Third in queue at a Barclays bank in central London during winter break, I read through squinted eyes the BBC’s announcement that Julian Assange, the controversial founder of Wikileaks who was wanted by Interpol for alleged sex crimes in Sweden, had been arrested at a London police station after turning[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
More face-time with profs not so bad
McGill Tribune At council this week, VP (University Affairs) Josh Abaki discussed his goal of limiting “contact hours”—lectures, conferences, and other face time between professors and students. He hopes to reduce contact hours from the current 39 hours per course per semester to 36, an amount more standard across Canadian[Read More…]
Confront, don’t sanitize the American past
McGill Tribune Issues of censorship, freedom of speech, and political correctness being major concerns of the Tribune, we were alarmed to read that Alan Gribben, a prominent American Mark Twain scholar and Harvard professor, will be re-issuing the classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with two small changes: the[Read More…]
Common courtesy not so common
There are ¬many complaints I can lodge against McGill students. They’re loud in the libraries, they insist on handing out flyers at the Milton gates, and they have a chronic inability to distinguish recyclables from non-recyclables. The list goes on and on, and as many people can attest, I have[Read More…]
Health care gets personal
Most Canadians perceive general flaws in the country’s health care system, but report positive individual experiences. Until recently, I counted myself among those who held this idea: I knew there were gaps in the system, but had always received excellent care. I strongly believed that despite these gaps, Canada’s public[Read More…]
University after university
I remember once, probably as a junior, back in 2006 or 2007, complaining to a friend that I didn’t have opinions or feelings, just clammy analytical observations. The remark embarrasses me now. It’s too obviously aimed at the implicit expectation of my own English degree flakery. It’s also demonstrably untrue;[Read More…]
Miss Middleton and the good prince
For once, dear reader, I get to take off my conservative colours and write about something agreeable. Last week, the Crown in Britain announced the engagement of His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales to Kate Middleton, his girlfriend of eight years. I am absolutely overjoyed at the news, as[Read More…]
Three’s a crowd
Student #1: In addressing this popular topic, I don’t intend to touch on the classic male fantasy involving two women simultaneously fulfilling his deepest desires. Such a situation is more fantasy than reality, and I find it rather disrespectful towards women. Keep in mind, respect is the golden rule when[Read More…]
The failures of “fail”
We’ve all seen it happen before. You dropped some books or spilt your coffee only to have your irritation and slight embarrassment punctuated by some giddy opportunist chiming in with a cringe worthy four-letter f-word: “Fail!” Aside from being grammatically incorrect, the real problem is the term’s origin. What was[Read More…]
Talking terrorism in Times Square
I had an hour to spare this past Sunday while waiting for the bus from New York to Montreal. Pushing through the crowds of 42nd Street, I found my way to the metal chairs and tables in Times Square, which, for better or for worse, is America. I sat watching[Read More…]
