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10
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67ca88893837593543532ee3993c0314
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Coverage from The McGill Daily
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Volume
103
Issue
8
Page Number(s)
07-Jun
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2013
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Culture Shock
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Dana Wray, Hannah Reardon, Ralph Haddad, Olivia Larson, Joelle Dahm
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A feature covering various events and discussions from McGill's "Culture Shock" series, organized by QPIRG McGill and SSMU.
Anti Discrimination
Anti Racism
Diversity
Palestine
QPIRG
SSMU
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Text
Commentary
The McGill Daily | Monday, April 4, 2011 | mcgilldaily.com
23
Steven mocks the process of equity
Behaviour of the Opt-Out! Campaign after filing an equity complaint shows bad faith
QPIRG Board
Hyde Park
W
e are writing today to
clarify the position
of the Quebec Public
Interest Research Group-McGill
(QPIRG) regarding the ongoing
SSMU Equity complaint process
involving a member of our board
of directors, Maddie Ritts. The
Opt-Out! Campaign complainants have received a great volume
of alarmingly dishonest publicity regarding this matter, both on
the Prince Arthur Herald blog
and in campus papers. Their representations of the matter have
amounted to a brazen and intentionally misleading defamation of
Ritts’s person. Their pursuit of the
complaint is based on an unsettling distortion of the concept of
equity. Given these facts, we find
it imperative to clarify the events
and to put this issue to rest, once
and for all.
Brendan Steven’s equity complaint was filed in regard to an
event that he did not himself
witness. The committee refused
Steven’s request to treat QPIRG
as an organization as the respondent to the complaint. As the
commission has already clarified,
they recalibrated the process to
make Ritts the sole respondent.
Further, the accusation of “acts of
racism” central to Steven’s complaint was not substantiated, and
was subsequently thrown out by
the committee, as they could not
corroborate what was said, by
whom, or to whom (though the
phrase “fucking rich white boy”
was floated by the complainant). Steven and other bloggers
at the Prince Arthur Herald continue to attribute anti-white “rac-
Steven and his companions
have made abundantly clear
the contempt they have for
the entire equity project, and
their cynicism in attempting
to appropriate yet again the
language of social justice for
the sake of cheap political
gamesmanship is dishonest
and offensive to legitimate
complaints of discrimination.
ism” and diverse (though always
unspecified) “other slurs” to Ritts
– despite this accusation having been refuted outright by the
Committee and the fact that she
was never at any time considered
a party to it. What remains of the
complaint, despite the appellant’s
insinuations, is that Ritts damaged
posters. Discussions between
Ritts, the Equity Committee, and
QPIRG are ongoing, though the
process has itself been frustratingly inconsistent and taxing for
those involved. Meanwhile, members of the Opt-Out! Campaign
continue to publish malicious and
slanderous
misrepresentations
of Ritts and her actions without
shame or consequence from the
Equity Committee regarding the
treatment of their complaint.
When the Opt-Out!/Prince
Arthur Herald executives were
finally called out on their blog
by the Equity Committee for
their deliberately false accounts
of both the alleged incident
and the Committee’s findings,
Steven’s editorial response was to
slip a snide caption beneath the
SSMU Equity logo, mocking the
Committee’s audacity in correcting the lies being posted about
their working decision.
Earlier this semester, the
same coordinators appropriated
the name of the Black Students’
Network (BSN) in their campaign fliers directly against the
wishes of that organization,
accompanied by imagery the BSN
denounced publicly as racially
discriminatory. Steven and his
companions have made abundantly clear the contempt they
have for the entire equity project,
and their cynicism in attempt-
ing to appropriate yet again the
language of social justice for the
sake of cheap political gamesmanship is dishonest and offensive to legitimate complaints of
discrimination.
Many formal judicial processes
have policies barring filers whose
complaints have been found frivolous or vexatious: that is, those
brought forth regardless of their
merit, solely to bring hardship
upon and harass an adversary. We
have been informed that the OptOut! Campaign has been bombarding the Equity Commission
with filings since the beginning
of the year. The entire basis for
the Opt-Out! Campaign’s existence is to strangle organizations
like QPIRG, dedicated to the very
same struggles against systemic
oppression as the SSMU Equity
Policy. In light of this, it should be
clear that them filing and trumpeting complaints against the
social justice group they seek to
destroy demonstrates bad faith.
As the Equity Committee drafts a
proposal to increase confidentiality in its complaints processes,
they ought to adopt measures to
reject outright similar accusations
meant only to harass and defame.
More fundamentally, however,
we feel compelled to publicly take
issue with the repeated references by Herald bloggers to alleged
acts of “intimidation” and “racism.” Jon McDaniel goes so far as
to reduce the serious and painful reality of racism to what he
crassly terms “a two-way street.”
