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McGill, News

‘Conversations with Muslims’ encourages discourse after Quebec City mosque attack

by Laura Oprescu on

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In response to the Quebec City mosque attack on Jan. 29,  Conversations with Muslims was an open discussion between Muslim volunteer speakers and primarily non-Muslim participants. By organizing the event, international Community Action Network Executive Director at the McGill School of Social Work Amal Elsana and Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy Chairman Ehab Lotayef sought to show that Islam isn’t inherently violent. During her opening speech, Elsana conveyed the need to organize this event following the shooting.

“It was the day after the tragedy in Quebec City where I felt we have to do something,” Elsana said. “As a Muslim woman coming from a conflict zone in the Middle East, I believe deeply that ignorance breeds fear, fear breeds hate, and hate leads to violence. If we don’t meet, if we don’t know each other on a personal level, then we will miss the point.”

The audience split into small groups, each with one Muslim volunteer and two moderators. Once everyone had introduced themselves, participants took turns directing questions towards the Muslim volunteer. Volunteers expressed their desire to answer questions in order to break down myths about Islam and to make the Muslim community more relatable.

“What I hope people take from this is that it is important to push the hatred to the side and accept our differences,” said Adham El-Khouly, U2 Engineering and volunteer speaker at the event. “To become more compassionate and accepting of others, and to try to relate to other people as much as we can.”

Most of the speakers present were McGill students who wanted to describe their personal understanding of Islam. Elsana did not look for experts on Islam when creating the event. The volunteers answered broad questions about Islam to the best of their abilities, and designed the discussion to be a window into the life of a Muslim student.

“I came here because I felt that I had a duty to come here, that I had a responsibility,” said El-Khouly. “There are people out there [who] are misrepresenting my religion and there are horrible acts that are being done in the name of my religion and I think I have a responsibility to be here and present the other side.”

Moderators, who mainly consisted of McGill faculty and alumni, ensured that the discussion remained both inclusive and constructive. Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and moderator Lucyna Lach believes that open dialogue is key to fostering cross-cultural acceptance and understanding.

“I am concerned about students,” Lach said. “We should be teaching students to seek out alternate perspectives and understandings. To be able to take a stand, to choose a position and defend it.”

Both Lach and Elsana hope that if people are allowed to ask questions in a non-judgmental setting, this will deepen their understanding of other cultures.

“When disparate groups come together with different beliefs, a greater understanding can be reached,” Lach said. “Ideally, we could eliminate these binary positions that we sometimes operate from, that are not that helpful. I hope that anyone in attendance here was able to deepen their understanding.”

Elsana believes that open discussion and communication is the first step to building trust and understanding between individuals of different backgrounds. After a turnout of over 80 people at Tuesday’s event, Elsana hopes to organize more discussions in the future.

“I believe that the nature of a person is full of love and I want people to experience that,” Elsana said. “I saw it in the room today. I saw all of these people of different backgrounds coming together, talking and asking questions, and I felt the room was full of love.”

News, SSMU

McGill administration and SSMU meet to discuss Igor Sadikov

by Domenic Casciato on

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On Feb. 17, protesters demonstrated around the James Administration Building in response to the McGill administration’s alleged threat to terminate the Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) if SSMU did not release a public statement calling for the resignation of Arts Representative Igor Sadikov. Sadikov caused controversy after posting a tweet reading “punch a zionist [sic] today,” on Feb. 6.

At a meeting on Feb. 13, the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) made the executive decision to censure Sadikov, who is also a Director on the BoD, but not to impeach him. The BoD posted a press release that included a formal apology from Sadikov. Protesters claimed that sometime after SSMU’s decision, a meeting was held between Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier, Sadikov, and SSMU President Ben Ger. It was alleged that during this meeting, Fortier threatened to revoke all funding from SSMU if the Society did not publicly call for Sadikov’s resignation.

Kyle Shaw, U3 Arts, and protester said that this threat is a breach of student democracy.

“This is the administration way of overstepping its boundaries,” Shaw said. “[I believe] one of the main reasons [the university is] doing this, and Suzanne Fortier said it herself, is because they’ve been receiving a lot of pressure from donors [….] It’s purely plutocracy  in that regard, where the rich donors are deciding what’s going to happen in our student democracy […] and I find that deplorable.”

Ger wrote in a message to The McGill Tribune that the administration never threatened to withhold student fees collected by the university on behalf of SSMU. A prior report in The McGill Daily on Feb. 17 suggested that Fortier had made such a threat, citing an anonymous source close to the SSMU executive. The claims expressed in the The Daily were corroborated by Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Erin Sobat.

