1 10 52 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 Tribune Description An account of the resource This collection holds articles from the McGill Tribune. We are not allowed to host copies of the articles for copyright reasons, but have decided to share the metadata fields, should one want to find them elsewhere. At the time of writing this, all issues of the McGill Tribune are available at <a href="https://issuu.com/mcgill_tribune">https://issuu.com/mcgill_tribune</a>. 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 11 Issue 2 Page Number(s) 3 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 A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991/09/10 Title A name given to the resource Sexual Assault Centre Opens at McGill Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jane White Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available McGill Tribune McGill Sexual Assault Centre (MSAC) mental health Policy on Harassment and Discrimination Regulations Concerning Complaints of Sexual Harassment Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students' Society (SACOMSS) sexual violence https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/bc0eeaf3821844b0e1b0ff9da905a1cd.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=dkDiuPLFYNhIj1kyPMjXaHq3Zu64EAzXJbr%7Eieod-QUD0kw8j8J3sqK3av5gPaReW0Lw7T96bYvpfq-arc-eZqcEfqqom5JhC7U9n-dSRd1xJtIbD-CJOiksZO9DGQNbfZ22%7En4TF3fr9aF4ZNd1WzHXE39%7EGM0p0e4fwGwsZIxS4z0pzuR6yzhqobh-XJKr4p5QyebPs%7ENabiDX%7EkE0i5NWImfOgvdPd9VMiOF89PR%7E3RDXjtcTDNgYsPECtePjt3hikJ1XMxI-2H3WPqp40PKDMIz8r4vowBlc6blsRaMWglRXi4PwV8swrOuSCr92KC2WEy%7EXg1eN%7El5ur3cd0w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 202c6561e50c1577d6245ff48301c8fd PDF Text Text 4 NEWS: McGill November 18, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily Divest McGill Holds Protest Mid-Day Protest Gains Traction Despite Snow Aarthy Thiruthanikan News Contributor O n November 12, the McGill Community Square, located just outside McConnell Engineering, found itself filled with environmentally-minded students declaring their demands towards the James Administration Building. At the forefront of the demonstration was Divest McGill, an intergenerational student environmental group with one major goal in mind: to demand that McGill divest in their fossil fuel investments for the betterment of the climate crisis. “The reasoning is clear,” stated Audrey Nelles, one of the student speakers. “We urge our university to stop supporting coal, oil and gas companies.” She continued, clarifying that while divestment is “not a panacea,” the choice to divest is “part of a large range of actions needed to fight the climate crisis.” While serving as a means of informing the public, the demonstration was primarily aimed at gaining the attention of McGill’s Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR). While the protestors made their demands clear, CAMSR met in the James Administration Building to finalize their recommendations to the Board of Governors with regards to divestment. The Board of Governors – responsible for McGill’s academic, business, and financial affairs – will convene on December 5, where they will render a final decision on divestment. The call for divestment is not a relatively new movement at McGill. In 2016, numerous McGill alumni returned their undergraduate diplomas as a sign of disapproval to McGill’s lack of divestment. Amongst the alumni was Jen Gobby, a PhD holder in Economics for the Anthropocene program at McGill. She currently organizes with Climate Justice Action McGill (C-JAM). Hoping that the decision to divest would occur at the beginning of her PhD, Gobby expressed her frustration with the university, stating: “It’s 2019 and this institution is financially benefiting from an industry that’s threatening the future of all its student body.” Kelsey McKeon | News Photographer In addition to the protest, Divest McGill has offered students another opportunity to show their solidarity – by pledging not to donate to the University until they choose to divest. Current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and donors are all welcome to sign the petition, which can found on their Facebook page. For more information on the efforts of Divest McGill, visit https:// divestmcgill.wordpress.com Student-Run Care is “a Bandaid” AGSEM, SSMU Hold Demo for Accessible Healthcare Ally Pengelly News Contributor O On Tuesday, November 12, representatives from SSMU University Affairs and AGSEM hosted a demonstration outside the Brown Student Services Building in order to protest McGill’s notoriously inaccessible clinical care. Though rescheduled at the last minute, Tuesday was originally designated as the formal launch and open house of the Rossy Student Wellness Hub, a combination of Counselling Services, Psychiatric Services, and “The international student health plan that you are on at McGill is the most expensive international student health plan in all of Canada, and that’s not okay.” –Madeline Wilson, SSMU VP University Affairs Zach Coury | Photo Contributor Student Health Services. Despite this, the demonstration continued as scheduled. Organizers Madeline Wilson, Melissa Marquette, and Rine Vieth laid out their formal demands, requesting that McGill provide adequate services and timely communication; financiallyaccessible, culturally-sensitive and time-sensitive healthcare; and actively support students with disabilities. The extent of inaccessibility surrounding clinical care at school was emphasized by discussions around McGill’s Eating Disorder Program and longterm counselling being cancelled without warning, the sheer length of wait times, and the inaccessibility of the Brown Building for those with physical disabilities. Alongside guest speaker Bee Khaleeli, attendees took turns sharing their personal experiences and struggles within McGill’s healthcare system. Protesters touched upon issues of financial strain, bureaucratic lack of empathy, and the dire need to expedite wait times. Many speakers also discussed their failed attempts to communicate concerns with administrative healthcare members at McGill. The demonstration’s organizers made clear that they will continue to voice their demands and criticisms, revealing that another protest will take place once the Wellness Hub’s formal launch is rescheduled. � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 109 Issue 11 Page Number(s) 4 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 Student-Run Care is “a Bandaid” Description An account of the resource Students organized a demonstration regarding McGill's inaccessible student health care. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ally Pengelly Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019/11/18 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF ableism McGill Health Services mental health protest student health https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/34650af8196e60fbe66aa7fe7a80832e.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=fLRLWT0-YB0-hndiYNLWpdIIaVxGJKyD3SC5mYLcFzX9WkUVwQPaHNMtMPqoZx4ZSR031-OtLtYlIkb74ojUNuSS9ktZFkHEjT5oA8BWIUFpzewN%7EzmjS9wi%7EV7K-bPmeIwlqPoMs2IV-w5eKeIB5PAg-309uZ6bBzl7jj-i%7EzF-UGa1JlMucEjQIagt8fmqXVTiwQC2ka7GmZnYxWj%7ErpxyJVySFrFQEE-tK2%7EUSDh%7ESAk5b4WaPmo317H7bZV9TLos%7Es1UMe4S4lHRWbYqfOyKvp9HkQsjve-ckEMt4JMX1KlaZSVFxGTeK%7Eknb-aMbM0-Sb5HtR-1JAZf9Gkplw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 015c9427d6ea0ff0e506a6ab66ab62bc PDF Text Text October 28, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily news 7 McGill Involuntary Leave Policy Suspended Students Voice Views About Mental Health Support Abigail Popple News Contributor O n September 22, the Office of the Dean of Students announced its decision to suspend the draft Policy on Involuntary Leave – originally drafted in 2017. The policy’s stated intent was “to provide clear and fair protocol for supporting students in significant crisis,” and to expedite the student’s re-integration into McGill by “directing [the] student to the relevant resources” needed for their recovery. The draft policy included provisions for the University to effectively suspend students from campus, thereby barring their access to all University services – including housing, where applicable – except for Security Services. In those cases where “reasonable support by the University [had] been exhausted,” the administration presented the policy as a means to allow students to “get support external to McGill.” However, the draft only indicates that University-facilitated access to external support services “may be possible” in a transition period of fewer than 30 days, and must be before the beginning of the mandated leave. According to Christopher Buddle, Dean of Students, the policy was meant to protect students “under very exceptional circumstances,” who have posed a threat to themselves or others – he stressed that such occasions would be very rare. It is worth noting that in an email exchange on the subject of the policy between Buddle and Martine Gauthier, Executive Director of Services for Students, Gauthier mentions that McGill has a “very high threshold [sic]... for retaining students with behaviours related to severe mental illness,” which comes at a “very high cost resource wise,” citing the full-time employment of seven people in psychiatric services at the time. Buddle also stated that “[t]he concept of the draft policy” had been posed to “various committees” during the 2018-19 academic year, and later underwent direct consultations with committees, including student societies. In reference to why the administration suspended work on the policy, Buddle pointed to the draft’s negative reaction upon its introduction to the general student body in September. Concerns raised during this period, which was presented as opportunities for ‘consultation’ with students, included worries over whether such a policy would discourage students from getting help, as well as how it might negatively impact a student already in crisis. Among those students who voiced opposition to the draft policy is Madeline Wilson, SSMU’s VP of University Affairs, who was consulted in the process of creating the policy. Wilson stated that one of the most concerning things about the draft policy is how it exhibits general trend away from providing long-term mental health care for students. She points to the establishment of the Rossy Student Wellness Hub as another indication of this trend. The Hub, which was constructed in May, consolidates students’ health needs into one service, resulting in generic, unspecialized treatment. Per Wilson, there are some glaring oversights in the policy: international students would not be able to access to their McGill health insurance if they were placed on involuntary leave, rendering them unable to receive the care needed to return to the university in compliance with the policy. This would mean that international students could not access the “support external to McGill” that the policy encouraged students to seek in the first place. University administration had no solution prepared to address this sort