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a, McGill, Montreal, News, PGSS, SSMU

Self-inflicted harm not covered by international student health insurance

by Cassandra Rogers on

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Of the 10,000 international undergraduate and graduate students at McGill, some 7,000 are insured by a mandatory health insurance plan. This plan, privately contracted out to Medavie Blue Cross by McGill, has a premium of $906 per year for single person coverage. The Régie de l’Assurance Maladie du Québec (RAMQ), which provides medical insurance for Quebec residents, states that students from countries other than those with which Quebec has concluded a social security agreement providing for student coverage are ineligible for coverage.  This makes it impossible for most international students to be covered by RAMQ.

Coverage through Blue Cross

According to the 2015-2016 Blue Cross documentation, charges arising from self-destruction or self-inflicted injuries, while “sane or insane,” are not covered for international students. Director of International Student Services, Pauline L’Ecuyer explained that this policy is consistent throughout many insurance companies.

“This is a clause that is quite standard in the industry,” L’Ecuyer said. “[For example], somebody who attempts suicide will not be paid life insurance.” 

Director of McGill Student Health and Family Physician Pierre-Paul Tellier noted, however, that this clause does not match RAMQ coverage.  

“Any of the [provincial] medical care plans will cover those things,” he said. “They cover medical problems, period.”

Blue Cross documentation additionally outlines that charges relating to a pre-existing medical condition in excess of $10,000 are not covered. International Student Advisor and Health Insurance Administrator Anastasia Koutouzov noted, however, this is a non-issue for such students. 

“[Students] with pre-existing conditions understand the limit of the $10,000, and already have an alternative health insurance plan, so they don’t mind the clause,” Koutouzov said.

L’Ecuyer further explained that students with pre-existing conditions are not able to buy supplemental insurance in Canada, a practice which is supposed to serve the best interest of the insurance agency. 

“If you put yourself in the shoes of the insurer, you are not going to sell a contract to somebody when it is known that they’re going to claim $10,000,” she said.

Tellier, who treats both Canadian and international students at the McGill Clinic, continued to outline the benefits of the Blue Cross plan for international students. 

“One of the nice things about Blue Cross [is that] it’s such a broad insurance plan that it made some services available to [international students] that were not available to Canadian or Quebec students,” he said.

For example, physiotherapy, which is covered under the Blue Cross plan up for to $750 per year, was not previously covered for Canadian and Quebec students, who can instead purchase supplemental insurance from their student unions to cover such care.

Uncertainties about the reasoning behind some Blue Cross coverage policies and the policies of supplementary plans offered by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) exist among administration. Through SSMU, international students have the option of purchasing a supplementary dental insurance plan. However, a SSMU supplementary vision care plan is only available to Canadians. L’Ecuyer acknowledges that the reasoning behind this is unclear. 

“I don’t know,” L’Ecuyer said. “We tried to copy as much as possible [from] the RAMQ plan, but I don’t think we’ve ever been asked to look into this.” 

The Blue Cross mandatory insurance plan for international students was re-evaluated and approved last year by the Advisory Committee on International Students (ACIS), a Canada-wide organizarion, following extensive lobbying by the PGSS. L’Ecuyer, explained the rationale behind having a mandatory plan. 

“First of all, it was voted as a Senate regulation in 1967 that all McGill students and their dependents must subscribe to a plan [administered by] the university,”L’Ecuyer said. “[Secondly], about 20 years ago, it became immigration policy in Quebec.”

Limitations to family and dependent coverage

The Senate policy instituted by McGill in 1967 does not allow international students or their dependents—a spouse or a child—to choose their own insurance policies. 

The premium for students with dependents is $2,781, and for a family with more than one dependent the sum comes up to $5,289. However, according to Tellier, the McGill Clinic does not offer services for dependents. 

“We used to,” he explained. “But we were finally told by [the] administration [a few years ago] that we needed to cut that service.” 

Tellier explained that funding cuts within the university have led to staff shortages at the McGill Clinic. 

“Our service […] is limited,” Tellier said. “The administration decided they weren’t going to fund [nurse practitioner] positions […] which would have increased availability.”

For students with dependent or family plans, the up-front cost of private clinics can become prohibitive. Koutouzov noted that private clinics are an expensive alternative for dependents who cannot seek care at the McGill Clinic. 

“Downtown, [costs] range up to $150 for an adult and […] $220 for pediatric appointments,” she explained.

The Blue Cross plan in perspective

 In comparison to McGill, other Canadian universities offer vastly different options to their international students. At the University of British Columbia, for example, all students, whether international or not, are covered under the same policies. International students pay to register with the British Columbia provincial Medical Services Plan (MSP), and are required to register with an extended policy that provides prescription, vision, dental, and travel coverage. Such a policy is offered through the student unions; however, if students are already enrolled in an extended policy, they can request an exemption.

