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Campus Spotlight, Student Life

A voice for student parents

by Gabriela McGuinty on

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Navigating student life at McGill can be challenging for anyone. Academic and social pressures can be taxing and dominate many of the decisions students make. For those who are also parents, the lack of services McGill offers to support them magnifies the specific dificulties they face navigating university.

“It is very isolating to be a student parent,” Olivia Kurajian, U3 Arts and mother to a two year old daughter, said. “I believe we have a huge shortage of childcare on campus, [and] it’s really hazy [as to] how student parents should navigate their personal and academic responsibilities.”

In an attempt to address these issues, the Social Equity and Diversity Education Office (SEDE) launched the Family Care program in 2015. The program, which was funded by both the Sustainability Projects Fund and the Senate Subcommittee on Women, works towards tackling the challenges caregivers face on campus. According to Ananya Nair, U1 Arts and an executive member of the club, the club aims to alleviate parents’ stress by expanding access to daycare and advocating for family-friendly residence options.

“We want to expand into other aspects [and] include not only babysitting, but other childcare services too,” Nair said.

The SSMU Babysitting Club, soon to be renamed SSMU Childcare Collective in order to advocate for a broader range of services, was originally created by SSMU to provide free babysitting to students who are in need of child care. The organization is looking for new ways to expand both in size and scope to meet more of the pressing needs student parents face.

“In the past, we’ve had to cancel events because there were not enough volunteers,” Nair said.

Among its initiatives, the SSMU Babysitting Club provides on-campus childcare services to student parents and collaborates with the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) on Study Sundays, a weekly program where student parents can complete their academic work on campus while volunteers take care of their children. The club also wants to launch a program that pairs volunteers with student parents to provide one-on-one domestic support.

“This club gives agency to student parents who are left on the sidelines,” Kurajian said. “We are not a ton [of students] and are spread out in undergrad and postgrad, so, it’s hard to address [all of our needs], especially when the communication doesn’t expand throughout the different faculties and associations.”  

Although it provides a necessary service to guardians, the SSMU Babysitting Club is restricted by its status on many accounts. As such, it is looking to be converted into a service.

“This would make McGill more inclusive and child accessible,” Nair said. “[The organization could] get actual funding from SSMU [and] apply for space, [as] there is currently no space provided for childcare. With more funding, we can actively get more students to be a part of this [and work towards] solving this [break] between student parents and McGill services.”

Additionally, although SEDE’s services provide a necessary mechanism of support, many student parents believe the administration still needs to make progress. Many members of the student parent community hope that the university will address its lack of policies concerning pregnancy, breastfeeding, and missing exams because of complications with child-care.

“On a personal level, I have been very lucky, and my professors have been accommodating [with my child and I],” Kurajian said. “But, anytime I have a time-conflict issue, I was referred to the Office of Disabilities. This is disheartening because I don’t think [having a] daughter classifies as any type of disability. In fact, I have earned better grades in the past two years and wake up with ambition to go to school. She has really enhanced my commitment [… to] school.”

In addition to the services offered by SEDE, student parents believe there should be more spaces, both physical—such as breastfeeding stations—and psychological, listen to the voices of student guardians.

While progress has been made, student parents still require more assistance in order to get the most out of their times at McGill.

“I don’t understand why being a research university has to contradict or be at odds with [students] having families because a lot of times, […] we [are] more focused and better students after we [have] our kids,” Kurajian said. “We are setting an example for our kids. McGill is missing out on unique perspectives and a lot of talent by not catering to student parents.”

Arts & Entertainment, Music

A different kind of music festival

by Leo Stillinger on

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A stock photo of a sleek white basin was projected on the wall behind the punk band. A song had just finished, and the guitar was still reverberating.

“Let’s hear it for basins,” said Conor Antenucci, the bassist and singer of The Costanzas. “They hold so much goddamn water!”

This is a typical remark at Basin Fest, the independent music festival that ran Oct. 11-13 at L’Escogriffe Bar Spectacle. According to founder Philip Shearing, Basin Fest is about much more than water containers: It’s a grassroots festival with a worthy cause.