“The MoA and Constitution were both referenced in the discussion, however it was not said that they would take away SSMU’s funds,” Ger wrote. “The University was considering putting [a statement] out but it wasn’t a threat. Where VP Sobat was coming from […] the executive can see where that interpretation could have happened, but he was acting on his own. It was not our interpretation that [the administration] was doing that.”

The Daily wrote that Fortier called Sadikov’s behaviour a violation of the SSMU Constitution. According to sections 12 Event of Default and 13 Remedies of the MoA, SSMU violating its own constitution is a breach of its MoA with McGill, enabling the university to withhold SSMU funding. Fortier acknowledged that members of McGill’s senior leadership team met with members of the SSMU Executive Committee on Feb. 15 to remind the executives that they had an obligation to abide by the terms of SSMU’s constitution.

“The University’s senior leaders shared their strong belief that the SSMU executives should ask for the resignation of SSMU Board member Igor Sadikov, who recently sent a Tweet inciting violence against a specific group,” Fortier wrote in a comment to The Tribune. “While McGill’s administration normally does not recommend a course of action to the SSMU leadership, this situation is exceptional. With any incitement to violence, it is the administration’s duty to intervene.”

Ger said that, during the meeting, the administration sought to confirm SSMU executives' interpretation of the constitution.

“The MoA was referenced in viewing the situation,” Ger said. “The university was [saying], ‘Look the constitution lays out specific principles. You need to adhere to those.’ They basically [said], ‘Here’s the constitution. It’s our opinion that this is the case, is it yours?’ Ultimately, the executive said, ‘Yes it is our agreement between our bodies because technically, we’re tied to it. We consulted legal to see what the potential threats were and one of us [Sobat] came away with a different grasp of the situation.”

In an email sent to the student body on Feb. 17, SSMU VP Internal Affairs Daniel Lawrie announced that SSMU recommended Sadikov’s resignation due to his violations of the SSMU Constitution (16.1 Standard of Care), which requires every Director, Councillor, Officer, and member of any committee of the Board of Directors or Legislative Council of the Society to conduct himself in good faith with a view to the best interests of the Society.

“Every [member of the SSMU BoD or Legislative Council] must uphold the Standard of Care for all members of the community as outlined in our Constitution,” Lawrie wrote. “It is the decision of the Executive Committee that Councillor Sadikov’s recent actions did not uphold this responsibility. More specifically, we believe that Councillor Sadikov’s actions were an incitement of violence and, for that reason alone, we have recommended that he resign from his position as a Director and as an Arts Representative to the Legislative Council.”

Hockey, Sports

Habs dump Michel Therrien for Claude Julien

by André Morin on

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Only in Montreal will a hockey team sitting atop their division fire their head coach. This was exactly the scenario last Tuesday Feb. 14, when the Canadiens terminated Head Coach Michel Therrien.

Earlier this year, Therrien was selected to coach the Atlantic Division at the NHL All-Star Game on Jan. 29. At the time, his team had a comfortable lead in the Atlantic Division and he was in the running for the Jack Adams Trophy for best NHL coach. Two and a half weeks later, he now finds himself unemployed.

On what must have been a heartbreaking Valentine’s Day for Therrien, the 53-year-old was dismissed to be replaced by former Canadiens’ head coach Claude Julien. Longtime Habs fans probably brushed aside the initial headlines, thinking they were just old news. Julien was hired by the Canadiens in the middle of the 2002-2003 season to replace Therrien after his first stint with the team. Fifteen years later, there’s a combination of shock and déjà vu in Montreal.

While firing a winning head coach might sound ridiculous anywhere else, job security isn’t part of coaching in Montreal. Canadiens fans demand more than just a winning team: The expectation year in and year out is to win the Stanley Cup. Being first in the division meant nothing to the Habs’ front office who doubted Therrien’s ability to lead the team down the final 24 game stretch and into the playoffs. After starting the season 13-1-1, the Habs went a mediocre 18-18-7. In Therrien’s final 10 games as head coach, they were a pitiful 3-6-1.

Last year, the team had a similarly strong start and early Stanley Cup favourites, but the squad imploded soon after goaltender Carey Price was injured. Refusing to endure another disappointing season without change, Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin made the proactive decision to replace Therrien.