As an organization rooted in antioppression theory and practice,
we utterly reject the conception
of our society as an equal playing
field assumed by Steven’s public statements. As anyone actually interested in equity would
know, equity policies are written
and implemented to counteract
the effects of structures that systemically marginalize and disenfranchise historically oppressed
groups. As such, their primary
concern has always been challenging the ongoing legacies of
discrimination against women,
people of colour, queers, trans
people, people with disabilities,
et cetera. To trivialize these very
real experiences by insincerely
claiming similar persecution is
sickening and offensive. We can
only hope that in the future, the
SSMU Equity Committee will
more readily reject such perverse
manipulations of their principles,
and that the campaigns of the
campus far right will no longer
be legitimized by the progressive
institutions they seek to erase.
Signed by the QPIRG-McGill Board
of Directors:
Coordinators
Anna Malla (External)
Andrea Figueroa (Internal)
Student members
Patrick DeDauw
Dan Kunda Thagard
Mahtab Nazemi
Kira Page
Farid Rener
Maddie Ritts
Sebastian Ronderos-Morgan
Sarah Woolf
Community members
Jessica Blair
William M. Burton
Maddie Guerlain
Members of the QPIRG-McGill
Board of Directors can be reached
at qpirg@ssmu.mcgill.ca.
Debunking corporate nonsense
Nestlé Canada clearly needs to get its facts straight before they attack their critics
Adrian Kaats
Comment
I
think John B. Challinor (the
second!) should probably read
my article about illiteracy. He
may be among the unfortunate
80-plus per cent of Canadians
that find themselves below reading level one, unable to comprehend even a moderately complex
text.
Let’s debunk his nonsense,
shall we? First, to the best of my
knowledge, the Polaris Institute,
Canadian
Union
of
Public
Employees, the Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives, and the
Council of Canadians don’t deal
in “mythology.” While they may
be “anti-bottled water,” trying
to label well-respected advocacy
and research organizations and
huge labour unions as a bunch of
activist crackpots spouting lies,
while simultaneously trying to
brand Nestlé Waters Canada as
anything other than a bunch of
hucksters trying to distract from
the fact that they largely hawk
bottled tap water, is embarrassing. Who hired this guy?
Indeed, Health Canada does
discuss the regulation of bottled
water. What is missing, however,
is any discussion of enforcement of the regulations. They do
tell us that if something terrible
happens, they’ll be all over it,
“The Canadian Food Inspection
Agency and other health officials
could test for these bacteria when
the manufacturer is out of compliance and/or has been involved
in food borne outbreaks.” So
I guess we’ll just have to trust
Nestlé until something awful happens. Phew, I’m relieved!
Nowhere in my article did I
write that money spent on bottled water is not spent on infrastructure. This clown invented an
argument, pretended I wrote it,
and then said it’s illogical. What
I was plainly referring to was
the following, from the Polaris
Institute:
“The shift toward bottled
water helps deflect from the need
to call for increased funding and
prioritization of safe public water
services, leaving the door open
for neglectful governments keen
on transferring public service
costs over to the private sector.”
Probably Mr. Challinor (the
second!) didn’t even read my
article, and thought I was talk-
ing about Polaris’ “exposé” about
how our government spends millions on bottled water... which I
didn’t.
This guy reminds me of the
main character in Thank You For
Smoking, “Gentlemen, practise
these words in front of the mirror: Although we are constantly
exploring the subject, currently
there is no direct evidence that
links cellphone usage to brain
cancer,” or Robert McNamara,
“Never answer the question that
is asked of you. Answer the question that you wish had been asked
of you.” The major difference is
that this Challinor (the second!)
character sucks at re-spinning.
But by far my favourite part of
Nestlé’s answer to my article is
that Challinor (the second!) calls
upon me and other concerned
citizens to make a number of
demands of the government in
order to protect our public water
supplies and delivery infrastructure. I love this part because
Nestlé, with its multi-million dollar marketing budget, as far as
I can tell, doesn’t do this themselves (go ahead, check their
website). I wonder why?
Challinor (the second!), I leave
you with a quote from my grandpa, “You’re seldom sorry for what
you didn’t say,” or in this case,
write. Sometimes it’s better marketing to just keep your mouth
shut.
—Adrian J. Kaats
(the One & Only!)
Adrian Kaats is a Daily columnist.
He can be reached at adrian.
kaats@mcgilldaily.com.
�
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Coverage from The McGill Daily
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Volume
100
Issue
42
Page Number(s)
23
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2011
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Steven Mocks the process of equity
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QPIRG Board
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The McGill Daily
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An editorial condemning the actions of Steven and the Opt-Out! Campaign, accusing them of bad faith and undermining McGill's equity process.
discrimination
Opt-Out!
QPIRG
SSMU Equity Policy
-
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a8be1e0a597a916444df98e1ecce960a
PDF Text
Text
McGill Dail •
tember 16, 2004
3
News
University restricts political
events on campus
students oppose new rules,
administration praises balance of security and free speech
new
policy constraining
angered student leaders
activists.
inst May 5, McGill's Senate
approved a set of preliminary recom-
meÜiOns limiting political events
omcampus that was formulated by
an ad-hoc committee of students,
facultyand administrators. The committee recommended that the universityrestrictrallies,vigils and other
The recommendations, which
as regulations until Senate
approvesa final plan, replace a policy that banned all political events
og campus. But many worry that the
new rules will do little to facilitate
then we shouldn't be stopped
from c "Shouldit beusedasa pretextto
shut down freedom of expression, I
Post Graduate Student
Society think we have to raise that and alter
(PGSS) VP Extemal Ahmed
Alrepresented graduate studentsSafia the policy,"he said.
on
the committee that drafted
the policy Some rules better than no
and was unsatisfiedwith
the result. rules?
