Latest News

McGill, News

Disclosure policies remain absent in SSMU and PGSS

by Julia Métraux on

More in McGill:

Policies for safe disclosure, or whistleblowing,  protect members of companies, unions, or societies who report misconduct within their organization. These policies strive to support members who report anything from financial mismanagement to harassment and assault. McGill University recognizes disclosures through its Policy on Safe Disclosures (“Whistleblowing”), adopted in November 2015. Yet neither the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) nor the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) have their own policy for ensuring safe disclosures.

The university’s safe disclosure policy could potentially serve as an example for SSMU. In pursuit of a procedure that encourages people to disclose, the policy mandates that valid whistleblowers be protected against retaliation. This policy applies to all members of the McGill community, including students, professors, and casual employees.

To Marc-Antoine Séguin, director of Student Advocacy University Affairs at the Legal Information Clinic at McGill (LICM), McGill’s policy created a much-needed channel for reporting improper conduct.

“Within McGill, within the context of this policy, the point is to give people on the inside an opportunity to disclose any behaviour or comment that they are not comfortable with,” Séguin said. “What this policy is meant to do is make people feel safe when bringing concerns forward.”

Article 2.7 of the Policy on Safe Disclosures states that people who disclose information must not have malicious or wasteful intent when making a report, and that they are not required to show full evidence to support their claims.

“Someone who makes a [Good Faith Report] is not someone who is right, not someone who correctly identifies something,” Séguin said. “It’s just someone who is [reporting] for the right reasons.”

According to Séguin, the largest barrier that students face with the Policy on Safe Disclosures is not knowing it exists. The policy is not listed in students’ rights resources like SSMU’s Know Your Rights Campaign.

“I think this policy is helpful, but it’s not used very often, and it’s still a relatively unknown policy,” Séguin said. “There has been an intention by the Dean of Students [Christopher Buddle], at least internally, to have this policy being used a little more [for students], and it’s something [LICM Student Advocacy] recommends for students.”

After the Winter 2017 resignations of former SSMU president Ben Ger and former vice-president (VP) external David Aird for gendered and sexualized violence respectively, current VP Finance Arisha Khan recognized the importance of a whistleblowing policy within SSMU.

“I’d like to see a [safe disclosures] policy that broadly makes SSMU more accountable to its constituents,” Khan said. “[The policy would] ultimately act as a deterrent to deleterious actions and provide a safe and effective mechanism to students wishing to make a disclosure.”

The Community Disclosure Network (CDN), a group which formed to bring to light Aird’s alleged sexualized violence, reiterated the importance of such policies in an email to The McGill Tribune.

“Protection for those who decide to come forward is obviously incredibly important,” the CDN member, who chose to remain anonymous, wrote. “One way to ensure this is to enshrine specific procedures for protecting those who come forward in a policy.”

In Khan’s research of whistleblowing policies at other universities, she identified several student unions that have them, including the University of Nottingham Students’ Union and Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom.

“A lot of schools have whistleblowing policies that cover student unions and associations,” Khan said. “A lot of schools in the U.K. actually have their own whistleblowing policies [for student unions and associations], and they’ll have staff to help facilitate the process.”

While PGSS also lacks a formal whistleblowing policy, the Society has informal networks for aiding students. Newly-elected Secretary-General Maria Tippler elaborated in an email to the Tribune on her work in this realm when she served as PGSS Student Support Commissioner earlier this year.

“I individually informed members [who ask for assistance] of their rights according to McGill’s charters, policies and regulations and what may be the implications of the resources they could potentially take,” Tippler wrote. “If a member is certain they wish to formally follow a procedure, I would provide them with pertinent resources, all available information, [and] the official PDF of [McGill University’s Safe Disclosures] policy.”

PGSS Equity Commissioner Emil Briones also acknowledged the importance of a survivor-focused approach to handling disclosures.

“Embedded in my work as Equity Commissioner is continuously striving to have a nuanced understanding of the power dynamics and social relations embedded in the activities of PGSS and by extension McGill,” Briones wrote in an email to the Tribune. “To be survivor-centered […] is fundamental in doing equity and anti-oppression work. And to be survivor-centered is to honour [the survivor’s] disclosure, treat it with discretion, and follow their lead.”

