QPIRG McGill

Social Justice Days 2012

Join us from February 13^th – February 17^th, 2012

 http://www.facebook.com/events/265454920187864/

Intended to stimulate an alternative political culture in the McGill University community and beyond, Social Justice Days is about to mark its seventh year with a week of workshops, discussions, film screenings, and speakers engaging local and global issues.  This year we have an international speaker and hip-hop artist from Haiti (Doc Filah), American activist, writer and legal rights advocate Dean Spade, and much more! Social Justice Days testifies to the diversity of critical political engagement on McGill campus, and offers students concrete opportunities to get active in their global community.

Social Justice Days is an annual event series co-organized by the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at McGill and the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU).

This year’s co-sponsors include QPIRG McGill, SSMU, CKUT Radio, Solid’Ayiti, and QPIRG Concordia.

All venues on campus are wheelchair accessible. The venue for the hip-hop show is accessible for non-electric wheelchairs only. The venue for the closing event is not fully wheelchair accessible ~ we apologize for this, and are working to make sure that all of our events are as accessible as possible. If you have any other accessibility needs, please contact us.

All events are free of charge except for the hip-hop show.

For childcare or translation, please reserve 48 hours in advance at 514-398-7432 or qpirg@ssmu.mcgill.ca.

Check our website for full schedule, updates and room changes.

Read More

QPIRG-McGill heartened by overwhelming show of student support on campus

For Immediate Release

Montreal, 8 February 2012 — The Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at McGill has been overwhelmed by the show of support by students and their supporters both inside and outside of the James Administration Building on McGill campus since Tuesday morning. While QPIRG was completely unaware that a “surprise resignation party” was planned for Dr. Mendelson, we understand that these students, professors and workers are committed to the students’ right to determine and vote on the funding for organizations such as CKUT Radio and QPIRG McGill, and to have these decisions upheld by the University.

We are dismayed by the response to these students and their supporters thus far – their demands have been entirely ignored, and there have been no earnest attempts to discuss or address those demands on the part of the McGill Administration.  Moreover, these students have also been denied access to washrooms and food; additionally, the shut-down of Internet services has hindered their ability to communicate with supporters or the press on their situation and well-being. One student in the building who was seeking access to his medication was met with violence by a security guard on site. If one thing is clear, it is that the McGill Administration continues to take an adversarial stance and punitive measures against dissenting student voices. QPIRG stands in solidarity with the students in the Deputy Provost’s office, their supporters in the lobby of the James Administration Building, and those brave supporters camping outside of the building overnight.

Ever since the Fall 2011 referendum results were announced in November, QPIRG has been working tirelessly to have the McGill student vote recognized by the Administration. The referendum had exceptionally high voter turnout, with 24% of the student body participating in the vote, and 65.6% of these students voting in favor of QPIRG’s continuation. Despite this astonishing turnout and show of support, the Administration has continuously refused to implement the results, stating in a letter to QPIRG that our question was “unclear and as such, will not provide McGill’s Board of Governors the assurance necessary to approve renewal of your agreement with the University”.

“Contrary to the assertions of the McGill administration, the referendum results were very clear: students overwhelmingly voted to support QPIRG’s existence as an autonomous organization that administers its own fee refunds in lieu of the Administration’s Minerva online opt-out system (a system that was unilaterally imposed in 2007)” said Patrick DeDauw, McGill student and member of the QPIRG McGill Board of Directors. “What’s more, the QPIRG YES Committee — composed of 100+ student volunteers — worked tirelessly to publicize the referendum and to clearly explain the inextricable link between online opt-outs and QPIRG’s existence. These are the conditions under which students voted to have QPIRG continue to execute its mandate.”

Since the referendum, QPIRG has maintained in-person, phone, and e-mail correspondence with the Deputy Provost’s office, urging them to accept the results as proof of the overwhelming demand for QPIRG on campus. Thus far, our requests have been met with staunch refusal.

“We sincerely wish to reach an agreement with the Deputy Provost on the referendum results, an agreement that upholds student democracy at McGill and the continued existence of QPIRG on campus” said Simone Lucas, McGill student and member of the QPIRG Board of Directors. While QPIRG and the Administration are continuing to engage in their own negotiations to have the student vote upheld, we urge the Administration to also meet with those students currently at the James Administration Building, who are clearly expressing their frustrations at not having their voices heard.