The Montreal Student Initiative for COVID-19 Response and Relief, a McGill student-led mutual aid group that formed during the pandemic, shut down on Oct. 1. Along with delivering material goods, such as food and prescriptions, to people in need, the group also organized virtual social events to connect their communities.[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
To play or not to play
A classical music fan even as a child, I went to my first symphony at 11 years old. Just before the conductor began his elusive dance, he cued a single, collective breath—an upbeat, as I would later learn. That instance was electric, the orchestra and audience anticipation alike generating a[Read More…]
Kamala Harris’ refusal to be interrupted sets an empowering example for women
Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, faced off against current Vice President Mike Pence in the vice-presidential debate on Oct. 7. Harris is a woman of colour and the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants. When facing constant interruptions from her Republican counterpart, Harris[Read More…]
SSMU representatives deserve compensation
Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President University Affairs Brooklyn Frizzle recently submitted a motion that would have placed a proposed non–opt-outable SSMU Representatives fee to pay SSMU representatives on the Fall 2020 Referendum ballot. SSMU tabled the motion until Winter 2021, and some elements of the fee are still[Read More…]
Online discussion forums are the future of conferences
In light of McGill’s announcement that instruction will continue primarily online during the Winter 2021 semester, students in the Faculty of Arts must prepare for the possibility that most of their conferences will remain remote. This new reality will disappoint those who miss direct face-to-face interaction with their peers. However,[Read More…]
The City of Montreal is letting down its most vulnerable
Ask the average McGill student to point you in the direction of Cabot Square, and not many can. You may have better luck with a Concordia student considering the square’s proximity to their campus. To many Indigenous people in Montreal, however, the urban square holds a special significance. As a[Read More…]
McGill must address a growing mental health crisis
Since the pandemic struck Montreal seven months ago, McGill students’ lives have changed drastically. Classes are now online, many students are studying from home, and those residing in Montreal are once again subject to strict restrictions on social gatherings to curb the second wave of COVID-19. 2020 has been a[Read More…]
I love ‘Shrek 2,’ hear me out
I love Shrek 2. It is one of my favourite movies of all time. Most people who have met me know this about me because I manage to work it into every conversation that lasts five minutes or longer. Shrek 2 follows Shrek and Fiona, two ogres fresh from their honeymoon,[Read More…]
McGill’s funding system harms international students
In 2018, Quebec controversially deregulated tuition for international students at the province’s universities, allowing schools to set their own rates. Over the past several years, McGill has gradually raised international fees, a trend that has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. While tuition this year for most McGill programs increased by[Read More…]
Graduate student workers must not be taken for granted
The COVID-19 pandemic has toppled the higher-education house of cards, scattering vulnerable academic support staff into uncertain workplace predicaments. McGill forced these employees into dire straits well before the pandemic: Overburdened by faculties and underappreciated by students, the university treats teaching assistants (TAs) and other academic support staff like raw[Read More…]
