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a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: All We Are – All We Are

by Jack Neal on

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Recently shortlisted for both the 2015 NME and BRIT Awards, Liverpool-based band All We Are is the latest to latch on to the seemingly endlessly growing number of indie-rock bands vying for attention and supposed critical acclaim. Featuring guitar riffs, lots of drums, and rock-based production, All We Are ticks most of the boxes on the ‘alternative’ checklist. However, they also feature heavy bass, whispered vocals, and an overall atmospheric sound more akin to that of a The xx record.

Part The Naked and Famous, part CHVRCHES, and with a hint of Daft Punk on the standout track “Feel Safe,” All We Are should have called themselves ‘We Are All’. The record lends itself to multiple listens—not because it merits them based on impressiveness, but because it’s hard to believe that after a record of 11 intricately produced songs, there is so little to grab on to. “There’s something about you,” they sing; clearly a statement directed towards anything but their own album.

All We Are isn’t completely terrible; the synthesizers on “Honey” are extremely likable, and the opening hook of “I Wear You” is brilliant. However, this reconstruction of vague ’80s guitars, synths, and layered vocals makes it hard to tell it apart from anything else in the indie-rock arena. Maybe this doesn’t matter; maybe a rehash is a respectful nod to music of the past. However, here it just falls flat—like a collection of torch songs with no flame.

Background music? Yes. Studying music? Absolutely. But that’s it; All We Are could be good for any mood, event, or circumstance, and while the band should be applauded for their incredible ’80s sound, it lacks a certain thing called personality—something actually worth liking it for.

a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Dark creatures and light humour in What We Do in the Shadows

by Chris Lutes on

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Comedy, in a lot of ways, is the most subjective genre in any medium. Something that one person finds hilarious could fall completely flat for another—and both would be correct in their opinions because comedy comes from the realm of visceral, indescribable feelings, and gut reactions. Even more subjective is how a comedy film should be judged. Is a comedy a success by virtue of the fact that it makes you laugh, or does it need to offer something in the way of plot and theme in order to be considered a ‘good’ movie? How you answer this question will ultimately be the deciding factor in how you judge What We Do in the Shadows, the new vampire comedy from Takia Waititi and Flight of the Conchords’ Jermaine Clement.

Co-written, co-directed, and co-starring Clement and Waititi, the film tracks four vampires through day-to-day existence in present-day Wellington, New Zealand: Viago (Waititi), a romantic-era English dandy; Vladislav (Clement), a sadistic nymphomaniac; Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), an ex-nazi punk; and Petyr (Ben Fransham), an 8,000 year-old grotesque vampire resembling Max Schreck in Nosferatu. 

There isn’t much in the way of a narrative through-line; instead, a few subplots weave their way in and out of scenes—including an annoying bro-type who risks drunkenly blowing the protagonists’ cover, a suburban housewife who supplies the crew with victims in the hopes that she will one day receive eternal life, and a rival pack of werewolves. The film tries to split the difference between being a series of unconnected vignettes about the practical implications of being a vampire (given that the film’s production company is sketch site Funny or Die, the film was likely conceived as such), and a more traditional plot-driven story that places stock in the character’s feelings and ambitions. As a result, the film feels slow and pace-less for the first two-thirds before rushing into a final act that brings all of the characters into one room.

Thankfully, the acting is good enough to carry the film through its weak spots. Waititi is the standout, playing the fastidious straight-man who has to clean up after his roommates and mediate their petty grievances. He brings to the role a sense of world-weary forlornness that only a 183-year-old can truly experience, elevating the material to a level of pathos that the rest of the movie would have benefitted from. Clement, Brugh, and Fransham all give performances that can be called funny and memorably weird, but not much else. The supporting cast of New Zealand locals is fantastic, with Rhys Darby unsurprisingly stealing every scene he’s in as the alpha male of the werewolf pack who tries to keep his beastly urges at bay.

The other redeeming element is that the film looks better than any film with such a small budget has any right to. It’s filmed more competently than most modern documentaries—the cameras are placed in a way that can simultaneously capture the reactions of every character on screen, which is essential for a comedy like this. Some of the special effects are shockingly well done—especially when the vampires fly, which looks realistic and works well comedically.     

Ultimately, this is a film that is best approached with managed expectations. Those who see this movie expecting anything more than humour are going to be disappointed, but there’s still enough great material that makes it relatively worthwhile. This is the very definition of an airplane movie—quick and funny, enough to keep you entertained through an hour and a half flight, but light enough to forget about when you reach the tarmac.

