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Letters to the Editor, Opinion

Open Letter: How can I show you I’m doing better if there’s nothing good for me to do?

by Student at the Cowansville penitentiary on

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Introduction

The Tribune‘s special issue for the Winter 2026 semester was centred around the theme of ‘memory,’ with our writers, staff, editors, and creative team discussing the role of institutional, collective, and personal memory in society, politics, educational institutions, and more. In the special issue’s Features section, Opinion Section Editor Ellen Lurie examined the impact of Correctional Service Canada (CSC)’s cuts to Collèges d’enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) educational programming in federal prisons in Quebec. The cuts will be active as of June 30, 2026, upon which the two federal penitentiaries in which these courses are offered—the Cowansville men’s and Joliette women’s institutions—will no longer offer the program in its current form. As CSC contemplates a cost-neutral alternative to CEGEP education in Quebec prisons, including the potential for online prison education, students and constituents alike must consider the coherence of this funding decision in the context of the carceral system’s aims of rehabilitation, reintegration, and supporting the psychological and social wellbeing of incarcerated individuals.

An individual currently imprisoned in the Cowansville facility wrote an open letter to CSC, in which he detailed the impact of CEGEP education on his personal experiences within the penitentiary. This letter was shared with The Tribune. Read it here:

How can I show you I’m doing better if there’s nothing good for me to do?

To whom it may concern, on the subject of the CEGEP program in Cowansville penitentiary,

I am writing an open letter to express the importance CEGEP has had in my incarceration in helping me better myself. I will share a bit about myself and relevant parts of my institutional life, and how CEGEP has helped me with my associations in the institute and building good habits, which is important for someone like me with substance abuse issues. I think that there are negative impacts to closing the CEGEP that those who do not spend their time within the same walls as us might not have a perspective on. I also do not think the action to defund the CEGEP is one that coincides with CSC’s mission statements. I think it might even be damaging to the Parole Board’s effectiveness in judging us.

I’ll start with a bit about myself. My name is Theodore and I’m an inmate given 7.5 years for involuntary manslaughter, auto-thefts and trafficking, and a long-time heavy drug user. I came from a decent home and finished my high school before my heavy drug use started. I had a very hard time picturing my life turning into something “pro social”; a life that has financial autonomy, one in which I participate in the community around me. That is very difficult as a heavy drug user, hard to hold a job, your priority for money is elsewhere. No, I tried multiple times—once right after high school and later in my adult life—to go to school, to a DEP [Diplôme d’études professionnelles], or at least some training program, but I failed a lot of these opportunities. Anything long-term seemed unachievable for various reasons.

When I signed up for the CEGEP program, I was motivated to try to structure my time better. I had just finished the institutionally-mandated program, so I had a lot of free time and nothing to do. I, like most people, spend this time locked in my cell watching TV. It’s a significant portion of the day. The only social groups that can be found are those formed around what we do in the blocks; therefore, very limited. Keeping to myself and sporadically conversing with inmates is really the limit to my life in the blocks. Apart from cooking, there are very few productive activities. I struggle to find activities that would meet my need to socialize, and are not counter-productive to my Correctional Plan. Prison is isolating by nature, and sometimes I struggle to fit in. I now understand that, in the past, when I used to consume drugs on the outside, on some level I was really looking for a social group to fit and feel safe in. I would consume with my group and I would pass my days jumping between that and cooking. That wasn’t really bringing me any closer to the life I desired.

After 10 years of drug use, I have very few good habits left. Think about it, that means that while others potentially had 10 years enforcing and perfecting their good habits—which may help them succeed in life—I was mastering how to get and use drugs. When I got to this institution I was in psychological distress, my hygiene was bad, my sleep was terrible. However, I knew at the bare minimum I had to get up every morning, because success in life is mastered in steps. Once I was up, I then had a chance to think about what to do with all the time before me, and what the next steps in my life should be.

I signed up for CEGEP and I was reluctant at first, honestly. I had an aversion at this point for these things, maybe a mix of low self-esteem from not completing any programs led me to this “Why try?” attitude. But I told myself, “I’m in jail, there’s no pressure for success”. On top of that fact, my carceral plan says to participate in adult education activities. Ultimately, I got convinced by the Director herself going around; after speaking to her and really liking the friendly, positive vibe I said, “Why not?”.

I spent the next 8 months going to school and sticking to the schedule, which helped me distance myself from people around me that did nothing productive in their free time. I went to school every day that I could, I would never miss a day because I didn’t feel like it, to slack off or when pressured to by those who wanted to rope me into “counter culture” activities—this is a real part of jail life, the social pressure to participate. Other than organizing meals, my classmates are the only other ones that I had regular contact with. It started off with homework with some, but with others it grew to actually checking up on one another, cooking and watching movies and spending more time together, etc. The CEGEP program had helped me find an in-group that was positive.

I developed habits like reading every day—that was hard to get started with at first, but going regularly to class helped me develop a good rhythm in my day to achieve this. Thanks to this habit, I completed my mail-in electricians’ course, and I have to credit my success to the habits and rhythm CEGEP had to offer me. These had profound effects in my life… it improved my mental health; it helped a lot with my confidence. Things I’ve had a lot of trouble with in my adolescence, like completing homework, tests and studying for exams, I was surprised to see that I was improving, and doing well with too. It gave me more drive for my electricians’ course, and seeing myself push through it gave me the frame of mind to picture my success in my life outside. To know that I can break down the obstacles, and know that the pieces I break them into are achievable, is big. I have no practice in keeping to a schedule or doing things on time. I have more experience failing these moments. My biggest anxiety was having to enrol in a DEP, making it all the way there just to fail. Big enough to cause an aversion, but I don’t feel that anymore. I’m confident that on my release I can stick to the plan I made for myself because I saw myself stick to this.

The habits I learned will place me on the right track and I don’t know where else I could have practised these habits. I had teachers that engaged me and peers that were on the same wavelength as me and would spend time talking about sociology, psychology and whatever else we took together. Just the breaking of the isolation of prison, the in-group that it created for me and the perspectives that it offered all come together to bring me here in my moment; I have the clarity of mind to think things through, I have a plan for my life, I know what to do to get to it and I have the confidence and the basic skills for success to do so.

