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Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

Banner year for McGill swimmers at RSEQ Championship

by Miya Keilin on

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From Feb. 2 to 4, the McGill swimming team competed at the RSEQ Championships in Sherbrooke. Thanks to their prior results at this season’s four RSEQ Cups, the Redmen sat in first place in the conference with a slim two-point lead over the Université de Montréal (UdeM) Carabins. The Martlets also faced strong competition: The Carabins had won seven of the last eight women’s Provincial Championship titles—and the Université Laval Rouge et Or women were vying for another second-place finish after narrowly beating out the Martlets at last year’s championship.

Similar to last season, the UdeM women’s side were crowned provincial champions. This year, however, the Martlets secured second place over the Rouge et Or. Meanwhile, the Redmen held steady and took home the first-place banner.

McGill also celebrated a number of individual honours. First-year David Brenken was awarded Rookie of the Year at the Championship Cup and McGill Head Coach Peter Carpenter—who coaches both the Redmen and Martlets—won Coach of the Year. Ten McGill swimmers were named first-team all stars and 11 made the list for second-team.

“It was very, very gratifying to perform as well as we did at provincials,” Carpenter said.

UdeM has an incredibly dominant women’s team, powered by both Olympians and a deep roster that put them out of McGill’s reach. Therefore, instead of aiming to topple the Carabins at the beginning of the 2017-18 season, the Martlets instead put their minds to avenging their 2017 third-place finish behind Laval. They proved successful in achieving this goal, defeating Laval at every cup and completing their sweep in this competition.

The Redmen’s season goal from the start, meanwhile, was taking home the first-place banner. McGill has fielded strong teams in the past, but with the combination of determined veterans and strong rookies, this squad knew that the provincial title was within reach.

Carpenter attributed the team’s success to its collective work ethic and team dynamic.

“University swimming is the greatest example of turning an individual sport into a team sport,” Carpenter said, explaining the impact that teammates can have on each other throughout a grueling season.

Carpenter pointed back to a speech about dedication that Bradley Crocker, now in his fifth year of university swimming, made at a retreat in September. The talk was a clear example of the impact that teammates can have on each other.

“[Crocker told the team that], for each person, when they’re making a decision that’s going to impact their swimming, [to] ask themselves if it’s something that will benefit the team in the long run,” Carpenter said.

Five months later, it’s easy to see the effect that Crocker’s words have had. Carpenter is proud of his athletes’ efforts—both as individuals and as a team—and the incredible chemistry they have put together.

“[They’re] such a good group of people who genuinely care for each other and I think that’s the biggest thing,” Carpenter said. “The chemistry that they’ve developed is the best I’ve ever had.”

Twenty-eight McGill swimmers qualified for the U-Sports National Championships, which will take place in Toronto this year, starting on Feb. 22. Until then, the athletes will use their time in the pool to fine-tune their strokes as they look to put the finishing touches on a strong season.

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Belle and Sebastian – How To Solve Our Human Problems (Part 3)

by Katia Innes on

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Scottish indie darlings Belle and Sebastian have returned with a musical gift for the new year: Since December, the Glasgow six-piece band has released an EP every month, culminating with the final release of How To Solve Our Human Problems (Part 3) on Feb. 16.

While the EP shares its name with the 1970 book on Buddhism by Tibetan Monk Kelsang Gyatso, it doesn’t try to lead its listeners toward enlightenment. Rather, it serves as a collection of vignettes that addresses the multitudes of adulthood: love, morality – all the classics. The EP is an ongoing dialogue between listeners and the many narrators, all centralized around classic themes of what it means to be human—our anxieties, our fears, who and what we love. Amplified through Belle and Sebastian’s eclectic sound that melds folk with chamber pop, How to Solve Our Human Problems tackles universal experiences through the voices of specific narrators.