A guitarist and vocalist in the band Paddle to the Sea, Shearing created the festival three years ago in an attempt to counter artistic exploitation in the Montreal festival circuit. In order to apply to festivals, artists are required to pay an application fee, but they are rarely given fair remuneration in exchange.

“You pay to apply,” Shearing said. “They take that money from 10 thousand people and then they only give it to five hundred people. They’re always making a profit off the artists.”

In an effort to funnel his frustration into a positive outlet, Shearing created a festival with an alternative business model: Free applications, and the artist always gets paid. Tickets are $10 per night, enough to generate a profit for artists while still affordable given that five bands perform each night.

“I’m not getting corporate money,” Shearing said. “We’re doing this to help the artists and to support the local scene. We don’t charge you to apply, so anyone from Montreal and even other cities can apply.”

Now in its third year, Basin Fest has grown significantly. For the first iteration, the festival ran a single night at Piranha Bar, featuring seven bands.

“It was almost like a glorified show calling itself a festival,” Shearing said, recalling Basin Fest’s modest early years.

The following year, Shearing expanded to three nights hosted at Crobar. Moving Basin Fest from downtown to the Plateau was Shearing’s most significant step yet.

“I’ve seen so many good bands [at l’Escogriffe, so] I always dreamed of putting my festival here,” Shearing said. “This is kind of a step up for us because of the capacity and the location.”

On Friday night, the thundering chords of The Costanzas and other enthusiastic hardcore groups filled L’Escogriffe’s intimate space. The festival was divided by genre, with indie rock on Thursday, hardcore and punk on Friday, and psychedelic music on Saturday.

“I try to make it almost like a Spotify playlist,” Shearing said. “It’s not always the exact [same] style but it fits together.”

The name Basin Fest comes from a Griffintown practice space shared by many artists on Basin Street. Although property developers have since purchased the building with the intention of converting it into condos, fans will remember the space as a beacon of the thriving local music scene.

“[Basin Fest] symbolizes that garage, that place where you jam, you practice 20 or 30 times to play the one show,” Shearing said. “I want them to get paid.”

When considering the future of Basin Fest, Shearing always comes back to the idea of a a communal space, and wants to see the success of his ideology transcend that of his festival.

“I would love if promoters would [support] bands, stop trying to be all profit-driven,” Shearing said. “I’d love to go out of business for that.”

 

Arts & Entertainment, Books

Survival and solidarity: Roxane Gay reflects on a decade of activism

by Emma Carr on

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Cultural critic and best-selling author Dr. Roxane Gay delivered the 64th annual Beatty Memorial Lecture on Oct. 11 to a rapt audience in Pollack Hall. The sold-out lecture drew attendees of various backgrounds, from students to alumni and faculty, all eager to hear Gay’s thoughts on the  #MeToo movement, contemporary feminism, and representation. Since its inauguration by chancellor Sir Edward Beatty in 1954, the lecture series has hosted revolutionary thinkers, including Jane Goodall, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Oliver Sacks. Speaking to a crowd of nearly 600, Gay led what managed to feel like an intimate discussion on feminism and current events with her characteristic humour, authenticity, and candour.

At this year’s lecture, “Difficult Women, Bad Feminists, and Unruly Bodies,” moderated by  Nantali Indongo, host of CBC Montreal’s radio program The Bridge, Gay offered reflections on the progress of the #MeToo movement. Situating contemporary debates within historical contexts, Gay described the initial optimism that the campaign inspired.

“For once, it seemed that women may not only be heard, but believed,” Gaysaid. “Justice felt like a real tangible thing, rather than a vague illusory ideal.”

However, despite the apparent cultural shift instigated by #MeToo, Gay remains skeptical of the movement’s concrete implications.

“This past year, as #MeToo has risen to cultural prominence, we have seen that necessary change can be excruciatingly slow, and that can be infuriating,” Gay said.

Gay articulately acknowledged the continued difficulties survivors face, particularly those who are femme-identifying, when coming forward with accusations of sexual violence. Citing the momentum of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the United States Supreme Court, she couched hope with provocation that more work is required.

