The Opt-Out Campaign led by some members of Conservative McGill likes to paint hysterical and misleading pictures of Quebec Public Interest Research Group and its projects.
Most recently, the Opt-Out Campaign has targeted the work of the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble, a QPIRG working group. CIE is a group that raises spirits at a wide array of demonstrations by using music for social change. That the CIE (along with groups such as Campus Crops) is organized according to anarchist principles seems to terrify the Opt-Out Campaign. In sum, these organizing principles mean that every member of the group has an equal say; we would love to hear what the Opt-Out Campaign finds so alarming about it this.
The Opt-Out Campaign’s compulsive mischaracterizations of Tadamon! (another QPIRG working group) as supporters of terrorism is particularly heinous. In a 2006 campaign, Tadamon! critiqued the Canadian government’s “List of Entities,” which includes Hezbollah, as unaccountably perpetuating scapegoating and racial profiling. Tadamon! has repeatedly clarified that this criticism of the “List of Entities” does not equate to a statement of support for Hezbollah. Nonetheless, the Opt-Out Campaign continues to mislead students about the nature of a campaign that was launched five years ago. Indeed, the Opt-Out Campaign thrives on students being confused and misinformed. We believe that this strategy is part of a well-funded, nation-wide initiative committed to cutting services and stifling free speech on campuses.
Another unfounded allegation propagated by the Opt-Out Campaign is that QPIRG is not democratic and does not represent McGill students. In fact, QPIRG is administered by a student-led Board of Directors elected once a year by QPIRG members (that is, every student who doesn’t opt out). Our decisions are made by building consensus and a collective analysis. QPIRG’s working group participants are dedicated members of our campus and our community who make decisions with considerable thought and care.
For some historical perspective, QPIRG was responsible for bringing recycling to McGill, a campaign that also incited its fair share of controversy in the ‘80s. QPIRG also took a leadership role in organizing the movement to boycott South African apartheid. Even then, some conservative students attacked the groups who worked with QPIRG. This is the kind of work our groups have done for the past 30 years, and it is the work we continue to do today. Though not all students use our groups and services, we believe all students benefit from the positive social impact of these spaces and services on their campus and community.
Don’t let the Opt-Out Campaign succeed in strangling progressive organizations, especially when we need them most. Think before you opt-out.
