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News

McGill replaces clickers with online cloud system in Fall 2016

by Domenic Casciato on

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As of Fall 2016, courses at McGill University will no longer use clickers for in-class surveys. Instead, Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) has introduced TurningPoint Cloud, a new web-based polling technology. Unlike clickers, TurningPoint Cloud is free for students, allowing them to mark their attendance and participate in quizzes and surveys using their laptops, cell phones, and tablets. The software also features new polling formats, such as open-ended questions and spontaneously created surveys as well as word clouds of student responses and and demographic analysis of student responses.

According to Adam Finkelstein, an Academic Associate at TLS, the software even allows for a Jeopardy-style competition.

“There’s all sorts of interesting engagement strategies,” Finkelstein said. “We’ve moved from a device where you can only press a button to now [where] you can type out a whole answer.”

TLS has been working with TurningPoint Cloud since May 2016 to implement the new technology, which was first piloted in classrooms during Summer 2016. The first true test of this new technology at McGill began this semester. “With the first few days it's sort of been, like, crazy. The fact that we haven't had a huge number of tickets to IT is a good sign.” Finkelstein said. A major concern, however, is how the web-based survey technology will handle the online traffic of large lectures.

“Leacock 132 is probably the biggest challenge. What [will happen] when 600 people use it at once?” Finkelstein said.

In order to address these concerns, both TLS and the McGill IT Department are offering support for instructors using TurningPoint Cloud. Dr. Laura Pavelka, a faculty lecturer from the Department of Chemistry, has experienced success using the survey technology with over 700 students at once in both her CHEM 110 and CHEM 212 lectures.

“I was, and still am, quite excited for the change to TurningPoint Cloud,” Pavelka said. “It is definitely a challenge to have hundreds of students connecting to the same Turning Point Cloud [session] at the same time. Once that is solved, this system is golden.”

For Pavelka, one of the primary benefits of TurningPoint Cloud is the accessibility to instructors as well as students. Pavelka says she has yet to try the new features, but is interested in incorporating open-ended survey questions into her lecture.

"I find the open-ended polling questions intriguing though and will probably start using them in the coming weeks”, Pavelka said.

Instructors who use polling will no longer have to carry a receiver to class, and students won’t have to purchase or bring a physical clicker to lectures anymore. So far, the departure from clickers has received mixed responses. Anurag Kalra, U2 Computer Science, voiced his displeasure with the discontinuation of clickers.

“I bought it for $30 and only used it once,” Kalra said. “I feel ripped off.”

Kalra says his lecture used it to take attendance, something he feels could have been done without spending any money. Although the switch to TurningPoint Cloud will financially benefit new students, it has also made reselling clickers impossible for returning students. There is, despite drawbacks, a small consolation, Finkelstein explained.

“If a student brings their clicker to the Brown building. they’ll basically get a coffee card that they’ll use for free coffee,” Finkelstein said.

According to Finkelstein, this is part of an environmentally-friendly initiative to recycle the clickers. Rather than allow students to dispose of clickers in the trash, TLS will send the clickers back to the company that sold them for repurposing.

“It’s not just ‘you get a free coffee,’ it's [that] you’re doing your due diligence to make sure these things don’t end up in the garbage,” Finkelstein said.

Arts & Entertainment

Pop Rhetoric: The Ann Coulter Roast with Rob Lowe

by Ariella Garmaise on

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American actor Rob Lowe is an unlikely catalyst for a bipartisan debate. Following in the footsteps of a yearlong media cycle fascinated with a farcical U.S. election, Comedy Central’s Roast of Rob Lowe was no exception to politically charged comedy.  When the special aired on Labour Day, it was not Lowe, but rather Republican commentator Ann Coulter who attracted the public’s attention. The other comics eviscerated her and the audience booed her; Coulter’s only redeeming moment came when she aptly described the night as, “The Ann Coulter Roast with Rob Lowe.”

