Opinion

Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.

THE SITUATION: Let’s talk about the GA

In last Thursday’s McGill Daily, Sana Saeed wrote a General Assembly follow-up column in which she boiled down the cause of passions over the Middle East conflict to identity politics, and claimed that clampdowns on campus debate amount to a second front of the conflict here at McGill.

OFF THE BOARD: A stereotypically Canadian ceremony

Stereotypes can sometimes be funny. Although insensitive and often in bad taste, where would “guy-walked-into-a-bar” jokes be without them? Despite their comedic value, the Olympic Games are not an appropriate forum for stereotypes, and it would be far beyond good taste to greet the Italian teams with pizzas and Mario Kart.

PIÑATA DIPLOMACY: Reforming ourselves

What the hell was that? My first General Assembly is, of course, today’s topic. But don’t go! I understand your weariness – the front page article, the editorial, and all the guest commentary pieces from student politicians with an overestimation of their own importance, as if we the constituents waited impatiently all weekend for their straight-talk account of things.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: What a Winer

Re: “Why Gaza Remembrance Week misses the point” by Adam Winer (09.02.10) Mr. Winer seems to have entirely missed the point in believing that SPHR should be neutral in its display and presentation of speakers for the Gaza Remembrance event. When an entire population becomes the target of Israeli amunition and unjustified sanctions, then logically people have to stand up in defence of human rights and to lobby governments and intellectuals to stop the suffering of the Palestinian people.

COMMENTARY: Eye-fucking hate Avatar

I am worried about the future. There are many things that make me think that the future will not be as exciting as Back to the Future 2 and The Jetsons, such as global warming, international strife, the possible collapse of capitalism, and other similarly serious problems.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Be careful, name calling can hurt

I think the Financial Ethics Review Committee cares a lot about human rights, social justice, and environmental protection. I also think that the Israeli army and the Israeli government sometimes do things that are morally questionable, if not repugnant. However, I think that Wednesday’s motion is not primarily a function of anybody’s commitment to human rights, social justice, and environmental protection, but of condemning the State of Israel.

EDITORIAL: Be it resolved: that SSMU abolish the General Assembly

If there’s one thing the Students’ Society’s biannual General Assembly does a good job of, it’s helping to discredit – on both an intellectual and a practical level – direct democracy, or at least the twisted, substandard version we will once again be exposed to tomorrow afternoon.

COMMENTARY: The GA for dummies

Tomorrow’s Students’ Society Winter General Assembly is an opportunity for McGill undergraduate students to decide what we believe in and what policies SSMU should abide by. The GA is a venue to propose positions, in the form of resolutions, for our community to debate and decide on together.

COMMENTARY: Human rights and the GA

At Wednesday’s Students’ Society Winter General Assembly a motion entitled “The Defence of Human Rights, Social Justice, and Environmental Protection” will be presented. The core of this motion reiterates SSMU’s longstanding commitment to human rights. In addition, it calls for the expansion of the Financial Ethics Review Committee mandate, or the creation of a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, in order to investigate any investments in corporations that operate outside international law and profit from human rights violations.

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