——————————————————————

From my perspective, I think that removing CEGEP would remove an opportunity for people to have consistent, organized, supervised and productive activities that actually last in the institution. Inmates lack the opportunities to find supervised activities and there are not enough jobs to accommodate everyone. CEGEP provided a significant amount (44) of openings for inmates to have something to do. As I experienced myself, positive habit forming is an important part of reintegrating, as most offenders lack some basic skill or another needed to navigate obstacles in society (and instead subsequently turn to criminal behaviour). CEGEP plays an invaluable role in this: not only can you practice these skills, but the specific environment created by CEGEP operating in the penitentiary creates a transitional environment for offenders to “rehearse” living pro-socially. This includes skills, but also social situations: navigating teacher relationships, submitting to the curriculum and navigating interactions with peers, like group projects and meeting deadlines. All of these present social situations that, as inmates, we might have not had the opportunity to experience. Some of us had maybe even had reacted anti-socially to these in the past, forming negative associations.

This is especially important and relevant to those who are lifers and have come in at a younger age. These rehearsals help people who lack these experiences to form positive associations and provide this in a way that we are receptive to receiving. These rehearsals are committed to by us voluntarily. I will note that the [institutional program] uses role-play very often to try to drive their points across and make sure we know to apply the skills we are being taught. These rehearsals are even good, I imagine, for inmates suffering from mental health issues for the same reason: they can make it across these experiences and draw positive associations from them. The class size permits discussions and accommodates the group, and the frequency of class (once a week) won’t overwhelm an inmate, making it completable and thusly providing the positive association.

An observable problem, I think, is that there is a lack of activities in general. DEP programs, other than welding attestation, seem to be roaming and not permanent. The welding attestation program offered here is 6-8 months and, once a group of 15 people is selected, they are locked in for the duration of the program. There is already a wait when you get to the institution to get into a program, especially if you’re English, and only after this 3-6 month program can you even be eligible to get on a waitlist. All of these things come together in making the DEP program inaccessible to inmates who have less than six years to do. We should be able to transition into these programs more accessibly. Instead, you are removing them.

How do you disengage with your bad associates? You change your environment. We have to have environments to transition into, and for all the benefits that it brings I do not think CEGEP’s bill of ~1,130$1 per student per semester is an unreasonable bill to pay. It’s part of CSC’s

I understand that we have to account for how money is spent in programs so I can understand wanting to keep track of how many students graduated, which is an easy benchmark to account with. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple to judge a program’s success. I wouldn’t consider the point of CEGEP to get a diploma, but to offer skill-building, socialization opportunities and a pathway to integration that will help each and every offender reintegrate. Not to mention that the credits for CEGEP are there and usable outside. For those with enough time, they will get their diploma too. I think the administration needs to be accountable towards its mission of reintegration and reassess how the CEGEP’s performance is metered.

CSC directives explain this requirement the institution must hold itself to: “Accountability: Accountability involves the notion of being willing and able to explain, answer to and justify the appropriateness of actions and decisions. Accountability is applicable to everyone within CSC. Accountability is also about accepting and ensuring responsibility — providing necessary support, feedback, and oversight”.3 I think the institution needs to hold itself to account on this

Lastly, I think that closing the CEGEP would hurt the Parole Board’s ability to properly judge inmates. After all, the Parole Board doesn’t live here among us and all they have to go by is our parole officer, [correctional officer] and program officers, in most cases. CEGEP provides a whole variety of feelers for the Parole Board to judge us with. There is, for starters, the report that is written by the administrators on our attendance and progress in our education. It is also a program in which inmates can accomplish presentable metrics to the Parole Board about what they have done here. “How can I show you I’m doing better if there’s nothing good for me to do…?” This might be especially damaging to lifers and long offenders that oftentimes use these metrics to prove their worth in cascading down and going in front of the Board.

I hope my observations and experience is useful in framing the situation that inmates face at Cowansville penitentiary.

McGill, News

Black Sisterhood at McGill targeted with online racist harassment

by Moyọ Alabi, Ellen Lurie on

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Content warning: Mentions of racial violence

After Black Sisterhood at McGill (BSISSY) began recruiting members to start an Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority chapter at McGill, co-founders Lena Karis Moussio, U1 Arts, and Astou Badiane, U1 Arts, received racist comments and threats of violence through the organization’s Instagram account. The account was subsequently taken down after being falsely reported. 

Established in 1908, AKA was founded in the United States at Howard University, a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). As the oldest Greek-letter organization established by Black women on a college campus, AKA aims to foster unity and friendship among college women while simultaneously advancing and uplifting Black communities. In a written statement to The Tribune, Moussio and Badiane described BSISSY’s mission in creating an AKA chapter at McGill.

“Aiming to bring a chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. to McGill, […] [BSISSY is] a sorority based on Black excellence, Black sisterhood, and […] giving back to the community,” Moussio and Badiane wrote. “[It is] a space where Black women can be themselves and feel safe, without having to be someone else.”

However, once BSISSY began recruiting on social media, their Instagram account was targeted with racist comments and private messages.

“The comments we were receiving were asking what the point of doing this was, if white guys could join, and saying things like ‘If it were white people doing this, we would’ve burned the school down,’” Moussio and Badiane shared. “Someone even told us to ‘stay segregated’ and called us ‘baboons.’ I think the worst was the person who told us to shut down the school because they wanted to ‘shoot’ us. That was really scary.”

The BSISSY Instagram account—alongside Badiane’s personal page—was later banned due to “child sexualization,” a claim with no relevance to the organization’s social media activity. 

“It was such a hard day for me. I couldn’t do anything, I was just so sad and discouraged. I kept asking myself what we had done wrong,” Badiane said. “However […] after that, we knew the project would continue no matter what. It was just our social media that had been affected, not our connections or the work or preparation we had already done for the project.”

