McGill, police kill the 4/20 buzz

I was holed up in the library, and so missed the commotion on lower field yesterday afternoon. This is based on an account from another news editor, Max Halparin.

As is typical for the 20th of April, a sizable group of students convened on the hill to enjoy the weather and smoke weed. A few McGill Security officers walked around - but they can do relatively little to stop students from smoking pot – or anything, really – other than to ask them to stop. So the gathering stuck around for a few hours.

Just before 5 pm, a police squad car – and then another and another and another, along with two Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) bicycles – went up through campus. With Provost Anthony Masi smiling and watching on, officers cuffed and arrested the first two students they could get hold of, and held up another pair of handcuffs to the rest of the crowd, implying that they would continue to make arrests if people didn't disperse.

Um, last time I checked, the police and the McGill administration have bigger fish to fry than to crack down on students smoking pot on 4/20. Despite calling all year for the police to increase foot patrols in the neighbhourhood to no avail, and especially in light of recent violent attacks in the area, it is totally outrageous that McGill and the SPVM would waste the time, money, and resources to call in 8 to 10 officers to break up a small crowd of pot-smokers, rather than put any real effort into the safety and environment of our public spaces.

I'd really like to see McGill, students, and the SPVM work constructively toward improving neighbhourhood relations, but this sure isn't it.

Kelly Ebbels
Coordinating news editor

If you were arrested on 4/20, or know who was, please email news@mcgilldaily.com.

Posted at 12:19PM on Apr 21, 2008 by web

SSMU Council: just like McGill

During confidential session last night, SSMU Council voted 13-12 to accept a private vendor's proposal for room 103 in the Shatner building. Just like the McGill administration, it seems, SSMU Council doesn't trust students to run their own food services.

Today, after hearing the news, I suggested to a councilor that 13 of the councilor's colleagues were pricks. "About eight are pricks," the councilor corrected me. "Five are just idiots who will keep eating the bullshit they get shoveled." I assume "bullshit" refers to the Operations Committee report on renting out room 103, which heavily favours a private vendor and gives what many councilors consider inaccurate estimates of the cost of a student-run food service.

A number of councilors and concerned students had prepared an interesting counter-report that includes independent cost estimates, a number of Daily articles, and my suggestion earlier this week that SSMU consider rolling a student-run cafe and Gert's into one. The counter-report called for SSMU to do more research and consultation before making a decision. That's hardly an unreasonable idea, as there were valid concerns on both side of the debate. But it wasn't enough to sway your elected representatives, who are apparently more interested in imitating McGill than supporting student-run initiatives.

This was an extremely tight vote on an extremely divisive issue, and now Shatner is stuck with some overpriced coffee chain for the foreseeable future. SSMU completely failed to do proper consultation prior to this, and those councilors who supported a student-run cafe were simply asking for more time to investigate other options. That's what really galls me; not that SSMU councilors would so eagerly imitate their older siblings in James Admin, but that they would do so without even the barest trappings of transparency or accountability. A friend's Facebook status sums it up best: "god damn stupid fucking sham of a democracy go burn in hell."

Drew Nelles
Coordinating editor

The name of the corporate vendor should be released next week. Expect a news story online in the next few days.

Posted at 03:21PM on Apr 11, 2008 by web

Council at Capacity

The last council meeting of the semester garnered more students than the room could fill Thursday afternoon. Students rapidly filled a speakers list during the public discussion period on the room 103 decision. More than an hour into the meeting, councilors have barely cracked the massive 44 page agenda.

Also, check out the coordinating editor's duo of blog posts on some potential changes to the room 103 space here and there.

Ali, Erin, Jenny, Kelly, Lendon, Max, Nick, and Will
Daily Staffers

Posted at 06:54PM on Apr 10, 2008 by web

Out with Gert's, take two

I've decided I like this "internet" thing. I can post a half-baked idea, receive compliments and criticisms, and two days later, revisit the situation. It's like magic!

