Latest News

Laughing Matters, Opinion

Solving McGill’s problems, one building sign at a time

by David Watson on

More in Laughing Matters:

It’s no secret that McGill is currently facing a pretty long list of serious problems. The university’s reputation has taken a hit over the recent scandals plaguing the student society. Budget issues persist, as the provincial government cut funding for the 2016-2017 school year. The administration continues to clash with student groups over its investments in fossil fuels. A recent report revealed the need to address discrimination in faculty hiring. Not to mention that our section of Sherbrooke can only be generously described as a “street” while the saga of the Great McTavish Ditch drags on.

With all these pressing issues, students and staff alike should be glad to hear that the McGill administration has launched a groundbreaking initiative. As of last month, McGillians have been treated to a bold new surprise: The university now has new building signs.

As the McGill Reporter revealed on Feb. 21, the administration has replaced the building signs on the Downtown Campus, and plans to do the same for MacDonald Campus soon, all as “part of a larger overhaul of exterior signage on McGill campuses.” Don’t be confused—the old, decrepit, oafish buildings are still the same, it’s just that fancy new signage that gives a concrete slab like the Leacock Building a whole new feeling.

According to the Reporter, the signs are part of an effort to secure McGill’s status as a world-class institution. The signs reflect a “new font, new materials, new design” philosophy, which is apparently part of “a modern design practice observed at leading North American universities.” Here the article specifically mentions Harvard and Yale, who presumably have built their prestigious international reputations on the back of their outstanding building signs. After all, Harvard couldn’t possibly have produced such notable alumni as Bill Gates, Ban Ki-Moon, and eight American presidents, if its building signs were in a lowly font like Comic Sans MS.

 

Don’t be confused—the old, decrepit, oafish buildings are still the same, it’s just that fancy new signage that gives a concrete slab like the Leacock Building a whole new feeling.

Of course, the ambitious signage project doesn’t necessarily mean McGill has let its other—more pressing—problems fall to the wayside. But, if the administration is looking to be more efficient, it could consider incorporating some easy fixes to other issues in its new signage project. For instance, it could save students a lot of trouble by simply adding an asterisk on the sign for any building that does exist in theory, but has in reality been rendered totally inaccessible by construction.

The signage overhaul also foresees the installation of an “interactive terminal” at the Roddick Gates, which will provide visitors with information about McGill and its downtown campus. Perhaps this terminal can also help McGill address some communications issues, and potentially improve its image. With a dizzying number of controversies on campus this year, it can sometimes be hard to remember where students should be directing their anger. A simple interactive app on the Roddick terminal could help clear this up. Concerned about the unethical investments of your university? Yes, you can take that one to the James Building—though results are not guaranteed. Mad about that thing another student said on Twitter? Take that one to SSMU, that’s not the admin’s problem. And of course, the terminal needs to be able to answer that vital question students ask themselves every day: Where is the current samosa sale?

The signage project does come with a degree of self-awareness: The project manager admits that signs are “small details” when it comes to the university as a whole. Let’s just hope the university’s renewed interest in “small details” isn’t a sign that they’ve given up on addressing the McGill’s larger flaws.

 

 

David Watson is an Opinion Editor at The McGill Tribune and a U3 Political Science and History student. He is currently one Nobel Prize away from being a Nobel Prize winner.

 

@McGillTribOp |

 

 
Out on the Town, Private, Student Life

The Common Thread: Teaching Montreal to sew, stitch by stitch

by Emma Carr on

More in Out on the Town:

A few generations ago, sewing was a required class in American schools. Today, many people no longer know how to sew; however, this is slowly changing—sewing is experiencing a resurgence in popularity among DIY enthusiasts. Increasingly, many people are recognizing the plethora of benefits to sewing—not only does it reduce stress, but it equips one with the knowledge to produce one-of-a-kind pieces for themselves or for profit. But how does one get started without the knowledge or a sewing machine?

That question has been answered by a cooperative maker-space in Rosemont called The Common Thread/Le Fil Commun. The sewing co-op, in which artists share materials and knowledge for $10 an hour, describes itself as "a wearable arts studio" that supplies a workspace, industrial sewing equipment, and materials to its members. Founded in November 2016, the Common Thread offers open studio sessions on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. During this time, for a nominal fee, the studio is open for sewing novices to work alongside experienced tailors or to attend drop-in workshops. 

