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Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Oscars snub some of the year’s best films

by Declan Embury, Ariella Garmaise, Morgan Davis, Niklas Kaemmerer on

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Silence

Based on the 1966 Japanese novel of the same name, Silence follows two Jesuit missionaries who are sent to Japan with two missions. The first is to find Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson), a priest who is believed to have committed apostasy. Second, to continue Ferreira’s work developing small Christian communities, which at the time were persecuted in Japan. Silence is a longtime passion project of director Martin Scorsese; it has been in development for 25 years—and it shows. Every shot, character, and line of dialogue is purposeful, and they come together to create a film that is both stunning and thought-provoking. The amazing power Silence has is in its ability to make the viewer question their own faith, and beyond that, the meaning that faith has in one’s life. This is embodied in the two missionaries, Father Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), whose idea about God, and what God means to this Japanese community, shift and change through the course of the film.

 It  was shocking to see Silence only receive one Academy Award nomination, especially considering Scorsese’s history as an Academy favorite. His movies have received eighty nominations and 20 wins throughout his career. 

– Declan Embury

Contributor 

Nocturnal Animals

From emotional real-world dramas, to inspirational and uplifting biopics and self-congratulatory musicals, this year’s Oscars seem to represent every genre; save for morally-questionable psychological thrillers. Enter Tom Ford’s second theatrical release, Nocturnal Animals.

The film is anchored by a trio of strong performances from Amy Adams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Michael Shannon (who received the film’s sole nomination in the Supporting Actor category), the film weaves together three separate narratives over two time periods, focusing on the relationship between Susan Morrow (Adams) and her ex-husband of twenty years (Jake Gyllenhaal). Ford’s direction is focused: The tone of the film never wavers from the nightmarish and torturous grit necessary for the plot, and is immaculately crafted through the film’s stunning imagery, cinematography, and score.

Having accumulated various BAFTA and Golden Globes nominations, as well as the Grand Jury Prize in Venice, the film was well on its way to Oscar recognition. Perhaps Academy voters were turned off by its graphic violence or ambiguous ending, but the film’s complete shutout from most major categories comes as a shock.

– Niklas Kaemmerer

Contributor

Sully

Sully appeared to possess the qualities of an award-winning film. Directed by household name Clint Eastwood and starring the beloved Tom Hanks, Sully’s retelling of the true story of US Airways Flight 1549 seemed to be a successful equation for awards season. When Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger miraculously landed his failing aircraft on the Hudson River, the story caught the attention of millions. The two names at the forefront of Sully’s promotional efforts—Eastwood and Hanks—have received plenty of Oscar love in the past. Hanks has received the title of Best Actor five times in his career and Clint Eastwood has won twelve Academy Awards in multiple categories. 

2016 took a substantial step in the direction of discussing a broader array of stories in film. The feminism and antiracism of Hidden Figures, the exploration of cultural identity Lion and queer love story of Moonlight all address the reality of a diverse American society. Perhaps, what limited Sully’s Oscar success was its choice to depict an outdated version of the ‘all-American hero,’ ­rather than  more socially topical characters. Hanks and Eastwood are nonetheless two talented men that succeeded in creating a captivating visualization of a historical airline incident.  

– Morgan Davis

Staff Writer

Don’t Think Twice

It is hard to consider Mike Birbiglia’s small, independent film as a conventional snub. The film is not a star-studded, big budget affair, and it wasn’t even nominated for any Golden Globes. Perhaps the counterpoint to the Academy Award favourite La La Land, Don’t Think Twice explores the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry. The film follows an improv troupe, the Commune, after one of their own is hired for a Saturday Night Live-esque show. Whereas La La Land follows the glamorous Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as they chase their creative dreams, Don’t Think Twice’s characters confront the hard truth that they may never “make it.” Oscars are typically awarded to broader, more obvious studio films, but Don’t Think Twice is no less powerful. Each scene is physically excruciating, highlighting the non-comedy specific jealousy, ambition, and resentment. With a 99 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Don’t Think Twice has been lauded by critics—and yet, Hollywood is hesitant to acknowledge its efforts. Rarely does the Academy award comedy, but funny films are no less poignant than their dramatic counterparts—and a great movie should be both. 