Two days ago, I suggested that SSMU respond to calls for a student-run cafe in Shatner by turning Gert's into a bar/cafe and moving it to room 103, currently occupied by Caferama. Theoretically, this would create a student-run cafe, revitalize Gert's, and still leave the basement space formerly occupied by that petri dish of a bar available to rent out.

A few interested SSMUshies contacted me about the idea, a few friends hailed by genius, and a few other SSMU-types knocked me down a peg for some of my sillier suggestions. Which is rad. And now, I think we have a better idea of how SSMU can best move forward on this issue.

First, let me admit that my suggestion to move Haven Books into Shatner was, uh, dumb. In my excitement to figure out all of SSMU's problems, and my desperation to avoid writing my paper on the Zambian Copperbelt, I overshot. Obviously McGill would never allow Haven Books, its sworn enemy, on campus.

Second, a few former SSMUshies have weighed in, arguing that Gert's was failing before it moved to the Shatner basement, and that moving it back upstairs would cost a hell of a lot. They very well may be right. But that's just my point; SSMU hasn't looked into more creative options like this, so we have no idea whether the costs would outweigh the benefits. Instead, the Society has rushed ahead to make a decision that will affect the Shatner building for years to come - a decision that's slated to be made tonight.

Luckily, a few SSMU councilors are hoping to call off any rash decisions - whether for a student-run cafe or a corporate provider - and take more time to consult students and draft new ideas. That's the best thing that could happen at Council. I want a student-run cafe in the Shatner building, as a lot of students do. And I hope those students who have submitted proposals for the space don't take my suggestion as an attempt to undercut their business plans. (I can think of few better things in life than the possibility of enjoying a beer or coffee with my Midnight Kitchen.) But considering the controversy this issue is generating, more time is needed to create a workable plan.

Ideally, tonight SSMU Council will vote against giving room 103 to any tender, and will instead take the next few months to look into alternative options. That could mean moving Gert's into 103, opening a student-run bar/cafe, and renting out the current Gert's space. That could mean - as some people have suggested as an alternative to my idea - opening a split bar/cafe in the current Gert's space and renting out room 103. That could mean none of the above. Hell, that could mean SSMU opening an arcade in 103, as my colleague Kelly Ebbels has suggested - which would be badass.

The point is that we're just not sure what the best option is. The only real research into SSMU's options was the Operations Committee report, which some people in the know have suggested contains misleading and false information. Hopefully, as The Daily suggested earlier this week, tonight Council will vote against accepting any tender for room 103. We'd be far better off taking some time now to explore our options than paying for our mistakes later.

Drew Nelles
Coordinating editor

P.S. If SSMU does eventually decide to reopen Gert's as a student-run bar/cafe, I've already got some ideas for names. Kelly Ebbels has suggested "Drert's." My friend Derek Lappano and I have also long dreamed of opening a bar called "Thus Spake Barathustra." Something to keep in mind...

Posted at 02:25PM on Apr 10, 2008 by web

Out with Gert's, in with a student-run cafe

I will preface this proposal with an admission: I am not a Management student, and my food-service experience is limited to a three-year stint at Cinnabon in high school. Still, I have an idea that could make establishing a student-run cafeteria in the Shatner space currently occupied by Caferama a little more palatable. It's simple: close down the current incarnation of Gert's, and make room 103 a split student-run bar/cafe.

The case against Gert's

Gert's blows. I've been in hospitals with more ambiance than that cesspool of sterility. And while Gert's is not the financial black hole it used to be, it still lost $22,000 last year and is far from becoming a campus hotspot. There are probably any number of reasons for this, but I'll hazard a guess that two of the bar's bigger problems are its utter lack of charm and its dismal location in the Shatner basement.

It wasn't always this way. Gert's actually used to be located on the main floor of Shatner - and it was hugely popular. A 2005 Daily article traces "the decline and fall" of your campus bar. Once upon a time, Gert's managed to be both a trendy between-class hangout - complete with shabby second-hand furniture - and a campus nightlife capital. “We spent half our time at school there," one McGill alumnus told The Daily. "When you weren’t in the library or in class, you were at Gert’s.... It was easily the social centre of the University – very relaxed and very, very informal.”