According to co-founder and Montreal-based artisan Kiri Skuce, one of the goals of the Common Thread is to provide an accessible and affordable space for people to explore the art of sewing. Skuce was inspired to form a sewing collective after noticing a gap in craft-based education between the beginner and professional levels. 

“I think that in starting this project I have many different goals,” Skuce said. “I think the short-term is to just make  [sewing] more accessible for people who just want to get into it because there is pretty much nothing available between not knowing how to sew at all and going into a full-time three-year degree [….] If you already know how to sew, and you need a place to work [as a professional], there isn’t anywhere [to go].”  

With the assistance of mentors, neophytes can realize projects they wouldn’t be able to accomplish at home. Amateur craftspeople can learn everything from making patterns to working with industrial machinery. 

[metaslider id=51485]

“So far, mostly novices I would say [come in to the Common Thread],” Skuce said. “People come in to learn the basics. [Our members often] have a project in mind, but don’t have the space to work on it at home […] and with this collection of machines, you can make pretty much anything [….Sewing] can be easy to get into, you just need all of the right things, so we hope to provide that.”

Crafters at the cooperative often find that making their own clothes gives them a newfound appreciation for the material goods they consume on a daily basis. The hard work of making a new item of clothing from scratch can be especially rewarding for patrons. Skuce noted that when people make items themselves, they tend to gain a heightened appreciation for manufacturing that lasts long after the class.

“There is a really interesting thing when you go through that process [of sewing your own clothes] where you realize how much work goes into something,” Skuce said. “Suddenly, something as meaningless as a shirt […] being involved in [its] creation process readjusts your value systems when it comes to these objects that we take for granted. I think it is the first step to become more sustainable in the things that we consume, because if you realize how valuable a thing is, you are going to maintain it.” 

Looking ahead, Skuce hopes to grow the Common Thread by expanding its studio space and services for first-time seamstresses. In the coming months, the Common Thread will offer classes for beginners, including belt and sandal-making. In the meantime, the Common Thread’s members continue to support each other as they learn in a collective space. 

“Work gets easier when you are with more people,” Skuce said. “[….] When you have a dynamic of sharing and trust, it is contagious.”

Commentary, Opinion

Students should be aware of study drug risks

by Jake Cruickshank on

More in Commentary:

Over the last several years, the use of unprescribed “study drugs”—stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Vyvanse—has been steadily rising on university campuses across North America. These drugs are intended to treat individuals with disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For those students without a prescription, however, these drugs produce hyperactivity, which can be experienced as intense focus and productivity. The misuse of these drugs as performance-enhancers in this way is understandably appealing; in a time of ever-increasing academic pressure, they seem to offer improved focus and stave off fatigue, to the point where some students can’t imagine finals season without them. Their unprescribed use on campus has become fairly normalized, but as the visibility of study drug use rises, the days of unrestricted, unquestioned access may be numbered.

The Oxford University’s Student Union (OUSU) recently unveiled student workshops on study drug use. As an email sent to students explained, “OUSU are rolling out workshops based on student experience and knowledge, exploring the reasons why people might start using smart drugs, and suggesting safe and sustainable solutions.” Oxford’s workshop is just one example of how organizations at universities are becoming more aware of the growing use of study drugs by their students. If students without diagnosable disorders develop a reliance on these drugs in university, they risk becoming dependent on them to handle stressful situations later in life, or could find themselves in legal trouble.

Students who become dependent on study drugs as performance-enhancers are creating serious problems for themselves in the long-run, as they will eventually have to break the habit.

University puts students through such a crucible of pressure that they come out ready to handle whatever the workforce throws at them, for at least the next few years. Students who habitually use these drugs without a prescription do not only risk trouble with the law—they are setting themselves up for a hurdle in future stressful work situations, once they have to adapt to the lack of access outside of the campus bubble. Students who become dependent on study drugs as performance-enhancers are creating serious problems for themselves in the long-run, as they will eventually have to break the habit.

The unprescribed use of these drugs isn’t just problematic because they obfuscate a student’s natural abilities. Adderall is a Schedule I drug in Canada, meaning it can form a chemical dependence and its possession with a prescription is illegal. The McGill campus bubble has a way of normalizing fairly bad behaviour, particularly when it comes to substance use—one need only look to McGill’s binge drinking culture for evidence of this. While it may seem innocuous in the campus context, the misuse and sale of study drugs amounts to prescription drug abuse and trafficking. The law doesn’t know what a “study drug” is. The law only knows what an illegal stimulant is.

