I remember walking into the Bronfman building for the first time in 2009. It was, to say the least, overwhelming. Distinguished-looking men were in suits, sophisticated looking women walked around in high heels, and there I was, not sure what I was getting myself into. However, after 4 years, 30 management classes, numerous projects, information sessions, super sandwiches, and MUS mass tutorials later, I find myself one of the very men in suits that I was originally intimidated by.

But like any journey in life, you look back in retrospect with wisdom; wisdom that you wish someone had shared with you when you first walked through those daunting Bronfman doors. To future U0s, U1s and U2s, here are a few things I have learnt that may help you on your journey through Bronfman High:

1) No one has your back, except yourself and a few loyal friends, so find them fast. The structure of the program is such that you hope every single person in your classes fail. Rarely will you find discussion boards in management classes where someone will posts their notes gratuitously like they do in Arts due to the fact that it is a dog-eat-dog program. Furthermore, the mandatory bell curve slims the chances of you rooting for someone else’s success. However, I found five friends to rely on early on in the program. We have been through thick and thin, and it has made my life exponentially easier. You need allies in Management, so find them quick and help them every opportunity you get, because what goes around comes around, and hopefully they will be there for you when you most need them.

2) Treat your midterms like they’re finals, even the optional ones. Many of my classes have been structured such that the midterm mark is optional dependent on whether or not the final mark is better – sounds great right? Wrong. What happens most times in these classes is that everyone fails the midterm except for a few wise students who ace them. Everyone goes into the final with either no mark, or a high A.  The result? No matter how well you do on the final, it is still extremely difficult to get an A due to the way the curve works, so ace your midterms if you want to ace your classes.

3) If teachers tell you they don’t care about marks, a red flag should go up immediately. In your first class, a lot of teachers will tell you that they hate the curve and they wish everyone could have As, but the program doesn’t work that way and teachers are bound to be teaching classes where there is no real disparity in evaluations, such as Organizational Behaviour classes. Hence, thanks to the curve, everyone ends up with a B, at most a B+. Whether or not professors want to admit it, grades are everything, so do what you can to get As, and it starts with picking the right teachers.

4) Get a summer job as soon as possible. No one seems to tell you the importance of a summer position until it’s time to find a full-time job with an empty resume and no real experience. While working as a waiter or in a construction job may pay well and give you some experience in the real world, it doesn’t really impact your future career path. If you want to be in finance, find something in finance. If you want to be in marketing, find something in marketing. Lately, there has been talk about “well-rounded” students entering the workforce. While being well-rounded is certainly important, one of the parts you are “rounded” in should be applicable to what you want to do with your life.

Ultimately, if I were to go back to my final year of high school and decide again what school to go to – I would still choose McGill ten times out of ten. However, I think there are policies that should be improved upon, primarily the mandatory curve, which negatively increases the competitiveness, puts McGill business students at a competitive disadvantage, and ultimately breaks down the cohesiveness and cooperation amongst peers in the program. Curving a 40-person finance class to a 3.0 when no one will get a job in finance without a 3.8 GPA just does not make sense.

Over the past few months I have been trying to raise awareness to the deficiencies in our current grading system and gather feedback from fellow students, a move that has been received with excitement and optimism moving forward. While any changes to the grading scheme won’t affect me or my peers, they would make Desautels better for classes to come.

Carl Icahn, unhappy with the $13.65 buyout target proposed by Michael Dell and his partnering private equity firm, has recently taken a major stake in Dell. This investment strategy,  shareholder activism, has become more and more predominant in today’s financial sphere. Billionaire investors like Icahn are more frequently taking large positions in corporations and then proceeding to effect change according to their investment theses.

A Response to the Classic Agency Problem?

The “classic agency problem” sets the premises for activist investment opportunities. The dichotomy between ownership (shareholders) and control (corporate management) confirms that those in control often don’t have the owners’ best interests mind. This void creates opportunity for a financial player to step in and see this gap closed.

At its core, activist investing is when an investor takes a large stake in a corporation in order put pressure on management to make a change. Equity markets are the most popular sites of shareholder activism, but it can occur in almost any financial market including distressed debt and convertibles. The typical timeline for this strategy is short to medium term (1-3 years).

Fundamentals and Events

Activist investment theses are structured from two distinct underlying themes: fundamentals and events. Much like other value investment strategies, activist investors conduct research on the intricacies of a corporation in order to identify strategic, financial, operational, or governance inefficiencies that stand to be rectified.  Such fundamental opportunities can then be realized through different actions ranging from mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to restructuring to spin-offs of specific divisions.

