The annual Social Justice Days event series, organized by the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill University (QPIRG-McGill) and the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), was held from March 7 to 12. Centred on themes of harm reduction and sustainability, the series featured interactive workshops and panel discussions[Read More…]
Articles by Ella Fitzhugh
SSMU Legislative Council passes motion to address doxxing of students
On Jan. 20, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council held their first meeting of the winter semester, discussing several annual reports and announcements, including the AUS Town Hall on the return to classes, and approving five motions. One motion will require SSMU executives on SSMU’s Divestment and[Read More…]
SSMU BoD discusses COVID-19 measures amid student concerns over SSMU inactivity
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD) convened on Jan. 6 with all directors present except the SSMU president, Darshan Daryanani, who has been on leave since at least Sept. 23. Directors heard vice-president (VP) University Affairs Claire Downie present a motion for SSMU to make[Read More…]
McGill Senate presents annual report on Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism
The McGill Senate assembled remotely on Oct. 20 to discuss several reports, including the 2020-2021 Annual Report on the Implementation of the Strategic Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Plan, and the 2020-21 Annual Report on the Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism. The Senate also approved the 506th Report of[Read More…]
Open researching, publishing, and access on the table at McGill Library’s Open Access Week 2021
The McGill Library is bringing International Open Access (OA) Week 2021 to the university’s scholarly community from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31. This year’s theme is “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity.” The planning committee members, such as librarians Jessica Lange, Michael David Miller, Lucy Kiester, and[Read More…]
Let your unconscious dance
I often wake up and wholeheartedly believe I am still dreaming. The scenes in my slumber world and my reality meet and intertwine, carrying the affect of my dream into the start of my day. Sometimes, I am 50 feet tall and walking for miles down unrecognizable roads; other times,[Read More…]
Current SSMU executives, former members acknowledge recent statement is not enough
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) vice-president (VP) Internal Affairs Sarah Paulin sent out a mass email on Sept. 28 containing a written statement entitled “Enacting Change Within SSMU.” The statement comes after an article published by The McGill Daily on Sept. 22 exposed accounts of past and ongoing[Read More…]
The women behind the headlines
Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, there have been 14 reported cases of femicide in Quebec. A femicide, sometimes called ‘feminicide,’ is the killing of a woman or girl because of her gender. Despite the recent spike in reported femicides, this kind of gender-based violence has[Read More…]
Students and staff push for better COVID-19 academic accommodations
Members of the McGill community have been requesting more inclusive academic considerations since the university’s requirement that students and faculty be on campus for Fall 2021. Similar to the academic accommodations that apply specifically to students with the Office for Students with Disabilities, academic considerations are specific to COVID-19 concerns[Read More…]
Several McGill professors vocalize demands for vaccine mandate on campus
With the return to in-person classes for the Fall 2021 term, some students have expressed concerns about the McGill administration’s current COVID-19 safety measures, while several faculty members have voiced frustrations about McGill’s proposals for in-person teaching during the Fall. Central to the unease about the administration’s plans for the[Read More…]
McGill Board of Governors member resigns in protest of the board’s refusal to table a motion on equity
Former McGill University Board of Governors (BoG) member Ehab Lotayef has resigned from his position as governor over the BoG’s refusal to table a motion that would mandate McGill to create and display an equity statement on campus. Lotayef wrote about his resignation and his experience sitting on the board[Read More…]
Undiagnosed ADHD in women poses extra barriers to remote learning
As the Winter 2021 semester comes to a close, many McGill students have reported a range of challenges in finishing the academic year. One challenge in particular affects some students more than others, and often does so without their awareness: An undiagnosed mental disorder. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often[Read More…]
Darshan Daryanani claims SSMU presidency in narrowly passed election
The 2021-2022 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executive election polling period closed on March 19 at 5:00 p.m. EST, ringing in Darshan Daryanani, U3 Arts, as the SSMU President-elect. Daryanani was elected with 1614 the electorate ranking him first on the ballot. The second-place candidate, Jake Reed, U2 Engineering,[Read More…]
Student activists host virtual rally calling for divestment from Line 3 pipeline
