Latest News

a, Science & Technology

Police interrogations can be impacted by TASER shocks

by Sihara Wickremasinghe  on

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The Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle, known more commonly as a TASER, has historically been seen as the less deadly hand-held alternative to the gun. The device works by dispatching an average of 50,000 volts of shock through two wires that can shoot from up to 10.6 metres away. This jolt has the ability to generate involuntary constrictions of muscle tissue, rendering the recipient immobilized. According to Amnesty International, between 2001 and 2008, 334 Americans died after being shocked by a TASER. 

Various studies have been done to evaluate the physical impact of being tased, most of these have focused on evaluating disturbances to cardiac rhythm, breathing, metabolism and stress. The outcome of these tests have shown that TASERs don’t present an increased risk of injury or death to adults in healthy physical shape. The majority of deaths that have occurred because of tasers have been due to a combination of variables such as drug or alcohol abuse and pre-existing medical conditions.

While the physiological aspect of TASER shocks has been evaluated, the impact of TASERs on neurological health has not yet been thoroughly explored. This information is especially relevant for the time period immediately after a TASER shock because this is usually the time frame during which many suspects are interviewed. If the claim that suspects enter a state of significant disorientation after being tased, as the new study by Drexel University and Arizona State University titled, TASER Exposure and Cognitive Impairment: Implications for Valid Miranda Waivers and the Timing of Police Custodial Interrogations, suggests, then the legitimacy of statements taken during this time is brought into question.

A bewildered suspect may not be aware of the fact that they are waiving their rights of protection from self-incrimination. The study, conducted by Robert Kane, professor of the Drexel’s Criminology and Justice Studies Department and Michael White, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, involved 142 participants who were screened for substance issues, and cardiac and psychological problems. There was a control group to which nothing was done, a group that was made to mirror the adrenaline rush of a police encounter by repeatedly pummeling a punching bag, a third group that was tased in five-second bursts and a final group that underwent a five-second TASER burst after hitting the punching bag.

The tests for cognitive ability were conducted at four different intervals: Before the test, right after, an hour later and after a week had passed. One of the tests, the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, which assesses verbal learning and short-term memory recall ability, showed the greatest fluctuations. A quarter of the participants experienced a reduction of about four words recalled correctly (from 26.68 to 22.53 with a perfect score being 36) 

“[This] represents the mean level cognitive functioning for 79-year-old adults, placing participants within the range of mild cognitive impairment,” read a press-release posted by Drexel University.

This effect generally wore off before one hour had passed.

“The findings from this study suggest that people who have been shocked with a TASER may be unable to understand and rationally act upon his or her legal rights,” Kane stated in the press release. 

Innocent people are at risk of unintentionally implicating themselves, whereas guilty parties might not be in a state to give accurate information. This first-of-its-kind study opens up a conversation about how to conduct the most effective interrogations. Even the slight possibility that an investigation could be compromised due to a TASER’s unforeseen mental side effects is reason enough to revisit policy regarding interrogation procedure for a victim of a TASER shock. 

TASER shocks can derail the decision-making process of an individual and these researchers propose that waiting an hour after someone has been shocked to interrogate them might be all that is needed to avoid miscommunication. And when trying to prove whether someone is guilty or not guilty, a miscommunication can mean life or death.

