A consensus has emerged: Plastic straws are bad. But the reasons why these flimsy cylinders of plastic are suddenly (not) at the tip of everyone’s tongues may not stand up to scrutiny. It’s comforting to see that McGill’s favourite neighbourhood spots are distancing themselves from the recently tabooed straw, but[Read More…]
Commentary
Quebec’s quest for monolingual domination makes healthcare less accessible
This past summer, I decided to stay in Montreal instead of returning home to the States. In June, I walked around the McGill Ghetto and the Plateau, delivering my CV and asking for interviews. Working in the service industry means that you work with people, so, without fail, each time[Read More…]
Free higher education is not a “misguided notion,” but offers a ray of hope to future students
As of May 2018, Canadian students collectively owe $28 billion in student loan debt. Quebec’s protest culture has helped keep tuition rates low in the province—some of the lowest in Canada, second only to Newfoundland and Labrador. Still, many Quebec students face thousands of dollars of debt upon graduation. In[Read More…]
Getting a seat: The struggle of course registration at McGill
For McGill students, getting into a crowded course often takes more ambition and artistry than the class itself. Securing a spot might require skipping one class to head to another professor’s office hours, refreshing Minerva every two minutes, or carving hours out of a busy schedule to sit in line[Read More…]
The optics of gun violence in Canada
Living in Canada, I’ve never thought of guns as a particularly divisive issue. As far back as I can remember having an opinion, my politics on the subject have mostly aligned with those of most of my country’s citizens, and I’ve always been thankful for this. But lately, I’ve been[Read More…]
Piecing together my McGill puzzle
Growing up, university was the light at the end of my tunnel. My family, friends, and teachers always pushed the idea that at university, I would find a place for myself where I would fit in perfectly—that I was a unique jigsaw piece yet to find the rest of its[Read More…]
Campus Conversation: First year residence—a house or a home?
Editor’s note: For many McGill students, the first campus community that they encounter is in residence. The McGill Tribune Opinion section asked contributors to draw on their personal experiences living in residence (or not), to answer the question, “Do McGill residences facilitate community-building, and if so, how?” Bryan Buraga | Lucas Bird | Kyle[Read More…]
Lonely campus
I’m a first-year McGill student, and I’m lonely. I did all the right things. I lived in residence. I participated in Arts Frosh. I joined a few clubs. But nothing seemed to work. None of my relationships could bridge the canyon-sized gap between acquaintance and friend. Everyone else, it appeared,[Read More…]
Am I (too) #EmotionallyUnavailable?
Living in the small Middle Eastern country of Kuwait for my entire life, teenagers often romanticized the easy-going university hook-up culture that we watched in Western movies and Netflix rom-coms. Much like many other first-year students, when I came to university I was thrilled to be away from a place[Read More…]
Beyond arts versus STEM: Why the interdisciplinary approach could revolutionize higher education
The idea that arts degrees are useless has become a cultural joke. Every holiday, my friends and I repeat the same conversation, poking fun at the fact that our relatives are definitely going to ask us about our studies, followed by the inevitable question: “What happens after graduation?” Yet, this[Read More…]