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Science & Technology

How sustainable is your sex life?

by Gwenyth Wren on

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When we think about sex, people consider their own needs, and, if they’re a decent person, those of their sexual partners as well. Rarely are the needs of the environment considered in the bedroom. However, the sustainability of  contraception habits is an arena in which sexual sustainability and environmental health overlap.

Of the 6.3 billion tons of plastic produced since the 1950s, only nine per cent has been recycled, while the rest has been dumped into landfills or natural environments that frequently connect to oceans. Unsound waste disposal can impact the environment through soil and water contamination. The high levels of methane gas produced at waste disposal sites also contribute to overall greenhouse gas emissions.

In the last few years, many governments have implemented measures to combat the excessive use of plastics such as the introduction of levies on plastic bags as well as bans on plastic containers and straws. Consumer goods giants have also stepped up: McDonald’s, for instance, plans to make all of its packaging from recycled, renewable sources by 2025. Collective action against garbage is also being taken on an individual scale.

As individuals evaluate and mitigate their contributions to waste and pollution, achieving a greener sex life is an often-overlooked responsibility. An enormous contributor to waste is single-use garbage, particularly plastic bottles, containers, bags, and condoms. As one of the most popular forms of contraception, condoms have been essential to curbing population growth . For instance, Mr Condom, a contraception campaign in Thailand, reduced the country’s rate of HIV by 90 per cent and number of children from 7.5 to 1. Vital for protecting STIs, Healthy McGill distributed upwards of 20,000 condoms across campus in the 2017-2018 school year.

Indirectly, condoms have a positive influence for the environment; by preventing pregnancy, any form of contraception or family planning helps reduce the pressure that the human population puts on the planet and its resources. Despite the crucial benefits of contraception on the human population, the direct environmental impact of condoms is not so positive.

While there are many different types of condoms with varying properties, latex condoms are the most popular. Latex is made out of the sap of rubber trees—a renewable resource—and is theoretically a sustainable, biodegradable material. However, since most condoms are made with additives to prevent breakage, the latex is more difficult to break down, lubricant further inhibits latex’s ability to decompose.

“Generally, if flushed down the toilet, which they should not be, [condoms] are removed during the water purification process and end up in landfills,” Joe Schwarcz, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and the director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “ [The] same happens if they are put into the garbage. In the oxygen-deprived (anaerobic) environment of a landfill, it is very doubtful that they will biodegrade.”

Schwarcz explained that, when latex condoms are flushed down the toilet, they are no longer biodegradable because they are wet. Despite being a natural material, latex is incredibly slow to decompose and contributes to the waste populating Earth’s land and oceans. Additionally, despite innovative efforts to create reusable condoms, there is no viable, recyclable product currently on the market.

For those seeking to be more environmentally-conscious in their sexual ventures, a new brand of condoms named Sustain offers a more sustainable, non-toxic, and vegan alternative to the traditional Trojans. The latex in Sustain condoms comes from a fair trade rubber plantation, and the condoms are free from nitrosamines and other possible carcinogens which are found in the products of many popular condom brands. While growing in popularity with more than $1 million in annual sales, the environmentally-friendly condoms have yet to revolutionize the market. Nevertheless, the options are available for those who want to ‘go green.’

Features

A foot on either side

by Kyle Dewsnap on

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In March 2017, Andrew Potter, former director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC), resigned after publishing a column titled “How a snowstorm exposed Quebec’s real problem: social malaise” in Maclean’s magazine. In addition to causing a rare McGill snow day, the blizzard also sparked a decidedly less rare debate over the limits of academic freedom. After his resignation, Potter’s case became the centre of a national debate hingeing on McGill’s apparent failure to protect a faculty member from criticism. While McGill insists that Potter resigned of his own accord, many academics claim that McGill’s actions—allegedly forcing Potter’s hand—represent an egregious violation of academic freedom. Heading into a new school year, the concern remains that McGill’s administration may be more committed to attracting donations than protecting its faculty.

As most students only see their professors during class time, it’s easy to forget that most tenure-track university contracts have both teaching and research obligations. In order to be considered for continued employment by their universities, professors have to produce original research. Many would posit that to perform this task to their best ability, professors need a space in which they can work without fear of repercussions for researching unpopular or controversial topics.