Besides the team’s recent struggles, Julien’s departure from the Boston Bruins on Feb. 7 likely pushed the Canadiens to make their coaching change. Simply put, Julien is a talented coach who can speak French. While linguistic skills shouldn’t be the key factor in hockey coaching, in Montreal, if you can’t speak French, you can’t coach the Habs. Luckily for Canadiens fans, their new coach is also a proven commodity. During his ten-year stint with the Boston Bruins, he took them to the Stanley Cup finals twice, winning in 2011. Having a francophone coach of that calibre, along with current problems the Canadiens are experiencing, likely pushed Bergevin to offer Julien the position.

Even though the new coach arrives late in the season, he will face the same pressure–if not more–to win as Therrien. Being a former Canadiens coach means he knows the expectations placed upon him. The Canadiens and their fans have no patience when it comes to winning and, as seen with Therrien, can be heartless. While going back to an ex isn’t always the best idea, when they’ve gone out and made something of themselves, it can’t be all bad to try again to make the most of it.

News, PGSS

Fostering student innovation in Montreal: QISS Innovation Seminar Series hosts event

by Micaela Wiseman on

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On Feb. 15, the Quartier de l’Innovation Students’ Society (QISS) hosted Montreal City Councillor Harout Chitilian as part of their Innovation Seminar Series. Chitilian discussed Montreal’s Smart and Digital City Initiative, which he is currently spearheading.

The smart city initiative aims to integrate advanced technologies into as many spheres of civic management as possible in order to improve Montreal’s mobility, connectivity, and productivity. The City of Montreal, one of the leaders in the global Smart City movement, began this undertaking in March 2014 and spent a year developing a detailed action plan.

“We start with the intent […],” Chitilian said. “Ours was to become one of the world’s smartest cities.”

Chitilian outlined the five building blocks of the plan—Data, Connectivity, Mobility, Collaboration and Innovation—while emphasizing how he envisions the Smart City will serve its citizens.

“To be a Smart City is not to be the most technological city,” Chitilian said. “It’s to be a city that puts humans first, that puts openness and transparency first, that puts quality and services first, and uses technology for that end.”

Specific goals that the Smart City team is currently working towards includes publicizing 800 municipal government-related data sets (for example, citizen travel patterns) by 2018. The Smart City team ultimately seeks to bridge the gap between the municipal government and its constituents through various digital services.

Public and private partnerships with the city hope to streamline mobility within the city as well as to integrate all transit, traffic, parking, BIXI, and car sharing management. One such partnership is with the Waze traffic and navigation app.

Montreal’s Smart City project focuses on fostering innovation by helping to finance start-ups and developing several outreach programs to accelerate smart ideas, in line with the vision of the Quartier de l’Innovation’s (QI) Innovation Seminar series.

Jacob Lavigne, the organizer of the Innovation Seminar Series and External Affairs Officer of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS), explained that the event raised awareness for the opportunities that the QI offers to young entrepreneurs. QI is an organization intent on promoting innovation.

“McGill is in the [QI] as a partner,” Lavigne said. “[The university has] invested time and [resources] into [QI], yet students don’t know about it [….]”

Christian Gilroy, U2 Civil Engineering, said that the event assured him of the professional opportunities available to him after graduation.

“It’s definitely nice to hear that there’s a market for this, that the City of Montreal is even investing in these things, and that big companies are interested in coming to Montreal for these reasons,” Gilroy said.

Both Lavigne and Chitilian emphasized that undertakings such as the Smart City and the QI intend to emphasize that individuals have the ability to make an impact on their city.

Chitilian commenced his presentation by explaining the role of citizens in helping Montreal to become a Smart City.

“[The Smart City Initiative] is not for me, we want to work with you, for you,” Chitilian said. “So there needs to be a continuity of that. The project has to be sustainable. For it to be sustainable, […] we need people to get involved and drive these agendas.”

Lavigne echoed Chitilian’s sentiments, underlining students’ contributions to the Smart City project.

“[The Smart City initiative and the QI] value students and there’s so many opportunities out there,” Lavigne said. “They want you [students]. You are the motor, you are what runs the city and this argument that ‘I’m only one person,’ [is not sufficient]. No, you can do something with high impact [….] That’s really what I want to come out of [The Innovation Seminar series].”

Private, Student Life

Studying to Stravinsky: The benefits of listening to classical music during midterm season

by Marie Labrosse on

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In the midst of the dreary midterm season, concentrating on studying for long periods at a time can be a challenge for any McGill student. The advent of technology makes a plethora of hacks to circumvent distraction available to students at the mere click of a mouse, from time management solutions, such as the Pomodoro Technique, to distraction blocking apps, like the infamous “Cold Turkey” application. Just one click also produces one of the most basic productivity methods of all: Access to an appropriate study soundtrack. 

Even a brief glance at the almost exclusively headphone-clad McLennan population exemplifies the extent to which many university students already apply the simple act of listening to music when studying. 

