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Editorial, Opinion

Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University Executive Midterm Reviews 2020-2021

by The McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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Maria Tippler, Secretary-General

Despite taking up the PGSS Secretary-General position in early October, Tippler has initiated  several advocacy, administrative, and support projects this semester. On the advocacy front, Tippler has focussed on accreditations and tuition fee deregulations, WorkDay HR technical issues, and Bill 21. On the administrative side, Tippler has supported the Recording Secretary in keeping the PGSS meeting minutes and Book of Resolutions up to date, restructured some PGSS staff portfolios, and started translating PGSS governing documents’ updates into French. Taking on duties outside her portfolio this year, Tippler is currently transitioning a new Academic Affairs Officer into the position and has also been filling gaps in the vacant External Affairs Officer and Student Support Commissioner portfolios. Tippler said she hopes the current vacancies are filled by next term so that she can work on more of her own initiatives, like revamping the PGSS website to make it more accessible.

Dakota Rogers, Members Services Officers

Dakota Rogers oversees all services at PGSS, including the Health and Dental Insurance Plan, Graduate Peer Support Program, Keep.meSAFE, and leisure courses. In accordance with the COVID-19 public health guidelines, Rogers successfully transitioned the PGSS leisure courses and the Peer Support Program to an online format. Rogers and the PGSS Health Commissioner have been working hard since the beginning of their terms to implement the new Keep.meSAFE program. Rogers is also in the process of gauging new services for the winter semester; the first is Dialogue, an e-health service that would provide students with access to a vast network of doctors and nurses and the second is the Legal Protection Program, which would give students access to legal counselling and complementary legal representation in certain areas. Rogers hopes that these services will go to referendum in the coming spring for implementation in September 2021. Additionally, Rogers is working on establishing a BIPOC graduate student networking service to provide a supportive space for all BIPOC graduate students at McGill.

Connie Shen, Financial Affairs Officer

Despite taking on additional responsibilities following the PGSS Secretary-General’s resignation in summer 2020, Connie Shen has been hard at work advocating for graduate student funding, increased transparency regarding finances, and ease of access to PGSS services. Given rising financial instability due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shen has worked with the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to make emergency access to extra funding more accessible. While the Thomson House’s bar and restaurant have been closed since red zone restrictions took place, Shen has since been involved in assessing how to safely reopen the space when the government permits it. Finally, in response to the society’s concerns that executives and commissioners not being fairly remunerated for their work, Shen has hired more support staff, and created a working group to further address the issue.

Sophie Osiecki, Academic Affairs Officer 

Since taking on the Academic Affairs Officer position on Nov. 9, Sophie Osiecki has had little time to work on new projects. In the coming months, she plans to rework the PGSS’ committees system by updating committee and commissioner application forms to be more intuitive, developing a plan to standardize communications throughout the committee application process, and revitalizing several PGSS committees. Beyond updating internal PGSS operations, she also plans to promote the existence of the Library Improvement Fund, and encourage applications for virtual services. Finally, Osiecki hopes to put forward more online surveys and related discussion items at PGSS meetings to increase dialogue with PGSS members on academic matters. 

Tina Giordano,  Internal Affairs Officer 

Over the course of the semester, Tina Giordano has attempted to increase student engagement in the society while abiding by COVID-19 regulations. Some initiatives this year have included helping to organize PGSS’ participation in a national trivia competition, working with the Equity Commissioner to start a Voices for Diversity speaker series, and organizing a month-long orientation for incoming students. She has also helped facilitate a virtual ballet class, a book club, and a movie club. Over the rest of her term, Giordano is hoping to create virtual training for the next Internal Affairs Officer by using Google Classroom, which she anticipates will be more efficient than the current training system. All events but one have taken place online, enabling Giordano to build community all while remaining safe.

