Motion Regarding Renewing Support for Accessible Education — YES
The Daily strongly endorses this motion, which would renew SSMU’s recently-expired mandate to work with student movements and the government to call for investment in postsecondary education and oppose non-consensual fee increases. Given the key role of SSMU’s accessible education policy in motivating the Society to fight tuition increases over the past year, renewing it is crucial in the ongoing fight to keep Quebec education accessible. This is particularly important when one considers the plight of international students, who make up a large portion of our peers and for whom tuition is not frozen.
Motion Regarding Renaming the SSMU Breakout Room — YES
In a motion to rename the SSMU Breakout Room – because, let’s face it, “Breakout Room” is the worst name for a room ever – there is a proposal to honour the late Montreal activist (and McGill grad) Madeleine Parent. Parent would join Gertrude Stein in being a female namesake for Shatner Building rooms, though Parent’s room will probably feature less alcohol. SSMU has the right idea in mind by remembering Parent’s work in a visible and important way, so The Daily says hell yeah feminism.
Motion Regarding Installation of a Bouldering Wall — NO
Without a firm plan in place, it seems that installing a bouldering wall should not necessarily be at the top of the priorities list. A bouldering room would be cool and would probably mean most of us skip class to use it, however, such an expensive undertaking needs a more extensive proposal. Other poorly-addressed issues are the safety concerns around the project, a risk and expense that SSMU just isn’t capable of handling. Perhaps this is a better project for the newly remodeled McGill gym.
Motion Regarding Ethical Investments at McGill — YES
Don’t be discouraged by the scientific jargon and footnotes at the start of this motion – it boils down to this: we don’t like Tar Sands or other environmentally damaging initiatives. The motion calls for SSMU to lobby the federal government to thoroughly examine the impact that Tar Sands have, and for us to pressure McGill to divest from companies that are invested in Tar Sands and from companies that have negative impacts on their surroundings.
Motion Regarding Opposition to Canadian Military Involvement in Iran — YES
The Daily strongly opposes the potential war with Iran, as well as McGill’s ties to the military. This motion is essential in order to ensure that the hundreds of Iranian students among us are supported in the event that Canadian military aggression erupts into conflict. As a public research university, McGill should play no part in supporting the military-industrial complex. While The Daily supports the motion wholly, we do think that the fourth “resolved” clause needs to be clarified in its statement that SSMU should “create a policy opposing military activity,” as such an open-ended statement could have broad implications such as denying humanitarian interventions.