The Tribune
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4 2025 | VOL. 44 | ISSUE 17
Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University
NEWS
SSMU sanctions UGE for a week amidst debates on gender-neutral washroom motion
FEATURE
FOMO and the path toward knowing oneself PGS. 8-9
PG. 3
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OFF THE BOARD Skipping class can be a studious choice PG. 5 (Julia Buckle / The Tribune) Tribune)
SPHR and Engineering Students for Palestine campaign against companies with ties to Israel’s genocide in Palestine at TechFair NEWS
McGill maintains it will not cut ties with the companies
Asher Kui Staff Writer
O
n Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, the McGill Engineering Career Centre hosted its annual TechFair at New Residence Hall, with more than 70 companies in attendance. Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) at McGill alleged that five of the participating corporations—Airbus,
OPINION Monique Kasonga Opinion Editor
T
Cisco Inc., Galvion, L’Oreal, and MDA Space—are linked to Israel’s genocide in Palestine. According to SPHR, these five companies have direct ties with Israel’s military, manufacturing, or surveillance activities. Airbus, Galvion, and MDA Space have produced weapons and war technology that Israel deploys against Palestinians, L’Oreal operates some of its manufacturing plants on Palestinian lands, and Cisco Inc.’s technology is used to support the Israeli mili-
Where knowledge becomes community
his Black History Month, Montreal’s public libraries are doing what they do best: Creating space for learning, reflection, and community. Across the city, library programming—from interactive workshops introducing children to important Black historical figures, to film screenings exploring Black art, culture, and politics—highlights the richness of Black history. Standing alongside bilingual
tary’s surveillance practices. SPHR, along with Engineering Students for Palestine at McGill, have since initiated a “No Genociders at TechFair” email campaign that started on Jan. 22, urging McGill to immediately terminate its partnerships with these companies. On Jan. 30, SPHR also hosted a rally outside the McConnell Engineering Building, where a couple dozen people assembled to demand McGill remove the companies from the TechFair. PG. 2
Black History Month on campus with BSN McGill reading lists created to highlight Black authors and texts, these events are a reminder that libraries are more than archives of knowledge; they are living, breathing spaces where history is preserved, stories are shared, and communities come together. Libraries don’t just help people navigate the present—they anchor us to the past. In a city where Black communities have been pushed to the margins time and again, Montreal’s libraries safeguard and revive histories that might otherPG. 6 wise be erased.
STUDENT LIFE
Events to look forward to throughout February
Yasmine Mkaddam Contributor
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he Black Students’ Network (BSN), a McGill club dedicated to addressing the interests and needs of Black McGill students, has a variety of activities planned in honour of this year’s Black History Month. BSN’s first week of Black History Month will focus on education and community building, with
events such as Black Women’s Entrepreneurship: Research vs. Reality on Feb. 4. On Thursday, Feb. 6, BSN will host the BSN x McGill African Students’ Society (MASS) First-Year Event, which marks the first collaborative event between two Black student clubs this month. The first week wraps up on Friday, Feb. 7 with CKUT Sounds & Pressure: Reggae in a Foreign Land, a night dedicated to the Caribbean diaspora and culture in Canada with film, PG. 11 music, food, and community.