“Education and research benefit society, but society does not benefit when teachers and researchers are controlled by corporations, religious groups, special interest groups, or the government,” writes the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) on its website.

The main defense from this control is the foundational principle of academic freedom. According to the AAUP, the university must extend this protection to its faculty.

The concept of academic freedom was established with the earliest universities, but modern tools designed to protect it, such as tenure and faculty associations, weren’t developed until the early-20th century. In response to the Stalin-led communist party banning Soviet researchers from studying certain theories—Mendelian genetics, for example—American professors founded the Society for Freedom for Science, whose mission was to promote the cause of free science. During the same year, the AAUP created the Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure.

“Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth,” the document reads.

In order to guarantee this freedom, universities must ensure that professors are protected from external societal pressures that would otherwise influence their research.

“When faculty members can lose their positions because of their speech or publications research findings,” the AAUP wrote. “They cannot properly fulfill their core responsibilities to advance and transmit knowledge.”

Given that the internet has revolutionised the way people share thoughts, some academics are beginning to question the relevance of academic freedom in the 21st century. With a computer, anyone can not only access a functionally unlimited supply of free information, but can contribute to it as well. Websites like Wikipedia and Khan Academy provide free, high-quality information to millions of people, and the premium on academic research is faltering.

“As the breadth and volume of search engines’ results increase, providing a source of certainty for those building an argument, the validity of academics’ knowledge, the fundamental assumption of academic freedom, becomes problematic,” Philo Hutcheson, associate professor at Georgia State University said in an interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education.

On March 14, 2017, Montreal was hit with a record-breaking snow-storm, and while students enjoyed a rare day off from school, Andrew Potter set to work writing the think-piece that would ignite the academic freedom debate at McGill. The blizzard caused a catastrophic traffic jam on Highway 13, which extends from the Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport to the city of Boisbriand. At 4:29 a.m., Montreal firefighters arrived on the scene to dispatch emergency fuel, food, and blankets to stranded motorists. In total, 300 vehicles were left stranded on the highway, many of which were stuck for more than 12 hours. One motorist, Jean-François Grégoire, had to abandon his car and walk for 20 minutes in the snow to his office so that he could take a dose of insulin for his Type-1 diabetes.

As the incident made national headlines, both politicians and the public took swift action to find out what went wrong.

“Personally, I find it unacceptable that people were stuck for 13 or 14 hours before things were unblocked,” then-mayor Denis Coderre said in a meeting of the city’s executives.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ), Quebec’s provincial police force, quickly published a series of press releases announcing that two senior officers were placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. While Quebec’s political world was figuring out which fingers to point where, Andrew Potter saw the traffic-jam as something more sinister. Six days after the storm, Potter’s op-ed framed the debacle as a symptom of “social malaise,” which, according to him, was a pathology that plagued Quebecois society. Potter, who declined to comment, bolstered his thesis by using data gathered from national surveys and by drawing upon his own experiences as an anglophone living in Montreal.

“Quebec is an almost pathologically alienated and low-trust society, deficient in many of the most basic forms of social capital that other Canadians take for granted,” Potter wrote. “A serious winter storm hits, and there is social breakdown at every stage. In the end, a few truckers refuse to let the towers move them off the highway, and there’s no one in charge to force them to move.”

The public’s reaction to Potter’s piece proved to be its own storm. Some Quebecois Twitter users claimed that Potter, an anglophone born in Manitoba, wrote this piece as an outlet for his anti-francophone bigotry. Others criticized McGill for allowing him to teach students given his apparent bias against Quebec.

Awash with controversy, McGill sought to distance itself from the Maclean’s op-ed. McGill’s Office for Communications and External Relations used the university’s typically apolitical Twitter account to address the crisis.

“The views expressed by [Dr. Potter] in the @MacleansMag article do not represent those of #McGill,” McGill tweeted a day after Potter’s article went online.

Arts & Entertainment

Ivytide launches musical career of McGill students

by Kevin Vogel on

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For Nathan Gagné, U2 Psychology, vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Ivytide, an indie rock/R&B fusion group, making a living through music would be the perfect scenario.

“The school thing is a backup to [being a musician],” Gagné said. “If I’m able to…sustain myself by making music, that would be the dream.”