of scenario – the policy would function on an entirely case-bycase basis, so administration had little foresight when writing the policy, Wilson remarked. Billy Kawasaki, Vice-President Phoebe Pannier | Illustrations Editor of Student Life, also labelled the policy as “ambiguous,” saying that “there were no clear details as to the timeline, and what kind of support a student would get,” should the policy be implemented. He was particularly concerned at the prospect of those living in residence being removed from their home: “the last thing someone who is going through a difficult time needs is to be evicted and lose their home.” One student who has utilized resources at the Hub echoed these concerns: “international students would be effectively deported, students lose access to healthcare, students lose access to services, students lose access to networks…” and that, furthermore, the policy would be a means of “effectively shutting down any talk of mental illness” among students on campus. Despite Wilson’s frustrations with the university’s initial lack of student engagement in creating the policy (she describes the process as including a “disproportionately small amount of time dedicated to public consultation”) she remains cautiously optimistic about the growing power of student influence over university affairs. She notes that the university relies upon the support and consent of students: “the university literally and figuratively needs student buy-in in order to function, and the more we challenge the administration at large’s ability to take that for granted, the bigger impact we’ll have.” Dean Buddle and Gauthier have each stated that student involvement in mental health care has been and will continue to be important to the University administration, despite a rapid decline in the availability of counselling services and longterm support, as well as significant student dissatisfaction with these changes. Buddle hopes to hold brainstorming sessions with students and staff alike to “determine[…] whether we can cocreate an alternative approach to students in crisis,” while Gauthier makes an example of the students on the advisory boards within the Hub as a means of administration- student cooperation. Dr. Gauthier also invites students to send feedback concerning the Student Wellness Hub on the Virtual Hub, where students can receive information about various health services on campus. As of now, Buddle and the administration assert that the draft policy will not be considered further in any official capacity. Should any changes be made to McGill’s mental health services, SSMU states it will inform students. It is also likely that communication of such changes will be conducted via its official listerv, according to Wilson. Wilson encourages students who would like to get involved with mental health services on campus to reach out to mentalhealth@ ssmu.ca. Students who would like to work on projects specific to the policy may contact her at ua@ ssmu.ca. Kawasaki also suggests contacting faculty representatives and participating in the mental health commission (reachable at MHoutreach@ssmu.ca), or contacting your faculty’s senator. � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 109 Issue 8 Page Number(s) 7 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 Involuntary Leave Policy Suspended Description An account of the resource A contentious policy on involuntary leave in the case of mental health emergencies was tabled by the administration. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Abigail Popple Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019/10/28 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Admin McGill Health Services mental health SSMU student health https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/faf46a3fa21ab8a9d25baccf2de1f7d0.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=G3cYUJiaIG3PWx-WpwHE4EgRHT9FrmgprrWjJU1d-5rfGVKnFr0Jom86rf4CdoOZR%7E8QuH5vjyC84U6U7WHY9ktXQXJ89nhma8U7YFOmMFvB6CaXnlzOueISIFG7lIchX3Bwuv%7EuaMrmUSg%7EbpOAEVxQWjbPXwKowdTkJ7IHNktRZ7-Nh5FqdUH1Uzz2S3sQr1976aeGKCKoRbqPmU8OHQOczOHrsUmiHqHQUT94-ZVR%7EszbkQtVhHsSuqlcQrGlwePsG17OqJjIOEM4dPHJDa4JKgJZIQh2XNdP4nASbAZkiglVjwDYHNRnfX7eIsGyPnYRXKO2sIwDqKDAsgWvDw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 374f1ed9956a35044c6f2a5c07bd6413 PDF Text Text 14 September 30, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily commentary In the Moment An Unambiguous Understanding of Consent’s Necessity Nelly Wat | The McGill Daily Michaela Keil Staff Writer content warning: sexual violence, abuse, panic attacks few weeks ago I was asked for consent. I can’t begin to describe what passed through my mind at that moment. I flashed through my past traumas, all the times I’ve been denied that question. I finally squeaked out an answer, and he asked me one more time, “do you want to do this?” Confused, my only thought was, who is this person asking me for consent? Little did he know the impact that those few words might have on me. I never explained my past to him. Undeniably, it’s a hard conversation to start, especially with someone new. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to explain that I might suddenly get a panic attack or completely break down. How do you convey years of past history to someone in the heat of the moment? Thankfully, I didn’t have to, because being asked for consent allowed me to question for myself if I was ready to try again. Three years ago I was in an abusive relationship. The words “undesirable,” “hard to love,” and “you’re too much” became indelibly rooted in my brain. So entrenched were those words that I began to believe them. I was isolated from my friends and it became hard to remember who I was. I was simply an extension of my “partner.” Manipulated into believing that there was no one A for me in this world except him, it was all too easy for him to push me into situations that my inner self abhorrently hated. With this subservient mindset, I couldn’t fathom pushing back, thinking that if I lost him I would be truly alone, throwing away the only person who cared for me. That worked to his advantage all too well, and my body became something that was no longer mine. Can one question really solve years of abuse and trauma? No, but the moment I was asked for consent gave me faith that I could heal. When I showed up to school with a scar forming on my head, my friend cautiously pointed out that this was possibly an unhealthy situation. She recognized the signs of abuse and thankfully acted upon it. Over the course of several secretive conversations with her, I eventually came to the same conclusion: I could no longer be passive, my relationship was one-sided, and not the mutual partnership it should have been. My master, as he no longer could be considered a partner, resented this new opinion, and told me how I was “too much.” I was too smart, I was too friendly, too optimistic, I cared too greatly, I loved too strongly, and I was too independent. At the culmination of that argument, he threw a fit so violent that someone had to come downstairs to diffuse the tension. I left so afraid and so in shock that I couldn’t drive home. I finally ended that relationship, hating myself, and wracked with guilt, wondering if I would ever be desired again. A year later, and 10,000 miles away from the locale of my pain, I decided to wander back into the dating pool. Someone reciprocated, and I was thrilled! To me, this was good, this was growth, and I saw it as a step towards being okay again. I was upfront about my abuse, about how I was still healing and how I needed to trust someone before I could be in a situation so vulnerable again. I described, to the best of my ability, my leftover anxieties and extreme disinterest in engaging in anything other than a platonic first meeting. It felt like a good place to begin. Although, in my eagerness to restore my faith in humanity, I ignored my own struggles and led myself to someone who wasn’t worth trusting. My new suitor called me, claiming his friends had abandoned him near my neighborhood. He asked if he could stay with me until he charged his phone and figured out a way home. Unwittingly, I allowed him into my apartment, my safe space. I thought I was doing a good deed, being a caring person, helping him out. His story ended up being a lie. Before there was time to process, I was suddenly squeezed, grabbed, pushed, and told to stay quiet. With the little emotional strength I had left, I ran out of my room as fast as I could. I found shelter in the bathroom, locked the door, had a panic attack, and cried until 4 am. This stranger took over my whole bed and fell asleep the second I left. I didn’t sleep until I washed the sheets and the bed was mine again. On that night a few weeks ago, I was briefly paralyzed with this history when the question of consent arrived. While I’m still struggling to be comfortable in my own skin, it’s even harder to imagine being comfortable with another person. The dialogue around consent with my momentary partner allowed me to bathe in the warmth of his earnestness. The consent was constant. When I said no, my concerns were addressed, and immediately we stopped. I never realized how much more comfortable I could be with him and myself after experiencing the sincerity behind his words. Our night exponentially grew in trust, in warmth, in pleasure, as checkin after check-in, he was happy because he knew I was okay. I can call him a partner because in that moment we prioritized each other, relishing in the togetherness of that brief “us.” I am grateful. While it seems silly to thank someone for being a good person, I am incredibly grateful. He had no idea what his question did to me, the context of that situation was completely foreign to him. Could asking for consent have ruined the “mood?” Society frequently seems to think so, but it made me even more attracted to him. I was heard, I was understood, I was listened to, and I was respected. People are not mind readers, but his willingness to have an open dialogue about his own fears and insecurities was exactly what I needed. The concerns he expressed during that conversation are as valid as my traumas are; consent was necessary for both of us. Our conversation was enough for me to feel that, in this most simple way, he cared about me. Can one question really solve years of abuse and trauma? No, but the moment I was asked for consent gave me faith that I could heal. For once I was an equal partner: I was able to see my body as mine, if only for that night. The choice I was given should be commonplace, I should expect it and not be shocked by its sudden appearance. I should not be going on 22 years of my life without being asked for consent. Although this may never happen between us again, I am thankful for him, not for being a decent human being, but for showing me that decent human beings do exist. For that moment, for that night, it finally was okay. It was okay because for the first time in my life, we both agreed it was. � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 109 Issue 5 Page Number(s) 14 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 In the Moment Description An account of the resource A survivor describes their understanding of consent and why it's so necessary in light of their previous experiences of sexual violence and abuse. