From uncovering the genes that cause birth defects to serving as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Black Scientists Network, Professor Loydie Jerome-Majewska has been a catalyst for change across fields. She serves as a professor in McGill’s Department of Pediatrics and senior scientist at the Research[Read More…]
Author: Amy Gelfand
Single? Here’s how to make the most of Valentine’s Day
For some, Feb. 14 marks a time to celebrate Cupid and his eternal casting of divine arrows into the souls of kindred lovers for time immemorial. For others, it’s a corporate-manufactured holiday fabricated solely to sell greeting cards and pompous kitsch. Yet, even subscribing to the latter set of beliefs[Read More…]
An ode to emails and the archival nature of the inbox
I have often felt as though the diction and formalities of texting culture—or lack thereof—should emulate that of email correspondence. Emails preserve a level of linguistic intentionality that contemporary messaging platforms have largely flattened. My affinity for emails began rather early. At the age of nine or ten, my school[Read More…]
Montreal upholds its colonial legacy by failing to prioritize reconciliation
On Nov. 18, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada announced the composition of her new 14-member executive committee, with roles ranging from security and housing to green economic development. While Ferrada’s committee included a plethora of portfolios, it omitted a committee member explicitly responsible for reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples—a role that[Read More…]
Meet the co-chair of McGill’s Black Varsity Association
When Ashleigh Brown, U4 Arts, first arrived at McGill, she had barely dreamed of being a varsity athlete, let alone running a campus-wide organization of athletes. Now, as one of the current Track and Field team captains, she juggles the responsibilities of student-athlete life with those of the Black Varsity[Read More…]
In exercising institutional restraint, McGill protects only itself
This past November, McGill’s Advisory Panel on Campus Expression (APCE) delivered a report on the state of academic freedom and expression at the university. The report recommended that McGill exercise “institutional restraint” and refrain from responding publicly to controversial geopolitical issues in order to preserve academic freedom. This policy encourages[Read More…]
Cecil Foster challenges Canada’s founding narrative in MISC lecture
On Feb. 2, the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) hosted a lecture titled “Determining new international and domestic orders: Reflections on modern Canada’s endurance and more so resilience as Black and West Indian.” The lecture was given by Cecil Foster, a professor at the Department of Africana[Read More…]
‘Oscar Peterson’: A heart that yearns for liberty
On a warm summer day in August 1925, Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, one of Canada’s most respected jazz artists, was born. Growing up in the working-class, predominantly Black neighbourhood of Little Burgundy in Montreal, Peterson developed his musical skills alongside his four siblings and with the support of his loving parents.[Read More…]
Professor Annie Bunting explores gender-based violence in Africa
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Annie Bunting, professor of Law and Society at York University, hosted a discussion at the McGill Faculty of Law’s Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism (CHRLP) entitled “Knowledge production and gender justice in post-conflict Africa” at New Chancellor Day Hall. Bunting opened the presentation with[Read More…]
Conflicting feelings of fandom
Never Google the owner of your favourite sports team. It almost never yields results that make you feel good about spending your money on tickets and merchandise, and often leaves you feeling put off altogether. Five National Football League (NFL) owners have been named in the latest Jeffrey Epstein file[Read More…]
