https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/9c014887bcbac56ec28507db48647c43.pdf?Expires=1781740800&Signature=lpkd-ej5lZNDvdrQ6SNlj-q0EoUGB-IrkIpkuh6nwo1h0WlfmGWM93nbNkDwzw3M0D6jRkKIZmRu%7EhBKzngRzdy025-psiHhH93e490nx8BPgfM2BN8WJofpUHREPb3JiI2wIcWcvP7fVqpRJZx4F1hZc%7EajuuaoIqzFpwcjkHbULcVT0-XYDm2J-1jBBpw5Y99D8bDcqdJ32fPvQ8zTAw6fgRp9HxcGrKpl0M3Ubo4H9Fct8l3zOZgkKIolf0OZv2469DwkD5THTnLZiBnnWrfUBkzhSp2YQA4YXpboVu71rXIpSUUrM5GROQo6sLIA%7Ek-7EBYTBtMXlAS3Ko3zqQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 8d094ebeb0dadc257b18ea325d8b6f19 PDF Text Text 6 News The McGill Daily, Thursday, March 12, 2009 Students hope web will inspire student activism EngageMcGill to launch an online subject-sorted list of campus clubs and services Josh Nobleman News Writer A group of students calling themselves EngageMcGill are trying to streamline student activism through the McGill web sites. Scott Martones, U2 IDS and Sociology, and six team members have begun the project as part of Professor Marcos Ancelovici’s sociology class, Contemporary Social Movements. They want to modify the myMcGill portal by linking it directly to a SSMU web site listing campus clubs and services with accurate descriptions, sorted by subject rather than alphabetically, along with a detailed event calendar with weekly updates. “SSMU’s web site should be the place to find out about what is going on, how to get involved, but the newly-launched web site is not adequately publicizing events or opportunities for involvement with student groups,” wrote the group in an email to The Daily. “[Now] students have to go through multiple menus and broken links, and the events calendar does not include the majority of student events.” noted several examples of successful reactive protests, including responses to the many threats to space for the Sexual Assault Centre of McGill’s Student Society (SACOMSS) and the Architecture Café, as well as the teaching assistants’ strike. “Students tend to mobilize in response to something being taken away; when there is no particular group, it is very hard to mobilize,” Alfaro said, a statement with which EngageMcGill agreed. “We believe students are not necessarily apathetic, but appear so because of barriers to engagement,” wrote the group. The supervising professor said that the proposed web site changes could help spur interest in campus groups. “This idea of making campus activity accessible through the myMcGill page may not lead to huge action, but it can foster networking and create synergies,” said Ancelovici, although he cautioned students to move quickly for fear of the idea falling off the radar. “Time is perhaps their worst enemy. Between courses, papers, and exams, basically, they have a window of two months. And lack of experience: very often they just don’t know where to start,” said Ancelovici. “But two or three people who know what they are doing will quickly spread their efficiency.” Alfaro also said that the McGill bureaucracy inhibits student activism. “To a certain extent, large organizations tend to be conservative,” Alfaro said. “The bias is to continue doing things as they have been done before.” Ancelovici also noted that McGill “Another problem... is the career-focused student body of McGill, who don’t really care about local issues. They just came here to study” Marcos Ancelovici, McGill sociology professor SSMU recognizes the problem, according to outgoing VP External Devin Alfaro, but lacks the funding or staff to run a web site as they would like. “[The web site is] definitely something that needs work,” said Alfaro. “It’s a really important way to communicate with students.” “The most important thing I learned from Reclaim Your Campus was how to draw links together between issues on campus,” Alfaro added. Although Reclaim Your Campus – a campaign to increase student mobilization on campus – attracted very few committed students, Alfaro had challenges specific to the University. “Another problem is the careerfocussed student body of McGill, who don’t really care about local issues – they just came here to study, not wanting to invest time in local issues.” Martones, however, thought that rather than assign blame, this project could actually produce some positive results. “It’s easy to blame someone else – students can blame administration, or the administration could blame the students’ disorganization,” said Martones. “But really, it’s a shared responsibility.” Quebec wants you to stay Doug Bruer for The McGill Daily New work permits allow grads more opportunities Laura Mojonnier The McGill Daily A catchy government sign on the corner of Parc and Milton speaks straight to graduating students: “Real Montrealers stay in Montreal.” The sign reflects the provincial government’s renewed efforts to keep graduating university students in Quebec – particularly international ones – to prevent brain drain and keep the job market afloat. Mayor of Ville-Marie Borough, Benoît Labonté, addressed SSMU’s council last Thursday and emphasized that Montreal must attract outof-town graduates from the City’s universities. “Our real challenge, which will measure our progression, will be our