a, McGill, News, SSMU

New McGill Sexual Assault Policy draft released

by Shrinkhala Dawadi on

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On Feb. 16, McGill’s Sexual Assault Policy Working Group released its final version of the proposed Sexual Assault Policy (SAP) to the public. The working group formed in 2012, after allegations of sexual assault against against three former Redmen football players brought greater awareness to the fact that McGill has no university-wide sexual assault policy.
According to Cecilia MacArthur, a member of the working group, the SAP institutionalizes a lot of the informal practices that McGill had previously adopted, while additionally creating the new position of the sexual assault resource coordinator (SARC).
“The bulk of [the SARC’s] role will be just helping people navigate the policy, showing them the resources that exist,” she said. “The idea would be [that the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACCOMS) and the SARC] would work together and supplement each other, but that the SARC would be less of an immediate support person, understanding that sometimes, if you have an office of the SARC, people who are in crisis might go there, so […] ultimately, they’re probably going to have […] some crisis support training.”
According to Andre Costopoulos, dean of students, the potential hiring of a SARC is an implementation matter rather than a policy one.
“Some of the elements in the [SAP] [are] clearly implementation, and some of them are policy, and you have to separate the two,” he said. “The policy says [that] when unacceptable conduct happens we have to intervene. The administration decides how we intervene. How do we make sure that the spirit of this policy is respected in this community [….] That’s completely different to the policy conversation. Implementation is […] the university administration in partnership with the student associations.”
Talia Gruber, another member of the SAP working group, explained that the benefit of writing procedures into a policy was the policy’s permanence.
“Right now, we have a lot of things in the policy that [the McGill administration] would like to see in the implementation guide,” she said. “The reason that we want so many things in the policy is that policies are institutionalized and once they’re passed you can’t change what’s in them. We’ve come up with some really good compromises […] like putting things in the implementation guide, but having a caveat in the policy that says, ‘There is this guide, and it’s going to be used.’”
Costopoulos explained that other avenues of discussion between the working group and the McGill administration include the interpretation of a McGill Context, as outlined in Article 8 of the Code of Student Conduct. The current interpretation of the Article is that events held by student associations off-campus do not fall within the McGill context. Consequently, McGill will be unable to conduct a disciplinary investigation into any alleged sexual assaults that occur during such an event.
“It’s one of the points that we’ve been discussing and I think we’re going to continue to be discussing,” he said. “It’s a matter of how we’ve interpreted it over the years, and interpretations are always subject to revision because the context in which we live changes all the time.”
MacArthur explained that many individuals have been involved in shaping the SAP in the two years since its inception, include students, administration, faculty members, as well as campus groups.
“At a certain point last year, about March, we were considering […] bringing [the SAP] to Senate,” she said. “But […] stakeholders were feeling like we could do more consultation with regards to the anti-oppression aspect of the policy [….] At that point, we stopped the trajectory we had set out and started doing more consultation. [This February,] I think we felt like we had done as good of a job as we could of incorporating different experiences, [and] different approaches [into the SAP].”
Going forward, the SAP will be reviewed by members of the administration, including the dean of students and the office of the deputy provost (Student Life and Learning). Following any revisions to the SAP, the group hopes to tentatively present the policy to Senate this March.

a, News, PGSS

PGSS Council discusses $40,000 membership fee surplus

by Aislinn Kalob on

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The Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University (PGSS) learned of a $40,000 surplus in general membership fees from the latest budget fact sheet presented at its Feb. 17 council meeting. Council also heard two presentations from representatives of new student federations: The Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ), and the Quebec Student Union (QSU).

Budget surplus

Due in part to the PGSS Special Projects Fund deficit, mainly from legal fees incurred after their disaffiliation from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) in 2009, PGSS as a whole runs a current deficit of over $600,000.  In contrast, the most recent budget fact sheet made available to PGSS membership highlighted a $40,000 surplus in the society activities fund.

“The $40,000 that's projected for next year, that means money that we had budgeted for this year to spend, and we will not,”  PGSS Member Services Officer Brighita Lungu said. “The $40,000 comes from these budget lines that I have picked that could have been much better spent.”

This surplus is from the pool of money coming directly from student fees, paid into by all PGSS members. Lungu expressed urgency to spend this money soon, despite PGSS running deficits in other areas of its budget.

"My personal opinion is that we've been hearing bankruptcy all year, and that does not encourage anybody to spend anything," Lungu said. "This is money we have to use, that we have to spend. We cannot end the year and not have your money spent, because this is your fee."

These funds do not alleviate deficits in other areas of the PGSS budget, which will be worked out in the coming semester.