Content warning: Human trafficking Nearly 350 students across Canada and the United States attended a virtual student-led rally on March 5 to call for the defunding of Line 3, a tar sands pipeline project set to run from Alberta to Minnesota. The featured keynote speaker Tara Houska, a tribal attorney,[Read More…]
Student organizations collaborate on SSMU ‘Divest for Human Rights’ motion
Seven McGill student organizations have collectively drafted a motion titled the “Divest for Human Rights Policy” to advance at the upcoming Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) General Assembly (GA) on Feb. 16. Divest McGill, Climate Justice Action McGill, Students in Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), McGill Students for[Read More…]
AUS candidates discuss mental health at 2021 election debate
McGill’s Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) held a virtual debate on Feb. 4 for candidates running in the upcoming AUS elections to discuss student mental health, support for survivors of violence, and equity in the Arts faculty. Candidates running for the positions of President, Vice-Presidents (VP), Representative, and Senator outlined each[Read More…]
SSMU hosts presentation on tenant rights and gentrification
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Affordable Student Housing Committee hosted a presentation on Jan. 12 called “How to not get screwed over by your landlord.” Student speakers Julianna Duholke, 3L Law, Alex Apostolidis, U3 BFA, and Andrew Faber, second-year M.U.P., called on their peers to know their rights[Read More…]
SSMU Legislative Council discusses McGill administration’s stance on the S/U policy
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council convened on Dec. 4 to pass several motions and discuss recent student activism that has been pressuring the administration into adopting the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) policy for Fall 2020 semester courses. The council also voted to approve a motion which will provide[Read More…]
Tribune Explains: McGill’s New Vic Project
After the site was decommissioned in 2015, McGill has launched a proposal to renovate part of the Royal Victoria Hospital to create a state-of-the-art research, teaching, and learning hub dedicated to Sustainability Systems and Public Policy. The project was named the New Vic Project, and construction on the old Royal[Read More…]
PGSS Council discusses McGill’s plans for in-person learning in Winter 2021
At the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Council virtual council meeting on Nov. 4, councillors approved a motion to oppose new changes to the Graduate Mobility Award (GMA) and discussed McGill’s recently announced plans to move some classes in the Faculty of Science to in person for the Winter 2021 semester.[Read More…]
Alice Wong calls attention to the importance of disability visibility
As part of a speaker series organized by McGill Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies Faculty Lecturer Dr. Alex Ketchum, author and disability rights activist Alice Wong and Faculty of Education professor Elizabeth Patitsas gathered virtually on Oct. 28 to discuss the diverse experiences of people with disabilities. Wong, the keynote[Read More…]
Seminar highlights injustices facing Canadian migrant farm workers
The Canadian Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley hosted an online lecture on Oct. 6 to discuss migrant farm workers’ rights in Ontario and the pandemic’s impact on labour mobilization. The event featured Dr. Vasanthi Venkatesh, professor of law at the University of Windsor. Venkatesh explained how the[Read More…]
McGill Board of Governors discuss potential declining international student rate
At their Oct. 1 meeting, the McGill University Board of Governors’ (BoG) passed revisions to the university’s Gift Acceptance Policy, stating that accepting gifts does not mean the university endorses the donor’s positions. It also discussed the status of student enrollment, McGill’s anti-Black racism action plan, and heard reports from[Read More…]
Concordia activists highlight challenges of human rights activism in 2020
On Sept. 13, the Concordia Student Union hosted an online seminar featuring Montreal activists discussing a wide range of subjects, such as systemic oppression against Indigenous Peoples, police brutality against Black people, and the Canadian government’s negligence towards marginalized people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was called “Police, Climate[Read More…]
Online learning forces professors to reconsider virtual teaching platforms
The past six months have brought unprecedented change to McGill as institutions worldwide transition to online learning platforms. Given the changes brought by online learning, teachers are being forced to develop new ways of delivering lectures, promoting discussion, and creating assessments. The COVID-19 pandemic shut schools down in March 2020,[Read More…]
Sex and longevity at the Trottier Public Science Symposium
The 2019 Trottier Public Science Symposium, hosted by the Office for Science and Society from Oct. 22 – 23, addressed the unavoidable process of aging in a presentation titled “Longing for Longevity.” The second night featured keynote speakers Joe Schwarcz, director of the office, and psychosexual therapist and author Ruth[Read More…]