This will not blow over

So chanted the frustrated masses gathered outside the James Administration building on Apr. 11, 2018, protesting a university culture of abuse and open secrets. The walkout—which brought together students from McGill and Concordia—represented a fever pitch for student outrage. This event did not occur in isolation. On Apr. 4, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) sent an open letter to McGill, demanding that the university launch an external investigation into the Office of the Dean of Arts’ responses to reports of sexual violence. Thousands of students signed the letter. In conjunction with the exposure of a similar culture of abuse at Concordia earlier in the year, the walkout felt like a watershed moment for institutional accountability.