Warning: spoilers ahead.

Interviews have been edited for clarity and conciseness. 

On Wednesday, March 26, 2026, the Strand of the Night Theatre’s production of The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov, opened in Moyse Hall. The following evening, I had the opportunity to attend the show and interview the cast; as well as Henry Kemeny-Wodlinger, director and founder of Strand of the Night Theatre. Kemeny-Wodlinger established the theatre company in 2022 to provide young, emerging artists with a platform.

The Seagull takes place at the Sorin estate, where family and friends, many of whom are artists, gather every summer. Over time,  scenes of the quotidian reveal a set of complex relationships and struggles that pose disconcerting questions about what it means to be an artist and a human being. 

“This play, not to be too reductive, is very much about unhappy people,” I began. Kemeny-Wodlinger leaned back and laughed, “But there’s also very much a comedic element to it. So I was wondering how you balance these seemingly contradictory points?”

“The way that Chekhov does unhappy people: they’re very ridiculous. They’re very, very serious about everything they say, and there’s so much passion in everything they say,” replied Kemeny-Wodlinger. He added that on opening night, the audience laughed more than he thought they would at the uncomfortable moments, perhaps purely out of discomfort. Kemeny-Wodlinger elaborated, “[Chekhov] tears down those traditional, uncomfortable or cathartic places. And if it’s an uncomfortable moment, it’s really uncomfortable because there’s a kind of raw violence happening.”

When asked how he got involved in this particular production, Kemeny-Wodlinger recounted his experience with The Seagull, which he had seen for the first time in 2023: “It was the first play that I ever saw where I felt like the characters were saying things that I thought sometimes […] A lot of the characters were artists who were about to go out into the world, about to start making art, and that really connected with me because I feel I’m at the same stage myself. From there, I got really interested in this specific translation of the play [by Simon Stephens].”

As a native Russian speaker who has read the original non-translated text, I was curious about the contemporary nature of the chosen translation. Kemeny-Wodlinger spoke on his choice: “It’s a modern translation set out of time. It’s not really in the original late 19th century, and it’s not extremely modern […] it’s very alive, and it strips away all of the place.” Besides the mention of horses and carriages in Act 2 and Act 4, the play was successful in creating an immersive, timeless setting.

“Some characters dress like they’re from the 80s. Some of them dress like they’re Gen Z. It’s a bit all over the place. And somehow, I feel like it comes together,” said Kemeny-Wodlinger, adding that in working with the costume designer, Sylvia Dai, “there was a certain time period that was the most effective for conveying a character.” This primary focus on the “aesthetic” is evident in Irina’s 50s/60s colorful outfits which are, in my mind, somewhat reminiscent of Emily Gilmore; as well as in Marcia’s 80s leather jacket and emo-inspired look, which ties into the original text’s description of her wearing all black due to her unrequited affection for Konstantin — the protagonist — and detachment from her father Leo (Luca McAndrew). 

What I found especially striking about the costumes was how often they changed.

“There’s 36 costumes in the show, one for each character in each act,” says Kemeny-Wodlinger. In Act 2, the characters all either shed layers of their Act 1 attire or put on lighter summer outfits, corresponding to more emotionally vulnerable scenes where the characters remove some of their mental armor. The one exception is Konstantin (Kit Carleton), a young, struggling playwright who is in love with Nina (Noa De Gasperis), the neighbor who has a difficult home life and dreams of being an actress. Konstantin wears the same outfit for the first three acts of the play: jeans and a trench coat. Perhaps this stagnant wardrobe reflects Konstantin’s inability to adjust his perspectives on life and art until years have passed, when Act 4 is set.

Meanwhile, Nina’s clothes become darker and less carefree as the story and her illicit relationship with Boris (Sam Snyder) — a writer in his forties who is in a relationship with Irina (Celeste Gunnell-Joyce) — progress: she begins with her hair down — clad in delicate white dresses, transitions to a blue and white checkered frock, and finally, in Act 4, dons a black turtleneck, jeans, sneakers, and a trenchcoat, with her hair up in a ponytail. Interestingly, the trenchcoat she wears is Konstantin’s, which, according to the script, he has worn “for the last three years.” Whether this wardrobe choice is meant to imply that Konstantin gave his jacket to her, she took it, or that its meaning is more symbolic of how her mindset has shifted to reflect his more cynical one is not entirely clear. Additionally, the modern sneakers Nina wears hint at a shift away from a stereotypically feminine passivity reflected in her dresses, as she takes charge of her life.

