The 2025 spring exhibition takes its inspiration from the work of author and scholar Monica L. Miller, who is professor and chair of the African Studies Department at Barnard College.

Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity highlights the evolution of the Black dandy from its origins in the 18th century to its contemporary relevance in fashion and popular culture. The Black dandy epitomizes countercultural resistance, meant to parody the style of upper-class white men who sported fine tailored suits and high-end fabrics to flaunt their social status and wealth. It is a direct symbol of autonomous self-expression in the face of oppression. While this legacy has retained its salience throughout the years, in modern times, Black dandyism is performed as a means to push the boundaries of conventional masculinity, challenging norms of gender and sexuality through personal style.

The Met has selected a star-studded panel of co-chairs for the gala including honorary chair LeBron James, alongside co-chairs Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, and Pharrell Williams. While these men are known most notably in industries outside of fashion, this gala will rightfully highlight their perhaps lesser-known yet significant contributions to the world of style, particularly within menswear.

One such co-chair, Pharrell Williams, has a long list of accomplishments and credits as a producer, artist, and designer. If we are to say Williams’ notoriety as a fashion designer is secondary, it is only because he is so accomplished as a musician. With 13 Grammy awards to his name and a long list of collaborations with A-list celebrities from Snoop Dog, to Britney Spears, to Jay Z, Williams has made a reputation for himself as one of the biggest names in pop music recording, while never failing to do it with style. Williams is a pioneer of blending streetwear with high fashion in the early Y2K era.

Throughout his music career, he has partnered with designer brands like Moncler, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton. Most recently, he has begun to really lean into his designer side, assuming the title of Men’s Creative Director of Louis Vuitton (who also happens to be one of the MET Gala’s major sponsors) in early 2023, designing clothing lines and advertisements for the brand.

Lewis Hamilton’s appearance on the panel has likewise caused particular excitement. Often known to sport bold colours and statement pieces, the Formula One star’s pursuit of his own personal style is regularly commended for how he challenges the norms of conventional masculinity, pervasive in such a male-dominated field as racing. Hamilton’s contributions to the fashion world have centred primarily around promoting diversity and inclusivity within the industry, making him a perfect choice as chair for this year’s theme. At the 2021 Met Gala, Hamilton hosted his own table for the first time at the event. He invited along with him several emerging Black designers including Jason Rembert, Kenneth Nicholson, and Edvin Thompson with the intent of putting their creative work on display.

We can expect that Thompson, Rembert, and Nicholson are joined by a plethora of other talented Black creators and fashion designers gearing up for this year’s event. And while the roster of Black artists and fashion icons that will be featured in the event is already something to get excited about, the preparations for the event have equally begun to bring the work of Black creators across a vast variety of other disciples to the forefront. For example, Yale-educated historian and content creator Kahlil Greene (@kahlil.greene) uses his platform to educate the public on current events — including the MET’s spring exhibition announcement— in short, palatable Instagram reels. Another insightful platform to learn more about black dandyism is the Black Fashion History podcast. It is created and hosted by Taniqua Martin, a content creator passionate about educating her audience on the ways the fashion industry has been moulded by Black culture throughout history. The podcast does a deep dive into particular trends, specific designers or brands, all focused on highlighting the often-overlooked role of Black people in contemporary fashion.

There is much to look forward to as the Met’s new spring exhibition begins to take form. In any case, this year’s theme will further underline an already-apparent truth: Black creators are dominating in their respective fields, from fashion, to music, to content creation, and beyond. While no single article could ever fully encompass the scope of these creators, this Black History Month is a great opportunity to take advantage of the resources listed both here and beyond this article to further familiarize yourself with the endless list of Black artists contributing to contemporary popular culture.

