Last month the anonymous group “McGillLeaks”published confidential documents from McGill’s office of Development and Alumni Relations. The administration has been seriously investigating the leak, even bringing in the police to help. Their response has been aggressive and effective, and the “McGillLeaks” website was quickly taken down. The university’s lawyers also sent letters to[Read More…]
Articles by James Gilman
McGillLeaks are not worth a legal crusade
Last month the anonymous group “McGillLeaks” published confidential documents from McGill’s office of Development and Alumni Relations. The administration has been seriously investigating the leak, even bringing in the police to help. Their response has been aggressive and effective, and the “McGillLeaks” website was quickly taken down. The university’s lawyers[Read More…]
The student movement’s last stand?
The Quebec-wide student “strike” is certainly gaining momentum, as more and more student associations vote to join the movement and voice their opposition to the provincial government’s plan to increase tuition. More than 120,000 students will be officially “on strike” (or boycotting classes) as of this week and the confrontation[Read More…]
QPIRG and CKUT can cash in on the occupation
This past Sunday McGill finally appeared to have run out of patience with the James Administration building “partiers” and had police escort them out. Unsurprisingly, the occupation ended without McGill meeting the group’s demands. However, the occupiers were certainly successful in sparking conversation on campus. While much of the[Read More…]
A true fix for the GA?
The Students’ Society’s Winter 2012 General Assembly takes place tomorrow, and we’ll have the chance to see the newly-reformed GA in action. After a semester-long reform process SSMU Council approved a package of changes at their Dec. 1 meeting. The adopted reforms, however, didn’t go as far as introducing online[Read More…]
Confusing questions and unclear mandates
On Thursday morning voting in the Fall Referendum period closes, and in all likelihood the QPIRG-McGill and CKUT referendum questions will pass—as long as quorum is reached. It’s rare for a fee renewal question to fail, as these referenda are more a test of whether a group can mobilize enough[Read More…]
Keep opt-outs the way they are
In just over a week’s time, students will have the chance to vote on the continued funding of Radio CKUT and the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill. Yet in a way this is also a referendum on the current opt-out system, and whether it was a mistake to[Read More…]
Defining a right
One of the most common assertions made by student organizations and activists arguing for the elimination of tuition fees is that there is a universal right to education, and therefore, that charging or raising tuition fees is immoral, or even a violation of a fundamental human right. By this logic,[Read More…]
Opt-in-and-out burger
Over the past few years, “opt-outs” have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in campus politics. For two weeks every semester, students have the option of opting out of certain fees, and, like clockwork, for those two weeks the debate over one opt outable fee in particular starts[Read More…]
The free tuition fantasy
What a way to start the year. The first sight that greeted many returning students was that of striking MUNACA workers picketing outside the major entrances to campus. The general strike means that many students are facing reduced services across the university. While the strike will hopefully have only temporary[Read More…]
A final fireside chat with Students’ Society President Ivan Neilson
What were your biggest accomplishments this year? I was happy with the style of management that we had this year. The individual vice-presidents started new initiatives and new projects, assisting one another. I’m also thrilled that we were able to reform the committee structure.
Debating Union wins nationals
The McGill Debating Union had its most successful performance on the national stage in years, winning the 2010 Canadian National Debating Championships in Edmonton just over a week ago. Half of the quarterfinalists, three-quarters of the semifinalists, and both of the finalists were McGill teams.
Resettling and rebuilding
One would be hard-pressed to find two places with less in common than southern Bhutan and the town of Saint-Jérôme. In the south of Bhutan, the soaring peaks of the Himalayas descend into subtropical plains and fields of rice. Bhutan is primarily Buddhist and shares many cultural ties with its northern neighbour, Tibet.
Five of seven motions pass at Winter General Assembly
Five out of seven motions passed at the Students’ Society’s Winter General Assembly last Wednesday, with only a motion that sought to ban discriminatory groups – specifically pro-life groups – failing, and another being ruled out of order. Unlike last semester’s GA, the assembly managed to address each motion of new business while maintaining quorum throughout.
As more students opt out, campus groups face budget shortfalls
Last Thursday concluded the Winter 2010 student fee opt-out period, which had begun two weeks earlier on January 14, and the current academic year has seen the highest level of opt-outs ever. Each semester McGill gives students a two-week window during which they can, through the online Minerva service, opt out of several fees that support Students’ Society and faculty association groups and funds, as well as a pair of independent student groups: the McGill chapter of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) and Radio CKUT.