 With the exception of McGill, Concordia University, and Bishop’s University, all universities in Quebec have adopted a consortium plan for international student health care through  Desjardins. L’Ecuyer explained McGill is not partaking in the Quebec consortium plan because of rigid standards and a higher cost.

“Their premium is higher than ours,” L’Ecuyer said. “They have policies we don’t necessarily want to abide by. It does not offer any coverage to students with dependents and families, and our Senate regulations [do not allow] that.”

 The limitations of the Blue Cross plan, according to Tellier, are countered by efforts on the part of the McGill Clinic to help international students struggling with financial limitations. 

“Students who come into [the clinic] are not sent away,” Tellier said. “They can see a triage nurse, who advises them [on what they should do].” 

Furthermore, L’Ecuyer explained that students who are in need can seek financial assistance from McGill. 

“When students find themselves in a difficult situation, they can qualify for aid [to pay for the premium,” L’Ecuyer said. “I know they could go apply for assistance if [health care fees] didn’t fit in their budget.”

Student experience with the policy

While the Blue Cross plan and plans similar to it are common for international students in Quebec and Canada, many students have experienced complications and inconsistencies when dealing with their coverage. Céline Garandeau, a U2 Biology student from the United States, explained that during one visit to the Montreal General Hospital, she was unable to complete a procedure due to insurance complications and was charged $50. 

“I went to Montreal General Hospital [for a procedure and…] the woman at the desk said that if I wanted the visit [to be] covered by Blue Cross, I would need to go to [McGill] and ask,” Garandeau said. “At Service Point, I was directed to call a number [but] things were hectic at the time and I didn’t call them or have [the procedure.…] I’m reluctant to deal with the system [….] I was expecting a simpler experience, where the hospital would contact Blue Cross.”

In addition to difficulty submitting claims, other students cite inconsistencies in the advice they are given about their coverage as a drawback of the plan’s administration. Jake Zhu, a Canadian U1 Software Engineering student, was informed that he was required to pay for the Blue Cross plan because he didn’t live in Canada immediately prior to his matriculation at McGill. 

“I had every right to get [RAMQ] health care coverage,” Zhu said. “At the beginning of [my first] year, McGill told me […] that even though I am a Canadian citizen, I did not qualify because I was just a student. [But] when I went to the RAMQ office in January, they told me that I qualified.”

McGill’s documentation also explains that clinics are permitted to charge different rates for out-of-province and international patients; the portion of these fees that exceeds the RAMQ rate is the liability of the student. According to Koutouzov, if international students seek care at a clinic outside of McGill as an alternative, they are billed upfront for their visit. 

“Because it’s not a regulated industry, [off-campus clinics] don’t have patient accounts like a hospital or the McGill Clinic,” Koutouzov said. 

According to McGill and Blue Cross’s documentation, students are required to pay private clinic fees out of pocket and submit claims to Blue Cross after which can take two-three weeks to be repaid. 

a, McGill, Montreal, News

High voter turnout drives Liberals to electoral victory

by Kyle Dolph on

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Justin Trudeau took the stage with a smile last Monday night at downtown’s Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel as his Liberal Party swept into power.  This ended almost 10 years of Conservative government under prime minister Stephen Harper. The son of the late prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Justin led his father’s former party to capture 39.5 per cent of the popular vote, and 184 of 338 seats in the House of Commons, according to Elections Canada.

James McGill Professor of Political Science at McGill, and an expert on the Canadian political system, Richard Schultz, expressed surprise at the results.

“I was assuming a Conservative minority government until the last three or four weeks [of the campaign], when I started assuming a Liberal minority government,” Schultz said. “At no point did I assume a [Liberal] majority.”

Trudeau accomplished a first in Canadian history, elevating his Liberals from third-party status to a majority government, four years after their worst electoral defeat in history. He did so by courting an enthused electorate that, according to Elections Canada, voted in greater numbers than any other time in the past 20 years, with voter turnout at 68 per cent. Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) President Richad Hirani, U3 Arts, observed a similar sentiment on campus.

“We had great turnouts for both our panel session and debate, as well as our election night party at Gerts,” he remarked. “There was a line at the door just to get in and watch.”

Many have suggested that strategic voting, fuelled by widespread dissatisfaction with the incumbent Conservatives, was on the mind of many Canadians on Election Day.   

“There were a lot of people here that [asked] ‘Which party will defeat the Conservatives?’” said Schultz. “Once it became clear that the Liberals were the alternative to the Conservatives, I think people flocked, and that’s strategic.”

