remains a notable LGBTQ+ scholar and teacher and is a favourite professor among history students.

Science & Technology

Orgasm equality is a long time coming

by Gwenyth Wren on

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Many women are familiar with the frustration of finishing a sexual encounter without actually finishing. This disparity between men and women’s sexual satisfaction, colloquially known as the ‘orgasm gap,’ refers to the fact that  men are far more likely to orgasm than women in heterosexual encounters. In a recent study from The American Association of University Women examining 800 college students, 91 per cent of men reported that they usually or always experienced orgasm during sex, while only 39 per cent of women could say the same. The orgasm gap is not an individual problem, but rather a function of western sexual culture.

Mayte Parada, a sexologist and postdoctoral research fellow in McGill’s Department of Neuroscience and Psychology, looks at intimacy to explain why heterosexual men are the most likely to experience orgasm, followed by gay men, lesbians, and, lastly, heterosexual women.

“One of the theories [of why] lesbians are more likely to experience orgasm [than heterosexual women] is because they have more of a connection with their partner and are more comfortable communicating what they like and don’t like,” Parada said.

A paper published by Meredith Chivers, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University, reaffirms the importance of having an intimate connection. Chivers explained that communication between heterosexual partners can increase a female’s likelihood of a to experience orgasm. Chivers said that, for many women, sexual pleasure requires more than just physical stimulation.

A recent study from McGill’s Laboratory for the Biopsychosocial Study of Sexuality investigated the orgasm gap further. Researchers found that the subjective experience of orgasmic pleasure and satisfaction depend more on psychological and psychosocial factors than on physical ones. These could include the quality of a couples’ relationship and their emotional intimacy.

Despite these recent scientific endeavours, the physical mechanics of female pleasure remain shrouded in mystery. In fact, the female orgasm remains one of the most poorly understood sexual responses, since past sex research predominantly focuses on male sexuality. For example, labs previously only used male rats when conducting sex research, until they realized that the findings in males were not representative of the female population.  

“Researchers are still studying what purpose [orgasm] serves in women,” Parada said. “If people are enjoying themselves and communicating, orgasm doesn’t have to be the be all and end all.”

According to Parada, the orgasm is a poorly-understood sexual response because it actually isn’t that important for sexual satisfaction.

“A lot of people […] don’t have sex just for orgasm,” Parada said. “Different phases of sex are what people are aroused by, and the activity itself [is] what people [find] most enjoyable.”

Regardless of the emphasis on orgasms, the topic of sex and promiscuity is still extremely gendered and worth exploring from a female perspective. Even though society is becoming more progressive and permissive, topics of sex and its idiosyncrasies are still difficult for some people to discuss without embarrassment, ignorance, or cultural taboo coming into play. As a result, women can find themselves with a shortage of opportunities to learn about sexual pleasure.

“This stuff is important to research and know about,” Parada said. “Because, without sex, we wouldn’t be here.”

Montreal, News

Montreal’s second Demonstration Against Racism draws support across city

by Lauren Mayes on

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For the second year in a row, the Demonstration Against Racism drew around 3,000 protestors on Oct. 7. The protest was co-organized by the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC), Montreal Antifasciste (ANTIFA), Food Against Fascism, Solidarity Across Borders, and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Protesters moved into the streets around 3 p.m., gathering at the moving truck provided by ANTIFA, which was filled to the brim with speakers. It blasted out three main speeches, touching on the normalization of racism, colonialism, and disappointment in the recent Quebec elections.

Despite not being the official reason the march was called, the newly-elected CAQ was the main target of the protest. Shouts of ”Francois Legault has got to go” rose through the air as the masses of people snaked through downtown.

The CAQ has proposed several changes to Quebec’s immigration policies, including a ‘Quebec values test,’ which Legault has stated will test whether or not immigrants agree with Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and will guage their grasp of conversational French. It is still unclear what would happen to those who fail the tests, as the CAQ has stated that it is, ultimately, Ottawa’s responsibility to deal with unsuccessful attempts.

Bénédicte Santoire, a protester and Université de Montréal (UDeM) Master’s student, said that she had known about the protest before the election, but Legault’s victory spurred her to come out.  

“I just don’t like their position on the [Quebec values test], on immigration,” Santoire said. “[The CAQ is] a right-wing party. I disagree with their core beliefs.”