Incidentally, the costumes were certainly not reflective of late 19th-century Russia. The modernization of the text, and the anglicization of character names made the production inherently Chekhovian. Historical context and setting matter quite little in Chekhov’s plays, where the universality of the human experience, and especially human suffering, is foregrounded.

This production excelled at bringing that humanity to each scene and character. Irina, for instance, is a famous middle-aged actress and a blatant egotist. Obsessed with retaining her beautiful, youthful image and celebrity, she constantly sabotages her relationship with her son, Konstantin. While her character is amusing, one would assume by these characteristics that she is villainous; yet, Gunnell-Joyce’s Irina is anything but. There are but a few scenes where Irina explicitly expresses vulnerability or affection, such as when she begs Boris not to leave her for Nina or when she bandages Konstantin’s injured head. Nevertheless, these moments are some of the most powerful. Perhaps even more impactful is how the insecurity and humanity displayed in these scenes are subtly expressed in Irina’s character throughout the play. Even though I was familiar with the characters beforehand, I was still greatly impressed by how difficult it was to hate Gunnell-Joyce’s Irina.

While the play could have opened with a bit more energy, it quickly picked up with Carleton’s powerful opening dialogue. Many characters have striking dialogue, made even more compelling by the actors’ choices. One particularly memorable moment was Boris and Nina’s conversation in Act 2, where, as Kemeny-Wodlinger says, “they each exchange very vulnerable monologues about what they want out of life and their fears.” Boris opens up about his obsessive-compulsive behavior, which taints his work. This neuroticism is brought to life on stage through the physicality of Snyder’s performance. Snyder explained what drew him to this character: “He’s a bit of a tough guy to figure out. He goes through a lot of twists and turns, and there’s some complexity there.”

Shea McDonnell, who plays Hugo, shared a similar sentiment in navigating the intricacies of his character. While McDonnell described Hugo as “a well-established doctor” who displays “arrogance” and “very high self-esteem,” he clarified that Hugo is also “not fully secure inside, [and] could be very anxious about certain things.” This insecurity was most openly displayed in McDonnell’s scenes with Pauline, Marcia’s mother (Naomi Decker). Unhappily married to the estate manager Leo, Pauline has a secret affair with Hugo. McDonnell elaborated on this dynamic: “that really is where those cracks begin to show in his relationship, because he’s a very strait-laced, kind of very clinical person, but his big vice is really sex, and […] every time that she tries to make it more serious, he shuts it down and gets really nervous.” At the end of Act 1, McDonnell also brought this vulnerability to the surface when comforting Marcia (Ellie Mota). 

Even Peter (Griphon Hobby-Ivanovici), the elderly owner of the estate and brother of Irina, whose main role seems to be comic relief, is anything but two-dimensional. As he grapples with old age and regret, I could not help being touched when Hobby-Ivanovici wistfully delivered the line: “I want to live.”

While this is a dialogue-driven play, especially given that Chekhov provided minimal stage directions, some of the most powerful moments are found in its silences. Boris and Nina share multiple searing stares: the first when they initially meet and shake hands for notably longer than necessary; and again in Act 2, standing at opposite ends of the stage after Boris jokingly mocks her. Additionally, Nina gazes out beyond the audience numerous times: in Act 2, for instance, she smiles off into the distance. 

Perhaps most notably, the play is bookended by parallel silent moments. As the play begins, the entire cast walks down the aisles. They freeze in place, spaced out along the rows of seats, and look around at the audience, breaking the fourth wall. Similarly, when Hugo utters the last words of the play, the entire cast, sitting around the dining table on stage, turns their heads to look beyond the audience, falling motionless. This ending’s power is strengthened by the parallel nature of the scene, and its impact is solidified by the meta-quality that rearticulates the play’s themes.

The self-referential aspect of The Seagull is also delved into through the play’s exploration of the human desire to narrativize “disparate events,” as stated in the media release, as well as each of the characters’ unique relationships with art. 

When asked where he stands in relation to the different ideas about art offered in the play, Kemeny-Wodlinger answered that he was not entirely certain, but that he agreed with Konstantin’s sentiment at the end of the play: “I often try to mimic a certain genre or a certain form, but what’s the most powerful to me is something that comes from just deep within that. It just naturally flows out of you as an artist.”