The event consisted mostly of celebrities who have exited the limelight—including the Karate Kid Ralph Macchio, 90s pop-darling Jewel, and ex-NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. It was ironic that, despite her bigotry and prejudiced propaganda, Ann Coulter was the most currently relevant persona on stage. More than just an instinctive reaction to a polarizing figure, the ruthless Coulter-directed attacks felt like an attempt to plunge the Roast into elevant territory. Whether intentional or not, the effort was a success—Coulter’s humourless reaction and poor performance dominated headlines. 

Hosted by David Spade, the performances were solid—slightly predictable, but still clever. The comedians primarily chided Lowe’ for his infamous sex tape with a minor. David Spade had one of the evening’s best lines when he quipped, “Rob was in Austin Powers 16 years ago. Can you believe it’s 16? Or as he calls it, 18”. Well-known stand up comics Pete Davidson, Nikki Glaser, Jimmy Carr and Rob Riggle were proficient in mocking Lowe’s inability to translate his Hollywood good looks into an actual movie star career. Yet even without the microphone, Coulter stole the spotlight. The majority of material was directed at her, and most cutbacks were close-ups of her dry, irritated profile. 

Coulter’s horrified facial expressions and abysmal performance satisfied the comics’ entertainment. She giggled a couple, “Obama is biracial” and “Hillary is old” jokes to uncomfortable silence. At one point, she was shameless enough to pull out a hardcopy of her newly-released book, In Trump We Trust, only to be met with boos from the audience. Davidson spat an ironic, “Good one!” at her from right stage. A now-famous shot of the audience shows an agitated Maria Shriver dramatically rolling her eyes. In fairness to the crowd, Coulter’s act truly was terrible. Her delivery was smug as she directed her jabs towards the very “college liberals,” who populated the theatre. Still, the immense anger she incited from those present felt grander than a simple reaction to her routine. It was a frustration not only with the Republican spokesperson, but with a broken political system at large. 

The roast revealed mainstream America’s frustration with a disastrous election and the hypocrisy inherent to Hollywood’s liberal elite. The comedians skewered Coulter for her history of racist politics, yet there was not a single person of colour on the panel. They admonished her anti-gay marriage stance and regressive ultra-right wing politics, yet British comedian Jimmy Carr said Coulter was “one of the most repugnant, hateful, hatchet-faced bitches alive,” and Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson called her a “racist c***.”  Many of the attacks were almost as childishly vulgar as the Trump rhetoric they condemned. Still, it is difficult to muster any sympathy for the woman who advocates for racial profiling, believes in the overturn of Roe vversus Wade, and who once said, “If we took away women’s right to vote, we’d never have to worry about another democrat president.” As Jewel so eloquently stated, “as a feminist that I can’t support everything that’s been said tonight, but as someone who hates Ann Coulter, I’m delighted.” 

If the main character of the roast was Coulter, then the key theme was anger. Ann Coulter is frustrated with America; a country she believes is marred by immigrants and Muslims. And America is resentful towards people like Ann Coulter. This collective exasperation is one that is all-consuming, and oozing out of the unlikeliest of places—even a Rob Lowe Roast. 

Student Life

The backstory of OAP as told by John “The Dungeon Master” Boisvert

by Liz Willcock on

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For nine days in Sept. and two days in April, a new energy visibly courses through McGill’s campus. Any passerby on Rue Sherbrooke is likely to hear the faint echo of students laughing, the thrumming bass of the year’s resident student band playing jazz or top 40 covers, and the smell of barbecue wafting through the air. However, no McGill student is a stranger to the event that so dramatically alters this little campus. Some call it Open Air Pub (OAP), most call it “The Best Place on Earth,” but, once-upon-a-time, a group of engineering students just called it a barbecue with some friends.

Ashkaan Mohtashami, U4 Engineering and OAP manager, recalls one day three years ago, when he serendipitously met the founders of OAP.

“It was a Thursday around 8 p.m., and these two guys, around fifty years old, come by wearing dress shirts and looking very proper, and they asked us what was going on. We told them it was Open Air Pub and they were like ‘Oh…Oh we started that,” Mohtashami recalled. 

