Last Wednesday, Sept. 4, the Parti Québécois (PQ) marked its one-year anniversary of minority governance. Over the past year the government has had various troubles, including, most prominently for this editorial board, the party’s complete duplicity on university tuition, first freezing tuition increases and then enacting harsh budget cuts. However, it seems as if the PQ has found itself a distraction from the year’s political missteps.
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
The academic decline and (other) decline of McGill University
For the three years that I’ve been at McGill, the academic decline of our school has been a constant topic of discussion around campus. A semester hasn’t passed in which budget cuts, professor and teaching assistant (TA) contracts, student experience, declining global reputation, or general financial woes are not at the forefront of campus discussion.
To improve campus climate, dialogue and transparency key for Fortier
This month marks the beginning of a new era at McGill. After a 10-year term under Heather Munroe-Blum—punctuated at times by conflict with portions of the university community—Suzanne Fortier, most recently of the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), will take over as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the university.
Frugal fashion: the rise of the proud thrift shopper
Young people, especially university students, have long been known to live on tight budgets. Among young adults today, however, frugality has evolved from a simple act of necessity into a growing way of life.
On tomatoes
The players are far from unknown. There’s the tomato: a round, plump fruit, often confused for a vegetable (although definitely a vegetable for taxation purposes, according to a 19th century U.S. Supreme Court ruling). Then there’s McGill University: a Canadian research institution with global renown and an annual late-August set of welcome exercises for new students.
Will work for free: unpaid internships in focus
Last semester, with finals still looming, I began to contemplate what to do for the summer. A lot, or very little, can be accomplished in four months. After applying to several positions, I landed a full-time marketing internship close to home with a small company that seemed very professionally enriching. The only issue was that it was unpaid.
Hope in the Republic: how the Gezi Park protests are bringing together a polarised society
If someone had told me a week ago that a major protest would erupt in my country, I would have thought that person was insane. As I landed in Istanbul for the summer, I was expecting an uneventful month off with my family. The government enjoyed strong support as the[Read More…]
Connecting on campus
Social media is constantly evolving and being used in new ways. It has always been seen as a way to connect, often with friends from different locations. Most recently, users of Facebook have created pages drawing attention to various aspects of our campus. Overheard at McGill, McGill Compliments, Stuff McGill[Read More…]
Contributors from this year
Our contributors make this paper possible. Thank you! We love you. Mayaz Alam Rebecca Alter Mido Assran Emilio Assuncao Rebecca Babcock Hrant Bardakjian Max Berger Justin Berot-Burns Anand Bery Priyanka Biljani Ilia Blinderman Matt Bobkin Anna Bock Tara Boghosian Leah Brainerd Naomi Braude Tessa Bryant Kevin Caplice Meghan Chand Kegan[Read More…]
The important things are the ones we do together
In February, McGill announced that it will be joining the edX Consortium, an initiative founded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which has been a pioneer of massive open online courses (MOOCs). Amidst the varied responses to this news, a notable issue that this brings to the[Read More…]