STANSTEAD: A BORDER RUNS THROUGH IT, PAGES 10 & 11
REMEMBRANCE DAY:THE ROAD TO REDRESS, PAGES 8 & 9
jb lis h e d by th e S tud e nts'S o cie ty o f McGill U niversity
w w w .m c g illtrib u n e .c o m
V olum e 28 Issue 11 • N ovem ber 11,2008
Ruqby triple crown VP Silverstein resigns Finance portfolio will be difficult to fill B ern a rd R u d n y
Students' Society Vice President Finance and O perations Tobias Silverstein tendered his resig nation yesterday, the Tribune has learned from a confidential source. Silverstein has held the posi tion since May 1, after b e in g elected this spring. W hen reached by the Tribune, Silverstein refused to com m ent. SSM U President Kay Turner was not available for com m ent at press time. It's been a tu m u ltu ou s year for the VP Finance and O perations portfolio. Silverstein w as elected in a special by-election this April, fillin g a vacancy left by Peter N ew hook. N ew hook had been ac claim ed in the regular SSMU elections in March, but resigned before assu m in g the post for per sonal reasons. In the 2007-08 academ ic year, the finance portfolio was held by Im ad Barake. In an interview w ith the Tribune, Barake described the VP Finance and O perations portfolio as an extrem ely highstress position. "You're the m oney man," Barake said. "You can't please e veryb od y and you have lim ited re sources." U nder the SSM U constitution, w hen a vice president resigns, C o u n cil m ust elect one of its m em bers to serve in their stead for the rem ainder of their term. Selectin g a replacem ent m ay be dif ficult, given the dem an d s of the Finance and O p
erations portfolio. "You need to have som e sort of ability to look at a budget, know w hat a bud get m eans, know how to put a b u d g et together," Barake said. However, Barake said that having the ability to plan in the long-term is m ore im portant than having detailed financial know ledge. "The councillor [assum ing the VP Finance and O perations portfolio] w ould have to know ev e rything about the society, w ould have to know about every sin g le budget, w ould have to know about how decisions are m ade in the society." The tw o com m ittees that w ork m ost closely w ith the VP Finance and O perations are the Fi nancial Com m ittee and the O perations C o m m it tee. The Financial Com m ittee is chaired by the VP Finance and O perations, and counts three co u n cillors, the SSM U Com ptroller, and VP Clubs and Services Sam antha C o o k as m em bers. However the Financial Com m ittee had their first, and so far only, m eeting o f the sem ester last week. The O perations Com m ittee has m et tw ice this semester. Its m em bers include Arts U ndergradu ate Society Vice President External Hanchu Chen, Arts Representative Stas Moros, and Arts Senator Will John ston, am o ng others. The Tribune will continue to report on the resignation and replacem ent as the story devel ops. ■
he McGill men's rugby team cruised to their third consecutive QURL hampionship with a 21 -0 victory over the Bishop's Gaiters. See page 18.
cGill admin reinstates travel directive
*\fter two-day Senate suspension, controversial policy is back in force T
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On Friday, the McGill adm inistration unilaterally overurned a Senate m otion to suspend the adm inistration's re lent directive banning som e international student travel. "The travel directive, in its current form, still stands," D ep ity Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton M endelson aid. The travel directive, introduced in Septem ber, no longer illow s "students to participate in any university related acivities, be they curricular or co-curricular, in countries with a
level-three (avoid non-essential travel) or level-four (avoid all travel) warning." Students are prohibited from stu d yin g in 20 foreign countries, in clu d in g Afghanistan, Haiti, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka. In addition, certain regions of 39 other countries such as China, Colom bia, India, Israel, Peru, Russia, and Th ai land are banned. On W ednesday, Senate voted 42 to 18 to suspend the d i rective. At the m eeting, faculty and student representatives expressed outrage that they had not been consulted before the policy w as im plem ented. A ccord in g to Students' Society Vice-President U niversity Affairs Nadya W ilkinson, the univer sity m aintained that the travel directive was an adm inistrative
PINK RIBBON GAME - HOME OPENER
McGill ATHLETICS & RECREATION
responsibility, not an academ ic issue. "This [m otion] was clearly within the purview of Senate," W ilkinson said. "The [university] statutes say that Senate shall exercise general control and supervision over the academ ic activities of the university. The travel directive affects curricu lar and co-curricular activities— these are academ ic issues." The Senate m otion, put forth by Faculty of M edicine Sen ator Bernard Robaire, suspended the travel directive pending student and faculty consultation. "The governance stood up — and it was a great triumph,"
See REGULATIONS on Page 2
VOLLEYBALL SUNDAY SET
Bishop’s vs McGill Friday November 14th
Montreal vs Martlet Volleyball, 13h00 Montreal vs Redmen Volleyball, 15h00 Sunday Nov. 16th, Love Competition Hall
Martlet B aske tb all 18h00
M A R TLET H O C K EY
R e d m e n B a ske tb a ll 2 0 h 0 0 R E D & W H IT E G A M E
Concordia vs McGill Saturday Nov. 15th, 14h30 $1 hot dog, $1 pop!
redbîrd SP«R TS S H «P Special of th e week:
Redmen Basketball T-shirts: $15