President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January has ushered in a blitz of hardline immigration measures. In his first days back in office, Trump issued 10 executive orders on immigration, reviving many of his first-term policies and adding new ones. He declared a national emergency at the southern border to unlock funds for extending the border wall and even authorized military involvement in enforcement. Thousands of US troops (about 10,000 service members) have since been deployed along the frontier. 

The administration also suspended refugee admissions and abruptly ended humanitarian parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans, leaving more than 500,000 would-be migrants in legal limbo inside the United States. At the same time, asylum processing at the US–Mexico border has effectively been shut down. A reinstated “Remain in Mexico” rule now forces most asylum seekers to await US immigration hearings on Mexican soil, adding to already dire conditions in border camps.

Trump has vowed to ramp up interior enforcement as well, seeking to triple deportations to about one million per year, far above previous records. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been given an unprecedented mandate, with reports of daily arrest quotas to accelerate removals. As of June 10, reports indicate that agents now face a formal 3,000-arrests-per-day  quota, triple last year’s target. Agents have also been unleashed at sensitive locations like schools and churches that were previously off-limits. This aggressive approach has spread fear through immigrant communities and triggered a flurry of legal challenges. 

Within weeks, federal judges blocked Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of undocumented migrants – calling it unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. Civil rights groups have filed dozens of lawsuits against various crackdowns. On 13 June, the Supreme Court sided with the White House for the ninth time this term, letting Trump revoke several humanitarian programs while litigation plays out. Despite the court orders and growing civilian outcry, the White House has pressed on, insisting its hardline stance is necessary to restore “law and order” in immigration.

These tactics have driven unauthorized border crossings down to their lowest level in years — March 2025 saw a 95% drop in apprehensions compared to a year earlier — but have overwhelmed Mexico’s shelters and courts with stranded migrants. Major human rights organizations, including ACLU, Human Rights First, and Amnesty International, have since raised grave concerns about due process violations and the treatment of vulnerable people; particularly children and asylum seekers with medical needs. These groups have organized legal clinics at border camps, launched lawsuits, and staged protests in cities like Washington, D.C., and El Paso. The aggressive enforcement of these strict policies has sparked mounting backlash from civil society and international observers, warning that the United States risks trading security for fundamental human rights.

High-profile raids and draconian enforcement in early June ignited public backlash in Los Angeles, as the city has become spotlighted in the national debate over Trump’s immigration clampdown. On June 6, ICE launched a major sweep downtown, arresting 44 people outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building. Protests by Mexican-American and immigrant communities erupted almost immediately, with demonstrators waving Mexican flags, throwing concrete, and even setting Waymo self-driving cars ablaze. Riot police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades.

Over the next four nights the protests swelled, resulting in over 100 arrests and the declaration of a tactical alert that flooded the streets with armored vehicles and federal agents. President Trump, calling the protesters “insurrectionists,” deployed the California National Guard and  ordered 700 active-duty Marines from Twentynine Palms to join the deployment. Up to 4,700 National Guard troops were deployed to quell protests amid the immigration raids. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Marines and National Guard will remain in Los Angeles for at least 60 days, with an estimated cost of $134 million, confined to protecting federal buildings and personnel rather than making direct arrests. Late on 12 June, the 9th Circuit issued a district-court ruling on troop control, keeping the National Guard under federal command, for now.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass denounced the military presence as “illegal,” “un-American,” and a dangerous federal overreach. California has already filed a lawsuit against the federal government, with Newsom calling the deployment a “trampling of state sovereignty.” While protests have since cooled slightly, solidarity marches and smaller clashes have erupted in at least nine other US cities, including New York, San Francisco, and Austin. Critics warn that this domestic use of military force, the first in Los Angeles since 1992, sets a chilling precedent for civil liberties and signals an alarming expansion of executive power. 

The fallout has rippled across the border as well. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly condemned the violence in Los Angeles, calling for US authorities to respect due process for detained migrants. Mexico’s foreign minister confirmed that at least 42 Mexican nationals were swept into detention during the Los Angeles operations, with some already deported. In Mexico City, small solidarity protests have gathered outside the US Embassy, underscoring the deepening alarm south of the border over Washington’s actions.

As Washington clamps down, Mexico is contending with a surge of migrants and deepening humanitarian strain. Daily asylum applications have tripled to around 1,000, overwhelming Mexico’s already fragile refugee agency and border shelters. UNHCR data show Mexico recorded 16,100 new asylum claims by early March 2025, after already receiving more than 78,900 asylum applications in 2024, following a record-breaking 140,000 claims in 2023. Many of these migrants were en route to the US and became stranded amidst Trump’s crackdown, while others were deported and now fear returning to their home countries.

This influx comes after the  Trump administration’s January decision to freeze approximately $2 billion in humanitarian aid for Mexico and Central America for 90 days. These cuts to vital USAID funding have forced many shelters and legal aid centers in Mexico to scale back or shut down altogether just as demand is skyrocketing. The aid freeze also slashed funding for Mexico’s own refugee agency, which had relied on U.N. contributions underwritten by US dollars. “This is worse than anything I’ve ever seen,” said Gretchen Kuhner, a veteran migrant advocate and director of the Institute for Women in Migration, referring to the collision of new US border policies and the sudden withdrawal of support.

Canada has upheld its record-high immigration targets by welcoming nearly 500,000 new permanent residents in 2025. However, Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took office in March, is moving to tighten the country’s borders in response to US pressure and shifting domestic sentiment. In early June, Carney’s government introduced the Strong Borders Act (Bill C-2), proposing sweeping changes that critics warn could dramatically reshape Canada’s humanitarian image. Bill C-2 is now being considered by the House public-safety committee, with first witness testimony pencilled in for late June.

The bill would bar asylum claims from migrants who have been in Canada for over a year or who entered the country irregularly, being applied retroactively to those who have arrived since mid-2020. It also expands the Coast Guard’s authority to interdict and search along waterways, permits mail inspections, and grants sweeping new powers to cancel or suspend immigration documents “in the national interest.” Supporters, including Carney and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, argue these measures are vital to “combat transnational organized crime, stop the flow of illegal fentanyl, and crack down on money laundering,” all safeguarding Canada’s borders in an era of heightened migration flows.

However, the Strong Borders Act has faced immediate backlash. Critics, including MP Jenny Kwan, the Migrant Rights Network, and refugee advocates, say the bill mimics Trump-era US tactics and risks violating Canada’s international obligations to protect refugees. 

“It’s an alarming shift,” Kwan said, describing the bill as a “massive rollback of rights” that can erode Canada’s long-standing humanitarian commitments.

The US factor looms large. President Trump has repeatedly accused Canada of failing to stop the movement of illicit fentanyl and irregular migration across the northern frontier. In February, Trump threatened and implemented short-lived tariffs on certain Canadian exports, rattling Ottawa and adding impetus for Carney’s government to show it can police its own borders more strictly. 

“There are items in the bill that have been irritants for the US, so we’re addressing some of those issues,” Anandasangaree acknowledged, even as he insisted the bill is about Canadian security first.

The Strong Borders Act has already sparked protests and is mounting legal challenges in Ottawa and in major cities like Montreal and Toronto. Critics argue that Canada, long seen as a beacon of openness, is at risk of abandoning that tradition in the name of security. For Carney’s government, the challenge remains how to reassure a skeptical public that the system is both secure and fair without sacrificing the country’s humanitarian identity.

Across North America, the current wave of immigration crackdowns has revealed a continent both divided and united, 

In the United States, President Trump’s militarized enforcement has fueled fears of creeping authoritarianism and abandonment of civil liberties. Critics see echoes of the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act, once used to target immigrant communities, and warn of the dangers of unchecked executive power in an era of deep political polarization.

Meanwhile, Mexico is absorbing the brunt of these shifting dynamics. The nation’s already strained asylum system faces record-level migrant claims, while Washington’s aid freeze has left shelters and legal aid groups teetering. Despite these challenges, President Claudia Sheinbaum has tried to chart a course that balances cooperation with the United States against Mexico’s own humanitarian obligations.

Legal challenges against the Liberal Party’s proposed Strong Borders Act have ignited protests from Vancouver to Montreal, highlighting the country’s internal struggle to balance openness with control.From the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles to the steps of Parliament in Ottawa, civil society groups are mobilizing. They’re fighting not just against new policies, but to protect the very notion of asylum and the principle that migration can be managed without erasing human dignity.