Workshops, like the one organized by the OUSU, can be helpful opportunities to remind students of the potential harms of study drug use. If McGill wants to be proactive in addressing the misuse of these stimulants as study aids for any student—rather than their intended use for students with attention disorders—it should consider following Oxford’s example of harm reduction initiatives specific to study drugs.

SSMU would be well served by joining the ranks of Oxford and shedding light on the misuse of these drugs. A non-judgmental, educational environment—that makes the laws as well as potential consequences of unprescribed study drug, use clear—would be a valuable resource for the McGill student body.

Jake Cruickshank is a U2 History student. He drinks.

 

@McGillTribOp | [email protected]

McGill, News

EUS Wellness Survey sheds light on mental health in Faculty of Engineering

by Julia Metraux on

More in McGill:

On Feb. 23, the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) released the results of a wellness survey of its members that was conducted in November 2016. To address the findings, EUS hosted an open forum on March 9.

According to EUS President Jean-Louis Shi, the results signal a need for change in the Faculty of Engineering.

“The results are pretty shocking,” Shi said. “Seventy per cent of our student population feel like they have to maintain poor sleeping and eating habits. And then, we have 74 per cent of students who said the biggest stress is from the workload.”

Dean of Engineering Jim Nicell explained that it will be important to conduct more surveys pertaining to the mental health of McGill Engineering students in order to create a baseline to measure if progress is being made. Nicell stated that even though he found the results alarming, they did not surprise him.

“This is an issue that we need to be more aware of,” Nicell said. “As a faculty and how we assign workloads. Around one-fourth of our students felt like their faculty cares about their mental health. First, we have to admit that we have a problem, and then [we have] to mobilize resources.”

Nicell and Shi both suggested that one problem that the Faculty of Engineering faces is adequately preparing their students in a field that requires a lot of specified training. Another problem, according to Nicell, is not overwhelming students with the required workload.

“I’ve been meeting with all the deans [of engineering] across Canada,” Nicell said. “We’ve had more conversations about mental health in the past few years than ever before. We recognize that our program is challenging. It’s an increasingly complex world, both sociologically and technically. Essentially, what we do is keep on adding curricula without taking things out. Something’s got to give, it might be that we’re expecting too much of our students in a short amount of time.”

An Open Forum on Engineering Undergraduate Wellness was hosted on March 9 to discuss the results of the EUS Wellness Survey. The forum covered three main areas: Academic, support, and awareness. Points taken from discussion during the forum were presented on March 13 to Engineering Chairs and Directors Committee.

EUS Mental Health Commissioner Jiayi Wang said the attendance of the forum was big enough to lead to productive conversations, but small enough that it was not overwhelming. Both students and faculty attended.

“We had two staff from [McGill Engineering Student Centre] MESC attending,” Wang said. “They were able to offer their side from advising students in an advisor-student relationship.”

Even though he finds the statistics to be indicative of a larger issue with work-life balance within the faculty, Shi says that they also show that engineering students are not alone when it comes to being overwhelmed. Shi noted that a lot of students at the forum were interested in what their rights are.

“Students want to know more on their rights, so they can hold their professors accountable,” Shi said. “Whether it is scheduling a test [outside of scheduled class time during Add/Drop or the last 14 calendar days of the semester], unclear guidelines, [or] work loads that aren’t related to what students are learning.”

Through the publication of the wellness survey and events, like the open forum, Shi hopes that engineering students recognize that EUS is trying to implement changes to improve the mental health of students in their faculty.

“We want people to know that we are taking action up front,” Shi said. “We want to have a better reporting system soon where students can express their complaints, like online in Google Form.”

Editorial, Opinion, Private

Winter 2017 PGSS Referendum Endorsements

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

More in Editorial:

Health and Dental Insurance Plan Cost Renewal: “Yes”

The proposed changes to the Post Graduate Student Society (PGSS) Health and Dental Insurance Plan (HDIP) include several measures that would benefit those covered by the policy, improving the quality of medical care available to graduate students. In addition to renewing the Health and Dental Fee for the next five years, the plan increases students’ coverage for physiotherapy and psychology treatments, as well as preventative dental work. While this question would increase the amount of the fee, the premiums would be renegotiated on a yearly basis to ensure competitive rates, and will be restricted by a maximum cap of $265 for the Health premium, and $219 for the Dental premium. Given that this renewal provides tangible improvements to the medical coverage of graduate students, and includes measures to limit costs, the Tribune endorses voting “Yes” on this motion.
 

