ABOUT

What is Queer McGill?
Queer McGill is a university-wide support service for lesbian, gay, bisexual, straight, transgendered, transsexual, genderqueer, gender-neutral, transitioning, queer, questioning, asexual, two-spirited, intersex, allied and androgynous undergraduate students under the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). We operate our services from an anti-racist, anti-classist, anti-ageist, anti-ablist, anti-sizeist, pro-feminist and sex-positive orientation. We hold events, provide support, maintain a designated safe space within the University Centre (Shatner 432), and actively participate in greater Montreal student, activist and queer cultures and movements.

How do I join Queer McGill?
If you’re a paying member of SSMU, you’re automatically able to use and participate in Queer McGill events and services, but we are open to students from other universities and individuals from the greater Montreal and queer communities. When people ask to “join,” we typically sign them up for the listserv to receive updates from us. You can do that here.

What services do you offer?
The Queer McGill office in room 432 of the University Centre (or more colloquially referred to as Shatner) is maintained as a safe space where ________________. We’ve also got coffee, tea and candy. You can find our resource library with books (fiction, non-fiction, scientific, biographical, photographic), comic books, manga, DVDs, CDs and a Barbra Streisand record that’s been there since the dawn of time.

We provide free condoms (now for all kinds of phalli!), lubricant, gloves and dental dams courtesy of the Shag Shop. We also stock free copies of the 2011-12 School Schmool activist day planner (also available at QPIRG McGill).

Our office is staffed by amazing volunteer staffers who are trained in everything from active listening to trans-friendly vocabulary. You can approach them at any time to request a private conversation, get in touch with any member of the executive, or get access to resources; what you talk about is up to you, and if they’re not equipped to help, they will refer you to someone who can. Our Co-Social Coordinators plan weekly socials and larger benchmark parties at venues all over the city. Past parties have been held at Le Drugstore, Le 4uatriéme, Woof Bar, Sky Complex, Cabaret Juste Pour Rire, Cafe Cleopatra, The Playhouse Theatre and Gerts. Events are typically posted on the Facebook group, Twitter, on the listservs and postered around campus.

We also hold weekly Discussion groups at the United Theological College (located at 3521 University) where topics such as genderqueer identities, coming out (over the holidays, to an employer, to your roommate, etc.) and being queer away from home are addressed. Discussion groups are free and open to all who wish to attend.

Our office is also a space open to being booked after our staffed hours. SACOMSS, the McGill Savoy Society and the Union for Gender Empowerment have all used our office before.

How are political interests represented and supported at Queer McGill?
As a service and not a club, Queer McGill’s primary focus is of general support rather than specifically political support. Under Article II of our Constitution (2008), we are to “be politically active to heighten student awareness of, and actively promote queer issues, as well as to prevent prejudicial action against its members and allies to the best of its abilities.” Queer McGill and our Political Action Coordinators support the myriad of political designations and opinions that our constituents have through political discussion panels, guest speaker events, and our Political Action Working Group, a semi-autonomous collective that conducts political events. Constituents are welcome to recommend changes to pre-existing political events or suggest new ones; our Political Action Coordinators will be happy to make it a reality.

Please note that no single political designation or opinion wholly represents the views of Queer McGill, Allies, QueerLine, the Political Action Working Group, the Students’ Society of McGill University, the executive committee, or our constituents.

What is a safe space?
Simply put, a safe space is a positive space in which people of different sexual orientations, gender identities and more are free to express themselves as they see fit without fear of discrimination. Resources are made available and individuals are trained in order to maintain a space where alienating assumptions and divisive statements are avoided in order to maintain an inclusive and welcoming area for discussion. The Queer McGill office is one such space, where volunteer staffers will actively listen and intervene when statements made could potentially alienate individuals on any grounds, including but not limited to sexual orientations and gender identities. Sometimes the term “safer space” will be used in literature, which implies that no space is ever truly “safe.”

Queer McGill has historically worked in collaboration with the McGill Faculty of Education, the Social Equity and Diversity Education Office (SEDE), the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) to develop resources to encourage safer academic and social spaces across campus. If you’ve ever seen a safe space sticker on campus, that’s us.

What is Allies?
Allies conducts workshops in CEGEPs to promote anti-homopobia and bullying awareness workshops. They also promote information and awareness of queer issues and work in both English and French.

What is QueerLine?
QueerLine is an anonymous, non-judgmental and confidential peer support and referral service with a focus on queer topics. Call us to talk about your partner, where the best lesbian club is on Fridays or inquire about STI symptoms. We do not collect personal information or record your conversations. We’re here to listen to you, validate you, and talk to you. QueerLine will be running in late Fall 2011.

