TRANSITIONS: 2016 FALL MCGILL & THE WORLD A PUBLICATION OF THE The BULL & BEAR EDITOR’S NOTE CONTENTS Jennifer Yoon Executive Editor FEATURE 4 Holding McGill Accountable 5 Humanities Under Attack 7 Two-Sides of a Coin: The Smoking Ban Shifting sands have never felt more unsettling. NEWS That’s only half a simile. The giant holes tearing up our campus streets are 8 Profile of Trump literally scrambling the soil beneath our feet. Apparently, our helmeted Supporters on Campus brigade of construction workers will be around for at least a few more years. What exactly are they working on again? Nobody knows. 10Indigenous Awareness Week Students are hurting from the myriad of changes, too. We’ve seen protests against austerity measures and for student workers’ rights. With classes BUSINESS & TECH and extracurriculars curtailed, students unsurprisingly take to the streets 11 Make Polling Great Again in protest – fulfilling a longstanding tradition amongst les étudiants 12 The Future of Food Montréalais. 14 Emergence of a Cashless Society And then, of course, there is the political fiasco South of the border. The election brought out the ugly in American society, terrifying women, racial minorities, LGBTQ folks, and more. Others began to seriously question ARTS & CULTURE the inherent value of previously revered democratic institutions: the 17 Crying in the Club with fourth estate, pluralism, and even foundational electoral processes. Venus 19 Skirting the Issues For many of us, 2016 has been a momentous year: in the course of these 21 Obituary: Public Libraries months, we’ve become accustomed a permanent state of uncertainty. (300 BC-2016 AD) 23 I Spend Way Too Much In this issue, we have tried to unpack some aspects of our increasingly unpredictable world – both on-campus, and off-campus. You’ll find articles Money on Vinyl about how the humanities are adjusting to the 21st century, opinions on 25Sympathy for the Devil smoking on campus, on the future of polling, and much more. We hope you will enjoy these articles as much as we enjoyed putting them together. OPINION 26 The Kids are Alt-Right In the storied words of Kendrick Lamar: ‘‘We gon’ be alright’’. 27 Accomplished, Qualified Women Unfit for Secretary-General Appointment Jennifer Yoon Nick Kasting Molly Harris Ben Butz-Weidner Executive Editor Julia Puckette William Horowitz Opinion Editor 29 The Haram Bae News Editors Advertising Analysts Jonah Silverman Jonathan Herlin 30 Tangerine with Fury Ben Butz-Weidner Amir Geva Managing Editors Business & Technology Dan Schechner Jordan Devon Editor Marketing Arts & Culture Yoana Garcia-Poulin & Social Media Analyst Editors Kira Smith Evan Coulter FALL 2016 Jeremy Steele Janine Xu Accounting Officer Logan Hall Shubha Murthy The Bull&Bear is published by the Fiona Higgins Marketing Web Editor G Clay Miller Managaement Undergraduate Society. Copy Editors & Social Media Officer The content of this publication is the Advertising Officer Ameer Albahouth responsibility of the Management Michela Karen Undergraduate Sociaty and does not Rakotondralambo Lola Baraldi Samuel Cabrera Jacob Côté necessarily represent the view of McGill Layout Editor Operations Officer Finance Officer Media Editors University. FALL FEATURE Our Changing Campus. Our Changing World. 4 FEATURE bullandbearmcgill.com NEWSFEATURE Holding McGill Accountable A first look at McGill Against Austerity BY CARLA DEAN n late September, McGill classes as a particular problem, as it while attending more radical protests. IAgainst Austerity held its first forces graduating students to retake They also recognize that more educational meetings of the year in classes or obtain missing credits traditional methods, like setting the SSMU board room. Around a during the Fall and Winter semesters. up meetings with government dozen students gathered to listen Sometimes, he said, this can delay representatives and writing letters to Wednesday’s presentation, which graduation. Beaune further argued to MPs, can be good methods for was lead by representatives David that McGill stands to profit from it by bringing about change. They placed Aird, SSMU’s current VP of External charging more for tuition. great emphasis on creating a space Affairs, and Gregoire Beaune. Aird contrasted these cuts with the where students can “most effectively McGill Against Austerity began in salary of current principal Suzanne fight back against austerity” regardless Fall 2015, after motions were passed Fortier - who earns $400,000 per of tactics, says Beaune. in the SSMU General Assembly in year - and the pension of retired Interview Excerpts: A Closer March 2015 in support of the club. principal Dr. Heather Monroe Blum Look Aird stated that SSMU’s mandate, - which totals to $284,000 per year. following the decision, now includes (According to the Montreal Gazette, To get a better sense of McGill an obligation “to oppose threats to the this sum is in addition to $87,000 she Against Austerity’s objectives, the Bull accessibility of education.” already