– Ariella Garmaise

Staff Writer

Science & Technology

Using Tor for anonymous internet browsing

by Benji Taubenblatt on

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Commonly known as the “onion router,” Tor Project is a free software that allows users to browse the Internet anonymously. By defending against traffic analysis—a type of Internet surveillance—Tor aims to protect its users’ privacy and anonymity on the web.

Tor works by creating a distributed, anonymous network.

“The idea is similar to using a twisty, hard-to-follow route in order to throw off somebody who is tailing you—and then periodically erasing your footprints,” Tor’s website explains.

Tor builds circuits of encrypted connections by using many connected relays on a network, such that no single connection can be used to pinpoint a user’s location. Without the full information, each relay knows only where data packets have come from or where they are going, and the user’s Internet protocol (IP) address is never revealed to any website. By sending communications around a distributed network of servers run by volunteers around the world, Tor helps reduce the risk of traffic analysis.  

Under the condition of characteristic anonymity, a Tor core developer came to speak at McGill’s Cultural Industries (COMS: 541) class during Fall 2016.

"You can’t be anonymous alone,” he said. “Anonymity is strengthened by its numbers.”

The many relays around the world help users remain anonymous. In this way, Tor users will become even more secure the more people use the software.

Tor is often used in countries where access is limited due to censorship or other restraints, and thus functions as a vessel for users to reach otherwise blocked content.

“Journalists use Tor to communicate more safely with whistleblowers and dissidents,” Tor’s website explains. “Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use Tor to allow their workers to connect to their home website while they're in a foreign country, without notifying everybody nearby that they're working with that organization.”

Tor was first created by the United States Naval Research Laboratory almost 20 years ago. Today, there are estimated to be nearly two million users, although it is hard to measure due to the inherent anonymity of the software. The U.S. Navy still uses Tor for open source intelligence gathering and anonymous communications while in the field. Tor is also used for security during sting operations or to prevent websites from seeing government IP addresses in their web logs.

As a result of Tor’s privacy capabilities and ability to mask a website’s location, online black markets are also often formed.

While Tor helps users remain anonymous, it is important to still exercise precaution on the Internet even while using Tor. Almost all communications over the Internet are sent in the form of data packets. Data packets consist of the packet header, which contains information—such as source, destination, and size—and the packet payload, containing the actual data.

“Even if you encrypt the data payload of your communications, traffic analysis still reveals a great deal about what you’re doing and, possibly, what you’re saying,” Tor’s website cautions.

Tor prevents observers from learning what sites a user visits and prevents the sites from learning their actual physical location. However, it does not defend against end-to-end attacks—where statistical analysis is used on traffic coming out of the user’s  computer and into the destination computer to determine if they are part of the same circuit.

Although Tor protects anonymity, it is not foolproof. In fact, in 2009, a McGill student was put on academic probation for editing a professor’s Wikipedia page on McGill’s Virtual Private Network (VPN). IP addresses on a network are managed by a central computer called a router, which forwards data packets between computer networks.

“In the case of McGill networks, this router is owned by McGill,” a 2009 McGill Daily article explained.

Now, IP addresses serve as identifiers and location addresses so when students log into McGill’s VPN with their McGill ID, their identity is revealed and anonymity is no longer a possibility.

In the absence of McGill’s VPN, consider Tor for improved security. As a free and open source software, Tor is a perfect example of human collaboration and innovation, and first and foremost promotes and helps protect personal privacy.

McGill, News

Let’s keep talking: Mental Health Awareness Week at McGill

by Catie Futhey on

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From Jan. 23 to 29, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held workshops, screened movies, and distributed cupcakes in order to spark conversation about mental health across campus during the fourth annual Mental Health Awareness Week. There were several additional contributors to the campaign this year, including the Peer Support Centre, the McGill Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (MORSL), and McGill Counselling and Mental Health Services (MCMHS).

According to Alyssa Wooster, U2 Arts and peer health educator for mental health at Healthy McGill, mental health awareness at McGill has been gaining recognition in recent years.

“Many students are struggling,” Wooster said. “For lack of a better word, mental health has become more of a ‘buzzed’ topic on campus as [people are] realizing it’s a prominent issue.”

McGill Student Services Mental Health Education Coordinator Tamara Cassis said that mental illness and mental health are on two separate, yet closely related, continuums.

