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Editorial, Opinion

McGill must get on the right track and prioritize accessibility—not anti-unionism

by The Tribune Editorial Board on

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This October, employees of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) filed strike notices that will disrupt bus and metro services throughout November. The Syndicat du transport de Montréal-CSN, which represents maintenance workers, has pledged to strike from Oct. 31 to Nov. 28. The Syndicat des chauffeurs, opérateurs, et employés des services connexes (SCFP 1983)—representing drivers and operators—also plans to strike, instead on Nov. 1, 15, and 16. Their decisions to strike follow over 100 failed negotiation efforts between the unions and the STM, in which the employees sought a 25 per cent wage increase and compensation for the hours they spend on tasks adjacent to their primary responsibilities, such as moving from station to station.

This strike, critical for livable pay and fair working conditions for STM employees, will bear an impact on individuals across Montreal, including McGill students, faculty, and staff. As such, it is crucial that McGill, and other public institutions whose communities rely on public transit, prioritize supporting the strike by offering reasonable accommodations for those impacted—not demonizing the strike as an inconvenience. 

This will mark the third and fourth strikes by STM unions this year, following a two-week strike in September and an earlier strike in June. Yet, the prospects of achieving improved pay structures seem low; the STM has communicated a plan to cut over 300 jobs to offset its severe budget deficit, a fiscal antithesis to the wage increases its unions are demanding. 

The STM serves over 1.7 million riders daily, many of whom take the metro out of necessity. Low-income Montrealers who cannot afford a car or alternative transit options will be particularly at risk if the metro shuts down, alongside commuters, senior citizens, and workers with precarious employment circumstances or irregular working hours. Furthermore, given that the strike measures extend to the closure of metro stations themselves, unhoused populations who rely on stations as a respite during the colder months will be forced into life-threatening conditions.

The McGill community too relies on the services the STM offers: Approximately 50 per cent of students and faculty and 70 per cent of staff use public transit or shuttle bus options to access campus. When strikes disrupt service, students face long waits or are forced to opt for more costly, less sustainable alternatives. Yet when the STM unions went on strike just a month ago, the McGill administration’s only response was a brief memo directing students to consult the STM website and anticipate longer commute times, encouraging faculty to “be flexible” with students who may be impacted—without providing any tangible guidance or institutional support. 

Nowhere in the memo did McGill set standardized expectations for professors and students navigating the strike. Administrators did not mandate classes go online or be recorded, resulting in a confusing mix of responses and varying degrees of flexibility. As a result, the burden of reliable support for the McGill community amidst STM closures fell on Students’ Society of McGill University services such as DriveSafe, while the McGill administration absolved itself of all responsibility to ensure campus accessibility. 

Furthermore, the communication memo lacked any information regarding why the strike was taking place, effectively encouraging the McGill student body to redirect their frustration towards strikers. McGill has an extensive history of suppressing labour movements on campus, most recently during the 2024 strikes hosted by its Faculty of Law, during which administrators dragged out negotiations and insulted students who supported the striking faculty members. McGill must abandon its provocation of anti-union sentiment and blame-shifting among community members, and instead prioritize accessibility during all strikes, STM, faculty union, or otherwise. 

McGill must standardize a university-wide response to STM closures, complete with genuine, effective accommodations that do not shift responsibility to the discretion of faculty. Without a cohesive, integrated response, community members are left disadvantaged and resentful of critical union activity, while the union’s efforts themselves are vilified. Students too must hold in high regard the rights of striking workers and avoid viewing metro closures as an inconvenience rather than a rightful protest tactic. 

STM employees have a right to strike; McGill has an obligation to support union activity and accommodate its affected students, faculty, and staff.

McGill, News

Alum Kai Cheng Thom speaks at McGill’s annual Queer History Month keynote 

by Kaitlyn Schramm on

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Attendees shed tears of queer solidarity on the evening of Oct. 22 as author and somatics teacher, Kai Cheng Thom, addressed McGill during the university’s annual keynote speech for Queer History Month. The event, ‘Remembering Resilience: Embodying the Queer Legacies in Uncertain Times,’ opened with a land acknowledgement appreciating the night’s rain and emphasizing that humans are not superior to the land they inhabit. 

