At a recent forum of McGill’s Task Force on Respect and Inclusion, Associate Professor Laila Parsons defended the existence of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel at McGill. Parsons claimed that “BDS is a normal method of activism, [and] the University’s condemnation of the BDS [movement] exacerbated[Read More…]
Commentary
Gender-neutral bathrooms have impact beyond the stall
In October 2017, the Social Work Students’ Association (SWSA) launched a campaign to designate the bathrooms in the School of Social Work’s Wilson Hall as gender-neutral, meaning that students of any gender would be able to use any bathroom they please. On Jan. 9, the campaign succeeded, and most of[Read More…]
Divestment comes at a price to students
At the Dec. 12 McGill University Board of Governors (BoG) meeting, members of Divest McGill protested against a recent revision to the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility’s (CAMSR) mandate. The policy change would prohibit the University from using the Endowment Fund to further specific social or political[Read More…]
Students have the power to effect change in Quebec through political volunteerism
The importance of youth involvement in politics was evident to me well before I started my studies at McGill. The mayor of my hometown–Moncton, New Brunswick–once told me, “I hear from a lot of older people, every day. Unfortunately, I don’t hear from many young people […] and yet every[Read More…]
Your freedom to disagree does not guarantee you the right to public funds
On Dec. 15, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government announced changes to the Canada Summer Jobs funding application to ensure that applicant organizations support LGBTQ and reproductive rights. This action sparked outrage from the New Democratic Party (NDP), religious groups, and free speech advocates alike. After mass condemnation from across[Read More…]
CAMSR should promote ethical investment, not sidestep politics
At the Dec. 12, 2017 McGill Board of Governors (BoG) meeting, a proposed review of the terms of reference of McGill’s Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR) was met with protest by Divest McGill. CAMSR advises the BoG on the social impact of its investments. The proposed[Read More…]
Why our mothers and grandmothers won’t say #MeToo
The holidays are awkward enough without having to explain the definition of sexual assault to your relatives. Yet, my sisters and I found ourselves doing just that at the end of 2017, when the subject of #MeToo, a movement created by Tarana Burke to increase awareness about sexual harassment and[Read More…]
New month, new me: Keeping New Year’s resolutions for February and beyond
If you’re reading this article, and also happened to make a New Year’s Resolution this year, there’s a good chance—seventy-three per cent to be exact—that you will break your resolution by the end of the year. If the McGill GPA scale makes more sense to you, that means that Canadians[Read More…]
Time’s Up—on campus sexual violence
On Jan. 7, black gowns dominated the red carpet at the 75th annual Golden Globes, as stars displayed their solidarity for Time’s Up, a movement dedicated to ending sexual assault, harassment, and inequality in the workplace. It arose out of a wave of feminist activism in 2017 that bred similar[Read More…]
After the march: Political parties deliver lasting change
On Saturday, Jan. 20, hundreds of Montrealers gathered at Place des Arts to march in support of women’s rights. While demonstrations of popular disapproval of U.S. President Donald Trump might give individuals worldwide some hope that human decency remains in society, they will not evict him from office. This is[Read More…]
