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a, Art, Arts & Entertainment, Books

Comic books 101: How to start reading (and loving) comic books

by Jenna Stanwood on

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As comic-cons become more popular and geek culture merges with pop culture, comic books are attracting more and more attention. With movie franchises and television series, characters previously restricted to ink and paper are attracting new fans through digital media. However, comics remain intimidating to newcomers, since most characters have multiple series, and every series has a multitude of volumes. Whether you’re interested in superheroes, zombies, or some of the more serious stories told graphically, here are some tips for new comic enthusiasts. 

1. Take advantage of compendiums 

Classics are classics for a reason, so long-running comics are often a great place for newcomers to start, especially superhero classics from Marvel or DC. It can be intimidating to jump into the middle of established story lines, so new readers may feel more comfortable seeking out collected publications. These are series of smaller comics bound together in chronological order, usually across numerous volumes for a certain series or character. Both Marvel and DC have compiled collections for most of their most popular series, usually stretching back to their very beginnings—as early as the 1950s. For classic superheros from the Marvel universe (Iron Man, Captain America, etc.) check out the Marvel MasterWorks series. On the DC side, storylines from iconic characters such as Batman, Superman or the Green Lantern are published together in hardcover.

2. Buy local

Yes, it’s good to support your local economy, but shopping at the comic shop down the street has other important benefits. No one that works in a comic store is going to be clueless about the art form, and they’re usually more than willing to help you dive in. Don’t hesitate to ask for help, your local comic book store owner might be able to suggest the best place to begin with a certain series or a certain character. Or, if you’re not sure who to start with, they might have some suggestions to ease the transition from novels to comics.

3. Begin with familiar stories and characters

Many beloved television series have started as comic series or have been continued after their cancellation in comic book form. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Avatar are just a selection of shows that live on in comic books. The Walking Dead is based off of a comic series of the same name. Check out Dark Horse Comics for many television series turned to the page, including all of director Joss Whedon’s classics. There are also the obvious comic-based movies, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, that can make a good starting point and whose comics are usually easier to get your hands on after the movie versions have premiered. If you, like many others, found your interest in comic books through such movies, identify what characters you liked the most and start with their comics. Chances are if you liked their on-screen persona, you’ll come to love them even more in written form.

4. Put more emphasis on the book

There is no need to jump immediately into episodic comic book series. There are many graphic novels that serve as a great bridge between traditional novels and comics. The best is Watchmen, which runs over 400 pages and combines classic comic panels with written sections between each chapter. Outside of the superhero world, there are light hearted options like Scott Pilgrim or graphic novels that deal with heavier themes, like Persepolis or Blue is the Warmest Colour. These options rely more on images than Watchmen, but still provide a longer reading experience for those adjusting to comics.  

5. Don’t limit yourself to one genre 

Comic books aren’t just superheroes, sci-fi and zombies. Some comic series, such as Sandman by Neil Gaiman, combine enthralling dark stories with haunting imagery for an enchanting and at times chilling reading experience. Others can appeal to the angsty, cynical teenager that lives on in us all, such as Ghost World. No matter what you’re looking for in a story, chances are there’s a comic that’s right for you. You just might have to put in a little research to find it.  

 6. Just start somewhere

There really is no right or wrong way to approach comic books. Head to a bookstore, pick one up, and start reading! It may be intimidating to jump into the middle of a series, but comics are written with their serial nature in mind. Catching up is usually easy, and gaps in the story line are often explained right in the dialogue or text. If you still feel you’re missing something important, never be afraid to make use of Google. Comic book fans have created many online resources to help new and old fans alike stay  up to date.

a, Features

Alone in crowded rooms: A personal struggle with depression

by Ben Ger on

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Disclaimer: The recommendations made and experiences described in this article are personal to my time with depression and instability. It is not a universal view on what all depression looks like, or how depression should be treated.

Suddenly, my energy to keep talking disappeared. I left lunch with my two roommates at the E-Café in the McConnell Engineering Building abruptly, and started making my way alone towards the Shatner University Centre .  I walked inside, passing a few stairs, corners, and doors until I was sitting on the ground in an empty room on the fourth floor, with my back to the entrance. On the other side of the door I knew there was a campus full of people that would want to support me if they knew what I was going through, but all I felt in the moment was loneliness and pain. Sorrow so deep and thick, I couldn’t wade out of it no matter how much I shook my legs. So I shook, and shook, and shook.

*Ring ring* *Ring ring*

Clearing my throat and wiping my nose, I stared at my phone.

*Ring ring* *Ring ring* *Click*

Me: Hello?

N/A: Hey! What are you doing right now? I could really use a break, I’m feeling pretty drained.

Do I tell her? No. It’d probably be good for me to be around somebody right now. Leave it. Go see her.

Me: Oh my gosh, I’ve got way too much food that I’m not going to eat, let me bring you some! Where are you? Let me come feed youuuu.

Is this helping? I think so.

N/A: Yay! Blackader, come, come.

Me: Kk coming. Come meet me in the lobby and you can tell me all about your day.

Click.

A sigh, followed by an empty laugh, escapes my mouth and echoes around the room. What’s happening to me? Just get back up.

 first time I admitted to myself that my emotional footing was not as stable as it used to be was in the summer of 2015, between my second and third year of university. I didn’t realize it until months after the event above: After my mom had gotten sick, after I’d split things off with my girlfriend at the time, and after losing loved one after loved one to cancer and other diseases. Instead, it came when a group of people I loved went out of their way to organize a party for me after I finished my Law School Admission Test (LSAT).

Walking into a room full of people, green strands hanging from the ceiling, and friends in multi-coloured cone-shaped hats greeting me at the door, all I wanted to do was make them feel the way they wanted me to—happy. But I didn’t have the energy. I was at the helm of a boat with no rudder, spinning the wheel wildly with no result.

I smiled widely while greeting my friend in the library and walking into the party, but internally, my emotions felt the result of whatever was hiding deep in the back of my mind, and fighting it was exhausting.

My instability was a constant process of waiting—whether it was waiting for highs to drop suddenly to particularly thick lows, or for lows to stretch long enough that they could be broken out of by a rush of unpredictable positivity (from a song, an expression of love, or anything, really).