“We have to make what we have in hand work for the next year,” Financial Affairs Officer Behrang Sharif explained.  “Definitely, we are going to have discussions about how we are proposing the budget that next year we will not have this deficit increase more and more. It's currently $611,000, [and] by the end of the year we are hoping to be in the same place.”

AVEQ and QSU

Representatives from AVEQ and QSU gave presentations on the structure of their respective student federations, and how they differ from one another in terms of membership and voting.  Sofia Guerrieri, an internal relations coordinator for AVEQ, explained how the federation’s financial and institutional structure will serve PGSS, by virtue of a separate commission, funded separately, for graduate studies students.  

“In student organizing, especially at the provincial level, there's often an overrepresentation of undergraduate students,” Guerrieri said. “By giving graduate students a commission […] with its own budget, it’s recognizing that graduate students have different priorities, different rights, and [that] those need to be addressed at a different level [….] By having its own budget, the graduate studies body is granted relative autonomy within the association.”

QSU set itself apart from AVEQ in terms of its voting system. While AVEQ uses a one association, one vote method, QSU requires a motion to go through two different rounds of voting.  

“For a motion to pass…it has to go through two votes,” explained Caroline Aubry, General Coordinator of QSU.  “First […] a majority of associations has to be in favor of a motion for it to pass to the next level, and the next level is a semi-proportional system. This level aims to make sure we have at least 40 per cent of individual members that are in favor.”

PGSS Equity and Diversity Commissioner, Régine Debrosse, highlighted this difference as fundamental to PGSS’s decision on which federation to ultimately decide to affiliate with.

The way [AVEQ’s] voting system works is one association has one vote,” Debrosse said. “[This] means that the biggest student unions in Quebec— the biggest universities— will not go with them.  If you have 60,000 members and you’re being told you’re going to have as much power as a student union that has 2,000 […] these people are not going to jump in that boat [….] It means that AVEQ is going to be small […] and QSU will be the bigger boat. PGSS's decision is the following: Are we jumping as big player in a small boat, or as a small player in a big boat?”

Black Power and Beyonce
a, Arts & Entertainment, Music

Black lights over America: How Black Power is transforming pop culture

by Weiyu Dang on

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Between Beyoncé’s Super Bowl show, Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy performance, and Kanye West’s assault on reason, Black Power is igniting every pop culture barricade in sight in defiance of convention.

When Beyoncé released “Formation,” fans expecting another version of the club-ready recycled trap hit “7/11” were left distraught. Gone was the gif-ready, pointlessly sexualized Bey. Instead, they heard Beyoncé, the “Texas bama” representation of Southern blackness. In the video, the only white people shown are police raising hands in defeat to a breakdancing black boy as Louisiana bounce artist Big Freedia say “I like cornbread and collard greens, bitch.” Among images of ravaged Louisiana, Creole culture, and police brutality, Beyoncé intensifies her already ferocious self-strengthening aura by going deeper inside her blackness.

Set in contrast to a canned Coldplay performance at the Super Bowl, “Formation” showed why Coldplay needs to play songs from over a decade ago and Beyoncé can release a song at random and have the world eating Red Lobster with her. Her Blank Panther uniform only stressed that “BELIEVE IN LOVE” only works when thousands are forced to hold up placards on TV.

A week later at the Grammys, as other artists were playing tribute songs and pop hits, Lamar came in, no compromises, guns blazing with a medley of the self-loathing, dystopian “The Blacker the Berry,” the determined anthem “Alright,” and a searing unreleased verse on the black abuse and white brutality.

On “Blacker the Berry,” Lamar reclaimed black culture: “Vandalize my perception but can’t take style from me.” He then throttled his audience, shoving self-determination down their throats, “As we proceed to give you what you need.” With the subsequent “trap our bodies but can’t lock our minds” then “lock our bodies but can’t trap our minds” chants, Kendrick shattered the traps and locks of institutionalized racism. On the call to arms of “Alright,” Lamar sermonized the audience on perseverance on a stage of fire. For the final song, he flew into a frenzied verse on the destruction caused by the Trayvon Martin murder, accelerating into a final defiant Compton-inscribed image of Africa as the lights went out.

