Latest News

a, Opinion

Commentary: Taking stock of Quebec’s new sexual education curriculum

by Amin Guidara on

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Sex education classes are making a partial comeback in Quebec this year. The pilot program is an improvement, as it fills a void that has existed since 2005 (the last year that Quebec had dedicated sexual education classes).However, the Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports (MERS) does not go far enough with this policy. The program, as it is currently planned, does not follow a strict curriculum and is not precisely designed to be taught by professionals.

The provincial government has designed a two year pilot project which will affect 15 schools and 8,200 students starting this year. Sex education is a matter of public and personal health. If taught properly, it can promote civic competences by teaching students about important issues such as rape, slut-shaming, and LGBT discrimination. Sex education also teaches students about protecting themselves from STIs, avoiding unwanted teen pregnancy, and seeking help for psychological troubles linked to sex.

In Ontario, concerns that the curriculum contains inappropriate content has led some parents to keep their children home. Masturbation, for example, goes against some religious beliefs. As a result of the backlash, Ontario is allowing parents to request exemptions on a case-by-case basis. It is probably only a matter of time until similar backlash occurs in Quebec, but MERS must not permit any leniency.

Under the pilot program being instituted in Quebec, parents cannot seek to exempt their children from this program simply because their views conflict with an unbiased and professional perspective. Parents in Ontario who have been pulling their children from sexual education classes for religious or personal reasons are fighting against a tide that has already changed. Children without sexual education are a risk to public health. If parents try to pull their kids out of sex education classes, the school should have meetings with these parents to discuss the matter and persuade them of the importance of universal, mandatory sex-ed. Whatever their belief system, there is no compromise for the safety and the health of future generations.

It is a waste of resources and energy to develop a program with so little attention devoted to teacher training.

The intention of the new curriculum is grounded in social reality and will prepare students for safe, healthy sexual relationships. But more must be done to ensure this progress is productive.

As teenagers will undoubtedly learn about sex with or without a dedicated curriculum, it is better for them to learn it at school than from a friend who might have an immature and corrupted view of sex and sexuality. Teachers in Quebec do not know exactly what to cover because, according to the Federation of Teachers Unions, there are no “clear pedagogical guidelines,” unlike in Ontario. It is necessary to impose a precise provincial curriculum to make sure that every school teaches the same way and covers the same material to avoid a disparity of education, especially for religious schools, who could be less inclined to follow the curriculum.

Children ought to learn about sex and sexuality in a classroom setting. A way to make sure that disparity does not happen is to have a yearly ministerial exam for all students that does not count towards their report card, a measure that is not being studied by the government. This would ensure that all students go through a standardized and rigorous sexual education program.

Since it is not a separate class, it could be taught by any teacher with a who has only gone through a few hours of training. Therefore, the students who do receive the curriculum in its current form will likely only receive mediocre sex education at the expense of valuable regular subject time. To ensure that the program is worthwhile, more must be done to standardize a high calibre of teaching practices.

As a result of limited teacher training, students can get teachers who are uncomfortable, indelicate, or close-minded. It is a waste of resources and energy to develop a program with so little attention devoted to teacher training. It would be infinitely better to hire specialized sex educators to teach these classes as they are professionals in the subject to minimize training and adjustment. Furthermore, a curriculum made by and taught by specialists would make sure that subjects are being taught correctly and at the right age.

 

 

 

 

 

a, Out on the Town, Student Life

Exploring Montreal’s International Cuisine

by Alizeh Ejaz on

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Damas

Located in the corner of Avenue Van Horne and Avenue Bloomfield sits this authentic Syrian eatery. The beautiful lantern-lit restaurant features charming Middle-Eastern décor and a delectable choice of food. Damas’ distinctive interior, including an open kitchen and dim lighting, contributes to its relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. The sophisticated and unusual blend of spices in Damas’ food adds to the unique appeal of the restaurant. It is most famously known for its “Five service tasting menu to share,” which consists of a blend of different meats and spices. Furthermore, Damas’ simple dishes, such as hummus and falafel, ooze with flavour. The restaurant is on the costly side, with prices ranging from $7 to $23 for appetizers, and $26 to $65 for main courses. However, the quality of food and service make it worth every penny. Considered as one of the top Middle-Eastern restaurants in Montreal, Damas knows how to make sure its customers leave with their appetites satisfied.