“I believe it was 1982, the first year they did it. It was nothing like what we have now; it was just a couple of engineers who wanted to have a barbecue, so they brought a propane grill, and a cooler full of beers, and just chilled in the park.”

Since its inception in 1982, the idea behind OAP has remained the same: Beers, burgers, friends, good music, and completely ruining a designated patch of grass. Today, however, the event occurs on an almost unrecognizable scale. With upwards of three thousand people coming through OAP on an average day, the event consistently rakes in astronomical profits for the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS). The profits from OAP in the Fall are more than enough to sustain the event.

“Last year we made [90] thousand dollars in profits, and this past OAP lite we made 30 grand,” Mohtashami said. “Five grand goes to OAP for the next year, and everything else goes back to EUS. Then, it’s split between the Clubs Fund and Engineering design teams. In the spring, the profits from OAP lite are donated to the President’s Choice Children’s Charity.”

This charitable donation fosters OAP's relationship with Provigo, the main retail distributor of President's Choice brand goods, who, along with Sleeman, are OAP's regular sponsors. Sponsorship aside, OAP’s high profits are in large part due to the mass amounts of alcohol McGill students are capable of consuming.

“For OAP lite this past year, we [sold 627] cases [of beer],” Mohtashami said, “I think it was a new record of cases sold. That’s almost 20 thousand beers […] just in one day! Its impressive—and kind of disgusting when you think about it—but mostly impressive to us.”

It is no surprise that OAP is able to sell such a large quantity of alcohol when so many students are liable to stay there from opening to dusk. The annual barbecue has garnered such a cult following that students rush to occupy tables, and pride themselves on remaining there all day. For most, however, this commitment slowly dwindles after graduation, and OAP recedes to a distant fond memory. On the other hand, for John “the dungeon master” Boisvert, a technician working for the Engineering Department at McGill, OAP has become a lifelong commitment.

Boisvert has been volunteering—for lack of a better word to describe his dedication—with OAP for 26 years. Students have probably seen this white-bearded legend behind a grill, or dutifully cleaning used cups off tables; however, once upon a time, John was just a technician working in the basement of McConnell Engineering—oblivious to the barbecue that would come to occupy such a large part of his life.

“The first time I heard about Open Air Pub was in 1990, when three engineering students came down to the [mechanical] lab and asked if I could get them a sink,” Boisvert recalled. “They said […] ‘We’re having a little barbecue outside and a health inspector came around and said that if we don’t have a sink by 2 p.m., they will shut us down.’”

In those days, OAP volunteers cut their own lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, but they didn’t have a sink to wash the vegetables or their hands.

“I said, ‘Oh ok, you’ll have your sink by 1 p.m.,’” Boisvert explained. “By 12:30, I was wheeling it out here, and lo-and-behold this ‘little barbecue’ was like, ‘Holy crap! What the hell is going on here?’”

Ever since the fortuitous incident, Boisvert has dedicated himself to helping students run OAP.

“A lot of times when I go out to pick up cups, people will see me,” Boisvert said, pointing to his long white beard. “They’re young, they think, ‘Oh! What’s he doing here?’ Some of them will try and give me tips for cleaning off their table and stuff, and they say, ‘Here, go buy yourself a beer.’ I tell them, ‘I don’t need that, I’m a millionaire!’”

What those charitable, albeit misguided, students are unaware of is that John is the veritable backbone of the OAP production, as well as the repository of its entire evolutionary history. He can tell you about the time a homeless man burnt the bar down in 1996, about how OAP staff used to build their own beer shack every year with a different theme, or about the time the Barenaked Ladies played on the stage in the 90s. However, when asked for his favourite OAP memory, he became uncharacteristically mum.

“It’s an illegal memory!” Boisvert whispered. 

With some prompting, he admitted that the memory from before 1996, when he discovered that an OAP manager was selling hard liquor on the side.