Throughout his performance, Lamar conjured up and fused together Nat Turner, Bobby Seale, the Watts Riots, the Rodney King Riots, and Trayvon Martin. While Taylor Swift won the Album of the Year over him and brought the Grammys back to 1989, Kendrick brought the world back to 2012, 1992, 1965, 1831, then finally into the time-transcending reminder that modern Black Power is a “conversation for the entire nation. This is bigger than us.”

If Kendrick is the polemicist, Kanye is the paragon and impresario of new black power. On his new, densely-cluttered, densely-combative (unfinished?) album, The Life of Pablo (TLOP), Kanye fires at everything from Nike to Taylor Swift to greed to himself. TLOP, as a self-proclaimed gospel “album of life,” features a heavy dose of iconic samples ranging from Nina Simone to Ghostface Killa to a new protégé Desiigner to the most self-reflexive of all, himself. Climbing to fame through his production skills, Kanye will however always have a stronger musical ear than a musical voice. And he knows it. As such, Kanye takes it upon himself to make music for and by his community. On TLOP, a slew of notable and rising rappers are featured: Chance the Rapper, Travi$ Scott, Young Thug, and Ty Dolla $ign. Yet, affirming the power and scope that Kanye holds, he also features the youngest ever Pulitzer prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw on a track with Frank Ocean.

In the most unconventional of album rollouts, Kanye captivated the world with a series of legal-pad tracklists, an otherworldly—perhaps totalitarian—fashion show, a Saturday Night Live-esauqe tour de force, all buttressed by Twitter rants ranging from “Don’t tell me Lebron had a bad game. What yo jump shot look like???” to “There is so much positive energy right now … Let’s stay on this Ultra Light Beam…” That Kanye can take the world hostage over an unfinished album and mildly crazy twitter musings marks the cultural territory gained by the new Black Power Movement.

It is then no surprise then that all these artists have royal epithets. A new, black, cultural power is deriving from Queen Bey, King Kendrick, and Yeezus. We’re just here to bear witness.

Martlet volleyball
a, Martlets

Volleyball: Martlets advance to RSEQ Finals and clinch CIS Championship berth

by Nicole Spadotto on

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Despite dropping a 3-0 loss to the Sherbrooke Vert et Or (15-7) in their first game in the RSEQ semifinals on Friday, the Martlet volleyball team (15-7) rebounded on Saturday and Sunday to not only advance to the RSEQ Finals, but to clinch a berth at the CIS Championships. Though statistically, Sherbrooke came away with a rather commanding win, the Martlets steadily found their groove throughout the game, losing the respective sets by scores of 25-19, 25-18, and 25-23, with the most exciting game play coming in the last stanza, when the Martlets nearly stole the win in the set. The momentum generated towards the end of Friday’s game helped translated into two consecutive wins on Saturday and Sunday by scores of 3-2 and 3-0 respectively.

“Sherbrooke served really well today, and very aggressive,” Martlets Head Coach Rachele Beliveau said after the loss on Friday. “We couldn’t play our offence like we usually play.”On Saturday and Sunday, McGill improved their offence game by game to overwhelm Sherbrooke. On Friday, Sherbrooke bested McGill offensively in hitting proficiency, kills, aces, and blocked shots. Defensively for the Martlets, miscommunication led to rogue balls being missed on more than a few occasions. Similarly, on Saturday, McGill once again dominated Sherbrooke in digs, but fell short in kills, blocks, and aces; however, enhanced defence and aggressiveness allowed the Martlets to cling to the win. The weekend saga culminated full circle in the deciding match on Sunday, with the Martlets displaying more confidence, poise, and tenacity than they had all weekend–besting Sherbrooke in digs, aces, and kills to dominate the game. Beliveau credits the comeback to increased aggression on the ball and enhanced execution of the game plan.

“We need the ball to be at the net, and then we’ll become very good offensively,” Beliveau elaborated. “And the ball wasn’t there [on Friday]. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t there on the net.”