What We Do in the Shadows opens on Friday, Feb. 13, at Cinema Cineplex Forum (2313 Sainte-Catherine W). General admission is $12.99 and $6.99 on Tuesdays.

a, Hockey, Sports

From the Cheap Seats: Red Bull Power 5

by Nicholas Jasinski on

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Montreal’s top university intramural hockey programs gathered on McGill’s lower field skating rink Thursday night beneath the downtown skyline to play their annual tournament. The stakes were high as teams from McGill, Concordia, Université de Montréal, UQÀM, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), and HEC Montréal’s respective intramural leagues faced off in an eight-team, double elimination bracket, with a $500 prize for the winning team. McGill, Concordia, and Montréal each put forth two entries, while ETS and HEC Montréal had one team per school. Supporters from all sides came out to brave the cold and cheer on their teams as they progressed through round after round of 10-minute games.

Sponsored by Red Bull, the event included some unconventional rules to pick up the pace of the games and keep the crowd engaged. Each team started out with four players on the rink and no goaltender. When a team scored a goal, a fifth player was added to their team and they remained in a power play until the opposing team scored a goal. At that point, the scoring team added a fifth player and the first team lost their fifth player, thereby reversing the power play.

This rule, combined with the small size of the rink and the unattended nets, led to a lot of action on the offence and many high-scoring games. The night’s most exciting moments came when games were tied at the end of regulation. Both teams would then choose their strongest player for a one-on-one, sudden death, winner-take-all faceoff. The first player to score would win the game for his team.

The crowd grew as the night progressed, drawn by the spectacle of an illuminated hockey rink in the middle of campus with passionate players duking it out in an exciting format. Music blared from the World War II-era Red Bull-restored Volvo Sugga truck, encouraging the onlookers to stay warm by giving them something to dance to and keep their bodies moving. Red Bull employees milled about the crowd, handing out free energy drinks to players and fans alike. Players from all teams socialized and cheered each other on in the spirit of friendly competition.

One by one, teams were eliminated and the field became smaller. The one ugly and potentially dangerous moment of the night came in a semifinal match between one of the McGill teams and the UQÀM team when a series of repeated collisions between two players led to a minor shoving match and a roar from the crowd. The scrum was quickly broken up by their teammates and the players laughed it off almost immediately.

The final was an all-McGill match up contested between the “Bucking Feauties” and “Just Butter.” Bucking Feauties were the definitive winners of the Fall 2014 intramural hockey ‘A’ division, going undefeated and outscoring their opponents by an average of more than three goals per game. That trend continued, as the Bucking Feauties heavily outscored Just Butter to win the 2015 Red Bull Power 5 in front of a what was a home crowd for both sides. 

The highlight of the night came just after the championship match, when the top two teams posed together for photographs, mixing up their teams in contrasting uniforms. They then revealed that before the game began, the teams had agreed that no matter what the outcome of the game, they would split the $500 winnings and head out for drinks all together. There couldn’t have been a more appropriate ending to the evening. The remaining members of the crowd cheered, clapped, and huddled close together against the winter air, enjoying the moment and readying themselves for the cold journey home.

a, Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Not in my faith

by Devon Allary on

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After the first wave of condemnation of the attackers and sympathy for the cartoonists following the Charlie Hebdo shooting, criticism of the magazine’s content slowly crept into left-leaning commentary. Many media outlets, including the McGill Tribune, argued that the cartoons were offensive, and called into question the limitations of free speech. More frightening still, was how some articles seemed to suggest that the cartoonists were partly to blame for the attack. Sharon Xie’s opinion article in the January 20, 2015 issue of the McGill Tribune entitled “Who is Charlie?” urged readers not to equate freedom of expression with freedom from consequence. This is victim blaming, plain and simple. Free speech does not end where opinions become offensive or unpopular. The media must accommodate the sacred and the profane. Xie argued that the cartoons were neither clever nor high-minded; their only purpose was to offend. While the quality of the cartoons is debatable, their right to exist is not. Free speech means protecting even bad satire. 

The Charlie Hebdo incident is just the latest battle in a war of ideas over whether sacred beliefs can be criticized. Nowhere is this harder fought than in the Muslim world; in January, Saudi Arabia drew international attention when it sentenced an atheist blogger to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for blasphemy. While many imams have done a good job of condemning the actions of the Islamic State and jihadists, they have failed to address the root of the problem—the immoral passages in holy scripture that extremists draw from. It is rare to see Islamic leaders or scholars denounce passages like Quran 4:89, which tells believers to slay infidels, or Hadith 4447, which prescribes death as the appropriate punishment for homosexuality. Clearly, there is no twisting of words here; these passages are unambiguously immoral. Indeed, similar passages can be found in other religious texts, such as the Old Testament. Fear of retribution and fear of being labelled ‘Islamophobic’ have made some people within the media hesitant to criticize Islam in the same way that it criticizes Christianity. 