In an interview with The Tribune, N. Keita Christophe, assistant professor in McGill’s Department of Psychology and principal investigator of the Cultural Development Science Lab, explained that such experiences are unfortunately not uncommon among Black university students. 

“It just makes me sad, you know, because it’s consistent with […] my experience recruiting for our students, consistent with a lot of things that individual students […] over the past several years have come in and talked about,” Christophe said. “It’s just another reminder that racial discrimination is still common in our society, and that trickles down all the way to our campuses.”

Christophe then emphasized the importance of institutional dedication to dismantling systemic racism and fostering a welcoming and diverse community.

“Institutions like McGill [must] continually [drive] a culture that is maximally inclusive and accepting, and […] [signal] that when people don’t act in the spirit of equity, diversity, and inclusion, that this is inconsistent with the values of the university,” Christophe said. “Continuing to invest in [affinity groups] […] signals as an institution [that] we are supportive of people creating community, and we aren’t putting up roadblocks to that.” 

In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) highlighted the university’s ongoing efforts toward combatting anti-Black racism on campus. 

“In 2020, McGill launched an Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism to ensure the University enters its third-century with a firm commitment to equity and inclusion,” the MRO wrote. “Every member of our campus community deserves to work and learn in a respectful, inclusive, and supportive environment. Likewise, we all share a responsibility to foster a climate that rejects hate, intolerance, and harassment.”

Following the incidents on social media, Moussio and Badiane report having received support from the McGill administration.

“Antoine-Samuel [Mauffette] Alavo, the liaison officer for Black students, reached out and asked for a meeting that will take place in the coming weeks,” they wrote. “He has already brought us a lot of support for what’s next. We’ll see over time what measures will be put in place.”

Christophe added that, beyond institutional support, allyship from both Black and non-Black students is important in combatting anti-Black racism.

“It’s one thing for people that are personally affected by unequal social structures to advocate for themselves […] but I think it’s also important for people that are even benefiting from existing structures, people with privilege in different areas, to also speak up for those that are oppressed and help them out,” Christophe said. 

Moussio emphasized the solidarity McGill community members extended toward the organization following this incident.

“I never thought that my video would go viral and that we would get so much support from the McGill Black community,” Moussio wrote. “Even non-Black people have been very supportive, and we’re truly grateful that people understand that the goal is to fight against racism and sexism at McGill, and that Black girls should have the same college experience as everyone else.”

BSISSY will be hosting its next meeting on Friday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Black Student Space, Ferrier Building 216.

Behind the Bench, Know Your Athlete, Sports

Senior spotlight: Sophie Courville, Ayoub Sabri, and Erik Linseisen

by Clara Smyrski, Ivanna Zhang on

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Sophie Courville

Sophie Courville, a physiology senior and Cross Country runner, was voted Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year, led the team with a fifth-place finish at the U SPORTS National Championships, and earned all-star honours for the third time.

While this is more than enough to earn her a place in Martlet history, she also joined Team Canada for the 2026 FISU World University Cross Country Championships, where she earned sixth place in the long run to help Canada secure bronze.

Throughout her time at McGill, Courville has learned to emphasize enjoyment over success.

“[T]he most important part […] is having fun,” Courville wrote in an email to The Tribune. “At the end of the day, we do it because we love the sport and the team, we wouldn’t be doing it day after day if it was only for the result. Good results are fun, but not as fun as enjoying the day to day, and bad results shouldn’t affect our love for the sport.”

Courville is nominated for Female Athlete of the Year at the 2026 Varsity Awards Gala, which will take place on April 14. After graduation, she will head to London, U.K., to start a PhD in Immunology at the Francis Crick Institute and will continue to pursue her athletic passion in London’s vibrant running scene.

Ayoub Sabri

Ayoub Sabri, a senior in the Faculty of Science, started rowing at McGill for fun and to meet new people. However, since joining, he has helped McGill Rowing achieve tremendous success. At the Head of the Rideau Regatta last September, he won two gold medals and helped the team secure the Kandahar Trophy—awarded to the top-scoring university team.

In an email to the The Tribune, Sabri recalled his favourite memory from his athletic career so far.

“My favourite memory is sitting at the starting gates of my first international race at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships. Hearing the empires call out each boat by country and finally hearing ‘Morocco’ gave me chills,” Sabri wrote. “It was the moment I realized how far I had come. I was representing my country on the world stage against the fastest crews in the world.”

As a joint honours student in computer science and mathematics, he explained the importance of enjoying and learning through the journey, both academically and physically, to avoid burnout.

“It is easy to get overwhelmed by numbers, standards, and expectations,” Sabri wrote. “However, if you keep enjoying the process and having fun, performance will naturally follow.”

Sabri hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science after graduating. Regardless, he will keep rowing.

“No matter where I end up, I’m going to keep rowing. I want to see how far I can go in the sport and ultimately race at the Olympics!”

Erik Linseisen

Erik Linseisen, of Redbirds Swimming, is a civil engineering senior who, with his relay partner Tristan Govier, earned bronze at the U SPORTS National Championship, completing the 4×100 freestyle relay in 3:32.39 and breaking the school record.

While he has excelled in the pool throughout his McGill career, Linseisen’s final season was his most impactful. He led the Redbirds with two gold medals in the 50-metre breaststroke and 100-metre individual medley at the annual University of Toronto dual meet, where he also qualified for the U SPORTS championships in three events.

Echoing Courville and Sabri’s sentiments, Linseisen emphasized having fun when competing and highlighted the commitment he has learned through sport.

“The most important thing I’ve learned […] is how to stay committed through both the highs and the lows,” he wrote to The Tribune. “There are times when the results will not reflect the work you’re putting in, but having the mental resilience to do what’s required instead of what’s comfortable is where the real growth takes place, both in performance and personal development.”

Linseisen is nominated for the Richard Pound Award for Proficiency and Leadership in Athletics, which will be awarded at the Varsity Awards Gala.

After graduation, Linseisen will work to grow Alta Construction Group—a Montreal-based construction and real estate company he co-founded, whose goal is to rethink project delivery and support housing in Canada.