Despite the disappointing loss, McGill progressively improved their game throughout the match. At the beginning of the second set, McGill and Sherbrooke traded points, with McGill hanging onto the lead up until midway through the set. In the second half, key missed blocks led to a ommanding lead lead for Sherbrooke, which they managed to hang onto despite a late-set surge by the Martlets, led by energizing blocks by Robitaille and powerful shots by junior power-hitter Marie-Eve Dorion.

In Friday’s third set, the Sherbrooke defence looked sharp, saving what looked like sure points for McGill. The end of the set was the high point of the game for the Martlets, with McGill back coming from a deficit to tie the game 23-23. Sherbrooke would ultimately pull ahead after an aptly placed spike, and then win the game off the technicality of a Martlet player accidentally touching the net. The last set on Friday would set the tone for the Martlets for the rest of the weekend, giving them indispensible momentum and positivity that contributed to the series win, even in the face of a rowdy crowd at Sherbrooke on Saturday and a fervent Sherbrooke comeback attempt after McGill put them down 2-0.

“At the beginning, I think [our players] were nervous,” Beliveau said. “And then at some point they just started to get it together but it just gave the momentum to Sherbrooke, and if you do that with Sherbrooke, they’re going to go up.”

Though Sherbrooke commanded the win on Friday, the Martlets shook their nerves and wrestled back the momentum. Sherbrooke notably ended the Martlets Championship hopes last year by beating them out of a playoff berth, but this season, the Martlets bested Sherbrooke 4-3 through seven matches. With the strong response in a tightly contested game on Saturday at Sherbrooke, followed by a dominant performance on Sunday, the Martlets have finally solidified their superiority over their cross-provincial foes. The Martlets look forward to their next series, the RSEQ Finals against Université de Montreal, coming up this weekend.

“Our programs have been working really hard to be in the top two of our league, and this is what we’ve reached this year,” Beliveau concluded. “Now, we have to make it concrete with the playoffs.”

a, McGill, Montreal, News, SSMU

McGill Against Austerity hosts panel, “Protesting, Police, and Knowing Your Rights”

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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McGill Against Austerity continued its series of workshops on Feb. 17 with a presentation entitled “Protesting, Police, and Knowing Your Rights,” given by civil lawyer Max Silverman. A former McGill student, Silverman currently practices with law firm Avocat Montreal and teaches at Concordia University. He talked about the history of law enforcement in Montreal and gave advice for interacting with the police.

A history of cycles

Silverman spoke critically of Montreal’s police force, which he characterized as having cycles of escalation in brutality. 

“The history of the Montreal police is basically a history of violence and corruption building up to the point where the public doesn’t take it anymore,” Silverman said. “The city intervenes, restructures the police force, says all the problems are solved and so begins the forty to fifty year cycle.”

Although Silverman applauded  the Quebec Superior Court’s decision to remove Highway Safety Code 500.1 and bylaw P-6, laws which had been used against protesters, he stated that the swift police response to the protests held in Spring 2015 was evidence of the cycle of escalation.

“[In Spring 2015] instead of the mass arrests and focusing on giving out as many tickets as possible, the focus was really on violence and weapons,” Silverman said. “The net result of these tactics was that hardly any protests lasted more than an hour and no protests lasted more than two hours.”

Interacting with police

Silverman sought to advise student activists by giving an account of a citizen’s civil rights.

“The police do not have the right to stop and identify people for no reason in this country, despite what they think and how they act,” Silverman said.

In advising the distinction between being questioned and being arrested, Silverman emphasized that the only obligation an individual has when being questioned is identifying yourself if you’ve been pulled over driving, are in a an age-restricted area, in certain parts of the city at night, or are using a reduced fare transit card.

“The general advice that we give in such a situation is that if the police stop you and try to talk to you, you ask them calmly and clearly if you’re under arrest,” Silverman said. “If they say no, then you absolutely have the right to say I’m not going to talk to you and leave.”

The need for protesting

With the increasing use of force in 2015, Silverman suggested that social movements might need to re-evaluate how they approach protesting.