The EP’s greatest strength, and one that frontman Stuart Murdoch and his motley crew have refined over two decades, is the vivid narrative that each self-contained song creates. From the love-struck flatmate in “Best Friend,” to the remorseful ex-lover in “Too Many Tears,” Murdoch has an undeniable ability to create endlessly sympathetic, albeit nameless, narrators, borrowing from unconventional genres. In the brash opening lines of “Best Friends” he sings, “Here we are just trying to be flatmates / Here we are just trying to sophisticate/ Be an adult, trying not to fall in love.” The beginning’s snappy delivery bears a definite resemblance to the typical musical theatre ballad. Of course, this similarity is unsurprising, considering Murdoch’s past foray into the movie musical format with 2014’s God Help the Girl.

Over the past two decades, Belle and Sebastian have become staples of the alternative folk circuit. However, this EP proves that they haven’t faded from the limelight.

Basketball, Sports

The new-look Cleveland Cavaliers

by Sam Wendel on

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In early February, sitting at a 30-22 record, the 2017-18 Cleveland Cavaliers season appeared to be a dud: Despite LeBron James, the best basketball player in the world, leading the way, Cleveland was stuck fighting for the third spot in the notoriously weak Eastern Conference. It appeared that the team that had made it all the way to the NBA finals last year was gone, replaced by a squad of ancient stars without any chemistry. Yet, with the trade deadline’s passing on Feb. 8, that all looks to have changed. Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman pulled the trigger on a series of trades that will reshape this NBA season, and perhaps save the Cavaliers from an extended tanking period in the future.

Altman shipped out Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, Derrick Rose, and the Cavaliers’ 2018 first round pick. Prior to the trade, each player had been fairly ineffective during the season: It soon became clear that the Boston Celtics ecosystem that made Thomas and Crowder into stars could not be replicated in Cleveland. Similarly, Shumpert and Frye saw their respective performances regress from last year, and both were relegated to bench roles. Wade, at 36 years old, is a dinosaur who can occasionally turn back the clock—but he didn’t do so nearly enough to help the Cavs. Finally, after a sordid injury history, Rose was a shell of his former self. All in all, these players had nothing to offer Cleveland and its playoff ambitions, and Altman made the right call in trading them for players who have the potential to make a difference.

In return, the Cavaliers received Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood, Sacramento Kings guard George Hill, Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr., and Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson—all young talents or reliable veterans. After playing in Gordon Hayward’s shadow in one of the NBA’s smallest markets, Hood is one of the league’s most underrated players. This season, he has posted career-high marks in points per game and three-point shooting. Similarly, Hill—also with a career-high three-point percentage this season—provides the behind-the-arc shooting and defence at point guard that the Cavaliers badly need. Meanwhile, Nance and Clarkson are both energetic young players who can come off the bench without letting up on offence and defence. If James leaves town this summer as a free agent, they will turn into some of the Cavs’ next franchise cornerstones.

These players address fundamental issues within the Cavs roster. In the modern NBA, any team that hopes to win the championship needs players who can shoot from distance. Cleveland originally tried to solve this issue by bringing in J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver. While both players are good shooters, Smith shoots way too often and Korver not often enough. Furthermore, both are fairly one-dimensional, and Korver is a defensive liability. By adding Hood and Hill, however, the Cavaliers bring firepower to their squad without sacrificing defence or play-making.

Without Kyrie Irving, the Cavs have trotted out weak point guards for the entire season, as Rose remained on the bench, and Thomas was simply ineffective since returning from injury in January to relieve the 36-year-old Jose Calderón. By adding Hill and Clarkson, Cleveland fills that hole, taking pressure off of James and allowing him to be more of a wing player—a position where he flourishes.

Additionally, the Cavaliers struggled at defence. Though Kevin Love has received a lion’s share of the blame for years, others were not pulling their weight either. Tristan Thompson posted stats close to his career lows in most defensive categories, while their guards only added to the bleeding. Nance, however, is a defensive weapon who alters shots and racks up 1.4 steals and 0.5 blocks per game—which could finally shore up a weak defensive front court.