Despite addressing these rather abstract concepts, the production manages to keep the play rooted in a sort of ambiguous reality. The set, designed by Claire Labrecque, plays a big part in this. Vines line the front of the stage, and patches of vegetation sit stage-left up front and stage-right in the back. My personal favorite feature of the set is the plastic pink flamingo that appears amidst the plants at the start of Act 2. The real world seeps in again during Act 4, when rays of sunlight shine through the window of the door Nina enters from stage-left. Though some scenes are set indoors, this natural element remains ever present, perhaps calling on a connection between literal nature and human nature.

Another fascinating element of the set is the shrinking of the stage as the temporary back wall is pushed forward with each act. This choice increasingly adds tension to each subsequent scene while also seeming to signify the claustrophobic oppression many characters experience in the Sorin estate.

The background noise, designed by Kyla Resendes, also plays a big role in the set design. The sounds of unintelligible muttering, chirping birds, running water, and instrumental melodies are interspersed throughout the production; sometimes helping to physically place the characters, sometimes intensifying emotional scenes. 

Another memorable auditory feature of the play was the overlapping conversations heard while characters moved off stage or out of view. In Act 2, the group is heard leaving the Sorin estate, their voices dissipating as they walk further from the stage; and in Act 4, the family is heard once again, eating and laughing in an unseen room stage-right while Konstantin and Nina reunite. The latter scene creates a stark contrast between the happy obliviousness of the off-stage dinner and the emotional turmoil on-stage. Nina’s separation from the bliss beyond the wall is further emphasized when De Gasperis presses her tear-stained face against the door separating her from the meal and Boris, who left her disillusioned but still lovestruck after ending their affair.

From set design and costumes to stage directions and dialogue, the well-thought-out intricacies of the Strand of the Night Theatre’s production of The Seagull combined to create a profound exploration of the human psyche.

The post The Seagull: An Automorphic Play About Art and Humanity appeared first on The McGill Daily.

While the Village has been the epicenter of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community since its establishment in the 1970s, in recent decades, queer culture has undoubtedly shifted due to the gentrification, commercialization, tourism, and “degayification” of the Village.

Gabrielle Rondy, the executive director of La Société du développement commercial du Village (SDC,) told the Daily via email that “The Village remains a historic, symbolic, and still very active heart of Montréal’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Over the decades, it has constantly evolved, much like the communities it represents. We don’t see the emergence of queer spaces in Mile End, Hochelaga or elsewhere as a shift away from the Village, but rather as a diversification of queer geographies across the city. This is a positive reflection of Montréal’s broader openness and inclusion.”

According to the research on LGBTQ+ Urbanism conducted by Dr. Julie A. Podmore — an affiliate
assistant professor of geography, planning, and environment at Concordia University — the Mile End has been the center of Montreal’s “emerging queer subculture” since the early 2010s. This inner-city region’s alternative queer culture is disparate from that of the more mainstream Village.

A variety of factors have contributed to the migration of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community away from the Village, including the gentrification, commercialization, and expansion of tourism. These changes have also caused the disidentification of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals with the neighborhood as more straight people move in and historically queer businesses close down.

Rondy acknowledges that gentrification and tourism have impacted the Village, but asserts that “it remains rooted in community life and local engagement, animated by hundreds of small businesses, non-profits, and cultural initiatives that make the neighbourhood vibrant and inclusive.”

While these developments have pushed the queer community away from the Village, Montreal’s increasing “openness” to queer visibility has also reduced the need for a distinct 2SLGBTQIA+ gathering place and safe haven. This openness has “allowed queer expression to flourish city-wide, but it also challenges the Village to renew itself as a space of belonging,” says Rondy.

The gentrification, commercialization, and tourism in the Village has led to rent increases, causing established local businesses, especially lesbian bars, such as Le Drugstore, to close. According to Podmore, these factors, as well as the increasing police surveillance and the predominance of the
white population, have decreased diversity in the Village.

The Village has additionally become victim to homonormativity, with participants of Podmore’s study feeling that the Village is no longer inclusive to the queer community as a whole but is rather now suited for those who identify strictly as gay or lesbian, with the largest demographic being cisgender gay white men. While the Village was made by cis men, explains Podmore, it became more diverse in the 1990s. However, as the Village has become more mainstream, this trend has been reversed.

Beyond homonormativity, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community’s shift away from the Village resulted in a “straightening” or “degayification” of the neighborhood, with those who do not identify as cisgender gay white men, otherwise known as the “queer subculture” Podmore refers to, moving away from the area.