“We talk about resistance, when what we actually need is a revolution,” Gay said. “It has been a year of #MeToo, a year of reckoning. I feel like I am supposed to offer up an uplifting message about how far we have come when really we have not come far at all [….] It has been a year of #MeToo, but it has also been more than a decade.”

The work Gay described has already begun on campus at McGill. In Spring 2018, students, encouraged by the #MeToo movement, signed an open letter to the administration demanding an external investigator assigned to cases of sexual violence. When asked by The McGill Tribune how universities can better protect these survivors of sexual violence, Gay responded that more institutions should put support structures in place to protect those who have experienced abuse, validating the work of these student activists.

“I think that [universities] can do more in terms of expelling rapists, because you shouldn’t have to go to school with the person who raped you,” Gay said.

While Gay says that further action is necessary for cultural revolution, there is cause for survivors and their allies to feel optimistic. In her concluding remarks, Gay underscored that, over the past year, #MeToo has amplified survivors’ voices and activists’ demands for change.

“As we move forward, we need to figure out how to hold this space that #MeToo has made for solidarity and empathy while working to create a culture where someday, this space will not be needed,” Gay said. “That, if anything, is what I hope for.”

 

McGill, News

Abortion Beyond Bounds conference combines academia and activism

by Elizabeth Kearney on

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On the 30th anniversary of the decriminalization of abortion in Canada, the McGill Institute for Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies (IGSF) organized a two-day bilingual conference, Abortion Beyond Bounds 2018, to discuss the continuously-changing global landscape of access to abortion. The conference, which featured a series of student and expert panels, revolved around the importance of having control over abortion decisions. The speakers considered how persistent barriers to global access contrast the increased availability  of information and resources thanks to new technologies.

The first day of the conference consisted of student panels, providing graduate student researchers from across Canada the opportunity to present their work. The panel “Voice and Choice: First-Person Narratives of Abortion Experiences in Canada” focused on people’s experiences with self-managed abortion, meaning when a woman chooses to perform her own abortion outside of a medical setting. Contrasting with the independent notion of self-managed abortions, Sarah McLeod, a graduate student at Acadia University, presented a case study on Acadia Pregnancy Support (APS), an anti-choice organization on her campus. Despite advertising themselves as a non-judgmental counselling service with peer support and access to resources, this Christian organization circulated misleading and biased information in addition to resorting to shame and scare tactics to discourage abortion. APS eventually lost its club status and was expelled from the Acadia Students’ Union building for failing to have enough members. McLeod concluded her presentation with her opinion on the organization’s activities.

“Should anti-choice organizations be allowed to operate as ‘pregnancy support’ on university campuses?” McLeod asked. “I would say no.”

With regard to Canada legalizing the self-administered abortion pill mifepristone in 2016, the panel “Trust Women: Current Perspectives on the Safety of Medication Abortion” sought to assess the current clinical scene. Student research focused on expanding the possibilities of existing reproductive health methods to provide women with more autonomy in the process of abortion. Daniela Spagnuolo, a policy intern at Association of Municipalities of Ontario, conveyed the importance of her group’s research in promoting self-managed abortions.

“There needs to be change in the way people across Canada access Mifegymiso [the brand name for mifepristone],” Spagnuolo said. “That it is available in this country is not enough. We need to actively remove barriers to access, provide evidence-based information, and trust users to know their bodies and make their own decisions about abortion options.”

Parisa Sharifi, a research assistant at the University of Toronto, stressed the importance of presenting research findings in the field to a public audience.

“It’s been really important for us to present to the public to hear questions and see what we missed,” Sharifi said. “Especially with this conference where everyone works on or is affected by this research, it is important to hear from the audience.”

The second day of the conference brought together academics, activists, and artists to participate in a series of expert panels on self-managed abortion. Jennifer Fishman, associate professor at McGill and co-organizer of the conference, expressed the importance of discussing abortion through the lens of various institutions.  

“Institutions’ primary motivation is carving out a space to consider how networks, such as clinical and legal networks, are finding ways to expand access,” Fishman said.  