The protest was an opportunity to raise awareness for many causes to be heard. Nicholas Gibbs was a black NDG resident shot on Aug. 21 in a police altercation. During the demonstration, his nephew called the Montreal Police (SVPM) the “biggest gang in the city,” stating that the police had unfairly profiled his uncle due to his previous convictions and that they were lying about his uncle being armed the night he was killed.  

The protest followed ANTIFA’s truck down Boul. René Lévesque, mostly broadcasting chants like “so-so-so-solidarité” and “say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here” while intermittently relaying speeches from members of the community. In front of Complexe Des Jardins, a large banner read “JUSTICE POUR NICHOLAS GIBBS: another racist murder by SVPM.”

“When we separate, when we show hate, we hate on each other. They love that because we’re divided,” Gibbs’ nephew said. “They’re the biggest gang in the city, they’re the biggest gang and when we’re like this, when we’re together like this, I can guarantee you on my life, none of us will get profiled. We need more of this.”

The nephew claimed that the city’s police intend to divide residents, revealing the need to stand in solidarity. This speech was followed by chants such as “tout le mode déteste la police” (“everybody hates the police”) directed at the police officers blocking off the roads for the protest.

The demonstration ended with speeches from members of the community and leaders of the co-organizing groups sharing messages against racism, Islamophobia, capitalism, colonialism, and fascism. Graham Bélanger, a first year fashion design student at LaSalle College, captured the crowd’s mood.

“It’s really important [that] citizens engage,” Belanger said. “Democracy can be very corrupt sometimes, and this is our last chance as people to gather and push it in the right direction.”

Student Life

Implications of the ‘Freshman 15’

by Jessie Ye on

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Incoming university students are susceptible to gain weight, due to the change in lifestyle that university precipitates, such as diet modification, lack of exercise, stress, and alcohol consumption. But, the infamous ‘Freshman 15’ are more of a playful alliteration than a representation of reality. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, only 50 per cent of students gain weight during their first years, and even then, they only gain about 2.7 lbs on average. Nevertheless, the myth persists within contemporary culture and has many tangible consequences on first-year students.

The idea of the Freshman 15 is so entrenched in popular culture that most students have heard of the phenomenon far before they’ve even begun to think about university. In movies and TV shows, first-year weight gain is a recurring gag. For example, on the hit television show Gilmore Girls, as the protagonist Rory Gilmore prepares to leave for university at Yale, her family jokes about her possible weight gain.

Catherine Dillman, U1 Arts, notes that the idea of weight gain isn’t always threatening until students begin to receive personal warnings about it. When friends and family offered her advice about life at university, many cautioned her to be wary of weight gain, and others even deemed it unavoidable.

“[I was told to] beware of the Freshman 15,” Dillman said. “‘Make sure you exercise, make sure you eat well’, but I would also [hear] that it’s inevitable, there’s nothing you can do about it. The food the [cafeteria] offers isn’t very healthy, but because we’re aware of it, you always want to try to eat healthier, [especially with] the […] pressure of everyone talking about the Freshman 15.”

While trying to stay healthy is wise, weight is an unreliable indicator of overall health. Research suggests that half of ‘overweight’ people are actually metabolically healthy, while a quarter of those considered ‘slim’ have two or more cardiovascular risk factors. However, for many students like Dillman, weight is often the only quantifiable measure of health that they have access to, and its importance, in turn, is overstated. Consequently, weight gain is concerning for many students because so much of self-esteem can come from body image.

Fortunately for some, the Freshman 15 puts a healthy amount of pressure on them to pay attention to their nutrition. Adin Chan, U0 Arts, explained that, while his family did express concerns for him to eat healthily, he was not worried about weight gain. He views gaining weight as inconsequential, rather than shameful.

“My family was just worried that I wouldn’t eat vegetables, not so much gaining weight, [and personally] I would not be concerned.” Chan said.

The opposite is true for many femme-identifying first-years, who express far more concern for their weight. For them, ‘getting fat’ is emblematic of straying from an ideal body type. Lena Kozarov, U0 Science, and her friends discussed their fears of gaining weight before leaving for university, a fear which she attributes to social media. Kozarov views the constant digital onslaught of perfectly-edited images as partially responsible for female insecurities because  they set standards that are impossible for university-aged students to attain.

