1. ASSASSINS
   
2. MUGS position elections
   
3. Finding Your Coordinates: Alumni Panel
   
4. McGill Sustainability Research Symposium!
   
5. Fokus Film Festival looking for Submissions
   
6. Local Currency Conference Looking For Students
   
7. Bar event about Guatemala
   

 

Two days before reading week starts, people!! Can we just talk about how much I am looking forward to this? Like woah. I’m not even going to a tropical locale or anything, but I am still so excited to just NOT. GO. TO. CLASSES. FOR. FIVE. DAYS.

Also as much as I look forward to having a break from class, never forget that we are SO LUCKY to be learning in this wonderful institution full of people who really care about their research, and that we get so many opportunities to volunteer, work, and be involved just because we are students here! What a treat.

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for sugar shack tickets going on sale, assassins updates, and most recently, MUGS NOMINATIONS!!

ASSASSINS

If you haven’t signed up yet for geography assassins, now’s your chance! Email your name to geogassassins2014@gmail.com to get your target.

MUGS position elections

Nomination for MUGS positions starts right after reading week! I will send out nomination forms on the Monday that school resumes, but start thinking about what position you may want to run for, and why you want that position! The positions are as follows:

·         President
·         VP Finance
·         VP Academic
·         VP Communications (that’s me!)
·         AUS and SUS reps
·         U1, U2, and U3 rep

Getting involved in your departmental politics is a great way to get involved in student politics and make friends, and it looks great on a CV!

Finding Your Coordinates: Alumni Panel

Wondering what to do after you graduate? Want to know more about your options after undergrad in both academia and in the workforce with a degree in geography? Join us on March 19^th in Burnside Hall room 426 for Finding your Coordinates, put on by the McGill Geography Mentorship Program. This is a casual panel event open to any geography students, where McGill geography alumni in both the workforce and in academia, in a variety of streams, are coming to talk to you about how they got to where they are why they are there, and what they do now. Keep an eye on the listserv for more information on our exciting panel members. Snacks and refreshments will also be served

McGill Sustainability Research Symposium!

Come get free Indian food and learn what your fellow students are doing in terms of research and sustainability! March 13^th. Info on the attached slide.

Fokus Film Festival looking for Submissions

Fokus Film Festival is looking for film submissions!!!!! Fokus Film Festival is the only festival for student film at McGill University hosted annually by TVM. All McGill students are welcome to submit original short films! Categories include: fiction, documentary, animation, experimental, and 72-hour. The submission period is from February 17th to March 10th. Registration for the 72-hour filmmaking competition opens on February 24th. Accepted films will be screened and judged on Friday, March 21st at Cinema du Parc. Prizes will be given to the best of each category, the People’s Choice, and the Best of the Fest. Go to www.tvmcgill.com/fokus for more information on the festival and submission guidelines or go to the Facebook page for more info athttps://www.facebook.com/events/441979115932951/.

Local Currency Conference Looking For Students

Looking for people to organize a conference on local currencies in Summer 2015! Looking for students who would like to participate as consultant, organizer, or willing to help in any other ways. Please emailulysse.blau@hotmail.com if you are interested!

Bar event about Guatemala

On February 27th PAQG (Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala, http://www.paqg.org/) is organizing an event Mobilisé-e-s contre les crimes extractifs  about different mobilization initiatives this year concerning the extractive industry including: Tribunal Permanent des peuples sur l’industrie minière canadienne, Projet Accompagnement Solidarité Colombie, Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala ''the money thread'' campaign, and various artistic performances. 

Where: Bar Alizé, 900 Ontario Est (métro Berri-UQAM)

When: jeudi 27 février, 19H30

facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/270198209809332/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Cool Thing of the Week

Here is a map of the electoral districts in Montreal. As you can see, the naming and distribution are so arbitrary it is almost funny, so yeah. Ha ha.

http://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/english/provincial/electoral-map/maps-of-electoral-divisions-by-administrative-region-2011.php?region=6

Also, since it was Erykah Badu’s birthday yesterday, give her greatest hits album a listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZpfWUY3EEs

 

Have a wonderful wonderful reading week everyone! Be well and rest up!

