Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Nov. 6 Fall General Meeting
PGSS’s Fall General Meeting included key discussion points such as an update from the Quebec Student Union (QSU), a motion to share an Expression of Concern (EoC) on Palestine, and concerns from a Macdonald Campus student about parking and childcare services.
After Speaker Vibhuti Dikshit opened the meeting, Vice-President of the QSU Tania Michaud provided updates on the union’s campaigns to address food insecurity, student mental health, and financial aid. The QSU is an association that represents its member associations, such as PGSS, to the provincial government for improvements in student conditions. Michaud emphasized the need for more funding through the Quebec Research Fund. She also encouraged students to fill out the Quebec Provincial Survey on Student Mental Health in Higher Education and its Determinants.
Most of the meeting’s discussion centred around Motion 7.1: “Motion for the PGSS to share the recent Expression of Concern submitted by the McGill community.” This EoC, submitted by the McGill Graduate Students for Palestine, urges McGill to divest from companies complicit in Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Andrew Carkner, a PhD candidate in chemical engineering, introduced the motion, stressing that divestment has been an effective tool for social change at McGill, citing South African apartheid as a historical precedent. Following a petition that gathered over 600 signatures, the EoC was submitted to McGill’s Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility for review. Through Motion 7.1, Carkner argued that PGSS members ought to know the content of this EoC.
During the discussion, Jonathan Hubermann and Eleane Hamburger, two Master’s students in experimental surgery, expressed concerns about the clarity and consistency of the motion. They argued that the document was vague in its terms, lacked proofs and definitions, and had spelling mistakes. The two advocated for the vote to be delayed to the next meeting so that people would have time to reexamine the motion.
Nick Vieira, a PhD candidate in astrophysics, proposed amendments to the motion for it to reflect what he alleged should have been the version on the agenda. This included having “Palestine” in the motion’s title. He also raised concerns that PGSS had altered the language to “share the context” rather than directly distributing the EoC, which he viewed as diluting the motion’s intent. Eventually, the assembly voted to approve the amended motion put forth by Vieira, with 73 in favour and 10 against.
The meeting concluded with Macdonald Campus graduate student in Food Science Ekua Manful raising concerns about parking availability for students with dependents and the lack of childcare services on the satellite campus. PGSS executives said they would work with the Macdonald Campus Graduate Students’ Society to address these issues and invited Manful to contact the PGSS External Affairs Officer and Mac Campus Commissioner.
Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Nov. 7 Legislative Council meeting
The council’s fourth meeting of the semester began with reports presented by committees, executives, and councillors. Vice President (VP) Operations and Sustainability Meg Baltes announced her resignation, effective at the end of the semester. She noted that bi-elections for hers and the position of VP Student Life—vacant since Chloé Muñoz’s resignation on Oct. 29—are open.
The council moved on to debate four motions; the first was the Motion Regarding the SSMU Policy Against Antisemitism, presented by VP External Affairs Hugo-Victor Solomon. The motion aims to provide specific cultural, ethnic, and religiously sensitive measures to combat antisemitism for students. It also seeks to improve advocacy, communication, education, and trust between the SSMU, the McGill administration, and Jewish student groups. Solomon explained that consultation for the policy involved many actors including various Jewish student groups on campus. During the Q&A period of the meeting, he explained that he did not consult Israel on Campus (IOC) as the group had been deemed inactive by Muñoz per the SSMU’s Internal Regulations of Student Groups. Further, he explained that student groups involved in the consultations were strictly those who self identify as Jewish student organizations.
Later on in the Q&A session, several council members expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed definition of antisemitism in the motion. It defined antisemitism as the discrimination against Jewish people or Jewish institutions, as well as conditions that marginalize Jews, hindering their ability to participate as equals in political, religious, cultural, economic, or social life.
Multiple executives disagreed that the definition was unsatisfactory. VP Internal Affairs Zeena Zahidah expressed that the policy was broad in order to encapsulate various Jewish student experiences and to provide swift action against antisemitism.