The Islamic State and the Charlie Hebdo terrorists uphold a literal interpretation of the Islamic texts; an interpretation that is not shared among most Muslims. Where, then, are the tweets calling out these passages with tags like #NotInMyFaith? There needs to be a new movement, not just in Islam, but in all religions, that is not afraid to openly reject the most pernicious beliefs. 

a, McGill, News

Winter 2015 budget approved at SUS General Council

by Jenna Stanwood on

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SUS Budget

Last Wednesday, the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) held its General Council (GC), during which the Winter 2015 budget was approved. The budget vote had been delayed from a previous meeting to incorporate funds from the Student Space Improvement Fee, which was approved in the recent referendum.

SUS Vice-President Finance Eileen Bui explained that the budget had incurred a $10,000 surplus. 

“Usually, I do my budget very conservatively so we have left over money in case something happens,” Bui said. “In the past years, that’s how it’s always been […] it’s usually around that amount.”

Motion to formalize booking practices

The SUS also unanimously passed a motion in support of the Educational Community Living Environment (ECOLE), a sustainable living initiative that currently operates out of a former McGill residence house on University St. ECOLE also provides spaces that can be booked for student activities.

Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Representative for SUS Zacheriah Houston moved a motion to formalize SUS’s current room booking privileges with ECOLE. 

“This motion […] would grant ECOLE room booking privileges under the SUS, sort of similar to an independent student group under SSMU,” he said. “ECOLE already gives us room booking privileges and they do book rooms with some of the student societies on campus, but I just wanted to formalize that ability of [theirs] to book rooms.” 

The motion also included a clause to recognize space provided by ECOLE and to promote the organization through the listserv. ECOLE representatives were optimistic about the support offered by SUS. 

“We’re booked just about every day, sometimes twice a day during the week,” said SUS Vice-President External Affairs Emily Boytinck, who is also a member of ECOLE and represented the organization at the meeting. “It’s a great new student space. We have programming, we also have skill sharing workshops, film screenings. About 100 to 200 people walk through the space every week. It’s a very exciting project to be a part of.”

Online voting for elections

Saurin Shah, a representative from the McGill Science Computer Taskforce (CTF), gave a presentation on a new online voting system for SUS elections.

“It’s very simple to use and really has very little involvement from CTF input, which really streamlined the electoral process,” Shah said of the new system. “I know last year we handled six department elections and some of them had a little more issues than others, so we should probably negate that.” 

According to the SUS executive team, they are hopeful that the new system will encourage departments to switch to online electoral systems and facilitate more efficient elections. 

“Our CRO [Chief Returning Officer] used it for the [recent] referendum, and it was very easy to use,” SUS Vice-President Communications May Yin-Lao said. 

The CTF also clarified their electoral agreement with the SUS, which will make the system of administering online elections easier to manage, while also freeing up server space for future collaborations with the SUS.

a, Fact or Fiction, Science & Technology

Fact or Fiction: Do aphrodisiacs really work?

by Chloe Nevitt on

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Aphrodite—the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and pleasure— shares her name with another substance associated with desire: The aphrodisiac. Aphrodisiacs can be anything—foods, drinks, drugs, smells—that causes an increase in sexual desire. For centuries, people have sworn by the power certain foods, such as chocolate or oysters, to boost their libidos. The definition of aphrodisiac has remained the same over the last thousand years, and many of the foods we consider today to be aphrodisiacs are products of ancient experimentation.

The Greek physician Claudius Galen believed in the theological doctrine of signatures—a philosophy that certain herbs resemble the parts of the body they are meant to treat. Galen, who also believed that “wind,” or flatulence, would result in an erect penis, encouraged the consumption of mandrake root due to its semblance to a woman’s thigh, and the oyster for its resemblance to a labia. The oyster has gained a reputation as the king of aphrodisiacs. It’s even rumoured that Cassanova, the 18th century playboy, would eat 50 oysters every morning. But do oysters really work? 

