Valentina de la Borbolla, Opinion Editor As I go through my last few days as a McGill undergrad, I cannot help but look back at my time in university with a sense of incredulity and nostalgia. I am still taken aback when walking by the infamous Leacock 132 lecture hall,[Read More…]
Articles by Valentina de la Borbolla
The radical act of leaning on others
I hit a slump. By Thanksgiving break of 2021, I could barely get out of bed, make breakfast, or even sum up the strength to scroll on TikTok. Just a couple of weeks earlier, I was planning out every hour of my day, executing all my tasks with flying colours,[Read More…]
Accessibility on campus is shameful
Nobody enjoys trekking from New Residence Hall to McMed in subzero temperatures to make it to an 8:30 a.m. lecture. Most people take their ability to walk into class or a library building for granted. Montreal’s winters are particularly brutal, and the city is infamous for its never-ending construction. For[Read More…]
Crossword crannying? A morning ritual, say
I began doing the New York Times Mini Crossword during the pandemic, and after a year of practice, I could proudly complete it in under a minute almost every time. It was a solitary experience, a permanent fixture in my routine where I could compete with myself from the comfort[Read More…]
We need to change how we talk about abortion
CW: discussion of reproductive violence, racism, violence towards Indigenous people It has been over one month since the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. Since then, the abortion debate is the loudest it’s been since the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling: Anti-abortion activists[Read More…]
The threat of incel violence runs deeper than we think
Content warning: misogynist violence, white supremacist terrorism In February 2018, a young man stabbed a woman in a Toronto massage parlour. That same year, another man killed 10 people in a van attack in Toronto. In December 1989, a man barged into Montreal’s École Polytechnique just a few miles away[Read More…]
Redressing the history of medical injustice at McGill
Content warning: Enslavement, medical abuse, racial and colonial violence McGill’s troubled history of abuse and complicity in violence toward Black, Indigenous, and disabled people is nothing new. James McGill enslaved at least three Black people and two Indigenous children, an increasingly recognized and discussed reality within the community, especially following[Read More…]
Sensitive course content requires careful instruction
CW: suicide, self-harm Lecture recordings obtained by The McGill Tribune from a Winter 2022 PSYC 302 (Psychology of Pain) class by professor Jeffrey Mogil reveal him joking about suicide and self-harm, and describing to students the most effective way to shoot themselves. Mogil is a professor in the psychology department[Read More…]
Students should deal with choice, not chance
On Dec. 31, McGill sent an email to all students and staff announcing that, in line with new Quebec regulations, the return to in-person learning would be delayed until January 24. The announcement came amid the surge in Omicron cases in the province and the world at large. However, despite[Read More…]
‘Post a picture of your pet’: Imagining an online future for activism
Last month, many found their Instagram story feeds flooded with Plant a Tree Co.’s viral “Post a picture of your pet and we’ll plant a tree” sticker. The trend comes after the platform added the new “Add Yours” sticker feature, which allows users to attach their own pictures to a[Read More…]
Point-counterpoint: What should stay in the post-COVID-19 world?
Courtney Squires Caution should come first With restrictions being lifted and parts of the world returning to in-person routines, many are anxious to get back to their pre-pandemic normal. However, preventative measures like mask wearing and physical distancing have proven to have a multitude of non-pandemic related benefits. After the[Read More…]
Quebec’s hospital vaccine mandate deadline extensions highlight a crumbling health care system
Quebec recently extended its deadline for the mandatory vaccination of all health care workers until Nov. 15. Additionally, the province announced that all people over the age of 13 would need to show proof of vaccination or their vaccine passport before entering health care facilities for non-essential reasons, such as[Read More…]
McGill’s library vaccine mandate is indicative of its patchwork approach to COVID-19
On Sept. 17, McGill sent an email announcing that students will need to present their Quebec COVID-19 vaccine passport to enter any on-campus library—beginning in mid-October. The announcement came three weeks into the Fall semester, amidst demands from McGill students and faculty to implement stricter COVID-19 protections. The Students’ Society[Read More…]
McGill should prioritize protection over profits
Despite McGill’s numerous emails detailing their efforts to keep campus safe, the university is taking advantage of its international students. Although students and faculty alike have been anxiously awaiting the return to in-person classes, the return to Canada and Montreal has been fraught with obstacles for many international students. McGill’s[Read More…]
Point-counterpoint: To be synchronous or asynchronous
The McGill Tribune Opinion section staff writers debate the merits of the synchronous versus asynchronous learning styles adopted during the pandemic. Michael Dickinson: Synchronous COVID-19 has upended students’ university experiences, and without a normal routine, it is hard to stay motivated. Many students also feel socially isolated and miss the sense[Read More…]
The problem with the pornography industry
*Content warning: This article includes mentions of sexual violence and discrimination. A December 2020 New York Times article by Nicholas Kristof exposing Pornhub’s refusal to take down videos depicting rape and child abuse has sparked international outrage. Since then, credit card companies like MasterCard and Visa have cut ties with the[Read More…]
Student vignettes from a pandemic
Valentina de la Borbolla, Contributor Talk about the pandemic has been defined by words like “abnormal,” “unprecedented,” and “challenging.” Admittedly, these last months have been all of those things and more, but in the chaos, I have found a sense of normality that I had never-before experienced. Being alone with[Read More…]
Study Hubs fail to reconcile safety and accessibility
At first glance, McGill’s Study Hub initiative seemed like a good idea: Students would be able to access study spaces multiple times a week in three-hour slots. All spaces would be sanitized, and groups and food would be prohibited to guarantee everyone’s safety. The news gave me a sense of[Read More…]