Joanna Erdman, associate professor in Health Law and Policy at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, outlined the common goal of the experts present at the conference.

“The real challenge is to think about whether we can capture the concept [of expanding the availability of abortion] without killing it, to recognize ideas of love, compassion and self-care, and to think about whether our institutions are even capable of honouring that,” Erdman said.

News, SSMU

SSMU Legislative Council debates a fee levy for a gendered and sexual violence policy

by Helen Wu on

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The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council convened on Oct. 11 to discuss the implementation of a Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy (GSVP) and the renaming of McGill’s Men’s Varsity Teams. Before the debate on the two primary motions, President Tre Mansdoerfer announced the resignation of vice-president (VP) External Marina Cupido.

“We are all very sad to see Marina resign from [their] position [as] VP External,” Mansdoerfer said. “We worked with [them] on a statement released yesterday [Oct. 10] by SSMU. Currently, we are working on how to [replace] the VP External. [At] the next council, we’ll have a proposal or some sort of discussion on what we plan to do.”

 

Implementation of a Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy (GSVP) and a fee levy

The resignation of two SSMU executives during the 2016-17 academic year following allegations of sexual violence necessitated the Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy (GSVP). The motion for an Anti-Violence Fee calls for an opt-outable fee levy of $0.45 on McGill students to fund the salaries of two Anti-Violence Coordinators, administrative costs, and an Anti-Violence Fund for projects against sexual violence. Anti-Violence Coordinators will be responsible for referring individuals to relevant support resources and conducting investigations into all reported cases.

Bee Khaleeli, SSMU’s GSVP implementation coordinator, presented their work and shared their opinion on the funding.

“Ethically, I don’t think that it should be the case that students should be paying extra money to be safe from their student union,” Khaleeli said. “I think it is preposterous and unacceptable. I would strongly prefer that SSMU were able to fund this on its own budget and SSMU consistently allocated money to sexual violence prevention efforts.”

During the debate on the policy’s funding, SSMU VP Finance Jun Wang argued that the SSMU’s budget is unable to fund the GSVP.

“I would have to cut a portion of the budget, and I don’t think it’s fair,” Wang said. “I can’t say that the GSVP is more important than Indigenous Affairs or Sustainability [….Regardless] the reason why it cannot come out of the operating budget is because the budget has already been approved by [the] previous Council. As long as the money does not fall in [a] category we voted on, we cannot allocate that money elsewhere. Therefore, the GSVP cannot be financed against any part of the budget.”

Arts and Sciences Senator Bryan Buraga insisted that the SSMU must prioritize this policy.

“It’s important to recognize that, if SSMU finds it a priority, they will find the necessary funding for it,” Buraga said. “I think that whenever we tell students they have to pay extra to be safe, it shows that we don’t prioritize these services.”

The motion for an Anti-Violence Fee levy passed with 22 votes in favour, three in opposition, and no abstentions.

 

Renaming McGill’s Men’s Varsity Teams

The name of McGill’s men’s varsity sports teams—Redmen—has drawn criticism in the past decade for the word’s historical use as a derogatory term for Indigenous peoples. Others have argued that the name has been reclaimed by the athletic teams.

“The historical roots of the teams, according to McGill Athletics, holds no association to [Indigenous peoples],”  First-Year Council Representative Robert Hu said. “It is the misrepresented history of the name, and not the name itself, that creates confusion and offence.”

Social Work Councillor Zach Kleiner responded to Hu’s comments by urging the council to protect the Indigenous students at McGill.

“I don’t think it’s up to us say whether Indigenous students are offended by a racial slur,” Kleiner said. “I see that a lot of people in this room are white, and a lot of people in this room are not Indigenous, so I don’t think we have the duty to ourselves as SSMU to vote on anything but protecting the Indigenous students.”

The motion carried with 24 votes in favour, one in opposition, and two abstentions.

SSMU Legislative Council will meet again on Oct. 18.