“We recognize that the Village has sometimes been perceived as primarily catering to cisgender gay men. This critique is valuable, and has shaped much of our recent work. Over the past few years, we’ve
intentionally broadened our programming and partnerships to reflect a more intersectional, diverse queer reality,” says Rondy.

Such programming, as described by Rondy, includes: Village Mon Amour, “a storytelling project created with Queering the Map, highlighting love, friendship, and identity across generations;” L’Effet Papillon, “an inclusion campaign designed with the Aide aux trans du Québec;” Les Allié.e.s du Village, “a social reintegration group; the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Gala Les Étoiles du Village” that celebrates “many people, business owners, artists, organizations;” the activations of Studio ZX to re-engage diverse queer youth through festivals and workshops; and the forthcoming opening of Espace LGBTQ+, a temporary exhibit of photographs, posters, and items that depict queer stories.

The traditionally vibrant queer landscape of Sainte-Catherine Street East and Atateken Street has become populated by straight people, both those moving in and those who are just visiting. Therefore, it may no longer be accurate to describe the Village’s historically queer bars and clubs as hubs of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Rondy states, “It’s true that certain creative or nightlife subcultures have developed in Mile End or other districts. However, the Village remains the main gathering place for community organizations, political advocacy, major events, and collective visibility.” She continues to defend the Village’s importance, adding that “The Village continues to be the only neighbourhood officially recognized, both legally and symbolically, as a 2SLGBTQIA+ district.”

The future of queer neighborhoods in Montreal remains ambiguous as now lively enclaves of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community exist in places with no legal designation as a 2SLGBTQIA+ district. As a result,
one may wonder whether these legal formalities remain necessary.

As Rondy puts it, “Since its emergence in the 1970s and 1980s, the Village has transitioned from a marginalized enclave to an internationally recognized symbol of queer life. Today, it stands at a crossroads: one that balances heritage and renewal… The Village is not static; it’s a living, evolving ecosystem continually reimagined by those who inhabit it.”

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These funds would be allocated towards provincial and territorial legal aid clinics, civil rights organizations that produce IRCAs, and national training efforts and awareness campaigns.

Marie-Hélène Mercier, a representative for the Quebec Justice Department, elucidates Quebec’s reasoning, that the government is ” not party to any funding agreement involving impact of Race and Culture Assessments, as Quebec doesn’t subscribe to the approach on which the funding program is based, namely systemic racism.”

Dr. Marie Manikis, an associate professor and William Dawson Scholar at the McGill Faculty of Law, clarifies to the Daily: “The Quebec government does not recognize that there is such a reality of systemic racism and therefore does not think this consideration should have a role in sentencing,” despite the fact that, “several studies, particularly in the context of criminalization have made clear that this phenomenon exists and contributes to substantive inequalities.”

According to findings published by the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety (CCJCS), Black people were found 24 per cent more likely to serve time in jail after arrest or sentencing between 2005–2016. Additionally, a CCJCS study from the same time period shows that Black Canadians are 36 per cent more likely than white Canadians to be sentenced to 2 years or more. A 2021 Statistics Canada report shows that Black people are nearly six times more likely to be accused of homicide. Despite the utility of such statistics, cohesive racialized data regarding alleged offenders of the criminal justice system is limited and underreported.

As of now, Quebec residents must pay out of pocket for IRCAs.

IRCAs have been used in Canada for over ten years to address the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system by assessing how the accused’s experience with systemic racism has influenced their current circumstances. In an interview with CBC, Michael Tshimanga, a board member of the Viola Desmond Justice Institute, a pro-bono group which fights against anti-Black racism in Montreal’s criminal justice system, described IRCAs as “a clinical forensic assessment done by a masters level mental health clinician.” He elaborated on the factors considered by IRCAs: physical disability, history of systemic racism and anti-Black racism within the particular region the IRCA is conducted, education family history, and a collateral interview with acquaintances of the accused – such as former employers, family members, and community members.

According to Dr. Jeffrey Kennedy, an Assistant Professor in the McGill Faculty of Law, in an interview with the Daily, “As a general point, we might note that having more and better information makes for better decisions. This is also true for sentencing, which involves complex moral and practical assessments about complex people and situations.”