He pointed to the dangers
of restrict-
ing freedom
of expressionat an
'Ihe issue of politicalevents on
academic institution.
campus came up la.q fall when the
"I think censoring the
students is
ridiculous;" he said. "McGillshould University declined SSMUs request to
hold a rally opposing tuition hikes on
rnain Campus. SSMUleaders were sur-
" McGillshould not
be censoring what we
think is contraverslal,
what we think should
be debated in a public
freedom of expression.
Ihe Universi5.
e will now allow
students to use the Arts Building
stos for events such as vigils involving fewer than 25 people. The Three
Bares area will host gatherings of 25
people, while rallies of more
than 250 will have to be held •on
rue McTavishin•front of the Shatner
Building.
this area is techni-
cally off University property, orgamust also obtain authorization
from the City of Montreal.
An official at City Hall said the
cityrequiresthree days to approve a
for a protest.
Student leaders reject the princiz
ple of the recommendations,
arguing
hat the University shouldn't -place
ns on how students use
heir
SSMU
VP
Community •and
Govemment Daniel Friedlaender
Il-lötionedthe need for any rules
It all
"lhe students aren't going to do
ornething inappropriate," he said.
If we choose to gather in a peaceJl and non-inflamnutory manner,
forum"
prised when the University told them
that there was a long-standingpolicy
banning politicalevents on campus.
SSMUwas especially startled because
they had been previously able to use
campus space for that purpose Without Objection.
In this regard, Noumoff is pleased
that students and administratorswill
finally have a concrete policy to
work from.
"We've
not be censoring what we think is prescribednever have had a specific
policy; it was done on
controversial, what we think should the basis of
adhockery. Things seem
be debated in a public forum."
to. have taken a different turn," he
University • Vice
PrincipaV said. "Myjudgment is that at least
Administration and Finance Morty we now have
policy that is •a
Yalovsky argued that the recommen- known policy, and
therefore that is
dations do
For secunty reasons, political rallies ot over 250 students will have to be
held off campus, in front of Shatner, with municipal police approval.
In formulatingtheir recommendations, the Senate committee considered articles 25 and 26 of the Charter
of Students' Rights, which guarantee
freedom of opinion, expression and
peaceful assembly. But Chuck Adler,
Director of the University Planning
Offce and campus events committee
not amount •to censor- progress."
chair said the group's main
ship, and that the University'spoliBut many campus activists do -was the security of the McGill oonV
cies do not restrict politicalexpres- not view the policy as
progress munity and
sion, pointing to more routine arenas just because it is explicit.
Samira
Yalovskyagreed, adding that he
for disagreement.
Rahmani-Azad,-who sits on the is pleased with the manner in whidl
"Politicaldebate will continue in McGill Quebec Public Interest
recommendations strike a balance
Leacock 132 and in our classrooms. Research Group (QPIRG) Board
between students' rights and safety
That's something we would never of Directors, is frustrated that the on arnpLE.
attempt to-prevent,' he said.
Universitywants to place any lim"I think the key thing is to create
Samuel Noumoff, veteran Political its on the use of the •campusfor a safe,
ropectful place for d&te on
professor and Senate repre- student-organized events.
he
"Aslong as we have
sentative, stressed that the policy is
"We are lucky at McGill to that, we have a wonderful
still in the preliminary stages, rnaking have a beautiful green campus
Al-Safia said he struggled to enQ1re
it hard to predict its effects.He added which students can use to gath- that the
recommen&tions did not
that action would need to be taken if er in. ..[These recommendations) violate
rights. Acmrding to Althe policy did result in an encroache- force students to lose ownership Safia, die committee
initiallywanted
ment of politicalexpression.
of their own campus," she said.
to ban all events from
-1
alestinian refugees in mon•ealseek support
MGill pror
Palestinian refugees living in Montreal and
zing deportation.
up with a recommendation that was
ridiculous—it was PGSSthat
for the changes."
recommendations will serve
as guidelines until the comrnittee
releass iB final rectxnnrn&ticywat
the end of
2004-2005aedernic
yar. The final policy will elaborate on
security
such as who will
be responsible for paying for security
guar&.
Al-Sam Mid that cornmittee nrrn-
bers would recommend that
cover security costs, a policy he
thought was unfair.
you think of a
dub,
mly a limitedbudget, how can
afford to pay ecurity guar& for
a four-hour shift* He added that the
Universityshould back its requirenrnt bf security guar& with the ash
to Rind them.
The Coalition says that the deportees will
The deadline for applicatiorusvaries from
be placed in countries such as Lebanon or state to state, but registrationfor most states and it really should not take more than five
minutes. Don't wait until the last minute,'
Jordan where they -are not citizens, arid have will still be open until late September.
he said,
to live under intolerable conditions.