Montreal, News

Trib explains: Cannabis law

by Laura Oprescu on

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The Government of Canada is legalizing cannabis for recreational use on Oct. 17 following Senate’s contentious June 19 vote to pass Bill C-45. Rules and regulations will vary across provinces and territories; some are opting for government-run stores over private dispensaries, and there will be variations in the legality of home growing, mail ordering, and public smoking.

 

What’s the deal in Quebec?

The legal age for cannabis use in Quebec is 18, but the newly-elected Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government has pledged to raise the age to 21, the highest legal age in Canada. Minors will not be allowed into retail locations.

The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) will oversee sales and distribution of weed through a subsidiary company, La Société Québécoise du Cannabis (SQDC). There are currently 12 SQDC locations scheduled to open across the province, including four in Montreal: At 970 Rue Ste Catherine Ouest, 9250 Boulevard Acadie, and 6872 Rue St Hubert, with another location opening at 830 Rue Ste Catherine Est later in October. Additionally, the SQDC’s online store will open at 9 a.m. on Oct. 17, which will require that customers show identification proving they are of legal age upon delivery.

SDQC customers will be able to buy around 150 different products, including dried and fresh cannabis, cannabis oils, pre-rolled joints, marijuana pills, and accessories. Marijuana will cost under $7 per gram, the lowest rate in Canada—a price the SQDC describes on their website as “attractive enough to discourage illegal sales, but not so low as to encourage people to increase their consumption.” Users of medical marijuana should continue to fill their prescriptions with a licensed producer.

 

What is still illegal?

The federal government is not permitting the sale of edible cannabis products for the time being but plans to revisit the restriction in the next 12 months. Quebec will not allow home growing, even though federal law permits Canadians to cultivate up to four plants for personal use. Canadians can share up to 30 grams of weed with others, but sale is still illegal, even if both parties are of legal age. Both indirect and direct advertizing in favour of cannabis is banned, and anti-doping agencies have decided that cannabis consumption is banned for competition athletes.

As with provincial tobacco law, smoking cannabis is banned in many public places,  including universities, CEGEP schools, hospitals, elementary schools, bars, and restaurants. Many Quebec cities have banned public smoking and the CAQ has proposed a provincial ban on smoking in public places. Additionally, landlords have the right to ban smoking on their properties, meaning many Quebecers may be left with no space to legally smoke cannabis. Saint-Jérôme Mayor Stéphane Maher has proposed a cannabis café pilot project as a solution to this problem.

Driving high is still illegal. If Canadians are pulled over for suspected drugged-driving, they will have to submit to mandatory drug testing, including the collection of saliva, blood, and urine samples.

 

What about crossing the border?

The United States federal government still views cannabis as a controlled substance, despite it being legal for recreational or medical use in 30 states, and will not allow Canadians to bring any cannabis products into the U.S., even into legal states.

Moreover, crossing the border may be more complicated than simply leaving your weed at home. The Canadian government warns travellers that previous use of cannabis may lead to them being denied entry to the U.S. and there have been cases of Canadians being barred from the U.S. for life for admitting to consumption. This also applies to Canadians who use prescription cannabis and those who work in the cannabis industry. However, such cases are exceptions.

Know Your Athlete, Martlets, Private, Sports

Know Your Athlete: Meggie Dargis

by Ender McDuff on

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With her first-place individual finish at the Sherbrooke Open, fourth-year cross country star and finance major Meggie Dargis helped lead the McGill Martlets to victory on Sept. 29. She slowed down for a moment to talk to The McGill Tribune about her love of running.

Dargis first began running cross-country in her hometown of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, when she tried out for the cross country team in her second year of CEGEP.

“I was running by myself before, just for fun, because my mom was doing marathons,” Dargis said. “[So], I was like, why not try out?”

After that, it was full steam ahead for Dargis. After a solid first Provincials performance, McGill recruited her to join the team.

Three years later, Dargis enjoyed her best season yet. In 2017-18, she won second-team All-Canadian status and finished only a minute and a half back from first in the eight-kilometre National Championship circuit. Dargis’ work ethic is a strong factor in her success.

