McGill Martlet Hockey

Ursula on Tour at McGill and Visit the Martlets

Just like AUCC, McGill University is celebrating an anniversary this year. Happy 190th birthday, McGill! Wow, what a history! Back in 1821, Montreal was apparently a rough and tumble town – quite different from the sophisticated, fun city it is today.  The school, too, started out as a tiny university and has become one of the world’s top ranked schools. To honour this event, the first thing I did as I entered the downtown campus through the Roddick Gates was visit the statue of founder James McGill (created by David Roper-Curzon for McGill’s 175th anniversary).

McGill recommends that all visitors and new students start their on-campus experience with a trip to the Welcome Centre, just off the pedestrian-only McTavish Street. This place is great! The friendly staff helped me set up a tour of campus and showed me how to find building descriptions on Google Maps. If you can’t visit in person, take a virtual tour of both the downtown campus and the Macdonald campus in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, home to the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. I was also introduced to the new Service Point, where dozens of the university’s admin services are now housed under one roof to make students’ lives easier.

McGill, like many of the schools I’ve visited, is home to a lot of very talented professors. But there was one in particular who is quite a hero to me, personally. And guess what… I got to meet him! Bruno Tremblay, of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, is an Arctic researcher with a keen interest in the problem of melting sea ice, which of course threatens polar bears like me. It was an honour to shake paws with a man who’s doing so much great work for my species and the entire Arctic ecosystem.

Speaking of ice, I’m known as a pretty graceful skater, so you can imagine my skepticism when I was told I’d be meeting the McGill Martlets women’s ice hockey team. I mean, have you ever seen a martlet? Sure, they look great on a coat of arms, but they’re not exactly a cold-weather bird (like the NHL’s Penguins, for instance.) I should have known better, though. This team has won three of the last four CIS national championships, including last year’s – capping a 33-0 season. And these women are tough!

Growing up in Canada’s North, I fancied myself quite the musician. So, after a quick visit with Queen Victoria (who was guarding the Strathcona Music Building and doing her best impression of my North Pole buddy Santa Claus) I made my way to the Tanna Schulich Hall in the New Music Building to put my talents to the test with one of McGill’s jazz ensembles. The band didn’t need a vocalist (their loss) but I was able to show them a thing or two on the drum kit. Not that they need much help, because these guys and girls are lights out! They get to tour, record albums, and play concerts with some of the leading names in jazz. It’s no wonder McGill’s music grads are some of the most highly sought-after musicians on the planet.

Near the end of my tour, I was told I should check out McGill’s very own statue of the Three Bears, nestled in a hollow between the Arts Building and the stellar Redpath Museum. I was very excited, since the famous Papa Bear is actually a distant ancestor of mine. Upon arriving at the statue, though, I was a bit taken aback. Aghast, even! Standing before me were not the three bears I know and love, but three naked human males! Consulting my itinerary, I took note of the statue’s name: “The Three Bares”. How silly of me; I thought that was just poor spelling, but it was indeed an apt description for this statue, which has been a much loved landmark on the McGill campus for over 80 years. Well, isn’t that “cheeky”?

I was lucky to be at McGill during their annual Open House, but I think this place would be welcoming and fun any day of the year.  With all their illustrious history, beautiful green spaces and heritage buildings, McGill’s greatest asset is still its awesome people. Here’s to another 190 years, McGill!