“He built a little shack between those two trees [in Three Bares Park]. A speakeasy. He had his own little house on campus,” Boisvert said.  “No one found out ever, he was living there because in those days we didn’t have this fence or security.”

Though Boisvert will be retiring from his position as a technician with McGill this coming year, this is certainly not the end of his time with OAP.

When asked if he would be returning next fall, Boisvert replied, “Oh god yes… this is the best place on earth to be.”

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Open Air Pub (OAP) receives annual donations of burgers from Provigo and Sleeman. Similarly, an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that OAP sold 620 cases of beer in Fall 2016, when in fact they sold 627. Finally, an earlier version of this article stated that OAP made a profit of 72 thousand dollars in Fall 2015, when in fact, they made a profit of 90 thousand dollars. The McGill Tribune regrets these errors.

From the BrainSTEM, Science & Technology

Standing Desks: Working While Standing Shown to Improve Cognitive Functioning

by Audrey Carleton on

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Standing desks are the latest employee wellness innovation to sweep through workplaces. While student life is typically more active than that of the nine to five grind, the majority of McGill students are familiar with the pains—mental and physical—of sitting down to study for hours at a time, seldom standing up, if only to eat or use the bathroom. If successful companies like Google and Facebook offer standing desks to their employees, then perhaps McGill ought to consider sit/stand hybrid study spaces for its students as well.

The physiological detriments of sitting down for extended periods of time are numerous. Studies have shown an association between occupational sitting and cancer, while others have shown that sedentary behaviour leads to compromised metabolic health and higher mortality risk. In contrast, sitting/standing hybrid workstations have been found to combat the health consequences of sitting for long periods of time by increasing caloric expenditure. While the physical consequences of an excessive sedentary lifestyle have been well-documented, there has been a more recent shift in focus to the /mental/ impact of standing on cognitive functioning, memory, and focus, making the case for the introduction of standing desks in schools and workplaces.

In an experiment conducted at the University of Leeds, young adults and children showed improvements in task completion time while standing, as opposed to sitting. Children were tested on their ability and speed in conducting motor tasks involving tracking, aiming, and tracing dots on a tablet with a stylus. Sample subjects performed each activity twice: The first while sitting, and the second while standing, which was performed one week after the former. Those tested showed faster completion times of all motor tasks conducted while standing. The results support the theory that the postural demands of standing improve manual control and fine-motor tasks.  

While there is evidence of a correlation between standing and improved cognitive performance in controlled tests, the use of standing desks in academic settings is not only shown to be feasible, but also beneficial for students. For example, a neurocognitive study on freshman high school students conducted at the Texas A&M School of Public Health found a significant association between the long-term use of standing desks and advances in executive function—that is, the processes of managing oneself and one's resources in order to achieve a goal. Improvements were also observed in working memory, which is short-term memory dealing with conscious perception and linguistic processing. Furthermore, researchers saw increases in brain activation during completion of various motor tasks before and after the long-term use of standing desks.

Standing while working was found to be equally beneficial in a workplace. When tested in real offices, many employees reported improved posture and increased energy and alertness while working. In a study based in Sydney, Australia, trials of randomized employees were given the option to stand while working at sit-stand hybrid workstations. Participants reported that standing helped alleviate the post-lunch energy slump, encouraged face-to-face interaction between colleagues, and reduced feelings of restlessness. Most office workers who were interviewed saw the option to stand while working as an enhancement to their office experience.

As the school year progresses, the McGill student body is gearing up for the work to pile up and the exhausting studying that follows. Many students spend hours at a time in campus libraries, often placing physical and mental health on the backburner. To make matters worse, McGill’s libraries currently lack the space and accommodations for students to experiment with standing while studying. The scientifically proven improvements in memory, efficiency, and executive functioning while standing to study suggest that this option should be seriously considered in any of McGill’s future library improvement efforts.