Dr. Kennedy also referenced a statement made by Justice Campbell in the 2017 R. v. Gabriel case, where the IRCA was used to contextualize the crime through the lens of cultural and racial factors: “Sentencing judges struggle to understand the context of the crime and person being sentenced. To do that, judges rely on [their] own common sense and understanding of human nature. Sometimes that isn’t enough. Our common sense and our understanding of human nature are products of our own background[s] and experiences. An individual judge’s common sense and understanding of human nature may offer little insight into the actions of a young African Nova Scotian male. [IRCAs] serves as a reminder of the fallibility of some assumptions based on an entirely different life experience.”

“The state’s failure in various institutional aspects of life to provide equal opportunities and the reality of discrimination give rise to various phenomena documented in research, including more limited potential for choices, greater incentives for offending in certain contexts, and reduced stakes [to comply] with the law — all these dimensions are relevant to the level of blameworthiness of an offender, which sentencing law recognizes as an important consideration,” states Dr. Manikis.

Dr. Manikis continues, “For these reasons, taking into account the person’s social context, which includes their background and discrimination results in a sentence that is more tailored to the person’s degree of responsibility for the offence…and their motivaions for offending, which can play an important role [in] eventual crime reduction/ or social safety.”

“Importantly, the relevance of IRCAs is not limited to decisions about more or less punishment. IRCAs might also help judges choose strategies that may more effectively address the issues underpinning criminalized behaviour,” stresses Dr. Kennedy. “For example, in the [2021] case of Anderson” — regarding the use of IRCAs in sentencing Rakeem Rayshon Anderson, an African Nova Scotian, for being found with a loaded gun at random motor vehicle checkpoint — “the kind of information provided helped choose between two different kinds of programming, one of which was thought to be more effective for the person being sentenced. In this way, IRCAs hold the potential to help achieve practical aims like reducing crime,” he stated to the Daily.

“The state has an important role to reduce its criminogenic role and therefore any response or sentence needs to also provide adequate resources that address the substantive inequalities that often [are] the root cause of offending,” added Dr. Manikis.

Kwame Bonsu, a representative for the Federal Justice Department, told CBC that, “Canada remains ready to work with Quebec and other interested provinces and territories to support the implementation of IRCAs in their respective jurisdictions.”

Ultimately, provinces and territories decide how and if these funds are used. Currently, the provinces and territories without such funding include Prince Edward Island, where the representative for the justice minister says they are considering it; Saskatchewan, where progress is challenged by a lack of professionals, though discussions with the federal government are being facilitated; Alberta, where an agreement made in December of 2024 has been suspended; Nunavut, which cannot respond for the present moment; and the Northwest Territories, which are ready for the legal aid office to reach out.

As Dr. Kennedy stated to the Daily, “Having a bit of humility means acknowledging the limits of one’s own understanding and allowing others to help provide information and perspectives that begin to bridge the gaps. This applies to sentencing judges too, and IRCAs help with that.”

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Professor Derek Nystrom, Secretary for the Association of McGill Professors of the Faculty of Arts (AMPFA) and Associate Professor of English, stated to the Daily that “the ‘Horizon Plan’ has been communicated mainly through press releases and one- directional town hall meetings from the administration, rather than developed through genuine shared governance, so I have very little solid information about how the cuts that I and my colleagues are feeling [the repercussions of] have been determined.” He also clarified that his comments are based on his own personal views and may not be the same as those of AMPFA.

While the Horizon Plan is meant to be a long term solution to McGill’s financial concerns, Professor David A. Stephens, Academic Lead at Horizon McGill and Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, told the Daily that “Horizon was not established to manage McGill’s budget deficit.” Rather, “budgets are set by the Provost’s Office, and it is Faculties/Units who determine how to spend their funds.” He clarified that “Horizon’s mandate is to help us use our resources as wisely as possible, strengthen academic program delivery, and help McGill work better.”

Horizon McGill asserts on their website that “Decisions related to budget, staffing levels and unit resources fall outside of the Horizon team’s mandate, as does oversight of Faculty/unit projects.” However, they also stated there may be more layoffs as well as attrition, such as retirement, in the future, though McGill does not intend to provide retirement incentives. Layoffs are already expected to cut 350-500 jobs.

According to Christian Blanchette – the president of the Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI), responsible for Quebec’s universities – the budget deficits arising for several Quebec universities stem from lack of government accommodations for inflation and increasing salaries, as well as a decrease in international student enrollment. The latter is a result of the Quebec government’s limit on the enrollment of international students – who pay quadruple the tuition of Canadians – at post-secondary institutions, decreasing by 20 per cent this year.