Waiting came with its anxieties. I could never fully enjoy the highs because of the feeling that something darker was waiting around the corner. In Psychology Today, Art Markham, a psychology professor at the University of Texas, said students often suffer from ‘“waiting anxiety,” thus experiencing /rumination/, before, during, and after taking the LSAT. Rumination is typically a neutral term, but Markham redefines it as “[thinking] repeatedly about the source of one’s anxiety and [worrying] about the outcome.”

Applying Markham’s definition of rumination to a situation where depression was the outcome, understanding its source and how to work my way out of it became my obsession.

My instability transformed from a period of waiting to a period of self-recognition. I found myself taking a back seat on my own emotional decisions, and I looked inward to find anything that would make the process more pleasant and worth it. It was, and continues to be, a period of incredible change. The process of climbing back into the driver’s seat entails many things: Asking what makes or made you feel better or worse, what fuels your productivity, what gives you purpose, and what provokes negative or triggering emotions. Such questions can be largely transformative, but you can only ask yourself so many questions and change so much before others start noticing and asking you some as well.

When asked if depression looks the same in everyone, the National Institute of Mental Health answers bluntly: “No.”

Some people respond well to the type of support that takes the form of the ever-so-overused question, “How’s it going?” And some don’t. What’s the best way to tell what somebody dealing with instability might want? Ask.

“Do you want me asking you how you’re doing?” If the answer is “No,” then don’t. If the answer is “I don’t know,” then ask when it feels appropriate; there really is no hard rule about when that time is. If you get a response that indicates they might not want to talk about it, then move on to the next topic. If the answer is “Yes I'd like you to,” or “Yeah, feel free to ask anything,” apply the same logic as if they said maybe.

Some people might find talking therapeutic, and some might not, confirmed Dr. Robert Whitley, assistant professor of Psychiatry at McGill, and principal investigator of the Social Psychiatry Research and Interest Group (SPRING).

“Letting [someone] know that you’re there for them if they need an ear to listen can be helpful,” Whitley said.

For me, talking was my way of letting people in and attempting to bridge the gap of understanding from different lived experiences.

It may seem trivial to ask if somebody is okay with being asked a question, but in my experience it reinforced the importance of clarity and being upfront about other people's comfort levels. Besides the banality associated with micro-adjustments to everyday conversations, they all remain expressions of love that may, for some, inspire feelings of care and companionship during a time of loneliness and instability. Personally, these questions helped to flesh out day-to-day solutions, but in itself, the process of communicating could remain and can still be difficult.

Is it wrong for me to need help? This question popped up constantly in my experience with instability. I didn’t want to feel like I relied on anybody else to feel whole or healthy again. I felt, and to some extent still feel, responsible for my hitting my ‘wall.’ Over the summer and throughout Fall 2015, I rejected romantic relationships the moment I associated them with requiring someone else to make me feel complete. I constantly dwelled over the fear of burdening anyone with my problems.

“This year is gonna be a lot for me,” I said. “I’m sorry, I just don’t think I can get in a relationship right now.”

I wasn’t lying, but I wasn’t telling the entire truth.

cope with my inability to accept help, it turned out that giving support fit perfectly as a replacement for receiving it. I didn’t want others to feel the way I did, so I found purpose again in providing comfort and education on mental health issues. I wanted to be a resource for those feeling the same or similar to myself, those who felt alone in crowded rooms, and those who wanted to reach out and talk about how they were feeling. But the wall that separated my ideologies from my actions was the inability to follow my own advice.

Even my attempts to communicate and let people in lacked something. I approached every situation as an educational tool, and less of a learning space for myself. As a result, an emotional divide between my words and their content was always present. I felt happy for anyone that found me helpful, but grew sad watching my knowledge go wasted on myself. This emotional duality became my reality, always elated and depressed at the same time. For those in similar experiences, this can be incredibly confusing and isolating.

When replying to questions such as “How are you?” it wasn’t surprising when people were confused by the answer, “I’m really depressed,” said while laughing heavily. In a lot of cases, it was met with a response spit through weaker laughter of, “Really?” or, “Why are you laughing?”

For those who might find themselves confused or thrown off by such honesty, it is important to remember that different emotions don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Just because somebody expresses outward happiness while communicating that he or she is sad, doesn’t mean that this person is lying or being insincere.

“The same way a broken leg can limit some aspects of your life, mental health can sometimes overwhelm your mind, but it doesn’t limit your ability to feel a range of emotions,” Whitley said.

The assumption that seemingly conflicting emotions can’t be felt simultaneously forces some people to choose one or the other, often feeling like their sad emotions are not welcome and further pushing them inwards.

For some, laughing or smiling when talking about tough issues may serve a purpose—perhaps as a defence mechanism, or in my experience, a way to force myself to not feel ashamed for the way I was feeling by making the topic more approachable or light-hearted. For others, it may not. What’s important is to recognize that regardless of how one chooses to speak about their experience, each sentence should be valued as an attempt to reach out, and listeners should stay conscious of what might accidentally make them feel ashamed.

Emotional shaming and discounting, whether intentional or not, islargely enforced by the gendered emotional roles of men, and has a prevalent impact on their depression and suicide rates.

According to Jane Powell, in The Guardian, more men below the age of 35 died from suicide in the UK than road accidents, murder, and HIV/AIDS combined in 2011. Powell partially attributes this to her theory that for some men, asking for help may be seen as a failure. Breaking out of the typical set of emotions associated with masculinity can be difficult for many self-identified men; however, there are potential solutions to this problem already in the works. On a macro scale, feminist campaigns aimed at relieving societal roles of women by also alleviating societal roles of men can help push back against some causes of these high suicide rates. On a micro scale, what can be helpful is making sure that the people you know who may be dealing with instability (or whatever they define it as) are aware that they can express typically ‘non-masculine’ emotions. The decision to express those emotions is up to them, but opening the door for it to be a possibility can be incredibly comforting and might inspire more trust or openness between the parties involved.

