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best tv shows 2015
a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

10 best TV shows of 2015

by Morgan Alexander, Luka Ciklovan, Evelyn Goessling, Christopher Lutes, Jack Neal, and Eric Noble-Marks on

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Here's our list of the 10 best TV shows of 2015:

10. How To Get Away With Murder

Suspenseful, sexy, and seriously entertaining, How to Get Away with Murder may be Shonda Rhimes’ best work to date. The plot twists at the end of each episode avoid the deus ex-machina tropes, adding to the overall plot that has maintained throughout the past two seasons. Add the excellent production quality to the talent and diversity of the cast—Viola Davis is the first African-American woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series—and viewers are left with a thrilling drama that hooks people in from the start.

9. Mr. Robot

It wasn’t perfect, but Mr. Robot was an entertaining companion to the dog days of summer. The show tells the story of Elliot Alderson, a socially-awkward, morphine-addled, hacker extraordinaire who attempts to bring down E-Corp, the world’s largest corporation. Rami Malek shines as Alderson. In fact, the show’s often at its best when it eschews its fierce anti-corporate rhetoric and we get to learn more about Elliot, one of the more fascinating protagonists on television today. Despite a couple minor blips, Mr. Robot’s first season was definitely promising.

8. Mad Men

The ’60s ultimately came to a close this past summer, with the final season of Mad Men tying up the stories of Don Draper and company. Never one to pander to fans, series creator Matthew Weiner delivered an ending that drew parallels to the end of The Sopranos in terms of how ambiguous it made the fate of its central character. The season showed the gradual dismantling of the Don Draper persona and the masculine ideal he represented, culminating in a final mission statement for the series that could either be read as hopeful or despairing depending on your outlook.

7. The Americans

How much of your life are you willing to sacrifice for a set of ideals? Your career? Your safety? Your children? On The Americans, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, both phenomenal) give up all three in the name of the Soviet Union, choosing to spend their lives as undercover spies amid Cold War tensions in Ronald Reagan’s America. Equal parts white-knuckle spy thriller and Chekhovian family drama, the series methodically examines what we give up for god, country, and each other, and the secrets we keep from ourselves.

6. Broad City

Broad City is Comedy Central’s response to Girls and Sex and the City: Instead of young women struggling to find freelance employment or a suitable bachelor, we find two friends searching for the best frozen yogurt flavor to cure their munchies. The former web series has turned into something of a cult classic because the show appeals to the unorthodox, hilarious realities of young working girls, not their distorted fantasies. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer star as two best friends who struggle to achieve personal and professional success but thrive in the antics of their friendship. Below the surface of this hysterical comedy lies an appreciation for the simple joys in life: Friendship, food, weed, and sex.

5. Nathan For You

This is the best reality TV show on air by some distance. Produced by cringe kings Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, Nathan For You is part gag show, part biting consumerist satire, and part psychological character study. More than anything, the show perfectly captures the absurd conditions of capitalism in 2015. Much of the credit has to go to director, creator, and star, Nathan Fielder, who provides help to struggling businesses through a combination of byzantine legal manoeuvring, awkward negotiations, and straight-up evil genius. Sometimes his schemes pay off, but most of the time they don’t. Whatever the case, it makes for outstanding TV.

4. Fargo

Inspired by the Coen Brothers’ film of the same name, Fargo examines midwestern life from the perspective of two warring gangs in the 1970s and the bystanders that get sucked into their orbit. It’s shot in beautiful widescreen, showcasing the beauty and desolation of wilderness, and uses period-appropriate split-screens to connect characters from its sprawling cast, or highlight the distance between them. Fargo wears its historical influences on its sleeve—economic stagnation, second-wave feminism, and corporate greed play a prominent role in the story. But it never feels didactic or forced, instead adding a deep thematic rooting to the violence and inviting parallels to the present-day.

3. The Jinx: The Life and Death of Robert Durst

The most gripping documentary in a year full of gripping documentaries, The Jinx transcended its true-crime subject matter and became an unflinching look into the idea of personal guilt and its ability to erode the soul. Starting as a standard, well-made documentary about millionaire Robert Durst, and the three murders he is accused of committing, the series becomes truly special when director Andrew Jarecki somehow gets Durst to give an extended interview about his alleged crimes. What follows is a series of fascinating contradictions, with Durst appearing simultaneously monstrous and sympathetic, and the different threads of the murder case pointing both to his guilt and his innocence.

2. Bojack Horseman

Often absurd, sometimes sad, and surprisingly poignant, BoJack Horseman once again delivers a good dose of reality in comedic form. BoJack, the title character, thinly veils his self-doubt and self-hatred with drugs, alcohol, and narcissism. When this veil drops, we see a sympathetic and even relatable character; no small feat coming from a talking horse and former sitcom star. It’s not hard to suspend one’s sense of reality in BoJack Horseman; despite the abundance of animal characters, because these characters are as multifaceted as any in more conventional comedy series. BoJack Horseman’s commentary on celebrity culture and dry wit transcend genres.

