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McGill, News

New SSMU researcher being hired to investigate McGill military research

by Elijah Wenzel on

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The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) has begun the hiring process for a new staff position that will investigate and report on research into military technology carried out in McGill’s laboratories. The Harmful Military Technology Researcher will work for an hourly wage on average six hours a week reviewing documents related to military research conducted at the University. They will also deliver accessible reports to the student body on the topic.

“The Harmful Military Technology Researcher will analyze documents related to military research on campus, as obtained by students through Access to Information requests,” the job description reads. “They will be expected to compile summary results in order to inform future campaigns and popular education materials on these topics.”

SSMU is  mandated by its 2015 Policy for a Campus Free from Military Technology to oppose the development of military technology at McGill. The Policy obligates SSMU to oppose research into harmful military technology, and transparently consider its social responsibility when deciding research contracts. Vice-President (VP) External of SSMU, Connor Spencer, explained the role of the Researcher in an email to The McGill Tribune.

“This position was actually created by last year’s executive, but, from as far as we can see, [nobody] was never hired, or at least the research results were never collected,” Spencer wrote. “[The purpose of the position is] to figure out exactly what research is happening on campus in order to inform the students.”

Spencer referenced the importance of drawing attention to military research, as SSMU’s Policy for a Campus Free from Military Technology is set to expire in 2020.

“The VP University Affairs [Isabelle Oke] and I decided that it was important that we make sure that we have this research [on military technology at McGill] in order to inform a discussion amongst our members, as our policy is expiring and therefore will have to be brought to the next [General Assembly] to see if members want us to take a position again,” Spencer wrote.

Student opposition to military research is not unprecedented. In February 2016, a York University student group rallied at York’s Student Centre in protest of military research conducted on their campus.

At McGill, the student activist group Demilitarize McGill and similar movements have been pushing the University to divest from military research since the 1980s, according to the group’s website. McGill has been involved in research ranging from MK ULTRA’s drug and psychological experiments, to using powdered metals for energy, an experiment funded by Canada’s Department of Defense. Students less frequently use institutional channels like SSMU to voice their opposition to military research.

Chlöe Shahinian, U1 Arts, thinks the new SSMU position is a step in the right direction.

“If we want to be a university that is becoming increasingly conscious of our research and how that research can affect the world around us, I think that it is positive to have a position that will [investigate McGill’s research on] harmful military technology,” Shahinian said.

Others, like Brinton Wolever, U1 Management, worry that SSMU is overstepping its mandate.

“I don’t believe SSMU should be involved with external affairs,” Wolever said. “I also think it is a bit above a student union to declare what’s right and wrong as far as the use of military resources go.”

According to McGill Vice-President (Research and Innovation) Martha Crago, the administration recognizes SSMU’s right to create the position.

“The appropriateness of the new position […] is a question for SSMU, which is the body responsible for making this decision,” Crago wrote in an email to the Tribune.

Meanwhile, some staff have vocally supported such initiatives. Associate Professor Andrew Higgins of the Department of Mechanical Engineering conducts research in McGill’s Shock Wave Physics Group, which Demilitarize McGill describes as the university’s longest-standing military research lab. Higgins encourages efforts to promote an awareness of McGill’s research.

“I feel it is entirely appropriate for students to examine the research ongoing at their university,” Higgins wrote in an email to the Tribune. “In fact, I welcome it.”

Higgins’ findings about shockwaves and high-speed combustion have often gained the attention of the Canadian Department of National Defense, though he has not conducted any research in partnership with a defense contractor.

“I have never been involved in weapons contracts,” Higgins wrote. “As for indirect or unintended consequences, this is an issue for all research. Almost all research can be harmful, and students should certainly be aware of the research on-going on their campus.”

Science & Technology

The science of “Black Mirror”

by Jiawen Wang on

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Charlie Brooker’s harrowing British sci-fi series Black Mirror returned to Netflix with six new episodes exploring multiple technologies of questionable ethics. From the digital uploading of human minds to predictive neuroscience technology, the show’s fourth season illuminated some frightening, futuristic concepts. But with real-life advancements in brain imaging, artificial intelligence, and computer processing, this future may not be all that far away. The McGill Tribune digs deep to decipher the science behind Black Mirror. Consider yourself warned: Minor season spoilers will follow.

VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION

Visual reconstruction, or the ability to reconstruct perceived images, was used by the mother in “Arkangel” to monitor her child and the officials in “Crocodile” to gather short clips of memory for investigations. Being able to “see” what another person sees with brain recordings is a relatively new, but rapidly-expanding, field of study for scientists in neuroimaging.

Most studies in image reconstruction so far have used functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to read brain activity. FMRI relies on magnetic fields to detect changes in the blood flow within the brain. Increased blood flow to a certain region indicates that the region is more active.

With these fMRI readings, scientists use computer software to convert brain activity into reconstructed images. Using neural networks, these created images vary from person to person, and theoretically could be used to reconstruct memories and mental images.

In terms of its applicability, this method of scanning and processing has already been proven to work for simple letters, short video clips, and, yes, even human faces. While the results are impressive, they are miles behind the crisp, detailed reconstructions of the characters in Black Mirror. In these studies, unfortunately, the resolution of recreated images have all been low-quality.

Most of the aforementioned  studies have focused on the early visual cortex, the first region of the brain to receive visual information from the eyes. Recently, scientists have started using higher-level areas of the brain in fMRI scans. These areas are the latter parts of the visual pathway, and are related to more subjective experiences like memory, imagination, dreams, and face recognition.

MIND UPLOADING

Episodes like “USS Callister,” “Hang the DJ,” and “Black Museum” used technology to digitally upload human minds to computers. In “Black Museum,” for example, a museum owner reveals that the main attraction of his business is the hologram of a convicted criminal. His body, his mind, and his ability to feel pain remain digitally intact. Could such a thing as an uploadable human mind exist in the real world?

Accelerating advances in both brain imaging and computer simulations have led computer scientists and entrepreneurs like Ray Kurzweil to believe that the ability to live permanently in a simulation could become commonplace as soon as the year 2045. Others are skeptical.

Groups like the Allen Brain Atlas and The Blue Brain Project have studied and attempted to replicate the entire connectivity of rodent brains. Aptly called connectomes, these maps represent the specific way in which different brain regions are linked and how they interact with one another. However, even the brains of mice have proven difficult to recreate on the microscopic, cellular level, where many higher-level functions like cognition, consciousness, and behaviour are thought to emerge. A biologically-realistic recreation of the human brain won’t happen any time soon.

This hasn’t stopped scientists from using this brain imaging to run experiments on digital brains, albeit for less insidious purposes than in Black Mirror. Because the whole brain, with its 86 billion neurons, remains too complicated to replicate, neuroscientists are using computers to build simplified versions of the human brain with lower resolutions. They can then use these digital brains to study changes in cases of epilepsy or Alzheimer’s.

Despite being far-fetched at times, Black Mirror provides its viewers with cautionary tales of what could happen if the designers of a new technology were to completely disregard their ethical obligations. As technology advances in complexity and control, so must our self-awareness, and so must our humanity.

 

Private, Science & Technology

How to solve a Rubik’s Cube using math

by Benji Taubenblatt on

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Although at first glance just a colorful and simple game, the Rubik’s Cube has been used in both competitions and mathematical research. The puzzle’s main objective is to recreate the original positioning (one color per side) by rotating the cube’s six faces. Originally called the ‘Magic Cube’ by its Hungarian inventor Erno Rubik, over 350 million have been sold since 1974.

According to the New York Post, Rubik himself originally could not solve his eponymous cube, although he was eventually able to complete it. Raymond Tran, a Computer Science graduate at UBC, explained the challenges of solving the puzzle in a mathematical essay paper.
“The cube is not easily solved because it does not hve a definite scrambled point,” Tran wrote. “This means that there is only one completed situation, where all the sides have one color each.”


In fact, there are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 (43 quintillion) possible orientations, or permutations, for a 3x3x3 cube. This makes solving the cube solely by making random moves unreasonable.

It’s far from impossible to solve, however: It is currently estimated that the smallest number of moves needed to solve the cube from any starting position is as low as 20 moves. This number is commonly referred to as God’s Number.

Solving the 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube mathematically primarily relies on a branch of algebra called group theory. When using group theory, mathematicians have shown that solving the Rubik’s Cube is almost trivial. In mathematics, a group consists of a set of objects and a binary operator which satisfy a certain mathematical conditions.

A permutation group is a finite group G whose elements are permutations of a given set and whose group operation is composition of permutations in G.