Events can create asymmetric risk/reward relationships. In the past, the BP oil spill, the credit crisis and even healthcare reform have presented opportunity for activist investors to see value realized.

How the process works

Once an investment thesis is developed, the activist starts to pressure the target company using a spectrum of options ranging from friendly to hostile. First, the investor will send public letters to management and then communicate with the financial community and media. If the corporation is not receptive to the proposed changes, the investor can file a 13-D statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, stating that they have acquired a position that exceeds five percent of the outstanding shares. This filing denotes an active investment and give credibility to the investor. Next, the investor can proceed and commence litigation against corporate board members for breaching fiduciary responsibility. It also allows the corporation to obtain official internal company documents to further substantiate their thesis.

Although the aforementioned activist tactics are effective there are actions that corporations take to prevent loss of control to activist investors. Corporations can use a staggered board election method, where only a fraction of board members are up for reelection every year, meaning that the investor must win multiple board election battles.

If an investor amasses a controlling position, the board can launch a “poison pill.” This is a scheme where shareholders are given the opportunity to buy more shares at a discount, thus diluting the value of the bidder’s interest and increasing the cost of the bid. Companies also use the public media to launch an offensive against the activist investor to invalidate the activist’s intentions. Finally, corporations will resort to extensive litigation against the activist.

Icahn’s Stake in Motorola

Founded in 1928, Motorola was renowned for being a pioneer in wireless handset devices. However, in early 2000s, Motorola began to lose market share, and shares hit an 18-month low on Jan. 12th, 2007. On January 30th, Carl Icahn announced he had accumulated a 1.4 percent stake in Motorola and demanded a seat on the board, pushing management to return more cash to shareholders through a leveraged $20 billion share buyback plan. Motorola rejected his proposal and claimed that Icahn’s success as an investor wouldn’t necessarily make him a valuable addition to the board. Icahn increased his stake to 2.5 percent and began  submitting proxy materials for the upcoming annual meeting in May. Later in March, after posting lower earnings and forecasts, Motorola announced an accelerated share buyback program ceding to Icahn’s proxy demands.

In May, after increasing his stake to 2.9 percent, Icahn took his proxy battle to Motorola’s annual meeting. However, he failed to secure enough votes and was not elected to the board. By the next quarter in July, Motorola posted a loss for Q2 2007 and pressure for Ed Zander, Motorola’s CEO, to exit began to build from other investors. In November, Motorola announced that Zander would step down as CEO and would be replaced by the then-current COO Greg Brown. Icahn welcomed the announcement but demanded further action and a split of the company into three parts. In retort, Motorola announced that it may spin-off its handset business. Icahn then moved to elect three people to the board. In March of 2008, now holding 6.4 percent of the stock, Icahn sued Motorola to gain access to company documents.

Two days later, Motorola announced that it would spin-off its handset business. Motorola and Icahn reached an agreement to install two of Icahn’s nominees to the board. Motorola completed the split in 2011. By August, Icahn increased his stake above 10 percent for the first time. Motorola Mobility (handset and TV businesses) began to trade publicly and Motorola Inc. changed its name to Motorola Solutions (government and business enterprises). Icahn pushed for Motorola Mobility to realize the value of its patent portfolio believing it could worth ~$4.0 Bn. In August 2011, Google announced that it would acquire Motorola Mobility for $40 per share, a 63 percent premium.  Icahn’s stake in the company was valued at $1.3 billion. Finally, in February 2012, Motorola Solutions announced that it bought back the majority of Icahn’s stake for $1.2 billion and one of Icahn’s directors resigned from the board.

Conclusion

Activism is about playing an active role in generating catalyst events to unlock shareholder value. As observed with Motorola, activist investing is often a lengthy and drawn out process that takes place under public scrutiny and doesn’t always deliver optimal outcomes. Bloomberg News hypothesized that Icahn likely broke even on his investment with Motorola. Despite this case, activist investing remains a valid strategy, delivering a cumulative 30 percent more than the S&P 500 returned over the past eight years.

Whether you prefer to dive into a Diet Pepsi, a bag of off-brand Sour Patch Kids, or a bottle of rosé with a Chilean cowboy on it, there is no denying that life in 2013 is full of simple pleasures. More often than not, these simple pleasures are calorie-laden, made with dozens of unpronounceable chemicals, and readily available from every glowing street corner.