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Clauses regarding the proliferation of hate speech are notorious for how contestable, narrow, or vague they are. In Kenya particularly, the criminalization of criticism deemed as vilification has harmed activists in the name of quelling anti-government propaganda. Just last year, the Kenyan Police Department, as well as the National Guard, injured 361 people and killed 39 during the national #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests. This wave of demonstrations was one of the largest Kenya has seen since the 2007 election crisis, with protestors from 35 counties participating in the movement. Kenyans in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and more took to the streets to reject the government’s proposed tax increase to pay off government debt to the International Monetary Fund. These tax reforms would have increased the prices of everyday essentials, such as a 25 percent excise tax on vegetable oil and a 16 percent value-added tax on transportation. With a poverty rate of 38.9 per cent, and many employed citizens belonging to the informal sector, the added financial burden of these taxes would have been detrimental for many Kenyan families. 

The current president of Kenya, William Ruto, ultimately retracted the bill, as Kenyan mobilization proved to be stronger than its police, military, and governmental opposition. Through social media, younger generations promoted popular education programs and organized crowdfunding initiatives to help those without transportation reach protest locations. With the help of Google, activists were able to translate the bill into local languages and utilize artificial intelligence to understand the bill’s provisions that contained complicated legal jargon. However, employing the internet to combat oppression has seen its own set of complications, such as the content moderation and systems of surveillance that arose following the Arab Spring, a movement of protests and revolutions in North African and Levantine countries in the early 2010s. The enhanced governmental monitoring of journalists and social media users put many activists in danger, forcing them to alter their original methods of spreading awareness on social issues in fear of government retaliation. 

Despite these consequences, the lessons from the Arab Spring uprisings influenced the current use of the internet to protect protestors today. In Kenya, the internet and social media have been utilized to simplify the sometimes intimidating entry into political activism. Activists such as Boniface Mwagi have become outspoken about the violence and intimidation the government has used against Kenyans who’ve exposed administrative corruption. In addition, bloggers have routinely used their platforms to inform new protestors about safety measures. 

Despite these successes, this June, a year after the #RejectFinanceBill2024 movement began, the sight of stones thrown in exchange for bullets and the sound of chants for justice silenced by tear gas have once again flooded the streets of Nairobi. The current wave of protests has emerged to demand justice for Albert Ojwang, a father, teacher, and blogger who was found dead in the hands of the Kenyan police force this month.   

On June 6, the Kenyan Police arrested Albert Ojwang in his hometown of Kakoth, near Homa Bay, and transported him to Nairobi as a result of Ojwang’s social media posts criticizing the Kenyan Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Lagat. The following morning, Ojwang was found unconscious in his cell, and after being rushed to the nearest hospital, he was pronounced dead. The same day, the Kenyan Police Department announced that Ojwang’s death was a result of self-inflicted injuries. However, suspecting foul play, on June 9, thousands in Nairobi began to demonstrate, demanding justice for Ojwang and denouncing the police brutality in Kenya. Chants exclaiming “Stop Killing Us”, accompanied by signs displaying the same words flooded popular streets. Soon after, on June 11, these statements were verified to be rooted in truth when a pathologist’s report confirmed Ojwang died as a result of external injuries to the head, neck, and body. Investigators also verified that CCTV footage was tampered with on the night of Ojwang’s death. As of June 16, Eliud Lagat has stepped down as deputy chief of police, five officers have been removed from active duty, and 23 have been questioned for their involvement in Ojwang’s murder. 

The issue of police violence in Kenya, however, did not begin or end with Ojwang, nor did it arise as a result of Finance Bill protests. Kenya’s administrative service police was originally established in 1896 by the British Foreign Office to act as a colonial police force and has historically used extreme violence to suppress human rights and protect taxation laws. During the colonial era, the police aggressively cracked down on land protection uprisings, placing many in concentration camps. The police also enforced hut taxes on rural peasantry, which financed colonial infrastructure and administration. Over time, like most sub-Saharan countries, more Kenyans migrated to urban centers following rapid industrialization and as a result, police forces naturally began to subjugate those in large cities as well. In their research on the role of the police in Kenyan cities, Professor Kristine Höglund and Professor Emma Elfversson found that urbanites in Kenya tend to hold less trust in the police, as the over-policing of many communities has resulted in violent conflicts. 

Today, the protection of the elite and the silencing of civilians is still a major concern amongst Kenyan society. Isaak Hassan, Kenya’s Policing Oversight Authority chairman, stated that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has reported over 20 deaths in police custody in the past four months. This, in addition to the 72 disappearances and the 104 cases of extrajudicial killings that took place in 2024 — mostly including people outspoken about the repression in Kenya — raises serious concerns about the validity of freedom of speech that the state claims to protect. 

While President Ruto publicly denounced the police brutality witnessed during the Finance Bill protests, the only changes in response to Kenyan police brutality have included the resignation and replacement of individual officers, with few structural changes addressing the culture of police violence taking place. Still, despite the slow administrative changes to policing, the general conviction of Kenyans has remained unchanged. Protestors, activists, and all who have witnessed the impoverishment, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings at the hands of the police remain steadfast in their demands for justice, with the state’s violent suppression doing little to curtail the stamina of Kenyan resistance. 

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Wildfire Context

By early June 2025, Canada’s wildfires were burning at a near-record pace. More than 3.2 million hectares (about 7.8 million acres) had already been scorched across the country — exceeding the full-season average. Around 200 active fires were burning, nearly half of them deemed “out of control.” Western and central provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, have been especially hard-hit. In Alberta and Saskatchewan, multiple megafires exceeded 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres), with the Shoe Lake fire alone reaching over 500,000 hectares (around 1.2 million acres). Tens of thousands of residents, including many from Indigenous communities, were forced to evacuate. By June 9, Manitoba alone had registered over 21,000 evacuees.

​​As of June 13, the number of active wildfires has increased to 225, and total area burned now exceeds 3.7 million hectares — a pace that continues to outstrip seasonal averages. In Quebec, smoke from northern wildfires has raised concerns over air quality impacts on upcoming international events, including the G7 Summit, underscoring how Canada’s climate emergencies are now intersecting with global diplomacy. 

This crisis is not isolated. In 2023, Canada experienced its worst wildfire season on record, with approximately 17 million hectares burned — more than twice the previous record. The 2024 season, though less catastrophic, still ranked as the second-worst in history, and 2025 appears to be following the same trajectory. Satellite detections of fire hotspots are at their highest early-summer levels since the satellite era began, second only to 2023. In recent days, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre had reported 1,874 wildfires ignited and 3.2 million hectares burned, already surpassing multiple provinces’ historical totals with the peak season still ahead.

International Fallout

By mid-May, smoke from Canadian wildfires had traveled across the Atlantic, carried by high-altitude winds and jet streams. It first reached southern Europe, and a second plume, larger and more concentrated, arrived in early June, drifting across Ireland, the UK, France, and Scandinavia. Initially suspended in the upper atmosphere, the smoke created an eerie visual phenomenon: orange-filtered light, muted sunrises, and milky skies. BBC meteorologist Matt Taylor’s 2023 analysis of Canadian wildfire smoke helps explain the eerie visuals seen again in 2025: smoke particles scatter blue light, allowing reds and oranges to dominate.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires — seen as grey plumes veiling parts of Western Europe in early June — was initially detected at high altitudes. NASA’s Aqua satellite tracked the plumes crossing the Atlantic, where they tinted skies and filtered sunlight across the continent. By mid-June, however, that smoke began to descend, prompting air quality alerts across Europe.

On June 10, wildfire smoke from Canada descended into the lower atmosphere over parts of Europe, causing a sharp deterioration in air quality. According to IQAir, cities like Vienna, Munich, Milan, Zurich, Geneva, Zagreb, and Ljubljana reported pollution levels ranging from “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” to “Very Unhealthy.” By June 11, several of these cities ranked among the most polluted in the world — not due to local emissions, but because of smoke that had traveled thousands of kilometers. While Saharan dust played a minor role in some areas, IQAir confirmed that Canadian wildfire smoke was the primary cause.

In North America, the impact was immediate: by early June, one-third of the United States — from the Great Plains to the East Coast — was blanketed by Canadian smoke. Air quality advisories were issued from Chicago to New York, and hospitals in cities like Minneapolis and Detroit reported a rise in respiratory complaints, especially among children. Schools kept students indoors, and residents were urged to avoid outdoor activity or wear masks . On June 12, parts of Minnesota reached the highest “maroon” level on the Air Quality Index (AQI) — the most severe designation — prompting urgent alerts from state health departments warning all residents to limit outdoor exposure.

In early June, NASA imagery captured a “long, unbroken river of gray smoke” stretching over 7,600 kilometers — from Canada to western Russia — blanketing vast stretches of the Northern Hemisphere. CAMS scientists described the transcontinental spread as “a reflection of the scale of the fires.” Even in locations untouched by flame, the evidence was clear: no region is insulated from climate-driven disasters.

