Five years after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, a McGill professor is hoping that he can help the religions of the world address and challenge the negative perceptions that have sprung up following the fall of the World Trade Center. This week, Montreal’s Palais de Congrès will play host to World Religions after September 11: A Global Conference.
News
News, off and on campus.
CAMPUS: New campus service for safer drug use
The Students’ Society has developed a new service to provide resources for drug and alcohol education as well as activism on drug policy. SSMU’s Harm Reduction Centre aims primarily at ensuring the safe use of drugs and alcohol among McGill students, said Floh Hera-Vega, vice president clubs and services.
CAMPUS: Web site offers alternative to traditional text
Going back to school may be becoming less painful on your wallet with the introduction of free online books. Freeload Press Company is offering online versions of textbooks, workbooks and study guides in the popular PDF format at no cost. The catch? The pages also contain advertisements, making textbooks appear more like magazines and causing controversy within the academic world.
CAMPUS: Wireless worries
As early as the nineties, McGill was at the forefront of developing a wireless network. Today that network provides over 2,500 wireless access points, each covering 250 square feet, and the university is in the process of upgrading its coverage and launching a three-year project to better integrate users around the campus.
CAMPUS: SSMU ditches room fees
Making good on a central campaign promise, Students’ Society executives announced last week that rooms in the Shatner Building can now be booked free of charge. Beginning last Friday, internal clubs, faculty associations, media, SSMU recognized groups and others are now able to use the rooms without the customary bill.
CAMPUS: Marty the Martlet turns one
What is red and white and wears a kilt? It is none other than McGill’s beloved mascot, Marty the Martlet, who this month turns one. Marty made his debut during the 2005 Homecoming game, where he was presented to the McGill Athletics Department by the Student Organization for Alumni Relations.
NATIONAL: McGill number eight in counterculture
McGill students can now brag to their friends at UBC about a new top-ten ranking, but its not one that university administrators will be talking about. In the October issue of cannabis magazine High Times, McGill has been ranked as the number eight counterculture school in North America.
Debating Union wins nationals
The McGill Debating Union had its most successful performance on the national stage in years, winning the 2010 Canadian National Debating Championships in Edmonton just over a week ago. Half of the quarterfinalists, three-quarters of the semifinalists, and both of the finalists were McGill teams.
BREAKING NEWS: Tragedy at Dawson
One girl has been confirmed dead and as many as 20 people were hospitalized after a gunman opened fire at Dawson College earlier today. At 12:41p.m., a young man wearing a black trench coat entered the school through the ground floor doors on Boulevard de Maisonneuve, drew a firearm and began shooting at students in the main cafeteria.
CAMPUS: Recycling documentary to raise awareness
McGill alumni Jodie Martinson and Emmanuel Cappellin, both Arts 2006 graduates, worked over the summer to prepare a 30-minute documentary on the state of recycling at McGill that will premiere in the Lev Bukhman room this Thursday. The film also seeks to determine who is responsible for what they describe as McGill’s failures with respect to recycling and to propose long term solutions for individuals and for the administration.