Although four years and thousands of dollars was a steep price, I do give McGill credit for teaching me one extremely important lesson: the most relevant, edifying learning is accomplished outside the classroom.

At first I thought that university would be training. Training to become a political analyst or a Byron scholar or a future professor. Training to one day make a contribution of my own to the intellectual community.

I became none of those. Instead, I learned to be a musician, a drinking buddy, a haunter of used bookstores, a decent boyfriend, at times an indecent boyfriend, a roommate, a reluctant Facebook user, and a lover of the night. Above all, however, I became a writer.

Writing – journalism in particular – gets into your blood. Gradually, it becomes a defining, intrinsic characteristic of your being, as involuntary as hemoglobin carrying oxygen to your tissues. From my four-year tenure as contributor, editor, and columnist, one Tribune experience stands out as a firm testament to the unyielding passion of student journalists.

I arrived at Dawson College on September 13, 2006, a few minutes after Kimveer Gill opened fire in a cafeteria full of students. The building was still being emptied and dozens of students were running franticly into the streets, many of them still shaken from having seen friends and classmates dropping terrified or bloodied to the cafeteria floor. When Mayor Gerald Tremblay arrived to make a statement, a group of students who had recently been evacuated set down their water bottles and, with swiftness and incomprehensible zeal, pulled out pen and pad to pull quotations from his speech. They all wrote for The Plant, Dawson’s student-run newspaper.

The McGill Tribune’s livelihood and existence is (once again) threatened. You, the students, will cast the deciding vote as to whether this publication will live on with your funding and support, or be reduced to memories and some back issues stockpiled in my room.

As a journalist, it would be unethical for me to describe my bias in this affair as less than absolute. The Tribune was a professor of mine. Under its tutelage, I learned to work, argue, and come to compromise with people whose opinions were radically different from mine. I learned to take it in stride when letter-writers, SSMU councillors, and other assorted reactionaries decried me as a racist and a misogynist. I learned that something as common as ink and paper can make you feel invincible. I learned that truth is integrity, and integrity is truth.

These are lessons that other 19-year-olds want and need to learn. They can be learned by participating in, or sometimes merely by turning to, the opinion section. And, most importantly, these are lessons that belong to all of you.

I am immutably, inexorably blissful that I became a mediocre student and a damn good writer. If I had to do it again, I would do it the same.

You can vote online at ovs.ssmu.mcgill.ca until March 11. Ben Lemieux is a McGill alumnus, a former Tribune arts and entertainment editor, and a former Tribune columnist.

Let’s talk about accountability. I realize that sounds about as enticing as “let’s shovel horse manure” or “let’s talk about our relationship,” but bear with me.

Right now, a student politician is wasting your money. Or maybe – if it’s a good day – they’re just saying something stupid on your behalf. Either way, it’s bad news for you.

Sometimes the problem is corruption: last February, an AUS executive “misappropriated” a $2,000 gift certificate and threw herself a party in a hotel suite. Other times, the issue is incompetence: last March, the Students’ Society spent more than $400 on a lobbying trip during which they didn’t meet with a single government representative. (Instead, they spent most of their time with Québec Solidaire’s Amir Khadir – which is the Quebec equivalent of lobbying Ralph Nader.) Perhaps the best-known McGill sinkhole is Haven Books, which SSMU bought against the advice of its auditors and will cost students about $250,000 by the time it closes in April.

I could cite more examples – Science Frosh’s $20,000 budget shortfall a few years ago springs to mind – but anybody who hasn’t gotten my point by now is either illiterate or a cultural studies major. (Zing!)

Then again, maybe you don’t care about these scandals. Maybe you’re similarly tired of hearing about pro-death clubs, Icelandic Apartheid Week, or whatever issue is enraging McGill students these days. Maybe you think campus politics are a load of crock.

Fair enough. Just remember that you’re bankrolling student politicians’ shenanigans. The typical Arts student, for example, will pay roughly $380 in fees to SSMU and the AUS over the course of a four-year degree (plus roughly $425 more in opt-outable fees like the Ambassador Fund or the Arts Improvement Fund). Given how much of your money is at stake, paying $3 per semester for a campus watchdog – namely, the Tribune – is a bargain.

