Students walking through campus will once again pass Muslim students praying in stairwells and on fields as the ongoing dispute between McGill and the Muslim Student Association over providing a prayer space drags into its second year. The dispute began in May 2005 when the university declined to renew MSA’s lease on a prayer space in the basement of Peterson Hall.
News
News, off and on campus.
CITY: Pedestrians take over city’s downtown
If your back-to-school shopping included a new pair of sneakers, Friday, Sept. 22 is the day to put them to use. For the fourth straight year, the city of Montreal will be participating in International Car Free Day, known locally as “En Ville, Sans Ma Voiture!” or “In Town, Without My Car!” by transforming its downtown core into a pedestrian paradise.
CAMPUS: Recycling documentary to raise awareness
McGill alumni Jodie Martinson and Emmanuel Cappellin, both Arts 2006 graduates, worked over the summer to prepare a 30-minute documentary on the state of recycling at McGill that will premiere in the Lev Bukhman room this Thursday. The film also seeks to determine who is responsible for what they describe as McGill’s failures with respect to recycling and to propose long term solutions for individuals and for the administration.
EDUCATION: University of Toronto moves towards higher tuition fees, fewer undergrad spaces
On Thursday, members of the University of Toronto’s highest governing body voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting a long-term policy framework that is closely modeled on research-intensive universities in the United States. The policy document, entitled ‘”Towards 2030,” was first tabled by U of T President David Naylor.
CAMPUS: Controversy over travel directive continues
After working to send McGill student teachers to Indonesia for over a year, professor Fiona Benson was “gobsmacked” to learn that the university’s new travel directive would force the trip’s cancellation less than a month before departure. “I was given a green light to go to Indonesia by [Faculty of Education Dean Hélène Perrault] and by the administration,” said Benson, who is also the director of the Faculty of Education’s Office of Student Teaching.
CAMPUS: MUNACA still without contract
The McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association’s negotiation committee rejected McGill’s latest contract offer last week, informing the administration that they would not lower their salary demands. MUNACA, a union representing non-academic employees like nurses, librarians, and administrative assistants, wants a 13 per cent salary increase over four years.
MUHC and unani.ca launch patient self-management platform
Last Monday, the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and a medical-technology company launched unani.ca, an innovative new personal health record (PHR) system. The interface allows patients to store all of their medical information in one place, and its developers hope that it will contribute to a growing trend of patient self-management.
Motion moves SSMU towards vegan-friendly Shatner Building
Thanks to a motion passed last Thursday by the Students’ Society Council, McGill vegans may soon have more food options available to them in the Shatner Building. The motion, put forward by Emil Briones, the representative from the Faculty of Music requires SSMU to encourage its food service tenants to offer more vegan-friendly choices, though it does not mandate tenants to provide vegan options.
STM to launch new express bus service to Trudeau Airport
At the end of the month, the Montreal Transit Association (STM) will launch a new bus service providing direct transportation from downtown Montreal to Trudeau Airport. Service on the 747 Express bus starts on March 29. The bus will offer rides to and from the airport 24 hours a day, and will cost $7 each way.
Newburgh to face J-Board
Four weeks after the Students’ Society’s Winter General Assembly, the SSMU Judicial Board has accepted a submission from members of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights concerning the impartiality of Zach Newburgh, the current speaker of SSMU Council and next year’s SSMU president.
