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S e p te m b e r 17 th , 1 9 9 6
M cG ill Open House: opening doors to the entire com m unity B y B enh W
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M cG ill is opening its doors this w eek en d and in vitin g the M ontreal com m unity to com e inside and e x p e r ie n c e w h a t th e u n iv e r s ity h as to offer. A s a special feature o f the 175th anniversary celebrations, the M cG ill O pen H ouse starts this Friday on the university cam pus. Several large car nival tents w ill be hom e to an expan siv e array o f activities ranging from displays in neurosurgery technology to a c h i ld r e n ’ s r e a d in g c o r n e r . O r g a n is e r s h o p e th a t th e p a c k e d s c h e d u le w i l l b o a s t M c G i l l ’ s strengths as an educational in stitu tio n , a s w e ll a s d e m o n s tr a te th e stro n g ro o ts th e u n iv e r sity h as in both the M ontreal and Q uebec com m unities. T o accom p lish this, som e feel M cG ill m ay have to change the w ay m any Q uebec citizens perceive the university. T h e w e e k e n d w ill be d iv id e d in to “ S tu d e n t D a y ,” “C o m m u n ity D ay,” and “F am ily D ay,” respective ly. O rgan isers hop e this w ill bring together all the different groups that are important to M cG ill. During O pen H ouse, several o f the university departments w ill have exhibitions set up to display the type o f w ork M cG ill produces. Chair o f th e f e s t i v i t i e s , P r o f e s s o r A v i Friedm an, con sid ers this an im por tant opportunity. “First o f all, there is the need to sh ow the taxpayer what the universi ty is d o in g , and to sh o w them the critical issu es that the un iversity is facing. It’s also an education for the pu blic. P eo p le can co m e and learn about literature, educational strate gies, and com puter scien ce,” he said. Friedm an a lso pointed out that
this w eekend is a chance for M cG ill to create a p ositive change. “W e liv e here w ith the notion that w e serve o n ly on e com m u nity — the E nglish com m unity,” he stat ed. “A ll d isp la y s w ill be b ilin gu al, and w e w ou ld like to invite the fran cophone com m unity and show them that this is not the case.” Apart from b ilin gu al d isp lays, O pen H ouse w ill also feature several k e y n o t e sp e a k e r s a n d a V I P l is t drawn from Q u e b e c ’s francophon e com m unity. Included on this list are M ontreal M ayor Pierre Bourque and Q u e b e c ’ s E d u c a tio n M in is te r P aulin e M arois. H o w ev er, M arois’ p la n n e d a p p e a r a n c e c o u ld p r o v e controversial since a student protest over p ossib le tuition h ik es is lik ely to occur. A ccord in g to ev en t organisers,
w ith the rich schedule o f anniversary a c tiv ities, and the in vited speakers and guests, M cG ill is clearly m aking an effort to leave a good im pression o n th e s u r r o u n d in g c o m m u n ity . O pinion am ong students on cam pus s u g g e s ts that th is e ffo r t is a g o o d idea. “I th in k there is a p e r ce p tio n that M cG ill is an old institution for an e x c lu s iv e E n g lis h c o m m u n ity . This could be a chance to sh ow that it’s actually more diverse,” said U 3 arts student Jeremy Robins. “R ig h t n o w I th in k th e r e ’ s a s te r e o ty p e that stu d e n ts c o m e to M cG ill from another p ro v in ce and lea v e after they get their d e g rees,” sa id f e l l o w stu d e n t M ik e L iste r . “ T h e g o o d th in g [a b o u t O p e n H o u s e ] is th at it w ill s h o w w h a t M cG ill does for Q uebec.”