And this newspaper really is McGill’s watchdog. Its reporting team may not be Woodward and Bernstein, but most scandals at McGill are uncovered or publicized by the Tribune. That’s not a dig at the competition – I used to write for the Daily and it’s a fine newspaper. However, it’s Tribune reporters who have usually raked the campus muck.

Student politicians sometimes rival the Nixon administration in terms of cover-ups. The aforementioned hotel party is an excellent example: to keep the scandal out of the campus press, AUS Council issued a gag order for its own members. SSMU acted similarly in 2008, when it forced an executive to keep quiet about his own resignation. Although the Tribune still broke both of these stories, they don’t say much for the level of transparency in student government.

I realize that not all student politicians are crooks and liars. But some of them undoubtedly are, and campus newspapers are the only thing holding their feet to the fire. As a SSMU executive recently told me, “If the Trib doesn’t write about something, it’s as if it never happened.”

Unlike other Tribune alumni, I’m not going to wax nostalgic. Being a student journalist drove up my blood pressure, deprived me of sleep, and taught me to describe two cigarettes and a cup of coffee as “lunch.” It was like being a runway model, only with fewer long-term career prospects.

However, if the current independence referendum fails, there won’t be a McGill Tribune. That may be good news for crooked student politicians and the dietary habits of Tribune editors, but it’s bad news for your wallet and your campus. So this election season, be a cynical, self-interested cheapskate – save the Tribune.

You can vote online at ovs.ssmu.mcgill.ca until March 11. Bernard Rudny is a McGill alumnus, a former Daily columnist, and a former Tribune opinion editor.

If you spend a lot of time complaining about McGill for its lack of or poorly run programs and student life, you would be a hypocrite to not vote YES for the Tribune’s independence.

Okay, hypocrite’s a bit strong. But the point is, I spent a lot of time complaining about just that over my time at McGill. And the Tribune offered me the university ‘program’ I wanted. It was also a social hub for me; what’s more, especially during my tenure as A&E editor, I heard countless times about how an event we announced got people out to a McGill theatre show or other event. Now, after 29 years of service (it’s been in print a whopping 17 years longer than the National Post), I hear the Tribune will most likely not be able to offer the quality and variety of reporting that students have come to expect if their referendum vote fails. I can’t vote anymore, which is why I urge everyone that can to do so. Even if you can’t feel the direct benefits now, I promise the lack of the paper would be strongly felt. No one wants a monopolized campus press, which is what the reduction or destruction of the Tribune would amount to.

Why else should you vote? I could pass on some of the many thank-yous and words of praise I’ve heard from readers and friends, or how articles I myself read helped me. But my relationship first and foremost with the Tribune was as an editor for three years, not just as a reader. So what I can offer is this: the Tribune was the most useful learning experience I had at McGill. McGill lacks a journalism program, and this is, in essence, it. I’m an employed editor now. I wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for the Tribune.

Isn’t that what a service to students is all about? I had fun times and what I learned was essential. Why think twice before supporting that opportunity for yourself or future students? We have more than one theatre group and more than one sports team on campus; everyone needs options to find their niche. For readers, the Tribune will even become more directly accountable to you if it’s independent. Think about how much you pay for sports programs, whether or not you participate. Or for any SSMU or departmental group. The McGill Tribune is a service you’ve always paid for. So now, give yourself a voice: take the initiative to directly support the Tribune. It’ll cost you the equivalent of a Tiki Ming General Tao or Tim Horton’s sandwich combo per year!

In the last two years the SSMU vice-president external has played a less visible role in student life. But next year, because of the provincial government’s proposed tuition hikes, the external portfolio will likely take centre stage. Fortunately, there’s one candidate with the experience to tackle this complicated issue – Myriam Zaidi, who the Tribune strongly endorses for the position of SSMU VP external.