On paper, all of Altman’s transactions make sense, and their effects have shown up on the court: The Cavaliers are undefeated since the trade deadline, including a huge 22-point win over the Eastern-favourite Celtics. Clearly, the new guys are here to play. With their help, LeBron and the Cavaliers are, once again, real contenders in an increasingly interesting East. The basketball world is still reeling from the trades, but the new-look Cavs mean serious business.

McGill, News

Desautels MBA Program ranked best in Canada

by Nina Russell on

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McGill’s Desautels Master of Business Administration (MBA) program was ranked first in Canada and 78th in the world in the 2018 Financial Times (FT) Global MBA ranking. Desautels was one of only three Canadian schools to make the top 100 list, alongside Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and Western University’s Ivey School of Business, which were ranked 86th and 90th respectively.

Alumni responses made up the most important ranking criteria, including “weighted salary” and “salary increased.” Altogether, these factors comprised eight of the 20 criteria and 59 per cent of the total rank. FT surveyed alumni to identify their average income three years after graduation and the average increase in salary after completing their MBA. The class of 2014 was examined for this year’s rankings.

Other criteria included the number of women in the program and faculty, and the percentage of international faculty members and students. FT also considered the program’s value for money, calculated using current salary and the cost of the program, as well as the prestige of research conducted at the institution in question, based on the number of articles published in internationally-recognized journals.

For Joshua Morton, a MBA student at Desautels with a concentration in Global Strategy and Leadership, the relatively small class sizes made the program more attractive than others he considered.

“I personally like developing more relationships with my classmates,” Morton said. “For me [the size of the program] really does influence how you interact with people. It means that you develop deeper relationships rather than a surface, in-class sort of thing. Everyone here is very open to helping each other and working together on things, and to me that’s also a big benefit of this program compared to others.”

Desautels also prides itself on educating a large number of international students, with almost half of its MBA students coming from abroad and a significant number from India and China.  

“I liked the idea of the diverse nature of the program, we’re very international and so getting many different perspectives, and the way people think of things really comes up in the classroom a lot,” Morton said. “The value of what a MBA program really does comes from what the people around you bring to it, and it’s a much more valuable experience for you, and it is a much more valuable experience for your peers, when everyone has something to bring to the table.”

Montreal’s linguistic and ethnic diversity also sets Desautels apart from other Canadian institutions.

“[Something] that’s special about [McGill] is that we’re sitting […] as an English institution in a French-speaking city,” Alfred Jaeger, academic director for the MBA program said. “The whole multi-cultural, multi-lingual aspect that we almost take for granted [sets Desautels apart from other Canadian schools.]”

In addition to hosting many international students, Desautels’ MBA program also boasts nearly gender equal classes. Desautels was ranked first in North America for percentage of female students, percentage of international faculty and students, international mobility of students after graduation, post-graduation salary increase, career progress, and aims achieved.

“[Something] I am very proud of is, this year we have almost a balanced class in terms of male-to-female ratio,” Associate Dean of Desautels’ MBA program Steve Fortin said. “Our women last year and the year before were very active in the program. We have a ‘Women in Business’ club that is very, very active.”

Fortin is optimistic about what Desautels’ rankings mean for the future of business.

“We care about research, and we’re trying to train people in the best possible way we can for the business world of today, [but also] the business world of tomorrow,” Fortin said.

Arts & Entertainment, Music, Private

Tyler, the Creator is glowing

by Dylan Adamson on

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2011 was a while ago. When Tyler, the Creator rapped that he would “stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus” on 2011’s “Yonkers,” he wasn’t threatening the Bruno we’ve come to love or hate on “24K Magic,” “Locked Out Of Heaven,” or even “The Lazy Song.” Tyler was threatening fedora-wearing, Doowops and Hooligans, “her hair, her hair,” 2011 Bruno Mars.