Lots of love,

Julia

VP Communications

--
MUGS
Dept. of Geography
McGill University
Burnside Hall, Rm 305
805 Sherbrooke West
Montreal, QC

1. GEO-ASSASSINS
   
2. Field Work in Photos!
   
3. SRS – Sustainability Research Symposium
   
4. GeoSpectives!
   
5. PASSPORT TO DISCOVERY: MCGILL FIELD STUDY SEMESTERS
   
6. Master’s Opportunity at WLU
   
7. Documentary films in Redpath Museum
   
8. The Colour of Science
   

Hey Geographers! Hope you’re getting geared up for the last week of school before reading week! Wow, isn’t this semester just flying by? I’m certainly excited for break, but even more excited for geography’s upcoming sugar shack trip at the end of March! Mark your calendars everyone!

Also, let’s have a moment of silence for this week’s protesters in Kiev, Ukraine, who were killed in the protests of the past week. Sometimes one can feel powerless in the face of government brutality happening half a world away, and it is all we can do to stand in solidarity with our fellow people. Be well.

GEO-ASSASSINS

It’s here! It’s here! If you want to participate in an epic battle of sneakiness with your fellow geographers, email your name to geogassassins2014@gmail.com . Who will be the last one standing?

Field Work in Photos!

This week we invite you to come out to Fieldwork in Photos to learn about: "The Earth Worm Revolution: Fieldwork about Organic Farming in Kerala, India" presented by PhD student Verena Seufert.

When: Friday 12pm

Where: Burnside Hall room 426

What: Bring your lunch and get ready to be lost in adventures!

SRS – Sustainability Research Symposium

Sustainability research is, by design and necessity, interdisciplinary, and researchers in this field require platforms and spaces to share ideas and create connections. For this reason, we are encouraging abstract submissions from graduate and undergraduate students across all faculties that are carrying out research related to any aspect of sustainability.

Registration and abstract submission is now open! Please visit our website for more information and to register

http://mcgillsustainabilitysymposium.wordpress.com/

March 1st: Poster abstracts

February 25th: Students talk abstracts

GeoSpectives!

Please join us on February 24 for the last GeoSpectives before winter break. Worms, dirt, and nitrous oxide make a potent mix!

 Date: February 24, 2014

Burnside 426, 4 PM

Earthworm controls on nutrient cycling and transport: From macropores to watersheds, Prof. Joann K. Whalen

Earthworms are well known for their contribution to nutrient cycling, which is important for soil fertility and crop production in agroecosystems. Earthworm-created structures such as surface and subsurface casts (fecal pellets), middens (soil-litter mixture at the soil surface) and burrows are numerous in many agroecosystems.

PASSPORT TO DISCOVERY: MCGILL FIELD STUDY SEMESTERS

Have you ever wondered how to travel with McGill and earn credits? You can just do that with the McGill field study semesters. Information sessions on the Africa, Arctic, Barbados and Panama programs will be offered on the following days:

Arctic: Monday February 17 12:30pm Burnside Hall Room 426

Africa: Wednesday February 19 5:30pm Burnside Hall Room 426

Panama: Thursday February 20 5:30pm Burnside Hall Room 426

Barbados: Wednesday February 26 12:30pm Burnside Hall Room 426

Master’s Opportunity at WLU

The MA program in Social Justice and Community Engagement at Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford Campus is currently accepting applications for Fall 2014. We offer a $12,000 support package for each student.

This program is unique in Canada by offering an intensive COMMUNITY PLACEMENT in the winter semester. Students receive a rigorous foundation in the theory and practice of SOCIAL JUSTICE and ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE that ensures success in this ONE YEAR PROGRAM. We look forward to welcoming students who are passionate about being a catalyst for positive change in the world around them.

 

Website: https://www.wlu.ca/homepage.php?grp_id=13874

Please contact Brenda Murphy for more information: bmurphy@wlu.ca

Documentary films in Redpath Museum

This Sunday, February 23^rd, come watch Vanishing of the Bees! Colony Collapse Disorder has brought beekeepers to crisis in an industry responsible for producing apples, broccoli, cherries, almonds and a hundred other fruits and vegetables. This documentary follows two commercial beekeepers as they strive to keep their bees healthy and fulfull pollination contracts across the U.S. They plead their case on Capital Hill and travel across the Pacific Ocean in the quest to protect their honeybees. Starts Sunday, 3 pm, in room 200 of Redpath Museum. Admission is FREE!!

The Colour of Science

The Sunday, February 23^rd, at 3pm, there will be a special Black History Month lecture by Frederic Betrley! He will talk about the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. A Q&A will follow!