Interested students who are eligible to vote
The McGillchapter of Democrats Abroad
The demonstration will also commemorate in the upcoming election should check their
also encourages eligible Voters to pick up
the thousands of Palestinian refugees who local government's websites for more details a
Federal Postcard Application, valid for all
lost their lives during the 1982Israeli invasion about their respective state's deadlines.
states,
coalition
is
urging
people
of all
of Beirut.
lhere are also groups at McGillthat are
Eligible voters can register at u,wtvfvap.
walks of life to join them in their action.
geared specifically toward helping eligible gov, a
web site run by the United States govThe demonstration will start at the comer voters with the registration process.
emment, or at u.uu.ot.etseast.oten)4.com,
of Ste.-Catherineand Atwater (Atwater metro)
A non-partisan group of professors who a web site
run by the DemocraticNational
will be stationed in the Leacock lobby until
at 2 p.m. this Saturday, September 18.
Committee. Both. web sites have specific
Friday September 17, and in the McConnell state
deadlines-and applications that can be
—JoshGinsberg Engineering building all next week, spedownloadéd.
cificallyfor the purpose of registering eligible
Zuroff emphasized that absentee
Deadline for American
CoalitionAgainstthe DeportationOf absentee
.lestinianRefugees will be holding a largeJes demonstration this Saturday in support
erty, allowing eveqts in front or the
Shatner building only.
ballots
looms
It's not too late for Americin students wanting to cast their vote in November's federal election to register for absentee ballot applications.
voters.
One of the organizers of McGill'snon-par-
tisan effort, Professor David Zuroff, stressed
that while the application is easy to fill out,
interested voters should make sure to apply
as soon as possible.
"We have all the necessary papers here
ballots can
be pivotal in an American presidential election.
"Illis is going to be close," he said, referring
to the margin of approval between this year's
candidates, George W. Bush and John Kerry.
is an extra special election."
—Jeremy
mman
�
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Coverage from The McGill Daily
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Volume
94
Issue
4
Page Number(s)
3
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
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2004
Title
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University Restricts Political Events on Campus
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
N/A (doesn't say)
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PDF
Publisher
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The McGill Daily
Description
An account of the resource
A report on McGill University's new policy limiting political events on campus, introduced after student protests against tuition hikes.
Campus Protests
PGSS
Political Action
QPIRG
SSMU
Student Protests
-
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334534629ca876facd51ba19ec1b7597
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Text
11/6/21, 1:03 AM
Find Your Space! - The McGill Daily
The McGill Daily
LING 210 dropouts since 1911
Find Your Space!
A Guide to Groups on and Around Campus
by Kate Ellis and Willa Holt / September 2, 2020
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Whether you are in your first month of undergrad or have been at McGill for six years, you may
struggle to find spaces that you feel comfortable in or that provide you the support you need
on and around campus. To help connect folks with helpful resources, activism opportunities,
and support systems, the Daily has compiled a list of anti-oppressive groups on and around
campus. This list is organized in the following categories:
1. Social Justice and Activism
2. Environmental Justice
3. Resources for Racialized Students
4. Resources for 2SLGBTQ+ Students
5. Health and Well-being
Please note that any events and activities may be subject to change due to campus closures
and social distance guidelines resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage
students to reach out directly to groups that you are interested in for more information.
Social Justice and Activism
McGill Students in Solidarity with Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR)
SPHR McGill is a non-hierachical, “non-profit, student-based organization that advocates to
uphold the rights of the Palestinian people in the face of human rights violations and all forms
of racism, discrimination, misinformation, and misrepresentation.” Students can get involved
https://www.mcgilldaily.com/2020/09/find-your-space/
1/11
�11/6/21, 1:03 AM
,
,
,
Find Your Space! - The McGill Daily
p
g
with SPHR by attending their meetings, informative workshops on the occupation in Palestine,
and cultural events such as movie screenings and hummus sales.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/sphrmcgill
Email: mcgillsphr@gmail.com
McGill Students for a Free Tibet (SFT)
McGill Students for a Free Tibet is the campus chapter of Students for a Free Tibet, a
“grassroots network which amplifies the voices of Tibetans inside Tibet in the pursuit of
freedom and human rights.” They use education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct
action to “campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom.” Students can get
involved in SFT by attending meetings, educational workshops, and cultural events such as
movie screenings and cooking classes.
Website: https://www.studentsforafreetibet.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sftmcgill/
Email: mcgillstudentsforafreetibet@gmail.com
CKUT 90.3 FM
CKUT 90.3 FM is McGill’s non-profit, campus-community radio station! According to their
Facebook page, “CKUT provides alternative music, news and spoken word programming to the
city of Montreal and surrounding areas, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
CKUT has a number of volunteer, internship, and employment opportunities, which can be
found at https://www.ckut.ca/en.
Website: https://ckut.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RadioCKUT/
Email: admin@ckut.ca
Independent Jewish Voices McGill (IJV)
According to their Facebook page, “IJV McGill is a group of Jewish students and community
members who stand in solidarity with Palestine.” IJV organizes and orchestrates direct actions,
including demonstrations, along with SPHR, while also acting as a social and cultural space for
Jewish students who are critical of Zionism by hosting Shabbat and other gatherings.
