On Jan. 28, during a Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Legislative Council meeting, councillors heard a presentation from an organizer of the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC) about the poor labour conditions that some Dollarama warehouse employees face. Following this presentation, the Legislative Council voted unanimously to approve a motion[Read More…]
Articles by Kate Addison
McGill plans to implement Tier 2 in-person academic activities
In an email to the McGill community on Feb. 5, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Fabrice Labeau announced that McGill would begin implementing some in-person activities on campus as early as Feb. 8. These in-person activities, called “Tier 2 academic activities,” are optional learning opportunities for students currently in[Read More…]
Learning from the media’s failures
In an apparent effort to attract support and attention for a white nationalist group claiming an affiliation with McGill, flyers began to appear around McGill’s downtown Montreal campus in December 2020. The group quickly garnered substantial negative attention online. Spurred on by a tidal wave of public outrage, the actions[Read More…]
McGill Senate approves a retroactive S/U option for the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semesters
The McGill Senate convened for a special meeting on Dec. 15 to vote on a motion regarding implementing the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option for the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semesters. The Senate voted in favour of the motion after hearing from student and faculty senators, nearly all of whom supported[Read More…]
MEDLIFE McGill hosts talk on ageing in the modern world
Over 20 people tuned in on Nov. 12 for MEDtalks 2020: Aging in Today’s World, a lecture series hosted by MEDLIFE McGill. First held in 2012, MEDtalks is an annual event intended to provide the McGill community with an opportunity to learn about current medical issues on both a local[Read More…]
Tribune Explains: SSMU’s endorsement of the Sexual Violence Petition
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) endorsed a petition on Oct. 29 demanding that the Quebec National Assembly amend its current privacy laws. The change would allow universities to disclose to survivors of sexual assault the sanctions institutions apply to their aggressors. Since its release, the petition has garnered[Read More…]
McGill student urges School of Social Work to support Sipekne’katik Nation
On Sept. 18 Canadian news outlets began to report on a dispute between settler fishermen and members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation in southwest Nova Scotia. Settlers have destroyed property and physically intimidated members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation over their right to fish lobster. The settlers’ disregard of Indigenous[Read More…]
Tribune Explains: SSMU’s Judicial Board
What is the Judicial Board? The Judicial Board (J-Board) is the official dispute resolution body of the Student Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Board of Directors (BOD), the body responsible for the supervision of the management of SSMU. The committee is made up of seven student representatives, the majority of[Read More…]
The violence of exclusionary design
Hostile architecture, also known as exclusionary or defensive design, is an intrinsic component of Montreal’s urban spaces—you just may not have noticed it. For most people who call this city home, experiencing urban public spaces is risk-free and innocuous, be it riding on the metro, sitting in the park, or[Read More…]
Tribune Explains: Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM)
What is AGSEM? The Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) is the union to which teaching assistants (TA) and invigilators for McGill university belong. Founded in 1974 as the McGill Teaching Assistant Association (MTAA) and certified in 1993 as a union to represent Teaching Assistants, AGSEM is the[Read More…]
SSMU holds the first legislative council of the semester
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held its first legislative council meeting of the Fall 2020 semester on Sept. 8. As McGill has transitioned to online learning platforms, student organizations such as SSMU have similarly adapted to social distancing restrictions by holding their meetings via recorded Zoom calls. While[Read More…]
Anonymous Instagram pages highlight student experiences with discrimination at McGill
As recent Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests against police brutality have ignited a global reckoning with racism, new McGill-related Instagram pages are platforming anonymous Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) students’ experiences with discrimination at the university. Untold McGill and Black At McGill have highlighted disturbing instances of racism[Read More…]
McGill announces remote Fall 2020 semester
McGill announced on May 11 that it would join other post-secondary institutions across North America in transitioning to online learning as the primary method of course delivery for the Fall 2020 semester. Although this type of switch is unprecedented in McGill’s history, the administration aims to clarify how learning and[Read More…]
In conversation with: Northern Gloom
With over four decades having passed since the heyday of bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, the return of punk music and its anti-establishment message is long overdue. Enter Northern Gloom, an emerging Pennsylvanian post-punk band with the ambitious goal of revolutionizing punk music while inspiring social change. [Read More…]
AUS rejects Motion to Acknowledge Role of Blood Collection Services on Campus
The Arts Undergraduate Society of McGill (AUS) held its fourth legislative council meeting of the semester on Feb. 27. Concillors debated the concerns presented by Héma-Québec’s blood drives on campus and policies restricting donations from men who have sex with men through a three-month deferral period. Several members of the[Read More…]
Finding meaning in found object Instagram accounts