1. Rick and Morty

Driving on the border of existentialism and comedy, the latest brainchild of Dan Harmon, creator and co-producer of Community, and notable voice actor Justin Roiland rightfully stands as this year’s best TV series. Morty, a typically persuadable and horny teenager, constantly finds himself in sci-fi shenanigans orchestrated by his alcoholic scientist grandfather, Rick. Their interdimensional adventures never fail to bring bittersweet tears caused by both laughter and sadness. Laden with numerous references to contemporary issues of race, religion, and the nature of life itself, the show never shies away from exposing the dark underbelly of humanity. The fact that each episode generally tends to explore the various philosophical implications bound in quantum theory only augments the show’s often comically veiled sophistication. Rick and Morty is ultimately a show that makes you appreciate the tiny, insignificant, and random speck of cosmic dust we call Earth… and then proceeds to ‘Get Shwifty.’

(Photos from vox.com, nytimes.com, cloudfront.net, denofgeek.com, hitfix.com)

McGill Redpath Museum
a, McGill, News

Establishing a Fall reading week at McGill

by Shrinkhala Dawadi on

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In recent years, many universities, including Brock University, Western University, and McMaster University, have implemented Fall reading weeks. The University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus will have its first Fall reading break in 2016. McGill currently does not have a Fall reading week, although the idea has been discussed several times in the past few years.

This year, however, administrative headway has been made. Last June, a working group published a consultation draft of a Fall reading break proposal. Since then, there have been several rounds of discussion between students, faculty, and administrative staff. According to Executive Director of Enrolment Services Kathleen Massey, the proposed reading break would add two extra days of holiday in the Fall term. Although no models have yet been finalized, one includes extending the Thanksgiving holiday to include the Friday before Thanksgiving weekend and the Tuesday after. Another model includes incorporating the two days of break into a weekend in November, creating a long weekend.

Although further consultation and revision of the proposal is required, it could be implemented by the 2018-2019 school year.

thanksgiving2

One proposed model for a break in October

 

 

 

 

 

Results of the a national student survey conducted by Enrolment Services 

 

Benefits and trade-offs

According to Arts Senator Erin Sobat, who is a member of the working group, a Fall reading break would have positive mental health outcomes for students.

“The mental health benefits of an added break seem intuitive,” Sobat said. “However, we do have data from other Canadian universities showing that a Fall break generally decreases stress levels and improves academic performance, particularly for first-year students. More and more schools are moving towards a Fall reading break as a proactive response to concerns around student mental health and well being.”

In order to accommodate the extra days off, several adjustments to McGill’s calendar were proposed. Sobat underscored that the proposal aimed to preserve course time—McGill currently allocates 39 hours of meeting time per semester per course.

“When consulting students, we knew that there [were] going to have to be trade-offs,” Sobat said. “We knew that we couldn’t compromise too much on the teaching days, because that has been a concern, certainly, from faculty members in the past. [This is also a concern] of some students who don’t necessarily want to get less for what they’re paying for, for example, in terms of the course.”

Other trade-offs that were proposed included having Saturday exams and beginning the Fall semester before Labour Day.

“Saturday exams […] wouldn’t happen every year, given the calendar,” Sobat stated. “It would depend on the calendar dates […] maybe once every three years. We thought it was a reasonable compromise, and students took that as the least bad.”

Holding Saturday exams would also cost an additional $25,000 per year.

“These are the Enrolment Services’ costs for opening rooms, paying for porters and cleaners, and exam staffing,” Massey said. “It doesn’t take into account any additional costs that may be incurred by the faculties. I don’t know what those costs may be yet.”

Renee Sieber, associate professor in the Department of Geography and a council member of the McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT) explained that faculty members were generally in favour of a Fall reading break, but they were against starting the semester before Labour Day.

“The one thing that we didn’t favour is […] a Fall reading break forcing classes to start before Labour Day,” Sieber said. “We’ve had [experiences where] students don’t tend to come to class if it’s held before Labour Day.”

Sieber continued to highlight the need to re-evaluate the current structure of McGill’s course calendars.

“Why do we have 13-week courses?” said Sieber. “[…] A number of Canadian universities are moving to shorter semesters.”

Another point of discussion was the potential date of the Fall reading break. Although most students favoured incorporating the days off into the Thanksgiving weekend, Massey underscored the concerns about holding the break in October.

“While the students prefer Thanksgiving, some faculty believe believe that that’s too early in the term, [and] that not enough has happened yet to make it a worthwhile thing to do that early,” she said. “By November, you’ll have experienced more work as a student.”

Another concern was how a Fall break would affect scheduling of classes with lab components.