Website: http://ijvcanada.org
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ijvmcgill
Email: ijvmcgill@gmail.com
QPIRG-McGill
The McGill chapter of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) is “a non-profit,
student-run organization that unites McGill and Montreal communities in the fight for social
and environmental justice through research, education, and by taking action.” QPIRG is run by
a non-hierarchical volunteer board of directors made up of McGill students and community
members.
QPIRG McGill works on a number of projects, including their annual event series Culture
Shock, alternative orientation program Rad Frosh, alternative school planner School Schmool,
and Montreal-based research journal Convergence.
Website: http://qpirgmcgill.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QPIRG.GRIP.McGill
Email: info@qpirgmcgill.org
Prisoner Correspondence Project
The Prisoner Correspondence Project is a working group of QPIRG-Concordia that “coordinates
a direct-correspondence program for gay, lesbian, transsexual, transgender, gendervariant,
two-spirit, intersex, bisexual and queer inmates in Canada and the United States, linking these
inmates with people a part of these same communities outside of prison.” They also compile a
resource library of information about topics such as harm reduction, sexuality, and HIV
prevention, as well as hold educational events about incarceration and criminalization for folks
on the outside.
To become a penpal, visit https://prisonercorrespondenceproject.com/.
Website: https://prisonercorrespondenceproject.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prisonercorrespondenceproject/
Email: info@prisonercorrespondenceproject.com
Environmental Justice
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Climate Justice Action McGill (C-JAM)
C-JAM is a non-hierarchical group at McGill that “demands climate justice from the McGill
administration and Canadian governments” through non-violent direct action. As explained on
their Facebook page, their principles are to:
1. Operate under anti-oppressive practices
2. Prioritise Indigenous, Black, and marginalised voices (and work to amplify them)
3. Work to minimise social hierarchies that often manifest in activist groups
4. Prioritise systemic, political change over individual consumer change
Past initiatives of C-JAM include organizing the McGill contingent of the global climate strike,
hosting a webinar series with Wet’suwet’en elder Marlene Hale, and a DIY seed-bombing
workshop with the SSMU Environment Committee.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClimateJusticeActionMcGill
Email: planettakesmcgill@gmail.com
Divest McGill
Divest McGill is a 7-year-old “environmental justice campaign calling on McGill University to
acknowledge and address the urgency of the climate crisis by withdrawing the direct
(segregated) investments of its endowment fund from the fossil fuel industry.” According to
their website, their specific goals are to:
1. Complete and transparent divestment from the top 200 fossil fuel companies (globally, by
reserves)
2. Mobilize our supporters in solidarity with Indigenous and other marginalized students on
campus, in Montreal, and in Canada
3. Educate and mobilize the McGill community (administration, staff, and students) in support
of bold and justice-oriented climate action such as carbon neutrality and pipeline resistance
Students can get involved in a number of tasks and teams including outreach,
communications, and research.
Website: https://www.divestmcgill.com/
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivestMcGill/
Email: divestmcgill@gmail.com
Resources for Racialized Students
Black Students’ Network (BSN)
The Black Students’ Network is a service of the Students Society of McGill University (SSMU)
that is “dedicated to addressing the needs and interests of Black students.” They host a variety
of social and political events by and for Black students including Soul Food Fridays, Hair Day,
Black Frosh, Black Grad, Youth Day, and much more.
BSN has a list of resources for Black students on their website at
https://www.bsnmcgill.com/black-at-mcgill.
Website: www.bsnmcgill.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BlackStudentsNetworkOfMcGill/
Email: bsn@ssmu.ca
Indigenous Student Alliance (ISA)
ISA is a group at McGill that “provides integrative support for Indigenous peoples’ attending
McGill University to connect and share [their] unique, authentic indigenous ways of knowing
with each other and with non-indigenous peoples within the community.”