“I can only study with music playing because I feel like it makes time go by faster,” Johanna Cottin, U3 Arts, said.

Listening to background music not only makes studying a more pleasant experience; researchers have also discovered some demonstrable benefits for productivity. A study conducted at the University of Helsinki found that engaging in intellectual activity while simultaneously listening to music has a variety of effects on brain activity. Listening to classical music encourages the activity of genes associated with dopamine secretion and transport, synaptic transmission, and learning and memory. The heightened presence of the dopamine neurotransmitter engages the brain’s reward system, while synaptic transmission contributes to the process of communication between neurons. The effect of both of these processes illustrates classical music’s positive impact on intellectual capacity. 

Brayden Culligan, U2 Arts, who listens to classical music as well as jazz and ambient electronica music, reports similar boosts in his productivity when he studies while listening to music.

“Classical music certainly feels as though it heightens my ability to focus, and seemingly aids in pacing my thoughts,” Culligan said. “I can’t focus well without [music], so I suppose that’s demonstrative of the, at least perceived, benefits of listening to these kinds of music.”

The advantages of listening to classical music extend beyond stimulating the efficiency of study sessions—it can ease mental health issues, including those related to the stresses of academia.  University of Toronto researchers found that listening to the classical genre before bedtime alleviates insomnia symptoms by helping listeners fall asleep faster and achieve a better quality of sleep. According to the Duke Cancer Institute, listening to classical music can also reduce anxiety. Listening to classical music can, therefore, alleviate both academic anxiety and stress-induced sleeplessness before exams. 

However, in order to reap the benefits of music on study productivity, it is important to listen exclusively to classical or other similar low-intensity genres. A 2010 study published in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning conducted in Taiwan shows that music with a higher intensity, such as hip hop, is more distracting and negatively affects concentration and performance. Researchers have coined the phenomenon wherein a subject’s attention capacity is “drained” by a distraction the “Attention Drainage Effect Theory.” After testing hip-hop music on participants, the Taiwanese study suggests avoiding music with heavy beats and fast tempos in order to avoid the “Attention Drainage Effect.”

Instinctively, students tend to gravitate towards instrumental music as a low-intensity musical backdrop for their study sessions. 

“I’m definitely exponentially more efficient while listening to lyric-less music, there’s no chance I can focus with lyrics—sung or spoken—playing through my headphones,” Culligan said. 

Nevertheless, even within the instrumental genre, some musical pieces can still have an “Attention Drainage Effect” on students. As a rule of thumb, the most effective soundtrack to a study session consists of restrained pieces that provide a neutral setting for working. Solo piano pieces, for instance, are favourable to large orchestral pieces, as is music with a consistent tempo and dynamics. 

Studying with instrumental music provides a simple yet surprisingly effective productivity boost. Classical music and other low-intensity genres create a serene atmosphere, which both enhances brain activity and soothes qualms before big tests, making this a useful study tool during midterms.

Art, Arts & Entertainment

‘(Sm)all Good Things’ blends humour and street art

by Sophie Brzozowski on

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Whether it’s due to genuine humility or  intentionally contrived coziness, the Station 16 gallery feels approachable. Sandwiched between an Irish pub and a stylish hair salon on Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Milton, the gallery specializes in graffiti and street-art inspired exhibits, making it the perfect location to house Eric Clement’s most recent exhibit, (Sm)all Good Things.

Born and raised in Montreal, Clement’s career dates back to his CEGEP days at John Abbot, where he first began studying fine arts. Not long after starting his degree, he took an extended leave of absence from school to pursue music with his band, Side C. Several years later, he returned to university to finish education at Concordia. Although he never saw success as a musician, Clement’s musical career was certainly more than just the experimental phase of a wayward artist—hip hop culture has inspired his current work.

Hip hop’s influence on contemporary street art is nothing new. From Kehinde Wiley to Jean-Michel Basquiat, artists have been incorporating urban culture into their work for decades; however, Clement’s work is a departure from his predecessors. His aesthetic is devoid of all the grittiness that is typically characteristic of hip hop visual art. Instead, his pieces are a whimsical fusion of contemporary cultural references and the nostalgic style of ’60s pop art. One painting, entitled “Thor,” features a stern viking head covered in what appears to be melted chocolate sitting atop a pez dispenser.

Photo courtesy of Station 16 Gallery.
Photo courtesy of Station 16 Gallery.