In other words, a permutation group is a set whose elements consist of different orderings of a finite list and whose group operation is the permutations which reorder the set in a different way. Therefore, the 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube is a permutation group as it can be represented as an ordered list of 54 elements (six different colours, repeated nine times on individual cubes). In addition, since the cube’s six faces can rotate, these rotations can be considered operations or permutations.

Now, consider the Rubik’s Cube in this analogy: The cube permutations are group elements and the sequence of rotations of a face of the cube are binary operators. Move sequences can be viewed as permutations, or rearrangements of the cube where different move sequences that produce the same cube arrangement are considered the same permutation.

The hard part of solving the Rubik’s Cube is placing an individual piece in its correct location without affecting the rest of the cube. No move can exchange a single pair of individual cube pieces. In other words, moving a side of the cube will affect the position of other pieces as well. However, by using 3-cycles, or cycles of three individual cube pieces, one can effectively swap two cube pieces per cycle. Therefore, by using a series of moves which cycle between elements, one can achieve the same result as swapping two individual pieces directly.

To solve a Rubik’s Cube mathematically, the properties of cube group elements are needed to develop ‘macros,’ or special combinations of cube moves that will accomplish specific cube rearrangements. In The Mathematics of the Rubik’s Cube, it is noted that, by measuring the number of individual cubes changed by performing a sequence of moves, the required additional moves needed to reverse unwanted changes can be determined. It follows that useful pairs of moves typically only change a small number of individual pieces. These useful pairs of moves are called commutators. By applying a series of moves and their inverse operations, commutators ensure that only the desired piece is affected by a series of moves. Commutators are combined to build macros which ultimately describe an algorithm to solve the puzzle.

To actually complete a Rubik’s Cube, one straightforward approach is to solve it layer by layer. The difficult part is maintaining each layer’s structure as you further complete the cube. Suppose we want to flip two pieces but leave the other layers intact. We can ensure this by performing a rotation before applying our macro that will reverse the undesired change when the macro is applied.

Although the Rubik’s Cube was originally created as a puzzle, its intricacies have been marvelled over for many years by both hobbyists and mathematicians. By understanding the math behind how the Rubik’s Cube works, anyone can become an expert.

Basketball, Martlets, Sports

McGill Martlet basketball gets revenge in rematch with Bishop’s

by Noémie Briollais on

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McGill Martlets
66

Bishop’s Gaiters
57

On Jan. 27, the McGill Martlet (8-2) basketball team turned the tables to defeat the Bishop’s University Gaiters (5-6) 66-57 in the second of two back-to-back games—the first of which they lost 40-52.

The Martlets started off strong in the first quarter, finishing the period ahead 16-12. They were unable to maintain their lead, however, falling behind by two after the second quarter. Bishop’s won the third quarter as well, entering the final period holding a 51-46 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Martlets showed defensive grit and discipline, shutting the Gaiters out for nearly seven minutes while putting up 11 straight points. Martlet Head Coach Ryan Thorne spoke to the intensity of the game and commended his team’s bounce back from the night before.

“This game was a battle,” Thorne said. “It tested us. Every game is a grind [….] We shot better today and made some better decisions.”

With one three-pointer from third-year guard Gladys Hakizimana and two from first-year guard Charlotte Clayton in the fourth quarter, McGill kept control of the game until the final whistle. Clayton, who came off the bench in the first, made four three-pointers in the entire game.

“Charlotte’s game was amazing,” Thorne said. “She was more confident [….] She has the ability to shoot the ball. She can attack and defend, so she is a triple threat.

Clayton leads her rookie class in minutes this season, including 18 in Friday’s loss and 26 in Saturday’s win. She credited her team’s comeback victory to their emphasis on teamwork.

“We weren’t really working together yesterday,” Clayton said. “We weren’t reading things properly either. Today we focused more on ourselves and working together.”

Fourth-year Marie-Love Michel, who slotted in as a starting wing, put up 12 points alongside a solid defensive performance. After Friday night’s loss, she amped up her physicality in the rematch to help the Martlets secure a win.

“We were more aggressive,” Michel said. “All the starting fives, we started right from the beginning. Last night we lost to the same team, and I wasn’t as aggressive, so today I tried to get steals and be more aggressive.”

The RSEQ-leading Martlets have six games remaining in the regular season, which include three marquee matchups against the second-place Université Laval Rouge et Or. The Martlets head to Quebec City on Feb. 1 before returning to host Laval on Feb. 3 in Love Competition Hall.