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight – Travis Scott

by Gibran Haque on

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Houston rapper Travis Scott has followed up his 2015 debut studio album Rodeo, with the highly anticipated sophomore album Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight (BTSM). MC and producer Travis Scott originally burst into the limelight as Kanye West’s wunderkind, earning himself production credits in West’s 2013 album Yeezus. Scott wasted no time in releasing his own music, putting out two mixtapes in the years following. His first album Rodeo’s redeeming qualities were its eerie and spacy trap instrumentals, as well as Scott’s now-famous autotuned, new-Atlanta sound. Scott’s second effort, BTSM, is star-studded– the album features production credits from hip-hop big hitters such as Boi-1da, Mike Dean, and WondaGurl as well as features from Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, and Young Thug. But, amidst all the creative collaboration, BTSM appears to desperately hold on to the sound Scott established in Rodeo without progressing much from it. 

Sonically, some of the tracks on the album sound like they could be B-sides from Rodeo. The album starts off with the song “The Ends,” in which Scott attempts to deviate from his autotune-heavy vocals. Yet, stripping away Scott’s signature style, his vocal delivery and lyrical content do little to convince listeners of his ability as an MC, often reverting to one—liners reminiscent of 2000s hashtag rap. The following killer Andre 3000 verse doesn’t help Scott’s case, automatically revealing the weakness of Scott’s own lyricism. 

The instrumentals are still as good as ever; however, some of the vocals are subpar to the point of almost sounding like the they were passed through a vocoder in order to sound like Future. The song “Coordinate” features a surprisingly awful hook by Scott where his singing sounds like he barely has a pulse. In another feature, on the song “Goosebumps”, Kendrick Lamar offers more pitch shifts in one verse than Scott does in the entire album. Scott attempts the extremely popular moody vocal sound; but it has already been executed better by artists like Future and Young Thug.

On one of the best tracks in the album, the summer banger, “Pick Up the Phone,” Young Thug comes through as another standout feature artist. This song features a synth-heavy instrumental and an enjoyably catchy hook.  

Overall, Scott’s sophomore release is his most sonically consistent. Yet, the novelty of the sound he established in Rodeo wears thin by the first song in BTSM. Travis Scott has always worn his influences on his sleeve. Yet where other artists use their influences to develop and mature their own sound, Scott continues to be the jack of all trades and master of none. At the end of the day, Scott’s music will be at the top of any turn-up song lists but not necessarily any best of the year lists.  

 

 

 

SOUNDS LIKE: Young Thug,  Migos,  Future 

 

STANDOUT TRACK: pick up the phone 

 

STANDOUT LYRIC: “Peter, piper, picked a pepper / So I could pick your brain and put your heart together.”

Editorial, Opinion

J-Board decision on BDS requires further clarity in its enforcement

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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On May 31, the Judicial Board (J-Board) of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) released its ruling on the constitutionality of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Motion that was presented at the Winter 2016 General Assembly (GA).

The McGill Tribune supports the J-Board’s decision, as it places SSMU’s commitments to its students above its political mandate. However, the decision creates a few uncertainties, as SSMU has yet to explain how the ruling will be applied, or how future motions will need to be structured in order to maintain their constitutionality.

The J-Board ruled that the BDS Motion, and any other motion “that specifically targets one nation and compels SSMU to actively campaign against that country,” is unconstitutional because it would undermine SSMU’s commitment to avoid discrimination based on “irrelevant personal characteristics that include but are not limited to race, national, and ethnic origin.”

SSMU’s political mandate is valuable because it allows the Society to lobby on behalf of the interests of students at the local and provincial levels, but it loses its purpose when applied to complex international issues that have little to do with the university. As the J-Board pointed out in its decision, SSMU has a responsibility to serve and represent all McGill undergraduates, and to avoid discrimination based on national origin. The J-Board was correct in ruling against the constitutionality of motions that overlook SSMU’s commitment to its members in order to take sides in international debates over which the Society has little influence.

While SSMU is a democracy, and therefore has a responsibility to reflect the wishes of its constituents, this cannot be used to justify motions that discriminate against a minority of students. One of the fundamental roles of the judiciary in liberal democratic countries such as Canada and the US is to protect vulnerable minorities from potential abuses by the majority. The same principle applies to SSMU. As the SSMU’s equivalent of a court, the J-Board was justified in delivering its ruling regardless of whether or not it conflicts with the will of the GA.