If you have five dollars (okay, more like eight) then you have just about anything your insatiable, impulsive side could want. Squeaky clean or grimy, part of a chain or independent, open nine to five or 24/7, there’s no denying that deps are essential to Montreal life. According to a 2008 article in the Gazette, there are 1127 dépanneurs on the island; one for every 1500 people.  Despite their ubiquity, every dep holds its own charm and character but, obviously, some are better than others.

For instance, the one nearest to my apartment, Dépanneur Fleur Bleue, sells freshly-cut flowers, small potted plants, handmade sandwiches, and even has a self-serve buffet. These specialties elevate it above and beyond the standard convenience store, characterized by limp chili dogs, fountain pop, and aggressive fluorescent lighting. But it’s not just the fleurs that make Fleur Bleue so memorable, it’s the people.

The owner, an eccentric woman named Madame Lee, who perpetually dons a white beret, massive sunglasses, and a variety of beige sweaters, is an essential part of the neighbourhood and, not to mention, a local celebrity. Once, while walking by, I saw her eating lunch through the window and, without knowing what came over me, I decided to wave to her. To my surprise and extreme delight, she smiled and waved back.

Madame Lee may well have mistaken me for someone else or simply acted out of courtesy. Nevertheless, that small moment made me feel like part of the neighbourhood. It made me feel like a real Montréalaise, instead of an import from the prairies. In a city so readily divided by language and political tension, it can be difficult to imagine something that brings us all together. The truth is, no matter what language you speak, or what your political beliefs are, all people can readily be united in their love for the vices of the 21st century: junk food. Physically, all are conditioned to desire the treasures resting inside those glowing little storefronts. Your stomach loves the combination of corn syrup, carbonation, sugar and red dye number two.

But the appeal of the dep doesn’t end with you filling your belly with tasty snacks. If that were the case, any dep would serve as a perfect substitute for any other, provided it sold what you were craving. Logically, that should be true, but logistically, that’s not the case. The dépanneur invites a sense of loyalty unmatched by any other store. I would buy my groceries anywhere but I wouldn’t indulge my little vices in just any old place. I want to buy them from my place. Slipping through the doors of a different dep, with a different name and floor plan, with the chips to the right of the door instead of the left would be unsettling. It’s doable if you’re hungry enough, but the grime that seemed endearing at your dep is now only making you wonder just how frequently they sanitize the ATM keypad.

Why do we feel loyal to these meccas of casual consumption? It’s because of the people. It’s the steadfast and familiar faces behind the counter who see that the shelves are stocked just so. Odds are, you don’t know their names, and they probably don’t know yours. The likelihood that you will ever be Facebook friends—and have uncomfortable levels of awareness of their day-to-day activity or the fact that they like, say, Two and Half Men—is virtually zero. But you know that they exist, and they know that you exist. And in a bustling city like Montreal, perhaps that’s all you really need…along with your bi-weekly dose of Pringles, obviously.

Everyone knows when it’s that time of the year – finals season. You can taste the tension, the stress, the late nights, and the panic in the air. While everyone is slaving away in the libraries or holed up in their bedrooms, most students might be tempted to just live off of instant noodles, toast, and Kraft Dinner. I’m here to tell you that just because you’re low on time doesn’t mean you can’t have good food that is quick, easy to make, and composed of just a few ingredients.

I like adding some pesto and hot sauce to spruce up a classic grilled cheese sandwich. To try something different, replace the cheese with slices of avocado. It makes the sandwich clean and refreshing, with all the beneficial oils from the avocado to boot! A side of tomato soup is the perfect companion for your gooey masterpiece.

Miso soup with rice is a meal that literally requires only two pots and five ingredients. Miso, tofu, green onions, and rice are all easily obtainable from Chinatown or Epicerie Eden on Avenue du Parc. The quick method is to just throw water, miso, and tofu in a pot and bring it to a boil. Adjust seasoning to taste and if you like, sprinkle some sliced green onions on top of the soup and serve with steaming, fluffy rice.

Couscous is a fine grain that doesn’t need to be pre-boiled, which makes it an ideal quick meal. Add some halved cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, chopped spinach, and couscous in a bowl with hot water from a kettle; the ratio is 1:1 for water to couscous. Cover the bowl with some saran wrap, wait until all the water is absorbed, and it will be ready to eat. To make it extra fancy, sprinkle on some feta cheese and squeeze over some lemon juice.

