McGill’s Petrocultures 2014 conference faced criticism last Friday, when participants were forced to relocate following an occupation of the Faculty Club by a group called “LockOut Petrocultures.” Later that day, student campaign group Divest McGill demonstrated outside the conference as well. At 8:00 a.m., approximately 30 members of the Montreal[Read More…]
Author: Jessica Fu
Course cuts: rolling with the punches
Once again, Arts is cutting courses. On Jan. 28, the Faculty of Arts Committee (FAC) convened for the second time this academic year. The primary announcement that emerged from the meeting was another 5 per cent reduction to all existing Arts courses, equating to the cancellation of another 50 classes[Read More…]
Faculty of Arts faces 50 course cuts due to reduced budget for course lecturers
The Faculty of Arts will terminate approximately 50 courses in the 2014-2015 academic year, as announced on Jan 29. The decision is a continued effect of provincial budget cuts announced in December 2012, in response to which the Office of the Provost called for a 10 per cent cut in[Read More…]
The puzzle of pain behaviour
Basil Kadoura, a U3 neuroscience student, has always had pets, so it comes as no surprise that he currently enjoys spending his days in the lab playing with mice. Working under the supervision of McGill professor Jeffrey Mogil, Kadoura is investigating a chemosignaling study concerning how mice respond to male[Read More…]
Ethical economics: assessing the effectiveness of university divestment campaigns
Divestment campaigns at universities have targeted a diverse range of issues in the last several decades, varying from South African apartheid in the 1970s to companies involved in fossil fuels today Divestment is the reduction or elimination of investment in a particular company or sector for ethical and social reasons.[Read More…]
What is the science behind chemical attraction?
When we meet someone that we like, our heart flutters and we feel short of breath. On a first date, our stomach is full of butterflies. And when we fall in love, we feel a powerful sense of empathy towards our partner. While poets, novelists, and songwriters have described the[Read More…]
Social media: both blessing and curse for the lonely
From Facebook to Instagram to the multitude of dating websites, we live in a digital age where speaking to someone or finding out what they’re up to is just a click away. Social media platforms are built on the premise of being able to instantly connect with others—to share our[Read More…]
The elite eight: Karen Russell’s short story collection shines
Karen Russell’s new book of stories titled Vampires in the Lemon Grove, published in February 2013, is preceded by a slew of positive reviews and awards from her past publications. With Vampires, Russell once again demonstrates her drive to challenge herself and push the boundaries of her prose and genre.[Read More…]
“Triple-E” Senate: Equal, but elected in error
On a class trip in high school, I became one of the relatively few people in Canadian history to sit at a Senator’s desk. From the wood-and-leather chair, I admired the richly-adorned chamber that the media often calls useless and old-fashioned. As my final year of high school progressed, the[Read More…]
The Seagull will have Montrealers flocking to its stage
In Tom Stoppard’s introduction to his English translation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, he writes, “You can’t have too many English language versions of The Seagull.” Although he very well may have written those words in the interest of stressing the relevance of his translation—particularly given the plethora of other[Read More…]
