Hyde Park from the McGill Daily, February 16th, 2009

By Nat Marshik

Weapons, to state the obvious, are extremely complicated. High-tech explosives are not something your average McGill student understands particularly well. This may be one reason why the student body, as a whole, is relatively under-informed about ongoing weapons research taking place at our University.

Yet perhaps there are other reasons why students remain in the dark – like the fact that “transparent” is not a word one would use to describe McGill’s internal machinations. Or the fact that it takes a tremendous amount of public pressure to get the University to create a process for the ethical evaluation of academic research.

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Motion Re: Military Research

“This motion PASSED.  The SSMU is now mandated by the undergraduate student body to oppose any McGill involvement in the development of thermobaric weapons.  The upcoming revision of McGill’s Policy on the Conduct of Research may be an ideal opportunity to act on this mandate.”

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Referendum period opens one question short

Nicholas Smith
The McGill Daily  November 17th, 2008

“Council voted to approve two remaining General Assembly questions – supporting the Association of McGill Undergraduate Student Employees and a motion on transparency in military researching“

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Motions passed now submitted to online referendum for ratification

Olga Redko
The McGill Daily  October 9, 2008

Students vote on condemning military research and renaming Deputy Provost Darth Mendelson. Shu Jiang / The McGill Daily

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Local activist group tries to block military funds to Canadian universities

by Giuseppe Valiante

The Link (Concordia) September 2, 2008

Graphic by Max Rosenstein

Along with directions to the nearest watering hole and the cheapest eats in and around campus, new and returning Concordia students are learning about the Canadian military’s role in funding their university during this fall’s orientation festivities. Continue Reading →

By Mikey Opatowski and Melissa Karine Ward

News Writers McGill Daily January 31, 2008

Student activists lie dead to protest on-campus military recruitment in the McConnell Engineering building yesterday. Stephen Davis / The McGill Daily

Seventeen student activists dropped dead in McConnell Engineering yesterday morning to protest campus military recruitment. Continue Reading →

Hyde Park commentary in the McGill Daily – February 15, 2007

By Cleve Higgins

I was glad to see the Daily’s question to Heather Munroe-Blum last week regarding military research at McGill – it is an issue that those in power at our university should not be allowed to ignore.

In response to the question, Munroe-Blum explained that McGill has a policy governing military research, then explained that the current military contracts seem harmless. It’s true; McGill does have a policy (the Regulations on Research Policy), but it has large holes that make it inapplicable to significant aspects of military involvement in university research. Our Principal reported that the military research covered under the policy seemed harmless. However, the problem is the military research that the policy ignores; research the Principal would not likely be aware of because it goes unreported. Continue Reading →

Student uncovers ties between Professor of Mechanical Engineering and research on development of thermobaric bombs

By Drew Nelles
The McGill Daily January 15, 2007

Thermobaric bombs are used in the Afghanistan war to attack Taliban and al Qaeda fighters hiding in extensive cave complexes. Courtesy of the United States Defence Department

A McGill student has uncovered links between the U.S. military and an engineering professor. Continue Reading →

By Heidi Schneider

The McGill Daily November 23, 2006

Principal Heather Munroe-Blum addresses students in the Tanna Schulich Hall yesterday. Josh Chapman / The McGill Daily

The role of military research at McGill was another contentious issue at the Town Hall. Cleve Higgins, also an activist with GRASPé, asked if the Principal could morally “stand for research at McGill of weapons that are killing people around the world.”

In response, Munroe-Blum said that McGill has an integrity policy that applies to all research at the University, but added that “the way science is going today…it is impossible to come up with research that won’t benefit the military.”