What is the Political Action Working Group?
The Political Action Working Group is a semi-independent body of Queer McGill, open to all interested, and empowered to plan and conduct politically-oriented events – from lectures, workshops, and discussions to campaigns, rallies, and demonstrations – that further QM’s antioppressive mandate. The Working Group operates non-hierarchically and meets every Monday at 5:30pm in the QM office (Shatner 432).

What is the executive committee?
The executive committee is an elected group of representatives that operate the services and events of Queer McGill. Our executive committee is comprised of two Co-Administrators, two Co-Social Coordinators, two Co-Political Action Coordinators, a Resource Coordinator, a Policy & Equity Coordinator, a First Year Coordinator, a Publicity Coordinator, and a Treasurer. Meetings are open and welcome to all constituents; just give us a heads up to find a larger room as our office

What does the executive committee do?
As a whole, the executive meets to discuss events, issues, concerns, resources, services and more on a weekly basis and works to increase the presence of the queer community and it’s allies on campus and in the greater Montreal community. Our individual work is based on the portfolios outlines in Article VI of the Queer McGill Constitution.

The Co-Administrators act as official liaisons with the SSMU, the University and government. They also oversee and set the agenda for executive meetings, keep records of events, maintain the office and it’s resources (in conjunction with the Resource Coordinator), respond to emails and ensure that Queer McGill adheres to the Constitution and it’s policies.

The Treasurer oversees and keeps record of expenditures, revenues, and the annual budget, as well as acting as a liaison with the SSMU VP Finance.

The Resource Coordinator records and publishes executive meeting minutes, updates the resource database, maintains the library and it’s media, and maintains the listservs.

The Policy & Equity Coordinator networks with McGill and Montreal political groups, remains informed on University and government policy in the interest of Queer McGill, maintains safe space within the office and ensures the accessibility of political resources and events.

The Co-Political Action Coordinators ensure Queer McGill’s political presence with the community at large. Generally, one Coordinator focuses on activism while the other acts in an educational role to combat apathy and refresh queer issues.

The Co-Social Coordinators plan parties and weekly socials, which is a lot more work than it sounds.

The Publicity Coordinator coordinate print and online media to deliver information to communities within McGill, other universities in Montreal, the Francophone community, and other demographics.

The Volunteer and Discussion Groups Coordinator recruits volunteers to staff the office and support Queer McGill events.

The First-Year Coordinator encourages first-year participation in residences, off-campus housing, Frosh, and Quebec students.

Can I participate in Queer McGill events even if I’m straight?
Yes. We love everyone. All joking aside however, we are a service, and hence open to all.

How much money does Queer McGill have?
We have an estimated $38,000, but our budget is finalized in Fall 2011 after the opt-out period in September and approval from the VP Clubs and Services (Carol Ellen Fraser) and VP Finance (Shyam Patel) from the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). We don’t spend this money willy-nilly; all expenses over $100 are approved by the executive committee by a simple majority vote.

Are Queer McGill events free? (re: financial support)
While many of Queer McGill’s events are free and accessible, we do charge for some in the interest of financial accountability. However, this should never be a deterrent; Queer McGill will gladly foot the bill confidentially. Simply send an email to one of our Co-Administrators or talk to them in person and we will be more than happy to help you out.

How can I get support for my idea/initiative/organization?
Queer McGill is committed to McGill and the greater Montreal community. Among the initiatives we’ve supported this year are the MUS Outlook on Business, Queer Engineer and the Elias Dean challenge. We are happy to help out in any way that we can; just let us know.

How does Queer McGill support transgendered, transsexual, transitioning and genderqueer individuals?
Queer McGill doesn’t currently have trans-specific services, but trans issues are consistently a theme at our weekly Queery series, as well as our Discussion Group run by our Volunteer and Discussions Coordinator. Queer McGill is always changing and is looking for suggestions from individuals close to or of the trans* community on how to better support them. To get involved or submit an idea or suggestion, shoot us an email.

What is a general assembly and how do they work?
A general assembly is where we solicit participation from our constituency to have an open forum for discussion, make motions and vote on stipends and incoming executives. We have three of these a year: once in April primarily to vote on next year’s executive committee and Winter semester stipends, once in September to fill outstanding positions including the First Year Coordinator, and once in January-February to fill outstanding positions (executives may leave after the semester) and vote on the Fall semester stipends. Ballots are kept in the QM office for public viewing until the following General Assembly.

How do I vote?
To vote, you must be a McGill student and have your ID card ready to receive a ballot. If you do not have it on hand, an executive may vouch for you; just ask. All ballots are secret and do not have names. Other than that, all you need is a pen.

