Andrew Hendry , Department of Biology Tell us about your current research. In essence, my research is trying to understand how ecology and evolution interact. So trying to understand how ecological differences in the environment shape the evolutionary trajectories of populations and shape evolutionary diversification, that’s the origins of biodiversity. On the[Read More…]
Articles by Anand Bery
2011-2012 Year in Review
MUNACA On the first day of classes, McGill students arrived on campus to the sound of picketing. MUNACA, the union representing roughly 1,700 of McGill’s non-academic staff, went on strike starting Sept. 1 after months of strained negotiations between the union and the university finally broke down. A better wage scale,[Read More…]
2011-2012 Year in Review
MUNACA On the first day of classes, McGill students arrived on campus to the sound of picketing. MUNACA, the union representing roughly 1,700 of McGill’s non-academic staff, went on strike starting Sept. 1 after months of strained negotiations between the union and the university finally broke down. A better wage[Read More…]
A chat with this year’s three Tomlinson Prize winners
Andrew Hendry , Department of Biology Tell us about your current research. In essence, my research is trying to understand how ecology and evolution interact. So trying to understand how ecological differences in the environment shape the evolutionary trajectories of populations and shape evolutionary diversification, that’s the origins of biodiversity. On[Read More…]
Senate discusses future of education
Last Wednesday’s Senate meeting featured much discussion on improving teaching and learning at McGill, as well as a report from enrolment services on recruitment and retention. While the meeting was closed to outside observers other than members of the campus media and incoming senators, the proceedings were made available to[Read More…]
Montreal students launch UniYu
A group of Montreal students have launched a new university-centric website which encourages students to share advice on professors, classes, and student groups. The site, called UniYu, launched a beta version last week. Unlike existing online resources, which often only focus either on note-sharing or course advice, UniYu hopes to[Read More…]
SUS holds GA on tuition increases
Anna Katycheva / McGill Tribune Last Friday evening the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) held a General Assembly (GA) to discuss motions related to the Quebec-wide student strike movement opposing tuition increases. The SUS does not typically hold GAs open to its members and last week’s assembly occurred as a result[Read More…]
Montreal-based firm unveils new crowdsourcing app
echoer.com Have you ever wondered what others around you in public spaces are thinking? Ever wanted to let fellow mall-goers know just how terrible you found a meal at the food court? A Montreal-based startup has just launched an innovative new mobile application which hopes to forever change the face[Read More…]
Senate discusses James Admin occupation and its causes
The Feb. 15 meeting of McGill’s Senate included discussions on Principal Heather Munroe-Blum’s responses to Dean Jutras’ recommendations regarding the events of Nov. 10 and the administration’s refusal of the CKUT and QPIRG fall referenda results. Closed to the public, the senate meeting appeared to be a response to events[Read More…]
SSMU GA loses quorum after passing two motions
Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune SSMU’s Winter General Assembly struggled to maintain quorum on Feb. 1, barely reaching the 100 undergraduates needed to render votes binding. Two motions were voted on as a binding assembly, while the remaining were voted on as a consultative body. A motion from the floor[Read More…]
Neuroscientist Marc Tessier-Lavigne speaks at McGill
mskcc.org World-renowned neuroscientist and McGill alumnus Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne spoke to an audience of science undergraduates on Friday evening. Tessier-Lavigne was formerly executive vice president of research for the biotechnology firm Genentech, and is now president of The Rockefeller University, a prestigious university in Manhattan devoted to research in the[Read More…]
McGill reveals more about future Quartier d’Innovation
Kyla Mandel / McGill Tribune) During a report to Senate last Wednesday, McGill University revealed the details of its plan to develop the Quartier d’Innovation (QI), a research and entrepreneurship-driven innovation hub. The QI is intended to be a dynamic neighbourhood driven by research and innovation coming from the university,[Read More…]
SUS Academia Week (January 23 – January 28)
The Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) kicked off its seventh annual Academia Week on Monday, Jan. 23. The week-long series of talks, presentations, and networking events will showcase new and innovative research, while promoting science career paths beyond the arenas of medicine and academia. The highlight of the week will likely[Read More…]
Investigation into the events of Nov. 10 released