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michaela Keil Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019/09/30 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF consent mental health sexual assault sexual violence https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/f745a891b97442a81d7d169a2abbd143.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=uVsuNXZwU0C-rIULvQ9KlpE-DXkh3t9MvgXcnEdwdPLwuJFAvvdgBsXv4DA-wN7eqAboUruQaEkAA-jHL%7EFJHgTSz%7EikY2i%7EJBTCcamOunAapFj3orfMnExG4jVoCNR2fhTnHpYTpJginV0r3XyEsKpLYiLCj8xAlaC21WNWmCYQY5QqzlVIJcFSLVKZ1v%7EndAv23eNzc-TXFjcvTQv-EASXhIToVHRnjHGFDgnn3VoI7kg56Ely5Kra%7EtaZ-5SOwymBLfoMmR9pMhkgU4l2GXUo10rMvaFFWla1vUGJRGes7%7Ex15yUDpqBIsOaB4YsQVaV6t75shdla2SP68tKc%7EA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM de79cd52e5e64fec3e542117ef9bafe0 PDF Text Text 14 Commentary September 3, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily I Am Not Your Canary How McGill Added $3,120 to My Costs This Year Rine Vieth Commentary Writer content warning: mental illness, suicidal ideation, misgendering T here’s a saying that goes something along the lines of “a canary in a coal mine,” meaning a warning of things to come, a red flag that there’s danger ahead. Until around thirty years ago, miners would bring along small birds, kept in tiny cages, down below the earth. If the birds became sick or died, it was a warning to the miners that there was toxic gas, and they needed to get out. Unlike McGill’s heraldic martlets, canaries are real birds — small yellow creatures whose bright bodies became sacrifices. This is my message to McGill University: I am not your canary. I am still alive. Last year, McGill administrators made the decision to stop “offering” – their wording, not mine – long-term counselling. This unannounced change came after many restructurings of the fractured pieces that make up the “McGill mental health system,” making it more difficult for students to access services, and more difficult for staff members to provide assistance. I initially found out about this most recent change when I met with a point-of-contact in what had previously been called Counselling Services. After our third meeting, and consistent pressure to switch to group workshop sessions – group meetings which had done more harm than good, a previous counsellor agreed – she handed me two pieces of paper. She told me they were no longer offering long-term counselling, and that I should use community resources instead. She told me to keep trying the EmpowerMe website, though I had told her that EmpowerMe had never called or emailed me back the many times I had contacted them. She was surprised when I told her that EmpowerMe does not offer support beyond a few sessions. She said that of their own initiative, the Counselling Services office had created the two sheets of paper with contact information to aid students in finding help, and she circled a few offices that she thought would be particularly helpful. She told me good luck, and I left. I cried. The papers are still on my coffee table. From early December 2018 to the end of May 2019, I found myself on a waitlist for a slidingscale appointment at two different Eloïse Albaret | The McGill Daily Montreal therapy centers. During that time, I changed medication – at the suggestion of my psychiatrist, due to a complex medical situation – and became increasingly suicidal, depressed, and anxious. I spent most of the months between March and June sitting on my sofa, watching YouTube videos, trying desperately to write, or grade, or do anything to distract myself from the choppy seas of suicidal ideation. I reached out again to Counselling Services, and was told I could have a one-off appointment, but would be unable to access any kind of regularized care. My partner became my de facto support system, putting immense pressure on him. Floating in an SSRI/SNRI-shift-inducing haze, I was consistently told there would be no long-term counselling option, though this was not and is still not noted on any McGill website. I was repeatedly encouraged to find resources in a nebulous “elsewhere.” On days when I could get myself out of my apartment, I did everything I could to advocate for myself (even while being consistently misgendered, both by administrators and whenever I sought help through the now “Wellness Hub”). Previous experiences in my own department (my Graduate Program Director losing my disability paperwork, faculty complaining about students with mental illnesses in department meetings, and receiving pushback in regards to necessary accommodations) dissuaded me from seeking out support there. I had a meeting with Graduate and Postdoctoral Services (who asserted it would simply be “better” for students to take time off, without medical insurance and away from support systems), a meeting with the Office for Students with Disabilities (who said that graduate student accomodation effectively ends when coursework does), and a few meetings with the Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning (who complained about students “faking” mental illnesses and “clogging” the system). I participated in a number of McGill-hosted surveys and focus groups about mental health, with those running the groups pushing back when I shared my own experiences. This is my message to McGill University: I am not your canary. I am still alive. “It couldn’t be that bad,” I was told, over and over again. I am so grateful to the staff in what was formerly known as Psychiatric Services for their support – I am I fully support people whose wellness is improved through exercise or meditation, but switching long-term counselling for cheaper alternatives is yet another violent, neoliberal act parading as “care.” not the only one who has put a line dedicated to the Psychiatric Services secretaries in a thesis! – but mental illness cannot be “solved” through medication alone. Or spin bikes. Or yoga. Or TEDx talks. Or handing someone with a long history of mental illness a list of tips that border on insulting. Or yet another restructured system, forcing those of us with chronic illnesses to exhaust ourselves by bouncing between short-term fixes. I fully support people whose wellness is improved through things like exercise or meditation, but switching long-term counselling for cheaper alternatives is yet another violent, neoliberal act parading as “care.” We have too many administrators for it to fall on me to figure out a way forward for supporting students with disabilities. I have met with a number of administrators, including Martine Gauthier (Executive Director of Student Services) and Vera Romano (Director of the Wellness Hub). I have been told that McGill is “shifting to short-term, episodic care,” with few details on what is left for those of us who don’t fit that model. I have been told that McGill staff are “referring” students out of McGill and towards community resources – but when I asked about specifics guidance for students who had been part of this “referred out” process, I was told that things are “in development,” with no firm date or plan. I have been told that there is “no cap” to counselling appointments, but that it’s been “limited.” I have been told that the decisions to use approaches not backed by research are part of an “evidence-informed” strategy. I have been given numbers of students who accessed McGill’s mental health care services when I pointed out the economic burden and privilege of accessing care, as if more students accessing free care somehow cancelled out those of us who pay thousands to access care that keeps us living. I have been told that changes “only affect a few students,” thereby justifying violent �Commentary and bureaucratically-quantified collateral damage. I have been told that “transparency is key” when the current Executive Director of the Wellness Hub has a history of cutting vital services without notifying students who use them. I have been given conflicting accounts about services like access to EmpowerMe and Peer Support, while in reality these are student-run initiatives, not something the Wellness Hub should take credit for, and not a substitute for long-term medical care. When I brought up the issue of financial hardship in meetings with senior staff of the Wellness Hub, I was met with confusion: they had no idea how insurance for international students works, though almost a third of McGill students are from outside Canada. I have been told that changes “only affect a few students,” thereby justifying violent and bureaucraticallyquantified collateral damage. After these meetings, the director of the Wellness Hub later reached out to my psychiatrist to have her (my doctor) try to talk to me about my administrative concerns during an appointment about my medical care. I do not believe that my feedback to administrators necessitates contacting my care provider, and efforts like these are similar to ableist attempts to discredit concerns about healthcare by painting those who complain as “crazy.” Breaches of ethics – and perhaps law – like this have added to my anxiety, have made me unlikely to suggest that students contact the Wellness Hub to give feedback. They also mean I cannot support programs like McGill’s Early Alert System, a way for teaching staff to anonymously refer students to the Dean of Students through e-mail or a MyCourses widget. It also means that I might need to leave yet one more care provider in order to seek support outside McGill, further adding to my financial strain. After so many meetings with administrators, I still do not know who made the decisions to stop students from accessing long-term mental health care, or why those who need long-term care for chronic needs have not been informed. I also do not know how (or if ) we disabled people were included in the Wellness Hub’s restructuring. What I do know is that my budget for the 2019-2020 academic year is a constant source of stress, as the Wellness Hub’s lack of a clear plan – as well as sudden lack of services – means that as a disabled student, I have had to take on a second job to pay for my medical care, while also trying to write my thesis. I calculate that I will need an additional $3,120 to cover the outof-pocket costs just for my therapy (not including medication costs, for which I’ve paid up to $1,000 upfront). According to my own research, I can reclaim a maximum of $750 from the Blue Cross insurance that I pay for as an international student, and StudentCare will pay for a maximum of $500, which means that I can hopefully get half of my projected costs eventually covered. These recouped amounts are not September 3, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily guaranteed, and do take time to process, but will go some distance to help make ends meet. My current budget also came with a very real cost to my wellbeing: when I was suddenly pushed out of Counselling Services, I made