Expert Insights

Scientists and public health experts are sounding the alarm about the broad and intensifying consequences of extreme wildfires. “Smoke knows no political boundaries — and neither does fire,” said Ecologist Dr. Lori Daniels of the University of British Columbia. She noted that Canada’s 2025 smoke patterns followed a vast diagonal trajectory, spanning continents. “We’re all struggling with this, not just in Canada and the United States, but worldwide.”

Dr. Paige Fischer, a professor of environmental sustainability at the University of Michigan, echoed this concern. She called the 2025 season “part of the new norm,” driven by hotter and drier conditions fueled by climate change. “The climate models are projecting that we’re going to have more frequent, more severe wildfires,” she warned — not just in boreal regions, but globally.

Public health officials are also worried. Fine particulate matter in wildfire smoke, especially PM₂,₅ — which stands for “Particulate Matter that is 2.5 micrometers or smaller in diameter” — can enter the bloodstream, aggravating asthma, heart disease, and respiratory issues. Environment Canada and the US CDC issued advisories urging vulnerable populations to stay indoors. Dr. John Balmes, a leading air pollution researcher UCSF, compared inhaling wildfire smoke to smoking cigarettes,  stating that “if you’re healthy, occasionally breathing smoke may only cause transient symptoms,” but repeated exposure carries serious risks, stressing the health implications of even short-term exposure. Beyond the physical risks, many experts pointed to the growing psychological toll: orange skies and burning smells in places like the UK, far from any fire, are creating a shared sense of climate anxiety and helplessness.

Mark Parrington, a senior CAMS scientist, emphasized that only extraordinarily intense fires could inject smoke high enough to circle the globe. According to IQAir, some plumes reached 9,000 meters in altitude before descending and settling over Europe. Canadian fire officials, including Liam Buchart, confirmed that exceptionally dry conditions in late May and June — driven by climate change — were a major factor in the fires’ rapid spread and scale.

Wildfire scientists are also warning that the reactivation of “zombie fires” — blazes that smolder underground through winter — could prolong the crisis. According to analysis reported by the Financial Times, as summer brings a return to warm and dry conditions, smoldering underground fires are expected to reignite and spread, potentially resurfacing as active, flaming wildfires. These reawakened fires can sustain smoke emissions for months, well beyond the normal fire season, keeping air quality threats active even after visible flames subside.

Together, these voices paint a sobering picture: wildfires are no longer local disasters. They are cascading effects linked to this atmospheric instability that threaten lives, economies, and ecosystems well beyond their point of ignition.

Climate and Global View

The 2025 wildfires have become a case study in climate feedback loops: warming temperatures increase fire risk, while the fires themselves release vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, further accelerating climate change. Canada’s boreal forests, once seen as carbon sinks, are now emerging as major carbon sources. According to NASA, shorter winters and prolonged droughts are extending fire seasons — making them hotter, longer, and harder to control.

By early June, the fires had released 56 megatonnes of CO₂, second only to Canada’s 2023 fire season. The cumulative emissions from these two years now rival the annual output of some industrialized nations. While wildfire smoke can create short-lived cooling by blocking sunlight, its long-term climate impacts, particularly the release of carbon, are unequivocally harmful.

These fires have also strengthened calls for global cooperation. In June, Canada received firefighting aid from US states like Oregon and Idaho, as well as from Australia, which sent nearly 100 wildfire specialists, trained in direct suppression tactics and incident management. This kind of cross-border support is becoming increasingly critical as overlapping fire seasons stretch national emergency resources to the limit.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the current trajectory as “ever closer to the brink,” calling for a “fast, fair and funded” global energy transition. Experts agree that this must be matched by stronger mitigation efforts, such as reducing emissions, improving land use practices,  as well as large-scale investment in resilience like early warning systems, air quality monitoring, and sustainable forest management.

From firelines in Alberta to sunset watchers in Somerset, the signs of climate disruption are everywhere. The 2025 wildfires are not an isolated incident — they are part of a pattern. And unless that pattern is broken, the costs will only grow. Experts say the choice is no longer whether to act, but whether we will act together.

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This budget cut will have drastic impacts on McGill employment. Staff, whether it be teaching, researching, or maintenance, represent 80% of McGill’s operating expenses, as declared by Christopher Manfredi. That would lead, according to the Montreal Gazette, to about 250-500 jobs being cut. Furthermore, McGill confirmed in the May 16 town hall that it intends to continue its hiring freeze. Christopher Manfredi and Fabrice Labeau, while declaring that the university had to lay off 60 employees in April alone, said this relief was temporary.

In fact, the next few years will prove even more challenging for McGill. The full extent of these government decisions will be felt even more harshly in the next four years, which will be critical for McGill’s survival. “Because we have thrived for 200 years, it may be tempting to assume that no matter what happens, we’ll continue thriving for 200 more,” Provost Manfredi and VP Labreau declared during the May town hall. “But if our deficits mount, McGill’s core academic mission will eventually become untenable.”

Despite the gravity of McGill’s financial situation, the May 16 town hall provided more details on the solutions evoked in February. McGill administratives recognised that cuts and layoffs were needed in the short term, but that it was not a sustainable solution in dealing with the university’s financial difficulties. Thus they introduced the Horizon Plan, a wide initiative to reduce and optimise expenses while salvaging McGill’s finances.

According to the Town Hall meeting, the objective of the Horizon Plan is twofold: finding new sources for funding while using current funds more effectively. This plan poses a number of questions that remain to be answered, notably concerns about the raising of new funds. Focusing on how to most effectively utilize current funds, the town hall brought more insight on the actions McGill plans to take within the next year. Another large part of the Horizon plan is to find ways to streamline the process; to simplify, rationalise, and make more effective McGill’s spending while also avoiding unnecessary expenses.

McGill will be joining Uniforum, a benchmarking platform where universities can compare their service performances with each other. Featuring Australian, British, and Canadian universities, Uniforum will give McGill data to  optimize its use of  its current  expenses. Fabrice Labreau explains that Uniforum will enable McGill to reinvest resources and ultimately improve their services. Last February, McGill started gathering information and data for Uniforum, asking employees of over six months about their experience with  its services, prior to looking at “resource allocation” over the spring and summer. This will build a “clear picture of McGill’s resource usage” before the “first results on satisfaction and resource allocation” are published with Uniforum in Fall; upon which McGill will be able to make decisions regarding budget and finances. 

McGill’s goal is to make its core academic mission tenable again, and to make the university sustainable enough to thrive for many years to come. By “reinvesting,” the university will  shift money from one place to another—in other words, key groups will suffer from this financial plan, even though Fabrice Labreau remained evasive about such consequences in his interview with the McGill Reporter. He claimed we will know the first results heeding from McGill’s inscription to Uniforum in Fall 2025.

For now, it remains unclear whether some departments, services and staff will be durably cut or laid off in McGill’s future years – including student TAs and academic advisors. Yet Labreau remains optimistic despite current challenges. He stresses to students that generating spending efficiencies through the Horizon plan will free up resources to be reinvested into education and research. 

If the economic relief from staff layoffs turns out to be more than “temporary,” the loss of these jobs will durably affect the McGill staff laid off in the past six months. For now, the 60 people who lost their jobs in April will not be the last. While it is unclear how the Horizon Plan will affect student life, the new budget plan will certainly impact academic life for McGill students.

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Gaza has been  experiencing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with their population now facing acute food insecurity. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 470,000 people are in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe), over a million in Phase 4 (Emergency), and the remainder in Phase 3 (Crisis). The United Nations has declared Gaza as “the hungriest place on Earth,” warning of an imminent risk of famine for all residents.

The healthcare system has collapsed, with only a fraction of hospitals and clinics operational due to shortages of fuel, medical supplies, and staff. The World Health Organization reports that 57 children have died from malnutrition since the aid blockade began on March 2, 2025, and nearly 71,000 children under five are expected to be acutely malnourished in the coming months.

Despite some aid deliveries, the situation in Gaza remains desperate. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that only around 200 truckloads of aid have entered Gaza in the past 12 days, constantly delayed at checkpoints and blocked by Israeli restrictions. The few convoys that make it through carry only flour, which must be cooked before eating — an almost impossible task for families without electricity, water, or fuel. Civilians have intercepted aid trucks, leading to cases where some were forced to loot essential supplies as aid convoys stalled for days at checkpoints.

This is not just a bottleneck — it’s a blockade that has sharply restricted the flow of vital supplies. There have been witness reports of civilians scrambling to seize food as it arrives, while Israeli troops have used tear gas, smoke bombs, and live ammunition to disperse crowds, leading to injuries and at least one confirmed death.

