The Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) held its Teaching Assistant (TA) General Assembly online on Sept. 30 to vote on the new tentative TA Collective Agreement (CA). After two years of negotiations, AGSEM’s Bargaining Committee presented the tentative contract to the AGSEM Unit 1(TA) membership. The meeting[Read More…]
McGill
10 out of 1726: Confronting McGill’s colonial past and racist present
McGill lost 10 per cent of its Black faculty when Art History professor Charmaine Nelson left to take up a new post at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in July 2020. Of the 1726 tenured or tenure-track faculty at McGill, only 10 are Black—a figure unearthed[Read More…]
McGill Alumnus Steven Pinker presents McGill’s 2020 Beatty Lecture online
Cognitive scientist and linguist Steven Pinker presented this year’s Beatty Lecture to the McGill community and the general public on Sept. 25. Every year, the Beatty Lecture brings leading thinkers to McGill to present a public talk on a topic of their choice. During the online lecture, which drew in[Read More…]
PGSS panel argues for a fossil-free future for McGill
On Sept. 23, the Post Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) and their Environment Committee hosted an online discussion and panel titled “Divestment from Fossil Fuels at McGill.” The panel presented arguments in favour of McGill divesting from fossil fuels, examined what divestment might look like, and delved into the broader implications[Read More…]
Academic panel presents perspectives on environmental racism in Canada
While recent demonstrations such as BLM marches, the Scholar Strike, and environmental protection protests call for a racial reckoning, many scholars have been prompted to explore the link between environmental degradation and racial injustice. On Sept. 24, McGill’s Research and Sustainability Network (RSN) hosted a panel of academics to discuss[Read More…]
Canadian Biotech start-up to begin Phase 3 COVID-19 oral treatment trials
On Sept. 2, Pulmonem Inc., a Canadian biotechnology start-up, received Health Canada’s approval to begin Phase 3 clinical trials to test an oral medication to treat COVID-19. The treatment does not eliminate the need for a vaccine, but can potentially reduce the number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization by diminishing[Read More…]
McGill launches reimagined study spaces for COVID-19
On Sept. 8, McGill launched Study Hubs, a safe-study alternative to the traditional library experience. The Study Hubs are individual study spaces that are set up in compliance with the university’s COVID-19 safety measures that include the mandatory use of masks and socially distanced study areas. These study spaces are[Read More…]
Renaming of men’s varsity teams delayed indefinitely
Following the McGill administration’s decision to change the name of the varsity mens’ teams in April 2019, the Steering Committee assigned to find a new name for the teams by August 2020 has seen their work delayed due to COVID-19. Following Indigenous-led student activism, McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier[Read More…]
McGill residences fail to uphold pandemic safety guidelines
As COVID-19 cases rise throughout the province and outbreaks occur at multiple Canadian post-secondary schools, McGill University has by comparison appeared to weather the pandemic relatively well. However, the loss of the social aspects typical of the first-year university experience have impacted incoming students’ decision to live in residence this[Read More…]
Certain international graduate programs see sharp tuition hike
International students in some non-thesis masters’ programs will see their tuition rate jump by 30 per cent, compared to a 3.1 per cent tuition increase for students in other programs relative to the 2019-2020 school year. The increase comes after the Quebec government announced a policy in May 2018 that[Read More…]