“I just like the grind,” Dargis said. “You’re out of breath, you’re hurting, and it’s not just that one minute of pain, it’s for a full 20 or 25. [… Pain] is unavoidable, [… so], you have to [learn to] appreciate it.”

A torn quadricep, however, has put Dargis behind to start her senior year.

“I got back here out of shape, not as good as I used to be,” Dargis said. “I wanted to be first-team All-Canadian this year, but I don’t know if that’s really realistic now.”

While pragmatic, Dargis is also a motivated competitor who immediately identified her new objective: Breaking the school record for the three-kilometre.

“Is that possible? I don’t know,” Dargis said. “[But] that’s the goal for this year.”

It is her competitive drive that made Dargis the athlete that she is today. Although she was still happy with her recent win at the Sherbrooke Open, the five-kilometre-specialist pointed to the absence of her main competitors: Université Laval, which won Provincials and placed third in Nationals last year.

“I feel like [my win has] been seen as a big accomplishment when it wasn’t really, at least for me,” Dargis said.

Dargis brings a vibrant, positive spirit to the team. She hopes the Martlets can win provincials this season.

“We run a lot of mileage,” Dargis said. “Last week, I ran over 100 kilometres. We also do a lot of hills, […] so that’s fun. I love that.”

Dargis’ unrelenting love for the sport is necessary to withstand the gruelling kilometres of training and competition—and entirely sincere. She knows it’s strange that she warms up to the song “Sucker for Pain” and laughed when she brought up ‘puke pace’—a term runners use to describe the final set of a workout, when, despite all their pain, they give it all they have.

Although she isn’t a captain, Dargis also strives to be a leader on the team by sharing her wisdom with her teammates.

“What I tell the girls before races is ‘don’t be scared to hurt,’” Dargis said. “[That’s] the mentality that you [need to] have.”

Dargis also stressed the team dynamic of cross country.

“[When] you see other people around, [you need to] think ‘I can pass this person, I need to pass this person [in order to earn points],’” Dargis said.

Dargis leads her team by example and with her wise pre-race words, but she harbours no regrets over not being a captain.

“I don’t think I would have been a good captain, but I like to cheer people on and tell them to push themselves,” Dargis said.  

In her future, Dargis plans on continuing to run, pursuing a master’s degree, and, perhaps, even running her first-ever marathon alongside her mother. In the meantime, however, Dargis’ Sherbrooke Open performance shows that she’s ready to go the distance this season.

“[I’m] finally here, and [I’m] back,” Dargis said.

Basketball, Martlets, Sports

McGill Martlet basketball falls to Ryerson 80-79

by Micah Angell on

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From Oct. 12 to Oct. 14, the Martlets hosted the 24th annual Redbird Classic, featuring McGill, University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBC Okanagan), Ryerson University, and Bishop’s University. The Martlets beat UBC Okanagan 96-51 on Oct. 12 but fell 80-79 to the Ryerson Rams on Oct. 13.  

The Martlets started out strong against Ryerson, scoring the first basket and continuing their solid start with four three-pointers in the first minutes. They managed to balance these outside shots with some beautiful post play and showed off the depth of their bench. Head Coach Ryan Thorne made full use of preseason play, giving each player at least a full quarter of playing time.

“It’s funny [that the team has such good depth] because we started out the season with three injured players and nine people playing,” fourth-year guard Geraldine Cabillo-Abante said. “It’s definitely nice to have a full rotation now.”

Finishing up the first half, however, Ryerson was in the lead with a score of 41-40. The turn of fortunes was largely a result of some strong moves from Ryerson in the key that nobody from McGill could shut down.

In the third quarter, McGill moved the ball around the three-point line looking for shots to open up, but they were unsuccessful and only ended up flirting with shot clock violations. Though the Martlets matched Ryerson’s tight defence on the other side of the court, Ryerson widened the scoring gap by the end of the third quarter to 58-52.  

Although things were looking grim with the Martlets down 14 points midway through the final quarter, McGill’s full-court press gave them a fighting chance in the last minutes of the game. The defensive tactic is fitting the McGill team well.