Quick pasta doesn’t always have to be eaten with canned tomato sauce. Simply sauté some chopped bacon with butter, pepper, and dried herbs. My personal favourites are thyme and oregano. Toss in the cooked pasta and top with parmesan cheese; the smokiness and saltiness of the bacon gives the pasta a great aroma. To go the extra mile, add either some maple syrup or white wine before adding in the pasta and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Perfect every time.

You can add pretty much any fruit of your choice to spinach or lettuce leaves to make a refreshing salad. Some tasty combos are raspberry and spinach, watermelon and spinach, apple and lettuce, and orange and lettuce. A light vinaigrette made from 1 part lemon juice, 3 part olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper goes hand-in-hand with any salad.

Fish tends to cook much faster than chicken, beef, or pork. My fish of choice is salmon because of it’s delicious, easy to cook, and contains high protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D – exactly what a sleep and nutrition-deprived student needs in the middle of exams. Put a filet on a baking sheet (remember to use aluminum foil for easy clean up!) and drizzle some honey, salt and pepper over the filet. If you don’t have honey, use maple syrup, or simply some brown sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes or until the filet flakes apart when you take a fork to it. Add or subtract baking time for a couple minutes depending on how thick your slice of fish is.

If you’re ever in need for a quick sweet treat, these Nutella cookies should be your go-to recipe. All you need is one egg, one cup of Nutella, and a half cup of flour. Just mix the three ingredients in a bowl, spoon balls of it on a baking sheet, and bake in a preheated at 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 10 minutes. Voila! The best chewy, moist, chocolate cookies you’ve ever had. It’s the best treat for your well-deserved study break.

Study well and eat well during exams everybody!

There is no doubt in any student’s mind that professors can make or break your experience in any course. Thankfully, our institution is filled with exceptional teachers, each with their own flair, quirks, and teaching style.With summer right around the corner, the scramble for internships and letters of recommendation is in full swing. While it’s usually our professors who write recommendation letters, The Lifestyle section at The Bull & Bear decided to write our own, highlighting the best of our most beloved professors of the year.

Professor Derek Wang
As a recent PhD graduate, 2012-13 was Professor Derek Wang’s first year teaching at McGill. I took his Operations Management class and found that he is always available to help any and all students. Professor Wang promptly answers e-mails within the half-hour that they are sent or even quicker. Many of mine were answered within five minutes. The day before the midterm exam, Professor Wang held office hours for a whopping ten hours in addition to holding office hours on the actual day of the midterm.

Not only is Professor Wang always there for his students but he also has a great sense of humour. When teaching the “bullwhip effect,” Professor Wang brought a real, seven-foot, Texan bullwhip into class. Donning a straw cowboy hat, Professor Wang worked the bullwhip like Indiana Jones and even invited anyone who wanted to try it out for themselves to come to his office hours. On top of all these great qualities, he occasionally brought treats to class to reward participation and performance.

Professor Anastassios Anastassiadis
Along with having the best name, Professor Anastassios Anastassiadis is one of the most charming and engaging professors I have encountered at McGill. In his Byzantine History class, he often narrates in first person the daunting and destructive border expansions, reforms, and wars of the Late Roman Empire.

His passion for his subject, along with his love for ornately adorned waistcoats, is obvious. Moreover, his enthusiasm is so infectious that he is the kind of professor who makes you want to spend the rest of your life studying obscure facts about exarchates and icons. To top it all off, the last class before Reading Week, Professor Anastassiadis brought delicious spanakopita for our class. Hats off to you, Tassos… And I hope you find yours!

Professor Peter Younkin
Professor Peter Younkin is the most inspirational professor I had this year, and Social Context of Business was one of the most refreshing courses I took during my three years at McGill. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:00 to 5:30 PM, our class willingly stowed away laptops and cellphones to engage in arguments, debates, and discussions about topics that actually felt relevant to us.

The course wasn’t easy, but it made me remember why I chose to pursue the path of higher education. Professor Younkin pushed us to think about familiar topics in new ways, formulate well thought-out arguments, and realize the importance of differing opinions, all while rocking his skinny ties and Honest Teas. Thank you, Professor Younkin, for encouraging me to enjoy learning for the sake of learning again!

Professor George Dracopoulos
Having had the opportunity to sample all core subjects at McGill, I have been exposed to professors from all disciplines. Two years into my latest program, I can easily state that Professor George Dracopoulos of the Marketing Department is one of the most insightful professors I have ever encountered. Leveling with his students, he engages the class in discussions that affect the modern marketing world and impassions students by integrating current issues and course material.