the decision to wait for a slidingscale appointment at a therapy center recommended by a nonMcGill friend. Counselling Services originally referred to me services that would have been at least $150 an appointment, totalling $7,800 for the academic year. Making a serious financial decision while in crisis – and afraid of future, uncertain medical costs – I decided to wait until I was off a waiting list. This choice meant that I spent months waiting for an appointment until I finally was accepted at a Montreal-based therapy center. While I now have an amazing care provider outside of McGill, over the summer, I did end up in the Emergency Department of a local hospital. No one should ever have to do what I did. In full disclosure, I am lucky. I have an amazing partner who literally saved my life. English is my first language, I speak advanced French, and I know how to quickly rattle off my medical history and current medications. I know how to navigate the Montreal hospital system. I have parents who can loan me some money to tide me over, ensuring I could still access care when my medical needs suddenly spiked beyond my graduate student budget. But all of this does not mean what is happening to me is okay, acceptable, or even that I’m the only one. Substituting spin bikes for therapy, quietly removing access to evidence-based mental health services, and relying on local units’ initiatives to create printed handouts in order to solve complicated, long- 15 Making accessible mental health care a low priority means that there will be preventable deaths, alongside the pain and distress that comes with fighting for medical care when just fighting to live is overwhelming enough. term medical problems will result in casualties. Making accessible mental health care a low priority – when there is so clearly and desperately a need for it – means that there will be preventable deaths, alongside the pain and distress that comes with fighting for medical care when just fighting to live is overwhelming enough. In making the case for accessible mental health care, I have had people ask me for specific information, for statistics. I could refer you to the fact that 37 per cent of OSD-registered students are registered for a mental health disorder (not including those who are registered for multiple reasons). I could continue to shout about how forcing students to take leaves of absence is ableist nonsense. I could quietly tell you that every time I see an article about the Wellness Hub’s “integrated” approach to mental health, or McGill’s rankings, my stomach drops. I could print out yet another article about mental health in academia – including how neoliberal approaches like McGill’s don’t work – and slide it over. I could send you an op-ed about how mental health shouldn’t be an issue of institutional reputation, but of care. I could pull up the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS) website on campus mental health, to illustrate how McGill’s mental health support pales in comparison to their recommendations. I could e-mail you the most recent NCHA/ ACHA data, showing that over 20 per cent of university students have been diagnosed with depression, and nearly 12 per cent of university students – at McGill, that would be almost 5,000 students – have seriously considered suicide. I could also explain that for transgender and non-binary young people, rates of suicide attempts hover at around 50%. I could pull up the Wellness Hub website, and point to the 12-13 week wait time to see a psychiatrist. I could show you how there is little data behind the very broad apps that McGill promotes, and how these apps raise serious concerns about privacy, as well as very serious questions as to whether they are even appropriate for certain mental illnesses. But, unpaid and unasked, I have done this over and over again, and I am so, so tired. Instead, what I will say is this: I am still here. Thanks to my partner, a close friend, and the Emergency Department at St. Mary’s, I am still here. I have not died yet. For now, I am not your canary. � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 109 Issue 1 Page Number(s) 14 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 I Am Not Your Canary Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rine Vieth Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019/09/03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource As McGill's mental health student services are cut, a student describes their experiences trying to access longterm counselling at McGill and at several different Montreal therapy centres. ableism Admin McGill Health Services mental health student health https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/e58b5747d16c2f26e383c9eeb604e32c.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=Zd5oHoVhVQTHim%7EytBuclQA0MaLnQI073X6nSvnXFso8jccySS4gFfmyNsiQx16N12glh%7Er1m0mrV0Tzdbt-GAmMmaQ63Lwt%7EAh0KM4jNbkEunCCbZK4Kn2jsCGg3AAXfaVQXutfPMFM9usUpcd6QLrr10JDZWGWjz5nNsylePeexOYFwTmvs9jks9sKtXPZxDYlgij%7EhqJxxN7iRSI-t7LJwZpBCYCczqCiTDlKl%7EWtleYEaW6NJ3ee3eCGFLqhCm1fCW5ngNYmpX3eFMdPI97ZBuNbFfafwEWpj1suMVD1w8QVd50fgO2BKuMylvfGZTSDE8QeQr14Ge-BH1-ofA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM b4472ec6ca6c0cf5ac02975cfd42c32c PDF Text Text 8 Sci+Tech February 4, 2019 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily Mental Health is Health Reframing the Conversation on Campus Margaret Bruna Staff Writer Content warning: mention of suicide, mental illness J anuary 28, 2019 marked the beginning of Well Week, the first integrated mental health week organized by McGill Student Services in collaboration with students and student groups. Coinciding with the nationally recognized “Bell Let’s Talk” Day on January 30, the week aimed to increase awareness of mental health and reduce stigma. A variety of workshops, talks, and activities were held across campus. While projects like Well Week are important for McGill staff and students to increase their awareness of mental health issues, we need to remember that the impact of mental illness is not temporary. Mental illness deserves the kind of attention it receives during Well Week, all year. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 450 million people struggle with mental illness worldwide with 6.7 million in Canada, making it the leading cause of disability. This is particularly relevant to the college population, given that people aged between 15 and 24 are the most likely to experience mental illness and/ or substance use disorder. People of colour, women, queer and trans people, and other often marginalized groups also experience higher rates of mental illness. While mental illness is not commonly thought of as a global health crisis, Canada has reached a point where it can no longer ignore the increasing number of people affected by mental illness and seeking help. Furthermore, we cannot ignore the need for better care and treatment. Currently, one in three Canadians say that they had a mental health need in the past year and stated that their needs were not fully met. McGill University needs to respond to mental health issues the same way that other health crises that affect physical health (such as cancer or diabetes) are tackled: with immediate urgency and care. Nabeela Jivraj | The McGill Daily Although it is important to consider mental illness a global health crisis to increase urgency and awareness, it is also crucial to remember that there is not necessarily a “cure” or “end.” Many who suffer from mental illness experience lifelong symptoms. Treatment should not aim to eradicate mental illness, but rather make the illness manageable. Most people afflicted are reluctant to seek help due to stigma or feelings of isolation. Institutional barriers make accessing care even more difficult. At McGill, students who do recognize a need for treatment often have difficulty accessing it through McGill Counseling and Psychiatric Services. There is a severe lack of recognition of the growing demand for adequate care from students, as only 23 staff members service a student body of over 40,000. Even if only 10 per cent of the student population sought counseling (which is a conservative estimate, considering 18 per cent of the Canadian population suffers from mental health issues), 23 clinicians would need to provide services to about 171 students each. If every student only accessed clinic hours for one hour per month, each clinician would be working at least 44 hours per week. Although there has been a 43 per cent increase in counseling staff since 2014, there are clearly still inadequate services. McGill University needs to respond to mental health issues the same way that other health crises that affect physical health (such as cancer or diabetes) are tackled – with immediate urgency and care. It has been announced that a $14 million student Wellness Hub partly funded by the Rossy Foundation, will open in late April. The Rossy Hub, though a step forward, does not seem to focus on providing more personalized care. McGill needs to do better. When asking McGill students whether they thought of mental illness as a global crisis, many thought that considering it one could help in improving treatment. Furthermore, it could call attention to the issues that a large number of people face, especially as students. Egan, a first-year history student, said, “. It seems people are a bit more open about being mentally [ill], and a lot of my friends have had depression; I wouldn’t be surprised if it was like this everywhere.” Unless students are in a position to receive care on a two-week to monthly basis, those who require more specialized attention are neglected. Many have unfortunately had difficult experiences dealing with McGill Counseling and Psychiatric Services, due to a lack of availability and attention to specific needs. Meghan, a first year English literature student, stated, “I went in and explained that I was not going to do anything, but that I was suicidal and wanted to see someone. There was no sympathy, no asking why, just immediately suggesting that I be admitted to a hospital.” She explained further, “they gave me a sheet of private therapists and said their waiting list was long and that private counseling was a faster option.” The fact that McGill is illequipped to deal with individuals who are in need of weekly care but cannot afford to pay for private facilities (which often charge at least $100 per session), begs the question of whether the services offered are truly “accessible.” Ultimately, it seems that they are not. Unless students are in a position to receive care on a two-week to monthly basis, those who require more specialized attention are neglected. When speaking of the appointment she received, Meghan said, “[It] lasted 15 minutes.” Kelsey, a former education student in secondary English, said, “when I was at McGill and tried to receive mental health services, I felt as though the resources were severely lacking, especially considering the size of the student body. It felt very bureaucratic, not personal whatsoever.” There has also been criticism of the way in which Student Services