Nanos Polls dated from Sept. 16 and Oct. 18 appear to agree with this assessment, as Tory support remained constant amidst the dramatic collapse of Thomas Mulcair’s New Democratic Party (NDP) and the equally dramatic rise of the Trudeau’s Liberals. 

Vice-President (VP) Social for NDP McGill, Casarina Hocevar, described voters in such a context.

“People were thinking ‘I just really want to get rid of Harper,’” Hocevar said.  “They were thinking at the federal level. There was a focus on the party leaders rather than any of the local candidates.”

Whether or not McGill students were unaware of local candidates, however, those running remained engaged, as Hélène Laverdière and Allison Turner of the NDP, as well as Christine Poirier and Marc Miller of the Liberals each made appearances at campus events organized by the PSSA and their respective student political clubs. Their presence came amidst the launch of a new Elections Canada programme that permitted students to vote in advance polls on campus for either their home riding, or the riding in which they live during their time at university. 

“I think students were definitely more engaged because they had that option,” Hirani said. “And I think local candidates realized that [students] would be more likely to vote overall.”

“If [voters] have a voluntary choice between the two ridings, they’ll probably examine candidates in either riding more closely,” Hocevar echoed. She explained how NDP McGill encouraged students to vote strategically using the system.

“At the beginning of the election, when it was a tight race, we told people that their vote would really matter in [the race in Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île des Soeurs],” Hocevar said. “But we advised them to take a look at their local ridings as well.”




a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Blue Sky Miners EP – Blue Sky Miners

by Jack Neal on

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Seemingly appearing out of the woodwork, Blue Sky Miners has in fact been working on this self-titled debut EP since 2013; carefully selecting a producer—Todor Kobakov—and fine-tuning their lyrics as well as meticulously crafting their sound into self-described 'Rocky Mountain Desert Rock' end result. The sound of their music is something of a question mark: Twangy and guitar-laden, it evokes a sense of mid-America, however their raw vocal style and simple lyrics root the album in its entirety somewhere in the South. Think of it as a mix between Edward Sharpe, Of Monsters and Men, and The Lumineers, but without the same conviction.

Opening with, “Cold Water,” the British Columbia-based band nudges the listener to reflect on aspects of the world they don’t even know exist or even think about very much at all: “There’s water under the ground / Dig deeper to hear the sound.” Ultimately, this proves to be one of the more intriguing lines in not only a dull song, but unfortunately a rather unconvincing or even uninspiring EP. The second track, “Are You Lost,” is immediately more arresting; but only in the same way that a 10-hour flight isn’t as gruelling as a 16-hour flight. It lacks any sort of punchiness, but also doesn’t hold the thematic or musical merit for its perceived lengthiness. The songs here outstay their welcome, and on an album consisting of a mere six tracks, it’s not a good sign.

Interestingly, the second half of the album is more varied and thus better than the first. Here, the melodies hold more nuance within them; the lyrics are more intimate; and the instrumental layering and entire production actually reflect the changing lyrical themes far more accurately than the first three songs. It’s even possible to go as far as comparing standout track, “Six Feet Small,” with the most recent material released by Arcade Fire’s re-issue of Reflektor (2013).

Still, by the time the last track, “Riot,” rolls around, you wonder what you’ve gained by listening to it all; and unfortunately the answer is not much at all. While they seemingly draw influences from a multitude of genres and other artists, ultimately they fail to carve out a unique sound where they can fully let loose and operate. The vocals, admittedly, improve even over the course of the album (see fourth song, “Bones”), therefore it’ll be interesting to see the band’s growth if they move to recording a full-length album. As it stands, though, Blue Sky Miners EP neither evokes nor alludes to any emotion: It remains a whole lot of dust being kicked up but not much movement.

Standout Tracks

“Bones” and “Six Feet Small”

Memorable Line

“There’s water under the ground / Dig deeper to hear the sound.”

Sounds like

A jumbled combination of The Lumineers, Of Monsters and Men, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Fading Frontier – Deerhunter

by Maxime Scraire on

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Last December, Deerhunter’s lead member, Bradford Cox, got hit by a car while crossing the street. The incident was the beginning of a paradigm shift for the songwriter that led him to seriously consider the idea of settling down. He has since acquired a dog, and bought a house in which he lives as a recluse. “[Getting hit by the car] erased all illusions for me,” he recently told Pitchfork, “I just want safety. I would like to avoid physical pain and illness and mind my own business and have peace and quiet.”