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When trying to find the time in a busy schedule to expose ourselves to the world of literature, joining an extracurricular may seem like the last thing anyone wants or is able to do. Enter: the McGill Book Club. This club is a low-commitment, welcoming environment for students who want to keep up their reading habits throughout their studies. They offer book recommendations for a wide variety of genres, including mystery, literary fiction, poetry, and more. Here’s how it works: find their registration form through their Linktree, found on the McGill Book Club Instagram (@bookclubmcgill). They will ask you about your reading preferences in order to pair you with other like-minded students. The Book Club also hosts special events throughout the semester, which are open to all students. Just this past semester in Fall 2024, they hosted movie nights, book sales, and communal spaces to come and relax your stress away with others hoping to do the same.

McGill is also certainly not lacking in opportunities for students to realize creative pursuits of their own. The Veg magazine at McGill releases new issues every semester to feature all kinds of student-created works, such as poetry, short stories, visual art, and photography. Like McGill Book Club, The Veg also puts on special events during the semester to promote student artists and foster a community of art makers and lovers alike, the members of which they call “the veggies” (a name so adorable, it’s almost worth joining just for the title). The Veg welcomes submissions throughout the semester and all up-to-date information about the upcoming issue can be found on their Instagram (@thevegmagazine).

Likewise, McGill’s very own student-run music magazine, Counterpoint, releases articles twice weekly with two specialized columns. The first of these, New Music Mondays, features reviews and spotlights on emerging new artists and freshly released songs and albums. There are also Friday publications under their Miscellaneous Music Fridays column, featuring commentary, news, opinion pieces, and more covering all things music. These articles can be found on their website or through their Instagram (@counterpointmcgill).

In the tune of student-authored projects, also upcoming this semester is the McGill Drama Festival (MDF), an annual event put on by Player’s Theatre in which a variety of student-written scripts are performed on a live stage. This year, MDF is putting on six different plays, all of which are student-acted, -directed, and -produced. Be sure to check out Player’s Theatre’s Instagram (@playerstheatre) or their website for updates on how and when to go support these McGill artists!

The literary community at McGill is alive and well, if only a fraction of the greater literary culture of Montreal. Within walking distance from McGill’s campus are several local businesses working hard to foster Montreal’s love of literature.

One such shop is De Stiil, located in the Plateau, where “customer” really isn’t the right word to describe the store’s frequenters. At De Stiil, books on display are hand-chosen by the owner, Aude Le Dubé, based often on her own interests and occasionally on the tastes and interests of her customers. Inside, the store feels more like a home than it does a retail outlet, with long tables to display the books in lieu of tall dividing aisles. In addition, the store hosts various literary events, including author visits and writing workshops, to which a whole section is dedicated on their website. This community is open and welcome to everyone, and even offers special De Stiil merchandise to prove it.

Another local shop just steps away from McGill is The Word, who opens their door to anyone, student or otherwise, looking for a new book. You can pick up a textbook (for some McGill and Concordia courses – just ask the owner!), browse the overflowing shelves, or even just chat with their friendly and knowledgeable owners. As a second-hand store, The Word is committed to gifting old classics and hidden gems to new hands.

Finally, just a short walk down Rue Sainte Catherine is Montreal-owned and -operated Argo Bookshop. This quaint little shop has kept the literary spirit alive throughout their several decades of operation (in fact, it is the city’s longest standing independent store for books in the English language!). Argo offers various opportunities to facilitate the book-lovers’ belonging to a literary community, including their subscription boxes, through which users receive a monthly customized book recommendation hand-picked by the staff. In these subscription boxes, you’ll find some extras goodies made by local artisans, also available for purchase at the store. For those seeking a more intimate face-to-face experience, while browsing Argo’s shelves, you’ll find handwritten notes reviewing and recommending new titles. Their staff are, of course, always eager to talk about all things books and beyond.