 

Moment of the game

After forcing turnovers on two consecutive Bishop’s inbound attempts, fourth-year wing Marie-Love Michel scored two layups and earned an additional point from the freethrow line—good for five points in 10 seconds at the end of the first quarter.

 

Quotable

“We want to improve our mindset for the game. We think we are the best team in the country but we have to show it every game and every time. And we are working on that and working on going to playoffs and finishing first in the league.” – Martlet fourth-year wing Marie-Love Michel

 

Stat corner

McGill only shot 23 for 61 from the field (37.7 per cent), but managed eight for 19 (42 per cent) shots from the three-point line.

News, SSMU

SSMU Council continues conversation on Dentistry sexual assault allegations

by Kendall McGowan on

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At the Jan. 25 meeting of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council, Dental Students’ Society (DSS) President Ryan Siciliano defended the society’s response to sexual assault and harassment allegations in the Faculty of Dentistry. The allegations were detailed in a  report by the CBC, which was presented to Council on Jan.16.

Additionally, representatives from the McGill Office of Sustainability presented their Vision 2020 Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, and a member-at-large of the SSMU Accountability Committee outlined the group’s progress. SSMU Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer was appointed to the fourth seat designated for executives on the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD), and the SSMU General Assembly (GA) was rescheduled to March 26. The meeting was also the first for newly elected SSMU VP Finance Esteban Herpin.

 

DSS responds to question regarding sexual assault allegations in faculty

During the question period, Speaker Nicholas Dolmat reintroduced a question submitted by a member of the gallery at a prior council meeting on Jan. 16 to Dentistry Representative Nishath Syed, who was absent at both meetings. The submission questioned how the DSS planned to support its members in light of recent allegations against professors and staff in the faculty. Siciliano, who sat in as a proxy for Syed, read a statement from the DSS executive and answered questions about it.

“I know students very, very well, and we at the DSS, and me as the president of the DSS, and many other students involved don’t feel that we have a fear of harassment, or something more systemic than these allegations made by the two individuals,” Siciliano said during the question period. “At this moment, [the DSS is] satisfied with the outlets that are currently being explored, and we won’t be taking any actions regarding the current allegations.”

Later, Council unanimously voted to pass a motion endorsing the SSMU Survivor Bill of Rights, which enumerates the forms of support that survivors of sexual violence can expect from the organization. During the question period prior to the vote, Sexual Violence Policy Project Coordinator Caitlin Salvino claimed Siciliano’s comments exemplified when advocacy for survivors might be necessary.

“[The policy was created so] that individuals on the SSMU Council could advocate for survivor’s rights at higher levels,” Salvino said. “For example, earlier there was the discussion of the dentistry case, and some of the survivor’s rights in this bill we would argue were violated. So then that would require their representative to advocate on their behalf at higher levels.”

 

Accountability Committee representative delivers report

The Accountability Committee is a committee of the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) tasked with creating a standardized method for evaluating the performances of student senators, councillors, directors, and other student officers. Maeve Botham, a member-at-large on the committee, explained that evaluations for officers’ Fall 2017 terms were based on the officers’ attendances and whether their reports were submitted on time. She said that, due to inconsistency in tracking and recording, the committee evaluated only two senators and was not able to assess any directors.

Some members of Council questioned the Committee’s lack of scrutiny.

“My impression from that report is there’s basically no accountability for the Board of Directors,” Spencer said. “Has the Accountability Committee discussed, especially because there are three directors on the Accountability Committee, any options of how to make them accountable?”

 

McGill Office of Sustainability (MOOS) presents ambitious action plan

MOOS Sustainability Director François Miller and MOOS Communications Officer Toby Davine presented the office’s Vision 2020 Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, which the university recently adopted after a long consultation process that began in Fall 2016. In addition to 22 short-term actions to be completed by the university by 2020, McGill’s plan has two main long-term targets: to attain a platinum sustainability rating by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.

“I think if we can achieve [carbon neutrality] here at McGill we can really be an inspiration for Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and then the whole world,” Miller said.

McGill, News

Faculty and student committee to review Student Life portfolio

by Andras Nemeth on

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The position of Deputy Provost Student Life and Learning (DPSLL) will come under review as current DPSLL Ollivier Dyens’ plans to allow his contract to expire on July 31.