Consequently, Fading Frontier—Deerhunter’s seventh album—is by far the band’s most serene and interpersonal effort. Contrasting in all possible ways with the crisp, claustrophobic vibe of their previous LP, the hateful Monomania, this record’s clean and dreamy soundscape boasts infinite space for the instruments to breathe; a delight that lets the mind wander freely within over and over.

Never before have Cox’s lyrics been this personal. His voice, which was once drowned out by guitar reverb in the middle of the mix, has been pushed to the forefront this time around; ultimately enabling the listeners to fully experience the singer’s undervalued poetry and newfound open-heartedness. “Jack-knifed / On the side-street crossing / I'm still alive / And that's something,” he squarely sings near the end of “Breaker,” referencing a distinct events in his own life in a way he would have shied away from only two years ago.

The record also represents the culmination of Deerhunter’s slow but steady progression from indie towards pop. Cox’s natural talent for crafting sumptuous melodies has often been overshadowed by the groups tangent to focus on ambiance and textures, but on Fading Frontier, overlooking his gift has simply become impossible. Most of the songs feature simpler-than-usual structures, featuring strong and distinct choruses, while the omnipresence of synthesizers and the general softness of the ensemble make for an important mainstream appeal. The album even has two legitimate single-ready tracks— “Snakeskin,” and “Living my Life,”—something that could not be said of any of their previous material.

Ultimately, Fading Frontier is the perfect soundtrack for those early fall mornings, where being awake becomes a relative notion, and sipping coffee is enough to keep one busy until well past noon. If Cox can make songs about settling down this thrilling, then Deerhunter’s already impressive run is still far from over.

Essential tracks

“Take Care,” “Living my Life,” and “Snakeskin”

Sounds like

Spoon’s They Want my Soul

Most Memorable Lyric

"You should take your handicaps / Channel them and feed them back / 'Till they become your strength / All around, it's all the same"

a, Martlets, Sports

Hockey: Martlets blank Gee-Gees behind Melodie Daoust’s heroics

by Ellie Solloway on

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McGill Martlets
5

Ottawa Gee Gees
0

If the McGill Martlets’ (2-0-0) 5-0 shutout win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees (2-2-0) on Saturday night is any indication, this season should be a thrilling one to watch. The Martlets, who kicked off their 2015-2016 season this past weekend with back-to-back victories, proved worthy of their top-three ranking with a near perfect offensive and goaltending display.

Saturday’s game started slow, with freshman forward Olivia Atkinson providing the lone goal in the first period, but built up in intensity as the clock ticked down towards the first intermission. The last minute of the first period saw a furious scramble by the Gee-Gee’s, who dominated during that time in hopes of evening the score at one a side. McGill’s senior goalie Taylor Hough was up to the task, turning away all eight shots she faced in the period with ease.

“[Hough] made the saves when we needed her to,” Head Coach Peter Smith said. “I thought she stood up and did a real good job there.”

Helped by a stubborn defence, Hough’s success carried into the second period as the Martlet offence started to take off. Senior Melodie Daoust added a goal in a dominating middle stanza for the Martlets, who had control of the puck in the offensive zone the entire period save for a few penalty kills. Though the Martlets held off the Gee-Gee’s five-on-four advantages throughout the game, their own power play proved just as unsuccessful, an area in which Smith would like to see some improvement.

“I thought we played pretty well on the power play, but we just need to get it in the back of the net,” Smith elaborated. “We had a lot of good chances, we just need to continue to get more pucks to the middle of the ice.”

The lack of scoring on the main advantage didn’t hinder the Martlets, however, who erased any notions of a Gee-Gees come back from a 3-0 second period deficit. Forward Pamela Psihogios hit the back of the net less than five minutes into the third. Daoust, who won a gold medal with the Canadian Olympic team last year, scored her second of the night in sublime fashion on an end-to-end breakout while the McGill was shorthanded. The Canadian national team member picked up a perfect pass from defenceman Kelsie Moffat, decked through three Ottawa defenders with impressive ease, and lifted the puck past the shoulder of Ottawa netminder Sarah-Maude Labrecque for the Martlet’s fourth goal of the night. Capitalizing on Ottawa’s misery, forward Erika Pyke tacked on one last goal to put the final score at 5-0.

Saturday’s win came after an impressive victory on Friday, in which McGill won 2-1 in overtime against the No. 2 ranked Montreal Carabins (1-1-1). Senior forward Joanne Cagianos sent the game to overtime with a stunning third period goal, and Daoust scored the game-winner in the shootout. The team is back in action next weekend when they visit Ottawa on Friday, and host Montreal at home on Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m.