Thomson House Upkeep Fee (PGSP) Description Change: “Yes”

This motion does not change the nature or the amount of the Thomson House Upkeep Fee, which serves to fund the maintenance and improvement of Thomson House. The purpose of this question is to make a change to the description of the fee by removing the caveat that the fee was “not for the purpose of capital investments or leasehold improvements.” This specification prevented the PGSS from using the funds for the maintenance the building, furniture, and grounds of Thomson House. As this change in the language would allow PGSS to use the money it receives from this fee in a less restrained and more effective manner, the Tribune endorses voting “Yes” on this motion.

Editorial, Opinion

Winter 2017 SSMU Referendum Endorsements

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

More in Editorial:

Motion Regarding Referendum Question on Constitutional Amendments: Vote “No”

The sole question of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) referendum consists of a series of proposed changes to the SSMU Constitution, as suggested by the Ad-Hoc Democratic Governance Review Committee. The new constitution would contain changes to dozens of current clauses: Notably, it would change the titles and functions of some executive positions, modify the procedures surrounding General Assemblies (GAs), and update the Land Acknowledgement. While some of the proposed changes would provide meaningful improvements to certain areas of the constitution, they are outweighed by a series of changes that would make some SSMU procedures less transparent, and less democratic.

The proposed changes include several improvements, such as the rebranding of the VP Operations as Vice-President (VP) Sustainability & Operations, and shifts the management of human resources from the VP Finance to the President’s portfolio, where it was prior to the 2016-2017 academic year. However, these understandable administrative tweaks are overshadowed by a series of detrimental changes which will make SSMU’s functioning less representative and democratic.

This motion lowers the standards of representation for the bi-annual GAs hosted by SSMU. In a major change, this motion would remove the current requirements surrounding quorum for the GA that help ensure a broad range of McGill students are represented at the session. Currently, quorum for a GA is 100 members, who must be from four different faculties or schools, and with no single faculty accounting for more than 50 of those members. This guarantees that the students present at the GA are roughly representative of the diverse faculties at McGill. The current proposal would remove this protection, instead setting quorum at 100 members, with no consideration for their faculty of origin. For Special GAs, quorum is further loosened from 100 members down to 50, and provisions about the faculty of members are again waived when it comes to submitting agenda items at GAs.

In recent years, the SSMU has often struggled to achieve quorum—but loosening the protections that ensure broad representation is an undemocratic way of addressing this issue. The SSMU can and should explore other options to increase participation at the GA, like pushing for cancelled classes on the day of the GA, or even hosting a GA only once per academic year. But amending the constitution in order to move the goalposts—as this motion would—is not the appropriate solution.

Furthermore, one of the proposed changes would no longer require the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) to inform the student body when it holds a confidential session. The BoD already exhibits a lack of transparency, as minutes of their meetings are difficult to obtain online. Especially given recent scandals involving SSMU, the society should be striving to be more transparent and accountable, not less.
Not all of the proposed changes in this motion are negative, and yet they are all included in one question, which only give students the option to approve or reject them all at once. And given the harmful effect some of these changes will have on representation and transparency in SSMU, the Tribune endorses a “No” vote on this motion. Those changes that are beneficial will hopefully be proposed in a future referendum, without being attached to detrimental ones. In the meantime, this motion simply isn’t worth the potential risks.

Arts & Entertainment

The limitless gallery: A discussion on virtual art in the Internet age

by Morgan Davis on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

Art is becoming increasingly digitized. As university students, we are at the threshold of an entirely new era of art, one without the bounds of physical space or financial limitations. As the Internet has expanded and social media platforms matured, social networking’s impact has become global. To advance into a digital art community, the current and future generation of artists must embrace this new environment.  

For millennials, social media is challenging to avoid, as the bestselling author of Socialnomics, Erik Qualman, explained in 2010. 

“We don’t have a choice whether we do social media,” Qualman said. “The question is how well we do it.” 

The Pew Research Center posits that over 90 per cent of young people aged 18-29 have accounts on at least one form of social media. With such a large demographic of users, it’s understandable that social media has evolved past sharing photos or chatting with friends. Rather than simply being a new form of communication, social media is becoming a vital part of successful branding,  helping expose artists and their work to the world. 