The group performed at OAP last Thursday Aug. 30 to an enthusiastic crowd.

Though he’s sang and played the guitar since the age of ten, Gagné’s musical passion grew after he graduated high school. Although he admits to having had an on-and-off relationship with the guitar for much of his youth, Gagné eventually put his nose to the grindstone, improved his guitar skills, and began work on original acoustic material. When he set out to record his solo work, Gagné met Jamie Snytte, B.A. ‘18, the co-founder of Avbury Studios and the future lead guitarist of Ivytide. The two began producing  EPs together, and soon realized that things could only improve from there.

“We really started to see that […] working together was great, there really was some chemistry here, so we were like ‘let’s pursue that, let’s create a band out of it,’” said Gagné.

Snytte recruited drummer John Zambito, who had also recorded at Avbury Studios, and two of his high school friends, keyboardist Adam Nutbey (B.S. ’18), and bassist Kyle Ruggierol (Concordia B.A. ’18), to create what is now Ivytide. On Aug. 24, the group released their debut EP, Bloom, which features their signature mellow mixes of R&B and hip-hop riffs with a slower-tempo, moody ambiance.

The band draws a lot of its musical inspiration from the work of Australian singer-songwriter Matt Corby, who uses a loop station during live performances to overlay recorded layers of  solo performance, resulting in what sounds like a full band.

“I bought a loop station [after I saw Corby perform] and was messing about with that for a while, and that’s what developed my song writing,” Gagné said. “ That’s when I finally decided to go to a studio and that’s when I met Jamie and all the other guys.”

While Ivytide has only begun experimenting  with looping techniques, the group has no trouble making their own unique music. Typically, Gagné begins by producing an acoustic version of a song, writing lyrics based on his own thoughts and emotions. He tries as hard as possible to infuse his own experience into the song to help fuel the pensive themes of Ivytide’s music. Gagné and Snytte then proceed to make a demo with complete instrumentation, and turn to the other band members for input on their respective pieces.

“Each [band member] adds their own element to the tracks as well, and that’s how we get this creation,” Gagné said.

Since the EP debuted so recently, the band’s current focus centers on promoting Bloom as much as possible before producing any new music.

“We’re gigging as much as we possibly can, we’re really trying to take all the steps to make the world know we exist basically,” Gagné said.

Ivytide’s next live performance will be on Sept. 21 at Piranha Bar, where they are opening for Wolves at Midnight. Their EP, Bloom, can be found on Spotify and other online streaming services.

McGill, News

McGill professor sues peers for defamation

by Julia Kafato on

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On June 22, Professor Ahmed Ibrahim from McGill’s Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS) took action against the allegations of sexual misconduct levied against him by filing a defamation lawsuit. The defendants in Ibrahim’s case are Sarah Abdelshamy, a student in the World Islamic and Middle East Studies (WIMES) department and Professor Pasha Khan, an assistant professor at the IIS. The lawsuit requests a total of $600,000 in claims.

The suit’s filing closely follows McGill’s decision to deny Ibrahim tenure, meaning that he will have to leave McGill when his current contract expires. Ibrahim asserts that future employment options seem grim, given his apparent reputation. He unequivocally denies engaging in sexual misconduct, as his past relationship with a student from 2014 to 2015 was before McGill recognized professor-student relationships as an abuse of authority.

Allegations of Ibrahim’s behaviour first surfaced in 2015, when The McGill Daily published an anonymously-penned article titled Let’s Talk About Teacher. The article, written by a McGill student, recounts the relationship they engaged in with a professor for over a year. According to a statement made by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) regarding Ibrahim’s lawsuit, the article is widely recognized as being about him.

“What Ibrahim has been accused of, in different contexts and over time, is essentially using his position of power as a respected academic and a professor to pursue, basically, sexual relationships with students,” Marina Cupido, former Daily managing editor and current SSMU VP External, said.

During the 2016-17 academic year, the World Islamic and Middle East Studies Student Association (WIMESSA) began their efforts to halt Ibrahim’s tenure. WIMESSA voiced its concerns about allegations of Ibrahim’s sexual misconduct in a letter to Dr. Robert Wisnovsky, then director of the IIS.