Cool Thing of the Week

Here’s a picture of Caddisfly larvae who created jewelry or something.

http://imgur.com/N6t43C8

 

--
MUGS
Dept. of Geography
McGill University
Burnside Hall, Rm 305
805 Sherbrooke West
Montreal, QC

1. Raise your MUGS at Gert’s!
   
2. MUSE Summer Program
   
3. The Colour Of Science
   
4. SSMU Sustainability Case Competition – NEW Format!
   
5. Young Professionals in International Development Forum
   
6. Special Seminar on Teaching Science!
   
7. Join ECOLE’s Student Working Group, or Apply to be an ECOLE Facilitator
   
8. Valentines' Day Science of Love competition
   
9. Arctic Photo Series
   
10. Ph.D. position available in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University – Fall 2014
    

Happy pre-Palentine’s day Geographers! What’s Palentine’s day, you ask? It’s when you appreciate the best people in your life; your pals! Remember to tell your buds how much you appreciate them this Friday, and a little chocolate can go a long way. ;) Did I just do a winky face? That’s unusual.

Raise your MUGS at Gert’s!

Yes, the Gert’s event is finally happening! This Tuesday, February 18^th, at 7pm, meet at the MUGS lounge (Burnside 305) so we can all go to Gert’s together! MUGS will buy pitchers for all the early birds! If you can’t meet us at & feel free to just come to Gert’s and we’ll be there.

MUSE Summer Program

Interested in a summer field semester right here in Montreal? McGill’s School of Environment is offering the Montreal Urban Sustainability Experience (MUSE) from May 1st to June 3rd. The two (three credit) courses are open to U2/U3/U4 students and seek to balance theoretical and applied knowledge of both Montreal’s natural history and contemporary urban sustainability challenges. MUSE students will help create a hands-on, integrated, and interdisciplinary learning experiences by exploring an engaging Montreal’s communities. Applications are due February 15th 2014 and require a one-page letter of interest and a copy of your unofficial transcripts, sent to MUSE Coordinator Dr. Julia Freeman (Julia.freeman@mcgill.ca) Join us!

The Colour Of Science

This special Black History Month lecture by Frederic Bertley (Vice- President, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia) includes an introduction to the importance of Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM).    Q & A follows the presentation. Come to Redpath Museum on February 23^rd, at 3pm, to learn about people of colour in science! How interesting.

SSMU Sustainability Case Competition – NEW Format!

The SSMU Sustainability Case Competition 2014 would like to announce some exciting changes! This year’s topic will still be sustainable investments, but the competition will take place over one weekend: Friday, March 14 to Saturday, March 15. For those of you who were wary of the 2-month commitment, now is your chance to get involved! Applications are being accepted until March 1. For full contest details and to apply, go to www.ssmucasecomp.ca.

Young Professionals in International Development Forum

Attention IDS Undergraduates! - Where Can International Development Studies Lead You?

ISID and IDSSA will be hosting its 4th Annual 'Young Professionals in Development Forum' on Thursday, February 13, 2014.

Come listen to Young Professionals working in the Development Sector. Learn what educational, volunteer and work opportunities they encountered and see where these experiences have led them in their career. At the end of the panel presentations, you will have the chance to speak with them in an informal Q & A.

WHEN: Thursday, February 13, 2014 from 1:30  - 3 p.m. followed by a Q & A session.

WHERE: Leacock 232

RECEPTION: Wine & Snacks Reception in Leacock 232 mezzanine immediately following the Q & A session  3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Check the website for full information

Special Seminar on Teaching Science!

The Tomlinson Project for University-Level Education (T-PULSE)  is pleased to host a special seminar on February 17, focusing on new strategies for teaching in science education. Please join us! Learning about learning, so meta!

Location: Redpath Auditorium (1st floor, Redpath Museum)

Date: February 17, 2014

Time: 4:30 (tea, coffee and cookies will be served at 4:00)

Join ECOLE’s Student Working Group, or Apply to be an ECOLE Facilitator

ECOLE, which strives to be a hub for the sustainability community and model for sustainable living, learning and community building, is excited to announce that it has received funding! Hence, ECOLE has now opened the application for ECOLE Facilitators! These ECOLE Facilitators will be the students living, researching, and working in the ECOLE House; there is additional information about the role in the following link. Applications must be completed, and resumes/CVs submitted to mcgillecole@gmail.com before February 19th, 2014 at midnight.

http://mcgillecole.wordpress.com/facilitator-application/

ECOLE is also looking for more Student Working Group members, anyone interested in joining the Student Working Group for meetings can come to the SSMU Office on Mondays 6-7 PM and/or Thursdays 4-5 PM.