Zaidi is the most qualified VP external candidate. She has extensive experience in the portfolio, having sat on SSMU’s external affairs committee for the last two years and having served as an arts representative to SSMU Council since November. She is also a former CEGEP student union president.

Zaidi’s competition for the external position is weak. Eric Jinsan, currently the Freshman Undergraduate Science Society president, centered his campaign on the promise to institute a student-subsidized undergraduate transit pass – which should be far down the list of priorities for next year’s VP external. Likewise, Tedi Angoni displayed poor knowledge of the external portfolio in an interview with the Tribune – likely a function of his lack of experience with the Society.

Zaidi, however, campaigned on relevant issues. She promised to combat next year’s proposed tuition increases – saying, during the election debates, that it was an “insult” that students haven’t been consulted on the proposed hikes. Her experience with the last two VP externals, and firm grasp of the minutia of federal and provincial politics, will allow her to start combating tuition hikes the moment she takes office.

Zaidi also pledged to increase the visibility of the Table de Concertation Étudiante du Québec (TaCEQ) – the student lobbying organization co-founded by SSMU – both on- and off-campus. She sharply criticized bloated student lobbying groups, including la FEUQ and ASSÉ, which scored major points with the Tribune editorial board.

Increasing TaCEQ’s visibility will be a challenge, however. Current VP External Sebastian Ronderos-Morgan has helped lay the groundwork for the organization, but there’s a long way to go to make TaCEQ an effective lobby group. Zaidi wants to pick up where Ronderos-Morgan left off, and the Tribune encourages her to do so.

In the candidate debates and on the campaign trail, Zaidi displayed a firm grasp of the portfolio. What’s more, she proposed tangible solutions to specific problems. She is bilingual, courteous, affable, and approachable. Besides that, she understands the ins and outs of student politics. Though increasing TaCEQ’s visibility will be tough, and the provincial government seems dead-set on increasing tuition, the Tribune is certain Zaidi will rise to the occasion. We wish her the best of luck.

Tom Fabian has both experience and connections, which is why the Tribune is endorsing him for the position of vice-president internal – with some reservations.

Fabian has extensive experience with Athletics. He’s been the president of the Varsity Council, represented athletics at SSMU Council, and created the surprisingly successful group Red Thunder, which organizes fan support for McGill games. While he will need to expand beyond Athletics as VP internal, maintaining a strong focus on sports is something that could be beneficial. At the debates, Fabian displayed a willingness to entertain issues beyond athletics and varsity council, and as long as he reaches out to other groups across campus, he will be a competent VP internal.

Fabian’s participation at Council, however, has been poor. While he has strong experience with events and organization, he will need to grow into the political aspects of the role.

And Marta Gruntmane? She planned her prom.

Gruntmane claims to be running for VP internal because she “loves McGill” – but unfortunately, that’s not enough to qualify her for the position. She has limited experience with university-level leadership, both in general, and with SSMU in particular – her history as a Douglas Hall house representative and with high-school-level organizations are underwhelming for a VP internal candidate.

Her interest in a sustainable Frosh and increased SSMU executive visibility seems well intentioned but uninformed, as some of her goals have already been implemented and many others are non-specific. Fabian also expressed interest in a sustainable Frosh, and has some small-scale experience with starting the “slam dunk your junk” initiative for recycling bins after athletics events.

Both candidates also have welcome ideas about Gert’s: Gruntmane would like to see something similar to Week 101 in the Fall, while Fabian likes the remodeling ideas and would like to see more athletics-centered Gert’s events.

The Tribune has concerns over both candidates’ familiarity with the portfolio beyond event planning. Neither seems to understand, for example, the level of involvement of SSMU execs at Frosh – from the planning to the twenty-hour workdays during Frosh week. Nor do they acknowledge much beyond party planning – the position is VP internal, not VP events.

Additionally, a large part of this position is communication, negotiation, and dealing with complaints. We have reservations about both candidates’ ability to do this, since neither is particularly articulate, but feel that Fabian is more likely to succeed in this aspect of the role.