Thanjai Restaurant

Thanjai Restaurant, located on Avenue Van Horne and Avenue Victoria, is an informal eatery that wins the race when it comes to authentic South Indian food. The rich cuisine and informal atmosphere of the restaurant make it a relaxed and tasty place to eat. Thanjai is most well known for its incredible dosas—crepes made from fermented rice and lentils. It specializes in over 50 different types of dosas, with masala dosa topping the list as the most popular choice. Furthermore, with prices ranging from $11 to $30, Thanjai offers generous portions for a relatively low cost. Thanjai is the spot to fulfill your masala and spice cravings with exceptional quality food.

Khyber Pass

Located on Avenue Duluth East and Rue Berri, Khyber Pass is a well-known Afghan restaurant in Montreal. Its wooden exterior, as well as indoor standing heaters, makes it a unique and cozy place to eat. The restaurant is dimly lit and the decor authentic; there is a map of Afghanistan as well as traditional clothing hung on the brick walls. The food is extremely rich in flavour, and comes with large portion sizes. Khyber Pass is most famous for their mouth-watering and delicious meats, such as its Mourg Kabab and Chopan Kabab. Additionally, the restaurant’s BYO-bottle option is a fun way for customers to save money and enjoy their preferred drinks.

Ceviches

Nestled among the quieter streets of the Plateau Mont-Royal is a quaint little Caribbean and Latin American restaurant called Ceviches. This family-run restaurant hosts a very hospitable ambience—its staff are known to be extremely welcoming and attentive, and the owner of the restaurant, Luis, is always present and conversing with his customers. The restaurant has some of the best ceviche in town, with the option to build it yourself by picking your own choice of seafood and sauces. Additionally, Ceviches has a wide variety of dishes to choose from, fish, chicken or cheese empanadas, to cassava fries and chorizo sandwiches. Their items have large portion servings and are priced from $11 to $30, making it an affordable place to eat with family and friends.

Nil Bleu

Nil Bleu restaurant, on Avenue des Pins East and Saint-Denis, is an authentic Ethiopian restaurant. The restaurant provides a vegetarian-friendly menu, and includes gluten-free options as well. Nil Bleu has a modern décor, full of East African inspired paintings and music. A staple at Nil Bleu is injera—a flatbread made from a grain called teff—which is high in protein, amino acids and fiber, and makes up two thirds of the diet in Ethiopia. The restaurant’s highlight is its tasting menu for two, which provides several delicious appetizers and a variety of delectable main dishes to try, such as appetizers of caramelized vegetables with Ethiopian spices, and main course like Yebeg Key Watt, which is lamb in berbere sauce. Nil Bleu also serves other African dishes apart from Ethiopian, on their table d’hôte menu. This menu serves up dishes such as Senegalese yassa-grilled chicken with lemon, mustard and African herbs sauce, and tilapia with red peppers, ginger and coconut-based sauce, hailing from Ivory Coast. Nil Bleu is the perfect restaurant to go to if you’re in the mood to explore new, unique and diverse cuisine.

a, Science & Technology

Notman House hosts Masters of Code hackathon

by Clare Lyle on

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“Develop the greatest digitally connected application [or] solution that will profoundly alter your connected life.” This was the problem presented at the MasterCard Masters of Code hackathon this weekend. Stretching from Saturday to Sunday afternoon, the challenge attracted roughly 100 developers, designers, and tech enthusiasts to Notman House, Montreal’s hub for techonlogy, where the 24-hour event took place.

Montreal’s own hackathon brought together the members of its tech scene, many of whom were affiliated with McGill, although some participants came from from Ottawa. All attendees, however, shared a passion for using technology in creative and innovative ways. 

“It’s like building LEGO with your friends,” said McGill Civil Engineering alumnus Jean Amiouny.

An all-expenses paid trip to Silicon Valley was on the line for first place. Despite this, the atmosphere remained relaxed and collaborative. 