They host a variety of events including demonstrations in solidarity with Indigenous land
defenders, educational workshops, bannock sales, and collaborative cultural events with
groups such as Am McGill and McGill Students for a Free Tibet.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Indigenous.Student.Alliance/
Email: isa@ssmu.ca
First Peoples’ House (FPH)
The First Peoples’ House provides many kinds of support for Indigenous students, typically
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including weekly meals and culturally-informed academic support. The FPH also hosts many
events throughout the year, including “Powwows and Feasts aimed at fostering community
bonds.” Additionally, the First Peoples’ House offers 10 single-occupancy rooms from
September 1 – July 31 each year, with applications prioritizing Indigenous graduate and
undergraduate students.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/6063708337/
Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/fph/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstpeopleshouse/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FPHMcGill
Pan-Asian Collective Montreal (PAC)
The Pan-Asian Collective is a group that intends to uplift and encourage “meaningful
engagement in Asian history and culture” at Montreal-area universities. Through events
including potlucks and movie screenings as well as their discussion group series, Un(PAC)k,
the Pan-Asian Collective aims to provide space for support, education, and solidarity for the
Asian community in Montreal.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/pacmcgill/
Email: panasiancollectivemontreal@gmail.com
Resources for 2SLGBTQ+ Students
Queer McGill (QM)
Queer McGill (QM) is a student-run service which offers resources including a queer library
(English only, online library available on their website), safer-sex supplies, and gender-affirming
products. QM also offers events focusing on queer students, including Rad Sex Month, games
nights, and open mics. Remote events are being held during this semester, and can be
accessed through the Queer McGill Social Distancing Group on Facebook.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueerMcGill/
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Website: queermcgill.org
Email: admin.qm@ssmu.ca
The Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE)
The UGE describes itself as a “trans-positive and anti-racist feminist organization.” Its co-op
offers safer sex supplies, gender-affirming products, and eco-friendly menstrual supplies, and
is operating socially-distanced this semester. The UGE also co-runs an alternative library with
Queer McGill and provides discretionary funding for social-justice-oriented projects, and will be
providing a safe space in the University Centre (with limited access for pandemic safety
reasons.)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UGEMcGill/
Website: https://theuge.carrd.co/
Jeunes Queer Youth
Jeunes Queer Youth is a bilingual project-funding program comprised of five Montreal
organizations focusing on empowering queer youth in the city: AIDS Community Care
Montreal (ACCM), Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transsexuel(le)s du Québec (ASTT(e)Q), the
Montreal Coalition of LGBT Youth Groups, Project 10 and Rézo). The Jeunes Queer Youth
program provides funding and guidance for young leaders looking to provide sexual health
information to queer and trans youth in Montreal.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeunesqueeryouth/
Website: jeunesqueeryouth.org
Email: jqy@accmontreal.org
Phone: 514-826-8806
Health and Well-being
SACOMSS
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The Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) provides support to
survivors of sexual violence and their allies through “direct support, advocacy, and outreach.”
The volunteer-run organization offers support groups, an English phone service (Drop-In and
Line or DIAL), and facilitates workshops and trainings around sexual violence. SACOMSS
interviews volunteers in mid-September!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sacomss/
Website: https://www.sacomss.org/wp/
Email: main@sacomss.org
Phone/DIAL: 514-398-8500
McGill Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (OSVRSE)
OSVRSE is a service that “provides confidential, non-judgmental and non-directional support”
within a survivor-centred, intersectional approach to members of the McGill community who
have been impacted by sexual or gender-based violence. Survivors can access support services
and short-term counselling, receive assistance with resource coordination (e.g. obtaining
accommodations, accessing support services, and safety planning), and discuss reporting
options.
Members of the McGill community looking to access OSVRSE’s services at this time should use
their McGill email address to contact osvrse@mcgill.ca.
Website: https://www.mcgill.ca/osvrse/
Email: osvrse@mcgill.ca
Aids Community Care Montreal (ACCM)
ACCM is Montreal’s only English-language volunteer driven community “organization that
provides support services and treatment information to people living with HIV/AIDS and/or
hepatitis C.” The organization provides social and support services such as discussion groups, 1on-1 support, and practical assistance to people living with HIV and hepatitis C. People living
with HIV and hepatitis C can also receive information about treatment, symptoms, and
medical coverage. These services are available to both those who have been recently
diagnosed and those who have been living with HIV or hepatitis C for longer periods of time.
They also run a number of educational programs to “decrease the transmission of HIV,
hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections.” These programs
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include sexual health kiosks, workshops, and SextEd, a free anonymous texting helpline for
youth seeking information about sex and dating.
SextEd Phone Number: 514-700-4411
ACCM Phone Number: 514-527-0928
Website: https://accmontreal.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACCMontreal/
Email: info@accmontreal.org
HOJO Concordia
The Concordia Student Union’s Housing and Job Resource Centre (HOJO) provides guidance
and support to student renters across Montreal. HOJO offers legal assistance regarding
workers’ rights and housing issues, workshops, classifieds for jobs and apartments, and the
online housing information resource likehome.info (available in English, French, and
Mandarin). These services are available to all student residents of Montreal!
Website: https://csu.qc.ca/services/hojo/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CSUHOJO
Email: hojo@csu.qc.ca
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Title
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Coverage from The McGill Daily
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Volume
110
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2020-09-02
Title
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Find Your Space!
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Kate Ellis, Willa Holt
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Description
An account of the resource
A list of student activist groups on campus across movements.
activism
Black Students Network
divestment
First Peoples' House
QPIRG
Queer McGill
Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students Society
Students in Solidarity with Palestinian Human Rights
Union for Gender Empowerment
-
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A name given to the resource
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Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Volume
105
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1
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4
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The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
PDF
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2015-09-01
Title
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The Activist's Guide to McGill
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Not included (Disorientation guide)
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The McGill Daily
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A list of student activist groups on campus.
activism
Demilitarize McGill
divestment
QPIRG
Students for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR)
Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE)
-
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��
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A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Volume
103
Issue
13
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27-28
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2013-11-25
Title
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Spaces you can count on
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hannah Besseau, Ralph Haddad, Nirali Tanna
Format
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The McGill Daily
Description
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An article recounting a speech by the co-founder of AIDS-Free World that then leads into a list of safe spaces / advocacy spaces on campus
campus space
harm reduction
Indigeneity
mental health
QPIRG
-
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103
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8
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07-Jun
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2013-10-21
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Culture Shock
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Dana Wray, Hannah Reardon, Ralph Haddad, Olivia Larson, Joelle Dahm
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The McGill Daily
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A series of short articles addressing myths about racialized communities, Black communities, Indigenous communities, immigrants and refugees as part of QPIRG's annual Culture Shock event series
anti-Black racism
anti-Indigenous racism
QPIRG
race
racial justice
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A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
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101
Issue
32
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3
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2012-02-13
Title
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QPIRG presents McGill with new offer
Creator
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Erin Hadson
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QPIRG puts out an offer to McGill to negotiate with protestors occupying the office of the Deputy Provost.