He is one of the few teachers who judges class participation not on attendance, or meaningless hand raises, but on in-class assignments. Thank you, Professor Dracopoulos, for your dedication to engaging with your students.

Professor Desmond Tsang
Professor Desmond Tsang takes the cake for dying his hair pink for the Cancer Auction’s “Go Pink or Go Home” event. I will never forget seeing Professor Tsang bravely sitting in the hair salon with his GQ Magazine sprawled across his lap and bits of foil stuck to his head while he selected the shade of pink he would be committed to for the next few weeks.  An equally unforgettable moment was watching him dance to Gagnam Style with Professor Pietro while wearing pink sunglasses to complement his new coiffure. Professor Tsang made accounting cool.

Professor Miranda Hickman
Professor Hickman taught me that good teaching is about strategic communication. Her careful attention to accurately articulate everything and anything made an introductory course, English Survey, about much more than its description on the syllabus.The syllabus infers that Professor Hickman’s lectures will make you a more knowledgeable and more attentive reader but it neglects to mention that Professor Hickman’s lectures will make you a better thinker and a more cogent writer. Every lecture is as much an instruction on how to structure your thoughts as it is a lesson in English literary history. Thank you, Professor Hickman, for your engaging and fascinating lectures. But more importantly, thank you for teaching me how to better think and communicate.

Despite posting its first-ever quarterly profit after ten years of operations, electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) has seen investors shuffling nervously, as analysts and major car makers have targeted the California firm as the epicenter of curious analysis.

The firm cites higher-than-expected sales figures for its Model S flagship sedan as the key driver of the first black numbers to appear on the books since the company’s inception in 2003 by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk. The Model S, which began production in 2012, sold more than 4,750 units in the quarter, comfortably surpassing forecasts of 4,500.

Tesla also boasts that it is prepared to accelerate repayments of the US Department of Energy loan borrowed in order to bring the Model S to production.  Other notable recipients of Dept. of Energy loans include failed Solar power firm Solyndra and near-bankrupt auto manufacturing firm Fisker.

Analysts, however, have been quick to point out that some of Tesla’s numbers are suspicious at best. As of year-end 2012, the company had booked 15,000 orders for the Model S outstanding. However, there have been instances of customers receiving orders with turnaround times as low as 3 months, suggesting that the company may be experiencing a surge in either cancellations or deferments.

In addition, Tesla recently confirmed the content of an email sent out to customers urging them to make payments in advance in pursuit of posting the company’s first profitable period. By pulling orders forward, the company would be able to recognize revenue for outstanding orders in the quarter, but will also undercut revenues from future quarters from which orders have been pulled.

On Tuesday, the company released a new financing program in partnership with Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank that was also met with suspicious eyes from analysts. The company offered a figure of $500 per month as the “true cost of ownership”. Monthly payments for base models tend to hover around the $1,400 mark. However, the company maintains that, when you consider the various savings, from government incentives, gas savings, and more, that $500 is a far more reasonable figure.

While investors have responded both positively and negatively to the announcements and subsequent headlines, the stock still sits well above its position from last week.

This is not the only time the company has found itself at the epicenter of negative attention from the public. In 2008, Tesla filed suit over libel and malicious falsehood against the popular motoring program Top Gear, when the show allegedly misrepresented some mechanical failures on the Tesla Roadsters during a review. The claim was rejected in 2011.

Controversy over the Model S arose earlier this year when the New York Times released “Stalled Out on Tesla’s Electric Highway,” a review testing the luxury sedan’s true range.  In the article, the reviewer, John Broder, alleged that the Tesla could not, as Tesla officials claimed, make it from Washington, D.C. to Boston with only two charges in between and said he had the experience to prove it.  The critical article caused a 4 percent drop in Tesla shares.

Tesla, though, had a trick up its sleeve.  Having learned its lesson from the Top Gear incident, Tesla engineers set all Teslas destined for review to record the travel information of their reviewers to ensure that the reviews do not misrepresent Tesla.  Broder, as Elon Musk tweeted, “didn’t actually charge to max & took a long detour.” An ensuing Tesla blog post detailing the data collected showed that Broder did, in fact, misrepresent his travel information.  A later successful test drive by CNN, taking the same route as Broder, exonerated the Model S of excessive power drain.