“There was a time when getting arrested was the point, when getting arrested served a purpose,” Silverman said. “In our modern times with nastier police tactics, with nastier fines, with mandatory minimums in jail, there are many reasons why people have moved away from that.”

Silverman upheld that society has a need for the right to protest.

“I think that things change when people make them change,” Silverman said. “In particular, [for] people concerned about political oppression and [barriers to] protesting […] I do think the best way to counter [these issues] is to just get out and protest more.”

McGill Against Austerity organizer Christian Scott stated that he found the workshop informative.

“Protesting is our right, it’s always good to know what our rights and obligations are,” Scott said. “Keep protesting, there’s always something to change.” 

Although students largely agreed that police brutality is a concern, many did not feel convinced about the merits of protesting as a method.

“These protests generally lack clearly defined goals, so they are not likely to do much,” Griffin Smith, U0 Arts, said. “Frankly, I have more important things to do.”

a, McGill, News

SUS Council looks to address low attendence at equity-related events

by Cahal McCabe on

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The Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) council addressed issues of low attendance at equity events during its Feb. 17 Council meeting. Council also heard updates regarding the budget of the Special Projects Fund, and on the most recent Senate hearing.

 

Equity events question

 

SUS Vice-President (VP) External Mary Helmer-Smith, brought up the lack of attendance at events hosted by the SUS Equity Committee, specifically the ‘CommuniTea Series’ which is intended to function as a safe discussion space. 

“The event series was aimed towards different marginalized groups,” Helmer-Smith said. “[It] would open a space for people to come and discuss their experiences, drink tea, and hang out.”

Participation at these events has been low in the past—there have been zero attendees on some occasions. These low levels of attendance are thought to be attributed to a lack of interest within the student body, and minimal promotion and communication from the SUS; Helmer-Smith explained potential solutions to the problem. 

“The Equity Committee is not really well known, […as] it doesn’t necessarily reach a lot of people,” Helmer-Smith said. “We’re not targeting people […] well enough.” 

Helmer-Smith attributed this problem to the off-campus location for events, such as the Educational Community Living Environment (ECOLE). 

“For some reason students seem to be apprehensive to go off campus,” Helmer-Smith said. “[ECOLE] is an unknown space for a lot of people, so they might be less willing to go to that space.”

Council approved a motion to include questions regarding the continuation of events for different marginalized groups for the upcoming referendum. These questions would determine whether students see a general importance with the continuation of such events, and if marginalized students are themselves interested in attending future events. 

“The Equity committee thought it would be appropriate to ask the student body if this is something that interests them,” said Helmer-Smith. “Because if not, then there is no point in putting our time into it. But if so, then we just need to promote it better so that more people could come to it.” 

 

Fall Reading Week

 

Science Senator Marina Smailes gave a report on the response of the Senate regarding a potential Fall Reading Week. 

“There is a huge pushback from the Faculty of Science in particular,” Smailes said.  “[The faculty believes] there are issues with making up labs, and in general […] issues that [the Faculty of] Science sees as something that they just don’t think the cost of that is worth giving students less stress.” 

Smailes explained that the position of the Faculty poses problems, because nearly all other faculties have endorsed this initiative.  

“We are going to be working with specifically the Science faculty and administrators to try to figure out a way to resolve this, as students really want it.”

 

Special Projects Fund

 

VP Finance Sibat Anam addressed the lack of money in the Special Projects Fund, as a result of the events hosted this year and events planned for later this semester. 

“At this point, the original funding amount for the special projects fund has been used up,” Anam said. “We have plans to see if we can replenish that fund somehow. If that does not work out then congrats, this is the first year in the three years I’ve been on this committee that the fund has been used up completely.”

Anam added that in the future, more finite guidelines are planned to be put in place so that future funds can also be used up completely and efficiently.

a, McGill, News

McGill on track for $10.2 million budget deficit, according to Manfredi

by Luke Devine on

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McGill’s budgetary deficit is expected to be nearly $6 million more than was approved for the 2016 fiscal year, according to the Feb. 17 Senate meeting. Senate also discussed equity practices in hiring tenure-track professors and creating a new school of public policy.