Admin
protest
QPIRG
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Commentary
The McGill Daily | Monday, April 4, 2011 | mcgilldaily.com
23
Steven mocks the process of equity
Behaviour of the Opt-Out! Campaign after filing an equity complaint shows bad faith
QPIRG Board
Hyde Park
W
e are writing today to
clarify the position
of the Quebec Public
Interest Research Group-McGill
(QPIRG) regarding the ongoing
SSMU Equity complaint process
involving a member of our board
of directors, Maddie Ritts. The
Opt-Out! Campaign complainants have received a great volume
of alarmingly dishonest publicity regarding this matter, both on
the Prince Arthur Herald blog
and in campus papers. Their representations of the matter have
amounted to a brazen and intentionally misleading defamation of
Ritts’s person. Their pursuit of the
complaint is based on an unsettling distortion of the concept of
equity. Given these facts, we find
it imperative to clarify the events
and to put this issue to rest, once
and for all.
Brendan Steven’s equity complaint was filed in regard to an
event that he did not himself
witness. The committee refused
Steven’s request to treat QPIRG
as an organization as the respondent to the complaint. As the
commission has already clarified,
they recalibrated the process to
make Ritts the sole respondent.
Further, the accusation of “acts of
racism” central to Steven’s complaint was not substantiated, and
was subsequently thrown out by
the committee, as they could not
corroborate what was said, by
whom, or to whom (though the
phrase “fucking rich white boy”
was floated by the complainant). Steven and other bloggers
at the Prince Arthur Herald continue to attribute anti-white “rac-
Steven and his companions
have made abundantly clear
the contempt they have for
the entire equity project, and
their cynicism in attempting
to appropriate yet again the
language of social justice for
the sake of cheap political
gamesmanship is dishonest
and offensive to legitimate
complaints of discrimination.
ism” and diverse (though always
unspecified) “other slurs” to Ritts
– despite this accusation having been refuted outright by the
Committee and the fact that she
was never at any time considered
a party to it. What remains of the
complaint, despite the appellant’s
insinuations, is that Ritts damaged
posters. Discussions between
Ritts, the Equity Committee, and
QPIRG are ongoing, though the
process has itself been frustratingly inconsistent and taxing for
those involved. Meanwhile, members of the Opt-Out! Campaign
continue to publish malicious and
slanderous
misrepresentations
of Ritts and her actions without
shame or consequence from the
Equity Committee regarding the
treatment of their complaint.
When the Opt-Out!/Prince
Arthur Herald executives were
finally called out on their blog
by the Equity Committee for
their deliberately false accounts
of both the alleged incident
and the Committee’s findings,
Steven’s editorial response was to
slip a snide caption beneath the
SSMU Equity logo, mocking the
Committee’s audacity in correcting the lies being posted about
their working decision.
Earlier this semester, the
same coordinators appropriated
the name of the Black Students’
Network (BSN) in their campaign fliers directly against the
wishes of that organization,
accompanied by imagery the BSN
denounced publicly as racially
discriminatory. Steven and his
companions have made abundantly clear the contempt they
have for the entire equity project,
and their cynicism in attempt-
ing to appropriate yet again the
language of social justice for the
sake of cheap political gamesmanship is dishonest and offensive to legitimate complaints of
discrimination.
Many formal judicial processes
have policies barring filers whose
complaints have been found frivolous or vexatious: that is, those
brought forth regardless of their
merit, solely to bring hardship
upon and harass an adversary. We
have been informed that the OptOut! Campaign has been bombarding the Equity Commission
with filings since the beginning
of the year. The entire basis for
the Opt-Out! Campaign’s existence is to strangle organizations
like QPIRG, dedicated to the very
same struggles against systemic
oppression as the SSMU Equity
Policy. In light of this, it should be
clear that them filing and trumpeting complaints against the
social justice group they seek to
destroy demonstrates bad faith.
As the Equity Committee drafts a
proposal to increase confidentiality in its complaints processes,
they ought to adopt measures to
reject outright similar accusations
meant only to harass and defame.
More fundamentally, however,
we feel compelled to publicly take
issue with the repeated references by Herald bloggers to alleged
acts of “intimidation” and “racism.” Jon McDaniel goes so far as
to reduce the serious and painful reality of racism to what he
crassly terms “a two-way street.”