“The variety of class types across the university is staggering,” Sieber said. “For classes that have labs, [a Fall break] could affect a considerable number of labs in the course. A student may have a Friday [or] Monday lab—there’s two labs that disappear from the schedule.”

 

 

 

 

 

Faculty and student consultation

Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens, explained the process of introducing the proposal to the McGill administration.

“The first thing [the working group did was], we brought it to [the Enrolment and Student Affairs Committee (ESAC)],” he said. “ESAC is a sub committee of the Senate. ESAC is an advisory committee. The people who sit on ESAC, most of them are associate deans from all the faculties [….] We brought the idea of the Fall reading week to ESAC and they thought it was an interesting.”

Last semester, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) additionally released a survey to consult students about a Fall reading break. MAUT also conducted a survey amongst its members, and the Faculty of Arts is currently conducting a survey for its students.

 

 

 

 

 

Results of the SSMU survey

 

Sieber explained that MAUT was displeased with the level of consultation they had received from the McGill administration.

“[MAUT] was asked by the administration to investigate [the proposed Fall break],” Sieber said. “This was long after they talked to other organizations so we were not pleased that they spoke to us, what seemed to be after the fact [….] Some faculty were [consulted early on], but that's not the way MAUT does things. MAUT was hoping that as an association, we would have been consulted because we represent the faculty.”

Pending further consultation and revision of the proposed Fall reading break draft, the proposal will have to get approved by Senate.

“We were hoping that it would be able to go through [Senate] this term, with the goal of bringing a revised calendar to senate to actually revise the 2017-2018 year,” Sobat said. “It’s not looking like that’s going to be possible at this point, I think we’re too late. So we’re probably pushing [it] to 2018-2019, which is too bad, most of us will still be around.”

Nevertheless, Massey remains hopeful that the proposal will pass.

“People are in favour of a fall break in principle,” Massey said. “It’s just about figuring out that ideal set of tradeoffs and addressing these challenges. I feel very positive about it, particularly since I’ve seen positive survey feedback from [students and] the faculty.”

a, Student Life

The night owls of CKUT Radio

by Audrey Carleton on

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CKUT 90.3 FM has provided McGill students and Montreal residents with community news, alternative music, and culture shows since 1987. Like any radio station, the majority of its headline programs occur during the day; however, CKUT’s programming does not stop when the day ends and a large portion of the radio station’s programming occurs when the majority of its listeners are asleep. “William Shatner’s Whiskey Tears,” informally referred to as “Whisky Tears” by its hosts, is one of these programs. The music-dominated show is held from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Thursday mornings. It has rotating hosts selected on a volunteer basis to choose their own music and spoken content each week. 

While most of CKUT’s programs are made up of a mix of efforts from McGill students and non-student members of the local community, "Whiskey Tears" is unique in that it is almost exclusively hosted by McGill students. 

With any media programming that airs when the majority of regular listeners are asleep, there is the question of where the program gets its audience. The hosts of the program themselves can only guess as to whom their music and voices reach. 

“It’s so hard to know how many people are listening, or if anyone is,” Celia Robinovitch, U1 Social Work and volunteer host, said. “The world just seems dead at that time [….] I think that there’s something about doing a show at a late hour that makes you feel super anonymous, and it actually does make you feel under the radar.”

The anonymity of nighttime radio is a central part of the intrigue for its hosts.

“There’s something fun about listening to the radio really early in the morning,” Pillai said. “It’s like one of those things that feels good but you can’t really explain [it]. Like taking a cab to the airport at three in the morning, it feels really cool to be out and see no one around. It’s sort of the same experience in going to the radio station and seeing no one there […] you are in a space which is entirely yours.”

Some of the hosts have their own speculations as to who their main listener demographic is. 

“I think it’s mostly people who work nights,” Robinovitch said. “Once, I got a call at 4:45 [a.m.], the first time I did "Whiskey Tears" from someone saying [she/he] liked the music. [This listener was] like, ‘Yeah, I’m driving to work, and this song’s really good, what’s it called?’ and I was like ‘[Wow], does this happen every time?’”

"Whiskey Tears" is also not a nighttime program all across the world. Depending on the time zone, international audiences are able to tune in to the show live during the day. 

“I’m from the [United Kingdom], so they’re five hours ahead,” Xavier Pillai, U3 History student and volunteer host, said. “At nine in the morning, my friends are all waking up, and I’m like ‘I’m on the radio!’ and they’re like ‘Oh cool, I’ll listen in on my way to school.’”

The unconventional timing of "Whiskey Tears" allows the hosts more freedom and control than most other CKUT programming. CKUT typically follows a mandate in which a maximum 10 per cent of songs played can come from top-40 hit lists from any point in history, and following Canadian radio regulations, at least 35 per cent of songs must be of Canadian origin. While "Whiskey Tears" hosts aim to follow CKUT’s standards, the nature of the program allows them more freedom from these rules. 