“There’s an ethos of young artists that accept this,” Dr. Christopher Gutierrez, a professor in the McGill Department of Art History and Communications, explained.  “[. . . . ] We are at a point where these people have been able to make names for themselves through online presentation.”

When addressing the various forms of social accounts used for art sharing, Gutierrez argues that Tumblr is the website platform on which users are most likely to borrow from others. This is done through reblogging, rather than creating original content. Importantly, social media platforms do not claim ownership of the content published through their website. Both Instagram and Tumblr state in their terms and conditions that users retain the right and ownership to their intellectual property. Still, users who replicate their own work and repost others, immortalizing it on the Internet, can lead to plagiarism disputes. 

“It isn’t just that you’re giving away your own work, it’s that you’re creating content for Tumblr,” Gutierrez added. “And you’re actually making art for corporations.” 

This mass online presentation, however, can have deteriorating effects on the art. Gutierrez explained that on the Internet, you have to save and download a photo in order to keep it—and the image degrades slightly from its original state. 

“[Through replication] you lose a little part of the original piece,” Gutierrez said.

(creators-images.vice.com)
(creators-images.vice.com)

 

Pete Ashton is an artist who repeatedly re-uploads images to his Instagram account until they degrade into almost nothing. He cycles through these images as they become discoloured and fuzzy. 

“Tiny details show its age, it’s become dated in some way,” Gutierrez explained, in reference to Ashton’s art. He argues that we tend to think of digital files as immaterial, but they degrade through circulation. Reproduction affects the quality of the image, even online. 

Despite the degradation of physical quality when art is posted online, the Internet presents a major advantage for distributing one’s art. Artists create websites to post their portfolios and use Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, or individual blogs to  gain publicity. Additionally, art through the medium of social media lowers the entry barrier one might otherwise face in the global art community. Artists no longer have to rent out a gallery or be selected to have their work publicized in a show. The competition for physical space is transforming into competition for viewers’ attention.—the Internet is a limitless gallery. Nevertheless, this increased visibility does not ensure exposure. A proliferation of visual art online requires artists to instantaneously grab viewership. 

“There’s the paradox there—t­­he right to free speech isn’t the right to be heard,” said Gutierrez.  “So how images circulate and the barrier to entry is definitely lower. People have better access and ability to create things, but what gets seen and how and why?” 

Gutierrez expanded on how modern mediums of visual art struggle to conform to traditional viewing.

“Institutions and galleries are still struggling with art that they still can’t recognize,” Gutierrez said. “It is hard to deal with because a GIF is something that is largely consumed on a screen, and it moves and it’s mobile, so by putting it up on a wall seems counter-intuitive—so how do you present art in that sense? At an institutional level, it proposes this question of, ‘So how do we present this art?’ But as a viewer it presents an interesting opportunity of seeing and gathering art.” 

This is where the actions of university students come into play. We, as both viewers and artists, use social media to our artistic advantage. University students, particularly in North America, have likely used social media technology since adolescence. The potential of social media to increase the accessibility of art is an opportunity we must take advantage of.  

The loss of the physical quality of an image through its propagation online could be considered a necessary sacrifice in the evolution of virtual art. Yet, through an additional collective effort, the proper citation for digital art can be produced. The initial purpose of social media may not have been to distribute art, let alone become a platform for creating it, but this isn’t the first time that the potential of cyberspace has surprised us. The future generation of prominent artists will consist of those who best adapt themselves to this changing technology. 

Science & Technology

Gravitational waves and the exploration of the universe

by Angelina Giordano on

More in Science & Technology:

On the evening of March 9, Leacock 132 was filled with anticipation and intellectual curiosity as the crowd took their seats to hear Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Rainer Weiss give the Anna I. McPherson Public Lecture, sponsored by the McGill Department of Physics. Weiss’ presentation was titled “Exploring the Universe with Gravitational Waves” and described how gravitational waves were discovered. Weiss spoke on behalf of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration.

Founded in 1997, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration consists of approximately 100 institutions and over 1,000 researchers. In 2016, the collaboration observed the existence of gravitational waves—ripples in the fabric of space and time—for the first time ever.

Weiss conveyed the significance of LIGO’s discovery by speaking to the history and development of physics. He began his story with the father of physics, Sir Isaac Newton.