While the McGill athletic community will miss these seniors’ grit, talent, and tireless dedication to their sport, their impact on teammates and fans alike will last long after they leave McGill. Considering their competitive careers for the Martlets and Redbirds, and the success they found in their sports and in the classroom, this group of seniors is sure to excel in their post-graduate endeavours.

Art, Arts & Entertainment, Culture

The forgotten history of the Montreal coffeehouse

by Kendyl Daley on

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Before the price of coffee skyrocketed and the death of third spaces; before the tyrannical reign of Ticketmaster and the monopolization of the music industry; before we slipped into antisocial seclusion and let blue light mollify our beautiful brains, there was once an invaluable institution, home to art, community, and political activism: The glorious 1960s coffeehouse.

Even though coffeehouses were ubiquitous in the 1960s, they were popular long before the folk revival. The first coffeehouse opened in Constantinople in 1555 and became the centre of debate and business affairs. Coffeehouses then spread to Western Europe in the 17th century, evolving into the Paris salons essential to the French Enlightenment. In 1676, the coffeehouse reached Boston, and later permeated North America.

After World War II, Montreal welcomed an influx of Italian and Portuguese immigrants whose newly opened cafes became social and political hubs, much like the renowned literary cafes in Paris. In a grand melting pot of espresso, post-war counterculture, poetry, politics, and music, the illustrious coffeehouse was born. Several coffeehouses dotted the streets of Montreal, imbuing creativity and companionship into youth culture and the city at large.

Coffeehouses were a fusion of the jazz club, the beatnik poetry joint, and the espresso bar. Montreal had a web of coffeehouses in the 1960s, including Le Pot Pourri and the Flaming Ember Coffeehouse on rue Stanley, the neighbouring Café Andre, Finjan Club in Côte-des-Neiges, and The New Penelope, a famous venue on the corner of av. du Parc and Sherbrooke Ouest.

In dimly-lit cafes filled with the silver haze of smoke, people from all walks of life would gather to hear folk music, intimate jazz sets, and poetry readings. They would pack into basements and revamped Victorian homes, eating peanuts and sipping espresso; they would talk art and politics, meet strangers, make friends, and be inspired. Audience members were exposed to a range of talent and influences, while aspiring artists were given platforms and an entry into the arts scene. Montreal’s coffeehouses hosted famous performers like Muddy Waters, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan, who gave his first-ever Canadian performance at Le Pot Pourri.

Performers would play to an eager, well-caffeinated audience, and without backstage areas in such small venues, they would mingle with cafe-goers after their set. Thus, the integration and accessibility of the coffeehouse circumvented many race and class boundaries of the 1950s and 1960s. At the intersection of art, coffee, and conversation, the coffeehouse was a democratizing institution that harboured political conversation and artistic collaboration. Supported by welcoming meeting places, 1960s youth were encouraged to be social, artistically integrated, and politically engaged.

However, by the end of the decade, many of Montreal’s coffeehouses shut their doors—except the long-standing Yellow Door Coffeehouse on rue Aylmer, which remains devoted to community service and social integration. Ever since the death of the coffeehouse, artistic collaboration and social interaction have plummeted. Without third spaces to foster affordable socialization, the loneliness epidemic will continue. As of 2022, only 19.3 per cent of Canadians meet a friend on an average day. Our generation parties less, socializes less, and even has less sex. This shortage of gathering spaces perpetuates our lack of cohesive aesthetics, sweeping political movements, and community. There will be no art in a world where artists cannot afford to pay venue fees—in a world where everything costs money, even the air we breathe.

We must rally the youth. We must revive the coffeehouse. If we do not actively defend the arts, if we do not seek company, inspiration, and human connection, we are at risk of losing them forever. We cannot forget the glory days of the Montreal coffeehouse, for the coffeehouse may just be the light at the end of a dark, socially deprived, artistically barren tunnel.

Author Kendyl Daley is the host of and a frequent performer at the monthly literary coffeehouse, Ninth Life Coffeehouse.

McGill, News

McGill investigating antisemitic vandalism in Faculty of Medicine 

by Yusur Al-Sharqi on

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Content warning: Antisemitism and violent threats

A recent act of antisemitic vandalism at McGill is raising renewed concerns about campus safety for Jewish students. The graffiti, found in a bathroom stall in the Faculty of Medicine, read “Kill all Jews” and “Jews out of McGill Med.” An official statement from McGill administrators states that the incident is under investigation, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken if a perpetrator is identified.

A spokesperson for McGill reiterated the University’s stance against antisemitism in a statement to The Tribune, writing that the administration is actively working to protect and support Jewish students. 

“McGill unequivocally denounces all forms of antisemitism and anti-Jewish hatred and reaffirms its dedication to preventing and combating such discrimination,” the spokesperson wrote. “The University has taken concrete steps to support the safety and well-being of students, faculty, and visitors. McGill also regularly reassesses whether additional steps are needed to reinforce its efforts to maintain a safe, inclusive and welcoming campus.”

While details surrounding the bathroom vandalism remain limited, the incident follows a pattern of reported antisemitism on campus, sparking concern from student groups such as the Medicine and Dentistry Jewish Association (MDJA).

“The presence of these messages within a medical school, an institution dedicated to the preservation of life above all else, is particularly disturbing,” the MDJA wrote in an official statement on the incident. “Calls for our exclusion and elimination undermine not only the safety and dignity of Jewish students, but also the foundational values of the profession we are preparing to enter.” 

The Tribune contacted the MDJA, Chabad McGill, Hillel Montreal, and McGill Chavurah for comment, but they did not respond in time for publication.

In response to the recent graffiti, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) McGill told The Tribune that they perceive the University’s conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism as heightening tensions on campus for Jewish students. 

“IJV McGill understands this current climate as one which necessitates a wholly different approach to centring Zionist discomfort and modes of understanding incidents of discrimination and hate speech—while nevertheless condemning and seeking accountability for hate speech, such as in the Medicine Faculty.”

