Bryan Buraga, President In light of the SSMU General Manager’s recent resignation and delays in the University Centre reopening, Buraga has done an admirable job ensuring that there has not been a negative impact on the resources and services that SSMU provides to students. His advocacy for a Fall Reading[Read More…]
Commentary
McGill ignores invisible disabilities
Accessibility barriers are, unfortunately, part of the McGill University experience. Students at McGill have repeatedly reported a lack of silent study spaces on campus, and the closure of the Schulich Library and the University Centre—among other construction currently taking place on campus—exacerbates this problem. While the initiatives of on-campus advocacy[Read More…]
Canada needs a high-speed rail system
In November, VIA Rail, the Crown corporation that controls passenger train travel in Canada, unveiled plans for a “high-frequency” train project along its Quebec City—Windsor corridor. Although the project will no doubt make travelling by train more pleasant, it is not a sufficient solution. Canada should avoid quick fixes and[Read More…]
The lecture hall: The space where my two cultures met
I was born in Iran, but my family and I moved to Canada when I was four-years-old. Although Farsi was my first language, English quickly became my dominant one and, even though I was surrounded by Iranian culture at home, at school I was being exposed to a completely different[Read More…]
SSMU Executives are not paid enough
Many McGill students do not seem to hold Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executives in high regard. In fact, one can easily find criticisms of these officials in student publications and on social media. What is more, the majority of students cannot even be bothered to vote in SSMU[Read More…]
Scrooge was right
Although no consensus exists on what marks the beginning of the holiday season, I believe it occurs sometime between the first snowfall and the release of Starbucks seasonal drinks. The season marks the end of the year, and for students, a highly anticipated winter break. Though celebrated by many as[Read More…]
Bill 40’s differential treatment of Anglophones demonstrates CAQ’s troubled agenda
Public hearings for Bill 40, which would remove all school boards in favour of service centres, began at the National Assembly on Nov. 4. While the bill fulfills one of the CAQ’s election promises, its provision to maintain elections for the board of directors of Anglophone, but not Francophone, service[Read More…]
Students’ reliance on technology is increasingly distressing
Upon entering the typical McGill classroom, a sea of screens makes it clear that the use of laptops and tablets for note-taking has become commonplace. In response to this phenomenon, professors tend to clarify their technology policy during their first lecture of the semester: Even if they permit the use[Read More…]
McGill should prioritize affordable housing
For the past two decades, housing prices in Montreal have risen consistently by around five percent per year. While students from other Canadian universities, such as the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia, have benefited from large scale affordable housing projects sponsored by their universities, McGill students[Read More…]
Embrace the McGill lifestyle
McGill is a quintessential ‘take it or leave it’ school. Far from fully supporting its students, many of the institution’s realities make it unnecessarily difficult for students to succeed. Most emblematic, academic advisors are overworked because the need to serve as many students as possible in the shortest amount of[Read More…]