Open discussion on employment equity at McGill

Professor Angela Campbell, the current chair of the Joint Board-Senate Committee on Equity, led the discussion and focused on the issue of diversity among tenure-track professors.

 “The policy has not had a significant impact on diversifying the McGill community, particularly at the level of tenure-track faculty.” Campbell said.

Faculty of Medicine Senator Edith Zorychta urged McGill to improve their mentoring system for new faculty members.  

 “If we had a mentoring program where [new faculty members] got two mentors—one in their field to deal with the area of expertise, and another  related to their own background that they feel comfortable with—[new faculty members] would be happier, less stressed, and perhaps more likely to succeed in their initial years,” Zorychta said. “It would level the playing field.”

Chloe Rourke, vice-president (VP) University Affairs of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), also raised concerns about McGill’s equity record when compared to other Canadian universities.

Campbell responded that the comparisons between McGill and other post-secondary institutions were, at times, inaccurate, as they often dealt with different subject matters—SSMU’s report compared McGill’s data on tenure-track professors with data on faculty members in general at other universities.  

“We’re not comparing apples to apples,” Campbell said. “It’s relevant to look at it, but it’s not decisive. We really have to measures ourselves against a benchmark that can help us in a meaningful way to make progress in which we’re proud.”  

Since Fall 2015, McGill has required that academic search committees to confirm with the Office of the Provost and VP (Academic) that at least one member of a minority group is on their candidate shortlist. 

Budget planning report

Christopher Manfredi, provost and VP (Academic), delivered the budget planning report for the 2016-2017 school year, and spoke to McGill’s anticipated budgetary deficit.

“There was an approved budgetary deficit of $4.7 million for the 2016 fiscal year,” said Manfredi. “[But] right now, [McGill] is tracking towards a $10.2 million deficit.”  

The increase is owed, in part, to lower than budgeted tuition revenues, and a lower Quebec grant. Manfredi also confirmed that McGill’s deficit is comparable to the deficit faced by other Quebec universities.

 “We are [… at] the middle of the range,”Manfredi said. “[McGill’s] total cumulative finance deficit is a little less than $100 million, [and] we’re trying to make sure that we keep that at less than 15 per cent of our total budget.”  

Manfredi also said that McGill has seen some recent positive variances, including the unanticipated sale of Redpath property for approximately $20.6 million. Faculty of Arts Senator John Galaty, expressed concern over these sales. 

“In general it’s not a great idea to pay the bills by selling off assets,” said Galaty. 

 To reassure the Senate, Michael Di Grappa, vice principal (Administration and Finance) asserted that the deal was in the best interest of the university. 

“In calculating the amount [McGill] would derive from the remaining 30 years of the lease versus the amount they offered up front, we thought it was in the best interest of the university to take this particular deal, it had nothing to do with balancing the budget,” Di Grappa said. “This particular sale has allowed [McGill] to make a provision in the budget to support a very important project in sustainability sciences.”  

Report of the ombudsperson  

McGill University’s new ombudsperson for students, Professor Dimitrios Berk, addressed the Senate on the rate and nature of complaints lodged by students since 2010.

“There are two major areas: academic and interpersonal issues,” Berk said. “For academic issues, the vast majority is about grades [….] The report shows that academic issues are declining; 60 complaints were lodged in 2011, versus only 17 this year—this is the good news. The bad news is that the rate of [interpersonal] issues between course instructors and students has remained constant.”  

Berk concluded his presentation with a word of advice for professors and faculty members.

“Listen to the students […] it is very very important [….]” Berk said. “Most issues can be resolved just by listening”      

McGill School of Public Policy 

The Senate also carried a motion to create McGill’s first School of Public Policy. According to Manfredi, the program will draw from and build on McGill’s interdisciplinary knowledge and reputation, focusing on a wide range of policy-making issues.