Dean of Law Daniel Jutras’ report on the events of Nov. 10 was made public on Dec. 15. The 60-page investigation, originally commissioned by Principal Heather Munroe-Blum in the days following the incident, sought to establish a record for what transpired that evening, and determine what led to the presence[Read More…]
Young Liberal Zach Paikin’s campaign experience
McGill student Zach Paikin (U3 Middle East studies) ran for National Policy Chair of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was defeated by Maryanne Kampouris in the vote last weekend. The Tribune caught up with Paikin last week before the convention to discuss his vision for the future of the[Read More…]
Revisiting 1997: a generation apart
Amid the many varied accounts of Nov. 10 offered by occupiers and administrators over the past two weeks, many have forgotten past successful, peaceful occupations. The events of April 2, 1997 juxtapose this month’s occupation, and offer a shining example of a peaceful student protest done correctly. Beginning on a[Read More…]
Senate discussion on Nov. 10 sees clash of viewpoints
The beginning of Wednesday’s Senate meeting focused heavily on the events of Nov. 10. In a departure from Senate’s tradition of a closed-door assembly, the first hour was streamed live over the Internet to the McGill community. In her opening remarks, Senate Chair and Principal Heather Munroe-Blum apologized for the[Read More…]
Third annual TEDxMcGill held on ‘Redefining Reality’
Alex Tran / alextranphotography.com The third annual TEDxMcGill Conference took place on Sunday Nov. 13, and included talks from 15 inspiring speakers including world-renowned neuroscientist Brenda Milner, Olympic figure skater-turned-McGill MBA student Craig Buntin, and Alain Tascan, co-founder of Ubisoft Montreal. Themed “Redefining Reality,” and broken into three sequential “acts”[Read More…]
Riot Police at McGill
Elisha Lerner Following the end of the province-wide demonstration against tuition hikes, 14 students occupied the fifth floor of the James Administration Building wearing hoods and masks. According to Fariddudin Attar Rifai, president of the Association of McGill Undergraduate Student Employees, this occupation allegedly occurred around 4:00 p.m. Soon after,[Read More…]
McGill community gathers to reflect on events of Nov. 10
Sam Reynolds Over 1,000 people gathered yesterday in James Square to discuss the riot police presence of Nov. 10 and its impact on the community. In an open-mic session, students, faculty, and community members offered their own experiences with the riot police and made suggestions on how to move forward[Read More…]
UPDATE: Riot police respond to tuition hike demonstration on campus
Elisha Lerner Twenty thousand students from all over Quebec gathered on Thursday, Nov. 10 at Place Émile-Gamelin near UQAM to demonstrate against the Quebec government’s proposed tuition increases. The demonstration then made its way up Berri Street at 2:45 p.m., continuing through the streets of Montreal, ending at the McGill[Read More…]
Five technological wonders of the academic world
Here are five handy apps to make your academic career that much easier. LeechBlock Procrastinate much? This browser plug-in might just change your life. Completely free and available for Firefox, LeechBlock blocks a user-defined set of websites over a set period of time, keeping you off YouTube and Twitter during[Read More…]
Council votes in MoA, but not Shatner lease
In the early hours of Friday morning, SSMU’s Legislative Council voted on two motions with huge implications for the future of the society. In a confidential session, the council voted in favour of signing a new Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the McGill administration, and voted against accepting the administration’s[Read More…]
Students exonerated for protest
McGill students Joel Pedneault and Micha Stettin were exonerated Friday on charges of disrupting university activities due to their involvement in a demonstration in support of MUNACA on Oct. 11. Pedneault, VP External of SSMU, and Stettin, Arts Representative to SSMU, were originally accused of violating two sections of the[Read More…]
MUNACA strike update: tensions arise
Sam Reynolds The MUNACA strike continues without advances at the bargaining table. Outside the negotiating room, however, relations between the two parties have taken a sour turn. The last few weeks have seen the confrontation of alumni by picketers over homecoming weekend, the picketing of several administrators private homes, the[Read More…]
RIM launches next generation of blackberry smartphones
Research In Motion (RIM) unveiled a next generation platform for its Blackberry smartphones on Oct. 18 at a developer conference in San Francisco. The operating system, known simply as BBX, aims to merge Blackberry’s current smartphone platform with that of its PlayBook tablet, QNX. In an attempt to encourage developers,[Read More…]
SUS motion budgets up to $4,000 for executive iPhones
On Oct. 6, the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) General Council passed a controversial motion which allocates up to $4,000 of the society’s budget to provide SUS executives with iPhone 4 devices and paid data plans. The motion, which passed with a vote of 14-9, had the support of all six[Read More…]