Sound Bites

“We always have a game plan. We liked some of the things we did [on Friday against Montreal]. We wanted to be better in the offensive zone, more attempts, and I thought we did a good job of doing that today. It’s a very coachable group we have here.” <em>-Coach Smith on McGill’s weekend performance.</em>

Moment of the Game

Daoust’s crazy display of precision and creativity to find the back of the net shorthanded in the third. Honorable mention: Cagianos’ painful but productive blocked shot in the first period to keep Ottawa off the scoreboard.

Stat of the Game

Martlets outshot the Gee-Gees 39 to 21.

demar derozan toronto raptors nba
a, Basketball, Sports

Raptors defeat Wizards 92-82 in final NBA pre-season game at the Bell Centre

by Mayaz Alam and Zikomo Smith on

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“I’m tired of [the] pre-season,” Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan said after the Raptors  92-82 victory over the Washington Wizards at the Bell Centre last Friday. “I think we train so hard in the summer to be ready for opening night.”

Thus is the life of an NBA player. There is little time to rest with hectic, jet-setting schedules. Washington Wizards guard John Wall was more excited about coming to Montreal for the annual NBA’s Canada Series.

“I think [Montreal] is a beautiful city,” Wall said. “I definitely want to come back and visit when I have more opportunity to freelance and do whatever.”

Tired or not, the Raptors and Wizards put on a show for the 20,000 fans in attendance, including the Montreal Impact’s Didier Drogba, tennis ace Eugenie Bouchard, and UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, who all sat courtside.

On the court, Washington started off with a stronger shooting performance, making 50 per cent of their first quarter shots compared to Toronto’s 36 per cent. Toronto screened effectively and DeRozan looked dangerous slashing to the basket, but the team was inefficient, missing seven of eight three-point attempts.

“You gotta give credit to [the Wizards], they pushed the tempo [at the start],” DeRozan said.

Wizards Head Coach Randy Wittman, who has been widely criticized for a lack of offensive creativity, urged his players to push the ball in the first quarter. Washington shared the ball effectively and their wings came off screens regularly—a far cry from the pick and roll sets that characterized their 19th-ranked offence last year. Additionally, the Wizards’ big men were active from three point range, opening up driving lanes for guards.. Kris Humphries, who has converted only two regular season three-pointers in his 13 years in the NBA, and Drew Gooden, who has averaged  0.4 attempts per game for his career, have averaged 8.7 three-point attempts per game in the pre-season.

“I think that’s the way we want to play,” Humphries said. “It’s kind of like adapt or die, so we got to start shooting threes and play that open style basketball we’ve been working on. [I’ve been] working with the basketball development guys […] and they’ve been like ‘hey we think you can do it.’”

Overall it looked like a haphazard pre-season game when Toronto went into the break up 46-45. The Raptors shot a poor 18 of 49 from the field while the Wizards committed eight turnovers. Toronto’s Patrick Patterson missed all of his first half three pointers, continuing his poor pre-season.

“One thing I have always been told is that shooters never forget how to shoot, like riding a bike,” Raptors Head Coach Dwayne Casey said of Patterson’s struggles. “It’s just a stretch he is going through.”

Toronto responded with an electric 29-point third quarter, capped by a stunning reverse layup from DeRozan. The lead proved too much for the Wizards despite a strong defensive fourth quarter performance and rookie Kelly Oubre Jr’s impressive play. The 19-year-old wing recorded three steals and a block.

“I think [Oubre] has improved,” Wall said, “There will be ups and downs. Adjusting to the NBA is totally different [than] college: You’re seeing the lane and trying to guard screens […] all he has to do is keep listening every day.”

Even after last year’s playoffs, when Washington swept Toronto, it’ presumptive to say the Wizards and the Raptors are rivals. It’s reasonable to expect, however, many future matchups between the two sides as they compete for high playoff seeds in a wide open Eastern Conference.

“I mean, I guess because we played them last year in the first round, if you want to call it [a rivalry], the guys play hard,” Humphries said. “Anytime you have a point guard like [Kyle] Lowry who sets screens, plays tough basketball it adds to [the competition]. I don’t know, I don’t really believe in rivalries, it’s whoever you have to play you gotta play”.

a, Martlets, Men's Varsity, Sports

Swimming: Martlets, Redmen make a splash in second University Cup meet

by Mayaz Alam on

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McGill Martlets
2nd

 

 

 

 

 

 

McGill Redmen
3rd

 

 

 

The youth movement was on full display for the Martlet and Redmen swimming teams this past Saturday at the second RSEQ University Cup meet of the year held at McGill’s Memorial Pool. The Martlets, who have nine rookies, finished second on total points while the Redmen, who have 10 rookies, finished in third.