has attempted to offer students other forms of care. While students can request to meet with a Frenchspeaking counsellor or a member of the PRIDE team (a team of LGBTQ-affirming clinicians), there are limits to how much care is tailored to students needs. “[The University] is constantly putting money and efforts into things like therapy puppies which, while cute, do nothing about the fact that they don’t have nearly enough counselors or any eating disorder program,” said Meghan. Indeed, the previous eating disorder program offered by the university has had its funding cut, and it is currently under review. Ignoring this issue as a global crisis leads administrators to identify depression or anxiety in students as simply a result of midterms or finals season. Kelsey pointed out that “mental health is seen as something that only flares up when students are at the end of the term, and not as chronic illnesses that are intensified by the lack of resources at the school and the role academia plays in general ways contributing to high stress levels, anxiety, depression, et cetera.” A lot of blame for the inadequacy of the counselling services has been attributed to former Deputy Provost for Student Life and Learning, Ollivier Dyens. A 2017 editorial written by the Daily highlighted the impact of Dyens’ leadership, stating, “between 2013 and 2016, McGill saw a 35 per cent increase in students seeking mental health services. However, over $2.5 million has been cut from Student Services’ overhead finances in the past seven years.” Dyens’ mandate ended, and Engineering professor Fabrice Labeau began a one year appointment on June 18, 2018. As of yet, Labeau does not seem to have made any significant changes to improve the lives of the students struggling with mental health issues. “[The University] is constantly putting money and efforts into things like therapy puppies which, while cute, do nothing to about the fact that they don’t have nearly enough counsellors or any eating disorder program” As Well Week comes to a close, McGill University needs to do better for its students while remembering that awareness and action are important all year. These need to be sustained for our student body’s collective mental health to improve and thrive. Providing proper services and care to students has never been more important. Genuinely engaging with individuals to understand their unique needs based on their experiences is an important consultation step for the administration to take. Students have called on McGill to do better, and to set an example for what proper mental health care looks like. � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 108 Issue 16 Page Number(s) 8 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 Mental Health is Health Description An account of the resource McGill's mental health services fall short due to a lack of availability and attention to specific needs. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Margaret Bruna Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019/02/04 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Admin McGill Health Services mental health student health https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/7be1f3357b7b733fef3e17f9685760e8.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=GHoUWUwp%7EwTo%7ETFJHz6HJgzK4idnf2UlktTJmzGL-2zbZnXhuJVJYJkfXQRZNi-peAvwjiORoOxWTQRWW%7EOne3-9nheS2PeilBvlgTi-CHvQhadvLiT6ejk6vGI2WCYgzIkfR3ecDYulLRfLAxbxsvskUhqoWdo-7j0wXeq5qZyddzednSSpHeHstbVzvV13bZ0BULlw46KCnk94I6WKseYEEa-pmI4fYeasI5Dxu1ilCleD52KeOcmfjcKOtdp9BfZn5BuL9F93%7E95uXnP3-GiuXraM42G7Ilk%7ENI8psCtsyeYNSikSt%7Ezzb7DV8e%7EsBIZiH7ISIcB%7Epu4iPD8z7A__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 84f325b972476c884dd256f7998a1c94 PDF Text Text features October 29, 2018 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily AFTER ABORTION EXISTING POST-PROCEDURE BY SIAN LATHROP 7 �8 features October 29, 2018 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily AFTER ABORTION SIAN LATHROP FEATURES WRITER W hen I found out I was pregnant I had been throwing up for about four weeks. In all honesty, this was not the symptom that alerted me to my condition – I have always had a wimpy stomach. What freaked me out was my bizarre awareness of my body’s fragility. This may sound insane, but in the weeks leading up to me peeing on a stick, I developed a sense of anxiety about my body that was unlike anything I had ever known. Full disclosure: anxiety isn’t new to me. I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and I am no stranger to panic attacks, but this pregnancy anxiety was very much embodied. It wasn’t the normal “everyone probably hates me” self-deprecation that I was used to. Instead, it took the form of genuine concern over my body’s strength and ability. I became acutely aware of how insignificant I was in the grand scheme of things; there are many things that exist which could threaten my body’s daily functions. I started to avoid heights, ladders, cats, undercooked eggs, and weed. It eventually got so weird that in one instance of fear, I threw my partner in front of me to use him as a kitten shield. I used his body to stop the slow approach of a tiny, well-meaning cat. These strange symptoms all intensified after I realized I was pregnant. What before my test were stronger-thanusual anxieties, became, after my test, full blown phobias. After the nurse at the McGill Health Center confirmed my pregnancy, I was handed a few pamphlets and I walked home. While the McGill Clinic does not perform abortions, they suggest serveral clinics who do. For me, the initial choice was easy. My thought process went like this: I live in Canada where abortion is legal. Furthermore, I live in Quebec, where there are a multitude of care options for abortion. I’m still a baby myself. I do not want a child. I have a right to make a choice, a choice that is accessible and easy for me, and I will exercise my right. After talking to my family, some friends, and my partner about the two methods of abortion available in Quebec, I opted for a surgical procedure. “What had started off as a shift in the dynamics of my body turned into a full blown crisis in the months that followed.” The day of my surgery was relatively normal. I woke up early and took an Uber to the clinic and waited for half an hour before I was escorted into a small room to get an ultrasound. My pregnancy was confirmed and I then went into another, slightly bigger, room for the procedure. I was given a low dose of tranquilizers and it was all over in ten minutes. It hurt a bit, but not too much. I was then escorted into a room that had hot pink decor and was left to recover for half an hour. I took an Uber home and rested. My partner made me a sandwich for dinner. Depression hit me two weeks after my appointment. What had started off as a shift in the dynamics of my body turned into Nelly Wat | The McGill Daily EXISTING POST-PROCEDURE Nelly Wat | The McGill Daily a full blown crisis in the months that followed. The subtle and embodied reorientation of my world that I had felt during my pregnancy led me to existential questions about my worth and purpose. These questions were not part of some positive philosophical project, but rather, they were dark, uncontrolled, and relentless. I did not and do not regret my choice in any way, but I feel it is important to want to present a narrative that does not minimize the potential trauma of an abortion. In the highly politicized discourse on abortion, there is often no space for people who struggle postprocedure. There needs to be room for those who are firmly and decisively pro-choice, but who have struggled with their mental health in the aftermath of their decision. In my experience, McGill as an institution offered little to no support after I terminated my pregnancy. When I went to make an appointment at the psychiatric services following my abortion, I felt that I was dismissed. I waited weeks for an appointment and when I finally saw a doctor, she recommended I come back after my hormones had ‘cleared up.’ I finally turned to a private psychiatrist, who diagnosed me with PTSD. I have been working through that in therapy ever since. McGill campus’ conversation on abortion assumes a level of structural accessibility which does not actually exist. I used my personal story as a catalyst and as evidence for this argument, but my story is a privileged one. I was privileged enough to have a family who I could tell about my decision. I was privileged enough to have a parent who loaned me a significant portion of the money I needed to pay upfront at the clinic. I was privileged enough to access therapy after my procedure to deal with my PTSD and new found phobias. I was privileged enough to be a white cis-woman, who does not have to deal with the institutionalized racism implicit in the healthcare system. If abortion was not structurally accessible for me with all my privileges, the barriers present for those who encounter structural forces marginalizing them are even greater. In 1988, the Supreme Court case R v. Morgentaler struck down all existing abortion laws in Canada. Since then, abortions at any stage have been subject to no legal constraints. In Quebec specifically, abortions are free and available at any time. This narrative, furthered by opinion pieces published in our student newspapers, seems to constantly remind us how accessible abortion services are. Even articles written to highlight the lack of support available after the abortion procedure or draw attention to the need for an abortion pill take for granted the accessibility of some form of abortion to students at McGill. If you are a student with outof-province health insurance, or international health insurance, the process is not so easy. With the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, you can choose to pay the $700 fee upfront and file for coverage later, or finance a trip to Ontario where the procedure is covered. Both surgical and medical abortions involve at least 24 hours of rest and dealing with the trip back from Ottawa while processing �features October 29, 2018 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily 9 hospital abortion services, since the standard of care is lower than the ones offered at clinics. Even after a student has filed a claim for health insurance coverage, the amount covered varies province to province, forcing students to finance significant portions of their procedures. McGill’s International Student Insurance does cover abortion fully. However, those who seek abortion need to pay the initial $700 upfront at the clinic. The insurance takes up to 30 days to reimburse claims, so students need to have $700 on hand. your abortion is a taxing requirement. Even after you have filed for insurance coverage, Ontario only covers $450 of the fee; you have to finance the difference yourself. This I know from personal experience. For students with other provincial health insurances, accessibility to abortion is further impeded. Some provincial health insurances – such as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I, and Yukon – do not