“Many of the policies reflect McGill’s expertise,” Manfredi said. “They include health and social policy, environmental policy, education policy, governance and public service delivery [….] It goes across a whole range of things.” 

According to Manfredi, the School will initially be situated within the Faculty of Arts.

 “Once the school is up and running it will [become] a living organism, that will develop as other parts of the university see interest in it,” Manfredi said. “Though situated in the Faculty of Arts, the school is designed to be a multi-faculty and multi-disciplinary school.”  

a, News, SSMU

Breaking down the SSMU GA motions

by Sara Cullen on

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Motion Regarding the Procurement of Products Containing Conflict Minerals

This motion concerning divestment from sourcing of conflict-free minerals from Congo was moved by Ceci Steyn, U2 Arts.

“I moved this motion because while many other divestment movements are well known, most people aren't aware that the minerals in their electronics profit violent rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Steyn said. “This motion aims to have SSMU demonstrate that there's a clear demand for companies to invest in responsible mining in Eastern Congo.”

The motion calls the SSMU to join the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative and for the SSMU Financial Ethics Research Committee (FERC) to update its purchasing guidelines to take conflict caused by mineral sourcing into account.

“It’s important that this motion passes in order to send the message that consumers, particularly students, care about the ethics behind products,” Steyn said. “If SSMU passes this motion, it will become part of the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative, a movement that encourages universities to demonstrate their support for companies that minimize the use of conflict minerals.”

Motion for an Increase in Indigenous Content at McGill University

The indigenous content motion calls for the vice-president (VP) University Affairs to lobby McGill regarding indigenous class offerings and the hiring of indigenous professors. The motion was moved by NDP McGill with the support of various SSMU representatives, including VP University Affairs Chloe Rourke.

“McGill is located on traditional Kanien’kehá:ka territory. It is an institution whose graduates go on take up important positions in Canadian society,” NDP McGill said in a statement to the Tribune. “We feel it has an obligation to offer courses, languages, and programs that reflect indigenous perspectives and priorities.”

VP University Affairs Chloe Rourke stated that SSMU has taken steps in the past to advocate for indigenous studies and more equitable hiring and aims to continue this work.

“The spirit of the GA motion aligns well with SSMU's ongoing advocacy towards the Indigenization of the institution,” Rourke said. “Students played a large role in the establishment of the Indigenous Affairs minor. We have also led considerable advocacy on the issue of Employment Equity within McGill, of which the concerning lack of Indigenous professors is certainly a big part of. I believe this motion is also very timely considering the release of the Truth & Reconciliation Report last year which specifically calls for action within the educational system.”

Motion Regarding Support for the BDS Movement

This motion calls for the SSMU to support BDS campaigns and lobby the McGill Board of Governors in support of BDS campaigns.

Michael McCauley, U1 Arts, is an organizing member with the McGill Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) Action Network.  He stated that the motion aims to support campus campaigns associated with the BDS movement, as opposed to direct organization of boycotting or divesting from Israeli goods or investments.

“[M]any students seem to believe that this motion would directly cause SSMU, or the university, to fully implement boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israeli products and institutions,” McCauley said. “This is not true.  The motion would only provide SSMU's support to BDS campaigns at McGill, in the same way that it supports Divest McGill, McGill against Austerity, and Demilitarize McGill.”

McCauley stated that the incentive to implement this motion stems from a call made by the Palestinian civil society in 2005.

“The motion is being brought forward as a response to the call by 171 Palestinian civil society organizations in 2005 for people around the world to implement boycotts, divestment and sanctions initiatives against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights,” McCauley said.

a, News, SSMU

Live updates from the Winter 2016 SSMU GA

by Aislinn Kalob on

More in a:

Can't be at the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU) Winter 2016 General Assembly (GA)? We've got you covered with live updates. There are a variety of motions being discussed. Additionally, the GA will also see a discussion regarding whether McGill should be a smoke-free campus. The Tribune Editorial Board has also made endorsements on the motions. 

 

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