However, the J-Board’s decision leaves several issues related to GA motions unclear. Chiefly, the Board has not explained what will happen if an unconstitutional motion is submitted at a future GA. One solution would be to create a committee to review potential motions for their constitutionality before they are presented at the GA. A similar committee, in the form of a Steering Committee, which would have screened “divisive or external” motions, was rejected at the Winter 2016 GA. Whether students would accept a new committee that may closely resemble one they just voted against remains to be seen. Thus, it is important that the J-Board elaborate on how it intends its new ruling be applied before the Fall 2016 GA.

 

 

 

 The J-Board’s decision leaves several issues related to GA motions unclear. Chiefly, the Board has not explained what will happen if an unconstitutional motion is submitted at a future GA.

Another potential solution lies in a new initiative proposed by SSMU President Ben Ger. In the SSMU Executive Goals 2016-2017 document, the President has committed to developing “Policy and Motion-Writing Templates” for student submissions to GAs and referenda in order to make it easier for students to get involved in the democratic process. Included in these templates should be an explanation of how to write a motion that conforms with the J-Board’s recent ruling on constitutionality. For example, the J-Board’s decision states that a motion would still be acceptable if it were “tailored to deal with the human rights issue in question,” instead of targeting a nation as a whole. Explaining this distinction is not the same as enforcing it, but these templates could facilitate screening by helping students determine whether or not their motion is constitutional before it reaches the GA.

Making the motion-writing process clearer and more accessible is essential in encouraging students to be actively involved in student governance, especially given that lack of interest in SSMU and low voter turnout at the GA have been chronic problems. Any solution that also improves student involvement would be doubly beneficial.

The J-Board was within its bounds in ruling that the BDS motion presented at the Winter 2016 GA was unconstitutional, but the J-Board must clarify how its ruling will be enforced. Both the J-Board and SSMU must ensure that motions now deemed unconstitutional will no longer be presented at future GAs.

 

Features

Foundations for Reconciliation

by Jenna Stanwood on

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On Sept 16, the 15th annual Pow Wow will take place under a tent on Lower Field, setting the stage for McGill’s Indigenous Awareness Week. As part of the event series, there will be a ceremony to unveil the new site of the Hochelaga Rock, currently located across from the statue of James McGill near the Roddick Gates. The monument, which is the only permanent visual reminder on campus that the university is built on the unceded site of an Iroquois village, has finally been moved into the public eye after years of activism from members of the McGill community. Previously, the Rock had been nearly hidden, acting as an unintentionally ironic symbol of the experience of many indigenous peoples at McGill. A sense of invisibility seems to cloud the narratives of indigenous peoples’ time at McGill University. Leslie Anne St. Amour, the 2015-2016 Indigenous Affairs Coordinator for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and winter 2016 Arts graduate, recounted the marginalization and racism she experienced on campus.

Fact or Fiction, Science & Technology

Fact or Fiction: Is flossing beneficial for oral health?

by Paul-Enguerrand Fady on

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Over the summer, the Associated Press (AP) sunk their teeth into a widely-held public health claim: Daily flossing is good for dental hygiene. Their investigative report revealed that there is very little evidence to back up the advice one often hears at the dentist’s office.

Growing up in Europe, not a single dentist—whether trained on the Continent or in the United Kingdom—ever suggested that I integrate flossing into my oral care routine. Regular and thorough brushing was encouraged, but never flossing.

In fact, the scientific adviser to the British Dental Association (BDA) David Walmsley has said, “[flossing] is not part of the basics” of oral care and hygiene.

The British view contrasts directly with the North American opinion: The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) warns that not flossing daily means “missing more than one-third of your tooth surface.” The American Dental Association (ADA) has also stated that “flossing is an essential part of taking care of your teeth and gums.”