International Outcry: World Leaders Speak Out for Aid

Israel’s continued blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza has drawn sharp condemnation from international bodies and human rights groups. While the United Nations has managed to bring in only minimal quantities of food aid—just 4,600 tonnes of wheat flour over three weeks—much of these efforts have been met with persistent restrictions. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has described the situation as “the cruelest phase of this cruel conflict,” emphasizing the urgent need for unimpeded humanitarian access. He criticized the minimal aid allowed into Gaza, stating that Israel has only authorized a “teaspoon” of aid when a “flood” is needed. World leaders have echoed this alarm. Former UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has described the conditions in Gaza as “apocalyptic,” highlighting that no place is safe — not hospitals, not shelters, not even schools. Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had also condemned the killings of aid workers and called for an immediate ceasefire to ensure humanitarian access. 

Human rights organizations have  spoken out as well. Human Rights Watch has described the blockade as a “tool of extermination,” while Amnesty International called it “a clear act of genocide and collective punishment.” Despite these urgent appeals, even as the flow of aid remains severely limited and sanctuaries shrink, Canada has responded. On June 10, Prime Minister Mark Carney, alongside leaders from the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Norway, announced sanctions—including travel bans and asset freezes—targeting far‑right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben‑Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

McGill’s Neutrality Meets Montreal’s Unflinching Solidarity

On May 21, 2025, McGill University President Deep Saini addressed the campus community regarding the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In his email, he acknowledged the profound impact of the situation, stating, “Many of us are watching the escalation of human suffering in Gaza with alarm.” However, he reiterated the University’s stance of neutrality, emphasizing that McGill “must remain mindful of its academic mission and refrain from commenting or taking a position on a geopolitical crisis.” He assured students and staff of the availability of support resources for those affected by international emergencies. 

The momentum of pro-Palestinian activism on McGill’s campus can be traced back to the Lower Field encampment, which began in May 2024. The encampment — dubbed the “liberated zone” by students — demanded McGill’s divestment from companies linked to Israel’s military operations and called for greater transparency in university investments. It quickly became a hub of political discourse and mutual aid, hosting teach-ins, cultural events, and communal meals. Media coverage was extensive, with national outlets picking up the story and sparking campus-wide debate on the role of universities in global conflicts.

Although the encampment was eventually dismantled following negotiations with university administrators, it was also forcibly broken up —with bulldozers and private security moving in during heavy rainfall, and protesters carrying their belongings out under pressure. This closure set the tone for a year marked by heightened student mobilization. This continuity of activism highlights that the current mobilizations — like the protests against the Gaza blockade and the continued calls for McGill to divest — are not isolated events but part of an evolving movement with deep roots in student-led organizing.

This past May, Montreal once again became a stage for global solidarity. On May 17, SPHR McGill and community allies marked 77 years since the Nakba by gathering in front of the Israeli consulate in downtown Montreal. The demonstration, endorsed by SSMU, included speeches, chants, and a call to “flood the streets until full return and liberation.” Images shared on social media captured the crowd’s energy, with Palestinian flags waving and banners demanding justice.

Just days later, on May 23, another protest unfolded outside the US consulate. Activists gathered to temporarily shut down the building’s operations to draw attention to American support for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Videos circulating on social media documented the protesters’ chants and confrontations with police, emphasizing the urgent tone of the demonstrations.

These events underscore the links between local activism and global solidarity, demonstrating how McGill students and Montrealers refuse to remain passive observers. Their message is clear: as long as Gaza’s crisis continues, the streets of Montreal will echo with calls for accountability. That momentum will continue this summer with the Global March to Gaza on June 15 — an unprecedented international mobilization that has already gathered support from more than 80 Canadian organizations, including Palestine Vivra and Labour 4 Palestine. The march aims to draw attention to  Gaza’s forced isolation and push for immediate, life-saving humanitarian access. In Montreal and beyond, the streets remain a powerful stage for voices demanding justice.

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The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between McGill and SSMU is a formal contract governing their relationship, dictating issues such as the SSMU’s ability to collect student fees, use McGill’s name, and access campus spaces. Under Article 10 of the agreement, either party may terminate the relationship, provided a mediation process is undertaken first. The current MOA, signed in 2022 and set to expire in 2027, has now been called into question due to what McGill administration views as SSMU’s failure to disassociate from activist groups. In the aforementioned email, Interim Deputy Provost Angela Campbell wrote that “SSMU allowed and, at least tacitly, supported a three-day strike that further divided a campus community already deeply cleaved and hurting,” referencing incidents during the April strike that the administration described as disruptive and unsafe.

The university’s decision came shortly after the end of the student strike. Endorsed by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), the strike was enacted through a motion passed at the March 27 Special General Assembly, where students voted in favor of divestment and public solidarity with Palestinians. Throughout the strike period, students organized picket lines, teach-ins, and demonstrations.

While many of these events were peaceful, some rallies brought demonstrable acts of violence and the obstruction of classes.  The administration cited an incident involving vandalism in the James Administration Building as an example of unacceptable behaviour. In an email addressed to all McGill students, Interim Deputy Provost Angela Campbell wrote that the strike created “a campus environment in which dozens of classes were blocked or interrupted.” She claimed that the university’s “goal is not to silence dissent, but to affirm that all students—whatever their identity or politics—deserve to live, learn, and express themselves on a campus freedom of fear, harassment, or violence, where their dignity is respected.”

In response to McGill’s notice of termination, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill (SPHR) – though not an SSMU-affiliated organization – issued a statement accusing the university of “attacking student democracy.” In an Instagram post on April 7, SPHR wrote: “McGill has once again attacked the pro-Palestine student movement, intending to crack down on democratic forms of protest like a strike.” They described the decision as a “strategy of extortion” and a response to “pressure from Zionist donors and our warmongering political class.” The group called on the SSMU to refuse further concessions during negotiations and to “stand firmly with Palestine and our democratically enforced demand for divestment.”

In a statement issued to the McGill Daily, SSMU President Dymetri Taylor reassured that organizational “operations are normal,” noting that SSMU-affiliated clubs, services, and staff employment will remain unaffected during mediation. Taylor emphasized SSMU’s commitment to advocacy and the democratic representation of its undergraduate constituency.

One senator from the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) also weighed in on McGill’s decision. Anzhu Wei, who attended the GA and supported the motion, called the university’s termination of the MOA “ridiculous,”  adding that students are being punished for their political beliefs.

The termination of the MOA places the future of SSMU in limbo. Without the agreement, SSMU could lose the right to collect fees, occupy space in the University Centre, and coordinate student services in their current capacity, per Taylor’s statement. Campbell stated that the university remains “fully committed to ensuring that students continue to have strong, democratic representation and uninterrupted access to critical services.” Still, for students, the structure of that future representation remains unclear.

According to McGill’s public letter, the university will enter mediation with SSMU within two weeks of the termination letter. Until June, both parties will attempt to resolve the conflict, with the possibility of renewing or restructuring their agreement.

As the mediation process begins, SSMU has committed to transparency and regular updates. Students are encouraged to follow SSMU’s social media platforms and official channels for developments. Campbell similarly assured students the University would “keep [them] informed as we navigate this process.” In the meantime, McGill students continue to express concern over the long-term implications of the termination.

SSMU’s ability to function as an independent student union, manage funding, and maintain club spaces depends on the resolution of this process. As such, both the administration and student leadership face a critical moment in reshaping undergraduate representation at the university. McGill’s decision to suspend its agreement with SSMU signals a new and uncertain chapter in campus governance. What began as a student-led strike has sparked a broader reckoning over the limits of protest and student power.

The Daily reached out to McGill’s media relations team to provide comment on the administration’s rationale regarding the termination, how it perceives its relationship with SSMU, as well as what they expect from the negotiations. As of publishing, McGill has not given the Daily a response.

The post McGill Terminates Agreement with SSMU Following Pro-Palestinian Student Strike appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Get Organized! is a workshop series launched by SSMU External Affairs earlier this year. The series offers students a chance to connect with local movements, learn political organizing skills, and build relationships rooted in action. 

“The workshop series started and was kind of inspired by a similar series at the CSU at Concordia that was called Get Radical,” shared Jamila, who works as the Policy and Mobilization Researcher at SSMU External Affairs. “It’s a really clear entry point for anybody at McGill who’s been looking to get involved but finds it overwhelming or doesn’t know who to reach out to or what to join.”

When she first arrived in Montreal, Jamila wanted to be politically active, but found it intimidating to join spaces without knowing anyone. “Get Organized has been a really, really wonderful way for people to just get to know each other and make friends with people that share an interest in being politically active,” she stated.

Each session  featured local grassroots organizations doing movement work, including SLAM-MATU, Students for Migrant Justice, the Immigrant Workers Center, and Mobilizing for Milton Park.

