Author: Admin

Ain’t nothing but a P thang: Confessions of a snob

Did you see what she is wearing? Omigod, I can’t believe he just said that! Admit it, we all pass judgments on others for the silliest of things-their outfits, their musical preferences, whatever. It’s human nature. There is a bit of snob in each of us. In my case, however, it is more than just a bit.

Ain’t nothing but a P thang: So… this weather, eh?

It can happen anywhere, at any time. It is social torture. It is the Awkward Conversation-insignificant, trite repartee that neither party engaging in it cares about. Drawing from personal experience, the Panthea Institute of Over-analysis will now review three main sources from which it stems.

SSMU REPORT CARDS: COUNCIL

SSMU’s Legislative Council has had, by many accounts, a disappointing year. Although it’s difficult to evaluate the performance of a body of this type, the Tribune feels that this year’s Council deserves a below-average grade. Although there were some councillors who were proactive, well-informed, and contributed in a constructive manner to debates, there were too many councillors who seemed to revel in making mountains out of molehills, and speaking mainly to hear the sound of their own voices.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The democratic hacky sack

Last Thursday, as I sat through Students’ Society Legislative Council, I felt like my nails were being pulled out of my fingers. I heard the word “democracy” being thrown around like a hacky sack as councillors took turns accusing others of infringing on their ‘democratic right’ to speak and then carefully stroking their own and, indeed, everyone’s ego with a passionate appeal to the ‘democratic process.

SSMU REPORT CARDS: SARAH OLLE – VP Clubs and Services

Although her portfolio has quieted down in the second semester, Sarah Olle has had an extremely successful term as vice-president clubs and services. The Tribune had high expectations for Olle, who came into the position after serving as interest group coordinator last year.

SSMU REPORT CARDS: REBECCA DOOLEY – VP University Affairs

At this time last year, the Tribune voiced concerns with Students’ Society Vice-President University Affairs Rebecca Dooley’s lack of experience. Before her tenure as VP UA, she’d been Queer McGill’s political action coordinator, which, the Tribune believed, was insufficient training for the portfolio.

SSMU REPORT CARDS: IVAN NEILSON – President

When Ivan Neilson was elected last year, the Tribune was confident that he would be a competent president. We thought his pragmatic nature would allow him to work effectively with the vice-presidents and build a good relationship with McGill’s administration.

SSMU Council votes to reinstate Choose Life’s club status

After a semester of meetings on the future of Choose Life – the controversial pro-life group whose club status was suspended last semester – the Students’ Society Council officially reinstated the group’s club status last Thursday. Choose Life’s club status was suspended last year on November 12 in light of the conflicts surrounding the club’s “Echoes of the Holocaust” event.

In Switzerland, accelerator begins smashing protons at full speed

At 12:58 p.m. local time last Tuesday, the Large Hadron Collider, a mammoth particle accelerator buried 100 metres beneath Geneva, Switzerland, finally began smashing subatomic particles together at record-high speeds. Though the LHC’s first successful particle collisions occurred in November, on Tuesday physicists at the accelerator recorded the first collisions at the energy level – about seven trillion electron volts (TeV) – at which the collider will operate for about the next year and a half.

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