From the outside looking in, it may seem as though the gateway into literary culture is a locked door without a key. These outlets described here attempt to open that door, showing just how permeable and welcoming local literary communities truly are. Whether you’re an avid reader looking to share your thoughts on the new title you just finished, an aspiring writer looking to draw some eyes to your creative work, or simply someone who loves to read but doesn’t know where to begin, McGill and the rest of Montreal host an abundance of opportunities that extend far beyond anything that could be covered in a single article. Perhaps it’s time to get our noses out of our books and explore the whole ecosystem of readers and artists all looking to share their love of literature with one another. Happy reading!

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While this is not an unprecedented occurrence, with the Consultative Forums of Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 also seeing a turnout of less than 30 participants, a statement made by President Alexandre Ashkir underlined SSMU’s commitment to continue promoting their General Assembly meetings in hopes of making these meetings more interactive. 

The meeting began with the unanimous adoption of both the standing rules and the agenda. This was followed by a silent question period where all SSMU members in attendance had the floor to address questions or concerns to executives. The lack of attendance allowed for the meeting to quickly carry on to the following item on the agenda: executive reports.

Reports were given by all executive members in attendance; beginning with the VP Internal, followed by the VP External, VP Sustainability and Operations, VP University Affairs, VP Student Life, and concluding with the President. These reports consisted of general overviews of the respective duties of executives, the work they’ve accomplished since the previous school year, and their upcoming plans and ongoing projects for the year ahead and beyond. 

While each executive outlined their individual focuses, as a whole, the initiatives and projects discussed in these reports all target the enhancement of student life and engagement on campus and beyond. VP Internal Jon Barlas spoke of SSMU’s implementation of online feedback forms for on-campus events which, while only having begun this year, managed to receive participation from 10 per cent of the attendees of first-year orientation events put on by SSMU this fall. In his report, VP External Liam Gaither detailed promising news regarding accessibility to affordable student housing, stating that the city of Montreal recently approved a $6 million contribution to the construction of a new student housing building that will be available to McGill students, adding to SSMU’s outstanding $1.5 million investment. The building, located at the corner of Ontario and St-Laurent, is set to open in the fall of 2026. Other notable projects for the upcoming year include the launching of a new club portal as a central hub for information and applications of clubs and student societies set to take place next year, as well as the start up of a student volunteer program in association with SSMU’s daycare program, as was stated in VP Student Life Nadia Dakdouki’s report. 

The meeting concluded with a discussion portion wherein general members had the floor to provide suggestions and questions regarding the following topics: use and accessibility to campus space for students, climate crisis actions and updates, and food insecurity on campus and potential action towards it. 

The first topic was presented by the VP Student Life. Students addressed concerns regarding McGill’s booking system to reserve space on campus for club meetings, which they described as confusing and often frustrating. Dakdouki responded that while SSMU is not directly associated with the university’s system (and therefore cannot mediate communication between them and students), they are actively working on a guide that will outline the booking process in hopes to alleviate some of the confusion faced by student societies looking to host their meetings on campus. 

On the topic of the climate crisis, a general member suggested the collaboration of the many student societies at McGill geared toward climate action that could be facilitated by SSMU. The executive board replied that they would be open to suggestions on strategies to make this collaboration possible. 

The last topic of discussion on food insecurity included an update from the VP External on the status of the Let’s Eat McGill campaign. The campaign gained much attention over the last school year through social media publicity, calling on the university to better their meal plan for students. While progress has been made with the implementation of McGill’s All-You-Care-To-Eat Mandatory Meal Plan through Student Housing and Hospitality Services, Let’s Eat McGill still critiques this plan for being unaffordable to lower-income students, and continues to apply pressure to make on-campus food options more affordable overall. This discussion was concluded by encouraging members to keep an eye out for SNAC, a new program at McGill providing free weekly grocery boxes to students in need, as they are hoping to have their referendum passed to receive university funding at the Legislative Council meeting later this month.

The meeting was adjourned after just over an hour with a hopeful spirit for greater attendance for the next General Assembly meeting happening in the winter semester. With new initiatives and works-in-progress underway, SSMU is gearing up for an exciting school year ahead. 

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