The company has also made adjustments to its product line. Although the current Model S has a base price just above $60,000, Tesla will drop this option, focusing on higher margin models. Existing orders for the base model, which comes with range and speed limited by a smaller battery pack, will be fitted with larger battery packs, but will have their performance limited by software to mimic that of the base model.

While Tesla’s success is uncertain and its first-ever profit is suspicious, Elon Musk’s vision of making an affordable electric car is more within reach than when he founded Tesla with that goal in mind ten years ago.  Tesla Motors is still in its infancy, but its early successes have already sent a powerful message to the world’s automakers.  Among them, BMW, Ford, GMC, Honda, Nissan and Toyota are each offering an electric vehicle model for the 2013 model year.  

An email from Chief Invigilator Andrea Emrick informed many students on Saturday that they are scheduled to write one or more exams in a rather unusual location: the Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre. “Due to planned construction on Pine Avenue scheduled by the city of Montreal, exams that would normally have been scheduled in the gym have been relocated due to safety and noise concerns,” Emrick explains.

Many affected students are incredulous at the announcement and question the appropriateness of the choice. One image satirizing the decision, created by Alex Nguyen and posted on the popular Facebook page “Spotted: McGill Library,” has racked up over 1,200 likes in just 16 hours.

According to Kathleen Massey, McGill’s Registrar and Executive Director of Enrolment Services, other locations were considered. The possible on-campus locations included New Residence Hall and Timmins Auditorium.

Off-campus options were also evaluated before the decision was made to hold exams at Scotiabank Theatre. “We considered borrowing space from local CEGEPs and from other universities such as Concordia and UQAM, but they needed their space for exams or other purposes,” Massey noted. “[These locations were] too far away to make travelling back and forth practical for students, or these options did not have enough seating for our needs.”

Other possible locations included several hotels in the local area and the Palais des Congrès. “The Palais is too far away and the hotels, such as the Holiday Inn, were too expensive for our budget and did not have enough seating available for the entire exam period,” remarked Massey.

Certain variables were taken into consideration when comparing the different options. “[We wanted to ensure] consistent exam conditions for a single exam across multiple locations so that students will have a consistent experience,” Massey explained. Furthermore, the administration wanted to “minimize the geographical distribution of the exams across rooms, buildings, and campus to ensure there is reasonable distance for students to get from one exam to another and maintain the integrity of the exam process.” Other considerations included controlling certain costs such as “space, staffing and logistics” as well as ensuring that the “date range of the exam period remains the same.”

Upon arrival to Cineplex, students will be met by both Cineplex staff and Exams Office personnel. As with all other McGill exams, students must present their McGill ID to gain access to the theatre they will be writing in. “The exam schedule will indicate the theater number where your exam will be held,” Emrick outlines in the e-mail.

For those writing exams in Cineplex, students are given rather unconventional instructions. “Upon entering the exam room, you will pick up a tablet to be used as your exam writing surface, which will fit securely and easily to the chair by attaching to the cup-holder,” Emrick writes. “Students will not be allowed to keep personal items at your seat.” As a result, it was suggested that students writing their exams at Cineplex leave all items not necessary for the exam at home.

The e-mail concludes with a small reminder to students about the nature of the public space. “We are not the only patrons of the Cineplex during this final exam period. Proceed directly to your exam room upon arriving at the theater and follow the instructions of your invigilator.”

Meanwhile, the student response is ongoing and oftentimes hilarious as the McGill community makes light of this unusual situation. “Bring a pencil, calculator, and your Scene card,” suggests McGill student Michael Golfi. Casey Adams, U3 Political Science, sums up the response of many students: “I wasn’t expecting that a ‘world class education’ would ever include the phrase ‘please attach your desks to your cupholders.’”

Image created by Alex Nguyen

More information about this matter can be found at:
http://www.mcgill.ca/students/exams

I am the fourth in my family to come to McGill. When I got my acceptance letter I was genuinely giddy; I wanted to go to a school that would be fun as well as give me a good degree and show an impressive name on my CV. I have had a great time here as I have learned a lot and made many friends. But through my three years here, I’ve come to understand that as long as the current culture of conflict exists, the betterment of the student experience will never be a top priority.

In the past, McGill made some changes that genuinely bettered student life. The hotel residences represented a massive step forward from the severely antiquated Bishop Mountain Residences built in 1962. Campus Wi-Fi was instituted, serving to support the advent of the modern e-school.