Regarding the University’s actions moving forward, McGill’s spokesperson referenced the Working Group on Antisemitism (ASWG) at McGill, which did not respond for comment in time for publication. The Working Group launched in Fall 2025 to assess how antisemitism manifests on campus and to recommend strategies for prevention and response. Among its areas of focus, the Working Group has examined anti-Zionism and its relationship to antisemitism. This issue has been contentious at McGill, with disagreements among Jewish student groups about the definition of antisemitism. 

“While members of IJV McGill have engaged in University Channels, such as the university’s committee on antisemitism and anti-Israeli discrimination, we have felt uncomfortable doing so out of an unwillingness to legitimate structures which […] implicitly equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism—all while no such committee exists for Palestinian students at McGill.” 

IJV then claimed that the incident demonstrates the administration’s attempt to homogenize Jewish perspectives.

“This transgression imposes itself far more heavily on our community’s conscience than Sharpie in bathroom stalls,” IJV wrote. 

The rise in antisemitism on campus reflects a broader nationwide trend. An email containing violent death threats and references to explosives was sent to roughly 125 organizations across Canada—the majority being  Jewish institutions. In Montreal, Jewish school Yeshiva Gedola was targeted in two separate shootings less than a week apart in November 2023. And more recently, two synagogues in the Greater Toronto Area were hit by gunfire. 

Existing channels for reporting incidents of harassment, discrimination, and anti-Jewish hate through McGill include campus security or the Office for Mediation and Reporting. Further, students can file complaints through the Student Affairs Liaison for Jewish Students and the ASWG’s confidential form. Faculty and staff can refer to the Employee and Family Assistance program for confidential support, and students can reach out to the Student Wellness Hub, which offers counselling services, and GuardMe for 24/7 mental health support from anywhere in the world.

News

Referendum to boycott Israeli institutions passes with the highest voting turnout in recent LSA history

by Amelia H. Clark on

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On March 19, voting for the Referendum Regarding the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel to Preserve Academic Freedom (PACBI) opened to all members of the Law Students’ Association (LSA). The motion, put forward by Law Students for Palestine at McGill (LS4PM) and McGill Radical Law Students’ Association (RadLaw), called on the LSA to modify its constitution to terminate all academic ties with Israeli post-secondary institutions complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine.  

Citing the targeted bombing of all 12 universities in Palestine and the killing of thousands of students and professors, in addition to statements made by the United Nations, LS4PM argued that the systematic destruction of academic freedom in Palestine breaks Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. 

10 minutes before the voting period began, Provost and Executive Vice-President Academic Angela Campbell, along with then-interim, now-official, Dean of Law Tina Piper, sent a joint letter to all law students describing the amendment as “objectionable.” They stated that its mandate to terminate all academic exchanges with Israeli post-secondary institutes is discriminatory toward Jewish students both at McGill and in Israel. The letter also affirmed that Campbell and Piper do not take a particular political position on the matter, but oppose the PACBI motion due to concerns from Jewish students. As the LSA’s constitution prevents any parties directly involved in the referendum item from campaigning during the voting period, LS4PM was not able to address these allegations until after the referendum outcome was announced. 

In an interview with The Tribune, four representatives from LS4PM, Jamie*, Robin*, Sasha*, and Sam*, described the letter as interference with the LSA’s democratic process. Highlighting the potential danger of a precedent in which the McGill administration swings voters in their favour, these representatives explained the reasoning behind the proposed modifications to LSA by-laws, as well as the concerns behind McGill administrators depicting the Jewish community as a monolith. 

“We were told to stop campaigning. Yet, [McGill’s administration] effectively got two more days where it was constitutionally impossible for us to say anything in response. That is the procedural injustice in this,” Jamie said. 

Sam added, “We follow the rules, but they are free to run over our democracy.”

According to the LS4PM representatives, the letter followed a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) sent out by the LSA at 11:00 p.m. on March 18. The FAQ stated that if the PACBI referendum passed, the LSA would, by default, be in breach of its Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with McGill. The letter went on to forecast a three-year arbitration with administration, which they estimated would cost around $40,000 CAD. The LSA’s letter also included anonymous statements from professors in the Faculty of Law, ranging from disapproval of LS4PM’s motion to threats of stopping classes should it pass.  

The four representatives agreed that although the LSA showed solidarity with LS4PM by denouncing McGill’s letter as an attempt to influence voters, the mass FAQ email sent to students likewise advised students to vote against the motion.

“All of these negative messages had the effect, in our opinion, [of saying] that the LSA was against the referendum, and all of this information confused the voters,” Sam said. “The effect of these cherry-picked testimonies, and of this worst-case scenario forecast, was to interfere with the student vote [….] We understand the need to provide information from the LSA, especially about the threat of litigation. However, the way the information was provided was unbalanced and did not account for the myriad of factors that could influence the cost of arbitration.”

McGill’s Jewish Law Students’ Association (JLSA) ran a Vote No campaign against the referendum prior to the voting period. The JLSA cited concerns that the LSA taking an official stance would impose a singular viewpoint on the whole Law Faculty based on a subset of voters. They further deemed the motion discriminatory toward students who disagree with LS4PM’s reasons to boycott Israeli institutions, referring to the group’s stance on genocide, apartheid, and war crimes in Israel. 

In a written statement to The Tribune, a JLSA executive elaborated on these concerns, stating that the motion may be used to scrutinize or stigmatize minority groups on campus. The executive also mentioned ongoing worries regarding how the referendum was conducted, specifically whether the required threshold for adoption was met. The executive stated that they are looking into the matter through the appropriate channels. 

“[The motion] appears poised to curtail the ability of Jewish and Israeli students to participate fully and equally in academic and campus life. Students risk being excluded or ostracized based solely on their belief in the right of a Jewish state to exist,” the executive wrote. “All law students—regardless of religion, nationality, or political belief—should feel welcome on campus and free to express their identities and pursue their academic interests. That must apply equally to members of the JLSA and to members of LS4PM.”

