Taking a break is beneficial and often necessary for maintaining mental health. A rising number of Canadian universities are acknowledging this in their academic calendars by implementing a Fall reading week. With strenuous midterms, shorter days, and overburdened on-campus support services, McGill students need a Fall break to improve their[Read More…]
Commentary
Bye bye BuzzFeed: The folly of individualism and the personal essay
Last spring, Jia Tolentino wrote an article in The New Yorker declaring the end of what has arguably been the biggest literary trend of the 21st century: The personal essay. This trend has been bolstered by a subgenre of often pointless confessionals. These have inundated publications over the last decade for[Read More…]
Thought for food: A closer look at McGill Food and Dining Services
As Virginia Woolf said, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Despite the numerous awards bestowed upon McGill Food and Dining Services (MFDS) over the past years, McGill’s dining halls are just not stepping up to the plate. The slew of praise and[Read More…]
Don’t tell celebrities to “stay out of politics”
Many actors and actresses have recently been criticized for being too political in award acceptance speeches. Some celebrities explicitly avoid sharing their political opinions so as not to alienate portions of their fan base. As Mark Wahlberg said, “Both Republicans and Democrats buy movie tickets.” However, all democratic citizens have[Read More…]
Sorry, Justin, there’s a new kid in town
Oh, the impermanence of young love. Not long ago, Canada’s youth naively fawned over Justin Trudeau. But, as flings meet their bitter ends, so too do they begin anew. Canadians have moved on to a new flame—newly-elected, uber-chic New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh. Compared to Trudeau, his suits[Read More…]
“Should I stay or should I go?” An Uber story
Back in the simpler days of September 2016, the incorporation of Uber into Quebec’s transportation sector created an upheaval in the province’s usually peacefully monotonous system. After first threatening to shut Uber down, the Quebec government only agreed to a one-year “Pilot Project” with the ride-hailing service—demonstrating that Quebec has[Read More…]
Dear Quebec, give Jagmeet Singh a fair shot
The New Democratic Party (NDP) has been in hibernation since the last federal election. It shed several pounds in Parliament—from 103 to 44 seats after the 2015 election—and ran its it’s base’s enthusiasm enthusiasm dry, leaving a skeleton of good policy remaining but little charisma. In this weak position, the[Read More…]
“What were you wearing?” and other questions to stop asking rape victims
Content warning: This article discusses rape and sexual assault. How much did you drink? Did you realize you were drunk? Did you take drinks from a stranger at the bar? What were you wearing? Why would you walk home alone? Did you try telling him to stop? These were some[Read More…]
To the cocky cyclist: Traffic laws apply to bikers, too
My roommate recently had a near collision with a cyclist at the intersection of Mont-Royal and Saint-Urbain. She, as a pedestrian, had the right of way; the cyclist did not. As a morning bike commuter myself, I have seen firsthand some of the liberties cyclists take with traffic laws. This[Read More…]
There’s no such thing as free public transit
A Quebec think tank recently proposed the idea that Montreal should make public transportation free. The primary goals of the proposal, released by the Instititut de recherche et d’informations socio-economiques (IRIS), are to alleviate traffic and carbon emissions. However, despite its findings, it’s not immediately obvious that making transit free[Read More…]