The forthcoming SSMU Gendered and Sexualized Violence Policy and the National Our Turn Action Plan both recognize the importance of maintaining the safety of those who disclose. Our Turn’s Action Plan is a commitment from 20 student unions, including SSMU, to implement a strategy to address rape culture on university campuses. In liaising with Our Turn, SSMU VP External Connor Spencer recommended that the Action Plan include a section on disclosures.

“[Safe disclosures] fit into the larger discourse of what […] pro-survivor policy work looks like […] and that was my personal contribution to Our Turn. I asked them to add that,” Spencer said. “Often, what stops people from coming forward is the worry of ‘Oh an article is going to get put out,’ and deal with everyone knowing and not being able to deal with [reporting] quietly.”

SSMU President Muna Tojiboeva agrees that a policy that addresses safe disclosures is essential to fostering positive relations with the student body.

“I think that a [safe disclosure policy] is a very important step moving forward,” Tojiboeva said. “If students don’t feel safe disclosing, that’s reflective of the relationship between SSMU and students.”

 

McGill, News

EUS Motion to Limit Subsidies for Drinking Events

by Laura Oprescu on

More in McGill:

On Nov. 22, the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) Council will vote on a motion to reduce the use of EUS student fees for subsidizing alcoholic drinks at faculty events. Council introduced the motion at their Oct. 25 meeting, when students were invited to give feedback before it goes to a vote.

The policy would limit EUS subsidies for events that serve alcohol, such as wine and cheese events. Further, it prohibits subsidies for one-day events that budget for over three drinks per person and any drinking event that does not provide a non-alcoholic option other than water. The policy aims to address the exclusivity of drinking culture at EUS events, and the unfairness of non-drinking students’ fees subsidizing drinking-focused events.

The policy does not affect events that make a profit for the EUS—such as Open Air Pub (OAP) and Blues Pub—events that are revenue-neutral, or events that take loans from EUS to buy alcohol. The policy will only affect events that the EUS subsidizes without receiving equal profit in return, such as the McGill Engineers Run The World (MERTW) pub crawl.

The motion was largely drafted by Morgan Grobin, U3 Engineering.

“The policy in its current form does a fairly good job of addressing the unfairness, which was my personal goal, but not a great job of addressing the culture,” Grobin said. “The catch-22 here is that there is no way to address the culture without addressing the finances, but we can't pass a motion addressing the finances because we still have a toxic culture.”

Though she was one behind the motion’s development, Grobin feels that it is difficult to change drinking culture with policy alone.

“The people who don't want this motion also don't want a culture change,” Grobin said. “They like those events because they are binge drinking events. I see the motion I wrote to be the best way for [binge-drinkers] to protect their society-organized binge drinking while still giving the EUS an out to say ‘Yes, we organize these events, but your student money is not subsidizing them.’”

Grobin estimates that the financial impact of the motion will be minor since events can make up for lost subsidies by increasing ticket prices.

“Realistically, if this motion were to pass, the only effect would be that ticket prices for MERTW and MERTWinter would go up by $10 per person,” Grobin said. “The motion's goal is for us to take a more responsible look at how we are spending the student fees we collect with regards to binge drinking.”

Having previously worked with Grobin on the original policy as part of a large effort to combat drinking culture, Councillor Vivian Campbell presented notice of the motion to the EUS.

“Tackling drinking culture is important for the EUS because we value inclusivity,” Campbell said. “We are looking at adding clauses to require options for people to attend drinking events without drinking alcohol.”

Campbell believes it is impossible to make events that involve large amounts of drinking inclusive for all students.

“I would prefer to discuss how we can make the overall social culture more inclusive, by expanding to include large recurrent events that do not centre around drinking,” Campbell said.

Head OAP Manager Malcolm McClintock is working to reassure students that the policy will not target OAP. He interprets the policy as a move toward addressing the accessibility of drinking events rather than condemning drinking itself.

“I encourage the people who think this is ‘taking away their beer’ to consider the culture surrounding drinking events and whether or not it is inclusive,” McClintock said. “The sentiment of the policy is to make sure student fees are not going towards binge drinking events which only a non-representative number of students attend.”

The next EUS council meeting is on Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. in the EUS Common Room. The motion will be put forth at this meeting.

Commentary, Opinion

Hiring discrimination exists—it’s time for universities to acknowledge it

by Janson Kappen on

More in Commentary:

In her Nov. 4 column in The Globe and Mail, Margaret Wente denounced the decision of Universities Canada, a national university lobbying group, to release the demographic data for each university faculty in a national database.