Consultation
Off the Board, Opinion

McGill must give S/U due diligence

by Jonah Fried on

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The McGill Senate on Dec. 2 rejected a motion to suspend the body’s standing rules, which prevented it from reintroducing a proposal to implement a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading option for students this semester. In a controversial move, they referred it back to the Steering Committee, even though it had already reviewed the proposal. This decision is particularly striking considering that over 105 universities across North America have decided to ease grading accommodations during the Winter 2020 semester, from Harvard College in the United States to Bishops’ University in Sherbrooke. McGill’s relentless academic austerity and pursuit of prestige is a mask for its fragility as well as a pretense to refrain from promoting student welfare. Nevertheless, administrators have a duty to place their commitment as educators above bureaucratic barriers by reintroducing an S/U option as a necessary emergency measure.

In derailing the motion, the Senate invalidated the agonizing testimonials student senators read during the Dec. 2 meeting—some of which disclosed thoughts of suicide and self harm. Administrators cited a lack of “proper due diligence,” but student senators have been advocating for S/U for months only to have it rejected first by the Academic Policy Committee (APC) in September, then by the Steering Committee, and now by the Senate. Although the APC argued that students knew in advance that the S/U option would not be offered this semester, when students registered for classes in April they also did not appreciate the unprecedented struggle that remote learning would entail. Moreover, the APC’s insinuation that the policy would be impractical due to the labour required to implement it appears insincere, as the same was done expediently in March 2020. It avoids giving due diligence to students’ concerns, reflecting administrators’ disregard for the work that student senators have invested in consulting constituents and advocating for students’ wellbeing.

Administrators offered logististical objections as well, arguing that S/U could negatively affect accreditation requirements for certain programs and scholarships. But the proposed S/U policy would be optional: The letter grade would remain the default, and faculties would identify their specific application of the S/U option. Although faculties should advise students of the option’s risks, or even exempt certain programs such as Medicine entirely, these concerns do not discount the need to provide S/U as an option, especially for those who have disproportionately suffered during the pandemic.

After all, other institutions evidently recognize that remote learning is a poor substitute for in-person instruction and that students should not be evaluated by the usual standards. Because the S/U option does not impact overall grade point average, applying the option would eliminate marginal grade discrepancies that hinder learning in general, and which remote instruction has rendered particularly difficult to control. Exacerbated inequities in learning environments and declining student mental and physical health—realities that administrators acknowledged during the Winter 2020 semester—have persisted, contradicting the basic equalization premise of a numerical grade standard.

McGill has historically subtracted students’ humanity from their academic fidelity, and the pandemic has corroded the thin strands of social stability and cohesion that once made it bearable. In a misguided defense of McGill’s reputation, administrators are reducing McGill’s name to a trivial ticket into graduate schools and the workforce. Students do not just come here for a fancy pedigree and latin-inscribed diploma; they come here to learn, and many are capsizing on that journey through the remote learning hurricane. Students should continue to remind administrators of this by submitting testimonials and signing petitions demanding that S/U be reinstated. But the onus is on administrators to heed them. When the Senate hears the motion to reimplement S/U again, it will stand at a crossroads not only on grading standards, but also the underlying pedagogical philosophy propelling McGill into its third century.

An earlier version of the article stated that over 105 universities have adopted an S/U option for this semester. In fact, this statistic referenced the Winter 2020 semester and not the current Fall 2020 semester. The Tribune regrets this error.
McGill, News

McGill Senate extends winter break by three days and sends proposed S/U policy back for revision

by Sequoia Kim on

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Winter break extension

After mounting pressure from the student body for a longer winter break, the McGill Senate approved a motion on Dec. 2 to extend the winter break by three days for all faculties except the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The first day of classes for the Winter 2021 semester will officially begin on Thursday, Jan. 7, instead of Monday, Jan. 4, as was initially planned. The Senate also discussed at length the feasibility of retroactively implementing a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option for the Fall 2020 semester and reported on the university’s finances and provisional budgets.

To make up for the three lost days, McGill will shorten the spring 2021 Final Examination Period from 11 days to 10 days; extend the final exam period from April 29 to April 30; and eliminate the “study day” currently scheduled for April 14. Whereas classes were initially scheduled to have ended Tuesday, April 13, with the April 14 study day acting as a one-day buffer before the start of exams on Thursday, April 15, the adjusted exam schedule will see classes end Friday, April 16 and exams commence Monday, April 19.