The Association Dentaire Française (ADF) represents three quarters of French dentists, and states on its website that brushing can be complemented by the use of dental floss, mirroring the opinions of the BDA and other European dental associations that flossing is nonessential.

“There is much we do in medicine and dentistry that is not evidence-based, but that doesn’t mean it does not work,” said Dr. Øyvind Asmyhr, head of the Norwegian Dental Association, in a statement.

It seems increasingly likely that news stories which have pit dental associations against one another have simply exploited a minute difference in wording and twisted the ADA’s advice. Moreover, the BDA, the ADF, and most other dental associations recommend that their patients remove plaque with the aid of a physical support–floss—but therein lies the contrast.

Rather than recommending floss explicitly, the ADA guidelines state,  “interdental cleaners such as floss are an essential part of taking care of your teeth and gums.”

“[I’m] not sure if it was an intentional play on words or an honest misunderstanding by the AP journalist when the article on flossing was written during the summer which [led] to the domino effect of re-publications in almost all famous papers and journals,” McGill Dentistry Professor Omid Kiarash said. “[As so often is the case], tabloid journalism seems to get more publicity than scientific factually correct news.”

Despite the reports, Kiarash still recommends flossing to his patients. The objections regarding the quality of the studies highlighted in the original AP investigation are, in his opinion, irrelevant.

“The notion that no flossing is somehow better than flossing simply because the strength of the studies are not high quality is ridiculous,” said Kiarash. “Just like we don’t have high quality evidence that jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is highly likely to be fatal.”

Student Life

Take an axe to stress this Fall at Bad Axe Throwing’s new Montreal location

by Audrey Carleton on

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Come the weekend, most people look forward to a relaxing few days spent vegging out on the sofa, spending time with friends, or grabbing drinks at one of Montreal’s many great bars. What most people don’t anticipate doing, however, is picking up an axe and throwing it at a large target, much less of their own free will. Bad Axe Throwing, a Canadian company that teaches lessons on the sport of axe throwing, hopes to change this. Having just opened a location in Montreal in June 2016—their 10th location nationwide—Bad Axe is making its way across Canada to teach the technical skill of axe throwing while providing entertainment and stress-relief.

Every axe throwing session begins with an introduction led by experienced instructors, in which groups of attendees are taught the rules of safety and basic throwing techniques. While each member of a group is given the opportunity to practice throwing, instructors give one-on-one coaching to each participant, removing some of the impersonality that comes with being part of a large group. From there, the instructors lead groups in games and competitions. These typically entail earning points based on accuracy and landing spot on the board, similar to a game of darts.

Despite how dangerous axe throwing may sound at first, the number one priority of Bad Axe is safety. The goal of the company is to ensure that the most dangerous part of attending an axe throwing session is the car ride there and back. Tom Bradshaw, chief Axe Thrower at Bad Axe Montreal, keeps safety in mind during every lesson.

“We preach safety—that’s the big thing we do when people come in,” Bradshaw said. “We [have a great safety record] across all locations. No one’s been seriously hurt; the biggest one I’ve heard of is someone needing a bandaid on their arm because the axe had grazed them a little bit.”

Regardless of the company’s clean safety record across all locations, many first time axe throwers are understandably nervous. The instructors at Bad Axe are equipped to calm even the most intense nerves, making people feel more confident as they leave their comfort zone, axe in hand.

“Whenever [first time axe throwers] are a little bit afraid, I always like to remind them that because they’re throwing an axe forward, and it’s leaving you–you’re not chopping wood right in front–they don’t ever have to worry about hitting themselves,” Bad Axe Managing Director Jesse Gutzman said. “Because it’s going forward, it’s never going to hit you. Worst case scenario, it hits the floor.”

While safety is Bad Axe’s priority, they also emphasize ensuring the uniformity of every location in Canada. Bad Axe’s goal is for each location to accurately represent the national brand and for customers to have the same experience no matter where they are.

“You go from this location to another one, the axes are going to be the same, the targets are going to be the same,” Bradshaw said. “The only thing that may change is the games you play.”