“I feel like that’s my comfort zone,” second-year forward Kamsi Ogbudibe said. “I’m really long, so I get a lot of deflections. People don’t expect me to be so long, so I get a touch, and then my teammates are there to help.”

Ogbudibe dominated the turnover game, and she contributed everywhere else on the box score, too, as she finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and three steals.

The Martlets stayed focused and intense throughout the game, but, in the closing quarter, they brought a new ferocity to the floor.

“I was on the [bench], and I was so into it,” Cabillo-Abante said. “Defensively, the intensity, everybody just wanting the ball and playing together.”

The team hustled to close the 14-point gap in impressive fashion, but the Martlets could not get the final point necessary to tie up the game, ultimately losing 80-79. Despite their tough loss, the team’s future is bright.

“We’re getting better, from the first game to now,” Ogbudibe said. “We just need to do a better job of closing out. We’ll just keep growing.”

With six new players on the roster, Cabillo-Abante noted the importance of the preseason for their growth as a team.

“[There are] a lot of new girls on the team,” Cabillo-Abante said. “[We have] six vets and six rookies. From our first game to our game just now, we’ve already improved a lot from just starting to trust each other, but we still have a long way to go.”

It seems this improvement is something to watch for when looking toward the rest of the season.

“I’m pretty confident for what’s coming up this season,” Cabillo-Abante said. “We’ll just keep getting better.”

Quotable

“Steph’s [Stephanie Mondou] last three, she chucked it up, and I was like ‘Oh, here we go.’ It banked [in,] and I was like ‘Okay, let’s go!’” – Second-year forward Kamsi Ogbudibe on Mondou’s shot-clock-beating three-pointer in the game’s closing seconds.

Moment of the Game

With 24 seconds left in the game and the buzzer sounding, third-year guard Stephanie Mondou hit a three-point shot to move the score to 78-77 for Ryerson.

Stat Corner

Out of its 79 total points, McGill made 30 points off of turnovers.

McGill, News

McGill Health Clinic temporarily relocated amidst renovations

by Jacqueline Yao on

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The Student Health Clinic closed Oct. 9-12 and relocated to Brown Building Room 3100, where services resumed on Oct. 15. Extensive renovations are now underway to transform the former clinic area into the Rossy Student Wellness Hub, which will supplement the clinic with a common area and have space for outreach and peer support. Contractors plan to finish renovating ‘The Hub’ by late Spring 2019 in order for new health and wellness programs to launch in Fall 2019.

On Oct. 2, McGill’s Media Relations Office emailed students about the clinic closure. Although the clinic did not book any doctors or nurses for the week, it rescheduled dietician appointments and directed students with ongoing critical needs to nurses, who contacted the patients directly. The clinic closure disproportionately affected international students and others who are not eligible for Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), Quebec’s provincial health insurance, as doctors unaffiliated with Student Services charge high rates that patients have to pay out of pocket.

Owain Guinn, U2 Arts, is an international student with Type I diabetes and was unable to contact the clinic during its closure.

“As an international student with a serious medical condition, I need the health clinic’s help being put in touch with specialists in Montreal,” Guinn wrote in a message to The McGill Tribune. “After getting a referral from the [student] clinic, I did not get a call from a hospital to schedule my appointment. I needed to go back to the clinic to ask for more help, but was unable to because of the move.”

The McGill administration planned to install The Hub between Summer 2018 and Dec. 2018 but did not select a contractor until Sept. 13. Student Services confirmed the clinic closure and relocation dates internally on Sept. 18. According to Dr. Hashana Perera, director of the Student Health Services (SHS), the administration was forced to push back construction dates due to delays beyond its control.

“[The Hub] is a very large construction project with many moving parts and it depends on inputs from many different partners, both internal and external,” Perera wrote in an email to the Tribune. “However, we made sure that construction wouldn’t start during our busiest period, [which is] back to school until end of September, to minimize impact.”