A lot has happened since 2011. Barack Obama won another election. Donald Trump won one too. Your dad is now familiar with at least three Bruno Mars songs. Bruno Mars married model Jessica Caban, and together the couple adopted an adorable rottweiler, which they named Geronimo. Tyler, the Creator was barred from entering the United Kingdom and Australia for women-hating and homophobic lyrics. Tyler may have publicly come out of the closet on 2017’s [Scum Fuck] Flower Boy. Vince Staples leaped from Odd Future friend-of-a-friend to Black Panther soundtrack-certified headliner.

On Feb. 18, Vince Staples and Tyler, the Creator, performed at MTELUS, Montreal’s largest non-Bell Centre concert hall.

Staples’ opening set was ridiculous; the rapper seamlessly balanced sparse, minimalist cuts from 2015’s Summertime ‘06 with the audacious, West Coast techno of last year’s Big Fish Theory. Backed by a grid screening monochrome videos of waves, flowers, demolished project housing, and Amy Winehouse interviews, Staples violently careened across his stage before a crowd of dehydrated, vibrating rap fans.

Vince Staples is far too good to still be opening for other rappers.

Following a too-long break after his set, the curtains dropped on what must be rap’s most elaborate stage design this side of Kanye West’s Yeezus Tour (in which Kanye was chased by a wolf-thing on a mountain and sat on a literal throne made of women). Tyler began his performance atop a huge fake rainforest tree, cracked in half at about 20 feet, creating a kind of tropical fern-bannistered causeway to the rest of the stage.

Sporting a hooded peacock-blue puffer jacket, which he quickly threw aside to reveal a high-vis yellow construction vest and a 100-likes-and-I’ll-get-it soccer ball dye job, Tyler began his descent to stage level with “Where This Flower Blooms,” from Flower Boy. As his own baritone flow nearly succumbed to the audience’s loud chants of “I rock, I roll, I bloom, I glow,” Tyler seemed genuinely surprised at the enthusiasm from the Montreal contingent of his fandom.

Feeding off this crowd-sourced energy, Tyler bounced and flailed through the introspective, idyllic cuts unique to his more recent material, including “Boredom,” “911 / Mr. Lonely,” “Ziploc” (a freestyle over Jay-Z’s “4:44”), and Frank Ocean’s “Biking,” before pausing to take a breath.

“Hi,” Tyler said. “It’s fucking cold in your city. Uhhh. I like Tim Horton’s white hot chocolate. Fuck McDonalds. We got that in America. I’m gonna do this next song and shit I guess.”

Understandably a little overwhelmed by the vocal exuberance of the sold-out MTELUS crowd, Tyler’s generic stage banter nonetheless elicited laughter from his sweaty, screaming audience. From the deafening sing-alongs and off-beat clap-alongs, to the weird, uneasy this-is-my-first-mosh-pit mosh pits to songs that don’t really beg for them (“Garden Shed,” among many, many others), his reception was uniformly raucous from start to finish.

Tyler has covered an absurd amount of ground in his career. Odd Future isn’t really a thing anymore, as the weak turnout for alumnus Taco’s early opening DJ set can attest. Tyler doesn’t rap about locking Taylor Swift in his basement anymore. There were fans in the all-ages audience, I’m sure, who wouldn’t recognize the Tyler who screamed at a goth girl and rode Jimmy Fallon’s back on live television in 2012. These fans were introduced to Tyler not as a cockroach-munching wack job, but as the charming, goofy crooner seen on his recent Tiny Desk Concert. It was a little jarring to see “Yonkers” performed to a more muted response than “See You Again.” But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Tyler has made the leap to a new generation of hip hop fans, without losing an ounce of his vitality in the transition.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Get to Know: The Nicotines

by Maxime Scraire on

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Davide Spinato, singer-guitarist of the indie-grunge-rock outfit The Nicotines, had a lot on his mind when we met.

“Most bands are entitled,” Spinato said. “They think that because they play a show, that because they come out with something, people are automatically going to respond and show up.”

Sitting upright behind an open pack of cigarettes and half a bottle of red wine, he was still in his pajamas, a get-up he somehow pulled off through sheer force of raw charisma. By his side was bassman Costin Dumitrescu. The third and last founding member of The Nicotines, drummer Lucas Villeneuve, was absent.