“This is actually a [pretty] mellow place,” explained Matt Wright, a representative of AngelHack, an organization that also runs hackathons. “Last week, we were in Latin America and it was a very excited atmosphere. Here it’s more ‘slow and steady wins the race.’”

“I think [my] most memorable experience […] was around 2 to 3 a.m.,” Liu said. “I was talking to another hacker, and we had this two-to-three hour talk about bitcoins. That’s [something] that will only ever happen at a hackathon; finding yourself up at 2, 3, 4, a.m. talking about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies with some random person.”

The projects that came out of the hackathon ranged from the educational, to the humanitarian, to the simply practical. This included a financial education app for kids, a loyalty platform for small businesses, and a cost-splitting app that took the grand prize.

Peng Liu, a Computer Science student from the University of Ottawa explained that the opportunity to connect with others who are equally as passionate about development is a major draw for participants. 

“I think [my] most memorable experience […] was around 2 to 3 a.m.,” Liu said. “I was talking to another hacker, and we had this two-to-three hour talk about bitcoins. That’s [something] that will only ever happen at a hackathon; finding yourself up at 2, 3, 4, a.m. talking about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies with some random person.”

These types of connections between developers will often lead to profitable hackathon teams. The winning project, FareShare, came from a group who met at a party close to the day of the hackathon. 

“I knew [my teammate,] Harold [Day] from McGill Engineering,” said Andrew Doyle, one of the members of the winning team. “We used to volunteer together with the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS), and so we decided we wanted to do something at the hackathon. We ended up at a friend’s party, and I started talking to some developers there who are now friends of mine, and we signed up on the spot. And it turns out that I knew one of them from McGill [….] We all came together pretty quickly and haphazardly, but it all worked out.”

[URIS id=36786]

Their team’s app epitomizes the collaborative spirit of hackathons, letting friends split costs.

“If you’re going on a ski trip, someone’s buying gas, and someone else is buying food, and someone else is paying for drinks, and everyone owes everyone else money,” Dan Greencorn, one of the team’s developers, explained. “We’re using MasterCard’s API to let everyone record what they buy, and then split the cost after the trip.”

The runners-up also have a McGill background, featuring two current students and two alumni. Their project took a more humanitarian approach to economic transactions.

“Our app translates your regular daily spending into automated donations to charity,” Bogdan Istrate, a McGill alumnus and one of the designers, explained.

These automatic donations make it convenient for users to give back.

“You pick whichever charity you want to donate, then whenever you go spend money anywhere like Starbucks or the grocery store, you set up a percentage that you want to donate, so if you spend $500 and set the app to 1 per cent, then you also donated $5 to whatever organization you selected from our app,” Xiaolei Liu, another McGill Master’s student and team member, said .

Each member of the second-place team received a $500 MasterCard gift card, while the winning team received an all-expenses-paid trip to San Francisco to participate in the Grand Finale Masters of Code hackathon.

Additional reporting by Wyatt Dougherty.Photos in slider courtesy of Trep Life

a, Science & Technology

Twentieth edition of Soup and Science educates and entertains

by Wanlin Song on

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For an entire week, five to six McGill professors took the stage in Redpath Museum for the 20th edition of Soup and Science. The professors, who were experts in fields varying from physics to geography, offered brief, three to five minute presentations on their work. Created by the Office of Undergraduate Research in 2005, Soup and Science has helped create a platform for students to meet professors and get acquainted with their research.

“We want to connect our students to professors,” said Victor Chisholm, who has been organizing Soup and Science since 2006. “There [are] always interested professors to share research [and] do research with students.”

While presenting ideas in such a short time can sometimes be challenging for speakers—their research is usually highly complex—ultimately, this is not the purpose of Soup and Science.

“Our goal is not to make students understand everything […] in the presentations,” Chisholm explained. “[But] to expose students to the broad selection of research in science.” 

“Our goal is not to make students understand everything […] in the presentations,” Chisholm explained. “[But] to expose students to the broad selection of research in science.”