McGill cleared by CNT; Profs support end to strike
Sam Reynolds Duct tape on the sidewalks by McGill’s entrances now demarcates exactly where MUNACA members on strike are allowed to march. Those aren’t the only lines on campus as a result of the labour conflict; these are divides which no one expects will be crossed anytime soon. New developments[Read More…]
Pixar’s golden age
The generation born a decade before mine would probably like to think that they grew up in the best possible era for Disney films. My older friends can easily claim The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin as relics of their childhood years, but I was not yet[Read More…]
IRSAM holds eventful Model UN
The International Relations Students’ Association of McGill (IRSAM) held its second annual International Relations Simulation (IRSim) Model United Nations conference last weekend. In contrast to IRSAM’s larger conferences, which host delegates from high schools or other universities, IRSim is the only annual Model United Nations conference at McGill that[Read More…]
MUNACA: strike update, week three
Sam Reynolds Sam Reynolds McGill was granted an injunction by Quebec courts Friday to control protesting at campus entrances. Striking MUNACA workers are now forced to stay four metres away from the university gates. The number of protestors will also be capped within the four metre boundary. Additionally, noise makers,[Read More…]
Interview with MP Matthew Dubé
politwitter.ca The McGill Tribune sat down with Matthew Dubé, who found himself thrown into Ottawa’s political arena after his surprise victory in last May’s election, to discuss Jack Layton’s legacy and the future of the NDP. A former McGill student, he spent the summer between his constituency and Ottawa, preparing[Read More…]
McTavish under water
Sam Reynolds McGill students enjoying the warm weather early Thursday evening on McTavish Street found themselves along the banks of a gushing river. Around 5:30 p.m., a burst pipe at a pumping station on Dr. Penfield Ave. sent thousands of gallons of water flowing down McTavish Street. Water flooded a[Read More…]
Quebec backs down in MBA tuition battle
The Quebec Ministry of Education has recognized McGill’s Desautels MBA as a ‘specialized’ program, a year after McGill first began operating the MBA under a self-funded tuition model. That one controversial word has caused the Ministry to effectively retract the $2 million fine it had imposed on McGill in March[Read More…]
MUNACA on strike after negotiations with administration fail
Sam Reynolds Members of the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA), the union representing McGill University’s non-academic workers, went on strike Wednesday after the union and the university’s administration failed to reach an agreement on issues of compensation. Negotiations began in November 2010. Picketing began at 6 a.m. on Thursday[Read More…]
Turnitin users affected by downtime
Over the last few weeks, a number of Canadian universities have experienced problems with Turnitin, the digital paper-submission system which detects plagiarism by comparing students’ work to that of their peers. The University of Toronto and Ryerson University both posted university-wide notices regarding the outage, which began on March 9.[Read More…]
SSMU Election Results
Anna Katycheva Anna Katycheva Students’ Society Councillor Maggie Knight was elected SSMU president Friday night, beating opponent Cathal Rooney-Céspedes with 67.2 per cent of the 4,172 votes cast. Chief Electoral Officer Tais McNeil made the announcement in a two-thirds full Gert’s, which erupted in celebration at the announcement. A number[Read More…]
Rumours of federal election swirl as budget release nears
Anna Katycheva The Liberals and Conservatives have both fired attack ads at each other, rhetoric on all sides is almost a flashpoint, and just about every major news outlet in Canada has been running pieces on the imminent outcome: a federal election is around the corner. Harper’s budget, expected to[Read More…]
Quebec grad student dropout rate high, says CSE report
The Quebec Council of Superior Education (CSE) released a report last month about the high dropout rate among Quebec graduate students. According to the report, 44 per cent of Quebec doctoral students will not go complete their diploma, while on average 20 per cent of master’s students will take an[Read More…]
Nobel laureate alumnus Jack Szostak speaks at Moyse Hall
Dr. Jack Szostak, one of six McGill alumni who have been awarded with a Nobel Prize in Phisiology or Medicine in 2009, spoke at the university on Friday, delivering the keynote address at the Faculty of Science’s Undergraduate Research Conference. After the conference’s prize ceremony, Szostak was introduced by Dean[Read More…]
Online note service hits U of T
Notesolution, a newly released online points-based service allows students to electronically exchange notes with each other. Students earn virtual “credits” for posting their class notes which they can use to purchase others’ notes. The service, founded in December 2009 by University of Toronto alumnus Kevin Wu and released at the[Read More…]