“When something doesn’t go well, they’re going to blame it on someone else,” Spinato said. “They’ll blame it on the fact that people don’t care about music, that people care more about memes, or something dumb like that [….]”

Despite the harsh words, Spinato was not angry. He was simply bewildered by the general lack of commitment and professionalism that seems to plague Montreal’s hard rock scene. Coming from a musician who has written a song a day for the past year, and demands almost daily rehearsals from his band, his attitude isn’t all that surprising.

After a relentless motivational campaign led by Spinato, The Nicotines assembled and released a four-song EP last March, only two months after the band’s formation. Determined not to let anyone mess with their product, they did absolutely everything by themselves.  

“We [played] the songs live [in our rehearsal space],” Spinato said. “We bought our own equipment. [We] mixed it in my room with my setup. I thought it was really important to have something to show when we [started] to play. Even if it’s not the best thing ever.”

Titled Spaced Out, the grunge record takes inspiration from some of the band’s favourite rock acts of the past few decades, like Nirvana, the Pixies, and Wolfmother–a shared love over which the band first bonded. While many critics call rock “deader” than it has ever been, the Nicotines argued that things have not changed that much.

“Every 10 years you hear someone go ‘rock’n’roll is dead,’” Spinato said. “Rock’s never really been in the mainstream and I think that’s the point. Rock acts are acts that are constant. That work a long time without ever really having a huge mainstream appearance. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Now a year after becoming an active live band, they are almost done with the writing process of an as-of-yet untitled 6-songs EP. Soon, they will head to a friend’s cabin in the woods to record. Armed with their own equipment, a dozen songs, and a camera to chronicle the whole process, they intend to redefine themselves.

“We’re trying to take from a lot of different stuff,’” Spinato said. “We’re branching out towards a bunch of different styles.”

The band insists that self-production is a must when it comes to conserving financial and artistic independence.

“When you pay for studio time, you’re also paying producers and sound engineers, and they don’t usually care about the sound that you want to achieve,’” Spinato said. “[It’s the same reason] we book our shows ourselves. If you’re a small-time band, [everyone’s] main goal is to rip you off. Who are you going to trust if it’s not yourself?”

Spinato stopped for a second, lost in thought. He suddenly re-emerged, dead serious:

“Unrelated, but just for future reference, a pitcher of beer is not payment for a band,” Spinato said.

They may not be fit for the rough edges of the underground, but with that kind of commitment and work ethic, it certainly won’t be long before the Nicotines make their way to the surface.

 

Science & Technology

The value of coding in the job market

by Emma Gillies on

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As students feel increasingly threatened by what McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier has described as an in-coming  “Technological Tsunami,” computer programming is an attractive option for students looking to learn a new skill or to strengthen their resume. Top Universities, a worldwide university ranking site, labelled coding as one of the essential skills that every graduate should have, and primary schools are starting to prioritize coding courses over teaching cursive. However, figuring out how to get started in programming can be both daunting and difficult.

Darlene Hnatchuk, director of McGill Career Planning Services, believes that while not everyone has to be a programmer, knowing how to use computers and understanding how they work is important and applicable to a variety of career paths.

“A lot of organizations and […] governments are pushing coding, and I’m going to be a little bit radical in saying that I don’t think […] all students have to learn how to code,” Hnatchuk told The McGill Tribune. “I think what all students should do, however, is at least have an understanding of computing and software.”

Hnatchuk recommended that students take at least one introductory computer science course during their undergraduate degree. Courses like COMP 202: Foundations of Programming, COMP 189: Computers and Society, and COMP 102: Computers and Computing allow students to learn the basics of programming, as well as its applications in the job market.

For students who don’t have room in their McGill degree to pursue an elective computer science course, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)—free online courses offered on a range of subjects—are a manageable alternative. Coursera, edX, and Codecademy are popular online resources with a similar mission of making education more easily accessible. At the heart of it, students should seek out internships or work experiences that allow them to see what skills are needed and useful in their field of interest.

