The Tribune

Force your foot in the door, says Alex Grossi, and while she could be talking about any job, she is referring to television screenwriting. A lucrative and highly interesting position, screenwriting for TV has taken off in the past decade as the number of channels looking for the next “hit show” has expanded exponentially.

It’s likely that the average McGill student reads more words per day off of a computer screen than from in his or her books. Material for essays, labs and other class work are readily available on a number of databases – the most useful of which are even paid for by McGill.

Montreal is a politically charged city in a politically charged province; even the most insulated McGill ghetto resident knows that. When put to the task, it is a good bet that most students could also tell you a bit about Quebec’s beef with Canada, Canada’s beef with Quebec, and do a half-decent impression of Jean Chretien (hint: as you’re talking, move your mouth like you are, in fact, chewing beef).

During a drunken night out on the town, no one thinks to question the political affiliation of his or her favourite street. Enjoying the bars on St-Denis? You might be promoting a military regime. Walking along Stanley? You could be a potential colonizing bastard.

The shiny brochures in the Welcome Centre may romanticize student life, but they cannot exaggerate this fact: McGill is a unique institution. As an internationally renowned, English university located in the centre of a French-speaking province, most McGill students come in contact with a tongue that they do not understand every day, whether it be French, Arabic or Japanese.

As informatiive – and enthralling – as student textbooks are, in order to be a truly knowledgeable student in Montreal, it is important to read the city newspapers (no, the Tribune doesn’t count). Although McGill is situated in the heart of one of the most socially and politically active cities in Canada, many students are unaware of what happens beyond the campus gates.

Most students wouldn’t mind taking a day off from school, à la Ferris Bueller, but beating the system in university requires more complex tactics than those used by the quintissential high school slacker. For some undergraduates, a medical note is academic paydirt; a device through which they score extensions on – or even exemptions from – completing assignments, exams and other academic responsibilities.

As the so-called “Harvard of the north,” McGill is well known both within Canada and internationally for its high academic standards. Students of this lauded institution like to think that their diploma will grant them an edge over other recent grads in the Canadian job market and place them somewhere near the top of the graduate school application pile.

Most people think that getting ahead in business requires brains, hard work or good connections and sometimes more than one of them. But if you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed or you’re just plain lazy, there are ways to cheat your way to the top. The biggest advantage to cheating is that there is a lot of freedom in how you do it.

As I sat down to write this article, I was feeling less than inspired. Plagiarism is a topic that has been covered excessively, and it is also a rather boring one. I’ve read the same warning paragraph on each of my course outlines this semester, as has everyone else.