January 24, 2002

No this isn't a scene from Gert's pub, with students nursing their wounds in the wake of a particularly brutal exam. Opera McGill students were rehearsing a scene from their upcoming production of Igor Stravinsky's rowdy opera, The Rake's Progress. The production begins on January 30 and runs until February 2 at Pollack Hall. Performances start at 7:30 pm and tickets can be bought in advance from the Faculty of Music's box office (555 Sherbrooke St. West). For more details, see our "On campus" section. Music students taking part in the production include (left to right) JK Kim, Marcelle Boisjoli, Karel Martin Ludvik and Jessica Muirhead.
Photo: Owen Egan

Task force begins work
Daniel McCabe
They are among McGill's best teachers and they help keep the University's research labs humming. A new task force will look at the issues facing McGill's non-tenure track academic staff.

Preserving India's food
Meera Karunananthan
India has few problems producing food, but preserving it? That's a different story. Agricultural and biosystems engineering professor Vijaya Raghavan estimates that India's post-harvest losses add up to a staggering $15 billion each year. Backed by millions of dollars of CIDA funding, Raghavan has built an alliance with Indian universities and farmers to stem those losses.

A new take on leadership
Maeve Haldane
As First Nations communities take over the administration of their schools, a new generation of principals and administrators require the sophisticated leaderships abilities and the cultural sensitivity to run these schools properly. A new McGill program aims to supply them with the skills they'll need.

Guiding ethical research
Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
What's the bottom line in protecting human research subjects? What are the ethics involved when a researcher can get rich from her findings? McGill's Pierre Deschamps will help draft guidelines that will have a national impact.

Women in wartime
Daniel McCabe
Is there much to say about women when you're talking about World War I? As historian Susan Mann explores the topic she isn't at a loss for things to say. Who says that all war stories are about men?

Cultural concepts of brain death and transplants
Maeve Haldane
In her new book, Twice Dead, medical anthropologist Margaret Lock tackles bioethics and notions of death in Japan and North America. Advances in medical technology are never as straightforward as they appear.

Invasions of the ecosystem
Sylvain Comeau
Anthony Ricciardi tells of the consequences of living in a biological global village as organisms from part of the world often run roughshod in their new habitats. He is busy trying to predict how species will get along.

McGill's night owls
Mark Reynolds
The University isn't a nine to five sort of place. There are all kinds of things going on in the dead of night. Security guards dodging pumpkins. Students looking for their theatrical big break. Researchers burning the midnight oil.

Also in this issue Kudos Kaleidoscope The woman who hopes you will judge a book by its cover; Why home can be hazardous for wheelchair users; smart-mouth debaters come to town to talk your ear off. On campus Hitting the right notes in Opera McGill's The Rakes Progress; Poetry @ lunch feeds the soul; Adventurer Bruce Kirkby talks of nights and days in Arabia; Theatre director Bill Glassco shows students how to Shakespeare; McGill students host model United Nations.

Ali Hayes (U1 Arts) is ready for her close up. She is one of an estimated 11,000 or so returning students who will troop off to the Redpath Library to get a new McGill ID card made. The new cards are compatible with the Banner records system that is being put in place. According to Kathy D'Alesio, supervisor for direct services in the Admissions, Registrar's and Recruitment Office, and the person overseeing the process, the cards also include radio antenna that will soon allow card holders access to the buildings they need to get into after hours. Owen Egan