The McGill website is being revamped. The university’s website redesign team is gathering feedback in a survey to ensure the new changes are beneficial to the large number of visitors who access the site daily. McGill’s team of web editors is redesigning of all the pages that are linked[Read More…]
Articles by Maria Flores
New Quebec budget includes tuition increases
Quebec Minister of Finance Raymond Bachard released the province’s budget on Thursday, which included university tuition increases of $325 per year per student over the next five years, starting in the 2012-13 academic year. “Without a doubt, accessibility will be an issue with these hikes,” said Students’ Society Vice-President External[Read More…]
Five fee-based questions to go to referendum this semester
The winter 2011 referendum period is set to start on March 4 at 9 p.m. There are five referendum questions this semester, none of which have caused significant controversy. They are mostly related to student clubs and services at McGill. “I’m pretty optimistic about [the referendum period],” said Tais McNeill,[Read More…]
Two of five General Assembly motions pass
Matt Essert The winter 2011 General Assembly took place last Thursday in a quarter-full Adams Auditorium. Although quorum was reached at several parts of the GA, only two out of four motions debated successfully passed with quorum. Despite efforts made in the previous weeks this semester’s general assembly was sparsely [Read More…]
City of Montreal drops $2,500 fine to AUS
The Arts Undergraduate Society no longer has to pay the $2,500 fine that it was originally charged with due to the placement of an Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society poster on a lamppost. Due to financial constraints faced by the AUS this year, President Dave Marshall was ready to personally represent[Read More…]
Mentor program to launch
As an attempt to enrich the university experience and increase direct contact between McGill students, faculty, and staff, a Staff-Student Mentoring program is scheduled begin this term. Students will be randomly assigned to a mentor from a faculty different from their own, in order to build a non-academic relationship and[Read More…]
City councillor donates own body
Former City Councillor Michael Fainstat donated his body to McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry in a program that gives students hands-on experience with real bodies. Fainstat, who died at 87 on December 29, was known for his many contributions to the community and decided to make his body the[Read More…]
Midnight Kitchen takes over Shatner’s Room 302
In an attempt to replace the Architecture Café, Room 302 of the Shatner Building is set to become the newest university lounge. The space, which is currently used during mealtime by Midnight Kitchen, will add to the number of student-friendly spots on campus and serve as a space for student[Read More…]
University considers cutting semesters from 13 weeks to 12
The McGill administration is currently considering a number of changes to the university’s academic calendar, including a proposal to shorten the lengths of the fall and winter semesters by reducing the number of hours students are in contact with their professors. Standard McGill classes currently give students three hours of[Read More…]
Libraries to have extended hours
McLennan Library will begin offering 24-hour access as early as October 4 this year, after the Students’ Society’s decision to allocate an additional $80,000 towards extending the library’s hours.. The Students Society’s Library Improvement Fund Committee will be allocating roughly $200,000 towards extended hours, as compared to $120,000 allocated last[Read More…]
Landlord abuse prevalent
Demands for illegal deposits, unlawful refusals of leases, collection of private information, and harassment and intimidation are among the many complaints that university housing offices have been receiving from international students in Montreal. In response, Concordia’s Student Union is urging the Quebec’s Human Rights Commission to look into the allegations.[Read More…]
Carleton University battles its student unions over fees
duate and Graduate Student Associations have had their funding cut off by the administration since November 1. Both student unions refused to sign a new agreement with the university’s administration and board of governors, and as a result the administration has refused to give the CUSA and GSA their student[Read More…]
Architecture students vote to stand under EUS’s umbrella
The Engineering Undergraduate Society passed a motion at their council meeting on November 9 finalizing the incorporation of the Architecture Students Association as their seventh departmental society. The ASA held a formal referendum on the potential incorporation, which ended the week before council. Sixty-five per cent of ASA students[Read More…]
SSMU may facilitate ablutions
When McGill Muslim students perform the ablution ritual, in which they wash their feet and hands multiple times before daily prayers, it can lead to wet countertops in Shatner bathrooms. To avoid the inconvenience and to ease the the ritual’s practice, the Students’ Society is attempting to take initiatives towards[Read More…]
Quebec’s Bill 115 eases access to Anglophone schools
Thousands gathered outside Premier Jean Charest’s Montreal office to protest the recently approved Bill 115 on October 18. The legislation grants students access to the English public school system after spending three years in a private non-subsidized English school and after having followed a so-called “genuine educational pathway,” which protesters[Read More…]
Council puts off Arts & Science rep. decision
The Students’ Society Council defeated a proposed referendum question at their meeting on Thursday that would have asked students to establish an Arts and Sciences representative on Council. The issue was later revisited by SSMU President Zach Newburgh allowing the question to be reconsidered as a plebiscite, a consultative instrument[Read More…]
SSMU considers switching to kegs for on-campus events
The Students’ Society is looking into the possibility of substituting kegs for bottles at campus events such as Frosh and OAP. SSMU President Zach Newburgh said that the recently proposed alternative has several benefits over the use of beer bottles, including sustainability, safety, and ease of use. “By using kegs[Read More…]
David Suzuki discusses his legacy in lecture at McGill
Anna Bock David Suzuki, the famed Canadian author and environmentalist, was welcomed by the McGill Bookstore last Tuesday. With the release of his newest book The Legacy: An Elder’s Vision for our Sustainable Future, the author addressed an eager McGill audience in a full Pollack Hall, presenting what he referred[Read More…]
Students rally to save the Architecture Cafe
Margot Van Der Krogt In a last-ditch attempt to save the Architecture Café, hundreds of students gathered to protest outside the Leacock Building last Wednesday afternoon. The rally kicked off minutes before McGill’s first senate meeting of the year was scheduled to begin in Leacock 232. As administrators, professors, and[Read More…]
AUS VP Events Londe steps down
Arts Undergraduate Society Vice-President Events Nampande Londe resigned her position on Tuesday, citing personal reasons.
Londe had recently come under fire for allowing Arts Frosh to run a budget deficit and faced the possibility that AUS Council would impeach her. But she and AUS President Dave Marshall denied that this was the reason for her resignation.
Safety Week Delights
Starting as “Safety Day” at McDonald Campus and continuing downtown over the next four days, the second annual Safety Week took place at McGill last week. The event was opened by Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, and included a series of presentations, games, and a closing barbecue.