“Mental health can fluctuate with things like sleep or life stressors, and mental illness is something diagnosed in the DSM [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual],” Cassis said. “I like to compare it to Type 1 diabetes. You can have Type 1 and be managing your insulin well, but you’re still diabetic.”

On Jan. 26, Cassis and Chloe Rourke, also a McGill Student Services Mental Health Education coordinator, led the Motivation and Self-Determination Workshop. The workshop discussed theoretical concepts, such as the spectrum of motivation and the three fundamental psychological needs, and how they can be applied to daily life.

Cassis and Rourke said that according to Self-Determination Theory, the three basic psychological needs are autonomy, relatedness, and competence. People are more likely to be intrinsically motivated when they thrive in these fundamental areas. In turn, with intrinsic motivation comes good mental health. Making time for the things you love to do has a positive effect on other aspects of your life as well. In support of this, Rourke said that maintaining interpersonal relationships optimizes students’ mental health.

“Paradoxically, the competitive environments that we’re in as students aren’t good for our productivity,” Rourke said. “We have to make time for connections. Close relationships increase our overall mental health, which increases our productivity.”

Several different types of motivation were outlined by Cassis and Rourke, including acting for the intrinsic value of the action itself. According to Cassis and Rourke, it is important to preserve intrinsic motivation as it tends to fade throughout life.

Rourke said that what makes mental health such a vaguely understood concept for many is its lack of empirical certainty. For example, the notion of relatedness refers to our need for close relationships with others.

“The subjective sense of need is what matters,” Rourke said. “I can’t measure your relatedness. I can only measure how related you feel.”

The Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), a six-week program facilitated by students who have experience overcoming obstacles in mental health, was highlighted during the week. The program, developed in Vermont in the late 1990s, is designed to provide participants with concrete and personalized tools to improve their mental health.

According to Cassis, who is also a facilitator of the WRAP sessions, the WRAP approach is an effective way to maintain good mental health on a daily basis.

“I’ve found it very helpful,” Cassis said. “Moments where I could’ve easily gone into a depression, I didn’t. It really makes a difference.”

As of Winter 2017, students can now sign up for WRAP without being referred by MCMHS.

Commentary, Opinion

American Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos is a threat to students with disabilities

by Julia Metraux on

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I would not be at McGill University if it were not for the assistance of the United States of America’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law requiring schools to provide for the individual needs of students with disabilities. Guidelines set by the IDEA enabled me to succeed in a public education system because this law put me on an equal playing field as the rest of my classmates.

Betsy DeVos, whom President Donald Trump has nominated as Secretary of Education, terrifies me. In a Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 18, when questioned by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, DeVos refused to state that all public schools should be held equally accountable to the IDEA requirements, and said that the decision to follow IDEA should be determined by the states. In the questioning, DeVos also did not seem to understand the difference between proficiency and growth. Proficiency is a student’s comparative performance over a standard benchmark, whereas growth is a student’s individual improvement over time—given the current educational debate on whether to transition from testing proficiency to testing improvement, DeVos’ apparent unfamiliarity with the terms is alarming. Her lack of appreciation for the importance IDEA is likely due to her lack of general lack of experience: She has never attended a public school, never sent her children to public schools, nor received a degree in Education. DeVos is extremely unqualified for the position of Secretary of Education, due her lack of knowledge on public education and her views of IDEA.

Schools need to be held to equal accountability when it comes to student disabilities. For every student, the purpose of going to school is to learn in order to succeed in life. If a school decides to allocate more money to a sports program and cut funds for students with disabilities—potentially violating IDEA guidelines—it sets disabled students up for failure. This is both morally and legally wrong, and such schools deserve to be held liable.

Betsy DeVos, whom President Donald Trump has nominated as Secretary of Education, terrifies me.

Allowing IDEA to be determined by state would be a disaster, as the quality of public education varies across states. For example, according to Forbes, the quality of public education in Massachusetts is equivalent to Hong Kong, which ranks fourth in the world, whereas the District of Columbia has an 8 per cent math proficiency among public school students, putting it on par with lower-ranking countries, like Mexico and Kazakhstan.