More information about ECOLE is available on Facebook and the website.

McGill Mini Science course – The science of music

Register now! www.mcgill.ca/science/events/mini   for McGill Mini-Science 2014:

WHEN: Wednesday evenings from February 26^th to April 9th, 6 - 8 pm, lectures begin at 6:30 pm.

WHERE: Room 151, Bronfman Building, 1001 Sherbrooke Street West.

FEES: Adults: $114.97. Students and seniors: $68.98. (Includes all taxes.)

Advance registration and payment are required. 

REGISTER ONLINE and pay by credit card: www.mcgill.ca/science/events/mini  OR by telephone and pay by credit card: 514-398-7684 OR by mail and pay by cheque made out to McGill University: McGill Mini-Science, 1430 Peel Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 3T3

 

Valentines' Day Science of Love competition

Ever wondered what biochemistry and love have in common?  Or how the first sparks of love are created by a combination of three neurochemicals?

This Freaky Friday showcases three student presentations on the quirks and quarks of love: 4 minutes and 4 slides ONLY- to give the scientific evidence and state their case. 

Judges panel and audience will interact and question each presenter. Final winner will take home the coveted McLovin’ Science Prize.

FREE, suitable for all ages. No reservation necessary. February 14, 5 PM

Arctic Photo Series

Greetings Everyone! Think winter is bad here? well that's nothing compare to summer in Arctic! Join us for this week's team installment of Fieldwork in Photos with a tag-team presented by Joanna Petrasek MacDonald, Knut Kitchin and Kaitlyn Finner's talk from Artic: "For the Love of It: Getting up close and personal with Boil ups, Ice pans and Tuktu" Bring your lunch and get ready for an adventure!!!

When: Friday Feb 14th - 12pm

Where: BH 426 + Arctic

Hope to see you there!

Ph.D. position available in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University – Fall 2014

I am recruiting a talented Ph.D. student for a graduate research assistantship beginning in August 2014 within the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University. The student will be working with Dr. Rebecca Gruby on a collaborative project among Colorado State University, University of Guelph (Dr. Noella Gray), and Duke University (Dr. Lisa Campbell).  The project will examine the human dimensions of very large marine protected areas, and will require intensive fieldwork in international, possibly remote, field sites. The ideal candidate will have: an outstanding academic record; a background in the social sciences/policy studies; experience and interest in working in international settings; experience applying qualitative social science research methods; and excellent writing skills.  Candidates with a Master’s degree are preferred, but all highly qualified candidates will be considered.

Colorado State University is a Carnegie Research 1 (research extensive) university that is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top universities in a variety of categories and disciplines – from teaching and learning to research and student achievement. The Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources is an interdisciplinary social science department with a mission to contribute to the conservation, stewardship and enjoyment of natural and cultural resources and the management of those resources in a way that produces environmental health and sustainable human benefits. For more information about the department, see: http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/hdnr-home

Serious candidates may send a letter of interest and CV to: Rebecca.Gruby@colostate.edu

Cool Thing of the Week

Here’s a new software that allows us to map the disability accessibility of different public transportation systems!

http://mappable.info/blog/2014/2/8/accessibility

And here’s the Geography of European surnames.

http://www.geocurrents.info/cultural-geography/geography-european-surnames

 

All the best!

Julia

--
MUGS
Dept. of Geography
McGill University
Burnside Hall, Rm 305
805 Sherbrooke West
Montreal, QC

1. MUGSWAG
   
2. Lockers
   
3. Photo Contest
   
4. GeoSpectives
   
5. Field Work in Photos Series Talk
   
6. Divest McGill
   
7. Course Reviews Wanted
   
8. Documentary films at Redpath
   
9. Cutting Edge Lecture: How well do we understand curvature?
   
10. Freaky Friday February 14^th
    

 Hey Geographers! I hope your midweek is going well. I am currently really enjoying (and like simultaneously not enjoying) the lack of hotel rooms in Sochi. The tweets are hilarious (and like simultaneously not funny at all)!