“Many students, particularly women, are uncomfortable and reluctant to take courses with Ibrahim because of his history of inappropriate behaviour,” WIMESSA wrote in their letter to Wisnovsky. “They feel like they are at risk of sexual harassment and are wary about his definition of personal boundaries.”

In Feb. 2017, Abdelshamy wrote an article for the Daily criticizing Ibrahim for his approach to the 2017 Quebec mosque shooting in class. Although the article does not mention Ibrahim by name, Abdelshamy publicly conversed with him about the issue in their class’ Facebook page. Later, at the end of the Winter 2017 semester, WIMES students were invited to discuss the administration’s role in enforcing McGill’s Policy Against Sexual Violence, where Abdelshamy allegedly made accusations against Ibrahim.

“Students were specifically asked not to name anyone, as McGill has confidentiality agreements with its professors,” Ibrahim’s lawsuit reads. “Despite this, Ms. Abdelshamy called Prof. Ibrahim a rapist and accused him of being protected because of his ‘conditioning tactics.’”

In Fall 2017, an anonymous student group called Zero Tolerance McGill put stickers in bathrooms on campus, labelling Ibrahim as an “abusive professor” and calling for students to email their testimonies to them.

The lawsuit claims that Abdelshamy is very likely responsible for Zero Tolerance’s stickers. Former SSMU VP External Connor Spencer disagrees, stating that it was a collective action by other students acting in solidarity with Islamic Studies students.

“There have been years of mobilization within Islamic Studies from various students who have remained largely anonymous against Ibrahim and I think Sarah was one of the first people to put her name to something,” Spencer said. “When the stickers went up, I think he automatically responded to the one name he had of a student who was visibly upset with how he taught even though it was for a completely different reason.”

After news of Ibrahim’s lawsuit was made public, SSMU released a statement condemning his actions and blaming his escalation on McGill’s hesitance to enforce procedures.

“The SSMU Executive team condemns this lawsuit in the strongest terms,” SSMU wrote in their statement. “It is blatant intimidation in response to the ability of students to speak out and protect each other from sexual violence when our institution has failed us repeatedly.”

McGill opted not to comment on the case itself or its tenure decision. Meanwhile, although its Policy Against Sexual Violence suggests that professor-student relationships constitute an abuse of authority, the administration also released a memorandum in May which outlines how intimate relationships between staff and students should be properly conducted.

In an interview with The McGill Tribune Ibrahim’s lawyer, Julius Grey, disagreed with prohibitions on hierarchical relationships.

“I think [SSMU] always takes one side and they don’t really consider the view of the other side,” Grey said. “They seem to think that there’s never any consent given, which is obviously nonsensical.”

Grey believes that unproven accusations are too readily believed and, subsequently, careers and reputations are unjustly ruined.

“In general, McGill and other institutions, UQAM, U de M, Harvard, etcetera, should get a little bit of backbone and say no to accusers,” Grey said. “Not unless there’s something that can actually be proven and punished in a court of law.”

Commentary, Opinion

The optics of gun violence in Canada

by Sophie Brzozowski on

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Living in Canada, I’ve never thought of guns as a particularly divisive issue. As far back as I can remember having an opinion, my politics on the subject have mostly aligned with those of most of my country’s citizens, and I’ve always been thankful for this. But lately, I’ve been wondering about the optics of it all: About our ability as Canadians to see ourselves clearly. The onslaught of gun related tragedy we’ve experienced in the past few months has left me questioning the narratives surrounding gun violence that I’ve long taken for granted.

Canadians have a habit of being self-righteous. Canada is often portrayed as a civilized and peaceful place, especially when compared to our neighbours to the south. The devastating magnitude of gun violence that the United States has experienced in the past few decades has left us counting our blessings. Things are not perfect here, but they could be so much worse. When we experience violence, it’s considered an anomaly, whereas when the United States experiences it, it’s seen as a byproduct of their culture.

In the summer of 2017, however, I spent some time working in Northern Saskatchewan, a place with a thriving gun culture. It was a strange experience for a native Torontonian to live in a place where people have a casual relationship with firearms. It was not uncommon, for example, to climb into the passenger seat of a truck and to have to toss a hunting rifle behind you before you could sit down. For someone who is afraid of guns, I’ve handled a few of them.  