Her argument is that universities have come to prioritize inclusivity over performance; hiring staff, for instance, has supposedly become a competition to select the most marginalized candidate, rather than the one most genuinely qualified for the position. Furthermore, she argues that the current imbalances in certain fields—“the shortage of female math professors, [or] the scarcity of Indigenous medical students,” as she puts it—are not necessarily attributable to differences in opportunity, but differences in preferences within these groups.

Here’s what Wente does not understand: Publishing demographic data about the diversity among faculty and staff is, at worst, harmless. At best, however, this data allows universities to expose and correct existing biases in hiring committees that routinely select white applicants over applicants from visible minorities, even when both applicants are equally qualified.

More generally, affirmative action policies are not about lowering standards for people from disadvantaged groups. They are about making sure that qualified applicants are not being looked over, merely because they are from a particular minority group.

A plethora of evidence suggests that hiring discrimination persists in high-paying, white-collar jobs. Sonia Kang, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga, published a study last year in which 1,600 fake resumes were sent to private sector employers. The study compared the number of interview requests for resumes with markers of visible minority applicants—African or Asian-sounding names, and extracurricular organizations with racial cues—to “whitened” versions of the same resumes.

The results of the study were bleak, although unsurprising. Resumes with whitened African names yielded a 25.5 per cent response rate, whereas only 10 per cent of unaltered names received a response. For Asians names, 21 per cent of resumes received a response after “whitening” the names, whereas only 11.5 per cent received a response with the unaltered name. Furthermore, in a separate study, the researchers found that a third of Asian and African respondents “whitened” their names on resumes, and at least two-thirds of respondents knew someone else who did.

 

Part of the shortage of diversity in university faculties today is not due to a shortage in qualified minority applicants, but that these applicants are being arbitrarily passed over.

This study illustrates that, even when applicants are equally talented, it remains harder for visible minority candidates to obtain employment. Part of the shortage of diversity in university faculties today is not due to a shortage in qualified minority applicants, but that these applicants are being arbitrarily passed over. Acknowledging that discrimination exists—which can only be proven through the release of demographic data—is the first step toward improving equitable hiring practices.

It’s easy for Wente and others to discredit programs like affirmative action, by saying that they reward unaccomplished minorities and punish qualified (white) applicants. But, studies like Kang’s demonstrate that discrimination still exists in hiring practices.

It’s important to correct these implicit biases for obvious moral reasons, but also for pragmatic ones. Having a more diverse faculty, staff, and student population simply expands the pool of qualified individuals at an institution, and helps to increase performance within these institutions.

According to the Canadian University Survey Consortium, 40 per cent of first-year students in Canadian universities are visible minorities. Although this represents one of the highest rates in the world, the faculty at most universities is still predominantly white and male. Part of the reason why some undergraduate students from underprivileged backgrounds don’t pursue faculty positions is “because they don’t see themselves reflected” in the faculty, as Enakshi Dua, an associate professor at the York University School of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, explained in a Globe feature on diversity in post-secondary spheres.

If enough people are passing the opportunity away because they lack mentors from their own community, then a huge pool of talent is lost. By releasing demographic data about their faculties, universities can acknowledge—and hopefully, over time, correct—the lack of diversity within faculties. This would inspire undergraduates to pursue such positions in the future.

Whether or not one agrees with affirmative action policies when selecting faculty and staff, releasing demographic data is a small, harmless step toward understanding markers of discrimination, and keeping universities accountable for their hiring practices.

 

 

 

Janson Kappen is a U0 student in the Faculty of Sciences. Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Janson enjoys hiking and sightseeing in Banff National Park.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

Editorial, Opinion

In countering hate and racism, SSMU must keep local issues at the forefront

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

More in Editorial:

On Sunday, Nov. 12, thousands of activists filled Place Émilie-Gamelin for the “Large Demonstration Against Hate and Racism.” A McGill contingent, led by Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer, joined forces with a coalition of Montreal activist groups to protest hate and the far-right. SSMU Council endorsed Spencer’s—and McGill’s—involvement in the protest in an Oct. 12 motion. This decision should be commended, as it recognizes the increasing prevalence of discriminatory forces on and off campus, and helps fulfill the role that student government must play in promoting equality. Just recently, xenophobic posters promoting a white nationalist group appeared on McGill campus. Quebec’s Bill 62 is xenophobic legislation that stands to hinder Muslim women’s access to education and other public services. McGill is launching an investigation into anti-semitism on campus. There are students within the McGill community who feel silenced, targeted, and undermined by discrimination.