For Derek Ruths, associate professor of Computer Science at McGill, computer programming is an important skill. We rely on computers to problem-solve, and programming is essentially the method through which we communicate our demands. It’s a bit like learning a language—except that there is a shorter learning curve in computer programming than in human languages.

“Once you learn one programming language, it’s relatively easy to pick up another,” Ruths said.

There are hundreds of programming languages that are used for many different applications. R is popular among ecologists; ArcGIS has a wide range of applications in geography; and AutoCAD, CATIA, and Java are just a few of the programs that are used in engineering. In general, though, Ruths believes that learning Python is a good place to start.

“If someone learns [Python], they can really get into any field,” Ruths said.

In this way, any student—including Arts students—can and should familiarize themselves with computer programming. For instance, many jobs that political science majors are interested in are data-centric, which requires experience in programming. For young entrepreneurs, social media and web design experience are particularly useful.

Above all, what makes programming so valuable is that it introduces a new way of thinking that is complementary to the other skills that many students learn in class. For students from any discipline, research projects almost always require a basic knowledge of programming and statistics to sort and classify data. The practical uses of programming extend beyond school, with web design and app-construction as some of the most popular applications.

“There is a value in knowing how to think about problems in a way that is [systematic] and structured,” Ruths said.

Even with the value of knowing how to code, Hnatchuk said that students don’t need to know programming to find a job. But they shouldn’t be afraid to learn new programs, technologies, or platforms.

“It’s not such a mystery if you understand the background of how computing works in general,” Hnatchuk said.

Fact or Fiction, Science & Technology

Are vegetarians healthier than meat eaters?

by Océane Marescal on

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Plant-based eaters come in many forms. Traditional vegetarians, also known as lacto-ovo vegetarians, do not eat animal flesh of any kind but will consume dairy and eggs. Pesco-vegetarians, or pescatarians, incorporate fish into their otherwise vegetarian diet. Vegans are those who abstain from all animal-derived products, including dairy, eggs, and honey. In addition to these lifestyles, there is a spectrum of plant-based diets with a variety of different dietary limitations and restrictions.

But why go vegetarian? People choose to adopt plant-based diets for multiple reasons.  Some experts have estimated that vegetarians can save around 750 dollars a year at the grocery store by going meatless, but others choose the diet as a method of combatting climate change, or reducing animal suffering. Whatever reason one might choose for becoming a vegetarian, these diets provide a variety of health benefits, so long as certain precautions are taken to avoid nutritional deficits.

Anne-Sophie Brazeau, an assistant professor of Human Nutrition at McGill, wrote about the myriad of health benefits that can come from adopting a vegetarian diet in an email to The McGill Tribune.

“[A vegetarian diet] has been associated with lower rates of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer,” Brazeau wrote. “For example, large prospective studies showed that, on average, vegetarians are 20 to 25 per cent less likely to die of heart disease.”

A reduction in the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol consumed, and an increase in the amount of dietary fibre, may explain the numerous benefits of a vegetarian diet. Along with artery-clogging saturated fats, meat can also contain carcinogenic compounds and artificial hormones. A diet and health study from the National Cancer Institute showed that participants who ate the most red meat experienced a 26 per cent increase in their risk of death from various causes. Another danger is the spike in antibiotic resistance, which has increased due to the large quantities of antibiotics animals are treated with.

Despite the diet’s potential health benefits when properly executed, vegetarians whose diets consist of cheese, pizza, and Coke cannot expect to be any healthier than the average meat eater. In fact, a vegetarian diet requires a great deal of planning. Brazeau stressed the importance of planning meals to increase one’s daily intake of grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes in these types of diets, and warned about the potential detriments of a plant-based diet if it is not properly planned out.

