The McGill University Senate—the governing body responsible for academic policy on campus—approved a motion endorsing divestment from fossil fuels on Sept. 12. Senators also delivered four annual progress reports relevant to academic matters, including an update on the Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law. Determination of[Read More…]
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McGill professors debate the effectiveness of fossil fuel divestment
“The research shows that [divestment] does make a difference,” Mikkelson said. “The most comprehensive study [of divestment movements] was done at Oxford, and they looked at other divestment campaigns that didn’t necessarily cripple the industries they were targeting, but what they did do is make a big public impact, and that spurred governments to take action [….] Divestment creates impact by raising awareness, stigmatizing target companies, and influencing legislation.”
Etzion further emphasized the status of divestment as a social rather than economic movement.
“I don’t really perceive [fossil fuel divestment] as a financial tactic,” Etzion said. “It’s about something much bigger than what you invest in, it’s actually a social movement. And the objective of this tactic is to de-legitimize an entire industry. [Universities] are very influential in how the world perceives issues, and [divestment] empowers people to envision a world that is not running on a path to destruction.”
McGill Association of University Teachers votes to divest from fossil fuels
On Nov. 8, the McGill Association of University Teachers’ (MAUT) Council voted unanimously to divest from fossil fuels, moving approximately $500,000 out of its investment portfolios which include holdings in fossil fuel companies. The MAUT also passed a motion by a vote of 13-3 calling on McGill’s Board of Governors[Read More…]
Shutting down campus speakers at McGill won’t help divestment
With this spring’s campaign for divestment behind us and more activism likely to come in the fall, a brief window for critical reflection on the movement is upon us. This past semester’s sit-ins and rallies, spearheaded by groups such as Divest McGill, have largely been respectful and positive displays of[Read More…]
McGill alumni return diplomas following BoG’s decision to not divest
On April 1, Divest McGill held a diploma returning ceremony, during which McGill alumni returned their diplomas to demonstrate their disagreement with the Board of Governors’ (BoG) decision to not divest from fossil fuel companies. The ceremony took place in front of the James Administration Building and began with nine[Read More…]
McGill to divest from the colour red
In the latest divisive Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) motion debated at yesterday’s Mid-Term-Crisis General Assembly (GA), 87 per cent of students decided to part ways with the iconic McGill red. SSMU is now mandated to lobby the McGill Board of Governors to divest from and boycott all things[Read More…]
McGill Senate reacts to BoG decision to not divest
Following the McGill University Board of Governors’ (BoG) vote against adopting Divest McGill’s proposed actions, the Mar. 23 Senate meeting had members discussing transparency in McGill’s finances and actions. Maintaining ethical research behaviour was another topic of deliberation, as well as ensuring that no student final evaluations weighted higher than[Read More…]
Profs4Palestine campus tour highlights McGill’s academic ties to Israel
In the late afternoon of April 10, a crowd of around 50 staff and students gathered in front of the Nahum Gelber Law Library for a subversive “esprit rassembleur” tour of McGill. Led in collaboration by Profs4Palestine—a group of McGill professors united against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians—and students, the[Read More…]
Protesters stage ‘die-in’ at Y-intersection to draw attention to McGill’s complicity in ongoing genocide of Palestinians
Content Warning: Mentions of genocide and a hunger strike. On March 28, more than 40 protesters lay silently on the ground in front of the Arts Building for half an hour, their hands doused in red paint and bodies traced in chalk, to protest McGill’s financial and academic ties to[Read More…]
McGill Senate discusses Palestine, tuition hikes, and budget cuts
The McGill Senate convened on March 20 in Leacock for its third meeting of 2024. Central topics were student calls for McGill to cut ties with Israeli institutions, the tense atmosphere on campus over Israel’s siege on Gaza, and the ongoing legal battle between McGill and the provincial government over[Read More…]