In 2005, a team of American and Italian researchers analyzed bivalve mollusks using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a method used to separate the components of a mixture. Chemistry professor George Fisher from Barry University and his team discovered that the mollusks were rich in rare amino acids, such as daspartic acid and N-methyl-D-aspartate. These amino acids, when injected into rats, caused a chain reaction that resulted in the production of testosterone in males and progesterone in females.

“Increased levels of those hormones in the blood means you are more active sexually,” explained Dr. Antimo D’Aniello from the Laboratory of Neurobiology in Naples.

When trying to explain the reasons why certain foods increase sexual libido, researchers looked to the physiological changes that accompany sexual arousal.

Hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and oxytocin influence sexual motivation. Other feel-good chemicals released by the brain, such as dopamine and serotonin, contribute to a person’s arousal.

Foods and products that trigger the body to release and produce these compounds generally have aphrodisiac properties. A popular compound that is said to result in an increase in testosterone in the blood is ambergris. Ambergris is a dark grey waxy substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales that has been used extensively in the fragrance industry due to its valuable ability to fix a scent in place. 

In 2005, a study published in Archives internationals de pharmacodynamie et de thérapie showed that ambrein, one of the major constituents of ambergris, increased sexual behavior in male rats. Therefore, the scientists concluded that ambergris can be a possible aphrodisiac. 

Perhaps the most readily available aphrodisiac can be found at your local dépanneur. Alcohol consumption is linked to inhibition of the production of testosterone, causing deleterious effects on male sexual performance. In women, the opposite generally occurs. The effects of alcohol will also happen faster and more potently due to the fact that women have a higher body fat percentage than men.

Historically, aphrodisiacs have included things like Bufo toad skin, Panax ginseng, and Spanish fly. Traditionally, these substances have been used in folk medicine and have had their mechanisms of action analyzed. However, according to a study published in Clinical Autonomic Research the ingestion of compounds due to their supposed libido-enhancing effect is widespread, and their abuse is associated with high morbidity.

a, Off the Board, Opinion

Off the board: A love letter to Kim Kardashian

by Jessica Fu on

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Like the comments of a nagging mom, most criticisms of Kim Kardashian transcend time and logic—they’re baseless, they follow her wherever she goes, and they show no signs of stopping.

“She’s famous but she doesn’t do anything!”

“Her show has no substance!”

“Her butt can’t be real!”

The animosity aimed towards Kardashian hits those different notes most often and most loudly. As a timid fan of Kim and her family (and her show, occasionally), I’d like to diffuse the negative energy against her that somehow finds its way into every part of American and Canadian culture.

Easiest to dispel are the generally rude comments about her body—particularly the authenticity of her curvature. Women face both blatant and subtle pressures to change their bodies throughout their lives. To face further criticism after we succumb to the messages about not being “this” or “that” enough seems deeply unfair. Furthermore, whether or not someone has gone under the knife doesn’t erase their worth, which is something that we easily forget in our everyday conversations about Kim.

In terms of the most common criticisms of Kim, a close second to butt-talk is the berating of her show Keeping up with the Kardashians. Jonah Hill once said, “The fact that the Kardashians could be more popular than a show like Mad Men is disgusting. It’s a super disgusting part of our culture.”

The hyperbole of his statement confuses me, because Keeping up with the Kardashians is pretty harmless. In fact, it’s pretty cool to see a team of six women hang out, care about each other, support each other through hardships, and succeed in their personal and professional lives. As the self-proclaimed best friend of my own younger sister, I love it. When do you ever see unconditional support among women like that in TV? Surely not in Mad Men.

At the end of the day, she’s got her game and her girls and the defining genius of this generation as her husband.

In fact, their problems aren't so different from our own—parents get in the way of tattoos, school is tough, heartache is common. Sure, the lavish details of their troubles may evoke anxieties about the growing wealth disparity in the U.S., but blaming that issue on the Kardashian-Jenner clan is so obviously misguided. Her show may not be educational, as some critics decry, but if you’re turning on the TV in search of learning, I would recommend some changes on your own end—watch an online course or, like, read an encyclopedia.

“She has no talent—Everything she does is for attention!” I guess that makes all of us.

Defending Kimmy in conversation usually ends up like a game of whack-a-mole. The things people have to say are all over the place, and don’t really matter. Because at the end of the day, she’s got her game and her girls and the defining genius of this generation as her husband. It’s the closest thing to “having it all” that I’ve ever witnessed. Whatever she’s doing, she’s doing it right.

a, Art, Arts & Entertainment

The sight of the blind and the embrace of the sea

by Clare Murphy on

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In Montreal’s landlocked position, one may miss the reassuring embrace of the ocean, which, for many coastal natives, has come to represent an integral element of home. At Musée d’art Contemporain de Montreal (MACM), Sophie Calle’s debut exhibit, entitled For the First and Last Time, has captured the mental images of blind people and the ocean, exploring the loss, beauty, and human desire to feel connected to our environment.