Nearly two years after their foundation as a company in Burlington, Ontario, Bad Axe is now opening locations at an increasingly rapid pace. It it increasingly important to maintain similarity between all of their locations as the company expands across Canada.

“[Bad Axe’s expansion] definitely started slower, and there is an exponential growth happening right now,” Gutzman said. “We just opened [a location in] Surrey [British Columbia] two weeks ago […] and now we’re already in Montreal. When we started, it was about four to five months in between locations.”  

As their growth as a franchise accelerates, Bad Axe management looks toward a future with more and more Canadians throwing axes for sport. Though they have a few walk-in hours per week, Bad Axe currently operates predominantly through online bookings, catering mainly to large groups who plan and schedule their axe throwing sessions well in advance.

“The main thing that we would like to do in the future is to be able to have open hours at any given time so people can just pop in,” Gutzman said. “It’s a lot of fun, and it’s really no difference in price when it comes to bowling or laser tag. Those are both just manufactured activities. Bowling hasn’t been around for more than 40 years. People think it’s just something that’s always been there. Someone created that, made a demand for it, so that’s what we want to do—have people think, ‘Let’s go axe throwing.’”

To find out more about Bad Axe Throwing or to book an axe throwing session, visit their website.

Baseball, Sports

From the Cheap Seats: Or not… how the other side watches

by Joe Khammar on

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This past summer I interned for kivvit, a public affairs company, in New Jersey. One of the many perks of the job was seeing the Mets play on Aug. 10, 2016. Each member of the firm was given a ticket prior to the game but details were relatively vague. Expecting to see the game from the nosebleeds, I nearly fainted when I saw the words “Club Access” printed in bold letters on the front of my ticket. Upon entering, and after a cursory check of my identification, I was given access to an open bar and a buffet, which featured decadent entrees like mango-glazed salmon. I had never experienced anything like this in my life; the closest I had ever come to luxury at a sports game was sitting atop the chairs in the back row of a Montreal Canadiens game. The seats were slightly above the bottom section of the stadium but extremely close to home plate; the view was so clear that I was even able to make out the faces of the athletes.

I instantly realized that you can't compare the club access experience to sitting in general admission. The entire atmosphere is different with a focus more on socialization and luxury over the game itself. I found that most people from my section spent more time inside at the bar, giving cursory glances at the game on the screen, instead of being outside and invested in the action. I found myself guilty of this and didn’t even notice Arizona had scored until the fifth inning. Never in my life have I been so disinterested in a match right in front of me. It was clear to me that many of my coworkers, despite being lifelong New York and New Jersey residents, were generally not baseball fans, which definitely factored into the apathetic ambience.

As for the game itself, the Mets were playing against the Arizona Diamondbacks. I checked the lineup earlier in the day and was ecstatic to find that Bartolo “Big Sexy” Colon was pitching. He was a joy to watch. The crowd went wild every time Colon stepped up to the plate in hope that he would hit his second homerun of the season. The game itself went scoreless for the first two innings until the Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. The slow pace continued until the 8th when Arizona furthered their lead to 2-0. In the 9th, Kelley Johnson of the Mets brought some life into the stadium with a two-run homer that evened the score. Unfortunately, the Mets were unable to make anything substantial out of this momentum and the Diamondbacks clinched the game in extra innings.

On the ride home, I had a few realizations. When you see a game in the nosebleed section, you pay attention to the game more intensely. Everything that occurs on the field is subject to overreaction and participation: Even as someone who is relatively restrained, I can’t help but stand and yell when I’m a few hundred feet away from any action—the atmosphere is infectious. However, at the Mets game, I didn’t watch more than 3 plays. I spent half my time eating, drinking, and relaxing with friends. The game itself was almost an afterthought compared to the socializing. I know that given the opportunity to do it again, I would go back in a heartbeat; however, I can’t say for certain if it is a better experience than general admission. The two experiences are so vastly different they can scarcely be compared.

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