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…]
Editorial
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…]
PGSS executive midterm reviews
Financial Affairs Officer: Matthew Satterthwaite Following the resignation of former secretary-general Jacob Lavigne in September, Satterthwaite took on a number of responsibilities outside of the portfolio of Financial Affairs Officer (FAO) during the Fall 2017 semester, including chairing both the PGSS Board of Directors (BoD) and the Executive Committee. Despite[Read More…]
Student mental health needs admin support, not “hygiene de vie”
In an Nov. 21 interview with the McGill Reporter, Ollivier Dyens, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), shut down the possibility of a Fall reading week in the foreseeable future, despite 71.5 per cent of students declaring support for the break in an April 2015 Enrolment Services survey. In the[Read More…]
When educators are undervalued, everyone loses
On Tuesday, Nov. 21, hundreds of thousands of Ontario college students returned to class as the province’s five-week college faculty strike finally came to an end. The 12,000 college faculty—including professors, instructors, counsellors, and librarians—had been on strike since Oct. 16. After all that, it’s hard to say who won.[Read More…]
In countering hate and racism, SSMU must keep local issues at the forefront
On Sunday, Nov. 12, thousands of activists filled Place Émilie-Gamelin for the “Large Demonstration Against Hate and Racism.” A McGill contingent, led by Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer, joined forces with a coalition of Montreal activist groups to protest hate and the far-right. SSMU Council[Read More…]