According to the alumni interviewed in the article, Gert's first began to slide into irrelevance when it underwent renovations reminiscent of a certain fast-food chain. SSMU cemented the bar's unpopularity with its ill-advised move downstairs.

A workable solution

Today, Gert's is only good for cheap beer and al-Taib, and is only full when Fred Penner is in town. But there is an alternative: moving Gert's upstairs and merging it with a student-run cafe.

Students want their own cafe in Shatner room 103. But as the SSMU Operations Committee report rightly points out, there are other serious considerations to take into account. A major concern is whether SSMU can afford to run a third operation - that is, a cafeteria in addition to Gert's and Haven Books - even though that's not necessarily the route a student-run cafe would take. Still, it's worth addressing.

Merging Gert's and a student-run cafe would take some serious infrastructure changes, but the long-term benefits seem clear. There wouldn't have to be a third operation - SSMU could roll the bar's and cafe's operations together. Gert's would get the hell out of the basement and back onto the main floor, where it was once immensely popular. With some thrift-store furniture and some creative decorating, a bar/cafe in room 103 could rival PGSS's famed - and successful - Thomson House. There is little doubt that a bar/cafe in room 103 would do brisk business, despite hefty startup costs.

Room 103 is visible, huge, and well-lit. As a SSMU Councilor recently pointed out on Facebook, "The current leaseholders (who masquerade toasted buns as 'panini') manage to do fine, just based on their location (it certainly ain't the prices...or the food)." The Architecture Cafe has proven, as campus activists have been sloganeering, that student-run is better-done. And a more visible Gert's means a more popular Gert's - which means lower SSMU deficits and happier, drunker students.

What about the rent?

As the Operations Committee report makes clear, renovations to room 103 would be a huge cost - although it's not clear that all the report's renovation suggestions are actually necessary. But moving Gert's upstairs frees up the bar's current location - which, with some renovating, can be rented out to another overpriced smoothie chain or a Pita Pit or whatever the hell else.

There's no doubt that renovating both spaces would require some serious investment, but this could be at least partially offset by rent income and a deficit-free campus bar. Once the renovations are paid off, renting out the current Gert's space means more income for SSMU to fund clubs and services, student initiatives, and its other priorities.

Or, the current Gert's space could be renovated and taken over by Haven Books. Although an on-campus Haven would need more storage space than the Gert's location can provide, moving Haven Books to Shatner would heighten its visibility and help make it a real alternative to the McGill Bookstore. SSMU could then hold on to the current Haven location and rent it out. Smack in downtown Montreal, the Haven location at Aylmer and Sherbrooke would certainly attract interested renters. SSMU could direct that substantial income toward the cafe's renovations and startup costs, and later toward its other priorities. Long-term, SSMU could even use the current Haven location as its own space; for offices, clubs and services, and so on.

Moving forward

Implementing this proposal would mean major changes for SSMU. But it would also mean a student-run cafe in Shatner and a more successful Gert's, without sacrificing the rent income that funds SSMU's other priorities.

By day, room 103 could be a casual bar/cafe, with coffee and beer flowing as easily as the conversation. By night, the dance floor can come out, the stage can go up, and the space can recapture the glory days of Gert's.

This Thursday, SSMU Council will debate whether to award room 103 to a student-run cafe initiative or a corporate food contractor. But there's no need to rush into a decision. SSMU could forgo a few months' rent to come up with a split student-run bar/cafe proposal for the space.

The three issues at play here - creating a student-run cafe, reviving Gert's, and keeping rent money coming in - are not irreconcilable. Moving forward will require a little vision and a lot of hard work from our elected representatives. But that's what SSMU is there for: coming up with workable solutions to student demands. I sincerely hope our student union is up to the challenge.

Drew Nelles
Coordinating editor

Posted at 08:48PM on Apr 08, 2008 by web

The Daily's done

That's right. After eight fun, exhausting, rewarding months, The Daily is calling it a year. Thank you so much to all our readers and contributors. We've made something flawed and wonderful this year, and we couldn't have done it without you.

