The McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA) and the McGill administration have resolved the remaining outstanding issue on their collective agreement and are preparing to finalize proceedings. The agreement, ratified by MUNACA’s members on Dec. 5 after months of negotiations, marked the end of the union’s three-month strike last fall.[Read More…]
Articles by Carolina Millán Ronchetti
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…]
Government won’t back down on fee increases
Last Thursday, April 5, Quebec Education Minister Line Beauchamp proposed a new student loans plan, in response to the student movement that has been opposing planned provincial tuition fee increases of $1,625 over five years. Beauchamp said that the government will not back down from the plan to increase tuition[Read More…]
Heather Munroe-Blum shared her plans for next year
On March 27, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum spoke to the McGill Tribune, the McGill Daily and Le Délit about this year’s events and what to look forward to in 2012. McGill Tribune: Next year will be your last year McGill’s principal. What are your goals for your last term, and what[Read More…]
Mac campus issues heard at third Open Forum
On March 27, Dean of Arts Christopher Manfredi held the third of four open fora at Macdonald Campus. In addition to a group of about 30 attendees, most of whom were faculty members and staff, Provost Anthony Masi and Deputy-Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson were also present. The[Read More…]
Motion to censure SSMU VP External fails by vote of 11-11-1
Michael Paolucci Michael Paolucci A motion to censure SSMU VP External JoÃl Pedneault failed at SSMU Council’s meeting last Thursday, March 29, with a narrow vote of 11 for, 11 against, and one abstention. The motion, submitted to the floor by nine movers, cited several reasons to censure Pedneault, including[Read More…]
MAUT releases report on implications of Nov. 10
The McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT) released to the public its report “Governance, Protest and Security: Report of the MAUT Committee to Examine the Implications of the Events of Nov. 10, 2011″ on March 22. MAUT is an organization of academic staff that aims to foster academic freedom, to[Read More…]
Hundreds of thousands protest tuition hikes
Michael Paolucci / McGill Tribune Michael Paolucci / McGill Tribune Over 200,000 people marched through the streets of downtown Montreal on March 22 to demonstrate against provincial tuition increases. The protest, the largest in Quebec history, came two days after the Quebec government released its annual budget, confirming that university[Read More…]
Board of Governors discusses McGillLeaks, asbestos
On March 13, the McGill Board of Governors (BoG) convened for its fifth meeting of the academic year to discuss topics of interest to the community, including McGillLeaks, the possibility of a student strike, and the internal investigation launched on asbestos research. Chair of the Board Stuart Cobbett began the[Read More…]
Motion to strike defeated at AUS GA
Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune Arts undergraduates voted against entering an unlimited student strike at a special General Assembly (GA) held on Tuesday, March 13. The motion, which was defeated by a vote of 609 to 495 and included 16 abstentions, would have allowed the[Read More…]
MUNACA rallies in front of James Admin Building
Carolina Millán Ronchetti / McGill Tribune On March 9, approximately 250 members of the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA) demonstrated in front of the James Administration Building to protest about a delay in finalizing and signing a collective agreement with the McGill administration. The agreement, ratified by MUNACA’s members[Read More…]
MCSS and PGSS vote to go on limited strike
Last week, the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS) voted to go on a one-day strike on March 22. The Post Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) also voted to go on a three-day strike from March 20 to March 22. March 22 is the National Day of Action against tuition increases, when[Read More…]
Former Bank of Canada governor speaks to students
wikinfo.org Around 300 students gathered on Feb. 28 to hear the former governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge, speak about the fiscal challenges that Canada will face in coming years, as compared to the current European crisis. The event was organized by McGill’s Economic Students’ Association (ESA) and[Read More…]
Admin accepts J-Board invalidation of fall referendum
On Tuesday Feb. 14, the SSMU Judicial Board (J-Board) invalidated QPIRG’s fall referendum question. The J-Board ruled the question to be unconstitutional because it dealt with two separate questions, asking students to simultaneously support QPIRG’s continued existence, and a change to make the organization’s fees opt-outable only in person. In[Read More…]
UQAM protest marks start of unlimited student strike
On Feb. 14, approximately 300 student demonstrators marched through McGill’s downtown campus following UQAM’s vote for an unlimited strike. UQAM is one of many universities and CEGEPs in Quebec that have voted to go on an unlimited strike to protest the Quebec government’s plans to increase university tuition fees for[Read More…]
Chilean movement leader talks student empowerment
Carolina Millán Ronchetti / McGill Tribune Throughout 2011, the Chilean student movement made headlines with its large-scale protests, creative demonstrations, and student strikes to reform the largely privatized education system. The movement, which at its apogee included between 500,000 and a million demonstrators, was described by some as one of[Read More…]
Police evict students from sixth floor offices
Sam Reynolds Last Sunday morning, the nine students who remained on the sixth floor of the James Administration Building were peacefully evicted by the police. The students had occupied the sixth floor for 118 hours. On Feb. 7, a group of 21 students entered the office of the Deputy Provost[Read More…]
McGill administration recognizes CKUT’s existence
Last Wednesday, the administration announced that it recognizes, in principle, the existence of CKUT Radio. The administration had previously rejected the results of the fall referendum, in which CKUT and QPIRG each posed a question calling students to support the organizations’ existence and a move to make opt-outs[Read More…]