However, it is important to remember that mass demonstrations like this are only one of many different, valid, ways to confront hatred and racism. Participating in a march alone is not enough. Within SSMU and students’ scope of effective action, there’s a need for focused initiatives at a local level that promote inclusivity and equality on McGill campus. SSMU must actively seek relevant stakeholders’ input on how to better educate the McGill community on sensitive issues, and how to implement policy that recognizes and supports students’ varied experiences. This involves giving marginalized groups a stronger platform to share their voices.

On their website, Sunday’s protest organizers encouraged people to “take the streets […] to express [their] anger at racism, hatred, and the far-right.” These are very real threats—and people deserve to be angry. However, protests with such broad visions risk undermining the effectiveness of their activism. Dubbed online as a protest opposing racism, Islamophobia, colonialism, sexism, transphobia, and other forms of hate—all of which are claimed to be related to capitalism and austerity—the “Demonstration Against Hate and Racism” lacked a coherent and effective goal for people to mobilize around. The protest’s messaging appeared to emphasize anger and opposition to the far-right writ large, more so than opposition to one particular discriminatory event.

To effectively counter the far-right and other discriminatory groups, students must make use of all [channels]. That means responding at different times, in different ways.

The point of the “Demonstration Against Hate and Racism” was to be all-encompassing—that is, a resounding rejection of all discrimination encouraged by the far-right. While broad, societal-level strokes are laudable and important, they must not overshadow the need for concurrent work at a more focused, community level. McGill is SSMU’s domain. As such, it is on the local level where the Society and its members can have the most impact. Without discounting the symbolic value of SSMU participating in a city-wide protest, it is imperative that it carries the momentum from this rally to enact change at the local level—because this is where it is most desperately needed.

Moving forward, it is crucial for students and student leaders to understand the multiple channels for advocacy, activism, and solidarity. To effectively counter the far-right and other discriminatory groups, students must make use of all of them. That means responding at different times, in different ways.

Moreover, these channels must prioritize the voices that have been silenced by persistent hate. SSMU must seek input from those who are targeted, and ask how the McGill community can work together to make campus a safer place for everyone. By consulting the most important stakeholders to each issue, SSMU can continue to educate the McGill community. Workshops, speakers, and issue-specific, on-campus programming, such as the Quebec Public Interest Research Group's (QPIRG) Culture Shock and Social Justice Days, respond to racism in supportive, productive, and sensitive ways. While SSMU and its constituents should not be afraid to be ambitious in combatting racism on a broader scale, it is key to understand where the McGill community has the potential to make the most impact. That’s right here at McGill.

 


@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science & Technology

The rise of invasive species denialism

by Emma Gillies on

More in Science & Technology:

Recently, dozens of opinion articles have appeared in the media—and even in scientific journals—that deny the risks that invasive species pose to the environment. These arguments claim that the field of invasion biology is biased and unscientific.

Anthony Ricciardi, professor in McGill’s School of Environment, is addressing this issue.

Invasion can be defined as an organism being displaced to a location in which it has no evolutionary history, and establishing a self-sustaining and reproducing population.

In a recently published paper, Ricciardi looked at 77 articles that promoted invasive species denialism and ignored or denied scientific facts. The study found an exponential increase in the number of these articles published from 1990 to 2015.

According to Ricciardi, science denialism in general is the unfounded dismissal of scientific consensus. Invasive species denialism delegitimizes researchers’ findings and credibility, similar to the denialism that affects climate science and medical science.

“There is a scientific consensus that non-native species introductions pose significant risks […] to biodiversity and ecosystems,” Ricciardi said. “This does not mean that scientists think that every introduced species is going to be disruptive, or even that most may have undesirable impacts.”

While many species do not have strong impacts, some have devastating effects on their surrounding environment, such as the zebra mussel and the Asian longhorned beetle. Further research is needed to improve risk assessment, as invasive species are capable of altering biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural resources, to the point of societal-level impacts.

“A major research objective is to determine which species will have undesired impacts,” Ricciardi said. “When I hear people [non-scientists usually] say, that the impacts of the invasions have been exaggerated, or you can’t trust these scientists because they just want to get more grant money […] it’s just as outrageous as when a climate scientist hears that they’re in some kind of politically-motivated conspiracy.”