cover clinics’ services, so a student in need would have to go to a hospital. New Brunswick goes so far as to have an abortion clinic in Fredericton but the services are not covered by provincial health insurance. When I spoke to the nurse at the McGill Health center after my initial pregnancy test, they recommended that I avoid “Treatment should not end post-procedure. McGill’s Mental Health Services should be better equipped for supporting those who feel the hormonal aftereffects of an abortion.” Up to 80 per cent of abortion patients, myself included, have bouts of moderate depression after their procedures. This occurs as a result of the quick decline in hormones posttermination and can be likened to postpartum depression. Most medical sources agree that there is no clear link between abortion and depression, but that the hormonal changes that occur after pregnancy loss – an umbrella Nelly Wat | The McGill Daily term that includes miscarriage and abortion – undoubtedly lead to mood changes. Yet there is a lack of information and care available on campus for those who are struggling post-abortion. As the Tribune article “Hey So I Did A Thing” pointed out, there is only one (relatively new) support group for people who recently made the choice to terminate their pregnancies. Treatment should not end post-procedure. McGill’s Mental Health Services should be better equipped for supporting those who feel the hormonal aftereffects of an abortion. Over the past decade, research has been done into racism in our healthcare institutions. In Canada, studies have shown that racialized people are less likely than white people to Nelly Wat | The McGill Daily have contact with any specialist physician or clinic. In a study of resident physicians in Canada, researchers found that residents would admit that prejudice existed, but denied that it affected their encounters with racialized patients. Although some research has been done, many of those who study race inequities have pointed out the insufficient data on racialized people in health care. The Canadian healthcare system has yet to fully acknowledge how socially constructed ideas of race physically affect the health and accessibility to healthcare of millions of Canadians. Abortion is no exception to this widespread systemic lack of accessibility. The stigma surrounding abortion in combination with the myth of accessibility has allowed for many to feel alone and scared in a vulnerable condition. Moving forward, our campus needs to take accountability for its lack of resources. More support needs to be available for people who want abortions, and more information needs to be available on campus for those who are struggling, pre- and postdecision. In the absence of this support and information, I urge you all to listen to those who are frightened and encourage them to share with you what they feel comfortable sharing. I want to be clear: providing support to those in need does not and should not take the place of someone’s right to abortion and a student’s right to a safe and accessible campus. But it may help contribute to a de-stigmatization as well as a critical examination of what accessibility in our institution really looks like. � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 108 Issue 8 Page Number(s) 7-9 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 After Abortion: Existing Post-Procedure Description An account of the resource A student's experience trying to access abortion and follow-up mental health care in Quebec. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sian Lathrop Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018/10/29 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF McGill Health Services mental health reproductive health reproductive justice student health https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/9c2cbb55b7008577e673d669d495d63b.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=YJWPM3GzVmot8RsRNFpF9usRNX-Z21UA36URZCIRk6yfrtqxr7SCiRlb-4qPgMXzmBUvZiucV3f%7Ek1w7RH7ZiaUr1CtneI0sSGaiip6vl14FEWnjznbduYgFWNWNa1nOzYViB2lxx3kw0LeRWIMzhxoNECNDw4GuvvYtW2CuCS-CxRuZUl6T42lbRoMDcER3BwuYfI80WcWC7cpqKeKAs-%7E%7ENlYwUn269y0QPVUGUhD1qWr4LtnCkvN8Y-BD9VLV6q8HCNbcR6WEbzUGo7TnxdCoA2JyozAIli-tAryp-0qqabfJK3Sr9sFCWBnVCD1aaEAMbHRbG2OgjqIdWWL2gg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 3f4da241ec44101031965cfb09564e09 PDF Text Text The McGill Daily Monday, March 11, 1996 Women's Health Re-envis ioning' A survivor's dent life by Ramona Roberts Writing as an incest survivor and a Student Life as it's supposed to be McGill student, I have to say that I've are all about studying hard, and often felt as if no one person can live partying hard; the golden years of both of these realities. our lives. Self-care in general is not When I began two and a half years a high priority, and emotional health ago to have memories of being as- least of all. Problems like sexual assaulted and tortured as a child, I really sault, past or recent, aren't supposed sentence by sentence, between breakdowns? But the more I tried to live as I had before remembering, the clearer it became that Ididn't have a choice. Whatever had happened to me, I needed to heal -whatever that took. By making cest, mental health problems and counseling (which, incidentally, can provide an "official" excuse for your unsupportive pro f). If the abuser(s) are also on campus, it may be hard to feel safe. The general atmosphere of denial around the issue of sexual or whether you call it abuse, your feelings matter. Your pain is real and exists for a reason, whether or not you have the kind of memory and certainty a court would demand. You deserve to honour your feelings, and find the support that you need. This could be sup- The general atmosphere of denial around the issue of sexual assault can be smothering. But survivors have a right to support. felt as crazy as some people thought I was. My memories began as feelings, rather than the impressively complete and quick "audio" and "visual" flashbacks presented on TV (I'm still jealous of those characters, who managed to remember everything, stop blaming themselves, find support, confront the abuser and be rewarded for their courage all in an hour or less).( felt vaguely that my low energy, panic attacks and frcquen t feelings of terrible grief were all related to some kind of abuse experience, but I didn't know much more.l had trouble consistently bdieving that I wasn't just making the whole thing up. l.ivi ng my "public'' life, believing in myself and respecting my needs as a recovering survivor was and is even harder. The images we all have of to exist at all. Even in classes and clubs where you do talk about them, no one's supposed to actually be a survivor, or need help. I tried for a long time to live up to that image- it was a hell of a lot more appealing. Who wouldn't rather go for coffee after class than head home to cry (and renewing) that commitment to myself, and looking for ways to help myself, by caring for my body, reading, writing, and finding a support group and supportive friends, I've created a network for myself which has enabled me to do a lot ofhealing.IIike myself a lot more. And I'm deeply proud of my- assault can be smothering. But survivors have a right to support, and we deserve to have our needs met so that we can heal. I am deeply, heartbreakingly sorry that there are so many of us and that we have to do this work at all. And I am furious that any individual or insti- port from friends you trust, a group, a help-line, books about abuse and recovery, or other ways of dealing honestly and safely with your feelings about your experience. We all have our own particular needs and ways ofhealing. And we all deserve to heal. I am fucking proud of everyone of Keep hanging on, and healing. You are not alone. in bed'? Or have a drink with friends rather than stay sober because you're scared ofhaving a flashback or suicidal thoughts while under the inOuence? And who wouldn't prefer to put everything aside and get your work done, rather than grinding out papers jmt long enough and good enough to pass. self. It's still hell, but I'm here. tution dares to make recovery harder -us who has survived.I wish all of us the Being a student presents a lot of for us. We shouldn't have to work so strength to commit to self-care, even challenges to healthy self-care for hard to make space to heal. But please where it conflicts with an academic or survivors. Professors' attitudes to- - keep trying. If you arc a survivor of social goal. No one has the right to tell ward extensions aren't always sup· childhood or adult sexual abuse, you us not to care for ourselves or recogportive. Fellow students may not rec- are not alone. These are real problems, nize our needs. ognise emotional problems as "real", which do exist at McGill. Even if you Keep hanging on, and healing. You and may even joke about rape, in- don't feel sure about what happened, arc not alone. How did Jack get into th.is story? CONTRACEPTIVE TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTION AND IMPLEMENTATION jack of }:1ck :md the Be:mstalk thought his life would be changed with a few magic beans. But he slowly discovers that he was slightly deluded. Similarly, women are led to believe that birth control will facilitate our lives and lead to a more 'liberated' existence. For some this may be true, but considering the inherent power structure involved in the production ofcontraceptive technologies, they arc used as forms of population and reproductive control- and it all started with a few magic beans. According to a study done by Inter Pares, a non-profit organisation and corporate watch group, contraceptive technology has a complex history. It was not until after the 1960s and the accompanying women's liberation movement that US industry and mainstream researchers began their involvement in birth control proIn 1962, the first oral hormonal contraceptive, widely known as "the pill," was tried in Puerto Rico. It was developed with the intent that it would be an effective contraceptive device for the 'poor, uneducated masses'. The scientist who researched and created "the pill," a man named Grcgory Pincus, did so, strangely enough, at the request of Margaret Sanger, who was then affiliated with the Planned Parenthood Federation. Unintentionally, it became ofinterest to white, middle-class women. Hailed as "a milestone of women's emancipation," and embraced by 'the girl next door', it was in fact created for a radically different group of users. However, with such expansive middleclass and professional popularity, contraceptive development became "a socially acceptable, even desirable cndeavor," writes Inter Pares. Once the popularity of contraceptive ideas caught on, industrial philanthropists such as Rockefeller and Ford soon began funding networks of scientists and institutions to begin contraceptive research and development. Pharmaceutical companies quickly became major contributors as well. By the 1970s, as many liability suits concerning faulty safety claims arose, these by Meredith Cohen major pharmaceuticals corporations lessened their