Personally, I have a mild to moderate hearing loss, a neuro-associative anxiety disorder, and have had multiple concussions. These all had the potential of being major roadblocks in my life, but my Massachusetts K-12 public school system upheld the standards set forth by IDEA and was supportive of my distinct learning needs. When I suffered from a speech impediment, they gave me free speech therapy which lessened my lisp. When my grades started plummeting on tests due to my inability to focus as a result of anxiety, I was given extended time. When I had to miss extended periods of school due to concussions, I was not reprimanded for my absences.

When discussing the help I received, I have to acknowledge my privilege: I attended a public school system in a wealthy Massachusetts suburb; I had the assistance of an amazing guidance counselor. Yet the importance of IDEA for me cannot be understated. To make sure that all states are held to the same standard, IDEA should be more uniformly enforced. The Department of Education should be rigorous in ensuring the Act’s accommodations and guidelines are followed.

Throughout his campaign, Trump promised that he would put the best people in his cabinet. DeVos is not only far from being the best—she is a danger to public education. Students with disabilities deserve better.

 

 

Editorial, Opinion, Private

Editorial: SSMU’s lack of transparency and lagging support leave new ISGs in limbo

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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On April 7, 2016, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Services Review Committee changed the status of Organic Campus, the Players Theatre and other student services within SSMU’s structure. In a similar restructuring move on May 24, 2016, SSMU revoked the club status of the McGill Outdoors Club (MOC). These changes—ratified nine months ago—have had profound implications for the functioning of the affected groups, specifically for those given Independent Student Group (ISG) status. Yet it was not until January 2017 that VP Student Life Elaine Patterson’s addressed the transition process for new ISGs. SSMU’s silence on the matter has left these groups stranded in managing their new responsibilities. SSMU’s detached—or, in the case of the MOC, seemingly unilateral—decision-making process that yielded these changes, as well as the lack of guidance through their immediate aftermath, fail the society’s mandate to support its student groups.

While the distinction may seem innocuous, there are important differences between a club or service and an ISG vis-à-vis the group’s relationship to SSMU. Clubs and services fall under the legal and financial oversight of SSMU, whereas ISGs exist independently from the society. Unsurprisingly, independence increases a group’s responsibilities. In addition to obtaining legal status as a non-profit organization in the province of Quebec, ISGs must acquire their own insurance, and file their own taxes.

 

 

 

Part of SSMU’s mandate is to offer services to improve the McGill student experience—this means ensuring that the student groups that provide these services are viable and functioning.

These are substantial and often expensive requirements, which unprepared student groups may not be able to accommodate. The Services Review Committee, which was reinstated in 2015 for the first time since 2011, has a legitimate mandate in evaluating the existing services’ structure and compliance with the internal regulations of student groups. However, while the April 7 report concluded that Organic Campus and the Players Theatre did not meet these criteria, it offered little as to why or how these groups would operate better with the ISG status that they were given. Part of SSMU’s mandate is to offer services to improve the McGill student experience—this means ensuring that the student groups that provide these services are viable and functioning. When the Committee enacts changes to student groups in the future, it must consider whether they are sustainable for the group in question. 

The MOC’s transition from club to ISG had a more concrete rationale. Former VP Clubs and Services Kimber Bialik argued that operating as an ISG makes sense for the group, given its external bank account and independent insurance. SSMU has been negotiating the switch with the MOC for the past two years.

However, this does not justify the way the decision was finally made. The Board of Directors and last year’s SSMU Council not only changed the MOC’s status without the group’s knowledge or consent, but waited until the last meeting of the 2016 school year to do so. Minutes from the the May 24 meeting suggest that concern over how MOC’s finances would appear to new auditors motivated the last-minute decision, rather than the best course of action for the club. Moreover, General Manager Ryan Hughes raised the question of possible ‘media flak’ in response to the decision. The minutes of the meeting are, notably, not accessible on the SSMU website—an unacceptable breach of accountability and transparency. 

With the exception of former SSMU president Kareem Ibrahim and director Kahli Douglas, who abstained from voting on the decision, the lack of transparency and hastiness of the MOC decision falls on last year’s SSMU executives. However, it is equally unacceptable that this year’s team has been so slow to extend support to the student groups forced to change their structure. The Players Theatre remains in transition to its new status, while Organic Campus no longer exists as of January 2017. The MOC, meanwhile, is actively appealing the decision to revoke its club status. Patterson plans to aid transitioning groups, with the goal of having all ISGs stable by the end of the Winter 2017 term. Specifically, she intends to assist new ISGs with their application for legal status in Quebec. This is a positive yet retroactive step. 

