Dalhousie University has recently come under fire for limiting its search for a new vice-provost student affairs to “racially visible persons and Aboriginal peoples,” in an effort to boost minority faculty representation. Critics have condemned the policy as discriminatory against white people, and argue that hiring based on race, rather than[Read More…]
Editorial
McGill must prioritize learning outside of the classroom
University students often struggle to find stable employment in their field of study post-graduation, but incorporating experiential learning into post-secondary education can give students the marketable skills and valuable experience they need to succeed. In its essence, experiential learning means learning-by-doing, rather than acquiring knowledge through lecture and reading-based instruction.[Read More…]
Textbook costs need more than a textbook solution
Post-secondary textbooks are expensive. Any McGill student can attest to this: For many, spending hundreds of dollars at the bookstore is an unfortunate reality of every semester. Others turn to scouring the internet for alternatives and older editions of required texts, or pawning off last year’s gargantuan, intro-level books on[Read More…]
Renaming buildings: One step toward a more inclusive campus
Recently, McGill struck the Working Group on Principles of Commemoration and Renaming. The group will develop guidelines to consider whether McGill should rename campus buildings that honour historical figures whose legacies no longer seem worth commemorating. As with any debate on how to best memorialize the past, the Task Force[Read More…]
Task Force on Respect and Inclusion must start and end with student experiences
The Principal’s Task Force on Respect and Inclusion held an open forum on Jan. 24. It was the first of a series of student consultations about diversity and respectful expression at McGill, and how to best ensure that student life is inclusive of all students. The Task Force is to[Read More…]
An apolitical BoD is in everyone’s best interests
On Jan. 14, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD) ratified the Judicial Board (J-Board) ruling on the case of Glustein v. Koparkar. The J-Board received an appeal after the Oct. 23 Fall General Assembly (GA), when students passed a motion to vote on each BoD member’s[Read More…]
SSMU VP Finance By-Election Endorsement
Esteban Herpin, U3 Finance with a double minor in Economics and Political Science, is running unopposed for the office of Vice-President (VP) Finance of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), following the resignation of Arisha Khan in November 2017. Herpin was formerly a member of the Management Undergraduate Society’s[Read More…]
In search of better leadership for Student Life and Learning
At the end of the Fall 2017 semester, McGill students learned that Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens will not pursue a second term once his current mandate concludes at the end of July 2018. While there will be an interim deputy provost after he departs, the formal[Read More…]
McGill’s sexual violence policy lacking on professor-student relationships
Quebec’s proposed Bill 151 requires all postsecondary schools to have a campus sexual violence policy by September 2019. Among other things, the bill stipulates that an acceptable policy must provide a clear code of conduct on relationships between faculty members and students. In Fall 2016, McGill introduced a Policy against Sexual[Read More…]
SSMU executive mid-term reviews
President Muna Tojiboeva Prior to her election as this year’s SSMU President, Muna Tojiboeva campaigned on a platform of increased transparency, accountability, and concrete action on behalf of student interests; however, she has failed to uphold these standards. Instead, her first semester as President has been defined by her inability[Read More…]