involvement. Other fields of development were more lucrative, especially with the tightened safety restrictions in response to opposition from women's groups. Governmental and international nonprofit organisations and small firms then took up the development of birth control devices. · Following models similar to Rockefcller's Population Council, the Indian and US governments established institutes for contraceptive development. Today, non·profit organisations such as these concentrate on the production of'long action' contraceptives such as Norplant or Depo Provera. Effects are long-lasting, up to five years for the Norplant, and have a low 'user-failure' rate. The Norplant was funded by the Population Council. Large pharmaceutical companies only get involved in the developmenfal process until a product is in its final stages and can be profitable mass-marketed. According to julie Delahanty, a gender specialist at the North and South Institute, "often times large pharmaceutical conglomerates dump contraceptive products that cannot be sol_d in North America because they have deemed unsafe into third-world countries to re- cuperate funds." Instances of this have occurred with pills proven to have dangerous chemical balances, condoms constructed with out-dated designs and the Norplant before it was properly tested. These contraceptives are often distributed with population control, not health, in mind. Recently in Indonesia, a new policy was implemented in which women must agree to have Norplant inserted or their partners must be sterilised before they can receive an abortion. In Washington state legislators proposed the involuntary insertion ofNorplant in mothers of babies suffering from drugaddiction or fetal alcohol syndrome. In Arizona, Washington, Florida, and South Carolina, legislation has been proposed that would link welfare benefits to use of the Norplant. And currently, women in India are participating in 'clinical trials' ofan experimental anti-fertility injection. Women groups internationally are greatly concerned not only over health risks, but issues of informed consent, as well. Birth control is much more complex than a magic pill. Contraceptives arc often not the panacea that legend would have them be, but old myths die hard. ' . � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 85 Issue 61 Page Number(s) 13 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 Re-envisioning student life: A survivor's reflection on self-care Description An account of the resource A survivor writes about the importance of self-care for those who have experienced sexual violence. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ramona Roberts Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996/03/11 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF mental health sexual assault student health https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/2218a86fc89788f9e05d7a9a95e3be19.PDF?Expires=1781740800&Signature=SQAOECtfWrRM8Aob8r2RF-cptNsi2SMavqBaw4BPjCna4awz7fUhT9PUVAY1j0U%7E4BO2dQxkyTRgVwtdN%7EmaalUVWpomvv7CLQDWcMmNxx-HegEdvGL6AXBaLEAHZaMM8DZ7Sy3zVoMmhWdPiT%7EwC4ZWMncTjIXfofJPc1-H2Iq9kbQMJq3FX2ooVenSpypFXSOePiOM0m-q5mHG%7ETZGlqbA96VDIT2GonQhfRGVWo63zYoHjG3Wn3XGWeSoFX%7ESjahdj50mkramz-APoU2IyyTLpyDs7EifcRoaTMTJ0LHupge907NdX8e6BXgwE%7Ejfw%7Ef6YAhVgmO1Rjo1tyrpAw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 532eea691fe7605da2e74b16b3b12939 PDF Text Text News yer 25, 2004 Mental Health scrambles to meet surge in demand the Senate confidentiality agreement. According to Robinson, however, the vote in’ favour of his nomination. was unanimous. “{t is absolutely surprising that there was a controversy four years ago,” she LEON GREK said, “It was a very unfortunate’ incident, News WriTER to-no fault of Mr. Cleghorn.” i l senate erupt‘over the nomi- University has er Royal Bank itive Officer flaw. embers of McGill ke nomination of our on the basis -was unethical. The “Shim the degree, -confidential sesd-conflict at the A Principal Jennifer Robinson ly selected Cleghorn Br year because of his ic and adminis- factor contributing crisis of that year. @ said. available to com- \feNe, be, to’ the student. employ debt Building, suggesting that it amounted to solicitation for money from RBC. Cleghorn is a graduate of'McGill and a member of its Board of Governors. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of RBC until his served as chairman of his wife, established Hormone (CCSS), which governs the Student Services fee, will decide how much able,. additional funding Mental Health full-service mental health have the money. the Pattie Laboratory demand you students. have natives The for services,” to come from an increase in the Student Service fee, which cur- rently ranges from $171.50 to $206 for full-time students. Shore said that such an increase would be relatively small,- however. “It’s not going to cost $100 more a year, it might cost ten dol- lars, it might cost five dollars to do this.... It’s about the price of a in the short term, like Senate Committee on the Students hope Mental Health Services will improve, soon. “Jt was very disappointing. We put so much time and effort into working on it. For it to. be taken down so. casually, without: giving us a -reason.... It sucks,” said Hamdan. Originally, SPHR had planned to erect a physical “wall,” but were prohibited by- the university administration. No other displays were specifically forbidden, “Basically, [Di Grappal just told us, ‘don’t get creative,” said Hamdan. | THE BLACHER AND GLASROT FAMILIES RIAL AWARD FOR HOLOCAUST RESEARCH SPHR said they were not aware that the artistic representation No “wall” for SPHR: Concordia admin ed in 2000. by Mr. and Mrs. Josef Glasrot, survivors of the Holocaust Open to any student at McGill University, the presented for excellence in research in Holocaust and related studies, ~ arly on the history of the ghettos of Warsaw and Kovno (Kaunas). prepared in any course or independent research may be considered. pd is administered by the Department of Jewish Studies in cooperathe Jewish Community Foundation. The award will be presented e Closing Exercises of the Department of Jewish Studies in June, e value of the Blacher and Glasrot Families Memorial Award is jpmpetition is open to undergraduate and graduate students at fl University. Members. be based on primary or secondary materials and work at of ticularly for from. their administration after «their illustrated representation of the IsraeliPalestinian ‘barrier was’ taken. down Wednesday..morning. The illustration was put up Tuesday as part of an educational exhibi- tion. However, when Raya Hamdan, SPHR’s executive of Finance and Fundraising, arrived. at school early Wednesday, she found Concordia Security dismantling the display. The + security guards’ explained that they were following the orders of Michael Grappa, President SPHR nation of tration of tact-information. Solidarity. would Palestinian. Human. Rights. (SPHR) Concordia are demanding answers Di is must submit 2 typed copies of their essays together with can its budget in March. ~ ” Ultimately,-new funding for Mental Health Services will have attend- THE DEPARTMENT OF JEWISH STUDIES ats of Montreal. Services will ‘receive after it submits So we’re years McGill CALL. FOR SUBMISSIONS: of Student “Services from having a building.” But Shore noted that Student Services is dévéloping new ways to meet demand in the existing space. “We're talking about other alter- having ‘some of our clinics in the evenings.... We're going have to try to find ways of double-using ing McGill, who are farther from certain offices. None of the solutheir home support structures. “The more students you have ~ tions is completely satisfactory, but we're doing our best.” from outside; the greater the out-of-Province. Cleghorn Fund in Diabetes Research at the Polypeptide at McGill. is uted’ the increased demand” for services to the higher number ‘of the McGill. Twenty-First Century Fund, which ‘raised: $205-million,-and, along - with service Dr. Norman Hoffman, Director of:Mental Health Services, attrib- as Chancellor of Wilfred Laurier University until 2003. also the currently housed. “Part of the solution [to the increased demand] is clearly, more mental health professionals. But quite honestly there’s no room for them. This’ building is filled night to the gills... We can’t add more staff if we can’t add more space” he ‘said, explaining ‘that’ Mental Health Services needs to increase the number of counsellors from 17 to at least 24. an unnamed senator told the Montreal Gazette in 2000. Opponents also questioned the motivation behind the nomination, and where Coordination Hoffman also noted the importance of maintaining an affordservice at McGill. “We. really want to continue a full-service model. Montreal has very few resources for people unless they want to pay $60 to $100 “a session.” . Shore said that while Student Services hopes to eventually expand the Brown Building to provide more space, these renovations should not be expected in the immediate future: “a building can't be expanded in less than a couple of years. There is an approval: process:.... You need city approval and all kinds of things, and you have to cent date the extra staff in the Brown time, lis] laying off 6,000 employees,” in 2001, per services. But Dr. Bruce Shore, Dean of Students, that there’ would not be’ enough room to accommo- $1.8 billion in profit, and, at the same retirement 50 more counsellors to keep up with the rapidly rising demand for its “There were some who asked whether we should wait a few years, because the Royal Bank has just made He ‘opic leaders. and throughout wn a commitment to Gill Mental Health Services will need to members “opposed nomination because they felt many of RBC’s practices were unethical. The nomination was made at the same time that a lange number of RBC employees were. laid off, a move that some senators believed was a major he said. ane 9l/3u>1W ment on the proceedings’ behind this year’s decision, because it would breach Some senate. Cleghorn’s» 2000. 5 the university's Vice of Services. is still waiting for an explathe dismantling, to the frusits members. present. because a problem, . parit. included. a written disclaimer that provided definitions of the words “wall” and “picture” in order to ensure that no one thought they were breaking the tules by erecting an. actual barrier. “We weren't trying to start a controversy, that’s not our aim, that’s not what we're about,” Hamdan said. Hamdan explained. that SPHR has been attempting to arrange a’ meeting with Di Grappa. : “We'd. like’ an’-explanation,” said Hamdan. “We're going to do something about here.” it... We're not stopping The Concordia administration will not speak to. the press until Di Grappa. has_met with members of SPHR. —Claire.Crighton � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 94 Issue 14 Page Number(s) 5 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 Mental Health Scrambles to Meet Surge in Demand Description An account of the resource Updates on how McGill's Mental Health Services aimed to keep up with rapidly rising demand for services. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Leon Grek Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004/10/25 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English mental health mental health Service (MHS) mental health Services (MHS) student health https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/bfbbd6b048447bb48c6fd656325625d3.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=KKNw44AQ7bt%7EO7bHdrKR4U9Fid-lyV-AgaQWmJKrdF1VAivJd-BOtUx7LtELpIjYalx5Om4BtTC0xIKb8ognlvUIMHucgDK6p7yafRqMBRMaezroHQMVgQyiyNbyjyBoc1OQzqJF5HEVcxqYi85vS4jZ8o%7EpOy7nPvoX2wD%7El4oAckkyJvtqHRf2MZlbD14DR2XVn-smyiLCviD%7ERVKnV2JR6XIsXqjs%7EeT517Chl6VMAoCN%7Ew8KoxTrp3zYMnrVybiYPAn7oXl8IfayIG8yQ7CD46ZYuzuoIkE1mAo4R2dnai3Oo2Tm033nOs00R12EEdaUx6dK78pQlCDZBmtj3Q__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 0a212edebf726a7a7d84e88a4427331f PDF Text Text 6 News The McGill Daily • Thursday, April 5, 2007 McGill Mental Health Services still sickly graphic by Carina Sorensen / The McGill Daily archives Students could face long lines and questionable service TRISTAN LAPOINTE NEWS WRITER M cGill Mental Health Services (MMHS), long plagued by insufficient resources and a lack of staff, will likely continue to have the same problems into the coming year. The service, whose self-described objectives are “to provide high quality, easily accessible clinical services to the McGill student body,” has had a history of long waiting periods before treatment – and, once seen, students have complained of poor quality treatment. Dr. Norman Hoffman, Director of MMHS, cites overwhelming student demands as the reason for MMHS’s inability to keep up. “Right now we currently work 385 staff hours a week, and we’ll see nearly 2,500 students by the end of May,” he said. “This is an increase from all previous years. In the past four years we’ve nearly doubled our staff.” Annual reports from MMHS back this up. From 2001 to 2005 the number of student visits throughout the years climbed from 1100 to 2100. MMHS has already exceeded its time budget for this year and has been forced to add another 50 hours a week to its schedule. In the past two years, staff hours per week have been bumped from 253 to 385, and MMHS still has trouble ensuring a consultation within two weeks. Triage, a technique of determining who out of a group are the most severely afflicted patients, is also practiced at MMHS – with controversial results. While the tactic is good for clearing out backlogged appointments, it forces through the office as many as 35 students in 90 minutes – providing minimal consultation for disturbed students and sending oth- ers back to the waiting list. With the pressure high to get students seen, the office often struggles with students coming in with diagnoses from elsewhere. “We’ve had students come here with some pretty poor diagnoses and prescriptions that we’ve had to fix,” said Hoffman, adding that this was especially difficult for a student suffering from emotional problems. One U0 student – who asked to remain anonymous due to the nature of the care received – said she had booked an appointment to see a doctor at McGill Mental Health Services to get an antidepressant medication refilled. “I won’t be going back. They’re not that invested in actually getting to know you and trying to help you. – U0 student patient at MMHS After waiting over an hour, she was seen by a young medical student who explained that she would be evaluating her and reviewing the results with a doctor. According to the student, the assistant left after asking her a few brief questions – and came back laughing because she had forgotten to ask “the most important question – if I had ever thought about committing suicide.” After answering in the negative, the student received a new prescription for sleeping pills. “I started to cry,” said the student. “I said, ‘I don’t understand – I have anxiety, which ties into depression.’ I was trying to explain it to her, but she was really persistent about me trying the sleeping pills first and coming back to see her. I couldn’t even look at her,” she said. The student never met the doctor who signed the prescription – and never received a follow-up call. “I won’t be going back. They’re not that invested in actually getting to know you and trying to help you,” she said. MMHS has become so overwhelmed that they’ve resorted to outsourcing some of their demand to other institutions across the city. Some of the more severely affected students are sent to the Argyle Institute at Jewish General Hospital for treatment. The office also runs peer therapy through the Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students Society and their own therapy group Talking Heads. But Hoffman said this was only a band-aid fix – and a real solution could be found in more medical personnel and more physical space for the office. “Montreal is suffering from a shortage of psychiatric professionals. It ends up being very difficult for us to find staff and opportunities for outsourcing,” he said. The physical offices at MMHS are also a source of trouble – with several full time staffers, including the director, forced to share time between as many as three offices. Still, Hoffman attributed the overwhelming demand for Mental Health Services to the stresses of student life. “Many students have unstable life conditions and few attachments to adults or authority figures to help ground them. That, combined with the pressures of a top tier school and a society that generally rejects emotions, is what could be creating the problem we have here,” he said. News Briefs Judicial Board could meet today SSMU’s Judicial Board – its highest decision-making body – could meet as early as today to rule on the legitimacy of SSMU’s Presidential election and the constitutionality of blood drives. The Judicial Board had been unable to meet because it did not have the three members required after a former Justice resigned. A third member was selected Tuesday. “Pending availability of all parties, the board could meet [today],” President Aaron DonnyClark said. The decision could bring a quick close to presidential candidate Floh Herra-Vega’s case against Elections McGill’s Chief Returning Officer Bryan Badali. After losing to Jake Itzkowitz by a 54-vote margin, HerraVega challenged the legitimacy of the elections, claiming that election bylaws were not enforced after many of her posters were ripped down. In the response Badali submitted last night to Herra-Vega’s case, he argued that publicly censuring Itzkowitz would have implied his culpability for the missing posters – something he could not ascertain. Another case waiting for the Judicial Board’s attention, filed by Donny-Clark, challenges the constitutionality of a referendum question that asked students whether “SSMU should reinstate blood drives in the Shatner building.” SSMU banned blood drives from the Shatner building in November after deciding that Héma-Québec’s refusal to accept donated blood from men who have had sex with men since 1977 violates SSMU’s constitution. Because no one partial to the outcome of the Judicial Board’s rulings can participate in its hiring process, nominating committee members Donny-Clark, Itzkowitz, Herra-Vega, and VP External Affairs Max Silverman – who supported Herra-Vega’s campaign – did not participate. In place of Donny-Clark, VP Finance and Operations David Sunstrum chaired the committee. – Sarah Colgrove and Dan Hercz Sunstrum may dispute GA education policy Next week, VP Finance and Operations Dave Sunstrum may ask SSMU Council to overturn a clause in a General Assembly (GA) motion mandating the Students’ Society to fight for free education. Sunstrum argued that because the motion was not debated before students voted on it at the February GA, it is unrepresentative of student opinion. “The reaction I get from most students is that SSMU is at the fringe of most political beliefs,” he said, adding that he was considering asking Council to change it. Among other clauses, the motion mandated SSMU to oppose non-consensual student fee increases, and work with other student groups toward a governmental reinvestment in education and the elimination of tuition and ancillary fees. Sunstrum said that, had there been more time to debate the motion, a more nuanced and representative policy that did not include the elimination of tuition fees could have passed. “Debate was limited on a motion that will determine our external policy for years to come,” he said. “There was a huge line...[but only a few] people spoke for it, [a few] people spoke against it, and people amending it were stupid.” Asked if it would be undemocratic of SSMU Council to strike down part of a mandate that came directly from students, Sunstrum said that elected councilors are responsible for ensuring that SSMU represents students. “Council is also a representative body,” he said, adding that he would have taken his concerns to a GA instead, but would not be at McGill next year. – Sarah Colgrove SSMU server hacked Although SSMU’s web site has already been down for a month, don’t try logging on anytime soon; it will take about a month to get it operating again on a different, temporary server. According to SSMU VP Clubs & Services Floh Herra-Vega, who has been involved in efforts to restore the web site, the trouble began long before the web site’s server crashed in early March. She said that a strange spike in activity on January 23 was evidence that someone had hacked the SSMU server. “That server has been hacked before…it’s basically just a really sketchy little piece of software and hardware, so it’s not surprising that someone would break entry,” HerraVega said. When SSMU Network Administrator and Information Technology Director Ricardo Núñez tried to log onto the server, it crashed and he no longer felt comfortable operating on it, according to Herra-Vega. SSMU then hired an external company to handle the problem; Núñez left his position Friday. While the company SSMU hired has restored the server’s data, the web site won’t be visible because the company still needs about a month to install the new hardware. Regardless, the web site will soon be redesigned and its content put onto a more reliable server over the summer, according to VP Communications & Events Gill Prendergast. According to Herra-Vega, the ordeal is costing SSMU around $35,000. Neither Herra-Vega nor Prendergast would comment on who might have hacked the server. – Lendon Ebbels � 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. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF Volume 96 Issue 46 Page Number(s) 6 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 McGill Mental Health Services still sickly Description An account of the resource An article detailing problems with McGill's Mental Health Services. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tristan Lapointe Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007/04/05 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English mental health mental health Services (MHS) Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students' Society (SACOMSS)