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…]
Commentary
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…]
Put your phone down!
A Jan. 12 Globe and Mail editorial warned smartphone users of the dangers of overusing their phones; however, its conclusions were less than satisfying. The Globe proposed that the government look into the addictive qualities and other consequences of phone use. Yet, there is already a large amount of research into the health[Read More…]
“Self-care” goes beyond the self
When I first read Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens’ call for “hygiene de vie” in the McGill Reporter, I immediately thought of medieval physicians. “Eating well, sleeping well, being physically active”—all of these practices recommended by Dyens were also popular prescriptions from the medieval medical community, which[Read More…]
Online hate-blocking app protects users’ mental health
Triggering language—including terms that provoke traumatic memories or harmful thoughts—endangers the mental well-being of people with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. While it is impossible to fully avoid upsetting words in day-to-day life, trigger-free spaces are crucial for providing solace and protecting mental health. However, as[Read More…]
Are millennials growing tired of clickbait?
Quality journalism needs financial resources to sustain itself. This simple fact is both inescapable and incredibly important, given the role that journalism plays in keeping governments accountable and civil discourse informed. Publications promote paid subscriptions as a source of funding, but, according to the American Press Institute, only 29 per[Read More…]
“Bonjour-Hi:” The value of multiculturalism
Valérie Plante, Montréal’s new mayor, has openly supported providing services to citizens in the language that they are most comfortable with, be that English or French. Plante recently proposed promoting bilingualism in the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) by providing emergency messages in multiple languages. However, the current provincial[Read More…]
Swipe right—for the right reasons
I recently re-downloaded the dating app Tinder. I was working on a difficult essay and, frustrated by my lack of success, found myself reactivating an old profile and swiping furiously. This was not the first time this had happened. When school becomes stressful and the pressures of McGill begin to[Read More…]