“What was wrong with Newton that we needed another theory?” Weiss asked.

Newton’s theory didn’t account for the “speed limit” that Einstein’s studies predicted. According to Einstein, there must be a definitive speed of light.

When Einstein began his research in Berlin, his colleagues encouraged him to study quantum theory. Despite their insistence, Einstein chose to study gravity, eventually discovering his theory of special relativity.

“That equation says that the geometry of space and time is determined by the distribution of matter and energy,” Weiss explained in his talk.

Gravitational waves don’t make any noise. They exist in a field of constant strain, stretching space in one direction and compressing space in the other.

To create a measurement device that is able to detect gravitational waves, size matters.

“You want to build something pretty big,” Weiss emphasized.

LIGO finally succeeded in detecting gravitational waves after constructing a mammoth laser detector, consisting of two arms spanning more than a kilometre orthogonal—at right angles—to each other. On each end, there was a mirror that reflected laser beams back and forth along the length of the arms. When a gravitational wave passes through, it alters the space-time in the area changing the phase of the light beams and producing a signal.

The gravitational waves were detected by LIGO after two black holes converged. When the two black holes combined, the event released a ripple in space-time.This collision caused some of the mass of the black holes to be transformed into energy, which was then released as gravitational waves.

“It lost a phenomenal amount of energy,” Weiss explained. “It lost three solar masses into gravitational waves. That was the […] very brightest thing in the universe for a moment. By a factor of 50, the brightest thing.”

This event was recorded by LIGO detectors in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana. Due to the successful LIGO measurement of gravitational waves, there are plans for more detectors to be built around the world.

Over 60 years after Einstein’s death, scientists are still confirming and exploring his theories. The measurement and verification of gravitational waves means that LIGO can now fulfill its mission as an observatory, rather than only an experiment. Moreover, with renewed trust in physical paradigms, this is the time to find the answers to the universe.

Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Bring Your Own Juice: ‘McGill’s best and only sketch comedy troupe’

by Ariella Garmaise on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

Entrenched in scandal and slander, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) building has been devoid of laughter for the past two weeks. Amid this chaos and disarray is McGill’s only sketch comedy troupe, Bring Your Own Juice, performing at SSMU’s Players’ Theatre. Their live show brings some much-needed comic relief to our campus, satirizing everything from college culture to classic literature. This year’s Bring Your Own Juice performance was thrown together by only 10 members over the course of a month. It is refreshing to watch a team that can thrive under pressure, and moreover, that genuinely seems to love and support one another.

Despite the 30-day turnover, Bring Your Own Juice is a deliberate and carefully crafted production. Director Harry Turner explains that the writing process is extensive, following pitch meetings to multiple drafts, all over the course of two weeks. 

“In the final draft section we all vote in terms of our number one [sketches], and then the coordinators—me, the director, the producer and the head writer—all come together and based on that we pick the show and the show order,” Turner explained.  

This democratic process is reflected throughout the show. Turner, Producer Tatyana Olal, and Head Writer Lillian King all take the stage and are equally dispersed throughout the sketches. All 10 performers occupy a dual role as writer. The myriad of voices makes for an entertaining and zany production. 

The sketches are outrageous: In one scene, Nancy Ferranti gives a standout performance as a bro-ish phantom. Ferranti captures “The Ghost of Chad” in both her swagger and Californian drawl. 

Yet, Bring Your Own Juice succeeds not only because of talented performances, but also because of a sharply written script. In one sketch about a hypochondriac visiting her doctor, Abbey Hipkin lists her pop-culture inspired diseases, including “Reverse Benjamin Button Syndrome” (Reverse Ben B), “Chronological Memento,” and “Pacifist American Psycho.” In a bizarre, modern-day take on Oedipus Rex, Cole Otto plays Eddie—a teenager ready to fight his dad to take his mom to the school dance. Bring Your Own Juice is unafraid to push boundaries: Eddie Rex admires his mother’s “voluptuous 5-foot-8 body.” 

“[Our influences are] anything, literally anything,” Turner elaborated. “It’s dumb tweets, or a sitcom, or even Saturday Night Live.” 

Shifting scenes from a Chili’s restaurant to a fashion talk show, Bring Your Own Juice finds humour in practically everything. 