On Wednesday, Bastien Castagner, assistant professor in The Department of Pharmacology, presented his work on finding a treatment for Clostridium difficile infection. This bacteria causes inflammation and irritation of the intestines and colon, a condition known as colitis. Instead of targeting the infection for treatment, Castagner has been searching for ways to neutralize the poisonous toxins released as byproducts by the bacteria. Because it is the toxins that are responsible for the negative symptoms of the bacteria, if those are neutralized, then the bacteria presents no risk. Humans rely on a complex system of flora and fauna to digest food and finding treatments that circumnavigate the use of antibiotics is very important, explained Castagner.

On Thursday, Anna Weinberg,  psychology assistant professor spoke about the correlation between childhood experiences and anxiety or depression experienced in adulthood. By exploring similarities between mental disorders in terms of onset and vulnerabilities, she’s hoping to tackle the classic ‘nurture versus nature’ debate. 

Students were also offered wisdom on acquiring a research position. Dentistry professor Svetlana Komarova emphasized the importance of being persistent when applying to a lab. Even those with a lot of experience and interest may find themselves waiting a couple of months. However, those who persisted, usually succeeded.

Geography Professor Graham MacDonald, who attended Soup and Science 10 years ago as an undergraduate student, returned on Friday to speak. When responding to how it felt to participate—now as a presenter—he was happy to see how Soup and Science has grown.

“It’s really different […] but a lot of fun,” he said.

Soup and Science welcomes more aspiring audiences to its next edition in January.

a, Private, Student Life

Healthy eating options around McGill campus

by Rachel Summers on

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Navigating through the limited food options on and around campus in the hopes of finding something nutritious and budget-friendly can be tough. Here are some tips to make your search a little easier.

Students spend a significant portion of their day on campus running between classes, studying in the library, or just hanging out with friends. Consequently, it can be difficult to find food options that leave one feeling healthy, energetic and satiated. While there is plenty of pizza across the road on Rue Sherbrooke, and sandwiches at Premier Moisson, Subway, La Prep, and Vinh’s, these carbohydrate-heavy (albeit delicious) options may leave the body craving something more nutritious to stay running longer and healthier.

Organic Campus

 

Conveniently located on the first floor of the Students’ Society of McGill (SSMU) Building, the Organic Campus booth has the perfect fix for a quick bite that will help sustain one through grueling, information-packed lectures. Open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., one can find injera—an Ethiopian staple—consisting of lentils, potatoes, dried tomatoes, dried peppers, herbs, and sea salt wrapped in a fermented flat bread. It is vegan, organic, and the ingredients are sourced from a local Quebec farm. The wrap is high in protein and only costs $2, which means students and their wallets will be full for longer.

Midnight Kitchen

 

Midnight Kitchen is a service that prepares and serves hot vegan lunches every day on the third (sometimes fourth) floor of the SSMU Building. Since student fees finance the service, Midnight Kitchen is available to all students at no additional cost, but donations are welcome. The service is run with sustainability in mind, so it is essential to bring Tupperware and cutlery from home to partake in this amazing lunch. The meal usually consists of a hot soup or stew, a starch, salad, and dessert, which are always nourishing, filling and tasty. Service begins at 12:30 p.m. and continues until 1 p.m., but the line gets long quickly so students should arrive early. It’s a great place not only to grab lunch, but also catch up on readings while waiting, or chatting with friends in line.

The Nest

 

On the second floor of SSMU, The Nest is a great option for grabbing a healthy lunch on campus. The student-run café’s menu has been revamped since last year, and now includes a greater variety to satisfy the hungry student. There are still sandwiches and burritos, but there are also salads, steamed veggies, and healthy stir-fries if you’re looking for something on the lighter side. For $5.75, a great option to keep full for the afternoon is the baked potato with veggie chili that comes with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese and chives. The Nest is a great way to support student-run initiatives while taking care of your body at the same time.

