On Tuesday, Nov. 21, hundreds of thousands of Ontario college students returned to class as the province’s five-week college faculty strike finally came to an end. The 12,000 college faculty—including professors, instructors, counsellors, and librarians—had been on strike since Oct. 16. After all that, it’s hard to say who won.[Read More…]
Tag: students
McGill Arts Freshman Program needs a rehaul
McGill’s U0 Arts curriculum is failing its students. The Arts Freshman Program’s purpose is to encourage academic diversification, and provide students with a basis of knowledge in the liberal arts. It requires first years to fulfill broad credit requirements across three of four streams—social sciences, humanities, languages, and mathematics and[Read More…]
Reconciling Munroe-Blum’s multiple legacies
McGill has come under fire for awarding former principal Heather Munroe-Blum an honorary doctorate on Oct. 31. The university highlights her “unprecedented renewal of McGill’s outstanding professoriate” and her “unwavering efforts to find necessary resources to maintain McGill’s excellence.” Yet, Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and on-campus labour unions[Read More…]
A look into McGill’s fashion scene: ’90s style is back
When walking through the McGill campus for the first time, visitors might be struck by students’ diverse and bold fashion choices. With such an international student body comes a plethora of colours, textures, and attitudes—and students don’t hesitate to break nearly every fashion boundary out there. Among the most popular[Read More…]
The problem with “broad-based” scholarships
A fundamental principle of a liberal education is its status as “the great equalizer.” It’s meant to serve as a vehicle for talented individuals to reach their potential, no matter their financial background. It’s a justification for education’s status as a human right. It’s also why The Universal Declaration on[Read More…]
Just eat the damn bagel
There are many kinds of monsters in the world—the people who don’t hold the elevator even though they see you coming, the baristas who underfill your $8 coffee, and the bread-makers at Subway who think that an 11-inch sub counts as a footlong—but these do not hold a candle to[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…]
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…]
The importance of conscientious thrifting
For most McGill students, the term “thrifting” inspires a host of sensory images—dusty fur coats and yellowed lace, Grandma Martha’s prom dress, those perfect light-wash Levi’s shorts with just the right amount of distress, and an astounding quantity of unnamed articles from the ‘70’s. From Value Village to vintage boutiques on[Read More…]
Hushed Potter scandal sets worrying precedent for students
As the academic year ambles on, new students form impressions of McGill’s institutional culture. As one would expect, the upper-ranks of administration try to shape these impressions to their favour. Take Discover McGill, where Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier delivered a rosy speech to a crowd warmed up by student[Read More…]
