We are all artists … even if we don’t believe it

In Focus

Aquil Virani’s art is full of unexpected and quirky connection. Converging train tracks plunge into square cows. A milk carton morphs into a whale. That sits beside a church… with cat’s footprints leading towards it. There are stories within stories. And though the connections and convolutions of the images that flow together are Virani’s own, the original drawings which inspired them are all by members of the McGill community.

ARIA creates compelling duets…between Arts undergrads and researchers

In Focus

When Dean of Arts Christopher Manfredi established the Arts Undergraduate Research Awards (ARIA) in 2010, his goal was to enhance the undergraduate experience for his Faculty’s students.The following are brief descriptions of four of the 37 ARIA-funded projects of 2011.

Freaky Friday: Debunking the dinosaur myths

In Focus

mily Bamforth has a bone to pick, and it happens to be hundreds of millions of years old. “People see dinosaurs as nothing more than big monsters,” says the PhD candidate in paleooecology and paleobiodiversity.On Jan. 20, Bamforth will clarify some of the more popular misconceptions about dinosaurs during her lecture “The Misunderstanding of Dinosaurs.” The event is part of the Redpath Museum’s ongoing Freaky Friday series.

Marty feels the love

In Focus

Marty the Martlet helped lead the cheers when the hockey Redmen defeated the Royal Military College Paladins, 3-2, before 3,780 young fans at the Verdun Auditorium Dec. 2. The event was part of the successful “Score with School” promotion that drew 68 busloads of students from 15 elementary and high schools from the Lester B. Pearson and English Montreal school boards. It was the largest crowd to take in a Redmen game since 2007.

Digital yearbook project a valuable and entertaining resource

In Focus

Time flies. About a decade’s worth a week these days if you are one of the people working on the McGill Library’s digital yearbook project.

McGill hosts Montreal Remembrance Day ceremony

In Focus

The solemn commemoration of Canadians who have fought and fallen in battle is never a happy event, but it can be inspiring, as was proven at Montreal’s biggest Remembrance Day event, held on Friday, Nov. 11 at McGill.

Speedos for the cure

In Focus

Members of the McGill swim team (from left to right), Joe Toops (Environment), Michael Luck (Physical & Health Education) and Eric Cheng (Nutrition) had luck on their side earlier this week as the weather cooperated for the McGill swim team’s annual drive to collect money for breast cancer research. Team members wearing little more than their swimsuits have been asking passersby for donations in front of the Roddick Gates

Ecological gardens a labour of love for healthy, tasty food

In Focus

It’s a beautiful, early October Wednesday morning in a patch of garden on the Macdonald Campus, an absolutely perfect day for harvesting nature’s spoils. And Katryna van Vliet and her colleagues at the Macdonald Student-run Ecological Gardens (MSEG) are working with a bit more urgency than usual – they’ve just heard that the first frost of the season is on its way. Time is of the essence.

McGill Book Fair to turn page on final chapter

In Focus

When the doors finally close on the 40th edition of the McGill Book Fair (running from Oct. 18-20), they may never open again. This year’s Fair could be the last .

It takes a community to raise a child

In Focus

Christa Scholtz doesn’t mince her words when it comes to the importance of the local daycare to herself and her family. “My life works because this daycare works,” said the political science professor whose son and daughter are currently in the program. “When I’m at work I can concentrate fully on my job because I know my children are in a great place where everyone is totally committed to kids and to making it work for families.” The object of Scholtz’s affection is the Centre de la petite enface McGill, a $7-a-day daycare housed in four adjoining greystones on Peel St. for the children of McGill staff, students and faculty.