Freshii

 

For students who have time to venture just outside of campus, Freshii, located just south of Parc and Milton, has an extensive menu with many healthy options. There is a set menu of rice and quinoa bowls, salads, and wraps, or students can customize each of these and select their favourite toppings. Everything on the menu ranges from $7 to $10 and the serving sizes are generous. To get the most health value, choose the dressing carefully and opt for balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, or teriyaki.

mock-up of Simon Frasier University
a, Art, Arts & Entertainment

When a sketch comes to life

by Evelyn Goessling on

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Since the middle of the 20th century, Arthur Erickson’s buildings have modified Canada’s physical, cultural, and architectural landscape. Université du Quebec a Montréal’s (UQAM) Centre du Design is currently bringing his work to light in Arthur Erickson: Lignes topographiques / Sight Lines, a showcase of previously unseen sketches that would eventually become some of his most well-known projects. 

Erickson, born in Vancouver in 1924, studied architecture before travelling to Montreal to attend McGill’s School of Architecture. There, he conceived of and eventually built many seminal buildings that would change the faces of cities across Canada. 

The exhibition space at the Centre du Design is a humble room, but the tall ceilings and modern concrete floor create a sense of spaciousness that aligns beautifully with the grace of Erickson’s sketches. Part One of the exhibit features sketches of eight private and commercial endeavours across Canada. Some of these projects were never realized, but those that were constructed are accompanied by a photo series taken by photographer and McGill architecture professor, Ricardo L Castro. Particularly striking are the sketches for Simon Fraser University, where the darker tones and dramatic depth of field bring the image to life. 

Each of the eight projects have three to four sketches displayed. The drawings—which in some cases are torn, folded, or stained—look almost like discovered objects instead of architectural plans. Rather than give the content an unprofessional air, however, the roughness of some of the sketches offers a more immediate connection to Erickson’s creative process. While some are drawn painstakingly with ruler and thin graphite, others are in a style similar to blind contour. Either way, it’s easy to imagine these sketches as treasures just waiting to be discovered amongst piles of architectural ephemera. 

The sketches appear to be more a relic of art than a study in structural engineering. They serve as a reminder of the artistic nature of architecture in general. By placing the photos side by side with the sketch, the curators remind the viewer that the manipulation of line, space, shape, and shadow is often applied to the building as it is in the drawing.  

There is architecture everywhere, but it’s easy to overlook the detail and care that goes into planning a building. In fact, the product of an architectural project goes on to be more than a building—it’s an important cultural and historical marker that will remain for generations to see and experience.

It can be difficult to appreciate the grandeur of architecture through 2D sketches. The exhibit attempts to create a sense of scale by filling one blank wall with projected colour photos of the projects, which is a refreshing change from the many grayscale sketches. Without the accompanying photography the exhibit would be somewhat dry and hard to digest; the photos are a refreshing reminder of the architecture’s real world significance.

The second part of the exhibit displays sketches that were done while Erickson was a student at McGill in the late ‘40s. These sketches are showcased flat on a long table, allowing for a more intimate examination of the drawings. This collection also includes reproductions from McGill’s Canadian Architecture Collection and the University of Calgary’s Canadian Architectural Archives. The reproductions flesh out the exhibition overall but don’t compare to the intimacy of the original sketches. 

There is architecture everywhere, but it’s easy to overlook the detail and care that goes into planning a building. In fact, the product of an architectural project goes on to be more than a building—it’s an important cultural and historical marker that will remain for generations to see and experience. In this way architecture may be the most influential field of art, engineering, and design. Exhibitions like this do a great service to the field and to the public by highlighting the importance and beauty of architecture, including the sketches that launch these projects into reality. 

Arthur Erickson: Lignes topographiques / Sight Lines will be on display at the Université du Quebec a Montréal’s (UQAM) Centre du Design (1440 Sanguinet) until Oct. 18. Admission is free.

a, Off the Board, Opinion

Off the Board: A eulogy for Korova

by Morgan Alexander on

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The news of Korova’s untimely end has shaken lovers of communal asphyxiation, smoke machines, and top 40 hip hop singles across campus. Just two days after a typically successful $ucka Free Monday (Staight Outta Compton Edition), Korova announced on its Facebook page that it was closing for good, and would celebrate with cheap drinks.