Tynan Jarrett, director of the Equity Team in McGill’s Office of the Provost and Executive Vice-President Academic, then introduced Thom as his previous student at McGill, briefly describing Thom’s activities on campus before commenting on the importance of Queer History Month. 

“Queer History Month is more than a celebration. It is a call to honour the lives, struggles, and triumphs [of] those who came before, to connect our struggle to theirs, and to move forward stronger,” Jarrett noted. 

Director of McGill’s School of Social Work, Nicole Ives, continued the introduction, outlining Thom’s impressive accomplishments since graduating from McGill. 

“[Kai] is [an] award-winning writer, performer, and creative arts facilitator, whose work delves deeply into the themes of revolutionary love, transformative justice, spirituality, and healing from collective trauma,” Ives said. “I know I speak for my colleagues who are here from the School of Social Work, and I speak for myself, saying how thankful we are that she is here to share her vision for how we can transform society into a more socially just and humanist world.” 

As Ives concluded the introduction, Thom approached the stage and shared a hug with Ives before addressing the crowd. She began with a prayer centring love: “Love that heals, love that speaks, love that tells the truth, the whole truth, the ugly truth, nothing but the truth, love that sees it all and yet keeps moving anyway.” 

Shortly thereafter, Thom admitted her complicated relationship with McGill while offering gratitude for the opportunity to speak at the university. She described the mix of emotions she feels as a trans woman and as a changemaker who has evolved from admiring veteran activists to //becoming// one of those veteran activists, despite few corresponding societal improvements for the trans community. 

Demonstrating her expertise, Thom then led a short somatic practice, instructing the group to find their length, find their width, and find their depth physically within their bodies. She then encouraged attendees to take a moment, breathe, and orient themselves within what they have been noticing about their social landscape. She concluded the somatic practice, with many participants crying silent tears and loud cries of relief, before continuing to speak on resilience and resistance for queer activists. 

“The resilient edge of resistance is a term that comes to us from somatic trauma therapy. It refers to the ability to feel stress and even distress, while remaining grounded, centred, connected, crucially connected,” she described. “And my offer to you about this term resilience, […] is that it can be about resistance having more emotion, actually having more sensation, more feeling, but not in a way that fragments, that leaves us feeling despair, […] [but] in a way that leaves us feeling more connected […] to ourselves. Resilience is not about toughness or being superior to others, and I believe that the great mothers of queer and trans history knew this.” 

As her speech concluded, Thom spoke to the feeling of hopelessness common to lifelong activists who fail to see results from their advocacy, quoting Ursula K. Le Guin, who stated that when living under capitalism, its power seems unescapable. But, Le Guin said, so did the divine right of kings. Thom urged the crowd to remember that human power goes both ways: Any human system can be resisted and changed by human beings. And for human beings to stand strong under pressure and see the change they want to make, she emphasized, they must work together. 

“Love survives, love revives, love redeems, love forgives,” she finished.

McGill, Montreal, News

$52 million CAD in federal funding fuels hope for Quebec’s anglophone healthcare accessibility

by Sofia Vidinovski on

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On Oct. 15, the Canadian federal government announced a budget increase of $52 million CAD, allocated to anglophone health services in Quebec. The funds will be distributed between McGill University and the Community Health and Social Services Network over the next five years. These institutions will lead execution, with Dialogue McGill heading the project on the university’s behalf. They will prioritize developing research, language training, and resources tailored to the needs of both anglophone and francophone professionals, staff, and students to support their experiences within the healthcare system. The budget increase will also sustain initiatives to recruit and employ bilingual professionals across the province. 

In a written exchange with The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) explained how Dialogue McGill will specifically allocate the university’s funding towards building accessible healthcare for anglophones in Quebec.

“Dialogue McGill received a $20.7 million [CAD] grant […] of the $52 million [CAD] that Health Canada allocated,” the MRO wrote. “The money is planned to be useful in supporting initiatives that maintain and build capacity of bilingual health professionals in Quebec’s public sector.” 