“Beginning in early 2018 I will undertake a comprehensive review of the scope and orientation of the Student Life and Learning (SLL) portfolio, with the support of a committee comprised of faculty, staff and students from across the University,” Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi wrote in a Dec. 31 email to the McGill community. “I am undertaking this review to ensure that McGill University has the best possible organizational structure with respect to our suite of student support services.”

The committee, to be chaired by Manfredi, will reassess the SLL mandate to provide services to the McGill community, including housing, recreational opportunities, and medical services.

Dyens will continue to serve as DPSLL while the committee’s review is underway. In an email to The McGill Tribune, Dyens reflected on his five-year tenure.

“[The] Deputy Provost position is both an exciting and challenging post and I found both immense satisfaction [in] the things we were able to accomplish and some frustration when things didn’t work so well,” Dyens wrote. “I fully support the Provost’s initiative to revisit the role, and I look forward to what changes come as a result.”

During his tenure as DPSLL, Dyens focused his efforts on improving safety during orientation week, securing financial aid, and developing various on-campus projects like Skills 21 and Building 21. However, Dyens has also drawn criticism from members of the McGill community for his office’s numerous efforts to restructure McGill’s Mental Health Services.

Athar Ejaz, U3 Engineering, who received psychiatric treatment during the reorganization of Mental Health Services toward a stepped-care model in Fall 2016, explained the difficulties patients faced with the new model.

“Institutionally, I would say somebody who didn’t know anything about mental health but knew a lot about accounting, efficiency, and pure performance […] was in charge of this policy,” Ejaz said. “It’s [the administration’s] dream. We have no waiting times, but we’re not seeing doctors any more.”

In an email to the Tribune, Director of Counselling Services Vera Romano expressed doubts over whether changes to the SLL portfolio would appease students who are dissatisfied with Counselling Services.

“Like other universities, we continue to face the challenge of insufficient resources to meet increasing demands,” Romano wrote. “These are less [of] a problem in terms of the administration of SLL than they are a matter of Québec government funding for mental health services. A change in the portfolio will not address this problem.

Romano says that it is important that the McGill community provide input in the DPSLL portfolio reassessment process in order to effectively improve Counselling Services.

“It will be important to follow the work of the working group that Provost Manfredi is assembling, and to listen to what members of the McGill community, especially students, have to say about any changes that ought to take place in the SLL portfolio,” Romano wrote. “We don’t want to get ahead of that important work, but we will have input into that process.”

Football, Sports

Super Bowl LII predictions

by Stephen Gill on

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Just 13 years ago, the New England Patriots took home the Lombardi Trophy against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. Two familiar faces remain from the original matchup: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick. Those two look to further cement their legacies as the greatest of all time at their respective positions with a sixth championship, while the underdog Eagles are eager to bring the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory home to Philly.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

After losing star quarterback Carson Wentz in the regular season, the Eagles head into Super Bowl LII led by a backup quarterback in Nick Foles and a cutting-edge football tactician in Head Coach Doug Pederson. That duo has worked together to form a surprisingly strong passing attack with the help of weapons like Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffery, and Jay Ajayi.

However, Philly’s defence has been the real difference-maker in these playoffs. Named Football Outsiders’ second-ranked defence, the unit has conceded just 17 points and added three takeaways in its two postseason games. Aside from defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, the Eagles lack the defensive star power of teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, but make up for it by fielding 11 reliable defenders at all times. Against a New England offence that picks on mismatches as well as any team, to have no such weaknesses is a greater strength than to have a handful of stars.

 

New England Patriots

The latest edition of New England’s long line of Super Bowl teams includes an interesting blend of faces old and new. As always, Brady and Belichick will lead the Patriots charge, likely with the help of Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola. This season’s addition of Brandin Cooks, on the other hand, brings a new dimension to their passing game.

Stephon Gilmore brings a similar injection of life to the New England defence, pairing with Malcolm Butler to form one of the best cornerback tandems in football. Unfortunately, the strengths stop there for the Patriots defence—likely the worst unit on the field for either team. The unit held its own against limited competition in its run to the Super Bowl, but Pederson’s creativity and offensive weapons will provide a new, formidable challenge.

