On Oct. 12, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council held its third meeting of the Fall semester. The majority of the evening was consumed by an extensive debate on SSMU’s potential referendum to join the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ), a body that[Read More…]
Tag: ssmu
Our Turn Action Plan gives McGill’s sexual violence policy a C- grade
On Oct. 11, The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held a press conference following the official release of Our Turn, a national student-led action plan to end campus sexual violence. The action plan evaluated 14 Canadian universities’ sexual assault policies, and gave McGill’s a C- (61 per cent) grade.[Read More…]
Letter to the Editor: Student politics can’t be apolitical
Last week, The McGill Tribune published a commentary piece by Gabriel Rincon that critiqued the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) External (my role) for taking political positions and participating in student demonstrations, supported by the underlying thesis that SSMU executives “should represent the interests of all students, independent[Read More…]
The Tribune Explains: The Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec
What is AVEQ? The Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ) unites student unions at four-year universities around the province. According to its mission statement, AVEQ serves to defend the needs and interests of students in Quebec through research, activism, and representation. The association stands for many of[Read More…]
SSPN restructures to allow general student body members
At its Sept. 14 meeting, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council unanimously passed a motion to restructure the Students’ Society Planning Network (SSPN), the committee responsible for organizing and executing student events hosted by SSMU, including 4Floors, Faculty Olympics, and Grad Frosh. This motion opens 13 of[Read More…]
It’s time to decide on AVEQ affiliation—whatever that means
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…]
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…]
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…]
SSMU Legislative Council nominates Jemark Earle to Board of Directors
On Sept. 28, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council met to appoint a fourth executive to the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD). In addition, Council discussed their affiliation with the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ), a province-wide student union, as well as the[Read More…]
Former Sadie’s location remains vacant
Four months after its closing on May 5, the space that Sadie’s, the former student-run cafe, once occupied on the second floor of the Shatner Building remains vacant. With limited room in the Shatner Building as a whole, this space would be a valuable asset for many other student groups[Read More…]