The paintings, true to the title of the exhibit, are small—about the size of a standard paperback novel—and simple. The exhibit is composed of 33 canvases and one T-shirt. Often featuring a familiar, but slightly altered logo or cartoon character alongside some sardonic phrase in a comic book font, the colourful paintings seem to be satiricalof the apathy and ennui of the millennial generation.

It might seem strange for a graffiti artist, whose best known work is a graphic mural on the wall of an alleyway between Saint-Laurent and Clark, to suddenly start a project that limits him to the confines of a 6×8 inch canvas—especially with subjet matter that includes Drake lyrics and poop emojis. But perhaps this is the point: His work has a sense of humor, setting him apart in an industry that is notorious for being pretentious and elitist. 

In a world where one can purchase a t-shirt with a Banksy print on it at Urban Outfitters for $40, this free exhibit is a welcome change. Using a cheeky mix of sincere humility and contrived charisma, Clement is making a name for himself as a new kind of artist. (Sm)all Good Things is perfect for anyone looking for a laugh. 

 

(Sm)all Good Things will show at Station 16 until March 4 with free admission.

Photo courtesy of Station 16 Gallery.
Photo courtesy of Station 16 Gallery.
McGill, News

McGill Senate discusses 2017-2022 Strategic Academic Plan

by Domenic Casciato on

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The McGill Senate met on Feb.15 for an open discussion on McGill’s Strategic Academic Plan for 2017 to 2022, a presentation of the Staffing Report for 2016, and to pass a motion formally recognizing the celebration of Black History Month by the university.

Open discussion on the McGill University Strategic Academic Plan 2017-2022

Vice-Principal and Provost (Academic) Christopher Manfredi presented McGill’s Strategic Academic Plan for the next five years. The Plan identifies five key objectives for McGill’s academics: Be open to the world, expand diversity, lead innovation, connect across disciplines and sectors, and connect to [the Montreal] community.

The plan includes reducing McGill’s carbon footprint, doubling the number of students enrolled in enriched learning opportunities, such as studies and internships abroad, increasing the number of female full-time professors by 25 per cent, and increasing student aid to 30 per cent of net tuition revenues from the current 10 per cent.

Associate Professor Ronald Gehr of the Faculty of Engineering raised concerns that expansion of enriched learning opportunities should not come at the expense of existing programs.

“I’m speaking specifically about the Bellairs research institute in Barbados, at which there are two full session internship programs,” Gehr said. “[…] They literally do not have a working blackboard, [and] the wastewater from this facility is discharged into a hole. We’ve been trying for many years to upgrade this facility and we’ve always been told, ‘Well sorry, there’s no budget.’ If we’re going to make this commitment to [enriched learning], we really should start at home.”

The university’s Strategic Academic Plan will be finalized and presented to Senate for approval in April 2017.

McGill University Staffing Report 2015-2016

Manfredi also presented Senate with the 2015-2016 McGill University Staffing Report, which details the increase of 522 staff employed at McGill from 2011 to 2016. Of these 522 new hires, 464 are Contract Academic Staff (CAS), a classification including lecturers and professors who are employed for temporary contracts. The report attributes this growth to the expansion of student services, an increase in the number of staff necessary for external reporting, and shifts in competency and skill requirements for multiple faculties. The report also notes that the rate of hiring is slowing, likely due to financial constraints imposed by reduced provincial government funding.

Manfredi responded to concerns about the university’s increased reliance on CAS hires, who lack the same job security as tenured academic staff.

“Our philosophy is that we should be delivering most of our teaching programs through the use of tenure-track faculty, which is, in fact, what we do,” Manfredi said. “I would suggest […] that among research universities in North America, McGill probably makes less use of CAS. [….] Yes, we have 464 more CAS now than we did five years ago, but 428.2 of those are in the Faculty of Medicine. [….] Quite frankly, when I look at this, I’m not concerned.”

Motion Regarding the Annual Celebration of Black History Month

Senator Charles Keita of the Faculty of Arts drafted and presented a motion calling for the formal recognition and celebration of Black History Month by McGill.

“Until [SEDE started organizing its celebration] this year, there was no official body on the campus that celebrated [Black History Month],” Keita said. “Quebec, Canada, […] all of North America [celebrates Black History Month], and it would be frowned upon if McGill, as an institution, didn’t decide to equally celebrate it.”

The motion, which also called for McGill to explore academic opportunities that highlight the contributions and scholarship of the black community, was unanimously approved.

News, PGSS

PGSS Legislative Council strikes motion to increase Athletics ancillary fees

by Aaron Rose on

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On Feb. 15, the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Legislative Council vetoed a motion from McGill Athletics and Recreation proposing an ancillary fee increase. Council members also discussed potential changes to the status of postdoctoral students at McGill, their legal battle with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), and a new grant program for postgraduate students.