 

The Tribune picks:

 

Sports

Which All-Star game shines brightest?

by Owen Gibbs on

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All-Star season is upon us. It’s the time of year when sports fans get together and celebrate the proud North American tradition of watching the top stars of our favourite sports face each other to determine not that much. However, not all four major league sports are created equal: Due to their unique formats, some All-Star games are far more entertaining than others.

 

  1. NFL

American football is a perfectly fun sport to watch, but let’s face it—the Pro Bowl isn’t. The game takes place the week before the Super Bowl, so stars like Tom Brady are preoccupied with bigger things, and those who aren’t playing are already on holiday. Though there is now a relatively-small monetary prize, there is otherwise no major incentive for either team to win. In such a contact-heavy sport, players don’t want to go all-out against each other when there isn’t much on the line. All together, these factors contribute to a bland final product.

 

  1. NBA

The NBA All-Star Weekend, and its entertaining set of skills competitions, just misses second place. With much of each event centred around the stars themselves, the league gets to display the players’ creativity.

The game itself is filled with a continuous highlight reel of flashy passes and spectacular dunks at the cost of any semblance of defence, so some fans enjoy it much more than others. This season, the NBA switched to a player draft format similar to what the NHL used to have. However, the NBA did not televise the event, a sore point among fans. The dunk and three-point contests have gotten somewhat tired over the years, and with players’ personalities coming to the forefront, performances—like the Shaq-lemore stunt of 2014—can become draining.

 

  1. NHL

An event of many faces, the NHL All-Star Weekend has historically pitted the league’s two conferences against each other, including a short stretch where two players were selected as captains and would draft teams from the All-Star pool in a televised event. The current format, however, is the most unique of all four leagues. A 10-player team is selected to represent each of the four divisions. Instead of one full-length game, the stars play three short tournament matches for a monetary prize. These feature three-on-three hockey instead of the standard five-a-side, which supposedly elevates the excitement. However, the game itself often lacks hitting and defence—two of the sport’s most entertaining elements.

The skills competition is well worth watching. Players compete in a number of events, such as hardest shot and fastest skater, giving fans a spectacle unlike in any the other league.

 

  1. MLB

The MLB All-Star break boasts perhaps the best skill competition, where the Home Run Derby encourages baseball’s biggest sluggers to pound as many balls as possible into space. Whoever hits the most home runs wins, while players can earn extra points for distance, which provides fans with constant entertainment value.

Baseball doesn’t require a team to have perfect chemistry, so players can provide a worthy product without any prior experience with their teammates. Furthermore, although the MLB no longer uses decides home-field advantage with the All-Star Game, the game’s quality drops off less from its typical product than in the other sports. The MLB doesn’t have to rely on gimmicks or odd formats to make its game entertaining.

 

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the MLB All-Star Game still determined World Series home-field advantage. In fact, the MLB started using regular season records to determine home-field advantage in 2017. The Tribune regrets this error.

McGill, Montreal, News

Threat of fentanyl looms over recreational drug users on campus

by Isabella Lyons on

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After several reports of overdoses in Quebec caused by fentanyl—a synthetic opioid that can be deadly, even when ingested in minute doses—Dr. Carole Morissette, the medical chief of Montreal Public Health, issued a public warning on Jan. 12 urging recreational drug users to abstain from using cocaine and other powdered drugs that can easily be laced with fentanyl in its powdered form. The drug cannot be detected with 100 per cent accuracy by any testing method.

Powdered drugs include any stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogen which can be ingested through insufflation—snorting or sniffing. This includes cocaine, MDMA, Adderall, and ketamine.

In a recent poll conducted by The McGill Tribune about powdered drug use at McGill, 42 students shared their experiences using powdered drugs at parties, with friends, and when alone at home. Thirty one per cent indicated that they take no precautionary measures when using powdered drugs, and only 19 per cent said they use a testing kit. Forty per cent of respondents take no precautions when buying powdered drugs and 52 per cent said they have not changed their drug habits in response to the fentanyl crisis.

“I believe that people at McGill think [the fentanyl crisis is] only something happening in Vancouver,” an anonymous respondent wrote.

Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens approved funding for Student Health Services (SHS) purchases of naloxone, a drug capable of reversing opioid overdoses, and training for students, faculty, and staff on when and how to administer it. According to Director of SHS Hashana Perera, SHS does not often treat students who are under the influence of powdered drugs. However, she expects that the service is preparing for that to change.

