Content Warning: Mentions of suicide, sexual assault, and racial discrimination. On Feb. 15, McGill’s Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) informed their 65 Floor Fellows via Zoom that their positions would be eliminated, effective this fall. SHHS announced the meeting only two hours in advance and the call lasted a[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
STM safety ambassadors are customers in uniform, not adequate emergency responders
If you saw an emergency on the metro, what would be your first instinct? Would you intervene yourself? Would you call the police? Ask another bystander for help? Google what to do? Odds are you didn’t say, “Find one of six safety ambassadors scattered around the metro station who cannot[Read More…]
Black-Palestinian solidarity serves as an example of liberation for all, by all
On Nov. 4 2023, the same day as the largest pro-Palestine rally that Montreal has seen to date, Black feminist Robyn Maynard gave a speech delineating the intricate correlations between genocide and colonialism. In this same speech, Maynard turned to the parallels between the oppressions of Black and Palestinian people,[Read More…]
The Memory of a Bee Sting: Unveiling Black Women’s Anger
Microaggressions are like a bee sting. You can always recover from the sting, but the memory of the pain lasts forever. Microaggressions are the tiny pricks that slowly erode your self-esteem. And, because society deems acts of casual racism acceptable, these pricks persist. People believe it is fine to touch[Read More…]
Egbert Gaye’s death leaves a gaping hole in Black anglophone journalism in Quebec
Egbert Gaye, the founder of one of the few Black-run newspapers in Montreal, and the only one to continue to operate over past decades, passed away on June 4, 2023, leaving behind an incredible legacy for Montreal’s Black community. His newspaper, Montreal Community Contact, provides media representation for Montreal’s English-speaking[Read More…]
Go Club, Go
Taking pride in silly things is one of life’s little pleasures. Developing a minor god-complex over these same silly things is cautionable. Yet, as founder, captain, and president of my high school Go Club, I held a minor tyranny over a room full of my own classmates weekly—and I turned[Read More…]
The Deadly “Start-Up Nation”
Three McGill course trips to Israel have something in common: Under the guise of promoting technological innovation, they tout the name “Start-Up Nation.” This moniker derives from the 2009 book Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, that examines how such a young state now boasts the highest number[Read More…]
Canada needs to address systemic abuse in sports
Content Warning: Mentions of sexual abuse In the last few years, confrontations with histories of abuse have shaken the world of Canadian sports. Following the settlement of a case of sexual assault involving eight members of the Canadian Hockey League CHL in 2018, The Globe and Mail’s investigation that followed[Read More…]
Liberation, not excellence, should be the focus of Black History Month
Earlier this year, the federal government announced that this Black History Month (BHM)’s theme would be “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build.” Almost thirty years after its adoption, BHM today signals a response to persistent problems in Canadian society—anti-Blackness as old as the country itself and[Read More…]
Gracia Kasoki Katahwa’s recent election proves that better financial resources for Black candidates can go a long way
While Montreal is known for its diversity, government representation remains an issue for the city. On Feb. 1, Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, mayor of Côte-des-Neiges– Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough and the first Black borough mayor in Montreal’s history, made history when she joined the city’s executive committee, responsible for human resources and combating[Read More…]