Ricciardi highlighted several factors that could contribute to this rise in invasive species denialism, including opposition to increased regulation of the deliberate ‘live trade’ of organisms, for markets such as the food market and the pet industry.

“There’s a massive amount of genetic material moving around the planet […] and there is resistance to regulation because it can impede profits [for businesses],” Ricciardi said.

Another motivation for this denialism is growing distrust in scientific institutions. According to Ricciardi, this is characteristic of the ‘post-truth era’ in which public opinion is more skeptical of authority that challenges people’s world views.

In addition, some professionals feel that they can increase their visibility by being contrarian. A few scholarly journals, including prestigious ones like Nature, publish opinion articles that don’t necessarily include data. Ricciardi also cited denialist books like Where Do Camels Belong? and The New Wild.

Perhaps the most prominent motivation for this rise in invasive species denialism is the existence of conflicting perceptions of nature. Denialists’ contrarianism is not scientific, but rather rhetorical. Denialists range from fisheries stakeholders to philosophers to animal rights activists. While these critics focus on individuals, they fail to recognize the importance of species. Some have even gone as far as saying that invasive species ecologists are xenophobic.

Ricciardi stressed that there is plenty of scientific debate in ecology—but genuine scientific debate involves facts and evidence.

“I am certainly not advocating that we invoke the term 'denialism' to ban arguments,” Ricciardi noted. “But scientific criticisms should be made in a scientific forum where they are evaluated through peer review. [Contrarians] have to be challenged when they say things that are not scientific, or which have no scientific basis, or [when] they misinterpret scientific evidence.”

In a recent editorial, Maclean’s claimed that “Canada should embrace invasive species,” but the article included no scientific evidence. For Ricciardi, this is a prime example of the growing number of newspaper articles that attack science, but don’t have to go through the same scrutiny that the peer review process provides scientific papers before they get published.

Denialism instills doubt that impedes management efforts to prevent new invasions, or control harmful, existing ones.

"Just like climate scientists have begun to speak out publically against climate-change denialism, ecologists must do the same when their science is under attack in the popular press,” Ricciardi said.

With invasive species denialism on the rise, Ricciardi says that invasion biologists must convey their findings better to the general public. Otherwise, the failure to do so would mean less effective management of invasive species, which is increasingly relevant in areas such as biosecurity, conservation, and ecosystem management.

Private, Student Life, Student of the Week

A look behind the lens: Humans of McGill photographer Brock Jenken

by Avleen K Mokha on

More in Private:

Brock Jenken, U2 Science, is a student of many disciplines. Between serving as the U2 representative for the Biochemistry Undergraduate Society, singing in an acapella group, and playing the piano—Jenken’s daily life is full of multitasking. He is majoring in biochemistry and minoring in computer science, and, amid dreams of medical school, he has honed a passion for photography.

Jenken is perhaps known best for his photography for Humans of McGill University (HoMU), a Facebook community featuring photos and interviews with students that has garnered over 5,000 likes since its debut in Fall 2016. Working as one of four page administrators, Jenken brings student voices to the forefront.

“What motivates me is to find people who have stories to share,” Jenken said. “I am mostly a portrait photographer, so I love talking to people and find that it helps in capturing better portraits. When I was given the opportunity [in 2015-2016] to join an initiative like [HoMU], I jumped at it. I like the concept of sharing stories from students your age […] who have such different lives.”

Jenken has been taking portraits on campus for about three years now, after getting his start with Humans of McGill Residences (HoMR), an initiative of the Inter Rez Council 2015-2016 that led to the creation of HoMU. During his time in university, he has developed a knack for getting his subjects to open up to him.

“I feel that I am getting more selective in the portraits,” Jenken said. “I approach people who are standing around or sitting on a bench, who probably just finished class [….] I ask if [they] have any experience that […] helped them grow, that others would be interested in hearing [about]. If they don’t seem comfortable sharing deep stories, I ask them if they have any dad jokes or funny, insightful quips.”

Jenken aspires to go to medical school but plans to work as a freelance wedding photographer over summer breaks to supplement his income. He seeks inspiration from other wedding photographers; his favourite is Brent Kallas, who happens to be a McGill alumnus himself.

“I was very recently photographed  by [Kallas],” Jenken said. “He always captures the perfect moment, especially in his wedding photography. As someone who wants to go into wedding photography, I want to be able to capture moments like he does.”