“Each workshop has one or multiple local organizations doing some kind of grassroots organizing,” Jamila explained. They noted how the workshops “make it possible for people to feel more empowered politically by making friends and comrades, learning about things that are already happening, and then learning skills so that they can start things autonomously if they like.”

Though McGill has cracked down on certain forms of campus advocacy, particularly around Palestinian solidarity, Pitre says Get Organized! hasn’t encountered those barriers.

“I think that we’ve been able to put forth some quite radical programming and have really candid discussions about things like protest safety and knowing your rights when interacting with the police, but also McGill security.”

For Pitre and her team, part of the series intends to introduce students to new avenues of involvement beyond what’s already visible. “There are so many other ways for people to get involved … and we wanted to broaden the different range of struggles and local groups that students are aware of so they can get involved in other things.”

Harlan Porfiri, a student from the US, shared that the political context at home deeply shaped their motivation to join: “In the United States, the rise of fascism is particularly concerning. The rise of anti-trans rhetoric and legislation as well as weaning access to reproductive healthcare immediately threatens the well-being of my friends and family.”

Harlan heard about the workshop series through McGill Students for Good Jobs and signed up right away. Sharing their experience, Harlan said they “feel more knowledgeable about the organizing happening in my community and how I can make an impact as a student. I am impressed and inspired by the number of people interested in organizing, as well as the resources available to us as students to do so.”

“The current state of the world often moves me to fear, but I can say with absolute certainty that putting my energy toward community organizing has given me hope and the strength to look forward. It’s a very powerful feeling to be in a room full of people who see some injustice or some lack in the community and agree that they want to do something to fight against or change it.”

When asked what she’d say to someone on the fence about joining, she replied:

“It just feels so empowering to get to know other people and skills that make it possible for you to just do something, without waiting for the opportunity to come up. You look around and see things that you want to change in your community … having other people and skills to make that happen is really empowering.” 

For future workshop or mini-series opportunities, follow @ssmu_ea on Instagram.

The post “Get Organized”: A Workshop Series for Students Who Want to Do More appeared first on The McGill Daily.

On a chilly Saturday evening, all cozied up with a hot bowl of homemade chilli, I finally watched John M. Chu’s Wicked (2024), four months after its theatre release. Don’t judge me.

I was already somewhat familiar with the original Broadway play that opened in 2003 with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chynoweth, starring respectively as the Wicked Witch of West, Elphaba, and the Good Witch of the East, Galinda (Glinda). I also just discovered it was based upon Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a novel published in 1995 and written by Gregory Maguire.

However, I was unprepared for the rollercoaster of emotions that the movie put me through. It’s always interesting to see how one experiences the same work of art at different stages of their lives.

When I was first introduced to Wicked, the musical, my first impression of it was very superficial. The political undertone of the story was completely lost on me, although I always understood that Elphaba was ostracized because she was “different” and Glinda was loved because she was always “just right.” 

This time around, I saw Wicked for all its realistic and dark glory, and came to the conclusion that Elphaba isn’t just a green witch. Elphaba is an icon and inspiration for all women of colour.

Elphaba’s journey throughout the movie is nothing surprising to the women of colour who do not conform to the delicate, petite and pixie-like beauty standards revered by society. Her looks, however, are not the only thing that people run away from. It is her unapologetically loud and deviant attitude, in addition to her powerful nature.

Having grown up shunned and hated by her father all of her life, Elphaba is no stranger to society casting her out. However, she doesn’t act meek. Quite the opposite — she is quippy and sarcastic, beating everyone to the punch.

Upon everyone’s first impressions of her, Elphaba simply answers with, “Fine, might as well get this over with, no I’m not sea sick, yes I’ve always been green, no I didn’t eat grass as a child.”

Her green skin represents an allegory for anything in one’s appearance considered “different” or “out of the ordinary” (whatever that means!): a slightly bigger nose than average, a darker complexion, freckled skin, textured unruly hair … the list goes on. In modern world terms, ya ain’t white.

People only seem to start noticing Elphaba more positively when Glinda gives her a makeover so she can be “popular” among her fellow students. Elphaba starts wearing her hair down in a half-updo, just like her blonde counterpart, even going as far as emulating Glinda’s signature hair flip to seem quirky and cute.

But what really struck me wasn’t the physical makeover, nor was it the change in the students’ attitudes once Elphaba and Glinda started becoming close.

It was Madame Morrible’s treatment of Elphaba.

Madame Morrible — powerful sorceress, headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University and cohort of The Wizard of Oz — in all her grey haired glory, takes Elphaba under her wing for the entirety of the film, after first witnessing the latter’s powers at Shiz’s great hall.

As the story goes, we are made to believe that Madame Morrible is just honing Elphaba’s craft so she can become a better sorceress. But upon closer inspection, Madame Morrible doesn’t teach her anything. She just taunts her student, trying to gauge how her powers work and what can activate them, like when she reminds Elphaba of the hateful message left on Dr. Dillamond’s board to see if the anger will get her to cast a spell.

This all comes to a head in the final moments of the movie, when Elphaba and Glinda go to the Emerald City to see the wizard. Elphaba reads a spell in the Grimmerie, giving wings to the monkeys against her will. Once she realizes she’d been used, she rebels and runs away, leading Madame Morrible to vilify her in front of all of Oz, painting her as a wicked witch.

The moment becomes a brilliant depiction of what happens when you defy the system, when  your talent does not serve them anymore. Madame Morrible used Elphaba’s powers for her own agenda, but once she realizes Elphaba could not be subdued, she decides to shift her focus to what she could control: the reputation around the Green Girl.

And it got me thinking just how many women of colour throughout the years have been  villainized and criticized. Because they refuse to conform to the system that was oppressing them, denying against  their own erasure. It got me thinking how many times those same women are still villainized in everyday life, but become praised when shown on the big screen, mimicking the irony of it all.

So this is for all the Elphabas out there as this Women’s History Month comes to a close. Keep on defying gravity –  even if you’re flying solo, at least you’re flying free.

The post Elphaba Defies All Gravity appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Similarly, U1 Political Science student Charlotte Gillogley, who joined the team at the start of the winter semester, credits that same collaborative spirit in K-RAVE along with her interest in K-pop as to why she joined the club’s Communications Team. “I had a friend who was an exec, and it seemed like a really good community,” she said. “I heard lots of funny stories about the different execs and how they were all super nice.”

On March 22, K-RAVE, McGill’s K-pop and Korean entertainment club, hosted their 6th annual showcase, Haute Kouture, at Le National. The event featured songs by artists like BTS, aespa, TWICE,
and Enhypen, and it was the product of a year-long effort by both dancers and executives. Dancers can additionally hold responsibilities as Performance Executives, who organize practice schedules, book studios, and send out song suggestion forms, or as Dance Leaders, who lead performances, distribute parts equally among dancers, and provide feedback.

According to U3 Science and Pharmacology student Emilie Jarman, whose roles include VP Performance and dance leader, responsibilities for dancers ramp up over the course of the school year. In fall, dancers are expected to work on one cover posted to YouTube and practice roughly 2-4 hours a week, while in winter, showcase preparation can require up to 10 hours. Jarman performed in songs “Shhh!” by Viviz, “Dangerous” by BOYNEXTDOOR, “Strategy” by TWICE, and a BTS Medley, and was a dance leader for the latter two. She led the “Strategy” team by herself due to her expertise in performing girl-group styles of dance, and co-led the Medley with Annie Nguyen, Christine Wu, and
Sien Pei. Preparation for the medley began well before the school year started, with a four-hour-long call to decide which songs to include.

K-Pop incorporates a variety of genres into its production, and thus, the setlist for the showcase featured a range of dance styles. Alongside dancing in the Street Woman Fighter Medley and “Igloo” by Kiss of Life, Lock was especially excited to perform the Throwback Girl Group Medley under the leadership of her friend Frida Hou, and challenged herself by learning to dance in heels. “For the Girl Group Medley, every time they put the suggestion sheet out since I joined the club, I had put it in there,” she said. “The challenge came in when we started thinking about unified performance and when we all threw a pair of heels on […] Heels completely change the way you dance, but we all managed that really well.”

While leading her team, Jarman strived to establish a feeling of community as much as she emphasized practice, in order to help dancers feel welcome to voice their thoughts. Although she had not practiced with many of the dancers before the semester, she ultimately led them to success in creating a strong team dynamic. “Each week, each group gets closer and closer. Everyone gets more comfortable talking to each other or sharing corrections,” she said. “[Knowing] how people think or communicate is what gets the group to have good chemistry so that you can have a good performance.”

