https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/5a0b889a97ee06a96db1e81cfcf9d4bc.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=gTdmBYNnaf1WBeI%7EDeAsLtA8jfJ0G3UrNB%7E2VUH92mZWkV%7ETrsKg7P8X9UAMBlSHi%7Ecj8E-Z5HDGFsAwxnOEjBwMaxf%7Eq1smnp0ZWDgLjWwCxdFNX-QSoOhoCGt-XbHSPuXe7pgHs4vgiU8esl2UBe6rSbBGEAt3bB8C3g6CCNeZfc9AKrPM19vYDWG-1NvTVzEIcoFrH4g8VNv9DVAaOiBUGECJ13a1I-qoxxSZ9fSV2p0U%7EFwZ7YU2xnps5HTmHvNZE-keP00dp77t5MdWTnoSau1NrNwEQXmOOu%7EVnvHLWKGAlwOtJ%7Ed3L3S6zudyDPwW8IJrpLnte9cc2mGq3Q__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 2f99c564b52b2d31701c6c1cfdfac94c PDF Text Text 6 Commentary The McGill Daily, Thursday, October 23, 2008 volume 98 number 15 editorial 3480 McTavish St., Rm. B-24 Montreal QC, H3A 1X9 phone 514.398.6784 fax 514.398.8318 mcgilldaily.com coordinating editor Jennifer Markowitz coordinating@mcgilldaily.com coordinating news editor Shannon Kiely news editors Erin Hale Nicholas Smith Alison Withers features editor Claire Caldwell commentary&compendium editor Max Halparin coordinating culture editor Leah Pires culture editors Joshua Frank Braden Goyette science+technology editor Stephen Davis / The McGill Daily Physics professor Ken Ragan chats about astrophysics and his intramural hockey team, Cold Fusion. Apparently they’re not doing very well. The case for irrelevance Lindsay Waterman mind&body editor Nadja Popovich photo editor Stephen Davis The conversationalist graphics editor Ben Peck production & design editors Will Vanderbilt Aaron Vansintjan web editor Ian Beattie copy editor Whitney Mallett cover design Stephen Davis le délit Maysa Phares redaction@delitfrancais.com Contributors Rosie Aiello, Komal Ali, Kelley Baldwin, Jacqueline Bird, Niko Block, Steven Campbell, Emily Clare, Madeline Coleman, Rupert Common, Andrea Damiano, Dana Drori, Corey Gulkin, Henry Gass, Becky Harris, Shu Jiang, Ivy Johnson, Thomas Large, Kristin Li, Evan Newton, Erin O’Callaghan, Aditi Ohri, Sasha Plotnikova, Dominic Popowich, Kortney Shapiro, Alana Taylor, Morgan Teeple Hopkins, Cathryn Theriault The Daily is published on most Mondays and Thursdays by the Daily Publications Society, an autonomous, not-for-profit organization whose membership includes all McGill undergraduates and most graduate students. Rosie Aiello I love Romantic poetry, but according to my uncle, it’s “completely useless, and contributes nothing to society. It’s a self-indulgent, selfsatisfying area of study, and as long as I live, I’ll tell you so.” This got me feeling bad for feeling deeply in love with anything so chimeric as poetry. But then I talked to Ken Ragan, Professor of Physics at McGill. He was part of a team of scientists that discovered the Top Quark, which is of no practical use, but whose discovery solidifies our current theories of matter. He told me many “useless” and fascinating things about black holes and anti-matter, and he said some- thing that – to me, in my current state of self-doubt – was particularly useful: “I sleep very well at night, knowing full well that what I do is irrelevant.” I feel quite an affinity for Ragan’s way of thinking, because if it weren’t for people like my uncle, I would sleep well at night knowing full well that Romantic poetry is irrelevant. Since neither the study of astrophysics or Romantic poetry is directly driven by humanitarian or economic ends, they are naively deemed irrelevant. Although I may appreciate Ragan’s corroborating my beliefs about education, the discussion begs the question: why in the name of all that is relevant do we continue investing hours and dollars into these disciplines? People are dying, while we indulge our “passions.” “In science, we talk about applied science versus curiosity-driven science,” Ragan explained. “Astrophysics is not relevant in that it makes someone’s life better or easier, but there is value in finding out how the world works.... Curiosity-driven science is a cultural endeavour, just as much as is something like Hollywood.” And when the first man laid his carefully constructed moon boot on the moon, the world watched and clutched their hands to their chests, fingers interlocked for the pride of the human race. And the celestial bodies spin around us, and we feel a sense of contentment, just knowing that we know that they’re there. But more fundamentally, Ragan believes that so-called “irrelevant” disciplines change our approach to living. “Physics taught me that the world is an understandable place. Physics allows you to take a large problem and break it up into small, manageable pieces, and from there you can find a solution,” he said. “Physics also taught me to look for proof, and to stand by conclusions