For those who find themselves in the company of somebody struggling with mental health issues, it’s important to know that /you don’t have to be this person’s saviour/. I am by no means suggesting that it is one’s social obligation to take on every support role that presents itself. In cases where it may be too damaging to your own mental health, too exhaustive, or really for any reason at all, it’s completely fair to take a step back. Every situation should be handled differently. In my case, hearing something along the lines of, “I love you so much, but I might not be able or qualified enough to be a helpful support system. Do you want help looking into other resources together though?” would have been helpful in gauging what kind of relationship I should be associating with that person. In similar cases to this, where a person's immediate support structures might not be able to help, it’s important for alternative resources to aptly available.

McGill provides some services, like the McGill’s Mental Health Services (MMHS), but, like many services, it isn’t perfect and the waitlists are incredibly long.

“[Waitlists are] delaying students [from getting] access to crucial care by months,” Whitley said. “In regards to the admin […] much much more can be done.”

According to Emily Yung, mental health coordinator at MMHS, the average wait time is at least a few weeks.

“It’s about two weeks long to see a psychiatrist… and four months for individual psychotherapy,” Yung said. “[With] the largest proportion of students who seek care [at MMHS going] for depression or anxiety.”

tiatives like Mentoring Across Campus, and The Buddy Programdo a good job at building better student-faculty relations, which may help some students feel less like just another number, and lift pressure off MMHS by shifting the focus away from bandaid solutions to more preventative measures.

Yet, according to Whitley, these services are largely underpromoted and underperforming. He insisted that more focus must be put on these preventative measures. Professors can seem unapproachable in university settings, and though I never had a bad experience managing my workload during my struggle, many other students do. The added pressure can contribute to already existing symptoms.

“Mental health needs much more than services […] social determinants of mental health on campus [such as] loneliness […] peer pressure to be popular, drink, or have sex, and increasingly heavy workloads all can play a large role [in causing depression],” Whitley said. “Faculty members should be getting compulsory mental health training where they learn […] how to treat these issues compassionately.”

Training for a standardized Canadian program does exist on campus, through the Mental Health First Aid training sessions, however it is not mandatory for all staff, and even if it were, it might not be possible due to issues of space. MMHS is struggling to physically fit more doctors, and there just aren’t the human resources available to manage that many people moving around.

“Right now I’m the only trainer [at Mental Health Services],” Yung said. “All the offices are full [… and] resources are not increasing to meet the rising demand.”

If a training program were implemented, outsourcing some of the work to one or more of the five federally certified Mental Health First Aid Trainers in Montreal could alleviate the weight on the McGill’s services.

But even with a mandatory staff training at McGill, a Canadian standardized program might not properly address stressors affiliated with specific settings, such as factors that affect McGill students, or campus resources to point to. When temperatures dropped around the same time workloads increased, and the average hours of sunlight per day decreased in Montreal, I noticed a considerable return of my instability, but didn’t understand why.

According to Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s Mental Health Coordinator Anya McMurrer, a large problem for many McGill students’ mental health is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which—especially in combination with excess stress from a large workload—can be destabilizing.

Collaboration with some of the amazing student-run services such asMcGill Students’ Nightline, the Peer Support Network, and the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society [SACOMSS] could help alleviate organizational stress on the system when trainers are needed, as well as create a program much more tailored to McGill; however, I disagree with Dr. Whitley on the emphasis of compassion as its focal point.

Compassion, as defined by Dr. Emma Seppala, the science director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, is “The emotional response when perceiving suffering and involves an authentic desire to help.”

When I was slouched over in that room on the fourth floor of the Shatner University Centre, I found myself looking for something else. I wanted somebody to lay or sit down with quietly, to silently feed off of each other’s energy and understanding, or somebody that could match my tone when talking about my mental state—whether through light-hearted laughter or serious responses.

But I never wanted somebody to help me. Compassion can help, but what I came to value most in people during my struggle with instability and depression was empathy. I didn’t need a saviour; not every depressed person does. Some might, but what I, as well as others like me need, is for you to make an attempt at understanding.

One needs empathy to be compassionate, but understanding the former may be harder than the latter. As contenders for the generation with the lowest levels of empathy, we all need to make an active effort to read about or talk to people with these experiences in order to start working those mental muscles.

Finally, to those who might find themselves reading this from a less-than-optimistic place—you are not alone. You are not your depression. You can make it through this. If you find yourself wanting or needing a hand, know that many people who are reading these words will want to give it to you. I know I will if you want to reach out.

Author's note: 

This article for me has been the culmination of months of struggling, and to some extent a way for me to begin to own and use a part of myself that was largely debilitating. But beyond writing this for myself, I also wanted to write this as both a thank-you letter and an apology. To clarify, I am not sorry for how I’ve been feeling, but rather for not properly being able to express my love and thanks to all my friends, family, and the community that has been around me these few months. Knowingly or not, your constant expressions of love, though it maybe not be registered traditionally, have kept me running. It’s because of that love that I get out of bed early every morning, and it’s because of that love that I’m working my way out of that period of instability. Thank you.

For those who might want to look into some of McGill’s on-campus resources, here’s a link to the McGill Mental Health Hub, found at mcgillmentalhub.ca. Sending my love, Ben.

a, Campus Spotlight, Student Life

Campus Spotlight: Bar des Arts

by Marina Sulmona on

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McGill’s hustle and bustle can often seem neverending, and finding an environment where one can escape the busy-ness of student life while still on campus can be a challenge. The Arts Undergraduate Society’s (AUS) Bar des Arts (BdA) serves as a resting spot for students to enjoy a beer and grilled cheese, play a game of pool, or just relax with a diverse group of students. 

“The role of BdA […] is to provide a space for students, run by students, that is about the students,” Nic Price, U4 Arts and BdA co-chair, said. “It’s really about offering a judgment-free, stress-free space for people to take a break from their daily lives on campus and have some fun.”

Nestled in the Arts Lounge in the basement of Leacock, BdA acts as a central meeting place on campus. Students of all faculties (not just Arts) toting frosh mugs and various reusable cups gather from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday evening. 

“You’d be surprised how many people are not in Arts," Alyssa Gold, U3 Arts and BdA staff member, said. "There’s education, science, there are people who are in graduate programs here.”

This spirit of inclusivity stems from the tight-knit community among the staff, which extends to its patrons. Working together in various roles from serving beer, to checking IDs at the door, to managing cash, the camaraderie of BdA staff members continues even after closing time. Outside of the bar, the staff participate in events like apartment crawls and Faculty Olympics.