For many of my co-workers, guns were an integral part of how they made their living, woven into the fabric of everyday life. An argument I often heard was that the media has blown the issue out of proportion — the media is too selective in the stories it chooses to report, and, as a result, most people have no perspective on the situation. In some ways I agree: We live in a country that denies the fact that, for many, guns are a part of life. As a result, we have a shockingly narrow perception of the nature of our own violence.

As the largest city in Canada, Toronto—my hometown—occupies a lot of space in the national media. At the international level, we often serve as a kind of proxy for the rest of the country. According to a recent Maclean’s article, the most dangerous place in Canada is a town I’d never heard of in Saskatchewan called North Battleford.   Despite having extremely low crime rates relative to the rest of Canada, Toronto’s is the violence that is making headlines, not that of rural communities who are hit the hardest.  This context is integral to understanding gun violence in Canada.

Toronto is the fourth-safest city in the world. Knowing what I now know, I wonder how I ever got it into my head to associate gun violence and crime with the big bad city. Probably because I watch too much TV.  

My fear of guns was amusing to my friends in Saskatchewan, many of whom had grown up around them. And indeed, sometimes my fear of being shot seems a little irrational to me too, both because I live in one of the safest cities in the world, and because there is absolutely no logical reason why anyone would want to shoot me.

Arguably, the scariest thing about the past couple of shootings in Toronto is the sense of chaos and confusion they inspired. People are getting shot in broad daylight by complete strangers in busy, commercial neighborhoods. It makes no sense, and it’s frightening because things are starting to feel out of control. But. just because violence feels random, doesn’t mean it isn’t systemic. It’s easy to say that my politics put me on the right side of history, but there’s some privilege to being here.

I believe that as Torontonians, we are entitled to our fear and our grief—after all, we don’t experience statistics the same way we experience tragedy. Nonetheless,  to perpetuate a culture of fear and distrust is not constructive—our gun violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It can be traced back to larger issues of socio-economic inequality, gang violence, and the fact that, contrary to national narratives, guns remain deceivingly accessible. I hope Canadians never become accustomed to gun violence, but I hope we can expand the scope of our understanding.

Martlets, Soccer, Sports

Carabins score early and often to shut out Martlets soccer

by Miya Keilin on

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On Aug. 31, the McGill Martlets (1-1-0) hosted the Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins (1-0-1). As the reigning national champions, the Carabins were dominant en route to a 5-0 victory.

UdeM’s five goals all occurred in the first 25 minutes of the match. In the opening minute, Carabins forward and 2017 RSEQ Player of the Year Emmanuelle Alcindor netted home a loose ball in the box for her first of three goals of the evening. Her second came three minutes later—a stunner from just inside the penalty box. A UdeM midfielder joined in on the scoring in the 17th minute when a botched clearance left the ball at her feet right in front of goal. Next, Alcindor picked off a lazy pass between McGill defenders to complete her hat trick. It took one more defensive lapse in the 25th minute for the Martlets to stop the bleeding.

“We didn’t come out hard enough right away,” fifth-year centre-back Natasha Tcheki-Jamgotchian said. “[The Carabins] did, they came out ready to go. [It] is something that we have to work on […] so we don’t get caught off guard early in the game.”

UdeM kept the pressure on for the rest of the half, but McGill managed to resist with more possession and better defensive organization. But, on the offensive end, the Martlets struggled to move into their attacking third and take quality chances on goal.  

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to move the ball around as well as we [would have] liked,” Martlet Head Coach Jose-Luis Valdes said. “We weren’t very efficient, which led to a couple of interceptions and two very early goals.”

In the second half, the Carabins again pieced together some close scoring opportunities. McGill snuffed those chances out, and overall the play evened out.

“We calmed down a lot,” fifth-year goalkeeper Sarah Dubois said. “We didn’t look as dangerous as I would have liked, but […] [UdeM] also relaxed, so we got to come out of [the] back a little bit more and tried to play our style of game.”

The Martlets were disappointed by their first loss of the regular season, but are ready to put it behind them.

“[The Carabins are] a physical team, and I think that their physicality and the way that they play are a great match for the way that we play,” Dubois said. “Unfortunately, we just didn’t have that physicality there today to counter them.”