Team captain Simone Cseplo, junior Katerina Cardi, and rookie Rebecca Gillis led the way with two medals each for the Martlets, who are coming off a ninth place finish at CIS Nationals last year. Cseplo placed second in the 200m freestyle (2:02.59) and qualified for the National Championships. She also combined with Jennifer Henderson, Cardi, and Katie Caldwell for a silver in the 4 x 100m freestyle (3:58.21). Caldwell, one of two seniors for the Martlets and a former RSEQ swimmer-of-the-year, is optimistic about her team’s outlook for season.

“The team this year is really young and it’s a very different dynamic […] but it’s bringing a good vibe to the team,” she said. “I know on everyone’s mind is bringing home banners at provincials [….] That’s definitely our goal. It’s very possible this year, we have a great team.”

Although the Martlets had a strong showing this weekend, individual University Cup meets during the regular season have little effect on the final RSEQ standings. Instead, the primary focus is on sharpening the technical aspect and taking steps to be successful later in the year.

“Every cup meet is focused on trying to get the qualification and trying to get as many people at the CIS standard,” Caldwell explained. “Because they are all in-season meets we’re not really tapering down for them [….] It’s hard to be swimming at best times so we’re just trying to push as a team […] to win the battles to get qualified.”

17-year-old freshman Kade Wist was sensational on the Redmen side, finishing with two golds and two silvers as the highest-scoring swimmer of the meet. Wist, who had three gold medals in the first University Cup meet of the year, is quickly cementing himself as one of the best swimmers in the RSEQ despite being far younger than his competitors.

“I try and not to think about it,” Wist said about the age difference. “I just try and focus on getting my hand on the wall.”

William Dixon, another rookie, finished with a silver and a bronze while junior David Whiteside also finished with two medals. Only four Redmen swimmers qualified for last year’s National Championships where they placed 12th. This year, with only one senior on the team, the Redmen have the potential to lay the foundation for something special over the coming years

“We’re looking to become a dominant force at the CIS level and just place higher and higher every year,” Wist said. “Personally I’d like to make a final and then compete for a medal at CIS.”

The McGill swimmers will make the short trip to Outremont for their next meet as the Montreal Carabins host the third leg of the University Cup on Nov. 7.

Sound Bites

“Training with an injury is always a challenge. It’s mentally hard and it’s physically hard. Going into this last year […] I’m just trying to push through for these last six months […] and have fun” – Caldwell on battling through injuries during her junior year.

Stat of the meet

McGill’s combined score was 185, just one point behind the Laval Rouge et Or, pushing the home team to third best in the meet.

Moment of the meet

In a hotly contested 100m butterfly race, Wist held off Pascal-Hugo C. Cantin of the Rouge et Or by just a hundredth of a second .

a, Arts & Entertainment, Music

Trib Mix: Creep

by Hailey MacKinnon, Elie Waitzer, and Zikomo Smith on

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Late October is synonymous with Halloween. To get you in the scary mood the staff at the McGill Tribune has compiled 25 tracks that define what "creep" means for them. Remember to scroll down to the end to check out the Spotify playlist and happy listening!

The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”

Halloween may be scary and chilling, but there is also something surprisingly sexy about pretending to be someone or something else for one night only. No song is able to float within this enticing and mysterious space as confidently as The Weeknd’s “Wicked Games."

The clinching factor in “Wicked Games” is the enigma enveloping the song. Its slow, slinky pace is neither creepy nor soothing—the firm base line makes it comfortable to sway along to, yet singer’s desperate plea of “Even though you don't love me/Just tell me you love me,” is surprisingly unsettling. The song opens with seemingly white noise, most reminiscent of a foggy night—the perfect kind of Halloween night—followed by The Weeknd’s gentle and alluring first note. The lyrics “Bring your love baby I could bring my shame/Bring the drugs baby I could bring my pain,” takes the song from a standard R&B song to a dangerous and thrilling level.

If Halloween is the time to be joyously intoxicated with fear and uncertainty—Wicked Games is the perfect song to accompany you as you do it.

– Hailey MacKinnon

Rihanna – “Disturbia”

The same year the global economy fell apart, a naive beauty combusted and out from the wreckage stepped a fully-formed, unstoppable Rihanna. If 2007’s Good Girl Gone Bad was a subtle attempt to hint at the Barbadian diva’s demonic conversion, 2008’s Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded was a roundhouse kick to the heart. Jay-Z anticipated precipitation, but even he couldn’t imagine the torrential downpour that Rihanna would unleash upon the mortal world with her single Disturbia, released shortly after the Shia LaBeouf horror flick of the same title.