Following the announcement, many jumped to the conclusion that the institution had gone broke, considering it operated on a simple, yet underused, business model: Only break even one day a week. As someone who has gone to Korova on every day of the week, I can assure you that each day it draws in a unique and consistently sweaty crowd of people that consume just as much alcohol as would seem necessary to support a seedy bar/dance floor. Unfortunately, what Korova wasn’t able to support was itself, as its floors literally started caving under the pressure of hundreds of drunk, bouncing club-goers.

What’s happened to Korova is a travesty, one that certainly could never have been prevented by enforcing safety codes or replacing woods that had been weakened by years of spilled beers. Even worse than the ending of the era is the reaction to it, particularly by $ucka Free, the independent collective that hosts hip hop events around Montreal, including $ucka Free Mondays. Like a wolfish ex-lover, $ucka Free bid its adieu to Korova and in the same breath announced that it would be moving its iconic Monday night events to Blizzarts, “precisely one block north of Korova.” The grieving period was short and ruthless.

 

Like a wolfish ex-lover, $ucka Free bid its adieu to Korova and in the same breath announced that it would be moving its iconic Monday night events to Blizzarts.

The problem with the response to the death of Korova is its blatant refusal to acknowledge Korova’s existence as an institution in and of itself, not strictly defined as the host of an outsider’s event. On the Saint Laurent strip, Korova stood apart from the pack as something quintessentially cool without being as pretentious as Apt. 200 or as unnecessarily ‘urban chic’ as SuWu. It had twice as much character as Muzique and Tokyo have creepy old men, and in terms of pure unadulterated griminess, it had no rival. Korova provided just as much free popcorn as Biftek with drinks at half the price, and allowed for both Ivy league stilettos and Blue Dog tier combat boots without judgement. Sure, it couldn’t match the romantic atmosphere of Big in Japan, but it provided just as many opportunities to get lucky. From the dilapidated photo booth, to the sinks that served more as an ironic reminder of how unclean everything was, every inch of Korova was as hectic and eclectic as the community it served.

There is of course an inherent conflict in reactions to Korova’s legacy. To many, it was a place for first years that quickly lost its charm in the smoky air of hormones and crushed PBR tallboys. To others, it was a weekly tradition that always meant good times, wild stories, and decent hip hop that you could actually dance to. Now that its patrons have taken their final walk down the narrow stairwell that was always easier to navigate wasted, it’s hard to tell if another club can live up to Korova’s cover-free, $ucka Free legacy. Blizzarts will have the same DJs, the same hype, but without the deer heads on the wall and the pleather stools to stick to, it can never provide the same dirty, dingy, and distinctive nights.

 

Coach David Urquhart
a, Men's Varsity, Sports

Sitting down with David Urquhart, Redmen hockey assistant coach

by Emily Wang on

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The McGill Redmen hockey team is currently six games into the pre-season, and have gone 2-4 against some tough competition. Last year, the Redmen finished at the top of the OUA East and nearly made it all the way to Nationals. Many of the players from that team have graduated, including the team’s leading scorer and OUA East MVP, Cedric McNicoll. 

The team will look a lot different this year with 10 new players joining. The freshman class includes players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League, as well as transfer students from other CIS schools. The young team is still adjusting to the league and playing with new faces, Redmen Assistant Coach David Urquhart explained after the team’s trip to the Maritimes two weekends ago.

“We still have a lot to learn [about] systems and structure in terms of the way we play,” Urquhart said. “A lot of guys got to play in new situations, which is good for them, and we played against two of the top teams in Canada.”

The Redmen lost the two games they played by wide margins, dropping the first game 3-6 and the second 1-7.

“The trip wasn’t designed to be easy for us,” Urquhart continued. “We were on the bus for 24 hours this weekend. We wanted the guys to face some adversity early in the season and to set the bar, see where they need to be, see what type of talent we’re going to face at Nationals. So, I think we achieved that.”

It’s wrong to read too much into these pre-season box scores. Exhibition games are often more about process and learning rather than results.Although the Redmen have lost a lot of players up front, much of the their defence is returning, as are netminders Jacob Gervais-Chouinard and Karel St-Laurent. The pair were by far the best goaltending tandem in CIS last season; their combined regular season save percentage was .935 per cent, 10 percentage points better than the next best school. In addition, Urquhart believes that the blueline has a good mix of size, skill, and experience, making it one of the team’s biggest strengths.

