Negotiations break down
Effective today at 12:01 a.m., teaching assistants of the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill will be on strike, after negotiations with the McGill administration this past Saturday and Monday deteriorated. AGSEM Vice-President External Natalie Kouri-Towe pointed to a general lack in response from the negotiators representing McGill as the final decision to strike.
New policies guide changes
McGill's Board of Governors approved the new Physical Master Plan of Planning and Design Principles at a meeting in the University Club last night with little debate. The approved portion established yesterday is only half of what will comprise the final Master Plan.
Liberal MP draws on research experience to discuss global citizenship
Liberal Party Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff's speech to a crowd of approximately 150 students at Concordia University last Friday featured a combination of personal anecdotes and his years of human rights teaching experience. Ignatieff posed the question of whether or not the definition of a "global citizen" is a member of the human race or of one particular state, and whether this is valid in an increasingly globalized age.
Concordian could be publicly beheaded
In the latest development in the case of two Canadian citizens charged with murder in Saudi Arabia, Sultan Kohail, 17, was sentenced to one year in prison and 200 lashes last Saturday. The fate of Concordia continuing education student Mohamed Kohail is uncertain after his lawyer was threatened by judges hearing his appeal case on Mar.
Club executives say $19,000 is not enough
The Students' Society's decision to raise their base fee by one dollar last semester has resulted in the accumulation of $19,000 in funds specifically designated for the improvement of student space in the Shatner building. "Students will see the effects of the [fee] increase," said Marcelle Kosman, SSMU vice-president clubs and services, citing increased locker space on the fourth floor and improvements to Gert's, in addition to paint jobs, soundproofing and more space for clubs' offices that needed upgrades in Shatner.
Which mandate gets priority in Shatner?
With its lease set to expire this summer, the fate of room 103 in the Shatner building-better known as Caférama-will be decided at this Thursday's Council meeting. A flurry of mandates from General Assemblies, referenda questions and the SSMU Constitution will be considered to decide upon the new occupants.
Issar edges out Gjerde for president
Next year's Science Undergraduate Society executive results were announced last Thursday with SUS representative to Council Neil Issar winning the presidency by one of the closest margins in recent student election history. With 49.5 per cent of the electorate, Issar edged out Harald Gjerde by 30 votes.
Says actual conflict between races is rare
Professor Steve Saideman gave an overview of his work in ethnic conflict to an audience of students in a presentation by In Their Shoes, a Montreal organization which educates high-school and university students about global problems such as genocide and poverty.
Students storing their possessions in lockers have continued to be plagued with problems of break-ins and thefts, with hits occurring throughout the semester in nearly all faculties. Last week, engineering, management and arts have all been hit recently, but few details have been gathered about the incidents, including information on break-ins in the Bronfman Building last Monday.
President - B+
Itzkowitz' presidency has been marked by intermittent successes and progress. Before last year, the SSMU executive had been a disorganized mass with uncoordinated political agendas. Despite a stormy start with the election scandal, early concerns about disunity and conflict within this year's SSMU executive were proven wrong and can be attributed to Itzkowitz's coordinating abilities.
VP Internal - C-
As the first ever Vice-President Internal, president-elect Kay Turner's time in office this past year begs the simple question: "What exactly does the VP Internal do?" With the smallest mandate, success in this portolio should have been a no-brainer. Turner secured her position based on the quality of her ideas, including greening frosh, revitalizing the SSMU Web site and making her position more political.
VP External - A-
Silverman is arguably the only SSMU executive this year who delivered upon his campaign promises. He has put in the extra effort to work for free education, including ordering busses to take students to Quebec City for February's Day of Action. In addition to dealing with tuition issues, Silverman has also made attempts to encourage students to reach out to the surrounding community, helping to create a neighbourhood guide that was distributed to students living in residence.
VP University Affairs - B+
While Angus's ambition as a politician is unquestionable, he has hardly been able to produce the improvements to academic life that he based his campaign around. Improvements in advising have been relatively insignificant and it is uncertain what sort of role Angus played in improving libraries and keeping them open longer this year.
VP Clubs & Services - C+
Overall, Kosman seems to have been overwhelmed by the demands of the C&S portfolio. Although she ran on a platform of increased availability, promising to check e-mails every day, she made the decision early in the year not to return voicemail messages and replies to e-mails have been sluggish.
VP Finance & Operations - B
In our mid-term report cards, the Tribune remarked that outgoing VP Finance Imad Barake had been thrust into a "seemingly endless string of damage control," with regard to last year's investment in Haven Books. Financially, nothing has changed with the bookstore since December and with projected losses in the tens of thousands, the bookstore has taken money away from improving student life on campus and has called the Students' Society's commitment to clubs and services into question.
C+
After a sluggish first semester, this year's SSMU Council has ultimately failed to legislate anything substantial. Overall, there have been few major motions presented, and debates at Council, for the most part, have degenerated into talks concerning punitive action for councillors who failed to attend, arguments about the executives' late reports and how many hours the executives should spend with a club or service as punishment for their tardiness.