The First and Last Time comprises of two recent works by Calle that focus on subjects from Istanbul. The first, titled The Last Image (2010), combines photographs and written text telling the story of how the subjects lost their sight, their last sight, and the image that will always remain with them. The second project, Voir la Mer (2011), consists of videos of people experiencing the ocean for the first time—some of whom have spent their whole lives in Istanbul, a place surrounded by the sea. Calle seamlessly transitions between these different works by ending the beginning exhibit with asking a man who was born blind what his perception of beauty is. He states, “the sea, the sea going out so far you lose sight of it.”

The most moving element of The Last Image is the stories that accompany the photographs. Annoyingly though, only the French text is displayed alongside the photographs and all English readers must read off a printed sheet provided, something that ultimately took away from the overall experience. Calle retells all the experiences in a neutral tone despite the wide variety of circumstances that led to the subjects’ vision loss.

One particularly harsh story details a man who was shot and blinded, left only with the image of his shooter, whom he will never be able to identify. Yet within another such tragedy emerged a story of beauty for a woman who will always remember her husband as he was at 39-years-old. Each of these stories carried specific details yet remained universal, allowing one to intimately connect to their perspectives.

The photographic portraits are put in a position of great prominence as the subjects often have direct eye contact with the camera, making the image something you cannot forget. Our preconceptions of the blind are challenged by the positioning of their line of sight, making the viewer feel as though they are being watched. Many of the images are out of focus, as Calle captures the mental last image such as a “bus, like a red cloud.” The exhibit is transformative as we parallel our view with their final picture, attempting to see life through the yes of the blind.

The second portion of the exhibit begins by showing the subjects facing the ocean. The camera then turns to face them, pointedly focusing on their various emotions of confusion, sadness, and joy. Again, the eyes are central to the impression of the exhibit, containing a subliminal quality and connecting the viewer to the subject. 

Calle explores themes of isolation and communication along with both the loss and power of the senses through methods of individual detail, all while reaching a sense of universality in this study of what it means to be human.

For the First and Last Time runs until May 10, 2015 at the Musée d’art Contemporain de Montreal (185 Sainte-Catherine Ouest). Student admission is $10.

a, Men's Varsity, Sports

Know your McGill Athlete: Jacob Gervais-Chouinard

by Raphael Uribe Arango on

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The McGill Redmen are having an impressive season, and sophomore goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard is a major reason behind this success. His outstanding save percentage of .944-per cent tops the CIS rankings. In the classroom, Gervais-Chouinard is a hard-working student majoring in Economics and minoring in Finance. At the moment, he’s not quite sure what to do after he graduates. 

“Consultancy would be an ideal career but I am still weighing my options,” he said.    

Gervais-Chouinard got into hockey thanks to his older brother, who is currently playing as a defenceman in the AHL for the Toledo Walleyes. The Redmen netminder had a stint in the AHL as well, lining up with the Hamilton Bulldogs. During this time, he had the opportunity to play against his brother, and doesn’t like to be reminded of the goals he conceded to his sibling over that season. 

The Redmen have a solid core of veterans on the team such as Jonathan Bonneau, Guillaume Langelier-Parent, and Cedric McNicoll, which makes life a little bit easier for Gervais-Chouinard and other younger players. Gervais-Chouinard praised the older players, who he said have helped the rookies and sophomores manage their time between schoolwork and sports.

“[Our team] has good depth and chemistry among the players,” he said. “[We are] better than what is presented on paper.”

Along with his teammates, Gervais-Chouinard credits Head Coach Kelly Nobes’ framework and coaching philosophy for the team’s success this season.

“The free-flowing system he has [instilled] has allowed the team to flourish,” he said. 

The freedom of play has had Gervais-Chouinard and the Redmen excelling thus far, and he  said he thinks the team has the potential to win the CIS Championship this season.

Reflecting on his young but already impressive career, Gervais-Chouinard named his semifinal performance against the Alberta Golden Bears, where he made 55 saves out of 60 shots, as his highlight. Despite resulting in a loss, that performance earned him a mention on the All-tournament team during last year’s CIS Championships. Gervais-Chouinard is no stranger to the spotlight, having played for the Bulldogs and for the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the QMJHL, but he admitted to being a bit starstruck when he had the chance two weeks ago to practice with the Montreal Canadiens. He says he’ll never forget robbing P.K. Subban.