“We’re strong on the back end,” Urquhart claimed. “We have some big guys […] but we also have some high end skill on the back end as well.”

To some extent, every CIS team has to deal with a large amount of roster turnover every year due to graduation. For McGill, this situation is exacerbated by the fact that most players coming from Quebec only play three years before graduating. Still, it’s tough to lose players of McNicoll’s calibre and maintain a productive offence. Adding players like Liam Heelis, the former captain of the Acadia Axemen, should help, but whether they can replace the offence they’ve lost is the biggest question heading into the season. 

For the freshmen, jumping into a different league with an unfamiliar team comes with a steep learning curve. Nonetheless, Urquhart believes that the players are adjusting well and picking up the systems quickly.

“They’re sharp,” Urquhart said. “These guys are all quick studies, they’re really good to work with.”

The Redmen aren’t just quick learners on the ice. The players on this team are also academically successful, something that Urquhart is proud of.

“Last year we had 13 academic All-Canadians—that’s guys with a GPA of over 3.7,” he explained. “They’re also successful in the classroom. That’s one of our main focuses. The two go hand in hand. Being a successful student athlete means you do well in school and on the ice as well.”

To some extent, every CIS team has to deal with a large amount of roster turnover every year due to graduation. For McGill, this situation is exacerbated by the fact that most players coming from Quebec only play three years before graduating.

Urquhart stressed the high level of hockey the team plays.

“We’d just like to see everybody come out to watch,” Urquhart said. “You’re not going to see higher quality hockey [in Montreal] outside of the Canadiens. We’ve got guys who have all played major junior and it’s the next level. They’re great hockey players and they’re great students, too.”

The Redmen home opener is on October 16 against Laurentian.

a, Science & Technology

Volkswagen cheats its way on to the roads

by Uzair Khan on

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Volkswagen came under fire by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week following allegations of cheating and deceit.  In a statement released on Sept. 18, the EPA stated that the German automobile company misled environmental regulators about its car emissions. Special software, colloquially known as the defeat devices, reported incorrect emissions data during testing. Consequently, thousands of underperforming and environmentally unsuitable Volkswagen cars had found their way on to the roads.

The EPA began looking into Volkswagen cars after researchers at West Virginia University, in collaboration with the International Council on Clean Transportation, noticed irregularities in the emission levels of the cars. The numbers researchers observed in their tests did not match the ones provided by Volkswagen. They notified the EPA, which after further investigations, demanded an explanation from the company. Volkswagen subsequently admitted to installing the defeat devices in their cars—enabling the vehicles to pass standard emissions tests. The EPA consequently issued a notice of violation (NOV) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to Volkswagen. 

According to Volkswagen, this device could have potentially helped some 11 million cars undeservingly pass environmental regulation tests worldwide.

“A sophisticated software algorithm on certain Volkswagen vehicles detects when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and turns full emissions controls on only during the test,” announced the EPA in a press release. 

The algorithm is embedded in the software code that runs the engine control computer. It senses whether the vehicle is being tested or not based on inputs such as the position of the steering wheel, vehicle speed, the duration of the engine’s operation, and barometric pressure. When it thinks that the vehicle is undergoing tests, the software sets the emissions’ control to full power. When the car is returned to normal driving conditions, however, the pollution emissions control devices installed in the car stop working. Disabling these control devices results in the car emitting nitrogen oxides in quantities up to 40 times the permitted standard. 

Affected Models

 

Jetta (2009-2015)

Jetta Sportwagen (2009-2014)

Beetle (2012-2015)

Beetle Convertible (2012-2015)

Audi A3 (2010 – 2015)

Golf (2010-2015)

Golf Sportwagen (2015)

Passat (2012-2015)

According to Volkswagen, this device could have potentially helped some 11 million cars undeservingly pass environmental regulation tests worldwide. 