Although dancers perform in different songs and some may never be in an act together, it does not stop them from fostering a sense of community with one another. On the day of the showcase, Lock recalled how Tini Liu made the effort to talk to all of the other dancers and snap a memory with each of them with a digital camera. “During the showcase, she was going around with this digital camera, asking everyone to take a picture with her, and I thought that was so sweet,” she said. “Before, I hadn’t gotten the opportunity to meet her cause I wasn’t practising at the same time as her, and I thought it was a great way to talk to people and get those memories.” The cooperative effort extends from the dance practice rooms at the Fieldhouse to Leacock, where executives attend weekly meetings on Wednesdays. Although executives are divided into teams to carry out different tasks, they often collaborate with one another. The Communications team, for example, worked with Production to create content for the showcase’s sponsors and collaborated with Graphics for Social Media promotion. On the day of the showcase, while dancers practiced on stage, Gillogley and the rest of the Communications team ran around backstage to create a plethora of content to advertise the showcase on TikTok and Instagram. “It was a very fun bonding moment, especially as a new exec,” she said. “No one would judge someone for their idea. It was a very supportive environment, and I think we had a lot of fun making videos together.”

According to Lock, K-RAVE became her family when she was new to university. Over the years, she noticed that the audition pool has increased since she applied to become a dancer, and is overjoyed that more people are interested in joining the club. “K-RAVE is a great opportunity to have a built-in community when you’re coming to a new place,” she said. “I have this really great group of people that I get to hang out with every Saturday when we go to practice, and maybe grab a coffee after.” Jarman, who graduates at the end of the semester, said she will look back at her three years in K-RAVE with fond memories, thankful for the friendships formed, the confidence she developed, and the passion for dance it fostered. “K-RAVE has made my university experience […] Participating in K-RAVE has given me a lot of opportunities to be able to go out of my comfort zone and talk to new people and express how I feel,” she said. “I just hope the club continues to grow and that it continues to be a space for people to come together and destress from school or life while doing what makes them happy.”

The post K-RAVE’s K-pop Kraze appeared first on The McGill Daily.

On March 3, 2025, two Palestinian members of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) submitted a motion calling for a Special Strike General Assembly (SGA) to deliberate on initiating a student strike in support of Palestinian liberation. This motion was accompanied by a petition garnering 52 signatures from students across various faculties, meeting the constitutional requirements set forth in Article 13.2 of the SSMU Constitution. Article 13.2 mandates that for a Special General Assembly to be convened, a written request must be submitted by at least 50 members representing a minimum of four different faculties or schools, with no more than 50 per cent of the signatories from any single faculty.  Upon satisfying these criteria, the SSMU scheduled the SGA for Thursday, March 27.

The motion received significant backing from campus organizations, notably Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill. SPHR actively promoted the initiative, urging students to participate in the SGA and support the strike motion. Their endorsement emphasized the urgency of addressing the university’s affiliations and investments perceived to be complicit in actions against Palestinian communities. In preparation for the strike, SPHR continues to post support resources for activists, emphasizing that “in every historic example of divestment, prolonged mass student mobilization was essential to success.” 

The proposed strike motion outlined three central objectives:

• First, it calls on McGill University to divest from companies involved in weapons manufacturing and operations within Israeli-occupied territories; including but not limited to Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Textron, and Thales. Further, the strike would emphasize the need to reexamine financial entanglements deemed complicit in human rights violations.
• Second, it advocates for academic disruption through a temporary cessation of classes, intended as a material and symbolic act of protest to draw campus-wide attention to the Palestinian cause.
• Third, the motion demands institutional accountability, urging the administration to sever ties with entities implicated in the oppression of Palestinian communities. Additionally, the strike would put pressure on McGill to stop disciplinary action against students mobilizing for Palestinian rights. 

The March 27 General Assembly saw hundreds of students pack into the SSMU Cafeteria, reaching the maximum in-person capacity of 300, while over 400 more joined online through Zoom. The energy in the room was charged in in  a mix of tension, urgency, and collective determination. Students lined up at microphones to speak passionately for and against the motion, debating the implications, logistics, and symbolism of striking. Discussion featured both emotional appeals and procedural interventions, reflecting the deep engagement of attendees. While many voiced unequivocal support for the motion, both the principles and practices of the strike were debated. In the end, the motion passed by a significant majority,, with 679 SSMU members voting in favouur. 

The motion outlines that the strike is intended as an act of protest against the university’s perceived complicity in the oppression of Palestinians. It specifically demands that McGill University divest from companies involved in the occupation of Palestinian territories and the manufacturing of arms. The motion further calls for the disruption of regular academic activity to raise awareness and foster solidarity. During the strike, undergraduate students are asked not to attend class: however, students may still submit assignments online and attend scheduled exams. During class time, students are urged to participate in strike-related programming. These include information sessions, picket lines, and artistic interventions meant to mobilize broader campus dialogue and public visibility. 

Statements from organizers emphasized the urgency of collective action. During the GA, attendees cited recent developments in Gaza and longstanding student organizing traditions as motivators for their involvement. Members of SPHR and others expressed that this strike would not only be about Palestine, but also about confronting institutional complicity and reclaiming agency as students within university governance.

Speaker and organizer Rama Al Malah expressed the urgency of the motion, introducing the strike as part of a continuous effort for Palestinian liberation. “We know this is the will of the students, and we will strike and continue to fight for our people no matter what,” she shared in an emotional address to the crowd. 

Although the motion ultimately passed, the discussion at the GA reflected a range of conflicting student opinions. Some attendees voiced apprehension over academic consequences for students, while opposing parties challenged the effectiveness of the strike motion. Procedural debates arose around how to balance democratic participation with accessibility in a hybrid setting. 

“The atmosphere at the GA was full of hope — the entire room was buzzing with energy when I walked in. After the motion passed almost unanimously, everyone erupted into cheers and applause,” a student in attendance shared on the spirit of the event. 

SPHR’s framing of the strike echoed similar calls made during past student mobilizations at McGill, including anti-tuition hike protests and campaigns for fossil fuel divestment. Most notably, McGill students organized a pro-Palestinian encampment in 2024 that lasted several months, featuring teach-ins and cultural programming in what students called a “liberated zone” on campus. The encampment called for university divestment from companies tied to Israel’s military operations and drew national media attention before being dismantled. 

The McGill strike also arrives amid a broader wave of student-led activism across Montreal. Just one day prior, on March 26, around 200 students from Dawson College staged a walkout and marched to Concordia University as part of a coordinated day of action for Palestine, reinforcing a city-wide momentum for solidarity movements. This follows an emergency protest for Palestine on March 18, where hundreds of activists took to the streets and organized in front of the U.S. Consulate after Israel resumed its aggression on Gaza.

As of now, no public statement has been issued by the McGill administration or faculty associations regarding the motion or strike.  According to the motion, students are encouraged to participate in events relating to Palestinian liberation and refrain from attending classes. SPHR and supporting organizers are expected to coordinate teach-ins, community-building sessions, and peaceful demonstrations on campus, facilitated by SSMU. While the motion outlines no formal penalties for students who do not participate, it emphasizes the symbolic power of mass mobilization. Further details regarding event schedules, accommodations, and outreach will be shared on social media platforms in the days ahead.

This moment represents a significant chapter in McGill’s long legacy of student activism. “It is the students who steer us towards truth and justice,” Al Malah stated during the presentation of the strike motion. “We learned from history that students have the power to force the hands of our political class and administration that divestment is possible.” The passage of the strike motion underscores a renewed student interest in global solidarity and institutional accountability. With a resounding turnout and a mandate to act, McGill undergraduates have made clear that their vision of education extends beyond the classroom, and is rooted in justice, equity, and meaningful global engagement.

Whether or not the strike achieves its concrete demands, it has already galvanized a generation of students into collective consciousness and participation. As the strike approaches, all eyes are on what unfolds next — and on how student voices continue to shape the university’s stance in an increasingly politicized global landscape.

The post McGill on Strike: Student Solidarity for Palestine appeared first on The McGill Daily.

The following interview has been edited and shortened for clarity.

Aurelien Lechantre for the McGill Daily (MD): Could you begin by introducing yourselves and what you do for OSVRSE?

Jen Collins (JC): Yes, I’m Jen Collins. I’m the educational advisor for OSVRSE, the Office of Sexual Violence Response Support and Education. I’ve been here since August and I do programming, promote things for the office and manage the volunteer team, which are called peer educators. 

Alice Dautigny (AD): And I’m Alice Dautigny. I’m part of the peer educators team at OSVRSE: we are a team of seven student volunteers who give workshops to different groups and clubs from McGill, but  we’re trying to open it up to more students. Thus our work consists in helping organize events, managing the OSVRSE Instagram, and educating the community on how to respond to assault disclosure or situations of sexual violence.

