2018 has seen politics play out on social media, and the world of student government is no exception. On Oct. 2, the day after the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) won a majority mandate in the provincial election, then vice-president (VP) External of the Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU) Marina[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
Missed connections: Exchange can be isolating
Before I left for my exchange term at the University of Edinburgh last winter, I sat in Leacock 132, half-listening to a mandatory safety presentation, when one line caught my attention: “This is going to be the best five months of your life.” The idea terrified me: I was by[Read More…]
Identity crises and queer history months
October is Queer History Month at McGill, the first event of its kind at a Canadian university. It aims to explore and expand on the boundaries of heteronormativity through educational initiatives and celebrations: A four-week tangle in the complex web of queer identity. I came into my own sexuality with[Read More…]
Religious neutrality isn’t neutral
On Oct. 1, Quebec elected 74 members of the Coalition Avenir du Québec (CAQ) to the National Assembly, giving the party a majority mandate. The CAQ campaigned on a platform of reducing immigration, restructuring government institutions, and maintaining ‘religious neutrality.’ Discussions about religious neutrality are not new in Quebec: In[Read More…]
So long, Marie-Anne: Gentrification’s impact in the Plateau
Many McGill students will tell you that they went ‘home’ over the Thanksgiving long weekend. It’s a revealing statement: Despite spending eight months of the year in Montreal, for many, home still means somewhere else. However, the student body’s effect on the city is permanent. Neighbourhoods like the Plateau, Saint-Henri,[Read More…]
Supporting survivors means supporting their allies, too
This past year has seen momentous changes in the way McGill handles sexual misconduct allegations: The university has hired a third-party special investigator and launched an ad hoc committee regarding student-teacher relationships. However, structural issues continue to persist. On Sept. 21, the World Islamic and Middle East Studies Student Association[Read More…]
“Hey, so I did a thing…”
I found out that I was pregnant on the same night that the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. The euphoria of my hometown’s victory was accompanied by a devastating plus-sign on a pee stick. I was 17-years-old. The morning after, I called Planned Parenthood and set up an appointment[Read More…]
Where are you from?
Back at my international high school in Tokyo, I could answer this seemingly simple question with, “I was born in Canada, but I was raised in Japan,” and that would be that. Many of my friends answered with two or three countries and it seemed like a perfectly-appropriate reply. However,[Read More…]
Letter to the Editor: There is no “quest for monolingual domination” in Québec
On Sept. 18, The McGill Tribune published an opinion piece titled “Quebec’s quest for monolingual domination makes healthcare less accessible.” In this article, the author made dubious and confusing links between Bill 10, font changes on information signs at Saint Mary’s hospital, and what he described as “Quebec’s quest for monolingual[Read More…]
Quebec is legalizing cannabis—barely
Legal marijuana is set to hit stores and online markets country-wide in less than a month, and many Canadians are eagerly awaiting this change. Amidst the excitement, Quebec is taking a sideways attitude toward legalization. Quebec’s hesitance to embrace the benefits of legal cannabis has resulted in half-baked rules and[Read More…]