In the past year, through countless hours of diligent procrastination, I’ve begun to observe a curious trend overtaking my Instagram Explore page. It began with the occasional random picture of an old sofa or a shot of a peculiar pink porcelain toilet on the side of the road, but has[Read More…]
Divest McGill holds rally protesting invasion of Wet’suwet’en territory
A small crowd of demonstrators braved the cold on Feb. 13 and gathered outside the James Administration building for a Divest McGill rally. The group called on the university to withdraw their investments in Coastal Gaslink and Teck Mining. In the midst of the ongoing conflict between Wet’suwet’en land defenders[Read More…]
Thursdays (a) Live makes its debut of the decade
On a chilly Thursday night, a small crowd of student musicians and their supportive fans filed into the basement of The Yellow Door. With enough Tim Hortons’ hot chocolate to fuel a small army and a “shoes off at the front door” policy, Jam for Justice and McGill radio station[Read More…]
Divest McGill plans escalated tactics following administration’s announcement
Divest 101, an information session held by the student group Divest McGill, took place on Jan. 21, drawing a crowd of around 40 students to a Burnside basement classroom. The meeting was led by members Guido Powell and Rachel Ivey, who discussed the group’s response to McGill’s plans to decarbonize.[Read More…]
Supporting student wellness through synergy
The annual Synergy Mental Health conference, hosted by Students in Mind (SiM), continued the discourse on mental wellness with a particular focus on cultivating a community on campus promoting healthy minds. The conference featured various activities, such as a journal writing workshop and a talk on how to navigate the[Read More…]
In conversation with NOBRO
From the first riff of their electric guitar, Montreal punk rock group NOBRO will have listeners feeling ready to dye their hair Manic Panic pink and stomp angrily down the street in a pair of Doc Martens. With uniquely powerful drums and the unexpected inclusion of bongos, NOBRO is pursuing[Read More…]
TEDx McGill holds annual conference on theme of ‘pushing the envelope’
TEDxMcGill’s annual conference was held on Nov. 16 and featured nine presentations from students, innovators, and business leaders notable for their actions that tested the limits of possibility. Emma Lim Emma Lim is a climate change activist and U0 Science student at McGill. As an organizer of Climate Strike Canada,[Read More…]
SSMU debates Hillel Montreal’s offers of free trips to Israel
Content warning: Mentions of violence against children At the fifth Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council meeting, the discussion turned toward an article published by The McGill Daily. On Nov. 13, The Daily reported that several student leaders and executives on campus such as the Black Students’ Network (BSN),[Read More…]
Tribune Explains: McGill’s updated drug policy
McGill’s updated Policy Concerning Alcohol, Cannabis, and Other Drugs went into effect on Nov. 1. The McGill Tribune spoke with Gabriel Aboutboul and Matthew McLaughlin, representatives for Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy McGill (CSSDP), about how this policy will affect drug use at McGill. Which drugs are allowed under this policy?[Read More…]
Tribune Explains: The Men’s Varsity Teams Naming Process Committee
Following years of activism by Indigenous students, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier announced her decision to rename McGill’s men’s varsity sports teams in an email on April 12. As part of the announcement, Fortier stated that a steering committee would be established to determine a new name that would better[Read More…]
Updates made to ‘Our Shared Spaces’ to help promote equity on campus
McGill’s Rez Project workshop series, designed to educate students on issues of social justice and equity, was rebranded this fall to better reflect the message of the program. Created 16 years ago by a group of floor fellows, ‘Our Shared Spaces,’ formerly known as Rez Project, aims to promote a[Read More…]
Dean of Students suspends plans for involuntary leave policy
The Office of the Dean of Students announced on Sept. 22 that it would suspend the proposed involuntary leave policy released to the public the week before. The policy, which received immediate opposition from student groups, would have allowed McGill to involuntarily remove students from the school if they were[Read More…]
Getting to know McGill’s Morgan Arboretum
On Sept. 14, McGill’s Morgan Arboretum forest reserve held its annual open house, giving students an opportunity to experience a unique part of the Macdonald campus. With activities including the monarch butterfly launch and a birds of prey flight show, visitors had the opportunity to learn more about the local[Read More…]
Plumber’s Faucet alleges Suzanne Fortier is five owls in a trench coat
An article in The Plumber’s Faucet recently confirmed what McGill’s student body has long suspected: Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier is not, in fact, a middle-aged woman with a passion for crystallography, but five owls stacked talon-to-beak in a medium-sized trench coat. The allegations, brought forth in an article titled “10[Read More…]
Divest McGill hosts weekly protests in solidarity with global divestment movement
This past month, Divest McGill has protested outside of the Arts Building every Friday as part of its new ‘Fossil-free Friday’ initiative. The target of their demonstrations is McGill’s ongoing investments in fossil fuel companies. “Bringing [Fossil-Free Fridays] back up again is a strategy [that will] engage the community and[Read More…]
SUS proposes raising fees to accommodate growing organization
McGill’s Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) held a General Council meeting on Jan 23 to discuss upcoming elections, consider the aftermath of the recent Science Games, and propose an increase in the society’s membership fees. Referendum to raise SUS membership SUS president Reem Mandil introduced a notice of motion to[Read More…]