In Nassim Taleb’s book, The Black Swan, the author confidently assures his readers that, to learn anything, one must “minimize time spent reading newspapers,” and “ignore the blogs.” He argues that these outlets always try to apply narratives to what simply may be disparate facts, usually report the same sets[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
What should a university degree represent?
Over the past few years, there has been an intensifying debate over the role of university education—whether universities are institutions of pure learning, or simply a place to acquire a credential after completing a certain amount of coursework. Though the topic has generated a fair amount of discussion about what[Read More…]
Trudeau’s leadership bid will bring youth issues to centre stage
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal leadership bid has dominated coverage of Canadian politics all week. His recent announcement has been met with everything from praise to outright disapproval. While some have extolled his idealism, others have criticised his lack of specific policy points. Many have warned him to clearly separate himself from[Read More…]
Re: “Indigenous studies program approval announced at Council” (Oct. 2)
I was somewhat surprised to read in your edition of Oct. 2nd that I had “approved the creation of a new Indigenous Studies Program within the Faculty of Arts,” since I do not have the authority to approve programs. However, I have on many occasions, over several years (including this[Read More…]
Time to wipe the dust off of community education
If you’ve been to campus recently, you’ve probably come across Community Engagement Day promotions, or maybe you even saw the tent on the Lower Field on October 5th. Maybe you even bothered to look into it; heck, you could have even registered to participate. So what did Community Engagement Day[Read More…]
Trudeau’s idealism is not what the Liberals need right now
Last Tuesday, Justin Trudeau announced the launch of his much-anticipated Liberal leadership campaign. The speech appealed to a wider base, reflecting the party’s need to re-establish itself in the centre of the Canadian political spectrum, staving off a rapidly expanding NDP and the ideologically-grounded Conservative party. In order to win[Read More…]
Journey or the destination?
Earlier this year, India’s most well-known newspaper, The Times of India, was found to have recycled a three-year-old full page cover story word-for-word as a paid-for advertisement. There has been an alarming regularity with which incidents of gross misconduct have come to light: for example, over 100 Harvard students cheated[Read More…]
On campus politics
With AUS elections underway (voting period is from October 4th-10th), debate on the importance of student politics is particularly potent. The recent discussion on student politics in the Tribune has suggested two things: first, there are core reasons we should be politically active on campus; second, political activism helps students[Read More…]
To move forward, CLASSE must condemn violence
If you left home on the rainy afternoon of Sept. 22 and found yourself confused amidst a reiteration of the student protests that reached their height in May, you certainly weren’t alone. Many Montrealers were puzzled by the Saturday protest—after all, hadn’t the newly-elected PQ just rescinded the tuition increase[Read More…]
Why are American universities so expensive?
We have seen over the past year in Quebec that the issue of university tuition can be incredibly polarizing. Indeed, in much of the debate over the recent planned tuition hikes, anti-hike activists drew ominous comparisons not only with the higher rates in the rest of Canada, but with the[Read More…]