SSMU is itself a student-operated body. Like the clubs and services that it supports, it faces the challenge of finite resources and manpower. Overburdened executive portfolios and the stringent 2016-2017 budget necessitate strategic and sometimes unpopular decisions for the society’s student groups, as has already been demonstrated by the moratorium on new clubs. When these decisions are made, however, they must be made transparently—in consultation with affected parties, and with regard for their consequences. 

The McGill Tribune has been an ISG since 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

Private, Student Life, Word on the Y

Word on the ‘Y’: What did you take away from the Women’s March on Washington?

by Audrey Carleton on

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On Saturday, Jan. 21, the day after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, activists flocked to cities across and beyond the U.S. to advocate for the rights of those now threatened by this drastic political change. Of the millions of marchers across the world were a handful of McGill students. The McGill Tribune spoke to several students about what they learned from the Women’s March on Washington.

 

Question: What did you take away from the Women’s March on Washington?

Answer:

Washington, D.C. 

(Photo courtesy of Natalie Jacobson)
(Photo courtesy of Natalie Jacobson)

Rebecca Jacobson, U3 Classical Music Studies

(Photo courtesy of Natalie Jacobson)
(Photo courtesy of Natalie Jacobson)

“I guess that there are a lot more people behind me than I thought, which gave me a bit of hope. The number of people there was pretty motivating.”

 

 

Paris

(Photo courtesy of Emily Stimpson)
(Photo courtesy of Emily Stimpson)

Emily Stimpson, U2 Women's Studies, studying abroad at Sciences Po

(Photo courtesy of Natalie Jacobson)
(Photo courtesy of Emily Stimpson)

“I was deeply impacted by [the] overwhelming whiteness of the march here. I took from that the fact that we as white women are complicit in the election of Trump and the racist policies to come. The march showed me we need to uphold [intersectional feminism] and take greater action in support and solidarity with women of colour.”

 

London

(Photo courtesy of Phoebe Warren)
(Photo courtesy of Phoebe Warren)

Phoebe Warren, U3 Political Science and History studying abroad at Durham University 

(Photo courtesy of Phoebe Warren) (Photo courtesy of Phoebe Warren)

“I took away that no matter how scary things might seem back home, there are people all around the world who will help us fight back against oppression, against apathy, and against the fear that has entered the hearts of so many of us.”

 

 

Montreal

(Alex Gardiner / The McGill Tribune)
(Alex Gardiner / The McGill Tribune)

Xheni Qamo, U3 Political Science and Art History

(Photo courtesy of Xheni Qamo) (Photo courtesy of Xheni Qamo)

“I think the biggest thing I took away from the sister march in Montreal [Manif des femmes] was just comfort from the sense of unity. I don’t mean to sound overly sentimental, but, like a lot [of] people, I’ve felt anxious about Trump’s positions on literally every issue, and it was incredible to be in a space with so many other people who were there to show their dissent [….] It just felt like thousands of people were ready to organize and work against misogyny and systemic discrimination, and it was inspiring. It gave me a sense of hope and comfort that I hadn’t felt since November 9th, and I know a lot of work now needs to be done, but if all the people who took the time to demonstrate continue to work against his rhetoric and policies, I think we’ll be able to keep the world from ending.”

 

New York City 

(Photo courtesy of Eliana Zimmerman)
(Photo courtesy of Eliana Zimmerman)

Eliana Zimmerman, U1 Music Performance

(Photo courtesy of Eliana Zimmerman) (Photo courtesy of Eliana Zimmerman)

“My biggest takeaway from the Women’s March on NYC was the overwhelming sense of unity and optimism that it created. Even before the march began, as my friends and I were walking around, gathering supplies on the Upper West Side, nowhere near the march, total strangers would stop and ask us what the posters under our arms said, and wish us luck for later—they'd see us there! It was a camaraderie that felt very hopeful in the face of these alarming, uncertain times. Especially because New York is a city so near and dear to Mr. Trump, and he has clearly been attempting to retain power over it, it felt like an important act of defiance in his personal territory.”