“There’s a certain element of it that you know your show is from four to six a.m.,” Robinovitch said.  “So you’re like ‘Okay, let’s go for the weird ambient noise.’ It gives you a sense of huge liberty to be like ‘I’m going to play some weird video game music remix’ [….]”

Weekly volunteers assigned to host "Whiskey Tears" have a lot of freedom in deciding not only which tracks get played, but how to go about playing them. While some hosts prefer to choose their songs in advance and arrange them into a playlist, others enjoy the spontaneity of playing tracks one by one while live on the air. 

Regardless of presentation style, all hosts agree that having the power to choose and showcase music to an audience can be nerve-wracking, though this improves with time and experience. 

Ultimately, the feeling of control over the spread of music that results from hosting a radio show is well worth the nerves and debate over listenership that come with it. 

“It just is really validating I think,” Robinovitch said. “It’s also fun to put together a mix if you’re someone who’s really into music [….] When you’re someone who makes playlists just for fun […] it’s [cool] to feel like music that you chose is getting put out there.”

"William Shatner’s Whiskey Tears" airs live from four to six a.m. on Thursday mornings on 90.3 FM and online here. To listen to the show after it’s aired, check out CKUT’s programming grid here. 

a, Behind the Bench, Sports

Simplicity in concept, duplicity in design: The precarious state of daily fantasy sports

by Élie Lubendo on

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I have never purchased a lottery ticket, gone to a casino, or joined any online poker site. I can count on my fingers the amount of times I have made serious wagers with friends, and raffle tickets have always revolved around the spirit of charity rather than the thrill of betting. I would not call myself a gambler. I am, however, an avid sports fan. Having experienced the contagious nature of sports and the exhilaration in predicting the seemingly unpredictable, I understand that the world of sports can bring out the best and worst in us. I have seen how fantasy sports can be used as training grounds for fans to gain a better understanding of how the games operate, and I have seen them exploit the addictive behaviours of certain users by luring them into believing that winning is easy. 

Sports fans, more than anyone, should understand that winning is never easy. Winning money in daily fantasy sports (DFS) requires an in-depth knowledge of sports and a complex analytical approach; when fans, however, are bombarded with $206 million in television ads from industry giants FanDuel and DraftKings that advertise DFS as a casual and fun alternative to gambling, that point is quickly forgotten. While DFS companies should not be held accountable to teach sabermetrics to their users, they do, however, have a responsibility to accurately represent the complexity of DFS betting. 

The premise of DFS is simple: Participants deposit money into an account on a DFS website, pick a roster of players limited by a salary cap, and bet on their daily performance. Users who are knowledgeable about sports or are lucky enough can make a lot of money. So, what’s the catch? A miniscule 1.3 per cent of all DFS players win 91 per cent of total profits. Those equipped with the background and skills to employ advanced statistical models will always do better than casual fans. Despite branding itself as a skill-based game, DFS has a gambling problem. The main issue lies not in the shocking allegations of insider trading, but in the industry’s willful ignorance of the disparity of information between users. If DFS is going to survive, it will have to bridge this gap by building a central hub that offers betting in conjunction with sports analytics tools and social interaction for more casual fans—less money, more Moneyball.

It could all come to an end, however, if FanDuel and DraftKings do not survive their legal battles against state regulators who believe that DFS is gambling. The debate about the gambling status of DFS all began when allegations of ‘insider trading’ broke out in early October. Ethan Haskell, a DraftKings employee, had won $350,000 as runner-up in a $25-entry tournament on rival site FanDuel the same week that there was a data leak. This created fears that employees were capitalizing on non-public information. In response to the news issue, New York Attorney General Eric Scheidermann launched an investigation and issued cease-and-desist orders to FanDuel and DraftKings, calling the DFS industry a “multi-billion dollar scheme to evade the law and fleece sports fans.” Since then, many states have banned daily fantasy sports within their jurisdictions. FanDuel and DraftKings have responded with statements, vowing to protect their growing industry and to fight back against the state’s gambling allegations.

Come what may, DFS companies will have to move swiftly and come up with innovative ideas to secure their future. The lack of data and sports analytics on DFS websites is disappointing. Users can spend five minutes or five hours on platforms, and finish with the same results. The lack of information naturally pushes users to other websites to find the necessary information, creating one more obstacle between casual sports fans and data experts. Granted, sports analytics has never been light work, but a DFS site should not have 44 per cent of its users visit three to four websites to do their research, while another 30 per cent of users visit six or more sites to do theirs. Aside from allowing you to select a roster and a tournament, there is no utility to the online platform provided by either FanDuel or DraftKings. These sites give no statistics on user picks and profiles despite having exclusive access to them. Without the provision of advanced analytics, little separates DFS from the lottery. If the industry is to survive, it will have to learn how to enthuse sports fans to embrace statistics, not gambling. Additionally, the lack of features makes the experience less engaging and counterproductive to the social networks they could capitalize on if they concentrated more on product offerings rather than acquiring new customers.