“The staff honestly, we are like one big family,” Alanna Sokic, U3 Arts and staff member, said. 

This familial feel allows attendees to feel right at home at BdA, regardless of whether they would like to drink or not. Options such as water and juice are available in addition to beer, week to week. 

“It’s more about the atmosphere and the people and less about the drinking,” Gold said. 

In order to keep the weekly events engaging, each Thursday is marked by a new theme. Themes often incorporate a range of additional food and drink items. Price remarked on the continuous effort to appeal to a wide range of interests. 

“We’ve done champagne for The Bachelor theme, we’ve done churros; we’ve done a bunch of things,” Price said.

While holiday-themed events in general tend to be the most popular, more unexpected themes also have the ability to draw in large crowds. 

“Our best selling event was Mimosas & Samosas,” Price said. “That day we sold 1500 beers, I mean, it is unheard of. We sold all the mimosas and all the samosas.” 

In line with other sustainability missions on campus, BdA sells plastic recyclable cups provided by their sponsor, Sleeman, in case students forget to bring their reusable and non-breakable cup.

“It is in an effort to promote sustainability but is also in order to promote [the] safety of our patrons,” Price explained. 

BdA also acts as a platform for other clubs and organizations on campus to showcase their respective events and initiatives. Every week BdA hosts groups who would like to sell tickets for other events on campus, recruit new members, or just get the word out there about their club’s platform. 

All in all, the BdA staff seek to inspire an environment with welcoming and non-intimidating vibes. Staff are quick to point to the openness of the environment as the result of BdA’s continued success. As word of mouth grows, so does the diversity of attendees. Staff members emphasized that forming new friendships and strengthening old ones is what makes BdA so appealing. 

“Just come, we don’t bite,” Price said. 

Whether it’s during the midterm lull or amped up holiday seasons, even after last call staff and attendees alike aren’t quite ready to leave BdA. The message that resonates is that BdA is a place all students can enjoy themselves be it once a semester, or every week. The impression is that your first visit to BdA likely won’t be your last. 

“People love it so much they’ll want to stay afterwards,” Sokic laughed.  

Race and RENT
a, Arts & Entertainment, Theatre

Race and RENT: A look at racial representation within the McGill theatre community

by April Barrett on

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The poster for the Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society’s (AUTS) most recent production, RENT, might have unsettled those who know the original musical well. Their first question would likely be: “Wait, why is everybody white?”

RENT is a musical that centres on the lives of poor artists in 1980s New York dealing with love and loss in the time of the AIDS epidemic. While it’s focus on queer people of colour living with a highly stigmatized illness is a little heavier than Wicked, RENT is as beloved as it is critically acclaimed. The popular image of RENT is based in part on its original 1993 cast as well as on its 2005 movie adaptation. Both renditions depict a majority non-white group of bohemian artists, with specifically Latino and black characters in leading roles. RENT is singular as a Broadway show with diverse and non-tokenized roles for ethnic minorities. In the AUTS version, there was only one person of colour in the main cast, Tiger Xu, a student of Chinese descent who was also the only main character in an antagonistic role.

“Of course [being the only person of colour] went through my head,” Xu explained. “It does play a role; I play an evil character, maybe it’s easier for an audience member to identify someone who looks different.”

In terms of casting, the director of AUTS’ RENT Daniel Austin-Boyd admitted that many of the same actors are cast in AUTS productions season after season, and this community of performers is, in majority, white. Though that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been conversation about looking into selecting more performers of colour.

“It’s kind of insulting to a person to say you only got in because of your ethnic background; that’s not exactly the most respectful thing either,” Boyd claimed. “But I feel like [having more performers of colour] a good goal. Ultimately, I think the most important thing is that you get people who are good at what they do.”

Like other theatre companies, the first step of AUTS’ process is selecting the actual show. Austin-Boyd emphasized the popularity of RENT as a central reason behind his choice to put it on.

“Firstly, it’s just a very popular musical, and AUTS needs to get audiences to cover the cost of renting Moyse Hall,” Austin-Boyd explained. “I also liked that the characters were roughly the same age as McGill students. Finally, it is a rock musical, so it was a nice contrast to the kind of shows we usually put on.”

Austin-Boyd acknowledged that the McGill context is very far removed from the original context of the musical.

“I’m not going to say it didn’t cross our minds,” Austin-Boyd said of the largely-white cast. “A lot of the original cast was very ethnically diverse. That being said we are at McGill and McGill’s a university so we don’t have the same pool as all of New York City. Our primary consideration was, do they fit the characters?”

Beyond RENT and the AUTS, the issue remains that the pool of actors within McGill theatre is small, and quite homogenous. Shanti Gonzales is a student director working on a production of Paula Vogel’s play How I Learned to Drive, as a part of the McGill

Director’s Projects Festival (going on in Moyse Hall March 30 to April 9, 2016). Gonzales, concerned with diversity in her production, opened her call for auditions to those outside McGill.

“When race comes up in a casting discussion, the most common excuse is ‘We did what we could with who showed up,’” Gonzales explained. “My response to that is ‘Extend your audition call to a more diverse array of people.’ Without that extension, the same bodies are put on stage time and time again, and those bodies are almost always white.”

She pointed out the irony of McGill theatre’s consistent whiteness, as it so contrasts Montreal’s diversity, mentioning that organizations such as The Black Theatre Workshop and The Centre for Intercultural Arts are only blocks away from campus. On the topic of choosing RENT, Gonzales believes that the AUTS was more attracted to the big name of RENT and did not think enough about the social logistics of what they were putting on. She reiterated that RENT is very different than other big-name musicals, as it places marginalized bodies at the centre of the story; by failing to deliver diverse representation, Gonzales stated that the mission of the original show is ignored. However, Gonzales takes an optimistic approach to the situation, viewing it as a way to open up a conversation on diversity and representation in casting.

“The student directors are students—they’re not going to have all the right answers the minute they assume the director position,” Gonzales sympathized. “However, what they put onstage matters. A lot. Representation matters at all levels.”