Gillian Nycum, university registrar and executive director of Enrolment Services, presented the motion and explained that adjusting the Spring 2021 exam period was the most feasible way to make up for the delayed start of the Winter 2021 semester.

“We saw in the Fall 2020 term that there were 25 per cent fewer final examinations being scheduled as compared to 2019, and it is reasonable to assume that there will be a similar trend for Winter 2021,” Nycum said.

In accordance with the adjusted academic calendar, the add/drop deadline will move from Tuesday, Jan. 19 to Friday, Jan. 22, and the deadline for withdrawal with refund will move from Tuesday, Jan. 26 to Friday, Jan. 29, with no other changes in key academic dates for the Winter 2021 term.

Implementing a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option

The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Senators’ motion to implement an S/U policy, submitted minutes before the meeting, opened a lengthy and contentious discussion. Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier explained that the motion had not appeared on the Senate agenda because the Steering Committee, the governing body tasked with setting and proposing the Senate agenda, had rejected the motion.

“Part of why [the motion] was not accepted by [the Steering Committee] is that the due diligence that is required to bring the motion to the floor was not done,” Fortier said. “In particular, there was information that was simply not accurate, [because] the information that was shared was pertaining to March 2020, which was a very different situation than today. There is a lot of information that people do not have in order to consider the motion carefully.”

Without being listed as an agenda item, the motion would have to be referred back to the Steering Committee for further review in order for it to be presented at a future Senate meeting. Alternatively, if a Senator motions to suspend the Senate rules and the motion passes with a three-quarter majority vote, the Senate could review the S/U motion immediately. Music Senator Addy Parsons’ motion to suspend the rules of the Senate did not pass, effectively sending the motion back to the Steering Committee. Secretary-General Edyta Rogowska said that the Steering Committee will likely convene in the following days to discuss the S/U policy.

Soundbite

“I have received over 150 testimonies of students not asking, but begging us to implement an S/U option. I can say that for the past few weeks, I have received heart wrenching emails from students coming to me and begging for me to do something because they cannot imagine that the university would not support them. None of them can stomach the idea that this has been brought to the university, that this has been presented in September when it was shot down [and that] when efforts were made to do the proper consultations, that it has been continually and systematically shut down at every chance [….] That, honestly, is a difficult pill to swallow.” – Brooklyn Frizzle, VP University Affairs 

Moment of the Meeting

Arts Senator Darshan Daryanani took a moment to acknowledge the student labour involved in extending the winter break and invited the Senate to congratulate students’ work through virtual applause.

 

A previous version of this article stated that Arts Senator Mary Lynne Loftus submitted the motion to suspend the Senate rules. In fact, Music Senator Addy Parsons submitted the motion. The article has been updated. The Tribune regrets this error.

Laughing Matters, Opinion

Tips to help recreate the dread of seeing your family over winter break, from home!

by Noma Mirny on

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Content Warning: Sexual harassment

Every year when December rolls around and finals season ends, McGill students have only one thing in mind—winter break. Sadly, due to COVID-19 restrictions and safety concerns, we know many of you are unable to head home to see your families this year. Fortunately, we have developed a list of tips and tricks to help you simulate the winter break experience from the comfort of your own dorm or apartment.

For starters, whether you’re stuck in residence or a seven-person commune, you can create a festive atmosphere anywhere. We recommend you hang up colourful lights, turn up some Christmas songs, apply makeup to cover your tattoos, remove your piercings, and put on that one degenerate sweater that color-blind Aunt Gladys got you. Remember: Nothing says “Christmas spirit” like silly decorations and the deep, profound dread of disappointing your family!

Homesick and missing conversations with your dad? Go eat dinner, and while you do, have your roommate sit and watch you eat in absolute silence. When you reach for more food, wait for them to raise an eyebrow and ask if you’re sure you want to eat it.