received as pension). & Bear met with Adam Mackenzie, a U4 Political Science student and Austerity’s Impact on the McGill Beaune and Aird see this as an member of the group. Community example of McGill “embracing an B&B: Have you had any success Because McGill students have Austerity logic.” They define austerity logic as based on the assumption in your direct communication with not been well-represented in past McGill administration? student demonstrations, McGill that “the university, first and foremost, Against Austerity wants to educate: to should be treated like a business.” Mackenzie: McGill hasn’t highlight how all students are equally This idea, they contend, then fails personally talked to us yet – we’re still affected by austerity measures. Since to acknowledge the importance of relatively new. ASSÉ (L’Association 2012, McGill has lost over 50 million student experiences and community. pour une Solidarité Syndicale in funding alone, and tuition fees are “They don’t really care about real Étudiante) is doing big research and rising by 3.4% each year despite the student grievances,” said Aird, noting really pushing that in their universities. the backlash against activism on decline in quality of education and B&B: What are some of your goals, campus. number of services offered. Student besides education? Services are increasingly subject to Taking Action Mackenzie: Our short term budget cuts, the student-to-faculty McGill Against Austerity’s first goals include getting departments ratio is rising, and over 150 Arts priority is to educate students— to pass anti-austerity measures in classes have been cancelled since 2013. either by distributing pamphlets, strict language. SSMU already has an McGill Against Austerity also putting together videos, or holding official policy, but we want to create points out how students now pay for information sessions like Wednesday’s more discussion at a departmental extended library hours, and TAs are Austerity 101 presentation. Aird and level. We also want to send people being forced to work overtime without Beaune assured those in the room to meet with other [organizations]— compensation. Beaune mentioned that the group places an emphasis like AVEQ (Association for the Voice the decrease in options for summer on informed, safe participation, even of Education in Quebec). FALL 2016 FEATURE 5 B&B: You mentioned AVEQ and these strikes pass democratically, they Moving Forward ASSÉ, are there other specific groups have to be enforced, and the only way Despite the small size of the group, the you’re working with? power structures are going to respond dominant outlook at the presentation Mackenzie: We’re trying to focus is through direct disruption. Divest was hopeful. “Historically speaking, more on on-campus groups like presents scientific paper after scientific the student movement has absolutely Demilitarize McGill, Divest [McGill], paper, but what [the administration] been able to [promote] change at the [Fifteen and Fair]—there’s a protest responds to is stuff like the occupation provincial level,” said Beaune. “A new for raising the minimum wage in of Suzanne Fortier’s office. movement can flare up at any time in October, and we’re looking to send B&B: Do you find that McGill is a Quebec” he said, specifically citing the people to that. particularly challenging community to 2011 ‘Maple Spring’ student protests B&B: How do you feel about rally to action? as a source of inspiration for the group. people getting angry about the class Mackenzie: The anti-austerity Mackenzie told us that although disruptions caused by protests, and movement has a really long history in student turnout at McGill Against do you have any ethical qualms over Quebec, especially in the Francophone Austerity meetings usually falls at this? universities, [but] McGill is kind of around a dozen people, it’s to be Mackenzie: To a certain degree, an island. It doesn’t really interact as expected with such a new movement I can understand that. While they much with the other universities and on campus. “We get more people feel disturbed about it, it is a direct you could say that it doesn’t have a at protests,” he added. According action. When people don’t challenge strong activist tradition. One of our to Mackenzie, setting up the the powers that be, there’s a culture long-term goals is to connect McGill to infrastructure to promote effective that protests have to be quiet and the other universities within Montreal. change takes time, but it will be worth controlled and managed, but strikes the wait. only work if they’re enforceable. If ARTS&CULTUREFEATURE Humanities Under Attack BY JONATHAN HERLIN AND JORDAN DEVON ver the past few years, McGill students and for the university as a next few years,” he remarked. “We’re Ostudents have become whole. In particular, the Faculty of going to experience retirements, and acquainted with the harsh reality of Arts has experienced a notable decline it’s going to be a challenge for the budget cuts.