The Health and Wellness Committee, comprised of student leaders, faculty, and staff, developed the action plan outlined in the The McGill Health and Wellness Report. Key upgrades to the system include ‘Access Clinicians’ to provide same day care and triage, a ‘virtual hub’ for booking appointments online, and a common area where students can relax while waiting for their appointments. Student Services also seeks to increase medical personnel in the new clinic. Martine Gauthier, executive director of Student Services, is confident that The Hub’s emphasis on access will simplify healthcare services for students.

“We’re […] not only connecting students to the right care at the right time but also monitoring and adapting care to get results,” Gauthier wrote to in an email to The Tribune. “We are currently working on tools to help students find health and wellness resources that are covered by their particular insurance plans as part of the Rossy Student Wellness Hub [initiative].”

The Medical Students’ Society of McGill (MSS) hopes that the university can continue to provide services for students ineligible for RAMQ. André Lametti, Medicine senator for SSMU, expects shorter wait times and more comprehensive service coverage from the new clinic.

“We’ll see if there is an improvement [with the new clinic], but it is impossible to judge its success solely based on the plan,” Lametti said. “[The MSS hopes] that the clinic gives access that the students need in a timely fashion, especially for [those] who don’t have [insurance].”

Science & Technology

Making the most of Montreal’s bag ban

by Makena Anderson on

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Plastic is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest threats to our planet. With over eight million tons entering the ocean annually, the United Nations warns that, by 2050, the ocean could contain more plastic materials than fish. At the beginning of 2018, the city of Montreal banned plastic bags to reduce its plastic waste, leading consumers to wonder whether reusable bags offer any significant environmental benefits.

People reuse plastic bags made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) more than might be expected. Whether they’re lining a trash can or being used to carry lunch to campus, the thin plastic bags serve a purpose. The ban therefore, may encourage consumers to purchase plastic garbage bags, offsetting some of the benefits of banning plastic bags in the first place.

Ideally, the ban might encourage more consumers to use reusable bags. However, even if they remember to bring to bring them, reusable bags aren’t completely cost-free either.

Cotton bags, a popular alternative to plastic, are available for only a few dollars each, but the cost of their production is immense. While they only make up a small percentage of the overall cotton production, according to the World Wildlife Fund the industry as a whole plays a significant role in land degradation, pesticide pollution, and water contamination. A study published by the United Kingdom Environmental Agency (EA) indicates that a cotton bag must be used 131 times to have a lower global warming potential than a HDPE bag.

Meanwhile, polypropylene (PP) bags are a friendlier alternative that need only be used 11 times to produce less greenhouse gas emissions than HDPE, according to the EA. These bags are durable and can easily be washed out between uses to reduce the risk of contamination.

However, studies indicate that shoppers are unlikely to be as committed as their bags. A 2014 report published by Clemson University shows that only 50 per cent of consumers who use PP bags use them enough times to be more environmentally-friendly than HDPE bags.

Ultimately, the onus lies on the consumer, who decides how committed they are to reusage. Kendra Pomerantz, the Zero-Waste coordinator at the McGill Office of Sustainability, hopes that, in addition to reducing plastic use, the ban will spark a greater change.

“The publicity generated by the ban is even more important than the direct effect of the ban itself in terms of advancing our societal conversation about single-use plastics and promoting major shifts in the way that we view disposable items,” Pomerantz wrote in a message to The McGill Tribune.

Pomerantz believes that the $0.15 charge on the new, thicker plastic bags will incentivize consumers to bring bags with them.

“In other cities, a small charge has been shown to be effective to reduce the use of plastic bags,” Pomerantz wrote. “It’s more about forcing shoppers to think about their bag use instead of it being simply a passive habit.”

To further reduce climate impacts, students should evaluate not only what kind of bag they’re using, but what they’re putting in them. By reducing weekly meat consumption, students can significantly lessen their carbon footprint.

Pomerantz also suggests looking into the resources offered at McGill.

“By joining a sustainability group or participating in a course, research project, or program, [students] can link up with other like-minded people and help contribute to larger initiatives,” Pomerantz wrote.

While the ban is a step in the right direction, a change in consumer behaviour is necessary before the City of Montreal sees any substantial improvements in its environmental impact.

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