What are stipends?
Stipends are honorariums that are traditionally voted upon at the January and April general assemblies to financially recognize the work that executives put into running Queer McGill for the past semester. For the past year, they have been $250 per executive per semester, totaling $6000 per year.

After the stipend motion is passed at the General Assembly, the executive committee submits an exit report with a reflection of the semester/year, notes for the future executive, the event that they organized (as per Constitutional requirements) and contacts made during the year. The executive then individually votes on each executive’s stipend based on the information in these exit reports.

Exit reports are available here.

What is a motion?
A motion is a formal written proposal put to the executive or constituency present at a General Assembly. Any McGill student(s) may submit a motion to be debated at a General Assembly. The party putting forth the motion will typically be asked to introduce it at the General Assembly and answer questions about it. To have a motion pass (or in other words, be approved), a simply majority vote of 51% or greater is needed. Motions can encompass anything from official stances on specific issues to changes to our Constitution.

If you need help in shaping your motion, feel free to contact a Co-Administrator or consult the SSMU website on motion structure.

ow do I submit a motion to be discussed and voted upon at the General Assembly?
Motions must be publicized at least 10 days prior to the General Assembly to be considered, debated and voted upon; this is generally done by sending it to an executive member well in advance so it may be sent along the appropriate channels.

How do I run for an executive position?
You do not need to inform any executive of intent to run. You may only run during a scheduled Queer McGill General Assembly. All positions are open for election in March/April for the following year and First-Year Coordinators are generally elected in September. You will be asked to deliver a two-minute speech and then be asked several questions, the first of which is traditionally asked by the outgoing executive of the position.

Do I have to be a first year to run for the First Year Coordinator?
Technically no, but the purpose of the First Year Coordinator is partly to engage students that are often overlooked in residence and off-campus housing,

What is an exit report?
All executive members write an exit report at the end of each semester that documents activities, relevant contacts, successor information and general reflective comments, partly to justify the stipend that they receive. All exit reports are available to the public.

What is QMUF?
The QMUF (Queer McGill Undergraduate Fund) was established to financially support queer students whose parents have interrupted or ceased to support them because of their queer orientation or identity. However, this set of criteria is subject to change in 2011-12 as we better publicize and update the criterion to make it accessible to more people.

How do I get reimbursed for a Queer McGill expense?
If you were asked to buy something on behalf of Queer McGill, contact our Treasurer immediately to receive a reimbursement as soon as possible. Cheque requests are due Wednesdays at 5:00 PM and should (hopefully) be ready on the Friday of the same week at the SSMU Front Desk on the first floor of Shatner. To process a reimbursement, we need a receipt; if you used a credit card, we might also need your credit card statement (with personal information and expenses blacked out). We will process your information with the utmost confidentiality.

There are too many executives; who do I get in contact with?
We have a general Queer McGill email that our Co-Administrators check, but you can read the short descriptions of the executive members and find the person that suited to your needs.

How do I get updates?
There are three primary means in which you can receive updates on Queer McGill:

1. Sign up for one (or more!) of our three listservs, [QUEER], [QUEERINFO] and [QMPOLITICAL].

[QUEER] is where you can updates from Queer McGill on our events and initiatives, and doubles as an email discussion forum where members can contribute messages to the listserv.

[QUEERINFO] is only for Queer McGill-related information, primarily events.

[QMPOLITICAL] is used by our Political Action Working Group.

How do I get in touch with you?
You can contact us via email (preferred) or telephone. You can also drop by the office to leave us a message or arrange a meeting with us.

I haven’t gotten a response back to my email. What happened?
If we have not responded to you, we sincerely apologize. We had a lot of issues with our new email addresses, and many of our responses did not go through. Please be assured that we try our hardest to reply to all emails as fast as we can, but remember that first and foremost, we are students and we have social and academic responsibilities and commitments to uphold. We cannot respond to all emails that we receive.

Sending a follow-up email is a good way to remind us to respond to your email.

How can I suggest events?
We love getting event feedback and ideas! You can send an email to our Co-Social Coordinators, Co- Political Action Coordinators, our general info account, post in the Facebook group, Tweet at us, drop in on an executive meeting or approach any executive in person.

We’d love to collaborate with you on an event!
Awesome, we love making friends. If it’s something social, send an email to our Co-Social Coordinators; if it’s something political, send an email to our Co-Political Coordinators. If you’re not sure or think your event is more general, feel free to contact the Co-Administrators.

How do I unsubscribe from the listserv?
Put your email right here and we’ll do the rest. Be sure to specify the listservs that you’re unsubscribing from.