based on empirical evidence.” Can you imagine if everyone made judgments based on evidence? So simple! In my case, Romantic poetry taught me that one’s compassion is directly proportionate to one’s imaginative capacity, and appropriately, that the truest way to see the world is with a childish sense of wonder. These may be romantic notions, but they’re also constructive. In this way, every irrelevant undertaking somehow contributes to social progress and to humanitarianism. Irrelevance does not imply “of no value.” There are certain modes of thought, approaches, and attitudes that we learn from such disciplines, the worth of which are great, though neither concrete nor quantifiable. Rosie’s column appears every other Thursday. You can send quarks to theconversationalist@mcgilldaily.com. Clearing up a couple SACOMSS issues 3480 McTavish St., Rm. B-26 Montreal QC, H3A 1X9 phone 514.398.6790 fax 514.398.8318 Boris Shedov treasury & fiscal manager Pierre Bouillon ad layout & design Geneviève Robert advertising & general manager dps board of directors Angel Chen, Jennifer Markowitz Lawrence Monoson, Drew Nelles, Maysa Phares, Perrin Valli, Eric Van Eyken (chair@dailyproductions.org) The Daily is proud to be a founding member of the Canadian University Press. All contents © 2008 Daily Publications Society. All rights reserved. The content of this newspaper is the responsibility of The McGill Daily and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Products or companies advertised in this newspaper are not necessarily endorsed by Daily staff. Printed by Imprimerie Transcontinental Transmag. Anjou, Quebec. ISSN 1192-4608. Corey Gulkin and Becky Harris HYDE PARK T he Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) offers services to survivors of sexual assault, their friends, family, partners, and allies. We’re writing this to clarify our centre’s beliefs, in response to recent events. One such article, “Pro-life group seeks SSMU club status,” appeared in the October 6 issue of The Daily. The article discussed Choose Life, a pro-life group which is trying to gain SSMU club status. SSMU VP Clubs & Services Samantha Cook was quoted as saying that SACOMSS would be a source of backlash as a group with a “more vested interest in women’s rights and reproductive rights.” Although SACOMSS identifies as an anti-oppressive and profeminist organization, we do not identify as either pro-life or prochoice. Anyone is welcome to use our services regardless of their opinions on abortion. SACOMSS offers non-judgemental support through support groups, a helpline, a drop-in centre, and an accompaniment branch. We also offer education through community outreach. Our services are all prosurvivor, meaning that we always believe the survivor and that sexual assault is never the survivor’s fault. Our space and volunteer opportunities are open to people of all genders, backgrounds, and beliefs. As a non-judgemental organization, we will not judge anyone based on their beliefs or any other criteria. We are here to support survivors of sexual assault, and unless Choose Life was to interfere with such support, we would have no reason to oppose their group gaining club status. We are aware that the beliefs of Choose Life’s parent organization, National Campus Life Network, conflict with our pro-survivor mandate. Their literature states that they believe that abortion in the case of sexual assault is merely a violent act in response to the violent act of sexual assault1. However, we do not know the extent of Choose Life’s involvement with this group. We also wanted to clarify that only the External Coordinators of SACOMSS can accurately speak on behalf of the centre’s mandates and beliefs. This means that no speaker, ally, or anyone else, even if supported by or endorsed by SACOMSS, can represent us as a centre. Corey Gulkin and Becky Harris are SACOMSS External Coordinators. They can be reached at sacomss@gmail.com, and more info can be found at sacomss.org. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF Volume 98 Issue 15 Page Number(s) 6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clearing up a couple SACOMSS issues Description An account of the resource An article from two SACOMSS coordinators clearing up some misconceptions about the organization. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Corey Gulkin, Becky Harris Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008/10/23 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Choose Life reproductive health reproductive justice sexual assault Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students' Society (SACOMSS) sexual violence SSMU