In the Martlets’ next game on Sept. 7, they found themselves back on the right side of the game, with a 2-1 win against the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins. They host the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes (1-0-0) on Wednesday.

 

Quotable

“The good thing is, regardless of the score, it’s only a loss, one loss. Whether it’s by one goal or by three or by five, it’s just a loss. It hurts just as much, maybe it hurts the ego a little bit because it’s five, but I’m happy with the group that we have. I know that they’re gonna work and that they’re not going to ever want to see [such a bad loss] again.” – Head Coach Jose-Luis Valdes

Moment of the Game

McGill goalkeeper Sarah Dubois came up with a huge stop to deny UdeM’s Leïla Boudjelal on a 24th minute penalty kick.

Stat Corner

Montréal took 14 shots on goal to McGill’s 2.

Student Life

What advice would you give your first-year self?

by Elli Slavitch, Marie Labrosse, Ariella Garmaise, Stephen Gill, Katia Innes, and Arshaaq Jiffry on

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Elli Slavitch, Creative Director: You pick your path

It’s important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for learning, working, or doing anything for that matter. Although there may seem to be prescribed a ‘McGill experience’ you should always stay true to your own interests. This principle applies to students, teachers, and administrators alike; not everyone is here with the same goals in mind, and not everyone needs to accomplish the same set of tasks. Though we may not all follow the same path, what’s best is for us to support one another’s divergent ambitions as we move through university.

Marie Labrosse, Editor-in-Chief: Slow and steady wins the race

I am, by nature, a slow person. All of the decisions I make—from the colour of my notebook to the destination of my semester abroad—take a painstaking amount of time. I used to find this frustrating, trying desperately to rush through my assignments at a breakneck speed and throwing myself into activities without really taking the time to think if they were the right fit for me. As a result, my grades suffered and I wasn’t even that happy outside of the classroom. With the constant flurry of stimuli surrounding new students, it can be difficult to take a step back and discern where your place in the community is. It took me the best of three years to find out where I belonged at McGill, but my slow and deliberate search is what helped me cross the finish line.

Ariella Garmaise, Managing Editor: Clean your room

Jordan Peterson and my mom have admonished me for my messy room ad nauseam, and I wish I had listened. My first year at McGill was consumed by academic and social tribulations—I switched from Management to English Literature, started writing for the Tribune, and discovered Les Trois Minots Karaoke, only to be asked never to return a mere three months later. Amidst all the excitement, my room was disgusting. Finding friends, classes, and extracurriculars you like can feel daunting, but it’s a process made much easier by having a space to rest and think. Maybe “clean your room” is a metaphor for remembering to slow down and take time for yourself, but, on a much more practical level, it’s easier to make friends when your dorm doesn’t smell weird. Also, all your clothes look better when they’re not on the floor.

Stephen Gill, Managing Editor: Remember to reflect and prospect

One of the first things you notice about being a McGill student is that everything moves quickly: Professors, students, and motorists in high-foot-traffic areas. Unfortunately, this blazing pace is a fact of McGillian life, and it comes without any guiding principle to tell you how to hold on for the ride. You can’t stop the clock, but it is helpful to devote time to planning and contemplating instead of doing. Even having a vague idea of what you’d like to accomplish in a given day, week, or month allows you to allocate your time much more effectively, both in terms of productivity and fulfillment. Critically pondering what you have enjoyed, inside and outside of the classroom, helps you view your future through a clearer lens.

Katia Innes, Arts & Entertainment Editor: Climb a roof

If there is one thing I wish I had done earlier in my first year, it would be to climb to the roof of 506 Avenue des Pins. The view stretches past campus to Old Port, so you can just barely catch a glimpse of the Farine Five Roses sign. Honestly, just climb more roofs. I have yet to find a roof I haven’t liked, so I implore everyone to keep their eyes to the skies and always wear shoes with good grips in anticipation of potential building-scaling situations. As I stood there on the roof of the brownstone, my last exam just completed, McGill—and by extension, Montreal—seemed less foreign.