 

News, SSMU

SSMU launches new Executive Shadowing Program

by Cherry Wu on

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The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executive team is made up of seven enrolled students who oversee aspects of student life on campus. Each executive has been elected by the student body to manage a specific portfolio; positions include Vice-President (VP) Operations, VP University Affairs, VP Student Life, VP External Affairs, VP Internal Affairs, VP Finance, and President.

Beginning on Jan. 24, SSMU launched an Executive Shadowing Program that allows students to sign up to shadow a SSMU executive by filling out a short online form. The application puts students in contact with a SSMU executive through email and, once connected, the student and the executive schedule a time to meet.

An objective of the Shadowing Program is to demonstrate the responsibilities of the executives, thus preparing potential future candidates.  VP Student Life  Elaine Patterson said that understanding SSMU executive positions can be difficult without first-hand experience.

“A year ago, I had never really done student staff work personally,” Patterson said. “So, I understand that it could be very intimidating to run for a position. I think the shadowing program will show interested students that this is really a welcoming environment. You can read all on paper about what the position is like, but until you actually sit behind this table, you cannot really understand what the job really entails.”

Before the restructuring of positions at the end of last school year, executives regularly worked over 100 hours. Ger and VP Internal Daniel Lawrie both stated that, despite the long hours and stress, being a part of the SSMU executive is a valuable experience.

“Honestly, it is in a sense an internship to life, getting a sense of how to work a job, and having a team around you to get the job done,” Lawrie said.

SSMU elections have historically had low voter turnout, with only 17.5 per cent of the undergraduate student body participating in the most recent election. The Executive Shadowing Program was developed in Summer 2016 to increase the transparency of SSMU governance and promote engagement with the campus community. It is expected to extend to SSMU councillors and upper administrative members of McGill staff in the future.

Planned to start early this week, the program will have no end date. The length and the content of the shadowing will be left to the discretion of the student and his or her assigned executive. With the candidates for the previous SSMU election consisting mainly of Caucasian males and the recent SSMU-sponsored report on equitable governance, President Ben Ger hopes that the program will play a role in further reform.

“In the past year, we have really been focusing on providing equal access to governance for all identities on campus,” Ger said. “Elections definitely favour a specific population and I believe the makeup of our executives team could definitely be better. The shadowing program will make elections more accessible to everyone.”

The SSMU election nomination period for next year’s executives will begin Jan. 30 and end Feb. 10, with voting from March 13 to 16. After the election results are announced on March 16, the incoming executives will go through a month-long transition period in May and start their official term on June 1.

“When you step into a position like this, you are stepping in to become the heads of a multimillion-dollar company that is only here to help,” Ger said. “It is not here for profit. It is here to specifically make people happier. It is so hard yet so overwhelmingly rewarding. The people who I went into this with has become the family I’m going to be walking out with.”

Science & Technology

MNI researchers create data model to isolate causes of Alzheimer’s disease

by Uzair Khan on

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Alzheimer’s disease, first described by Alois Alzheimer in 1906, is a progressive brain disorder that causes debilitating cognitive impairments. Today, it is the most common cause of dementia, responsible for 60 to 70 per cent of 47.5 million cases worldwide. Due to its high prevalence, Alzheimer’s disease poses a significant economic burden for affected families and the Canadian health system at large. With Alzheimer’s disease increasingly becoming one of society’s major public health concerns, targeted research has become a priority.

Researchers have identified various biological abnormalities at the microscopic level that manifest themselves in the classical symptoms of Alzheimer’s. These abnormalities include plaques, composed of specific peptides called amyloid-beta, that form outside neurons—the fundamental units of the nervous system. Furthermore, specific biological structures called neurofibrillary tangles, which are stabilized with tau proteins, accumulate inside neurons. Inflammation and damage to synapses, which are avenues of communication between neurons, also occur. The eventual result of these and many other flaws is brain degeneration with noticeable changes in structure and widespread death of neurons. The combination of these defects lead to the symptomatic behaviours of Alzheimer’s disease.

The presence of Alzheimer’s disease is accompanied by many pathological indicators; however, scientists have not identified the exact cause of the disease. Currently, they surmise that Alzheimer’s results from dynamic interactions between multiple factors rather than any one significant trigger. One of the scientists holding this view is Dr. Yasser Iturria Medina, a post-doctoral fellow at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI).