Nathaniel Hanula-James, the publicity manager of McGill’s Tuesday Night Café Theatre Company (TNC), has also starred in numerous productions during his time at McGill. Every year, new directors apply to work with TNC for the season, and it’s up to the board of the TNC to consider new directors within their mandate for inclusivity.

“If we have the same director who comes to us multiple times with a wonderful vision, we don’t want to keep privileging that director and have them do multiple seasons,” Hanula-James said. “Instead, we’re trying to pay more attention to first-time directors, who will maybe not produce as good of a play, but who we would want to give more of a chance to. Similarly, if you cast an actor of colour because there is a mandate for that, and they are not as good of a performer, well then train them!”

Gonzales explained that often racial dynamics are at play when assessing auditions.

“The white face is the face that we’re used to reading, so that one becomes the most legible to us,” Gonzales said. “Then in casting, I’ve seen directors consider someone white against someone of colour, and conclude that the white person is better—genuinely believing that it was a matter of talent. The fact is, both actors were just as talented, but the white body was easier to read.”

On a similar vein, Xu added that he understood audiences might subconsciously relate his racial appearance to his character.

“It’s harder to picture myself as being in one of the main couples,” Xu said. “The casting was predominantly white and I think that factors into it. The reality is that it’s easier to have me as an outsider.”

Xu also stated that the creative team of RENT did put in effort to cast fairly, and that casting him in such a way was more of a subconscious choice, when working with what they had. Xu asserted that as more people of colour are cast in shows, regardless of their roles, the community gradually becomes more inclusive.

“Looking on stage at performers, you can’t avoid seeing colour, it’s about getting used to that,” Xu stated. “We need to get used to the idea that people of colour can be in these roles too. I think representation is one of the least volatile and most powerful ways to do that.”

In a student-run atmosphere like McGill’s theatre community, companies such as the AUTS will continue to grow and flourish. Hopefully, this growth will come in part due to an understanding that diversity is not just for inclusion purposes; it makes for more interesting theatre.

Hanula-James emphasized that a student theatre community should have more training opportunities. Not making it into a show, or not getting into a very small theatre class, should not mean the end of the road for developing new talent. In the spirit of learning, RENT should not be looked upon as a failure on the part of anyone involved, but as a point of reflection and the beginning of an active conversation.

“McGill theatre, in general, should be more about training people and growing people, not about assembling a line of stars to keep performing in McGill theatre,” Hanula-James stressed.

Gonzales echoed Hanula-James statements, noting that there are numerous ways to find performers and interact with new people, all of which can increase a production’s overall presentation.

“Cast the architecture student at Concordia who wants to give it a go,” Gonzales said. “Find an underground clown class that meets in a gallery basement every Tuesday and see what they have to offer you. Just because we pay tuition doesn’t make us the only people who have something to offer and something to learn. McGill has taught me that I have the most to learn from my peers. And my peers don’t have to just be McGill students.”

a, Student Life

Reflections on the Self Care Challenge

by Liz Willcock on

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For most people, self care occurs on an unconscious level everyday. At its simplest, self care is the process whereby one gives their body and mind what they need. For the last three years, however, Healthy McGill has made a point of asking students to bring this process to a conscious level, making the effort to think about what they need, and making a point to answer these demands.

Healthy McGill’s annual “Self Care Challenge” took place this year from Feb. 8 to 19, and was designed to bring questions of self care to light in the midst of the stressful midterm season. There were five challenges every day, each of which covered a pillar of Healthy McGill: Active living, mental health, eating well, sexual health, and safe partying. The activities ranged from “go fill up your water bottle” or “compliment a friend” to “make an appointment to get tested for STIs.” Though these tasks may appear mundane to some, and are probably already a part of most students’ routines, self care constitutes undertaking these activities consciously as something that contributes to one’s overall health.

Dorothy Apedaile, a sexual and peer health educator at Healthy McGill, explained how self care is essentially about taking a moment to contribute to one’s personal health and wellbeing.

“The Self Care Challenge was about taking time for yourself,” Apedaile said. “It’s about folks developing behaviours that can help them down the road [….] The idea of the ‘challenge’ format [was] to start a community where folks can share their experiences. People who have completed the challenge in previous years say they enjoy seeing other students participating online, and that sharing their experiences is a form of self care in and of itself.”

Self care is particularly important for young students in stressful academic settings. Most mental illnesses, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and psychosis, crop up between the ages of 18 and 25. According to Anya McMurrer, a mental health coordinator for Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), nearly one third of McGill students experience less-than-average mental health over the course of their degree. Although self care is by no means a form of treatment, it is an important preventative measure in a competitive university environment where students are faced with a myriad of pressures, academic and otherwise.

The Self Care Challenge used the internet to begin discussions about self care and personal health. It asked students to demonstrate their self care over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and by the end of the week, the event page was filled with photo collages of students sharing their experiences throughout the 12-day period.

“I really see taking care of ourselves and actively adopting strategies to de-stress on a regular basis as key preventative measures in ensuring we maintain healthy outlooks on life, especially given the stress of school and the hundred other things we all have on our plates.”

Harnessing social media as a tool has proved effective for the Self Care Challenge in creating a community. Katie Wheatley, U3 Arts, chose to participate in the challenge for a second year simply because she enjoys seeing other students’ experiences.

“It reminded us, as busy students, to check in and make a conscientious effort to take care of ourselves,” Wheatley said. “I also chose to partake because I knew I would appreciate the reminders to spend time on myself, and encouragement to dive into what feel like little indulgences, at a point in the semester when things are ramping up in terms of stress and expectations.”

Wheatley also noted that she thought sharing her experience online encouraged her friends to participate in the challenge, or at least start thinking about self care.

Although social media is a powerful tool for starting discussions and building community, it is worth considering what was noticeably absent from the self care challenge: Male students. The participants posting in the event were overwhelmingly female, and undertaking what are conceived as typically gendered activities.

According Apedaile, the unfortunate consequence of using a social media platform is that gender comes into a lot of who uses social media. She stressed that although Healthy McGill tried to make the Self Care Challenge as accessible as possible, there were certain things that lie beyond their control.

“There are definitely gender expectations around who shares what on social media, ” Apedaile explained. “One of our solutions (to the lack of male participation) is getting people to email us and moving away from traditionally gendered types of self care like ‘painting your fingernails.’”