MD: Then would you say the main activity of the office consists in the education aspect through such workshops? 

JC: OSVRSE is first and foremost a support space for those impacted by sexual violence. It’s a central spot on campus for that: we support anybody impacted by sexual violence by creating a safe space. We help people navigate receiving sexual violence disclosures from a friend, and support those who have experienced sexual violence themselves.  Even professors come in and ask about how to make their classroom a more safe and welcoming environment. So we help with accommodation, psychosocial support and counselling, safety planning, etc.

Then our student volunteers do workshops for clubs. Peer-to-peer learning is great because the students understand each other: they know what they’re going through and how to adapt presentations to the audience.

MD: What do these workshops mainly consist of, and what do they entail?  Is it like a class about the subject, the topic you’re about, or is it interactive? Who is your audience?

AD: Most of our audience, until now, is composed of clubs looking to organize events. Usually these events involve alcohol and drinking, so workshops are required for the audience to be able to respond if there’s any issue during their event. The workshops are educational content about several topics that can be interesting for student organizations to be aware of: being an active bystander and responding to disclosure (understanding how to behave if someone during an event comes to you for support). Our workshops are designed to be interactive, with lots of questions, simulations so people can put themselves in the place of an active bystander to prepare for real case situations, looking at real life scenarios, and always a 30-minute Q&A session.

MD: You mentioned active bystanders. What do you mean by that exactly? 

AD: In a workshop context, we like to use the term active bystander to teach participants how to behave when you’re a witness of sexual violence or sexual harassment. So usually it’s looking at our behaviour as witnesses in public spaces and can also be if you witness your friends in toxic relationships with dangerous sexual violence behaviors.

MD: Why do you think it important to comprehend this role of active bystander, specifically on campus?

AD:  I feel like McGill’s campus is both huge and very lively: partying, drinking and meeting people are an inherent part of campus life. Thus it is really important to have associations like OSVRSE and to make sure everyone is aware of the reality of sexual violence at our age.  There’s the beginning of many relationships and discovery of the dating world, so it is important to help prevent and educate people on what is a safe relationship and how to recognise abuse, sexual violence or toxicity — as, unfortunately, sexual violence is a reality for thousands of people, especially students 

MD: Do you think most McGill students are educated on such matters today? Are there other initiatives that OSVRSE has put in place to further education and awareness surrounding sexual violence on campus? 

JC: It is difficult to measure this precisely with stats, but I think “It Takes All Of Us” (“It Takes All of Us” is an online education program about consent and sexual violence, mandatory for every student entering McGill) is great in that aspect. It was created before I came here, but I got to take part in doing it and seeing it in the office. It’s really helpful: I wish I had it when I was in undergrad at my university.

AD: Actually, I heard about OSVRSE through the “It Takes All of Us” form. I looked up who the association was after seeing it in the form, then I saw they were searching for volunteers and  joined! But the other volunteers mostly heard of it through “My Involvement” or directly on the OSVRSE website. 

MD: How and where might we find you? If a student needs support or just wants to participate in a workshop, how can we get to know that? 

JC: You can go online at the OSVRSE website: you could book a workshop, you could see a response advisor, the different possibilities are all on our website and if you don’t see a time slot that works for you, you can always email the office, osvrse@mcgill.ca, and we’ll get back to you within our office hours. 

MD: Do you have anything to add? Perhaps an upcoming event or somewhere we might find you?

JC: Yes! On April 1, in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we are holding a trivia event at Mac campus. There’ll be food and prizes, and it’ll be really fun. We got a lot of local businesses to donate gift cards for raffles and prizes. So we really want to end the year with a big, fun event –  I think everyone loves trivia.

AD: And follow our Instagram (@OSVRSEmcgill) if you want to stay updated and participate in future workshops and events!

The post Highlighting OSVRSE appeared first on The McGill Daily.

The event was hosted by Marlyne, who is also the founder of Sweet Like Honey—an organisation specifically created for QTBIPOC in Montreal who relate to the lesbian or sapphic experience. As a performer herself, Marlyne wanted to create a safe space for other sapphic performers to dance freely. Through Sweet Like Honey, she hosts various lesbian and sapphic strip club nights for these dancers. Marlyne helped to recruit many of the performers for this Burlesque Night, relying on her network of dancers (whom she affectionately refers to as her “Honeybees”).

Each and every one of the performers put on a show to remember. Salty Margarita, the founder of Latino Burlesque, kicked things off with a fabulously flamboyant dance to upbeat Latin music. Drag king Alastair S!N kept energy high throughout his performance, dancing to powerful beats and engaging the audience effortlessly. He was followed by Queen Macondo, who put on one of the campiest and most entertaining shows of the night involving an elaborate tea-pouring ritual. 

There wasn’t a single moment throughout the night when the audience wasn’t cheering on the dancers. A short break followed the first round of performances, during which I was able to ask the event organisers to speak about the importance of planning events like these.

“Working at QM, we’re able to provide a platform for queer people, especially for those within the community who are often excluded or attacked in other spaces,” said Valeria Munoz, who also serves as Events Coordinator for Queer McGill. “We’re always trying to reaffirm our commitment to creating safe spaces for all the intersections that exist within queer identities […] especially trying to create and preserve queer joy whenever we can.”

The emphasis on queer joy was deeply felt in every part of the event. As the performances continued, “galactic goddess” Cosmic Creme took to the stage in a white wedding dress complete with a bouquet of flowers which were tossed into the crowd. Queef Latina went next, taking things up a notch with another campy show to get the audience excited. Award-winning drag queen Genesis Loren did some more crowdwork, walking through the rows of audience members, finishing off with a classy dance number onstage. 

For the final surprise, Marlyne herself took to the stage under her persona Carmen Mayhem — truly ending things off with a bang! 

The night was filled with applause, laughter, raucous cheering, and unabashed queer joy. It was more than just another burlesque show; it was a celebration of queer artistry and performance, dedicated to highlighting the voices that are often sidelined. 

“Sex workers and burlesque artists have always been at the frontlines of LGBTQ+ activism,” said Marlyne, during her final speech of the night. “Too many times they get pushed to the perimeters […] but for us they’re at the forefront.”

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Every year, countless students escape Montreal’s brutal winter in favour of destinations promising warmth and endless parties. Unfortunately, this form of tourism also generates the perfect playground for reckless behaviour as routines are abandoned, study habits dissolve into weekday partying, and the thrill of rebellion takes over. 

In 2024, The Toronto Sun released an article exposing the disgusting aftermath of spring breakers who left a Georgia beach littered with, well, litter. Initially posted to social media, the coverage sparked outrage, with many commenters criticizing the blatant disrespect shown by student tourists.

While cities anticipate this type of behaviour, preparing for an influx of young party-goers each year, Florida’s beaches have become particularly notorious for such scenes. In preparation for 2025’s spring season, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Daytona Beach ramped up police surveillance in an effort to control the state’s annual mayhem. While stricter law enforcement has led to a decline in overall attendance, it has not stopped many students from making the trip south. 

Meanwhile, publications continue to cater to spring breakers eager to make the most of their vacation. In March 2025, The Palm Beach Post published a guide outlining alcohol regulations across Florida’s beaches, providing visitors with crucial tips for a trouble-free break. While these efforts to maintain order can be helpful, they also highlight a broader question: how do trip guides contribute to the commercialization of spring break?

An influx of tourists means an influx of spending, and the authors of travel tricks and city guides are well aware of this. While they aim to make student travel as hassle-free as possible, their efforts go far beyond convenience. Travel expenses often go hand-in-hand with fashion purchases, as many students feel pressured to “look their best” on vacation. Packing lists and travel recommendations are frequently designed to push products, reinforcing the notion that a trip will be ruined without certain must-haves. Brands of all sizes capitalize on this mindset, launching spring ad campaigns and exclusive deals to entice buyers.

However, with the rise of social media, companies no longer need to work as hard to drive demand. Influencers eagerly take on that role, showcasing their spring break hauls across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Fast fashion brands like SHEIN benefit from this cycle, offering trendy, budget-friendly pieces that fuel the desire to stay stylish without breaking the bank.

But what do these trends truly offer their buyers? Where do these products end up? And who ultimately profits from student spending? The answer, for many of us, is already clear.

Litter and waste take many forms: empty bottles scattered across sandy beaches from last night’s festivities and plastic bikinis worn once, now sinking to the ocean floor. Spring break is not just a trip; it is a product, commercialized by brands and influencers who sell it as the experience of a lifetime, a week to go wild, the ultimate university vacation. 