Centralizing sports data would also increase advertising revenues as user traffic would remain on DFS sites instead of leaking to other analytic resources. Besides, it is no secret that people with more information perform better in the financial markets. An open-data system would decrease the extreme disparity between winners and losers, as the losers would gradually get better, thus increasing the competitive atmosphere of the game. Additionally, decreasing the winner-loser disparity should increase tournament entries, as players would feel more confident about betting if the gambling stigma is removed. As fans await the fate of the DFS industry and the future of sports betting in North America, FanDuel and DraftKings must ask themselves whether they are a gambling website, a sports analytics platform, or sports social media, and whether, when this all blows over, they are willing to make the necessary changes to fix their gambling problem and brand themselves honestly to sports fans. 

a, Features

The changing nature of Canadian and American border security

by Aislinn Kalob on

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The Canadian border with the United States is the longest un-militarized border in the world, a statistic symbolic of the peaceful relationship the two countries have held for hundreds of years; however, it does not take into account recent efforts or attitudes towards strengthening security along this 8,890 kilometre long international border.

A Bloomberg poll released in September showed that 41 per cent of respondents, Americans over the age of 18, agreed with the following statement: “If a wall is good for the Mexico border, it is good for the Canada border as well.” The concept of a physical brick-and-mortar structure separating the two counties was originally brought to the public’s attention by former U.S. presidential candidate and Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, who called this “a legitimate issue for us to look at” in terms of law enforcement. In response, Jason Kenney, then Canada’s minister for National Defence and Multiculturalism dismissed Walker’s statement, citing extensive security conditions already in place.

 

“If you look at how the border works today, with helicopters going up and down, and security boats patrolling on a constant daily basis, it’s clear that border is heavily secured,” Kenney said at the time.

 

The rhetoric surrounding a Canadian-American border wall earlier this year was just that: Rhetoric. This serves as a reminder that even among countries coexisting so peacefully, security has increased on a large scale in recent years. Prior to the attacks on September 11, about half of the border crossings were left unguarded at night. In the years since 2001, the number of American security personnel along the border has increased from 340 to 2,220 as of 2014. Air travel to and from Canada and the United States began requiring passport identification in 2007, and via land, in 2009. In the decade following 9/11, the United States has spent $3 billion per year securing its northern borders.

 

To understand the phenomenon of evolving security is to examine how the new laws manifest themselves on the ground. In two adjacent communities split through the middle by a fairly open border: Stanstead, QC, Canada, and Derby Line, VT, U.S.A, security has come to play a role in the everyday lives of residents, apparent even to the casual visitor.

Sunrise
a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Film Review: Bonjour Hi

by Sarah Leinwand on

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Bonjour Hi is a multi-director film created by Sean Lee, Giuliana Mazzetta, Ben Koring, Christina Wood, and Ryan MacDowell. The movie, which was co-produced with TVM: Student Television at McGill, consists of three short film with four storylines. One of the producers, Jack Johnson, noted that the team hoped to create “an homage to the past four years” in Montreal in this 48-minute feature.

The film begins with a young man holding a guitar, inviting the viewer on an exciting day in “sunny, snowy, and always cold [Montreal]. After the title card, a new, disjointed scene begins, different from the introduction. A couple dances through an abandoned building in all-white undergarments, then the scene cuts to the same couple in bed in their apartment. Although the cinematography is beautiful, this first scene is somewhat vague; and since it has no dialogue, lacks real substance. The silence of the scene suggests a language barrier between the couple, which would relate to the film’s title. It’s also uncertain whether the movie will follow this silent couple for the next 48 minutes, but when the couple parts on a street corner at the end of the scene, it is evident that Bonjour Hi plans on sharing more stories.

The young man from before the title card shows up with his guitar yet again; an ever-present troubadour amongst the hustle and bustle of the youthful people of Montreal. The next scene follows two young men in a cafe, where one of them makes countless jokes about the “fair trade” trend that defines Montreal’s eateries. Comedy ensues as the man grills the barista on the facts and follies of fair trade coffee and rips pages out of a Jack Kerouac novel he claims to hate. This hilarious, well-timed scene left the audience hankering for more of the push and pull dynamic of the two young men, but, alas, more of Montreal must be explored.

A new story continues in the same cafe, following a woman distressed over missing an interview. The film’s title comes into clever play as the barista greets the woman with the common Montreal greeting, “Bonjour, Hi.” The film cleverly incorporates the city’s bilingualism, showing the woman and barista speaking French, but the woman texting her friend in English. Once the woman leaves the cafe, the scene takes a unique turn, as the woman enters an impromptu silent dance party. The scene turns into a dance number, and added colour adjustment shows the brightness that can appear on a snowy day in Montreal.

