The increasing influence of the Internet over the past two decades has been frequently accompanied by periodic bouts of public soul-searching about what effect it is having on society. Over the past week, two major incidents have questioned the Internet’s role in enabling unacceptable behaviour. The first was the tragic[Read More…]
Search Results for author "Abraham Moussako"
What should a university degree represent?
Over the past few years, there has been an intensifying debate over the role of university education—whether universities are institutions of pure learning, or simply a place to acquire a credential after completing a certain amount of coursework. Though the topic has generated a fair amount of discussion about what[Read More…]
Why are American universities so expensive?
We have seen over the past year in Quebec that the issue of university tuition can be incredibly polarizing. Indeed, in much of the debate over the recent planned tuition hikes, anti-hike activists drew ominous comparisons not only with the higher rates in the rest of Canada, but with the[Read More…]
Moral Superiority and Student Politics: on the sanctimoniousness of student radicalism
As this term progresses, many of the usual routines of the year are fast returning to focus. Due dates are beginning their slow, inexorable evolution from abstractions printed on syllabi to concrete time commitments and nights of lost sleep. Libraries are, again, beginning to fill with students, and class schedules[Read More…]
Safe space strife
The latest flashpoint of tension at Queer McGill (QM) revolves around the dismissal of Brian Keast, the former treasurer of the club, after an equity complaint filed by Libby Bouchard, the club’s Political Action Co-ordinator. The complaint alleged that Keast, an executive of the group, had violated QM’s anti-transphobia mandate.[Read More…]
In defence of tuition hikes: why frozen tuition is folly
This week, students will decide whether an important fee will be raised, in the words of those who support this increase, to “maintain the current level” of service. The fee increase I refer to, of course, is the SSMU dental plan. Not really. But my point is that, like this[Read More…]
The danger of the anecdote
The anecdote has its place. It is sometimes the only way to illustrate stark, numbing statistics to a reader. The problem with the anecdote, however, is when it takes over from hard data and honest analysis. In such cases, the anecdote becomes a pernicious a tool for lazy, deceptive, and[Read More…]
Student Democracy: The agency of the few
The SSMU General Assembly last week was the latest installment of an institution at McGill showcasing both the theoretical promise of direct democracy and the reality of its own illegitimacy. The theoretical promise comes from the reasonable idea that the student body of a university should have a say in[Read More…]
Should journalism ever express opinions?
These past few years have been a time of tumult for most journalistic organizations. Various forms of modern media, such as the Internet and cable television, they have challenged the dominance of print and network television, and have also challenged the orthodoxy of whether “the news” should express an opinion.[Read More…]
To walk or to wait
Jaywalking is a practice that is only nominally illegal in most North American cities. However, Montreal seems to be taking a different approach. The Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has begun its annual pedestrian safety campaign. Like most measures by government to raise “awareness” of a[Read More…]