Arshaaq Jiffry, Design Editor: Don’t hide from your demons, destroy them

For a lot of students, university can be a time to reinvent yourself. Indeed, that was my number one goal when I began university, but I realized I had no clue who I was to begin with. I let anxiety and social pressures take control of my life when, in reality, I should’ve trusted myself. If something is genuinely bothering you, consider talking to someone. Don’t hide from your troubles because, eventually, they will catch up to you.

News, SSMU

University Centre reopening delayed until 2019

by Nina Russell on

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Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) has postponed the opening of the University Centre building until the end of the 2018-19 school year due to construction delays, according to an Aug. 14 Facebook post. The construction, which began on March 17, was initially scheduled to be completed by the winter of 2018, with Gerts Campus Bar opening in September followed by the rest of the building in December. However, underestimates of the time needed to remove contaminants have caused the expected opening to be pushed back until the summer.

“We were under the impression that the building was on the original timeline until shortly before our update on August 14th,” Tre Mansdoerfer, SSMU President, wrote in an email to the The McGill Tribune. “There was more hazardous material in the building [than] was originally anticipated.”

The building was closed to allow for the replacement of the heating and ventilation system after the discovery of traces of asbestos. Asbestos, a construction material commonly used during the 1950s and 60s, has been linked to numerous lung conditions when its fibres are inhaled in large quantities. The building will also be equipped with improved electrical distribution, an additional washroom, and various other upgrades.

The University Centre is leased through McGill, which is responsible for the repairs and has been in communication with SSMU throughout the duration of the project.

“Construction on a leased property falls under the control of the lessor,” Mansdoerfer wrote. “Both McGill’s project management team and contractors are responsible for the building repairs. We’ve been in contact with the contractors for the project throughout the summer, they updated us on the timeline in early August, and we subsequently updated the student body.”

The construction delays pose challenges for the 19 clubs that were forced to relocate ahead of the University Centre’s initial closure. Many were moved to spaces on Robert-Bourassa Boulevard and Peel Street, where they will remain for the duration of the construction period. However, clubs that require specific equipment and ample space to function are now encountering issues resuming regular activity.

“For general space needs, we’ve been working with the building directors of Athletics facilities and Residence Halls,” Mansdoerfer wrote. “Science Undergraduate Society, Management Undergraduate Society, Engineering Undergraduate Society, and Arts Undergraduate Society will be providing space to SSMU clubs at specified times during the year. Through the Deputy Provost office, we are booking available classrooms for club usage. We are also in conversations with McGill on getting additional permanent space for clubs/student groups on campus.”

For smaller organizations such as the McGill Plate Club, a student group which aims to promote sustainability by loaning reusable eating utensils on campus, the delays have created inconveniences to their regular functioning.

“Our core ability to function as an event plate rental service has only been slightly disrupted, since we are fortunate to have been assigned temporary storage space,” a representative of the Plate Club wrote to the Tribune. “Since our user base extends beyond SSMU groups, usage has been sustained even if this one sector is holding less events as a consequence of the building closure. I do feel that the loss of a central student space will put a damper on undergraduate student life in general.”

Meanwhile, for bigger groups such as the Players’ Theatre, which was evicted in February and requires a large space to operate, the move has been particularly difficult. Nonetheless, Cheyenne Cranston, Executive Director of the Players’ Theater, remains optimistic about the community’s ability to function despite the delays.

“After meeting with SSMU, it is clear that they are doing everything in their power to assist the clubs and services that have been impacted by the building closure,” Cranston wrote in an email to the Tribune. “There’s an old saying in theatre that says, ‘The show must go on!’ and we plan to follow this saying. While acquiring a theatre space through SSMU would be ideal, we’ll perform in someone’s living room if we have to.”

Editorial, Opinion

McGill needs to support its Saudi students

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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This past August, thousands of Saudi students living in Canada had their futures derailed when the Saudi government ordered them to leave Canada and suspended government-funded scholarships to Canadian schools. The measures are a result of a political feud between Canada and Saudi Arabia, sparked by a tweet from the Global Affairs Canada account calling for the ‘immediate release’ of Saudi human rights activist Samar Badawi.