The Office also highlighted Dialogue McGill’s missions and the services it provides specifically to McGill students.

“[Dialogue McGill’s] programs include free French- and English-language training, as well as bursaries for students committed to working in the public sector post-graduation and funding for research projects that examine relationships between language, access to health and social services, and health-related outcomes.”

This is not the first time Canada’s federal government has outwardly supported an increase in anglophone healthcare accessibility in Quebec. In 2024, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé announced a government directive that would require patients to provide an English-language eligibility certificate to Quebec’s health networks to receive treatment in English. Only when the federal government pressured the Quebec government did Dubé backtrack on the directive.

McGill students who have engaged with Quebec healthcare, especially in the Milton-Parc neighbourhood, have described the experience as strenuous. Amélie Evans, U2 Sciences, outlined her experience as an anglophone patient in a Montreal hospital, highlighting how a language barrier can complicate access to safe healthcare in the province.

“I’ve had moments where language created misunderstandings,” she said in an interview with The Tribune. “For example, during one visit to the hospital, a nurse misunderstood part of what I was explaining about my symptoms because I wasn’t sure how to phrase it correctly in French. It didn’t cause serious harm, but it made me realize how critical it is to have clear communication in healthcare.” 

Furthermore, Evans hopes that this budget increase will aid English-language communication in Quebec’s medical system. 

“I think the first priority [for funding use] should be expanding bilingual training programs and ensuring every major clinic has at least one English-speaking staff member available,” she stated.

To track the funding’s progress, the federal government of Canada will receive annual reports from the project’s leaders on its outcomes. In an interview with The Tribune, Mark Johnson, spokesperson for Health Canada, explained the measurable outcomes and performance indicators that McGill will use to ensure the budget is effectively applied. 

“McGill University [will report] on the number of health professionals who have both enrolled and completed their language training program, the number of bursaries to recent graduates to retain them in the public system in an underserved region in Quebec, as well as research projects and knowledge products that have been produced and offer new data on [official language minority communities] in health,” Johnson said.

Student Life

All you think about is how you look

by Maria Hamdaoui on

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Many women are preoccupied with how they look, not because they’re shallow, but because that’s what they’ve been taught to value. From a young age, girls are celebrated as ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’ before they’re praised for being smart or brave. Those comments add up, shaping the belief that their value lies in their appearance rather than their minds and personalities

“I think this pressure tends to affect women more because they’re held to a higher standard by society than men. There are certain clothes men and women can both wear, yet a woman is more likely to get criticized for it,” explained Abby George, U2 Arts, in a written statement to The Tribune. The awareness of how women look starts early, and for many, it never goes away.

“I definitely think there is some kind of ‘look’ for students, mostly to be dressed relatively well and less just whatever you can find in your drawers,” George added. 

Her comment captures a shared understanding: On campus, effort is expected to look effortless. It’s not about dressing up, exactly; it’s more about looking like you belong here. That awareness extends beyond clothing. Small insecurities can become constant background noise.

Sukaina Haider, U1 Science, shared in a written statement to The Tribune that when her skin breaks out, it makes it harder for her to focus on anything else. “[My acne] honestly distracts me from paying attention to a lecture. Not the end of the world, but it does affect me to a certain extent.”

Even something as common as acne can impact a student’s focus. And while it can be inspiring to be surrounded by people who take pride in how they carry themselves, it can also pressure you to do the same, even on days you just want to show up in crocs or sweatpants.

“There is definitely a social media impact, especially in our generation,” Mihade Mastour, U2 Science, shared in an interview with The Tribune. 

That illusion of effortlessness becomes its own kind of work, one that seeps quietly into daily life. You scroll through social media and see a constant stream of ‘must-have’ skincare routines, outfit ideas, the next thing you apparently need to feel complete. Trends circulate so quickly that it’s almost impossible to keep up.

George explained that fleeting viral trends add another layer of stress to self-presentation on campus.

“I feel like these trends definitely do affect students, and probably those at McGill. I find I do see it in certain students—there are actually many that wear sweatpants and sweatshirt combos, but they have the clean girl hair and makeup to make it seem like they did this effortlessly but actually put a lot of care into their outfit.”