Athletics Ancillary Fee Increase Referendum Advisory

The Legislative Council struck down a motion to increase the McGill Athletics student ancillary fee. According to McGill Athletics and Recreation Executive Director Marc Gélinas, the proposed three per cent raise to the postgraduate fee is due largely to an increase in staff salaries and the cost of building upkeep. The new fee would be $3.63 per term for postgraduate students.

“The new AMUSE agreement was [the reason for] a significant portion of that increase in salaries,” Gélinas said. “We probably employ about [500] or 600 students [who are members of AMUSE].”

Despite McGill Athletics and Recreation presenting statistics regarding postgraduate student gym usage and a budget adjusted for the fee increase, Council members wanted to see alternative methods of boosting revenue, such as increasing ticket sales, sponsorships, and efforts to rent out gym facilities more often. The Associate Director of McGill Athletics Philip Quintal explained their intentions to diversify revenue.

“We want to increase our revenues outside of those generated from student fees, with minimal impact to student programs,” Quintal said.

The McGill Athletics and Recreation fee increase will be voted on at the General Meeting on March 15.

Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) settlement

The CFS is a student union that represents universities across Canada. The ongoing struggle over the validity of PGSS’ 2010 referendum regarding their continued membership as part of the CFS has concluded, with PGSS reaching an undisclosed settlement with the CFS. In 2009, PGSS decided to hold a referendum to split from CFS. After CFS refused to acknowledge the validity of the 2010 referendum results, the two organizations became entrenched in a lengthy legal battle.

“We have had to deal with PGSS bleeding money on this CFS case,” Secretary General Victor Frankel said. “Now that we can finally stop the bleeding, we can finally get some blood flowing to the other systems.”

Pleased with the results of the settlement, Frankel assured the Legislative Council that PGSS’ legal and financial situation has improved since last year.

Change in status of postdoctoral students

After McGill’s decision to reclassify 400 postdoctoral candidates as university employees instead of postgraduate students, PGSS has been concerned with the potential loss of all postdoctoral PGSS members.

“What we're trying to do is plan for the worst and hope for the best,” Frankel said. “We think [McGill] is going to try to [make] them all employees, rather than students.”

Due to this change, PGSS will have to account for fewer students in next year’s budget and postdoctoral events.

Graduate innovation fund

With a mandate to promote and expand McGill’s innovation agenda and create entrepreneurship opportunities for McGill students, Associate Vice-Principal of Innovation and Partnerships Angelique Mannella is creating the new Post-Graduate Campus Organisation program for postgraduate researchers to collaborate and receive funding from the university.

“The goal of this initiative is really to catalyze a community of innovators and entrepreneurs […] at McGill,” Mannella said. “Part of that will be to provide capital, but also opportunities to learn about innovation, product development, entrepreneurship, [to] help build the community, and additionally […to] provide mentorship for [the] teams that do receive the funding.”

Aside from standard application grants, Mannella envisions a “pitch night” where groups present their ideas to a panel. According to Mannella, this event will allow McGill students to receive funding for their research more easily.

“Investment in an ecosystem has long-term benefits that will come back,” Mannella said. “What I've seen […] from innovation entrepreneurship ecosystems that are really thriving is that where people get their first lift for their ideas, [that support] actually comes back and returns in other ways [….] I think that by looking at the long-term benefits, you will see that there are returns.”

Council members did not have time to vote on a proposed fee to fund Mannella’s initiative before the meeting ended. The motion will be voted on at the next PGSS meeting on March 15.

Private, Student Life

Interacting with my ‘Dopplenamers’

by Daniel Griffin on

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What do you do when someone has the same name as you? Is your first instinct to befriend them—or rather, to fight them to establish dominance? Encountering another person with the same name, better known as a ‘Dopplenamer,’ brings ambiguity to one’s sense of self. An individual’s identity is often partially built around his or her name—so what happens to one’s identity when his or her name is shared? The Dopplenamer prompts mirror-like self-reflection that enables interpersonal identification, providing an opportunity to experiment with one’s concept of self. 

I’ve had my fair share of encounters with Dopplenamers. It is time I addressed, to my friends, my family, and, perhaps most importantly, my fellow Daniel Griffins, why I have such an inordinate amount of friends on Facebook with whom I share a name. 