Reflecting on how working for HoMU has enriched his university experience,  Jenken feels more connected to people of different experiences and worldviews.

“For me, [portrait photography] always reminds me that everyone is living their own lives,” Jenken said. “People can get caught up […] in their personal lives, but it reminds me that we all have different problems. We’re all going through things beyond control, and that it doesn’t hurt to be nice to someone [because] they might be having a rough day.”

Student Life

McGill on wheels: Bicycle theft and measures of protection

by Stephanie Sim on

More in Student Life:

Montreal is remarkably bike-friendly; from its bike sharing program, Bixi, to the integration of bike lanes in its planning, the city is uniquely welcoming to those on two wheels. Many McGill staff and students commute to and from school daily by bike, living close too far to conveniently walk but not far enough away to warrant taking transit. During the warmer times of year, bike racks on campus are stocked—a visible sign of the role that bike culture plays in the campus community.

However, what’s less obvious upon first glance, is bicycle theft. A 2012 McGill survey on bicycle theft showed that approximately 50 per cent of students in Montreal have had their bikes stolen, even when they locked them up. Thieves often use bolt cutters to remove bike locks, or they simply remove loose parts that are not locked up, which can be resold individually. Ben Oldham, U3 Arts, is a regular bike commuter, and one of many students who has fallen victim to campus bike theft.

“I’ve never had my [whole] bike stolen, but I’ve always locked it up nice, too [….] My dad nags me about it, so I’m always careful,” Oldham said. “Somebody stole the seat off my bike once because it wasn’t bolted to the frame.”

While there is no ultimate solution to bike theft, there are measures that individuals can take to increase their bike’s security and, in the case that it is stolen, their chances of getting it back. The same survey showed bikes locked with a cable have a 30 per cent higher chance of being stolen than those with a U-lock. Although cables are popular, they’re easy to cut with bolt cutters, while U-locks are far more durable and nearly impossible to break.

Another security precaution bike owners can take is to get their bike permanently engraved with  a number that is entered into a police database, making it easier to track if stolen. Engraved bikes are less likely to be stolen by thieves looking to resell bikes; the tracking number is a giveaway that it’s been stolen. Eli MacLaren, assistant professor in the Department of English at McGill, learned the importance of engravings the hard way after his bike was stolen from his backyard.

“[My family] stores our bikes in a shed behind our house, in our backyard out of view from the street,” MacLaren wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Someone came into our backyard [in September], opened the shed, and took my bike. Since [my] bike had no police tracking number, the police said that the chances of recovering it were low.”

Once a semester, McGill Security Services works with the Montreal Police to provide free bike engravings for all McGill students and staff members on the Downtown campus. This engraving increases the chances of finding students’ stolen bikes.

Locking bikes in high-traffic areas, like around the Y-Intersection on McGill’s downtown campus, also decreases a bike’s likelihood of being stolen. Through his experience with bike theft, Oldham has learned the importance of finding the proper place to park.

“I try to leave [my bike] somewhere well-populated, so I figure people would notice someone trying to break my lock,” Oldham said. “I hope it would at least deter someone from targeting my bike.”

Beyond taking these everyday safety precautions, the student biking community as a whole can look out for each other and keep campus security in the loop on suspicious activity.

“As a community, we can all keep an eye out for suspicious behaviour,” Oldham said. “At the end of the day, I think the best thing is to create a culture where we’re always talking to one another about bike safety and watching each other’s backs.”

Laughing Matters, Off the Board, Opinion

A letter from your upstairs neighbour

by Audrey Carleton on

More in Laughing Matters:

Last week, The McGill Tribune published an op-ed criticizing upstairs neighbours for their “categorically inconsiderate” behaviour, such as bodybuilding, blasting music, and having loud sex. I was disappointed by Sydney King’s assertion that upstairs neighbours are inherently selfish and rude. In my time as a student in Montreal, I’ve lived on the first floor, the 11th floor, and most recently, the third floor of various apartment buildings, so I have a strong sense of the pros and cons of all living situations. As a current upstairs neighbour, I would like to clear a few things up.

