Opinion

Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.

The Extremism Cycle

On his blog for the New Republic, the neo-liberal magazine he owns and edits, Marty Peretz recently wrote of American Muslims: “I wonder whether I need honour these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse.” This shocking and seemingly racist line, which he later apologized for, is an example of how the always-difficult debate on the role of Islam in American culture has recently become even more difficult, and more uncomfortable.

Hiring tenure-track professors the way to go

The Tribune commends McGill’s commitment to increasing its number of tenure-track staff as part of its academic renewal program. It is a welcome shift from a North American trend of reducing tenure-track professors in favour of course lecturers hired on short-term contracts. Confusion in the campus press, stemming in part from the ambiguous and non-committal language of the McGill budget, had led many to believe that McGill was also reducing its tenure-track hires for the foreseeable future. However, so far as we can tell from the budget, and through clarification by campus administrators, this is not the case.

McGill once too many

I despise the “McGill Once, McGill Twice” cheer. The words are as follows:

McGill once, McGill twice, holy fucking Jesus Christ. Wham, bam, God damn, son of a bitch, shit! Three cheers for McGill: Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Three cheers for fucking: McGill! McGill! McGill!

A Letter of Apology to the Ottawa Emergency Services

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to take my family’s newly purchased boat out on the Ottawa River for a romantic sunset cruise. We had wine and a small snack, and I must admit, I thought I might even get a little lucky that night. Instead, we spent at least two extra hours stuck in the middle of the river with a dead engine, at which point I decided to call the Ottawa Emergency Services.

Toronto Loudmouth Needs to Walk the Walk

Dion Phaneuf is a loud guy. You can have endless debates about his abilities, about his paycheque, or about his girlfriend (notorious puck bunny Elisha Cuthbert), but there’s no debating his mouth. And while his brashness may have excited the Toronto Maple Leafs enough for them to name him captain, it has also gotten him into a lot of trouble. I am almost certain that a statement he made last week in particular will come back to haunt him: “It’s definitely a playoff team. Our goal going into the start of this year is to make the playoffs,” he said. “Anything short of that is unacceptable.”

Inaction We Cannot Afford

In 2004, Guardian columnist George Monbiot wrote, “The only higher purpose we could possibly possess is to seek to relieve suffering: our own and that of other people and other animals.” The last six years have not diminished the truth of his statement. If anything, our hurtling towards mass extinction[Read More…]

The Vehicle of Free Speech

In 1987, a photograph by Andres Serrano earned $15,000 and the prestigious Award in Visual Arts from the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Arts. This photo also happened to set in motion a cascade of outcries, because it depicted Jesus Christ on a crucifix, submerged in a glass of the artist’s[Read More…]

Equity and Social Justice on Campus

Emily Clare Lynsey Grosfield As the Students’ Society of McGill University’s Equity Commissioner, I will undertake multiple roles this year in order to fulfill my mandate as a resource person for students on their rights and responsibilities under SSMU’s equity policy. This document aims to “create a safe, discrimination-free environment.”[Read More…]

Raising Quebec tuition: the least bad option

Last week, McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Blum travelled to Quebec City to report to the provincial government on the ups and downs the university has faced in the past three years. In her speech, Munroe-Blum repeated many of the standard talking points: she touted the university’s research, emphasized McGill’s international stature,[Read More…]

Precious, Text-Free Moments

“Hey whats up”

I read those three simple words beaming at me from the screen of my LG Rumour. Punctuation-free, of course, these are some of the most used words in the texting world. Simple, friendly, and in dire need of a response.

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