“Me and my friends from high school would […] be like, ‘Oh, Freshman 15, you gotta be careful, you gotta watch out,’” Kozarov said.  “No matter how healthy you eat, no matter how much you work out, that comparison [to those on social media] is always in the back of your head, like, ‘I could be doing better.’”

First year is hard for everyone, and the constant fear of weight gain, whether placed upon students by well-meaning family members or gleaned from popular culture, only makes the transition to university harder. The Freshman 15, though grossly overstated, is not in itself a bad thing—it is reflective of the problematic stigma of weight gain. Though it can help to encourage healthier eating habits, more often than not it leads to feelings of inadequacy and shame and could even push students to develop unhealthy relationships with their bodies. The most stressful thing about first year should be midterms and exams, not worrying about a number on a scale.

News, PGSS

PGSS Council continues debate over student federations

by Elizabeth Strong on

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The Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Council meeting on Oct. 3 focused on Council feedback and student federations.. The meeting began with an introduction by Krista Houser, a representative of the Office of Sustainability, about the Sustainability Projects Fund. External Affairs officer Hocine Slimani later presented his annual observation report about the PGSS’ potential involvement with a student federation. Maria Tippler, Academic Affairs officer, also reminded attendees of an essential skills training taking place on Oct. 15 for all Post Graduate Student Association (PGSA) executives.

After the conclusion of new business the council went on to review and approve the reports of the executive officers and other council members. In their reports, Environment Commissioner Isabella Boushey and Tippler called attention to f upcoming events including a community garden event taking place on Oct. 12 and a thesis information session on Oct. 17.

 

Addressing concerns regarding council conduct

Secretary General Helena Zakrzewski addressed concerns about the conduct of the prior council meeting and advised councillors on delivering effective feedback.

“I very much want everyone to take something positive from the council experience throughout the upcoming year,” Zakrzewki said. “If someone has a concern, the best way of addressing that concern with respect to providing feedback is to be specific [….Also] consider whether council is the best forum. You are here to represent your PGSA and not to vent your own frustrations.”

To this end, Zakrzewski vocalized the importance of building a safe space in PGSS.

“The only way to have a positive dialogue where you can effectively represent your PGSA and the concerns of your membership is to ensure a safe space whereby every single person feels safe and comfortable standing up,” Zakrzewski said.

 

PGSS Involvement in the QSU or AVEQ

Following a brief overview of his annual observation report, External Affairs Officer Slimani asked the Council whether or not they believed belonging to a student federation is important for PGSS’ advocacy abilities at the provincial level. A lengthy debate followed about the value of the Quebec Student Union (QSU), Slimani’s recommended federation, versus the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ). A motion mandating was presented that the executive committee draft a referendum question regarding QSU involvement by Jan. 15. The floor was then opened up for debate.

Bradley Por, a graduate student in the Faculty of Law, spoke in opposition to the QSU.

“My successors have presented it as if the Quebec Student Union is the only viable option,” Por said. “I just don’t think AVEQ has been given a fair shake.”

Por also noted that AVEQ has never been invited to speak before the PGSS despite requests from multiple students at last year’s annual general meeting.

Por’s criticism launched a discussion on whether or not more research on both federations was necessary. Slimani argued against this, saying that resuming research would simply delay progress towards what he believes is a major step forward for the PGSS.

“When this body decides on something, it’s bigger than us,” Slimani said. “When a motion passes, it is bigger than us.”

After further discussion, the motion was amended to include the requirement that an unaffiliated party conduct research on student federations by  prior to the executive committee drafting the referendum question, and the motion passed.

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Kurt Vile ‘Bottle It In’

by Luke Sarabia on

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Halfway through Bottle It In, Kurt Vile’s newest album, he covers country veteran Charlie Rich’s “Rollin With The Flow.”

“Guys my age are raising kids,” Vile sings.

Vile is raising kids too. Not only that but, at 38, he’s on his eighth album: By that age, many of Vile’s well-documented influences—Neil Young and Stephen Malkmus among them— were already several years past their prime. Yet, Bottle It In is Vile’s best work to date by a significant margin.