In response to these concerns, Sasha explained that nothing in the motion itself suggests that it would lead to an increase in antisemitism.

“There’s a lot of language that the community feels unsafe [….] Jewish students have this unfair burden. Jewish faculty feel unsafe [….] [There have been] no reports of intimidation or discrimination,” Sasha said. “Using this language of safety, harm, making students and faculty feel scared to be at school, really is exaggerating what this actually is into something that seems like conflict when really it’s a student-led movement for a vote. It couldn’t be any less violent.”

Sam further emphasized that this mischaracterization of LS4PM as an antisemitic organization not only discredits them unfairly as a student group, but also takes away from the seriousness of these allegations. 

“You’re essentially emptying anti-oppression language from its meaning to then uphold the status quo and interfere in student democracy, […] which means that this advocacy can be characterized as racist, when we are fighting racist apartheid,” Sam explained. 

Referring to the letter sent by Piper and Campbell, Jamie, who is Jewish, explained that the claims of antisemitism levied against the motion ignore members of the Jewish community at McGill who advocated for the referendum, clarifying that the boycott doesn’t apply to individuals, but to institutions that support and perpetuate Israel’s actions against Palestinians’ academic freedom. 

“I genuinely have not read such an antisemitic message in so long,” Jamie said. “It literally says if your Jewish identity is not tied to the State of Israel, we do not see you. We don’t care about your feelings.” 

“There are tons of Jewish students in LS4PM [….] It’s really frustrating that this is McGill’s take toward the Jewish community on campus, framing it as one monolithic perspective, which in itself is antisemitic,” Sasha added. “Painting it as one collection of ideas and thoughts that are all aligned toward the same thing, just to advance [administrators’] own objectives.”

Emphasizing their support for the democratic process, the representatives explained how the administration’s reaction to the PACBI should concern all students, regardless of their political affiliations. 

“Equating democratic action with violence essentially makes it impossible for students to come forward with any sort of political movement in the faculty without being labelled as violent or threatening the safety of the community and the faculty,” Sasha added. 

Despite the interference, the motion passed with 67.3 per cent of LSA members voting, 57.3 per cent in favour. This marks the highest voting turnout in the LSA’s recent history.

Now passed, LSA bylaws have been modified to terminate academic exchanges with Israeli institutions, notably Tel Aviv University (TAU). One Jewish student has filed a court injunction against the adoption of these modifications. McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) clarified in a written statement to The Tribune that no court judgement has determined the referendum to be discriminatory or exclusionary as of April 5, and that the case is ongoing. Jonathan Amiel, the chair of the Faculty’s Advisory Board, course lecturer, and donor, has resigned from his position in protest of the motion, explaining his reasoning in a public letter. 

“An institution once defined by intellectual rigour and principled debate has, in too many instances, become an environment where being Jewish, identifying as a Zionist, or maintaining any association with the State of Israel carries professional and personal risk,” Amiel wrote. “It is particularly concerning that, at a time when Jewish communities face heightened vulnerability, the Law Faculty has not provided a constructive or unifying response. Instead, a majority of its students have supported a measure that isolates leading academic institutions and risks further division within its own community.”

A student has since brought a petition to the Quebec Superior Court against the LSA, seeking to overturn the referendum results. McGill President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini has endorsed her position, stating in an email to students that the motion’s mandates fall outside the purview of a student association on campus, and therefore cannot be implemented. 

Still, faculty opinion is divided. In a written statement to The Tribune, Law Professor Omar Farahat expressed concern about the administration’s approach. 

“We must distinguish between intervention by university administrators and potential review of those student actions through the judicial system,” Farahat said. “Anyone is entitled to resort to the judiciary in the event that they feel that a violation of their legal or constitutional rights has occurred [….] University administrators, in my view, have an even higher burden [than students] to protect and respect the students’ freedom of speech and freedom of association.”

Farahat went on to explain that the administration’s interference risks setting a dangerous precedent for student activism on campus. 

“It is one thing to argue that a specific measure by a student group may technically give rise to tensions concerning the group’s agreements with the University, but it is a completely different thing to portray this act of student activism as discriminatory, racist, or dangerous without any objective justification of those claims,” Farahat wrote. “This is a very troublesome approach as it sends the message that morally conscious activism—which is precisely what we expect from young critical minds—will be met with institutional resistance and reprimand, which, I personally worry, could hurt our standing as a major institution of learning and thinking not only in our region but globally.”

*These names have been changed to preserve the speakers’ anonymity.

A previous version of this article stated that PACBI mandates McGill terminate all academic exchanges with Israeli universities. In fact, the motion mandates LSA advocate for the termination of all academic exchanges rather than enforces they cease altogether. A previous version also stated that LS4PM claimed Israel’s destruction of academic freedom in Palestine violated Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act when in fact, LS4PM references the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act because it designates illegal west bank settlements as illegal. The Tribune regrets these errors.

Science & Technology

A reflection on McGill’s science programs from graduating SciTech staff writers

by Antoine Larocque, José Moro Gutiérrez, and Michelle Yankovsky on

More in Science & Technology:

Antoine – BSc, Honours Biology

Dear Bio,

If you’re into bio, you’d better learn to love DNA. Breathe it. Dream about it. Because everything comes back to DNA. What’s the reason behind ‘phenomenon X?’ A gene. ‘Phenomenon Y?’ Another gene. Are you curious about the composition of a microbial community? Sequence another gene. You will not go a single day in biology without encountering DNA, so you might as well make peace with it.

And while we are here—a message to the department: Where are the plant courses? Apart from BIOL 205, the course selection for plant people is literally a desert. But plants are fun. Plants are essential. Plants are, quite frankly, carrying the entire biosphere on their backs—so why does McGill only offer half a plant course for a biology degree? Plant people, and plants themselves, of course, deserve better.

Tip to incoming bio students: Don’t procrastinate—or you may regret it after your midterm— and get involved in research early. You certainly won’t regret that.