In response, Music Senator Seraphina Crema Black put forth a motion to create a working group to amend the proposed policy which would include SSMU External Affairs and representatives from all interested McGill Jewish student groups. Her proposal sparked intense debates, with some believing the working group was necessary to come to a consensus while others saw it as a measure to shut down the conversation and leave the council without a working policy to address antisemitism. Some councillors pointed out that since no concrete amendments had been proposed, the motion should be passed. Ultimately, the council tabled the motion until the next meeting, cancelling Black’s motion.
The council then moved on to the Motion Concernant la Politique des Affaires Francophones de l’AÉUM introduced by Solomon. The motion aims to promote the growth and endurance of the Francophone Affairs Committee (CAF). It also strives to provide funding to help cover the salary of the Commission des affaires francophones and part-time translators, and enhance accessibility to services for francophone students. Arts Councillor Rishi Kalaga asked to postpone the motion, saying he couldn’t understand it because it was in French, despite receiving it two weeks earlier. During the debate, some councillors expressed frustration that others had not taken the time to read the policy in advance of the meeting. Ultimately, the motion was approved.
Council also approved a motion on the Legislative Council Statement on Campus Emergency Measures 2024-2025, presented by VP University Affairs Abe Berglas. Additionally, Baltes introduced a motion to allow the VP Operations and Sustainability and President to fulfill the VP Student Life’s responsibility of leading the club committee until someone assumes the role. The motion passed unanimously.
McGill Senate and Board of Governors (BoG) Nov. 7 joint meeting
The Senate and BoG came together in the Faculty Club for the annual joint meeting of the governing bodies. The group focused on financial challenges the university faces arising from a number of pressures from the provincial government, including the tuition increases for out-of-province students, efforts to impose a cap on international students through Bill 74, and limits on funding for university capital projects.
McGill President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini noted in his opening remarks that there is a perception that measures to adapt to these financial pressures are the responsibility of the senior administration team alone.
“We need to shed that fallacy,” Saini said. “It’s our collective responsibility.”
Addressing members of the Senate and BoG, Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Planning) Christopher Buddle explored ways that the university could cut costs by reviewing the academic programs it offers. While some study areas are growing in enrollment—such as bioengineering and psychology—others are decreasing. Buddle drew attention to the fact that McGill currently offers roughly 415 degree programs, yet in Fall 2023, 73 programs had no students enrolled in them. He did not specify which programs. As Buddle emphasized, changing the university’s offering of programs would not necessarily mean slashing them. It could, however, mean retiring, restructuring, and even developing new programs.
In his presentation, Vice-President (Administration and Finance) Fabrice Labeau discussed how the university can begin to “transform” its delivery of services. Labeau stressed the need to increase efficiencies, such as through eliminating red tape—bureaucratic formalities that waste time—and to ensure that all members of the university community are working together to integrate changes. He also pointed to the imperative in increasing space efficiency on campus, especially since more McGill staff have begun to work from home since the pandemic.
Then, Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) Christopher Manfredi gave a presentation on how McGill hopes to change its budget model to respond to financial challenges. Manfredi explained that McGill has an incremental budgetary model wherein all revenue flows to the Provost, who distributes the funds to different units. This stands in contrast to the Responsibility Centre Management or Activity-Based Budgeting models, wherein each unit controls its own budget and revenue. According to Manfredi, McGill will seek to move to a hybrid model, which may help incentivize faculties to develop new programs to attract more students and revenue.
Following presentations from various members of the senior administration, there was a discussion period in which Senators and BoG members brought questions and concerns to the administrative team.
In his closing remarks, Saini highlighted the need to engage all members of the McGill community in addressing the university’s financial situation, including students. He also addressed the “trust deficit” between faculty and administration at the university and acknowledged the need for the latter “to restore it.”
A previous version of this article stated that SSMU did not consult Israel on Campus (IOC) in its drafting of the SSMU Policy Against Antisemitism because of its previous inactivity. In fact, consultation did not occur because IOC had already been deemed inactive by former VP Student Life Chloé Muñoz before she left her role per the SSMU’s Internal Regulations of Student Groups. Further, IOC was not consulted because they are not a self-identified Jewish group. The Tribune regrets this error.
