When Prime Minister Stephen Harper left office in 2015, he left a legacy of politicizing the judiciary. Harper reformed the way judges are appointed to concentrate power in the federal government and pursue policy goals. Current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has used similar tactics for his own agenda. A PM[Read More…]
Commentary
First-Year Seminars aid new students’ transition into university
When I was finalizing my university decision, my biggest hesitation about attending McGill University was the sheer class size of core requirement courses for my then-major Economics. I had never had a class with more than 25 students throughout my elementary and secondary education, so I felt both overwhelmed and[Read More…]
Thinking before you speak in a digital age
The comment sections of online articles offer a variety of contributions, ranging from bigotry to thoughtful insights. Of course, the purpose of comment sections is to foster productive discussion on the article at hand, which, unfortunately, sometimes does not happen. Different publications are considering ways to referee discussions on their[Read More…]
Bad Blood: Changing the conversation around menstruation
“You'd think all women do is clean and bleed,” was the line that resonated with me as I read Gillian Flynn’s psychological thriller Gone Girl. Despite the fact that the shedding of the uterine lining is a natural, normal, and healthy process that half of the world’s population experiences, menstruation is[Read More…]
Lighten up, it’s just McGill
My time at McGill has been bittersweet. As someone who came to the university right after the 2012 Quebec student protests, dissatisfaction with the administration was at an all-time high. While most current undergraduates have either forgotten or not experienced that era of McGill, that undercurrent of dissatisfaction remains. Oddly,[Read More…]
Why McGill should extend its shuttle hours
Home to the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, which offers majors such as Bioresource Engineering, Nutrition, Environmental Biology, and Agronomy, the Macdonald Campus is a small slice of McGillian greenery on the waterfront of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. However idyllic this setting may seem, as a student at the Macdonald campus it[Read More…]
Campus Conversation: How can SSMU regain students’ trust?
Editor's note: This past semester has seen a seemingly unprecedented number of scandals stemming from the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU), and has left many McGill students feeling disillusioned and disengaged from with their representative body. In light of this, we asked members of the community, including incoming SSMU[Read More…]
In its Charter review, McGill should revise grading policies
On March 6, McGill announced that its Senate would be consulting students on how the McGill Charter of Students’ Rights should be revised. The Charter is a document that outlines the rights and freedoms that each student at McGill is guaranteed, including academic rights. This revision is an apt opportunity[Read More…]
The value of a Liberal Arts degree in a post-truth World
The liberal arts is often portrayed to be a set of dying disciplines, a collection of studies with a long pedigree, but no practical applications in today’s world. Their continued existence is perennially up for debate. According to Statistics Canada, enrollment in Liberal Arts majors decreased by almost 6 per[Read More…]
Good grades, good friends, good money: McGill’s work-life balance only lets you pick one
This winter semester, I have been on exchange at the University of Edinburgh. As a student at McGill, I was heading towards either a breakdown or a new level of being. Two part-time jobs, two extracurricular activities, a volunteering position, and a full-time course load had me sprinting from place[Read More…]