If you're a contributor, we hope you'll come out to contributors' night this Friday, April 11. Email coordinating [at] mcgilldaily.com for more info. Otherwise, we'll see you in August.

Drew Nelles
Coordinating editor

Posted at 06:12PM on Apr 08, 2008 by web

A promising idea

Yesterday a friend of mine stumbled upon an incredibly simple idea out of University of California, Berkeley to keep student politicians aware of the promises they so often forget after being elected. Every Executive and Senator in the Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley has a profile page with contact information, a photo, and a description of the role of the position. Most importantly, it also contains the campaign promises the member made when running for the position.

If SSMU did this, students would have a much easier job figuring out if student politicians are actually fulfilling their promises (let's be fair: we often forget who promises what). It would be mind-numbingly simple to implement (even given SSMU's persistent inability to properly run their web site). And, although The Daily has been posting promises politicians make and rating how well they've kept them for years, the prominence of promises would mean students would better be able to hold politicians to account, and politicians would be much less likely make promises they don't intend to keep.

The proposal would certainly help increase transparency and accountability, and decrease the "amnesia" student politicians always seem to suffer over the summer. One wonders which student politicians, if any, will be the first to support this measure. (Thanks to the features of our new web site, if you are a SSMU Councillor or Executive, you can show your support to the right in the comments, and can put your campaign promises there as well.)

Nicholas Smith
News Editor

Posted at 07:27PM on Mar 28, 2008 by Editors

Editorial elections, and a new position

If you're a Daily contributor, and you're looking to get more involved with the newspaper next year, we've got a job with your name on it. Eighteen jobs, actually. Our editorial board elections happen next week, and we want you to run for a position. Briefly, here's how the election process works:

First, you need to be Daily staff - meaning you must have written six articles, taken six photos, drawn six graphics, written two features, come in for six production nights, or some combination thereof.

Second, you need to email a one-page application to coordinating [at] mcgilldaily.com by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 28. Tell us about yourself and why you'd be good for the position, and feel free to include samples of your work.

Third, you need to show up at the candidate rundown on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. in Leacock 232. Please note that this is a different time and place than was originally advertised - we had to reschedule.

Fourth, you need to show up at the election on Wednesday, April 2 at 5:00 p.m. in the Daily office (Shatner B-24).

We published a more detailed rundown of how the process works a few weeks back, so check it out to get a clearer picture. Feel free to email me or your section editor with your questions.

And finally, we have an important and exciting announcement. The Daily is adding a second Production & Design editor position, so we're looking for design-oriented folks eager to flex their layout muscles. Prior InDesign and Photoshop experience is a plus, but by no means necessary. Email design [at] mcgilldaily.com for more information.

Drew Nelles
Coordinating editor

Posted at 08:58PM on Mar 23, 2008 by Editors

The Daily lives on by a landslide!

As you might have read by now, undergrads voted overwhelmingly to keep The Daily and Le Délit around. Huge thanks must go to the Daily Publications Society Board of Directors, all the Yes committee volunteers, and everyone who voted to keep their independent campus press alive. This has been an exhausting and nerve-wracking time, but the outpouring of support we received means so much to all of us. Thanks again!

Drew Nelles
Coordinating editor

Posted at 04:41PM on Mar 16, 2008 by Editors

Thanks for visiting us at Nuit Blanche!

Last Thursday night at Nuit Blanche, The Daily's design team hosted InDesign and Photoshop workshops, handed out pins, and supported communal artwork with a projected MS Paint mural, which we now proudly display here on our spiffy new blog.

We'd like to thank everyone who contributed, and encourage you to visit us at one of our remaining production nights (every Wednesday and Friday in Shatner B-24) and chip in to our pulp-based publication.

For more information, shoot an email to graphics, photos, or design [at] mcgilldaily.com

Will Vanderbilt
Production and Design Editor

Posted at 03:49PM on Mar 10, 2008 by web