Recently I drove two and a half hours to visit a long-time friend. Coming from different childhood backgrounds, and following similarly disparate pathways of life, our perspectives mesh and reinvigorate in surprising, and rewarding, ways. As my rickety Subaru accelerated its way north along Lake Superior’s rural coastline, we, too,[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
Stop trying to make ‘cheugy’ happen
On March 30, a TikTok user posted about a made-up word she and her friends use to describe things that encapsulate millennial, girlboss, out-of-style energy: Cheugy. Since then, gen-Z-ers have embraced the term, making TikToks and other social media posts about certain cheugy staples––think minions, millennial pink, graphic T-shirts, Rae[Read More…]
McGill should prioritize protection over profits
Despite McGill’s numerous emails detailing their efforts to keep campus safe, the university is taking advantage of its international students. Although students and faculty alike have been anxiously awaiting the return to in-person classes, the return to Canada and Montreal has been fraught with obstacles for many international students. McGill’s[Read More…]
Gratuity has reached a tipping point
In the heart of Mile End sits Larry’s, a cafe-restaurant that has served breakfast, lunch, and dinner to its visitors since 2016. In May, the restaurant made a notable announcement: It would end the custom of tipping once it reopened its doors for indoor dining. While Larry’s is not the[Read More…]
Reopen properly or close prematurely
Thousands of students returned to the classroom on Sept. 1, 2021. For the first time in almost two years, lecture halls were packed, podiums were filled, and at last, friends from all over the world were reunited. But as welcome as these nostalgic campus scenes are, McGill’s current safety guidelines[Read More…]
The SSMU BoD’s ratification of the Divest for Human Rights Policy is long overdue
On July 22, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors ratified the “Divest for Human Rights Policy” with five votes in favour and two votes against. Back in February, SSMU’s democratic bodies—the General Assembly and the Legislative Council—overwhelmingly voted to approve the policy. However, the Board of[Read More…]
SSMU’s BoD should resist, not assist McGill’s repression of student activism
On Feb. 16, 90 per cent of students at the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) General Assembly – Consultative Forum voted to adopt the Divest for Human Rights Policy. The Policy mandates SSMU to campaign against McGill University’s investments in corporations complicit in colonial land theft, environmental destruction, war[Read More…]
An in-person Fall term puts international students at risk
On March 12, McGill hosted a town hall to discuss the university’s plan for in-person instruction during the Fall 2021 semester. The administration announced that while remote learning will be necessary for classes with more than 150 students, students are expected to return to Montreal to attend most smaller courses[Read More…]
Preventing gendered sexual violence requires systemic solutions
CLARIFICATION REGARDING DECLAN MCCOOL The editorial below, published on April 7, 2021, referred to an anonymous complaint that had been made against Declan McCool in 2020 shortly after he was elected to the position of Vice-President Internal of the Students Society of McGill University Despite reports in other media that the complaint had been[Read More…]
Park parties are not an acceptable response to pandemic fatigue
What started as a sunny afternoon on March 25 quickly devolved into a mid-pandemic disaster. Around 3:00 p.m. a crowd of students began to party in Montreal’s Jeanne Mance Park, forming a mob-like cluster despite ongoing provincial social distancing regulations prohibiting large gatherings. After two hours of moshing around a[Read More…]