Still, students are finding ways to resist these pressures. Girls are distancing themselves from any kind of expectation about how women should dress by remembering that the priority is how they feel in their clothes. Instead of dressing according to trends, they dress for how they feel that day, and choose clothes that make them comfortable, grounded, and able to focus on themselves rather than how they appear. Worrying about your appearance steals time and energy that could be spent chasing ideas and ambitions. The challenge for young women today is to break away from these cycles. 

The truth is that no reflection or appearance defines you the way your mind, your work, and your passions do. Young women at McGill are some of the most creative, capable people, and it would be disheartening to see them feel any sense of insecurity about how they look.

Research Briefs, Science & Technology

Stop-and-go: How male and female hockey players move differently

by James Levitsky on

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Hockey is a key component of Canadian culture, as it is our national sport and a great source of joy and pride. Whether played competitively, in gym class, or just for fun on a frozen lake, hockey unites players across the country. Yet despite its importance to many across various ages and identities, variances in the mechanics of skating between males and females remain largely understudied.

Female participation in ice hockey has been increasing steadily, with a 34 per cent increase in registered players from 2007 to 2018, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation. While there is ample research on male player movements, female players remain underrepresented in the scientific literature, despite fundamental anatomical differences that impact the way they move, play, and train.

Shawn Robbin, associate professor in the school of Physical and Occupational Therapy, leads a lab working to develop this knowledge base, diving into the science of movement in ice hockey and exploring how equipment and player traits influence performance on the ice. The lab partners with Bauer Hockey and uses federal funding to help athletes move efficiently and reduce their risk of injury, with McGill students playing a key role in the research.

In a recent paper published in the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, Robbins explored the kinematic differences between male and female athletes who participated in a stop-and-go task.

McGill varsity hockey players were asked to perform traditional hockey stops, then take a few strides in the opposite direction at different speeds. The researchers then used motion capture technology to study how males and females differ in stop and start movements on the ice. The researchers found that females tend to stay more upright relative to their starting position, while males get much lower to the ice when they stop.

“We found that male players tend to lower themselves faster and have more flexion in their hip and knee joints, which helps them absorb and explode out of stops,” Robbins said in an interview with The Tribune.

Another study found that female ice hockey players reported proportionately more soft tissue injuries, strains, and sprains, while males experienced more fractures. 

Although sex-specific injury types were not the focus of this study, Robbins noted that several factors contribute to differences between sexes. However, it is difficult to parse exactly how much each factor contributes. 

“It’s a bit more clear, in other sports like soccer, that movement plays a role in injury, especially in female athletes. That’s not as clear in hockey,” Robbins said. “Obviously, there’s other differences as well, in terms of hormone levels [and] muscle strength. I think that biomechanics may have a piece in injuries, […] [and] how players move will have a piece in terms of injury, but it’s [related to] the other factors too.” 

Robbins emphasized that the study requires a collaborative effort. While his role during the experiment was mostly to process and analyze raw data on the computer, McGill students at the lab, such as master’s student Aiden Hallihan, conducted many of the actual tests under professors’ supervision. In other words, successful research requires a dedicated community of scientists, including everyone from undergraduate research assistants to lab directors.

Moving forward, the lab will continue to test new and advanced motion capture systems to expand its research. While this study focused exclusively on elite varsity-level players, their current research is aimed at younger and recreational players. 

“With the data from elite players, [we] can compare it to recreational players and see if there are similar [sex] differences and how [players] can improve their game,” Robbins said.

Overall, Robbins’ research challenges traditional gender bias in sports research. His work advances player development and safety across genders, making the world of hockey research more equitable.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

‘Le Train’ is a dream-filled Quebecois coming-of-age film 

by Siena Torres on

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This October, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma wrapped up its 54th edition, featuring a robust program of 200 films over 12 days. The Montreal-based film festival prides itself on showcasing diverse international features and short films, while spotlighting a strong selection of Canadian films. This edition’s closing film, Le Train, is a mesmerizing debut from renowned Quebecois playwright and actress, Marie Brassard. 