Students occupy James Admin, call for Mendelson’s resignation
Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune This is a developing story and the Tribune continues to monitor the situation. Developments will be added as they occur. Around 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday Jan. 7, a group of about 20 students occupied the office of Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson[Read More…]
Day 2 of occupation: sixth floor occupiers remain
Carolina Millán Ronchetti The protesters staging a sit-in in the lobby of James Administration left the building at around 11:20 a.m today, following a night inside without access to washrooms, food, or Internet. Over 20 occupiers remain in the sixth floor of the building, and half a dozen students spent[Read More…]
J-Board hears case regarding referendum
Madeline Richards Madeline Richards. Last night, the SSMU Judicial Board (J-Board) heard a case submitted by former SSMU President Zach Newburgh and co-founder of the Prince Arthur Herald Brendan Steven, against respondent Rebecca Tacoma in her function as Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Elections SSMU. (Full disclosure: Newburgh sits on[Read More…]
BoG adjourned due to student disruptions
Last Tuesday, an open session Board of Governors (BoG) meeting scheduled to discuss the Jutras report was adjourned after five minutes due to disruptions from students. The meeting was rescheduled for Feb. 6 and held in a closed session. Following the chair’s opening address, a group of about 20 students[Read More…]
CKUT to hold two questions on winter referendum
SSMU suspends Judicial Board, citing legal concerns
Elisha Lerner / McGill Tribune Last Thursday, the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) suspended the Judicial Board indefinitely due to legal issues arising from its current structure. The structure of the J-Board was reviewed by the Bylaw Committee Jan. 30, and the committee’s findings will be discussed in a meeting[Read More…]
Senate talks Nov. 10 report
Members of the university senate gathered last Wednesday in order to discuss the investigation and recommendations regarding the events of Nov. 10. The investigation was conducted by Dean of Law Daniel Jutras, and was released Dec. 15. In her opening remarks, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum stated that she accepts all six[Read More…]
AUS discloses theft of $12,000 during Orientation Week
On Nov. 30, executives from the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) reported to the AUS Council the theft of approximately $12,000 of Orientation Week funds. The theft was discovered Sept. 1 by AUS VP Finance Marlene Benavides, who realized that an envelope with $12,000 in cash from Orientation Week registrations[Read More…]
Admin invalidates fall referendum results
Campus organizations QPIRG McGill and CKUT Radio face an uncertain future following the McGill administration’s announcement that it will not accept the results of the fall referendum. Last November, the fall referendum featured two questions on whether QPIRG and CKUT should exist and if their student fees should cease to be opt-outable via the Minerva[Read More…]
MUNACA strike ends
The McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA) voted to accept a collective agreement with the McGill administration on Dec. 5. The union members had been on strike since Sept. 1, 2011 and had been without a labour contract since November 2010. The five-year collective agreement was approved by 71.5 per[Read More…]
A semester without MUNACA
Marri Knadle / McGill Tribune When the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA) began striking on Sept. 1, many members of the community were unsure of how the strike would affect them. Almost three months later, after numerous staff shortages and contingency plans, community members have felt the effects of[Read More…]
Introducing the hashtag
They’re called hashtags, and they’re a phenomenon that started on Twitter and are now appearing all over the Internet (and even outside, with the appearance of ‘air hashtag’ hand-signs). Before explaining what hashtags are, let’s examine the social media that started it all. Twitter was launched in July 2006,[Read More…]
QPIRG and CKUT survive, voter turnout up 9.5 per cent
The fall semester’s referendum questions passed with an overwhelming majority, announced Elections McGill last Thursday. Two of these questions were to determine whether QPIRG McGill and CKUT Radio should continue to receive student funding and if these fees should be opt-outable in person rather than online via Minerva. QPIRG’s existence was approved by a vote of 65.6 per[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…]
QPIRG, CKUT questions pass in fall referendum
The fall semester’s referendum questions passed with an overwhelming majority, announced Elections McGill at 6:30 p.m. The questions asked whether QPIRG McGill and CKUT Radio should continue to receive student funding and if these fees should be opt-outable in person rather than online via Minerva. QPIRG’s existence was approved by[Read More…]
Referendum period opens with ballot on CKUT and QPIRG
The fall referendum campaign period opens this week, and features two questions on whether QPIRG McGill and CKUT’s student fees should cease to be opt-outable via the Minerva online system and instead be refundable directly though each organization. Students will be able to vote on the questions from Nov 4-10.[Read More…]
MIGS hosts talk on role of media in genocide prevention
Ryan Reisert With the advent of digital media and its role in events such as the “Arab Spring,” experts around the world recognize the need to harness and manage new tools, and use them to prevent, rather than react, to mass atrocities. Concordia University’s Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human[Read More…]
Tribute to Kenyan Nobel prize winner Wangari Maathai
Simon Poitrimolt Simon Poitrimolt Last Friday, Kenyan activist and political leader Flora Terah spoke at Atwater Library in celebration of the life of the late Wangari Maathai. Maathai, who passed away Sept. 25 at the age of 71, became the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize in[Read More…]