“What are you actually going to do with that major?” is just one of the many fun conversation topics you’ll cover, in addition to, “Isn’t it about time you got a job?” and “Why is everyone TRANSGENDER nowadays?”

Of course, nothing beats the bliss of reading with the gentle sounds of your mom cooking in the background. To recreate the experience, have your early-riser friend get up at 5:00 a.m. and just fucking clang 50 pots in your kitchen! She doesn’t even have to cook, she simply has to clang, bang, and crash that shit like it’s Armageddon and she’s trying to single-handedly beat 382 tin-men to a metallic pool of silver guts with one noisy-ass ladle! After all, she does need to find her favourite bowl. 

And who could forget your lovely siblings. Miss having your sister around? Put up a “thrift shop” sign in your closet! Nostalgic for your brother? Replace the Glade in your bathroom with Axe cologne!

Immediate family is great—but what about extended family? Missing your uncle? Call Steve Who Sold You Weed That One Time! That will remind you of how he is always sure to hug you for just a little too long and a little too low. And no one is more fun to play with than your energetic little cousins! Luckily, Apple has recently created an alarm app that keeps you alert with the sound of three small children screaming and goes off right when you sit down to get work done. It also features cool tracks like 14 hard knocks on your door, the sound of a soccer ball being kicked around an apartment, and the hit single Got Any Games On That?

Everyone likes watching their obviously gay cousin squirm in their seat at the dinner table. Thankfully, if you’re the gay cousin, you can replicate those horribly uncomfortable conversations with the snap of a finger. Call a friend, who can stop by your dorm to help you rehearse your repertoire of lines!

“I’m just focusing on school right now,” “Well, it’s cheaper if it’s one bedroom,” and “Georgia should totally recount the votes!” are among the most popular.

At the end of the day, we know that the holidays are tough without your family around. So hopefully, whenever you feel homesick, you can try out some of our tricks to remind you of the reason you stayed home this year—your family.

Features

Making sense of McGill’s underfunding crisis

by Jonah Fried on

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Students come to McGill for many reasons. For domestic students, it is an affordable, high-ranking, historically anglophone university; for international students, McGill’s prestige is comparable to top schools globally. But many students, especially international and out-of-province first years, are surprised to find that McGill’s services and resources are severely lacking. Most visibly, decrepit buildings bear all of the markings of a university in decline, not a top tier school. Similarly, the Wellness Hub is infamously poorly managed and insufficient. Meanwhile, staff, especially contract workers, are overworked and underpaid. Vastly disproportionate student-to-staff ratios are equally astonishing hallmarks of McGill’s academic austerity.

 

McGill’s world-class reputation seems to belie this dismal underfunding. Although the university does not receive enough government funding to maintain its international standing, it may also be deepening its funding crisis by clinging onto its accolades rather than promoting student welfare.

But McGill has lacked sufficient operational funds since the 1960s, when Quebec modernized its public education system. In an interview with //The McGill Tribune//, Professor Peter F. McNally, director of the History of McGill project, emphasized that the underfunding of universities in Quebec has been a problem for decades. 

“Higher education in Quebec is generally underfunded,” McNally said. “In other words, all universities in Quebec are not as well funded as they need to be or should be.”

 

This sets Quebec schools apart from similar public university systems in Canada and in the United States, even though they are often compared to them.

 

“In Quebec rhetoric, sometimes analogies are made between [Quebec’s] university system and the University of California university system,” McNally said. “Well, that’s sort of true, it’s sort of not true. The University of California system is significantly better funded.”

According to McNally, understanding the Quebec university system’s current financial predicament is impossible without grasping political developments in the 1960s and ‘70s. During this period, earthquakes of political discord shook the province as the francophone population demanded cultural self-determination. Above all, the Quiet Revolution—a period of rapid social and political change that loosened the Catholic Church’s hold over Quebec—transformed the province’s education system. However, the implementation of Bill 22 and the violence pronounced in the 1970 October Crisis exemplified the language divide that continues to define Quebec, shaping McGill’s place in its public education system as a leading English-language institution.

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