Le Train follows Agathe, a young girl in 1960s Quebec, who dreams of a fantastical world where she is not plagued by severe asthma. As she grows into adolescence, she meets a man who shares her same longing for something more than their reality. Rising stars Thalie Rhainds and Electra Codina Morelli, who play Agathe at various ages, deliver captivating performances that hint at promising careers ahead. The exquisite Larissa Corriveau, who plays Thérèse, Agathe’s eccentric mother, shines in her portrayal of a woman balancing professional life, single motherhood, and creative pursuits. 

In an interview with The Tribune, Brassard reflected on the experience of writing and directing her first feature film, noting how it differs from theatre. She described theatre as ephemeral: An experience that creates unique experiences each time. It lives only in our memories because it takes place in the ‘real’ world with ‘real’ people, as opposed to cinema. 

“Cinema is different. At one point, you have to stop [adding on] for it to exist as an object, and from that moment on, it’s gonna be that. You have to let it go,” Brassard said. “And at the same time, what’s beautiful is that you can look at it again and again, and eventually have a different experience as well, but the thing is that it will persist in time.”

Inspired by her own childhood experiences with asthma in the Quebec suburbs and her coming-of-age in 1970s Montreal, Brassard sought to recreate the feeling of hope she felt at that time, contrary to today’s cynicism and increased isolation. 

“I wanted to make a film that would state that there was a time [in Quebec] where people were dreaming. People were dreaming of a better world, a more equal world,” Brassard said.

As someone who admires the aesthetics of the 1970s, I found the visuals of Agathe’s teenage years a feast for the eyes. Brassard mentioned that she remembers the aftermath of Montreal’s Expo 67, a world’s fair in which there was a liberating spirit in the air, both politically and creatively. Le Train recreates these artistic communities and countercultures that she found in the city, where intellectual and creative thoughts were freely exchanged. 

Brassard grew up listening to the sound of trains running through her town, dreaming of the places they would go. In Le Train, these dreams recur and contrast the rest of the film in their black-and-white stylization, as Agathe tries to figure out both their meaning and the other world that intrigues her. Brassard used these childhood dreams as the starting point of her script.

“I imagined that it was a lumberjack there [by the train], who was cutting trees and protecting our world, and that he was standing at the frontier between us and the world that we don’t know,” Brassard said.

The themes of identity, dreams, and a blend of fantasy run through much of Brassard’s work. 

“There’s something fundamental that is part of you that you cannot escape from. And I think that for me, it is a very thin layer between dream and reality, or between the imagined and reality,” Brassard said. “And somehow, it intersects with [the] science worlds. When we think of quantum realities, where scientists reflect on the possibility of parallel worlds that we cannot perceive.” 

As Le Train rolled its final frames, it left audiences with a resonant message that speaks to both nostalgia and hope, reminding viewers of a time, and perhaps a place, where dreaming of a better world still felt possible.

Behind the Bench, Football, Sports

Kyren Lacy: A life lost, a dream stolen

by Will Kennedy on

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Content warning: Suicide

On April 26, 2025, Cydney Theard spoke at the memorial service for her boyfriend and Louisiana State University (LSU) Football star player Kyren Lacy, who passed away on April 12. Theard delivered powerful words about who her partner was, the hopes they shared, and how a narrative pushed by the internet led to him taking his own life. 

“We dreamed in simple colours. A draft day suit, our first apartment, his jersey hanging by the door. He was right there ready to step into the [National Football League (NFL)] and start the life he’d earned,” Theard shared.

In January 2025, Lacy was accused of negligent homicide and felony hit and run in Louisiana. Police claim that Lacy made a passing maneuver which led to an oncoming car swerving to avoid him and colliding into another vehicle. Lacy insisted that he had no involvement with the crash and was merely in the area.

Even after his passing, Lacy’s lawyers have worked to clear his name. In October 2025, Lacy’s lawyers released surveillance footage of the incident, showing that he was over 80 yards behind the crash when it happened. They also released bodycam footage of a sheriff pressuring a witness into changing their statement to place the blame on Lacy. 

