The Tribune TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 2023 | VOL. 43 | ISSUE 4
Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University
EDITORIAL
FEATURE
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
McGill must stand by the Mohawk Mothers
From Alpha to Zeta: Investigating the dark side of Greek life
PG. 5
From blood donations to saving lives
PG. 8-9
THETRIBUNE.CA | @THETRIBUNECA
PG. 12
(Mason Bramadat / The Tribune)
Counter-protestors rally against anti-trans demonstrators outside Roddick Gates
PG. 4
“Some of us are traumatized”: McGill student pleas over asbestos exposure Principal Saini says asbestos concerns “take away the pride” he feels for McGill
Shani Laskin & Harry North News Editor & Features Editor Hiba Kamel, a third-year McGill PhD student, stood up poised and palpably angry at McGill’s asbestos town hall on Sept. 22. “Some
of us are traumatized. Some of us have actually interacted with the dust,” she said. Kamel is a researcher in the Agricultural and Environmental Sciences department. She is also married and a mother of a young daughter. Now she is reckoning with the worry that she was exposed
to asbestos dust fibres in the winter of 2023 and may have brought it home on her clothes—potentially exposing her family. The trauma voiced by Kamel along with other concerns from students and staff at the Macdonald campus town hall comes as the latest development in McGill University’s unfolding asbestos problems. PG. 3
An open letter to Taylor Swift
It’s all about the lettuce!
We did the math: Here’s why you should bring the Eras Tour to Montreal
Lettuce Club draws in dozens of hungry students at its annual competition
Momo Burns-Min Contributor
Agatha Ryan Contributor
The Gaylor and Swift-zerland Delegations of McGill University would like to warmly congratulate you on the success of The Eras Tour and the whole soon-to-be-billionaire thing. More importantly,
we would like to beg— ahem—invite you to perform for us. Yes, the Miss Americana persona is classic, but your neighbours to the North could use a little love to get us through the impending blizzards. And what better place than Montreal to perform “Forever Winter” for the first time
as one of the surprise songs? Weather that feels like you’re going “back to December all the time” isn’t Montreal’s only draw, though. Travelling by private jet (as you so often do) will allow you to avoid our city’s famously endless construction. PG. 14
On Sept. 21, McGill’s Lower Field teemed with anticipation, excitement, and dozens of students nervously clutching heads of lettuce. At first glance, the circle of students could be mistaken for a colony of hungry rabbits; in actuality, it was just the Let-
tuce Club’s third annual lettuce-eating competition. In the centre stood Eric Zhao, U2 Science, dressed to the nines in a full-sized lettuce costume—a lab coat bedecked with flowing green streamers. Zhao was last year’s winner and crowned Lettuce Head, making him the facilitator of this year’s competition. Students walked up to the table in
the centre of the field to check in and weigh their lettuce, which had to be a minimum of 600 grams. As the competition was about to start, some students shared their thoughts with The Tribune. “I woke up this morning super nervous, but I’m ready,” Maria Cooper, a Geography major at McGill on exchange, said. PG. 7