In the month since the Saudi-Canadian tensions surfaced, Saudi students in Canada have been in a precarious financial and academic position. The Saudi government’s deadline for students to leave Canada passed on Aug. 31, and now it might not be safe for those still here to return due to fears of imprisonment. 20 students are now seeking asylum with the assistance of Montreal-based activist Omar Abdulaziz. The Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal has penned two statements on the matter—neither overly supportive, however—in accordance with the Saudi government’s exemption for certain medical students. Where the administration’s communications fall short, it is imperative that the McGill community at large does everything in its power to make Saudi students feel welcome on our campus.

Under Canadian law, Saudi students’ legal status has not changed: Their study permits remain valid, and they are free to stay in the country until these travel documents expire. However, cut off from their home country as well as their principal source of funds, these students are among McGill’s most vulnerable.  

McGill prides itself on its international reputation. But, international students are just that—students, not unofficial ambassadors for their home country. Saudi students should not be expected to suffer the repercussions of a chill in Saudi-Canadian foreign relations. Although the 132 Saudi students enrolled at McGill at the start of the 201-18 academic year represent a tiny fraction of McGill’s 40,971 students, they were also the fifth largest international student cohort of that year. They are integral parts of the community, just as much as any other local or international student, and they should be treated as such. Now is an opportunity for McGill to set a precedent for their commitment to protecting all of its students.

There is only so much McGill can do to protect its international students; universities have limited clout on the international political stage. Nonetheless, McGill has a responsibility to protect Saudi students within the confines of its campus. The administration should extend its show of support beyond a written statement and actively demonstrate its commitment to their safety by endorsing services that are of practical use to them. These resources include safe and confidential support services, affordable housing, and minority advocacy organisations. It is also important that McGill make the academic transition of those students who do choose to leave Canada as straightforward as possible by providing easy access to advising assistance.

In addition, students can also support the Saudi members of our community on an individual level. Saudi students currently face not only the threat of arbitrary punishment at the hands of their own government, but also that of racism and Islamophobia within Canada. Adequately assisting Saudi students entails starting a conversation about how minorities are treated on campus and spreading awareness of the precarious situations our Saudi peers find themselves in. Students can also endorse relevant campus groups and resources such as the Arab Student Network, the Black Students’ Network, the Social Equity and Diversity Education Office (SEDE), and mental health services.

The McGill community should provide Saudi students with whatever resources they require. There may be nothing a university can do to mend an international dispute—but it should be there for its students in need.

News, The Tribune Explains

Trib Explains: Defamation and tenure

by Andras Nemeth on

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What is defamation?

In the Canadian legal system, defamation law protects an individual’s right to their reputation and good name. Defamation law is classified under tort law, a branch of Canadian law that provides compensation to those who have been injured or have had their property damaged by the wrongdoings of others.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that all individuals have the right to free speech, defined as freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication. Given this, defamation law rarely acts as a check on the right to freedom of speech. Rather, it is used to compensate those whose reputations or property have been unfairly damaged.

 

How does a defamation action proceed?

In order for a defamation action to succeed, the claimant (the party initiating the action) must prove three things: That the referenced material is defamatory—in other words, that it would lower the reputation of an individual in the eyes of a rational individual—that the defamatory material refers directly to the claimant, and that the material was published or provided to someone other than the claimant.

The most common defense against defamation is truth. Under common law, which applies to all Canadian provinces except Quebec, truth is an absolute defense and the onus is on the defendant to prove that their claim is true; if the defamatory material is shown to be true, the defendant is not held liable. In the Civil Code of Quebec, however, truth is only a defense if the material was published in the public interest. A defense against defamation in Quebec must show that the material is true and that the public benefits by its publication.

For legal information and advocacy, students are advised to consult the Legal Information Clinic at 2075 Robert Bourassa, available by phone at 514-398-6792.

 

What is tenure, and how does it relate to academic positions at McGill?

At McGill, as well as most other Canadian universities, tenure refers to a permanent academic position in the faculty of a university. Once tenured, a professor or associate professor cannot be dismissed from their position unless they break laws or violate institutional policies.

Professors, associate professors, and assistant professors at McGill can be hired in tenure or tenure track positions. Depending on whether the position is for assistant, associate, or full professor, a tenure-track faculty member must be considered for tenure no later than their sixth, fifth or fourth year respectively. Decisions as to whether or not the professor is granted tenure are made by tenure committees based on the professor’s research and educational contributions.

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