Latest News

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.

a, Behind the Bench, Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

Discouraged and overlooked, but still competing: A club athlete’s experience at McGill

by Nicole Spadotto on

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It’s 6:30 a.m. on a Monday, the November sun is just rising over Percival-Molson Stadium, and I’ve already been up for an hour so I can practice Lacrosse with my teammates. Based on the inconvenient timing, you wouldn’t know that my team represents McGill across North America. Some of the players have serious pedigree—Rhodes Ford and Megan Muldowney both turned down NCAA lacrosse opportunities. They both explained to me that this is the only time McGill allows us to book the field. Curious about as to whether other club athletes shared similar experiences, I asked other athletes about their experience.

At McGill, ‘club sports’ represent the school in various elite level leagues, but aren’t considered varsity sports. These include figure skating, women’s lacrosse, men’s volleyball, and sailing, amongst others. Many of these sports were demoted from previous varsity status after budget cuts to McGill Athletics.

“Most people at McGill don’t even know [club teams] exist,” Jill Noel, a member of the skating team, said.

A lack of support and chronic underfunding at McGill, has not stopped club teams performing well against their varsity competition. Last season, the club lacrosse team went .500, the sailing team ranked top three in Canada the skating team moved up the ranks against other programs who are skating a lot more than McGill. 

“Funding is definitely a large issue […] the boats we train on are about two decades old and are barely functional,” McGill Sailing captains Andries Feder, Amanda Ivey, and Catherine Ross commented via email. 

Ford echoed their sentiments, explaining that weekly road trips to Ontario and the U.S. mean costs add up quickly for the Women’s Lacrosse club. She recognizes that budget cuts are a valid issue for McGill Athletics, but still feels that women’s lacrosse draws the short straw. After experiencing the roadblocks lacrosse faces first hand, I cannot help but to agree.

“Any sort of backing would be nice, because we work independently of the school’s athletic department and that’s tough,” Ford said.

The reality is that McGill sport clubs get last priority on booking fields, courts, or ice—even after intramural teams. Having played at all three levels of sport, I have found that Varsity teams (and rightly so) are able to book the best space for their athletes’ schedule, and intramurals tend to be scheduled after students are finished class. This makes booking awkward for club teams.

Noel and Ford both stated that skating and lacrosse respectively do not get priority booking.

“Varsity teams get priority, and then intramural teams since they’re organized by McGill Athletics,” Ford elaborated.

Even though club teams play against other universities’ varsity teams, we aren’t marketed by McGill Athletics like varsity and intramural teams, and we don’t have direct access to student-therapists. This past season in Vermont, one of my teammates was hit in the face by a stick. She was lucky to be treated by an opposing team’s trainer for medical care; otherwise, she would have had to wait to get back to a Canadian hospital to receive care.

“We have seen two sailors on our team suffer major concussions in recent years and it has impeded them academically, mentally and physically,” the sailing captains commented. “It would be great to have access to a medical trainer […to] better diagnose and care for our team members.”

You can understand why club athletes tend to have an attitude of resignation—we have experienced years of paving our own way.

“What’s hard is not getting the support we need to succeed,” Noel said.

We accept McGill Athletics’ budget cuts, but the club athletes I spoke with don’t understand why promotion, access to facilities, and the ability to compete in the best tournaments were also cut. The skating team, for example, isn’t permitted to compete in the OUA Championships because qualifying require athletes to be verified as students of their university, a privilege McGill doesn’t grant club sports. Training hard only to miss out on the Championships year after year is terribly discouraging.  

“More recognition from the university could improve the team’s confidence and attract competitive sailors to McGill,” Feder, Ivey, and Ross said. “We would love a channel to help [prospective athletes] understand the ins and outs of the admissions process.”

Muldowney suggested several simple, cost-free measures.

“Giving club athletes club athletes access to the varsity gym or  […] workouts, or even free admission to vasrsity games are affordable ways to help grow club programs and help integrate club athletes into McGill Athletics,” she said.

Ultimately, all club athletes feel the same way. We want to compete proudly in the sports we love, and represent McGill to our fullest potential. 

a, Science & Technology

The Science & Policy Exchange group is planning for the future

by Clare Lyle on

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Consider the space race, which occured between 1955 to 1972 and saw the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. competing for superiority in space technologies. This resulted in a drive in innovation and increased incentives to do research. Alone a similar line, consider the impact of education policy decisions. In Canada, most universities are public—meaning that a large percentage of their operating budget is provided by the government. The impact a government has on the study of science is enormous. 