Check it out: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/04/journalists-at-sochi-are-live-tweeting-their-hilarious-and-gross-hotel-experiences/

Also we are selling clothes and will be having some cool events soon!

 

MUGSWAG

Come between 11:30 and 1 every day this week to order your own MUGS hoodies, t-shirts, and tank tops! You can also buy our exclusive MUGS toques right on the spot!! You can also buy stuff in the GIC next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 2:00-3:00pm! The catalogue of prices and styles is attached.

Lockers

If you want a locker, come to the office hours listed above! Lockers are free for geographers and $10 for non-geographers.

Photo Contest

The MUGS photo contest is back! This year’s theme is: Wanderlust. Submit your most stunning photos to mcgillgeography@gmail.com!

GeoSpectives

This coming Monday, the Geography Department's lecture series GeoSpectives welcomes Dr. Hideaki Suzuki, a postdoctoral fellow at the Indian Ocean World Centre. His talk will start at 4 PM in Burnside 426. The full schedule is available at www.mcgill.ca/geography/geospectives

Field Work in Photos Series Talk

Join us for the 3rd installment of the "Fieldwork in Photos" brown bag lunch series. This series is an informal talk about graduate experiences in the field and the type of trouble and hilarity that comes with doing fieldwork in geography.

This week's talk will be on Friday Feb 7th at 12pm in BH room 426 by our very own Chistopher Wade will take us to the far side of the African continent and looks through the lens at: "Conservation, Contested Lands and Cattle Ranches in Lakipia, Kenya" Bring your lunch and a friend!

Divest McGill

Passionate about sustainability? Think McGill should take a stance against resource exploitation?

Divest McGill is hosting Notre Culture! For a Fossil-Free Future to contrast McGill's hosting of Petrocultures, a conference on the role of oil in Canadian society, this Thursday and Friday. Check out the facebook link for more information:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1402801959973076/

Course Reviews Wanted

Have you taken a Science course? We need your help! The SUS is looking for course reviews from undergraduate students. We're inviting you to share your experiences, opinions and testimonials about courses you've taken in the past. These reviews will be collected to create one fantastic online resource - the Science Undergraduate Course Reviews (SUCR) database!

Contributors will be recognized and eligible for a variety of prizes. Don't miss your opportunity to be a part of this amazing initiative. Submit your review today! Visit the link below for more information:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1m0u-drhgPF1RSV-u-SUblHFvKNto2GglaAlHHR6Yztg/viewform

Documentary films at Redpath

This Sunday, February 9^th, come to Redpath museum room 200 at 3pm to see the documentary Weibo’s War. Summary: Big Oil calls convicted 1990s oilpatch saboteur Reverend Wiebo Ludwig an eco-terrorist and portrays him as a patriarchal cult leader. He calls himself a devout Christian driven to defend his Trickle Creek farm from the deadly effects of toxic sour gas wells. David York takes his camera into the heart of Ludwig’s Christian community to create a powerful film about two decades of conflict. Their footage of confrontations with gas workers and police, and its stark contrast with media reports, raises a critical issue: when politicians and police become sock puppets for private interests, is vigilante action justified? Film screening is totally FREE!

Cutting Edge Lecture: How well do we understand curvature?

Come to the Redpath Museum Auditorium at 6pm on Thursday, February 13^th for a cutting edge lecture by Niky Kamran! He writes: How do we describe the curvature of a geometric object, like a curve, a surface or a higher-dimensional continuum? What does the curvature of a geometric object tell us about its other properties, such as its degrees of symmetry and regularity? There have been some major recent advances in our understanding of curvature, although many questions still remain open. This lecture will give a general description of two such advances, namely the sphere theorem, proved by Brendle and Schoen in 2007, and the Willmore problem, settled in 2012 by Marques and Neves. It will also mention some open problems and work that is being currently carried out towards their solution. This talk is aimed at a general audience.

Freaky Friday February 14^th

Watch McGill undergraduate students compete for the McLovin’ Science Prize. 4 presentations, 4 slides only, 4 minutes each, on Feb. 14^th at 5 pm in Redpath Museum!

Cool Thing of the Week

Here is a YouTube playlist on how to think critically! It’s very cool:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6468ADC338D57BA8

 

 

--
MUGS
Dept. of Geography
McGill University
Burnside Hall, Rm 305
805 Sherbrooke West
Montreal, QC