Although the experience of many participants of the Self Care Challenge was positive, it is essential to examine these initiatives critically and weigh the pros and cons.

For McMurrer, the Self Care Challenge, while contributing to the health of a great number of students, has a lot to improve on.

“Posting pictures of yourself doing any of the given activities can both empower you and normalize self care, but for the person scrolling through their news feed who hasn’t left bed in three days due to a bout of depression, it might actually be more upsetting,” McMurrer said.

To combat the issues with social media, McMurrer suggested Healthy McGill to shift the focus of the Self Care Challenge from an online forum for sharing, into a proactive form of community support.

“I think future Self Care Challenges can shift a little bit more towards thinking about ‘community care’—engaging with friends and loved ones and giving them support in any way they might need it,” McMurrer said. “Healthy McGill could cater to a wider audience by reframing the event as a Self-Care Week with different workshops that give you the opportunity to learn how you take care of yourself best.”

Wheatley, who participated in the challenge, noted that within the scope of their abilities, the Self Care Challenge had the potential to have a positive impact.

“I really see taking care of ourselves and actively adopting strategies to de-stress on a regular basis as key preventative measures in ensuring we maintain healthy outlooks on life,” Wheatley said. “Especially given the stress of school and the hundred other things we all have on our plates.”

Ultimately, the Self Care Challenge raised issues over the scarce health services at McGill—a shift that places responsibility for care on the student rather than the institution. McMurrer noted that there is a recent trend at the university where student groups pick up the slack when the university falls short, such as a lack of appointment availability to see psychologists, and long wait times that have let students down. She argued that in this sense the Self Care Challenge is essential to students, but part of a larger problem that needs to be addressed.

“There’s a much deeper issue here,” McMurrer said. “Ultimately, there is a lot of onus on McGill students to take care of themselves as individuals because the university is not taking proper care of [them].”

There remains a lot of work to be done at McGill in providing adequate mental health services, but for most students the Self Care Challenge appeared to be a step in the right direction in the meantime.

Reindeer Racing
a, Sports

10 Things: Reindeer Racing

by Nicholas Jasinski on

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1. Reindeer racing is a competitive and widely followed sport in some northern parts of Norway, Finland, and Russia. It involves speed-suit-wearing jockeys on cross country skis and a harness being dragged along by full-grown reindeer on a fixed snowy course, reaching speeds of up to 60 km per hour.

2. Reindeer—more commonly known as caribou in North America—are a species of deer native to arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. Both male and female reindeer grow and shed antlers each year, with some large males displaying antlers up to 135 cm in length. Depending on the subspecies and quality of diet, some reindeer can grow to be up to 185 kg in weight.  

3. Racing reindeer can be traced back to the Sami, an indigenous Scandinavian people who inhabit the far north of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. Reindeer are integral to Sami heritage and lifestyle, who rely on the animals for their fur and meat, as transportation and as a source of cultural pride.

4. Reindeer are notoriously difficult to domesticate and train for racing, being naturally skittish animals. The semi-wild reindeer are mostly raised for their meat, with only some particularly strong and fast specimens chosen and bred for their racing abilities.

5. “When the reindeer is a few years old, they’ll start to race it and see how good it is,” Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi of the Open University told The Guardian. “Reindeer herding is big business in that part of the world. So they may be wasting money because they’re investing in a reindeer they’re not sure about. It’s quite a gamble on gut feelings and instincts.”

6. The largest annual reindeer race takes place in Tromsø, Norway, each February as part of Sami National Day celebrations. Thousands of spectators come from near and far to witness “the fastest reindeer in Norway” race down a 200m track on Tromsø’s main avenue through the city center, where stores and even banks are closed for the day.

7. The competition is organised as an elimination cup, starting with qualifying heats where only the winners of each heat progress through to the next round. The final at the end of the day decides the national champion of Norway.

8. Another major race on the reindeer racing circuit takes place on a 1000m snow track in Levi, Finland, another region that prides itself in its Sami roots. This is contested between reindeer breeding cooperatives, who compete to see who produced the strongest and fastest reindeer in their herds that year. There are 51 reindeer breeding cooperatives in Finland that raise reindeer for meat, breeding, pulling sleighs, work on farms, as well as racing.

9. In Naryan-Mar, Russia, teams come from reindeer herding communities in the region to participate in various events including sled races. In its journey to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, the Olympic flame passed through Naryan-Mar on a reindeer sled.

10. Every February, as part of the lead-up to the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Anchorage, Alaska, hosts a winter variation of Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls: The Running of the Reindeer. People gather in heats and sprint down a street pursued by a herd of charging reindeer, dodging hooves and antlers as they run.

Academy Awards Predictions
a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

2016 Academy Award Predictions

by Tanveer Ahmed and Christopher Lutes on

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For the 2016 Academy Awards the Arts and Entertainment section of the Tribune did the work for you, predicting the winners for Best Film, Best Leading Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, and Film Editing. Read the reviews, rent the films, and be ready to watch the Oscars on Feb. 28. Unless you're boycotting the show, that is. 

Best Picture: Spotlight

A true exercise in cinematic restraint, Spotlight is the rare Best Picture oscar nomination that was actually the best film of the year. Featuring a taut script and a versatile ensemble full of heavy-hitting character actors, the film uses the Boston Globe’s slow uncovering of rampant sexual assault in the Catholic church as a testament to the importance of the journalistic process. There’s a subtle humanity beneath the journalists’ shocking discovery, making their work feel personally important as well as publicly.

Best Actor In a Leading Role: Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio is probably going to win for the two-and-a-half hour exercise in human misery that is The Revenant, but in typical Oscar's fashion, he is not the most deserving contender. Instead, that honour goes to Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of the notoriously difficult Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. The film spans three decades of his life, and Fassbender’s committed performance does a great job of showing what does and doesn’t change about the man behind the Macbook.

Best Actress In a Leading Role: Brie Larson, Room

Delivering the latest in a string of strong emotionally-vulnerable performances, Larson’s portrayal of a young woman who is held in captivity for years and then released, might be her best yet. Well-served by the melodramatic potential of the script, Larson sells the unimaginably complex interior life of her character through acts of depression and frustration at herself and the world around her before and after her freedom. There’s a rare emotional consistency to her performance, with each action and reaction revealing something deeper about her mental state, and the trappings that total freedom can bring.