 McGill and other universities are working together to promote the interests of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students in the decision-making process. One such organization is the Science & Policy Exchange (SPE) group. 

One of the problems they hope to address is life after graduation for scientists. With the number of PhDs awarded increasing year after year, this education policy is becoming increasingly important. 

“In general, I think that the way […] universities are set up to teach science at the doctoral level is still really designed as a pipeline for academia, and increasingly more students are not able to get jobs in academia,” Liam Crapper, a Neuroscience PhD student at McGill and a member of SPE, said. “You do develop a lot of the skills you need for other jobs, but not in a very explicit way. A lot of it is opportunities you have to seek out yourself. I think there’s a lot more that could be done to prepare students for the workplace when they leave. Some of that would be business management skills, or communication skills, or even just how to write a business CV.” 

SPE, which features roughly 15 students from Montreal universities, has run conferences since 2010 with the purpose of facilitating conversations on the relationship between science and public policy. Past speakers came from a variety of backgrounds—from academics such as McGill Professors Howard Bergman and Joe Schwarcz, director of the McGill Office for Science and Society, to professionals from industry like Jesse Vincent-Herscovici, a senior account manager at the NGO Miltacs.

“It started as a group that was doing a lot of awareness activities, so we hosted conferences over the years,” Crapper said. “Lately, we’ve been trying to get into policy advocacy. We focus on a lot of student involvement and getting a lot of student perspectives.”

Despite the value of starting conversations, SPE was still looking to do something with more tangible results.

“A the end of the day, everyone enjoyed themselves and seemed to really like it, but […] what can we do [with] that?” Chelsea Cavanagh, past president of SPE, explained. “There’s not much we produced from that—the impact is harder to measure.”

Across the world, scientists frequently find themselves in the heart of governments, taking up positions dedicated specifically to promoting scientifically-informed policy. In Quebec and New Zealand, for example, the position of chief scientist has been created to facilitate communication between science and policy. The current Canadian cabinet features two portfolios related to science: A minister of Science and a minister of Innovation, Science and Economic development.

Not all governments have been following this trend. The same week that the European Space Agency landed the Rosetta probe on a comet, the European Union (EU) eliminated the position of chief science advisor to the EU president in 2014. That year also saw the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada close seven of its 11 libraries across the country. Compared to hot-button issues like the economy, pensions, and international relations, science can seem comparatively dull at best, and irrelevant at worst. 

“It’s important that decision-making be done with a large evidence base, and that we invest a lot of money as [a] country in science and in innovation, and in developing all this knowledge base,” Crapper said. “Sometimes we go to form policy or make decisions and it get left out or ignored, and that results in both poor policy making and in some ways a waste of money.”

According to a report from the British government, when scientists and policy-makers interact, there are very real results.

“Research confirms that engagement between innovators and the science base creates real welfare benefit,” the report reads. “In fact, a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that 1 per cent growth in public research and development (R&D)lead to a 0.17 per cent increase in total factor productivity in the long run. Moreover, this effect increases with the share of public science conducted in universities.”

This year, the SPE is trying something different. On Nov. 28, SPE brought together 15 students and 11 professors to discuss STEM education policy and produce a white paper outlining their conclusions and recommendations.

“The goal of the event [… was] to come up with policy guidelines that can be sent to government and people who are involved with making these kinds of decisions,” Crapper explained.

Dialogue between groups that don’t normally interact with each other was a distinguishing feature of the event.

“Basically the idea of the event [was] that we’re going to bring together a bunch of students who are actively thinking about these kinds of issues related to science and technology and education, and bring them together with experts in different fields and different stakeholder groups,” Crapper said. “They’ll come up with a set of guidelines, and at the end, we’ll put the solutions they’ve developed into a formal document.”

This year, the SPE is trying tackled the role of public policy in shaping STEM education. This approach is unique because most reports about STEM education policy in the past have not come from groups that are directly affected by policy decisions.

“We’re actually listening to the students here, and taking their thoughts into account,” Cavanagh said.

Ultimately, the group hopes to bring the students’ perspectives to the attention of policymakers.

“The naïve optimist hopes to see all of our suggestions put into policy,” Crapper said. “I think one of the biggest challenges after [the white paper] is done, but also one of the most important things is making sure it gets into the hands of decision makers [….] From there, the ball is in their court.”

 The group hopes that by giving them more information the policymakers will be able to make better and more informed decisions when designing science education policies. 

“[Hopefully] the voice of the students will be represented in their decision making in the future,” said Crapper.

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