The last scene is much like the first: A montage of a couple’s adventure. But this time, a girl narrates the scene, reminiscing about getting to know the city and how her time in the city has come to an end. The montage shows the silent wonders of Montreal—climbing up Mont Royal, eating poutine at the top, watching the sunrises, and tobogganing down it in the snow.The film ends as it begins, welcoming the audience to say “Bonjour Hi” to the next chapter. This interesting repetition creates a sort of nostalgia that mimics the film’s portrayal of nostalgia for living in Montreal.

a, Out on the Town, Student Life

Three hole-in-the-wall resto-bars to celebrate the end of the semester

by Liz Willcock on

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Nowhere has the term “hole-in-the-wall” been more applicable than in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont Royal. Every few blocks, in between the Plateau’s signature brownstone apartments, a bar is hiding on the corner of a residential street. Keeping with the area’s welcoming atmosphere, these bars are filled with friends meeting after work, or couples on casual dates. These days, it seems as though every street from Saint-Laurent to Saint-Denis boasts its own bar where locals gather like in a scene from How I Met Your Mother. The appeal of the hole-in-the-wall bar is undeniable. There is something about these places that makes you feel as though you’re a regular regardless of whether it’s your first time or your hundredth. Whether celebrating the end of midterms or mourning a fallen GPA, these bars along Rue Roy are the best places to feel at home over a pint of beer. 

Icehouse

Icehouse is the perfect place for southern comfort food and a welcoming environment. It’s easy to understand why anyone might count this bar among their favourites. Located on the corner of Rue Saint-Dominique and Rue Roy, it is completely unassuming from the exterior. It is set apart from surrounding apartments by the white fairy lights strung around the outdoor patio. On the inside, however, the restaurant keeps to its Texan theme. The menu features fried chicken served in white and red striped buckets, tacos with pulled pork and fried shrimp, and pitchers of bourbon lemonade. Instead of conventional tables, patrons can gather around red picnic benches and drink out of star spangled pint glasses. Before the food arrives, a host will set the table with a brown paper tablecloth. Although the paper is perplexing at first, it is explained when the server dumps food meant for sharing directly onto the table. The cozy white lights, Texan flags, and old-school pictures of pin-up girls make for a unique experience on this inconspicuous street corner.

Bar Watts

Bar Watts, on Rue Roy just west of Rue Saint-Denis, is identifiable only by a small white sign which bears its name. This sophisticated bar opened only a few weeks ago, and is the kind of hole-in the-wall that looks mysterious and unassuming. From the outside it blends into the houses that surround it, with a black painted front door and lack of window; however once inside, Bar Watts is anything but plain. At times, the bar verges on a slightly Gothic ambience; behind the DJ booth stands a three foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary which looks down on the dance floor. The restaurant is dimly lit by candles, and bottles line the walls, flickering in the light. In the front, there are sit-down tables and seats at the bar where patrons can bask in the stylish atmosphere. From there, people can watch as servers bring out delicious personalized pizzas and mini meatballs from a window that overlooks the kitchen. Their fancy pizzas have toppings like cauliflower, prosciutto, and arugula, but half-price pizza nights on Wednesdays and Sundays make this the perfect place to amble over with friends.

Else's

Else’s location at the corner of Rue Roy and Rue De Bullion earns its hole-in-the-wall status, but this restaurant is anything but anonymous. Famous for its neon blue exterior, Else’s is hard to miss. This neighbourhood bar was opened 21 years ago by a Norwegian woman named Else, who had newly arrived in Montreal. Although much has changed since it opened, Else’s has always been a spot for Plateau residents to meet over drinks and warm food. As the name itself implies, Else’s feels like stepping into a friend’s house. Potted plants hang from the windows and the tables are arranged in a haphazard mess; there is little sense of formality to the pub. You can chat for hours with friends over a hot cider or a pint of beer, and not want to leave. Else’s also puts a funky twist on typical bar food. Instead of your standard burger and fries, their menu includes everything from mini bison, quinoa, and fish burgers to veggie tacos and spicy chicken wings with sesame noodles.

a, Sports

10 Things: Unlikely sports journeys

by Nick Jasinski on

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  1. Warren Moon (NFL QB; 1984 to 2000): Moon was the first player to be inducted into both the CFL and NFL Hall of Fame, but he went undrafted in the 1978 NFL draft. He joined the Edmonton Eskimos where he won five consecutive Grey Cups and earned a second chance at the NFL with the Houston Oilers in 1984. Moon made the Pro Bowl nine times in the next decade, and retired in 2000 with his career numbers for yards, attempts, touchdowns and completions all in the top-five of all-time.

  2. Jose Calderon (NBA PG; 2005 to present): Calderon started his professional basketball career in Spain in 1998, quickly gaining a reputation as a talented playmaker. Toronto Raptors General Manager Rob Babcock persuaded the point guard to join the NBA in 2005. Calderon currently plays for the New York Knicks, and holds the NBA record for the best free-throw percentage in a season, converting 151 of 154 shots in  the 2008-2009 year.