Best Actor In a Supporting Role: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Giving an exercise in powerful, invisible acting, Mark Rylance is by far the best part of Bridge of Spies, elevating a middle of the road spy thriller. As a captured Russian spy, Rylance brings a quiet dignity to his role, hinting at his character’s humanity beneath his allegiances, but never fully giving anything away. Every movement he makes is meticulous and hypnotic, silently drawing attention to himself in every frame without ever stealing the spotlight.

Best Actress In a Supporting Role: Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Giving two of the year’s best performances (the other was her voice work in Anomalisa), Jennifer Jason Leigh had a 2015 that hints at a Matthew McConaughey-style creative resurgence. Her role as a captured member of a band of outlaws is remarkable for how gleefully unhinged and dark it’s allowed to get. Her character’s unrepentant nastiness is simultaneously played for laughter and menace, an incredibly difficult line to walk that Jason Leigh handles with manic grace.

Film Editing: Hank Corwin, The Big Short

The Big Short had the hardest job to keep the audience engaged in a complicated story, but the way the film was edited and cut kept your attention at every turn. The pacing was perfect in terms of letting the anticipation of the climax build until the very end without seeming pretentious. The simultaneous juggling of multiple parallel storylines only worked as well as it did due to the superb editing that the other films did not need nor display to the same extent.

Read our extended predictions for live-action and animated short films online.

a, McGill, News

Co-Curricular Record offers students recognition for school-sponsored activities

by Regina Wung on

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Piloted in 2013 by the MyInvolvement division of Student Services, the Co-Curricular Record (CCR) serves as an online tool to help students record their participation in university-sponsored clubs and organizations. MyInvolvement is an online portal that allows McGill students to discover and catalog participation in learning opportunities that take place outside of the classroom. Examples of activities that appear on a CCR include participation on athletics teams, in workshops offered by McGill, positions on executive boards of certain student government councils, and clubs sponsored by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). 

CCR Program Administrator Tim Wilfong explained that the concept is similar to that of a CV, but because it is an official school record, activities listed on the CCR carry official verification from the university.

“The official CCR will have the deputy provost’s signature, so it really is an attestation that these things really happened, that students really participated,” Wilfong said. “It includes volunteering, workshop attendance, peer educator opportunities, varsity athletics, student leadership positions in clubs, student government, etc. and […] awards and scholarships that you’ve received that aren’t on your transcript but [that] the university acknowledges.”

Additionally, Wilfong contended that students can use the CCR as a tool to help write their CV later in their university or post-university careers.

“I think it’s trying to help students to know how to put it on their CV, to find the right words, to think more critically about what they learned, and how they can market it,” he said. 

Speaking to SSMU Council on Feb. 11, Wilfong urged departmental councils to spread word of the CCR to all McGill students.

“This is a movement that’s happening across Canada,” he said. “It’s in McGill’s best interest to also be on the cutting edge.”

According to Wilfong, student feedback has been positive thus far.

“The vast majority of students who I’ve talked to about the project that we have are excited about it and really want the record to succeed,” he said. “The student leaders have all been excited to be able to offer recognition to the people who were doing work for them and to get that recognition themselves.”

SSMU Vice-President (VP) External Affairs Emily Boytinck voiced her concern about the type of message that the widespread use of the CCR might send to students.

“My issue with this record is that it is essentially the university saying, ‘This is what we consider a valuable university experience, and this is what we don’t consider to be a valuable university experience,’ and to me, I find that highly limiting,” she said. “I have a lot of concerns with the project just putting additional pressures on students, who are already feeling a lot of pressure to succeed academically, to also feel like they have to fill up this co-curricular record as well.”

Boytinck also argued, however, that the CCR could potentially encourage students to get involved for disingenuous reasons.

“As somebody who’s been involved in student government for a really long time, I’ve chaired a bunch of committees where you know that some people are just on it so they can write something on their resumé,” she said. “I feel like in a lot of ways, this co-curricular record encourages this type of title-grabbing, title-searching behaviour.”

VP Clubs and Services Kimber Bialik brought up the issue of inequity among the recognition of students who devote the majority of their time to a fewer number of projects, versus students who spread small portions over their time among a variety of activities.

“It prioritizes and provides more benefits [to] students who are superficially involved in a number of different organizations at an arm’s length over students who are involved in one initiative but pour much more of their time into the betterment of their chosen project, and treating those two scenarios equally disadvantages the group of students who are often putting more into those smaller number of projects,” she said.

Bialik is equally wary of the CCR’s potential to encourage so-called ‘resumé building.’

“I entirely share the concerns that individuals have raised about the potential for encouraging students to get involved in campus life solely for the purpose of gaining recognition through the Co-Curricular Record,” she said. 

According to Wilfong, this problem is not something that is fundamentally caused by the practice of recording one’s co-curricular activities.

“I think that was a problem long before the CCR ever existed,” Wilfong said. “I think it’s kind of a systemic issue within higher education right now, and within the workforce to a certain extent also.”

In spite of these reservations, Bialik ultimately conceded that the CCR is potentially beneficial to student involvement at McGill.

“Unfortunately, these issues are unavoidable,” she said. “Despite my personal reservations about [it…] if the student groups who would be recognized on the [CCR] believe that their inclusion on the project would be beneficial to their group, then I am more than happy to consent to the inclusion of all SSMU groups on the [CCR].”

a, Editorial, Opinion

Editorial: Deregulation at McGill should not necessitate an increase in international student tuition

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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The Quebec government recently announced a new round of budget cuts to university funding for the 2016-2017 academic year. As a means of mitigating the blow, however, the government is rumoured to also have given Quebec universities the green light to raise tuition for international students to the tune of up to 25 per cent, according to La Presse. Tuition deregulation, which would do away with equalizing payments—a process that funnels any tuition above the Quebec rate generated from international students back to the government to be redistributed among universities throughout the province—has been on the administration’s radar for a while. The elimination of equalization payments is a necessary step, but the administration should seek to minimize, as much as possible, any additional financial burden that deregulation will place on McGill’s international students.