“Vegetarians are at risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and individuals may be at risk of developing anemia and osteoporosis,” Brazeau wrote. “By excluding meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and/or dairy products, extra care should be taken to make sure to cover their needs of protein, iron, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids as those nutrients are more abundant in animal products.”

Vegan diets require an even greater deal of planning to make sure that they provide healthy nutrient uptake. Oftentimes, supplements may even be needed to achieve nutrient quotas.

Protein is necessary for the body to build and repair tissues, such as bones, muscles, and cartilage. Vegetarians can easily get the protein they need from egg and dairy products. For vegans, sources of plant protein include peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, seeds, nuts, whole grains, and soy products. Eating soy products provides the extra benefit of omega-3 fatty acids, which play a crucial role in brain function and the reduction of heart disease. Omega-3s can also come from flaxseeds, walnuts, and canola oil. Iron is important for red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body, and a deficiency of iron can cause anemia.

According to Brazeau, vegetarians need to consume about twice the amount of iron that non-vegetarians do, because iron from plant foods is not absorbed as well as iron from animal foods. Plant-based iron sources include cocoa powder, molasses, legumes, and leafy greens. Leafy greens are also a good source of calcium, a mineral that builds strong bones and can prevent osteoporosis, especially essential to  women who are more prone to the disease.

Ultimately, while adopting a vegetarian diet can be a healthy option, a well-balanced one is key to receiving all the health benefits that it can bring.

Montreal, News

Winter Hydro-Quebec bills freeze students in shock

by Keating Reid on

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McGill student renters living in a Golden Square Mile apartment building managed by the WerkLiv Group, a multi-disciplinary real-estate shop, claim to have been misled by their landlord about the estimated cost of Hydro bills.

Rénée, an Arts student at McGill University, and her four roommates’ Hydro-Quebec bill for November and December 2017 exceeded $400, while her January and February bill is on track to reach $640. Both charges are higher than what she was expecting, according to estimates her landlord gave her prior to signing the lease.

“Our Hydro bill had remained around $150 [bimonthly] until December, when it reached $470,” Rénée said. “We do not take long showers [and] are super careful with our heating and everything, so we were confused as to why it was so high.”

Rénée was particularly concerned about being caught unaware because her building, called “The Greenhouse,” caters to McGill students, and the building’s staff are alumni. Renée explained that even when averaged out over the year, the electricity cost exceeded the estimate her landlord  provided her.

“[WerkLiv] gave us this whole story about how the founder felt bad for students who get tricked by these landlords, and I thought ‘That’s so good. It’s my first time living on my own,’” Rénée said.

However, when Rénée contacted WerkLiv about the discrepancy, her building manager replied that when the suite’s winter and summer electricity bills were averaged out, she and her roommates were still paying significantly below the Montreal average on a per-person basis. According to WerkLiv President and McGill alumnus Daniel Tordjman Goodfellow, WerkLiv cites prices from Hydro-Quebec’s estimator tool to prospective residents if they request them. He recommended setting up an equal payment plan on a yearly basis to better see the winter and summer bills average out.

Goodfellow explained that high bills result from cold weather, poor insulation, and a lack of representative data on new buildings.

WerkLiv keeps records of their buildings’ electricity consumption and works to improve their heat efficiency. In October 2017, the group ran a free, opt-in window resealing program for tenants in Rénée’s building. Just over half of the suites, including Rénée’s, were redone. But according to Goodfellow, tenants should pay more attention to their personal power usage.

“Education is a big element,” Goodfellow said. “A lot of people don’t realise where the heat and energy is going [….] If they each take 20-minute showers everyday, […] it’s a lot more energy to heat up the water tank than to heat up the apartment.”

After being renovated in 2015, The Greenhouse, located at 1300 Avenue des Pins O, went to market in 2016. The mild winter that year meant that the historically low temperatures during the 2017–2018 cold snap was the building’s first real-world stress test.