Bring Your Own Juice has a minimalist production value. Their only set pieces are a table and some chairs. Refraining from ostentatious costumes, the Ghosts’ wardrobes are just white garbage bags with holes for a head. Instead of an elaborate set, the cast relies on its talent. In a quick transition from doctor to disgruntled teen, Cole Otto’s main shift in costume is a strategic re-parting of his hair. The comedians also depend heavily on one another: Otto and Liam Carmichael have an especially good rapport in a sketch in which they must play nerdy and cool brothers, respectively. The performers work well together not only on stage, but also between scenes. Approximately every five minutes, the actors must replace sets and props to make way for the new scene. They do so in record time, each aware of their own jobs as well as the teammates around them. 

Bring Your Own Juice is a comic feat that delivers on the “humour and charm” it advertises. A pleasant escape from midterms, and even from McGill’s darker news cycle, Bring Your Own Juice is the perfect remedy for winter blues. 

Bring Your Own Juice is playing from Mar. 16-17 at 8 pm and Mar. 18 at 7 pm in Players’ Theatre on the third floor of SSMU, 3480 McTavish. Admission is $6 for students and $10 for general admission. 

McGill, News

Time capsule discovered during renovations of Roddick Gates

by Avleen Mokha on

More in McGill:

The Roddick Gates are currently under construction for maintenance and for a more welcoming design. On March 1, construction workers discovered a time capsule while lifting stones from the arches of the North-East side of the entrance. The finding was brought to McGill Archivist Lori Podolsky, who organized the reveal of the capsule on March 9.  

Conservator Chantal Emond was tasked with opening the parcel. Emond has previously worked with McGill’s Archives as well as with the Osler Medical Library.

“It’s exciting to be at the centre of it all, but as a conservator […] I try to stay neutral to do the work,” Emond said.

Most of the contents were too damaged to identify, but Emond was able to uncover newspaper clippings of a French advertisement. The papers, over 90 years old, were clumped together because of mold formations. When assembled, the clippings appeared to be an apartment listing.

“The capsule is dated at the latest to 1925, the year of the Roddick Gates’ commemoration,” Podolsky said.

The capsule itself, composed of lead, measured exactly seven inches by five inches and is three-quarters of an inch deep. It was found beneath one of the stones being moved during the renovations.

“[The capsule] was damaged prior to when it was found,” Podolsky said. “The damage is old, so perhaps someone had gone back to the Eastern Roddick gate and caused it. However, there is no indication that those pieces were ever removed, so we suspect that the capsule was placed there already damaged.”

Although it is unlikely that the identity of the individual who placed the time capsule will be determined from its contents, the fact that the stone in which it was placed was chiseled and scored is significant. Podolsky estimates that the capsule was very likely laid during the original construction.

“There had to have been foresight when they laid the time capsule because it filled the stone perfectly,” she said.

The Roddick Gates were commissioned by Lady Amy Redpath Roddick in 1924 for $50,000. Lady Roddick was heavily involved in selecting the architect, Grattan D. Thompson, and finalizing design plans. Her correspondences with Thompson and others involved are preserved in the McGill University Archives. However, none of these documents make any mention of time capsules.

“Sometimes time capsules are done formally where the owners place it, sometimes they are done informally by the people building it,” said Gwendolyn Owens, director and senior advisor of the Visual Arts Collection at McGill. “Time capsules have happened in many places. Very often, when things were built, […] somewhere in the walls, masons would place in a box what was important to them at that point.”

This artifact is the second time capsule found on campus. The first one was discovered in 2003, as reported by The McGill Reporter.

“We suspect there are tons of capsules around campuses, especially around cornerstones and near monuments,” Podolsky said.

Emond and Podolsky will continue investigating the origins of the capsule. Emond will further examine the capsule in her lab, checking for inscriptions, markings, and any indications of where it came from. She hopes to uncover a clearer time date.

“The newspaper clippings give us some context,” Podolsky noted, “It’s a French [language] newspaper, [the Journal de Montréal], which has importance and significance.”

Podolsky is researching newspaper archives from the time period for any public announcements regarding a time capsule.

“Our plans are to look at the [Montreal] Gazette and the [Montreal] Star to see if anything was recorded there,” Podolsky revealed. “For now, it’s a really neat mystery.”

A condition report will then be created for the time capsule and the piece will be accessioned.

“It will go into our archives as an artifact and will become a record of McGill,” Podolsky said.

1 … 669 670 671 672 673 … 1,364

Read the latest issue

Read the latest issue