This scandal may be one of the biggest ever related to the automobile industry. As news of the deception broke on Friday, Volkswagen’s stock plummeted by 20 per cent, costing its investors and shareholders billions of dollars. In response, Volkswagen allocated 7 billion dollars to cover the necessary service measures and other efforts to win back the trust of its customers. In addition, the EPA could fine Volkswagen up to $37,500 for each affected vehicle—a total of $18 billion in the U.S. alone. Volkswagen may even be forced to recall or reimburse the owners the full price of their vehicles.

These events could have a significant impact on Germany’s economy. The auto industry is central to the country’s status as a manufacturing powerhouse and a scandal this size is bound to cause problems. The auto industry accounts for 20 per cent of the total German industry revenue and employs 775,000 people; however, estimating the amount of damage this scandal will inflict is difficult.

With the emergence of a new breed of high-quality electric cars from companies like Tesla, old companies like Volkswagen that still rely on diesel cars for a big proportion of their business will be put to the test. There is no technology that can allow diesel cars to compete with the environmental friendliness of electric or hybrid cars. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit science advocacy organization, 60 percent of Americans now live in regions where electric vehicles (EVs) produce fewer heat-trapping nitrogen oxide emissions per mile than the most efficient hybrids. If other automakers follow this trajectory, diesel car manufacturing may soon become a shadow of what it once was.

a, McGill, Montreal, News

Divest McGill brings Fossil Free Week to James Administration

by Maya Reid on

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From Sept. 21 to 25, Divest McGill held Fossil Free Week, a series of workshops, professor talks, and rallies to ask the university administration to divest from oil and gas industries. Divest McGill is an organization whose goal is to urge the university to divest its endowment from fossil fuel and tar sands companies such as Chevron, Suncor, and British Petroleum. Throughout the week, organizers also camped out in front of the James Administration Building to increase campus awareness of the divest movement.

Chloé Laflamme, a U2 biochemistry student and one of the organizers of Fossil Free Week explained some of the steps that have been taken to urge administration leaders to reconsider Divest McGill’s demands.

“We [sent an email to] Kip Cobbett, who is the chair of the Board of Governors, and the interim chair of the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR),” Laflamme said.  “[Suzanne Fortier, McGill Principal] […]  was [also] CC’d on that email, to let them know about our main demands […] to have them recommend a freeze on fossil fuel investments while they look at their full petition for divestment.”

Laflamme stated that Fossil Free Week was established to showcase diversity within climate justice activism.

“We’re hoping to cater to a wide variety of people because this issue, in nature, is very intersectional [.] We’re definitely trying to reach out to the community,” she said.

Through a series of professor talks given at Community Square, McGill faculty members and community leaders discussed various reasons for divestment, including the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples, the economic viability of oil investment, and the physical science behind anthropogenic global warming.

During a Sept. 22 talk entitled “Fossil Fuel and the Anthropocene,” Richard Janda, Professor of Law and Environmental Science, explained moral, ethical, and legal grounds for supporting divestment, and praised the week of activism.

“I am inspired by the students who have been working on the Divest McGill campaign,” he said. “The courage, the dignity that you’ve shown—but also the tenacity to bring ideas forward […] [have] been truly remarkable.”

Victor Frankel, a Biology Ph.D candidate and supporter of divestment, stated why he believed the university should divest.

“[Divestment] would be economically consistent with the university’s mission to fulfill its fiduciary duties to the students and to the community,” Frankel said. “But our focus is not on the economic argument that it makes sense to divest from these toxic assets.  What we’re really pushing for is divestment on the moral grounds […] because these companies are responsible for social and environmental injury.”

In addition to on-campus events, Divest McGill members participated in a rally on Thursday, targeting the federal leaders’ French language debate held in Montreal. A contingent of various environmental protection organizations gathered in front of the Radio-Canada Building to protest a lack of climate justice.

One such protester, Divest McGill organizer Julianna Duholke, spoke about the campus-wide support of Fossil Free Week, and what this means for their campaign.

“Our campsite has actually tripled in size […] and we’ve gathered almost a thousand signatures just this week,” she said. “Now it’s really great to be tying this into the federal debate. We are not only holding McGill accountable, but trying to hold our federal leaders accountable, too.”

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