As an organization rooted in antioppression theory and practice,
we utterly reject the conception
of our society as an equal playing
field assumed by Steven’s public statements. As anyone actually interested in equity would
know, equity policies are written
and implemented to counteract
the effects of structures that systemically marginalize and disenfranchise historically oppressed
groups. As such, their primary
concern has always been challenging the ongoing legacies of
discrimination against women,
people of colour, queers, trans
people, people with disabilities,
et cetera. To trivialize these very
real experiences by insincerely
claiming similar persecution is
sickening and offensive. We can
only hope that in the future, the
SSMU Equity Committee will
more readily reject such perverse
manipulations of their principles,
and that the campaigns of the
campus far right will no longer
be legitimized by the progressive
institutions they seek to erase.
Signed by the QPIRG-McGill Board
of Directors:
Coordinators
Anna Malla (External)
Andrea Figueroa (Internal)
Student members
Patrick DeDauw
Dan Kunda Thagard
Mahtab Nazemi
Kira Page
Farid Rener
Maddie Ritts
Sebastian Ronderos-Morgan
Sarah Woolf
Community members
Jessica Blair
William M. Burton
Maddie Guerlain
Members of the QPIRG-McGill
Board of Directors can be reached
at qpirg@ssmu.mcgill.ca.
Debunking corporate nonsense
Nestlé Canada clearly needs to get its facts straight before they attack their critics
Adrian Kaats
Comment
I
think John B. Challinor (the
second!) should probably read
my article about illiteracy. He
may be among the unfortunate
80-plus per cent of Canadians
that find themselves below reading level one, unable to comprehend even a moderately complex
text.
Let’s debunk his nonsense,
shall we? First, to the best of my
knowledge, the Polaris Institute,
Canadian
Union
of
Public
Employees, the Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives, and the
Council of Canadians don’t deal
in “mythology.” While they may
be “anti-bottled water,” trying
to label well-respected advocacy
and research organizations and
huge labour unions as a bunch of
activist crackpots spouting lies,
while simultaneously trying to
brand Nestlé Waters Canada as
anything other than a bunch of
hucksters trying to distract from
the fact that they largely hawk
bottled tap water, is embarrassing. Who hired this guy?
Indeed, Health Canada does
discuss the regulation of bottled
water. What is missing, however,
is any discussion of enforcement of the regulations. They do
tell us that if something terrible
happens, they’ll be all over it,
“The Canadian Food Inspection
Agency and other health officials
could test for these bacteria when
the manufacturer is out of compliance and/or has been involved
in food borne outbreaks.” So
I guess we’ll just have to trust
Nestlé until something awful happens. Phew, I’m relieved!
Nowhere in my article did I
write that money spent on bottled water is not spent on infrastructure. This clown invented an
argument, pretended I wrote it,
and then said it’s illogical. What
I was plainly referring to was
the following, from the Polaris
Institute:
“The shift toward bottled
water helps deflect from the need
to call for increased funding and
prioritization of safe public water
services, leaving the door open
for neglectful governments keen
on transferring public service
costs over to the private sector.”
Probably Mr. Challinor (the
second!) didn’t even read my
article, and thought I was talk-
ing about Polaris’ “exposé” about
how our government spends millions on bottled water... which I
didn’t.
This guy reminds me of the
main character in Thank You For
Smoking, “Gentlemen, practise
these words in front of the mirror: Although we are constantly
exploring the subject, currently
there is no direct evidence that
links cellphone usage to brain
cancer,” or Robert McNamara,
“Never answer the question that
is asked of you. Answer the question that you wish had been asked
of you.” The major difference is
that this Challinor (the second!)
character sucks at re-spinning.
But by far my favourite part of
Nestlé’s answer to my article is
that Challinor (the second!) calls
upon me and other concerned
citizens to make a number of
demands of the government in
order to protect our public water
supplies and delivery infrastructure. I love this part because
Nestlé, with its multi-million dollar marketing budget, as far as
I can tell, doesn’t do this themselves (go ahead, check their
website). I wonder why?
Challinor (the second!), I leave
you with a quote from my grandpa, “You’re seldom sorry for what
you didn’t say,” or in this case,
write. Sometimes it’s better marketing to just keep your mouth
shut.
—Adrian J. Kaats
(the One & Only!)
Adrian Kaats is a Daily columnist.
He can be reached at adrian.
kaats@mcgilldaily.com.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Coverage from The McGill Daily
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Volume
100
Issue
44
Page Number(s)
23
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
PDF
Dublin Core
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Date
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2011-04-04
Title
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Steven mocks the process of equity
Creator
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QPIRG Board
Format
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PDF
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The McGill Daily
Description
An account of the resource
Article by the QPIRG Board commenting on the SSMU Equity complaint brought against one of QPIRG's board of director members by Opt Out! Campaign.
QPIRG
SSMU
SSMU Equity Committee
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Coverage from The McGill Daily
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Volume
100
Issue
32
Page Number(s)
8
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
PDF
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Date
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2011-02-10
Title
A name given to the resource
Opting out is not conscientious objection
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jonah Campbell
Format
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PDF
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The McGill Daily
Description
An account of the resource
A response to the article "Right to choose" taking issue with the comparison of choosing to opt out of QPIRG fees to reproductive rights and Vietnam War dissidence.
QPIRG
student fees and funding