The song kicks off with a chilling scream and a driving chant: “bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum.” Rihanna asks “What’s wrong with me? / Why do I feel like this?” before giving a terrifying description of some ghastly being that “can creep up inside you / and consume you.” The music video is set in a subterranean torture chamber, where a possessed Rihanna twitches against her rusty shackles and gyrates on top of a rickety insane asylum bedframe, her milky eyeballs rolling back in their sockets. The imagery is scary enough, but the thought that will give you the spooks is that this song marks the dark fork in the road between “Pon The Replay” and “Rude Boy. As YouTube commenter Daniel Almir put it, “It’s hard to believe that this woman is the same from ‘Bitch Better Have My Money.’ How time changes people….”

– Elie Waitzer

TLC – “Creep”

TLC’s Creep either has you grooving to the rhythms and the raspy timbre of the backing horns, or reflecting on the singer’s dysfunctional relationship with her unfaithful boyfriend.

Tionne Watkins, in sultry tones, explains “I love my man with all honesty, but I know he’s cheating on me”. She then turns her lyrics towards the listener, saying she in turn cheats on her boyfriend, but “it’s only because I need some affection.” The vocals are intense and smothering. It’s as if the singer is creeping on the listener, while justifying her actions and rationalizing her loyalty her boyfriend.

Dissonance between the off-putting lyrics and the attractive beat, as well as the singer’s love for her unfaithful boyfriend despite her infidelities, is a key theme in this song. In fact, it was too much for Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of TLC, who refused to rap on the track because she felt the song advocated staying in bad relationships.

The second verse shows the singer lamenting the emotional distance in her relationship: “And we don’t talk / like we used 2 do / now it seems pretty / strange but I’m not / bugging cause I still feel / the same yeah yeah.” She has now accepted her own unfaithful lifestyle as viable with her relationship: “Love you forever baby soul and mind” she tells her boyfriend.

She concludes ominously, however: “I creep around because I need attention/ don’t mess around with my affection.” The listener is constantly confused by the singer’s motives. It’s probably best to forget all the emotional turmoil and just dance to that fire beat.

– Ziko Smith

a, McGill, News

Senate discusses plans for internationalization

by Laura Hanrahan on

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Last Wednesday’s McGill Senate meeting saw discussions on the role of McGill in providing higher education to refugees, McGill’s strategy for internationalization, as well as a presentation on the current state of research misconduct within the university.

Access to education for refugees

During the previous Senate meeting, a question was brought forward by Law Senator Benjamin Brunot regarding McGill’s plans to facilitate access to higher education for students fleeing war or persecution. In a written response, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens cited massive open online courses (MOOCs) as a current initiative that will provide refugees with education opportunities.

“University [and] MOOC-provider partnerships are being designed to allow asylum seekers, without regard to their status or place of stay, to attend free online courses before settlement and then transfer to traditional university setting, obtaining an official degree at the end of their curriculum,” Dyens wrote in his response.

Brunot, however, raised concerns over the impact that MOOCs will have on international refugees.

“I was just worried about how McGill can actually reach refugees through MOOCs,” he said. “Maybe [the refugees] might not have easy access to either reliable internet connections or just basic technology where they are.”

Dyens acknowledged Brunot’s concerns, but stated that MOOCs are the most feasible option to offer education to refugees.

“As long as a person is a refugee, any access to McGill education will be a difficult thing to do,” he said. “I think what we’re trying to do is have a better presence online. [We want to] give as many as people as possible access to a McGill education and to do it as cheaply as possible [….] Access to internet and smartphones is better than having people come all the way here, take a plane, and pay all of these expensive costs.”

Report on research misconduct

Research Integrity Officer, Abraham Fuks, presented the annual report concerning the investigation of research misconduct at McGill.

“There were six [allegations] received this past academic year,” Fuks said. “Three dealt with issues of plagiarism and authorship, one dealt with falsification of data, and two were a more global category of issues of misconduct.”

Fuks additionally underlined a lack of attention to detail on the part of graduate research supervisors, specifically in regards to authorship attribution.

“A number of cases over the years have involved allegations from students who feel that they have not been treated fairly and acknowledged properly in publications,” he said.

During a discussion of the report, Education Senator Alenoush Saroyan asked what could be done to diminish the number of allegations even further. According to Fuks, both post-graduates and faculty members will need to put more emphasis on regulations.

“Encourage faculties […] to engage more resources and more time and energy into education of both faculty members and graduate students,” he responded. “[There are] many individuals who work very hard and […] don’t always have time to familiarize themselves with the regulations and demands of authorship, [which are] become more technical [and] more specific. The second [step] is to encourage graduate supervisors to pay attention to the mentorship of students.”