  3. Peter Šťastný (NHL C; 1980 to 1995): Forbidden to play in the NHL by Czechoslovakia’s communist government in the ’70s, Šťastný and his brother Anton defected to Canada in 1980 to play for the Quebec Nordiques. Peter would go on to become one of the greatest players ever and setting 18 records, some of them still standing today.

  4. Jamie Vardy (PL Striker; 2014 to present): After spending the first decade of his soccer career bouncing around a number of semi-professional clubs in the bottom ranks of the English Football League system, Vardy signed with Leicester City in the Football League Championship for a non-league record transfer fee of £1 million in 2012. A season after being promoted to the Premier League in 2014, Vardy scored in a record 11 consecutive matches, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 12-year-old Premier League record.

  5. Matt Stairs (MLB 1B; 1992 to 2011): It’s rare for a player to make it through the 40 rounds of the MLB draft without being noticed by any team, but that’s what happened to the New Brunswick-native in 1989. Signed by the desperate Montreal Expos in 1992, Stairs enjoyed a two-decade career in which he played for 12 different teams, set the MLB record for career pinch-hit home runs, and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

  6. Wes Welker (NFL TE; 2004 to present): Despite setting the NCAA record for most career punt-return touchdowns at Texas Tech, Welker was not invited to the NFL combine, and went undrafted. After making a name for himself with the Miami Dolphins, Welker broke out with the New England Patriots, where he became a five-time Pro Bowler and played in two Super Bowls.

  7. John Starks (NBA SG; 1990 to 2002): Starks earned a tryout with the New York Knicks before the 1990 season after going undrafted in 1988. An ill-advised dunk over Patrick Ewing ended in a knee injury for Starks, and the Knicks were not allowed to release him unless he was fully healed by December, forcing the team to keep him on the roster. Starks performed well after returning from injury and became the Knicks’ starting shooting guard for rest of the decade.

  8. Martin St. Louis (NHL RW; 1998 to 2015): The one-time Hart winner, two-time scoring champion and three-time Lady Byng recipient has played  in over 1,000 games and scored over 1,000 points in the NHL since going unnoticed in the 1997 draft after a disappointing senior year at the University of Vermont.

  9. Kurt Warner (NFL QB; 1998 to 2009): After going undrafted in the 1994 draft, Warner was forced to stock shelves at a grocery store for $5.50 an hour to make ends meet before landing an Arena Football League Contract. In 1998, the St. Louis Rams picked him as their third-string QB and he made his first career start in the following season. He would go on to earn four Pro Bowl appearances, two MVP awards, a Super Bowl ring, and would retire with 22 NFL records.

  10. Ben Wallace (NBA C; 1996 to 2012): Wallace holds the record for the most NBA games played by an undrafted player with 1,088 appearances over his career for five teams. Wallace also is a four-time All-Star, four-time Defensive Player-of-the-Year (tied for most ever with Dikembe Mutombo) and the 2004 NBA Champion.
a, McGill, News

SUS presents updates on Burnside basement renovation

by Julia Dick on

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On Wednesday, Nov. 25 the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) held its last General Council (GC) meeting of the semester, during which it wrapped up remaining agenda items and prepared for next semester.

Provincial representation

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) has been deliberating on whether to join a new provincial federation after the disbanding of the Fédération Étudiante Universitaire du Québec (FÉUQ) in March, 2015. SUS Representative to SSMU, Sean Taylor, asked the council if the Vice-President (VP) External of SSMU, Emily Boytinck, could speak at an SUS GC in January 2016 on provincial representation; she has already spoken to the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) as well as the McGill Environment Students’ Society (MESS).

“I think [the] importance of having SSMU's VP External join us at GC next semester is largely to shed light on what provincial representation actually is and what it could bring to students in the Faculty of Science,” wrote Eric Mitchell, VP external for Neuroscience Undergraduates at McGill, in an email to the Tribune.

SUS club funding

Sibat Anam, the SUS VP finance, presented updates on his portfolio. Citing discussions held among the SUS executive team in the 2014-2015 year, he asked members of the GC for input and feedback on the idea of providing funding to clubs who are not SSMU clubs.

“Last year there was a lot of talk of clubs who are not part of SSMU perhaps going under the SUS to get funding,” Anam said. “That discussion is very new and is just starting [.…] It’s more a thing we’ll work on next semester.”

Anam also noted that previously this issue wasn’t as important.

“The need for such a fund wasn't as prudent in the past as it is now,” Anam wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Initially, the issue of funding clubs came up when there was a student group that didn't receive departmental status from McGill, and therefore was ineligible to get direct funding from the SUS as the rest of our departmental student organizations do.”

Mitchell expressed initial trepidation at the idea, though made clear that the discussion is still in its early stages.