capacity to attract, maintain, and integrate talent into Montreal,” Labonté said. “If we can’t, it’s over, we’re cooked, we’re finished.” This semester, McGill hosted three popular informational presentations for international students who are considering staying in Quebec after graduation. These 75-person sessions – run by the Ministre de l’Immigration et des Communautés Culturelles – were filled to capacity, forcing some interested students onto a waiting list. According to Rhonda Turner, McGill Advisor to International Students, these sessions are part of a government effort to attract qualified immigrants to work in Canada. “It’s made very clear in the presentation that they want you to stay in Quebec,” she said. International students, who account for almost 19 per cent of McGill’s student body, can either apply for permanent residency if they wish to remain in Quebec – a process that generally takes six to nine months – or apply for a PostDiploma Work Permit - a special visa introduced in April 2008 that allows recent graduates to stay in Canada for up to three years without a specific job offer. “It used to be this vicious cycle where companies wouldn’t want to hire you without a work permit, and the government of Canada wouldn’t give you a work permit without a job offer,” said Sam Imberman, an American who decided to stay in Montreal after graduating from McGill in 2008 with a B.A. in Geography. Imberman currently works as a marketing assistant under this new permit as he awaits the status of his permanent residency application, which is now a common practice, according to Turner. Caroline Leamon, an American who graduated in winter 2009 with a B.A. in Cultural Studies and a minor in French, rethought her decision to stay in Montreal after attending one of the information sessions. “It looked like quite the undertaking,” she said. “There are a lot of processing fees, and it comes out to over $1,000 in the end.... Hearing all of the steps and how expensive it was really made me think, okay, this would be a big commitment settling in Montreal, and do I really want to be here for the next three years at such a cost? And that’s what really got me thinking, maybe not so much.” Securing permanent residency is a complicated process in Quebec that entails an elaborate point-system, a mountain of paperwork, and often a series of interviews assessing applicants’ French and English language abilities and personal characteristics. Many applicants find the pointsystem to be the most confusing part of the process, according to Turner. Single candidates must obtain 60 points of a possible 96, and those applying with spouses need 68 of a possible 113. Most points are awarded to applicants who are under 35, have advanced degrees, and are highly proficient in French. The scale also rewards those whose could fill positions in industries that are currently experiencing shortages in the province, including the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Faris Alfarhan, U3 Electrical Engineering, hopes to return to Quebec after he fulfills a two-tothree-year obligation to a Saudi Arabian oil company that has paid his tuition at McGill. “Most [international students in engineering], I’d say 70-75 per cent, would want to work here,” he said. “The diversity of people is very welcoming for people like me – immigrants – and the work environment is appealing. Flat organization, less bureaucracy, less hierarchy – that’s something very attractive for engineering firms, at least.” While Alfarhan only possesses a basic knowledge of French, he said that he plans to learn the language, especially if he decides to pursue citizenship. But for some, the cost outweighs the benefit. Faye Hughes, an American U3 IDS and Hispanic Languages major, said that she plans leave Montreal largely because of her limited French. “I’ve had trouble finding an off-campus job,” she said. “Some of the on-campus jobs you have to speak French, and I’ve really felt limited by that. While I’d like to learn French at some point, languages are hard. I’d rather just find somewhere where my Spanish is useful.” For those who are fluent in French, the appeal of Montreal as a city can be motivation enough to get through the paperwork. “It’s a good starter city,” Imberman said. “It’s good for people in this age, in this stage of life. Sure, I could move to New York at this point, but where would I live, and how long would my commute be, and could I even afford to go out and drink? It’s true, you’re paid less here, but it takes a lot less to live.” – with files from Shannon Kiely � 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 98 Issue 39 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 Students hope web will inspire student activism Description An account of the resource Profile of a new online resource for students looking to get involved in activism. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Josh Nobleman 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 2009/03/12 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English activism EngageMcGill Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students' Society (SACOMSS)