Louisiana State Police claim that it was Lacy’s reckless driving which caused two other cars, including a Kia Cadenza operated by a woman whose identity has not been made public, to collide head-on. Lacy passed a vehicle on a stretch of single-lane highway by using the oncoming lane, a typical maneuver on rural highways—except Lacy did it in a no-passing zone. Lacy’s attorneys have never disputed this fact, but have pointed out that he merged back into his correct lane with 361 feet separating him and the closest oncoming vehicle, meaning he merged while respecting more than three times the required passing distance. Evidence thus shows that Lacy was back in his lane well prior to the colliding vehicles making any maneuvers leading up to the crash. 

The district attorney (DA) also raised concerns about the way police have relied on video and audio footage that is not synced properly, making it appear that Lacy was much closer to the crash than he actually was. The DA’s report states that the Kia Cadenza was “following too close, which caused her to take evasive action to avoid hitting the back” of one of the cars in the crash. Furthermore, the DA’s findings were consistent with the account from a driver of a truck involved in the accident that the driver of the Kia Cadenza “caused that wreckage.”

Yet the media treated Lacy’s accusations as guilty until proven innocent—the opposite of how justice ought to work. Collegiate athletes are often treated like circus performers in this way, with the public forgetting that they are young people too. 

Lacy did have emotional outbursts on the football field, including one that a Barstool Sports employee used to paint him as guilty when his charges were first announced. LSU coach Brian Kelly had previously described Lacy as “high-strung” and someone who struggled with his emotional control, but followed up by saying, “That young man, I love him because he’s working on that every day.” Countless other young men of Lacy’s age have also struggled with emotional regulation, but few have had their emotional outbursts used to defame them. 

Regardless of whether Lacy caused the crash, he should still be alive today. Theard spoke at his memorial service about the way people demonized him online. “They called him a monster. [….] Offline, he carried that weight so the rest of us wouldn’t.” Lacy ultimately took his own life while carrying the weight of being painted as a murderer by hundreds of thousands of strangers around the world. 

The greatest tragedy of all is that Lacy was not mourned properly because the world was busy vilifying him as someone he was not. It is a cautionary tale of how the public’s words deeply affect young athletes. It is important to talk about what happened to Lacy, but the more important story should be who Kyren Lacy really was. 

As Theard said, “Kyren Lacy was kindness in motion. Remember him that way and let the truth at last find its light.”

McGill, News

Students face delays in accessing student loans and grants during B.C. public worker strike

by Basil Atari on

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On Sept. 2, the British Columbia General Employees’ Union (BCGEU), one of the province’s largest public sector unions, went on strike until Oct. 26. The strike affected most provincial ministries in B.C., including the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, which administers student financial aid programs through StudentAid BC. 

The BCGEU went on strike when negotiations with the B.C. government for higher wages in future contracts reached an impasse. Until it was resolved, the strike left some B.C. students who rely on provincial student assistance unable to access their student loans and bursaries. According to StudentAid BC’s website, delays in student aid disbursements occurred until the labour dispute was resolved, and access to its online systems remained unavailable during the ongoing labour action.

Most students who rely on StudentAid BC have received their funding for the fall semester, but the few who have not have been greatly affected by the delays. Students who rely on assistance via BCGEU have expressed that the potential for continued delays during labour disputes may cause them more difficulty, especially with upcoming winter semester payment deadlines.

In a written statement to The Tribune, a McGill student who experienced delays to their B.C. student loans during strike negotiations, who wished to remain anonymous, described how McGill can support students under related financial strain.

“I hope that McGill will be understanding of the difficult situation the strike puts students in, and I hope they will take into consideration that most students who use [StudentAid BC loans] can not seek outside financial support,” they wrote.

In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Scholarships and Student Aid Office encouraged B.C. students who have experienced financial hardship due to delays in government aid to contact the office for assistance.