McGill’s international strategy

Saroyan raised questions regarding the distinction between international and internationalization, and asked for clarity on the motives behind the intended internationalization of McGill. Internationalization includes bringing in students and professionals from around the world to McGill.

“They’re two different things,” Saroyan said. “Internationalization has a lot to do with student mobility, equivalencies, and the motive behind it is revenue generating.”

McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier disagreed with Saroyan’s understanding, citing enhancement of research and learning opportunities as the prime motivation for internationalization.

“I believe that the motivation in this university for internationalization, for bringing people from outside of our country as students, as professors, as colleagues in the research partnership area has not been financial money,” Fortier said. “In fact, as you probably know, Quebec is such that we don’t retain those dollars for the most part, […] so it’s not a prime motivation.”

Fortier, went on to explain that the primary motivation for internationalization is in fact the potential for exposure to a wider range of minds and viewpoints that the university will gain.

“I think it’s been a belief within the university that for a long time a richer learning environment is created when you can bring together different perspectives, which comes from having people of different cultures, ethics backgrounds and so on,” she explained. “The motivation is very much linked to excellence in learning, teaching and research.”

3 Women
a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Flashback: 3 Women (1977)

by Nico Wada on

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3 Women is an understated wonder by the iconoclastic director, Robert Altman. The film itself unfurls like a dream, most likely because Altman first dreamt of the film before proceeding to shoot something that he was still figuring out. Altman was known for his almost laissez-faire filmmaking philosophy; he was one of the first directors who allowed his actors to stray from the script with a cheerful nonchalance and was known for leaning strongly on improvisation. “I feel the medium of film has not yet been explored,” Altman once said in an interview with Dick Cavett, expressing his creative desire to use the platform of film to create something entirely original. He does just that with 3 Women, a film that perfectly mimics a dream in its juxtaposing elements of lucidity and haziness.

The film explores the entangled lives of Millie Lamoreaux (Shelley Duvall), Pinky Rose (Sissy Spacek), and Willie Hart, (Janice Rose) three women living in an apartment complex in a California desert. A shot-by-shot scrutiny of 3 Women demonstrates Altman’s particular fascination with twins or doubles, and the idea that every individual searches for their perfect match. Millie, Pinky, and Willie are all solitary characters, even outcasts, who in the end seem to fuse into one monotone characterization of the female identity.

One of Altman’s fortes is his ability to create lively characters by giving them individual quirks and traits. In 1977 Duvall was won the Cannes Film Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Millie—a chirpy consumerist always dressed in yellow, blithely unaware that she’s ignored by those around her. Millie’s dialogue is a subtle but hilarious aspect of the film, as her conversation consists of a stew of clichés and brand names.

Pinky is the archetypal stranger-comes-to-town character who arrives mysteriously from Texas and joins Millie at her workplace, a geriatric therapeutic spa. Pinky is charmingly puerile, in one scene blowing bubbles into her coke glass at lunch with impish delight. When Millie is instructed to show Pinky the ropes at work, Pinky immediately idolizes Millie, going as far as reading her diary and moving in as her new roommate. Willie, the preganant wife of the owner of the apartment building, is the third woman. She is a sullen and mostly mute character who dresses like a pioneer from the wild west and spends her time painting mysterious murals of menacing serpentine creatures. Gerald Busby’s flute-heavy soundtrack picks up whenever Willie enters a shot, establishing Willie as a tragic, feminine force.

3 Women attests to Altman’s love for developing strong female characters, making him a particularly unique figure in Hollywood. While male roles exist in 3 Women, it seems only Willie’s philandering husband Edgar (Robert Fortier) drifts into focus, and even his character remains vague and distant. Edgar is an embodiment of traditional male stereotypes, defined by his motorcycles, beer, lust, and gun-slinging, but the other men in the movie are merely objects of Millie’s fascination.

Of particular curiosity is the intriguing use of water throughout the film. During a climactic scene, Pinky jumps into the pool in an attempt to kill herself, and when she wakes up from her coma, her character has endured what seems to be a rebirth as she and Millie have exchanged personalities. Altman has stated that the water that flows occasionally between his shots should be seen as the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus. The opening scene of the film depicts old people descending into an exercise pool at the geriatric spa; a clear juxtaposition of birth and impending death. Altman, however, warns against the overuse of allegorical interpretations saying, “it's the weirdest thing. We're willing to accept anything, absolutely anything, in real life. But we demand order from our fantasies. Instead of just going along with them and saying, yeah, that's right, it's a fantasy and it doesn't make sense.”

Daring in its sheer bizarreness, 3 Women contains a power that can only be described as ‘Altmanesque’ and is an unforgettable, spellbinding cinematic masterpiece that should be viewed more than once.

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