“Here in Montreal, we saw fentanyl coming from Western Canada and anticipated its arrival,” Perera said. “We are not surprised, but nonetheless, it is hitting us hard, so we are taking action.”

Perera explained that it is impossible for users to determine whether a fatal dose of fentanyl has been laced into their powdered drugs.

“Just like when you bake a loaf of banana bread, some pieces have more chocolate chips,” Perera said. “This is similar to fentanyl. When it is laced into [a batch of] powdered drugs, the amount [contained] can be different [for each buyer].”

Perera expressed concern about the potential effects of fentanyl on students, and is currently preparing information campaigns about the drug explaining the symptoms of and how to manage a fentanyl overdose. Perera explained that fentanyl poses an immediate risk to any powdered drug user.

“Just as it is a part of everyday life in Western Canada, I worry [fentanyl] will become everyday life in Montreal,” Perera said. “I worry for the student population. The students should not [be comforted by the false] assurance that they are not a user of fentanyl.”

Medical services provide some assistance in the face of a growing fentanyl crisis. In an email to the Tribune, Alexander Dow, U3 Engineering, affirmed that the McGill Student Emergency Response Team (M-SERT) is prepared in the case of an overdose at organized drinking events such as Faculty Olympics and Carnival, where Dow worked as a committee organizer and witnessed substantial powdered drug use.

“If we believe someone is at risk of overdosing […] M-SERT is equipped with fentanyl drug response kits and we ensure immediate responses if necessary,” Dow wrote.

Promisingly, Dow noted that he has seen less powdered drug use at organized drinking events since the fentanyl crisis reached Montreal.

“It has made participants more wary [of] doing drugs,” Dow wrote. “So less people have been doing it than in previous years.”

Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

AUTS’ ‘Into the Woods’ offers comical and action-packed escapism

by Anthony Schokalsky on

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Lately, it seems we’re all forced to face a little darkness every day. When the sun sets at 4 p.m., and January feels never-ending, students can use a good chuckle and a few dance numbers—all of which the Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society (AUTS) provides in spades with its wonderfully charming rendition of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (1989).

Before the play even begins, Katie Miller’s set design is striking, its grandness and whimsy filling  Moyse Hall. While often underappreciated, set design can make or break an audience’s immersion, and here the set does not disappoint. The homes of Cinderella (Sunny Sheffman), the Baker (Cathal Rynne) and his wife (Emma Corber), Jack (Matt Milton) and his mother (Maya Lewis), all evoke the musical’s eccentric, though gloomy, Brothers Grimm motif.

Unfortunately, the costume design does not fit the set’s aesthetic. Hip and flashy, almost none of the costumes fit the dark, fantastical theme of Into the Woods. From Eva B sweaters, to ‘90s-styled sneakers, to bright socks of every colour in the rainbow, these costumes are a bold production choice and ultimately poor addition to the play. There are exceptions, however, including Rapunzel’s Prince (Eddy Yang), Cinderella’s Prince (Alexander Grasic), and Little Red Riding Hood (Claire Latendresse), whose costumes amuse without distracting from the setting.

The rest of the production’s technical work is amazingly quick and creative, the most prominent example being when the Wolf (Lucas Amato) disguises himself as Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother. Befittingly reminiscent of moments from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a screen obstructs the actors so that they can only be seen through animated dancing shadows.

Melissa McCracken’s choreography is another strong point of Into the Woods. The dancing is in sync, precise, and playful, particularly in the song “Ever After.” The quick and whimsical nature of the performance’s dances follow the music closely, at some points feeling as if the musicians and actors are part of the same mind and body.

Ben Barton Creelman’s outstanding musical direction allows the musicians to stay in sync with the actors. Even with only 12 musicians, Creelman’s musical ensemble sounds like that of a much larger orchestra, delivering a vivacious and lively tune for every scene. Nevertheless, the music would not be as magical without the actors’ impassioned singing. Almost every actor fills the room with their voice, especially in the duet, “It Takes Two.” Corber and Rynne take the song’s rather drab lyrics and sing it in perfect key, conveying the sense that perhaps their characters are truly in love.

Through a constant delivery of humour, an effective technical background, impressive instrumentation, and expert singing and dancing, AUTS’ production is a lively and cheerful rendition of the Sondheim classic.

Into the Woods is presented at Moyse Hall from January 25 – 27 and February 1 – 3, with performances beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at autstheatre.ca

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