Spring break should be a time to unwind, not an obligation to overspend on microplastics and fleeting trends. A good time should not come with a price tag. Corny or not, the truth stands: a trip’s defining moments, the ones that last, are found in the people you are with and the memories you create together. Those must-have sandals? Quickly forgotten.

In an interview with The News Movement, Charli xcx distilled the essence of brat down to just a few essentials: a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and a white, strappy tank worn with no bra. The album and its aesthetic are not driven by consumerism, but instead prove that style and attitude do not require excess. It remains trendy and accessible without being built on piles of microplastics—though her later collaboration with H&M complicates this message. Her partnership with a major retailer inevitably ties it to an industry that encourages accumulation rather than minimalism, raising questions about the sustainability of its aesthetic ideals.

Nevertheless, Charli suggests that these few items are all one needs to embody the party-girl energy of her music, which speaks to a larger cultural message: you do not need “stuff” to be cool, to have fun, or to fit in. It is about the vibe you bring to the function, the energy you carry inside yourself, and the joy you share with the people closest to you.

So, the next time “Spring breakers” plays or you find yourself reminiscing about a past trip, think about the memories you made. Did the swimsuits you wore define those moments? The essence of spring break lies not in the excess but in the moments that prove you never truly needed it.

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Lensky is a classically trained musician finding his sound and his footing in Montreal’s indie music scene. He has released two singles, “Tomatoes” and “Valentine’s Day,” and is looking forward to more live performances in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. I sat down with Lensky to discuss his inspirations, his goals, and his advice for emerging artists.

Catey Fifield for The McGill Daily (MD): Tell me about yourself.

Lensky (L): My name is Lensky and I’m a Montreal-based musician — I’m a singer and songwriter, and I also play the piano. I studied classical music at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, and I recently moved to Montreal, where I’ve released my first two singles and started gigging. 

MD: And what about your day job?

L: I work for an AI consultancy that advises executive leadership teams on how to implement and embrace AI in their organizations. And then I have another side job where I work as an editorial writer for a dance radio station in Chicago — I write for them and do interviews for them and some festival coverage as well.

MD: How would you describe the music you’re making, and what is your motivation in making it?

L: I think my music falls into the adult contemporary genre, which is such a huge umbrella term. But I struggle with defining it because the contemporary pop landscape is very specific, and I don’t think my music necessarily falls into that – there are folk elements and jazz elements and blues elements, too.

As for my motivation, I like to joke that the purest motivation to make music is to get laid. And that’s definitely true, though I think “getting laid” can mean a lot more than just the obvious. Maybe it’s validation you seek. Maybe it’s about engaging with the self in order to express your emotions and ideas. I also think, to be frank, that I write music so that I can do more shows. That’s my bread and butter, that’s when I feel like I’m in my element.

MD: How does your classical training inform your understanding of music and the way you produce it?

L: The name “Lensky” comes from Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Ongein, which is based on a Pushkin novel. So there’s that immediate association to the classical space. I chose that name because I really don’t want to lose sight of classical music and its influence on my artistry. It was really important to me, for example, to play live as much as possible when we recorded “Valentine’s Day.” You can make music in this very insular way where everyone goes into the studio and records separately, but that feels restrictive to me. I love the idea that you can capture a “live energy,” almost like gospel music, when everyone plays together.

MD: Can you tell me a bit more about your songwriting process? What inspired the singles “Tomatoes” and “Valentine’s Day”?

L: The songwriting process is ever evolving. “Tomatoes” and “Valentine’s Day” were some of the first songs I ever wrote, and both were inspired by a relationship I was in that I wasn’t getting the most out of. It was a challenging time for me because it was one of my first interactions with love, and an interaction that left me feeling deeply wounded – whatever beautiful things came out of it.

It’s been a few years since I wrote both songs, and it’s funny because as they’ve developed a life of their own, the association to heartbreak has lessened. I actually moved to Serbia for a year and a half after writing them, and almost forgot about them. It wasn’t until I got back to Canada that one of my friends in Toronto, Zoe Kertes, encouraged me to get serious about recording music and produced “Tomatoes.” And then “Valentine’s Day” was produced here in Montreal, at McGill’s MMR (Music Multimedia Room), with Chris Kengard. That was such a blessing – the McGill studios and equipment are really nice, and Chris is just so talented.

MD: How did you find your bandmates, and how did you know that they were a good fit?

L: It’s such a classic story. I met our guitarist, Thomas Harries, through a friend of a friend of a neighbour of a friend, and then he brought in the rest of the band. My bandmates are all super talented, they all study jazz at Concordia, and they’re equally happy to do a Kate Bush cover or learn one of my originals. 

MD: Why is Montreal a good place for new artists to find their footing? What challenges do emerging artists face here?

L: When I got back from Europe, I wanted to settle in Montreal because I knew that, as a Canadian artist, this was the place to be. When you’re in the developmental stage, it’s really convenient that there are so many venues — I live in the Mile End and there are probably twenty venues around me. And the community is just great — very welcoming, very diverse.

I think that, for emerging artists, the biggest challenges are figuring out what to do and having the audacity to do it. You ask yourself, Where do I go? How do I find people to play with? The first official gig I played in Montreal was actually for a friend’s museum fundraiser in Saint-Henri, and I’ve learned that you just have to be okay with experiences that might be uncomfortable or untraditional. But, really, I can’t think of a city that’s more accessible for music in Canada.

MD: What are your goals for the next year? The next five years?

L: I basically have an album written. I’d like to get back in the studio and keep recording — I just want to have more available for people to find online. Really, though, my goal is just to play live. I believe in artists cutting their teeth, and I think one of the detracting features of the current music business is that you can achieve a certain level of success without ever having set foot on a stage.

In five years, I don’t know. I just want to be really good — that’s so important to me. I’m learning guitar, I’m taking vocal lessons again, and I’m trying to solidify my skillset. Hopefully there’s an album out by 2030 — maybe there’ll even be two. Who knows?

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“Mountain Scale” – Asher White

Providence-based artist, Asher White has recently garnered attention after receiving an 8.0 on her most recent album, Home Constellation Study, as well as having a song featured on the compilation album for trans rights, Transa. She has released an abounding 26 albums on Bandcamp, the first of which were put out when she was just 14! Her songs take on a DIY-feel, yet the arrangements are intricate and eccentric. The song “Mountain Scale” from her album Elmwood Cassette stands out with its soft, but dynamic, vocals and harmonies. Although it is followed by a more punk-sounding song, the track order feels complementary. 

“Acabemos Con El Femicidio” – Pelada

There can never be enough praise for the irreplicable Montreal techno-dance-punk duo Pelada. Although they disbanded last year, their energy can still be felt through the screen when rewatching past performances, especially their Boiler Room x Primavera Sound set in Barcelona. Chris Vargas’ vocals blend perfectly with strong dance beats in an unexpected way. “Acabemos con el femicidio” translates to “let’s end femicide;” sexism being a core theme in their lyricism. Listen to them when getting ready to go out, or, honestly, whenever!

“Limitless Night” – Drinking Boys and Girls Choir

Drinking Boys and Girls Choir are a punk band from Daegu, South Korea. They emerged in the local scene there as a women-fronted band. After signing with British record label, Damnably, they’ve toured extensively around North America and Europe, often opening for the Japanese all-women band, Otoboke Beaver. The band played at Théatre Beanfield in March of last year. The audience was blown away at the band’s ability to keep up with such a fast drum beat while remaining somewhat calm. I included the first song of the album in this list because it gets you wanting to listen to the rest; a perfect hook if you will.

“My Pal Foot Foot” – The Shaggs

The Shaggs are a favourite of many influential musicians; Kurt Cobain and Frank Zappa were huge fans. The band consisted of four sisters from New Hampshire who were forced to learn to play instruments from an early age by their superstitious father. Their intense musical training unfortunately did not get them very far. Their album titled Philosophy of the World, doesn’t actually consist of any lyrical depth either. However, after developing a cult following in the 80s, they have been deemed to be unintentionally brilliant. Afterall, it must have been hard to be that bad. Or is it truly genius and only the real ones get it? But it is bad, right?

“The White Tent the Raft” – Jane Siberry

Jane Siberry is a Canadian singer/songwriter whose music is often categorized as “high art” rock. Her album The Walking is a treasure chest filled with songs that feel like movies; not just a scene, but the movie in its entirety. “The White Tent the Raft” is no exception. The nine-minute song is made up of independently unique verses, a strong chorus, and randomly recurring themes. Her voice can be compared to dramatic soprano singers like Kate Bush and Elizabeth Fraser. Along with songwriting and vocal/instrumental credits, she is also the co-producer of the album. It is rare but inspiring to see women in the technical roles of song-making. Her songs are not for casual-listening, but perfect for car rides or walks where her voice can be your main focus!

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