There are still major issues with the campus, however. The classrooms are poorly equipped for the modern student and though modern residences are great, there are still many residences in states of disrepair and neglect. These small steps forward were not revolutionary for McGill students, but they were beginnings of moves towards a greater focus on student welfare. Unfortunately, the events of the last few years have created an environment where it is difficult to see where or when the next improvement will come.

 As a student, I aim to speak for the greater student body. I want more for all of us. I want a complete re-engineering of Minerva so that it works properly and reliably. I would love for Service Point to be more accessible. I would like course selection to be reevaluated so that it does not simply reward the early risers with the best internet connection. In fact, while I’m dreaming, I would like to pay the Quebec resident tuition rather than swallow a 200 percent increase because I am from Toronto.

But why has McGill shown this neglect in terms of what should be its main focus? Though it would be the easy answer, I have a hard time believing it is due to apathy. Instead, I believe that  the true reason behind this lack of attention is more complex.

 In recent years, McGill has found itself walking a very narrow line between the demands of protesters and government bureaucrats. It is impossible for McGill to simultaneously capitulate to demands for lower tuition, conform to the PQ budget cuts of almost $40 million, and make any significant effort to appease the larger student body.

 The Bull & Bear writer Adam Banks spoke about the radical minority representing the greater McGill community over the apathetic majority. That is what is happening here – there hasn’t been a significant effort to better the lives of the average, suffer-in-silence student while McGill has to respond to the demands of protesting students. This is not a call for those of us who deserve this recognition to embrace our inner-radical, but an effort to understand the mindset of the school we attend.

 It is understandable however that McGill would listen more attentively to those who shout over those quietly complaining, but this is not a recipe for progress and betterment. Ceding to demands for lower tuition has put McGill in a bind. While creating dialog between these groups is a positive idea, this severely limits the administration’s options. When budget cuts are mandated, and tuition cannot be increased, and a majority of the budget is inflexible, the luxuries are the first to be removed.

The process of dealing with the budget restraints has already begun. Principal Heather Munroe-Blum has explained that the cuts will come from salary freezes, layoffs as well as a hiring freeze. While it is admirable that these changes seek to limit drastic change, it still represents a future where the focus will not be primarily on the students or the experience. Instead, it points to a McGill where the goal is not to be the best, but simply to stay afloat to maintain the equilibrium between student demands and a misguided government.

It is genuinely a tough spot to be in. McGill must cop to both the government and the protesters and it has become exceedingly unlikely that there will be an excess of money with which to better student life. It is a sad conclusion to draw, but for now the students of McGill will have to grit their teeth and bear this burden in hopes that somewhere down the line, the focus of the university will return to the students.

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Bull & Bear.

With final exam season in full swing, one cannot ignore the stress in the air. It is easy to lose perspective and get caught up in self-denigration given our emotional attachment to our grades. Where does this unhealthy relationship come from? When I first arrived in Montreal and joined the exclusive Desautels faculty, I was introduced to my new frenemy – the bell curve. The bell-curve creates an environment where competition takes on a whole new level. Unlike its usage in high school, the curve here does not ensure that studying hard positions you at the top of the class.

The bell curve influences us in many ways. It reduces the risk of getting a very low grade but simultaneously makes it almost impossible to receive that shiny A. Although the curve is meant to encourage students to work harder, I find this curve rather discouraging.  About 70 percent of the students will fall in the area of one standard deviation on either side of the literal average. At Desautels, this means the majority of students receive an average grade of 70 to 75 percent, or a B.

Used to nearly perfect scores on just about every graded piece of coursework, McGill students find it difficult to face being considered average. The bell-curve means that some of us will be in that middle area, and that unfortunately, not all of us can continue to be the stars we were in high school. In an age where individualism takes precedence, it is no surprise that we all fear being considered regular. We see being ordinary as a curse as we strive for extraordinary in every aspect of our lives.

It is crucial to remember that receiving a grade – whether it is above, below, or exactly average – is not a reflection of who we are. To avoid basing our self-worth on our GPAs, it is important to do things we value which give us the opportunity to express ourselves more accurately or completely than the mark on our last Marketing assignment. Especially when curved to fit a mold, grades cannot encompass our entire being.

That said, we should not give up striving for academic excellence but rather allocate enough time to focus on the things that add value to our lives and not only to our resumes. Remember, you’re making the decision now, not your parents. It is time to become the person you’ve always wanted to be and that cannot be achieved without doing what you value most in life. For some that means having a strong support group by letting others know the importance they have in your life. For others, that means finding new passions and perhaps even new dreams. Don’t let the competitive nature of university take away the pleasure you get from doing things you love.