“We offer one-on-one appointments with Financial Aid Counsellors who can assess individual circumstances and, where appropriate, provide institutional aid in the form of an emergency interest-free McGill loan to help bridge the gap while students [from British Columbia] await their funding,” the Office wrote. “Additionally, students who have requested a fee deferral due to delayed government aid have until the end of November to pay their tuition and fees. If a longer deferral is needed, our office can assist with arranging an extension.”

On behalf of the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS), Pearce-Tai Thomasson, the Society’s Vice President of Communications, clarified how the AUS has been aiming to help students affected by the ongoing delays.

“The AUS […] deeply sympathizes with the affected students and are open to sitting down with students struggling with this issue,” he expressed in a written statement to The Tribune. “While our scope remains limited to our constituents, we can provide students with options and help them navigate potential escalation to [the Students’ Society of McGill University] or the Deans within the Arts Faculty Admin. Students concerned can reach out to us using the Arts Public Directory.”

The AUS also provided a list of resources for students seeking ways to reduce their living costs, in the face of the burden brought on by the B.C. government’s failure to successfully negotiate to end its public sector strikes. The list includes resources for affordable transportation, on-campus food options, and mental health services.

Another student who wished to remain anonymous expressed frustration with the lack of public communication from the McGill Scholarships and Student Aid Office about the BCGEU strike’s effect on B.C. student aid disbursements. 

“[McGill] hasn’t been super transparent. [….] They could have sent an email to all of the [affected] students telling them they were addressing this,” they said, in an interview with The Tribune. “[McGill] has a delay on payments that you can apply for through the financial aid application […] and there’s [also] emergency funds, […] which are [resources] that the school definitely could advertise [more].”

Students from B.C. who have been impacted by student aid delays can reach McGill’s Scholarships and Student Aid Office by phone at 514-398-6013 or by email at [email protected].

McGill, News, SSMU

SSMU LC discusses gender-affirming care insurance, new VP hires, and Fall Referendum

by Devdas Hind on

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The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council held its fourth meeting of the semester on Oct. 23, with 25 members present.

After the Steering Committee briefly presented a report, SSMU Black Affairs Commissioner Kendra-Ann Haynes gave a presentation. Haynes stated that the Black Affairs Committee is interested in opening a chapter for Black Future Lawyers and expanding the Black Equity Fund to post-graduate students at McGill. 

Next was a presentation from Chief Officer Mike Lee of SSMU Elections. He outlined strategies to increase voter turnout for the upcoming Fall Referendum, including a raffle, flyers, and a stronger social media presence.

“People do vote [when] they feel related to a topic [and] when they feel that things are related to them,” Lee said. 

The Conference on Diversity in Engineering (CDE) then presented its request for $25,000 CAD from the SSMU Campus Life Fund to balance its budget. The CDE’s Co-Chair Claire Levasseur stated that sponsors are especially difficult to find this year.

“Three out of the four major [engineering] conferences are being held in Quebec [in 2025], [so] we are all going for the same resources, which has been extremely difficult,” Levasseur reported.

After a unanimous vote in the CDE’s favour, the LC approved the CDE’s request for funding.   

SSMU President Dymetri Taylor then gave an Executive Committee report. Among other things, President Taylor noted that the implementation of a new gender-affirming care student insurance model will be pushed back from the beginning of the Winter 2026 semester to the Fall 2026 semester. 

“McGill required roughly six months’ notice to provide information of a secure nature to third parties, [which] is then pushing back implementation of gender-affirming care,” Taylor clarified.

The new hires to the SSMU Vice-President (VP) Finance and VP Internal Affairs positions were next presented to the LC. VP Finance Jean-Sébastien Léger and VP Internal Minaal Mirza both began their roles on Oct. 20.

The Executive Reports continued with SSMU VP External Affairs Seraphina Crema-Black confirming that she will be hosting a Montreal municipal election debate on Oct. 27 in the SSMU ballroom, with confirmed participation from Transition Montréal, Projet Montréal, Futur Montréal, and Ensemble Montréal. The debate will be moderated by McGill’s Associate Provost Angela Campbell. Crema-Black emphasized that there is a form where students can submit their questions for candidates as well.