King’s argument makes inaccurate claims about what upstairs neighbours are actually doing when you—the downstairs neighbour—hear late-night stomping. For example, they’re likely bodybuilding or playing indoor sports. While I cannot speak for all upstairs neighbours, in my own case, this is untrue. Personally, I have never touched a weight in my life, and I do not engage in team sports. What you’re hearing is probably just my nightly at-home Zumba workouts. There’s a difference. The former involves more throwing and catching, while the latter involves a lot of jumping and stepping. Regardless, I believe it’s well within my right to work out the way I choose, when I choose. A double standard exists between the upstairs and downstairs neighbours, with upstairs neighbours statistically far more likely to receive building complaints while exercising. The expectation that upstairs folks not get their sweat on from the comfort of their own homes is unfair.

King also asserts that upstairs neighbours have a propensity for loud music and hosting live concerts with Eminem himself. This is true in some cases—my old upstairs neighbours used to enjoy practicing their DJ sets at all hours—and I know how annoying it can be. But now that I’m an upstairs neighbour with a downstairs neighbour who works part-time from home as a piano teacher, I can confirm that this sonic relationship goes both ways. We, upstairs neighbours, can hear you blasting music too, and we do not appreciate being singled out and asked to take full responsibility.

I do not engage in team sports. What you’re hearing is probably just my nightly at-home Zumba workouts.

As for the argument that upstairs neighbours have a propensity for having loud sex, this is a sweeping generalization, and one that is, quite frankly, none of your business. It’s possible that you’re hearing the cage of small pandas that I keep in my bedroom being let out to jump on the bed and engage in nightly play. You could also be hearing my sex noise machine—it's like a white noise machine, but instead it makes sex noises. I find them soothing. Either way, this is not for you to speculate on, so putting in earphones might be the best call.

It’s also important to keep in mind the many other sacrifices that upstairs neighbours make. During the summer, upstairs neighbours face the hottest indoor temperatures, because heat rises. Being closer to the sun, we’re also awoken by the brightest rays in the early morning. And during winter, many of us face steep, icy steps when entering and exiting the house. Being an upstairs neighbour is not all noisy rainbows and butterflies.

At the end of the day, all upstairs neighbours want is a positive relationship with our downstairs counterparts. Speculative accusations get in the way of this, and throwing around unfounded claims about our behaviour is not productive. Living upstairs comes with its own difficulties, and having to fend off attacks like this is just one of them.

 

Audrey Carleton is a managing editor at The McGill Tribune.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

McGill, News

AUS Legislative Council votes in support of Daily Publications Society

by Julia Metraux on

More in McGill:

On Nov. 8, the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Legislative Council held its fifth meeting of the Fall semester. Councillors passed motions to support the Daily Publications Society (DPS) existence referendum, to create the Quebec Studies Students Association (QSSA), and to appoint 18 councillors, executives, and other students to positions on committees and individual roles in AUS.

 

Motion to Endorse a YES Vote in SSMU Existence Referendum for Daily Publication Society

The DPS, which publishes both The McGill Daily and Le Délit, is currently campaigning for a “Yes” vote to its existence referendum. Every five years, all clubs that collect a non-opt-outable fee from students must go through this type of vote to ensure that they can continue doing so for another five-year period. At last week’s council, the AUS voted to support the DPS’ campaign for its own existence, just six days after the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council voted against doing so at its Nov. 2 Legislative Council meeting.

The motion was proposed by Department of English Student Association (DESA) Vice-President (VP) External Thomas MacDonald and Arts Representative Jennifer Chan. Councillors discussed the roles of The McGill Daily and Le Délit on campus and the future of both newspapers if the referendum fails.

“What is highly unusual is, for the first time, SSMU Legislative Council voted not to endorse a yes vote [for the DPS’s] existence referendum,” MacDonald said. “DPS is an extremely valuable resource […] for a university with no journalism program.”

According to Arts Senator Isabella Anderson, it is important to have a French newspaper like Le Délit at McGill University out of respect for Quebec as a Francophone province.

“We go to school in Quebec, yet we only have one Francophone newspaper,” Anderson said. “It’s important to find a newspaper that caters to the province where we go to school. It doesn’t matter that our institution is English.”

Political Science Students Association (PSSA) VP External Liam Kirkpatrick also reminded Council of the gravity of this vote, asserting that the result of the existence referendum will determine The McGill Daily and Le Délit’s ability to continue operating.

“I think that it’s very clear that if the DPS is not renewed, it will end The Daily and Le Délit,” Kirkpatrick said. “[The McGill Daily and Le Délit] will not have the funds to continue to operate, to continue to publish, [and] to continue to pay rent.”
 