“[A] lot of the concerns that we are experiencing today, we’re living them for the first time,” Tordjman Goodfellow wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

In early 2017, Hydro-Quebec admitted to overcharging its clients for years. The company maintains that its profits increased due to reduced expenses, while the Quebec government claims that the profits were reinvested through the financing of public services.

Not all cases of unexpectedly high bills come from miscommunication. According to Amanda Arella, director of communications for the Legal Information Clinic at McGill (LICM), landlords often knowingly provide misleading information to prospective tenants.

“The number of predatory landlords in this area is quite high,” Arella said. “Most problems are because students are not informed of their rights and obligations as tenants. Twenty-five per cent of the issues we see are residential lease disputes.”

As Arella explained, contract law takes context into account. It requires that parties act in good faith and give free and enlightened consent. For tenants who feel they were misled by their landlords, she recommends seeking guidance from the LICM and, if necessary, filing a case with the Régie du logement, Quebec’s rental housing tribunal.

*Name changed at the request of the student.

Student Life

McGill Students’ Culinary Society Dessert Carnival satisfies sweet tooths and supports student talent

by Natalia Savkovic on

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On Feb. 10, the McGill Students’ Culinary Society (MSCS) transformed the SSMU Ballroom into a dessert lover’s paradise, complete with carnival games, festive decorations, upbeat music, and a delicious array of sweet treats. With help from volunteers, the MSCS hosted an event that was much more than just your average bake sale. Though the club has organized many workshops, such as the French Fine Dining workshop and the Challah For Hunger workshop, this was their first-ever dessert carnival.

“We wanted to do something big, and we also wanted to showcase the talent that we have at McGill because there’s a lot of kids here who are really great [bakers],” Mark Mekhanik, U1 Science and Vice-President Media of MSCS, said.

At the carnival, hungry students paid a dollar per token at the door. These tokens could then be used to either try a dessert or play a game. Through playing the games, which included a ring toss, animal pong, and trivia, students could earn additional tokens and vote for their favourite dessert. The winners of the dessert contest were Ianina Altshuler, PhD candidate in microbiology, and her partner, Jerome Choi, a guest contestant from outside McGill. The pair baked a galaxy doughnut and a bacon doughnut as a team, and were awarded an ice cream machine for their creations.

With desserts ranging from classics like cinnamon buns and tiramisu, to inventive creations like pokemon cake pops and candied bacon-topped doughnuts, any student could find something to enjoy. The most extravagant desserts included an English trifle, blueberry and mango panna cotta, cream puffs with homemade jam, and moka macarons. The array of desserts at the event was inclusive to vegans, too, thanks to volunteer Juliette Coleman, U0 Arts, who brought vegan doughnuts.

“I went vegan a year ago, and I stopped baking because what can you bake when you’re a vegan?” Coleman said. “Then I decided that being vegan doesn’t mean I have to stop baking, and I decided to try and make vegan things and make them good too.”

Along with student volunteers, brothers Jack and Vincent Ma, owners of Le Majesthé, an Asian fusion bistro and teahouse, presented raspberry mousse matcha cake from their restaurant. By taking part in the carnival, they hoped to promote their restaurant and share their love of food with the community.  

“I like to make pretty things, so dessert is pretty desirous,” Jack Ma said. “The product, if it’s made nicely, wows people. I like to see people happy after trying my dessert, so that’s what got me into cooking.”

Volunteers had a chance to win prizes, revel in the recognition of their talent, and receive compensation as they turned in their tokens for money at the end of the night. Participants, on the other hand, were able to enjoy the many different desserts.

“I feel like this is such a hit, and it’s cool to see people explore a talent that not a lot of students ever consider to have the time for because they’re so busy,” Priya Dube, U3 Arts, and event participant, said. “I think food just brings people together.”

The MSCS plans to continue hosting workshops, hoping to grow both their club’s reputation and students’ knowledge and interest in the culinary arts.

“Our goal is to provide a service to students to help them eat better and to help them develop a better understanding of the culinary arts,” Mekhanik said. “The goal is to elevate the standard of the general culinary literacy of students.”

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