More than just a good GPA heals a wounded self-esteem. Be proud to be a McGill student but moreover, be proud to be yourself. There is no shame in being average in one of the top 15 universities in the world. Find other factors to inspire inner confidence other than a number out of 4.0. To keep things in perspective, reaching graduation is only a matter of time and all the hardship will boil down to two digits out of the 900 characters on your CV. What’s more, exams will be over in four weeks, summer will arrive and the sun will be out. Take a deep breath. We can do this.

McGill Athletics and Recreation spends nearly $6.8 million every year. This money covers intramurals, fitness, instruction, and varsity programming. The McGill varsity program is typical of most universities of its size, and McGill has several teams with national championships under their belts. In spite of this, athletics often seem invisible at a school that is far more concerned with academics. Attendance at games is less than stellar, and McGill sports generally slips under the radar of most students.

In a recent interview with The Bull & Bear, Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation Drew Love points to the lack of attendance at games as a key area of improvement. “Attendance at varsity games has actually improved over the past two years,” Love noted. “However, we certainly have the capacity to grow.”

Furthermore, there is also a gap in attendance between the female and male teams, even though our Martlet teams often play at a high level. The Martlet hockey team in particular is renowned for winning more than 100 games in a row during the regular season, a streak that only ended last year. “The product on the field of play is outstanding, especially here at McGill, and the women’s teams deserve a better following, but again, we just have to get the fans out to the games,” Love laments.

Love’s primary goal is to get first-time attendees in the door and hopefully have fans leaving the venue wanting to come back for more. “Going to games must be fun, and the fans must leave the venue with a desire to return and share their positive experience with others,” he explains. “We need to continue to focus on the fan experience so that attending games is something they want to repeat again and again.”

Unfortunately, getting bodies in seats is often difficult considering the academic and extracurricular demands that most students face. “Scheduling games at times that are convenient for our student fans is very important,” noted Love. “Contests held during midterms, exam periods, mid-afternoons on weekends, and over holiday weekends, have hurt our attendance.”

Bothered by poor attendance at games and the lack of school spirit it represented, six McGill students founded Red Thunder in 2010, and that year it was chosen as “Best New Club” by SSMU. The club has since grown to over 300 members and does its best to fill the stands at every game.

“The goal of Red Thunder is to develop a greater sense of pride in McGill University, fostering school spirit through supporting the varsity athletes, our peers,” explains Red Thunder VP Memberships Conor Barker, who also plays for the Redmen Varsity lacrosse team.

To accomplish this, Red Thunder tries to unite people using a variety of methods. “Our main means of attracting members is by providing a cheap ‘season pass’ to all varsity games, as well as concession deals and a network in which to meet other sports enthusiasts,” Barker continues. “Red Thunder has also started initiatives such as intramural teams to allow members to participate in as many athletic endeavours within the McGill community as possible.”

Red Thunder’s main target demographic is the group of new students who arrive at McGill unaware of what clubs and opportunities are available to them. “It should be our job, in combination with Athletics and Recreation, to ensure that all first years are aware of Red Thunder as a club as well as all major varsity events,” he explains.

Since 2011, Red Thunder and McGill Athletics and Recreation have pursued a formal partnership through which they hope to attract more students to athletics events. However, it is often difficult for amateur varsity sports to compete with all the major attractions and events going on in as large of a metropolitan area as Montreal. “Living in a city as vibrant and alive as Montreal, amateur sports can get lost in the shuffle,” Barker muses.

Drew Love is convinced that athletics deserve a more prominent place at McGill. “The significant exposure of our varsity teams and their outstanding success is far reaching and helps to brand our university and complement the many great strengths that we have in research, teaching and the student experience,” he remarked. “Not all students take advantage of our programs or facilities but for sure our contribution to the student wellbeing and experience is significant and important.”

McGill has the potential to be a school known just as much for its athletic prowess as its stellar academic reputation. “Frankly, our varsity program delivers the best amateur level competition in the country,” Love beams with pride. Improving awareness of varsity athletics would go a long way towards bridging the gap.

From Barker’s point of view, increasing student involvement in athletics could only stand to improve McGill as a whole. “The McGill culture is all about excellence in and out of the classroom. The immense variety of activities and opportunities at McGill shows this idea and I think McGill as an institution must work hard to make athletics an important part of that idea. You want people to leave here being as well-rounded as possible.”