McGill stands to benefit from deregulation, but a concurrent increase in tuition for international students is unnecessary. While deregulation doesn’t need to go hand-in-hand with an increase in international tuition, McGill’s track record of tuition deregulation does not provide a promising outlook: History suggests that deregulation will invariably result in a tuition increase for non-Canadians. In McGill’s deregulated Faculty of Engineering, for example, international students pay $37,054.55 in tuition and fees, compared to an undergraduate international student in the regulated Faculty of Arts who pays only $18,258.61 a year.

The budget constraints faced by the university provide an obvious draw for McGill to discontinue its payments to Quebec’s equalization system if given the opportunity. Deregulating the remaining faculties would allow McGill to reinvest international students’ supplemental tuition money into the services and infrastructure that its students use.

The burden of a tuition increase on international students would therefore pose a risk to McGill’s accessibility for non-Canadian students.

Additionally, a portion of the money retained from deregulation should be put towards bursary programs, so that international students are not faced with a significant financial burden that would inhibit them from attending the university. In order to maintain accessibility for international students, however, McGill cannot rely solely on bursaries and other reactive solutions to alleviate a vast increase in international student tuition which follows deregulation.

International students make up a large percentage of McGill’s student body—approximately 25 per cent. In the context of tuition deregulation, this means two things: First, McGill is currently losing a significant amount of money from international students that is being diverted away from the university and funneled into other universities that have a potentially smaller income due to fewer numbers of international students. Secondly, McGill has a unique demographic makeup that it should seek to foster and protect—not exploit.

Significantly increasing the cost of international student tuition sends the wrong message to McGill’s international student body, members of the community who contribute to McGill’s cultural diversity. This diversity continues to attract open-minded and cosmopolitan students from around the world to study at McGill. Moreover, concerns about accessibility for international students are salient, and McGill has not shown that it can provide adequate bursaries for students in deregulated faculties to balance the costs that the tuition increases would incur. The burden of a tuition increase on international students would therefore pose a risk to McGill’s accessibility for non-Canadian students.

Quebec’s student body has long advocated for affordable tuition—a principle that has guided the ideologies of student unions within the province, and which backed the student protests against tuition hikes in 2012. Tuition increases, while necessary for the future viability of Quebec’s universities, are opposed in principle by many of the province’s students. International students have generally been more open to such increases, but this should not give the university free reign to increase tuition for these students.

McGill should take advantage of the financial benefits it stands to gain from eliminating equalization payments that divert McGill’s funds directly into the hands of the provincial government for reallocation at its discretion. This potential for increased income, however, should not be tied inextricably to an increase in international student tuition. McGill’s cultural and socioeconomic variety is at risk; to protect this diversity, McGill should limit the hardships faced by international students.

a, Arts & Entertainment, Books

Artist Spotlight: James Dunnigan

by Evelyn Goessling on

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As a poet, novelist, and aspiring academic, McGill student James Dunnigan lives his life in a cloud of creative energy. While finishing a degree in Honours English (with a graduate essay on Virgil and Wordsworth’s pastoral poetry) Dunnigan reads and writes constantly while keeping up with Montreal’s thriving literary scene. 

Born and raised in Montreal, Dunnigan considers his Hungarian grandparents to be very influential in his passion for writing. His grandfather was a surgeon in Hungary during the Hungarian revolution, and also dabbled in painting and prose. The huge collective libraries of both sets of grandparents helped illustrate to Dunnigan the massive wealth of knowledge contained in the written word. 

“Writing comes from trying to be like the people I’ve admired the most,” Dunnigan said. “Reading and writing are something [my grandparents] are both involved in.”  

While Dunnigan’s interests are grounded in literary classics of all kinds, his writing style as well as his interests are always changing. 

“That’s what originality is,” he said. “Your intentions for a story change because your world changes. Writing must have that quality. The intention you have will be altered.” 

Dunnigan’s view is unexpected; considering his deep interest in the classics, his approach to writing is surprisingly fluid.

“Part of my methodological process is always reading as well as writing. The writing process is very loose. An idea could come anywhere,” Dunnigan said.

One story, Open Bay, has an astonishingly different style from an earlier story, Arabesque. Dunnigan attributes this to an editing crunch. 

“Open Bay was originally three times as long, and in cutting it down to reach the word limit I began cutting out grammatical units of sentences, which ultimately made it sound more like a little kid,” he said. 

The protagonist of Open Bay, a young girl, has little in common with the author. Arabesque, however, could be autobiographical: The protagonist is a young man, having a summer afternoon drink on Rue Sainte Catherine. Dunnigan said that it’s not specifically autobiographical, rather that “elements of character and setting are combinations of elements of real life, rearranged to create a story.” 

The protagonist of Arabesque emphasizes his love for author James Joyce, who was Dunnigan’s favorite author at the time. Now Dunnigan names Virgil, Faulkner, and Balzac to be his primary influences, but like his style, James’ favourite authors are always changing. 

“Faulkner and Balzac reinvent the novel every time they write it, I want to do that with my stories,” Dunnigan said. “Each story [I write] makes a different experiment, and a different experience. I want to escape narrowing down of styles. I’d rather be diverse, and of course good at all styles. That’s the hard part.” 

Dunnigan’s long-standing project is a novel, titled The Inflections of Wilfrid Ylle. Although complete, he says it needs a lot of revision. 

“Perhaps I tried too hard to reinvent the novel,” Dunnigan said, “The narrative structure became too complicated. Every piece of narrative comes from conversation. It’s an investigation into who this man was—perhaps relating somewhat autobiographically to a certain grandfather figure.” 

As a native Montrealer,  Dunnigan is used to living within French and English worlds simultaneously, which comes through in his interests as well as his academic work- he will be graduating this year with a minor in French. On translation, James says that if a translator is going to rewrite a piece, he may as well totally rework it. There is merit to translation, but Dunnigan tries to avoid it as much as possible. 

“I would never read Flaubert in English,” he said. 

While fragments of stories are always constantly popping up around him, for Dunnigan it’s all about the endgame.

Dunnigan explained, “the most rewarding thing about writing is finishing. You can’t finish many other things in life as satisfactory as a story. You can’t always choose where to put that final period.” 

Wherever that final period may be, Montreal should keep an eye out for James Dunnigan’s next work. 

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