Motion to Instate Quebec Studies Students Association

AUS VP Internal Rebecca Scarra moved a motion to create a student association for the Quebec Studies (QCST) program, which began in 2015 and offers a major and minor. This motion came forth at a tenuous time for QCST, as it currently risks termination by the Faculty of Arts due to low interest and enrollment in the program, according to AUS VP Academic Madeline Wilson.

“The association being established is trying to prevent [QCST] from being cut, but realistically the only thing that will prevent the termination is getting enrollment numbers up,” Wilson said. “Does the QSSA have concrete plans on how they would increase enrollment?”

In response, Scarra argued that the creation of the association would serve to publicize QCST and improve current enrollment rates.

“[Quebec Studies program students] hoping by having this association, it will increase visibility in the AUS and get more people to enroll.” Scarra said. “They would also like to do collaborative events with other departments to raise awareness of the program.”
 

Motion to Appoint AUS Positions

AUS President Erik Partridge and AUS VP Communications Maria Thomas motioned for the AUS Legislative Council to ratify appointments of executives, councillors, and other students to various AUS positions, all of which passed unanimously. This is an annual process, and the 18 roles with appointments are split across five AUS departments.

“This motion is basically to appoint people to specific positions, as well as to approve the various committees that require membership approval,” Partridge said. “[These positions and committees are] Arts Student Employment Fund committee, Fine Arts Commissioners, Arts Computer Lab Fund Committee, and Financial Management Committee.”

AUS will next meet on Nov 22 at 6 p.m. in Leacock 232.

Hockey, Sports

Lord Stanley coming home? 2018 could finally be the year for the Ottawa Senators

by Owen Gibbs on

More in Hockey:

On Nov. 5, the hockey world was rocked by a massive three-way trade: The Ottawa Senators acquired highly-touted forward Matt Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for goaltender Andrew Hammond, prospect Shane Bowers, and a pair of draft picks. The Senators also sent top-six forward Kyle Turris to the Nashville Predators, who in turn sent a pair of prospects and a draft pick to the Avalanche. It was the biggest trade the National Hockey League (NHL) has seen in several years, and though a Duchene trade was inevitable, his destination told the hockey world something about the Senators: They want the Stanley Cup, and they want it now.

Ottawa gave up a huge amount for Duchene. Turris was one of their top scorers and a central piece of the Senators’ forward lines. In fact, the Predators immediately signed Turris to a six-year, $36 million contract extension. While Duchene will likely be a major improvement over Turris, Bowers was Ottawa’s first-round draft pick in 2017, and one of the two picks they sent away was a 2018 first-rounder. Such a move from future assets in pursuit of immediate success means the Senators think they have a serious shot at winning the Cup after their unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, which begs the question of whether they fit into the contender category.

The analytical side of hockey would suggest not. The list of teams considered to be Cup favourites in 2018 includes the Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, and Nashville Predators. Several of those teams have one thing in common: A pair of superstars capable of making the whole squad better with their raw talent. These include Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh, and Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov in Tampa. These duos can carry a team to the top of the standings and to the position of Cup contender. St. Louis and Nashville, meanwhile, each collectively have enough skill and depth to score and effectively defend against most opposition.

Ottawa lacks both of these elements. Their top scorers are high-scoring defenceman Erik Karlsson and now, Duchene. While both are very skilled, the combination is not quite on the same level as the aforementioned pairs. Despite some talented forwards in Mark Stone and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, the Senators have little in terms of scoring from bottom-six forwards. Aside from Karlsson, their defence can be described as average at best. Between the pipes, Craig Anderson is very good at his job, but he isn’t getting any younger and likely won’t be in the discussion for the Vezina Trophy this season.

However, if there is one truly great thing about the NHL, it is its unpredictability. No one expected the Senators to make it to the Conference Finals last season or to challenge the powerhouse Penguins the way they did. Nashville entered the playoffs in the last seat and went all the way to the finals. Each of the teams that were predicted to be in the bottom three before the season currently hold a playoff spot. How a team fares can hinge on player confidence, and the Senators clearly have a now-or-never mentality. Expect them to be making more moves like this throughout the season in an effort to build a team that can truly contend, especially closer to the February trade deadline. Duchene is just the beginning of this season’s push, and the end just might be another Cinderella run, this time to the Stanley Cup Final. After all, it’s the golden rule of hockey: Never count anyone out.

1 … 617 618 619 620 621 … 1,363

Read the latest issue

Read the latest issue