“I was making saves against Habs players such as Subban, and the Canadiens’ Coach [Michel Therrien] said I did a good job,” Gervais-Chouinard said.

The team will have to weather the loss of several veterans due to graduation next year, but Gervais-Chouinard is optimistic about their future.

“We have a very strong recruitment team, and there are a lot of players that are set to make an impact,” he said. 

There is plenty to be excited about when it comes to the Redmen hockey team in the near future. In Gervais-Chouinard, the Redmen have a cornerstone player in net who should be a major component of this team’s success over the next two years. 

 

McGill Tribune (MT): What is your favourite food?

Jacob Gervais-Chouinard (JGC):  Poutine.

MT: Who is your favorite NHL Player?

JGC: Carey Price 

MT: What is your favorite band?

JGC: Above and Beyond

MT:  What is your hidden talent?

JGC: I play acoustic guitar

MT:  If you could play another Varsity Sport what would it be?

JGC: Soccer

 

a, McGill, News

Law professor discusses implications of Ferguson events for black Canadians

by Shrinkhala Dawadi on

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Joanne St. Lewis, Common Law professor at the University of Ottawa and former McGill student, spoke at the annual Annie Macdonald Langstaff workshop last Friday. The workshop featured a discussion on the recent events in Ferguson, a city in Missouri that gained international attention in 2014 after Mike Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old was shot and killed by white Police Officer Darren Wilson. Following the shooting, Ferguson became the site of several protests against racialized police brutality.

St. Lewis began the workshop by addressing why black Canadians should care about police brutality in the United States.

“[Ferguson] is an opportunity for us to see in a very concrete way something we experience in a more fractured, or specific and narrow way in Canada,” St. Lewis said. “The first thing I see as a black Canadian is […] they’re having my problem, except it’s so big that everyone can see it [….] They can actually get voice and space in the public domain to talk about [it].”

St. Lewis then spoke to the identity politics that often surround discourses of race. She highlighted herself as an example of how class and race can intersect, explaining that she was often asked why she cared about the issue.

“‘Why are you so into this Ferguson thing? [You’re] a lawyer […] you’re not living there. Aren’t you putting on a frame of oppression that doesn’t belong to you?’” St. Lewis listed as examples of the questions she would receive when broaching the topic with colleagues. 

St. Lewis explained that she believed that the questions stemmed from people’s reluctance talk about race.

“The person I’m speaking to has decided that they know what it means to be authentically black, and apparently my legal training has disenfranchised me of my authenticity,” she said. “Instead of the person grappling with their own unwillingness to talk about racism […] they’re starting to shut down the conversation.” 

The lack of representation of black people in societal positions of power contributes to the high incidences of racialized police brutality, St. Lewis said.

“It’s about who is administering justice and representation,” she said. “We have somewhere around 21 Law faculties in the country […yet] we don’t even have the equivalent of one black [law professor] per school. How many [black law students] actually get to the point that they’re senior associates and have enough network that they’re in the position to actually drive the engine of what they’re doing?”

Sarah Aladas, a student who attended the event, critiqued the idea that change could only come through the efforts of the oppressed group. 

“The issue is that we shouldn’t care because we’re [a part of a race], but we should care because we’re human,” she said. “By trying to fight any type of inequality, sometimes we only make the barrier stronger in that we create an opposition.”

In response, St. Lewis highlighted the difference between social cohesion and legal advocacy against discrimination. 

“At the end of the day, [for] social cohesion […] you want everybody to be invested in all the values,” St. Lewis said. “That is very different from legal analysis [….] There are strategies to think about gender, there’s another way of doing intersectionality […] and you need to […] obtain the mastery for your client.” 

Law student and President of the Black Law Students’ Association of McGill Dominic Bell asked St. Lewis for general advice on leading discussions about race in Canada.

“With respect to this discourse that the United States is sort of a foil for Canada […] that it’s not as bad [in Canada] as it is in the United States […] how you go about piercing that sort of discourse?” Bell asked.

St. Lewis answered by highlighting the need for education and the awareness of the intersection of identities and privileges. 

“I think one of the pieces is understanding and educating ourselves about what is happening,” she said. “It is about class to some extent […] if you are living in places where black people are economically disempowered, the type of racism that they are experiencing is every bit as blatant and clear as it is in the [United States].”

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