Cheers, and I hope to never have to hear about DNA again,
Antoine

José – BEng, Chemical Engineering

To all engineering students, and to the incoming class of 2030,

Chemical engineering was quite the journey—and quite the learning curve. It’s a program that pushes you to your limits and teaches you temperance. It’s a career that forces you to problem-solve, then to solve your own problems. It’s a path that taught me concepts in math, physics, and a bit of chemistry, but it was also where I learned a lot about myself. More than anything, it’s a degree that puts you on the spot and forces you to ask yourself whether you are good enough. To anyone who finds themselves questioning this, I simply want to say: You are.

What advice can this cynical, outgoing undergrad offer? Take risks, maintain a healthy level of skepticism, allow yourself to make mistakes, open every door you can, regardless of perceived limitations, and surround yourself with people whom you love—and who love you.

Why is the last point so important? Many years ago, after telling my father I wanted to pursue this career, he looked at me, smiled, and then hugged me. From then on, I knew I was not facing this uphill battle alone. I hope you’ve had, or will find, your version of that too. 

Keep your head up, and enjoy the experience. ¡Mucho éxito!
José

Michelle – BSc, Psychology

Dear incoming freshmen,

Like many students at McGill, I came in thinking I had my future mapped out. As a first-year student in the biomedical sciences freshman stream, I had always imagined myself following the traditional “pre-med” path. So, when the time came to declare a major at the end of my first year, Anatomy and Cell Biology seemed like the “logical” choice.

However, my expectations quickly shifted when, over the summer, I had the chance to work as a mental health worker. This experience changed the way I wanted to approach medicine entirely. My vision was not only to be knowledgeable in the sciences, but also in understanding people—how their behaviour, emotions, and lived experiences shape them. By the end of that summer, I had switched into Psychology.

After four years, I still hope to pursue medicine, but I now graduate with a perspective shaped by a degree that gave me passion, hope, and a more well-rounded view of the world. I’ll leave you with this: The right path is not always the one that looks best on paper, but the one that makes you excited to keep learning.

Here’s to finding the major you didn’t know you needed,
Michelle

Montreal, News, Private

Parc-Extension tenants rally against abusive rent hikes, demanding effective rent control

by Nell Pollak on

More in Montreal:

Over 100 tenants and fair housing activists gathered outside 955 av. d’Anvers on March 31 to denounce what organizers called abusive rent increases imposed on residents. Organized by the Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ) and the Comité d’Action de Parc-Extension (CAPE), the rally’s attendees demanded better rent control. In collaboration with artistic and activist collective Le Sémaphore, the organizers projected messages like “No to abusive rent increase,” and “Je refuse je reste” (“I refuse I’m staying”) onto the building’s exterior.

The building’s tenants, part of a complex of 18 buildings for a total of 165 units, reported receiving increases of up to 20 per cent. According to a representative from the rally, one tenant received a rent increase of $300 CAD, and many of these notices do not include meaningful renovations to justify them. March 31 is the deadline for many Quebec landlords to send rent increase notices, making it a deliberate day for action.

In an interview with The Tribune, Noémie Beauvais, a community organizer with the RCLALQ, explained that the increases reflect a persistent gap in tenant protections despite recent regulatory changes. Quebec introduced a new rent-setting formula in January, but Beauvais noted that the reform has done little to curb excessive demands from landlords.

“The calculation is a bit different. It is a bit easier for tenants to understand,” Beauvais said. “But the problem is the same. If the landlord wants to just put any number on the notice, then [the tenants][…] feel like they have no power.”

The complex has changed ownership multiple times in recent years. In a speech to the crowd, Rizwan Khan, a community organizer with CAPE, highlighted that conditions have deteriorated across each transition.

“These buildings have been affected for a very long time with cleanliness and hygiene issues related to negligence from the owners*,” Khan said. “The new owners also introduced new building regulations with abusive clauses and pressured tenants by saying, ‘If you want your new key to the building’s front door, you have no choice but to sign.’ These are the kinds of tactics that are used by far too many landlords, and this has to stop*.”

In an interview with The Tribune, Sohnia Karamat Ali, an organizer with CAPE, emphasized how the cycle of ownership changes has worn tenants down.

“This is the third administration,” Karamat Ali said. “We started mobilizing against the first who were here five, six years ago. After a huge mobilization, they just sold the building [….] It is like every time, we start from zero again.”

Ali Kamruzzaman, a 70-year-old tenant who has lived in Parc-Extension for 27 years, told  The Tribune that many residents are afraid to push back against the increases. He urged fellow tenants not to acquiesce to their demands.

“My message is: Do not be scared,” Kamruzzaman said. “We have the Parc-Extension Action Committee, and you can ask them. They can advise you where to go. You have the rental board.”

The rally is part of a province-wide campaign organized by the RCLALQ against the 2026 rent increase season, with similar actions held in Quebec City and Granby. The Tribunal administratif du logement set a baseline increase of 3.1 per cent for leases renewing after April 1 under a new formula tied to the consumer price index, down from the 4.1 per cent in 2025. But the rate has done little to slow a broader trend: Average rents in Quebec have risen by roughly $1,800 CAD per year since 2023, and asking rents in Montreal have doubled since 2019. The RCLALQ reaffirmed that a revised framework should include stricter limits on annual increases tied to actual maintenance costs and new legal obligations for landlords to justify any hikes above the standard rate. 

Émile Boucher, a community organizer with the RCLALQ, stressed that the rate only functions as a floor, and tenants in the complex are facing increases nearly seven times that amount.

“There is no effective rent control,” Boucher said in an interview with The Tribune. “Landlords can still propose whatever increase they want. They are not required to follow the recommendations of the Tribunal administratif du logement, and that is an enormous problem for us. People will experience rent hikes individually because they receive the notice, they have to accept it or refuse it, they have to pay. But we are showing that this is a collective problem, and tenants are not alone in this*.”


*These quotes were translated from French.

Sports

As the 2026 World Cup expands, access to it narrows

by Nell Pollak on

More in Sports:

Last July, a father and asylum-seeker took his two children to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. He was cited for a minor drone ordinance violation in a nearby parking lot. Instead of releasing him, officers handed him to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He spent 11 weeks in arbitrary detention before self-deporting to Colombia. The 2026 World Cup final will be played on the same field this summer, just over one year later.