Let’s go back to 2011. It was simpler times, when “Party Rock Anthem” was number one on the charts and Inception was blowing the minds of stoners across the world. You may not want to think back that far but, that’s where my story begins; 15-year-old me, lonely, on Facebook. I took it upon myself to friend request every Daniel Griffin that I could find on Facebook, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. I was blocked by some, mocked by others, and told to “fuck off” by one individual from New Zealand. However, in general, I found that I had expanded my social media presence to include a geographically-assorted group of new “friends.”

My initial interest in my new friends quickly faded. They soon became much like every other friend on my Facebook newsfeed: A small picture and blurb of text. Yet, over the next few years, I caught glimpses of each of them as they revealed select moments of their lives to their Facebook friends. In the same place that these strangers shared the most minute  details of their lives, such as arguments with their significant others or what kind of Jeep they’d buy if they had the money, I also witnessed major life changes. Across the globe, Daniel Griffins were getting married, having children, going to college, experiencing breakups, coming out of the closet, and showcasing their art at galleries. To see one’s own name within the contexts of the life achievements of others was an indescribable feeling.

Not all news from the Daniel Griffins of Facebook was positive, however. Some updates were quite rattling. I was 17 when another Daniel Griffin, aged 19, suddenly died. I had seen the horrible wake of young death before, but this was entirely different. I had no relation to the young man except for by name, and suddenly my feed was inundated by the posts of mourning friends and family on his wall. I found myself encountering a simple sentence, a possibility that I had never considered, so captivating in its unsettling plainness: “Daniel Griffin is dead.”

Even after this shock, I continued to see my name in contexts that I had never before imagined. The Daniel Griffins can be an odd bunch. There are serial meme posters, 9/11 conspiracy theorists, religious zealots, drug addicts, and more. It’s astounding how many people are willing to offer up extremely personal accounts of their lives to an audience that includes me, a perfect stranger. This common willingness of Facebook users to share the intimacies of their lives speaks to just how lonely people are; the modern human faces alienation and takes to the web in response. As a result, identity has become something that is performed through likes, posts, and profile pictures. I’ve come to realize my search for other Daniel Griffins reflects this performance of identity as I used social media to compare concepts of name, friendship, and personhood.

I often wonder what my Dopplenamers think of my online presence. As I have watched them over the years, at least some have been watching back. I have received many birthday wishes and certain Daniel Griffins have thrown me the occasional like on a photo. Their consideration has really touched me. Other times, I have introduced them to my friends at school over video chat, and once, through strange coincidence, I met one of my Internet Dopplenamers at a bar in Athens, Georgia. 

On lazy Sundays, I scroll through post after post, penned by different Daniel Griffins. I visit their profiles and wonder if they think I’m crazy or narcissistic or boring. I wonder if they think of me at all. In all honesty, I find myself deeply invested in their judgment. My investigation of online personalities has imbued me with great interest in how I present my own digital persona. I look at my Facebook, having gathered a legion of Dopplenamers, and feel like the great unifier of Daniel Griffins. I hope they look well upon my efforts.

Private, Student Life

With whom to room: Advice on living with friends, randoms, or alone

by Janine Xu & Miguel Principe on

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Many McGill students are now planning their accommodations for the upcoming year. In doing so, one of the biggest questions they face is with whom to share their living space. Many are at a crossroads and have to decide whether to live with close friends, random strangers, or by themselves. The McGill Tribune spoke with students with a variety of living experiences, who shared their thoughts and advice.

Just Friends: Living with BFFs

When searching for roommates, it’s common to start with one’s own friends. Especially for first-year students looking to move out of McGill residences, the most obvious choice of roommates begins within the pool of friends made in Rez.

Catherine Ross, B.A. ‘16, is currently doing her Master's in Geology at McGill. Throughout her time at university, she has lived both with friends and by herself. In her second year of undergrad, she moved into an apartment west of campus with a close friend. The year after, she lived in the Milton-Parc Community with several other close friends. 

“It was a lot of fun,” Ross said about her experience living with friends. “We had a lot of late night snack runs and movie nights.”

Sharing an apartment with friends can feel like an endless slumber party, especially for students who are new to the experience. It’s also extremely convenient and offers peace of mind to stressed students and first-time apartment-seekers, as they can navigate the complex world of apartment hunting with someone trustworthy.  

Nevertheless, it’s important to consider personal compatibility with prospective roommates, otherwise problems can arise quickly. Though Ross thought she knew everything about her friends before living with them, it proved to be an entirely new experience that she wasn’t completely prepared for.  

Ross admitted that she encountered differences with her roommates. The roommates found it difficult to communicate problems to each other, even though all were close friends. Common conflicts over chores, noise levels, or having people over tend to take on a more personal note when they arise between friends. Confronting a roommate about these issues can seem like a personal attack, but not saying anything can lead to animosity. Fights have higher stakes, as the friendship itself can be put on the line. 