          Vile’s songs rely on repetitive, acoustic-picking grooves laid under dense instrumentals. It’s the same formula that produced his biggest hit, 2015’s “Pretty Pimpin’,” but, on Bottle It In, the arrangements are more diverse and sophisticated.

The album’s title track features the harp, played by classically trained musician Mary Lattimore, contrasting with Vile’s curious and wandering country drawl. Although the album spotlights Vile’s best lead guitar to date (“Check Baby,” for one), the strongest instrumentals occur when Vile’s backing band, the Violators, relax into a groove for a while. On “Bassackwards,” backward guitars guide strains of organs through ten minutes of what feels like staring out a car window on a gorgeous country drive. It also features some of the album’s most incisive writing: Vile loops through surreal rhymes, repeats them, forgets some, sets up expectations, defies them, and then follows them again.

The album’s opener, “Loading Zones,” showcases Vile’s wit: It is a song about parking a car, but it is also about loving a city and elusive moments of freedom. Throughout the album, Vile juggles cerebral instrumentals, guitar heroics, and sing-along hooks.“One Trick Ponies,” likely the album’s best song, manages all three at once with ease.

Vile has a strong sense for musical history; he has used his expertise to inform an album that is both inventive and engrossing. Bottle It In is an accomplishment not just in its own right, but also as the extension of a larger body of work: As the patient listener will find, Vile’s effortless growth as a writer and guitarist are just as magnificent.

Off the Board, Opinion

Corporate culture, as seen on TV

by Tristan Sparks on

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Popular media offers a vivid portrayal of modern corporate culture, but I didn’t expect it to translate so literally to my experience at my first tech internship this previous summer.  It was nothing short of jarring to recognize so many phrases I had previously only heard from the mouth of Jared on HBO’s Silicon Valley. Still, my introduction to corporate culture was positive, if bizarre.

The office I worked in implemented an ‘Agile’ methodology. Agile, a term coined in the unironically-titled Manifesto for Agile Software Development, is an approach to software development that emphasizes individual interaction over processes and tools. In practice, this meant that every morning at 9:30 a.m. my coworkers and I engaged in ‘Scrum,’ a meeting for team updates that takes place in front of a Scrum board—a visual organization of all of a team’s tasks to track their progress. The Scrum board my office used was nearly identical to the one featured in Silicon Valley.  As I moved my completed ‘stories’ from the ‘in progress’ column to ‘peer review,’ I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was participating in some religious ritual. I felt as though those around me, who seemingly found the entire affair completely normal, were brainwashed by some Agile god whose influence I had somehow escaped. The whole experience was made even more peculiar by the requisite card game that followed. I quite enjoyed this part, though, I almost always won the little plastic giraffe offered as a prize.

Scrum has been proven effective by countless performance metrics, so, undoubtedly, my secret theory that it was all some tedious exercise meant only to please the powers that be was misguided. This was, however, hard to keep in mind as I sat through my umteenth ‘Q4 Fun-times’ celebration. My tenure overlapped with the fourth fiscal quarter, so, every Friday, we would sign out 15 minutes early and go down to the concert hall, a magnificent old stage complete with crown mouldings and intricately-crafted pillars, to celebrate the week’s sales of abstract corporate research. The powerpoint presentation that followed was almost always painfully boring for a young software-developer intern such as myself. But, in keeping with the company’s emphasis on competition, it was followed by a thoroughly entertaining game invented weekly by the ‘Committee of Fun.’

As I became more comfortable at my internship, Scrum actually became my favourite part of the day. As embarrassing as it was to mumble “I’m still working on the failing tests” fourteen mornings in a row in front of coworkers I admired, by July or so we had developed a rapport. Eventually, I even looked forward to miming the phrase ‘Hannah Montana’ for my puzzled superiors to try and guess—by this point, we had graduated from simple cards to ‘Heads Up.’

One of the strangest parts of working in a company like this was that no one ever acknowledged how peculiar the environment really was. When you’ve never heard the phrase ‘backlog grooming’ before, it can be easy to assume everyone around you is brainwashed and chalk the vernacular up to doublespeak. But, eventually, I realized that my coworkers weren’t brainwashed: They were just adults going to work every day. Scrum didn’t exist at my company to impose arbitrary rituals—it existed because it works. And, as peculiar as the mandatory company ‘Fun Day’ still felt to me in the final weeks of my internship, it did serve its purpose. The softball tournament was a fun and welcome break from the day-to-day monotony, even if it was at the expense of half of the IT department’s ability to walk for the next week.