After Crema-Black spoke, the Medical Students’ Society (MSS) of McGill presented a report. Among other things, MSS SSMU Representative Ling He announced that an emergency MSS General Assembly would be held on Oct. 26 regarding the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ) and Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) strikes.  

The LC concluded by handling a series of motions. Notably, the Council voted unanimously to add Crema-Black and SSMU VP University Affairs Susan Aloudat to the SSMU Board of Directors. 

Moment of the meeting: Chief Officer Lee warned that the consequences of not reaching a quorum of 15 per cent during the Fall Referendum means none of the campaigns on the ballot will move forward. 

Soundbite: “We’re [trying] to e-mail professors of large courses for them to remind students [to vote], [while] identifying faculties and programs with the lowest voter turnouts [to] see how we can make sure the target groups can increase their voting.”—Lee on additional strategies SSMU is undertaking to help reach quorum

Student Life

Haunted happenings at McGill 

by Jamie Xie on

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On certain nights, when the odd moon glows pale and crooked over campus, McGill is an impossibly-held breath of swallowed light. In a certain Burnside basement lie the remnants of something remarkably gruesome: The dark undertow of a winding tunnel that seems too narrow, a labyrinthine corridor folding in on itself, a lung collapsing under its own weight. 

It is the hall with eyes, a series of miraculous misgivings—something seven feet tall which stalks on its hind legs and does not wish to be seen. Footsteps trail no fewer than five steps behind you; it is faster, smarter, hungrier than you—a violent warning that if you can hear it, it has already heard you. Counting down from 10 like a game of hide and seek, it is a church bell chiming, marking its own hour of death. Drawn tight like a curtain, the route promises passage to Otto Maass. How tragically human that we are so often proven poor liars—prone to promises we cannot keep, prone to keeping things that aren’t ours. Time remembers a naive freshman who wandered down this passage to nowhere.

Some student encounters blend mundanity with the uncanny. In an interview with The Tribune, Cedric Phillips, U3 Science, reported a bizarre incident in the Islamic Studies Library which defies explanation; over the course of an hour, three books tumbled from the shelves without warning. 

“No one was even near the shelves. It was sort of a sanity check for me,” he said. “Whatever it is either really hates me or really hates undergrads.” 

Ominous flickering lights have been reported in other corners of campus. 

Linc Ketchate, U3 Engineering, recounted eerie lights in the Trottier basement and Arts building in an interview with //The Tribune//. “As soon as it gets dark out, there’s something creepy happening in there, and it’s not just BdA.” 

Ketchate suggests that these experiences may be shaped by the collective anxieties that define student life, highlighting the constant stress to perform, particularly during midterm season and amid external pressures such as the STM strike, which make familiar spaces feel hostile and almost otherworldly.

With many students coming from abroad or leaving home for the first time, university life can be a profoundly isolating experience. For Layla Issa, U2 Arts, this loneliness became especially tangible during reading week. While her friends returned home to see their families, she stayed behind, studying late into the night on the second floor of McLennan Library. It was there, she recalled in an interview with The Tribune, lights blinked out—leaving students literally and figuratively in the dark. 

“When the lights went out and everyone looked up at the same time it was like this weird moment of camaraderie,” she says. 

Jasmine Ma, U3 Arts, showcased her psychology background in an interview with The Tribune about McGill’s haunted nature. “As the dark is coming in and the days get shorter, it’s unsurprising that the brain can play tricks on us in this kind of collective psychosis.” 

In an interview with The Tribune, Nesrine Yala, U1 Arts, reflected on the bonds that shared fright forges in a cultural context. 

“Ghost stories often bring people together. Even though they’re about something negative or scary, fear, injustice, they create a sense of community.”

For Issa, the experience became less about fear and more about empathy. 

“Some things can’t always be explained, I’m not sure if I believe in the paranormal but I believe in energies. That’s where empathy comes out. It’s through these lived experiences that McGill shares a common heart.” 

It is unclear whether McGill’s ghosts are real or imagined—if the shadow slipping through Burnside’s tunnels is born of memory, or the anxiety of midterm all-nighters. But what remains is undeniable: The strange pulse of something unspoken, which breathes new light into the university’s collective imagination. 

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