If you Google the acronym “AVEQ,” the top result is a Quebec electric vehicle association—Association des Véhicules Électriques du Québec. The website probably saw an unexpected spike in traffic during McGill's 2016 Winter Referendum, when students voted on the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) becoming a member of the Association[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
“What were you wearing?” and other questions to stop asking rape victims
Content warning: This article discusses rape and sexual assault. How much did you drink? Did you realize you were drunk? Did you take drinks from a stranger at the bar? What were you wearing? Why would you walk home alone? Did you try telling him to stop? These were some[Read More…]
To the cocky cyclist: Traffic laws apply to bikers, too
My roommate recently had a near collision with a cyclist at the intersection of Mont-Royal and Saint-Urbain. She, as a pedestrian, had the right of way; the cyclist did not. As a morning bike commuter myself, I have seen firsthand some of the liberties cyclists take with traffic laws. This[Read More…]
There’s no such thing as free public transit
A Quebec think tank recently proposed the idea that Montreal should make public transportation free. The primary goals of the proposal, released by the Instititut de recherche et d’informations socio-economiques (IRIS), are to alleviate traffic and carbon emissions. However, despite its findings, it’s not immediately obvious that making transit free[Read More…]
The VP External should support student initiatives, not direct them
On Sept. 15, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited McGill to inaugurate a new Facebook Artificial Intelligence lab. However important the initiative, Trudeau’s welcome was lukewarm. A group of students, including Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer, protested the Prime Minister’s visit. The protesters accused Trudeau[Read More…]
Rape culture exists: McGill Rez Project must do more to change attitudes
Over the past two weeks, McGill’s first year residents have been participating in mandatory Rez Project workshops tackling topics such as gender, sexuality, and sexual violence. I attended one of these workshops, and what I found was an audience that completely disregarded the importance of the session. A number of[Read More…]
Navigating “just hooking up”
To my knowledge, I’ve been on one formal date in my life—and I say “formal date” in the movie-and-dinner, Gilmore Girls sense of the word. It was July in Toronto, and I met him at a midtown pub. I was sweaty, because July in Toronto is sweaty, but he told me[Read More…]
Montreal does not need beautification, but restoration
Among the gaping potholes, crumbling concrete, and constant display of orange construction cones around Montreal, a different colour has sprung up around the Lachine area of Highway 20. Sound barriers and underpasses have been painted blue, little blue reflective signs have been stuck into the ground, and giant blue light[Read More…]
McGill campus is still stuck in the BDS debate
If you didn't understand last week's highly technical debate over the constitutionality of the composition of the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU)'s Board of Directors, you may be in luck. Underlying that debate was an entirely different issue, one much more familiar to students—the dispute over the Boycott, Divestment,[Read More…]
McGill residences: More than just a roof overhead
McGill guarantees residence for all first-year students under the age of 22. Yet, the conditions of this guarantee are murky. McGill’s residence system intentionally accepts more applications than it has capacity for, counting on cancellations to accommodate all of the incoming first-year students. This year, without enough cancellations, McGill was[Read More…]