Prof. Stephens further stated that “Given government cuts, growing competition for top students, and other challenges, we need to make the most of our resources.” He also attributed the introduction of the Horizon Plan to “inefficiencies” which McGill has developed over time in their administrative processes.

Horizon McGill is utilizing UniForum — a platform for comparing services between universities — to collect data through two forms: the service effectiveness survey, taken by faculty and staff regarding administrative and support services used (not those provided), and activity data collection, where managers report on the allocation of administrative and support functions. The latter tracks data as an aggregate rather than by the individual. Prof. Stephens clarified that the employee satisfaction data gathered did not include academic functions.

“Despite McGill’s efforts to describe Horizon as a ‘home- grown’ effort, it is the product of a consulting firm called NousCubane or the Nous Group [which owns UniForum], which McGill hired and is allegedly paying hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Prof. Nystrom, clarifying he cannot confirm the actual amount the firm is paid. He added, “Apparently, the administration sees this as a smart way to deal with a budget crunch: hire a bunch of expensive outsiders rather than work with their own faculty, staff, and students.”

The Nous Group has already greatly reduced budgets at other universities. Critics fear the firm is corporatizing these institutions through encouraging centralization and streamlining decisions to higher ups.

According to Prof. Stephens, earlier in 2025, data collection was completed by Horizon McGill for the 2025 Fiscal Year (FY25), running from May to April. The quality of the data was reviewed over the summer. Prof. Stephens stated that: “By December we’ll better understand how much McGill spends on those [administrative] functions compared with other universities.” Later, he added, “We aim to have a preliminary dashboard outlining [McGill’s] progress later this fall.”

After data is collected about faculty and staff satisfaction regarding administrative processes, Horizon McGill looks at the time and money spent on those functions, and compares them to the other universities that are UniForum members. If there is a lack of faculty and staff satisfaction, as well as a greater amount of resources being spent on a service compared to UniForum member universities, the Horizon team will work to analyze and improve the situation.

Lisa Shapiro, the Dean of Arts, is a part of the institutional data group and is currently the only Faculty of Arts member listed as a member of Horizon McGill. In response to being asked how Horizon McGill ensures appropriate representation of the Faculty of Arts in decision-making, in the management office and work group, Professor Stephens said that “We are working with academics and administrators from all Faculties and Units across McGill.”

Prof. Nystrom states that “The cuts have meant that Arts departments are getting pressure to increase enrollments without adding faculty or TA support.” Elaborating on the impact, he adds that “undergraduates have fewer class choices and are often unable to enroll in classes they need for their program requirements because the courses are already at capacity.”

A U1 first year in the Faculty of Arts faced these challenges firsthand: “I had a scholarship, which means that I could register for class three days before everyone else, and yet, I registered the second when Minerva was opened, and I only got three classes. One of them was not for my level, so I had to drop it, so I only had two classes.” The same student later added “the fact that I had a scholarship means that I had to have at least five classes per semester…and if I don’t have it, well, I lose the scholarship.” As an international student, she faced additional challenges: “[As] an international student [from France], if I don’t have four classes, my study permit is not correct, and so I would have had to go back to France.”

“So basically, I went to every counselor, advisor. I went to Arts OASIS, but they didn’t know anything…I went to see advisors, other than the Arts OASIS department, and basically they all said that they did not have power over…registration,” she continued. She added later that “I think I got my [last] class three days before [the add drop deadline].”

In the English Department, Prof. Nystrom noted that retired faculty have not been replaced, meaning “we do not have the ability to offer as many diverse course offerings as we have in the past.” He further emphasized that “there are fewer faculty and staff available to support and guide them [students] through our programs.”

Prof. Nystrom said that since the cuts, “faculty find themselves overworked without adequate teaching support, which not only affects the quality of our instruction but also the time and energy we have to pursue our research.” He adds that these pressures are also being felt by graduate students, who have been denied teaching opportunities due to a decreasing number of TA positions. Ultimately, “these working conditions are already significantly degrading McGill’s status as a world-class research and teaching university.”

In Prof. Nystrom’s words, “the only real solution to [budget] dilemmas is not to hire outside consultants with a track record of taking a wrecking ball through other universities, but in working with faculty, staff, and students here to determine how best to address these challenges.”

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