“Alzheimer’s disease is not causally associated with any unique neuropathological mechanism, but rather with multiple concomitant factors,” Medina said.

His own research is focused on elucidating the causes and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, specifically through the development of an “integrative multifactorial causal model.” The model, when optimally developed, will evaluate all possible pathological factors, as well as their interactions, to determine the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The end goal of this model would be to enable the development of personally tailored and efficient therapeutic interventions for Alzheimer’s disease.

In pursuing the development of this model, Medina investigated the early signs present in the development of Alzheimer’s in one of his recent studies. The study, published in Nature Communications last June, examined how certain brain processes change over time as Alzheimer’s disease progresses. The processes considered were: The deposition of amyloid-beta proteins, metabolism, vascular function, functional activity at rest, structural properties, cognitive integrity, and the levels of peripheral proteins. As part of the study, Medina looked at 7,700 images from 1,171 subjects. Utilizing sophisticated algorithms, his study established an order of disease progress and identified one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease development called “intra-brain vascular dysregulation”—that is, impairment of the blood supply in the brain. The results of this study mark an important step towards understanding the underlying causes of the disease—crucial to eventually finding a cure.

But even with such important advances, a lack of full knowledge regarding Alzheimer’s limits available treatment options. At present, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Treatments available today are only designed to treat its symptoms, with five FDA-approved drugs currently available to do so. However, present consensus states Alzheimer’s disease can not be stopped or reversed once it begins.

Undoubtedly, finding the cure for Alzheimer’s is a daunting task. It will only, and eventually, be accomplished through the unrelenting and collaborative efforts of researchers around the world.

Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

57th Woodsmen Games brings thrills to Mac campus

by Joe Khammar on

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The 57th Annual Intercollegiate Woodsmen Competition brought fast-paced action, roaring crowds, and the scent of freshly chopped wood to McGill’s Macdonald Campus on Saturday, Jan. 28. The suspense was palpable from the 9 a.m. ceremonial first cut to the dangerous water boil finale.
For those unacquainted with the tradition of the Woodsmen Games, the event is a series of high-octane lumberjack-inspired competitions. There are both single competitor and team-based events with results translated into cumulative sores for the Canadian and American universities present. McGill’s lumberjill’s placed first, while the lumberjacks finished fourth. The day’s action was broken up into morning and afternoon sessions.
“The morning events are more sign-in events, […] you sign in and you [compete],” McGill Woodsmen captain Dominic Mercier-Provencher said. “But for the afternoon, it will be more concurrent. Every school competes at the same time doing the same events.”
The first session was filled with enthralling action in events like the pole climb, axe throw, and—the Mac campus special—the snowshoe race. In the race, athletes compete in a 1.5km race while wearing snowshoes, tremendously increasing the difficulty of sprinting tremendously.
After the excitement of the morning events, both athletes and spectators alike retreated from the heavy snow into the Ceilidh Bar for beer, chili, and coffee. Despite the weather, the crowd seemingly doubled in size when the competition resumed for the afternoon.
“For me, I like [the afternoon] better,” Mercier-Provencher said. “It gives you an idea of how well you did against the other teams. We’ll have the underhand chop, swede saw, and crosscut saw.”
 While the morning was great fun, the afternoon took the intensity to an entirely new level. The first events of the session- swede and crosscut saws-were phenomenal displays of pure power and timing on the saw exchanges. Each event consisted of teams making cuts through blocks of wood with athletes rotating positions throughout the competition. At times, the entire structure holding the block would shake despite the other four members of the team weighing it down. While McGill’s lumberjacks were impressive, the lumberjills showed a tenacity and level of skill well above the competition.
The underhand chop soon followed and brought a heightened sense of danger to the proceedings. Each team of two athletes stood on top of a block and slashed down, with the first member chopping towards the middle on both sides of the stick. As soon as they finished, the second began in earnest. The chop is so dangerous that athletes wore chainmail on their legs and feet to prevent severe injuries. Multiple times, the competitors were centimetres away from severing their own foot. The whole spectacle was equal parts petrifying and exhilarating with each successive heat bringing more danger.
After the life-threatening nature of the underhand, the quarter split was needed to bring both comedy and brevity to the afternoon. Consisting of teams of two, the event centred around each member attempting to first chop a log in half, then break it into quarters. While this may seem straightforward, the logs went flying after the first cut, causing the lumberjacks to sprint after the chunks of wood trying to split the remaining timber.
The day ended with the pièce de résistance—the water boil. The day’s most dangerous event featured innovation, fire, and engineering prowess all rolled into one quick-fire competition.
“The water boil consists of a can and a little bit of water and soap,” Mercier-Provencher said. “You have to build a fire and make the water boil as fast as you can. It’s really fun.”
Like the rest of the day’s events, this too was exceedingly dangerous. When trying to get the perfect thickness of wood to start the fire, the woodsmen repeatedly attempted to make precise cuts downwards on the log, often coming within inches of losing a thumb. After starting the fire, the athletes then built a miniature pyre to allow the flames to encompass the can. By this point, each of the competitors lay down beside the fire, acting as a human billow for the flames. As soon as the first hint of the soapy water boiled over the can, the crowd exploded.
While these events may seem like nothing more than jazzed-up menial tasks, the competitive environment and skill all added to the day, making it greater than the sum of its parts. Anyone with the opportunity should check out the event next year.
“It’s a very nice day, everyone should come to see us,” Mercier-Provencher said. “We practice hard, about four mornings per week. It’s very funny and it’s fun for everyone if people come see and cheer us.”
The experience itself is worth the hour and a half bus and metro trip to Macdonald Campus. It is likely you will never see anything like this again in your life. The whole day is unique and more entertaining than any other free event imaginable on a Saturday.

Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

Team Challenge showcases McGill track and field

by Selwynne Hawkins on

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On Jan. 28 and 29, the Tomlinson Fieldhouse hosted the 22nd annual McGill Team Challenge. Nineteen schools from across Eastern Canada competed in the largest indoor track meet in the country.


Dominant Guelph, Laval, Sherbrooke, and Dalhousie squads captured the top four spots in both men’s and women’s team rankings. McGill was largely kept off the podium, with second-year pole vaulter Megan Dimler capturing the team’s only bronze medal. Despite the lack of hardware, the McGill team remained upbeat about their performance.


“I threw my season’s best [in shot put], so I was pretty excited about it,” fourth-year Vanisa Ezukuse said of her 11.30m throw at the meet.


Ezukuse currently sits eighth in USports shot put rankings, enough to qualify for the national championships held at the University of Alberta in early March. For now, however, she’s staying focused on meeting her personal standards.


 “Sixteen metres is my ultimate goal [and] I’m slowly getting there,” Ezukuse said.


Many other personal bests were shattered by McGill’s runners. In his first home meet, freshmen Gift (Seph) Marshall-Burghardt was able to cut eight seconds off his 1,500m time to finish in 4:11. Teammate Jeremy Briand also registered a personal record at the same event, finishing in 3:56.


 “Everything seems to be coming together,” Marshall-Burghardt said. “With the home meet, it was great.”


The McGill track team has worked hard to become a cohesive unit and maintain a sense of team spirit.


“If I’m at a meet, I’ll go see a cross-country person run, and cheer them on, or go to the shot put circle and ask how it’s going,” third-year long-sprinter Ariane Lismer said. “Meets [are] where we conglomerate and cheer each other on.”


The team will travel to New York next weekend before returning to host another meet the subsequent weekend. To end the season, the RSEQ championships will be held on Feb. 24 and 25 at Laval University. Sprinting Coach Marie-Eve Dugas is pleased with her athletes so far, and knows exactly where to focus her efforts for the remainder of the season.

“We [have] some technical aspects to [work] on, and a little bit of speed and speed endurance, as well as some exchange practice for the relays,” Dugas said. “But we should be good to go for provincials.”

Stats Corner: The fastest event at the meet, the 60m dash, was completed in just 6.85 seconds by Guelph University’s Kyle Thompson.

Key Moments: Vanisa Ezukuse beat her personal best and broke McGill’s record in the weight throw with a distance of 15.71m.

Quotable: “We work so hard every practice and it’s just awesome to be here with everyone at the track, with everyone cheering everyone on,”—Long-sprinter Ariane Lismer.

A previous version of this article published on Jan. 31, 2017 incorrectly stated Vanisa Ezukuse's record breaking performance in weight throw. The Tribune regrets this error. 

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