“You really have to address [these] problems in a way that’s helpful,” Ross advised. “Like, don’t just say [to your roommate], ‘You never wash the dishes.’ [Offer] some kind of advice with it.”

Ross believes discipline is important when rooming with friends. Setting boundaries and making sure everyone has a part in cleaning the apartment are some ways to minimize potential arguments or problems.

“One roommate was really good at [keeping] everyone on track,” Ross said. “[She] made a chore chart [….] This is my number one recommendation! [Keep] a chore chart. We had a daily chore, which was, like, taking out the trash. Then we [each] had a weekly thing, which was like a room to clean.”

Roommate situations can be tense, and rooming with friends can either be an amazing experience, or it can hurt a friendship permanently. Ross emphasized the importance of effective communication and not letting small daily frustrations—like not doing the dishes, or taking too long in the bathroom—build up until they lead to resentment.

“I think it’s nice to live with your friends because you get to hang out all the time,” Ross said. “But it’s important to set boundaries [and make sure] that everyone is respectful.”

Stranger Things: Living with “randoms”

For other students, the obvious choice is to live with new people. This situation allows you to preserve current friendships from potential conflict that can arise when living together, but still enables you to have roommates, which can be financially and socially desirable. 

The closeness of your relationship with a new roommate is entirely dependent on factors such as lifestyle and how much energy you want to put into fostering friendships with your roommates. For Vincent Li, U2 Arts, who chose to live with three roommates who were all in their final year at McGill, his busy schedule has kept these relationships at a relative distance.

“I’m very busy with my own life. I normally go out at 8 in the morning […] and normally go back home at 9 p.m.,” Li said. “[My roommates and I] don’t really have time to chill or talk.”

Of course, living with strangers requires a genuine enthusiasm to meet new people and a level of open-mindedness towards them. For Li, his acceptance toward new people led him to decide that living with strangers was the right path for him. 

“I’m not a very picky person,” Li said. “[….] I found [my roommates] more put-together and I thought I wouldn’t find them too messy or noisy. I wasn’t completely rational about it, but I knew it wouldn’t be a problem for me.”  

Though his living situation turned out positively, Li still acknowledges that living with strangers can be a risk. Should you decide to live with strangers, you should at least have basic knowledge of your future roommates’ sleeping habits, level of noise, and personality to ensure that arguments don’t arise due to conflicts in these areas. 

“Living with strangers is taking a lot of risks,” Li said. “[….] So, [one should] find the middle ground to get the ideal situation [like living with] people that you meet maybe four times a semester and you find them very easy to talk to and you have the same living habits.” 

Home Alone: Living the studio life

While there are many benefits to sharing a home with roommates—such as splitting costs for rent and utilities—some students choose to live by themselves. 

For Ross, who currently lives in a studio apartment in the Plateau, living alone offers a chance to have her own private space. Ultimately, the decision to live by herself was more a matter of convenience than anything. For students with roommate compatibility issues, or for those who simply do not want to deal with the inconveniences that can arise from sharing a living space, living alone can enable complete and utter freedom.

However, this independence has downsides as well, according to Ross. She has found that without anyone around, she is less disciplined about completing household chores, which has also spilled over into her academic productivity.

“[I’ve become] more dirty,” Ross admitted, with a laugh. “I thought living alone was going to make me really productive [with homework]. But it actually does the opposite. Because when you have other people around—I don’t know, I’m quite competitive—it motivated me, just seeing other people working.”

Another issue that arises with living alone is loneliness. For those who like quiet and space to recharge, the solitude can be a blessing. For others, like Ross, living alone can cause a craving for more social interaction. 

“I’m pretty extroverted, so if I do feel the need to hang out with people, [I will],” Ross said. “But you don’t have anyone to come home and talk to. Like, I come home and I see something funny on the way back, or at school, and I come home [and have no one to tell it to].”

In the end, Ross believes that your living experience is all about what you make of it. Living in a studio apartment can be isolating; therefore, it’s important to stay connected with friends. But this can also be a form of escape, especially for people who don’t wish to deal with awkward or tiresome social interactions in the comfort of their own home.

“I like living alone,” she said. “Because I can come home and do what I want without [dealing] with anyone or [any] small-talk.”

Regardless of one’s housing situation, the only surefire way to know which housing situation suits one best is to try it. Though living alone, with friends, or with new people all come with both benefits and risks, entering into new living experiences prepared is the best way to go.

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