The 2026 edition promises the largest World Cup yet: 48 teams and 104 matches across 16 host cities—11 in the U.S. and five split between Canada and Mexico. FIFA’s infamous slogan is that “football unites the world,” but as the tournament grows in size and spectacle, the world it claims to welcome is shrinking, staged behind the most restrictive entry regime in World Cup history. Fans from Haiti—who will compete for the first time in 52 years— Iran, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast face almost a complete travel ban that suspends tourist visas for those without one already in hand. Fans from Algeria, Tunisia, and Cape Verde—which qualified for its first-ever World Cup this year—must deposit up to $15,000 USD per person under the State Department’s Visa Bond Pilot Program just to obtain a tourist visa. Under a new rule expected to take effect before the tournament, travellers from 42 additional countries will be required to provide five-year social media disclosures as a condition of entry.

This is not what was promised. The U.S., Canada, and Mexico pitched the 2026 tournament to FIFA in 2018 as the United Bid—a trilateral showcase of continental cooperation. For the first time, human rights commitments were embedded directly into the hosting agreement. Each host city was required to develop action plans addressing discrimination, workers’ rights, and protections for vulnerable populations. The bid’s campaign video declared the tournament would be “more inclusive [and] more universal than ever.”

Those commitments have been hollowed out, pressing FIFA to match its rhetoric with action. As of March 2026, only four of the 16 U.S. host cities had published their plans, and Amnesty International found that none of them addressed protections from ICE operations. ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, testified this February that the agency would be a “key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup” and refused to rule out enforcement at venues. From January to October 2025, ICE arrested at least 92,392 people in and around the 11 U.S. cities hosting World Cup matches. Of these arrests, 65.1 per cent involved immigrants with no criminal convictions. Amnesty International’s March 2026 report described the U.S. as facing a “human rights emergency” and warned that the tournament was drifting far from the safe and inclusive event promised eight years ago.

FIFA is not a neutral arbiter of these failures. President Gianni Infantino has met with U.S. President Donald Trump at least a dozen times since January 2025.  In December 2025, Infantino created the FIFA Peace Prize and awarded it to Trump at the World Cup draw for his “tireless efforts to promote peace.” An institution so closely aligned with the administration producing immigration policies that leave so many human rights organizations and fans in fear is in no position to challenge them.

In 2018, Infantino gifted Trump a referee kit with yellow and red cards, joking that the red card could be useful for Trump if he wanted to kick anyone out. Trump picked it up, grinning, and pretended to throw it at the press. Today, that ‘joke’ has hardened into reality. A tournament that bars, targets, and surveils the very fans it is supposed to unite is a bigoted red card being wielded before the games have even begun.

Science & Technology

Has spring felt weird this year? This is why

by Antoine Larocque on

More in Science & Technology:

Spring has felt unusually out of sync this year, with winter lingering well into late March and only brief, inconsistent stretches of warmth. Is this just a strange season or a symptom of climate change? In an interview with The Tribune, Robert Fajber, Assistant Professor in McGill’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, shared his thoughts on the city’s recent weather patterns.

“Montreal kind of follows […] the same overall climate and weather patterns that we see for most of the mid latitudes,” Fajber said.

As a result of climate change, Montreal has warmed up by 1 to 1.2 degrees Celsius over the last 50 years. With this warming comes a shift in precipitation.

“Globally, precipitation changes by about two per cent per degree of global warming,” Fajber said. “However, local extreme precipitation changes more like seven per cent per degree. So if you have an extreme rainfall event, and the local warming is two or three degrees, expect that extreme rainfall event to be more like 20 per cent stronger.”

According to climate data comparing recent decades to the mid-20th century, winters in Montreal are becoming shorter and milder. Between 1950 and 1980, the city experienced about 148 frost days—the number of days when the minimum air temperature is below zero—per year, but today that number has dropped to around 130.

Winter is also shifting in time: It now starts later, moving from around Oct. 10 to Oct. 18, and ends earlier, with the last frost day arriving closer to April 20 instead of April 29. These trends are based on 30-year climate normals, which smooth out year-to-year variability, but individual winters can still differ widely, as seen this year.

To explain this year’s odd spring temperatures, we need to understand what drives the North American climate. Much of North America’s climate is shaped by an “east–west dipole,” where one side of the continent experiences cold conditions while the other is warmer. This pattern is driven by atmospheric waves, influenced by temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

Depending on how these waves shift, Arctic air can be pulled further south, bringing colder conditions to regions like eastern Canada. This year, unusually strong flows of cold Arctic air occurred, cooling Montreal.

Predicting these patterns is becoming more challenging. Over the past decade, both oceans have experienced unprecedented heat waves, starting with the Pacific “blob” around 2014, and more recently, extreme warming in the Atlantic since 2023. These ocean influences are now interacting in complex ways, making climate patterns harder to predict.

“Most climate models actually show the Atlantic as being one of the slowest places that [has] warmed on the planet,” Fajber said. “The North Atlantic warms very slowly because this is an area where the ocean actually draws down a lot of water, and as that water basically goes away from the surface. It takes heat with it.”

Looking ahead, scientists expect Montreal to see climate trends that largely mirror the past half-century. Winters will likely continue to shrink, snow cover will decline, and extreme weather events will intensify.

However, new uncertainties are emerging. In addition to the unexpected warming of the Atlantic Ocean, sea level rise remains unknown. While sudden and large-scale ice loss is considered unlikely in the next 50 years, it could significantly raise water levels in the st. Lawrence River, impacting people living on its shores.

Beyond gradual warming, extremes are the real story. Heavy precipitation and severe storms are intensifying faster than average conditions and will likely have the greatest impact on daily life.

As these changes accelerate in Montreal, adaptation strategies must go beyond individual action. While personal efforts can help, they are often limited in scope.

“We are much better when we work together on adaptations than when we try to work by ourselves,” Fajber said.

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