McGill, News

Department ratifies guidelines on staff-student relationships

by Elizabeth Strong on

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The Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) announced on Oct. 9 that the Department of Political Science had unanimously ratified a set of guidelines regarding relationships between instructors and students at McGill, becoming the first department at McGill to do so.

McGill’s Policy Against Sexual Violence suggests that professor-student relationships constitute an abuse of authority, although the administration also released a memorandum in May which outlines how intimate relationships between staff and students should be conducted. For its part, the Department of Political Science’s new guidelines take a strong stance against intimate relationships between instructors and their students.

“The department regards intimate friendships as well as sexual and romantic relationships between instructors and students as generally incompatible with educators’ professional responsibility,” the guidelines read.

The guidelines define ‘instructors’ as professors, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and teaching assistants. The document also offers a list of recommended practices for teaching staff, including advice on appropriate office hours, social media conduct, and respecting students’ privacy.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, PSSA President Bella Harvey stressed the importance of having these guidelines formally and explicitly written out.

“I think some things, even if they’re understood, [need to be formalized],” Harvey said. “I think [the guidelines are] an accountability mechanism for students to have and for the department to have.”

Harvey also expressed her belief that these guidelines will set an example for other departments and even inspire them to pursue similar guidelines.

“I know [the Department of History] is working on [similar regulations] now, too, and I’ve had [the Institute of] Islamic Studies [ask about them as well],” Harvey said. “I think a lot of students and professors in various departments would like to establish these on a departmental level. I think they’re a good template for other departments and students to use, as well.”

However, Harvey emphasized that these guidelines are part of a greater change.

“Hopefully these issues will stop in their tracks,” Harvey said. “But I also realize that a piece of paper isn’t necessarily going to do that […] I at least think it is a step in the right direction.”

PSSA Vice President (VP) External Jennifer Chan echoed these sentiments and further clarified that these guidelines are the result of the previous work of many students.

“I think it’s important to remember that this is just one step forward and that the step forward could only happen with the labour put in by people, student groups, [and] individuals last year,” Chan said. “It’s not the first time people have been talking about student-teacher relations. And this kind of labour is disproportionately taken on by women, women of colour, black or Indigenous folks, trans folks.”

According to Chan, SSMU’s April 2018 Open Letter Regarding Complaints Against Professors helped mobilize the Department of Political Science to pass their guidelines. The letter, which asserted that the Office of the Dean of Arts had failed to seriously address complaints of sexual violence, called for a third-party investigation into the Office of the Dean of Arts on the handling of formal and informal complaints.

Chan and Harvey both emphasized that the good nature of the relationship between the PSSA and the Political Science Department was essential in getting these guidelines ratified. According to Harvey, had it not been for the support of the department, it would not have been possible to pass these guidelines.

“We are very privileged and lucky as a student association to have the relationship that we do with our department.” Harvey said. “I know other groups have a harder time, but it’s still important that they try.”

Baseball, Sports

2018 World Series preview

by Sam Wendel on

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Two storied franchises, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox, are set to face off in the 2018 World Series. With the first pitch set for Tuesday night, Oct. 23, The McGill Tribune previews the Fall Classic.   

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are one of the most well-rounded teams in baseball history. They set a franchise record with 108 wins during the regular season and have maintained their blistering pace into the playoffs. On their path to the World Series, they have beaten the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, both of whom also won at least 100 games this season. Outfielders J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts, both American League MVP candidates, have paved the way to the postseason: In their incredible regular-season play, they hit 43 and 32 home runs, respectively. The Red Sox also have one of the best pitching rotations in the MLB, led by Cy Young Award candidate Chris Sale.

Boston has few weaknesses. The biggest hole in their lineup is behind the plate; the team’s catchers, primarily Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez, combined for -2.1 Wins Above Replacement this season, which is the worst in the league at the position. Furthermore, the Red Sox bullpen has struggled with closer Craig Kimbrel’s shaky outings in the postseason. If the Dodgers can get through Boston’s starting pitchers quickly, they will be in a position to do some real damage. That being said, the Red Sox rarely slip up; it will take a perfect effort to exploit their deficiencies.

(Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

Los Angeles Dodgers

After a tight seven-game series against the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the World Series for the second year in a row. The last team to win back-to-back pennants was the 2014-2015 Kansas City Royals, who won it all in the second go-around.

With the powerhouse Red Sox in the opposing dugout, the Dodgers’ chances look slim this year. Still, they currently have the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw, whom manager Dave Roberts has used as both a starter and reliever this postseason in unorthodox fashion. Kershaw will, obviously, play a significant role in the series, as will fellow starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu, Walker Buehler, and Rich Hill. The Dodgers well of pitchers is deep; they can use their bullpen, led by All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, to mix and match to the opposing hitter.

Los Angeles also has one of the most powerful offences in the National League. First baseman Max Muncy has soared this year, driving in 35 home runs in the regular season. Additionally, the bats of Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig, and trade-deadline-acquisition Manny Machado have been hitting home runs throughout the season, leading the Dodgers all the way to the Fall Classic.

Still, if the Dodgers offence is swinging and missing, they will struggle to stay in the game against Boston. If the Red Sox can earn early leads against the Dodgers’ pitching staff, Los Angeles’ chances at claiming their first World Series trophy since 1988 will be scant.

Prediction

Boston will win in six games. The Red Sox have a stronger, deeper, and more versatile starting nine. Fans can expect an exciting, hard-fought series to be won with offence, meaning that JD Martinez will be the MVP.

 

The folly of school spirit
Commentary, Opinion

Home is where the hoco isn’t

by Hannibal de Pencier on

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McGill homecoming has come and gone, unappreciated and hardly attended. Many students lament this apparent lack of pride and the absence of support for athletics at McGill, while most are simply apathetic. But, university homecomings are not really about pride in athletics: They’re about partying. When McGill students decry our lack of school spirit, they’re usually referring to the absence of a Queen’s-style street party or mass hysterics in a sea of red. Perhaps such manifestations of pride aren’t something we should really be aspiring to.

Rather than representing a unified student culture, outbursts of ‘school pride’ at other schools’ homecomings are more indicative of an overly homogenized campus. If you go to a university like Queen’s or Western, conformity to the party mob is an inescapable requisite to participation in campus life. For mass-debauchery enthusiasts, McGill is well covered with Carnival, Faculty Olympics, and Science Games, to name a few. To our credit, McGill doesn’t conflate its parties with its identity in the same way some other schools seem to.

McGill’s lack of uniform pride is a symptom of its cultural diversity. Queen’s and Western follow the American model of school pride, synonymous with fraternities and game-day tailgates. However, McGill isn’t suited to this sort of monocultural assertion. Unlike Kingston or London, Montreal is an international hub, and its sociolinguistic diversity is reflected within McGill’s 30-per-cent-international student body. For many international students—except maybe our 2413 American peers—this model of school spirit is not part of their cultural lexicon. McGill subcultures engage with a broader and more variable community than can be found in smaller cities.

Even if this model were compatible with McGill’s culture, a conventional homecoming is a logistical impossibility. McGill doesn’t have a student neighbourhood coherent enough to facilitate a big homecoming event. The 80 percent majority of the Milton Park neighbourhood that is not McGill students—not to mention the Montreal police—would never tolerate that kind of party. Queen’s students are able to disregard the annoyance of Kingston locals largely because the university’s presence is so powerful in such a relatively small city. Similarly, at Western, where an unauthorized homecoming event incurred an estimated $100,000 in damage, students command a sufficient presence to make the event practically unstoppable. In fact, when the university tried to diminish the scale of the celebration by moving it to a weekend during the midterm season, Western students continued hosting the event on the same weekend, cutting the event’s affiliation with the university’s homecoming weekend. The party is now called #FOCO, or ‘fake homecoming.’  McGill students do not command the same necessary presence in Montreal to initiate such an event.

However, we shouldn’t want to. Perhaps to the detriment of our athletic culture, McGill doesn’t conform to what is, ultimately, a fallacy of group identity, one that is non-inclusive and that discourages independent subculture. McGill defines itself through its many outlets for communal engagement. Whether they are a part of Carnival, Model UN, or varsity football, McGill students all participate in an egalitarian conception of communal identity—one that resists the homogenizing spectacle of homecoming.

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