“A concern I have is how this will fit into the budget as it is now, considering our student fees were just increased and the funds from those fees have already been put to use,” Mitchell wrote. “The benefits these clubs could provide would have to be assessed when it is made clear which clubs are actually interested in getting SUS funding. I am not sure which types of clubs these are at this point.”

According to Anam the funding would be catered to the needs of SUS members.

“[Such a club fund] would be for clubs specifically related to science and students in the Faculty of Science,” Anam wrote. “It's considered a bit of a lengthier process due to the fact we'd first have to get approval from the General Council to set aside money for this fund in our budget, find a sustainable method of ensuring this fund can be done every year, and then approve of services wanting to receive funding. The first thing on the list is to work on a motion to show why this fund deserves to be included in our budget and I will be working with the VP External, who has received requests from other interested groups, to draft the motion for sometime next semester.”

Anam explained what the process may look like once the club fund is approved by the GC.

“In order to receive funding, prospective clubs would first have to petition our General Council to be included as an SUS service by showcasing how they would attribute to bettering the experience of science students at McGill,” Anam said. “After this, they'd have to submit a proposed budget and from there they would get allocated funding [….] It's considered a bit of a lengthier process due to the fact we'd first have to get approval from the General Council to set aside money for this fund in our budget, find a sustainable method of ensuring this fund can be done every year, and then approve of services wanting to receive funding.”

Burnside Basement renovations

Anam also presented updates about renovations to the Burnside Basement from the president’s portfolio, who was absent from the meeting.

“[The President] is scheduling a meeting with the Dean to talk about the final designs.” Anam said. “Of the three initial designs, two of them are ready to go and they’ll probably make the deadline for the final design plans.”

a, Editorial, Opinion

Editorial: Narrowing the scope of student politics in SSMU

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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Last Thursday, Nov. 26, the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU) held a forum on restructuring the SSMU executive positions. It has been 10 years since the portfolios of executives were laid out in their current form; in that time, SSMU has grown such that these roles are no longer sustainable. This semester has been marred by the resignations of the vice-president (VP) Internal and the general manager, forcing SSMU to focus on internal operations, but restructuring the portfolios alone will only improve one aspect of the body. Given the inner turmoil of this year, now is the time for SSMU to reconsider the political aspect of its mandate in order to be a more focused political body. SSMU should be political insofar as it lobbies for student interests and mobilizes students; however, it should not allow the political mandate to stretch beyond its bounds as a representative body. 

Without opening old wounds, it is time to reconsider the viability of SSMU as a political entity. Considerable amounts of work done by SSMU go unseen by the majority of the student body, but political controversy stirs anti-SSMU sentiments and disenchantment, ultimately attracting negative attention. When the "Motion Calling on SSMU to Stand in Solidarity with the People of the Occupied Palestinian Territories" was brought to the Fall 2014 GA, students were, (and many still are), confused about what actually transpired. Though the motion itself was postponed indefinitely, the whole proceeding left a bad taste in many students’ mouths.

When it comes to addressing issues that directly impact education, such as austerity and Fall reading week, SSMU’s role is invaluable. The vice-president (VP) External works to lead student protests and engage the student body in these concerns. SSMU should spend its time on the issues that it can have an impact on, such as provincial policy and McGill’s investments. It is not that the broader, international issues do not matter and do not warrant student attention; it is more so that SSMU is at its core a student union, and attempting to reflect the values of all students on such hot-button issues is an impossible task.

SSMU should spend its time on the issues that it can have an impact on, such as provincial policy and McGill’s investments. It is not that the broader, international issues do not matter and do not warrant student attention; it is more so that SSMU is at its core a student union, and attempting to reflect the values of all students on such hot-button issues is an impossible task.

This year has seen relatively less controversy surrounding SSMU’s political positions. Its "Motion Regarding the Adoption of a Climate Change Policy" went by largely unnoticed, and no motions were brought to the Fall General Assembly (GA). GAs provide a forum for students to raise issues of concern, and then discuss and vote on them; the executives are not the final arbiters. Nevertheless, SSMU can be more selective, and must be sure to focus on issues that it has an impact on. Student activists are a cornerstone of the university experience, but expressing perspectives through the SSMU is not successful unless it is rooted in the McGill experience. Stances that SSMU has taken—which are distinct from what students vote on in a GA—against austerity and in favour of divestment are appropriate because they focus inwards and on issues that directly impact student life.

With the recent election of Omar El-Sharawy as the new Vice-President (VP) Internal, the potential for SSMU to expand its engagement with students can be realized. Such efforts must not only focus on what was left undone by the vacancy in the position earlier this Fall, but also work with students to address loose ends. The political mandate is certainly one of those; communicating the options that are available in terms of restructuring SSMU, including its mandate, will be essential.

Students do not need SSMU to express political perspectives, and SSMU should not be a microphone for any perspective—there is too much potential for disaffection. Restructuring SSMU must be accompanied by a reevaluation of what defines SSMU as a representative body.

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