R obins w ent on to su ggest that, despite the effort, M cG ill m ay not be able to change som e negative stereo types. “I don’t know if M cG ill w ill be able to d isp el the m yth that it’s an E n glish institution,” he said. “It’s a g o o d idea, but I ’m leery about it’s effectiven ess.” A m ong both organisers o f Open H ouse and M cG ill students, there is a clear need to reach out to the larger Q u e b e c c o m m u n ity . A c o m m o n notion is that, due to its anglophone h isto r y , M cG ill n e e d s to m ak e an extra effort to appeal to francopho nes. H ow ever, d esp ite this popular c o n c e r n , M c G ill m ay n ot h a v e to w ork as hard as it thinks to be appre ciated by others. “I think M cG ill is a very good u n iv e r s it y . It c a n o p e n d o o r s to
Younger generation o f women lacks solidarity B y H e a t h e r So k o l o f f A s u r v e y c o n d u c t e d b y th e p o llin g firm L é g er and L é g er has attem pted to probe the ev er-titillat in g q u estio n o f ju st w h at it is that w o m e n r e a l l y th in k o f o th e r w o m en . M o st o f the fin d in g s point to e v i d e n c e th a t th e w o m e n ’ s m o v em en t se e m s to h ave plateaued at a poin t o f d e m i-su c c ess. O n so m e fronts, the b o n d s o f fe m a le solidarity appear strong and ste a d fa st. T h e b righ t sp o ts o f the
su rvey sh o w ed that w o m e n adm ire d e te r m in a tio n , c o u r a g e , h o n e s ty , and ind ep en d en ce in other w om en ; that, co m p a red w ith m en , w o m e n fe e l that th ey are m ore org a n ised , in d e p e n d e n t an d d e d ic a te d ; th at w o m e n tr u st f e m a l e p o l i t i c i a n s m ore than they do m ale politician s; and th at w o m e n w o u ld c h o o s e a fem a le law yer or accountant o ver a m ale o f the sam e p rofession . W o m e n w e r e a ls o fo u n d to trust other w om en m ore than m en, and to g e n era lly h old fe m a le pro
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fe ssio n a ls in high esteem . H o w e v e r , t h is s o l i d a r it y d o e sn ’t qu ite m ake it in the w ork p l a c e — th e t r a d it io n a l b a t t l e ground o f the w o m e n ’s m ovem en t. T h e su rvey sh o w e d that 41 per cent o f a ll w o m e n p r e f e r m a le c o l l e a g u e s to f e m a l e c o l l e a g u e s . A m o n g y ou n ger w o m en , a g e s 18 to 3 5 , that figure rises to nearly 5 0 per c e n t . A n d 4 5 .1 p e r c e n t o f a ll w o m e n q u e s tio n e d sa id that th ey preferred w ork in g for a m ale b o ss than a fe m a le b oss.
T eri C hettiar, the co-ordinator o f th e M c G ill W o m e n ’s U n io n , is v e ry su rp rised b y the fin d in g s o f the poll. “I am m ost con cern ed w ith the y o u n g er gen eration . I w o u ld h ave th o u g h t that th e w o m e n ’s m o v e m e n t h a s h e lp e d u s to b e m o r e c o m fo r t a b le w ith o u r s e l v e s . T o hear that w o m en gen erally prefer to be in a p osition o f inferiority in the w ork p lace is very disturbing,” she said.
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M o n tr ea l and to th e w o r ld ,” sa id U n iv e r sité de Q u é b e c à M on tréal student Jean-Sebastien R oy. “I think O p en H o u se is a v e ry g o o d id e a . M c G ill is g o o d for Q u e b e c and I hope it w ill remain the sam e.” W hether the challenges the uni versity fa c es are real or p erceived , and whether or not they can be con quered, M cG ill op en s its doors this w eek en d w ith w hat prom ises to be an im pressive exhibition.
F ea tu r ed I n sid e News:
A llia n c e Q uebec inverstigates fraud in last year's r e f e r e n d u m ....................P g .2 Features: Alternative m edicine gets political; Part one of two on the language debate ....P g .9 Science: Life on Mars hype ..Pg.9 Entertainment: What's new? A resto review and columnist, too .................................... P g . 1 3 Sports: A closer look at former Redman Michael Soles...... Pg.17 What's On listings..............Pg.23
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